Thread: Kandy Kush (fem) & Blue Widow (fem)

I'm in search of "moms".
This grow is hopefully a first step toward finding some worthwhile keepers.

Kandy Kush is: OG Kush x Train Wreck
Blue Widow is: Blueberry x White Widow

The "plan" is to grow out 4 plants at a time in a DR80 grow-tent. This time out, in addition to the 2 fem beans mentioned, there are 2 bag-seeds I've gotta check. The 2 fem are the center of attention, so they'll get catered to.

"Planning" on a 6-7 week veg, under a 400W Eye Hortilux Blue.
Grow is soil, and will be using Fox Farm nutrients.


Since I'm *quite* the procrastinator, Sherman will set the "Way-Back Machine" for November 8, 2009. I'll try to whip through this and get caught up over the next day or two.

11/08: Expanded 12 peat-pucks with water+1 drop Superthrive. Placed the dry seeds in pucks, covered with dome and maintained ~83F.

11/10: (Day 1) BW & KK as well as 2 others have broke ground after 48 hrs. Over the next 12 hours, the remaining 8 break through. I'm pretty psyched about the KK, it was the *smallest* bean I'd *ever* tried to grow. If it hadn't been so pricey, I wouldn't have bothered with it, at all.

11/12: (Day 3) Into the 16 oz cups! Red, of course. Cups contain Black Gold Seedling mix & worm castings, mixed 3:1

11/14: (day 4) The light has been on 24/0 and has been about 3 feet above the plants. Today I switched to 18/6 and lowerered the light to about 2 feet.

11/15: (day 5) Lowered light to ~18" Had to adjust the fan a little, the delicate stem on the KK is leaning a bit.

11/16: (day 6) Lights down to 12" above plants.

11/17: (day 7) Changed intake location. Temps down to 76F and able to throttle down fan to about 50%, they had been running ~78F w/fan at 60%. Lowered light another couple inches to about 10" over.



It's looking like the cooler weather may allow for more lighting in the tent. I had an old 400W MH ballast fall into my lap this week. I'm looking into a cool-tube and a conversion bulb to possibly use this as supplemental light for flowering.

11/18: (day 8) Not much to report. Light still @ 10", temp @75F.

11/21: (day11) Plants aren't looking very happy, I probably should have transplanted a couple days ago. They'll go into 7" pots tomorrow.

11/22: (day 12) Transplanted into the 7" pots today. Soil is a 50/50 mix of MG and FFOF (I've got a pile of MG to use up) to which I've added about 10% each of worm castings, perlite and vermiculite. Also added a couple healthy tablespoonsful of seabird guano.

Really good looking grow set up and log. I hope you find that special lady.

Shov

Originally Posted by Shovelhandle

Really good looking grow set up and log. I hope you find that special lady.

Shov

Thanks for the compliment, and the good thoughts! Glad to have your experienced eyes look things over.

Onward...

11/25: (day 15) I don't feed any nutrients for the first 2 weeks, there's more than enough goodies in the soil. Today they get the first taste of the FF system. Everybody took about 20 oz (pH'd @ 6.5) mixed @ 50% of the FF week 2 schedule.

They look a little sad, they've been out of the tent for a couple hours while I did house cleaning. Thanksgiving means relocating the tent for a couple of days.


11/27: (day 17) Still got guests in the house , just made a quick check and grabbed a couple shots. (I could use a couple "shots" at that point, lol.)

The tents purrin' away in the garage with a small kerosene heater keeping things pretty danged cozy. Light-on temps out there have been in the mid 80's. I'm not too concerned with the added heat, hoping the extra CO2 from the heater lets 'em enjoy themselves. (like a day at the beach) They *do* look pretty happy!

First pic is another shot from day 17.

I should have explained the layout of the group shots, for anyone trying to spot the "stars" of the grow. Everyone has a tag, which becomes apparent later. The 2 center-most spots in the 12-pot layout are where the BW and KK are found. BW is to the left. In the group shots the KK is a bit of a runt.


11/28: (day 18) Moving back into the house today, the guests have departed! I'm loving the tent, being able to move everything like that was nice.

Yikes! The kids are pretty thirsty! The pots are light as a feather! Everybody takes about 20 oz of pH'd 6.5 with a tsp/gal of molasses. I water with distilled or RO water, tap water here reminds me of a Belize swamp...I think I'd prefer the swamp-water.

Here's everybody lined up for a drink and then back in. Rearranged a few plants to try and manipulate the canopy a little, a few are getting ahead of the others.

12/1: (day 21) Feeding day. All get the FF week 3 schedule @ full strength. A couple suspected males get a rather poor "fim" attempt to slow 'em down. One gets the crush-and-bend treatment. The torture begins. The group shot is before any "alterations" to the suspected males. There are some clear favorites emerging from the 2 bag-seed groups.



Hindsight is 20/20:
At this point I probably *should* have culled the 3 plants showing the most masculine traits and went to the 2 gallon pots. I went the lazy route, deciding to wait and see if I'd get any definite indications of sex @ 4 weeks. The plants look ok, *but* they are more crowded now than they need to be. So, I've cut down the available light to the plants I'm keeping, by keeping plants that will need to be culled anyway. Genius!

