Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon Haze

[Subnoise]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Great turn around brother. They are looking better and better. can't wait to see them get flipped. Keep doing what your doing it's working.

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

They look So much better, Snack!

I wonder if that discoloration isn't windburn ... ? New fan, relatively low humidity ... ?

But they're all clearly doing great. Nice save!

Yeah Graytail, thanks a lot! They are looking so much better now.

I think you may be right about the windburn. Unfortunately, my fan's lowest settings is still probably a little strong for them. I moved the fan to another corner of the tent today and will see if that changes things at all. If it is wind burn, I'd expect those symptoms to resolve on the affected plant and startup on the closest one. I may point the fan against the tent wall instead, to get some reflected air movement instead, but not sure if that would be better than pointing it directly at them in this case.

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Great turn around brother. They are looking better and better. can't wait to see them get flipped. Keep doing what your doing it's working.

Thanks dude. I'm getting psyched up for the transition to flower soon and am starting to think about preparations. I have a ScrOG net that I am probably going to use and am tentatively planning to put that up at cutover time. I'm still working on getting a more even canopy and tying some branches down, so I think it's still a little early for the net. For flowering, I'll also be adding some Flora Nectar and maybe some Blackstrap Molasses too, as I've read that can maybe help with bud size and taste, if I remember correctly.

I'm also thinking about the changeover to 12/12, because I may want to use a different time of day so am going to have to think about and research how to best transition them. Currently 6h off is from 10am-4pm, but I'm thinking I may want 12h off from about 1am-1pm, but I'm not totally sure. Now I have a chance in the mornings to attend to them, but I won't have that chance when I go to 12/12 unless I make the on time in the morning, but then it makes it slightly tricky to deal with them on the weekends (as they'll be sleeping during the day). So, pondering the best balance for that.

Will post some more pics later today...

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Today's pics... enjoy!

some possible minor wind burn

top view

side view

full view of tent

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

So, here's a question for anyone listening. Does it make sense to increase the nutrient strength from 50% up to 75% at this point? They seem very healthy with no evidence of nutrient burn, but I'd like to give them as many nutrients as they can take without harming them. I just don't have quite enough experience to know whether that is a good idea or not, and if it was too much and caused some burn, whether they would be able to recover relatively quickly.

Definitely would like to hear from anyone who has experience with that kind of thing.

 

[CCOiler]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hey Snacks, your girls are looking real happy. As for the wind burn, try bouncing the fan off of a wall and put your desk fan on the other side and bounce off of that wall. They say as long as the leaves are dancing slightly they are getting the proper air exchange. I hope I'm not being "Captain Obvious".

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hey Snacks, your girls are looking real happy. As for the wind burn, try bouncing the fan off of a wall and put your desk fan on the other side and bounce off of that wall. They say as long as the leaves are dancing slightly they are getting the proper air exchange. I hope I'm not being "Captain Obvious".

Not being "Captain Obvious" at all. I appreciate the input!

I did turn my tower fan against the wall and the leaves are "dancing" slightly, so maybe that is enough and the direct air was too much. I'll monitor them over the next couple of days to determine that, but I don't think it's going to make a huge difference either way. This is part of why I enjoy growing so much. There are a lot of variables and ways to tune the garden, and many ways to achieve similar goals, but in the end, as long as there are great kind buds, everyone will be happy

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Status Update...

GROWTH:
The girls are growing so fast now, I think I may actually switch them over to 12/12 this weekend, because I fear if I wait another week, they may actually grow too tall for the tent and get too close to the light. My understanding is I really don't want to let them get much closer than 12" from the 600W light. They're really bushing out now and creating more and more nodes, which is pretty awesome to see. They're also drinking more now so I'm mixing up bigger batches. Last night and this morning I fed them with the same 50% strength mix I've been using the last few weeks. I decided things are looking good so no need to change things up in that regard, but I'll re-evaluate the feeding strength after they get into flowering.

MIXING/STORING NUTES:
One question about mixing and storing batches of feed. I've read that it's good to keep it aerated so I leave it in my bucket with the cover off. Lately, I've been mixing up new batches every 3-4 days, but as they're drinking more, I'll need to mix more frequently. Is it alright to mix up a big batch and let that last a few weeks or is it better to mix it up fresh every few days?

