Jon's First Outdoor Grow: Sugar Breath Photoperiod & Strawberry Banana Autoflower

[Bill284]

Hey Bill! Yeah we're all good here bud. I have an update shot for you later. The Sledgehammer flush appears to have agreed with the plants. They seem to be having a growth spurt. Again. All are still getting a gallon every day. Coco tears through the nutes, at least if you're using Fox Farms it does. I've already had to order more of two ingredients. Jeez... Anyway, the buds are growing very quickly, and they have really long pistils reaching to the sky everywhere. Light and environment is dialed in. I hooked up the second AC unit today to control humidity. By running the second unit on low cool and the primary unit on high, we keep the Rh in the mid 40s and down as low as 37% (my current low so far). Works pretty well.

Also, my new 3x3 arrives and gets set up today with the NextLight 420h and my fan/filter setup. The Apple Blossom is going to live it's LED/veg life the rest of the time until the flip in the 3x3 as soon as the autos harvest in a day or two, and the outdoor rig will be history. Both the rig and the @Mars Hydro FC-E6500 served me well, I'll post a eulogy. Lol. At the same time we'll have the Watermelon Weddingcake Double XL auto started in a one gallon pot of your soil blend, also in the tent next to the Apple Blossom. When the auto is ready to up pot to the seven of your soil blend, I will then flip the Apple Blossom at which point it will go live outside by itself in the dark spot by night and the lennai in the sun by day to flower outside. Then the WWC Double XL will have the 3x3 to itself and once again we will all be contained in the garage. The outdoor part of the grow will be no longer. That was fun as hell and an amazing learning experience.

So that's about where we are. Today I'm doing the update for you on the coco girls post, and a finish out the other journal goodbye and thanks post, and I'll actually and finally be down to one journal. My life keeps getting easier and easier, which is fine I'm ready to rest on my pile of weed and take a month or two off while I get ready to move and plan the new space. Can't wait to scout out my spot for our monster outdoor grow this spring.

Hope all is well with you and you are preparing for a happy new year. 2021 ain't that hard to beat in my opinion. I had two friends die, one from suicide, and several have their lives turned upside down by Covid related stuff, and I suffered a couple serious burns that are just now healing up finally after several months, and that would only all be the tip of the damn iceberg. So yeah, let's have a better year than we did last year. Neither of us had a banner 2021.

I'll be happy to put 2021 in my rear view mirror aswell.
I'm glad the burns are healing my friend.
I popped a chronic thunder yesterday, hopefully it will be my main plant for the summer grow.
Then all her clone babies.
We see?
Looking forward to see the coco ladies.
Talk soon.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Jon]

I'll be happy to put 2021 in my rear view mirror aswell.
I'm glad the burns are healing my friend.
I popped a chronic thunder yesterday, hopefully it will be my main plant for the summer grow.
Then all her clone babies.
We see?
Looking forward to see the coco ladies.
Talk soon.

Stay safe
Bill

Wait, you're starting your summer plant now? @Rexer, @StoneOtter, you guys see this crap? . Oh, that's not an advantage. Lmao. So much for me thinking I can grow a monster just like you. Not when you have a four month head start. Ha.

 

[Bill284]

Wait, you're starting your summer plant now? @Rexer, @StoneOtter, you guys see this crap? . Oh, that's not an advantage. Lmao. So much for me thinking I can grow a monster just like you. Not when you have a four month head start. Ha.

Yes but 3 of those months will be on a cold window ledge.
With a semi northern Ontario winter sun for light.
So if it lives at all it will be a miracle.
The last one froze and died 3 days before the heat mat arrived from Bozos.
But I'd love to have a root in the ground before the year ends.
Thanks again @Rexer .

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Rexer]

I've full confidence Bill can pull it off! Though Bill, if we get the temps their facing out west, you may need a heating blanket, not a pad!
-55C with windchill!! Brrrr

Growing out a mom for clones, or are you just gonna veg a monster Bill?



