Welcome to....
I've been growing about 3-4 years now, this is the 10th go. I've had a fair bit of success along the way getting a few auto plants to yield over 500g (17-18 ounces), which was well over my initial expectations of 2 or 3 ounces from an Auto.... I've been using LEDs all that time, and again, found the results to be much better than expected.... on a par, if not better than with HPS in my reckoning (but I think MH is better than LED in veg).
Throughout my growing career, I've been helped and encouraged by a few great growers, mainly Automaster and Ledbud.... sadly they no longer exist here on AFN, but they're out there somewhere
My last grow won many accolades....
I came 4th in the Nov 2016 Cream of the Crop competition on UK420
The entire grow was featured on the Dutch Passion Blog
I won the November 2016 Plant of the Month competition here on the AFN.
Along with the kudos, came many magic beans, so this grow is dedicated to my grow Gurus and will feature some of the more interesting strains that I now have in my collection as a thank you to @Waximus and everyone at AFN.
So in a departure from my usual trusty Dutch Passion strains, I'm now going to grow.....
I purposely didn't give a summary of the Pineapple Express - it was the strain featured in the film of the same name..... she takes 9 weeks to finish, but the description on the Fastbuds site was worth copying out in full..... I think I'm in for a treat!!!
Our Pineapple Express is a perfect combination of sensations and flavors, comparable to a fine Brandy or a handmade sports car, It's a marijuana variety created for those who love pleasure and know how to savor every fine morsel of life. Tasty and exemplary overall, this is without a doubt, one of our best autoflowering strains. It's a hybrid formed from an ideal combination of genetics with fruity flavors
Taste
Pineapple Express offers a mixture of unforgettable aromas: ripe fruit, tropical and sweet, very sweet pineapple; sensations that will lead you to discover pleasures like sex. Pineapple Express is for those who have hedonistic palates - those who like to indulge in a delicious desert and sweet liquor with attractive companions in a luxurious restaurant.
Effect
Thanks to its high THC levels and the pleasurable effects induced by its aroma, this variety is a fantastic aphrodisiac, able to stimulate the sexual appetite and heat up the coldest, most frigid room with hot sex energy in a matter of moments. Its smoke is pleasant with a deep juicy pineapple flavor. It reduces anxiety, increases happiness and produces a sensation of weightlessness, the high is like foreplay - a soft entrance that after five minutes leaves you free of rational thoughts and totally uninhibited. All you'll be left with is pure instinct and a deep need to offer up your desires to the heat of the moment.
Now you may chuckle, but Cannabis can do this..... the Auto Ultimate I once grew was very similar in effect - I took so much time off work that I nearly lost my job cos my Wife kept calling me home early or would make me take heaps of sickies. I was kind of sad when it ran out!
I'm assured by the kind fellows at @FastBuds that their descriptions are based on real growers' experiences, so I can't argue with that..... I better book some time off in 4-5 months or so.
I still have my cheap old Seahawk tent, but the roof has been strengthened with some heavy duty mesh. I have an assortment of LED units, all from the same UK supplier:
I grow with Coco and Airpots, using House and Garden Coco nutrients and their entire range of additives:
I also use Advanced Nutrients Bud Ignitor (around week 6), Bud Candy (during flowering) and Flawless Finish (for a clean quick flush).
Cal Mag is essential in my opinion, and I now use the Grotek brand as it has an NPK ratio of 2-0-0 compared to my old Bloom brand which was 5.2-0-0. This will keep their height under control later in the grow as they flower.
I use 20L airpots filled with Coco (Canna Coco Professional Plus). The pH is buffered so that makes life a little easier, and there's added trichoderma.
I start with EC 0 rainwater, add 0.2ml/L Cal-Mag and then A&B to make EC 0.5. Finally I add Roots Excellurator and Nitrogen to make up an EC 0.7 nutrient solution adjusted to pH5.8.
I soak the Coco till there's plenty of run off. This gives the perfect air/moisture balance. I then make a kind of hill in the middle of the pot, the height just below the edge of the pot, a bit like this....
('scuse the dropped ash in the top right)
I do this to allow peripheral watering in the first 7-10 days, then I add more medium to level out the Coco for the rest of the grow. I think this helps in making the tap root dig deeper initially, then encouraging the side roots to spread out more deeply as they search for the nutrient which will have been delivered more to the sides, rather than through the middle of the pot. Peripheral circumferential watering, I think it's called. I stumbled upon this idea a couple of grows ago, when I was running out of Coco for planting
My germination method is very reliable, I don't soak seeds, nor do I leave them in moist tissue paper etc.... I just plant the seed directly in the fully soaked Coco, 2cm deep, cover with clingfilm and top with some thick cardboard to prevent light entry. I leave the pots under a couple of high positioned lights (for warmth) and usually 48-72 hours later the seedlings pop up. This way is more natural and way less stressful for the new seedlings. 48 hours from fridge to sprout is pretty good!
