Mystery Seed's 400W LED Grow Journal - ScrOG - 2'x2'x5' Tent

[SweetSue]

You brilliant man. I love the CFL under lighting. You knew I would. I like those fixtures and I need to find some. Where did you get the cord?

Your garden is incredible! What more to say? Some of the healthiest clones too. I was so impressed by that post that I forgot I'd already given you reps and tried again. Hahaha! You make this kit look good, sir.

 

[MysterySeeds]

CFL placement and under-lighting

Thanks, Sue. Anytime I see evidence that you've visited my journal, a smile comes to my face.
This is for you---->

To answer your question, I have no clue where the cord was purchased. I inherited it from a former roommate. It appears that it was meant to hang from the ceiling, though it is very similar to a replacement lamp socket and cord. It also has a $4 socket splitter. Over the next few posts, you'll probably see an evolution of under-lighting setup and placement to maximize the 46-watts of CFLs. Off-hand do you know any good threads about CFL placement or under-lighting?

 

[GuttaCannabis]

Nice grow you have here bro them clones roots looking beastly can't wait to see them take off

 

[SweetSue]

Re: CFL placement and under-lighting

Thanks, Sue. Anytime I see evidence that you've visited my journal, a smile comes to my face.
This is for you---->

To answer your question, I have no clue where the cord was purchased. I inherited it from a former roommate. It appears that it was meant to hang from the ceiling, though it is very similar to a replacement lamp socket and cord. It also has a $4 socket splitter. Over the next few posts, you'll probably see an evolution of under-lighting setup and placement to maximize the 46-watts of CFLs. Off-hand do you know any good threads about CFL placement or under-lighting?

Thanks

I swear by this one, put together by Tulip. Loaded with useful information. Much of the technical information guided my initial grow.

CFL Light Tutorial

I'm going to work up something that stands on the floor. I've forever fantasized about gooseneck lamps that could be snaked right up underneath. I love popcorn buds myself.

 

[Sonora]

Hi Mystery, great grow.

I've typically avoided the "wet towel" method of germinating seeds, because tiny little micro-roots get entangled in the fibers of the towel, so when you pull the seed off to plant it, those little micro-roots get torn, and it can have an impact on the initial growth rate of the plant. I suspect knocking off perlite from your clones could have a similar effect - other than just looking cleaner, any reason why you did that? if there's not a practical reason, it would be interesting next time to leave the perlite clumps on and see if there's any difference in growth rates.

Second question - I love the SCROG, but it comes with a challenge in a non-hydro set-up where you can just auto-drain; you can't easily pull the plants out to water them. With your SWICK setup that may not be an issue, I take it? How do you envision watering the plants as your SCROG'd canopy develops further?

Cheers!

 

[Snoop429]

Second question - I love the SCROG, but it comes with a challenge in a non-hydro set-up where you can just auto-drain; you can't easily pull the plants out to water them. With your SWICK setup that may not be an issue, I take it? How do you envision watering the plants as your SCROG'd canopy develops further?

Cheers!

I thought the same thing. Only one door in my tent. Must be a pain to water. Plants are looking great. Those roots look nice on those clones. Just took my first one. No roots yet but seems happy.

 

[SweetSue]

I'm missing the question here guys. The SWICK supplies an unlimited amount of water so that the plants can essentially water themselves. There'd be no real reason to take the plants out once they've been placed on the working SWICK.

What did I miss there? Understand that I'm incredibly medicated today, so it may be me.

 

[MysterySeeds]

Re: CFL placement and under-lighting

Thanks

I swear by this one, put together by Tulip. Loaded with useful information. Much of the technical information guided my initial grow.
CFL Light Tutorial
I'm going to work up something that stands on the floor. I've forever fantasized about gooseneck lamps that could be snaked right up underneath. I love popcorn buds myself.

Thanks for the link! It is packed full of good information for CFL and HID lights alike.

The gooseneck lamp idea sounds viable. I might take a clamp light, remove the clamp, and place upside down in a small bucket so the light shines straight up. That way, I'm not shining half of my light at the ground.

 

[MysterySeeds]

Hi Mystery, great grow.

I've typically avoided the "wet towel" method of germinating seeds, because tiny little micro-roots get entangled in the fibers of the towel, so when you pull the seed off to plant it, those little micro-roots get torn, and it can have an impact on the initial growth rate of the plant. I suspect knocking off perlite from your clones could have a similar effect - other than just looking cleaner, any reason why you did that? if there's not a practical reason, it would be interesting next time to leave the perlite clumps on and see if there's any difference in growth rates.

Second question - I love the SCROG, but it comes with a challenge in a non-hydro set-up where you can just auto-drain; you can't easily pull the plants out to water them. With your SWICK setup that may not be an issue, I take it? How do you envision watering the plants as your SCROG'd canopy develops further?

Cheers!

To tell the truth, I only removed the perlite to take photos of the roots. The rest of the clones retained most of the attached perlite when I transplanted them into high brix soil.

