AfricanGrower's 1st Hydro Journal - Ebb&Flow - Bubblelicious 2013

[AfricanGrower]

Thanks for joining Jay, have a seat

BTW I heard you made a DIY cloner out of your GFs flipflop, can you post the link to it as I am very interested in your design!

 

[Jay233]

Thanks for joining Jay, have a seat

BTW I heard you made a DIY cloner out of your GFs flipflop, can you post the link to it as I am very interested in your design!

Don't get too excited it's not that great LOL...I find the pic and post it

 

[Jay233]

The flipflop circles hold the stems

For as simple and cheap as it is, it actually works awesome

 

[Jay233]

I saved the rest of the flipflops in case another cloner needs to be built LOL

 

[Skybound]

Got Pink?

 

[B A R]

I can honestly say I was pretty stressed over that larvae I found. But after some more intense research I am more inclined to believe that this is a ladybug larvae! Now the reason why there is only 1 around that I found, is good sign in this case. When ladybugs lay their eggs, they find a plant with enough food to sustain the larva until they are ready to go through metamorphosis. A ladybug will always choose a plant that is infested with aphids, or gnats, etc. If no food is available, the mother usually is on top of her game and lays infertile eggs in order for the surving larvae to thrive. And yes they are ruthless cannibals.

So my theory is that this little guy ate his siblings and was on the hunt for some tasty aphids and such. With no luck finding anything on the plant, it found itself crawling into unknown territory in search for food! I almost feel bad I locked it in a test tube with 2 dead ladybugs overnight. I'll release the larvae in the morning to continue the cycle!

Great research AG.

The flipflop circles hold the stems

For as simple and cheap as it is, it actually works awesome

Boy do I remember that. Has your significant other got over it yet?

 

[Jay233]

Boy do I remember that. Has your significant other got over it yet?

Yeah...she got over it


...AFTER I took her shopping LOL

 

[AfricanGrower]

Thanks for the pic Jay. IT wasn't the complexity of the design I was after, I just TRUELY love seeing what other growers come up with when the words 'DIY' are involved

Thanks Reg for the encouragement. I really was fibbing when I said:

Anyway it seems to large to be anything pest related. If it does end up being something pest-related than I'm sure the ladybugs that are remaining will be able to take care of it. No real worries here.

 

[B A R]

You know what happens to heroes that fib...

 

[AfricanGrower]

That's why I had to right my wrongs in that post (just like when I accidentally posted in you thread about Kumiko )

...but no really, what happens?

 

[B A R]

You either get sent to LA's or get Coked out.

 

[TheCapn]

>>>Did you order that 5 gal pot from china?

Haha...but no, not this time! Its actually two states away from me! I ordered from them twice last week, 4 days apart, and I got my most recent on Monday, but still waiting on the first order I placed. They have been great so far, but tomoroow morning they are going to get a very stubborn phonecall!

6 zips with a starting height of 13"....I NEED to surpass that number bro...double digits are calling my name

As for the poorman's airpot, how long would you give me before I MUST transplant? I am currently starting my second week of flower.

My pH is the same inconsistency as always. It still moves UP about .1-.2 daily, and with the GH nutes I started to notice that stringy film on the surface of my water I showed you in a PM. It even develops quicker with the GH products than with the FF line. I'm going to try putting some airstones again in this nutrient solution...new airstones...

>>>6 zips with a starting height of 13"....I NEED to surpass that number bro...double digits are calling my name

You will be there or VERY CLOSE with your bubb. Anything over 8 will be gravy.

>>>As for the poorman's airpot, how long would you give me before I MUST transplant?

The trick will be getting the net off the plant, then back on again. Now is the time it needs to stretch up thru the net so you can get some height above the screen. I'd like to see 12" colas popping up above the screen. I've made the mistake before... if the tops of the buds are only a few inches above the screen, you just get a small layer of buds across the top and most stuff under is shaded. To get yield you really need a good 12" above the screen. She's gonna be a looker, and I can't wait to start seeing those stars showing.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Since I put the screen on, they have already stretched 1-2 inches above the screen, and this is really allowing the internal branches to reach the screen before next week's cuttings. I have been raising and lifting the trellis once a day just to ensure nothing gets too intertwined yet. A couple more days and this will be next to impossible!

Alright I figure that I have roughly another 6 inches of growth at the most on the main cola'sand about another 6 days of rapid growth overall. If I let the main colas through the screen they stand a good 7-8 inches above the screen. I was thinking of allowing these colas through next time I lift the screen, what do you think?

I'm on my way home, if I don't have a package waiting for me, I'll be making a poor man's airpot. I'll drill quarter inch holes all over my 5 gallon bucket and use my 22 gal res as the ebb& flow . Simply placing the buckets on openings on the lid.

