Bapple
New Member
Excellent news on the perlite - it's invaluable even in non organic soil mixes.
Happy trimming
Happy trimming
lexort420
Well-Known Member
Well i feel especially qualified to speak about your container since its not super different from my water jugs lol. Your gonna want to cut off the handle area and make it even the whole way round otherwise it will be in the way when the plants grow up, other then that they look good. Glad your giving hempy a go!I planted the seeds in some sort of hempy buckets I made. Used the things I could find around, which were one gallon bleach bottles -hit with a bit of black spray paint.
If there happens to be anyone reading this journal who grows hempy feel free to chime in and tell me if I'm doing something wrong.
I made the holes only 1.5" up because of the rather short and wide shape of the pots.
I tried, but I couldn't bring myself to put the precious sprouts straight into the perlite- so I put them in rockwool cubes first.
Heya agin weaseley,, glad you got some of your soil components and looking forward to seeing what you do with it,,
I understand a bit about your difficulties obtaining these products,, i know I don't want every tom, dickhead and hairy police dog knowing my business, I even looked into getting the components delivered to my home from out of town,, paranoid me
But,, i founf a hydro supply shop close by today, with everything I need, and oh so much more,, so
Today I bot some rockwool cubes,, for cloning,, my latest attempt at a new cloning method,, i need some work on my cloning,, so hit and miss all the time
I might have seen my last of my blessed lemon haze plants because of cloning misses,, till i buy some seeds maybe,, i have one lemon haze in flower for twelve days and I did take two cuttings off today to try out the rockwool cubes. I also have a couple of lemon haze cuttings in a bubble cloner but that bubbler takes forever and success is limited as well,, and one other in soil for eleven days Os so, only one of three still alive,, cloning is hit and miss, I miss a lot,, bot some root hormone too, broke down,, i must be desperate I guess
Re the mama thai/Thai Stick,, i am going to give er another week maybe,, sure close now tho,, i let it dry too much one time recently,, i wonder if that pushed it along a bit?
And I have another mama thai/pineapplechunk near ready too,, thanks again friend,, good skill with yer soil,, me,, equal parts potting soil, peat moss, vermiculite and perlite,, beautiful stuff indeed. 420brother only added worm castings to that recipe and he never had to fert it ever, I thiink I got that right,, i am going to get some worm castings,, my compost worms suck at casting
Cheers weaseley,, hey, one more q,, should I look deeper into going hydro??
I understand a bit about your difficulties obtaining these products,, i know I don't want every tom, dickhead and hairy police dog knowing my business, I even looked into getting the components delivered to my home from out of town,, paranoid me
But,, i founf a hydro supply shop close by today, with everything I need, and oh so much more,, so
Today I bot some rockwool cubes,, for cloning,, my latest attempt at a new cloning method,, i need some work on my cloning,, so hit and miss all the time
I might have seen my last of my blessed lemon haze plants because of cloning misses,, till i buy some seeds maybe,, i have one lemon haze in flower for twelve days and I did take two cuttings off today to try out the rockwool cubes. I also have a couple of lemon haze cuttings in a bubble cloner but that bubbler takes forever and success is limited as well,, and one other in soil for eleven days Os so, only one of three still alive,, cloning is hit and miss, I miss a lot,, bot some root hormone too, broke down,, i must be desperate I guess
Re the mama thai/Thai Stick,, i am going to give er another week maybe,, sure close now tho,, i let it dry too much one time recently,, i wonder if that pushed it along a bit?
And I have another mama thai/pineapplechunk near ready too,, thanks again friend,, good skill with yer soil,, me,, equal parts potting soil, peat moss, vermiculite and perlite,, beautiful stuff indeed. 420brother only added worm castings to that recipe and he never had to fert it ever, I thiink I got that right,, i am going to get some worm castings,, my compost worms suck at casting
Cheers weaseley,, hey, one more q,, should I look deeper into going hydro??
