tobh's troll cave

[Observer]

Strip day. This process always scares the shit out of me but I know they'll bounce back like nothing happened and will yield significantly better.

Plus without all the fan leaves, getting RH down to a more acceptable level will be significantly easier.

Taking my time doing this, this round. Shit hurts my back or knees to be hunched over or kneeled down to getting everywhere that's needed. So, first half done. Will tackle the second half in a few

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Lol, the strip is real

I gotta do it to em tonight

Is this "day 1" for you? You switching to bloom nutes?
Timer 12/12?

 

[Rootsruler]

Strip day. This process always scares the shit out of me but I know they'll bounce back like nothing happened and will yield significantly better.

Plus without all the fan leaves, getting RH down to a more acceptable level will be significantly easier.

Taking my time doing this, this round. Shit hurts my back or knees to be hunched over or kneeled down to getting everywhere that's needed. So, first half done. Will tackle the second half in a few

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I see that @Mad Max aka Tasmanian Trim Devil and his chainsaw gave you a hand with the defol.....Damn! That would make me nervous!

 

[tobh]

My wife is like this. Sometimes i wish it had more of an effect on me, but I must have really trashed my endocannabinoid system over the years, weed barely does anything to me at all. Doesn't matter what kind or how strong, I could smoke a 3 gram blunt to my face without even getting droopy eyelids and go have a conversation with someone about global politics.

in my college days that's how i was. easily was consuming a quarter oz a week, if not more. while i don't miss consuming so heavily, i do miss being able to consume without the discomfort. alcohol can be fun and all, but when used as a primary stress crutch, the shit is unhealthy in so many ways...

 

[tobh]

Lol, the strip is real

I gotta do it to em tonight

Is this "day 1" for you? You switching to bloom nutes?
Timer 12/12?

no, i strip a few days before flower, and will be turning the lights down to ~50%. they're at 80% right now. the idea is to allow the plants to recover from the very significant amount of stress such a heavy defoliation causes before going to 12/12.

i never switch to bloom nutrients, either. I use a PK booster the week before flip, then again at weeks 6-7 or 7-8, depending on how the plants look. Otherwise I will progressively modify the ratio of my two part nutrients to taper the N down throughout flower while increasing the PK.

plants early in flower need more N than anything else, and that holds true up to about week 5 or 6 of bloom. At that point they're mostly done producing any vegetation (leaf material) and are focused primarily on flower production so aren't consuming as much N. They still need N but not at the same levels that are required in veg or early to mid flowering stages.

oh, when I flip the lights I'll introduce heavier dry backs as well to encourage more rapid flower setting and reduce stretch a little. I might do like Dirtbag does and see if i can get inverse temps at lights out but without another circuit and timer, I'm not really comfortable running a space heater unattended to accomplish that task.

I see that @Mad Max aka Tasmanian Trim Devil and his chainsaw gave you a hand with the defol.....Damn! That would make me nervous!

it's nerve racking for sure man. But, in a week, they'll look like nothing happened. They'll also have only the strongest, most viable branches through the trellis, and I'll cut off anything below the trellis at the second defoliation.

about a week after flip, i'll put in the second trellis, i just don't have a good gauge for where the branches are gonna end up right now so need to see what seven days of stretch gives me so i can get it at an optimum placement to support the buds later in flower.

still doesn't decrease the "fuck man, i hope i'm not killing these things" feeling you get going so heavy handed. i would never do this in any other media other than maybe coco. this is really where the value of rockwool shines.

 

[Observer]

no, i strip a few days before flower, and will be turning the lights down to ~50%. they're at 80% right now. the idea is to allow the plants to recover from the very significant amount of stress such a heavy defoliation causes before going to 12/12.

ok i just put my mine into the the flower space last night, was going to strip last night but time.

i never switch to bloom nutrients, either. I use a PK booster the week before flip, then again at weeks 6-7 or 7-8, depending on how the plants look. Otherwise I will progressively modify the ratio of my two part nutrients to taper the N down throughout flower while increasing the PK.

my bad, im using 2 part as well, that i now drop the 9-17-28 and use 0-21-26+CalNit
id like to add "PK/bloom boosters" in down the line

plants early in flower need more N than anything else, and that holds true up to about week 5 or 6 of bloom. At that point they're mostly done producing any vegetation (leaf material) and are focused primarily on flower production so aren't consuming as much N. They still need N but not at the same levels that are required in veg or early to mid flowering stages.

so slight drop in nitro ratio going into flower is fine if plant is healthy, was doing 2.0-2.4gs of calnit, ratio for flower is now 1.5gs @ 1.4 E.C

oh, when I flip the lights I'll introduce heavier dry backs as well to encourage more rapid flower setting and reduce stretch a little. I might do like Dirtbag does and see

heavier dry backs as in faster dry backs or slower dry backs, or a longer dry back window?

if i can get inverse temps at lights out but without another circuit and timer, I'm not really comfortable running a space heater unattended to accomplish that task.

sorry, by inverse, keeping the Temperature up during lights out?

