420 Magazine's Official Girl Scout Cookies Comparative Grow By Justin Goody

[bluter]

Only thing I would add to that if I may is certain lux meters cant measure certain lights accurately including LEDs.

this right here. i worked with leds for years in production. when they first came out i had touring managers freaking out cause they couldn't get a true reading on any of our stages. older lux meters pick up the bounce lighting, but not anything direct from led properly. the newer top model expensive ones will work correct for led now.

in a small area like a grow space older ones do work a touch better, but again i think it's picking up more of the bounce.


curious if that light is on a dimmer @Justin Goody

 

[Justin Goody]

this right here. i worked with leds for years in production. when they first came out i had touring managers freaking out cause they couldn't get a true reading on any of our stages. older lux meters pick up the bounce lighting, but not anything direct from led properly. the newer top model expensive ones will work correct for led now.

in a small area like a grow space older ones do work a touch better, but again i think it's picking up more of the bounce.


curious if that light is on a dimmer @Justin Goody

It is on a dimmer, which I hadn’t ever used until I got this light. I have it set right now at 68%. I mounted the light then set the meter and lowered the wattage until I got the reading I wanted in about 5 different places. It definitely catches bounce as it reads a little different with tent doors closed.
I’m just looking to get close... after years of not knowing at all, and this is at least more accurate than my eye.
It is a cheap meter and likely not perfect, but what it reads has got me close enough to the results I want without light burn.

 

[bluter]

It is on a dimmer, which I hadn’t ever used until I got this light. I have it set right now at 68%. I mounted the light then set the meter and lowered the wattage until I got the reading I wanted in about 5 different places. It definitely catches bounce as it reads a little different with tent doors closed.
I’m just looking to get close... after years of not knowing at all, and this is at least more accurate than my eye.
It is a cheap meter and likely not perfect, but what it reads has got me close enough to the results I want without light burn.

lux meter is nothing to stress over. like you said it does give some info, an educated guess is better than a toss at a dart board.


most leds with a dimmer can get parked in a sweet zone 18 - 24 inches above canopy. the dimmer is then used to increase intensity. i set my light at 24 through the whole grow, and raise it when the plants reach in to the 18 mark, even in veg. it makes the whole grow less labour intensive. you're gonna love that light.

 

[Justin Goody]

lux meter is nothing to stress over. like you said it does give some info, an educated guess is better than a toss at a dart board.


most leds with a dimmer can get parked in a sweet zone 18 - 24 inches above canopy. the dimmer is then used to increase intensity. i set my light at 24 through the whole grow, and raise it when the plants reach in to the 18 mark, even in veg. it makes the whole grow less labour intensive. you're gonna love that light.

Yes I imagine it's a bit like my pile of cheap pH meters, never really meant to be high precision at that price, but works ok.

The light seems to be doing its job very well, I'm happy with it. Interested to see what it can do for yield.

 

[bluter]

at a 100w i'm guessing you're gonna be at full by then end of veg.
thinking it's the light atreum is aiming at for the 2x2's. should work a treat in that tent.

 

[Justin Goody]

What's the deal with the geo flora? Put it in/on the soil every two weeks to keep it hot?

It goes in the soil before the grow, and time releases with watering. Added as a top dress as well to bring the #'s up. Here's their suggested feeding chart (for 10g of soil, mine will be in 5g)

 

[ProfessorFlora]

 

[Justin Goody]

Sometimes what we see here in the journals only tells half a story. Often right outside the pics we see is another plant that never gets its day of glory, for one reason or another. This is one of those plants.

When I started this grow I knew I only had room for 1 photo plant in this little 2x2' tent.
But I had to sprout 2 seeds in the case that one didn't germinate. I have pretty good luck with this, but even I know that runs out eventually.
And if they both live, I keep the strongest one, the other one goes outside a little early.
So here is (nameless) #2, next to #1. She's behind and she's not quite right but she's trying.

Still 100% germination rate with WSE, but there's not much I can do if she wants to be a freak.
The good part is, I'm not ever disappointed by these totally normal occurrences. I'm more of a "what cool thing is this weirdo going to do" kind of grower. She finally has a bit of something that resembles a leaf, but I'm not sure she will ever be 100%. I'm constantly surprised at their resilience, though. So I'll wait and see what kind of magic she does.