12/5: (day 25) No major problems, just a bit crowded.
Plants are using about 16 oz every 2 days. I've let the plants grow up to the light, maintaining about 2-3" of space below the glass of the reflector. I'm varying the reflectors' position slightly, by sliding it in and out on the supports, to try and improve light penetration.


12/7: (day 27) Everybody out for inspection and feeding! FF week 3 @ full strength and since it's so close to week 4 they get a 1/4 tsp/gal of the Open Sesame.

I broke 'em down into 3 groups:
Group 1: Almost certainly male.
Group 2: I'm leaning toward female, but, there are some strong male characteristics showing, too.
Group 3: The best shot at life, beyond Saturday. These are most certainly females. The only one to show any definitive pre-flower is the KK. Duh. Not exactly news...

Still Day 27 pics. Thought i'd give a look at the whole line-up, before thinning the lot out on Saturday. Here's the first 5.

...and the next 5.

Day 27 pics. The two stars of the show.

Pic 4 is an earlier side by side, for comparison.

The KK has caught up to and shot past the others. I know the OG is a runner, but I've never seen the Train Wreck gro out. She'll probably *really* take off after the flip! The growth spurt is pretty apparent in those pics,...and that was 4 days ago.

Tomorrow is transplant day. Due to the KK's pace, I'm skipping the 2 gallon transplant and going straight to the 5's. Another 7 days veg in the 5's will be a lil' shy of my original plan of 42-49 days, but close enough for me. I'd hate to run out of headroom.

Cool, that's it. Tomorrow brings it current. After that, weekly updates.

I grew out some KK earlier this year. I flipped them into flowering at 16" and they finished off at 46". Each plant yielded 2 quart jars of bud, nicely crystal coated and smelling sweet/dank. No more than 2-3 hits or you're off to "meditation land" in terms of power, too.

Yours is off to a fine start that will bring you a joyous harvest!

Good luck,
M.P.

if your worried about head room its always good to flower early.....even if you have the slightest bit of doubt....flower early!

Personally, when running new strains i like to flower them early anyways to find out the characteristics of the strain....i always take cuts of every plant and label them.....because some of those slow veggers or mutants; sometime turn out to be the best plants..

THe first run with a new strain is like a learning curve....i think its my 4 run with the purple wreck and i think ive finally found her sweet spot! sometimes the first time will be the best, but most of the time it wont! Good luck...the KK looks real interesting....and everything looks great~

Originally Posted by MerryPrankstr

I grew out some KK earlier this year. I flipped them into flowering at 16" and they finished off at 46".

Yikes! That's really helpful! Thanks.
Nice, the meds sound like something to look forward to.

Originally Posted by killa12345

if your worried about head room its always good to flower early.....even if you have the slightest bit of doubt....flower early!

Thanks for lookin' in and for the excellent advice. I covet your purple!


After these two posts I'm more concerned than before. Thanks a bunch!!

Plan B: I anticipated *some* height issues, so the 5 gal are a low-profile tub style as opposed to a bucket, that buys a few inches. To squeak out another few inches, I'll go with a standard transplant, and the 7 day post-transplant veg will be cut down to just 3 days, just enough to let her settle in...then flip!

I hope that works. Right now, KK is sitting in there @~19". My math says it's time for a bigger tent! lol, never a dull moment. Thanks again, guys.

Originally Posted by EvilCartman

Yikes! That's really helpful! Thanks.
Nice, the meds sound like something to look forward to.




Thanks for lookin' in and for the excellent advice. I covet your purple!


After these two posts I'm more concerned than before. Thanks a bunch!!

Plan B: I anticipated *some* height issues, so the 5 gal are a low-profile tub style as opposed to a bucket, that buys a few inches. To squeak out another few inches, I'll go with a standard transplant, and the 7 day post-transplant veg will be cut down to just 3 days, just enough to let her settle in...then flip!

I hope that works. Right now, KK is sitting in there @~19". My math says it's time for a bigger tent! lol, never a dull moment. Thanks again, guys.

you might even think about topping them about 3-4 days into flower.....this is a great last attempt to save some height issues....just to make sure you dont have to run into problems in the future!

They look like little trees!! hehe Really great grow man!

Originally Posted by killa12345

you might even think about topping them about 3-4 days into flower.....this is a great last attempt to save some height issues....just to make sure you dont have to run into problems in the future!

Ouch! Oh the humanity! Thanks, we'll make it work! I certainly appreciate the input.

Originally Posted by MonkeyBone

They look like little trees!! hehe Really great grow man!

Hey! Thanks MB!


12/12: (day 32) Transplant/feeding day!

Put 4 plants into the 5 gallon pots: BW, KK, X1d, X2d.
All 4 are showing pre-flowers.
Soil is FFOF with additional perlite and vermiculite added. Soil + amendments mixed ~5:1. 1/2 tbsp each of Indonesian & Jamaican bat guano mixed into top couple inches of each pot.

Squeezed in a 5th plant in a 2 gallon. Plant X1f looks pretty good to me, no pre-flowers, but very "girly" looking. This one will stick around as long as it doesn't get in the way. I ran out of FFOF, this one is in MG with added perlite. Mixed about 3:1.

