Tomula
Well-Known Member
Looking great so far, you got it all moving and my bet is you are gonna make it working soon! Good job! 
Radogast's Hi-Brix Basement Grow - New Location - New Soil - New Experiences
Regnad Kcin
Well-Known Member
My 'wall' is a simple sheet of 1/2 MDF plywood. I can add a window any size and shape I want. I think I'll add a window just a bit narrower than the width of aluminum foil.
My son the engineer was home over the weekend [...
...] and while watching football, our yacking wandered around to something that has been bugging me about this idea. I explained what you were thinking and even quoted some of the math you provided. Without doing any math, he suspected from the couch, that the "window" would have to be huge to affect a significant transfer of heat from the flower space to the veg space at such a low temperature differential between the two spaces.
Max is way the hell smarter than me, but I was intuitively thinking much the same thing before I brought up the subject.
Frankly, since you're the guru, and if it wouldn't require too much physical effort, I'd love to see you set up an experiment that would test this idea. It would, however, require a significant effort to document the testing of the idea. You seem like a person who actively fills his life with meaningful work. Perhaps it might be something you might find to be fun!
Improvements are looking great. I'm watching your new digs evolve with great interest!
Regnad Kcin
Well-Known Member
Flower area hardware
Now I'm seeing it more clearly, and I'm a bit confused. Is that an air intake, or an air exhaust attached to the flower light?
- Thread starter
- #404
My son the engineer was home over the weekend [...
Without doing any math, he suspected from the couch, that the “window” would have to be huge to affect a significant transfer of heat from the flower space to the veg space at such a low temperature differential between the two spaces.
Max is way the hell smarter than me, but I was intuitively thinking much the same thing before I brought up the subject.
Frankly, since you’re the guru, and if it wouldn’t require too much physical effort, I’d love to see you set up an experiment that would test this idea. It would, however, require a significant effort to document the testing of the idea. You seem like a person who actively fills his life with meaningful work. Perhaps it might be something you might find to be fun!
Improvements are looking great. I'm watching your new digs evolve with great interest!
I trust the educated opinion of your son. Thanks for asking.
It looks like I will luck out here. Overnight low in the flower stall measured 63 F. Until I hear otherwise, I can live with that
- Thread starter
- #405
The fan in the brick wall is a 6" CanFan about 12" in diameter rated at 440 CFM. It runs at full speed.
The fan is controlled by a temperature sensor which is set to exhaust excesss heat.
Warm air is sucked through a charcoal filter, along flexible tubing through the light hood(s), where it is pushed outside by the fan.
1 of 2 light hoods are installed so far. I've used the fan, controller and hoods for about 2.5 years (since my first grow.)
Because the basement walls are brick or stone foundation with window cutouts, exhaust air was THE big factor in where to locate the grow room.
The grow room wall had a perfect sized hole for my can-fan (probably from the original coal burning furnace ducts.)
Fiberglass? insulation holds the fan in place, and buffers vibration / reduces noise.
New 6" duct on the basement ceiling runs alongside pre-existing 6" heater ducts
The exhaust air is dumped inside a floor to ceiling coal chute (green.)
Yes it is messy
Spare paint. Wood scraps (from recent construction). Worm bin (green lower right.) Weights (exercise room is being painted today and tomorrow.) Used gardening supplies. The gray box is a speaker from a stereo currently serving my main work table (this room), the room housing the grow areas, and inside the veg room. ahem - back to the fan and ducting
A screen in the coal chute allows air to flow outside under the center of our wide front porch. Unless the original owners had a trap door under the welcome mat, coal delivery must have involved a lot of crawling and awkward shoveling.
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- #406
AK47 went into the flower area last night
Observant readers might have noticed a plant into the previous post about flower area ducting.
Yesterday afternoon, I bottom soaked AK47 (Water, GE, tea.)
I then trimmed lower growth off AK47, took 2 clones, and put her in the flower room on a 11 on /13 off light schedule under 600W HPS. She is 24" tall.
(I had photos of the above but I deleted them by mstake.)
During setup, the recently installed GFCI outlet had tripped a couple of times. This morning, the light was not on and the GFCI had tripped again. The wiring is new, and the load is 6+ amps on a 20 amp breaker, so I will replace the outlet. It was a previously used GFCI outlet.
Observant readers might have noticed a plant into the previous post about flower area ducting.
Yesterday afternoon, I bottom soaked AK47 (Water, GE, tea.)