- Thread starter
- #604
My only 'real' hydro experience was the solo cup grow Nivek. I liked a lot of things about it- and was glad to try something new with positive results. I'd definitely recommend it just in terms of expanding your horizons. Also it has a sort of creative power to it- as you get to completely play God and spoon feed the victims everything they eat. In soilless I'm sort of like God's manager. I try to make sense of things- set schedules and mix up concoctions- then sit back and take the blame as I watch the trainwreck. With organics- I imagine I would only play humble servant, as I did some simple labor and sat back to watch the master at work.
Like a lot of things, dtw hydro seemed intimidating and confusing before I tried it, but then seemed easy after a few minutes of work.
I don't know if it's true that soil grown bud has more flavour than hydro-grown, but if it does that's the direction I want to go too.
I'll re-read your post tomorrow and see if you had other questions in there. Starting to get a little
and I should probably grab some sleep
When people talk about organic cannabis gardening I feel a sort of guilty twinge. This tells me that my heart lies with organic soil, I think. But you won't regret trying hydro- and the way I did it-dtw with an electric pump on a timer- really is easy.
Like a lot of things, dtw hydro seemed intimidating and confusing before I tried it, but then seemed easy after a few minutes of work.
I don't know if it's true that soil grown bud has more flavour than hydro-grown, but if it does that's the direction I want to go too.
I'll re-read your post tomorrow and see if you had other questions in there. Starting to get a little
and I should probably grab some sleep When people talk about organic cannabis gardening I feel a sort of guilty twinge. This tells me that my heart lies with organic soil, I think. But you won't regret trying hydro- and the way I did it-dtw with an electric pump on a timer- really is easy.
- Thread starter
- #605
Thai Stick
At least a dollars worth of pipe cleaners there....
At least a dollars worth of pipe cleaners there....
Tied down Thai Stick. 
Music to a hempy prophet's ears. Thanks!
AKgramma
Well-Known Member
WC, I cannot deny how beautiful your ladies look and the size of your harvests.
However, I wonder if by creating a canopy, we're not missing opportunities for good bud all the way down the plant. I am no expert by any stretch of the the imagination, but by putting lots of auxiliary lighting along the sides and bottom of the plants, wouldn't we increase our yield, even tho the top colas might be smaller?
This question is meant to stimulate a conversation on the pros and cons of trimming off all the lower branches when using the tie-down method in a small grow, as compared to opening her up early on, using auxiliary lighting and getting the whole plant to bloom? I really am not trying to be critical at all, esp on your journal. Just testing out an idea.
You get a lot more traffic than I do on my journal, and that's why I ask here.
However, I wonder if by creating a canopy, we're not missing opportunities for good bud all the way down the plant. I am no expert by any stretch of the the imagination, but by putting lots of auxiliary lighting along the sides and bottom of the plants, wouldn't we increase our yield, even tho the top colas might be smaller?
This question is meant to stimulate a conversation on the pros and cons of trimming off all the lower branches when using the tie-down method in a small grow, as compared to opening her up early on, using auxiliary lighting and getting the whole plant to bloom? I really am not trying to be critical at all, esp on your journal. Just testing out an idea.
You get a lot more traffic than I do on my journal, and that's why I ask here.
- Thread starter
- #609
I'm not sure AK. Basically I haven't tried auxiliary lighting. I did plenty of growing without the scrog screens- and am generally happier with the screens. They're more tidy and controlled and buds have something to lay down on if they want.
I don't do much trimming under the screen. Well- I mean I do remove all the foliage down there a few weeks into flowering. But there usually isn't much there to remove just because of the way I grow the plants before I scrog them. The branches are usually fairly long by the time I put them in the screen, and the shaded out lower sections don't have much leaf on them.
If I do a clean job and remove whatever foliage is under there- small buds do grow back. At harvest I find lots of nice tiny buds under there. They don't amount to much, but they generally don't need trimming and I can just pluck them off, which is a nice surprise to find after trimming my way through the upper part.
