Sweet Seeds Femme Fatales: Red Poison, Dark Devil, Ice Cool, Cream Caramel, and Gorilla Girl XL Autos

[delagdo]

And Then There Were Four

I was ruthless and did it, I took the Red Poison Auto out of the tent. I didn’t need the night to make the decision, I did it shortly after my last post, before I went to bed. I did not like to see the others squashed in, the tent was unbalanced and overcrowded. I mentioned a previous Sweet Gelato Auto which got off to a slow start but ended up producing very well – by the one month point it had bounced back and was much bigger than this Red Poison Auto, which just hasn’t got going. Taking it out now seems like the obvious and sensible choice.

The four remaining plants now stand in a row, so are allowed a 60cm x 30cm footprint each. The bit of space in front and behind them there is now allows the light to reflect down lower, which should help limit the stretch. I’ve moved the lamp up slightly too. There’s not much room, but the tops were almost within 30cm of the reflector which is too close. A look in this evening:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, Cream Caramel Auto, Ice Cool Auto (all day 39), Dark Devil Auto (day 36)

I will cycle the three on the right so different plants are directly under the lamp each day, and the Gorilla Girl XL Auto will stay posing nicely on the left for the timelapse. I think it’s better for the plants with more space, and it’s definitely better for me when I have to water. It's still fairly crowded!

I don’t like to defoliate, only when leaves are ill and need to be got rid of, or a very small bit from lower down as I showed in my last post. I’ve been tucking the larger fan leaves on the plants constantly instead, so the smaller shoots and budsites lower down can get light. Unfortunately the Cream Caramel Auto has lost a few leaves this way. The petioles seem to break off very easily at the main stem, they are very hard and rigid on this plant and I just pushed them too far. I broke one off over the weekend, and another last night. 

I was trying to be careful but today I broke a third off.  So (for lent) I am giving up tucking leaves on the Cream Caramel Auto. They are such lovely leaves too, lush and green.  One has 11 fingers, a sure sign the plant is happy and healthy (or was, until I had a go at rearranging her!). I still had the leaf from yesterday, so I took a picture with todays leaf and a Dynavap and a regular lighter for scale – I can’t believe I’ve made it this far without including a Dynavap yet.

Accidentally removed Cream Caramel Auto leaves

A quick update on the environment: over the past 48 hours it’s been a maximum of 25°C, minimum 21°C. I’m very glad that the cold snap is over. Humidity has been between 40% and 53%, usually somewhere in the upper 40s – it’s getting damper in there as leaf mass increases, transpiration rises, and the plants start to drink more.

 

 

Thanks for looking 

Edited February 17, 2021 by delagdo

[delagdo]

Flowering

The four remaining plants have continued to grow nicely and are fully in flower now. I took a picture of each plant on Thursday, and a couple today including full plant shots to show their structure.

Ice Cool Auto:

Ice Cool Auto, day 40

 

She always looks very happy, reaching up for the light:

Ice Cool Auto, day 43

Despite the supercropping, she retains a dominant main stem. The sideshoots are healthy and developing well, but just not as tall:

Ice Cool Auto, day 43

My Cream Caramel Auto is shooting out pistils, perhaps ever so slightly ahead of the other green ones in that respect, but not looking as crystally. 

Cream Caramel Auto, day 40

Cream Caramel Auto, day 43

Her sidebranches reach out tall and wide now, catching up with the main stem:

Cream Caramel Auto, day 43

[delagdo]

Flowering contd.

Gorilla Girl XL Auto is starting to pile on the pistils now too, and you can see trichomes start to develop a frost:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 40

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 43

The side branches are stretching out of the shadows to catch up with the main stem. The are looking for the light but sometimes they are finding the tripod instead:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 43

The Dark Devil Auto is just stunning in her colour, speed, and development:

Dark Devil Auto, day 37

Dark Devil Auto, day 40

I bent over a couple of the tallest sidestems on Friday (day 38 to her) because they were getting out of hand. Hopefully they will stop getting taller and start getting fatter very soon.

