First Grow - Critical Mass X Northern Lights Auto

[stayup4ever]

hi mate no need for bloom just yet as they don't look to be flowering ,i'd carry on using just grow until they have finished their stretch once in full flower(abo0ut 2-3weeks of budding up)

[jiujitsupigface]

2 hours ago, disco survivor said:

@jiujitsupigface Got any of these (cabbage White Butterfly) around the garden? If so and they are literally bouncing off plant leaves (not resting on them) then they are laying eggs. I've had an issue with cabbage white butterfly on the cannabis plants. Caterpillars sample parts of the leaf (leaving holes in the leaf) then fall off (presumably some toxicity in the leaf). However, some stay on the plant and devour a good part of the leaf (some form of resistance?). I did some research and cabbage white butterflies are becoming an increasing threat to organic hops farmers (hemp family). Looks like you have a couple of other pest issues as well, one of which looks like leaf miner. Is your green food/ garden wheelie bin anywhere near your greenhouse? Diptera (flies) are a major source of leaf miner grubs.  

Thanks for the reply mate, I've not noticed any of them around the plants but I only get to check the plants 2-3 times per day. I didn't even think about Butterflies/Caterpillars to be honest, I assumed it was the slugs eating my plants. Some of the marks on the leaves are from earlier on in the grow so I'm hoping the treatment of RJ's Bug & Mildew will help to keep them at bay. I have some netting I'm planning to cover the open door of the greenhouse with, hopefully this may help slightly.

[jiujitsupigface]

1 minute ago, stayup4ever said:

hi mate no need for bloom just yet as they don't look to be flowering ,i'd carry on using just grow until they have finished their stretch once in full flower(abo0ut 2-3weeks of budding up)

Thanks mate, I've read various differing opinions on this so I wasn't sure when to start. I've seen the indoor guys saying that they start Bloom as soon as they switch to 12/12. Some say they start a week before.
Are there any risks involved with continuing the Bloom? I may continue the Bloom with 1 plant and stop on the other one as an A/B test. 

[stayup4ever]

hi mate no theres no risk as far as i know but its just a waste really as the plants are not in bloom/flower just yet they'll be wanting nitrogen (grow) at the moment as they are still in the veg stage,but totally upto you  mate o know it can get confusing when trying to research feed schedules etc.

best of luck dude

[jiujitsupigface]

Morning guys, some relatively good weather over the weekend, the girls are growing nicely and I unearthed a caterpillar infestation! I was applying my RJ's bug spray and noticed these two!

 

Luckily I spotted them when I did. They don't appear to have caused too much damage. After further research, it seems that the leafminers @disco survivor pointed out to me are from a Tortrix Moth. I should have researched at the time, but for anyone that doesn't know - The moths make little nicks in the leaf surface to lay their eggs. A week later, these hatch into larvae, which tunnel along just under the leaf surface to feed. After 2-3 weeks, the larvae pupate inside the leaves and emerge as adults.

I took the plants inside to perform a full decontamination. I found the best way to spot the larvae was to shine a light from below. I could then see them buried below the surface of the leaf:

 

 

I found around 20 larvae and a total of 3 caterpillars. The caterpillars have been fed to the birds and the affected leaves have been removed. I used my ear endoscope to get a closer look:

 

 

So that's the caterpillars taken care of, onto the progress report:

 

Day 58:

 

No 2:

 

She's growing nicely. Definitely into flower and I'm currently feeding her Biobizz Grow (0.5ml/L), Bloom (1ml/L) and Top Max (0.5ml/L). This is 50% of the recommended dosage. She's not showing any signs of overfeeding (I don't think) so I may up the dosage to 75% recommended. I'm still performing some light LST, just moving branches slightly so the colas can grow with sufficient airspace around them.  

 

 

 

No 3 (Day 44):

 

She's receiving the same treatment as her older sister and also seems to be responding well.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading guys. I hope all of your grows are coming along nicely! 

[disco survivor]

2 hours ago, jiujitsupigface said:

Morning guys, some relatively good weather over the weekend, the girls are growing nicely and I unearthed a caterpillar infestation! I was applying my RJ's bug spray and noticed these two!

 

Luckily I spotted them when I did. They don't appear to have caused too much damage. After further research, it seems that the leafminers @disco survivor pointed out to me are from a Tortrix Moth. I should have researched at the time, but for anyone that doesn't know - The moths make little nicks in the leaf surface to lay their eggs. A week later, these hatch into larvae, which tunnel along just under the leaf surface to feed. After 2-3 weeks, the larvae pupate inside the leaves and emerge as adults.

