AKGramma's Perpetual Grow

AKgramma said:
Four days and no sign of sprouts yet. My previous planting a couple months ago was almost 100% and within a couple days. They are under a CFL 24 hours a day to keep them warm, but I wonder if having stored the seed in the refrigerator ruined them.

Then, experience has taught me that I can't root clones this time of year, either. Must be the shortening days.

Since I don't like to crowd my plants, I may have to activate the closet to make room for a photo mystery plant that stretched a lot this last week. I bent all four branches over and it adapted well to its horizontal position. But it's crowding the smaller juveniles. It's lanky, but vigorous. I'm watching carefully for signs of maleness. but I won't know till I switch to 12/12. Seems a waste to fire up another units for just one or two plants, and I don't have any LEDs to spare for the 3rd set-up.

Do you think I can get away with only 1 Mars 300 in a 24" x 48" (8 SF) area. If supplemented with a dozen 23 Watt CFLs? If so, I can move one panel out of one of the other 8 SF units for the closet.
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That Mars panel would be about 150 draw from the wall, so that'd give you plenty overhead for the space. Supplemented with CFLs and with a plan to rotate everything daily to make sure everyone's getting good light exposure, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

I not only think you can do it, I know you can. Go for it.
 
Great job AK!!!!!

Are humidity is sucking already, the best we can get right now is about 45% and it's only going to get worse and that's with the humidifier set to 55%. Not sure if we should go on hold until like Mid March or find a bigger humidifier. We could drop the room temp to help get the humidity up for a bit but, with the tents exhausting it won't keep the humidity up for more than about 2 hrs or so. We have also been keeping a pan of water in each tent to help out but, were a bit worried what's going to happen in the next few months when the outside temps drop to -40 to -60. Guess we better start calculating for our environment to see just how much humidifier we are going to need to keep the tents closer to 50-60% lol.

Blessed buds our friend :circle-of-love:
 
Still just have the one AK 48 sprout, but I put her in a juvenile pot, skipping the solo cup stage. The solo cups tend to dry out too fast this time of year.

I was able to snuggle her container in with a mature plant, When I up-pot to the 3 gallon trash bins, I now plant them off center (to one side) to allow for training and to leave a place to set the smaller pots, so they get closer to the light, without having to waste space with a stool or crates.

When I used the flat storage bins, this planting strategy allowed me to stack bins brick-wall style to maximize the space in the units. And the upper bins drained into the lower bins, which drained into the storage bin lids. BTW, a turkey baster is a great tool to suck out the overflow without having to move pots and spill water, getting them to your sink.
 
Arctic Bowl said:
Great job AK!!!!!

Are humidity is sucking already, the best we can get right now is about 45% and it's only going to get worse and that's with the humidifier set to 55%. Not sure if we should go on hold until like Mid March or find a bigger humidifier. We could drop the room temp to help get the humidity up for a bit but, with the tents exhausting it won't keep the humidity up for more than about 2 hrs or so. We have also been keeping a pan of water in each tent to help out but, were a bit worried what's going to happen in the next few months when the outside temps drop to -40 to -60. Guess we better start calculating for our environment to see just how much humidifier we are going to need to keep the tents closer to 50-60% lol.

Blessed buds our friend :circle-of-love:
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I don't know if this would help, but how about programming your exhaust fan to your light schedule? If the lights are off, you don't need an exhaust fan to vent heat, but just a small fan blowing over the ladies to ward off mold (not that you would get any at 45%). This might raise the RH enough during lights out to keep them happy. RH changes during the day, even if you grew outdoors, so it wouldn't be all that unnatural.
 
No sign of roots on my soil-layering branches, so, out of desperation, I followed Sweet Sue's method of cloning, minus the aloe, which I don't have. I took just two off the Bubblelicious mother plant and prepared the clones in the usual way with rootone, of course. The clones are larger than usual and the solo cups are bagged in a zip-lock, and put in a semi-lighted, warm spot in the grow room.

I will be very surprised if I get a successful rooted clone, as I almost never get viable clones this time of the year.