Dark Devil Auto, day 40

Now they are fully in flower I have switched the nutrients to a flowering ratio, 1:2:3 Grow:Micro:Bloom, EC 1.1. I had planned to do this after a week of an intermediate 1:1:1 ratio, and the three green plants switched over as planned on day 42, yesterday. The younger Dark Devil Auto is ahead of schedule a couple of days, and moves to the flowering ratio 1:2:3 today, which is day 40 for her.

The environment seems very good for VPD right now. The temperature has remained between 21°C and 25°C since my update on Wednesday, and humidity between 37% and 56% - more and more I am seeing it over 50%. I take the air temperature and humidity at canopy level, in the shade in the corner of the tent. Leaf temperatures are typically around 2°C cooler than my air temperature readings, except for those at the top directly under the lamp, where the leaf readings match the air temperature readings from the edge of the tent.

 

Thanks for looking at my diary 

[Sweet Seeds Apolo]

On 8/2/2021 at 11:07 PM, delagdo said:

Very nice photo, how did you photograph the camera? It looks very well the details in the photograph...

 

By the way, The camera needs to be dusted. 

 

P.S: The plants looking very healthy. Keep it up!

 

Sweet smokes,
- Apolo
 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Sweet Seeds Apolo

[delagdo]

Thanks @Sweet Seeds Apolo  I thought the same thing when editing the picture. Sorry for my dirty old camera I am using for the timelapse! It's an Olympus XZ-1 I have had for 10 years and taken on a few adventures. It's in quite a state actually, the battery cover no longer closes properly since I slipped on a rock at the botanical gardens trying to get a good angle on a nice tree, I dropped it and broke the latch It has a few other scrapes, and the top of one of the knobs fell off so I had to stick a sticker so I can see what mode it's on. Thankfully the lens is good (and I keep that bit clean!) and it still works fine.

 

I took the picture with my Olympus EM10iii which is what all the still photos are taken with. That shot is with the Olympus 60mm macro lens which is just fantastic, incredibly sharp and can reveal every spec of dust  This shot was with a tripod with the settings F7.1, 1/40 sec, ISO400. Many of the pictures here are with the 60mm macro lens, but when I need a wider shot (ie whole plants and tent) I have been using the 14-42mm kit lens that came with the camera. Processing is done in Darktable.

[delagdo]

Flowering

Here’s a quick update as the plants start to bloom, with some pictures from yesterday. They’ve slowed on the vertical growth, and have started to stack up calyxes. The Cream Caramel Auto is shooting out pistils and looking really hairy:

Cream Caramel Auto, day 45

Gorilla Girl XL Auto has these lovely long pistils, it’s like this femme fatale is fluttering her eyelashes:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 45

She’s getting frosty too – it’s a difficult call between her and the Ice Cool Auto as to which is putting out most trichomes:

Ice Cool Auto, day 45

Dark Devil Auto is powering onwards, forming a proper cola:

Dark Devil Auto, day 42

 

I’ve noticed she has a really nice fruity smell when I’ve touched her.

The temperature has been between 20°C and 24°C over the past three days, humidity between 43% and 57%. The lowest temperature is actually with the lights on, during the early morning hours when the house central heating is off, shortly before it comes back on first thing in preparation for when we wake up. At this point the air in the room has reached a low of 19°C. The lights go off in the afternoon/early evening for four hours each day. When the lights are off it’s been 22-23°C in the room, and the same in the tent.

I am still watering once a day. I have considered moving to watering twice a day at around this point, as I had done previously using airpots. I checked the weight of the pots mid-cycle and decided it wasn’t necessary yet, they still feel quite heavy. The fabric pots I’m using are bigger and hold more coco, so it makes sense. I will check them again regularly and go to a 12 hour cycle if needed.

