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

[Mr. Krip]

DRYING UPDATE

I may have spoken too soon about having the perfect drying conditions. It's been 48 hours since I chopped, and now these buds are starting to feel like they're drying too quick. I think the fan runnin 24x7 is too much, so I've turned it off, for now, and will monitor the RH with the box sealed. I'll open the box every few hours to check, but it looks like the fan can be run on a timer...perhaps 15 min's every hour, or so.

I'll update when I get it dialed in better.

 

[George Parker]

Hey Mr, If your fan came with a molex connector with three wires (mine are Red/Black/Yellow) you should be able to hook up just the black(grnd) and yellow(low speed) wires to the power supply and the fan should run at 1/2 speed... at least that what mine do anyway.

Just a thought

 

[Barry Manilow]

Glad you're right on top of things Mr. Krip!

Is it stanky inside the box?

 

[Mr. Krip]

TOO AIRY, TOO DRY & TOO STONED TO CARE TOO MUCH!

Here's where we are....

First...I just composed a nice long post and lost it all right before sending. Don't even ask me what happened...it's like the page refreshed just as I was about to send it the whole post was lost.

OK, so the buds definately dried out too quick with the fan running full time, and I did the only thing I could think of doing, which is to give them the final trim and put 'em in jars.

They still have a slight "homegrown" smell that I'm really hoping will dissipate over time and that the buds aren't too dry to cure. The smell is accompanied by a strong odor of hash.

Unfortunately, adding insult to injury, the buds are pretty airy. The larger cola tops aren't too bad but, although I haven't put 'em on a scale, I'm gonna have to adjust my weight estimate down to about 2 oz.

That, combined with harvesting the haze and what's left of the AK, should be just about enough to get me to another harvest - if it doesn't take 120 days!

Because of this, I've decided not to wait and to harvest what's left of the AK this weekend. No sense waiting three more weeks for airy buds. I'd rather get the space occupied by the PE Mom, who I'll transplant to a larger hempy this weekend (she's too tall for the cab in the waterfarm!) and move into flower ASAP. Then, when I harvest the haze, I'll put in the hempy haze to replace it. Hopefully, the PE will finish before my reserves do.

Speaking of reserves, here's the stash in 1 qt. jars:

On a somewhat brighter note, the tray I was trimming over and the buds were just covered in trichomes so I added a lot of high quality buds to the trim pile for hash & cooking. I probably added a lot of buds that should have wound up in the jars, but I just didn't want to manicure all that airy stuff! I can definately see a nice hash yield from this trim, though!

On a much brighter note, the sample I had today was incredible. The taste was still a little harsh, although not as harsh as previous samples.

About five minutes after taking 2-3 hits, you start forgetting what you were doing two minutes before, and doing things like running around the house looking for the car keys that are in your hand. Then, by the time you realize you had your keys the whole time, you figure you've already put in a full day just looking for them, you forgot why you wanted to go out anyways, and you just want to melt into the couch and veg in front of the TV!

Here are some sample buds:

I'll post weights and a final smoke report soon, along with some lessons learned and adjustments planned.

Thanks again to everyone for your help and happy harvests!

K

EDIT: I just tossed the buds on the scale and my 2oz. estimate was right on! It weighed out at 57.7 grams with more to harvest this weekend. Not as much as I had hoped, but will meet my goal for the first grow.

 

[Barry Manilow]

Hey Mr. Krip! Sorry the weight was low but I don't think there was much you could have done, they are what they are. Growing right next to my ak which was just solid buds, the bagseed, lucy & the bubba kush were all airy too. I think it's the genetics of the seed you got, or it wasn't totally happy with the environment.

On the bright side it sounds like awesome smoke and that's what counts the most. They might be airy but all those sugar leaves are coated in trichs and will do the job just fine.

LOL about running around looking for your keys that are in your hand, that's me to a T. Or leaving the room 3 - 4 times to get something and forgetting to get it each time, sometimes I don't even remember I'm looking for something lol. When Blue was still with us he'd just sit there looking at me like I was a total idiot until I was done running around, then he'd get up.

Leave your buds sealed in the jars for at least 24 hrs to let the moisture equalize. Did you ever pick up a hygrometer?

If you can check out this thread, Irish knows her shit and is helping Doc with a similar problem on his first grow.

What is RH, and Why Is It Important in Drying, Curing and Storing Bud?

I'll anticipate your post grow summary, I'm sure you've learned lots of interesting and helpful things as you gear up for round 2.

