South Indian Sativa LED SOG Experiment

[Hasnain]

What's up guys,

So, I've decided to use the seeds from the weed I smoke and try out an experiment. Not really hoping to get great yield, if I do.. then hey, it's a win!

So I'm pretty sure this is a South Indian Sativa, or at least a Sativa Dominant strain, since I live in Chennai which is a city in South India.

Now where I live, my resources are slightly different from what most of you have, but I'm trying to get as close as possible.

Here's some of the technical info which I can provide,

1. I'm attempting an SOG grow.(5 plants - will know the sex as I progress. Hopefully at least 3 are female)

2. I'm gonna use a 2x2 (4 sqft. Area) grow box made of wood, and I'm gonna line it with a reflective sheet (similar to Mylar) the height of this box will roughly be about 4-5 ft.

3. I'm using an enriched potting soil mix,

Here Are The Ingredients Present In The Potting Mix(All 100% Organic) : Coir Pith, Vermiculite, 100% Organic (Npk Fertilizer, Humic Acid, Organic Matter, Fe,Mn,B,Zn, Glutamic Acid, Methionine, Alanine, Folic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Threonine, Serine, Leucine, Lysine, Histidine, Arginine,Proline, Glycine, Valine, Isoleucine, Many More And Additives.

4. I've also got a nutrient solution which comprises of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sulfur (S), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zink (Zn), Boron (B), Molybdenum (Mo), Copper (Cu), Cobalt (Co)

I'll have to wait and see what strength of solution I will have to use, guess I'll figure it out as I progress

5. My seeds have cracked and the babies are 10 days old now (pic will be attached below)

6. I'll be transplanting the plants into a 1 gallon fabric pot once i'm back home from vacation (I'm not in India right now, will be back on the 16th of this month - the plants will be 17 days old then) I've got someone monitoring the babies till I'm back. Once I transplant, I'll wait for a few days and once my plants have adapted, I'll change to 12/12 photoperiod

7. I'm using 4 full spectrum 30watt LED bulbs = 120watts of actual consumption. (I need to know if that's a decent amount of light and also how low I should hang the lights)

8. I've got an Airconditioner in the room, and will use it if need be. (Since I'm growing what's mostly a South Indian Sativa, I'm sure it can take a little bit of heat... but let's see)

Is there anything else I am missing out? Is there anything I could improve or do different at this initial stage? Please let me know!!

Here's the pic - 10 days old babies:-

 

[Scientific]

Congratulations on actually diving in with a test grow!

3. One gallon pot is normally too small, but with your limited light may not be that important (i.e. size-limiting).
Do you have any idea of the NPK breakdown of your fertilizer?
If you have an EC (PPM) pen, you can measure the EC of the fertilizer solution. Shoot for maybe 400 PPM for the first application at about one month? You have so little light that fertilizing is not going to be as important.

7. Not a decent amount of light as discussed at length on your previous thread.
For height, start with the manufacturer's recommendation and then you can carefully work down. With the lights you have, I'd suggest starting at about one foot and always arranging the lights so that if plants take up one square foot, the light footprint is one foot with no spillover/waste.

> Is there anything else I am missing out?
Required: Enough light (at least 5 times more for good results)
Optional but recommended: Cannabis-grade fertilizer with which you can shift the NPK balance as the plant matures.

 

[Hasnain]

1. This is the only info I've got with the nutes. There are 3 bottles in total, a)Micro b)Grow and c) Bloom.

Micro needs to be used with Grow during Veg stage and then during flowering, all three need to be used.

I'm attaching a pic of the chart I got, which shows the different ratios which should be used. This stuff is not cannabis grade but it's like a general one for all-purpose use I guess. I don't have access to a cannabis grade nute in India.

However, there are these water soluble NPK powders which are available on the Amazon India store, which have a ratio of 20-20-20 and a few more ratios as well. What ratio should I be looking for? And can I add this along with the existing nute solution which I've got?

2. Lights, yes as we discussed before, I may need more juice, is 300watts good?

3. I'll try and get a PPM asap. Thanks for the tip.


Thanks for following my journal man, you've been very kind .

Here's the picture of the chart which I got with the nutes: -

 

[EastCoastGhost]

Think I will ride along also. I don't know if you have anymore funds for more light but you could get a Mars 300 or viparspectra 300 for about $70USD and either one would do great in your 2×2 for veg and flower stage. Im growing with Mars right now and I have had great results with it. Im gonna kick back and enjoy the ride, best of luck to you.