Cream Caramel Auto is the tallest now, just edging over Dark Devil Auto. There’s about 30cm between her highest point and the bottom of the reflector, which is almost too close, and I cannot raise it any further. If she grows any taller I may need to find a solution, such as leaving her at the side, or bending her over somehow. Ice Cool Auto is shorter and when it’s her turn at the edge, she’s crowded out a bit - perhaps I should keep her in the middle, or raise her slightly? Gorilla Girl XL Auto is also shorter, but is raised a bit compared to the others. Here’s a look at the canopy:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto (day 45), Dark Devil Auto (day 42), Cream Caramel Auto (day 45), Ice Cool Auto (day 45)

 

Thanks for looking 

Edited February 24, 2021 by delagdo

[tokenroll]

@delagdo this grows looking great m8 going to be rather colourful soon. Can't wait to see your photos.

Toke...

 

 

[jadenugs]

Nice growing dude, frosting up nicely and that Dark Devil looks beaut  

[delagdo]

Thank you very much @tokenroll - I'm looking forward to seeing your wonderful photos of what you have growing soon.

 

Thanks @jadenugs - she really is, the leaf colour is so deep and rich, and such a contrast with the sparkle of the crystals on top. The photos don't really capture it, they are just a dark, flat approximation. I catch myself just staring into the open tent when I have so many other things I should be doing!

[delagdo]

Flowering

The plants are continuing to flourish safely in the tent. They are no longer going upwards. Instead, they are getting fatter, stickier and more smelly. Leaving the tent open for half an hour to water or take pictures, the room fills with an odour which starts to drift down the stairs – fortunately not a problem with my living situation. The three older ones reached seven weeks from sprouting, so they are entering the final furlong. I took a few pictures yesterday.

Ice Cool Auto, day 49

Ice Cool Auto is being a model plant, and I’ve very glad to see is growing very like the previous one I harvested. It has strong thick stems and vigorous lime green leaves. The calyxes are very large, with a covering of trichomes which extends across the adjacent leaves. I hope it has the same powerful effect and taste as before. I am really excited seeing this in the tent.

Ice Cool Auto, day 49

Ice Cool Auto, day 49

Here’s a picture using this beautiful model to show my leaf tucking technique. If you look closely at the main stem, and follow the curved petioles up and then back down, you can see where I have tucked some of the larger fan leaves. You can also see the big gnarly knuckles from supercropping and squeezing the stem:

Ice Cool Auto, day 49

The Dark Devil Auto has stretched more than the others, and has a more open structure, with less foliage. She has a notably thinner stem at the base, but the buds are already looking large:

Dark Devil Auto, day 46

Her colour is just stunning, just what I was hoping for when I picked this strain:

Dark Devil Auto, day 46

[delagdo]

Flowering contd.

Gorilla Girl XL Auto seems very promising. She is looking very productive, both in terms of general yield, and in trichome coverage and therefore hopefully potency. As with the Ice Cool Auto, the crystal-coated calyxes are starting to swell very large. It looks like she is becoming the potent, sticky powerhouse I am hoping for:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 49

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 49

There’s even a hint of ripeness, the first pistils starting to turn orange, and trichomes starting to amber on the sugar leaves, but there’s a good couple of weeks to get fat before harvest.

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 49

Cream Caramel Auto has a dense mass of leaves which the sidestems stretched above, giving a thick canopy which the flowers float on top:

Cream Caramel Auto, day 49

The calyxes are not so big here, but they are very numerous giving the flowers this hairy look. The oldest pistils are just beginning to turn orange, but many new ones are still being produced. There are plenty of trichomes visible on the calyxes, however the leaves are not frosty in the same way as the others.

Cream Caramel Auto, day 49

The plants generally are looking very healthy. Down at the bottom, they have all lost their first single-finger true leaves, and the fan leaves at the second  and third nodes have started to become brown and crispy at the edges, particularly the Ice Cool Auto. I expect this, and by this point in recent grows my plants have usually lost a few more of their lower leaves. I think the feeding schedule ramped up quickly, which has helped to avoid the plants feeling hungry and harvesting those lower leaves for mobile nutrients, and the Epsom salts spraying helped early on.