 

[tobh]

heavier dry backs as in faster dry backs or slower dry backs, or a longer dry back window?

sorry, by inverse, keeping the Temperature up during lights out?

longer dry back window. i don't time the dry backs simply because the timing is irrelevant to me right now and I don't have water content sensors so i'm basically flying blind. tbh i don't know of a way to speed up or slow down dry backs given the plant is basically in control of however much it wants to drink.

i just time my fertigation events based on what measurements I've taken for ml of solution deposited per minute and how long it takes to get run off on a single fertigation event. then, i tinkered with getting first run off to happen at mid-day and adjust times on either side of that to get the amount of dryback i want before lights out and after lights on.

and yes, inverse temperature is actually raising the temperature a few degrees after lights out. So, say lights on temp is 80F, bumping it to 82F-83F can help decrease stretch fairly significantly. Probably has some positive impact on the massive RH spike that happens right after lights off too.

 

[Observer]

longer dry back window.

so longer to dry out.

i was going to continue fast dry backs till after the first week, then go long.

i don't time the dry backs simply because the timing is irrelevant to me right now and I don't have water content sensors so i'm basically flying blind.

indeed, can only get an idea being familiar with the environment and media, patterns of it.

tbh i don't know of a way to speed up or slow down dry backs given the plant is basically in control of however much it wants to drink.

fan ON/Around the media/base of plants? and amount of water used?

i just time my fertigation events based on what measurements I've taken for ml of solution deposited per minute and how long it takes to get run off on a single fertigation event. then, i tinkered with getting first run off to happen at mid-day and adjust times on either side of that to get the amount of dryback i want before lights out and after lights on.

figured thats what id be fucking around with soon

and yes, inverse temperature is actually raising the temperature a few degrees after lights out. So, say lights on temp is 80F, bumping it to 82F-83F can help decrease stretch fairly significantly. Probably has some positive impact on the massive RH spike that happens right after lights off too.

Gotcha, Thanks man.

 

[Rootsruler]

longer dry back window. i don't time the dry backs simply because the timing is irrelevant to me right now and I don't have water content sensors so i'm basically flying blind. tbh i don't know of a way to speed up or slow down dry backs given the plant is basically in control of however much it wants to drink.

i just time my fertigation events based on what measurements I've taken for ml of solution deposited per minute and how long it takes to get run off on a single fertigation event. then, i tinkered with getting first run off to happen at mid-day and adjust times on either side of that to get the amount of dryback i want before lights out and after lights on.

and yes, inverse temperature is actually raising the temperature a few degrees after lights out. So, say lights on temp is 80F, bumping it to 82F-83F can help decrease stretch fairly significantly. Probably has some positive impact on the massive RH spike that happens right after lights off too.

Does temp have to be above lights on temp? Can it be same as?

 

[tobh]

Does temp have to be above lights on temp? Can it be same as?

i'm not sure, but iirc Dirtbag ran it slightly above lights on temp.

 

[tobh]

fan ON/Around the media/base of plants? and amount of water used?

i don't think that would have much, if any impact on unislabs. they're wrapped in plastic with small slits at the base and there's almost no surface area on top of the delta block to enable significant evaporation.

the primary driver of dry backs is the plants drinking and transpiring water. without the plants, and even in a very dry + hot + windy environment, i imagine a unislab would stay near full saturation for more than a week easily.

i may be wrong of course but based on my experience this is why initially you can go days without a fertigation event but by week 8 of flower when the girls are drinking at their peak, you better be on top of your shit or you can kill the plants with one 12 hour lights on period without enough fertigations.

 

[Dirtbag]

i'm not sure, but iirc Dirtbag ran it slightly above lights on temp.

Yeah I ran a negative differential for the entire stretch phase. Kept night time temps around 28c or so, daytime 24-25. After stretch I kept them about 27 daytime, low 20's at night. Last few days before chop I'd run the room Minda cold to color them up a bit. Low 20's day, low teens at night.

 

[tobh]

Second half done. Could've went a little heavier but access to the middle and right rear are kinda rough so did the best I could. In a few weeks I'll take anything else that's not going to be an obvious producer

 

[Observer]

Second half done. Could've went a little heavier but access to the middle and right rear are kinda rough so did the best I could. In a few weeks I'll take anything else that's not going to be an obvious producer

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Sweet.

i gotta figure out my run-off-catch/Drain ASAP, and get a net up.

 

[tobh]

Note I am NOT using the trellis as a scrog. the trellis is entirely for support when the buds start to get wobbly and for some very basic vertical organization of branches. the first one is to establish a general placement, the second will be a bit more refined and is primarily meant to keep branches upright late in flower.

if experience has taught me anything, it's that not putting up trellis early enough leads to real pains later, and trying to string up sticky colas is miserable when your accessibility sucks.

 

[LJFarming]

Second half done. Could've went a little heavier but access to the middle and right rear are kinda rough so did the best I could. In a few weeks I'll take anything else that's not going to be an obvious producer

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Those look healthy and ready for the marathon bud. It’s going to take me at least 2 weeks for my neglected babies to be half as good as your look!!!!!

