Colorado High - Soilless - LED/CFL - Skunk Red Hair - 2014

[David Bowman]

Thanks LA! Yeah, this grow is going surprisingly well so far, I hope it stays that way. I hope all is well with you too! I think that you are going to love LEDs they are the future of cannabis lighting that's for sure!!

 

[David Bowman]

Day 20 since the start of germination and the kids are beginning to ask for some food. All of them are exhibiting classic N-deficiency on the first set of true leaves. Interestingly enough, the cotyledons are still lush and green it's just the first set of true leaves that are most affected by this deficiency. Some of the plants are exhibiting this deficiency on the tips of the second node leaves but it is not as noticable as on the first node leaves. A couple of days ago I made an attempt to show the differences that I'm seeing under LEDs/CFLs and just CFLs, they really aren't respresentative of what I see but are the best I can do at the moment. Notice how the first set of true leaves appear to be more evidently deficient under LEDs/CFLs than when seen under CFLs only.

Single shot of a kid under LEDs/CFLs on day 18 since the start of germination -

Single shot of the same kid under CFLs only on day 18 since the start of germination -

The grow environment has been very stable with lights on temperatures hovering around 90° with an average RH of around 70%. During lights off the temps drop to around 70° and the RH drops to around 40% at the end of an exhaust cycle. Supplemental CO2 is maxing out at around 1500 PPM and lasts about a week before needing to be recharged.

Group shot of the kids on day 20 since the start of germination -

Single shots of the kids in the back row, from left to right, on day 20 since the start of germination -

Single shots of the kids in the front row, from left to right, on day 20 since the start of germination -

You can see that they are under a bit of stress at the moment as they really do need some food and water. To that end, I gave the six of them a total of one half gallon of water with Doggett & Simpson Growology Step 2 and Molasses, both at 1 Tbsp/gallon. I expect that they will perk up and regain their color and vigor over the next few days or so. (Knock on wood three times!)

 

[Pittbull72]

Hope all is well in the 303! (btw I was born and raised in Bongmont/Boulder area and miss home like crazy!!) I love this grow because your plants are one day younger than my autos! Like I said, I'm looking at LED for my next grow. Iv got it narrowed down to the light you have or the Mars2 (something around 3 - 400w). Any recommendations (pros/cons) between these two choices? Also, how big of difference is the LED going to make compared to the straight CFL`s like iv been running? I know denser buds, etc. But this is the first time iv moved my grow indoors and am having good results with the CFL`s so far. I plan on doing mainly autos (3 - 4 plants) in all my grows with like one photo in the mix for a perpetual grow.

 

[RRolex215]

Yo CH, i"m following as well... would love to see the results

 

[David Bowman]

Welcome Pittbull72! I've not had a chance to try the Mars II but they look to be a quality LED grow light like the reflector series. I went with this particular light since I have a 5' height limitation and thought that the 5-watt diodes in the Mars II would be too much in my small space. Additionally, the reflector series had the closest coverage for my 4' x 2' space. I'm anticipating a slight increase in quality and yeild with LEDs but I was able to get more than an ounce per plant during my last grow using only CFLs so you can grow high quality cannabis with decent yields using solely CFLs. The main reason I went with LEDs was to reduce the heat generation to a point where I could conduct a grow during the summer. When they enter flowering, which should be in early July, and the grow temperature range drops, I will then see if they are up to the task. But so far I am pleased with their performance and looking forward to seeing how they perform over the entire grow.

 

[b.real]

coming along nicely

I update my journal tomorrow. maybe I'll post a photo of my tomato plants today since your sprouts remind me of my tomato sprouts.

 

[David Bowman]

Cool, looking forward to seeing your tomatoe plants. We grow tomatoes every year that we have a vegetable garden, they are so much better than hot house tomatoes.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

For Day 20 they look pretty small and stunted. I wonder if its the light or the soil that won't let them grow. Already yellowing too? You don't think there is anything wrong?

Here's my Day 18 seedlings under T5's in FFOF soil.

 

[David Bowman]

Nice looking plants CH! They appear fine to me since they had never been fed until 2 days ago. If the feeding does not improve their condition, I'm considering moving the LEDs further away from them as it is at 18" above them now.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Not to knock you down but the growth seems slow. I recently started using Mycorrizhae and now I swear by it. Maybe I'm getting spoiled by the amazing growth it produces. I use the brand Extreme Gardening Mykos. I truly believe there is alot to be said for the Premium products on the market. Spending a few bucks more on a quality product pays out big in the end.

I see you are using a generic brand soiless mix. Do you think the soil could be inhibiting growth?

Again I don't mean to sound like I am knocking you down but I think you can do better. I apologize if my words come off wrong as condescending or offensive.

 

[armoire grow]

I like using Recharge for my Mycorrizhae. It works amazing. Add it to the soil on transplant. Get all them Mycorrizhae straight into the roots.