No signs of further sprouts, either.

So, I'm keeping an eye on the mystery plants I switched to 12/12 for signs of gender. I had tried to sex them soon after they popped, but after 6 weeks, only one actually showed hairs, and another didn't how HIS stuff until a couple weeks after returning. them to 18/6. The rest are just being their mysterious selves, mostly Sativa phenotypes, lanky, not very leafy. But I do have a couple "frilly" plants, which may or may not be female. Almost all the mysterys have dark red stems, and one with striped red stems.
 
Arctic Bowl said:
AK have you checked out the moon tonight? Freaking awesome, hoping for a light show soon to go with it :-)

Blessed buds to you and yours!
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That's not a moon, it's our twin planet! LOL! just sitting at the tip of the Chugiak mountains, and a foggy glow lighting up the sky around it. :-)
 
It is a beautiful moon tonight. :battingeyelashes: :Love: It saddens me though, living in the city where there's so much ambient light that I can count the number of stars I can see. :straightface:

AKgramma, I use a turkey blaster too, for cleaning up runoff. :laughtwo:

I'll be interested to see how your clones do. I'm convinced that the secret of this method is the little self-contained environments created by the bags. Just don't open them up for three days at a time. I only had to add water the first time I opened the bags, and the last clones from that first batch took 12 days. That's pretty impressive.
 
SweetSue said:
It is a beautiful moon tonight. :battingeyelashes: :Love: It saddens me though, living in the city where there's so much ambient light that I can count the number of stars I can see. :straightface:
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I never thought to ask if you have a vehicle when I talked to you, so this may not be an option. But aren't there some scenic rural areas within an hour or so of your location?

I was actually a bit disturbed by the moon a few nights ago. Seemed like there was something... new on it. But then again, my imagination occasionally fills in details that my eyes cannot.

SweetSue said:
I'll be interested to see how your clones do. I'm convinced that the secret of this method is the little self-contained environments created by the bags. Just don't open them up for three days at a time. I only had to add water the first time I opened the bags, and the last clones from that first batch took 12 days. That's pretty impressive.
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I get paranoid about rot whenever I think of covering cuttings. But the humidity is bound to be much lower in AKgramma's neck of the woods, so that sort of thing (and a heating pad or cloning mat) might be a good thing.

Arctic Bowl said:
Man it's so awesome looking, waiting on some light show action in the sky.
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Is there going to be a meteor shower before the Orionids on the 21st? Or are you talking about the Northern Lights?
 
Since my two autos look like they are going to be tall, I purchased a second wire-shelved coat rack to match the one on the backside of the Veg unit. By restoring the shelves to their original arrangement, it left me with 6 feet of headroom.

It's hard to see with the tarps and blankets but I tied two coat racks together, creatively placed the rods in the back and in the front for auxiliary CFL's, and mounted the 2 Mars 300's far enough apart to avoid an footprint overlap.

Taking apart the old arrangement allowed me to scrub everything down, rearrange the lighting, etc. Almost new! The upsized unit measures 36" x 34" x 72" tall.

First two pics are the empty unit, top and bottom.

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Now pics with a full house. Al in veg on 18/6, altho the two Autos are doing their thing.

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It took me 7 hours to move the plants to my bedroom, safely out of the way, disassemble the existing unit, scrub everything down, and reassemble everything. I hurt all over, but am happy with the result!
 
You have any pain cream on hand? That stuff's golden after a monster rebuild of the grow. Feels good to get it all scrubbed out, doesn't it?

How are the chicks doing? Any sign of root development yet? They look hearty from the pictures.

I have a 4' metal shelf that I purchased to use in the 4x4 tent that now sits in my crowded bathroom (my entire apartment's been taken over by the grow :laughtwo: ) and I keep looking at it thinking about how easy it'd be to make it an auxiliary grow space for clones and seedlings. That desire to expand never stops, does it? :laughtwo:
 
TS, I have no vehicle. I haven't seen the starfield in so many years it makes me cry to think about it.
 
