Sponsored Grow: Krip Keepers Frost Fest Featuring Mars SP-250 In Mars 4' x 4' Tent
- Thread starter Mr. Krip
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #82
QUICK UPDATE
My plans to up-pot the girls this weekend were thwarted by a last-minute, unplanned fishing trip; so the up-potting will happen soon. I gave the plants a light TP drench to keep them happy in the mean time.
Here are a few group shots from tonight:
Happy Harvests!
K
My plans to up-pot the girls this weekend were thwarted by a last-minute, unplanned fishing trip; so the up-potting will happen soon. I gave the plants a light TP drench to keep them happy in the mean time.
Here are a few group shots from tonight:
Happy Harvests!
K
Mars Hydro
420 Sponsor
They look full of energy. 
WankirA
Well-Known Member
Found a couple references but is there any guides on cultivating bonsais that you know of MrK'?
Obviously counter intuitive to make them small, so would be nice to get my head around the full set of principles involved ...
- Thread starter
- #85
Found a couple references but is there any guides on cultivating bonsais that you know of MrK'?
Obviously counter intuitive to make them small, so would be nice to get my head around the full set of principles involved ...
Bonsai Mothers
This article was originally written by OG member Oldtimer1, I take no credit for this, except for finding and sharing the information with you guys. Part 1 MAKING, MAINTAINING, AND RENOVATING BONSAI MOMS This Article was originally published on 27/6/2000. Revised and archived 20/10/03 by...
www.420magazine.com
WankirA
Well-Known Member
Great read and lots of info there for us newbs and more experienced growers alike.
Thanks for the link up MrK'..
Appreciated.
Thanks for the link up MrK'..
Appreciated.
- Thread starter
- #87
Happy to help, Brother! I always say that Bonsai article really changed my life as a grower working with limited space!Great read and lots of info there for us newbs and more experienced growers alike.
Thanks for the link up MrK'..
Appreciated.
- Thread starter
- #88
PIC UPDATE
Once again, there's not too much new to report, yet, but all the girls are looking good.
For reference, the back-left is the Platinum Cake, front-left is Blackwater, center is Platinum Kush Breath, and the two Dolatos are front and back-right:
Here's the PCake:
Here's the Blackwater that got a heavy thinning out today since it was so thick and bushy. The second pic shows the structure after getting alll those toppings:
Here's the Platinum Kush Breath:
And, the two Dolatos:
You might notice that they're all still in the #1's and definitely need up-potting, but I've got a little surprise to "throw in the mix" that should make things even more interesting, so waiting just a little longer.
Happy Harvests!
K
Once again, there's not too much new to report, yet, but all the girls are looking good.
For reference, the back-left is the Platinum Cake, front-left is Blackwater, center is Platinum Kush Breath, and the two Dolatos are front and back-right:
Here's the PCake:
Here's the Blackwater that got a heavy thinning out today since it was so thick and bushy. The second pic shows the structure after getting alll those toppings:
Here's the Platinum Kush Breath:
And, the two Dolatos:
You might notice that they're all still in the #1's and definitely need up-potting, but I've got a little surprise to "throw in the mix" that should make things even more interesting, so waiting just a little longer.
Happy Harvests!
K
Dang surprises! They are all looking really good right now. Can’t wait to see them explode in the bigger pots!
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
WankirA
Well-Known Member
Hmmmm.
Spill please...
Spill please...
Come on no surprises! Where’s the spoiler!
Looking great Krip! I’m loving my SP150s so I’m sure you will be happy with those SP-250!
Onwards and upwards my friend
Looking great Krip! I’m loving my SP150s so I’m sure you will be happy with those SP-250!
Onwards and upwards my friend
SQl2kGuy
Well-Known Member
WELCOME TO THE KRIP KEEPERS FROST FEST SPONSORED BY MARS HYDRO!
Welcome everyone to what should be a pretty exciting journal!
Of the plants I've been able to flower since getting my grow back up a little over a year ago, I've kept the four best strains (the "Krip Keepers"These are IHG's Dolato, Platinum Kush Breath, and Platinum Cake along with Cali Connection's Blackwater.
Well, for this grow, we're gonna flower out all the mothers and we have some new gear to do it with!
Back in 2016, I tried one of the Mars Reflector 144's for a 2' x 4' tent I was using and was so pleased with the light that, when I upgraded to a 4' x 4', I just added another Reflector 144. It worked out perfectly and gave some fantastic results. I've always said that I'm sure there are better LED's available, but the price/performance on the Mars lights is hard to beat.
