MaxYields' First Grow - Warlock - Alien Dawg - Berry Garcia - CFL Closet Grow

[MaxYields]

Quick update for everyone!

I am currently out of town, and will be until the 27th, and therefore have a friend taking care of the plants. They are all doing great, lots of fresh green growth, I gave the biggest of the group (Berry Garcia) a light defoliation about 6 days ago too slow her growth a little while the others catch up. It also seems like I have fixed the growth problem on the smallest of the group (Alien Dawg) who seemed to stop growing altogether at one point.

Toned it down on the Nutrients, going to stop using the extra Botanicare and just stick too the recommended Fox Farms regiment, especially now that I have the extra Water Soluble Nutrient Trio as well as the classic Liquid Trio. My guess is the ladies will be flipped to 12/12 on either the 27th of December or the 3rd of January... I plan on tucking through most of the Stretch as to ensure an even canopy, so I will flip whenever the plants are poking through 75% of the screen. That shouldn't take too long now.

All of the ladies got a plain tap watering on Thursday December 18th, and they all got fed today. Warlock and Berry Garcia bot got 10ml FF Big bloom / 10ml FF Grow Big / 10ml FF Tiger Bloom. Alien Dawg received a feeding of 5ml FF Big Bloom / 10ml FF Grow Big / 10ml FF Tiger Bloom as she is still coping with her Nitrogen Toxicity.

That's it for now, I will be posting pictures shortly after I return home from my vacation.

 

[Trapr]

I have HPS and a led tent going led looking much better then HPS just my 2 cents

 

[MaxYields]

I have HPS and a led tent going led looking much better then HPS just my 2 cents

In terms of what? I've heard (and seen evidence) that in almost perfect conditions an LED light offers more resin production where as an HPS light offers much higher yields... I must say it is very tempting to get an LED light instead of an HPS... However for my price range I don't think I will be able to get a newer one that could actually outshine HPS Systems.

Which LED light do you have?

Thanks for your input

 

[Seraphim]

Hey there! Sorry I'm late.

Glad you got things under control back there with the light burn.

OK lets get you going with a tent so you can get ventilation in there properly.

I am an LED guy. But I use the MARS-II. One Mars-II 400Watt unit (cost under $200) set me up with 4.5 oz (one lamp to one plant) from my hempy bucket with Blue Widow. I am not sure if that is around what you hope to get with these but I was pretty happy with that myself for the amount of time I vegged and the cost of the lamp. I can tell you that the Mars-II lamps from Mars Hydro are the real deal. I know there are more expensive LEDs out there, I am trying one now, but Mars-II already proved themselves to me. However, I have not used the 96x3W panels which are from the same company.

I have also grown with HPS too. I would side with LED due to cost and yield. In my case, I have been getting better weight with my LED than my old HPS. This could be entirely due to other factors and not just light. Other LED benefits include ridiculously tight inter-nodes and short, stout plants. But these are my personal experiences.

I would shy away from HPS due to heat and the cooling needs that running an HPS in Colorado in the summertime will bring.

Anyway, lamp is a very personal choice and I will support you whichever way you go.

 

[MrMysfyt]

Thanks for the recent advice - subbed

 

[MaxYields]

Thanks Seraphim and MrMysFyt!!! I will be replying to you all and giving a quick update later tonight, as I am returning home tonight from Atlanta.... Very excited!!!!!

On my way to the airport now, talk to you all soon!!

 

[MaxYields]

||UPDATE 1/2 (DECEMBER 25, 2015)||

Hey there 420magazine!!!!

So a lot to report here, this is the first of two updates as a lot of changes have occurred in the grow room and several more will be occurring very soon! So this update will document everything that has happened up until Christmas Day, with pictures of the growth since the last update.

The WARLOCK and the BERRY GARCIA have both been drinking a lot of water the past two weeks, the ALIEN DAWG isn't drinking as much as the other ladies however I have figured out and since fixed the issue with her stunted growth. If you didn't catch it in an earlier post, she was suffering from Nitrogen Abundance (I believe Nitrogen Toxicity is another word for it) which had basically stopped her growth for a week and a half or so.

