Colorado High - Soil - CFL - Easy Rider - 2013

David Bowman

New Member
Strain - Easy Rider (70% Indica / 30% Sativa)
Started from seed - August 6, 2013
Indoor Soil Grow - 4' x 2' x 5' Grow Box
Soil - Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix
Pots - 6-2 Gallon pots - one plant each
CFL Lights (Vegetative) - 14,000 lumens/250 watts @ 6400K & 6,400 lumens/92 watts @ 5000K
CFL Lights (Flowering) - 25,200 lumens/418 watts @ 2700K (when plants enter flowering stage)
Ventilation 2-6" Clip Fans - one intake, one exhaust
Temperature/RH - ~70 F / 50% RH at start of daily light cycle topping out at ~85 F / 35% RH

Easy Rider Grow Notes

08/06/2013 - Started germination of 6 seeds in tap water
08/08/2013 - Moved 6 germinated seeds to covered wet paper towel
08/10/2013 - Transplanted 6 sprouts to 6-2 gallon pots using Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix

08/12/2013 - Started the vegetative stage using 14K lumens/250 watts @ 6400K from 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM
08/14/2013 - One sprout failed to emerge, started germination of 1 seed in tap water
08/15/2013 - One seedling failed to thrive, started germination of 1 seed in tap water
08/16/2013 - Increased lighting to 20.4K lumens/342 watts (14K/250 @ 6400K and 6.4K/92 @ 5000K)
08/17/2013 - Transplanted 2 sprouts to 2-2 gallon pots

Watering when top ~1" of soil dry. Getting a little bit of top soil fungus, along with the accompanying black fungus gnats, which so far have been more of a nuisance than any sort of problem. House is cooled using evaporative cooling system which helps with overall humidity, but still on the low side. Addition of several water containers to grow box has also helped a bit. I'm also using a 12" fan outside of the grow box to re-direct house air to the intake ports of the grow box.

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The following plant images were taken the morning of August 19, 2013

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With the record-setting high temperatures we've had lately I've had to make an adjustment to my grow room. I replaced the outside fan which was re-directing air into the grow closet. The 12" fan just wasn't moving enough air into and around the grow closet. I replaced it with the following double high-velocity air circulation fan which can direct more air in multiple directions covering a wider area. So far the humidity levels within the grow box are more closely matching the room environment and are consistently between 40% - 60% RH. Temperatures are still within the 70F - 85F range, mostly in the mid 80's throughout the day, but the plants don't seem to mind it too much.

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One of the 2 seeds I germinated last week has sprouted, still waiting on the other one.

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The other 4 seedlings are all producing their second set of leaves with one seedling, first picture, far ahead of the others. One seedling, last picture, is significantly shorter than the other 3 and I wonder if, based on observations I've read within this forum, that will be my sole female plant in the bunch.

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Finally, I've found a secondary use for those humidity compensators. In between waterings those nasty black fungus gnats, in their search for water, seem to commit suicide in the water-filled glasses and vase. Below is a picture of a few of them that I pulled from one glass. I've trapped at least a dozen in just the last few days after I changed out the water and I've seen a lot less of them flying aound the grow box.

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Well, that's all for now. The forecast is for more seasonable temperatures over the next week, which is still the high 80's/low 90's, but I am looking forward to when it starts to really cool down. In the meantime, I'll continue to peruse the forum for more tidbits of information.
 
After extensive reading of Gas Lantern Routine and Diminished Light Schedule, I've decided, starting tonight, to switch over to GLR. This blog was the deciding factor in my decision - The Gas Lantern Routine for Growing Cannabis. I'm still not sure about the real benefits of DLS yet and will do some more research. I'm thinking I should get at least one grow in before I start experimenting with the flowering stage.
 
I was reading a book on cannabis this last week and I believe it was called "Marijuana Chemistry. Genetics. Processing & Potency. 2nd Edition" and what i read indicated that cannabis had the highest potency when grown under 12/12 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness.
 
