Skybound
Well-Known Member
The kiddos are looking great AG! What germination method did you use?
AfricanGrower's 2nd Hydro Journal - Perpetual - Multi-Strain - 2014
- Thread starter AfricanGrower
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
AfricanGrower
Well-Known Member
OFFICIAL UPDATE
INTRODUCTION
HEllo 420, I am finally back for a long and overdue journal update, and I can now say et the growing commence! This will be an official update to the start of weekly updates forthcoming. As already mentioned, we will be starting with 4 strains and going from there in terms of selection. Here are some detailed descriptions of what we're growing.
Power FlowerRoyal Queen Seeds
(breeder info
)
During the 90s, a group of passionate growers from the Netherlands travelled to South Africa to gather genetics which could be added to their library. Using the genetics they collected, this team would give birth to a nearly pure Sativa (12% Indica) made exclusively with those genetics. This Cannabis plant would eventually take over Amsterdam’s coffeeshops, mostly still around today, and was known as Power Plant.
With such a high yield in only 8 weeks flowering, combined with a moderately easy grow, Power Flower is easily a top contender for a commercial crop grower. With lots of light, fluffy green nuggets filling up all spacing between internodes, Power Flower is suitable for the sea/screen of green operations. The relatively easy grow also makes it suitable for first-time growers who want as little a challenge as possible.
INDICA/SATIVA: Sativa: 88% Indica: 12%
THC CONTENT: 19%
YIELD TIME : 8-9 Weeks
AVERAGE YIELD : 450-500gr m2
OG KushDinafem Seeds
(breeder info)
OG Kush is the most popular strain in South California and it has become the #1 in the U.S.A. It has a world class flavor, like lemon mixed with gasoline. It is an exotic blend of indica and sativa and this taste is one of the reasons that people get to pay up to $30 per gram. Another reason is that rappers, actors and VIPs in California demand this strain more than any other. It is overwhelmingly potent, up to 24% THC and 0,23% CBD, analysis carried out by laboratories in California. It is75% Indica and genetically is composed by Lemon Thai / Pakistani crossed with the famous ChemDawg. Leaves are neon green and totally trichome covered. In Europe is not so famous, even though it's starting to be so. Now you can try the Californian flavor!
INDICA/SATIVA: 75% Indica
THC CONTENT:*Up to 24%
YIELD TIME :55 days
AVERAGE YIELD : N/A
Cherry BombBomb Seeds
(breeder info)
Cherry Bomb is the hard hitting, big yielding strain from Bomb Seeds. The result of crossing our monster yielding Big Bomb with a unique and fruity mother means growers can expect an explosion of flavour and maximum yields.
As the name would suggest Cherry Bomb has a sweet fruity aroma which is matched by the distinctive cherry taste. Think summer fruits with the classic skunk undertones. The buzz starts with an initial head high, settling down into a deep and calming body stone that won’t knock you out for the count.
Cherry Bomb is the ideal strain for both commercial growers and those wanting big yields without compromising on smoke quality. It has a heavy bud structure thanks to its Big Bomb heritage, growing to a medium height of around 100-120cm. The perfect strain for both indoor and outdoor setups, growers can expect to yield 600-650g/m² with an 8-10 week flowering time. Outdoors it will finish late September – early October. Later in the flowering period leaves can turn a purple, cherry colour with buds glistening in THC.
Cherry Bomb is best smoked however you like. It works equally well as a blunt but smoked through a bong it is a real mind opener – perfect for exercising your inner creative urges.
INDICA/SATIVA: Indica/Sativa (mostly Indica)
THC CONTENT: High (17-22%)
YIELD TIME : 8-10 Weeks
AVERAGE YIELD : High (600-650g/m²)
Royal MedicRoyal Queen Seeds
Royal Medic is a new feminized hybrid of two great cannabis strains from Spain. Its genetics are a cross of Critical, known for its big yields, and Juanita la Lagrimosa, a strain known for its medicinal effects.
The result is a great medicinal strain, with a high amount of CBD, almost equal to the amount of THC. These high CBD strains are not as psychoactive as some of the higher THC strains, which can be better for medical users. The effect is very cerebral with a clear high. These types of strains have been used for their anti-inflammatory, anti-pain, anti-anxiety and/or anti-spasm effects.
INDICA/SATIVA: Sativa: 75% Indica: 25%
THC CONTENT: 10%
CBD CONTENT: 12%
YIELD TIME : 9 weeks
AVERAGE YIELD : 575-625gr m2
GROW STYLE: Capn Style Influenced; Topping/Scrog/Sog
HYDRO SETUP:Ebb&Flow; Recirculating Top Feed
For the flowering tent, I will be utilising two 240 GPH pumps each recirculating their own 27 gallon totes 10-15min of feed 3x a day.