 

[Dirtbag]

You've got some real nice fat looking stems in there. That's usually an awesome sign of things to come.

 

[tobh]

Those look healthy and ready for the marathon bud. It’s going to take me at least 2 weeks for my neglected babies to be half as good as your look!!!!!

thanks bud! they're a bit neglected because, well, i've been a lazy fuck and was sick for over a damn month so they didn't get the love they really deserve but i can't be waiting any longer. i've got roots popping out of the drainage slits en masse on a few of the slabs and i'm not trying to be harvesting in January.

a christmas trim session sounds rather appealing since i'll probably have a couple nephews at the house and those fuckers need to earn their keep haha

 

[tobh]

You've got some real nice fat looking stems in there. That's usually an awesome sign of things to come.

yeah these are some robust bitches man. the root growth is top notch, too. will have to snag some pics, but the unislabs look damn near like yours did. just means i need to stay on top of the res and make sure i don't repeat the same mistake as last time. these girls are gonna go ham once flip happens.

 

[tobh]

You've got some real nice fat looking stems in there. That's usually an awesome sign of things to come.

i think i have too many growth tips, though. each plant has anywhere from eight to twelve, which should fill out the top trellis nicely, but we'll see. even with just eight primary branches, that's 24 branches i'll have to squeeze into individual holes lol not a bad problem to have but might end up taking out a few more branches in a few weeks.

 

[Observer]

i think i have too many growth tips, though. each plant has anywhere from eight to twelve, which should fill out the top trellis nicely, but we'll see. even with just eight primary branches, that's 24 branches i'll have to squeeze into individual holes lol not a bad problem to have but might end up taking out a few more branches in a few weeks.

where to start, bottom up the middle I suppose, lol

 

[tobh]

where to start, bottom up the middle I suppose, lol

i approach em like edward scissorhands. initially just focused on anything with a petiole, because when they're that dense, you can't see shit anyways so just start taking leaves. then, start focusing on getting sucker branches. eventually you can see everything that needs to go and it gets quite a bit easier. in the beginning it's a pain in the ass though.

 

[Observer]

i approach em like edward scissorhands. initially just focused on anything with a petiole, because when they're that dense, you can't see shit anyways so just start taking leaves. then, start focusing on getting sucker branches. eventually you can see everything that needs to go and it gets quite a bit easier. in the beginning it's a pain in the ass though.

Should I cut this lower bullshit all off or just the thinner/sucker branches or

 

[tobh]

Should I cut this lower bullshit all off or just the thinner/sucker branches or

everything goes up to the top three nodes. i left some stragglers because i think they'll make it and become productive but the second defoliation will eliminate at least 50% of what I left behind.

you want those branches to basically be sticks with little groups of growth tips at the top. 3 - 5 nodes at the top at most. 3 is the ideal, though.

you'll know you're doing it right when you look at the plant and your butthole puckers and you think to yourself "well, i just fuckered that one up real bad."

 

[Dirtbag]

i think i have too many growth tips, though. each plant has anywhere from eight to twelve, which should fill out the top trellis nicely, but we'll see. even with just eight primary branches, that's 24 branches i'll have to squeeze into individual holes lol not a bad problem to have but might end up taking out a few more branches in a few weeks.

I'd keep as many as you can. As long as you space them evenly with the second trellis that should be ok with what you have. You might just need to remove more lateral growth from the bottoms next trim, to prevent it from overcrowding. The more tops the better imho.

 

[Dirtbag]

Should I cut this lower bullshit all off or just the thinner/sucker branches or

Lower growth like that depends how much room you have in the growroom to spare. If you have space around each plant I'd trim it to the tip like tobh said. If the plants are crowded, I'd remove lower branches that will never grow to the top of the canopy. They'll just clog shit up and won't ripen the same.
I'd have to see a full plant pic in the space about that branch though. It might make it.

 

[Observer]

Lower growth like that depends how much room you have in the growroom to spare. If you have space around each plant I'd trim it to the tip like tobh said. If the plants are crowded, I'd remove branches like that one, that will never grow to the top of the canopy. They'll just clog shit up and won't ripen the same.

Thank you guys

 

[Dirtbag]

Thank you guys

I edited my post after looking at the pic again

 

[Observer]

Lower growth like that depends how much room you have in the growroom to spare. If you have space around each plant I'd trim it to the tip like tobh said. If the plants are crowded, I'd remove lower branches that will never grow to the top of the canopy. They'll just clog shit up and won't ripen the same.
Is have to see a full plant pic in the space about that branch though. It might make it.

Lower growth like that depends how much room you have in the growroom to spare. If you have space around each plant I'd trim it to the tip like tobh said. If the plants are crowded, I'd remove lower branches that will never grow to the top of the canopy. They'll just clog shit up and won't ripen the same.
I'd have to see a full plant pic in the space about that branch though. It might make it.

Thank you guys, really appreciate the help.

 

[Dirtbag]

Oh yeah I'd leave that branch. Just trim it up to the top couple nodes.

 

[Observer]

I can add another 300watts for 822~watts LED if needed