However, I have noticed some unhappiness on the Cream Caramel Auto, where brown spots are showing on younger leaves higher up in the light:

Cream Caramel Auto, day 49

Dark Devil Auto is also showing similar damage but it’s not as advanced. I’m not sure but I think perhaps it looks like a sign of calcium deficiency? I don't know what to do about it and I don’t want to react too quickly, especially with the finish line almost in sight, but if I could work it out and avoid it in future grows I would be very happy.

The environment has been steady, and very similar to the last update. The past four days have remained between 20°C and 24°C with humidity between 40% and 56%, it's roughly in the middle of those figures most of the time. Humidity has stabilized. When, in previous grows in spring and autumn, I have needed to add a dehumidifier towards the end, I don’t think it is going to be needed this time. The winter air is cooler and dryer. The tent has a more relaxed feel this time, I think the yield might be a little lower as a result, but I am less worried about budrot.

Here’s a look in the tent:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto (day 49), Dark Devil Auto (day 46), Ice Cool Auto (day 49), Cream Caramel Auto (day 49)

Thank you for looking at my diary 

[jadenugs]

2 hours ago, delagdo said:

I’m not sure but I think perhaps it looks like a sign of calcium deficiency?

 

Yes I'd agree mate but not necessary a deficiency. Check your VPD and if it's in order she needs some Ca. If it's over or under transpiring then I'd try and sort that first  If there is a problem I'd guess at under transpiration cos they're well into flower

 

Dark Devil looks like she might pack on some weight, nice structure. All looking good mate and great pics  

[delagdo]

Thank you very very much @jadenugs  You are absolutely right, a deficiency in the leaves doesn't mean a deficiency in the medium, often it indicates a problem with uptake. I'm fairly sure I have plenty of calcium in my 0.4 EC tapwater. My water report (which must be years out of date since the figures never change) shows I do, in fact the ratio of calcium:magnesium is a little higher than ideal, hence the Epsom salts spray. I tend to have the pH on the higher side for hydro, so I don't think lockout due to low pH is an issue.

 

You encouraged me to examine and think more about the environment, and what I saw today makes me think you are right to consider transpiration. Today I was periodically checking humidity, air and leaf temperature to keep an eye on VPD. I found that most of the time, the air was around 22-23°C, with the humidity hanging around the low 40's -slightly drier than other recent days maybe. Leaf temperatures across most of the tent were around 20-21°C. This is a good place to be for VPD, perhaps a bit dry, so transpiration would be high, but within reasonable limits. However some leaves were equal to air temperature, and the highest on the Cream Caramel Auto (taking a turn directly under the lamp) were a degree or two above it. I swapped her place with the Dark Devil Auto, which had been at the edge, and I saw the leaf temperatures swap over as you might expect.

 

I think the tops of those taller two have been too close to the lamp, and picking up excessive radiant heat. The leaves are warming up, and evaporation would increase in those conditions. I like the VPD chart at opennlabs: http://opennlabs.com/vpd/VPD_calculator.php. Redrawing the chart with a leaf temperature 1°C above the air temperature shows the air is too dry for this, VPD is too high - plants will close stomata to limit water loss and transpiration in these conditions. I believe that's what's been happening, the Cream Caramel Auto and Dark Devil Auto are both the tallest. I said 30cm was almost too close, I should re-evaluate that and say it is too close.

