Running a MAC 1 SOG under my new HLG 650R. MAC 1 is a great strain and the HLG 650R is a fantastic light so hopefully this combo will produce a great grow.
GROWING MAC 1
MAC 1 is a strain created by Capulator. It pairs a Starfighter bred with a Columbian landrace strain as the male and an Alien Cookies girl. This strain contains a lot of Alien genetics in its lineage and that makes it a very unique plant.
The leaves are very unique they are long and narrow like a sativa but the leaf edges often turn up. This is normal and it is genetic. It is not tacoing or a sign something is wrong. I have grown Alien Rift and it does the exact same thing.
The leaves are long and arched. This plant does not pray like most other plants do. This gives the plant a very unique appearance and once you have seen how it grows you wont mistake it for anything else.
The MAC produces buds of fantastic quality but she is not the easiest plant to grow and you need to know her quirks if you want to get a decent yield out of her. She really likes dry feet. She actually grows best when dry, almost to the wilting point.
She is a stout plant and grows like an upright column. She is not overly tall or stretchy and node distance is close, almost too close. Her side branches are very upright and strong. No floppy branches on this girl.
She is a very slow vegger too. Every other plant I grow can be put in my SOG as soon as the clone has roots. Not the MAC. She will only get 2 feet tall this way and produce about 7 grams per plant.
So she needs to be vegged until she is 12 inches tall. I found she does best in sea of green with all leaves and side branches removed along the entire stem. One node and flip works best for the MAC 1.
THE HLG 650R ROCKS
So this is the newest light from Horticulture Lighting Group. This spectrum includes more blue than previous lights like the 550R and the 660 red for the best spectrum of any LED on the market. And it is a powerhouse.
My light is 48 inches above my plants and par readings are in the 3-400 range. That might not seem like much but at 48 inches it is a lot. I am going to leave it there for now and let the plants grow into it.
The coverage is very even and penetration will be excellent too. If you are looking for a top quality LED this is what you want. It is cheaper than the Gavita or Spider and has a better spectrum. You can buy it from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2WuOHDf Read my full review at: https://420dotcom.com/hlg-650r-review.html”>https://420dotcom.com/hlg-650r-review.html
MAC 1 SOG UNDER THE HLG 650R
There are 32 plants underneath the 650R. They sit inside a 2 x 4 flood table which is lined with a capillary mat made from polyester batting.
The clones were rooted in jiffy pellets and then once rooted into small 2-3 pots filled with coco to veg for several weeks. Ideally they need to veg several weeks until they are about 12 inches tall. At this point they are ready to flower.
In SOG I remove most if not all branches and leaves below the top node before they are potted. They are placed in 6 inch net pots and filled in around the coco with growstones.
Because coco can hold a lot of water I make sure the plant sits on an inch or two of growstones. That way the coco does not sit right on the top of the flood tray but is raised up a bit above it for better drainage. Remember that the MAC 1 does not like wet feet.
MAC 1 DAY 1 OF FLOWER
The girls have perked up nicely after a few days and now it’s time to flower them. I am loving this plant! She yields much better than I thought.
Buds are really dense on her. I had 3 plants last grow and one was smaller than the others but I ended up with an ounce per plant average. I had to weigh it twice because it looked like less than 3 ounces, maybe 2 but the scale was right the first time.
BUD SHOTS OF THE MAC
MAC SOG DAY 7
So after 7 days the plants are very close to flowering. About half have made it through the screen. The rest will hopefully make it through too. Not a fast vegger or big stretcher but the plants have another week or 2 to stretch.
Some plants are taller than others. This is because there were 2 batches of clones and one was started about 7 days ahead of the others. So they had some extra veg time. Even the larger plants only managed to stretch about 3 inches during the first week of flower.
Day 14 Stacking And New Combo Meter
Plants have made it through the trellis and there are a lot of buds showing up. The HLG 650R is working great. It was moved closer to the plants this week and is about 24 inches above the tallest plants. I am seeing really nice bud development throughout the plants.
New Combo Meter Milwaukee MW 802
My CWP 24/7 monitors are going on 3 years old now and the pH probes are dying. This is normal because they are made from a porous glass and they get depleted over time.
