Akisunni Indoor Cold & Hot Grow Zones

[akisunni]

Project Decontamination

I made a quick trip to the local big box garden store. While there I picked up these two products. The first is D.E. and the second is an organic spray you can put on a plant on the same day you harvest it (their words, not mine).

Pulled the girls out, and started to clean the space. One of the first things I noticed was that the new Cherry Bomb girl is already as tall or taller (from base of dirt) then Stinky is. Its clear she likes the CO2 and lighting of the 36/12 space. She already wants Stinky out of the grow space so she can expand into it.

As I started the process of cleaning the grow space I noticed quite a few dead bugs against the walls. It appears the CO2 soaking worked. They died trying to march out. I mixed up a couple of gallons of warm water and clorox bleach and used a hand powered sprayer in mist mode to wash down the walls and floors and gaps, spaces and holes.

The grow space is oddly significantly more shiny on the inside... cough cough...

During this process I looked both plants over, and found more webs on Stinky, in each case it was the very top of a bud. I went ahead and chopped off the tops of each bud. These buds had a weird second surge of growth after a flushing a few weeks ago and built skinny tops on top of wide buds.

That is no longer the case. I have chopped most of the tops off now.

Here are the girls returned to their space.

and a visit to 36/12 isnt complete with out saying Hi to Jerry, the Living Door Girl.

And the view from my chair, now that its finished and everything is as it should be.

And the zone of death at the bottom now...

 

[susat66]

Looking good but not over, you should try to identify each pest and purchase a specific spidermite spray as they will need continual spraying humidity and fans are imperative indoors and as ive said never put girls who've been outside in with plants already in situ.
These are basics in pest control.
I know ive probably said all this already but it is going to happen again if you don't change these environmental problems.
Im sure you'll be super vigilant now and experience as u know becomes knowledge
ATB88

 

[Skybound]

I strongly suggest that you consider washing your produce at harvest in spite of what "their words" imply. I also ask that you keep a [small] portion of unwashed buds to have a reference point to know why you'll never not wash again.

Bud Washing

Merry Christmas!

 

[akisunni]

fans are imperative indoors and as ive said never put girls who've been outside in with plants already in situ.

Lesson learned. I wont again. I will also be dumping and getting all new soil for next grow cycle. There will be a number of changes made between the first generation and future generation grows.

I strongly suggest that you consider washing your produce at harvest in spite of what "their words" imply. I also ask that you keep a [small] portion of unwashed buds to have a reference point to know why you'll never not wash again.

Bud Washing

Merry Christmas!

I will and intent too wash these buds. I have had a significant number of learning curves in this first grow. One includes the contaminants falling from the holes I drilled but didn't seal on this first unit. I will also be adding some 5v fans that can help move air inside these spaces.

In completely other news. One of my adult daughters is dating a professional gardener. Today, at my house, he left and return and handed me a vanilla envelop. In it, was seeds from as far back as 1980 or so from old famous strains. I have about 12+ strains in the seed bank, all old school. Newest is about 1990.

I am pondering leasing a home in the country with a small green house. I think I might like to bring back an old schools plant or two, and maybe cross up something no one could today. Hmmm

Christmas Seed Bank

 

[SoilGirl]

Merry Christmas Aki! nice old school strains there, I hope they turn out to be some real keepers for you!

 

[akisunni]

Merry Christmas Aki! nice old school strains there, I hope they turn out to be some real keepers for you!

Thank you Soil Girl, I am glad to hear you had a good time with the family today tooooo.

Today was the first time in my life, I had all four of my daughters together for Christmas. One of them had been legally adopted away, with out my signature, and been found this fall. So this was her first Christmas with our side.

She is going from a small family on one side, to a huge loving open arms, WE Found you family on the missing side. She just keeps blinking at our family functions (3 now) and smiling as she soaks in the generic family love.

We had a huge family get together today. My older sibs, some in their 70's showed up for the Dinner. Mom is 91 now and Dad is 90, so today was a blessing. I have a picture of my four girls and myself today. Only second one in existence, first was the day we met (group meeting at a restaurant).

My lost daughter is going from only knowing my name (since she was 13), to being scheduled to move into her 91 year old Nanna's house to live this spring for a couple of months as she explores her family heritage. My four girls are extremely friendly with each other. They oddly, seem to have synced up and now txt each other in private.

She is dating a professional gardener of a grow facility, so we both smiled, when this topic came up. Her older but they never knew each other sister, now lives with a former master gardener. It appears to run in our family veins. in some way or another.

 

[Skybound]

That's awesome the way things came together for your family, especially for the holiday, the family holiday. Is your daughters bf a cannabis grower, or just a veggie grower? Not that it matters, but if it's cannabis, I'd think he has an "instant IN" in terms of your circle of trust. I would love to have someone nearby with a like mind to vibe off of.

