Amy Gardner’s High Brix Dreams

[Amy Gardner]

I'll try being patient then, ha!
I have two 4x4's and 1 2.5x3.5. Only the one 4x4 is in use right now because I just harvested on Sunday but in a couple weeks both should be up. Once winter comes, I move in the house from the garage and will only have the 1.

How tall? Assuming at that size they’re pretty tall.

I have some tent issues (long story - didn’t get the one I ordered because they had trouble getting stock) adn trying to decide whether losing some height will bother me very much.

I have one that it 180cm tall (6’, and its a 2.5 x 2.5’). The one i originally ordered was this tall and a big part of the decision was the height. I’m talking to the retailer about this as I’ not happy with the lower end model I ended up with (light leaky!) I might have an option of going to one that is only 160cm (5’) and I’m trying to work out how much that might matter to me going forward. I do really like the extra height for growing nice sativas. Just not sure it makes as much difference as I’m thinking. Gotta go check neikos garden and see how tall things can get...

 

[Amy Gardner]

It’s not been a particularly upright plant so far though. Kind of that triangular structure - no ‘praying’ looks likely at this stage. I remember van had a plant that just wouldn’t ‘pray’, don’t think that was the Blue Dream though.

The Jack Herer Auto. Wouldn't pray and it bugged him, but he loves the smell and the smoke!

That’s right thanks

Last night I looked around a bit at info on lights and distance and realised I still had it at my germinating distance from the light and it was probably a good time to bring things closer, so I lowered the light to 24” (61cm) and it can grow up into a bit now

This morning...

Some prayer

 

[InTheShed]

probably a good time to bring things closer, so I lowered the light

Yeah, it's looking really leggy .

 

[Graytail]

See, this is how you know that you hit the parch/soak just right.

The next day, the plant will look eager and electric. Love that top growth!

 

[Amy Gardner]

I wanted to post this here, but the pic is totally off topic and I want it to stay, and I have a place for that (my lounge)so I’ll just quote myself here

I haven’t spent any time here since getting the new journal going and being so manic I think Ive read the entire forum over the last few weeks

Just had to drop in here with this little gem I came across on Insta recently... it’s honest;y how I feel most days, even though my health is providing me with some major challenges and a life that is about 80% bed ridden (better than 95% 2 years ago! ), becoming a regular grower and sharing it here and all the amazing people I’m meeting and growing tech and innovation Ive now got going in my little room...

 

[InTheShed]

Nice post and great pic!

 

[weenmeoff]

I have 2 Gorillas and they have 1 foot extensions so one tent is over 7' tall. My other 4x4 is like 5' 10" or something like that and is the one I use in the winter due to height issues and it has worked just fine. 5' is a little short, consider how much room the lights and other stuff will take up, how far you need the lights to be away from the plants and how tall the plants will be and the 5' gets used up quickly. Is there any way to get a Gorilla? I like em way better the my cheapo tent!

 

[Derbybud]

My 4x4 tent is 6'8" and my flower tent is 4x8 and 7'. I love the height as I have fans above my lights to help keep them cool and dissipate the heat through out the whole tent.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Yeh - that’s right @weenmeoff ^^^ that’s why I ended up going for the taller one in the first place. Thanks @Derbybud too, this info and insight helps a lot. Ima stick to my guns about the height. 6’ is not actually that high!

The dimensions of that tent - the one I ordered - are 2.5 x 2.5 x 6’, which is just perfect for me, and I built the light to fit in it. SO now I’m married to those dimensions really.

Can’t go bigger in terms of footprint and most tents that are 2.5 square are 5’. (I honestly dont understand that but anyway.)

So the one they ended up sending me (with a little refund cause it was cheaper) was the lower end range of the same brand (Homebox)... and I’m not happy with it. I spent a long time deciding to get a better than average tent and did a lot of research to choose the one I did. It was there and listed as in stock so I purchased an paid and then found out it wasn’t in stock, but that it was on a boat and would be 2-3 weeks. This was many weeks ago so I decided to wait. Then the shipment arrived and ‘my’ tent wasn’t in it. Apparently the distributor hadn’t realised that there was a model called teh Q80 and one called the Q80+ ... the difference being that extra foot of height. SO they negotiated me into taking the lesser one (same dimensions).

SO I called them last week to discuss. The guy is understanding and has tried to get them but, yeh - that’s when he told me bout the issue with the distributor not getting that there were these different models.

So... seems I’m telling the long story anyway ... yesterday I spoke with someone at the company in Germany and that was great. He ended up looking at the Aus distributors order history and said that yes one of the ones I want had been ordered just recently - for the first time. SO much for having it in stock! It’s on a boat, in a shipping container and should be here around Christmas

He also told me about a dude in the UK who is selling them all over the world - they’re shipping single tents all over, including Australia, every day he said, via this guy. He gave me the contact and I’ve emailed him about the shopping cost. I’ll see what happens there.

I had the option of going to the HOmebox top range tent but the 2.5 x 2.5 is only 5’ and it’s just not enough. I’m glad I’ve come back to that now. I’ll call the retailer again today and discuss. I’m either going to need them to exchange the tent once the other one finally arrives, by which time I’ll have done a grow in it (and I’ll have to come up with ways of sorting the light leaky issue without adding anything permanent to the tent ), or I’ll want to return for refund but I cant o that until I have a replacement. WIsh me luck. A bit to do to get it sorted.


