MicroGrowerMan's Grow Laboratory Journal

I am conducting this journal because I like to experiment and during the course of my experimentation I had a very successful grow, and I had no record of how I achieved it. Nothing to share with others. Quite frankly it was an ugly plant that delivered what I considered big results. And because it was an ugly duckling I kept no records, no photos for records.

What do I consider a big harvest? 10 ounces of solid GG#4 grown on a 2'x2' footprint under a ViparSpectra XS 1500 light. 2.25 ounces a square foot, 1.9 grams a watt.

I have been a stealth grower even when things were legal for medical patients like myself. As a result I do have some peculiar growing habits, which include nutes.

Currently I am experimenting with 100% perlite in 2.7-gallon buckets using the High-Frequency Fertigation technique. Also I'm experimenting with the canopy level and penetration efficacy of the ViparSpectra XS 1500 lights. I suspect that the increase in bud density and length of cola using the ViparSpectra XS 1500 over my previous light was a significant reason for my big, bountiful harvest. The White Widow strain in my experience gets really leggy after the stretch, so it makes a good plant to do this experiment.

My biggest regret at the moment is that my largest plant, the one I call Gravel Gertie may have been defoliated a bit too much 2 weeks after flip. To a degree that is the character of the strain, and in that light I may have overdone it. Good for the light penetration, though.

Other issues I'm investigating are salts buildup in such a small pot with a large plant using HFF, and there is a current issue with ph. slide with my current nutes. Nothing that was a problem when mixing up gallons for hand watering, but seems to have changed with the larger mixes used over a longer period of time.

Grow Room: Is an old coal room, 9’ W x9’6’ W x Sloping 5’11” to 6’2” T
Ambient Temperature:
60ºF Winter to 72ºF Summer
Box Temperatures:
Winter:
60º F Evenings to-75ºF Days
Summer: 75º F Evenings 85ºF Days​

The grow room consists of three 2'x2'x5' cabinets for plant propagation and early vegetation, and one 2'x4'x6" for late vegetation and flowering. The system was designed for maximum fun and minimum heavy lifting.

Of significant importance, the room was designed so my grows and harvests conform to all Michigan statutes. I am a confirmed micro grower and proud of it.

Each of four boxes was built for a specific stage of plant growth. Although there is some use flexibility built into each cabinet, for example my 2'x2'5' early veg box has been used successfully for flowering.

Each box is fitted with cleats fitted to their interiors that allow for the suspension and adjustment of plant height by adjusting shelf height; 2x4s and 1x4s are used as risers to fine tuning.

Here is a bit of a tour:

The Room:






Breeding Cabinet: 2x2x5 with 4, cheap, 25-watt blurple flat-panel LED lights.
For cloning and creation of feminized seed.​
Currently Hosting: empty.​

Germination Cabinet: 2x2x5 with 2 cheap, 25-watt, blurple fllat-panel LED lights and 3 standard 14-watt, daylight, 14-watt bulbs.
For seed germination and early vegetation.​
Currently Hosting:
Top shelf: Amnesia Trance strain seeded today​
Bottom Shelves: 5-gal. nute bucket for the adjoining veg cabinet.​


Vegetation Cabinet: 2x2x5 with 1 ViparSpectra® XS1000 100-watt LED grow light.
For mid-stage and finish vegetation.​
Currently Hosting: “Mildred,” Do-Si-Dos by Pyramid seeds, sold through current sponsor Seedsman®. Germinated August 25, 2023​

Finish Cabinet: 2x4x6 with 2 ViparSpectra® XS1500 150-watt LED grow lights.
For finish vegetation and flowering.​
Currently hosting: “Gertrude” (aka Gravel Gertie) on the left, and “Seed Queen” on the right. Both are White Widow genetics acquired from Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds (AMS), grown from standard seeds. Germinated on July 15, 2023.​

Additionally a few convenience items:

Shelves are kept elevated to help make flushing and draining easier.



Large saucers sit on turntable bearings for aiding pruning and inspection.


Connection nipples for each pot allow me to move pots without removing the drip irrigation emitters.


And now a couple of closer looks at Gravel Gertie and Seed Queen, Week 5 after flip.



Hope you follow and enjoy the experience!

MGM
 
Nice setup @MicroGrowerMan

There are other grower her that use just perlite, I believe.
Is it like a hempy grow?

I will follow along, if you don't mind?

Be safe, and grow well my friend,
Tok..
I'm glad to have you aboard, Tokin!

