Kush-O-Matic 1st Grow - Ghetto Setup!

[Robot]

So, I recently started smoking more regularly and the bits I buy are inconsistent to say the least. For the most part they are fine but its not as on demand as Id like. Nature of the beast i guess.

About a month ago I decided to have a crack at growing some stock, for personal use only.

Started with 3 feminized Kush-O-Matic which as the site tells me is a Hindu Kush Hybrid cross with the Ruderalis. Chosen blindly as the other seeds i ordered were out of stock. So while at work decided to have the Kush Auto's.

Lighting - Started with 2 14w LED panels and a 125w cfl 6400k.

5-6th OCt - germinated glass of water method 24 hours

6th - pm transfered 3 seeds to propagator in peat pellets. Air temp around 23/26- lightly sprayed with room temp water
8th - 7/8 pm sterling popped soil and went under lights for 2 hours.
18/6 cycle
9th - 8 am Malory and archer showing signs of breaking soil.
10th - sterling stretched on day one of light. Light too far away. Malory and archer popped soil and now under 125w grow light.
Pm- sterling dead Malory and Archer shed seed husk and now all 4 leaves on each plant are visible. Light is around 6 inches above. Room temp around 25/28. 18/6 light cycle. All 3 peat pellets moved to bigger pots for seedling stage.
11th - added oscillating fan to the garden.
13th -am. Sterling dead after 3 days of medical care. Malory and archer growing well, very green, well defined leaves. No sign of stretching. Still under the 125w grow light and 2 supplementary 14w led panels. Not sure if it adds anything to the grow but they there anyway. Watered plants this morning. Room temp seems to be around 28. Temp at pot level is closer to 30, maybe lights re pushing it up a few degrees?

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Not written in my journal since the 13th but lots has happened. Stirling, the dead one, i was sure was a gonner but here's what happened. He stretched so much that he was lying on the soil and stem was withering in the middle, as i was just going to bin the little one i decided to see what happens if i rip him in half and pack the stalk into the soil again. At this point he had his husk still wrapped round the end of his leaves so i moistened it up and carefully eased it off with tweezers. Watered him with super weak nutes and left him be. Today is the 24th and 9 days later, the little bugger is looking strong, 4 leaves now and growing rapidly. Slow and painful birth but he's pulled through like a fucking champ!

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Its still the 24th and I thought i'd update on the other 2 plants, Malory and Archer.

Malory is a short bushy little beast at a couple of weeks in and Archer is a little more lanky but not out of proportion.

Had to ditch the LED panels, not much good in my opinion. I had 2 led panels either side of a 125w cfl and plants were angling themselves toward the cfl. Upgraded to a 400w HPS. Installed that last night and it was on for about 5 hours and boosted the room temp up like crazy. Now i have no need for the radiator to be on. Slight problem with the temp being too high now so am slightly regretting not going for a higher power CFL but whatever, i'll attempt to control the temp better.

They had a damn good drink today. water only at the mo. Nutes next week.

I think the new light and combo of the fan have damaged some of the plants leaves, mainly on Archer but a tiny bit on Malory too. Just about to post pics and get a more structured journal going for people to comment on!

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

She's a girl....Malory!

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Some burn? on Archer from the new HPS light being too close and possibly the fan on it too much. Very dry, not brittle yet. so i've moved slightly further away from the light which is now 18 inches away from Malory.

She's also a girl...with a boys name :/

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Back from the dead....Stirling...i think he's a she!

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

These green bastards are being grown in the spare bathroom which is around 1.5x2.5 metres. Plants are in 3 gallon buckets witged h some John Innes soil with extra sand. Was limited on the soil i could get hold of but seems to be doing the trick so far!

400w HPS and 125cfl will be my weapons of choice.

