Barney's Farm Pineapple Chunk with Helios 6 & CO2

[teetee]

Hi everyone,

Barney's Farm Pineapple Express (made famous by the film of the same name) was crossed with their Cheese/Skunk #1 with the intention of breeding a new variety with the essence and flavour of these two delicious strains. The result is an extremely vigorous and stable plant that is mould and disease resistant and flowers in 55 days getting to about 60-80 cm high yielding 650g/m3. THC 25% and CBD 1.1% giving a powerful couch lock effect.
The essence and flavor of Pineapple Chunk is immediately obvious. Its aroma of earthy Cheese x Skunk is backed up by a secondary scent of Pineapple. The taste is delicious and unique. Earthy flavors are underpinned by a strong tasty Pineapple aftershock.
It is Indica Dominant and grows best in warm to hot climates. Ideal for my sauna of a growbox. I've fallen for the hype, so here goes...Pineapple Chunk!

My stealth wardrobe can be seen on viewtopic.php?f=9&t=380

I planted 4 seeds direct into my DWC on 19th Oct. On the 21st 2 seedlings showed, and I waited for the other 2. Eventually on the 24th, I fiddled with the rockwool, and put them on a heat mat at 27 degrees. the 3rd seedling showed on the 26th. Nothing for the 4th, so I planted another seed that day.

Everything's back in the DWC now. I have it constantly bubbling, but also have a top feeding system in place that runs for 15 mins every 3 hours. Lights are on 24 hrs a day, but I switch between the T5s and the Helios. In the first few days, I used only 2 of the 2 foot 24W tubes and one 3 foot 39W tube to start off, then after a couple of days, all the T5s. After a week, I gradually introduced the Helios 6 running 3 lights only bit by bit alternating with the T5s, until now, where I'm using only the Helios 6 on 3 lights at a height of 36".

I'm using RO water, and I'm using House and Garden nutrients for the grow, but on the advice of Autoberry, I'm using Vitalink Plant Start (recommended 3-4ml/L) at 2.5ml/L for the first week. I did a water change on 24th Oct and increased the Plant Start to 3.3ml/L, I will switch to H&G once the seedlings have all established themselves.

Because I'm using RO water, I wanted to buffer it to help manage the pH. so I am using H&G Osmosis Stabiliser @ 1ml/L
(http://house-garden.com.au/product/addi ... stabiliser),

and because I'm using top feeding lines, I'm adding H&G Drip Clean @ 0.05ml/L
(http://house-garden.com.au/product/additives/drip-clean).

Drip clean has to be used for the entire grow, and will prevent salt and debris blockage in the pipework. If you start using this product mid way through a grow, your nutrient will suffer a massive rise in EC due to all the salt build ups being dissolved in one go, not recommended!

I take my RO water, add the Osmosis Stabiliser, then Vitalink Plant Start, balance pH to 5.8 with a little H&G pH-, then add the Drip Clean.

It's quite hard to get reliable info on H&G nutrients, feed charts vary wildly depending on which country's website you look at. I've visited the Dutch, UK, US, Canadian and Australian websites, and in the end decided the US charts were the ones to follow as they showed the entire line up of nutrients, some countries don't have info on the whole line up... UK included, they were completely un-knowledgeable about their product range. To be certain, I phoned the US, and described my set up (I bought the DWC in the US anyway so it made sense to do this), the Guys were very good, and recognised that my system required a slightly different feeding schedule as I'm using a combination DWC and top feeder. They also confirmed the use of the pH Osmosis Stabiliser.

Here's the H&G DWC feeding chart. All measurements are for US Gal.

The cabinet is running between 26 and 32 degrees C (80-90F) but I can go up into the 95's as I'm also running CO2 at 1200ppm. RH is 45-50%. These are the optimal conditions for CO2 enrichment. (Please check my thread on CO2 enrichment viewtopic.php?f=2&t=392)

Today, no1 and 2 are 50mm high, and no3 is only just got 2 tiny true leaves. No 4 is pissing me off (but she's a week behind I suppose...).

group shot

no 1

no 2

no 3

I had a closer look at no 1, and saw this white stuff at the base of the stem, not mould already??? Waddaya do about that?

what's this white stuff?

Anyway, next res change and switch to House and Garden nutrients on Friday, so will keep you posted.
Gonna enjoy a bit of Blue Cheese now...

[ledbud]

Cheers Ledbud mate.

Do you think I have a mould issue on no 1?
What's your advice about the Helios... when should I lower it and to how much. I seem to remember you saying drop to 14 ins soon into the grow, then raise it to stretch then drop it again. When though? I don't want to stretch them too much, I'll run out of space!
Cheers man

[LEDDWCRigger]

If you can find 3.0% hydrogen peroxide, just a couple of drops directly to the bad stuff then rinse with a bit of RO water after about 2 minutes should do the trick, if it's a pathogen. Get it early.

[teetee]

Hi everyone,

I don't really know what day it is... no, I haven't been smoking too much... I don't know when to start a journal date from... is it from the day of planting, or the day seedlings showed up?????

