Lockedin's 4x4 of questionable decisions

[Lockedin]

12/12 - Week - 4 Weeks, 2 Days of 12/12 --- Appx 3 weeks of flowering ( I think?)

I've accepted that I'm not going to fill my tent nearly as much as I had hoped - so 9 plants wasn't a mistake after all!

Things that I'm stopping / getting rid of:
1 pint plastic pots - I'm a professional baby torturer with those. I nearly drown them every time. 1 gal. fabric work great and transplant easily.
Multiple grow methods - Choose one per grow. The SK were supposed to go to a different enclosure, but I realized it might set my house on fire... so they stayed in the tent.
Quad-manifolding --- I may try this again at some point, but it definitely slows down growth. Plain LST seems to be faster and potentially more productive; I'll know in a month or so....

Keepers:
Purchased seeds (maybe clones soon) - I have about 20 seeds left from my friend (mixed bag of strains), so I started looking for a reliable source.
So far, I really like Humboldt Seed Co.'s OG - it's growing great despite a few setbacks from me (overwatered, incorrectly topped).
LST - this may be a game-changer for me - I REALLY click with this method and can't wait for the next grow to refine it more.
LST Jigs - I made up some training jigs for LST - just two bamboo skewers zip-tied into a cross - to help spread the branches.
LST Jigs - A member of another forum was posting his LST grow with jigs that he made. He sent me some to demo. Next grow - my stalks are too woody now.
Nutes / Amendments - I mixed Dr. Earth Flower Girl 3-9-4 into the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 of my FFOF at full strength. A bit of a gamble, but my plants seem to love it.
Also used Dr Earth All Purpose 2-2-2 in my top dressing during veg.

Repurposed room.
I had one plant that has been stressed the entire grow. Pretty sure she'll herm, so I moved her to a windowsill to finish.
I don't care if she herms - I'll just make edibles & hash.
Actually considering repurposing this room just for that - I won't care if they herm, as long as they are frosty.

Pics (forgot a group shot - I'll add when the lights come back on):
Overhead & Profile pics


Supercropping makes canopy management easier - VERY useful technique!




Here's a couple of the stress-case:

I took off the restraints when she started looking stressed, the banana shape is kind of interesting and works well in the window

 

[horribleherk]

Your thread is moving right along I'm taking some time to address a few issues before I fire my 4x4 back up but it's coming together

 

[Lockedin]

12/17 Update

I took pics this morning at lights off - figured I'd post an update.

Group shot - they're SHORT. I really need to learn to avoid LST, HST, screwing with them - until they're bigger.
Little stick front & center - was on the patio. My cat shredded it, so I decided to finish this one in the tent where the other small plant was.


OG - can't wait to grow these again. They're stacking really well and starting to frost.
I should have defol'd these a bit better - airflow is becoming an issue - pruning 1-2 leaves every couple days.


Strawberry Kush - Also getting very dense. I defol'd one plant (pictured) - I need to do this every time now, she loved it!
The "Bottom" of the plant is on the left side of the pics.

 

[Frimpong]

12/17 Update

I took pics this morning at lights off - figured I'd post an update.

Group shot - they're SHORT. I really need to learn to avoid LST, HST, screwing with them - until they're bigger.
Little stick front & center - was on the patio. My cat shredded it, so I decided to finish this one in the tent where the other small plant was.
View attachment 43288

OG - can't wait to grow these again. They're stacking really well and starting to frost.
I should have defol'd these a bit better - airflow is becoming an issue - pruning 1-2 leaves every couple days.
View attachment 43290 View attachment 43291

Strawberry Kush - Also getting very dense. I defol'd one plant (pictured) - I need to do this every time now, she loved it!
The "Bottom" of the plant is on the left side of the pics.

View attachment 43298 View attachment 43297 View attachment 43296

Man that straw kush look awesome ?