Nitrogen Abundance can't really be treated immediately, you have to even out the nutrients in the soil by reducing the Nitrogen in weekly nutrient feedings. The first watering I completely cut out the Pure Blend Pro Grow, and fed the FF line up as recommended except for half strength Big Bloom. Since then I have been keeping the Big Bloom at half strength on ALIEN DAWG. She has really caught up.

There feeding schedule has been pretty steady, Nutrient Feeding on Sundays and Regular Tap Water Feeding on Thursdays. I have been doing very light defoliation on WARLOCK as not to stunt her growth, I don't plan on doing a full defoliation under the net until day 21 of flower... which will be starting here soon!

Up until this point, I just told my friend who was watching over the ladies to let them stretch above the net so I could tuck them when I returned. So without further ado, here are some pictures of the ladies taken on Christmas day!

 

[MaxYields]

Hey there! Sorry I'm late.

Glad you got things under control back there with the light burn.

OK lets get you going with a tent so you can get ventilation in there properly.

Realized I never responded before my update, so here we go!

Thank you so much for stopping by and getting caught up! I am also glad I got past the light issue towards the beginning, learned a valuable lesson thats for sure! And yes, so excited to get that tent and get this thing up and running for real!

I am an LED guy. But I use the MARS-II. One Mars-II 400Watt unit (cost under $200) set me up with 4.5 oz (one lamp to one plant) from my hempy bucket with Blue Widow. I am not sure if that is around what you hope to get with these but I was pretty happy with that myself for the amount of time I vegged and the cost of the lamp. I can tell you that the Mars-II lamps from Mars Hydro are the real deal. I know there are more expensive LEDs out there, I am trying one now, but Mars-II already proved themselves to me. However, I have not used the 96x3W panels which are from the same company.

I have also grown with HPS too. I would side with LED due to cost and yield. In my case, I have been getting better weight with my LED than my old HPS. This could be entirely due to other factors and not just light. Other LED benefits include ridiculously tight inter-nodes and short, stout plants. But these are my personal experiences.

I would shy away from HPS due to heat and the cooling needs that running an HPS in Colorado in the summertime will bring.

Anyway, lamp is a very personal choice and I will support you whichever way you go.

I totally agree with what you claim about the Mars Hydro II's being tried and true in the Cannabis Horticulture community, and now that you mention the 400watt unit costs under $200 I might consider buying it.... Would have much larger foot print than that light can cover I would imagine with the 2x4 tent however. We will see, one more option now!

I have also seen the Mars Hydro Reflector Series do good work, however they seem to be a little outdated and I am concerned that I can achieve similar results with a much cheaper HPS system. However if one of the Mars II's catch's my eye and covers a 2x4 footprint I might spring for it!

Thank you so much for your advice, it means a lot and gives me much more to consider in making this decision!

 

[Seraphim]

anytime man!

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

Hey Max....

....i just read through some your first posts and then just skipped thru a lot of pretty quick....and read a few of the last post thoroughly to kinda get caught up to where your at right now....

...really good thread from what i did read...i may go back and read it all when i get time.
...im gonna sub up and im sure i'll learn a thing or two.....and ill offer input when i think i may be able to help...
hope you dont mind me asking a few questions every now and then.....

Got one for you already....
I seen way back where you had 'topped' your plants....?
...what does this do?
...is it recommended for Auto-Flowers?
...if so at what point?
...and for auto-flowers is it recommended to do any trimming away on bushy plants????

Please, if anyone has time
check out my JOURNAL(link at bottom)
and check out my DRY BOX idea(link at the bottom)....please i could help on both of these.....
-Dry Box design has had major updates and upgrades since the original post....feel free to offer advice!
-Journal is my 1st grow....FoxFarmOceanForest/perlite soil mix...400w HPS....7 Auto-Flowers...Indoor in grow tent...3gal pots.....
i really need anyones help who has time to offer any.....
I have a problem with bottom leaves turning yellow right now and i dont know why or what to do...