I'm pretty much maxed out on the amount of power I want to run in that space, and the number of wires I want to have running everywhere, plus I'm happy enough with the flat canopy/single light source method.
However, right now I'm trying to start some seeds to put the hexapus back in action with a few dtw plants. Those ones I would just grow natural- unscrogged and untopped. If I do that I'll have to space them farther apart if I hope to get good light penetration. Side lighting would be good for those- but I don't think I'm going to go there.
It's probably a great idea if you're growing in a small cabinet.
I don't do much trimming under the screen. Well- I mean I do remove all the foliage down there a few weeks into flowering. But there usually isn't much there to remove just because of the way I grow the plants before I scrog them. The branches are usually fairly long by the time I put them in the screen, and the shaded out lower sections don't have much leaf on them.
If I do a clean job and remove whatever foliage is under there- small buds do grow back. At harvest I find lots of nice tiny buds under there. They don't amount to much, but they generally don't need trimming and I can just pluck them off, which is a nice surprise to find after trimming my way through the upper part.
I'm pretty much maxed out on the amount of power I want to run in that space, and the number of wires I want to have running everywhere, plus I'm happy enough with the flat canopy/single light source method.
However, right now I'm trying to start some seeds to put the hexapus back in action with a few dtw plants. Those ones I would just grow natural- unscrogged and untopped. If I do that I'll have to space them farther apart if I hope to get good light penetration. Side lighting would be good for those- but I don't think I'm going to go there.
It's probably a great idea if you're growing in a small cabinet.
ak, iffin i might,, chime in that is,, because,,,
i do just what you suggest,, i have supplemental lighting under my canopy,,
as can be seen by the quik crap pic,, however,, there she be,, the lower level in my two tier flower room,,
very mickely mousely donely, i know, i see it too,, but the theory is sound,,i have been doing this for a few months now,,
as with everything,, there are pro's and con's, in my opinion,, such as,,
pros:
the popcorn buds below seem to grow, but they would without the lights as well, i guess,, i do not leave everything below, not at all,, many reasons not to listed in the con list,, i clean er all off up to a certain level,, for light penetration, bug control, and general observation enhancement, watching for hermies, bugs, dinosaurs,
etc,,
cons: lots of management and maintenance,, i have a confined space, as most flower rooms tend to become, i would imagine,, plants are growing constantly, i spray for bugs often,, lights are constantly in my way working down there,,
i keep trying to think of a better way to do this, and i come up with nothing,, so,, management,, a lotto management
my upper level is led, and i have no supplemental lighting there, so those plants is clean near up to the canopy
i am still doing it, so i guess i have not found the maintenance overbearing as of yet,, btw,, i think i have formed the opinion that my cfl grow is better than my led grow,, hmmmm
weaseley,, the mama thai/thai stick,, looks a mess, seriously,, like i mentioned before,, i let it go one day too long without water recently,, so many leaves died,, but not the bud,, going strong,, 71 days,, looking near done to me,, i see ambers,, but as you also mentioned,, that might not be indicative of the readiness, so another week maybe,,
really is a seriously funky plant,, i want to see yours done,, is that what you have going??, i might be mixed up,,
a topped/backbudded bud, and some untouched behind
p.s.,, the pic of the lower flower level,, there are four plants in there, the two up front are not indicative, (that word agin, ha),, of my trimming the plants because those two have just been put to flower, and i don't/have not been recently, trim the plants much till a week or two into flower, just read that helps a bit with growth
i do just what you suggest,, i have supplemental lighting under my canopy,,
as can be seen by the quik crap pic,, however,, there she be,, the lower level in my two tier flower room,,
very mickely mousely donely, i know, i see it too,, but the theory is sound,,i have been doing this for a few months now,,
as with everything,, there are pro's and con's, in my opinion,, such as,,