I took the plants inside to perform a full decontamination. I found the best way to spot the larvae was to shine a light from below. I could then see them buried below the surface of the leaf:

 

 

I found around 20 larvae and a total of 3 caterpillars. The caterpillars have been fed to the birds and the affected leaves have been removed. I used my ear endoscope to get a closer look:

 

 

So that's the caterpillars taken care of, onto the progress report:

 

Day 58:

 

No 2:

 

She's growing nicely. Definitely into flower and I'm currently feeding her Biobizz Grow (0.5ml/L), Bloom (1ml/L) and Top Max (0.5ml/L). This is 50% of the recommended dosage. She's not showing any signs of overfeeding (I don't think) so I may up the dosage to 75% recommended. I'm still performing some light LST, just moving branches slightly so the colas can grow with sufficient airspace around them.  

 

 

 

No 3 (Day 44):

 

She's receiving the same treatment as her older sister and also seems to be responding well.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading guys. I hope all of your grows are coming along nicely! 

Great to see that you've got to the bottom of the issues. Definitely a very important and useful post for others to be aware of. 

[jiujitsupigface]

No 2 (Day 65):

Not too much to report here. No more signs of any caterpillars thankfully! She's growing nicely, the bud sights are starting to show. Assuming there's no nutrient burn by the end of the week, I will up the nutrient dosage to 75% of the recommended dose.

 

 

No 3 (Day 51):

 

She's still looking pretty skinny but she's making progress. 

 

[stayup4ever]

Hi what are you feeding her and how many ml per litre?

How often are you watering her mate?

[jiujitsupigface]

Just now, stayup4ever said:

Hi what are you feeding her and how many ml per litre?

How often are you watering her mate?

They're both on Biobizz Grow (0.5ml/L), Bloom (1ml/L) and Top Max (0.5ml/L) all of these are 50% of the recommended dosage.

I water them depending on their weight. No 2 received around 1.5L and No 3 around 1L yesterday, they will probably need topping up mid-week, depending on the weather. 

I've not got a clue what I'm doing though so I could be completely wrong 

[jiujitsupigface]

No 2 (Day 65):

 

She's starting to bulk up now! I've increased the feed to 75% of the recommended dosage (Grow - 0.75ml/L, Bloom - 1.5ml/L, Top Max - 0.75ml/L) and she seems to be enjoying it!

She's starting to get some frosty tips and she smells beautiful!

A few questions for anyone that may be able to help:

1. Should I start trimming the fan leaves? If so, how many and at what rate?
2. How long roughly until harvest? In 2 weeks, I'm away for 5 days so I hope that won't complicate matters.
3. Should I up the nutrient dosage from 75% to 100% of the recommended dosage?

 

No 3 (Day 51):

 

This girl is now taller than No 2 but is very skinny, I suspect the harvest from her will probably be 50-75% that of her older sister. Nonetheless, she's progressing nicely. 

 

[jiujitsupigface]

No 2 (Day 72):

She doesn't seem to be gaining any more height but is definitely thickening out. She's getting very thirsty, having around 3L every 2-3 days. She's now on 100% of the recommended nutrient dosage. Leaves are frosting up nicely. I'm probably estimating another 2-3 weeks until harvest.

 

No 3 (Day 58):

She has quickly overtaken her older sister and is around 6 inches taller. She's really starting to thicken up now too. Not quite as thirsty as No 2 but I'm sure that will change. 

 

I'm away for 4 nights as of next Monday, which means 3 full days of no water. They will probably be okay so long as I water well on the Monday and Friday however, I've ordered some Blumat knockoffs just in case. G

[jiujitsupigface]

No 2 (Day 79):

After 4 nights away, I returned to find the dreaded rot! Mainly on the Main cola, I've chopped what I can and hope to drag it out another week or two before harvesting. She's now quarantined from her younger sister. 

No 3 (65):

So far there is no sign of rot! Hopefully it stays that way. She's growing well, massively overtaken her older sister.

 

[jiujitsupigface]

No 2 (Day 86):

The rot was spreading so I decided to take the plunge and chop her early. I didn't realise how much went into trimming! Not sure how well I did and I got a bit lazy toward the end. I'd probably estimate just over an ounce. She's currently drying in my garage, in the dark with my carbon filter running 24/7.
 

 

No 3 (Day 72):
Her leaves have started to turn yellow so must be nearing the end. I'm starting to flush her and 80% of the pistils are brown. Waiting for my macro lens to arrive from China so I can check on the trichomes. Hopefully around 2 ounces on this plant but we will see.