 

[AnimaSola]

My suggestion is to add all trace nutrients like calmag to water and fully mix in before mixing in micro and then grow and bloom last.

 

[Hasnain]

My suggestion is to add all trace nutrients like calmag to water and fully mix in before mixing in micro and then grow and bloom last.

Thanks for your input . so the nute solution I've got already has cal and mag, so you're suggesting I add extra cal and mag as well?

 

[Hasnain]

Here's a light which I found on aliexpress.com

It's a 1800w equivalent which is about 320 true watts. This is the best available light which I can get shipped to India. Should I go for it?

 

[Scientific]

My suggestion is to add all trace nutrients like calmag to water and fully mix in before mixing in micro and then grow and bloom last.

That's a good point and worth remembering. With General Hydroponics nutes (and I assume the others are similar--check the website and the bottle) you add calcium/magnesium first, then micronutrients, then the rest.

 

[Scientific]

Here’s a light which I found on aliexpress.com

It’s a 1800w equivalent which is about 320 true watts. This is the best available light which I can get shipped to India. Should I go for it?

420magazine.com asks us only to discuss and recommend lights sold by their sponsors. It's hard to go wrong with the name brand products like Mars Hydro. Second (or lower) tier electronics like that shown may do the job, but they typically have lower quality components so may not be as reliable. It's an individual decision. Having said all that, the light you show should do the job.

 

[Scientific]

1. This is the only info I’ve got with the nutes. There are 3 bottles in total, a)Micro b)Grow and c) Bloom.
Great! You have a three-bottle fertilizer that you can adjust as the plant grows! That's just what you need.

I would recommend just following the chart, using rows 1, 2, 4, and 5 at the appropriate times, but MIX 1/2 STRENGTH TO START. You can try increasing the concentration when the plant gets bigger, but watch out for yellowing leaf tips! 1/2 strength will usually work all the way through.

2. Lights, yes as we discussed before, I may need more juice, is 300watts good?
See previous comments.

3. I’ll try and get a PPM asap. Thanks for the tip.
PPM meter and pH pen with pH 7.0 calibration fluid and learn how to use both!

 

[Hasnain]

420magazine.com asks us only to discuss and recommend lights sold by their sponsors. It's hard to go wrong with the name brand products like Mars Hydro. Second (or lower) tier electronics like that shown may do the job, but they typically have lower quality components so may not be as reliable. It's an individual decision. Having said all that, the light you show should do the job.

If I'm able to purchase Mars Hydro, i wouldn't think twice, but unfortunately it's not possible for me, there's no one who ships it to my city. I'm sure the one I've mentioned is not as good as mars hydro or other companies of that caliber, but like you said, if it does the job, then I'm ok with it. For example, if Mars Hydro is 10/10, and if this is a 7/10, then I'm ok with it. I've got to settle with what's available to me. So yeah I guess I should go for it.

Plus, I'm sure this ones gonna be wayyyyy better than my current 120watt setup lol .

Also, as I mentioned earlier, what do you think of that NPK powder which I mentioned a few comments back? What's a good NPK ratio?

 

[Scientific]

> Plus, I’m sure this ones gonna be wayyyyy better than my current 120watt setup lol .
But do keep the lights you've got on it too.

> what do you think of that NPK powder which I mentioned a few comments back?
Just go with that three-bottle solution you've got, but at half strength. That should work perfectly.

 

[Hasnain]

> Plus, I’m sure this ones gonna be wayyyyy better than my current 120watt setup lol .
But do keep the lights you've got on it too.

> what do you think of that NPK powder which I mentioned a few comments back?
Just go with that three-bottle solution you've got, but at half strength. That should work perfectly.

Thank you!

 

[EastCoastGhost]

If I'm able to purchase Mars Hydro, i wouldn't think twice, but unfortunately it's not possible for me, there's no one who ships it to my city. I'm sure the one I've mentioned is not as good as mars hydro or other companies of that caliber, but like you said, if it does the job, then I'm ok with it. For example, if Mars Hydro is 10/10, and if this is a 7/10, then I'm ok with it. I've got to settle with what's available to me. So yeah I guess I should go for it.

