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[MEGA]Community Growing advice, tips, tricks, & experiences Part 5 (2012-2013)

I'll do a proper post later & comment on others' posts but Living I just wanted to say, from my reading I'm not entirely sure my thai fantasy max autos are true autoflowering plants which would be disappointing.

I would urge you to keep an open mind about super autos though because their growing cycle is so long their yields are going to be close to that of photoperiod plants.

Basically the main attraction is getting a mostly sativa plant without the need for force flowering. If you have the desire and motivation to get up every single day and force flower your plants then that is definitely the best way, I agree. Personally if I didn't have to walk 4 miles to get to my grow I would use the force flowering method. If you can force flower in the middle of the summer your potency will be much higher than with an autumn harvest because like I say UVA/B levels are highest at this time. This is partly why ganga grown at high altitudes is often more potent.

I'm growing a semi-autoflowering strain from Female seeds (purple maroc) and I noticed it started showing signs if flowering on 1st August which is quite early! I'm hoping it will finish before it gets too wet but we shall see.

I'm also growing Dutch Passion Frisian Dew and Female Seeds Outdoor Grapefruit.


By the way I loved the pic of your plants you sent me Living. It's nice to see you taking advantage of the great climate where you live. Outside a polytunnel or greenhouse it would be very hard to grow plants that size over here so I am envious.
 
Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words brotha. The climate couldn't be better.... after all it is the growing hub for good reason. Don't worry I will keep you updated the rest of the season. The next twp months, big changes happen.... I am certainly happy with the garden this year just wish I wasn't so indecisive this time around. It would of been nice to have them out a bit earlier but they will hit 6-12 ft and about the same around. How much sun do you get peak veg season? Hypothetically, I know a way you can achieve big results...though it wouldn't be so guerilla which is needed for you.... one day wide spread legalization will change that...

Interesting about the Purp maroc... How far along in flowering is it now? Anychance you can grab a pic when you go back to the garden?
 
Thanks SO much Livinginthealps! You are a legend mate, if I can't find something to suit my needs from that list then there is something wrong with me. Really appreciate you taking the time dude! :D
 
Livinginthealps said:
Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words brotha. The climate couldn't be better.... after all it is the growing hub for good reason. Don't worry I will keep you updated the rest of the season. The next twp months, big changes happen.... I am certainly happy with the garden this year just wish I wasn't so indecisive this time around. It would of been nice to have them out a bit earlier but they will hit 6-12 ft and about the same around. How much sun do you get peak veg seasHypothetically, I know a way you can achieve big results...though it wouldn't be so guerilla which is needed for you.... one day wide spread legalization will change that...

Interesting about the Purp maroc... How far along in flowering is it now? Anychance you can grab a pic when you go back to the garden?
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Sorry I'm so cap about replying to PMs and posts but I'm sure you can appreciate I've got health issues I'm coping with at the moment.

The UK weather is extremely erratic. This year our July was very hot for the UK but earlier in the season it was cold and wet. All too often it is grey and horrible, but that doesn't stop people growing! This is we need strains specifically bred for the northern hemisphere. Ones that start flowering early, finish early and have good botrytis (grey mold) resistance. Pure indica are usually too dense for the UK which is why strains need a bit of sativa in them over here, since it gives the buds a more open structure.

Most strains have a flowering trigger point of about 14 or 15 hours darkness per day. Semi-autos flower at between 16 and 17 hours per day. This means they start and finish flowering much sooner.

My dream has always been to move over to the Emerald Triangle and start growing over there, like you in your situation. I would give up everything just to be able to do that. I am a Canadian national with a Canadian passport so I don't know what immigration would say lol. Maybeone day.

As for growing larger plants I was thinking of buying one of those cheap £50 greenhouses and using that as long as I can move it somewhere where it wouldn't be too conspicuous! The other way is to simply veg the planta for much longer indoors before planting out. If doing it this way the plants would have to be put out later than seedlings because larger plants are unable to sense an incrementally increasing photoperiod early in the season like seedlings and so need to go out late May at the absolute earliest. A small battery-powered light on a timer at the site could fix that. The planta only need a few mins of low intensity light a day to keep them in veg.

If you have any ideas do let me know.

