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

[George Parker]

Looking great! Getting closer... It's like watching a movie and I'm waiting for the climactic ending (harvest) and you smoke happily ever-after

 

[Mr. Krip]

Great stuff Mr Krip! Glad the visit came off without a hitch.

Looks like she's finally swallowing up some of her pistils too.

I hope we timed her right. It's so hard to decide when 3 weeks before the finish is unless you've grown that same plant and pheno before. Looks like you'll probably be 50% amber at least by then. She's going to knock you on your ass, that's for sure!

Blue, thanks Bro & thanks for keeping the journal alive for me!

From the looks of it, we appeared to have timed it pretty well and I really appreciate all your help on that.

I know I'll have a lot easier time knowing when she's ready than I did knowing when she was three weeks before ready!

She'll be on the minimum nutes before flush as of Wednesday, so I can really start the flush anytime after that, and if needed, since I'm using Clearex, I can flush in as little as 3-4 days.

I'm sure it will be at least another week, which is why I'll wait until Wednesday to reduce the nutes on her.

 

[OldMedMan]

QUICK UPDATE - WE'RE STEALTH-PROVEN!!!

My friends who came in yesterday just left for the airport with absolutely NO clue there was a grow happening within 20-30 feet of them for just about the entire time they were here.

In fact, when they first got here, I even gave them a quick "tour" of the house that included the room with the cab (I know...pretty ballsy, huh?).

I just opened the door, pointed out the messy room, then closed the door back up and continued the tour. Of course, I made sure the duct fan wasn't running at the time.

The sounds from the rest of the fans & pumps aren't even noticeable with the 3/4" melamine cab positioned in the closet.

We blend in with our surroundings like the wind!

Pic updates coming later today!

Mr Krip. I just loved this post! Your preparation worked like a charm.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Looking great! Getting closer... It's like watching a movie and I'm waiting for the climactic ending (harvest) and you smoke happily ever-after

Thanks again, DIME. Yeah...we are REALLY close now! I can't wait!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Mr Krip. I just loved this post! Your preparation worked like a charm.

Thanks, OMM! It really did and I'm even impressed myself with how well it worked.

I have a couple good friends and neighbors who have known me for 15+ years and who visit at least a couple times a week and so far, no one has noticed ANYTHING!

I figured guests staying overnight in the next room would eventually either smell something, or hear the noises once the house was quiet with everyone in bed, but sure enough, we passed with flying colors.

I'm not sure I'd want to have the next annual policeman's ball here, but for normal company, and even people who know me and the house well, it sure seems to blend in perfectly!

 

[Mr. Krip]

HOW TO MAKE PH DOWN SOLUTION FROM GENERAL HYDRO PH DOWN DRY

When I get a little bit of knowledge, especially on stuff I have to research or ask questions about, you all know I try to pass it on, and I just picked up a nice tidbit...

When I started growing, I purchased a General Hydro starter PH Test Kit that came with PH UP & Down solutions, plus the test vial, drops and color chart. The PH Up is almost untouched, but I was running low on PH Down and found it was much more economical to purchase the PH Down dry, plus it's much cheaper to ship.

So, that's what I ordered and it came with all kinds of warnings to wear gloves, eye protection and a mask when handling it, since it's primarily ammonium sulphate and citric acid, both pretty caustic substances.

I had become very comfortable with the liquid solution and really didn't want to start putting on gloves and a mask everytime I wanted to do a res change, so I called General Hydro and asked about dilution ratios.

I was told by their tech support that to make the GH PH Down liquid, they basically mix 1lb. of dry to 1 gallon of water.

The PH down dry formula comes in a 1.5lb tub, so enough to make 1.5 gallons of the liquid solution, and costs right around $8-$10.

The liquid solution sells for about $20-$25 per gallon.

That's $30+ of solution you can make for about $10! Or, about 1.5 gallons of solution you get for less than the price of an 8 oz. bottle when you make your own!

Hopefully, this helps some others!

NOTE: WHEN MIXING YOUR OWN SOLUTION, ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES, MASK & EYE PROTECTION AND MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS ADD THE ACID TO THE WATER - NEVER PUT IN THE ACID FIRST AND THEN ADD WATER TO THE ACID OR THERE COULD BE A VIOLENT REACTION THAT SPLASHES ACID BACK AT YOU!!!

 

[Mr. Krip]

PIC UPDATE

It's now been 70 days of flower for the AK and both she and the haze are looking great. The haze is really starting to form those huge colas I was predicting. Here's two of her "main" colas:

In the pic above, this is the ONE cola on the left...note how thick those clusters of buds are forming:

Here's the haze cola on the right in the first pic:

Let's take a look at the AK...we're getting so close!!!

Here's her lower buds that are looking pretty big for the popcorn stuff:

Here's four of her bigger colas...nice, fat & frosty :

A couple more:

Here's the bud/trich shots:

Thanks for everyone's help & happy harvests!

 

[Barry Manilow]

Great info on the ph down Mr Krip, did you mix up the whole 1.5 gal at once? That much would last me about 5 years

I'm paying $9 for a 4oz bottle at Petsmart. Even $25 for a pre-mixed gallon would be a great deal for me.

Your haze looks great, I'll bet you're glad you kept her!

Your AK doesn't look anything like mine did but she's amazing in her own right.

Keep on rockin' Mr Krip

 

[Mr. Krip]

Great info on the ph down Mr Krip, did you mix up the whole 1.5 gal at once? That much would last me about 5 years

I'm paying $9 for a 4oz bottle at Petsmart. Even $25 for a pre-mixed gallon would be a great deal for me.

