Chilled Aerogardens: Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express, 500 True Watts Of LED

[beornn]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

I bet they're stretching like crazy now, mine always do when I make the flip from veg to bloom. Actually I leave both spectrums on, nothing scientific to back it up I always just figure they'll get more with all the available light.


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[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

I bet they're stretching like crazy now, mine always do when I make the flip from veg to bloom. Actually I leave both spectrums on, nothing scientific to back it up I always just figure they'll get more with all the available light.


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Stretch is happening!

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Sorry for the radio silence, but we're just hitting the good part now so I'll update a few times per week now. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow, but flowers are out on both plants. I've been defoliating the big fans along the main stem and all fans on lower areas that aren't getting light. The girls look great, are drawing in good nutes and parameters inside the tent are spot on. The smell is great - each one is distinct and I really like the direction this is going!

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Today, I drained reservoirs and started up my flower nutrient schedule. Each reservoir (about 1.2 gallons) received a 1/2 dose of the following; Bloom A+B, bud factor-x, bud ignitor, bud candy, rhino skin, voodoo juice, piranha. Good growth and plants are healthy, not much else I can do other than wait patiently and respond to plant feedback - happy Tuesday, folks!

 

[growguyphd]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Thanks! It's running on autopilot until the flowers start to roll in, but they are both doing great.

Don't you just love it when you realize gardening doesn't have to be one crisis after another from the time they break ground till they are in jars. Truth is I freaked out on several occasions unnecessarily, even as recently as last week. While I worry, the garden marches right on undaunted toward harvest. I hope this grow removes a lot of the fear from my growing outlook.

 

[3Andron3icus3]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Hey CMJ! These ladies are looking beautiful! I just wanted to drop by to tell you what an inspiration you've been to me!

About 7 weeks ago I dropped a Jack Herer bag seed into an aerogarden pod "just to see what happens". Go figure, less than a week later I was moving out my Genovese Basil and Dill to make room for the new focus of all my attention! I use a similar aerogarden LED model, but it's the 3 pod version with the slightly smaller reservoir, so it definitely limits me to one plant but that's perfect for me.

I innevitably did tons of research at this point, having only ever attempted soil grows that never made it past week 1 (in my naive youth). Amidst all the awesome information out there, I found your grow journals especially helpful! They inspired me to continue my grow, unlike a lot of the outdated older information discouraging attempts with aerogardens. Thanks to you, I'm considering all kinds of handy modifications for the next grow, and I may even start my own detailed grow journal!

So thanks again for the great journals and inspiration! Sending good vibes to your two green ladies!

 

[Jorgie Nuggz]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Good Morning CMJ, I followed growguyphd in. I love what your plants are doing. They are beautiful, I hope they give you what you have been working for when you harvest.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Don't you just love it when you realize gardening doesn't have to be one crisis after another from the time they break ground till they are in jars. Truth is I freaked out on several occasions unnecessarily, even as recently as last week. While I worry, the garden marches right on undaunted toward harvest. I hope this grow removes a lot of the fear from my growing outlook.

My first grow wasn't nearly as relaxing - but it takes time to figure things out without an on-the-spot mentor - although it did produce positive results. You are right, though, the plants will always do everything in their power to survive (our mistakes) until harvest. Granted, I'm working with a forgiving growing medium, all strains that I've grown have been very resilient and seem to "speak" to me and let me know what they need or don't need. Plants respond so quickly in a water based growing medium, just have to trust in the process and in the power of the plants genetics Keep it up, man!

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Hey CMJ! These ladies are looking beautiful! I just wanted to drop by to tell you what an inspiration you've been to me!

About 7 weeks ago I dropped a Jack Herer bag seed into an aerogarden pod "just to see what happens". Go figure, less than a week later I was moving out my Genovese Basil and Dill to make room for the new focus of all my attention! I use a similar aerogarden LED model, but it's the 3 pod version with the slightly smaller reservoir, so it definitely limits me to one plant but that's perfect for me.