I then trimmed lower growth off AK47, took 2 clones, and put her in the flower room on a 11 on /13 off light schedule under 600W HPS. She is 24" tall.
(I had photos of the above but I deleted them by mstake.)
During setup, the recently installed GFCI outlet had tripped a couple of times. This morning, the light was not on and the GFCI had tripped again. The wiring is new, and the load is 6+ amps on a 20 amp breaker, so I will replace the outlet. It was a previously used GFCI outlet.
Looking good Rado. If you can find them local - Hospital Grade GFCI ~$25, FTW.
- Thread starter
- #408
I didn't make it to hardware store today, it was painting day for the exercise room.
I replaced the GFCI with a 15 amp regular outlet I had on hand. That should be good enough for one 600W HPS and ballast until I can buy the proper unit.
I've never seen hospital grade on a GFCI. Do I need to go online for that?
AK47 in the flower room
The lower leaves and buds were defoliated
I took one clone from a leading branch (the small one) and a second clone from a lower branch. I have a pet theory that tops make better clones, so if that one roots, I'll plant it. The lower branch clone is a backup.
I'm not sure why the veg room temp went up - maybe because I dialed down the humidity. I'm dialing the humidifier back up a tad.
I'm very pleased with the flower room low temp. The temp did not get too low, even with the light off for 15 hours.
I didn't make it to hardware store today, it was painting day for the exercise room.
I replaced the GFCI with a 15 amp regular outlet I had on hand. That should be good enough for one 600W HPS and ballast until I can buy the proper unit.
I've never seen hospital grade on a GFCI. Do I need to go online for that?
AK47 in the flower room
The lower leaves and buds were defoliated
I took one clone from a leading branch (the small one) and a second clone from a lower branch. I have a pet theory that tops make better clones, so if that one roots, I'll plant it. The lower branch clone is a backup.
I'm not sure why the veg room temp went up - maybe because I dialed down the humidity. I'm dialing the humidifier back up a tad.
I'm very pleased with the flower room low temp. The temp did not get too low, even with the light off for 15 hours.
Looking good. Try to get that night temp up from 61. It will have trouble with phosphorus uptake at those temps. No harm done just yet. It will stretch more is all.
Everything looks excellent! I'm just trying to head off a problem for ya.
hi 
here looking too
here looking too - Thread starter
- #411
hi
Welcome. This grow is just starting to settle into a plan. (I started out with different ideas.)
My grow garden is a basement room with stone and brick walls and blacked out windows.
Inside is a 6x8' wood platform to raise the plants off the concrete floor.
On top of the platform are a 4x6' veg area (Veg Stall) and a 4x6' flower area (Flower Stall). The ceiling beams are about 7' tall.
The Veg area has a single table with a 4 bulb CFL light above:
3 feminized plants aged 3 months (HSO Amherst Sour Diesel, HSO Bubba's Gift, and AMS Borderliner,)
2 feminized plants aged 1 month (ACE Lily and ACE Ace Mix,)
2 non-fem seedlings under 4 days old (Tangerine Widow and AMS Hawaiian Skunk,)
2 female clones aged 2 days (AMS AK47 Xtrm)
6 non-420 garden plants, and
2 lady bugs.
The Flower area has a 3x4' plastic flood tray with 1 600W HPS light above:
1 AMS AK47 Xtrm (2 days in flower.) She is mother to the clones in veg.
Just now, I ordered a 600W light bulb for my second HPS hood in the flowering room.
I also ordered more Pro-mix HP w/myco and worm castings to mix up more Doc Bud's Hi-Brix soil.
Outside the Veg and Flower stalls, I have a comfy recliner with a reading lamp, stereo, and 3 empty plugs to connect your phone charger. No one seems to be using the chair, maybe it's the smell of young cannabis plants. Feel free to settle in.
Sounds like your plan is taking shape quite nicely! I'll pull up the chair and listen to some tunes. Have an excellent weekend Rad!
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- #413
NOOB to Hi-Brix questions
I have a plant in flower, now what?
During Veg I was bottom soaking with: Growth Energy(GE) - 1/4 transplant water(XW) - water(W) - GE - XW - W - GE - XW - W ...
In Flower, with different soil, I have bottom watered pure water. I expect to be top watering some nutrients without letting pots dry out or the nutrients run out the bottom. Which of Doc Bud's nutrients will I be using, and how often?