GROW ROOM: 1x 4ft x 4ft x 7ft flowering tent
This tent has a total of 16 square feet, double the amount of my previous tent. Hopefully I will be able to similarly increase those yields as well!
1x 2ft x 4ft x 7ft vegetative tent
Nothing new here. I will be recycling my old flower tent and converting it into a 2 part vegetative chamber. Top shelf will be used for teen and mature vegetative plants. The bottom shelf will be used for cloning and newly rooted clones.
LIGHTING: Flower: 2x Apollo 400w HPS Systems
Added another 400w Apollo system. From my experience and research, the 400w HID gives off least amount of heat that I can control given my space.
Temperature in the flower tent steadies at 84F while maintaining a 50% RH.
Veg: 1x VivaGrow T5 Fluorescent Grow Light (~432w; 6500K ) 2x 30w T5 bulbs
This was a necessary purchase if I was going try and recreate the same rate of growth of my 400w MH with significantly less heat. This system sports 8 54w T5 bulbs, giving a total output of 432w.
The temp with 6 bulbs on steadies at 84F and that is with the tent open. I am still procrastinating in drilling a hole in the adjacent ceiling. Once that is done I can safely keep all 8 bulbs on at a reasonable temperature.
VENTILATION: Flower: 1x Cyclone 400 CFM Inline fan. 1x 3 speed oscillating fan
Another imperative decision. Upgrading to this 400CFM inline allows me to run 800w worth of HID lighting at very reasonable temperatures. It has been ducted to pull through the two 400w HPS cooltubes, then through the inline fan, and out through an exhaust outlet in the ceiling. The oscillating allows for continuous airflow.
Veg: 1x 6in Duct fan (240 CFM)
Recycled material from my previous setup.
NUTRIENTS: GH 3 part Flora series
I will be using another round of General Hydroponics. I have grown very comfortable with their proportions and relative feeding adjustments, so I will be sticking with this regime until I finally try out AN's pH Perfect. Along with the 3 part Gro, Micro, and Bloom, I will be using Florablend and CaliMagic supplements, both GH products. KoolBloom will be used during flowering sparingly as this is the first round of growing these strains.
WATER: 3 part DI/RO System
I have been graciously gifted a BRS 3 part DI/RO filtration unit from a member on this site. A fellow grower, and friend. It has a steadliy slow rate of 75GPD, but definitely pushes out less than that. This filter hooks up to a 40 gallon reservoir tank that I have yet to install a float valve. If anyone has any good links for hooking up a DIY float valve for cutoffs in water tanks, that would be appreciated.
Pics of this will be uploaded eventually.
From here I can start to talk about the plants that are in rotation currently. I have been out of the country for the past month now so the plants were in the care of my partner. Still in training, the initial plants that I started this journal with got bigger than I anticipated for the rotation I was looking for. So here are some updated pics about 6 weeks after my last update. Each plant getting a feed of 700-800 PPM of flower nutrients at a pH of 6.0.
25/08/2014 around 10 weeks of veg
Power Flower
OG Kush
Cherry Bomb
Unfortunately the Royal Medic got bullied out of the way before I had a chance to setup the additional lights or the veg tent T5's. So after 10 weeks of veg she has 4 week clones catching up to her size.
In this picture I am showing the how the hybrid irrigation system will work. In 1 months time I will be testing out a SOG harvest ustilising the flood tray to hold 4-6 teen plants. This will give clones still in veg 2 months to get big enough to fill in the next harvest space. Hopefully by December I will be looking at a steady cycle of plants going into flower and being harvested each month.
Royal Medic is the biggest plant on the right. In front of it is a Power Flower clone. In the left tray sits 3-4 week clones. I am still working on recirculating these trays in the next week or two. I'll have an update when the time comes.
On the bottom tray sits the clones that have recently been cut or that are currently rooting. At the moment there are 10 clones are being cloned in rockwool 1in cubes.
Here are the 3 biggest plants 2 in which have been put under a trellis.
HEre is the Cherry Bomb that has no room under the trellis so I have been supercropping it in order to maintain even heights with the other two.
Well that is it for now. I was really dreading this long sit down for this writeup, but once I started I had that awesome feeling of journaling and sharing my experience with a great community such as 420. Hopefully this round will be full of as much excitement as my previous adventure.
I will be active on my journal, but will only be able to pull out 1 update a week due to a decrease of time in my schedule.
As always questions, comments, concerns are all welcome!
AG
INTRODUCTION
HEllo 420, I am finally back for a long and overdue journal update, and I can now say et the growing commence! This will be an official update to the start of weekly updates forthcoming. As already mentioned, we will be starting with 4 strains and going from there in terms of selection. Here are some detailed descriptions of what we're growing.
