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Pink Panther
Stranger

Registered: 02/02/12
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Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks
#15932187 - 03/11/12 05:05 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Hi
Wonder if someone could help out here?
Friend of mine has just done his first grow and has a few problems/questions.
Info:
- Strain: P.Cubensis South Africa (Transkeis). - Standard PF Tek BRF cakes. Colonized very quickly (about 2 weeks). - Dunked for 24hrs and rolled in verm - Pinning/Fruiting temp: 68F to 74F - Humidity: 80% - Light: natural indirect light from window. No artificial light. - Misting: quite heavily 3 to 4 times a day (heavy to try and get humidity up). - Fanning: 3 to 4 times a day. 2 windows in room always open. - FC: Shotgun (1/4" holes 2" apart - he has closed 60% of the holes to try and increase humidity).
Problems/Questions:
1. Small Short Fruits - largest fruit is about 1.5". Most of the others are about 1/2" to 3/4".
2. Fat Fruits - all of them started out with a very fat stem compared to a tiny little cap and then just grew proportunately to what you see in the pics.
3. Furry Stems - see pic 5 below. Very furry hair like on bases of stems. From what I've read this is due to too much Humidity/Misting/Water Content but doesnt make sense because humidity wont go above 80%. Faulty hydrometer?
4. Early Veil breaks - some veils have broken when fruits were only 1/4" - see pics. Tiny fruits with broken veils - huh?? See pic 3.
5. Caps not uniformly round - caps are irregular in shape - not nice and round. Maybe it's the strain or they are mutants? See pic 4 for e.g.
6. Low Humidity - He can't seem to get the humidity above 80%. He's tried misting more and wetting the perlite every day (misting it). Also blocked about 60% of the holes (hole size and spacing is standard shotgun FC - 1/4" holes every 2"). Reason he though humidity was too low initially was because pinning has only ever started on bottom of cakes and thought that this was because humidity was highest here because there was a small pool of water between cakes and tin foil. All cakes have been flipped over. (Note here that he is using a hydrometer bought from a pet store usually used in reptile terrariums and has never been able to get it above 80%). He bought another different hydrometer from a pet store and that also never gets above 80%. Maybe these pet store hydrometers are cr@p and never get above 80%?
7. Light coloured streaking on caps. See pic 5 below. Is this normal for Transkeis?
Here are the pics:
1. Shotgun FC with cakes:

2. Cake with most fruits. Notice veil breaks. Largest fruit here is about 1/2" tall.

3. Pic of largest fruit - about 1" tall. Note veil break.

4. Side view of pic above:

5. Good example of furry stems:

6: Example of tiny (1/4" tall) fruit:

I'm almost certain it's because he is doing something wrong with the FC - misting too much, too little, etc.
Any ideas?
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Mikej
Psychonaut



Registered: 02/22/12
Posts: 21
Loc: United Kingdom
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15932213 - 03/11/12 05:28 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I would imagine it is a humidity problem, the fuzz at the base of the shrooms would indicate that no? You say 80%, they need to be at 95-100%.
not sure that is the exact problem you are having, but it certainly seems to be a strong contributing factor towards the issue.
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“This world of ours cannot be saved in our measures of time. Had it been possible it would have been saved a long time ago by prophets and teachers who have been sent. Those who look for the world to be saved by a single teacher in a given time are shirking their own responsibility. They wait and hope of a second coming with no effort on their part indulging in the disease of tomorrow.” – Goerge Ivanovich Gurdjieff
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LeopardMan
Constantly changing



Registered: 09/21/09
Posts: 5,467
Loc: A tree house
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15932221 - 03/11/12 05:34 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Taping 60% of the holes was a bad idea and probably the reason why your fruits have fuzzy stems. There is no need to keep your windows open all day long though. Take the tape off and close the windows. Also for best results you want to use more light. Buy a CFL (6500K is best but any kind of light will do). If your RH is still low, you need more perlite (4-5 inches). But don't use digital hygrometers: they are usually useless for this hobby.
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You have to die a few times before you can really live.
-Charles Bukowski-
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Pink Panther
Stranger

