DIY Stealth Cab, Hydro, LED & Multiple Strains in Small Space - Oh Boy!

[Mr. Krip]

Looking great man, that ls is just hanging in there, thats the one that didn't want to sprout after like 4 seeds right? P.e. looking nice it will shoot up now, Im excited to see its phenotype. You should be good in flower, my tent is getting pretty packed but as long as they aren't fighting for light there shouldn't be a compromise in yield that I can see, of course keep the plants as far as possible from each other in there so they can bush out. Keep it going and

Hydro, yeah, that is my 4th LS* seed. Two of them pushed out a small taproot and never made it any further and one died within a week or so of sprouting. I'm just happy I have one living, but she's so small, I don't know if I'll ever bother flowering her. I'm hoping she either starts a BIG growth spurt, or, perhaps she's stunted because of those crappy STG grow cubes I started her in and once she gets a little bigger, I can take some clones that will have decent genetics if I start them in something other than STG.

I've decided I'm going to wait a few more days on the haze and then TRY to see how she looks in the flower chamber with the AK. The problem is that both waterfarms just barely fit into the chamber. If the AK wasn't so bushy, I don't believe it would be a big issue, but I don't think I can make enough room for the second waterfarm without pushing the AK against the wall. If I can squeeze them both in, I'm definately going for it, though, since getting the haze's waterfarm out of the veg chamber will not only make more room in veg, but also let me lower the lights significantly there in addition to any extra yeild I can get from the second plant. Plus, then I can hopefully start bloomin the PE & LS* in the next few months or so, since those are really the two strains I wanted from the start.

In a few days, I'll try putting her in there, and if I think it will work, I'll then start her on bloom nutes and put her in.

Thanks for stopping by and the input!

 

[Hydrogrown]

No worries man, I'm enjoying your grow a lot from the sidelines. Good luck finding space for flowering, I understand your predicament a little better now. Plus if you don't put the other plant into flower it will get bigger and by the time the AK is done you'll have the same problem with space. Us growers know how to push our capacity to the limit now don't we ha.

 

[Mr. Krip]

PIC UPDATE:

I just checked in on the girls and they all look happy. Both PH & PPM's are holding relatively steady.

I have to say that I really think I'm spending too much time on the vape if I think I'm gonna be able to flower the haze with the kush!

Here's the Kush starting her second day of flower:

Note how much space is available - not much!

She's touching the walls on both sides as it is:

Now, keep in mind the veg chamber is about 2" wider than the flower chamber. You can see the haze is taking up a good 1/2 of the veg side:

She's been starting to really fill out:

If you look carefully, I actually did some supercropping on her this morning so I didn't have to raise the lights on the other plants:

On the right side of the veg chamber, the Hempy Haze (back) and PE (front) are both moving nicely. I can see the Hempy Haze starting to grow some new tops now that her roots have most likely made it to the res. No noticable change in the PE since yesterday, but she's much further from the light than she was. I may need to raise her up if I can't get the haze into flower soon:

The LS* is still blowing my mind with her puniness. she now has six full nodes (some of the tightest stacked nodes I've ever seen!) and working on her 7th and still is only a couple inches tall/wide:

But, she does look OK and is continuing to grow and she is the size that I might be able to flower with that AK!

The first AK clone that had started rooting is also doing fine in her mini hempy:

And, only one of the other four AK clones I took a few days ago has wilted, so I'm pretty sure I'll be able to have another AK harvest sometime after this one:

So...based on what you guys see, what's the concensus? Should I try to squeeze the haze into the flower side or do you think it's gonna be too crowded as-is? Maybe if I wrap some ties around her, but, I think I'm also gonna be pushing it on height and may need to supercrop to make sure there's enough headroom and the LED can penetrate the canopy.

Maybe wait a couple/few weeks for the AK to stop her growth and then add the haze, if it looks possible at that time?

Hydro pointed out my dilemma...if I wait to harvest the AK, all the others will just get bigger and I'll be in the same position on the next round.

I must admit that this is a much better problem to have than not being able to get seeds germinated, but I'm truly not sure what to do here (other than get more space!) and I appreciate any/all constructive input!

 

[NEPharmer]

What if you take a few clones of the haze, to make room, get rid of the mom, which I realize would be hard to let go, but then they should be a much more managable size to flower by the time the AK is done. Just another option, a difficult decition to make, good luck.

