Xlr8's Quest For The Best - 2012

[Xlr8]

Xlr8, I always love seeing your grows. Stunning plants, you really are someone who we newbies look up to!

I also wanted to thank you for the time you put in, the thought and care in your posts and the detail that will go to helping so many people.

You my dear are a very twinkly star.

Awwww! That's about as nice of thing as anyone's ever said to me. You are very sweet and kind, Fluffy. I appreciate you saying that because I really do try to be as helpful as I can. I remember how hard and overwhelming this was when I started out, and the many contradictory bits of info out there that just made it more so. It makes me feel good if I can be at all helpful, though I'm still constantly learning and making mistakes myself.

You my dear have no shortage of twinkles yourself!

 

[Mrgivemethat]

Hey xlr nice grow you got going over here, ive always wanted a flo n gro system i have ran 4x4 table f&d i lovre the ease of the tables but i like the hempies for the ability to run many strains and being able to adjust the feedings to the plant that is getting fed but im thinking of running some flood and drain tables going sog i like the sog for the main reason of tons of top colas all rock hard bud no shake, and with your 400s whats your average yeild off them? and how may top offs per week or between res changes and whats ur top off procedure? sorry so many ?s but really love ur setup + reps

 

[Xlr8]

Hey xlr nice grow you got going over here, ive always wanted a flo n gro system i have ran 4x4 table f&d i lovre the ease of the tables but i like the hempies for the ability to run many strains and being able to adjust the feedings to the plant that is getting fed but im thinking of running some flood and drain tables going sog i like the sog for the main reason of tons of top colas all rock hard bud no shake, and with your 400s whats your average yeild off them? and how may top offs per week or between res changes and whats ur top off procedure? sorry so many ?s but really love ur setup + reps

Mrgivemethat -

SOG's are great for yield, and like you said, produces less fluff and more colas. Great way to go for yield purposes. I like Hempies, but too much manual work for my liking personally.

I prefer to grow larger plants, and yield isn't my primary concern as I'm only growing for myself. Not that I don't like to get the best yield I can with what I'm doing! I've been growing mostly Sativa strains with this set-up so far, which don't yield as well traditionally. The last round I think I averaged about 3z per plant with 4 plants in there. I'm hoping to do a bit better this time, but who knows... I'm sure I could do much better with indica dominant plants and a little more effort toward yield. The largest plant I've grown in there was in the 5-6z range if I remember right, and was an indica (Lavender, by Soma).

As far as top-offs, I probably top off the reservoir every 2-3 days during their thirstiest phases. When I top off, I simply add more water to the mix. I don't believe in topping off with more nutrients, because you have no way of knowing what's been taken from the mix (the plants can cherry-pick certain nutrients and leave others behind as needed). Topping off with more nutrients can potentially throw the mix out of whack and create issues. Conversely, we're typically feeding our plants more than they need anyway, so letting it get a little watered down throughout the week should be just fine, and imo the healthier approach. I change my nutrients weekly. Many growers, good ones included, top-off with nutes and have no problems, but that's my approach and it's worked pretty well so far.

Thanks again for the reps!

 

[Mr Smith]

subbed

 

[Mrgivemethat]

I completly understand the nute lrvel/uptake issues i cant exactly remember whos thread and cant quote but i remember corey (BPN) say that the way you dit is how it should be done come to think of it when i did run tables and did top off with nutes to get back to set Ppm or EC i almost always had burn ises with tips and added leaf loss and i like a pretty lush green plant im thinking if adding a small 1 or 2 plant dwc or waterfarm or undercurrent system in my 5x5 with a few 50 hempy bottles i really dont like vegging but just wanna try something new so i guess the next logical setup is rdwc or waterfarm any experience with these kinda setups X? and the reps was a must great thread im gonna go read sime of ur other grow now

 

[HomeMedGrower]

Girls look good X, I'm sure they'll like the extra room you gave em.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Impressive as hell!

But... What else is new when it comes to your grows huh? LOL!!

This one looks like it will be especially fun to follow!

As soon as I get done getting all of my stuff into curing jars, I will be back to keep track of your progress!

See ya in a week or two my friend!

 

[Xlr8]

subbed

So good to have ya buddy!

 

[BigIrishDoode]

 

[Xlr8]

I completly understand the nute lrvel/uptake issues i cant exactly remember whos thread and cant quote but i remember corey (BPN) say that the way you dit is how it should be done come to think of it when i did run tables and did top off with nutes to get back to set Ppm or EC i almost always had burn ises with tips and added leaf loss and i like a pretty lush green plant im thinking if adding a small 1 or 2 plant dwc or waterfarm or undercurrent system in my 5x5 with a few 50 hempy bottles i really dont like vegging but just wanna try something new so i guess the next logical setup is rdwc or waterfarm any experience with these kinda setups X? and the reps was a must great thread im gonna go read sime of ur other grow now

Hey Mrgivemethat -

My first several grows were DWC, but I've not yet done RDWC. (The guy who posted above you, Mr Smith, has had some of the nicest RDWC grows I've ever seen - trees really!) I've got a bunch of gear to do a RDWC grow eventually, but I've been enjoying the simplicity of the Flo N Gro for now. My DIY veg unit is a sort of RDWC mixed with floods like a Flo N Gro. The plant sites are DWC, but periodic floods also recirculate the nutrients back to a main reservoir. Pretty unique, but the plants love it (almost too much for how I'm using it).