Everybody got the FF Nutrients following week 4 schedule @ 100%.

Pay no attention to the stragglers in the 2 small pots. They are only there until they declare sex. If they are girls they'll get a new home, elsewhere.


The KK is on the run! Gotta get some stuff to stick under the other pots to even things out. I did the BOG style transplant on the other 3 to try and raise 'em up a bit. There's still a bit of difference in the heights.

Gonna keep a close eye on KK! If it looks like she's gonna hit the ceiling, I'll get her what she needs.

Barring any disasters, the first 12 hr night will be Tues. (35 day veg)

12/16: (Day 36) Everybody out for a good soaking.
No problems,..yet.

The plant in the 2 gallon pot is throwing pre-flowers now. All five are females. (at least, for now )

The Blue Widow is a real sturdy plant, I hope there's a good reason for those sturdy stems. In contrast, everything about the Kandy Kush is delicate. The KK will need some support real soon, she really sways a good bit in the gentle breeze from the fans.

Changed out the MH bulb for the Eye Hortilux EN Super HPS, gave the reflector & glass a good cleaning and re-set the light timer. Tonight should be the first long night.


12/17 (Day 37) Oops.
I programmed the timer for 2 "on" events. This time, for sure... FLIP!


Pics are from day 36.

Here we are @ the end of veg, 37 days;

BW is @ 20"

KK is @ 24"

Now, the fun starts.

Took small cuts off of all five plants. Three each from the BW & KK, one each from the others. Put the cuts into a small home-made bubble-cloner.

This is the first time really using this contraption. Wish me luck!
The cuts got a slathering of "Olivias Cloning Gel" (that stuff looks disgusting ) and the water (~ 2 gals) got a couple drops of Superthrive added. Temperature in the dome is about 73F and the clones are lit by one 26 watt CFL, about 15" away.

?? Is the water temp in the cloner very important ?? Should it be warmer than 73F?


MerryPrankster..... If you happen to see this and don't mind answering a couple Q's. I went lookin' for your KK, it certainly looked sweet @ 5 weeks. I was wondering how long she goes in flower, and how far into flower she stretches.


That's it for now. I am outa here for a 10 day stretch. The girls are in capable hands. Here's a couple pre-flower and cloner shots.

Wishin' ya'll a great time over the Holiday!

Love the Multi Tier that you got going on..
Looking forward to how this turns out...

EvilC,
There may be more than one phenotype, so I'll just tell you what happened with mine.

I took my KK at 68 days (DWC under 300watts LED). The trichs were almost all milky with just a few clear. I was looking for a "heady" not couch lock effect, which worked out just fine. A week or so more wouldn't have hurt, plus it was probably a bit faster due to the DWC.

The stretch lasted 2-2 1/2 weeks, the it just exlodes with buds gaining very little more height.

I actually had two, but gave the other one away to a friend after I had bonsia'd it. He is flowring it, but I haven't gotten over to see it just yet.

Anyway if you get to read this have a Happy Holiday!

M.P.

Originally Posted by deleafer2220

Love the Multi Tier that you got going on..
Looking forward to how this turns out...

Thanks! My first time trying that transplant method. Adopted it after seeing how well it's worked for DTR420.

Originally Posted by MerryPrankstr

EvilC,
There may be more than one phenotype, so I'll just tell you what happened with mine.

Awesome, MP. Thanks so much.
I hope she doesn't run out of room before I get home. They're gettin' an upgrade after the break!

Once again! Happy Holidays!

Well DTR deff has his Tier dialed in so i hope you get results like his too from it ! Happy Holidays

Hope ya'll had a Merry X-mas! I think I did.

Upgrade time!

The DR80 just wasn't gonna cut it for these girls. It's lookin' like the KK isn't the only "stretcher" in the bunch!

The new home is a DR120. A little more elbow room, and more importantly, 16" more headroom.

Additionally, I rescued an *OLD* 400MH ballast and reflector from the trash collector a while back. Works like a charm, so it is now sporting a 360 HPS conversion bulb, and is also in the tent. I'm not especially thrilled with the reflector, but gonna use it for the time being, and keep a close eye on temps.

Had a power outage while I was away. No problem....unless one of your circulator fans has an electronic switch and needs to be manually turned on again! That fan has been reassigned a less important position.

As a result of the "fan incident" the X1 plant in the 2 gallon pot is no more. The other X1 bag-seed took a little heat damage, nothing too significant. And the X2, KK and BW came through unscathed.

The 9 cuts in the bubble-cloner are lookin' ok, decent roots forming on 6/9. The 3 that haven't rooted yet seem to be in spots that don't see much bubble action. There is a single air stone in there diagonally, adding a second oughta set things right.
I'm really impressed with how well this works. They haven't been touched since the day they were cut, still nice and green, too. I had to remove the dome, the 2 larger clones have grown and were squished against it.

A few pics and we'll move along.

Well that's it I need to make me one of those cloners! I use the riot plugs and they are alright but everyone on here that uses a bubble cloner has wicked results.