RollingRock's 'Caramello' SCROG Journal 2014

[RollingRock]

Hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to check out my first grow journal ever!

I'll be growing Caramelo from clones. They're already about 10" tall and looking good.

This will be a SCROG and it will be my first time doing a SCROG as well. SO, a lot of firsts but this will be fun.

The reason I chose this particular strain may be odd to some but for me its just what all the signs pointed to.

just a short while after turning 16 my little sister, a fiend for the caramello candy bars. died in a Carbon Monoxide accident along with her boyfriend. A good guy by all accounts. So while scouring information about different strains and deciding what I wanted to put in my tent. Caramelo came across my screen. the information I got on it made it seem do-able and i mean, come on, the name, life seemed to be giving me the answer. so there you go.

Caramelo is a 70/30 Sativa hybrid and is said to 'thrive in scrog systems as it reacts rapidly to pruning and produces a large number of secondary branches'.

So here is my run down.

Strain - "Caramelo" - 70/30 Sativa
Stage - Veg (as of me writing this it is currently day two of my project)
Indoor Tent - Growlab 2x4x6'7
Soil - Foxfarms Ocean Forest (should i add something else?)
Container - #5 pots with dishes under to catch runoff
Light - 600w MH veg / 600 hps bloom on quantum digital dimming ballast.
Hood - Sunlight Systems Vented hood.
Temps - Well when i took a picture of my temps i didnt have my meter where i wanted it, i've fine tuned a few things for my in/outtake am currently sitting at 80f with 38% RH

No pests today!

The pictures are from day 1 and the pictures of the finished product are where my clones came from. though that run was not done with the Scrog method

TO DO's
Build my net (Duh). ill be using sch40 pvc pipe and fittings with that orange plastic fencing stuff. that should be done this afternoon.

Get my recipe on nuits down pat. I'll be using the GH 3 part system but i'm still doing my homework on exact measurements to use as well as any additives. Picture of my supply of nutrients has been provided and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Im going to go with a 18/6 veg and will need to buy a better intake fan and filter. temps maxed out last night at 84.6f and 19% humidity. im going to be bringing fresh outside air and venting it out through the awesome wye i made to run my dryer vent and outtake through. its pretty Macgruber if you ask me.

Thanks in advance for your interest and suggestions.

-RollingRock

And now... THE PICS!

 

[SweetLeef]

Nice setup RollingRock!!!

Welcome to

It's a great place to be

It looks like you've done your homework, +Reps for that. You are off to a very good start and I cant wait to see these little ladies grow up! Definitely along for the ride!

 

[TassieDevil]

Hey Rollin, and welcome....like sweet leaf says, you've done you're homework and look like you've really got it sorted. I envy you. Best of growing to ya, and I look forward to viewing it as it all happens. Grow you good thing grow!

 

[RollingRock]

Pre Screen building stuff. 2-17-14

So last night after getting the plants in their pots i wanted to get the soil wet and flush whatever nutrients were in there out.
So I gave them about 16oz/ea with just ph adjusted water. was also hoping to see that they didnt get shocked. Now the measurements i took were yesterday and all were between 8 1/2" to 9" I watered with 6.3 water... and....
1

2

3

4

Seems to be some awesome growth explosion. cant wait to see what happens when i throw the micro and grow in there.

Also! Does anyone think that these have got too much air blowing them round? (vid below)
Too much dancing? - YouTube

 

[SkiLLzNPhX]

Hey there RollingRock! I'm very interested in watching this journal as I pretty much have the same set up. Every thing looks real good and the "wind" you've created looks good and firm. The stems will benefit from that, good job. I to just built my own first time scrog net from pvc pipe and colorful netting. I have the same tent and lights. Good luck to you and I will be about 3 weeks behind looking for tips!

 

[yttocs1010]

its perfect im scotty keep em green

 

[TokerJoker]

Right on guy looks good so far.

 

[TokerJoker]

The air movement looks good I wouldn't mind seeing them all move like the one on the right. This will only build strength in the branches which allows the branches to support more weight.

 

[RollingRock]

quick update. the plants sucked up the bit of water that I gave them. so i watered today.

My nutes consisted of the lucas method cut in half for introduction. I use a 5 gallon bucket but dont use all the water, im sorta wasting nutes but 5 gallon makes everything easier.

I used 20ml of Micro and 40ml of the bloom. ph was set at 5.5 as i figure that the Fox Farm soil would cause the run off to be a bit higher than 5.8


the lights are off right now so i cant do pics or take a sample of the run off. everyone should check back later tonight for a good sized update

 

[RollingRock]

Alrighty. got my screen set up. its simple. and it will work. lots of tension on the string. check it out.

 

[TokerJoker]

Lookin good so far. Is that the only trellis that you'll be implementing or do have space to have multiple levels?

 

[RollingRock]

its the only one i bought... so far. I have currently i have about 3 inches till the girls touch the screen. then i have another 30 inches of space to where the hood is currently hanging. but i have about 6 inches of play above that to raise the hood. should i lower the 1st screen and train into a double?

 

[TokerJoker]

I would lower the light to avoid stretching the ladies to tall. Again support issues as the weight builds. Looks good and can't wait to see how they turn out.

 

[RollingRock]

UPDATE!

Cool, so... TokerJoker, i took your advice and lowered the lights. Cant tell that they responded in any sort of way but havent died so thats a plus. I also Lowered the screen a bit. about 4 inch. they are tall enough that they are touching and i have begun to bend them ladies over. from how i read a guide im doing it right but maybe someone has better insight on something ive over looked? pics below.

Thanks again everyone. these babies are going to be done before i know it.

 

[TokerJoker]

Still lookin good. Place your hand palm down just above your canopy and if the light doesn't burn you it shouldn't burn your plants. Also the closer the light the more the ladies like it. You may not need another screen if they fill in what you have and don't stretch up cause you want them to spread out. You may be fine with what you have only time shall reveal the answers.

 

[RollingRock]

there is only so far down i can go with the light though right? at some point the light doesnt spread throughout?

 

[TokerJoker]

To an extent yes however your space is not to large and the ladies are small enough that they will soak up the light and as they get bigger raise the light so that I will spread to all corners.

 

[RollingRock]

Well... this is no longer a 600w grow. I had to back it off to 450. i just dont have enough cooling to make 600 work. but enough about that.

Since getting the temps lower down to 75-80 on 65-70 off. my humidity obviously has gone up. and the plants just look way more happy.

Finally starting to tie more down and doing some topping.

I got my humidity up by hanging a cloth by the screen into a cup of water with an air stone in it. 5-10% rh jump so im happy. so are they

im going to hit them with the nuits tomorrow morning. before lights off.

Im also still pest free!

anyone have advice when i should start using superthrive? in my SOG setups in the past i only used it for flowering. could it be useful here and now?

 

[RollingRock]

alright i need some help.
This is my current setup. I prepared these pics on my fancy note 3. the little pen finally gets some use!

Although ive got my humidity up some (probly as good as im going to get without humidifier), but im still seeing temps of 86 and ive already dimmed my ballast to 450w.

Is it reasonable to see my temps drop to the mid 70's if i spend a few bucks and get an aircooled hood and set it up like this?

thanks in advance!

 

[TokerJoker]

I have no experience with this however I do expect that your temps would drop just simply due to the fact that air moving across the bulb will indeed remove heat. Do you know what cfm rating your fan is at? The extra ducting may require a more powerful fan to ensure adequate air flow. Also do you have an isolating fan in side there.