Power FlowerRoyal Queen Seeds
(breeder info
)During the 90s, a group of passionate growers from the Netherlands travelled to South Africa to gather genetics which could be added to their library. Using the genetics they collected, this team would give birth to a nearly pure Sativa (12% Indica) made exclusively with those genetics. This Cannabis plant would eventually take over Amsterdam’s coffeeshops, mostly still around today, and was known as Power Plant.
With such a high yield in only 8 weeks flowering, combined with a moderately easy grow, Power Flower is easily a top contender for a commercial crop grower. With lots of light, fluffy green nuggets filling up all spacing between internodes, Power Flower is suitable for the sea/screen of green operations. The relatively easy grow also makes it suitable for first-time growers who want as little a challenge as possible.
INDICA/SATIVA: Sativa: 88% Indica: 12%
THC CONTENT: 19%
YIELD TIME : 8-9 Weeks
AVERAGE YIELD : 450-500gr m2
OG KushDinafem Seeds
(breeder info
)OG Kush is the most popular strain in South California and it has become the #1 in the U.S.A. It has a world class flavor, like lemon mixed with gasoline. It is an exotic blend of indica and sativa and this taste is one of the reasons that people get to pay up to $30 per gram. Another reason is that rappers, actors and VIPs in California demand this strain more than any other. It is overwhelmingly potent, up to 24% THC and 0,23% CBD, analysis carried out by laboratories in California. It is75% Indica and genetically is composed by Lemon Thai / Pakistani crossed with the famous ChemDawg. Leaves are neon green and totally trichome covered. In Europe is not so famous, even though it's starting to be so. Now you can try the Californian flavor!
INDICA/SATIVA: 75% Indica
THC CONTENT:*Up to 24%
YIELD TIME :55 days
AVERAGE YIELD : N/A
Cherry BombBomb Seeds
(breeder info
)Cherry Bomb is the hard hitting, big yielding strain from Bomb Seeds. The result of crossing our monster yielding Big Bomb with a unique and fruity mother means growers can expect an explosion of flavour and maximum yields.
As the name would suggest Cherry Bomb has a sweet fruity aroma which is matched by the distinctive cherry taste. Think summer fruits with the classic skunk undertones. The buzz starts with an initial head high, settling down into a deep and calming body stone that won’t knock you out for the count.
Cherry Bomb is the ideal strain for both commercial growers and those wanting big yields without compromising on smoke quality. It has a heavy bud structure thanks to its Big Bomb heritage, growing to a medium height of around 100-120cm. The perfect strain for both indoor and outdoor setups, growers can expect to yield 600-650g/m² with an 8-10 week flowering time. Outdoors it will finish late September – early October. Later in the flowering period leaves can turn a purple, cherry colour with buds glistening in THC.
Cherry Bomb is best smoked however you like. It works equally well as a blunt but smoked through a bong it is a real mind opener – perfect for exercising your inner creative urges.
INDICA/SATIVA: Indica/Sativa (mostly Indica)
THC CONTENT: High (17-22%)
YIELD TIME : 8-10 Weeks
AVERAGE YIELD : High (600-650g/m²)
Royal MedicRoyal Queen Seeds
Royal Medic is a new feminized hybrid of two great cannabis strains from Spain. Its genetics are a cross of Critical, known for its big yields, and Juanita la Lagrimosa, a strain known for its medicinal effects.
The result is a great medicinal strain, with a high amount of CBD, almost equal to the amount of THC. These high CBD strains are not as psychoactive as some of the higher THC strains, which can be better for medical users. The effect is very cerebral with a clear high. These types of strains have been used for their anti-inflammatory, anti-pain, anti-anxiety and/or anti-spasm effects.
INDICA/SATIVA: Sativa: 75% Indica: 25%
THC CONTENT: 10%
CBD CONTENT: 12%
YIELD TIME : 9 weeks
AVERAGE YIELD : 575-625gr m2
GROW STYLE: Capn Style Influenced; Topping/Scrog/Sog
HYDRO SETUP:Ebb&Flow; Recirculating Top Feed
For the flowering tent, I will be utilising two 240 GPH pumps each recirculating their own 27 gallon totes 10-15min of feed 3x a day.
GROW ROOM: 1x 4ft x 4ft x 7ft flowering tent
This tent has a total of 16 square feet, double the amount of my previous tent. Hopefully I will be able to similarly increase those yields as well!
1x 2ft x 4ft x 7ft vegetative tent
Nothing new here. I will be recycling my old flower tent and converting it into a 2 part vegetative chamber. Top shelf will be used for teen and mature vegetative plants. The bottom shelf will be used for cloning and newly rooted clones.
LIGHTING: Flower: 2x Apollo 400w HPS Systems
Added another 400w Apollo system. From my experience and research, the 400w HID gives off least amount of heat that I can control given my space.
Temperature in the flower tent steadies at 84F while maintaining a 50% RH.