 

[turttle]

Gees krip you sure have came a long way.Looking real nice.Yeah Im not sure if they would both fit it would be really tight even with trimming.From the looks of things she looks like she might over grow that herself.I would recomend more light thow.I have used the 90 watt leds 2 of them in fact along with cfl.Dont want to spoil it for you Its all about good intensions just looking out for a fellow buddy not to be dissapointed in the end but I would add a couple more of them cfls you are currently using.There was another grow on the forum using 2 hydroponics hut 90 leds have not seen him in while but he had the same space as you I think his avatar is gonjalicious and he used cfl in small cab and had some fat healthy buds and in his other he used the led.But any way yeah your ladies are nice looking a complete turn around
First Grow: Organic, CFLs, in 2.4 Sq Ft Box
Gang's Second (Box) Grow: CFL + LST + Soil
Gangalicious Experimental Med Grow Lab, Part 3a: Flowering a Plant with 2 X 90W LED
His link to his sig. has been removed but these are in the finished journals.This guy really has a green thumb

 

[Mr. Krip]

What if you take a few clones of the haze, to make room, get rid of the mom, which I realize would be hard to let go, but then they should be a much more managable size to flower by the time the AK is done. Just another option, a difficult decition to make, good luck.

NEP, thanks. Yes, this would be an option, but it's the same as flowering one-at-a-time. If I do that, I can still flower the haze next (I think!) without throwing it out. I'm gonna try to keep the mothers in hempys and then take clones & flower in the waterfarms. I'll start clones for the next cycle whem I'm approximately 4-5 weeks into flower on the current cycle.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Gees krip you sure have came a long way.Looking real nice.Yeah Im not sure if they would both fit it would be really tight even with trimming.From the looks of things she looks like she might over grow that herself.I would recomend more light thow.I have used the 90 watt leds 2 of them in fact along with cfl.Dont want to spoil it for you Its all about good intensions just looking out for a fellow buddy not to be dissapointed in the end but I would add a couple more of them cfls you are currently using.There was another grow on the forum using 2 hydroponics hut 90 leds have not seen him in while but he had the same space as you I think his avatar is gonjalicious and he used cfl in small cab and had some fat healthy buds and in his other he used the led.But any way yeah your ladies are nice looking a complete turn around
Gangalicious Experimental Med Grow Lab, Part 3a: Flowering a Plant with 2 X 90W LED

Turttle, thanks...yeah I've come a long way and still a long way to go, but getting there!

I've heard a bunch of the "horror stories" on the LED's for flowering, so I understand. I've got 4 2700K's along with the 180W BlackStar UFO LED in the flower chamber now. The BlackStar is supposed to be specifically for flowering and I'm hoping to have better luck with it than the other UFO's which really perform much better in veg. I'm using the UFO for top-lighting and the CFL's for side-lighting. Maybe I'll pick up some more Y-adapters this week and add some more CFL's. It seems like a lot of light for one (BIG) plant but more light can NEVER hurt!

 

[turttle]

Ow wow yeah no worries on the led the lighthouse are one of the few that work.Sorry if I added any stress.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Ow wow yeah no worries on the led the lighthouse are one of the few that work.Sorry if I added any stress.

Not at all man...it's all good!

 

[NEPharmer]

More light always helps. Is there any way to add another cab, or expand your expand your current space?

 

[Hydrologist]

referencing the last pics you posted-is that the pinch and bend technique i'm witnessing 5th picture from the bottom up? If so hows that working out for you? I performed that move notroiously when I was in soil forever ago. I didn't get that great of results and growth slowed incredibly. I was also in crappy ass Foxfarm Aquatic food blend soil. So that coulda been it

 

[Mr. Krip]

More light always helps. Is there any way to add another cab, or expand your expand your current space?

NEP, I'm trying to figure out a way to do that right now, but I'm not sure there's really a way to do that AND still keep it stealth (checkout the first couple posts in my first journal to see my current setup). I need to find some space for either mothers or clones, which may be either another cabinet or adding a shelf to the current veg side. If I add a shelf there, perhaps I can add a second cabinet to flower in, but it certainly doesn't seem as efficient as flowering multiple plants in the same cabinet.

I think I'm gonna learn quite a bit from this grow!

Although I seem a little stressed on the space, I'm really not. My original plans were to have two concurrent strains and flower one-at-a-time, and I basically built my grow area to accomodate that. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to double it in the same space before I've even completed the first harvest. The worst case is I cut back to the original plan.

I think I need to just let the Kush finish alone while trying to maintain the waterfarm Haze (and others in veg), to a reasonable size. When the Kush is finished, I'll flower the Haze and the rest of the plants will be mothers that I'll use for cloning. Once the haze goes on 12/12, I'll be better able to control what gets cloned and when so I'm not overrun.

With this plan, I'll also (hopefully) be able to dry in the flower chamber, since I won't have two strains finishing at two different times, and not have to build a seperate drying box.

