Newbie Fighting His Way Through His 2000 Watt Grow

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

So, I had some issues with water temp controlling. Everything is fine but I had to make some changes. Now I have a DWC/RDWC hybrid. The drain still isn't as fast as I would like so I have it on a timer to allow the drainage to catch up to the pump. Everything is good. Ppm is low but I'm going to kick it up a notch tonight. There's new growth everywhere although they're not growing as fast as I expected. I think it needs a little stronger nutes. Water temp is good (69 degrees). Room temperatures are good (75-80). So far, so good. The past few days have been the same. Sorry for my slacking on the journal. Not much was changing and there wasn't much to report.

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

Update: The heat in the room proved to be too much. I had to make a desperate decision and transplant into soil. This was two days ago... To my surprise, they haven't shown any signs of shock and seem to be getting green-er and putting on new growth already. I'm shocked about their quick transition, although I doubt I'm out of the woods just yet. The room temps have stayed much lower and I can't really figure out why. But the temps are now staying around 71-73 and the plants look great!

 

[Sky Rocket]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

The strain I am growing currently is Blue Cheese.

Are your blue cheese by barneys farm? P.s. no one likes reading a book with no pictures. Where are the pics..........man.....lol

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

I know and I'm sorry for the lack of entertainment with this journal. I'm going to try again but there's no guarantee that it'll work. So this isn't from barneys farm. Let me rephrase that, I have no idea. For all I know it may not actually even be blue cheese at all. It smells like some dank stuff already though and it hasn't been flipped to 12-12 yet. It very well may be from barneys but I really don't know. I'll make it a priority to put some pics on here.

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

Okay, the pictures are gonna be a bitch to get on here. I gprs through the process, step by step and it just won't work. Tomorrow I'm taking my laptop down to McDonalds and hooking up to their WiFi!
So, update! The transplant is behind us and the plants are looking great. My foilar feeding backfired a bit. Tiny tips of the of the leaves are yellow. I ruled out nute burn via root system because the plant set aside as a mother plant has had NO fertilizer what so ever and it has the same tips on it.
Oh yeah...I flipped them this evening. I switched the bulbs, performed one last test to ensure the room was "light proof" and all is good. I'm excited about this run. I have some good photos I want to share and hopefully I can do that tomorrow. Remember, this is my second indoor run... The first was straight soil and the plants were half done for me when I got them. This time is different! This time the plants were tore back, I transplanted not once but twice and the poor things had just undergone a spidermite epidemic! Point being, this is a full on challenge. If I can pull through this, well, I guess I cam lift my chin a little higher and keep learning.

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

theses are from the first transplant. i wish i would have taken a pic of when they first showed up at my place.

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

Okay, I just realized that this is no longer a DWC grow as the journal title suggests... Should I be starting another journal? Should I just abandon this one? It doesn't seem to be attracting much attention and even though I was finally able to post some pics, it won't be all the time that I post pics.
Although I will say that this journal is a testament to switching gears when you know you're going to have a harvest threatening problem ahead.
I feel that doing what I did was the only option considering my resources and growing conditions. So far I think it has looked like the smarter idea. The DWC is obviously the superior growing method but, having said that, its only superior when YOU can make it superior. If you lose your ass every attempt then its not superior for you.
So can I get some feedback? Should I can this journal and start fresh on my next run? This is after all NOT a DWC as the title suggests.

 

[Sky Rocket]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

Okay, I just realized that this is no longer a DWC grow as the journal title suggests... Should I be starting another journal? Should I just abandon this one? It doesn't seem to be attracting much attention and even though I was finally able to post some pics, it won't be all the time that I post pics.
Although I will say that this journal is a testament to switching gears when you know you're going to have a harvest threatening problem ahead.
I feel that doing what I did was the only option considering my resources and growing conditions. So far I think it has looked like the smarter idea. The DWC is obviously the superior growing method but, having said that, its only superior when YOU can make it superior. If you lose your ass every attempt then its not superior for you.
So can I get some feedback? Should I can this journal and start fresh on my next run? This is after all NOT a DWC as the title suggests.

Don't abandone your journal just change the title. Just be patient people will eventually chime in on your journal. You will get more views if you chime in on other people's journals as well. Also continue your journal so that you and others can use this as a reference in learning. Even when not too many viewed my journal I can always use it as a reference if I forgot to write something down.

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

How do I change the title of the journal?

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

I watered them yesterday with 5ml of root enhancer for the 20 gallons I used to water with (2 gallons per 3gallon pot). Today they are better than ever and the growth is nearly explosive. They have new growth everywhere. The smaller shoots are catching up to the main stem (thanks mostly, I think, to defoilation technique) and they're filling out faster the they are growing tall. I'm very happy with how they are right now although I don't want to break my arm patting myself on the back. There's a long way to go yet.
So the humidity in the room is reaching a little to high (78%) and I'm going to be working on that in the next few days. The reason is that my temperature is set at 75 but the colder evenings we are having prevent it from getting that warm very often and the (peak) humidity is going a little high for my taste. Right now it isn't as much of a problem as it will be when the plants start budding.
I'm am a bit concerned about the ph levels of the run off... 5.5-6.0. Not ideal for soil.
I'm using super soil with perlite mixed in (1 gallon of perlite per bag of supersoil).
I've been advised not to adjust the ph of the water and I've been told I should as well. I have some dolemite lime that I can add to buffer it out a bit. I'm just a little jumpy about f***ing up a good thing.
If it ain't broke don't fix it right?