I innevitably did tons of research at this point, having only ever attempted soil grows that never made it past week 1 (in my naive youth). Amidst all the awesome information out there, I found your grow journals especially helpful! They inspired me to continue my grow, unlike a lot of the outdated older information discouraging attempts with aerogardens. Thanks to you, I'm considering all kinds of handy modifications for the next grow, and I may even start my own detailed grow journal!

So thanks again for the great journals and inspiration! Sending good vibes to your two green ladies!

GreenBastard, I am truly honored. I really hope that my grow journals would serve as a powerful tool for anyone trying to grow in an Aerogarden. Thank you for being inspired! The Aerogarden really is great, and I can vouch for the fact that very high quality meds can be obtained using the Aerogarden after a few easy modifications. If you have any questions or need help with your mods, just let me know. I'm happy to be a resource - good luck!

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Good Morning CMJ, I followed growguyphd in. I love what your plants are doing. They are beautiful, I hope they give you what you have been working for when you harvest.

Thank you, I'm optimistic that they'll impress! If I end up with some nice flavor and scent profiles, I'll be stoked.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Plants are responding well to the flowering nutes - each pulled in about 250ppm from their reservoirs (measured after top off with RO). PPM's are down to 500 now in both reservoirs. PH at 5.8. Chiller is holding temps steady in the reservoir at about 70F. Max air temp in the tent is about 78F. I'm kind of scared to see how high the air temps will go once I put the 2 x Mars Hydro reflector lights in on each side for extra flowering wattage. If I can keep air temps below 82, I'll be pleased. I feel that with the chillers keeping the reservoirs cool, I'm OK to run low 80's air temps. We will see! I'll probably add them in this weekend once flowering is more pronounced and buds are gumball sized.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

So, yesterday marked 5 weeks above ground. Flowers are looking nice and are about gumball sized. The most amazing thing happened last night - I went to smell the flower on the main stem of the Pineapple Express and it smells exactly like pineapple. My mind is blown - I've never smelled any meds like that before! It's not like it's a "well, I can smell a hint of sweet fruit" - it's "wow, that smells like fresh cut pineapple". The fastberry smells skunky and sweet, nothing nearly as unique and discernable as the Pineapple Express. I did maintenance on both units last night, removing the pumps and then cleaning out some roots. Pump flow is back to 100% - that's something you have to watch on the Aerogarden. I haven't been able to find a way to fully seal off the pump from root intrusion. Maximing water turnover in that reservoir is important for keeping PPM's and PH consistent in all areas of the reservoir.

I also replaced the 4" carbon filter on the fan intake last night - the stink was escaping the tent but that's all under control now.

Plants are quite healthy and I'm very pleased with their progression. I'm monitoring the reservoir once per day right now and it's not bad. On my first grow, just a little over a year ago, I was spending more than an hour per day doing what I thought was "daily maintenance". My last 3 grows have been more and more hands off. Much more adjustment occurring on a proactive basis instead of a reactive basis. I feel like I've mastered the Aerogarden in its current state of modification. After this grow, I'll probably be looking about 5-6 months down the road for my next project. I figure I've got about 5 more weeks to go with these girls.

 

[imtoasted]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Pretty ladies... may i make a suggestion? I am a new grower and i see those top big fan leaves covering some of the buds underneath, id cut those guys off. Is this wrong or right to do?

Ive never been in flower and am interested in other peoples opinions/way they grow. Thanks guys.

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[3Andron3icus3]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

It's crazy, but our grows are actually almost in sync right now! I had just finished cleaning the reservoir out when I came to read your post last night, and as it just so happens I was having similar issues with small bits of detached root getting caught in the air pump. I didn't even realize but for the last day I was getting half the flow or less out of the pump, and I'm sure after one more day of that there would have been negative symptoms arising. But after running pipe cleaners through vigorously, my pump is running just like new again!

Your plants are looking gorgeous, by the way! My girlfriend and I were marvelling over them a bit last night. Hopefully soon I'll be able to dedicate more space to growing so I can encourage bigger plants like yours! If you're interested at all in pictures of the budlets forming on my baby, just let me know! I'm more than happy to share!

