Obi's Aurora Indica - Indoor - T5 - Perlite Hempy

[Governmentchz]

Good observations all around Obi. On the bucket sizes, as you're aware I use 3.25 gal buckets and have thought about going up to 5 gal just for a better root system and higher yields. If I wanted to go an additional week or three in veg, I'm not sure I could do it without some sort of root issues, but for a standard 6-week veg time they work fine.

 

[PeytonManning]

I have a couple 5 gallon and 3 gallon hempy buckets going now. The 5 definitely seems to be better for the plant, but they are a lot harder to move around, especially after watering. But it was definitely necessary for my pineapple chunk with its 10 week veg. My HGK clone in 5 gallon looks much better than the Flux mother in 3 gallon.

 

[Obi Wan]

I will elaborate on the light leaks just a bit. They are minimal but I though it worth noting just in case.

I did take the time to stand inside the cabinet with the doors closed before getting the grow started. I stuffed a rag in the 2 inch power cord hole. The two 4in and one 6in ventilation holes at the bottom of the cab are filled snug with duct work but could use some caulk or foam spray to seal them up good. From outside, all door seams overlap and I have to stand just right in a pitch black basement to catch a small, sneaky spot of reflected light escaping from the door.

I have unplugged the overhead T12 lights that shine directly on the cabinet and have the 12/12 "lights off" time inside the cab set to when the basement will remain dark i.e. when we sleep and work.

I will try to finish up light proofing before the next grow.

/Obi

 

[Steve284]

I'd like to grow this strain. I think I'm going to grow AI for the first time. This will be my first grow in ten years. I'd like to follow this journal! My name is Steve BTW I'm new here at 420.

 

[Obi Wan]

Steve,

Welcome to and welcome to my little journal! I'm glad you're here. I've learned a lot from this great community. Please feel free to ask any and all questions, jump into a conversation or simply relax and watch.

Cheers,
/Obi Wan

 

[Catman12]

A few closeup pics of the Aurora Indica plants after about one week of light transition.

​

Nice photos Obi and a really extensive update! A very well thought out plan, execution, and analysis. Looking forward to the next few weeks of your bud development and harvest!

Also, because of your grow I have two pieces of poorly ripped legal sizes papers taped to my closet doors (one for each plant). I have monkey scrawled something about sprouting and watering, as well as a tentative fertilizing schedule. But...my mind is so fried and my soul is so weathered, that I mostly just slide open the closet door, note the temperature and RH, and go "Hmph"

Wish me well Obi-Wan Cannabinoid, as I do you.

(In Other Words, I'm Jealous )

 

[Obi Wan]

Log Date: 10/01/2014 Growth Stage: Flower √ Veg Days (Weeks): 61d (8w) √ Flower Days (Weeks): 01d (0w) √ Total Days (Weeks): 62d (8w) √ Health: Healthy √	Canopy Temp Max: 86F/30C √ Canopy Temp Min: 68F/20C √ Ceiling Temp Avg: 76F/24C √ Floor Temp Avg: 73/25C √ RH Min: 40% √ RH Max: 67% √
Water Type: RO √ GH Flora-Grow: 1ml √ GH Flora-Micro: 4ml √ GH Flora-Bloom: 5ml √ GH CALiMAGic 5ml √ pH: 5.8 √ PPM: 890 √	Light Schedule: 12/12 √ Light Type: T5HO √ Color Temp: Red 3000K √

Notes: RH is still a little higher than I'd like to see. I'm keeping a close eye on things.

 

[Obi Wan]

Pics from last night. My phone refused to connect to my pc so they are a little delayed. I think I've got it all sorted out now.

​

/Obi

 

[Obi Wan]

For me, veg seems to be the easier of the two stages. Now that I've flipped to 12/12 I start to worry and fret. I've got eight weeks invested into the grow and there's no turning back now. If things go bad that's a fair amount of time to lose.

At the moment everything seems to be OK.

/Obi

 

[Catman12]

I believe it highly unlikely anything could go wrong that would be fatally damaging. Also, you could spend just as much time without growing anything at all, so...so you have a much higher chance producing useable cannabis by risking a grow.

That's all I've got.

Your pictures look like a JUNGLE man! Really nice looking! Onward and upward to some major budding!

 

[Grow jr]

Obi Wan I know how you feel The stress of making decisions is over. In 2 more weeks you will realize you have created monsters.

 

[Governmentchz]

They look very good Obi, and I totally get the veg vs bloom thing. It's easy to get used to the cadence of a healthy grow in veg, but this is where the fun starts. You (and the ladies) will be fine man. Just keep doing what you've been doing.

 

[Obi Wan]

<snip> It's easy to get used to the cadence of a healthy grow in veg, but this is where the fun starts.</snip>

Exactly this. You hit the nail on the head right there.

I'm leaving my comfort zone for bigger and better things

/Obi

 

[Roots]

Pretty big plants and though I like the T54 HO bulbs for many things (especially veg) I am not sure they will be able to light that much plant effectively during flower. Watching though beautiful plants.

 

[Roots]

I looked at your previous grow and that worked pretty good!

 

[Obi Wan]

Obi Wan I know how you feel The stress of making decisions is over. In 2 more weeks you will realize you have created monsters.