I have done somewhat of a waterfarm style grow, a couple of times. I grew a couple of plants in a DIY bucket set-up that is a combo of waterfarm style (I used their plumbing kit) and DWC. Basically, the nutrients constantly recirculate through the drip ring to the bottom part of the bucket, which has airstones in it. It really rocks, but it doesn't connect to a larger reservoir as it's currently configured so it is a huge pain to manage. As far as effectiveness, one of the plants I grew in it was a 4.7z autoflower. It works great. When you combine drip with DWC, watch out - you can blow the roof off!

Both RDWC, and waterfarm/dwc are tough to beat for yielding if done right. You should check out my Big Bang Auto thread in my signature for more on a DIY waterfarm/dwc grow since you said you were interested in checking out some of my other grows...

for the rep!

 

[Xlr8]

Girls look good X, I'm sure they'll like the extra room you gave em.

Thanks man! They are already liking the room. As much as I hated parting with the PE, i have no doubt I made the right call given the situation. I dont know what I was thinking (smoking?) to begin with. Threw it in with a bunch of F1 sativa doms, of course it would get eaten alive space-wise. Just was exceptionally poor planning on my part, but I really have been anxious to try PE. Luckily, i have the mom and an "aunt?" in veg for the next round... They sure smell good!

 

[Xlr8]

Impressive as hell!

But... What else is new when it comes to your grows huh? LOL!!

This one looks like it will be especially fun to follow!

As soon as I get done getting all of my stuff into curing jars, I will be back to keep track of your progress!

See ya in a week or two my friend!

Hey thanks, Goose! That means a lot to me my friend.

Yeah, you have your hands full right now for sure! Week or two? Looks like it would take me a month! Some of those pics you just posted in your journal are drop dead gorgeous buddy.

You grow such pretty strains, and really show their potential to the max. I would kill to have an outdoor garden - every time I see yours, OMM's or Norcaliwoods outdoor grows... I just long to do it. Not in the cards for me yet - Too many young punks in the neighborhood. Someday! 'Til then I'll live through you guys vicariously.

 

[Xlr8]

BID, it's great having you around. I love your style, my friend. Hope you and Spiffy are well!!

 

[BigIrishDoode]

hell yeah i love watching you do your thing bring peace to my mind and love to the heart!

 

[OldMedMan]

Young man, please don't ever tell me about how many pages you have to go through to catch up in my journal.
I think you just set the record!

 

[Xlr8]

Young man, please don't ever tell me about how many pages you have to go through to catch up in my journal.
I think you just set the record!

Aloha OMM!

I think we are both really blessed to have so many great people and friends frequent our journals, no? It's a bit tough to keep up with at times, but I love the wonderful people here - I'm honored and flattered. I'm guessing mine will slow down a bit now that people are subbed to the new journal, but who knows. I love talking about growing our plant, so I enjoy it immensely. I wish the whole world embraced the spirit of community we have here on 420mag. Think of how much better everything would be.
I think I have a long ways to go before I break any of your records buddy!

 

[Xlr8]

hell yeah i love watching you do your thing bring peace to my mind and love to the heart!

You rock, BID. What a cool thing to say!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Hey thanks, Goose! That means a lot to me my friend.

Yeah, you have your hands full right now for sure! Week or two? Looks like it would take me a month! Some of those pics you just posted in your journal are drop dead gorgeous buddy.

You grow such pretty strains, and really show their potential to the max. I would kill to have an outdoor garden - every time I see yours, OMM's or Norcaliwoods outdoor grows... I just long to do it. Not in the cards for me yet - Too many young punks in the neighborhood. Someday! 'Til then I'll live through you guys vicariously.

Well...Kudos and reps back to you my friend! I really admire all that you do with your indoor grows and what you contribute to the 420 community. As such, your kind/positive words about my efforts really mean a lot to me! Its nice to have a "GO TO" guy that I can touch base with when it comes to some of the more complex aspects of growing this stuff. Areas that you have had far more experience with than I have since as you pointed out, mine is a primarily OUTDOOR endeavor! One that requires more of a custodian than a full hands on manager. I try to stay out of their way and just let them do their thing with as little intervention as possible!