Tossing a couple plants, if absolutely needed, wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I think the above plan may be workable if I can keep the WF Haze under control for another 60 days or so.

So, that's my current plan. It may change later this morning, but that's where I'm at right now!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Mr. Krip]

referencing the last pics you posted-is that the pinch and bend technique i'm witnessing 5th picture from the bottom up? If so hows that working out for you? I performed that move notroiously when I was in soil forever ago. I didn't get that great of results and growth slowed incredibly. I was also in crappy ass Foxfarm Aquatic food blend soil. So that coulda been it

Yep, it's also known as "supercropping". It may be too early to tell how it's working since I did it for the first time yesterday morning, but by yesterday afternoon, all the tips were growing back towards the light, so it doesn't seem to have slowed anything down.

I'll get some pics later today.

I have heard it takes more time for the plant to recover, and if I find it slows growth considerably, I'll be doing a lot of it! It could be the answer to my space issues!

 

[Mr. Krip]

I'M A SCHITZOPHRENIC AND SO AM I - UPDATE WITH PICS

OK...some of you will think I'm crazy (and you'd be right!) and some will think I'm schitzo (I'm still debating this with myself), but my last two posts were before lights-on and I hadn't had a chance to check the girls this morning.

When I checked the Veg side, that Haze I supercropped yesterday looked like it grew another three inches!

You can see how quickly she recovered from the supercropping:

So...I said, "WTF" and did it:

Yep...I topped off her res, added ONLY micro, bloom & a little PH down to bring PPM's to 1150 and put her in flower. (UPDATE: After reading my own post, I realized I had forgotten to add the Bud Candy, which I did after at 1.5ml/gal)

It's pretty crowded in there even though I have both plants turned so their "short" side is against the walls:

But, I have a real nice field going in that small space now!

It's the only way I'll ever get close to being caught up in space and timing for future grows. I also ordered a second fan for the flower chamber to make sure I have good circulation in there.

So, now the decision is made and I don't have to think about it any more!

 

[NEPharmer]

There are also other ways to slow growth, im not too sure, but I think if you lower the temps enough, you can make the plants slow down to an almost darmant stage, just a thought, not sure if possible here.

 

[turttle]

Hey krip in all honesty I think I would have thrown both in flower as well if it were my grow(I am not one to let a plant go lol I dont have the heart).But going to half to spread the even tops out and pretty much cut all the seconedaries away and you should have a really nice canopy.still going to be tight but im sure things will be worked when the time comes.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Hey krip in all honesty I think I would have thrown both in flower as well if it were my grow(I am not one to let a plant go lol I dont have the heart).But going to half to spread the even tops out and pretty much cut all the seconedaries away and you should have a really nice canopy.still going to be tight but im sure things will be worked when the time comes.

Yeah, it was the best thing to do (I think!) and if I waited much longer, I never would have fit them both in. My new found experience with LST, branch-weaving & supercropping has give me confidence I'll be able to handle it.

Although, maybe too much confidence! I was "adjusting" the canopy this afternoon and went to supercrop the tallest branch on the haze and accidently snapped it. It's not broken all the way through, so I'm thinking it will still heal, but it was a little more stress than I intended to inflict on her.

I've also trimmed all the dead stuff from the bottoms of the plants to help prevent mold and aid in air circulation. I'm guessing & hoping that the haze catches up in height soon, which I believe it will since it's the sativa, so she doesn't get light-robbed by the kush.

Hopefully, my next tough decision will be in which colas I need to keep and which ones need to be cleared to make more room for the monsters!

 

[NEPharmer]

Can't you prop the Haze's bucket up on somthing till it catches up?

 

[Mr. Krip]

Can't you prop the Haze's bucket up on somthing till it catches up?

Since I just put her in flower, I don't want the lights too close to her yet. I had already started moving the lights closer to the kush, so the size difference works perfect for now. If she doesn't catch up in a few days, I will raise her waterfarm, then.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Just a note...Since moving the last waterfarm out of the veg chamber, I've been battling high temps all day. I'm sure this is because I was able to lower the lights, but for some reason can't seem to position the fan in a way that the temps stay in a decent range. It's been getting as high as 88*F! It also seems that the 6" Air King clip-on fan is running at about 1/2 the speed that it used to. I do let it run 24x7 but have only had it less than two months now (plus, I just ordered another one for the flower side to supplement a 10" box fan in there now). I think I need to replace it with a better fan, which I'm gonna try to pick up tomorrow. Now that I have some more room in the veg side, hopefully I can fit something a little bigger and more powerful.