SweetSue said:
that now sits in my crowded bathroom (my entire apartment's been taken over by the grow :laughtwo: ) and I keep looking at it thinking about how easy it'd be to make it an auxiliary grow space for clones and seedlings.
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Top o' the medicine cabinet = seedling space. Warm, humid, and there's usually a light or three directly above.

SweetSue said:
TS, I have no vehicle. I haven't seen the starfield in so many years it makes me cry to think about it.
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Ah, bummer. Explains why we had no trouble finding a parking spot ;) . Me, either - although I did finally get around to duct taping that big hole in my right shoe.

Hey... A Huckleberry germinated - and I noticed two tiny cotyledons sticking out of the soil just a few minutes ago! Not sure about a Blueberry x White Widow. It cracked, but the rootlet didn't exactly extend. I planted it anyway... and a cat knocked it over. I think it was still okay. Well... I didn't see it on the floor when I cleaned up afterwards, lol.

Err... Sorry, AKgramma. I guess I could have sent her a PM. I hope your hands feel better soon. All I have is some aged Corn Huskers' Lotion. Oh, and a physician's sample tube of Voltaren Gel - which is supposed to be for joint pain in the hands/wrists/elbows/knees/feet, but it seems to not be something to be "taken lightly," and the box states that I must use the "dosage card" to determine how much I may use instead of just squeezing some out and rubbing it in, so... you know... it's still in the box, lol. It seems sort of late in the game to start worrying about what I put on/in my body, but... So I can't say whether that stuff helps or not, I guess. Maybe a good, strong, cannabis ointment? I used to have a little Mad Scientist Reference Guide when I was a youngin' that listed what to mix stuff with as a carrier to facilitate absorption, but I think I pitched most of that kind of stuff way back when I got married (did a lot of stupid things that seemed smart at the time. For that matter, "getting married" falls under that category). Is there a generally accepted substance of that sort that people use as an ingredient when making topical cannabis products, or...?
 
SweetSue said:
You have any pain cream on hand? That stuff's golden after a monster rebuild of the grow. Feels good to get it all scrubbed out, doesn't it?

How are the chicks doing? Any sign of root development yet? They look hearty from the pictures.

I have a 4' metal shelf that I purchased to use in the 4x4 tent that now sits in my crowded bathroom (my entire apartment's been taken over by the grow :laughtwo: ) and I keep looking at it thinking about how easy it'd be to make it an auxiliary grow space for clones and seedlings. That desire to expand never stops, does it? :laughtwo:
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No, no pain cream. ALL my joints hurt, so I take the OTC' and a few capules before bed.

No sign of roots on the chicks. I topped two of them and made clones out of them, Sweet-Sue style. Big cuttings, prepping the stems, putting in soil in solo cups and in a gallon-sized zip-lock.

I am always rearranging, depending on the growth that has occurred overnight. I don't like to crowd them, so am always turning them so they don't touch, tucking the juveniles in this adult pot or that one, depending on who has room to babysit.

I still have managed NOT to active the closet, saving me that extra $40 a month electrical.

Oh, BTW, I did notice a couple more sprouts. One AK48 and an Arjan's Haze. The AH is something new for me. I never heard of it until I was gifted 2 seeds. If I can move tomorrow, I'll examine the seedling tray for signs of more babies.

I came across an article, I can't remember where, that explained sprouting, rooting and flowering times between summer and winter. IN the winter, these periods can be 25% to 50% longer in the winter, and add several weeks to the flowering schedules. This has been my experience, and the article added some evidence to my theory that day-length affects the performance of indoor grows. It's about the amount of daily radiant energy your part of the world receives.
 
AKgramma said:
I came across an article, I can't remember where, that explained sprouting, rooting and flowering times between summer and winter. IN the winter, these periods can be 25% to 50% longer in the winter, and add several weeks to the flowering schedules. This has been my experience, and the article added some evidence to my theory that day-length affects the performance of indoor grows. It's about the amount of daily radiant energy your part of the world receives.
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Did the article assume that the gardener was using natural light?