Your haze looks great, I'll bet you're glad you kept her!

Your AK doesn't look anything like mine did but she's amazing in her own right.

Keep on rockin' Mr Krip

Thanks, Blue!

I didn't mix up a whole gallon, I just "refilled" the 8 oz. bottle of PH Down liquid I had exhausted. A full gallon would probably last me about 5 years, too!

I first filled the empty bottle most of the way with distilled water, then, using a funnel and a plastic spoon, I added the PH dry, capped the bottle, and shook it for a couple seconds to dissolve all the undissolved crystals.

I did a rough "guestimate" of the amount to add based on the 1lb per gallon ratio, so 1/8 lbs. (or about 2 oz) of PH dry per 8 oz. bottle.

When I do the res change tomorrow, I'll note the strength of it and, if needed, I'll add some more acid, but I think it'll be close enough.

I am most DEFINATELY glad I've waited on the harvest. Where I had mentioned in previous posts that I hadn't really noticed any visible changes since adding the Overdrive, I'm now starting to see lots of yellowing in the leaf tips, the buds getting noticeably fatter, more trich production, and all those long white hairs starting to turn amber and/or disappear. I think I'm at about 50% white pistils, still, and expect to be around 25% or less by the time we harvest in another 14-18 days or so (longer, if needed).

I'm really anxious to see how well they fatten up over the next couple of weeks, but I can already see the yield increasing! Plus, with the number of bud sites, and the way the lower buds are starting to develop, if I do two harvests I think I'm gonna have a HUGE total yield off of her!

 

[OldMedMan]

There you go again Mr. Krip
Giving us all more info. That's amazing on the dry Ph down.

I could actually see the buds have gotten bigger. I think your right, your going to really have a good yield. Great stuff my friend!

 

[SuKaFr33]

shit if i didn't know any better, i would think they were hermies, they are swole as shit..lookin good!!!

 

[Macgyverup]

Lookin good Mr. Krip.

 

[Mr. Krip]

There you go again Mr. Krip
Giving us all more info. That's amazing on the dry Ph down.

I could actually see the buds have gotten bigger. I think your right, your going to really have a good yield. Great stuff my friend!

Glad the info helped, OMM! Yeah, the buds are really starting to take off now and we're really getting close and anxious!

 

[Mr. Krip]

shit if i didn't know any better, i would think they were hermies, they are swole as shit..lookin good!!!

Lookin good Mr. Krip.

Thanks, Guys!

 

[Mr. Krip]

QUICK UPDATE

I did the res change on the Royal Haze and kept her on regular bloom nutes.

Even though the breeder says she takes two weeks longer to finish than the AK, it looks to me like she's gonna be at least 3-4 weeks longer. With the AK taking 2-3 weeks longer than the breeder's estimate, I expect the haze to finish about a month LATER than the 70 days the breeder lists!

I took a couple shots of the Haze while she was out of the cab:

And, check out how much of the cab the AK takes up ALONE!:

Pretty hard to believe I can even squeaze the Haze in there - and it's not easy!

Here's a couple more cola shots...The buds are getting HUGE and I'll take & upload some more close-up shots later:

 

[George Parker]

Holy bud forest! You aren't kidding about the size of that plant, what a monster! You're gonna need a crane to get her out of there soon.

In your last set of close up shots, you can really see the pistils being engulfed by the bud. That's what I am now aiming for. I have read so much info (including what you sent me, thanks for that) in the last few hours about when to harvest. Then I had an "Ah-Ha!" moment... I thought back about some of the meds I have bought that were just Ok and they looked a lot like the pictures of immature buds. It's not that they were bad, they were just not as strong.

I have had some couch lock Sativas and some head high Indicas... I now have a better understanding as to why.

Thanks for always sharing great info Mr Krip!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Holy bud forest! You aren't kidding about the size of that plant, what a monster! You're gonna need a crane to get her out of there soon.

In your last set of close up shots, you can really see the pistils being engulfed by the bud. That's what I am now aiming for. I have read so much info (including what you sent me, thanks for that) in the last few hours about when to harvest. Then I had an "Ah-Ha!" moment... I thought back about some of the meds I have bought that were just Ok and they looked a lot like the pictures of immature buds. It's not that they were bad, they were just not as strong.

I have had some couch lock Sativas and some head high Indicas... I now have a better understanding as to why.

Thanks for always sharing great info Mr Krip!

Hey DIME, you got it and I'm really glad I could help! At time of harvest, there should be very little white pistils showing.

The AK is a serious monster! It looks like one of her bigger buds supercropped itself today. I can't tell if the stalk is actually kinked, but it's definately bent way over at the top.

The buds are getting very heavy and I'm impressed how dense they appear to be, since I've heard many horror stories about LED's producing airy nugs.

Also, what started as a skunky/pine smell now has a real strong diesel smell, at least on my hands after handling some of the buds which are also incredibly sticky.

One more res change, then a flush, then at least most of her is coming down!

 

[Mr. Krip]

BUDS & TRICHS - AK 71 DAYS OF 12/12

 

[George Parker]

Yeah! Now that's some swelling... looking sweet!

Won't be long now

 

[OldMedMan]

Hi Mr Krip.

That Ak is monster! Don't know how they both fit in there!

Vendor times are just a ballpark figure as you are finding out.

I love it when plants give you so much more than you expected.