 

[jaguarlax]

BTI is a fungus for prevention for fungus gnats = the fungus (BTI) fungus gnat larva (1st stage , that’s way its key to apply before you have teen stage and not ”larvae cause it does not kill that”) and apply at a daily basis of BTI to make sure your fungus gnat is dead before they can ever stage to the next. They reproduce very fast once warmer and certain environment gives them ( like many pest ) .

Liquid BTI is soo much more concentrated than the Mosquito bits and also has a longer shelf life. My only suggestion is use it every watering not the “every 7-14 days” on what the label says, they are referring to killing off mosquitoes more or less ( I talked the reps on the phone , can’t really over do it)

Amazon product


—

for teen-flyer stage : you need some yellow traps /cards at least = at least to know if you got a incoming issue + catch any cause they reproduce sooo quicikly

“During their seven to 10-day life span, females may lay up to 200 eggs into the cracks and crevices of growing media. Moist-growing media containing high amounts of peat moss are particularly attractive to adult females. At typical room temperatures (65 F to 75 F) the life cycle (egg to adult) may be completed in three to four weeks (Figure 1) with continuous reproduction occurring yearround on indoor plants. Fungus gnat adults do not bite but may drink water residing on plant leaves and/or on the surface of growing media.”

Fungus Gnats as Houseplant and Indoor Pests - 5.584

Fungus gnats are small delicate bodied flies that commonly develop in the growing medium of houseplants. Larvae of fungus gnats feed on algae, fungi and plant roots in growing medium. Adults do not bite or feed. Fungus gnats can be controlled by allowing the growing medium to dry between...

extension.colostate.edu

——-

if infections shows and your grow is showing at any way the fungus gnat is gaining population , I would high;y suggest “ method 2” - I would highly suggest using this method two defend but also wipe em out per say . your crop is worth it and a pest like FG can reduce your overrall yields by quite a bit if not corrected . I have def found that BTI failed on me ( seen this happen on a lot of people, nematodes won’t ever inless they are from a bad source, key is good source )


Nemasys aka fungus gnat/thrip nemoatode, OMG ROCKS!
= the do the purpose of killing the larvae (like the BTI , just better and way faster) man i you can see a difference in days if you got a bad infection with this combo. I know I did

Steinernema feltiae Beneficial Nematodes

Target Pests: Larval stages of fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.), adult and pupal stages of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) Description: Beneficial nematodes are microscopic worms that attack and kill targeted insects, without affecting any other organisms. Within the infected...

www.evergreengrowers.com

suggestion for anyone who does veg and flower rooms (2 rooms) wait intill the 2-6th week of veg and then apply to both flower and veg room so you don’t have to re buy another cycle of nematodes ( this is my 4th time doing this and doing that = no issues if so)

Rove beetles: This is the IPM for fungus gnats for eating your adult stage pests ( many pests too) cool thing it will survive even multiple cycles if you treat em good .

Rove beetle (Dalotia coriaria) or Atheta coriaria

Rove beetles (Dalotia coriaria), formerly known as Atheta coriaria, are used primarily to assist in the control of shore flies and fungus gnats and other small arthropods in the soil or planting media. They also help control soil stages of thrips and feed on most other small soil organisms such...

www.evergreengrowers.com

How do Rove Beetles do in Coco?

 

[jaguarlax]

12/17 Update

I took pics this morning at lights off - figured I'd post an update.

Group shot - they're SHORT. I really need to learn to avoid LST, HST, screwing with them - until they're bigger.
Little stick front & center - was on the patio. My cat shredded it, so I decided to finish this one in the tent where the other small plant was.
View attachment 43288

OG - can't wait to grow these again. They're stacking really well and starting to frost.
I should have defol'd these a bit better - airflow is becoming an issue - pruning 1-2 leaves every couple days.
View attachment 43290 View attachment 43291

Strawberry Kush - Also getting very dense. I defol'd one plant (pictured) - I need to do this every time now, she loved it!
The "Bottom" of the plant is on the left side of the pics.