Lol well, in about another few months I'll hopefully start the same for the summer outdoor plants. And Jon, wait till you get a load of my summer grow plan(s). I'll be doing a "shitz and giggles" plant, just to see what happens.

For the winter I'm currently building a small rdwc, I was planning on Dutch buckets, but said screw it and i am now building a "stirponic" rdwc for a winter grow. Got it about 70% built, just waiting now for next payday to finish picking up a few missed parts, and cans of black spray paint. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll pop a few beans.

 

[Bill284]

I've full confidence Bill can pull it off! Though Bill, if we get the temps their facing out west, you may need a heating blanket, not a pad!
-55C with windchill!! Brrrr

Growing out a mom for clones, or are you just gonna veg a monster Bill?



Lol well, in about another few months I'll hopefully start the same for the summer outdoor plants. And Jon, wait till you get a load of my summer grow plan(s). I'll be doing a "shitz and giggles" plant, just to see what happens.

For the winter I'm currently building a small rdwc, I was planning on Dutch buckets, but said screw it and i am now building a "stirponic" rdwc for a winter grow. Got it about 70% built, just waiting now for next payday to finish picking up a few missed parts, and cans of black spray paint. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll pop a few beans.

Hey @Rexer Hope your feeling better.
I'll hopefully veg her and train her until it's time to go outside.
And I'll probably pull a few clones along the way.
That way we still have the rest of the seeds for future use.
Have you got any pics of what your building?

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Rexer]

Hey @Rexer Hope your feeling better.
I'll hopefully veg her and train her until it's time to go outside.
And I'll probably pull a few clones along the way.
That way we still have the rest of the seeds for future use.
Have you got any pics of what your building?

Stay safe
Bill

Sounds like a right solid plan! I know you've probably got nutes, but I am still sitting on a big bag of MC if you need/want.

No No pics yet, which is just as well, I've changed the design several times over. And it's not a build I'd recommend either- I know I'll be facing clogged pipes and the odd overflow. But it'll be fun, and I'm enjoying puttin my noggin to use reworking the design. The Dutch buckets would have been a very easy straightforward build. But I think rdwc will yield a bit more, and be more fun. I'll post a few pics in my perpetual journal once completed and a how I built it.

 

[StoneOtter]

Wait, you're starting your summer plant now? @Rexer, @StoneOtter, you guys see this crap? . Oh, that's not an advantage. Lmao. So much for me thinking I can grow a monster just like you. Not when you have a four month head start. Ha.

Dang! It's time if we're making clonage huh? I wait to end of May first of June to get out up here. So pop a seed, mother several clone cuts. That's what min. 4 or 6 weeks? Make them rooted. another month at best so 4 weeks more for small plants. Yeah it's early for me by a month or two to do that! Getting there though!

 

[Jon]

Busy Day....
New Digs for CJS Apple Blossom
NEW TENT NEW SETUP

So the 3x3 came today. Had to be setup, tweaked, tested, checked, and completed. I can't not set up a tent right away when it comes, not in my DNA. Plus I already had the plan in place.

So here's the new setup. Note the filter/fan on the floor. Needed to do that to accommodate the 420h in a 3x3. Never did it that way before. I'm thinking it may more readily help to mitigate lower canopy moisture better that when it's up top, just cuz the fan is sucking the air right off the floor. Plenty of space for one plant in here, no problem. Plenty of height too for anything up to five feet tall, and maybe a little taller if I use the, what's it called, dimmer? Lol. Also no problem. The tent is bright as hell with that light at 100%. It practically fills the whole ceiling. I'm very excited about this. A 420h in a 3x3 is CRUSH material, this light is amazing and is going to blow up this tent. Sweet. So there's the plant in the tent showing the bottom of the tent, then a couple shots of some infrastructure detail work, and a shot of the 420h in action up top where you see she barely fits next to the outflow ducting. Lol. Very happy to keep the whole tent off the floor too. Don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Finally, the last shot shows our girl starting to take to my training so far and bush out like I wish for her to.

