1-1-2020 dropped seeds in Walmart spring water at room temp as soon as the ball dropped in New York times square. 2 of each strain.

11 hours of soak and placed seeds in wet paper towels and covered with plates. Then placed plates on the back of my pellet stove. Temp roughly 80°f, in between the plates is more like high 70s.

18 hours later Afghan cherries had small tails protruding though not long enough for me. I wrapped them back in the paper towels.

New England rock candy no tails at that time. Folded them back into paper towels and was hoping to see tails when I woke up this morning.

Alas only one nerc has a tiny tail protruding after 32 hours, hopefully there will be two with tails when I get home from work today.

1-2-2020 at 6am Afghan cherries tails are long enough to plant.

Placed these beans directly into buffered Coco and back on my stove with a plate underneath. Now we wait.

I might have to pop another nerc since only one has a tail, though I still have my fingers crossed and hopefully come home to two tails. Coco is buffered and ready to go.

Ordering my new drain trays today. https://drainawaydraintray.com/   These will be connected to drain directly into a small reservoir with a condensation pump inside the tent. The pump will be connected to another drain bucket outside of the tent for ease.

Already have a seedling solution made for when the coteylodons open since I have another seedling growing in another tent on day 3. I'll probably be flipping her with these and may just cram her in with these plants, but only time will tell now.

Happy growing! Happy New year! And much grower love?

So I had to pop another Nerc, the cup I had soaked the others in had a crack in it, and the water slowly dribbled out and woke up to a dry cup. This time I used a solid cup and success. The tail was curling around as the paper towel must have restricted movement, she went directly into buffered Coco. Now we wait on her.

All other seeds have broke surface, though one Ac still has a bit of helmet head. I've had some trouble with these before and I hope she breaks free soon.

The other Ac is doing well and this is the first time I've ran the Mars ts1000 for seedlings. I'm running it at 100% roughly 150 watts, at 3 feet above them. They seem fine for now if not a little squatty.

The first successful nerc germination showed it's cotyledons this morning when I woke up and will require it's first real fertigation this afternoon.

We're off to a good start, hoping the reserve nerc is a little more vigorous and surfaces fast.

Seems the seeds are even a little stress resistant as one nerc survived a little trauma from being wet then dried again. Or I was just a little lucky 😜.

My trays should be here soon so I can set up the 5x5 with the four plants. Now that I think about it, I should have gotten 5 trays, because this Mama Mia might be going in the same tent if applicable.

Can't wait to try the new drain set up.

I got a little premature with preparing more growing medium with recycled Coco the Mama Mia will need it sooner but I wanted to get rid of the pot and see how much dusty peat was in it. To my surprise I hardly rinsed any out. I'm happy with the black gold just coir. Great fibers to use again

I actually found it at Walmart but it was cheaper at my local garden center, 16$ for 2 cubic feet.

I've added a humidifier as the winter months are fairly dry here and I'm exhausting into the room. Looking forward to seeing how these seeds fair in different environments. Happy growing!!

We're moving along now. Final nerc popped her head above the surface mere hours ago without helmet head. A little disappointed I screwed up germination, I know not to ever use that cup again.

Nerc 1 has gotten a little leggy compared to the cherries. I think I'm going to keep the light where it is though. Transplant should take care of any height differences. Can't really tell in this pic but she is the tallest of the bunch.

Now about the ac, @dr-coco had mentioned that @predicativebreeding told him some phenos of this cultivar tend to express different morphological traits. I can't recall what was said but I definitely see a shorter stature from one over the other. I'm not sure if this will compromise canopy and I'm tempted to pop another one. I can keep them all, I just want some uniformity in the main tent.

This one had trouble shedding it's husk, but has about half an inch or so more vertical growth over pic above.

Still thinking about growing out the Mama Mia with these but she's days ahead and going to be a little bigger at first. She doesn't stretch much during flower.