I am also looking into using small DC fans in my space. I am thinking that they can be mounted perpendicular to each wall so that they each contribute to collectively making a nice light vortex in the room. Nothing blowing directly on one plant, but the air never coming to a rest save for the dark periods.

I'd also like to know your opinion of using a micro switch to handle the on/off function of AC power flow, then use a small servo motor to press and depress the micro switch. This IMO is complete circuit isolation and greatly simplifies the control side circuit assuming that servo motors to motor shields are plug and play. Aside from that, hacking my 15 minute timer revealed that a micro switch is used inside to open and close the loop, and ironically, micro switches that are cheap and can handle the load are easier to find for our application than a relay shield that can handle the HIDs or AC, dehumidifier etc.

 

[susat66]

Congratulations on ur family xmas et al and the start of ridding the garden of pesky critters, I hope the beans come up as that's very old even in liquid nitrogen 5 years or more is thought to be a risk but if they do make sure they live as mothers. I wish you and your family all the best and may you reap ur rewards and enjoy the taste of fresh fruits.
amnot sure if it is nitrogen that is used so I may well be wrong.

 

[akisunni]

That's awesome the way things came together for your family, especially for the holiday, the family holiday. Is your daughters bf a cannabis grower, or just a veggie grower?

Cannabis grower. It gets funnier. My oldest daughter not to be confused with the newly "found" one, while visiting over the holidays let me know that she is nudging her retired cannabis master (professional operation 10 year) grower BF to return to the industry. So to be clear. Both of my adult daughters live with former or current cannabis growers. cough cough...

Both girls think Dad needs to fund a legal family grow operation, due to my enjoyment with electronics and their sig others experience actually using said type of tech in real life conditions. When I showed the newly found BF my tech design space in my garage with the digitized electronic PH wands with remote controlled auto on and off liquid flow valves he blinked big time.

I'd also like to know your opinion of using a micro switch to handle the on/off function of AC power flow, then use a small servo motor to press and depress the micro switch. This IMO is complete circuit isolation and greatly simplifies the control side circuit assuming that servo motors to motor shields are plug and play. Aside from that, hacking my 15 minute timer revealed that a micro switch is used inside to open and close the loop, and ironically, micro switches that are cheap and can handle the load are easier to find for our application than a relay shield that can handle the HIDs or AC, dehumidifier etc.

I received in the mail, a heavy duty 110v power rated switching device. It costs $35, has inputs for three arduino wires, and allows you to safely turn on and off Lights, Pumps, Fans, etca. Its designed to be mounted to a wall and screwed in, so its secure. My future design, will have the "cloud" turning on and off the lights, fans, pumps with these units. I am having my cloud portion designed to allow us to pick on/off auto times. This will allow me to setup a 36/12 automated light cycle, by just entering in the "on" time and the "off" times with a drop down fields.

I can automate the air condition cycle based on temps, the light cycle based on hours, the auto watering based on PH needs all from the cloud, with nothing "hacked". Don't get me wrong, I love to hack on stuff, but I also want my final use designs to have as few fail points as possible. This approach allows me to connect a grow space to the internet, and remotely control and handle all needs.

Congratulations on ur family xmas et al and the start of ridding the garden of pesky critters, I hope the beans come up as that's very old even in liquid nitrogen 5 years or more is thought to be a risk but if they do make sure they live as mothers. I wish you and your family all the best and may you reap ur rewards and enjoy the taste of fresh fruits.
amnot sure if it is nitrogen that is used so I may well be wrong.

Thank you, and yes I have little expectations, but is was an amazing gift. I look forward to when I have a location where I can comfortably try growing these different plants. If I get lucky, and find a health plant seed with great grow specifics, I will consider getting seeds from it, and putting those back into the bank.

 

[akisunni]

Big Girl Defol & Area Decon

I pulled Big Girl out of her grow space for the first time since she went into it in early Oct. She is about 7 weeks into flower mode now. When I gave her an inspection today, I noticed a real sized spider web on the ground near the CO2 engine. In fact the real sized spider was using the CO2 engine as building anchors.

I used a Clorox and Water based solution to mist down the whole grow space. I let it sit for 5+ minutes and then went in and wiped down every square inch of the walls and floor. I then applied a heavy D.E. layer before returning a defoliated Big Girl to her space.

Here are two pictures, half way through the Defol process. I placed a yard stick (++) so its could be easily measured. She is 100+ CM tall, 40 CM wide and about 30 CM deep.

I also gave her 2/3rds of a gallon, with a cap full of 0-10-10 and 5-1-1 mixed in the water. I expect she will go 10 weeks, which should allow the light to reach deeper into the canopy. I have also reversed the plant, when returning her to her space, so her buds get a chance at a different angle and mix of light from the 3 different spectrum CFLs in the space.

