Winter windowsill insanity

[Goohfy]

Class absolute legend I am thinking this is obviously for some breeding trials.It’s people like you that find these future legendary strains cannot fault you in any way nice one .peace Goohfy.

[Crow River]

Ach, it's just an experiment. But yeah if the girls grow to any reasonable  size, I might pollinate a couple of branches with some I have in the fridge...

[Goohfy]

21 hours ago, Crow River said:

Ach, it's just an experiment. But yeah if the girls grow to any reasonable  size, I might pollinate a couple of branches with some I have in the fridge...

That’s exactly how good strains pheno types are found.peace Goohfy.

[Crow River]

Checked in on the propagator this evening, and both seeds have just broken the soil. That's great, because I'll see very directly how the seedlings compare in vigour and phenotype. So it's Day 1.  

 

You can only just make them out in this picture, but they are there...

 

 

I have them under a 6500k domestic bulb just now, it's on a timer which allows four hours of darkness after sundown. So an approximation of 20/4 light schedule. I'll need a different arrangement once the girls have outgrown the propagator, maybe in a week or so.

 

[Crow River]

Day 2, and after torrential rain through the night and morning, the two girls are now basking in some golden winter sunshine. They are both doing great so far.  

 

[geogeo]

@Crow River nice  wee post. m8, will keep a look out for your next , regards  g ..have a nice new year , 

 

[Crow River]

@geogeo thanks and same to you.  

[Crow River]

Day 5 by the window.

 

The girls are doing fine. The Super Kush in particular is flying along. They have benefited from some lovely full sunshine today. Not long to go until potting up I reckon. Another two or three days tops.

 

[Crow River]

Day 7 by the window.

 

Decided to pot up, as the girls are stretching and the propagator is getting small for them. The Critical Kush Auto went into its final, a tomato pot. The Super Kush into an intermediate   1 litre pot. Once that's rooted out she'll go into a tomato pot too.

 

Bubble wrap around both pots, a heat mat underneath controlled by an Inkbird. Bubble wrap across the window too - insulation and also privacy. Gardeners line greenhouses with bubble wrap during winter, same idea here. Given that there's so little daylight this time of year, the light at the window might look conspicuous in the evening. So there's a bit of peace of mind too.

 

The domestic bulb has gone and I have a 35w SANSI grow bulb suspended over the girls. This should give a reasonable approximation of daylight.

 

[Crow River]

Day 13 by the window.

 

There has been slow but steady progress over the past few days. Both plants are growing, but fluctuating temperatures near the window have made for uneven development.

 

The Critical Kush Auto looks nice and healthy but has stayed rather small so far. The Super Kush is taller, more advanced in growth, but suffered either from wet roots or nutrient burn, or both earlier in the week after potting up. One leaf was slightly damaged even in the propagator. I'm putting this down to what I call Small Pot Syndrome, where there is only a tiny physical distance between the drier upper soil layer, and the wetter lower layer. Easier for roots to get wet, and cold in a small pot. That said, the soil in the smaller pot is overall warmer than in the larger pot as it's closer to the heat mat. So maybe it's just a moisture issue.

 

Anyway, they're doing okay. The SANSI bulb really helps to boost photosynthesis and growth, and the heat mat stops the soil going below 17ºC, usually between 20ºC and 24ºC, depending on room temperature.

 

Critical Kush Auto

 

Super Kush

Edited January 10, 2023 by Crow River

[Crow River]

Following @brock1's suggestion upthread, this evening I unsealed my pack of Joshua and popped a single bean in some moist soil. It's in a fibre pot in the heated propagator, near the other two girls by the window. 

 

The intention is to veg this girl and make her into an outdoor mother. I'll keep her small, and take cuttings to root for this summer's GG efforts. 

 

If I want the Super Kush to flower from early spring, as per @Amarillo slim's helpful advice, I'll need to either move the Joshua at that stage, or set up some sort of light baffle so her supplementary light doesn't cause the Super Kush to reveg. 

 

Anyway, that's all hyothetical at this point! I'll post a pic if and when Joshua breaks the soil.

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Crow River

[Crow River]

Day 18 for the Super Kush and Critical Kush Auto by the window.

 

I was in the vicinity so decided to take a couple of snaps and post an update. Once again, slow but steady progress.

 

The Super Kush seems to have recovered from earlier issues and has a fine healthy new set of leaves. A third set is on the way too. The heat mat seems to be keeping her roots nice and cosy, which is obviously helping.

 

The Critical Kush Auto also has a new set of leaves. Hers are rather thin and spindly in appearance. The older leaves almost look like ducksfoot leaves. Could be genetics, or maybe the effect of somewhat chillier roots in her larger pot. Soil temps are much lower than for the smaller pot, as the heat mat struggles to warm a larger volume and I suppose there's a bigger surface area exposes to cool air. She's growing, but not as fast as her companion. This was the case even in the propagator though. Maybe she just prefers to take her time...

 

Pics below taken at night, with the grow bulb providing light.

 

Super Kush with Critical Kush Auto in the background

 

Critical Kush Auto

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Crow River

[Crow River]

A welcome development by the window today. A tiny sprout has broken the soil in the propagator. Joshua from @brock1 is enjoying a wee bit of sunshine on her first day.  

 

[Crow River]

Joshua is now 5 days old, and stretching a bit. She's getting a bit tall for the propagator, so I decided to pot up. She's joined her sisters by the window.

 

The Super Kush and Critical Kush Auto are both 22 days old. They're doing fine, though the leaves on the Critical Kush Auto still look weird to me, more like rocket than cannabis. Maybe I have a wee mutant on my hands?

 

Joshua

 

Super Kush with Critical Kush Auto in the background

 

Critical Kush Auto

 

Three girls all together

[Crow River]

Day 28 since the first two seedlings broke the soil.

 

Super Kush and Critical Kush Auto are both growing well. They each have four true leaf nodes just now. Critical Kush Auto has started to produce more normal looking leaves. Super Kush is looking healthy and strong. Wee Joshua is less than two weeks old - still small, but growing steadily. 

 

All the girls are a bit more stretchy and not as far ahead as they would have been under more powerful grow lights. However the internodal spacing is reducing as they grow closer to the bulb. They are doing just fine. I'm particularly pleased that Critical Kush Auto is catching up a bit. The two original girls will be topped once they grow an extra node each. Might root the tops out as clones, we'll see.

 

I've started feeding the two older girls, more to Super Kush as she is still in a 1 litre pot. She might stay in there until after she has been topped. Wee Joshua will be staying in her 1 litre pot for quite some time, as she''l be a mother and I want to keep her relatively small.

 

We seem to be over the worst of the sub-zero temperatures outside, though tonight is supposed to be cold. Despite the air being fairly cool at night, the girls have enjoyed a fair bit of warm sunshine over the past few days. Also their roots have been cosy throughout.

 

Another update next week...