 

I've taken some steps to try and make things better. I raised the light ever so slightly - I said I couldn't, but I gained an extra inch by replacing one of the adjustable hangers with an S hook and piece of green plant tie. I thought this was not much but the best I could do, until I stood back and realised I could lower the plants too. They are on racks on large tupperware boxes, ready to catch the runoff. This way I only have to move them once each day to remove the runoff, and I can place them back in the tent ready for the next watering. It's slightly more work, but I can place plants in the tupperware boxes without the racks, then take them out during lights-off to water them, water them outside the tent and allow the runoff to drain freely, before I put them back. I've lowered the Dark Devil Auto and Cream Caramel Auto in this way. Ice Cool Auto and Gorilla Girl XL Auto are both still raised. There's at least 40cm between the reflector and the tops of the plants everywhere. Things seem a lot more equal in the tent now, the Ice Cool Auto doesn't look like it is drowning under the others, and the light is better spread across the plants.

 

Supercropping was supposed to be an easy, low hassle alternative to training but it's not working out that way exactly. Next time I think I will just tie them down! 

Edited March 1, 2021 by delagdo

[delagdo]

Tent Rearrangement & Video Update

As I mentioned yesterday I have rearranged things slightly in the tent. To solve height issues I've managed to raise the light a final inch higher, and placed the Dark Devil Auto and Cream Caramel Auto directly in the boxes on the floor of the tent, instead of keeping them on the racks like Ice Cool Auto and Gorilla Girl XL Auto still are. I need to take them out and raise them up to water with runoff now. Also, I have added a third USB fan, below the canopy, in the corner next to the Gorilla Girl XL Auto, to move the air around lower down in the tent. This was earlier today:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, Ice Cool Auto, Cream Caramel Auto (all day 52), Dark Devil Auto (day 49)

The other change I have made is to move to twice-daily watering from today. The pots were not exactly light this morning, but they were getting lighter and starting to look slightly dry around the edges. Their main watering is now in the evening, when I give them each two to three full watering cans during lights off, getting plenty of runoff (the can holds about 650ml). I will also give them one can full each in the morning when they are 12 hours into the light cycle - not enough to give runoff but enough to keep the coco moist from top to bottom.

 

Over the past couple of days temperature has been between 21°C and 25°C with humidity between 37% and 56%. Leaf temperatures have been better with the extra distance, and I've not spotted any above the above the surrounding air temperature since making the changes. 

I’ve put together a video of the past two and a bit weeks with images I took from the timelapse camera during yesterday’s dark period. Again this is at a slower more relaxed 25 frames a second, each shot 10 minutes apart, when I plan to make a final video showing the complete grow at twice the speed. This is Gorilla Girl XL Auto from day 35 to day 51:

 

I hope you enjoyed it – thanks for looking!   

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by delagdo

[delagdo]

Flowering: Gorilla Girl XL Auto

I’ve had a busy week but have a chance to catch up and show you some pictures I’ve taken over the past few days. The plants have been busy too, building up flowers and covering them with trichomes. The tent is very full now, taking the plants in and out is starting to get difficult, especially squeezing the last one back in. Here’s a look in the tent on Friday:

Gorilla Girl XL Auto (day 55), Dark Devil Auto (day 52), Ice Cool Auto (day 55), Cream Caramel Auto (day 55)

I’ve noticed that heat is getting trapped at the top of the tent since I moved the light as high as possible. The thermometer at the top would previously come to a very similar maximum to the probe at canopy level, within a degree. However over the past five days, the probe at the top has recorded a maximum of 26°C whereas the maximum at the canopy hasn’t exceeded 24°C, and with the lights on I usually observe the same 2°C difference. I think the air circulated better before I moved the light higher. The minimum has been 20°C. It’s been a bit dryer, minimum 36% and maximum 48% humidity, tending to hand around the mid 40s. 

Gorilla Girl XL Auto is still looking great, with dense green foliage at the top, which has lightened slightly in places and started to purple a little. The lower leaves are fading fast where there is very little light now.

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 55

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 57

She’s got a fantastic main cola which looks dense and crystally, as well as decent buds on the sidebranches, all coated in trichomes. She is going to be really sticky.

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 57

Gorilla Girl XL Auto, day 53

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by delagdo