Anyway, 12 days since I planted 4 seeds. Of those, 3 sprouted 2 days later (so are they on day 10?), one did not, probably because I was poking it with a paperclip to see if it was sprouting in the rockwool. So yeah... I wouldn't recommend doing that. I planted another seed on the 26th, and the 29th, my 4th Baby was born, so she's about a week behind.

I decided to do a full drain and replenish. I was planning on doing it after 14 days, but the solution was developing a small amount of brown slime that was building up on the inline filter for my cooler. It was also time to switch to House and Garden nutes anyway, as no 1 and no 2 were getting quite advanced.

After a complete drain, I mixed up 25L of Onableech, and gave the system a run through, cleaned the filter, and scrubbed the inside of the tank out. I drained it all out and ran some RO water through to flush. I made sure to drip a little Onableech solution on the suspected mould on No 1's base of the stem, then flushed it with RO water. I made sure the other 3 didn't receive any Onableech. I did that because LEDDWCRigger suggested dropping a little 3% H2O2 on the mould ( and then flushing), which I don't have, but will get in a few days, just in case.

Then I mixed up the following H&G nutes:

Osmosis Stabiliser 1ml/L = 57ml
Aqua Flakes A+B 10 minutes apart 2.5ml/USGal = 37.5ml each but I gave 1/4 of this dose 9.4ml each. I will give another 1/4 dose in 2-3 days time.

(adjusted pH to 5.8) EC 0.4 afterwards.

Then I added the following H&G Stimulants and Additives:

Drip Clean 0.4ml/USGal = 6ml
Roots Excelurator 0.5ml/USGal = 7.5ml
Amino Treatment 0.2ml/USGal = 3ml
Multizen 2ml/USGal = 30ml
Algen Extract 0.2ml/USGal = 3ml

The chart also said add Nitrogen boost, but I will see how things go first for a few days.

Roots Excelurator is the most powerful root stimulator currently available. This powerful root stimulator ensures the explosive growth of the roots, rids the plants of brown roots, root diseases and provides an excellent rhizosphere (root environment). Roots Excelurator creates a film around the roots, which functions as a kind of membrane. It keeps harmful diseases and germs out of the root zone but allows the absorption of nutrients. Roots Excelurator also isolates the germs and prevents them from reproducing.

Amino Treatment consists of a balanced complex of ingredients such as small silicate particles which are much smaller than those which you would find in normal silicon. Amino Treatment also contains a unique natural growth and flowering stimulator from an extract taken from plant seeds. The use of Amino Treatment results in better nutrient distribution in the leaves, a higher photosynthesis ratio, stronger stalks, increased root activity, better and higher fruit production and a higher sugar content in the fruit.

Multizen (or Multizyme - depending on your country) is a useful stimulator, rich in enzymes,co-enzymes and vitamins. Multizen accelerates and simplifies the growth process and strengthens the plants immunity. It breaks down and dissolves dead root material and also increases the plants resistance to disease and stress. The enzymes convert the base nutrient into ready to use micro nutrient which is far more easily assimilated by the plant.

Algen Extract is a premium blend of Norwegian Sea Kelp, containing high levels of active enzymes and cytokins, as well as amino acids. Algen extract is cold water extracted ensuring the biological life remains intact. The extract is therefore rich in both macro nutrients (such as N, P, K, Ca, Mg & S) and micro nutrients (Mn, Cu, Fe & Zn). Algen Extract also contains seaweed which contains very high levels of natural hormones, polysaccharides, amino acids and proteins. These substances stimulate healthy root growth, which makes Algen Extract an important supplement to the base nutrients of the plant. Algen Extract plays a significant role in the health of the plant’s immune system, providing superior resistance to disease and pests. The Norwegian Kelp is very unique and its benefits should be evident within a couple of days... faster, healthier growth.

I will also use the foliar spray product, 'Magic Green' tomorrow, but again, I thought I would let them settle down for tonight.
Final EC 0.4-0.5 after final pH adjustment to 5.8.
CO2 1200ppm
temp 32 C
RH 45-50%
Helios 6 running with 3 lights only at 36" 24 hours a day.
Heights no1 75mm, no2 65mm, no3 35mm, no4 25mm.

Here they are:

Group shot

No 1

No 2

No 3

No 4

I thought I'd take a shot of the roots for no 1 and 2. No 2 is in foreground and no 1 behind. Look at those bubbles!!!

Roots of no 1 and 2

Not bad after 10 days, I'm sure you'll agree.
Over the next week to 10 days, I will keep EC at 0.4 and then consider increasing the nutrient dose.
I plan to do another drain and replenish every week, and will probably add Cal-Mag to the soup in 1-2 weeks time.

Thank you for following my grow,
Teetee

[ledbud]

very nice bro, roots will go crazy now that they reach the water.

[teetee]

Every time I look, they've grown bigger!!!
Gonna do Magic Green foliar spray now....

[teetee]

Today, I decided to use another House and Garden product - Magic Green.