IIRC I think it might have been the P. Maroc that was first to start flowering. They've only just started so it may not be visible on camera photos. I will get pics of all my plants next time I go (perhaps today even). I should really take cuttings before its too late so I don't need to buy seeds next year.

I've just been trying to deal with rats making holes in my pots. I laid down rat poison so I hope that works. I suspect handling pots they had touched made me so sick rather than the tick bite.
 
Livinginthealps I think that list is enough, I had looked at DNA Genetics LA Confidential before and considered it pretty strongly, after going through the list you provided and checking up on outdoor grow logs and strain characteristics I have settled on that. I would be interested to hear about the Bubblegum you refered to in the 'What Strains Do You Have in the Growroom' thread as Bubblegum has always appealed to me as a medical and recreational strain, but other than that small consideration I am pretty settled on the LA. Can't thank you enough for your time, patience and knowledge! :D
 
I've done DNA La Con myself. The short, smaller yielding pheno is the one people generally choose. Like I say the yield is shit but it's definitely an awesome smoke. There are some good LA Con hybrids that combine the qualities of the low yielding pheno with the yield of other strains.

Bubblegum from female seeds has a really great rep. It's been around a good few years and is almost certainly probably one of their best selling strains. Definitely don't let the low price make you think there's something wrong with it because the reviews seem to be consistently good from what I can tell. Of course Indiana bubblegum is great if you can get a clone but of course not everyone can.

BTW has anyone heard about that new DNA strain and the allegations of theft from another breeder? I think they talked about it on one of the recent High Times podcasts. I do wonder if there is any truth to it. Whatever the truth, DNA definitely have some awesome strains - I still have yet to grow my RP Sour Kush from them which I can't wait to try again.
 
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I'll give ya the info on the bubble gum when i get a chance. I just wanted to say, I have grown a few LA cons with great indoor/outdoor yields. You used dna? I have as well as a number of others. I'll share my results when i get the time. About DNA stealing genetics idk I don't play into stufflike that. No way to know other than "he said she said he did she did"
The truth is most breeders have done something not so kosher at one time or another. Breedings a pretty secretive thing so it just doesn't get out when they do something on the lines of this. Stuff like this doesn't surprise me but, I just turn my ears away most of the time and not pick sides. But, since I enjoy DNA's genetics you sparked my attention.
If oyu have any detailed info send it my way dude, i didn't see anything.

Just been busy setting up the trelis for the girls the past few days. I'm gonn aget a pic for you AE. I think you would enjoy it!

DNA is a great company and 100% trust worthy imo. (as you stated)
 
About DNA, this is the post I read on uk420:

today dna seeds were accused of stealing the tangie strain from subcool / tga seeds, apparently tangie is actually tga's jillybean, somebody accused them of this on todays episode of the jon doe radio show, theres loads of stuff on facebook about it and lots of folk asking dna seeds direct if its true, dna havent responded yet.
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I get what you're saying but I would be a bit less concerned if it didn't come from subcool. Whatever the truth it doesn't really bother me anyway though. Sometimes breeders can act a bit like stubborn kids throwing their toys out of their pram!

I took some pics a few days ago. I looked at my plants today though and they have definitely grown a bit since then. Sorry for the delay. The plants now are looking much healthier than in the pics now they are recovering from a leaf spot fungus infection and an N deficiency (you can see the classic chlorosis of the bottom leaves in the pics, it's my bad). The top pic with the topped plant (double v-shaped branch tops) is the outdoor grapefruit. This year outdoor grapefruit seems to have the edge on vigor.

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Soooo, I think that I'm going to invest in some LED lights. Or actually, I'm going to invest in some LEDs and build my own. I have filtered through some of the lights on ebay and I think that building my own would be more beneficial.
 
LEDs are not really worth it for growing compared to high pressure sodium and metal halide lamps when you factor in the costs and performance. I seriously doubt you would be able to build your own since they require specialist and complex electronics. It's definitely not a case of just buying a bunch of LEDs and every day electronics components from Radio Shack.

If want my advice I would advise you to buy a 250W HPS lamp if you're starting out for personal use. This works well for both vegging and flowering. For seedlings and clones a 150W CFL would be sufficient.
 