Just waiting on the trays before I run to the hardware store for some PVC fittings. Probably going to pic up some extra and make a scrog frame or two. Thinking of using one for support for this grow and another for a true scrog on another grow.

Haven't began to think about training yet. I'm honestly thinking about mainlines for this grow. I think it will utilize the lack of light I'll be using. I can't get new lights until I start my new job. I have to finish 12 hours of class from The Seattle Central College Cannabis Institute and the Academy of Cannabis Science. I'm taking a class for cannabis consultant and trying to get my foot in the door. I have another opportunity at a new grow facility as well but don't expect a call on that. I'll have to do some peacocking and get down there this week.

Anyways Mars hydro ts1000 is doing fine for seedlings though I think they would have been better off with my usual practice of CFLs. I might dim the light today and move it closer but I'm using the heat energy to keep it warm in my room. Trying to refrain from using more energy than I really need. My goal is reducing my footprint and maximizing my return.

Great start everyone, I'm enjoying reading through everything. Sure has become a little more active with the sub notices imo. I'm seeing a lot of interaction and I'm happy to be growing with all of you. Growers love!

Got my drain away trays and have to say I'm quite impressed with how rapidly they drain. I might still use some risers for collecting run off.

You can watch them drain on my IG. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7HnH6Xhjbm/?igshid=1d74jj2q7cgzr

Plants are doing well and all but one is working on the second set of serrated leaves. Shouldn't take the last one long to catch up. A couple lanky gals but again I can take care of that with transplanting.

The shorter gals have some fat leaves, one of each strain is a shorter fatter version.

Here's the taller phenos

Got my drain ready for some big pots now, let's see how vigorous these beans are.

Ec inflow and outflow 1.0, temps 66f with lights off, up to 78f with lights on with 18/6 light schedule. Humidity lows are in the high 50s before I fire up the humidifier, low 70s on the high side.

Hope everyone is having a good grow, I'm really only subbed to this bracket but I still read through the others when I can. I'll catch up sometime 😉. Happy growing!!

After 9 days above the surface the 3 original seeds are pretty much ready to transplant. The reserve seed has really shown some vigor and catching up really fast. I've been procrastinating transplant for a couple days now. I really wanted to build some root mass beforehand and just plant up to final 3 gallon pots.

The nerc are getting top heavy, I had to place support in for the reserve seedling as you can see here.

The Afghan cherries are really squat plants right now. I wonder how I'm going to manage training them 🤔. My last grow had a couple squatty plants and a decent yield so maybe I'll have to repeat my training decisions.

Looks like I'm going to be buffering some Coco soon, I still have to recycle 10 gallons. I've been emptying all of my previous grows into one garbage can, soil and Coco together. I'm trying to get ready for a spring grow with another water only grow, possibly for SAFC. I'm going to be using a new watering device that @dr-coco got me from a new company. They emailed me and asked if I had it running yet but I can't use it till I get my soil mixed up.

Yes I'm already thinking about another challenge and how I'm going to manage it 😜.

I wonder if the smaller halos will fit my 1 gallon pots? I'm going to start rinsing my Coco today and think about my transplanting dilemma.

I saw a little ripple in some of the leaves, so I have been foliar feeding calmag at 800 ec once a day before lights out. They seem fine now and I'm sure some fresh buffered Coco will give them some relief as well.

Lowered my light some and they're looking happier everyday. I hope everyone's grow is going smoothly as well. To all those growing with us, best wishes and happy growing. Grower love!

Afghan cherries

New England rock candy

Well they sure aren't slowing down.

They've been moved into the big tent which is running around 83°f the smaller tent was running at most, 78°f, they seem to like it a little warmer. They got really perky after the first day of higher temps.

I did spot something a little odd on one Afghan cherries.

I don't think I've seen this in any of my grows so far and I'm not sure what to make of it. We'll see how she develops in the days to come.