As for the ScrOG and the SWICK, I think they make a rather excellent pairing. Unlike most SWICK users, I let my reservoir dry periodically to promote root growth, avoid inviting moisture loving pests, and prevent mold and mildew. When it comes to feeding the soil, I top feed nutrients using a Nalgene with graduated marks and 1/4" tubing to siphon the nute solution into all the hard to reach corners of each pot. After adding the nutes, I refill the SWICK and go on with my day. The ScrOG doesn't seem to pose any problems with this approach to watering and feeding the plants.

All that said, this is my first official grow and I'm informally testing a bunch of theories to find out what approach works best for me. I invite any comments, questions, and suggestions as they may influence my next grows. Thanks for stopping by Sonora.

 

[MysterySeeds]

Watering is easy with a SWICK

I thought the same thing. Only one door in my tent. Must be a pain to water. Plants are looking great. Those roots look nice on those clones. Just took my first one. No roots yet but seems happy.

It usually takes 10-14 days before roots start to appear, sometimes they root slower and sometimes faster. Really more of a waiting game then anything else. As Doc Bud said something similar somewhere in his threads, "I don't check for roots. I just wait until I see new growth above and I know there are vigorous roots growing below."

Using a Nalgene and 1/4" tubing to siphon the nute solution into the pots makes the "one door" problem a non-issue. Refilling the SWICK is as easy as pouring water from my 6-gal water jug into the reservoir.

P.S. Best of luck with your first cloning experience. It's way easier than I originally thought.

Happy growing!

​

 

[MysterySeeds]

Clone Update Day 24 - All aboard the high brix train!

After some advice about keeping plants short on Doc Bud's Q & A thread, I lowered the 138w LED to 15-18" above the clones. The 32w CFL now sits 3-12" away. The Bubblelicious Auto I cut finally grew roots, so I planted it in HB soil last night. All of my clones are now in HB soil. Guess I should probably start another journal.

Anyway, I topped/FIM'd four clones, one clone is the auto, and the other is a lower cut from a branch so it's already pre-topped. Currently the CFL is on 24/7 and the LED comes on for 12-hours each day. The small fan pictured keeps the leaves rustling all day, so hopefully that also keeps them short and stocky.

The photos for proof:

{Day 24 since cut} Group shot. The LED hangs 15-18" above the plants and the CFL is 3-12" away. (June 24th, 2015)

Bubblelicious #1 showing roots.

I dusted the rootball and the soil with Doc Bud's Roots before transplanting.

Before and after a FIM'ing

What most of my FIM'd tops look like.

This Papaya #2 clone is the lower half of a branch. I cut just above a budsite and about 6" below it. I call it "pre-topped".

Profile shot.

Papaya #1 clones.

Papaya #2 clones. The tallest clone is nearly 8".

Bubblelicious Auto #1 clone in HB soil.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, happy growing...

 

[GuttaCannabis]

Sweet man!! They look happy. What kind of led light Is that ??

 

[MysterySeeds]

It's a no-name LED. I bought it because it fit in my stealth grow speaker, then I found this cabinet on the side of the road and decided to move the LED over. If I had to do it again, I would've bought another Mars Hydro 300w LED because it's performing so well in my flower tent and fits perfectly in my veg cabinet. That and those Mars Hydro 300w LEDs are selling for less than $70 on ebay.

 

[SweetSue]

It's a no-name LED. I bought it because it fit in my stealth grow speaker, then I found this cabinet on the side of the road and decided to move the LED over. If I had to do it again, I would've bought another Mars Hydro 300w LED because it's performing so well in my flower tent and fits perfectly in my veg cabinet. That and those Mars Hydro 300w LEDs are selling for less than $70 on ebay.

I picked one up and I'm seriously considering getting another, possibly two. What a bargin!

 

[MysterySeeds]

I picked one up and I'm seriously considering getting another, possibly two. What a bargin!

I considered getting more, but I have run out of spaces to grow things. So sad. :-(

Thought SmokeSara would've stopped by. She usually does whenever somebody mentions "Mars Hydro".

 

[ganjazz]

Great journal, well written,explained and informative, good pics too

Getting more interested in the cloning

 

[MysterySeeds]

Great journal, well written,explained and informative, good pics too

Getting more interested in the cloning

Thanks, Ganjazz. I highly recommend cloning - it's super easy, fun, educational, keeps the phenotypes you like around, and saves you the money of buying seeds every grow.

 

[arellanobrian]

Thanks, Ganjazz. I highly recommend cloning - it's super easy, fun, educational, keeps the phenotypes you like around, and saves you the money of buying seeds every grow.

agreed

 

[ganjazz]

Thanks, Ganjazz. I highly recommend cloning - it's super easy, fun, educational, keeps the phenotypes you like around, and saves you the money of buying seeds every grow.

Understand better now why cloning instead of seed

After my first round (learning experience) will give it a go.

 

[MysterySeeds]

A baby! Mystery seed #10 is here and doing well.

It's a baby!

Last night, I discovered this little beauty amongst my clones. It is the last of my freebie seeds from Nirvana Seeds. So far, 1 was given to a friend, 2 were male, and 6 never popped leaving me with one last hope of a female mystery seed. Now that it's out of the ground, I plan to grow it long enough to take a couple of clones and then flip it to flower to see what way it turns.

Fingers crossed that it's a lady.