So, when @SmokeSara asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing their new SP-250, I jumped at the opportunity (although, perhaps too early sorry @420!).
In order to demo the LED's in their best possible "light" (yeah, pun was intended there!), Sara also wanted to send a new 4' x 4' Mars Grow Tent since she believes the plants will receive greater PPFD in the Mars tent and Mars advertises 50+% more PAR (though, they really mean "PPFD"
).
I actually like my existing 4' x 4', which is practically new having only been through a few grows, and it was going to be some work to disassemble and set everything back up; but if Sara says I get more PPFD, I'll give it a shot!
(NOTE: Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) is a measurement of how much light that's actually usable for photosynthesis is reaching the plants.)
So, this past weekend, this arrived:
I assembled the tent alone and in just 10 minutes (no directions, but I have done this before!
After about another 15-20 minutes of me wrestling with the outer "skin" (anyone who's assembled any large grow tent knows exactly what I'm referring to!
Easy-peasy on the assembly and, wow, it sure is bright in there!
The tent is 48" x 48" x 80" with zippered front and (smaller) side doors on both the right and left sides of the tent:
Each side and the back have passive intake vents covered with velcro on the outside to allow adjustment of the airflow:
There are two 3" electrical ports on the back-left side (one higher, one lower):
And, there's a total of six 8" duct ports including two located in the top of the tent and two (one higher, one lower) on each side:
There's also a velcro-covered view port in the front so you can peek in the tent without having to unzip it:
The viewing window does have some mesh screening embedded in the plastic, but it still allows for a good view and decent pic. These two were taken through the view port:
It also comes with a mesh bag that clips on the inside of the tent. I keep the thermometer there so can check temps by looking through the front view port:
And, perhaps the only thing I really don't like about the tent, so far (it's still early so I may decide I like this later, and/or may find more things I don't like!), is that, instead of a velcro strap that allows you to velcro the door open to the outside of the tent, this just has a non-velcro strap that you tie to another strap on the outside:
Not sure why they didn't use velcro since it would save the work of tying & untying knots every time one needs the door held open.
I'll discuss the lights and plants in more detail in upcoming posts, since this one is getting kinda long, but here are a few shots of one of the lights:
And, here are the five plants we'll be flowering out (there are two Dolatos on the right but only one pictured and the last pic is the Blackwater):
They've been kept as Bonsais and, right now, they're transitioning to @Doc Bud's High Brix Soil. With these nice, mature moms, veg time should be fairly short and we'll be able to flip and start having some real fun soon!
Happy Harvests!
K
Hi ... I am going to read through your journal now.
So far I like the level of detail!
I currently have two Bakerstreet clones that I am keeping as mothers and will research how to keep them as Bonsais.
Ultimately, I want to use the two mothers to take clones and to do a SOG.
SQl2kGuy
Well-Known Member
MARS SP-250 GROW LIGHTS
We're running two Mars SP-250 LED's in the 4' x 4' tent. At about 245w/each, two should be sufficient, although, I do think three would be "ideal" for the space and would also give some extra redundancy in case one failed.
Aside from running some CFL's for vegging when I first started growing, I haven't run anything that wasn't "blurple" and didn't have multiple fans. It is a real pleasure to be able to see the plants in what's very close to natural light and even better not having all the fans running when the flower tent is just a few feet from my bed!
It uses a large aluminum heat sync to regulate temperature and it doesn't seem to run any hotter than any of the other lights I've run that use multiple fans for cooling.
The coverage also appears to be excellent with no visible shaded areas in the corners or ends!
The SP-250 uses Epistar SMD chips which can take higher currents, put out more lumens, and have better thermal dissipation than their predecessors.
FWIW, when I was first researching the light, I did notice great reviews (like 100% at 5-stars!) on several third-party LED distributor sites.
Here's are some manufacturer's pics of the SP-250:
Here's the PPFD and coverage at various distances above the canopy:
And, here's the spectrum chart:
There are no separate modes for veg and bloom, so you run the full spectrum through the entire grow.
At only $249 from their website, it appears to be a lot of light for the money and I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform.
Happy Harvests!
K
In my opinion ... this light might set the standard for future LED grow lights.
Are you able to test its IR or UV capabilities it professes to have?
SQl2kGuy
Well-Known Member
THE STRAINS
So, let's get into some detail on these strains...
CALI CONNECTION BLACKWATER
Blackwater is a cross between Mendo Purps x Tahoe OG S1 (OR Mendo Purps x SFV OG for regular seeds) that took 3rd place for "Best Indica" at the 2014 High Times Medical Cup in Los Angeles. It averages 20% THC and is known for some dark purple buds. It has a flowering time of 8-9 weeks.
