Ravyn
New Member
Welcome to my first journal, folks. I have been following 420 for almost a year now and have learned so much from following many of the expert growers on this site. I researched for months before deciding on the methods, lights, mediums, etc. that I would use. It is now time for me to give back a bit, show you what I have learned, and hopefully help some others get on the path to working with this wonderful plant. 
Before I begin, I want to express my most heartfelt thanks to a Fallen Warrior. BID was one of the first growers that I followed here on 420 and I read all of his journals front to back. When I learned of his untimely departure in early August, I felt like I had lost a close friend. Puff, puff, pass to the Big Irish Doode.
Many other dedicated members here at 420 have been great inspiration and I hope to see some of them join us here on occasion. SlingBlade, IceMud, Buckshot, Cannafan, Cultivator, ColoradoHigh, Governmentchz, Light Addict, KingJohnC, Dennise, Doc Bud, and so many others. Thanks to all of you.
And now, time for the show.
Before we get into the new run, let's take a quick at what just finished and what we will be trying to beat from last round.
This is Tiny Tim:
Not the biggest plant overall.
And not the Frostiest either.
But he did yield over 122 grams and this main cola alone was 42 grams dried to 57% RH
This first run is coming to a close but I am setting up all perpetual like and will be running some of the same girls shown above over the next few months. On my first run in over 12 years, I hit 1 GPW on my main light and .95 GPW if you add in my 60 watts of UVB side lighting. 20 zips on 5 plants. This does not include the lower fluffy buds that got tossed in with the trim. Was it just "beginner's luck"? Let's see if we can beat that this time.
What Strain is it?
Early Vixen — Northern Lights / Skunk / Haze genetics
60% Indica with 8 week Flower. 17% THC + 4.2% CBN
White Widow — Original White Widow
60% Indica with 8 week Flower. 26% THC + 3% CBN
No bud shots of the White Widow yet. Just a baby for now.
Is it in Veg or Flower?
Two room setup. In the bloom room, my first run is hanging on lines and about to go in to C-Vaults for curing. When I pull the drying lines down, I will sterilize the room and may redo my cord management.
In the Veg room, I have 4 White Widow seedlings and 2 Early Vixens. Seeds popped a few days apart and the seedlings range from 3 weeks to 4 weeks old.
Indoor or Outdoor?
Indoors. I framed off a corner of my gym/shop to create two rooms inside an 8 foot by 5 foot rectangle. There is a 5 foot by 5 foot flower room and a 2 and half foot by 5 foot veg room separated by a wall with two darkroom vents installed to allow intake from veg room to flower room. Ceilings are just under 8 feet high.
The Veg room is designed with an upper and lower half in mind so I can have a cloning and seedling chamber on top of an 18 inch deep shelf at a height of 5 feet. I hang my Veg LED light from the underside of the shelf.
Ventilation
Each room has two intakes; a 4 inch intake low in the wall from outdoors plus a 5 inch intake in the ceiling which draws air from the unheated attic space. In summer, I block the attic intakes and use the exterior only. In Winter, I block the exterior wall intakes and draw fresh air from the attic space. This method helps to keep temps lower in summer and reduce the space heating requirements in winter.
The veg room exhausts into the flower room via two, 6 inch vents low in the wall between the two rooms. On the flower side, these vents use Darkroom vents to ensure no possible light leaks.
The flower room exhaust is powered by a 6 inch S-Line Vortex fan drawing air through a 6 inch ProFilter carbon filter. The speed is controlled by a temperature sensitive fan speed controller. Usually, it is full speed in summer (above 80 degrees) and low speed in winter (below 50 degrees)
For Circulation I use a 3 foot tall, oscillating tower fan in the corner of each room. In the flower room, I also use a 12 inch air king mounted on the wall in one corner. It angles down, oscillates, and keeps a breeze through the canopy.
Soil or Hydro?
Coco Hempy Buckets are the main theme. I have tried 5 gallon, but smaller buckets actually worked better. Now using 10 liter buckets with a 3/8" hole drilled in the side, 2 inches up from the base. No holes in the bottom. This creates a passive reservoir. I add 2 inches of hydroton to form a base layer, then fill the bucket 2 inches from top with Canna Coco regular.
After transplanting, I add a 1 inch layer of hydroton on top of the coco. This makes it easy to water without digging holes and also deters fungus.