Veg: 1x VivaGrow T5 Fluorescent Grow Light (~432w; 6500K ) 2x 30w T5 bulbs
This was a necessary purchase if I was going try and recreate the same rate of growth of my 400w MH with significantly less heat. This system sports 8 54w T5 bulbs, giving a total output of 432w.
The temp with 6 bulbs on steadies at 84F and that is with the tent open. I am still procrastinating in drilling a hole in the adjacent ceiling. Once that is done I can safely keep all 8 bulbs on at a reasonable temperature.
VENTILATION: Flower: 1x Cyclone 400 CFM Inline fan. 1x 3 speed oscillating fan
Another imperative decision. Upgrading to this 400CFM inline allows me to run 800w worth of HID lighting at very reasonable temperatures. It has been ducted to pull through the two 400w HPS cooltubes, then through the inline fan, and out through an exhaust outlet in the ceiling. The oscillating allows for continuous airflow.
Veg: 1x 6in Duct fan (240 CFM)
Recycled material from my previous setup.
NUTRIENTS: GH 3 part Flora series
I will be using another round of General Hydroponics. I have grown very comfortable with their proportions and relative feeding adjustments, so I will be sticking with this regime until I finally try out AN's pH Perfect. Along with the 3 part Gro, Micro, and Bloom, I will be using Florablend and CaliMagic supplements, both GH products. KoolBloom will be used during flowering sparingly as this is the first round of growing these strains.
WATER: 3 part DI/RO System
I have been graciously gifted a BRS 3 part DI/RO filtration unit from a member on this site. A fellow grower, and friend. It has a steadliy slow rate of 75GPD, but definitely pushes out less than that. This filter hooks up to a 40 gallon reservoir tank that I have yet to install a float valve. If anyone has any good links for hooking up a DIY float valve for cutoffs in water tanks, that would be appreciated.
Pics of this will be uploaded eventually.
From here I can start to talk about the plants that are in rotation currently. I have been out of the country for the past month now so the plants were in the care of my partner. Still in training, the initial plants that I started this journal with got bigger than I anticipated for the rotation I was looking for. So here are some updated pics about 6 weeks after my last update. Each plant getting a feed of 700-800 PPM of flower nutrients at a pH of 6.0.
25/08/2014 around 10 weeks of veg
Power Flower
OG Kush
Cherry Bomb
Unfortunately the Royal Medic got bullied out of the way before I had a chance to setup the additional lights or the veg tent T5's. So after 10 weeks of veg she has 4 week clones catching up to her size.
In this picture I am showing the how the hybrid irrigation system will work. In 1 months time I will be testing out a SOG harvest ustilising the flood tray to hold 4-6 teen plants. This will give clones still in veg 2 months to get big enough to fill in the next harvest space. Hopefully by December I will be looking at a steady cycle of plants going into flower and being harvested each month.
Royal Medic is the biggest plant on the right. In front of it is a Power Flower clone. In the left tray sits 3-4 week clones. I am still working on recirculating these trays in the next week or two. I'll have an update when the time comes.
On the bottom tray sits the clones that have recently been cut or that are currently rooting. At the moment there are 10 clones are being cloned in rockwool 1in cubes.
Here are the 3 biggest plants 2 in which have been put under a trellis.
HEre is the Cherry Bomb that has no room under the trellis so I have been supercropping it in order to maintain even heights with the other two.
Well that is it for now. I was really dreading this long sit down for this writeup, but once I started I had that awesome feeling of journaling and sharing my experience with a great community such as 420. Hopefully this round will be full of as much excitement as my previous adventure.
I will be active on my journal, but will only be able to pull out 1 update a week due to a decrease of time in my schedule.
As always questions, comments, concerns are all welcome!
AG
Damn AG! You've gone stepped your game up some since last time! Great to have you back at it and loving everything so far! This should be great to watch and learn from. 
Dusty Kiefers
Well-Known Member
Looking clean man.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the delay in response, had to move and internet was down for a week, but I'm here now. Holy shit AG, man your grow rig has tripled at least. I am scratching my head how you're managing all those plants. What, 4 strains and some clones of each? We now see where all your extra time went. Anyways, extremely impressive and well thought out. Kudos !!!
Wow AG, you have made so many upgrades. I'm loving the dual 400W cool tubes, the 27 gal totes, everything. My bets are that the "power flower" will be the best one, but we will see what happens. You never know.
So are you going to run TWO plants on top of one 27 gal tote? I've always wanted to do this but they always got too big and ran into eachother.
So are you going to run TWO plants on top of one 27 gal tote? I've always wanted to do this but they always got too big and ran into eachother.
- Thread starter
- #27
AfricanGrower
Well-Known Member
Thank you all for your words of encouragement!
>>> Great to have you back at it and loving everything so far! This should be great to watch and learn from.
Great to be back Light, a lot of catch-up to begin playing!