 

[MiOutdoorsman]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

I'll take a seat for the show

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

Pretty ladies... may i make a suggestion? I am a new grower and i see those top big fan leaves covering some of the buds underneath, id cut those guys off. Is this wrong or right to do?

Ive never been in flower and am interested in other peoples opinions/way they grow. Thanks guys.

Sent from my SM-G925R4 using 420 Magazine Mobile App

Hey there! When I'm in late veg/early flower I focus most of my pruning on the lower areas to increase airflow and get rid of leaves that will never get light exposure. I've taken off a few popcorn bud sites and *many* fan leaves. I usually don't move to the top half of the plant until I start to get long colas of bud instead of these gumball sized buds that I have right now. The reason that I do this is that as the bud grows and matures, it will usually be quite a bit above the "canopy" of fan leaves. As the buds up top mature, I slice their fan leaves off to allow more exposure of light to the lower sites. Remember - a leaf up high will photosynthesize at a much higher rate than a leaf that's only 6-12" lower. The difference in PAR values from a spot that's 24" below a light vs 36" below a light are extreme.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

It's crazy, but our grows are actually almost in sync right now! I had just finished cleaning the reservoir out when I came to read your post last night, and as it just so happens I was having similar issues with small bits of detached root getting caught in the air pump. I didn't even realize but for the last day I was getting half the flow or less out of the pump, and I'm sure after one more day of that there would have been negative symptoms arising. But after running pipe cleaners through vigorously, my pump is running just like new again!

Your plants are looking gorgeous, by the way! My girlfriend and I were marvelling over them a bit last night. Hopefully soon I'll be able to dedicate more space to growing so I can encourage bigger plants like yours! If you're interested at all in pictures of the budlets forming on my baby, just let me know! I'm more than happy to share!

Yeah man, post the pics on up! This is the first grow where the roots had taken the pump over this early in the grow - I've got lots of the spare mesh intake guards but the roots just snake right through it. I'm going to think about 3D printing a bigger pump enclosure with intake vents on the top instead of the side. I'll grab some reservoir pics this weekend, but it looks like a giant bowl of spaghetti on both units. Not sure if you're using any root-zone nutrients, but I use Voodoo Juice and Piranha and the root growth is blowing my mind. I really need to look into a way to increase the reservoir size.

 

[3Andron3icus3]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

So, my setup is still currently less than ideal with this being my first plant, and an impromptu decision at that. I couldn't get a good full shot of the plant without embarassing shots of my setup in the frame. BUT, I just got a macro lense for my phone camera so I was able to take some decent shots of a couple pre-buds. Like i said before, this is from a seed that came out of some fairly decent Jack Herer bud.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

So, my setup is still currently less than ideal with this being my first plant, and an impromptu decision at that. I couldn't get a good full shot of the plant without embarassing shots of my setup in the frame. BUT, I just got a macro lense for my phone camera so I was able to take some decent shots of a couple pre-buds. Like i said before, this is from a seed that came out of some fairly decent Jack Herer bud.

Wow, you're not kidding - we're just about at the same point! I'll upload some weekly update pics on Sunday. Just wrapped up my nightly quick maintenance. PH, PPM and all temps are rock solid. I'll be draining and refilling reservoirs and re-dosing nutes for my week 3 flower schedule.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Re: Chilled Aerogardens - Auto's Fastberry & Pineapple Express - 500 True Watts Of LE

6 weeks above ground for the girls today. Did a reservoir flush and replaced with RO water. I added in the following dosages of nutrients to both units.....
1/2 dose of Sensi Bloom A+B, 1/2 dose of B-52, 2/3 dose of Bud Factor X, 2/3 dose of Bud Candy, 2/3 dose of Big Bud.
PH is at 5.85 on both units and expecting some downward drift with the way they've been drinking water (25% RH right now). PPM on the Pineapple Express (on the right) is 1100. PPM on the Fastberry (on the left) is about 1050. Roots look amazing on both plants.