SCROG:
One thing I'm not totally sure about doing is setting up the screen I have to create a ScrOG. On the one hand, I know it helps support the buds and provides "avenues" for them to get maximum sunlight, but on the other hand, I remember it being kind of a pain in the ass last grow when doing my hand-watering. The pot & plant need to stay relatively fixed in place or movement can disrupt the branches or bud sites in the screen, but I recall that making it difficult to water all around the pots, as I like to do and I understand is better than just watering in one section. This will be especially harder with 4 plants now, as I only had one to deal with last grow. Now, without the screen, I can easily move the front plants aside when I water the back ones and rotate them around, if necessary, to get as much of the medium watered as possible, but that wouldn't be possible under the screen because it's hard to maneuver a heavy watering can through tons of leaves to get to the backs of the pots. The tower fan also wouldn't be able to work in there with the screen. Instead, I'd have to go back to the desk fan and have it on the floor pointing up at the plants, which may be alright.

Definitely the major factor worrying me about doing the ScrOG is interfering with hand watering though. Does anyone else have thoughts on this issue? I wonder if the yield be considerably better if I put in a screen?

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hi everyone & Happy Friday

(experimenting with some new formatting, so let's see how it comes out)

As mentioned in my last post, I'm gearing up to cut over to flowering this weekend. It's an exciting time for sure!

I'm posting some new pics taken today, but first want to mention a couple of other things for the sake of the journal and of course, solicit any comments.

1. I'm still unsure about whether to add the ScrOG screen because I believe it will seriously interfere with my ability to hand water them thoroughly due to my experience with my last grow. I'm open to hearing from anyone who has other ideas about how to reconcile those two things. I wrote a bit about it in my last post, so won't rehash it here, but would love to hear people's thoughts on the topic. When I get a moment tomorrow, I'll look around some other journals and see how people doing ScrOGs are handling waterings without disrupting the plants (because they essentially can't be moved or rotated when the net is in place).

2. Before cutting over to 12/12, I'm considering taking a clone of the strongest female and keeping it in stasis in the fridge throughout flower time with the intention of using it in my next grow. I read here that this is possible for up to 8 weeks, though I expect flowering to take closer to 10 weeks, so maybe this isn't really a good option for me. I have never taken a clone, but am interested in trying it. I wonder if I could put the clone in stasis for 8 weeks and then clone it in some rapid rooter plugs I have leftover. Maybe I could leave them outside or by a window for a couple of weeks until the tent is free for my next grow? On the other hand, I do sort of want to try and manifold grow next time, and I read that it is better to do that when growing from seed than from clone, so maybe I should ditch the cloning idea for now.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some new pics!

Wishing bountiful harvests for everyone!

 

[Major PITA]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Lookin' good. What a turn-around!
If you take a cutting and are able to keep it for 8 weeks, it will take another 2-ish weeks to root once you take it our of the fridge. That gives you the 10 weeks, unless that puts you above a max plant count you want to maitain.

 

[Graytail]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

About the Scrog ... I don' like 'em much either, for precisely the reasons you list.

There are a couple good ways to get the same effect without immobilizing your pots.

Tomato cages work great as an individual Scrog. You set them into the pot and then bend and tie the tops against the cage - works great!

I just sorta train each plant without using a fixed grid - I bend the tallest tops out and down like a screen would do. My stems are usually strong enough to support a nice wide flat-top, but if they get floppy, I set stakes to support the weak branches.

Either way, you get the same multi-top effect without the hassle of a fixed Scrog. You can move the plants at will.

 

[CCOiler]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hey Snacks you can hold the big colas up with yoyos Amazon: yo yo hangers

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

About the Scrog ... I don' like 'em much either, for precisely the reasons you list.

There are a couple good ways to get the same effect without immobilizing your pots.

Tomato cages work great as an individual Scrog. You set them into the pot and then bend and tie the tops against the cage - works great!

I just sorta train each plant without using a fixed grid - I bend the tallest tops out and down like a screen would do. My stems are usually strong enough to support a nice wide flat-top, but if they get floppy, I set stakes to support the weak branches.

Either way, you get the same multi-top effect without the hassle of a fixed Scrog. You can move the plants at will.

Graytail, thanks a lot for sharing your view on the ScrOG. I wasn't sure if I was just missing some key element that makes it a lot easier, but if the plant is basically fixed, I think it does hinder things in certain ways. I'm going to try and adopt your method and use a tomato support or stakes instead of a fixed screen, and I might also get some of the yo-yos that RSOiler mentioned too, if the buds seem to need the support.

&

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Lookin' good. What a turn-around!
If you take a cutting and are able to keep it for 8 weeks, it will take another 2-ish weeks to root once you take it our of the fridge. That gives you the 10 weeks, unless that puts you above a max plant count you want to maitain.