I start seeds in one inch trays of coco and plain water. Transplant with one set of real leaves to clear beer cups filled with Coco and then nest the clear cups inside the opaque cups. Makes it easy to view the roots by separating the cups.
Size of Lights
From smallest to largest. 18 inch T5 light blaster over clone and seedling tray. When it is on, it is on 24 hr
I use TopLed lights. In the Veg Room I have the Reflector 95x3 watt with veg and bloom switches. It runs 18/6 light cycle.
In the Bloom Room, I use a Mars II 1200 with 5 watt LEDs. This thing is a monster. It is like the light of the heart of the sun if you are inside that room with the lights on. Method 7 Led glasses highly recommended.
Supplemental Side lighting in the Bloom room is provided with 3 foot, T5 High Output UVB Reptile lights. Increased UVB light is associated with high altitudes and is rumoured to elicit increased Resin production in cannabis flowers. I started these lights on just a few hours in the middle of the light cycle but eventually increased it to match the entire lights on cycle.
I run the flower room at 11 hours on and 13 hours off. This gives me a one hour buffer during which I can get into the room to inspect the plants under incandescent lights and without being bathed in the UVB light myself. After that hour, the plants can still get a full 12 hour dark cycle after I close the door.
Temps — Both rooms — 70-80 day and 65-75 at night. Each room is heated in cold weather by a 400 watt space heater connected to a thermostat on a timer to match the light cycle.
RH — Veg room during early flowering in adjacent room — 65-75%. Swissair Coolmist Humidifier
RH — Bloom room during early flowering 55-65%. Dehumidifier off
RH — Veg room during later flower — 50-60%
RH — Bloom room during late flower — 45-55% Dehumidifier on
Outdoor humidity is very high during much of the year. 80-90% for extended periods.
PH of media — I shoot for, and water with, 5.8 in coco but runoff might drift from 5.2 to 6.5
Any Pests - No real problems. Had a few thrips on my last run but they did not cause too much damage and mainly stayed on a few lower leaves. I think the UVB lights might discourage insects. I also use a couple of yellow stickies in my flower room. If the Thrips come back, I have Spinosad ready to go. I add SM-90 to my nutrients and this used to be marketed as system control/deterrent to spider mites. Not sure if it is true but I have had no visits from the borg thus far and it smells nice so I will continue adding 2 mil per gallon.
Watering and Nutrients
General Hydroponics — Micro and Bloom at 6/9 ratio. 6 mil Micro and 9 mil Bloom per gallon is typical. I will vary this by reducing to 4/6 and will tweak it in Flower by reducing Micro and upping Bloom to 5/10 4/12, 0/9 in later weeks. I also add KoolBloom during flower.
In addition to the 6/9 base, I add a pinch of Epsom salts for Cal/Mag.
Hygrozyme at 1 ml per gallon.
SM-90 at 2 ml per gallon
Potassium Silicate — 1 ml per gallon
SuperThrive is added at 1 drop per gallon and added to seedlings and small vegging plants. This is also applied as Foliar, daily to the wee ones.
Mycos has been added and will occasionally be treated to a bit of molasses in veg (tsp./gal)and more in late flower (tbsp./gal) to keep them fat and happy.
Top feed by hand once a day with 5-10% runoff in the flower room.
In the Veg room, solo cups have Coco that is precharged with ¼ strength nutes at about 250-300 ppm. When they get transplants, they are watered in. Mycos added after the first time the coco dried out in a few days. Feeding them 300 ppm, every 2 -3 days.
Once they go in to the 10 liter buckets, I will water at ½ strength once, and then full strength every two days. Check runoff and if PH or E.C. varies too far from what is going in, then I will flush with ¼ strength nutes, PH likely a bit high to counter low PH in runoff. Gonna try running dripclean this run to see if it helps to keep salts from building up in the coco. I fed pretty hard last round and had runoff at 2000 ppm plus at one point. Gonna try to keep a better handle on that with regular quarter strength feedings.
Wow. That is soo long. Sorry guys. Let's look at more pics of pretty flowers from the last run.
Well, if any of you are still here, and actually made it through that incredibly long post, Thank you for joining me.
I'll try to answer any questions you might have and I will try my best to keep this interesting. I'll be making some bubble hash and extracts soon while the little ones get some size on them. I have a ton of pics of the first harvest that I will share in another post. I have started curing in my new C-Vaults and will update you on those awesome little numbers as well.