>>>What, 4 strains and some clones of each? We now see where all your extra time went.
Well exactly 4 seeded plants and 16 clones (rooted and rooting). I still have loads of planning to do in order to get enough momentum to create a perpetual system. But without your help, I would not have stepped up my game this far, thanks broski!
>>>So are you going to run TWO plants on top of one 27 gal tote? I've always wanted to do this but they always got too big and ran
into eachother.
Yup, that's what I came up with in the blueprints of this new tent. With early enough training, I bet I can handle two plants per. Unfortunately, the two that are on there were vegged longer than anticipated. I have a good feeling you are right about the Power Flower, it has been the easiest and fastest to clone and recover from breakage.
Do you (Capn) or Sky know if Silica would help raise pH from a 5.0 range. My RO water comes out at a pH of 6. I want to avoid purchasing another bottle of pH UP/DOWN.
>>> Great to have you back at it and loving everything so far! This should be great to watch and learn from.
Great to be back Light, a lot of catch-up to begin playing!
>>>What, 4 strains and some clones of each? We now see where all your extra time went.
Well exactly 4 seeded plants and 16 clones (rooted and rooting). I still have loads of planning to do in order to get enough momentum to create a perpetual system. But without your help, I would not have stepped up my game this far, thanks broski!
>>>So are you going to run TWO plants on top of one 27 gal tote? I've always wanted to do this but they always got too big and ran
into eachother.
Yup, that's what I came up with in the blueprints of this new tent. With early enough training, I bet I can handle two plants per. Unfortunately, the two that are on there were vegged longer than anticipated. I have a good feeling you are right about the Power Flower, it has been the easiest and fastest to clone and recover from breakage.
Do you (Capn) or Sky know if Silica would help raise pH from a 5.0 range. My RO water comes out at a pH of 6. I want to avoid purchasing another bottle of pH UP/DOWN.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Silica products do increase the pH, but I noticed that they are not as strong of a buffer as the UP, so it might slip back down quicker than the UP would allow for. I remembered that my filter was making the water difficult to get a stable reading out of my meter, and I just figured that the lack of dissolved solids made it harder for the probe to do it's job, but that was just a guess. Perhaps a new Ph meter is in my future?
IMO, the silica would help serve to raise your pH and give your girls more pliability and stress tolerant.
IMO, the silica would help serve to raise your pH and give your girls more pliability and stress tolerant.
- Thread starter
- #32
AfricanGrower
Well-Known Member
UPDATE
6/08/2014
Hello 420, I hope that everyone is having a safe and productive weekend. A few new things will be covered in this update, otherwise enjoy the progress friends.
Flower Tent Day 12 of Flower
The 3 plants are doing more than well in the flowering tent. With less than 2 feet of vertical space in the tent, I anticipate that some of the OG Kush buds might reach the HPS bulb. I honestly am reconsidering the whole ebb & flow bucket concept for this tent, as they have the ability to sit on the ground floor, eliminating the foot and a half of wasted height by the tote.
PPM has been between 8-900 this whole week, but I have finally found a sweet spot at 830 which gives me minimal leaf dehydration. The pH steadies at 5.7 for the majority of the week after slowly raising it with pH Up from 5.3. I have recently bought a gallon of Armor Si silica in order to help with my low pH RO water.
The temp steadies at around 84F and a RH of 62%. I'm looking into investing in a temp/humidity control unit for when my lights are off. Right now I switched my fan from my light schedule to 24/7, trying to counteract the 99% night time humidity.
Here are a few close up pics of each plant, showing the beginning of pistil development.
The Cherry Bomb has the earliest signs of trichome formation, with all new growth covered in them. Node structure is tight, and stretch has been the most mininal compared to the the other two.
The OG has very dense foliage that supports a very broad range of thick stems. Each of the tops that reach pass the net are at least the diameter of a sharpie pen. This made it really hard for me to bend the plant (as well as the Power Flower) under the net 2 weeks ago, damaging limbs.
The Power Flower has shown the most durability and perseverance for growth. It has been supper cropped a multitude of times days before and after flower, to try and stunt upwards growth. But the plant has shown no signs of stress and continues to grow at a fast rate.
Veg Tent Royal Medic/Power Flower Day 36 ; Potted Clones Day 12 (since rooted) Day 28 (since cloned) ; Rooting Cones Day 12
I don't know if I mentioned it, but the Royal Medic below was planted the same day as the 3 monsters that are flowering right now. This plant really got out shined by the other three fighting for space and light. Now it is finally transplanted into a 3.5 gallon pot and recovering from a recent heat stress issue. She should be set to go into flower in 6-7 weeks.
This is a Power Flower clone that was cut 36 days ago and has just shot up faster than all of its peers. It has been transplanted into a 3.5 gallon pot as well, with plans to go into flower with the RM in 6-7 weeks. I had recently noticed that this clone has haploid mutation between each node from its cut. It's strange that the original mother plant has normal diploid genetics.