View attachment 43298 View attachment 43297 View attachment 43296

Looking solid man. lots of improvement!

 

[BH]

How do Rove Beetles do in Coco?

Wonderful , the bug wholesalers only suggested rove beetles vs predator mites when indoors and greenhouse . They have a very long life and worked the best on adults

 

[Lockedin]

How do Rove Beetles do in Coco?

I'm in FFOF, but I'll bet @Burned Haze would know.

Thanks for the encouragement - @Frimpong too.

I'm only on my third grow - second really (the 1st was in an apple box), so I try to be easy on myself.

Really excited for the next grow - so much fun to implement and refine methods.

 

[DopeDaniel]

I accidentally defol'd the largest plant (pictured) - the lower number of branches and high number of bong hits meant exposing "blank" areas faster than expected.

Never happens.

 

[Lockedin]

Wonderful , the bug wholesalers only suggested rove beetles vs predator mites when indoors and greenhouse . They have a very long life and worked the best on adults

Looking towards the next grow (I'm pretty married to the DE path till next time):

So the beetles outlive the mites?
Can I use both?
--- gnats suck! ?

DE has been effective for elimination, but I got re-infested as soon as I gave a good feeding and had to reapply.
I have a feeling that mites / beetles would be better at prevention as well as elimination. But now that I have about a cup of DE in a few of my pots - they "mite" be money wasted (couldn't help myself...).

Edit - Thinking this through a bit more - I only have one or two more feedings. Thinking I should top with DE after each feed for prevention.

 

[BH]

my suggestion if it was me, do this IPM fpr next round and I bet you won’t stop for prevention cause FG and root aphids and thrips are a bitch

Your question to should you apply both predtor mites and rove? =You more than welcome to apply both but negative ( evergreen said you could do multple species of predator mites + rove + nematodes, but if needing most effect for your buck rove + nematodes is best banger for your buck )to predator mites is certain species may be effective but like many mites won’t work in normal grow room humidity or prefer lower humidty to really populate and perform well. Me being a guy who follow vpd during flower (80f-86 f I go with 70-75 humidity and in veg 70%) mites don’t like that . rove beetles don’t care about that bad per unit they can eat so much and they are more willing to repopulate and stay in your grow room as long as you don’t have them outdoors where they will leave your area once main infection is there and look elsewhere. hell I still have rove beetles in my coco and I applied it last year and not even growing in the summer. I have no gnats on my traps this round and they seem to be very tuff and do their job. Key note is rove beetles eat the non larvae : meaning teens to adult stage fungus gnats and misc. you need nematodes to kill the larvae , apply it at the 4-6th week of veg and if you have a flower room apply the neMatiodes and roves in both your indoor vegroom and flower ( the bigger population versions are way cheaper than the first population and it’s no problem To over apply a population. Gnats grow quick and under sizing is not worth it when shipping is if not your 50% of the cost)

I picked 2x rate of my rooms on rove beetles and 250 million nemotodes vs the 50 mil cause they are 2x as cheap. You can fill a 50 gal with min 50 million nematodes but when you make a 250 million in same size = all three times I’ve tried this vs BTI . Within 24-72 hours from new yellow trap test. It kills them all and I’m good rest of round without buying any more. Key is to apply it not at the start but fast enough that I never have a population (that’s why I recommended 3-6 weeks into veg )
for me at that rate and timing I can apply it both flower room and vegroom and it’s most def eliminated . Cost around 120ish including 2 day ship for the nematodes 250 million and 2x rate of recommended . Fungus gnats like root aphids or most pest can mess up your yields and quality by 12-40%. I’m good with such a nasty fucker and I’m a cheap ass , if I’m willing to pay. There’s reason cause I’ve bought 1000’s of dollars into BTI , both granular and liquid 8% and would get fungus gnats ever once and awhile Than lose.

can’t rely on something like that and it only kills the larvae and once you have any it populations per one bug per the 100’s in days.

with nematodes , make sure to read the compatible things you can brew with it and things it must be done when applying like for example you shouldn’t apply nematodes in direct sunlight. If outdoors I apply while sunset and indoors I use green light and apply 2-3 hours before lights on or at end of light cycle like sunlight would be.

rove beetles you want to sprinkle them onto your pre-feed /watered medium, reason = because you don’t wanna effect them and disturb em the first day . Better to water/feed before if needed .