I can always reverse her position again, but this way, Her heaviest buds are no long falling onto the CFLs.

 

[profesor x]

very nice aki
was that real sized spider a spidermite or a normal spider? lol

 

[akisunni]

very nice aki
was that real sized spider a spidermite or a normal spider? lol

Totally normal spider... decided that was all I needed to know, to give the plant and the space a good work over. Hopefully a lot more light will make it into my canopy area.

 

[akisunni]

Random Movement Update:

I have moved the extremely healthy bagseed plant from the Veg grow space, to a spare space in the door, one row below Jerry the Door Girl. This free's up space in the Veg area to properly deal with the two clones of Big Girl that are getting really bushy in there. I need to make some serious decisions in there soon.

The 36-12 space now has Stinky Pinky and Cherry Bomb as the primary visitors in large containers, with Jerry the living door girl and Baggy in the door hanging out...

I need to sex check the Baggy, so figured I would start the process now. If baggy is a girl, she will probably be replanted into a 5 gallon double bucket, like Cherry Bomb is, and place under the 5500 lamp, and I slide Cherry over to the 2x 2700 focus part of the lights.

I also think I want to replace one of the 3x 2700 lamps, with a 1x 6500, same wattage. I would keep the 5500-6500 ones on the one side, over the smaller plant that is in early transition and stretch, and keep the 2700's over the more adult plant that is finishing up its flower stage.

 

[profesor x]

Random Movement Update:

I also think I want to replace one of the 3x 2700 lamps, with a 1x 6500, same wattage. I would keep the 5500-6500 ones on the one side, over the smaller plant that is in early transition and stretch, and keep the 2700's over the more adult plant that is finishing up its flower stage.

are they in the same grow area? if they are flowering all of them will need as much red-spectrum lights as they can get
i would make sure they get 6500k lights as well as 2500 (i would use about 30% 6500k / 70% 2500k ratio) as they need more red light during flowering stage than white light

im high as hell man hope i explained my idea correctly and sorry if i don't make any sense lol

 

[HoochKid]

Hey bud,

Really cool grow with the CFL's. Just read through the journal. Spider mites affected me in my first grow, it really was shit. They got into everything. No matter what neem oil, a few homemade sprays couldn't deter them. I since sealed my grow even though small with a intake fan with pantyhose. Then I wrap my tent in a black plastic (archaic by mosts standards around here) but has produced me two grows mite free???

Other than that you really get some nice healthy leaves in veg.. I don't get that good a sheen to the leaves looks real good. Great growing!

 

[akisunni]

Sometimes you need to know when to fold them...

I love to take different approaches, learn from them, and then adapt, adopt or move on. In the case of 36-12, I will be moving on to a 12-12 schedule for the foreseeable future.

Its clear to me, that the cherry bomb is barely showing any signs of being in flower time, even after being in flower cycle for 3-4 weeks now. We are talking the plant appears to be on a natural 16-24 week type flower cycle if it was allowed to run its full course.. The number of dark cycles appears to be as important as the fact that the dark cycles are 12 hours long.

The Stinky Pinky buds are massive in width, as they are allowed to grow out, in fact they are abnormal looking at this point. Giant fluffy is the look now. The next issue is the length of time to have a harvest. I dont want to grow one crop per year, in doors. lol.

I will be treating the 36/12 grow space with the door spaces as the primary fun grow zone still, but I will be switching it to 12/12 to make sure that stinky finishes off, and the others actually start to go into full flower mode.

Lesson learned. I will return to this strategy later, to grow a giant cola, but only when its a contest based on size not time.

 

[akisunni]

Hey bud,

Really cool grow with the CFL's. Just read through the journal. Spider mites affected me in my first grow, it really was shit. They got into everything. No matter what neem oil, a few homemade sprays couldn't deter them. I since sealed my grow even though small with a intake fan with pantyhose. Then I wrap my tent in a black plastic (archaic by mosts standards around here) but has produced me two grows mite free???

Other than that you really get some nice healthy leaves in veg.. I don't get that good a sheen to the leaves looks real good. Great growing!

Thanks for the kind words. I made the mistake of moving plants indoors to outdoors to indoors. They brought friends, it appears. lol

 

[Jesstar]

Hey Akisunni, I hate spider mites. Bastards.

How is your bag seed looking at this stage and how many days is it at?

-J.

 

[akisunni]

Hey Akisunni, I hate spider mites. Bastards.

How is your bag seed looking at this stage and how many days is it at?

-J.

Its extremely healthy, I will post pictures tomorrow, when I have the lights back on. Its in the door next to Jerry, soaking up spare rays.

 

[Jesstar]

Awesome. I wanna compare the pair..