Greenislands journal 09

[greenisland]

So this is my first journal. I have posted pics on this site already of the first garden I made like this (its destiny was to grow basil and tomatoes though) however they are the exact same setup as each other accept for the basil garden doesn't have Co2 injection and has a much less extensive exhaust system and filtering system than this garden does(I need it for the smell of the MJ plants, basil on the other hand has a very small amount of smell). Same exact room in the same exact kind of house. Honestly I have duplicated this same setup of lights and hoods numerous times for all kinds of different purposes. Im now growing with a more meaningful purpose. My fiance is sick with cancer (I haven't mentioned this yet but I want people to know the full reason why I do what I do.) And this garden is for her and I. She is a Med Pot patient as well as me. However shes in more need than I. She needs this medicine desperately. Her bones no longer work properly and shes in a lot of pain from them degrading right from under her. Hips, knees, shoulders, she cant even walk straight anymore. I love her and would do anything to make her life better and anything I can do to lower the amount of pain she goes through is worth it for me. Its really hard to see her in so much pain(even if she wont admit it), especially when I cant do hardly anything to help. My situation is very similar to another persons situation I read about on here. PotPie also grows medicine for his significant other. I saw his thread and decided to start my own for all to see. You can see my motivation here on his grow thread PotPie's First Grow - Quest for Indoor Gardening Nollij. On a more positive note, I love growing all kinds of plants, I don't solely grow MJ. So I hope everyone enjoys and gets something useful out of this small grow journal of my homegrown medicine! Also I hope I can find help with my few questions.(already had most questions answered by Mr Smith but I'm sure I will have more as I continue this since I just started to use the ebb and gro sets for everything (MJ and vegetables) and Ive never used them before)
First things first!! ..The Equipment list!!
Ballasts: 3-600watt elect. Quantum dimmable ballasts (love these things, I own like a dozen already!lol)
Bulbs: 600W Hortilux mh conversion for veg and hps for bloom
Hoods: 3-Hydrofarm 8"air-cooled hoods with insulated 8" duct work. They also have the dual wall design to keep temps down on outside of reflector. And has the swing down lens and gasket system for easy maintenance of bulbs and lenses (gotta love that idea!)
Nutrient delivery system: C.A.P. Ebb and Gro set. I always end up only using 10 of the buckets in the both of the sets I use now. The plants don't get crammed that way. And that's what seems to work best for the MJ and tomatoes/basil.
Air movement/Filtration:2-Airking 12" oscillating fans (wall-mount) just for air movement in the room. Ion/uv air filter(to keep air clean). Mountainaire 8" carbon filter with a 12" uvonair (3 corona discharge unit ozone generator, overkill I know) Also I have the room under negative pressure with the 8" max fan hooked up to the carbon filter and ozone generator and its exhausting 24/7. Lights are exhausted with a 8"max-fan as well. Also have another 8"max fan exhausting the room when humidity or temp exceed the set-point.
Environmental: CHHC Sentinel Co2 PPM/temp/humidity/night-device controller. Hooked up to a C.A.P propane CO2 generator. Enviro controller set at 1500ppm, temp at 78 deg. and humidity at 50 with 10 deg dead-band
Nutrients: Advanced nutrients Sensi series so far but I just switched to Advanced Nutrients micro/veg/bloom 3part for flowering because the old nutes were old and not working properly ( having lockout issues) Buckets get flooded 5 times daily
Genetics: "Nosebleed" cross between a local strain and GWS or Silver pearl (cant remember anymore, sorry, its an old girl! And I'm an old guy, lol, ) Also I have another local no name strain that I hybridized years ago. And last but not least "Blue Cheese"(prob my personal favorite even though I had no part in the making of this strain and the other two I did)

My pictures of first three weeks, sorry I loaded them out of order.
Here is some early pics:
A couple days after transplanting from clone tray.(ballasts at 50% power, 900 watts total)

Sorry I don't have any pics of this room being built cause I forgot my camera but I do have pics of an almost identical room being built (only difference is this rooms exhaust setup and the lack of CO2 injection because I don't spend as much effort on the ventilation when I'm building setups for tomatoes or other vegetables like that room was built for (I wont post pics of the Basil and tomato plants. Even though I'm proud of them I don't want to put pics of non 420 related stuff here. Mostly because its off topic and I don't want to break any rules). If you look closely you can see the little differences. Like how there's no uvonair on this mountainaire filter and the room here is only being exhausted by 2 inline 8" duct boosters as apposed to the 8" Max Fan I have exhausting the MJ garden.