In the other flood tray sits 4 recently transplanted 28 day old clones. There are 2 Cherry Bombs and 2 Royal Medics that I have planned to put into flower in 3-4 weeks. This will go into a flood tray system that will start off the cycle of the perpetual system. There is a little OG clone that has been babied, this plant will hopefully follow in its mothers footsteps.
Both trays are being fed a vegetative solution at 490 PPM that steadies at 5.9 for most of the week.
After reading an entry from theCapn's blog, I realized that the 60+ watts of florescent lighting was an excess amount for healthy fast-rooting clones.
Here we have 9 rooting clones, all 12 days old and out of the dome without signs of wilt. There are 4x OG, 3x PF, and 2x CB. These clones will be the next generation of teens and mature vegetative plants within the next couple of months. They should be transplanted within the week.
The temp and humidity in the clone level steadies at around 76F and 99% with the dome on. The temp in the upper veg section steadies at 79F. If you notice there are 3 recently cut OG clones, all looking very bad. Just goes to show that I still have some learning to do when it comes to a 'perfect' cloning method.
Saving the bad news for last, I have run into my firsts pest problem in this new location. I have identified the insects as thripes and have recently ordered a bottle of Monetary Neem Oil. The infestation seemed to to be minute, only existing on one leaf on a RM rooted clone. I will use the Neem oil at a recommended dilution and spray the undersides of leaves. Since they are a sponsor, has any member had reviews about SNS's pesticide spray that relates to my problem?
Here are some close up pics of the little buggers, and some leaf damage.
Alright guys, that's it for this weeks update, I should be making some Heisenburg Tea mid-week, so i might stop in with a mini update.
AG
6/08/2014
Hello 420, I hope that everyone is having a safe and productive weekend. A few new things will be covered in this update, otherwise enjoy the progress friends.
Flower Tent Day 12 of Flower
The 3 plants are doing more than well in the flowering tent. With less than 2 feet of vertical space in the tent, I anticipate that some of the OG Kush buds might reach the HPS bulb. I honestly am reconsidering the whole ebb & flow bucket concept for this tent, as they have the ability to sit on the ground floor, eliminating the foot and a half of wasted height by the tote.
PPM has been between 8-900 this whole week, but I have finally found a sweet spot at 830 which gives me minimal leaf dehydration. The pH steadies at 5.7 for the majority of the week after slowly raising it with pH Up from 5.3. I have recently bought a gallon of Armor Si silica in order to help with my low pH RO water.
The temp steadies at around 84F and a RH of 62%. I'm looking into investing in a temp/humidity control unit for when my lights are off. Right now I switched my fan from my light schedule to 24/7, trying to counteract the 99% night time humidity.
Here are a few close up pics of each plant, showing the beginning of pistil development.
The Cherry Bomb has the earliest signs of trichome formation, with all new growth covered in them. Node structure is tight, and stretch has been the most mininal compared to the the other two.
The OG has very dense foliage that supports a very broad range of thick stems. Each of the tops that reach pass the net are at least the diameter of a sharpie pen. This made it really hard for me to bend the plant (as well as the Power Flower) under the net 2 weeks ago, damaging limbs.
The Power Flower has shown the most durability and perseverance for growth. It has been supper cropped a multitude of times days before and after flower, to try and stunt upwards growth. But the plant has shown no signs of stress and continues to grow at a fast rate.
Veg Tent Royal Medic/Power Flower Day 36 ; Potted Clones Day 12 (since rooted) Day 28 (since cloned) ; Rooting Cones Day 12
I don't know if I mentioned it, but the Royal Medic below was planted the same day as the 3 monsters that are flowering right now. This plant really got out shined by the other three fighting for space and light. Now it is finally transplanted into a 3.5 gallon pot and recovering from a recent heat stress issue. She should be set to go into flower in 6-7 weeks.
This is a Power Flower clone that was cut 36 days ago and has just shot up faster than all of its peers. It has been transplanted into a 3.5 gallon pot as well, with plans to go into flower with the RM in 6-7 weeks. I had recently noticed that this clone has haploid mutation between each node from its cut. It's strange that the original mother plant has normal diploid genetics.
In the other flood tray sits 4 recently transplanted 28 day old clones. There are 2 Cherry Bombs and 2 Royal Medics that I have planned to put into flower in 3-4 weeks. This will go into a flood tray system that will start off the cycle of the perpetual system. There is a little OG clone that has been babied, this plant will hopefully follow in its mothers footsteps.
Both trays are being fed a vegetative solution at 490 PPM that steadies at 5.9 for most of the week.
After reading an entry from theCapn's blog, I realized that the 60+ watts of florescent lighting was an excess amount for healthy fast-rooting clones.