Phew. Lotta work. But it's DONE.

Yay.

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

Busy Day....
New Digs for CJS Apple Blossom
NEW TENT NEW SETUP

So the 3x3 came today. Had to be setup, tweaked, tested, checked, and completed. I can't not set up a tent right away when it comes, not in my DNA. Plus I already had the plan in place.

So here's the new setup. Note the filter/fan on the floor. Needed to do that to accommodate the 420h in a 3x3. Never did it that way before. I'm thinking it may more readily help to mitigate lower canopy moisture better that when it's up top, just cuz the fan is sucking the air right off the floor. Plenty of space for one plant in here, no problem. Plenty of height too for anything up to five feet tall, and maybe a little taller if I use the, what's it called, dimmer? Lol. Also no problem. The tent is bright as hell with that light at 100%. It practically fills the whole ceiling. I'm very excited about this. A 420h in a 3x3 is CRUSH material, this light is amazing and is going to blow up this tent. Sweet. So there's the plant in the tent showing the bottom of the tent, then a couple shots of some infrastructure detail work, and a shot of the 420h in action up top where you see she barely fits next to the outflow ducting. Lol. Very happy to keep the whole tent off the floor too. Don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Finally, the last shot shows our girl starting to take to my training so far and bush out like I wish for her to.

Phew. Lotta work. But it's DONE.

Yay.

The Apple Blossom looks like she’s liking it in her new digs Jon! Liv got new digs today too!

2021-12-30 - Day 54

• cjsbabygirl313
• Dec 30, 2021

 

[Jon]

The Apple Blossom looks like she’s liking it in her new digs Jon! Liv got new digs today too!

2021-12-30 - Day 54

• cjsbabygirl313
• Dec 30, 2021

I saw! Already loved the post!! Congratulations!! Soon mine will fill the tent as much as your is already. Very cool we both got new digs on the same day. Simpatico!

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

I saw! Already loved the post!! Congratulations!! Soon mine will fill the tent as much as your is already. Very cool we both got new digs on the same day. Simpatico!

Muy simpatico mi amigo!

You should be receiving your remaining Christmas present some time tomorrow!

 

[Jon]

I saw! Already loved the post!! Congratulations!! Soon mine will fill the tent as much as your is already. Very cool we both got new digs on the same day. Simpatico!

Damnit. I have to use the damn dimmer on the NextLight in a 3x3. Just checked my eye estimate and it was too high at 100% on the app. By a mile. I probably dimmed it 20-25% (no numbers on the dimmer, you gotta estimate). Ugh. Dimmers.

 

[StoneOtter]

Damnit. I have to use the damn dimmer on the NextLight in a 3x3. Just checked my eye estimate and it was too high at 100% on the app. By a mile. I probably dimmed it 20-25% (no numbers on the dimmer, you gotta estimate). Ugh. Dimmers.

That 420h is a dream light ! Best growing with it Jon!

 

[Jon]

New Setup Update

Hi @Emilya, since I know you share my love for the 420h, lemme tell you how I had to adjust my usual preferences using it in this new 3x3. You'll get a kick out of this, I did.

First, the light is a LOT for a 3x3. Lmao. There's no possible way it can be used at 100% in a 6 foot tall 3x3, not without CO2. You'd burn up every plant you put in it. I have the light 30 inches (2 1/2 feet!!) above the Apple Blossom's top. I have about 8 more inches up top to raise it if I chose to, but at 2 1/2 feet above the plant, I figured I could go 100%. As comparison, in the outdoor 5x5 where the Strawberry Banana and Gelato autos grew under the same light, the light was significantly closer to the plants than 30 inches. Anyway, so I started there. Then I pulled out the Phototone app to check it. At that height above the plant and full power I was getting 1600+ ppfd readings every single spot in the tent, even the corners. That's just a tad too high for veg. Frankly, without CO2, in my opinion it's WAY too high for flower too. Lmao. I am glad the sun is going to flower this girl out.