pros:
the popcorn buds below seem to grow, but they would without the lights as well, i guess,, i do not leave everything below, not at all,, many reasons not to listed in the con list,, i clean er all off up to a certain level,, for light penetration, bug control, and general observation enhancement, watching for hermies, bugs, dinosaurs,
etc,,
cons: lots of management and maintenance,, i have a confined space, as most flower rooms tend to become, i would imagine,, plants are growing constantly, i spray for bugs often,, lights are constantly in my way working down there,,
i keep trying to think of a better way to do this, and i come up with nothing,, so,, management,, a lotto management
my upper level is led, and i have no supplemental lighting there, so those plants is clean near up to the canopy
i am still doing it, so i guess i have not found the maintenance overbearing as of yet,, btw,, i think i have formed the opinion that my cfl grow is better than my led grow,, hmmmm
weaseley,, the mama thai/thai stick,, looks a mess, seriously,, like i mentioned before,, i let it go one day too long without water recently,, so many leaves died,, but not the bud,, going strong,, 71 days,, looking near done to me,, i see ambers,, but as you also mentioned,, that might not be indicative of the readiness, so another week maybe,,
really is a seriously funky plant,, i want to see yours done,, is that what you have going??, i might be mixed up,,
a topped/backbudded bud, and some untouched behind
p.s.,, the pic of the lower flower level,, there are four plants in there, the two up front are not indicative, (that word agin, ha),, of my trimming the plants because those two have just been put to flower, and i don't/have not been recently, trim the plants much till a week or two into flower, just read that helps a bit with growth
AKgramma
Well-Known Member
Nivek: I love your upper light fixtures! t all looks so neat and tidy!
My all-CFL veg unit is full of reflectors, and doubled up clip-ons. Now that I have 2 mars 300's in the flower unit, I only need the auxiliary lighting on the sides to eliminate shadows.
WC: You would be surprised at how much 23W CFL auxiliary lighting you can add to a circuit, esp if you get sockets with plug-ins. I daisy chain what I can and hide the wires above, with garden ties.
Of course, you have to go with what works best for you. I don't have the arm reach to tend the scrogs. And I like to rotate and move the pots around as the ladies grow.
My all-CFL veg unit is full of reflectors, and doubled up clip-ons. Now that I have 2 mars 300's in the flower unit, I only need the auxiliary lighting on the sides to eliminate shadows.
WC: You would be surprised at how much 23W CFL auxiliary lighting you can add to a circuit, esp if you get sockets with plug-ins. I daisy chain what I can and hide the wires above, with garden ties.
Of course, you have to go with what works best for you. I don't have the arm reach to tend the scrogs. And I like to rotate and move the pots around as the ladies grow.
- Thread starter
- #612
You make a good point Nivek- another reason I wouldn't want to have any more stuff going on below the canopy, is the risk of mould. The way I have things now there is nice airflow below and above the canopy- and I sure need that.
I wish I had advice on the MT/TS plant. If you look back a couple posts I did post a couple pictures of mine-which is gone very yellow. The buds are still going strong, though I pretty much killed off those nice big leaves somehow.
I wish I had advice on the MT/TS plant. If you look back a couple posts I did post a couple pictures of mine-which is gone very yellow. The buds are still going strong, though I pretty much killed off those nice big leaves somehow.
- Thread starter
- #613
My scrogs are movable Ak, and I can always get at everything ok, but yeah it's still kind of claustrophobic at times.
At this point in my grow I've gotten a bit cautious about fixing things that aren't broken, because there is always plenty of broken stuff to work on. Partly it's because I'm not there every day- so doing things like hooking up a bunch of wires and lights and running off for a week seems like a bad idea.
At this point in my grow I've gotten a bit cautious about fixing things that aren't broken, because there is always plenty of broken stuff to work on. Partly it's because I'm not there every day- so doing things like hooking up a bunch of wires and lights and running off for a week seems like a bad idea.