Registered: 02/02/12
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Last seen: 8 years, 4 days
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: LeopardMan]
#15932244 - 03/11/12 05:57 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Thanks for the quick answers guys.
@LeopardMan - Just need some clarity, when you say taping the holes was a bad idea, do you mean beacuse in effect the C02 levels increased or because of too much humidity? I'm almost certain that there is too much moisture in the FC - isn't that the reason for the furry stems?
Also - I thought having open windows was a good thing - i.e. it increases FAE?
There is 4" of perlite in the FC.
Edited by Pink Panther (03/11/12 06:16 AM)
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Pink Panther
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Registered: 02/02/12
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Last seen: 8 years, 4 days
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15932246 - 03/11/12 06:00 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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oh, and he is not using a digital hydrometer. It's analog but it's one usually used for reptile terrariums. I think he needs to test it by putting it on a sealed jar with water and raise it above the water and put it out in the sun. Would that work to get it to 100%? How can he test it?
Edited by Pink Panther (03/11/12 06:17 AM)
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nynole
Pirate Archaeologist


Registered: 03/21/11
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Last seen: 12 years, 6 months
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15932247 - 03/11/12 06:01 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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How thick is the perlite layer (should be around 4") and has the hygrometer been calibrated (does it have a small hole in the back?)?
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nynole
Pirate Archaeologist


Registered: 03/21/11
Posts: 78
Last seen: 12 years, 6 months
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15932251 - 03/11/12 06:05 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Pink Panther said: oh, and I'm not using a digital hydrometer. It's analog but it's one usually used for reptile terrariums. I think I might test it by putting it on a sealed jar with water and raise it above the water and put it out in the sun. Would that work to get it to 100%? How can I test it?
Wrap it up in a wet paper towel and stick it in a jar or plastic bag for a few hours. It should then read around 100%. If not, take a small screwdriver (like from an eyeglass repair kit) and stick it into the hole in the back of the hygrometer and move the needle to 100%. You have just calibrated your hygrometer.
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Pink Panther
Stranger

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Last seen: 8 years, 4 days
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: nynole]
#15932266 - 03/11/12 06:32 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Thanks nynole. Will get him to try that.
There is no hole at the back of the hydrometer but it does come apart and there is what seems to be a flat copper coil that moves the arm. Maybe if the reading is 80% when he's done the test then he can just use that as an indicator of 100%?
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LeopardMan
Constantly changing



Registered: 09/21/09
Posts: 5,467
Loc: A tree house
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15932636 - 03/11/12 10:09 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Pink Panther said: Thanks for the quick answers guys.
@LeopardMan - Just need some clarity, when you say taping the holes was a bad idea, do you mean beacuse in effect the C02 levels increased or because of too much humidity? I'm almost certain that there is too much moisture in the FC - isn't that the reason for the furry stems?
Also - I thought having open windows was a good thing - i.e. it increases FAE?
There is 4" of perlite in the FC.
Taping holes in a SGFC will decrease both FAE and RH. That's why it was a bad idea. Fuzzy stems are usually the result of lack of FAE but you don't need to open your windows in order to get more FAE. Natural air currents in your room are more than enough(provided you don't tape any hole). Take the tape off and mist and fan at least 3 times a day. Good luck
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You have to die a few times before you can really live.
-Charles Bukowski-
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carnage11
Mushroom Magician



Registered: 04/01/11
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: LeopardMan]
#15932686 - 03/11/12 10:23 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Looks like bad genetics to me.
Multi-spore is a crap shoot sometimes.
-------------------- You're breathing so I guess you're still alive
Even if signs seem to tell me otherwise.
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Pink Panther
Stranger

Registered: 02/02/12
Posts: 62
Last seen: 8 years, 4 days
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Re: Help needed: Small, Short, Fat, Furry, Early Veil Breaks [Re: Pink Panther]
#15933229 - 03/11/12 01:08 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys.
Any idea why the caps have light coloured streaking? See pic 5 above. Is this normal for Transkeis?
Also - do you think he should harvest all the fruits now and then re-dunk and roll?
Edited by Pink Panther (03/11/12 01:08 PM)
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