 

[AfricanGrower]

MINI UPDATE

FLOWER DAY 10

I still haven't received my 5 gallons pots yet. According to the company, they should arrive early this week. I have made the decision to keep the Bubb in her current pot until it arrives. The process of me making an airpot with my already existing materials will completely break apart my current system, with no way of putting it back together without buying new buckets, fittings, etc.

I will give her until this Wed. which marks the last day of her transitional phase into flowering before considering breaking apart my current system.

Anyway, the Bubb is really starting to put out the infamous 'Bubblegum' scent when opening the grow tent

On another note, I have started feeding the Bubb 3 times a day after coming home to this:

She was completely underwatered, but I am glad I caught it in time to douse her with some fresh nutrients

 

[Cultivator]

just curious why u would repot in flower? from my experience u want to be in the pots u will flower in when u flip. u want ur root mass defined and the plant to only focus on flowering. i repotted a large mother that i had in flower at around day 14-15 and i think it caused me to loose yield to to transplant shock at a time when the plant is focusing on other things.

 

[AfricanGrower]

just curious why u would repot in flower? from my experience u want to be in the pots u will flower in when u flip. u want ur root mass defined and the plant to only focus on flowering. i repotted a large mother that i had in flower at around day 14-15 and i think it caused me to loose yield to to transplant shock at a time when the plant is focusing on other things.

Well I weighed out my options based on the following:

1. If I leave it rootbound as you saw a couple updates ago, then I still run the risk of loosing yield due to the proven theory of 'pot size vs. growth rate'.

2. If I transplant, yes I might run the risk of shock (although absolutely no growth was affected by previous transplants during veg), but the roots will have more space to grow during the last month and a half.

My thought is that, being in rockwool, transplant shock is quite irrelevent. As Capn has mentioned many times, you can literally pull the plant out of its pot to check root size. I do this about once a week in veg, and roots were exposed to the open air for at least 30seconds before going back in. This has never caused me any problems in the past.

>>> i repotted a large mother that i had in flower at around day 14-15 and i think it caused me to loose yield to to transplant shock

Quick question, was this a soil transplant or a DWC? I know from previous experience that soil transplants tend to REALLY shock growth in comparison.

 

[TheCapn]

AG, I'm glad you got home in time. Are you not following the recipe?

From the simple hydro thread:
>>>4. Irrigation times. Get a cheap 15min on, 15 min off timer. If you are using straight grow-cubes, I would start with 3-4 x a day, 15 minutes each time. If you are using a mix of hydroton and grow cubes, I would start with 6 times a day. After irrigating, wait 30 minutes and then lift your pot slightly to see how heavy it is. Then, come back in a few hours later. If you notice a difference, up the frequency. The beauty about rockwool cubes, is that it is difficult to over water. But we do want to let the roots get plenty of oxygen.<<<

Ha ha, you know I like giving you a hard time ;-)

The first few weeks of flower they are SOOO thirsty. And it's a good idea to either flood it, or top feed for a good 15 minutes to really drench the media.

>>just curious why u would repot in flower? from my experience u want to be in the pots u will flower in when u flip

As AG pointed out... the cool thing about cubes, is they are so light, you can upsize a pot with absolutely no shock. Just do it when the cubes are fairly dry.

 

[Skybound]

Capn, would you recommend 3-4 times daily @ 15 mins for early veg in solo cup? The cubes only occupy roughly 75% of the cup. I too am using AG's time schedule, but I only water for 1 minute, and it only takes about 4 seconds to completely drench the medium. If I need the 3-4@15, I will definitely need to finish converting into a recirculating b/c I won't be able to afford good water otherwise, plus nutes are going thin.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Capn, haha, you know me, stubborn as ever!

But I completely forgot about changing my irrigation times, with the transplant on my mind. But my irrigation is slightly different in time frame than yours. Since I have a 185GPH pump, it takes only 3 min to fill my buckets and 11 minutes to drain. I basically have mine in a reverse order due to the power of the pump. All together, the rockwool is being soaked 3x a day for 10-12minuntes at a time.

>>>Capn, would you recommend 3-4 times daily @ 15 mins for early veg in solo cup?

No, I wouldn't personally, and not to speak for the Capn, but I don't he would recommend it either. For the first month of veg I handwatered once a day, completely soaking the media. Towards the last month of veg I started watering twice a day, just enough so I would get drips of runnoff instead of a constant flow.

>>> plus nutes are going thin.

This is the main reason why I watered by hand at the beginning, as I was on short supply of my FF nutrients.

 

[Cultivator]

my mother was in coco mate. obviously in dwc u can repot at any time as it wont matter. technically i repot every week as i empty buckets and refill. i hear what u are saying on the rockwool though.