Perhaps I am being a bit too optimistic about how long it is going to take me to bring all this remaining stuff in, but one can hope right? LOL! I can always use the legitimate excuse that I have run out of drying closet space and need to wait until some opens up! This is my current situation as we speak. All the closets are filled with GDP right now, and I must wait until some of it frees up towards this weekend.

I truly hope that you do get the opportunity to run your own outdoor grow some day! With your loads of experience, I have no doubt that your results would be stunning, provided that you set yourself up in a location that favored our favorite plant!

I feel blessed that I chose to live in just such a place! One of the smartest things I ever did was deciding to focus my grows on strains that were developed here in California and in specific (and famous) locations that when duplicated produce amazing results. We are less than 100 miles from the green triangle and our nearly 4000 foot elevation more than makes up for the fact that we are south of these famous pot producing areas on the Nor Cal coast and slightly inland from the sea.

Anyway... Thanks as always for the kind words, and I am really looking forward to seeing what you end up with this time! I always learn something when I follow your journals, and you have a very professional way of presenting it for public consumption. I always strive to do the same, so how could I not be impressed with your way of doing things?

Keep up the great work and I will talk to ya soon!

Cheers.

 

[Xlr8]

Sending out a bat signal... would love some input!

This is my first grow where I've done super-cropping in flower. I have now super-cropped several tops as a further aid in canopy management at about 22 days into flower. I just did it, no looking back.

In the past I've tried to stick more to LST and defoliation this far into flower and later, and kept super-cropping to veg phase only - so I'm unsure what to expect. I'm looking for real-world experience on this one. I feel like there is a ton of misinformation based on theory out there, making true understanding of the topic somewhat muddled... (IE "Don't do it, you'll hermie your plant!")

As far as how my plants have reacted so far, the tops are already reaching back up to the light, but haven't been knuckling up yet (only been a couple of days).

Here are my primary questions:

• Will this impact bloom production in a positive manner like I would expect if done in veg?
• Will it slow down or speed up flower production?
• Any thoughts on whether this triggers accelerated trichome production (stress can do that)?
• Is there a difference between how a sativa reacts vs. an indica to supercropping in bloom?
• Does this delay the plants flowering cycle at all?
• If this is an effective strategy in bloom, is there a period where it becomes "too late" to do? If so, when is that?

Here's what I expect - maybe someone can confirm/deny any of this:

• Increased growth in second tier colas, taking up the cause after trauma to tallest colas and helping to even the canopy (my primary goal)
• Better bud development further down the stem on supercropped branches now that they run parallel to the lights
• Slowing of bud development for a few days where supercropped, then accelerated development that catches it up later due to the rebuilt, improved healing of the bend

Would love some feedback. I would prefer that it's not based on conjecture or heresay/re-hashing someone elses theory.

Thanks in advance for the input, and +rep to anyone who can really add to better understanding here regarding bloom phase super-cropping.

 

[Xlr8]

Woohoo! I have 420 likes!

Well...Kudos and reps back to you my friend! I really admire all that you do with your indoor grows and what you contribute to the 420 community. As such, your kind/positive words about my efforts really mean a lot to me! Its nice to have a "GO TO" guy that I can touch base with when it comes to some of the more complex aspects of growing this stuff. Areas that you have had far more experience with than I have since as you pointed out, mine is a primarily OUTDOOR endeavor! One that requires more of a custodian than a full hands on manager. I try to stay out of their way and just let them do their thing with as little intervention as possible!

Perhaps I am being a bit too optimistic about how long it is going to take me to bring all this remaining stuff in, but one can hope right? LOL! I can always use the legitimate excuse that I have run out of drying closet space and need to wait until some opens up! This is my current situation as we speak. All the closets are filled with GDP right now, and I must wait until some of it frees up towards this weekend.

I truly hope that you do get the opportunity to run your own outdoor grow some day! With your loads of experience, I have no doubt that your results would be stunning, provided that you set yourself up in a location that favored our favorite plant!

I feel blessed that I chose to live in just such a place! One of the smartest things I ever did was deciding to focus my grows on strains that were developed here in California and in specific (and famous) locations that when duplicated produce amazing results. We are less than 100 miles from the green triangle and our nearly 4000 foot elevation more than makes up for the fact that we are south of these famous pot producing areas on the Nor Cal coast and slightly inland from the sea.

Anyway... Thanks as always for the kind words, and I am really looking forward to seeing what you end up with this time! I always learn something when I follow your journals, and you have a very professional way of presenting it for public consumption. I always strive to do the same, so how could I not be impressed with your way of doing things?

Keep up the great work and I will talk to ya soon!

Cheers.

Goose, that's a helluva nice post and one that I really appreciate more than I can appropriately express. I feel like I'm still learning so much about this plant and how to grow it, but I enjoy sharing and discussing the things I have been able to learn and pick up along the way. Sure good to have you around here Goose - thanks again buddy!
Sounds like you live in a really beautiful place, btw!

Oh, and what a problem to have, not enough closet space for all your GDP!!