She can hang out here with us for now, she's not taking up much room, and kind of cute.

 

[Freak Brothers]

Even a freak can shine

Interested in seeing how things compare

 

[N420]

Late to the party, thanks for the invite I’ll be here for the rest of the grow!

 

[MackMurder]

High five to atreum and their attention to the little things. The way they have the board custom built so the diodes are spaced out more in the middle and tighter on the edges so there's less Hotspot and better spread and coverage is something I guarantee you their one of the first to do.

 

[dick23rk]

Ah, the wee runt may still have some potential yet lol. Sometimes the freaks are the best in the end

 

[ProfessorFlora]

Sometimes what we see here in the journals only tells half a story. Often right outside the pics we see is another plant that never gets its day of glory, for one reason or another. This is one of those plants.

When I started this grow I knew I only had room for 1 photo plant in this little 2x2' tent.
But I had to sprout 2 seeds in the case that one didn't germinate. I have pretty good luck with this, but even I know that runs out eventually.
And if they both live, I keep the strongest one, the other one goes outside a little early.
So here is (nameless) #2, next to #1. She's behind and she's not quite right but she's trying.

Still 100% germination rate with WSE, but there's not much I can do if she wants to be a freak.
The good part is, I'm not ever disappointed by these totally normal occurrences. I'm more of a "what cool thing is this weirdo going to do" kind of grower. She finally has a bit of something that resembles a leaf, but I'm not sure she will ever be 100%. I'm constantly surprised at their resilience, though. So I'll wait and see what kind of magic she does.

She can hang out here with us for now, she's not taking up much room, and kind of cute.

I've decided to release any future freaks into the wild to see if they can contribute to the jars. I have one at the moment which is being nursed until the weather cheers up and then after that she's gone. If we're lucky we can then go and collect something later this year.

 

[twinsun]

i have a small compost pile, i throw all my fruit and veg waste into , , i then like to throw old used soil on top , i then plant my comfrey in there , come summer i can chop up the comfrey and use this as my liquid ferts , i have alfalfa seeds too that i can cover crop the same pile , even throw some stunted autos in to grow out, as you can see in the pic , you can also see old root balls , after a while this soil should be really good again , i will drench in compost teas to keep it active then reuse the soil and move the comfrey to this years pile

if you can understand me
this is were most of my peat base goes to reuse for all my plants not just Mary JANE the comfrey is dormant but should take off any day soon , the leaves from them should be packed with nutrients for my girls

Looks SO simple and so yummy professor Nutty

I never grow outside

But it looks so nice

They gonna be tree ??

I love trees !

 

[Justin Goody]

I've decided to release any future freaks into the wild to see if they can contribute to the jars. I have one at the moment which is being nursed until the weather cheers up and then after that she's gone. If we're lucky we can then go and collect something later this year.

Seems like a good idea. That may be what happens to this one if it actually grows, kind of just sitting there right now. Still has a strong stem, should be a comeback here soon.
In the back of my mind I'm hoping she does something weird like grow only 2 pointed leaves lol.
But I'd settle for just going normal and having a good long life outside.

 

[Justin Goody]

Cruising and looking good, and her little friend is just trying to be normal.

 

[Trala]

Hi Justin

Long time listener here, first time caller.

What do you start your seeds in?

 

[NuttyProfessor]

with mites i now get some neem cake/rock dust/ seaweed dust for the top of the soils , i also hang a live mite predator sachet seen here, the plant is too small yet to hang it up , maybe this week ill hang it after topping ,they only cost about £1.50 each , that other thing is a fish tank temp gauge i buried the prob so i can check root ball temps , a little hack

I should have also said , or why not try the 420 sponsors , sorry i always forget about the sponsors even though they are tagged to my sig lol

 

[SmokeyB]

I'm in for the show

 

[Justin Goody]

Hi Justin

Long time listener here, first time caller.

What do you start your seeds in?

Hi Trala
I float them in 80% tap water, 20% H2o2 (3% strength) for 24-30 hours or so. Then I skip the paper towel method and put the seed straight into ProMix potting mix about 5/8” deep.
I also had success using Black Gold seedling starter, but the ProMix takes and holds water a little better.
Seeds pop up into 22000 Lux and regular , unaltered humidity/temps.
This practice may seem slightly barbaric compared to how others may baby their seeds, but it seems to do the trick.
Hope that helps!