KJ's T5/CFL 1st Time Grow

[KarlJay]

Thanks! I hope you're right! I'm still not comfortable cutting so many fan leaves, but I really wanted to get some light on the inner/lower areas before I go into flowering.

So here's the frame for the Clone Closet. Basic 2x4 with a raised floor. Given the weight of the tubs of water, I wanted them to rest directly on wood not just on nails. It's reclaimed lumber, so it looks a bit shabby. I'd usually use plywood on the sides, but plywood is BIG $$$ right now. It's twice the price I paid when I did my roof less than 2 years ago. So I think I'll just use 1/2" drywall for the sheeting and plywood for the floor.

I'll cut a 2" hole in the side for the elec cord so that I can use a puck in there to keep light out.

When all done, I'll be able to have 54 clones at a time and a shelf for nutes and tools.

If I'm not running clones, this could be used as a drying closet too. Run some strings across the top.

 

[mcloadie]

Nice kj, self contained, multi purpose....+ reps for you my man!

 

[KarlJay]

Nice kj, self contained, multi purpose....+ reps for you my man!

Thanks, I won't win any awards for style, but it's recycled lumber and drywall. Total cost should be about $15.00

Update on the plants, they looked great after their rest. I came in to cycle the lights on and they were all looking perky.

It might have been stress but I also turned off the A/C for a day because it was cold at night, I left it off and was using the temp gauges in the clone area to watch the humidity, so I think they might have got too warm.

Looks like things are back on track

 

[KarlJay]

Update: got the Clone Closet basically done, still need doors or Panda sheet. I wanted it to fit with the back to the wall, but I decided to make it wide enough for 2 clone machines. Still need to cut a hole for electric cords and install a shelf / light holders / hangers maybe even a small fan for when drying.

Been having a bit of trouble keeping the clone humidity above 40/50%, so I've been misting several times a day and moved the lights up. The clone closet isn't wide enough for a 4' light, so I'll use CFLs.

Total cost so far was about $13.00 for two sheets of drywall. The rest was all reclaimed lumber.

Strange, the room seems to be getting smaller and smaller...

I'm covering the front with mylar for now, I like the idea of a sheet of Panda screen and magnets. The drywall doesn't fit perfect [the frame isn't square] but it's light tight because I put some extra 2x4s at the corners.

Here's where the bag concerns me. You can see it goes in a bit. This is where the rootball sits on the new soil. My fear is that if I grab the bag wrong, I'll be bending/breaking the roots. So I'm going to roll the bag down and fill in this area.

Here's the plants about 1 day after the largest cutting I've ever done! They were watered/ repotted / cloned / heavy cuttings, I think that was a bit much for them, but as you can see, 6 hours of rest seems to have fixed them up real nice.

This last pic is the one that was heavily stressed and almost all leaves were drooping...

 

[KarlJay]

The table is getting REAL tight. The plants in the back are overlapping each other too much and it's hard to get them setup right, so I'm going to have to ditch the table and/or rework the lights. Right now it's 3 rows of 43 and the middle row of CFLs are taking up too much room and need to be hung from strings [I also fear it'll fall over].

I'm thinking 2x4s mounted on the ceiling would be the best way to go, I'm tired of drilling all the holes in the ceiling every time I need to move things.

Plants are showing new growth and clones are holding steady, hope to see some clone roots next week!

 

[mcloadie]

To increase and maintain humidity to your cuttings you can take a tote of the same size, only clear, turn it upside down and put it on top of the other one with the cuttings in it. I always vent everything and I hold up one end of the clear tote with a stick. Mist the inside of the tote periodically and itt'l give you 85-90% Rh in there. Bro, your rigs are very nice and you are really going to excel at growing!!!! I am amazed!!! Everything is in order, you are always working to improve, and you're applying sound fundamentals. That is the simple formula for extreme success!!!! + reps to you, and you got another one comin after I share the love.

 

[KarlJay]

Thanks again! I wondered about those 'clear' tops, don't they cut the effectiveness of the light?
Or is it that they really don't need much light?

I have 4 CFLs in there and they seem ok, but I was just guessing about how much light to have.

 

[juicydoobi]

Karljay- had some time to read through your journal. Picked up a couple great ideas. Your grow looks nice- our grows are real close - ill stick around to see how you turn out!

 

[KarlJay]

Karljay- had some time to read through your journal. Picked up a couple great ideas. Your grow looks nice- our grows are real close - ill stick around to see how you turn out!

Welcome and Thanks! Do you have a journal? I'd like to hear/see more about your grow!

 

[juicydoobi]

Welcome and Thanks! Do you have a journal? I'd like to hear/see more about your grow!

I do- you posted on it the other day. You said I should consider upgrading my pots. I did and it was only 6 hours later that I noticed them coming back to life

 

[KarlJay]

I do- you posted on it the other day. You said I should consider upgrading my pots. I did and it was only 6 hours later that I noticed them coming back to life

Awesome! Glad to hear I helped someone. I was really blown away at just how quickly my plants got root bound. The 3 gallon pots were a complete waste of time. Next time I'll probably got straight from baby pots to 5 or 7 gallons.