Here we have 9 rooting clones, all 12 days old and out of the dome without signs of wilt. There are 4x OG, 3x PF, and 2x CB. These clones will be the next generation of teens and mature vegetative plants within the next couple of months. They should be transplanted within the week.
The temp and humidity in the clone level steadies at around 76F and 99% with the dome on. The temp in the upper veg section steadies at 79F. If you notice there are 3 recently cut OG clones, all looking very bad. Just goes to show that I still have some learning to do when it comes to a 'perfect' cloning method.
Saving the bad news for last, I have run into my firsts pest problem in this new location. I have identified the insects as thripes and have recently ordered a bottle of Monetary Neem Oil. The infestation seemed to to be minute, only existing on one leaf on a RM rooted clone. I will use the Neem oil at a recommended dilution and spray the undersides of leaves. Since they are a sponsor, has any member had reviews about SNS's pesticide spray that relates to my problem?
Here are some close up pics of the little buggers, and some leaf damage.
Alright guys, that's it for this weeks update, I should be making some Heisenburg Tea mid-week, so i might stop in with a mini update.
AG
stealthgrow
Well-Known Member
Hi AG, I'm subbed, sorry I didn't see your journal sooner but glad I made it to the show early enough.
Your new equipment and setup looks great man.
Good luck with the grow.
Your new equipment and setup looks great man.
Good luck with the grow.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Nice tri meter, got one on the wish list. Hey, when you work that Armor Si into their diets, the rigidity of the stems/stalks will lessen and make them more pliable which should help some. Also, if using an AC unit at night is an option, even at the highest setting so not to over cool, will remove moisture from the air, probably not at the level of using a dehumidifier, but would still be a progressive step to hold you over till a DH falls into budget.
SweetLeef
Well-Known Member
Very Nice AG!!!
Really glad you are back at it! This is an exciting an informative journal, sorry I'm so late to the party!
Check out the SNS-209 Systemic Pest Control. It's all natural and very easy to use. Just water your girls with a tiny bit of that stuff and your bugs should take off. I answered you a little more in depth in my journal, but seems to have worked for my fungus gnats
Excited to follow along here!
Really glad you are back at it! This is an exciting an informative journal, sorry I'm so late to the party!
Check out the SNS-209 Systemic Pest Control. It's all natural and very easy to use. Just water your girls with a tiny bit of that stuff and your bugs should take off. I answered you a little more in depth in my journal, but seems to have worked for my fungus gnats
Excited to follow along here!
>>>I honestly am reconsidering the whole ebb & flow bucket concept for this tent, as they have the ability to sit on the ground floor, eliminating the foot and a half of wasted height by the tote
Can you show me what you mean by this? How could this be possible? Water can't drain out if it's sitting on the floor.
Will you send me a link to that ppm / ph meter? Maybe you could do a review of it? Does it hold calibration?
>>>trying to counteract the 99% night time humidity.
If your exhaust fan is running at night, why is the humidity so high?
That cherry bomb looks very indica?
Love the tight nodes on the OMG.
Those plants in veg look amazing for only 36 days from cut. As far as your other clones, some of them look like they have pretty thick stems? I try to take really tiny clones. If you cut the clone and you see the stem of the clone is hollow, then it's too big. It is difficult to root these.
Your flower tent grow and your veg looks A+, all of it. Going to be a huge harvest, and your plants in veg are going to be monsters by the time you have room in flower. You might be giving them major toppings to keep them short enough!
Thanks for the update. I always enjoy reading your detailed write ups. Sorry for all the questions.
Can you show me what you mean by this? How could this be possible? Water can't drain out if it's sitting on the floor.
Will you send me a link to that ppm / ph meter? Maybe you could do a review of it? Does it hold calibration?
>>>trying to counteract the 99% night time humidity.
If your exhaust fan is running at night, why is the humidity so high?
That cherry bomb looks very indica?
Love the tight nodes on the OMG.
Those plants in veg look amazing for only 36 days from cut. As far as your other clones, some of them look like they have pretty thick stems? I try to take really tiny clones. If you cut the clone and you see the stem of the clone is hollow, then it's too big. It is difficult to root these.
Your flower tent grow and your veg looks A+, all of it. Going to be a huge harvest, and your plants in veg are going to be monsters by the time you have room in flower. You might be giving them major toppings to keep them short enough!
Thanks for the update. I always enjoy reading your detailed write ups. Sorry for all the questions.
- Thread starter
- #37
AfricanGrower
Well-Known Member
Hi AG, I'm subbed, sorry I didn't see your journal sooner but glad I made it to the show early enough.
Your new equipment and setup looks great man.
Good luck with the grow.
Nice to see you Stealth, no worries, this grow has started many months ago, it's only NOW that I finally have the time to document it all. Now I know how it feels to have reliable and decent tools for the trade. Definitely keeps the peace of mind.
