PeeJay's Perpetual Organic Homebrewed Soil - Stealth Cabinet And Greenhouse Grow

Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

Coldest night so far this Autumn last night. The greenhouse had a low of 45 degrees. A thermometer out on the deck says it went down to 39 degrees. It looks like the heater raised the temp in the GH about four degrees since it usually hits a low ~ 2 degrees above what the thermometer on the deck records.

Colette seems no worse for the wear and tear. I'm sure that her enzymatic reactions were no where close to V-max last night, though.
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

I've been busy this week with a work deadline, but not too busy to make some more greenhouse improvements. I dropped $53.00 at the home improvement mega-store and sealed the space between the sliding glass door and the greenhouse entrance with a comp of 2" thick rigid foam and R-30 fiberglass. I can leave the slider open and bleed heat into the greenhouse now. I also laid a sheet of black 1/2 inch sheathing on the floor and topped as much of that as I could with the remaining foam so the plants in there won't sit on a cold surface. Finally, I used zipties to attach an old quilted bedspread cut to size to a 6' x 8' tarp. It clips to grommets on the side of greenhouse. Now I have an insulated roof that rolls back during the day and out at night.

Without using the small ceramic heater, I've been seeing lows in the greenhouse in the 60-65 degree range while the overnight low outside the GH has been 40-45. Before the sun hits the tent in the early A.M I turn on the ceramic heater. As soon as the sun hits the greenhouse I roll back the roof. In the day its been getting up into the low 80's with the door between the greenhouse and outside open and an exhaust fan blowing hot air out of the tent.

So long as I don't have to go away for multiple days I expect I can finish Colette out there.

I've also been having fun with greenhouse odor control. I won't have time to do a full blown update until Sunday, but I will have pictures and more info when I do.
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

RainStacks said:
I am following this closely! That is very encouraging that you are able to keep tepms up like that :)
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We'll see what happens. It's going to get much colder at night still. There will be lows in the 20's and possibly even the teens before all is said and done.

For a few more bucks I can get another sheet of foam and put up insulated panels on the sides at night. I can also set the quartz heater on a timer to run periodically at night.

The indoor grow spaces are sort of like driving a powerboat. The greenhouse is more like sailing. Cover up at night, uncover in the morning. Vent when it get's too hot during the day. It requires lots of attention.
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

Greenhouse Odor Control

I started out thinking that stinky plants would cover up the skunky smell.

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They help, but the skunk was still there. So, I decided to walk around the neighborhood and gather stuff to dry and add to the stink. I got several types of sage/salvias, a couple of kinds of lavender, juniper, and found a whole hedge of rosemary. Snip snip snip.

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Started thinking about this... I was making something like a potpourri. Are there any tips and tricks to making a good one? Turns out there are. A long lasting potpourri needs a fixative. There are some synthetic ones made of cellulose on the market. The best ones are botanicals, however. Orris root (from a type of iris) and patchouli are two examples. They have been used for perfume making for centuries. The contribute to the overall scent, but more importantly - they suck up and hold onto the volatile, aromatic aromas of other ingredients. They make the scent stable and long lasting. Armed with this info, I sought out a local herb store. They had both the orris root powder and patchouli. I scored an ounce of each. I also walked around the store opening jars and sniffing. I made some selections - things that had a strong odor but didn't smell like cannabis. I got a mixed bag of shepard's purse, chaparral, and epazote, too. I also got several small muslin bags with drawstrings.

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I put some of the gathered herbs in a ziplock bag and crushed them up with a few pinches of the orris root powder, some patchouli leaf, and the stinky herb blend. When I opened the bag and took a sniff it almost knocked me over! A strong woodsy astringent odor nothing like cannabis. I put some of the mixture in a bag and hung it from the roof support in the greenhouse.

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For the first several hours the scent was, if anything, too strong. It toned down after a while though. The bag has been hanging since Monday. I have not detected the skunky odor since. Now and then I crush out the bag a little and it recharges the scent. It seems like this stuff sucks up the skunk smell. If I stick my nose right into a plant and sniff, I can smell it, but other than that nothing except that woodsy, astringent smell.

I think this is a good tactic for folks that worry about wafting, suspicious odors. If you grow culinary herbs or something like scented geraniums, the scent of the sachet doesn't seem out of place. The total bill for the project was eleven bucks. I have enough to last several months, easy. Cheaper than ona gel, and it doesn't smell like a gas station bathroom!
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

The landlord is going to visit today and winterize the swamp coolers, change furnace filters, etc. This is the first test of the stealth measures. I'm looking forward to it.

I moved the greenhouse girl inside. She still fits in the indoor cabinet - barely. I have a spot out on the deck where I can stash her undetected in the future (if need be) but it doesn't get any light.

With both the big girls in the cab together for the first time in eight days it presents an opportunity to see how things have grown:

October 4th:
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October 12th:
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Motoring right along. No major signs of flowering yet on day 8 of 12/12, but it should start kicking soon.
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

Looking great PeeJay. They have really filled in that screen in the past week. +reps :thumb:
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

The landlord visit whet very well. We were shooting the shit within six feet of the active indoor grow areas. He commented on how much he liked the herbal smell from the greenhouse which infused the room. I wasn't nervous. I'm happy that everything was working like it should.
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

Thanks for the props, my mile high friend. I was really pleased. A lot of thought went into making what I'm up to less than obvious. My landlord is a nice guy. He is not a snooper. It's nice to know that I can feel confident about letting him in the house and be thankful and enthusiastic about the maintenance he does twice a year - as opposed to being reluctant and uptight.