During Veg I did a weekly Brix foliar. Do I keep doing a weekly Brix foliar?
With other soil I have top dressed with worm castings (1 qt per 7-10 gal) as I go into Flower. I plan to add worm castings in about a week. Sound right?
- - - - Bottom Line - - - - -
Basic NOOB question: Now what?
I have a plant in flower, now what?
During Veg I was bottom soaking with: Growth Energy(GE) - 1/4 transplant water(XW) - water(W) - GE - XW - W - GE - XW - W ...
In Flower, with different soil, I have bottom watered pure water. I expect to be top watering some nutrients without letting pots dry out or the nutrients run out the bottom. Which of Doc Bud's nutrients will I be using, and how often?
During Veg I did a weekly Brix foliar. Do I keep doing a weekly Brix foliar?
With other soil I have top dressed with worm castings (1 qt per 7-10 gal) as I go into Flower. I plan to add worm castings in about a week. Sound right?
- - - - Bottom Line - - - - -
Basic NOOB question: Now what?
I'll take a stab at it Rad. Your gonna use the same nutes including Brix once a week. Water/feed more often, every 4-5 days. Here is advice I got from Duggan re feed water schedule. "....Here is a very typical water /feed schedule for using the "kit" properly in veg. and bloom! GE Drench W/Tea.......Water with1/4 Trans (could be straight water too)....Water with 1/4 Trans (could be straight water too)......Transplant Drench with Tea......Water with 1/4 Trans (could be straight water too)......Water with 1/4 Trans(could be straight water too).....GE Drench with Tea......Repeat....Repeat! Remember people , the last thing we want is a build up of salts in our soil , so if you are giving all that Transplant every single time you water ,...imagine by the third run of this soil ...just how much you will have added....too much...get it!"
Basically alternate GE and trans drench with 2 straight RO waters in between. You want to time it so the last drench you give is GE just before the chop, not trans.
You can still bottom feed then add a little to the top but mine are in #10's so I can't do that, I top water and so does Duggan.
I think top dressing with EWC and recharges is supposed to be done at week two of bloom.
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- #415
I understand this to mean.
where:
GE= Growth Energy
T = Tea
W = Water
X = Transplant
- GE+T - W - W - X+T - W - W - (repeat)
* At week 3 of flower, Re-Charge + worm castings(optional)
** Followed by Cat Drench - Cat Drench - Water - Water
then back to.... GE+T - W - W - X+T - W - W (repeat)
End with GE+T
Continue weekly Brix Foliar (anytme after plants have full-sized leaves and more than 4 nodes)
?? I use 15ml of water w/Brix as foliar per each basketball sized plant. Does that seem about right ??
How much drench water do you prepare? (i.e. 1.5g per 10g pot.)
Let me add some background.
In veg, we want roots - lots and lots of roots - so we drench with Trans/Tea, and also GE/Tea to raise soil energy for growth. During that phase, we drench/parch to promote healthy growth of the biota and efficient patterns in root growth. This should be happening in starter pots, 1-2 gallons. Then we upcan into the final container. At that point, the first drench (I prefer Trans/Tea for upcanning) usually holds for quite awhile, so by the time it needs another drench (after a midwatering), it should either be in bloom or ready for the switch. So that's a good time for a nice strong GE drench. The rotation sorta happens naturally. At that point, it's probably showing pistils so you'll be doing the Cat in a couple weeks, giving time for another cycle through Trans and GE. A lot of growers end up not using Trans in bloom, and I rarely use it after the Cats. Essentially, in bloom, we're cycling between Cat and GE, instead of Trans and GE in veg. I think a GE before the Cats helps load the cation sites, so I do that even if it isn't the right time in the cycle, and I'll often do another Cat late in bloom, if the strains runs long.
In bloom, it's very important to keep the rootball moist, and as evenly moist as is feasible. By that time, I usually have a good handle on how long this plant goes in this pot, so it's an intuitive thing. I know I've regretted it nearly every time when I knew I should pour a couple quarts over the top and blew it off. Make damn sure the bottom doesn't stay soaked, but try to keep the entire rootball moist.
As far as how much to mix up, you already have a rough idea of how much water they'll take. Mix up that much and top off with plain RO.
Easy. If you're not mixing your Tea separately, start doing that. It's much happier if it can steep by itself for a few minutes.