Going to throw another Mars hydro ts1000 in here along with a cheap led that might pull 100 watts. Each plant will have their own light when they get placed into the final containers. I also have to take the drain system out to glue the t and 4 way connector then slope the PVC slightly so it flows into my drain tub a little better. I don't want residual waste water hanging out in the system, so I'm glad I've seen what happens when the system is being used. Still have to get some risers too.

Looks like it won't be long before I start thinking about training. If they continue to grow like this it might not be long before I transplant either.

Trying to keep up a good pace 😉. Happy growing everyone!

Training time, one nerc topped and cleaned up the first node. Left 2nd and 3rd node leaves. Was thinking of doing a manifold/mainline but wanted to see how things develop.

Made all the first cuts for a mainline/manifold on one Afghan cherries.

The other nerc is still a bit behind, she was the reserve seed, but she's close now. She appears to be the happiest and healthiest of the bunch.

The other Afghan cherries is looking kind of sad, she has a nice green color but has the appearance of being over watered. Maybe it's a dry spot in the tent causing the canoeing of some leaves. The new top growth looks fine albeit a little droopy but where I want to top has some twisted leaf formation. The node below it grew out fine, though leaf structure is a bit more narrow than the other Ac.

It's been a battle with rh this winter season, it's been super low and the humidifier heats the tent to roughly 86f. This causes it to become uncomfortable in the room at times. Without the humidifier rh is in the high 40s low 50s depending on time of day, up to 57% without lights on.

I'm going to be making some changes before putting them into final containers. I'll be busy all week and want to get these girls on auto water soon. So stay tuned and happy growing! 🌱💚

Here we go, plants are in final pots. Didn't need risers because there is a small pedestal in the center of the trays that allows it to sit out of runoff. I'll be installing halos later this evening as lights are about to go off and I still have things to do.

Temps are fair and it was a little hot when I installed 2 more lights in there. So we have three Mars hydro ts1000 and an old school led that claims 300 watts. I'm sure that's inflated specs for the old school led but I've used it before and it does a decent job. Still lacking a bit in the lighting department but each plant has its own light now.

The untrained Afghan Cherries is still looking sad and growth starts off twisty and unfolds into droopy leaves.

I thought it might be roots since there was still mats of root hairs in the recycled coco. My thought was an infection but they looked great when I transplanted, my next thought was pests but I inspected and nothing.

I was surprised to see the other Afghan Cherries roots flourishing after being trained. She was in the same spot as the other cherries but looks much happier despite a small calmag issue.

She looks to be on track, though I think node spacing is going to be pretty tight. I'm going to train the other cherries in a few days, hopefully she cheers up.

I had an accident with one of my nerc, she got tilted sideways a little. I had the pot on the edge of the sink and she fell right in. Good thing I had more coco buffered than I needed. I think she'll be alright. Both nerc's roots weren't as developed as the cherries but there's some mykos in the bottom and sides of the pots for them.

The trained nerc has less root mass and a touch of light burn. The other one will be trained in a few days give or take depending on growth. I could top now but want them to adjust to their new homes first.

Can't wait to get my auto water up and running. The system hasn't been through a full operating test yet so I'll have to dial it in, just giving them and myself some time. Had some other things to add but my wife is pressing me as I write this. This is why I schedule lights to go off at a certain time, adjusting your grow to fit your life style is important 😉.

I'm just giving myself some time to get things done while lights are off. Trying to get into another line of work and opening up some more opportunities. Hope everyone is doing well, I wish you all the best in your gardens and in life. Happy growing!!

So I went to go install my water system and couldn't find another valve to control flow, I have eight, I just can't find them. I figured I would just wait and grab another one but ended up getting sick. Starting to feel better so I'll have it up soon.

I had a little issue with light burn on one of the nerc, as I said I was sick and didn't realize it was so close. New growth looks great and she'll be getting topped again.

The other nerc is by far the happiest one in the tent, she seemed to like the light a little more but I raised all my lights anyways. I cleaned up some lower growth hoping to promote upper growth, I'm probably not going to mainline this one. She's the youngest of the bunch so I'll just grow node two and three out and spread her out.