Edit: came back to this to tag TS - as he’s had an interest in this scenario from the start... @TorturedSoul

 

[Derbybud]

Man that guy sucks leading you into it's in stock on a boat BS.

 

[Amy Gardner]

I know - was fairly unimpressed, and then decided to roll with it and see. So now I see... and I’m unimpressed

Trying to decide if 11more centimetres in cross width is too big. There’s a Gorilla that 91cm x 91cm and 213cm tall (prior to extension) - it might be too tall for my space... out with the measuring tape again... deja vu...

 

[weenmeoff]

Gorilla if you can make it work! High quality, the extension option is awesome! Sorry you had to,deal with all that hassle. Help,with light leaks, try covering your tent with a dark sheet.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

One thing I’ve done to help with light leaks at the zipper is I will always keep the flaps that cover the zipper on the inside from crossing over each other. If you just grab and zip often those flaps will alternate positions leaving little gaps where light can leak in. So I always keep the door pushed in as I zip to allow for them to stay uniform. If kept uniform it leaves a double layer of protection over the zipper. Some tents may differ but for mine this technique works well. Here’s a pic showing how I keep the door pushed in with my thumb as I zip it shut.

 

[Amy Gardner]

One thing I’ve done to help with light leaks at the zipper is I will always keep the flaps that cover the zipper on the inside from crossing over each other. If you just grab and zip often those flaps will alternate positions leaving little gaps where light can leak in. So I always keep the door pushed in as I zip to allow for them to stay uniform. If kept uniform it leaves a double layer of protection over the zipper. Some tents may differ but for mine this technique works well. Here’s a pic showing how I keep the door pushed in with my thumb as I zip it shut.

Thanks Magoo Yep - I do that (or something very similar) and that sorts out the zipper. There’re leaks in the seams and in a couple of spots on the fabric panels...

Nice ink...

 

[Amy Gardner]

I do that and that sorts out the zipper.

That said though... even doing that, there are bad creases in those panels behind the zipper that I can’t flatten out, so there’s a couple of spots where its tricky to get it to blockout properly...
So teh retailer just callled me back and while things aren’t perfect he’s sorting out what he can. There is one coming, apparently still in production in China. So that led to a whole other discussion, but more on that in a bit. Basically if I can photograph these light leaks he will bale to refund me for this tent - no problem he said. It was funny because at first I must have given him teh impression that it was change of mind thing, a matter of taste yeah - and he was kind of saying ‘well no you can’t exchange it, I can’t resell it’ etc. So, things almost got tense but I took a breath and talked about the specific leaks in the actual panel again and he realised what I meant and straight away said - oh if you can photograph that then I can refund no problem. We had a bit of laugh - all good. Phew!

Now I just need to get some photos of it. Might need some tips from the Fotographer thread. I tried to get it the other night, with no success. The room is dark, really dark - which is how I can see them so well - so there must be a way of getting it with my new camera

I’m relieved. Oh - and on that “still being manufactured in china” thing - he mentioned to me that there’s been one or 2 issues with one of the other sized tents in the same range as the one I’d ordered originally, so he just thought that was worth considering while I’m deciding what to to about another one.

There’s a Gorilla that I could manage, maybe - but it would stick out 11cm (4”) more than it does at the moment and I might feel that. ALso, because it’s 91 x 91cm (3 x 3) I wonder if that starts to make the light not quite right. Technically, based on the 35w/sq-ft equation that I see the most, I dont have enough watts for 3 x 3. So not sure that would work out. I can drive these to about 180w. So Ima not sure that’s gonna be the ticket...

... ...

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Thanks Magoo Yep - I do that (or something very similar) and that sorts out the zipper. There’re leaks in the seams and in a couple of spots on the fabric panels...

Nice ink...

Thanks for the compliment. And yeah I have some thin spots around the seam of the zipper too.

 

[Amy Gardner]

thin spots around the seam of the zipper too

What brand is your tent? Might as well ask seeing as I’m ‘shopping’ again...

 

[Mr. Magoo]

What brand is your tent? Might as well ask seeing as I’m ‘shopping’ again...

Growneer.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Thanks! Never heard of that one... I’ve got time to find something. So I’ll just put the ideal here in case any one spots something

I’m looking for an 80 x 80 x 180cm (2’ 9” x 2’ 9” x 6’). I could come down an inch or so in height.

WHat do folks think about putting that light in a 3x3 ? (It’s 650 x 700, so 25.5” x 27.5”)? Would I need to up my driver - that would be tedious... I’m not sure I could take that route at this point.

I’m just sitting here thinking out loud via the keyboard...

 

[Graytail]

I spent a few minutes thinking about it, and here's the way I see it.

The primary shortcoming of the tent you have is the height. In a pot, you run out of room real fast. But taller tents are usually bigger too, and you didn't plan your lighting for a bigger tent. So now you're going to want more light, too.

But the main thing is the height restriction. If you account for a foot of pot and stem, and another foot for gear at the top, all you have is 3 feet between the lights and the soil. That's pretty cozy, even if you can cut headroom to a foot. A 6 foot tent would be so much nicer to grow in.

So ... you wouldn't have to upgrade the lighting right away - see how it goes. You'd still get an extra foot of canopy.