The topdressing should happen soon after the upcan and, in my opinion, before or soon after bloom. Add the amendment and Recharge together - it's simpler, and the EWC helps cover the amendment and keep it moist.
Remember that Brix is a booster, so use more when they look great and less when they don't. DeStress and Trans work together to feed the soil, while GE and Cat are more for the plant's sake.
In veg, we want roots - lots and lots of roots - so we drench with Trans/Tea, and also GE/Tea to raise soil energy for growth. During that phase, we drench/parch to promote healthy growth of the biota and efficient patterns in root growth. This should be happening in starter pots, 1-2 gallons. Then we upcan into the final container. At that point, the first drench (I prefer Trans/Tea for upcanning) usually holds for quite awhile, so by the time it needs another drench (after a midwatering), it should either be in bloom or ready for the switch. So that's a good time for a nice strong GE drench. The rotation sorta happens naturally. At that point, it's probably showing pistils so you'll be doing the Cat in a couple weeks, giving time for another cycle through Trans and GE. A lot of growers end up not using Trans in bloom, and I rarely use it after the Cats. Essentially, in bloom, we're cycling between Cat and GE, instead of Trans and GE in veg. I think a GE before the Cats helps load the cation sites, so I do that even if it isn't the right time in the cycle, and I'll often do another Cat late in bloom, if the strains runs long.
In bloom, it's very important to keep the rootball moist, and as evenly moist as is feasible. By that time, I usually have a good handle on how long this plant goes in this pot, so it's an intuitive thing. I know I've regretted it nearly every time when I knew I should pour a couple quarts over the top and blew it off. Make damn sure the bottom doesn't stay soaked, but try to keep the entire rootball moist.
As far as how much to mix up, you already have a rough idea of how much water they'll take. Mix up that much and top off with plain RO.
Easy. If you're not mixing your Tea separately, start doing that. It's much happier if it can steep by itself for a few minutes.The topdressing should happen soon after the upcan and, in my opinion, before or soon after bloom. Add the amendment and Recharge together - it's simpler, and the EWC helps cover the amendment and keep it moist.
Remember that Brix is a booster, so use more when they look great and less when they don't. DeStress and Trans work together to feed the soil, while GE and Cat are more for the plant's sake.
Crap ... double post. 
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- #418
Graytail said:
I got a late start using Tea and Brix. I had forgotten about steeping the Tea first - I'll get on that.
Graytail said:
I'd be doing the Recharge and Worm castings on my single flowering plant yesterday, but the only worm castings I have are the ones from my worms. The trays that are ready were fed almost entirely on diced organic bananna peels - too high in potassium for a Hi-Brix grow. I have a delivery of Unco Wiggle Worm casting next week. I believe Recharge combined with Amendment in the last kit change. I used all my Amendment for initial soil building. The current instructions in Doc's signature specify recharge by itself. At least the way I read them
Graytail said:Remember that Brix is a booster, so use more when they look great and less when they don't. DeStress and Trans work together to feed the soil, while GE and Cat are more for the plant's sake.
"Brix is a Booster." Now that is an intriguing idea. Since my girls look good to me, I'll bump up the quantity of weekly Brix solution.
I really appreciate your answer here - even the parts I didn't quote
Part of me is still looking for what to schedule. I plan on keeping the soil moist. I think you are sayng to do a GE+Tea and a Trans + Tea drench about once every 10 days, alternating. I'm also preparing to do the cat drenches at bud set time. Any thing else I should do in the first month of flower?
Yep, most pots go 4-5 days before they go dry, so that's generally how the schedule goes. Duggan with his big pots does 2 plain water between drenches, some use 1/4 trans in every watering and skip a separate Trans/Tea drench altogether. I've gone to giving a mid-cycle RO after 2-3 days to keep the soil moist - 2-3 quarts for a 6 gallon pot - down the top. They soak up the drench better that way.
There's no real point in waiting to Recharge. The amendment is designed for large-plot, outdoor gardens where it's broadcast and percolates down into the soil. So particle sizes are part of the design. Once you get it on top, it'll work its way down the soil layers as it was designed to do. Most of us have shifted the Recharge to earlier. I do mine a week or two after flip.
Not 2-3 quarts, sorry. 16oz cups, not quarts, of RO between waterings. 3 quarts is about as much as my 6 gallon pots take for a full drench.
16oz cups, not quarts, of RO between waterings. 3 quarts is about as much as my 6 gallon pots take for a full drench.