EastcoastArn
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Eastcoast Arn does a hydro grow
Hydroponic Newbie
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EastcoastArn
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One should not post after a good beer apparently!
So I started a Hydro grow after popping some new Mt. Zion seeds.
Anybody got some advise?
I'm actually doing this for a college class!
So I started a Hydro grow after popping some new Mt. Zion seeds.
Anybody got some advise?
I'm actually doing this for a college class!
Check out some of Howard Resh's books. Great source of info.
Sativa1970
Well-Known Member
What type of hydro? drain to waste, ebb and flow, deep water culture,,,,,? Each have advantages and disadvantages.
The one bit of advice for all hydro; PH is the absolute most important stat to monitor. 5.8 is the target but corrections can lead to over correction. Give a small correction and then wait a day.PH up and down start momentum that will continue for a day before settling on a new PH number.
The one bit of advice for all hydro; PH is the absolute most important stat to monitor. 5.8 is the target but corrections can lead to over correction. Give a small correction and then wait a day.PH up and down start momentum that will continue for a day before settling on a new PH number.
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EastcoastArn
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Super simple DIY project. 5 gallon bucket, air pump, a couple of mesh cups w Rockwool and clay stones. Cal mag solution.
Sativa1970
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DWC is Simple with low cost and maintenance. Converted my rooms to only DWC several years ago. If you have a journal or any specific questions you can tag people in comments with #EastcoastArn and they will get a notice.
With DWC you need 2 gallons minimum of "water" per foot of plant. If your plant gets too big for the res it will cause havoc on your PH and PPMs. I veg in 5 gallon black buckets( 4 gallon res) up to 2 foot. Then flower in 27 gallon totes (13 gallon res) for up to 6 foot tall plants. Bucket gets filled twice during veg. They can drink all 13 gallons during the two week stretch. Then maybe one more fill mid flower.
With DWC you need 2 gallons minimum of "water" per foot of plant. If your plant gets too big for the res it will cause havoc on your PH and PPMs. I veg in 5 gallon black buckets( 4 gallon res) up to 2 foot. Then flower in 27 gallon totes (13 gallon res) for up to 6 foot tall plants. Bucket gets filled twice during veg. They can drink all 13 gallons during the two week stretch. Then maybe one more fill mid flower.
Sativa1970
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Forgot to ask. What school and degree are you working towards?
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EastcoastArn
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I'm taking a Cannabis cultivation class Horticulture 295 Virginia Highlands Community College online. It's pretty cool. This is a project for it.
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EastcoastArn
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Hi, because I have limited space and a small tent. I need to keep my plants short..2 to 4 ft.
Sativa1970
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Are you doing it for personal edification, or carrier? If it is a career choice look into greenhouse management courses. Here in the Midwest cultivators are paid min wage for grunt work. GHM bumps you to supervisor so better pay and you actually work with the plants.
Delps8
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Res size is a big factor. The smaller the res, the harder it is to keep pH in range.
After traipsing around a few cannabis sites for the past two years, I believe it to be true that there's a relationship between res volume and plant size.
Delps8
Well-Known Member
If you don't have a light yet, look for a light that has a blue heavy spectrum. The Bugbee videos on YouTube are an excellent source of information on grow lighting and, to a lesser extent, on cannabis horticulture. For more detailed info, Google "bugbee" and "plant morphology". The mechanisms are not explained but the research clearly demonstrates the impact that the blue and red parts of the spectrum have on plant shape/growth. I've got a few research papers on that topic if you're interested in discussing that topic. (One of the impacts of a lot of blue is that yield decreases so a blue heavy light may solve one issue but bring about another. Life's like that.)
Working with that height constraint, you'll also want to get smart on plant training - low stress training ("LST") and high stress training ("HST"). One HST technique that I've never used but will be in my Fall grow is "mainlining" AKA "quad lining". IIRC, there's a good thread here on that topic. It appears to be a simple technique that give you a wide, short plant.
My current grow isn't mainlined, rather I've used fishing weights to hold down the plant. In previous grows, I did a mixture of LST and HST and still ended up with autos that were well over 4' tall. For my current grow, my first photoperiod plant, I used my dedicated veg light (very heavy blue in the spectrum) + fishing weights and the plant is 3' wide and just over 2' tall. Poke the link to go to my most recent grow journal if you're interested.
BTW, what's the purpose of the grow?
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EastcoastArn
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I'm 55 with cerebral palsy, my wife has MS this is purely for our own medical use...that, and I just enjoy watching things grow. That's it. I'm taking the class just to learn.
Sativa1970
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what strain are you growing? photo or auto?
Spectrum will have a noticeable effect on plant growth. Blue (5500K) is the summer spectrum and red (2500K) is the fall spectrum. 5500K promotes leaf and branch growth during veg. 2500K promotes flowering. Using 5500k during flower promotes stretch, leading to wider spaced nodes and a taller lanky plant.
add some nutes, possibly RO filter, decent lighting, and an enzyme cleaner or h2o2 to the list for minimum.
grow tent or dedicated space, exhaust fan, carbon scrubber, small circ fan, are all things you are going to literally grow into as you get more involved as well.
Delps8
Well-Known Member
My Chemdog was vegged under a veg light for about 50 days and basking in the glow of a flower light for about 60+ days now and it's still a shrubbery. Not what I was expecting but much easier to deal with than the autos that were growing into the top of the tent, though.
Sativa1970
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Similar age and I grow for me and wifes med needs. I donate all my extra to veterans and show them how to grow there own if interested. DWC is what I generally recommend because it grows fast, healthy, and eliminates the over/under watering and feeding issues.
Looks like we are saying the same thing but using different scales. Veg at 450Nm AKA 5500kelvin AKA blue spectrum. Flower at 660nm AKA 2500 kelvin AKA red spectrum. Like comparing EC or any one of three PPM scales. Everyone not using the same scale can causes mass confusion. As for good budget lights I found the vipar spectras were good for both veg and flower.
Delps8
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I believe that your reference to 5500k was a typo and should have been 2500k. I don't think in terms of Kelvin, for light, so I turned to Google U. The graphic below, which I got here, is an example of a what I found as a guide.
Agreed. The new Vipar XS 1500 Pro is a really nice light.
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EastcoastArn
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These are photos from Mt. Zion
All I know is they are photo regulars from. MT. ZION SEED COLLECTIVE... I've grown the same batch before...pretty sure it's a Sativa hybrid
I was happy with last seasons soil grow...now using same seeds for hydro project. I am using a full spectrum 600 watt Toad light on a timer.
Sativa1970
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Not trying to disagree, just trying to tell if you are doing something different. I have experimented with all types of lighting and schedules but always interested when I find something new to try. Many plants have suffered at my hand in the name of science. lol. Experimentation is how you learn and what keeps this hobby fun.I believe that your reference to 5500k was a typo and should have been 2500k. I don't think in terms of Kelvin, for light, so I turned to Google U. The graphic below, which I got here, is an example of a what I found as a guide.
Agreed. The new Vipar XS 1500 Pro is a really nice light.
I was using Kelvin because it is what more people are familiar with in standard home lighting. If you are not use to grow lights, a newton meter can be an intimidatingly arbitrary number. Something is getting lost in translation. Maybe it's because the two scales are mirrors. low nm is a high kel and vice versa. All of the spectrum charts you have posted show you veg in the low nm, high kel range blue (ultra violet end) and flower in high nm, low kel range red( infared end). Scale and number makes no difference if we are saying the same thing.