Here are some more recent pics of the MJ garden with the Co2 injection and stuff. This pic was taken at 3 weeks veg.(ballasts at 100% power, 1800watts total)Sorry had to use panorama shot to fit it all in one pic, sorry they don't seam up perfectly

And here is some middle pics from when they were a wk and a half into veg (ballasts only on 75% power, 1350watts total)

Anyhow all the girls are under a MH now but will be under HPSs within the next week. At the same time as I change bulbs and switch to 12/12 I'm going to trim them up and stake the plants so they have something to hold onto when the buds get heavy. I will try and post pics as soon as I do this. Ive already started to transition the nutrients to the flowering regimen. Hope this little beginning of a journal helps. Ill make sure to keep this updated so it doesn't turn into an unfinished journal. And I hope I made this thread correctly and I didn't do anything wrong or against the rules ( I read "The correct way to start a grow journal" thread and tried to follow it to the "T")

My first question is this: How many times should I flood the buckets in a day? Or should I start out flooding more often at first and then taper off later on? Because usually that's what I do. I start with more waterings than 5 a day just so the roots kinda get a jump-start at first and grab hold. And then when they are about 1.5 weeks into veg I lower it from 8 times a day to only flooding 5 times a day. Is there a better way to do this? Should I keep it at 8 a day all the time or am I doing it right? I always used flood tables before this, or DWC, and the flood tables I flooded like every 4 hrs or so. Should I do the same here? Like I said I am new to these sets and have already had a couple mini battles with them. Any help will be very much appreciated, thanks for any tips or tricks anyone can offer me on using these Ebb and Gro sets.

 

[greenisland]

Hmmm, well I hope someone gets a chance to read this. I tried looking for it on the grow journals page and it was nowhere to be seen. So it seems that in order for someone to see this thread they would have to be linked to it from another thread or something. Anyhow, I hope someone gets to at least see this journal... if not I guess thats ok too. It will be like my own personal journal that only I read. lol.

 

[Ms.Fox]

Wow! What a grow! Nice set up!

 

[greenisland]

Woohoo, someone saw the thread. Thanks Ms fox. I have a picture in the plant of the month contest for june of Nosebleed. In these pics its not red/purple yet. And actually it probably wont turn that color in this room because the nutrients Im using are differnet than in the plant of the month pic and the temp is much warmer now. But yeah check out the pic in the other thread if you havent already (and maybe throw me a vote if you want, lol) I will be posting more updated pics of this room later today. The girls are getting a haircut and getting tied up, (hmmm that kinda sounds bad) lol. Thx for the compliment though, much appreciated!

 

[greengo840]

Never fear, your thread has been spotted!

Great set-up! Looks clean and purty, I'll be keepin an eye on this one.

 

[greenisland]

Sorry no pics like I had hoped today. Its gonna have to be tommarow cause I got rained in. And when it rains here the river runs and YOU AINT GOIN NOWHERE! lol. So tommarrow I will p-ost the updated pics, got a lot of work to do tommarrow. Thx for checking out my thread though, I just love people seeing pics of my medicine!

 

[HazeSeeker]

HO,Ho,hO ... How did I miss this one ?
Wow Zeleni otok(greenisland) ...you have a nice forest there ... Im amazed .
Keep those pics coming , and dont forget MACRO ones ...
+reps m8 you deserve it .
And you have my vote in POM ...voted week ago...

 

[greenisland]

Sweet man, thx Haze seeker. I appreciate the vote!. I will definetally get some updated pics up tonight,. Its gonna be late tonight but I will make sure to get lots of photos for everyone to enjoy. Thx for all the reps people, I really appreciate everyone's help.