Bye for now.
Ravyn
Before I begin, I want to express my most heartfelt thanks to a Fallen Warrior. BID was one of the first growers that I followed here on 420 and I read all of his journals front to back. When I learned of his untimely departure in early August, I felt like I had lost a close friend. Puff, puff, pass to the Big Irish Doode.
Many other dedicated members here at 420 have been great inspiration and I hope to see some of them join us here on occasion. SlingBlade, IceMud, Buckshot, Cannafan, Cultivator, ColoradoHigh, Governmentchz, Light Addict, KingJohnC, Dennise, Doc Bud, and so many others. Thanks to all of you.
And now, time for the show.
Before we get into the new run, let's take a quick at what just finished and what we will be trying to beat from last round.
This is Tiny Tim:
Not the biggest plant overall.
And not the Frostiest either.
But he did yield over 122 grams and this main cola alone was 42 grams dried to 57% RH
This first run is coming to a close but I am setting up all perpetual like and will be running some of the same girls shown above over the next few months. On my first run in over 12 years, I hit 1 GPW on my main light and .95 GPW if you add in my 60 watts of UVB side lighting. 20 zips on 5 plants. This does not include the lower fluffy buds that got tossed in with the trim. Was it just "beginner's luck"? Let's see if we can beat that this time.
What Strain is it?
Early Vixen — Northern Lights / Skunk / Haze genetics
60% Indica with 8 week Flower. 17% THC + 4.2% CBN
White Widow — Original White Widow
60% Indica with 8 week Flower. 26% THC + 3% CBN
No bud shots of the White Widow yet. Just a baby for now.
Is it in Veg or Flower?
Two room setup. In the bloom room, my first run is hanging on lines and about to go in to C-Vaults for curing. When I pull the drying lines down, I will sterilize the room and may redo my cord management.
In the Veg room, I have 4 White Widow seedlings and 2 Early Vixens. Seeds popped a few days apart and the seedlings range from 3 weeks to 4 weeks old.
Indoor or Outdoor?
Indoors. I framed off a corner of my gym/shop to create two rooms inside an 8 foot by 5 foot rectangle. There is a 5 foot by 5 foot flower room and a 2 and half foot by 5 foot veg room separated by a wall with two darkroom vents installed to allow intake from veg room to flower room. Ceilings are just under 8 feet high.
The Veg room is designed with an upper and lower half in mind so I can have a cloning and seedling chamber on top of an 18 inch deep shelf at a height of 5 feet. I hang my Veg LED light from the underside of the shelf.
Ventilation
Each room has two intakes; a 4 inch intake low in the wall from outdoors plus a 5 inch intake in the ceiling which draws air from the unheated attic space. In summer, I block the attic intakes and use the exterior only. In Winter, I block the exterior wall intakes and draw fresh air from the attic space. This method helps to keep temps lower in summer and reduce the space heating requirements in winter.
The veg room exhausts into the flower room via two, 6 inch vents low in the wall between the two rooms. On the flower side, these vents use Darkroom vents to ensure no possible light leaks.
The flower room exhaust is powered by a 6 inch S-Line Vortex fan drawing air through a 6 inch ProFilter carbon filter. The speed is controlled by a temperature sensitive fan speed controller. Usually, it is full speed in summer (above 80 degrees) and low speed in winter (below 50 degrees)
For Circulation I use a 3 foot tall, oscillating tower fan in the corner of each room. In the flower room, I also use a 12 inch air king mounted on the wall in one corner. It angles down, oscillates, and keeps a breeze through the canopy.
Soil or Hydro?
Coco Hempy Buckets are the main theme. I have tried 5 gallon, but smaller buckets actually worked better. Now using 10 liter buckets with a 3/8" hole drilled in the side, 2 inches up from the base. No holes in the bottom. This creates a passive reservoir. I add 2 inches of hydroton to form a base layer, then fill the bucket 2 inches from top with Canna Coco regular.
After transplanting, I add a 1 inch layer of hydroton on top of the coco. This makes it easy to water without digging holes and also deters fungus.
I start seeds in one inch trays of coco and plain water. Transplant with one set of real leaves to clear beer cups filled with Coco and then nest the clear cups inside the opaque cups. Makes it easy to view the roots by separating the cups.