As for hempy grow, I'm such a siloed grower in terms of knowledge I did not research a hempy grow until now, but yes, they are very similar.

The intent was to create a portable system that imitated DWC as close as possible but still keep pots easily moveable. This is handy when adjusting height, flushing and draining, and (very important to me) moving plants into my photo studio.

I had been growing in 70% perlite/30% peat moss, but changed for two reasons: First was the variability of the acidity of peat moss, the second -- and reason why I did not switch to a coco system -- is that I wanted to experiment with HFF and felt any organic material might keep moisture around longer than I wanted it and perhaps promote root rot.

Currently my largest plant is taking up approximately 12 ounces of nutes 8x a day for a total of 3 quarts a day.

As for adding the journal to the grow, I will do that shortly.

Thank you so much for following.

MGM
 
Hi MGM, this is an impressive setup you've got here. I look forward to it.
Thank you Carmen! It's an honor to have you following.
 
What do I consider a big harvest? 10 ounces of solid GG#4 grown on a 2'x2' footprint under a ViparSpectra XS 1500 light. 2.25 ounces a square foot, 1.9 grams a watt.
Aaah! What a light that @ViparSpectra XS1500 Pro is! I haven't had the pleasure to flower with it yet but I see others having phenomenal performance from them! My next grow will be with one! Those are very impressive figures! I'm glad you decided to come on and share it with us!

I haven't seen such nice box grows since @Carcass , bet he'd like this! Nice growing!
 
Nice set-up MGM!

Looking forward to seeing all the pieces in action! :Rasta:
 
:ciao: :popcorn:
Sounds crazy getting salt build up in just perlite. Do you flood from top? And catch run off?
Good question, Greenvein,

I was going to get to this in the catch-up diaries for each plant, but now that you post the question ...

I feed and flood through four, 4" drip emitters driven into the perlite and fed through a cheap drip system drawing from a 5-gallon pail. When flooding and measuring I switch from the daily saucers, which are a bit crusty at the moment, to a clean saucer with a pour spout. I usually will run one gallon of ph.-adjusted water through the system and measure runoff. Last measurement on Gravel Gertie was 3100 ppm, when I was running around 1050 ppm through her. So something has been building up.

I continued to run an additional two gallons of ph.-adjusted water through the system until runoff read around 300 ppm. Adjusted water going in usually runs around 200 ppm, so I figure I don't have to bring the number down completely, just get it into the ballpark. So far since flip I've done a flush a week. I'm five weeks in on a flowering period the breeder tells me will go eight to nine. I'm more than half way.

I have reduced the concentration of nutes now, and am keeping daily track of ph. and twice-a-week track of runoff.
 
Nice set-up MGM!

Looking forward to seeing all the pieces in action! :Rasta:
Thank you GDB!

You should get an idea of that as I do a diary update on each plant. I'll try to get a bit in every day this week.

I appreciate you following. You write great journals!
 
Nice growing setup, MGM! You make @Carcass' box look like the cardboard box it is. :laughtwo:

You write well and take pretty pictures so I'd like to follow along.
 
Nice growing setup, MGM! You make @Carcass' box look like the cardboard box it is. :laughtwo:

You write well and take pretty pictures so I'd like to follow along.
Thank you, HashGirl.

I'm not so sure of commenting on @Carcass grow. Looks like an old wizened soul who has been here a while.

I do appreciate your comments on my writing and photos. I was a writer before a retired. I suppose that skill, once learned, never goes away. And, I do enjoy photography. Add that to my gardening hobby, making a journal of it all makes sense.

Thank you for following!

MGM
 
Aaah! What a light that @ViparSpectra XS1500 Pro is! I haven't had the pleasure to flower with it yet but I see others having phenomenal performance from them! My next grow will be with one! Those are very impressive figures! I'm glad you decided to come on and share it with us!

I haven't seen such nice box grows since @Carcass , bet he'd like this! Nice growing!
Oh, StoneOtter, I have yet to grow with the XS 1500 Pro. I only dream of that for now. The two 1500s I'm growing with are the plain XS 1500s. They are the models without the lenses that improve the distribution of light over the whole 2x2 canopy.

MGM
 
Highya MGM,

Love your setup! Compartments with different lights for different stages. Very clean growing apparatus! I hope it works well for you. Happy Smokin'
 
Hey thanks, Bode.

I appreciate the comment. I've had this up for about six years and it has worked well. This is the first time, though, I'm growing in such small pots with 100% perlite and High-Frequency Fertigation.

We'll see what happens.

Thank you for following.

MGM
 
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