That makes sense Major, thanks for pointing it out. I thought about it some more and have decided to skip taking a cutting this time around and go from seed next time. Although I'd like to experiment with cuttings at some point, I think next time I'd like to try a totally different strain anyway, and I might as well us some seeds that I have on hand.

I have to admit that the idea of getting a bunch of clones together to create a SOG is kind of tempting though ;-)

 

[CCOiler]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hey Snacks, try cutting some clones before you go 12/12. Try a couple different ways to see what works and what will not work for when you are ready for the SOG you'll have a head start. As much as it hurts the newbie in us you can trash can them or give as a gift. I hope this helps.

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hey Snacks, try cutting some clones before you go 12/12. Try a couple different ways to see what works and what will not work for when you are ready for the SOG you'll have a head start. As much as it hurts the newbie in us you can trash can them or give as a gift. I hope this helps.

Hi RSOiler. I actually switched to 12/12 on Saturday. Would it still be okay to take a cutting today, or is it too late now? (I also don't know anything about actually taking cuttings, so would have to research that a bit.)

I will post some new pics and info as soon as I can. After only one day of going to 12/12, I already noticed a bit of a growth spurt!

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Here are some pics from over the weekend followed by some info...

5/2, shortly after cutover to 12/12 - the light is still coming on

5/2, side view

5/3, closeup shot

5/3, fungus gnats caught on yellow stickies

So, yesterday I noticed there are now 11 fungus gnats caught on the two yellow stickies I have on the tent floor. The day before that I believe there were only 4, so it seems that they are increasing again, unfortunately. When I water again today or tomorrow, I'm going to increase the amount of SNS-203 in the feeding solution. I'm also going to look into alternative methods of handling the gnats, such as beneficial nematodes, because the SNS solution works fairly well, but it is also somewhat expensive to use in an ongoing basis. I will also probably add some more diatomaceous earth to the top layer too. Wish I knew where the fungus gnats were coming from.

As far as feeding goes, each plant seems to be drinking about 1/2g every 2-3 days, and I'm letting them dry out a little bit in between too. I'm mixing up 4g amounts and switched the nutes to the GH Flora Duo week 4 transition recipe and still using 50% strength. So, this latest batch on 5/2 included:

FloraDuo A - 10ml
FloraDuo B - 10ml
CALiMAGic - 5ml
RapidStart - 2ml
Diamond Nectar - 5ml
Floralicious Plus - 2ml
Pure Blend Tea - 5ml
*Flora Nectar - 5ml (new addition)
Hydroguard - 8ml
SNS-203 - 4oz

The changes from last week are that FloraDuo A was decreased, FloraDuo B increased, CALiMAGic decreased, Diamond Nectar decreased, Pure Blend Tea decreased, and Flora Nectar was introduced for the first time. Next week Liquid KoolBloom will also start being added until the ripening stage.

After mixing and testing the solution it had a pH of approximately 6.3 and I added around 2ml of pH down to bring it down to 5.8
PPMs were roughly 575 and
EC was about 0.80 (I still need to learn more about EC and how I can interpret it to fine tune feedings as I believe that is possible.)

The PPMs are I believe slightly lower than they maybe should be. The GH drain-to-waste feeding schedule recommends 600-800 PPM for this transition week, so I may increase nutes by 25% or so at the next feeding.

Temps are 61-78 (hygrometer1) or 63-77 (hygrometer2) and
RH is 36-53% (hygrometer1) or 49-63% (hygrometer2)

As always, any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hello peeps.

Sorry if the font has been too large in recent posts. I've been trying different sizes because the default seems too small to me sometimes. Anyway, just wanted to make an update in my journal...

Last evening I watered the girls with 2 gallons of water between the 4 plants, so approx 1/2g each. There was overflow of probably between 10-30% amongst them. One of the plants has a different kind of coco (it's amended is my understanding) than the other 3 and the amended one doesn't seem to overflow as much. The one that overflows the least is the biggest plant in the front left. She's apparently the thirstiest too, as expected.

One persistent problem that is irking me a bit is the almost constant presence of fungus gnats. There were 15 gnats on the stickies and 11 the day before. I have no idea if there are any larvae in the coco, but I'm obviously concerned about that. I don't want them eating the defenseless roots! So, on my next watering I am using double the dosage of SNS-203 that I was previously using, which will amount to the bottom recommended amount on the bottle, which is 2 oz per gallon. I'll continue to do this for next the next couple of waterings and hopefully that will helps. Then I'm out of SNS-203 again, because I only had the 16 oz bottle, which is about $25 btw. So, using a bottle every week or two throughout the grow can add up to a few hundred dollars alone, which isn't super sustainable for my budget. I'd like to find another way...