 

[HunterHunt]

Looking good!!!!

Make sure you flip when 60% of that net is filled so you can tuck the rest of the net. That smaller net will fill up fast!

 

[MaxYields]

Looking good!!!!

Make sure you flip when 60% of that net is filled so you can tuck the rest of the net. That smaller net will fill up fast!

Thanks Hunter!

Yeah the net is getting pretty filled up. I plan on switching tonight and giving em a solid 36 hours of darkness. I am getting a tent today so I plan on moving the ladies in to there, and then only Scrogging Warlock and Berry Garcia... And then put Alien Dawg off to the side. We will see!

 

[MaxYields]

Hey Max....

....i just read through some your first posts and then just skipped thru a lot of pretty quick....and read a few of the last post thoroughly to kinda get caught up to where your at right now....

...really good thread from what i did read...i may go back and read it all when i get time.
...im gonna sub up and im sure i'll learn a thing or two.....and ill offer input when i think i may be able to help...
hope you dont mind me asking a few questions every now and then.....

Got one for you already....
I seen way back where you had 'topped' your plants....?
...what does this do?
...is it recommended for Auto-Flowers?
...if so at what point?
...and for auto-flowers is it recommended to do any trimming away on bushy plants????

Please, if anyone has time
check out my JOURNAL(link at bottom)
and check out my DRY BOX idea(link at the bottom)....please i could help on both of these.....
-Dry Box design has had major updates and upgrades since the original post....feel free to offer advice!
-Journal is my 1st grow....FoxFarmOceanForest/perlite soil mix...400w HPS....7 Auto-Flowers...Indoor in grow tent...3gal pots.....
i really need anyones help who has time to offer any.....
I have a problem with bottom leaves turning yellow right now and i dont know why or what to do...

Howdy Dr Jay Rolla, and welcome!

Anyone and everyone is welcome here, and the same goes for advice! I sure do appreciate the compliments, Im glad my journal has proven entertaining for you so far... It sure has been a blast for me!

Anyways, to answer your question; To "Top" a plant means to cut off the newest top growth, forcing TWO new tops to start growing directly underneath the cut. This will help increase a plants yield, as it forces the plant to produce two main colas. It can be done as many times as you want... However I wouldn't recommend Topping a plant until it has developed 3 Internodes at least. Topping is reserved for vegetative state and shouldn't be done during flower, it is also likely a newly Topped plant will have its growth stunted for a short time. I'm not too sure if Topping a Autoflowering plant will be detrimental to it or not.. but I would imagine not.

To address your last question on Defoliation, you can definitely clear away unwanted growth towards the bottom of your plant. I will check out your journal, but the rule of thumb is light Defoliations during Vegetative State (I pull off a couple leaves or small branches a day at most) and then a heavy Defoliation around day 21 of Flowering State. Some growers recommend no Defoliation at all, some recommend LOTS of defoliation... in the end it is your preference. I have learned that the best way to go about learning new things about growing, is to just do them... experiment with the plant (especially during your first grows) because it makes so much more sense to see it happen in front of you, than to have it explained to you over a forum. (These forums are a treasure trove of useful information, don't get me wrong).

I hope this info helped, fell free to P.M. me or post on here if you have any more questions

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

Howdy Dr Jay Rolla, and welcome!

Anyone and everyone is welcome here, and the same goes for advice! I sure do appreciate the compliments, Im glad my journal has proven entertaining for you so far... It sure has been a blast for me!

Anyways, to answer your question; To "Top" a plant means to cut off the newest top growth, forcing TWO new tops to start growing directly underneath the cut. This will help increase a plants yield, as it forces the plant to produce two main colas. It can be done as many times as you want... However I wouldn't recommend Topping a plant until it has developed 3 Internodes at least. Topping is reserved for vegetative state and shouldn't be done during flower, it is also likely a newly Topped plant will have its growth stunted for a short time. I'm not too sure if Topping a Autoflowering plant will be detrimental to it or not.. but I would imagine not.