I see you are growing another Royal Queen strain there in your sig. I'll definitely be around to check that out. In your opinion, has the breeder info the strains been somewhat accurate in terms of harvest time and overall growth structure?
Thanks for the info on the Silica. I just did a res change today and introduced the Armor Si. Dayummm, I didn't realize that it affects pH that much. I put in 2.5ml per 5 gallon and it shot up a whole unit! I'm definitely not going to miss using all those pH buffers as much now.
I do have a 15,000 BTU AC. I am still figuring out the best way to duct the window unit into my tent
Very Nice AG!!!
Really glad you are back at it! This is an exciting an informative journal, sorry I'm so late to the party!
Check out the SNS-209 Systemic Pest Control. It's all natural and very easy to use. Just water your girls with a tiny bit of that stuff and your bugs should take off. I answered you a little more in depth in my journal, but seems to have worked for my fungus gnats
Excited to follow along here!
Thanks for the reply on your journal Sweet! I'll be sure to do some more follow-up research.
Hey Capn, always great to have you. Here are some answers to your questions, and don't be sorry
>>>Can you show me what you mean by this? How could this be possible? Water can't drain out if it's sitting on the floor.
I know you have heard of those $300 E&F systems with controller buckets. Well I know I can recreate something similar with far less cash invested. Here is a video that shows what I am looking at building. At 20 seconds in, you notice how the buckets sit on the floor.
[video=youtube;WiqXYARY0h0]
Will you send me a link to that ppm / ph meter? Maybe you could do a review of it? Does it hold calibration?
I found this deal for around $100 on the flea. It is a GearsmithTM USA 6in1 Multi-Function Reader. Definitely not as good as a Blue Labs reader, but it surely beats any hand held meter I have been using.
Short Review: When I received it the pH probe positive wire was disconnected. It seemed like the shipping broke the solder off. Once I re-soldered the wires, I put the pH in calibration solution and it read perfectly, so did the PPM meter. It also comes with a USB wall plug that powers a rechargeable battery in the unit.
>>> As far as your other clones, some of them look like they have pretty thick stems?
Yea, I've noticed that those clones take up to a week longer to root, but on majority most of the stems are not hollow when cut. Good advice.
AG
J189RFC
New Member
Hurmmmm I though I had stopped by and left you a nice Howdy, hello, hwo ya been, been a while... but either I'm far too stoned or I was at one point before this far too stoned hahaha
Nice to see you rocking some sweet strains again. I want to see how your medic turns out. Subbed!
Nice to see you rocking some sweet strains again. I want to see how your medic turns out. Subbed!
Skybound
Well-Known Member
I think that E&F system might have a few flaws. Plumbing into round containers are more likely to leak than square. Pumping the water out of the control to the master would still leave some behind in the sites unless they were slightly raised to a higher point than the control. Far more likely to contract pythium than in the croutons. I had that same exact concern my last "full" grow and luckily I had enough space under my grow closet to fit in a res. Me personally, I think your safest bet would be to shop around for a res bucket that is wide and low. This would allow you to stay in your current system and gain some head room, not all of it, but you'd gain back maybe half if you found the right lowpro res for your situation. Another thing I think you should look into is if you'll be able to keep the water cold to hold more dissolved O2. Ask Capn, I have been wanting to get into RDWC since he's known me, but until I can mitigate all the liabilities of DWC, it's pointless for me to even try it as all my efforts would be for naught.
+1. But I'm thinking AG wants to do the flood and drain using cubes, right? Even so, I know I'm always a party pooper but there are so many things wrong with that grow system. Water on floor, complicated, too much margin for error, power out = dead plants, F&D needs too large a volume of water, can't do perpetual grow, not good for different strains, difficult to clean, can't get ALL the water out of the bottom of the bucket... the list goes on.
That said, you know I love ebb and flow buckets. Not sure if you remember these pictures, but I used to put a 3.5 gal pot of grow-cubes into a 5 gal bucket and flood and drain it. Since the 3.5 gal pot left 3-4" of space in the bottom of the bucket, it was ok if the bucket didn't drain all the way. This technique produced my second highest record from one plant (20zips, ace of spades). The only reason I don't run this now is because top feed needs a lesser volume of water underneath.
I do appreciate you wanting to keep the pot as low as possible. Height is always a PITA to work around. I wonder how a 3 gal bucket would work, sitting on top of a low res (you would want to find a little bit smaller res), like this:
Cut a big hole cut into the lid of the res to make room for the fittings. You could put your flood and drain fittings right in the bottom of the bucket, as if it were a tray. For the output, use a screen so grow cubes don't go down it. Another 6" hole for access to nutrients.
This technique would be difficult for growing 3-4 inside a small tent though. Just brainstorming. I'm always excited for new DIY grow systems.