I finally bit the bullet and topped the twisted cherries. She has been growing like this ever since first transplant, she looks a little happier now and the leaves do eventually fold out. She has sativa leaf morphology compared to her sister cherries, I have a feeling she's going to be bigger than I anticipated.

The other Ac is about to be topped again and cleaned up for mainline. She has some super fat leaves now and node spacing is pretty tight. I'm hoping raising the lights will help with that but think I need a bit more red light in the tent, we'll worry about that next run.

Going to drag myself to the hardware store to see if they have a valve for me, if not I'll be driving into the city. I hate going out when I'm sick but I need to get the auto water system set up for times like this. Plus it will free up a little time for me to get other projects going.

I won't be flipping till on or a little before Valentine's day. Happy growing!

Installing auto water now and got a new air stone while I was out.

photo dump.

So I've been waiting to top another cherries for a mainline but I may have to take what I have. She has been growing awkwardly since first transplant, I'm pretty sure it's genetic.

I wonder if it's the one that had the helmet head for so long now, maybe I should have taken better note of that. The leaves start out all bunched together, slightly twisted, and is having a hard time keeping up with the others as far as training goes. Yesterday was the first time I've seen her praying since first transplant.

Her sister, entirely different morphology. I have completed all toppings for the mainline with her. She's got some super fat leaves already, I can only imagine them being bigger once we start flower. Tucking the first node down since they are bigger than the new tops already.

She will definitely be ready to flip by the 14th.

The New England rock candy are doing exceptionally well, they both had a touch of light burn but all new growth is healthy and vigorous. I've trained these in my normal table top fashion with a couple of exceptions. I topped the third node twice and removed lower growth tips from that node. I also removed lower growth tips from second node branching which I don't normally do until later on for cloning purposes. Alas I have no room or time for clones right now.

The nerc under the Chinese led has a bit more node spacing than the one under the ts1000. I'm certain it's the red diodes in the Chinese led, it's more of a blurple spectrum.

The other one is still stacking tight node structure and I've tried to stretch her out a little. She's shown me a whole lot more vigor than the rest, being the last one to germinate and all.

The complete mainlined cherries will be the deciding factor in my choice to flip. I might be flipping before the 14th depending on how she develops. The other cherries might be stuck with 6 colas and not be completely mainlined. I'm still rooting for her to be the biggest gal in the tent though.

Happy growing everyone!!

Things are progressing a little faster than I expected. I decided to flip to flower when I do my next res change roughly 4 days give or take.

The canopy is already even on the manifold cherries

The other cherries I didn't get a chance to do a proper manifold on has exploded but the node structure is more elongated with the wierd leaf development. This is why I decided to just train her with supercropping and will work to go more horizontal during the stretch, exposing all growth tips.

The nerc has super tight node spacing and I'm hoping to open them up a bit more during the stretch. I might have to take off some lower growth tips when I clean up the legs but we'll see how the stretch goes.

I added floralicious plus to my solution a few days ago. @dr-coco doesn't think it's well suited for this style of grow and it's an expensive additive. I've seen great results each time I add it to the solution, though I'm not contributing it to the explosion in the last few days. I do think it's a beneficial additive in my personal experience.

They may have just hit their stride though just with new vegetation alone. Ec inflow 1.2 ec outflow 1.3-1.4 the nerc seem to be climbing into the 1500s so I added another event by hand today, and adjusting timer for another event which puts me at 5x a day.

Temps off/on 70- 83 Rh 56-64% pruning should take humidity down some when we get into flower phase. Lights raised to max spec for veg will lower as we see fit for flowering. Hoping temps don't climb too much, will have to vent outside if they do, that means a little carpentry work.

Looking forward to seeing how these girls do in the next few weeks, I was debating on waiting till the 14th but since the res needs changed I may as well do it then. Happy growing everyone!!