 

[mellowman164]

Nice setup man it helps to already have all that equipment. I have always had them flood every four hours but that's just me. I would get those lights closer to the canopy if you can but its nice you have so many watts. Ill definetly have to keep up with this journal. I love being able to grow meds my girlfriend is anorexic and its the only thing that gets her to eat and I have really bad anxiety issues that are put to rest by heavy indicas. Good luck brother.

 

[greenisland]

Yeah, actually I have like tons of equipment laying around. I had the light at the distance that I did so that they would stretch as much as possible under the MH. Cause the MH bulbs I use make them way way bushier than I want them to be. The lights are now closer ( 1ft to 1.5ft away) thx for the advice though. Its crazy abt ur girl man. My girl had those issues when she was younger and every once in a while she has issues with it again. Im not sure about your girl but mine wont eat unless I do (which is ridiculous) and she watches every little thing I eat so she can eat the same thing. Im naturally a thin guy, and shes thin too, but if I eat like a piece of pie..then she can, but if I dont she wont even think about it. However with MJ in the pic it definitely helps with convincing her that eating is not only BENEFICIAL but absolutely necessary. I think smoking also helps her forget about her concerns of being fat. (which is also ridiculous) You could tell her shes the thinnest person in the world every day of her life and she would never believe it. Its frustrating.

 

[greenisland]

Id like to add, the reason why I have so much equipment is that I build indoor grow rooms for people. Not MJ (even though I would love too) but for tomatoes mostly. Also basil, zuchini, strawberries, herbs, whatever. So I have a lot of equipment either left over or just unused. Or if I see like a good deal on something I will just go and buy like 10 of them just to have them on hand in case I ever need them. For instance those hydrofarm reflectors usually go for over $200 or at the very cheapest $190, well I found these ones for $125ea brand new, so I bought 10 of them. And Im already out and having to order more!!! Im buying a sun system XL for the next build (for an older disabled lady whos a hardcore gardener, she grows some of the most amazing hydro vegetables ive seen thus far, and shes paralized from the waist down!)though just because now I can get them for cheap and I cant get the deal on the hydrofarm reflectors anymore. Just a little backround info. Grow a lots of orchids as well (just thought I would throw that out there). lol Every time I say I grow veggies on this forum I get somebody that thinks Im pulling their leg, but I assure you Im not. lol. I love my hydro veggies! Dont like eating them much since Im kind of a meataterian but I love growing them nonetheless, I just give my veggies away most of the time! But yes, stay posted. New pictures are going up tonight. (that is if I ever get off this forum and get to work! lol)

 

[mellowman164]

Oh well that makes perfect sense I guess I have never had the space to veg with a mh... They get way too hot for a cabinet grow. With my girlfeiend its a lot different. She knows she's skinny and wants to eat she just never has an appetite and gets noscious whenever she tries to eat. She gets a big appetite when she smokes and doesn't get sick at all.

 

[greenisland]

Yeah you can see how even with the lights up that high, the plants STILL didnt hardly stretch at all. They just get crazy bushy! Yeah ur chick is waaayy different than mine in that sense. Mine just doesnt WANT to eat... even if she is hungry.

 

[greenisland]

Ok, well I promised photos so here they are. Unfortunatelly by the time I was done trimming tying up etc. I sat down for an hr or two and went in to take pics and realised the lights had already gone off. So their sleeping in these pics, thats why they look droopy like that, their just sleeping. But if you look closely you can see that all the girls are now trimmed up and tied to bamboo sticks, well atleast the girls that needed to be tied up. I also trimmed off like the bottom half of all the girls, so they can breath better and start putting their energy in to the top nodes where the buds will be. I hope to get some better pics up soon. And next time I will make sure its while they are awake so they dont look so sad.

You can see two of the bamboo stakes in this pic.

And an attempt at a close up, a bad attempt. I think Im gonna have to wait till theres light in the room to get a good macro shot. But this was an attempt using the flash.