Plus, I'm sure this ones gonna be wayyyyy better than my current 120watt setup lol .

Also, as I mentioned earlier, what do you think of that NPK powder which I mentioned a few comments back? What's a good NPK ratio?

I think that light would do a good job in your tent. I would go for it. Like you said it will be better than what you have. I bet it would do good job though.

 

[Hasnain]

Quick question, when people talk about Calcium and Magnesium, are they talking about Calcium Nitrate and Magnesium Sulphate ?

 

[Scientific]

Quick question, when people talk about Calcium and Magnesium, are they talking about Calcium Nitrate and Magnesium Sulphate ?

They're talking about the Ca++ and Mg++ ions that cannabis seems to really like. If you live somewhere with soft water or if you use reverse osmosis purified water, your water lacks Ca and Mg, so you may need to add a supplement like CALiMAGic or some similar product.

Those Ca/Mg supplements may have the the Ca and Mg in a variety of forms, like calcium nitrate (nice, because it also provides nitrogen) and calcium carbonate, which can also work as a pH buffer, I would guess. In the bottle I have, the magnesium is from magnesium nitrate (also an N source). Magnesium sulfate is Epsom salts, which people do use, but it has the sulfate moiety, which I'm not sure I would want a lot of... not sure about that.

 

[Hasnain]

Ah... well I know u told me that 3 bottle nutes I've got, at half strength, should be good enough. lol but the prob is I keep reading things and I'm getting a bit caught up in all of it... .

what I'm learning when it comes to Cannabis is that calcium and magnesium are the next two important nutrients after NPK, and if I have the choice I should have a nute which has a higher ratio of cal and mag, when compared to the other micronutrients (eg. zinc, boron etc.)

Now the 3 bottle nute which I've got mostly doesn't have a very dominant ratio of cal and mag, so I'm wondering if I should add a cal and mag supplement to the already existing solution...

Well, maybe I'm just confusing myself, or maybe I've got a point.

Would love to know what you think about it.

Thanks .

 

[Hasnain]

By the way... I've also got a Plan B.

Plan B is :-

I let these South Indian Sativa grow outdoors and let it take its own time and harvest when the time comes,

And in the meantime, I've got some autoflowering seeds (Dutch Passion White widows and SweetSeeds FastBud #2... which I can grow in the 2x2 sq.ft. Grow box. The advantage of this is obvious, I don't need to worry about making sure the box is lightproof as there won't really be a need for a dark period, I can keep my 320 + 120 = 440 actual watts LED lights on a 20/4 hour cycle.

My only question is ... if I go with Plan B, how many autoflowers can I grow in a 2x2=4sq.ft. Area?

My box is not yet ready, so I can make it a bit bigger if need be. What's the ideal grow space for 440 actual watts of LED light?

 

[Scientific]

Ah... well I know u told me that 3 bottle nutes I’ve got, at half strength, should be good enough. lol but the prob is I keep reading things and I’m getting a bit caught up in all of it... .

what I’m learning when it comes to Cannabis is that calcium and magnesium are the next two important nutrients after NPK, and if I have the choice I should have a nute which has a higher ratio of cal and mag, when compared to the other micronutrients (eg. zinc, boron etc.)

Now the 3 bottle nute which I’ve got mostly doesn’t have a very dominant ratio of cal and mag, so I’m wondering if I should add a cal and mag supplement to the already existing solution...

Well, maybe I’m just confusing myself, or maybe I’ve got a point.

Would love to know what you think about it.

Thanks .

Reading is good! Beware that there is a lot of misunderstanding, folklore, and pseudoscience out there.

Find out if your water is soft or hard. Your PPM meter can tell you. If it is hard it probably has enough Ca and Mg. If not you can supplement. If in doubt, I guess adding a Ca/Mg supplement can't hurt.

 

[Scientific]

> My only question is ... if I go with Plan B, how many autoflowers can I grow in a 2x2=4sq.ft. Area?
You've seen the photos here and at the seed web site. How big do they get? 2x2 is not much space. 2 or 3 plants max I would think...

> My box is not yet ready, so I can make it a bit bigger if need be. What's the ideal grow space for 440 actual watts of LED light?
Usually people approach it the other way
Your manufacturer should have some advice. You can go to Google Images and search for "led grow light footprint" to get some ideas. When in doubt, more light!