Good luck my friend!

 

[Crower619]

Looks great Krip congrats but sorry to hear about the weight much respect brother

 

[George Parker]

I'm glad Blue was here to post that... I'm still looking for my eyelids, every time I look up they're gone

Looks like you have a nice size reserve there my man. Looks like some sugary snacks Congrats on some strong home grown meds! That's probably one of the brightest notes a grower can hope for.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Hey Mr. Krip! Sorry the weight was low but I don't think there was much you could have done, they are what they are. Growing right next to my ak which was just solid buds, the bagseed, lucy & the bubba kush were all airy too. I think it's the genetics of the seed you got, or it wasn't totally happy with the environment.

On the bright side it sounds like awesome smoke and that's what counts the most. They might be airy but all those sugar leaves are coated in trichs and will do the job just fine.

LOL about running around looking for your keys that are in your hand, that's me to a T. Or leaving the room 3 - 4 times to get something and forgetting to get it each time, sometimes I don't even remember I'm looking for something lol. When Blue was still with us he'd just sit there looking at me like I was a total idiot until I was done running around, then he'd get up.

Leave your buds sealed in the jars for at least 24 hrs to let the moisture equalize. Did you ever pick up a hygrometer?

If you can check out this thread, Irish knows her shit and is helping Doc with a similar problem on his first grow.

What is RH, and Why Is It Important in Drying, Curing and Storing Bud?

I'll anticipate your post grow summary, I'm sure you've learned lots of interesting and helpful things as you gear up for round 2.

Good luck my friend!

Thanks, Blue! I'm familliar with that article and I did order a couple of those hygrometers I had sent you the PM on, BUT, they're being shipped from overseas and haven't arrived yet. They're due in next week, and I didn't think I'd need them until then!

I'm definately happy, overall, with the quality and yield....taste needs a little improvement, but we'll see what some time in the jars does.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Looks great Krip congrats but sorry to hear about the weight much respect brother

Thanks, Crower!

I was hoping to get 2-4 oz. per harvest out of the cab, and on my first complete grow I have 2oz. just off what's already harvested from the AK, with more of the AK and the haze still left to harvest.

So, although I would have been happier with more, I'm pretty much right on target for where I thought I could reasonably be. Once I get things "dialed in" a little better, I'm hoping to up the goal to 4-6 oz. for each harvest, but I can see that may be a challenge with my space and lights!

 

[Mr. Krip]

I'm glad Blue was here to post that... I'm still looking for my eyelids, every time I look up they're gone

Looks like you have a nice size reserve there my man. Looks like some sugary snacks Congrats on some strong home grown meds! That's probably one of the brightest notes a grower can hope for.

Thanks, my friend!

 

[OldMedMan]

Hope your not still out there wondering around, wondering why your out there in the first place. A nice way to be anyway!

Glad your going to come close to your goal for yield after all is said and done.
I was wondering how that fan was going to work out in your drying box. Just a matter of dialing it in a bit. Buds Look great...sounds great too!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Hope your not still out there wondering around, wondering why your out there in the first place. A nice way to be anyway!

Glad your going to come close to your goal for yield after all is said and done.
I was wondering how that fan was going to work out in your drying box. Just a matter of dialing it in a bit. Buds Look great...sounds great too!

Thanks, OMM...nope, I found my way back and I'm at it again!

Yeah the fan running full time was too much...plus, my original plan was to put the fan on a speed controller, but I figured with my home-made carbon filter on there, there wouldn't be too much air flow considering it's only a PC fan, so I didn't do that. We live and learn!

Next batch is gonna go in the box without the fan running at all, unless I see humidity spiking, in which case, I'll put it on a timer.

 

[Mr. Krip]

QUICK UPDATE

I harvested the rest of the AK this morning. I'm estimating about another ounce of buds (dry) that will go into jars and something like 2 oz. of fluffy buds that went into the trim pile for hash.

I do not have the fan running at all in the drying box at this time.

The buds that went into jars are rehydrating nicely. They've gotten nice and soft, but not moist.

I did receive the two hygrometers I had ordered in the mail on Friday - Just in time!

It looks like the moisture is right around 75%, so they didn't get too dry to cure, and now I'm just trying to take whats left of the moisture out slowly.

In the mean time, I'm letting the haze spend the day alone with all the lights to herself. I'll do a res change on her tomorrow and consider giving her a new playmate for the few weeks she still has left in flower.