And if anybody gets a spare second, Check out the plant of the month contest and throw a vote my way if you like what you see! Theres only one and a half days left, and I could reeeaaallly use the votes, thanks guys! 420 Magazine's Plant of the Month Contest - June 2009

 

[greenisland]

Since I have been talking about the june plant of the month contest I figured I would put my entry picture on this thread so those of you who havent been over to that forum and voted can see what picture Im talking about.. Also this is a pic of Nosebleed which is what two of the plants in the new room (see pics above) are. So it kinda applies to this grow journal as well since this is what a mature Nosebleed plant looks like. However Im not expecting the Nosebleed plants in this new room to get this color because that year the plant was seriously babied and it was a lot cooler (temperature wise) outside then, and the new room I think is gonna stay to warm for her to show her nice purple/red hues like in this picture ... but I guess well just have to wait and see huh? Like I said, if you like this picture, head over to the forum and vote for it, pleeeease??.420 Magazine's Plant of the Month Contest - June 2009

Heres the pic, hopefully this makes up for my other not so good pics (because they were sleeping!) I posted today.

 

[koregon]

is the strain called nosebleed? if you dont mind me asking where did you get the seeds from?

 

[greenisland]

Yes the strain is called "nosebleed". I didnt get seeds actually, Its a cross of mostly Mikado (from federation*Federation is also out of stock at this moment with no known date as to when its gonna be back... sadly. However I havent tried to contact them on this) A strain called N###### sweat (which Ive never seen in a seed catalog and is of unknown origin). And GWS or Silver pearl. I no longer remember exactly. But if my memory serves me right it was a Mikado X (N...... Sweat x Silver pearl (from "next generation). Honestly it started out as a mistake but it turned into a yr + job. This "nosebleed" was the result of numerous peoples works combined .Especially if you take into account the "sweat". "The Sweat" is kinda the stuff of legends and Im sure that whoever made the Sweat had no idea its being used in Nosebleed now. Sweat was the first stuff to ever make me see trails and give me the most relaxed happy high ever. Even though that was not "typical" to see trails it happened occasionally and left an impression. So it started there. Also it isn't really typical for Nosebleed to look like that under most indoor circumstances. Nosebleed WILL however turn those DARK COLORS if you get the night time temps below 60 deg. the colder the better and it can handle it too! And then you just baby the hell out of her. She will reward you with a miraculous show of colors!. I suggest using Humbolts Finest "gravity". That always seemed to speed up the whole color change (well, speed up the finishing time which in turn makes the color change).

 

[Mr Smith]

Found your journal and will be following it. Is this a journal? We went from small plants in buckets to a finishing colorful beauty. BTW we have something in common, I set up grow rooms for other people too but its not basil we are growin. Its more like a trade between friends. I have the equipment and they have the electric and the space lol.
I never had old nute problems even though I buy it by the case but if lumps develop in the nutes its considered no good. Now that I found your journal I wish to pass along some of the tips and tricks I have learned using the ebb n gro system. Please remember that I am only trying to help and possibly learn with ya at the same time.

First lets say a little about the room and I am only being a lil picky. Its a very very nice setup but I don't like seeing light cords on the ground for safety reasons. Everything else that I can see is aye ok.

Now the tips and tricks in no specific order (very stoned at the moment)

Vaseline (petroliem jelly) helps with assembly and disassembly. It has no reaction to nutes and water and can help seal the hoses and grommets. Just don't glob it on, swipe parts sparingly using fingers and have a papertowel ready for when your finished lol.

Using a hair dryer will soften the hoses and makes removing them very easy.

Using a pocket flatblade screwdriver you can ream around the fittings and it also makes removing the hoses easier.

If you need more black hoses they sell them in 10 foot lenghs at home depot in the plumming section.
If you need more fittings they sell the at lowes in the plumming section and they are cheap. (always nice to have a few extra Ts and elbows and straights)

If your floor is not even you can elevate individual buckets with cheap floor tiles. They are 1/8 inch thick and you level them with water before medium and plants are in buckets. You want no standing water in the bottom of the top bucket. (helps prevent root rot)

You want no airstones or areation in the resevoir. Its not needed and it helps with ph flutuations.