It is a 'Foliar feed' meaning it is sprayed directly onto the leaves so that nutrients are absorbed directly into the stomata. In addition, regular spraying also keeps the stomata open and clean.

Here's my post on Foliar feeds: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=397

Directions are to use 5-10 mL of magic green per one litre of spraying solution, apply 1 to 2 times maximum per week during the growth cycle, every other week. You should use Magic Green only for the first two weeks of the flowering cycle.

So I made up a litre of RO water and added 5ml Magic Green, and after 'masking up' all around the plants with tissue paper, I sprayed away. I decided to leave the lights off to prevent any burning. Lights went back on 4 hours later, and I made sure there was no droplets left on the leaves that might result in burn spots. I'm cranking the Helios upto 6 lights FULL POWER, and still at 36". I will drop the lights to 28" tomorrow if all goes well. Those roots in no 1 and 2 are hitting the water now so I should see some good growth from them now.

[teetee]

I just had to post a pic of the roots of no 1 and no 2. Compared to the pic I took on 31st Oct - 3 days ago....
That's 2 weeks and a day FROM SEED!!!!!
This DWC is completely mental, and I can only put it down to the insane amount of bubbles the airstones and pumps recommended by Autoberry are producing.

[ledbud]

nice mate, big roots = big buds

[teetee]

Day 20

It's been a worrying week for the babies, I kept the EC down to 0.4, and was noticing brown tips on the leaves 2 days after the last res change. I took 1/3 off the res out and replaced with pH adjusted water.... still EC 0.4. SO I took another 1/3 out and replaced with water... EC 0.3, pH 5.8.
After another 2 days there was extensive yellow brown mottling on the lower leaves of all 4 plants, but then the EC started dropping, and the pH crept up, until on Weds (day 19), when pH was 6.1 and EC was 0.1. That's great I thought, they're feeding. The roots looked great so I took the pic shown in the last post and persevered. By the evening of day 19, I was noticing lots of brown patches, looked much worse and more extensive under LED than with T5's interestingly.

I decided to do a full drain and replenish, using a slightly lower feeding schedule than last time to bring the EC down. I mixed it up as follows:

Osmosis Stabiliser 1ml/L = 57ml
Aqua Flakes - last week I gave 9.4ml each of A and B. Then I had to dilute my res by removing 1/3 and adding 1/3 water, so this week I decided to lower the dose to 6ml of each A and B.

(adjusted pH to 5.8) EC 0.3 afterwards. (last week was 0.4)

Then I added the following H&G Stimulants and Additives:

Drip Clean 0.4ml/USGal = 6ml reduced to 4ml
Roots Excelurator 0.5ml/USGal = 7.5ml reduced to 5ml
Amino Treatment 0.3ml/USGal = 4.5ml reduced to 3.5ml
Multizen 2.2ml/USGal = 33ml reduced to 15ml
Algen Extract 0.2ml/USGal = 3ml reduced to 2ml

I also added Cal Mag (by Bloom) 2ml in total, but recommended dose was 0.5ml/L which works out as 30ml(!) because it occured to me that the mottling may have been a deficiency, as the brown tips weren't convincing enough for me.

Final EC 0.5 so I removed 1/3 and replaced with pH adjusted RO water. This stuff is piss weak now!!!

I had a look at other forums to see if there's any info on Pineapple Chunk... not so much, but word is that it is a light feeder.

I will keep the nutrients at this level for a week before deciding to up it.

Final EC 0.4
CO2 1200ppm
temp 24 min 34 max 31 average
RH 45-50%
res temp 18
Helios 6 at 24" initially - raised to 28" 24 hrs a day
Heights no1 100mm, no2 95mm, no3 55mm, no4 40mm

Finally, I removed the brown bits and any really dry lower leaves.

I adjusted the CO2 tubing, dispensing it just inches above the plants, and have placed rolled up facecloths soaked in water around each plant to help raise the local humidity, (and they also help keep light out of the res - I change them morning and evening).

Here's the pics:

Group shot showing CO2 distribution

No 1 top view

No1 side view

Notice how the leaves of no1 are thinner and more spiky looking compared to the leaves on 2,3 and 4. Is this a hermie or male ?(they are feminised seeds, but I understand that given the conditions, the sex can change). I also have read on Seedfinder.eu that there are a number of different phenotypes of Pineapple Chunk:

1.: stretched, slowly blossoming, indica-dominant Phenotype #1
2.: short, compact, slowly blossoming, sativa-dominant Phenotype #2
3.: short, stretched, slowly blossoming, sativa-dominant Phenotype #3
4.: Very homogenous variety. (WTF does this mean?)

No2 top view

No 2 side view

Notice the mottled lower leaves...

No 3 top view

No 3 side view

Finally, no4, which is a week younger than the rest.

No 4 top view

no 4 side view

Look at the roots now! See how the nutrient is literally a mass of bubbles!

Roots of No 2 in front and No 1 behind

And here's the wardrobe

Inside the wardrobe

So if anyone is still out there, and you've stopped laughing at the newbie cocking things up, please feel free to add words of guidance as always!
Thanks for following this thread,

Teetee