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

Side note: My lady is succeeding well with her blue cheese mother, White Rhino sprout, and Critical Kush sprout. She took 10 clones(cuts) from the plants under the blue cheese clones I'm growing now and had 100% success rate with them. This is her first time cloning and her first MJ growing experience. 100% success rate...I think she found her calling.

 

[KingJohnC]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

i would pm a moderator to change the title name to what you want it to be. subscibed

 

[elious]

Re: 1st DWC Grow 2 x 1000 Watt HPS/MH

Well I have discovered my first batch of spider mites. I'm using azamax at 3ml per 32 ounces of water and just a tincy tiny drop of dawn (non-antibacterial) dish soap. So I sprayed them down as well as I could and am hoping it takes care of them. I'm pretty sure it will, it has good reviews on the forums and the grow shop said it was the best all around pest control stuff.
Other wise they look really good. Only one of them seems to have been hit by the mites but it doesn't look too bad either. I caught it early. And that's the good news...I'm paying close attention to my ladies so I know when stuff needs to be delt with.
I'm going to pm a moderator as suggested but I don't know what to call this journal...any suggestions? I was thinking "long hard road out of hell".

 

[KingJohnC]

i would put your name, the strain, wattage of lights and type,soil or hydro, perhaps grow chamber type and size.

 

[elious]

Okay I took some more pics and I'll be posting those in the next couple days. The spider mite issue doesn't seem to have changed much. Although there wasn't many to begin with. I applied another dose today and will lay off for a few days to see what happenes. The girls are still looking very good and they grow daily. I'll be moving the lights up tomorrow to avoid heat damage/stress. The soil is drying up a lot quicker suddenly. The room temperatures have stayed pretty much the same so I'm guessing the plants are using up more water. Defoiliation continues plough today not nearly as much as the past few days. Deep green, perky and vibrant...for now.

 

[closetorganic]

Good job making those changes and taking the stress it must have caused.
They look happy and strong now and ready to produce big!
I was wondering on your supersoil if made or bought?
I found its easy to forget the mites after you get a handle on them, and survivors will start it over again and could be more adapted to the controls used. they say rotate methods so you dont build a supermite yet Im only useing neem overhere in my little setup that seems to work when I use it regularly that Im trying to make habit of now

 

[elious]

Yes, I was told to really hit them hard while the hitting is good. I was told that if they spring back up after the buds have begun I would have to use another method. But when I feed next (Saturday I'm guessing from the weight of the pots) I'm going to add the azamax to the water which is supposed to kill them off from the soil and then I'll continue the foilage application a couple more times to have a prayer at not having them pop back up before harvest. I'm still curious where I got them... I have been ridiculously careful about contaminates. I wear latex gloves before I even enter the room. I change my clothes (I have a set of 'grow clothes') before tending the plants...all sorts of precautions. But you know, this is a learning game and you must be prepared for the fact there's gonna be shit that isn't going to go as planned.
I bought scotts supersoil and so far I'm doing okay with the ph levels (run off) around 6.0. I have some dolemite that I'm going to add if things start getting a little crazy but I'm hoping that I won't have to use it. Just because it'll be a pain in the ass and because they're doing great as is, or at least for a newbie indoor grower.
Thanks for the encouraging words, its a big help to feel like someone other than yourself thinks you're doing alright.

 

[elious]

Today all is well. The mites seem to be retreating although the eggs are still around. I'll continue the suggested application of azamax for the next 10 days and also tomorrow I'll be feeding them and I'll add the azamax to the water as directed.
The plants are doing really well and tomorrow I'll very posting the pics I have taken over the past few days. I think you'll agree that they're doing well. I've seen bigger more impressive plants but I'm pretty proud of how these are doing. Tomorrow is the first flowering nutrition dosage these will be getting. Tomorrow will also mark one week of flowering so I should see some budding in the next week. Exciting!!

 

[nmherbman]

Wow what a ride those ladies have had thus far! Keep up on them and they will love you back! Soil is nice for buffer zones. I haven't seen anyone answer your ? on soil ph (could have missed it sometimes my vision is cloudy) generally you are good between 6.3 and 7.0. Did you flush for a day or two before making switch? A nice touch in soil I like is to take bat guano high phos and add a tablespoon sprinkle it around top of soil about a week or so right before flip so it gets worked in and is available immediately when she starts looking for it. Another good tip for watering is to remember to water thoroughly and let dry out slightly before watering again that way they(roots) don't become root bound and instead spread out evenly through the soil. wasnt sure how "noob" you were. On the mites OK first make sure air flow is a constant sway to the girls not wind storm but they sway, the dryer the air happier they are. I like r.h. between 40-50%, instead of chemicals try this works great....

1 gallon h2o
1.5 tsp (5-7.5ml) Cinnamon oil/extract
and about 5 drops of REGULAR dish soap.....NO anti bacterial.... like Palmolive
1.5 tsp " " Mint oil/extract
shake up well pour into spray bottle and soak plant leaves top and bottom, stems, stalks,
repeat a couple days later.

Mites are a part of the system. Don't let them get comfy. wind, proper rh, and cleanliness key to no mites.
hope was of some use. happy growing!