 

[Mr. Krip]

PIC UPDATE:

Time for a pic update!

I transplanted the PE mom to a 2.5 gal hempy bucket in preparation for going into flower. She was completely rootbound in that smaller container and I had to work quite a bit to remove a solid block of roots. I gently loosened them apart before transplanting and added a dose of SuperThrive to her nutes just to make sure she does OK.

The veg chamber is now completely filled and I even had to move one of the smaller PE clones to the little shelf in the back-left corner:

I think I'll wait a week or so before putting the PE in. I want to make sure she takes to her new container and give her roots a chance to spread to the deeper res. Also, I'm enjoying using the flower chamber as it was intended - for one big plant using the LED as top lighting and the CFL's for side lighting. And, the haze is loving all the extra space and light, and her buds are really beautiful.

Here she is basking in her larger home:

This pic gives a better idea of how the lights are positioned, although the CFL are lower than they appear in the pic:

Here's a pic of her main cola which is about the size of a beer can:

Here's some of her side colas:

And the trich's on this girl are unbelievable and her buds are just gorgeous-looking!

Here's a close-up of the main cola:

And, here's a few of the lower/smaller buds:

I think I'm gonna wait one more week before starting her 3-week countdown to harvest.

In the mean time, the jarred buds from the AK harvest seem to be curing nicely, although, they still smell like chlorophyl and I would have liked them to have more time to dry before going into jars. The humidity is still a little high in the jars, so I'm opening them about 4 times per day for about 2-3 minutes and giving them a good shaking in their jars, just to get some air space between the buds.

The second harvest from the AK is in the drying box and drying much slower without the fan running all the time. I do turn it on for about 15 minutes, four times per day right now, just to bring down any humidity that builds up.

I can't lie...I've also been sampling the curing buds and while the taste still needs improvement, I'm loving the serious couchlock after only 2-3 hits.

Happy Harvests!

K

 

[George Parker]

Man you grow em big! And that veg chamber looks like it's full of beautiful and happy plants

Love the trichs on that girl, should make for some potent smoke my friend. Best of luck with cure and I know you'll get that dry box dialed in.

 

[Crower619]

Looks awesome krip glad to hear you got the drying situation on lock down now lol cant wait to see whats next

 

[SuKaFr33]

haven't checked you out in awhile things are lookin good, hopefully when i get all this down packed i can do it how most of you guys do and start doin clones, i got a couple different brands of cloning gel so i think this grow i might give it a try, maybe i can find me a small cabinet to do my veging in and use the cab i have now for flowering that way i can have shit all year around instead of every 4 months, i also have my second grow goin on, if u got time check it out, things are lookin way better then last grow already, i got this new soil i dont know if you ever heard of it, its called RG Basement Mix, really good shit, i got the ingredients and all that in the description for my grow, but yea if u got a minute check it out, and keep up the good work bro, shits lookin good!!!

 

[turttle]

Nice krip like them sugary leaves.congrats on the harvest looks like a jungly in there all nice and healthy man.

 

[Macgyverup]

Found the best quote for the "organics" thing I ever read or could write myself about it!

" This is my main concern. I'm not even comfortable with some of the stuff in the FF line. Lots of reading ahead for me.

As my friends though, I ask that you keep an eye on me,lol...I don't want to become a granola bearded mountain dwelling weirdo,......

"Yea, You must align your chi before entering the grow area. Once I'm there, I feed them a pinch of mouse poop, 3 strands of deer hair, some elk sperm (bitch to get) and then I blow sifted ash across all the fan leaves."

With buds the side of fire extinguishers,lmao

Yea,...regardless how big the buds EVER get, don't let me become that guy...."

WTF! How do you find shit like this! Friggin hilarious! Hey Mr. Krip just stopping by. Thanks again for the drying cabinet heads up and keep me posted on the total time for your cabbed buds.

 

[Hydrologist]

Yo whats up Krip!! Long time no see or talk. I've been off in my own world but I plan on getn' back in this world on a daily basis and just wanted to drop the new thread link so you can get at me its RDWC again but i'm also incorporating coco this time to get some sprouts to cloning level before flowering them then will take out males and go from there trying to find the best one. Hope everythings alright with you dude, hope to catch up with you soon.
Heres the perpetual journal:
Hydrologist's Pertetual RDWC Grow - Bubba Chunk - C99 - Pineapple - Tarzan Strains

Hydrologist