Note: there's a way to put your grow in your signature. It's under UserCP - Settings - Edit Signature.
1. go to your grow journal
2. copy the link [highlight the link, hit Ctrl C]
3. go to UserCP - Setting - Edit Signature
4. paste the link into the Edit Signature section.

Makes it easy for people to see what your up to

 

[mcloadie]

Thanks again! I wondered about those 'clear' tops, don't they cut the effectiveness of the light?
Or is it that they really don't need much light?

I have 4 CFLs in there and they seem ok, but I was just guessing about how much light to have.

I think the tradeoff between light intensity and the benefit of humidty is equitable, mine seem to do fine.

 

[KarlJay]

Update: Got a door on the clone closet, just need to make it light tight, probably alum duct tape. Burned two of the clones when the light fell on them, added a few screws to keep that from happening again.

Ordered my 600W HPS/MH setup with cooltube from Amazon. Cost about $170 and with local prices, I could get 2 600s for about the price of 1 1K setup. This setup includes BOTH bulbs, timer, hangers, dimmable ballast.

Have a problem with a different plant:
Found some dried leaves on the table near this plant [don't know where it came from]

Here's the plant that's having some trouble, it's only one area, but NOT the 1st leaves like this I've cut off.

This one looks like a light burn [too close to the CFLs] but it was on the OTHER side, so I really don't think it was a burn. I've had a few of those burns, but I really don't think this is one of them.

Anyone have a clue what this might be? Other than this, the plant look healthy, Here's an overall pic of the plant.

Here's a pic of the area in concern, notice the damaged/infected area vs the area around it, I really don't think this is a CFL burn.

Here's the clone closet, total cost was about $12 in sheet rock, some used lumber, screws...

It's a bit wider than I wanted because it hits the outlet, I'll have to move the outlet.

I also wanted dual doors, but couldn't find the hinges, I'll have to cut it later. Drilled a 2" hole for the power cord, now just have to make it light tight.

Had to move the A/C over a few inches to clear the closet and it's a bit tight to get back to the back side of the grow room.

Still in VEG! Watered with nutes and I'm using the flower formula with the nutes, just need the timers and lights setup to keep 12/12 and 18/6 in the same room. The HPS is due in a few days, so I'll be reworking the lights once again. It's a 600W and I'll see if I can put it on a slider. I'll be running the CFLs/T5's on the side because of how many plants in this grow.

I understand a 600W is good for 3'x3' so a slider track and current lights should cover the whole area I'll need.

 

[mcloadie]

The plant looks healthy, idk about the leaves, lemme think a bit.

 

[KarlJay]

The plant looks healthy, idk about the leaves, lemme think a bit.

I'm kinda stumped, although I don't have any real background in plants, it really looks like it got burned by a bulb.

I hate to nit-pick, but I really don't want screw up at this point because I really don't have any experience with this, I'm running on dumb luck

Lights are out right now, but I'm going to check if that leaf lines up with any bulbs...

 

[mcloadie]

I'm kinda stumped, although I don't have any real background in plants, it really looks like it got burned by a bulb.

I hate to nit-pick, but I really don't want screw up at this point because I really don't have any experience with this, I'm running on dumb luck

Ya, It looks like mechanical burn to me, these plants are resiliant as hell bro, the bulk of the plant looks great. I just tell anyone this; whatever you do, DON'T dump a bunch of nutes on a plant with some irregularities! The plant is designed to fight alot off on it's own, the main idea is to keep plants as healthy as possible, so like yours, if anything arises you need not jump so quickly.

 

[KarlJay]

Ya, It looks like mechanical burn to me, these plants are resiliant as hell bro, the bulk of the plant looks great. I just tell anyone this; whatever you do, DON'T dump a bunch of nutes on a plant with some irregularities! The plant is designed to fight alot off on it's own, the main idea is to keep plants as healthy as possible, so like yours, if anything arises you need not jump so quickly.

I think you're right, I'm going to keep an eye on them, but maybe I need to relax. I actually question all the hype over nutes, these plants have survived for years all by themselves, just living off nature.

 

[mountaingoat]

Hey nice grow going on here... Had similar problems with my grow rinsed out the soil with one of those salt cleaner thingies.... really flushed it and let it sit in the bathtub (without water just using the tub for drainage) after just a few days the plant was looking happier...

 

[KarlJay]

Hey nice grow going on here... Had similar problems with my grow rinsed out the soil with one of those salt cleaner thingies.... really flushed it and let it sit in the bathtub (without water just using the tub for drainage) after just a few days the plant was looking happier...

Thanks! I was thinking about getting a PPM meter, I understand that they give indication of salt build up and other things in the water/soil. All the local shops only carried the higher end meters, vs Amazon that as a $15 model, and I wasn't sure I needed the pricey one.

I've cut back on the nutes and I'm going from 2 out of 3 having nutes to 1 out of 2 having nutes.

Right now I'm going to keep an eye on things and see how they pan out. They have fresh soil because of the re-potting and have had no nutes until yesterday's watering.

 

[mountaingoat]

Sounds good man, I am currently on my first grow having harvested 2 of the plants... In the beginning every little thing would get me bent out of shape however the result out of one of the plants turned out really nice and was very impressing from a first grow I am slowly becoming less of a hen mother and letting the plant deal with things on its own a little bit more instead of freaking out about every little thing...