Ebb systems are very simular to soil grows so plants seem to do better at higher ph levels like 5.7 to 6.3.

Be very careful when seperating fittings from the buckets. I have not found a easy way to do it yet but the buckets can crack if you man handle it. Fittings are very cheap($0.43 each) but buckets are not.

They sell garden hose fittings both male and female ends at lowes the right size for the black tubing and it makes assembly and dissasembly very quick plus its a great tool to flush out the hoses with a garden hose and water from the tap running on high. Stay away from the ones that have built in shut off valves because they still leak when closed and its easy to forget that you left them closed.

If I can think of more I will bring it up later, if you need me to clarify just let me know and I will try to be more descriptive or post a pic. I hope maybe some of this might be helpful. Keep it green( or purple).

 

[greenisland]

No no no, Im sorry. Didnt meen to confuse anyone. I tried to explain this earlier but I will try again. The plants in the ebb and gro set are still growing. That finished pic of nosebleed was from an earlier grow. I was trying to get people to vote by posting that pic. Also so people can see nosebleed in another light, cause so far the nosebleeds in the ebb and gro set are green (and they will probably stay that way in this setup because of the temp in the room,,,warm). The chords that are on the ground will be raised soon, however the only ones that are on the ground are brand new and there arent any connections where water can seep in if there was a leek. All connections, ballasts, old power chords etc. are off the ground for security reasons just as you pointed out.(dont need to start any fires). The room also has its own 50 amp breaker line (which also sits 2 ft off the ground). So everything is plugged into there own dedicated GFI protected power supply (just in case). The vaseline is an excellent idea though, never thought of that one. I typicallu use flood tables and rockwool for things because that is pretty much the industry standard when dealing with basil/ tomatoes or any other mass produced vegetable hydro crop these days. Also the tile idea, great idea as well. Im gonna use that idea tommarow!! Things look differnet now than they did in those pics. Since those pics I have done a lot to tidy things up. I may have a moderator pull out my finished nosebleed pic so more people dont get confused. This IS an ongoing journal, PLZ STAY POSTED, The plants are just now about a week into flowering, so plz stay updated on this and you will see my girls from start to finish. Thanks again for all your help Mr Smith. How long have you been building hydro rooms? Ive only been doing this for about six years now, but I learned from my grandma and others who have been doing this much much longer than I. Well Ive been setting rooms up since before I graduated highschool but Ive been doing it proffessionally for the last six yrs or so. Typically Im more of a consultant /designer/planner usually Im not the one who actually ends up building the room. I just design the room to whatever specs the person needs. For example if someone has a crazy rhombus sized closet and they want to gro in that all they do is send me a rough draft of what the closet looks like, dimensions etc. and I go and draft it all out, make materials list as well as a miantanence list etc. When I build my own however (beleive it or not) Im usually more careless than if I was to be building it for someone else. Just because I know where I can cut corners for myself. When dealing with customers its a different story, I am hardcore into attention to detail, perfection, and cleanliness. After all I advertise solely by word of mouth. I would like to think that everything I do is set up to work at it peak performance 24/7 and that everything I do is perfect. But of course this will never be the case and I will always be learning something new, and be improving upon my past designs. Ive also been known to build custom wood sets to match living room furniture, Ive built flourishing rooms in kitchen cabinets before too. Its all about what the customer wants. If they have a space to donate I almost certainly have a way to grow in that space. Thx for everything Mr Smith, some really great ideas going on here!!

 

[greenisland]

Also I just wanted to add that when I say "professionally" I mean that I get payed to do this (dont make a lot but after all its just a side job/hobbie). I dont have any degrees in biology or anything like that. I am pretty much self taught beside what my grandma has taught me about orchids. Ive read a whole lot of books. At this point I have a fair amount of practice under my belt. And Im sure that there are many many more people out there that know a whole lot more than I do on these topics. And that is why I am here, to spread my knowledge as well as soak up as much as I can from the rest of you. This is a great place for Ideas and knowledge to be spread. Thats what I meant by "proffessional". Just wanted to make a point of clarifying that.