Size of Lights
From smallest to largest. 18 inch T5 light blaster over clone and seedling tray. When it is on, it is on 24 hr
I use TopLed lights. In the Veg Room I have the Reflector 95x3 watt with veg and bloom switches. It runs 18/6 light cycle.
In the Bloom Room, I use a Mars II 1200 with 5 watt LEDs. This thing is a monster. It is like the light of the heart of the sun if you are inside that room with the lights on. Method 7 Led glasses highly recommended.
Supplemental Side lighting in the Bloom room is provided with 3 foot, T5 High Output UVB Reptile lights. Increased UVB light is associated with high altitudes and is rumoured to elicit increased Resin production in cannabis flowers. I started these lights on just a few hours in the middle of the light cycle but eventually increased it to match the entire lights on cycle.
I run the flower room at 11 hours on and 13 hours off. This gives me a one hour buffer during which I can get into the room to inspect the plants under incandescent lights and without being bathed in the UVB light myself. After that hour, the plants can still get a full 12 hour dark cycle after I close the door.
Temps — Both rooms — 70-80 day and 65-75 at night. Each room is heated in cold weather by a 400 watt space heater connected to a thermostat on a timer to match the light cycle.
RH — Veg room during early flowering in adjacent room — 65-75%. Swissair Coolmist Humidifier
RH — Bloom room during early flowering 55-65%. Dehumidifier off
RH — Veg room during later flower — 50-60%
RH — Bloom room during late flower — 45-55% Dehumidifier on
Outdoor humidity is very high during much of the year. 80-90% for extended periods.
PH of media — I shoot for, and water with, 5.8 in coco but runoff might drift from 5.2 to 6.5
Any Pests - No real problems. Had a few thrips on my last run but they did not cause too much damage and mainly stayed on a few lower leaves. I think the UVB lights might discourage insects. I also use a couple of yellow stickies in my flower room. If the Thrips come back, I have Spinosad ready to go. I add SM-90 to my nutrients and this used to be marketed as system control/deterrent to spider mites. Not sure if it is true but I have had no visits from the borg thus far and it smells nice so I will continue adding 2 mil per gallon.
Watering and Nutrients
General Hydroponics — Micro and Bloom at 6/9 ratio. 6 mil Micro and 9 mil Bloom per gallon is typical. I will vary this by reducing to 4/6 and will tweak it in Flower by reducing Micro and upping Bloom to 5/10 4/12, 0/9 in later weeks. I also add KoolBloom during flower.
In addition to the 6/9 base, I add a pinch of Epsom salts for Cal/Mag.
Hygrozyme at 1 ml per gallon.
SM-90 at 2 ml per gallon
Potassium Silicate — 1 ml per gallon
SuperThrive is added at 1 drop per gallon and added to seedlings and small vegging plants. This is also applied as Foliar, daily to the wee ones.
Mycos has been added and will occasionally be treated to a bit of molasses in veg (tsp./gal)and more in late flower (tbsp./gal) to keep them fat and happy.
Top feed by hand once a day with 5-10% runoff in the flower room.
In the Veg room, solo cups have Coco that is precharged with ¼ strength nutes at about 250-300 ppm. When they get transplants, they are watered in. Mycos added after the first time the coco dried out in a few days. Feeding them 300 ppm, every 2 -3 days.
Once they go in to the 10 liter buckets, I will water at ½ strength once, and then full strength every two days. Check runoff and if PH or E.C. varies too far from what is going in, then I will flush with ¼ strength nutes, PH likely a bit high to counter low PH in runoff. Gonna try running dripclean this run to see if it helps to keep salts from building up in the coco. I fed pretty hard last round and had runoff at 2000 ppm plus at one point. Gonna try to keep a better handle on that with regular quarter strength feedings.
Wow. That is soo long. Sorry guys. Let's look at more pics of pretty flowers from the last run.
Well, if any of you are still here, and actually made it through that incredibly long post, Thank you for joining me.
I'll try to answer any questions you might have and I will try my best to keep this interesting. I'll be making some bubble hash and extracts soon while the little ones get some size on them. I have a ton of pics of the first harvest that I will share in another post. I have started curing in my new C-Vaults and will update you on those awesome little numbers as well.
Bye for now.
Ravyn
.....