The goal, when breeding Blackwater, was to create one of the darkest OG Kush strains available. The buds from my grow didn't turn dark (I can probably get them to turn by lowering temps!), but they were huge, dense, and covered with trichomes and cured to a nice grape smell. The colas produced the biggest buds I've ever grown with some individual buds weighing over a half and ounce. This, to date, has been the preferred strain to help my Dad with pain.
Here are some of those huge colas & buds from my last Blackwater grow:
INHOUSE GENETICS DOLATO
Dolato is a 70% indica/30% sativa cross between Gelato #41 and the NorCal cut of Dosido that boasts an average 26% THC ratio (22%-29%). Flowering time is also 8-9 weeks. I've heard the flavors described as earthy, musky & piney, but my cured Dolato buds smell just like chocolate, to me! And, while I haven't had mine tested, judging by the trichomes from the last grow, I'm thinking it should be towards the HIGH end of the THC range!
Here's some Dolato colas at only 22 days of 12/12:
By Day #37 of 12/12, they looked like this:
And, on Day #60:
Dried & Cured Dolato Buds:
INHOUSE GENETICS PLATINUM KUSH BREATH
Platinum Kush Breath is a cross between OGKB V2.1 x Platinum with a 60-75 day flower time. These are also incredibly frosty buds and my cured buds smell like sour oranges. The branches on this one were pretty spindly and most had to be supported with yo-yo's to keep them from collapsing under the weight of the buds.
Here are some pics from the last Platinum Kush Breath grow on Day #26 of 12/12:
By Day #35 of 12/12, we had this:
Here's Day #59 of 12/12:
And, by Day #70, right before harvest, they turned a great color!:
This was the PKB sample/tester bud I took:
INHOUSE GENETICS PLATINUM CAKE
Platinum Cake is a cross between Wedding Cake x Platinum and also has a 60-75 day average flower time. As frosty and tasty as the other three strains are, I'd have to place this one as the top strain I've ever grown. The one PCake plant I harvested was put into the flower cabinet at the last minute to replace another plant that turned out to be male (from feminized seed!) so it didn't have much of a veg period. There was a lot of stretch and some wide internode distances, so she didn't yield as much as I would have liked and will need some good training to really produce. But, what she produces is just incredibly beautiful, dense buds completely covered in trichomes with just about every leaf on the plant also covered in trichomes. The buds are still curing on this one, so I don't have a great description of the smell or flavor yet, but it's a skunky/floral smell right now. The trichome coverage on these buds was ridiculous and I'm going to be growing a lot more of this strain and will be using her for some breeding.
Here are some pics from my last Platinum Cake Grow:
Day #30 of 12/12:
Day #53:
And dried buds (still curing):
It's worth noting that all the buds above, with the exception of the Platinum Cake, were grown under Mars Reflector 144's and all were grown using @Doc Bud's High Brix kit.
Let's see how the SP-250's do!
Happy Harvests!
K
Wow! I hope I get those results with the TSL 2000!
SQl2kGuy
Well-Known Member
Perfect ... I was looking for that link!
The suspense is hoof, I mean nail biting!
SQl2kGuy
Well-Known Member
Well @Mr. Krip ... that was a nice read.
How was the fishing trip? Fly fishing? On a boat?
I have such awesome memories fishing with my mom, my dad and my sister. We would go to the pond and catch leopard frogs to use as bait. I still remember my first time catching a pike and then my mom cooking it on the BBQ with butter and lemon!!! We all still love camping and fishing!
Have you named your plants yet?
I'm actually gonna name your tent "The Pumpkin Patch" because one of the kids just showed us this ...
Alright ... have a nice night ...
How was the fishing trip? Fly fishing? On a boat?
I have such awesome memories fishing with my mom, my dad and my sister. We would go to the pond and catch leopard frogs to use as bait. I still remember my first time catching a pike and then my mom cooking it on the BBQ with butter and lemon!!! We all still love camping and fishing!
Have you named your plants yet?
I'm actually gonna name your tent "The Pumpkin Patch" because one of the kids just showed us this ...
Mars Hydro
420 Sponsor
High Krip! Happy weekend, and seems the girls looks a little different after several days!
Mars Hydro
420 Sponsor
There is IR in our light, but uv no, LED can only do uva , which is not very good for plants' growth, uvb is good for plants growth, but plants don't need too much of it. and since white is a mix of all spectrum, so we didn't add the uvb specially. but from the spectrum test report, you can also see a little bit of uv light there.