So I have to use the damn dimmer. You know me and dimmers. I'm not a fan. I prefer to go 100% power always and adjust the height of the light. But I do know HOW to use one, lol, and this situation left me no choice. My one small criticism of the light is that the dimmer has no numerical markings or slots at every 25% or whatever. It's a crapshoot knowing how much percentage you dimmed. So obviously I used the app (it's such a good app, very accurate), and basically I dimmed it until I had the ppfd readings down in the 800s where I want them. At first I was like, man, now it's dim in here, is that really enough? So I measured a few more times and sure enough, every time, same readings. The numbers are correct, and imho, being in the 800s now is correct. So I left it and went away and when I came back and looked at it after that little break, it didn't seem dim anymore. Ha. It's bright as hell in there. Just not so bright you can see the floor of the tent through the leaves. Lol. I estimate I dimmed it around 25%. I'm watching her leaves today as she should definitely be in prayer mode in a few hours.

I'm wondering what a plant goes through when their light source is changed, both in general and specifically in this case. This is her third light source now. Sun, MH FC-E6500, and now the NL 420h. Only to go back to the sun for flower. It makes me laugh, but I do wonder. Does she just love the varying spectrums and adjust gleefully to each one? Or does she feel like "what the hell did you do to my light?" whenever the light source is changed? I know I'm stating these questions in such a purely scientific manner that it may be difficult to understand, sorry.

What size space do you use the 420h with? Have you used it in different sized spaces? Would you have an opinion on what size you believe the sweet spot to be? I am thinking it would be absolutely best and maxed out the best in a 4x4, as in the 5x5 you get some edge and corner dropoff that isn't too palatable. But not by much, and not for a foot. It's a bit much for a 3x3 but not quite enough for a 5x5, imo.

BTW - this tent was so cheap ($88) I don't even know the brand. Know what? When it comes to tents, you get what you pay for. I'm glad this is to be a one plant at a time, usually big autos tent only. It's going to be unusuable after around three grows. Lol. It even came with several pinhole light leaks, which I thought was a nice touch. The zippers are plastic garbage, the reflective material on the inside is crap and looks like crinkled aluminum foil in terms of it's texture. So funny when ten feet away I have the best tent made on the planet. The differences are so immense it's laughable. But it'll work, and I even set it up so that I only have one door's worth of access in the front. No need to see the plant from multiple doors in this case, too small and easy to rotate. That was a huge space saver in the garage. Putting it on a palate was a great idea too, don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. I hate having to scrub the bottom of the tent after a grow. Not this time. Yay. One less thing to do. It also takes minimal fans to provide enough moving air in a 3x3. So funny, after working with only 5x5 tents and spaces since I first began growing, the 3x3 seems like a little baby joke. SO easy to deal with. I don't know how people grow any more than one plant in this size tent. By the time I flip her and put her outside, this plant will easily be filling this tent to the point where another plant would never fit, even without the filter on the floor.

Anyway, there's the deal with the light in a 3x3. Oh yeah, it adds a bunch of heat too. I had to hook up the second AC unit to the tent to keep it at 70 with the light on.

 

[Jon]

That 420h is a dream light ! Best growing with it Jon!

I should have tagged you too in my response to E, I forgot you are also a big advocate of this light! I LOVE it.

 

[Bill284]

Busy Day....
New Digs for CJS Apple Blossom
NEW TENT NEW SETUP

So the 3x3 came today. Had to be setup, tweaked, tested, checked, and completed. I can't not set up a tent right away when it comes, not in my DNA. Plus I already had the plan in place.