 

[David Bowman]

I'm also using mychorrizae which are included in D&S Growology Step 1. Since this is the first time I'm using a soilless medium, I believe I'm having some pH related issues that are affecting the growth of the kids. I'm using dechlorinated tap water which has a pH of 6.5, molasses and D&S Growology Step 2, both at 1 Tbsp/gallon with the soilless medium containing Spahgnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and wetting agent. I'm trying to figure out if I need to bring that nutrient solution to the pH I need, which is 5.8 as I understand it, or will the medium buffer the pH and keep it at the right range.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

I don't have any experience in soiless mixes but I can offer what I've read so take it with a grain of salt. I have read the peat moss as it breaks down becomes acidic which will keep reducing your pH. I had a low pH problem on my last grow and I have corrected it with an air pump. Air pumping the water stabilizes the pH at 7. I recently did a mild flush with molasses and FF Big Bloom which is basically earthworm catings and not hot at all and I air bubbled the mixture for 24 hours which raised the pH of the solution back to about 7. I also think that it will sort of permeate Oxygen throughout the molasses and solution for better root health. All this seems to make sense in my mind but I could be totally wrong.

I know there are "pH Up" solutions to buy but I don't know how I feel about adding chemicals in unknown amounts just to reach a certain pH level. Sure the water may be pH 7 but how much potassium bicarbonate did it take and how does that affect the microbes and plant nutrient uptake?

Another thing I almost forgot to mention is I mixed in some Organic Dolomite Lime at about 2 tablespoons per 5 gallon pot into my Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil. It is supposed to maintian stable pH levels. I think it is helping as my girls are staying green on this grow.

I am never satisfied with my grows and always feel there is something I can do to improve. Please feel free to criticize my grows and anything you think I could be doing better. I hope you don't mind my suggestions CH.

 

[David Bowman]

No, I don't mind any suggestions from anyone here as I'm still a newbie and have a lot to learn. At least I have a little experience treating pH issues from my last grow and with new lights and new medium, I'm expecting new and different challenges. It is a continual learning process for me and it does keep this hobby interesting that's for sure!

 

[David Bowman]

Day 27 since the start of germination and the kids are doing much better after a couple of adjustments to their environment. My original thinking that the growth issues were pH related appears to be unfounded and the more likely culprit was heat and, believe it or not, waiting too long before I started feeding them nutrients. I think that the dried leaves/leaf tips on the first two nodes are due to two factors. One is that they became N-deficient and went without any nutrients for too long thus condemning them to their deaths, quite the opposite of my last grow! Two is evidenced by the kayaking present in some of the affected leaves, extreme temperatures. I lowered the maximum temp from 95° to 90° and we'll see if that helps them out a bit. I think that while 95° may work during vegging, it is just too hot during the early stages of growth. I've also moved the LEDs to 24" above the kids. All of the new growth from node 3 and up appears to be lush and green with only very minor deficiences noticable under the LEDs. I'm beginning to wonder if the leaves will ever look uniform under LEDs as they do under normal light! It is so easy to see a deficiency when it could be just a snapshot of the normal day-to-day transpiration within the plant. While I like the insight that LEDs give to the underlying health/structure of the leaves, it does take a while to get used to it and not react to every little change that can be seen under LEDs.

Group shot of the kids on day 27 since the start of germination -

Single shots of the kids in the back row, from left to right -

Single shots of the kids in the front row, from left to right -

Since the last update, I've given the kids a total of one half gallon of Step 2/Molasses. So far they've taken Growology at full strength right out of the gate with no issues. I'm very pleased to not see any significant nute burn this time around, much better start compared to my last grow. All of the kids are on their fifth node but the spacing is too tight for me to top at this time. I want to top the kids after the fourth node but I don't want to damage the side shoots right below the top so I'm waiting for them to stretch a little bit so that I can top all of the kids at the same place at the same time. Overall, I'm pleased with this grow's progress so far, I expected there to be some adjustments that needed to be made, given the new lights and medium, but they have been relatively easy to make with minimal impact on the growth of the kids.

 

[Harley09]

Colorado I am using a soil mix similar to yours except for the wetting agent and I added dolomite lime to raise the PH to 6 and help stabilize it. As it goes I am also using Growlogy's step one at full strength .If you would like I could post a picture of my grow that is very close to yours in age or not

 

[David Bowman]

Sure go ahead and post away. You mean Step 2 instead of Step 1?

 

[armoire grow]

Looking good CH. When you mentioned heat temperature do you normally grow in high temps.

 

[David Bowman]

Well, I started out my first grow during last summer and dealt with high temps right off the bat. Then I learned about CO2 supplementation and went that route for my last grow. Temperatures above 85° are necessary to make the most use out of the supplemental CO2 so I tried to keep the temps between 85° and 95°. I think that I may be developing a bad habit so from here on out, temps will stay below 90° and we'll see if that helps with overall growth and development.

 

[armoire grow]

See I been dealing with heat issue and this is mainly because I'm growing in a small space and the build up of heat has been in the 99+, but manage to work it out and now I'm at max around the 82ish. Also did you added any microbial beneficial to the soil. I use mycorrhizae with my soil mix, building beneficial straight into the roots.