I have 2 hand held meters but they dont agree with the readings on the monitor so I wanted to cross check everything.
PH is particularly important especially in hydroponics because it controls nutrient uptake and can cause lockouts if too far out of whack.
Blue Lab and Hanna both make good instruments but I decided to go with the Milwaukee MW 802 combo meter. It has a 3 foot cord so you can drop it in your reservoir and it’s large and easy to read. I like the calibration wheels on it too.
One reason I went with the Milwaukee was replacement probes were much cheaper than the others. Unless you are going to throw the meter away you will need a new probe every couple of years. They also have been making testing equipment for many years plus they are a US company.
MAC 1 SOG 14 DAYS LOOKING GOOD!
DAY 18 THE FROST COMES TO MAC 1
When I looked at my plants this morning the tops looked white! They are already very frosty even though day 18 is pretty early for most strains. Things will only get better from here!
DAY 21 THIRSTY MAC GIRLS
Day 21 has come and although the plants in this SOG are not large they are thirsty. They have been using a gallon a day and I just increased watering frequency. I was watering once a day and went to twice during week 2. But now in week 3 I have gone to 3 waterings a day.
MAC PICS WEEK 3
DAY 28 WHAT’S THAT SMELL?
Almost half way home. The frost is thick and they smell fantastic! The smell resembles apple pie to me. But everyone smells something different. However they all agree the smell is unique and quite nice!
I am probably going to remove some leaves this week. They have stacked pretty well. This plant grows like a column and branches are short, stout and held close to the main stem. So I want to increase light to the lower buds.
MAC 1 DAY 28 PICTURES
MAC 1 DAY 35
RULE BREAKER! MAC 1 DAY 42
Some plants just break all the rules that you think you know about growing. The MAC is one of those. I did a mid grow flush which is something I have done on all my other strains for years.
Well the MAC didn’t like that at all and I actually killed 2 plants by doing it. Started out looking like classic N deficiency a few days later and progressed to the whole plant pretty much dying back.
Fortunately only 2 plants were severely affected and it turned out the whole thing was unnecessary. There was no salt build up and the ppms came out at 400 even though I was feeding at close to 1000 ppm. Wont be doing that again with this strain. Live and learn.
MAC 1 BUD SHOTS DAY 48
DAY 56 Flushing And New Nutrients
Day 56 is here. I have been flushing for about 3 days now. Plants are starting to fade and are showing a lot of frost and some nice purples. This video is a combination of MAC 1 and an introduction to Dutch Master Nutrients which I will be switching to. You can read my Dutch Master review at: https://420dotcom.com/dutch-master-nutrients-review.html
HARVESTING MAC 1 SOG
Started harvesting the MAC 1 today. Buds feel really heavy so hoping for a good yield. Would have liked to go a bit longer but did not think it would be a good choice given the circumstances.
Some of the buds were totally dry as a result of the damage from the Rezin while others were still green and fading. I removed the damaged buds. But the buds are really dense and I was concerned about the chance of the dead buds spreading bud rot so I harvested the grow a few days earlier than planned.
MAC 1 SOG FINAL HARVEST BUD SHOTS
MAC 1 is Cap’s Cut of Miracle Alien Cookies it is clone only. Under a HLG 650 R in a Sea Of Green with 32 plants harvested day 60 of flower. Would have liked to go a bit longer but did not think it would be a good choice given the circumstances. Here are some harvest bud shots for you.
SOME STILL SHOTS OF MAC 1 BUDS
MAC 1 FINAL THOUGHTS
The quality of the grow was excellent. The buds had a fair amount of purple in them, far more than I expected. They were hard and dense with heavy trichome production and great smell. Kind of like apple pie with a cannabis bite to it. Very complex and hard to describe and very unique.
Yield in a 2×4 was just over 16 ounces but could probably been higher if not for the damage. I did not count the damaged buds I had removed. Larger clones probably would have produced more too.
The MAC 1 is a great clone only strain and produced one of the best quality harvests I ever had. Her upright column like growth habit makes her a perfect SOG plant. Her only drawback is her slow veg time but she is worth the wait. I will definitely be growing her again!
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