To address your last question on Defoliation, you can definitely clear away unwanted growth towards the bottom of your plant. I will check out your journal, but the rule of thumb is light Defoliations during Vegetative State (I pull off a couple leaves or small branches a day at most) and then a heavy Defoliation around day 21 of Flowering State. Some growers recommend no Defoliation at all, some recommend LOTS of defoliation... in the end it is your preference. I have learned that the best way to go about learning new things about growing, is to just do them... experiment with the plant (especially during your first grows) because it makes so much more sense to see it happen in front of you, than to have it explained to you over a forum. (These forums are a treasure trove of useful information, don't get me wrong).

I hope this info helped, fell free to P.M. me or post on here if you have any more questions

Hey thanks for taking time to answer me directly....much appreciated!

And yes youve have provided useful info to me......really anything will be useful to me....good or bad lol it will be useful to me as i have a lot to learn.....
....but thats why im here...to learn as much as i can.

I knew i was going to have to learn as i go....based on a lot of the info i originally researched it was all contradicting itself with someone else's experiences.....
...I will learn a lot quicker and and retain a lot more if i do it myself and learn it on my own account thru real life experiences...so you are very right about that....

As far as topping goes ive been told that its not a good idea for autos.....
Defoliation is an option for me....and actually i clipped off quite a bit of bottom leaves that were turing or turned completely yellow.....i was able to allow the plant to open up and breathe more without taking too much out......i feel good about it!


Again thanks for your help and offer up your advice as often as you can.....thank you!

 

[HunterHunt]

What is the point of 36 hour darkness?

 

[MaxYields]

What is the point of 36 hour darkness?

I've just read the plant maintains a stouter posture during flowering if given 24-36 hours of darkness and also thickens the stem, so hopefully it will keep the plant compact and produce heavy more compact nugs... it isn't proven but I just figured I would try it out and see what happened.

 

[HunterHunt]

Never heard of that before... I know a extended darkness is given at the end right before harvest to stress the plant out and make it produce more trichomes.. but the study has been done and even if more trichomes are produced the potency is the same so it wouldnt make a different.. Just be careful. You dont want your plant to hermie from the stress!

 

[mrrobert420]

damn, NICE freaking shots! good ass job!!!!!!

 

[MaxYields]

Never heard of that before... I know a extended darkness is given at the end right before harvest to stress the plant out and make it produce more trichomes.. but the study has been done and even if more trichomes are produced the potency is the same so it wouldnt make a different.. Just be careful. You dont want your plant to hermie from the stress!

Yeah that is a valid concern and now that you have put that little bug in my head I might just got straight to 12/12 haha... maybe Ill do a little more research and go find the journals where I've seen that. As always thanks for all of your input!!

damn, NICE freaking shots! good ass job!!!!!!

Thank you very much mrrobert!! I really appreciate the kind words, I am happy with how things are progressing

So just for journal purposes, I am going to get (hopefully) a grow tent tomorrow that I am going to move everything into. Going to be so happy to have real ventilation.

 

[Seraphim]

Yeah that is a valid concern and now that you have put that little bug in my head I might just got straight to 12/12 haha... maybe Ill do a little more research and go find the journals where I've seen that. As always thanks for all of your input!!

Just a note. 36 hours of darkness to start flowering and 11/13 light/dark schedule are 2 different things. I am doing both. Last plant was ready a week or two earlier. Your mileage may vary. The 36 hour thing is more experimental. I think more established folks are at least familiar or working with 11/13.

So just for journal purposes, I am going to get (hopefully) a grow tent tomorrow that I am going to move everything into. Going to be so happy to have real ventilation.

Speaking of ventilation, you're getting a tent. Good.. Do you have flex duct tubbing and exhaust fan to provide ventilation while the tent is closed at night?