Search results for: 'Fungus gnat' - Evergreen Growers Supply, LLC

Supplier of beneficial insects, natural fungicides and insecticides for biological control of plant pests since 1993.

www.evergreengrowers.com

Rove beetle (Dalotia coriaria) or Atheta coriaria

Rove beetles (Dalotia coriaria), formerly known as Atheta coriaria, are used primarily to assist in the control of shore flies and fungus gnats and other small arthropods in the soil or planting media. They also help control soil stages of thrips and feed on most other small soil organisms such...

www.evergreengrowers.com

Steinernema feltiae Beneficial Nematodes

Target Pests: Larval stages of fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.), adult and pupal stages of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) Description: Beneficial nematodes are microscopic worms that attack and kill targeted insects, without affecting any other organisms. Within the infected...

www.evergreengrowers.com

major factor on success with nematodes and even live bugs is making sure the bender and wholesaler is legit and they aren’t fucking you with old stock . Many Amazon and non main sellers of nematodes I would avoid ( prolly cost more than direct too)

evergreen growers is my top choice and they never let me down by pest Id before purchasing and being A+ costu,er support and great bugs.

 

[BH]

This guy smoked to much before the video but he def is a bug dude . Good info but lol

 

[Lockedin]

12/27 - 6 weeks 3 days (I think...)

Just a calendar marker for now, I'll add pics soon.
In cruise control now - water, watch, puff, watch some more.
I have a full strength dose of Dr. Earth FG 3-9-4 in the bottom 1/2 of the soil mix (poured in stages), so they're being fed.
Considering a small top-dress with FFOF only.

 

[Lockedin]

Pics from last night:
Group Shot - All stacking nicely - even the twig in the center (taken in from the patio - the cat shredded it).
Next grow will be MUCH more disciplined. I didn't plan for a few things on this run, but I'm still happy with how they're growing!

OG Kush
A lot of frost on these! The sugar leaves are covered - going to be a nice harvest and a good hash run.

Strawberry Kush
Are moving along well. However, I'm concerned about the 2 crowded plants getting budrot. On the flipside, I've noticed that the De-fol plant has the least amount of trichome production...it still looks great though.


A few more weeks at least - hoping for some Valentine's Bud!

 

[Lockedin]

01/24/2021
Well, I guess weekly updates went out the window.

I've been harvesting:
Harvest is going to be considerably low - I blame the gardener...
OG Kush
I really think I topped and trained the OG too early and they didn't appreciate it; they stalled out pretty dramatically (see below*) and I ended up not training them as much as I could have --- not doing that next grow!

3 of 4 OG Kush have been chopped, hung and jarred - sampling has begun - so far:
Appearance - they look amazing. Not as large as I had hoped, but really frosty.
Nose - Fuel, Funk, still a little "green"/hay.
Taste - Kush - very Kush - still a bit harsh --- not bad considering they were only jarred 6 days ago.

Strawberry Kush
Just chopped the smallest plant - put the second smallest into 24hour dark --- I think I JUST dodged bud rot!
I tried LST on these plants, but I didn't open them up enough, especially this one, and the flowers were packed together.

I still have one of each in the tent - they're finally slowing down, but still fattening - a few more days (think I said that a few days ago...)


The next batch of OG Kush Seedlings have shown their heads (lower right in above shot).
4-6 plants LST'd, top once, train laterally till the canopy is full.
Journal to come soon.

 

[horribleherk]

Steady as she goes I'm getting close to flipping my 4x4 tent soon