I actually have a bit of experience in building LED rack systems. My grow is for personal use and I will continue to use HPS for the moment. The local university has a very extensive lighting lab that is used for studio and theatrical lighting. It is pretty neat. I've read extremely positive things about LED lighting.
 
I believe the technology is very different so that's something to be aware of. I'm certainly no engineer but as a grower with years of experience I do know LED lighting simply does not stack up to HID lighting and hasn't done so for years. Cost is too high and performance is never what the manufacturers claim. What you have read is almost certainly good marketing. There are whole forums with testimonials which are basically just subtle adverts for the lights.

Ask yourself this. Why do 99% of commercial growers still use HID lighting? Check news stories for busts you will very rarely see LED lighting, certainly in larger scale grows. Whilst these people have gotten caught they certainly are not completely incompetent growers on the whole.

If you're set on LED lighting at least do yourself the favor of researching it on a non-biased forum of growers lile UK420. There's even an LED light forum where members have done trials themselves using various commercial.
 
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Yeah dude listen to AE. LED's are no good to be honest. Sure mix it in with some HPS and you'll be alright. LED's have been around for a while but, they have started getting a bit better. I will say they don't grow great weed with a decent yield. I have played around with different color ratios as well and no good for me. Even if your just doing a few plants don't you want it to yield you something worthwhile. With time, practice and the right gear you can eventually get up to/near a lb a light (a light= 600-1000w). LED sound nice since it's low heat and electricity cost. But, it's not worth it. Your flowers will be much better just using HPS.... even better MH and then HPS (not needed)
Wish I had more time to explain but thats my 2c. I'll write more when i get some time.
 
I was actually planning on trellising instead. Here's a diagram of what it should look like:

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This way the plant will grow on one single plane perpendicular to the east-west direction, so all the foliage will be facing the south. This is why I have topped once.

As for the autos in the fabric pots, because they're autos I prefer to grow them as single cola plants. There is some question as to whether it is a true auto or not but I've decided to just play it safe instead.
 
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AE- have you used a trelis system like that before? Vineyard style.? If not I have some other ideas for you if your interested. I use trelis netting over the top of my garden to support the massive colas in the end. I personally don't know how efficient that would be for cannabis. I do have experience using that exact trelis system for my grapes.

I have some more updated shots for you. Big changes since last time you check it out. I just have been so busy as you can imagine. I'll get around to it this week sometime. Hows everything with your ladies?
 
I've not done it before, no but that pic came from 'Marijuana Botany' by Robert Connell Clarke. It's an old method but I wanted to just try something new. If you have any ideas I'm certainly opening to listening.

I'll be interested to see how your grow is going. Have they started flowering yet? The last pic I seem to recall they weren't but it might just have been the pic. I'm going to spray my plants tomorrow evening so I'll try and get some pics when I get back but they're definitely making some good progress. The Thai Fantasy plants are blooming the fastest but the others are definitely showing some clear signs of flowering too. There's not a lot of info on the Thai Fantasy plants so I'm just hoping to god they don't all turn to mush. I am not aware of any UK grows so I'm just hoping for the best!

I am so glad I managed to control those damn mice that were burrowing into my pots by the way. They ate all my KC Mango seedlings and were destroying my established plants in 50L pots until I started leaving traps on the soil surface. After finding two dead I've not really had any problems since, so it seems to be working. I'm working on a no-kill strategy but for the time being it seems to be working well. Have you ever dealt with mice before and if so how did you personally control them?

I've decided to start an indoor grow. I've got two packs of Eskobar chocolate rain seeds so I'll probably do 10 to start off with, with a view to finding a good mother. Either that or I pop my Reserva Privada Sour Kush seeds. It's hard having so many seeds because it's so difficult choosing what to do next. I feel like a kid in a candy shop.
 
No they weren't flowering yet.... They are now getting started. Big changes in size since last time. Probably another 3-4+ ft on most. That is awesome your starting an indoor. You already have a light setup? If not look at the gavita lights. Hands down the best lights I have used and i have used many different light systems.
yeah the mice are a pain for you but, that is good they haven't came since. Nothing you can really do but the traps for now.
 
I've got all the lights and everything I need from previous grows, yes. I've just been having issues with a bat shit neighbor baying for my blood though, so I'm going to have to wait for things to calm down before I go ahead with it unfortunately.
 
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