This was a big hurdle to clear for my overall peace of mind :high-five:
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

PeeJay said:
The landlord visit whet very well. We were shooting the shit within six feet of the active indoor grow areas. He commented on how much he liked the herbal smell from the greenhouse which infused the room. I wasn't nervous. I'm happy that everything was working like it should.
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:rofl: You are tooooo stealthy. Love that mask-the-skunk bag you did!
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

The anti-skunk bag is bad-ass. I've established that I have a stinking greenhouse. With that lighted shelving you have in the basement I suggest looking into scented geraniums. They propagate via cloning very easily.

Heck, people go way overboard with 'em - from what I've read. Folks end up like the unfortunate souls who collect cats... They have cuttings rooting in glasses of water on the window sill. There are plants all over the house in a hodge-podge collection of containers. In the warmer months they put fields of them outside. These plants have a cult following. Leaves and a little orris root powder enhance the smells. Shiz, these things have been bred for centuries to stink!

Then again, you often have skunks living under your shed... I don't have that luxury, lol.
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

I got lucky with the skunks, I think I posted about it in my journal. House guest commented on a skunky smell, I had pictures on my phone of the skunks I got rid of from my barn just weeks before that. LOL Covered my tush there!
That is a great idea on the geranium. I'm adding another shelf to the unit, so I will have plenty of space to put them. And I"m going to make one of your "rid-a-skunk" bags. I'm thinking I will hang it near a light so the heat will help bring out the oils which is what intensifies the aroma.

I know what you mean about people with those things all over the house, I knew a guy once who had that "hoarding" scenario going on in his house....I truly believe he thought it was covering up his body odor. NOT! It smelled like somebody crapped a Christmas tree.
Later!
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

Day 47 from breaking ground, and day two of flower for the Two Mama Mias. Both the White Panthers are also on a flowering light schedule. More on that later. First, a picture of the family:

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The two White Panthers in front are; Roxy on the left and Dyarina on the right. Colette is in the back left. Helen is back right. Colette is the one who is living in the greenhouse full-time.

Helen and Colette are the same strain but different phenos. Colette has narrower leaves and has been more stretchy. Helen is brought inside at dusk to sleep - usually around 7:00 p.m. Lights on is 6:00 A.M. She moves out to the greenhouse when the temperature and light out there become high quality, around 8:30. It's "light" in the greenhouse from 7:00 to 6:30, just not "really light." It also stays chilly out there high 50's to low 60's until the sun hits the greenhouse hard.

I also stopped training Colette when she moved out to the green house two weeks ago. I continued to work the screen with Helen for a week after that.

Here's a shot of Helen from the top down:

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She's doing really well. I've been bouncing the temperature around in the greenhouse at night. I often let it drop down to the low 50's, and it's gone down as low as 47. Most of the time I set the small heater on low and adjust the crappy thermostat on it so it stays between 55 and 60.

Helen leads a slightly more pampered life. The additional training was a little rough on her, though. I always let the pots get very dry before watering. Sunday and Monday, almost overnight, Helen pruned herself heavily. Most of the leaves that I'd been ramming under the screen to maintain light for the tops yellowed, went blotchy and died. I fed and watered her, and she seems to be quite happy. All of the new growth looked great and continues to do so. I reckon those leaves just weren't doing anything for the plant anymore. The weren't getting much light and were slapped around pretty hard. Here's a shot of Helen's canopy:

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The two White Panthers are interesting. I was doing some LST on 'em, but it didn't really do anything to the plants. They didn't branch at all. It didn't seem like it would be worthwhile to use up valuable indoor grow space on them. I decided to put Dy out with Collette - so she's been full time in the greenhouse on a flowering schedule for two weeks, and she is showing pistols. I veged Roxy indoors for another week to see if the LST would start doing anything to the plant structure. It was a no go, so she's in the greenhouse full time now, too. I reckon if I'm going to put the energy into trying to finish one plant out there I might as well do three.

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Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

PeeJay said:
Colette doing her early flowering thing.

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I just love the shape of your Helen. The plants look great PeeJay, and your grow space is neat and tidy as always!
Curious that the LST on those plants didn't respond. Hmmmmm
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

cannafan said:
I just love the shape of your Helen. The plants look great PeeJay, and your grow space is neat and tidy as always!
Curious that the LST on those plants didn't respond. Hmmmmm
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Yup. To add insult to injury Greytail has one going and it is a nice little bush! Both plants were tied down to almost horizontal and the only thing that was really growing was the main top. Go figure?
 
Re: Stealthy 1st time indoor/outdoor hybrid grow. Mama Mia and White Panther in soil.

PeeJay said:
Yup. To add insult to injury Greytail has one going and it is a nice little bush! Both plants were tied down to almost horizontal and the only thing that was really growing was the main top. Go figure?
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PeeJay said:
Yup. To add insult to injury Greytail has one going and it is a nice little bush! Both plants were tied down to almost horizontal and the only thing that was really growing was the main top. Go figure?
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I remember reading on a thread somewhere that taking the LST off for a couple of days is good to give the plant a breather, however when I did that I found that the stem stiffened back up me and I didn't see any really new branching either, then I had to start over with getting it pulled down where I wanted it gradually. I think it was LightAddict that said he will only do it for about 30 seconds or so early on during adjusting, then back down they go for good. I found that works much better for me on the plants still in veg.
But I'm not growing the same strain as you. Puzzling for sure.
 
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