AKgramma
Well-Known Member
All I can do is offer encouragement, WC. Most of my OGKs did that, but I still got good smoke. The buds were a bit airy because I wasn't using enough light, and I was just learning as I went along. (Still am) If my last 3 OGK clones continue to thrive under the new lighting and in hempys, I'll know if dropping leaves is a chronic thing, or if it was my inexperience in my first grow that gave me colas on a stick.
AKgramma
Well-Known Member
And it works for you, which is the most important factor.
thanks ak,, i see you have moved on from primary cfl lighting, however, just in case, someone might just read this and say,,
"hey, more info please, about that neat and tidy cfl light panel"
i had tremendous, professional help to build the panel to code, and then some,, from several fine 420 members, haha, always like typing that,, what an image
Grow room electrical and general safety
santb
Well-Known Member
If had the room, I mite try side lighting... But electricity is pricey here!!
Nivek; you may need more bug spray... Looks like Dutty has his hands full...
Nivek; you may need more bug spray... Looks like Dutty has his hands full...
yes, i really do actually,, my bottle is near empty,, alas, a constant battle, never yet to the point of disaster, but annoying as all get out,, actually, my upper flower level, right now, has a plant nearing harvest, about 70 days in flower, and it is prime, a bug or two, but near bug free,, this plant in the pic was next to a plant i just harvested that was 14 weeks in there,, at the back, on the bottom,, bug heaven,, could not get them deaded,, one of the drawbacks of growing those long termers, tho huge harvest volume and good bud too,,
there are products available, perhaps, to end my being held hostage, but i am much too lax on my cleanliness, and i would reinfest, i know it,, my cats love my studio/grow labooratoory too much, and i am in and out from my outside garden, constantly,, and i am too lazy to fix that,
so, me and the bugs have come to an arrangement, sorta,
dutty, a great fella, dutty too is too,, we haven't spent much time together lately, sad,, i miss them
there are products available, perhaps, to end my being held hostage, but i am much too lax on my cleanliness, and i would reinfest, i know it,, my cats love my studio/grow labooratoory too much, and i am in and out from my outside garden, constantly,, and i am too lazy to fix that,
so, me and the bugs have come to an arrangement, sorta,
dutty, a great fella, dutty too is too,, we haven't spent much time together lately, sad,, i miss them
santb
Well-Known Member
You could try a big stick on those dino-bugs...
Interesting conversation. You know my penchant for surrounding the plant with light, and I'm most fond of the 23 watt CFLs. I believe the size of my last Dark Devil Auto harvest was due to my side lighting with CFLs.
Nivek, thank you for those pictures. I'll be tapping you with my rep hammer for the AHA! moment you inspired. The clips from the reflectors. Of course! I've had the solution here all along and simply needed you to point that out.
Thank you.
I've considered this spraying problem with the lights often. I keep coming back to some sort of shield for them, but it's too complicated with the organic flow to what most of us do. Quite a challenge for us to solve together. I'd have to agree with you nivek, my CFLs alone gave me my most satisfying harvest, and not simply because it was my first. They're effective lighting, no doubt about it.
This new Timber Vero 240 they gave me is to die for. I'm in awe of the light it offers and the way plants respond. Even so, at a certain point out come the CFLs.
Nivek, thank you for those pictures. I'll be tapping you with my rep hammer for the AHA! moment you inspired. The clips from the reflectors. Of course! I've had the solution here all along and simply needed you to point that out.
Thank you. I've considered this spraying problem with the lights often. I keep coming back to some sort of shield for them, but it's too complicated with the organic flow to what most of us do. Quite a challenge for us to solve together. I'd have to agree with you nivek, my CFLs alone gave me my most satisfying harvest, and not simply because it was my first. They're effective lighting, no doubt about it.
This new Timber Vero 240 they gave me is to die for. I'm in awe of the light it offers and the way plants respond. Even so, at a certain point out come the CFLs.