Indeed! When I did my first ever pruning I I was a more aggressive with AI1, medium with AI2 and lite with AI3. I probably could have been much more aggressive but I went with what I felt good with. Here is a quick comparison pic of about a 10 day before/after:

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The plant color looks a little different in pics these days due to switching over to the 3000K bulbs. All three are still a nice deep Indica green.


/Obi

 

[Obi Wan]

I have nearly run out of room to tie branches down. I don't have space to go much wider. I have already turned and situated each plant to be in their optimal position. Bare spots turned towards the circulation fans and crisscrossing branches between plants to attempt to fill in and provide light to as many bud sights as possible. I will also begin tucking large fan leaves behind buds soon.

/Obi

 

[Obi Wan]

Log Date: 10/06/2014 Growth Stage: Flower √ Veg Days (Weeks): 61d (8w) √ Flower Days (Weeks): 06d (0w) √ Total Days (Weeks): 67d (9w) √ Health: Healthy √	Canopy Temp Max: 91F/32C √ Canopy Temp Min: 68F/20C √ Ceiling Temp Avg: 79F/26C √ Floor Temp Avg: 76/24C √ RH Min: 37% √ RH Max: 60% √
Water Type: RO √ GH Flora-Grow: 0ml √ GH Flora-Micro: 0ml √ GH Flora-Bloom: 0ml √ GH CALiMAGic 5ml √ pH: 5.7 √ PPM: ---- √	Light Schedule: 12/12 √ Light Type: T5HO √ Color Temp: Red 3000K √

Notes: All plants nearly bone dry. Watered each plant with 1.5gal. All had minimal run off.

​

/Obi

 

[Obi Wan]

The grow is moving along nicely. Transition to flower has come and gone without much fuss. I meant to water the plants a day sooner but fell asleep uncommonly early. As a result, the plants were bone dry again. I will repeat my earlier sentiment that these AI plants are quite hearty and forgiving. They have endured fairly high temps, full strength GH nutrients, extreme wet/dry cycles, amateur pruning and some plain ol' fashioned run-of-the-mil neglect. It makes me wonder what a skilled, attentive grower could do with them.

Tuesday musings:
pH has seemed pretty stable. I tested run off pH a while ago and appeared to be a bit high with a reading in the low 6 range. I dropped the watering/feeding pH to about 5.6 and crept up by 0.1 until 5.8. Subsequent run off measurements showed the media pH falling by a couple tenths. Realizing this I have been fluctuating water pH between 5.7 and 5.8 while watching for signs of lockout of nutrients that may be better absorbed at pH levels below 5.7. So far so good. Everything is a nice Indica green. Much deeper in color than my previous NL auto grow which is nice but different. I do have slight concerns about Nitrogen toxicity. The plants seem healthy so I don't think we are there yet. I'm watching.

The smell continues to become stronger. The fragrance is still black pepper, spice and a hint of lemon. Not much floral in there like my NL had/has. The smell of my NL in the jar is still on the weak side but very pleasant and complex when broken up. Right now, this AI fragrance is a little more blunt and to the point. One makes me say "ooh!" The other makes me say "ahh!". Both make me "LOL"!

I have about six inches of head room left. As I watered last night I began contemplating emergency ventilation rerouting which could net me nearly another foot of grow height. The way I see it my only option would be to move the interior carbon filter down to the floor. This move creates an air flow nightmare for me, though. Essentially, as the ventilation system is configured now, cool air would be sucked in from the right side floor duct and exhausted out the left side floor duct. Now, I'm no rocket surgeon, but that configuration seems to leave the bulk of my heated space unaffected. Pretty much the equivalent of running a cool tube carbon filter on the floor of my cabinet busily scrubbing fresh air. So, what to do... what to do. Raise the fresh air intake to the ceiling? Point the fans downward? This seems incredibly inefficient and backwards. Hmmm... I should have scrog'd. I knew I should have. It was my plan and I failed to execute it. Grrr. Maybe I can mount the fan/filter vertically on the wall directly below the light. It will penetrate horizontally into the grow box a bit and a plant will be snug up against it but...

I'm still purchasing RO water. It's inexpensive but I'd much prefer to purchase a RO filter system to have at home. Perhaps right next to the kitchen sink. I could get rid of the Brita water pitcher in the fridge that's always empty too (thanks kids).

This grow will use somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 gallons of water (20 weeks @ 5gal/week average). That's an interesting stat if it's accurate. I assume that a good portion of that water will be exhausted into my home environment which is note worthy. Especially noteworthy in a cold weather climate where water vapor is likely to readily condense on cool exterior windows, walls, roof joists, and other surfaces. The average RH of my home during the winter months will be closely monitored as well.

I turned on the radio and the news was on. I listened briefly. What a horrible depressing mess. I seldom listen to or watch broadcast media. It fills me with such sorrow and bolsters my depression.

Perhaps I should look into growing a nice strong Sativa.

/Obi Wan

 

[Catman12]

...Now, I'm no rocket surgeon...

I turned on the radio and the news was on. I listened briefly. What a horrible depressing mess. I seldom listen to or watch broadcast media. It fills me with such sorrow and bolsters my depression

We are the same...It is not good. I am actually a therapist working with children and adolescents right now. I cannot do it, but I do. If I watched the news...well...

Perhaps I should look into growing a nice strong Sativa.

Yes please!

Beautiful photos and a very nice and wistful report with just enough difficulty for the 420 community (aside from me LOL) to sink their teeth into - I wish you luck on the upcoming weeks ahead Obi - I'll be watching!!