This time, my 100% record was shattered... the Toofless Alien popped first about 40 hours after planting, and the Cream Mandarine soon after at about 48 hrs. The Pineapple didn't show by day 3.... I had a light dig around, and found nothing, so I planted another Pineapple Express seed on Thursday night, and Saturday lunchtime I was greeted by this....
So Pineapple Express, the sexy stuff, took a while to come. I had a couple of goes and popped one in the end. (I'll get my hat).
These are the pics so far....
Toofless Alien day 3
and day 5
See how I water around the periphery? If the surface of the hump gets dry below the surface, I use a syringe to gently water the top. At this stage I water the day they pop, then every other day.
This was Cream Mandarine XL on day 3....
....and on day 5....
I have since made a wire support for her to stop the fans blowing her down. I made some out of plastic tubing, like the one on the Alien, but I can't find the others.....
Here's the Pineapple again...
officially day 1 on the day the others are day 5. That's gonna make feeding tricky as this grow progresses, it's gonna be....
Teehee's
Multi
Strain
Madness
Multi
Strain
Madness
I've been growing about 3-4 years now, this is the 10th go. I've had a fair bit of success along the way getting a few auto plants to yield over 500g (17-18 ounces), which was well over my initial expectations of 2 or 3 ounces from an Auto.... I've been using LEDs all that time, and again, found the results to be much better than expected.... on a par, if not better than with HPS in my reckoning (but I think MH is better than LED in veg).
Throughout my growing career, I've been helped and encouraged by a few great growers, mainly Automaster and Ledbud.... sadly they no longer exist here on AFN, but they're out there somewhere
My last grow won many accolades....
I came 4th in the Nov 2016 Cream of the Crop competition on UK420
The entire grow was featured on the Dutch Passion Blog
I won the November 2016 Plant of the Month competition here on the AFN.
Along with the kudos, came many magic beans, so this grow is dedicated to my grow Gurus and will feature some of the more interesting strains that I now have in my collection as a thank you to @Waximus and everyone at AFN.
So in a departure from my usual trusty Dutch Passion strains, I'm now going to grow.....
- Cream Mandarine XL Auto, by Sweet Seeds - a 4th generation hybrid taking their famous Cream Caramel crossed with Ice Cool to give an orange flavoured Indica with high bud count and resin formation (Cream Mandarine) which is again crossed with a Super Thai '98 clone to give this XL strain adding sativa style height and yields along with subtle aromatic and spicy tones with hints of wood and nuts. She should take 9-10 weeks to harvest
- Toofless Alien by Mephisto - this is from their Limited Edition range, a feminised F1 hybrid between two of Mephisto's favourite strains - Ripley's OG x Toof Decay. The Ripley's OG influence amps up the Toof Decay yield, giving heavy lung expanding smoke. She has a combination of terpenes unique to both the parent strains, the dankness of the Ripley's OG now wrapped up in a candy coated shell, and will also take 9-10 weeks to harvest.
- Pineapple Express by Fastbuds.
I purposely didn't give a summary of the Pineapple Express - it was the strain featured in the film of the same name..... she takes 9 weeks to finish, but the description on the Fastbuds site was worth copying out in full..... I think I'm in for a treat!!!
Our Pineapple Express is a perfect combination of sensations and flavors, comparable to a fine Brandy or a handmade sports car, It's a marijuana variety created for those who love pleasure and know how to savor every fine morsel of life. Tasty and exemplary overall, this is without a doubt, one of our best autoflowering strains. It's a hybrid formed from an ideal combination of genetics with fruity flavors
Taste
Pineapple Express offers a mixture of unforgettable aromas: ripe fruit, tropical and sweet, very sweet pineapple; sensations that will lead you to discover pleasures like sex. Pineapple Express is for those who have hedonistic palates - those who like to indulge in a delicious desert and sweet liquor with attractive companions in a luxurious restaurant.
Effect
Thanks to its high THC levels and the pleasurable effects induced by its aroma, this variety is a fantastic aphrodisiac, able to stimulate the sexual appetite and heat up the coldest, most frigid room with hot sex energy in a matter of moments. Its smoke is pleasant with a deep juicy pineapple flavor. It reduces anxiety, increases happiness and produces a sensation of weightlessness, the high is like foreplay - a soft entrance that after five minutes leaves you free of rational thoughts and totally uninhibited. All you'll be left with is pure instinct and a deep need to offer up your desires to the heat of the moment.
