First Hydro Grow - Sun System 8, Feliz 200w, DWC & Fogger

[fumarmota]

I am thinking about picking up the Fox Farm Soluble Trio. Open Sesame, Cha Ching, etc. Does anyone else have experience with these additives? I have read good things but would appreciate advice from someone who has actually used these products personally.

 

[CocoJoe]

Hi fumarmota, Things look good to me. I use FF nutes and I don't mess with their boosters. Just one humble opinion, I don't believe in magic. throwing some your way.

 

[fumarmota]

Hi there, this is one of the best journals I've seen. Your set up seems straight forward and dooable even to a noob like myself. I hope you post an update soon!

Just a few questions if you don't mind. Why did you use the "windshield reflectors" rather than just lining the cabinet with the metallic duct tape or some mylar? Is there some other purpose besides the reflective surface?

I chose the windshield reflectors because they are thick like cardboard, providing some level of insulation and also it is very easy to work with. The vertical size is perfect as well.

I was also wondering about the limited vertical space available in your cabinet. It seems as though you're saying you can prune the plants in a way that limits their vertical growth. If that's the case I guess it would be nice to understand how that works a little better. Perhaps there's a tutorial or post some where that goes into this in more detail?

I don't really have a tutorial that I am working with. When the plant first gets started I cut most leaves once they hit about 1.5 inches in length. Once I get 7-8 vertical nodes I top the plant. Once topped I continue to trim as needed.

Let's just say for example you put too many plants in a given amount of space. If the plants begin to exceed both the horizontal and vertical space and you don't do any trimming, I suppose the areas of the plants running up against the walls begin to die and surely this effects the whole plant in a negative way.

Now if you simply prune the plants where ever they begin to get too close to walls this will certainly prevent the plants from getting squished, but can this be done indefinitely? Will the plants mature properly within the free space available for them?

Is there simply a space that is too small for a given plant, or could you theoretically grow a marijuana plant in a 1 foot cube of space and just keep pruning so that in the end you just have a mature plant 1 foot cube in size that's densely packed with buds?

Thanks,
~The Noob

I plan to do a scrog to control the growth, cutting away any unnecessary branches as I go. Think about how a bonzai works, through the use constant trimming/training, and shallow pots, you can create a completely mature miniature tree. I am trying to do the same I guess. I realize individual buds may be smaller but I am hoping that I can make up for that by having more physical bud sites. Once separated in the screen it will be interesting to see how tall they grow. Then again , I might just be loopy All I know is these plants are almost 2 months old and they are still only inches tall, yet they have lots of growth. I will just keep going and we'll all see what happens together. If anyone thinks I am on the wrong track feel free to send comments/suggestions.

 

[DroJo]

Plants look really nice so far bro You can really see a difference day to day.

 

[justparanoid]

I would think about flipping the switch to 12/12 at 6 inches since the plants will grow three times their size or so.

Hope it helps,

JP

 

[fumarmota]

I would think about flipping the switch to 12/12 at 6 inches since the plants will grow three times their size or so.

Hope it helps,

JP

No worries there. The largest plant is only 5" now and the lights are set to change on Friday Should be interesting. The new Fox Farms nutrients are already having a good effect on the plants. I am following the Hydro feeding chart from the Fox Farm web site. I started adding the Open Sesame soluble last Friday, so far so good.

 

[fumarmota]

The plants are coming along nicely now that I have changed to the Fox Farms nutes. I am using the Hydro feeding chart on the Fox Farms web site. I just added the Open Sesame last Friday so I am due to change the lights over to 12/12 on Friday. I plan to take some clone cuttings right before I switch the lights over.

 

[fumarmota]

Here are some photos I took on Feb. 27th. I will try to take some more today and get them posted by tomorrow.



Plant # 1 @ 58 days from planting. She is only about 2.5 - 3 inches tall here.

 

[fumarmota]

Plant #2 @ 58 days. You can see it is still quite short but starting to get bushy now.

 

[fumarmota]

Here are a few pics of the four plants taken on Feb 27th @ 58 days from planting. The tallest plant at this point was still under 5".