Am enjoying looking after these little buggers but nervous about the damage caused by the heat generated from the 400w HPS. Temps at plant level are around 30/32degrees and I feel this is too hot but my exhaust capabilities are limited, can't have a hose out the window and need to black the window out for night time stealth. Will the HPS be ineffective at 20inches? How can I cool this grow down? Ventilation is my main worry so any tips on my specific set up would be good.

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Just a quick update. Garden is located in second bathroom and in the bath tub. Just fixed the extractor fan in the cieling and now i have a little bit of displacement going on, not nearly enough but at least its something.

2 days off work has its uses!

 

[Muttt]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

I'll stick around and watch the show.

 

[BubblyHash]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Hey nice plants I'd suggest putting a box fan in the room aiming towards the light. That should at least keep it a bit cooler at plant level. As for the white spots, I'd invest in a microscope (found at your local grow store for a resaonable price) and check under the leaves for spider mites. Light burn would curl your leaves up more than the pictures are showing...Looks more like spiders to me, which you can find a solution for at the grow store as well. Good luck I'll be following

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Thanks for the info Bubblyhash. Just got back from work and I've had a good look over the triplets and cant see any sign of pests. I have a jewelers magnifying eyepiece so i'll check them over with that in a sec. The thing that made me think it might have been light/heat was the fact that the affected leaves are cracked like they have dried out. I've moved the fan I have running in the garden to aim at the light for now. I'll get another small one to blow a little over the plants this weekend.

 

[BubblyHash]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Ahhh I see that does sound like a heat issue. Could also be a combination of that and low humidity. Try setting a pitcher of water somewhere under the light. Just make sure its not robbing your plants of any light. As it evaporates it'll up the humidity and hopefully keep those leaves from cracking. You could also freeze 2L bottles of water and set them with the pitcher or water, and for a short while the temps will drop a bit. Its a vicious cycle freezing bottles while the others are in the room and so on, but it'll keep temps down and humidity up til you find a better solution. Hope this helps-
BH

 

[CoryDavid88]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Hey Robot. i love ghetto grows. doing what u have to to get the plants great. does your restroom have a exhaust vent that you could rig to your HPS. i too have only been permitted in the bathroom and this is how i was able to help on heat issues

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

UPDATE! Bubblyhash...spot on with the spidermite diagnosis. Thank you so much Found a bunch of those suckers on the worst affected plant (Archer), no stores open for me to go grab some pest killer so i'll attempt the soap solution method and see what happens. Have no pure alcohol...do have some Jagermeister and half a bottle of port. At least they'd get good and drunk if i sprayed them!

Attempted to increase garden humidity for the sake of the mites, as i hear they are fond of the dry, by leaving wet towels on the heated towel rail. Fan is on low and 400w HPS is at 18"

Unfortunately they have spread to Malory too, same symptoms appearing on her leaves. Nothing on the little one yet but will treat regardless.

Where do they come from?

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

The exhaust is in the ceiling and already contains the standard extractor fan. I'll be thinking of alternate ways i can combat the heat...first need to kill those little spider-mite-fucks!

The en-suite hood set up makes me laugh everyday! 3 3 gallon buckets in a bath tub and a 400w hps hanging from the ceilingworking so far not so good for the eyes when you get up for a pee in the middle of the night after a smoke and go back into the dark bedroom...blind as a bat!

 

[CoryDavid88]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

wait till they get big. it was my first time and thought i had autos so i vegged for a very long time. ended up with 7ft tall plants. had ten in the bathroom so not only was i blinded to use restroom but aslo dizzy from ducking the branches. luckily only had in there for 5 days. you have a great start and good luck

 

[Muttt]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

That's so funny. At least you don't have to worry about spilling anything. But, where do you bath??

 

[CoryDavid88]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

thats why houses come equipped with garden hoses.

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

Whores bath every night boys....Babywipes and mouthwash. Might turn the bed into a scrog and sleep on top of the fridge!

 

[Robot]

Re: Kush-O-Matic 1st grow - ghetto set up!

haha, awesome. Hopefully they stay short and fat!