Now you may chuckle, but Cannabis can do this..... the Auto Ultimate I once grew was very similar in effect - I took so much time off work that I nearly lost my job cos my Wife kept calling me home early or would make me take heaps of sickies. I was kind of sad when it ran out!
I'm assured by the kind fellows at @FastBuds that their descriptions are based on real growers' experiences, so I can't argue with that..... I better book some time off in 4-5 months or so.
I still have my cheap old Seahawk tent, but the roof has been strengthened with some heavy duty mesh. I have an assortment of LED units, all from the same UK supplier:
- 2x Skyline 400W units - the latest in the company's range giving a white light - so far I'm very impressed
- 2x Photon 6 - 240W draw and purple light - better penetration than the Helios.... a great LED unit.
- 1x Helios 6 - 300W draw with purple light -I got this unit about 4 years ago (back in the days when LED users were ridiculed) - it's been a trusty workhorse that's delivered again and again.
- 2x Helios 2 - 100W draw - great for additional side lighting
I grow with Coco and Airpots, using House and Garden Coco nutrients and their entire range of additives:
- Drip clean (throughout the grow to reduce nute build up in the Coco).
- Roots Excellurator - 0.3ml/L throughout the grow (except when giving PK 13-14).
- Multizyme - breaks down dead root material converting them into easy to process nutrient.
- Nitrogen 27% - to tweak the N intake during veg.
- Amino Treatment - basically Silicon so only used in veg.
- Algen Extract - a kelp extract used for micro-nutrients during flowering. It is also great for heat stress.
- Bud XL - flowering additive used throughout bloom.
- Top Booster - basically PK 13-14 with added Iron.
- Top Shooter - a late flowering booster (PK 20-9).
I also use Advanced Nutrients Bud Ignitor (around week 6), Bud Candy (during flowering) and Flawless Finish (for a clean quick flush).
Cal Mag is essential in my opinion, and I now use the Grotek brand as it has an NPK ratio of 2-0-0 compared to my old Bloom brand which was 5.2-0-0. This will keep their height under control later in the grow as they flower.
I use 20L airpots filled with Coco (Canna Coco Professional Plus). The pH is buffered so that makes life a little easier, and there's added trichoderma.
I start with EC 0 rainwater, add 0.2ml/L Cal-Mag and then A&B to make EC 0.5. Finally I add Roots Excellurator and Nitrogen to make up an EC 0.7 nutrient solution adjusted to pH5.8.
I soak the Coco till there's plenty of run off. This gives the perfect air/moisture balance. I then make a kind of hill in the middle of the pot, the height just below the edge of the pot, a bit like this....
('scuse the dropped ash in the top right)
I do this to allow peripheral watering in the first 7-10 days, then I add more medium to level out the Coco for the rest of the grow. I think this helps in making the tap root dig deeper initially, then encouraging the side roots to spread out more deeply as they search for the nutrient which will have been delivered more to the sides, rather than through the middle of the pot. Peripheral circumferential watering, I think it's called. I stumbled upon this idea a couple of grows ago, when I was running out of Coco for planting
My germination method is very reliable, I don't soak seeds, nor do I leave them in moist tissue paper etc.... I just plant the seed directly in the fully soaked Coco, 2cm deep, cover with clingfilm and top with some thick cardboard to prevent light entry. I leave the pots under a couple of high positioned lights (for warmth) and usually 48-72 hours later the seedlings pop up. This way is more natural and way less stressful for the new seedlings. 48 hours from fridge to sprout is pretty good!
This time, my 100% record was shattered... the Toofless Alien popped first about 40 hours after planting, and the Cream Mandarine soon after at about 48 hrs. The Pineapple didn't show by day 3.... I had a light dig around, and found nothing, so I planted another Pineapple Express seed on Thursday night, and Saturday lunchtime I was greeted by this....
So Pineapple Express, the sexy stuff, took a while to come. I had a couple of goes and popped one in the end. (I'll get my hat).
These are the pics so far....
Toofless Alien day 3
and day 5
See how I water around the periphery? If the surface of the hump gets dry below the surface, I use a syringe to gently water the top. At this stage I water the day they pop, then every other day.
This was Cream Mandarine XL on day 3....
....and on day 5....
I have since made a wire support for her to stop the fans blowing her down. I made some out of plastic tubing, like the one on the Alien, but I can't find the others.....
Here's the Pineapple again...
officially day 1 on the day the others are day 5. That's gonna make feeding tricky as this grow progresses, it's gonna be....
MULTI
STRAIN
MADNESS
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
STRAIN
MADNESS
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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