Yesterday, searching around the Coco forum, which is sadly tiny btw, and found some posts and videos by user LEDRF who talks about using two layers of sand, one near the bottom, and one near the top, to stop gnats from penetrating into the coco. This seems like a really great technique, and I am planning to get some sand and at least use a top layer to prevent them from getting in that way. I don't want to transplant so won't have the bottom layer of sand, but a top layer alone should help. Last night I also added a layer of diatomaceous earth to the top of the medium and stirred it around with my hand to balance it out. I did use a mask cause it's not a good idea to breathe in the dust. In the future, I wonder if premixing the diatomaceous earth into the coco mix before adding my seedling would be a viable way of fortifying the coco against gnats. I believe this would work, my only question is does the d-earth persist in its effectiveness over time despite constant waterings. Does anyone happen to know?

I believe that the plants are healthy enough and probably have very developed root systems such that a small number of gnats won't affect them too much, but for future grows I really want to conquer the gnats. They have been one of the major obstacles for me to overcome in order to get truly excellent yields, in quantity and quality.

My next grow will include the layering of sand near the bottom and on the top from the start, as I have now read from a few sources as that is a great option for preventing gnat problems. Treating, rather than preventing the problem, is always much harder, and usually more expensive too.

I was also thinking about trying air-pots, for encouraging more healthy root growth, but LEDRF tested them and said they cause problems for preventing gnats as they can get in through the side holes of the pot and those can't be covered with sand, for instance. So, I guess I will stay using my regular 16 ltr (approx 4gal) black round pots. Next time I'll probably start with a smaller pot too and transplant up. Seems like that's really the best way to do it for root development and health.

Anyway, for what's going on NOW, I'm expecting to start seeing the first white hairs on the emerging buds in about 10 days or so. I will be chronicling the unfolding here. Oh, and the bolding is mainly for me, so I can easily see stuff I might want to keep in mind for the next growing adventure

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Quick question. I've read that temps during the dark time in flower should really only be allowed to get down to 60 F or so, but due to the increasingly hot weather in these parts we're starting to use the central A/C now, and temps during the dark phase are getting down to the mid to high 50's. I believe they went down to 59 or 58 yesterday and I'll see later how they were today during the dark time. They would typically only be that low for 1-2 hours. Is this alright or will that cause a problem?

Also, last night I did a bunch more reading about dealing with fungus gnats. First, I watered 1/2 as much as I did the day before (only 1 pint or 16oz.) per plant. Most of the saucers still had water in them so I just wanted to give them some fresh nutes with the extra SNS-203. I then added a fresh layer of diatomaceous earth that I made sure completely covered the coco. I'm going to let them dry out for the next 2-3 days and hopefully that combination of things, the extra SNS-203 watering and the fresh DE, will get rid of any larvae that may be lurking in the top 2-3 inches of coco. I also added two new yellow sticky traps to help monitor how things are going with controlling the adult population. It sounds like BTi (i.e. mosquito dunks/bits) are a great way to prevent gnats, so as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to acquire some of those too.

 

[snack420]

Re: Snacks - DWC Bucket - 600W MH/HPS Grow Journal - Strawberry Diesel & Super Lemon

Hi 420!

So... things with the ladies are still looking good. I'll post some pics later today or tomorrow, but the stretch is definitely on. I haven't watered them since Tuesday night (5/5) and the overrun saucers are bone dry and I'm hoping the top layer of coco has dried out as well so the gnat larvae are dead. I will water tonight starting first with a water and H2O2 solution which I've read will kill any larvae. Apparently, you soak the coco with that first and it bubbles up a bit and kills them. Has anyone done that happens to know the concentration to use with 34% H2O2? Then, I will water normally with nutes. I don't see any visual evidence from the plants of root damage, but I want to take every precaution necessary because infestations are hard to control if left unchecked.

The 4 yellow stickies are continuing to attract and trap adult gnats. By my count there are now 34 caught, whereas there were 21 two days prior on 5/5. So, it's good news that they are getting trapped, but I'm not sure what to make of the significant increase. I'll certainly be keeping the stickies there though, probably until harvest time.

In other news, I have some BTi coming soon, in the form of Mosquito Bits, and will plan to also use that to deter the gnats. That stuff is supposed to be the bomb. I'm probably overreacting a little over the gnats, but I just really want them gone. At least I have some tools at my disposal to cope with them. I also ordered have some plant yoyo's and stakes coming, as I'm anticipating heavy buds that will require extra support. At least that's the dream

Well, that's all I can think of mentioning right now. Until next time,
Happy Growing everyone!