Lower temperatures can play a part - and this is something that can be a factor regardless of whether or not one is using artificial light sources. Especially if the person lives in the icebox of the world, is on a limited income (and who isn't, these days, really?), or both. I find myself wishing I had about 600 more watts' worth of light - and the means to power it - so that I could run two setups on a "flip" schedule, each one exhausting into the other in order to provide some heat. I typically keep the house at a temperature where the water lines can't - quite - freeze in the Winter. I imagine things are exponentially tougher up there.

I know that someone mentioned the... extreme cost of electricity in Alaska. Do you have natural gas heat (et cetera)? Or propane, I suppose (although my experience with that was that I might as well have just piled up cash and burned it to stay warm :rolleyes3 )? Or oil? I only lived in one place that had oil heat, and that briefly, in NC 25+ years ago in a '60s house trailer and about all I can remember from the experience was that I could set little fires in the furnace and the blower would kick on for a little while, lol (we had an oil-powered furnace... but no oil).

Regardless, I hope you stay warm.

I forgot to mention that if you have a fair amount of sand, you can heat it up and bury your hands/wrists in it. Seems to provide some benefit. Temporary, of course, but my experience has been that all good things in life are....
 
I came across an article, I can't remember where, that explained sprouting, rooting and flowering times between summer and winter.
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My grow, tho indoor, is very exposed to the elements and I see really exaggerated issues between the seasons. Winter causes much slowness and many other twists.
When you mix all the environmental changes together, you really end up with significant differences that have impacts that simply can't be mitigated totally without implementing some really extreme environmental control systems.
Growers can try to 'surf' the climate change waves some, but that can become really challenging and ignores the principles of maintaining a smooth routine.
Finding and recognizing a balanced repeatable routine is the goal I strive for, but the changing environment really puts a curve in that effort.
 
TorturedSoul said:
Did the article assume that the gardener was using natural light?

Lower temperatures can play a part - and this is something that can be a factor regardless of whether or not one is using artificial light sources. Especially if the person lives in the icebox of the world, is on a limited income (and who isn't, these days, really?), or both. I find myself wishing I had about 600 more watts' worth of light - and the means to power it - so that I could run two setups on a "flip" schedule, each one exhausting into the other in order to provide some heat. I typically keep the house at a temperature where the water lines can't - quite - freeze in the Winter. I imagine things are exponentially tougher up there.

I know that someone mentioned the... extreme cost of electricity in Alaska. Do you have natural gas heat (et cetera)? Or propane, I suppose (although my experience with that was that I might as well have just piled up cash and burned it to stay warm :rolleyes3 )? Or oil? I only lived in one place that had oil heat, and that briefly, in NC 25+ years ago in a '60s house trailer and about all I can remember from the experience was that I could set little fires in the furnace and the blower would kick on for a little while, lol (we had an oil-powered furnace... but no oil).

Regardless, I hope you stay warm.

I forgot to mention that if you have a fair amount of sand, you can heat it up and bury your hands/wrists in it. Seems to provide some benefit. Temporary, of course, but my experience has been that all good things in life are....
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The article assumed indoor grow. One doesn't usually clone or pop seedlings outdoors. ;-)

Where I live, natural gas is abundant and cheap. In the Interior, most people run on propane, wood, or oil, which is very expensive, considering WE produce the oil for heating, autos, and to run the generators making the electricity for the 3 major cities. Villages and small communities have to have oil trucked or flown in, which doubles the price of oil per gallon. And a lot of people living off the grid order propane, which is about the most economical way of heating and cooking.
 
That's an interesting fact. I wouldn't think outdoor conditions would effect an indoor grow :hmmmm: I haven't been at this long enough to note things like germination or rooting times. Every grow I get a little better at the documentation and I'll begin to notice patterns after a time, I'm sure, although I do tend to sometimes get lazy about the details. I keep telling myself that the more I notice things the better chance I'll start growing better plants with higher yields. Up to now I've really been winging it and getting incredibly lucky.

How long have your cuttings been in the bags? I just made my first three-day check on mine. All's well in their tiny atmospheres. No roots visible yet, but they look ridiculously happy. Lol!
 
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