 

[fumarmota]

Here are a couple quick pics of Plant #3 and Plant #4 taken on 2/27 @ 58 days from planting.

 

[fumarmota]

Fresh off the presses. I just took these 15 minutes ago. All 4 plants are @ 63 days since planting. The tallest plant is just over 5 inches tall now. They are really liking their environment and seem to be thriving. I will adjust the lighting schedule to 12/12 to start flowering tomorrow. I am thinking I should take a few clones from these. We'll see.

 

[Sonzor]

Those are some green healthy looking plants you have grown there. Great job......

 

[fumarmota]

The plants are 71 days old today and still only about 6-7 inches tall at the tallest. I have been trimming most of the larger leaves again since the last post. I think I have succeeded in my banzai experiment thus far Just look at the size of the main center stem in the the 4th photo below. It only goes up about 1.5 inches, then it is topped. All other growth came from branches and sub-branches on the 8 nodes that grew in prior to the topping. Remember, those are only 3" net pots.

I snapped a couple of pics while I was changing out nutrients today. Today starts my second week of flowering, I changed the lights to 12/12 on March 5th. I put in a 250 watt Feliz Flowering bulb (red) but it would not fit in the Sun System 8" lamp enclosure as it is about 1.5 - 2" longer than the 200 watt bulb I was using for veg. I ended up buying a Bright Wing reflector to do the job.

I took 4 cuttings from each plant right before switching the lights over, so I ended up using the Sun System 8 and the 200 watt Feliz (blue) for them. They are on a 24 hour cycle until they show some roots. Wish me luck with those! I will keep everyone updated on their progress as a part of this journal since they are technically part of the same grow


This is a photo with the reservoir half full after completely draining and flushing it. It holds a total of 2 gallon of water up to the lines. I am still using the Fox Farms nutes and am at the second week of 12/12 according to their Hydro Feeding Chart. (you can see the nutrient mixes that I am using there, and yes I am using the Open Sesame soluble as well)

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So the question of the day is: Can anyone tell if I am preflowering yet and if so what sex this plant is?

Here's a less zoomed photo of the same branch.

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Look at the diameter of that center stem, more importantly take a look at the internode lengths and the growth on the first lower tier branches. They are crazy dense!

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Welcome to the Jungle Baby!

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This is one jungle I'd like to find myself in the middle of.......

Until next time

 

[lavendar]

wow...those are some good looking plants....beautiful...now, i am no expert by any means, but if it were my plant, it would have a red flag in it to watch closely.....i'ld bet it is a male, but , i'm no expert....lavendar

 

[fumarmota]

wow...those are some good looking plants....beautiful...now, i am no expert by any means, but if it were my plant, it would have a red flag in it to watch closely.....i'ld bet it is a male, but , i'm no expert....lavendar

I am holding my breath and crossing my fingers. I really hope I get at least 2 girls out of the 4. Just waiting for those pretty white hairs to pop up. I even went out and bought a Celestron Handheld Microscope so I can get some really good pics of the flowers and trichomes if they appear. I will post some pics as I take them from the microscope. Here it is if anyone is interested in finding out more about them, it is the Celestron 44302:

 

[lavendar]

yeah, i know the feeling...last year i bought some blackberry seeds and put out four of them thinking at least one would be female, wrong....could not believe it....now i have one seed left and i just dread planting it....and that is one strain i really wanted....
the odds are with you for getting a female...
good going....and gee, those mics are worth every dime....we love ours...really puts you up close and personal....lavendar

 

[Sonzor]

Plants are looking super healthy, great job with that. As for male or female, I can't see any signs of either in those photos but it won't be long... Great job again and will have my fingers crossed for some females for you..... Good luck...

 

[fumarmota]

Well, I think I am looking at a couple of males. The other two plants are not showing yet. But we will see. Anyone disagree?

 

[fumarmota]

Here are a couple of pics taken today so you can see the growth progress @75 days since planting. Shot number one also shows how nicely that new Bright Wing lamp fixture fits in my box.