So here's the new setup. Note the filter/fan on the floor. Needed to do that to accommodate the 420h in a 3x3. Never did it that way before. I'm thinking it may more readily help to mitigate lower canopy moisture better that when it's up top, just cuz the fan is sucking the air right off the floor. Plenty of space for one plant in here, no problem. Plenty of height too for anything up to five feet tall, and maybe a little taller if I use the, what's it called, dimmer? Lol. Also no problem. The tent is bright as hell with that light at 100%. It practically fills the whole ceiling. I'm very excited about this. A 420h in a 3x3 is CRUSH material, this light is amazing and is going to blow up this tent. Sweet. So there's the plant in the tent showing the bottom of the tent, then a couple shots of some infrastructure detail work, and a shot of the 420h in action up top where you see she barely fits next to the outflow ducting. Lol. Very happy to keep the whole tent off the floor too. Don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Finally, the last shot shows our girl starting to take to my training so far and bush out like I wish for her to.

Phew. Lotta work. But it's DONE.

Yay.

Good morning Jon, hope you are having a good day.
Quick question.
What the Fek is with the wiring taped to the wall.
And a dollar store power bar held together by Christian Science.
Do you know how nervous it makes me seeing that.
Is there a safer way you can rig that so we aren't worried about you?
Don't mean to bust your chops Amigo, just don't want you know what to happen.

Stay safe please.
Bill

 

[StoneOtter]

Good morning Jon, hope you are having a good day.
Quick question.
What the Fek is with the wiring taped to the wall.
And a dollar store power bar held together by Christian Science.
Do you know how nervous it makes me seeing that.
Is there a safer way you can rig that so we aren't worried about you?
Don't mean to bust your chops Amigo, just don't want you know what to happen.

Stay safe please.
Bill

I'm thinking of changing my power bars out in the 4 x 4 between grows Bill. Do you know off hand a good brand? One of these is failing and time to go.

 

[Jon]

Good morning Jon, hope you are having a good day.
Quick question.
What the Fek is with the wiring taped to the wall.
And a dollar store power bar held together by Christian Science.
Do you know how nervous it makes me seeing that.
Is there a safer way you can rig that so we aren't worried about you?
Don't mean to bust your chops Amigo, just don't want you know what to happen.

Stay safe please.
Bill

Lol. Actually Bill, I understand your concern, but the taping to the wall of the power strip is to keep it out of the way of the wheelchair. All my cables are taped to the wall in that fashion. No fire risk. And the power strip is fully trip proof and all that, it's not a cheapie as it may look like in the picture. Same one I have used forever, it works fine. It's sitting on concrete. The walls are stucco. Nothing is going to burn, I promise. You gotta take into account that I do my setups first and foremost to accommodate the wheelchair and being able to move around safely without bashing stuff. So cords on the floor NOT taped to the wall get caught in the wheels and the next thing you know I pulled my light down inside the tent. See what I mean? The chair changes every aspect of infrastructure setup. Even my floor cords are well taped to the concrete floor so I can run over them without grabbing them. It's simply a necessity. Those few pieces of tape are not going to catch on fire, nor is the power strip. And when I break down the outdoor rig, just for you, I'll even replace that power strip with a top of the line one I used for the MH light. Will that make you feel better? Lol. Thanks for the concern, I totally get it. But I'm being as safe as I can possibly be, trust me. All my power cables are thick, high end power cables, all my strips are solid, all my connectors are solid. Most of it is new or only one grow old. I have no flammable anything anywhere in a tent and no heat sources near anything flammable in the room. There ARE no heat sources anyway. I promise I'm being good dad.

 

[Jon]

I'm thinking of changing my power bars out in the 4 x 4 between grows Bill. Do you know off hand a good brand? One of these is failing and time to go.

Do you use that light in the 4x4? Is it perfect for that size?

 

[StoneOtter]

I should have tagged you too in my response to E, I forgot you are also a big advocate of this light! I LOVE it.

That light is the one I'm having an affair with in my mind! It's perfect for my 3 x 3 which is 40 inches square. My other @NextLight 's have been flawless! I hope to put one in there one day.