As usual, the forecasts were wrong and the highs have been above 90 degrees this last week and forecasted to stay above 90 until sometime early next week. In addition to the high temperatures, half of my pots have decided not to drain properly. I think the problem was that I watering them all at the same time with the same amount of water based on the soil test of just one or two pots, my bad. In the future, I will be watering based on individual plant needs. Since one of my seedlings failed to emerge, I have kept that pot dry and using the oft recommended pot lifting technique to determine when each pot needs water. The switch over to GLR went without a hitch and the plants, in general, seem to like the new lighting schedule, (I know I certainly do!).

First, to combat the heat, I removed the water-filled glasses and vase from the grow box and replaced them with some ice packs which not only cool the environment by a few degrees but also provide a little bit of humidity as they melt and condense water on their surfaces. I've made sure that they are not in contact with any of the pots so as to not adversely affect any of the their growing environments.

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As a test, I opened up my grow box one day to see if that would help reduce temperatures any and surprisingly there was no real significant change in temperature or humidity. That can only mean that my ventilation scheme seems to be working well and I can keep my grow box in stealth mode even in hot weather.

Second, to help ease the waterlogging problem I created, I've opened up a series of holes surrounding each plant that go at least half way into the pot to help dry out the soil to get it back to a more dry state and ease the stress on the plant.

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Here is my star performer -

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Here is the seedling from my second round of germination, it has caught up quite nicely -

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Two of the three waterlogged plant are very stunted and show some nitrogen deficiency as well -

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The third is doing better than those two and shows no nitrogen deficiency yet -

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I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!
 
We've yet to have any sort of break from the high temperatures, still in the mid 90's every day, at least 15 degrees higher than the average for this time of year. Temperatures in my grow box regularly reach into the mid 80's during the day and fall to the low 70's at night. Humidity has been pretty constant staying between 40-60% RH. I'm seriously hoping this heat stress does not adversely affect the sex of my plants. Overall my plants are doing quite well. The waterlogged pots are slowly drying out and with a shot of FF Grow Big, given 2 days ago, they are starting to overcome their Nitrogen deficiency. Last week's third best performer, germinated a week later than the other plants, moved up to second place. I even found side shoots starting to sprout on my biggest plant.

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Reading through a lot of threads lately has really taught me to be patient since I see a lot of panicking, over-reacting, following by even more panicking and over-reacting. I totally understand those feelings and reactions and have almost fallen victim to them myself. I really though that my N-deficient plants were not going to make it this far. No one wants to see their babies suffering and we all want them to get better ASAP, preferably sooner. Unfortunately, nature doesn't work that way and nothing we can do is going to change that. So hang in there, be patient and let nature take its course.

Following are photos of my plants in the same order as presented last week.

Star performer -

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Second best performer (germinated one week after the other plants) -

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Two of the three waterlogged plants that suffered N-deficiency -

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The third waterlogged plant that suffered no N-deficiency -

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Finally, the heat wave is over and everything points to it staying that way, for a while at least. In just two days it went from 10+ degrees above average temps to 10+ degrees below average temps and it is supposed to stay that way for at least the next week. With the lower temps, and all of my plants growing well now, I've decided to add more light to the grow box to see if it would accelerate their development, especially the previously stunted plants nearer the side lights. I removed the clamp light reflectors and installed Y adapters and additional CFLs, doubling the light from the sides.

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Here are the current lighting statistics from my grow room, including the updated flowering setup:

CFL Lights (Vegetative) - 14,000 lumens/250 watts @ 6400K & 12,800 lumens/184 watts @ 5000K
(3,350 lumens/sq. ft. - 54.25 watts/sq. ft.)

CFL Lights (Flowering) - 36,400 lumens/586 watts @ 2700K
(4,550 lumens/sq. ft. - 73.25 watts/sq. ft.)

Even with the additional lighting, the temperature inside the grow box has dropped ~5 degrees. Hopefully, its smooth sailing from here on out. :hmmmm: I wonder why I can hear chuckling in the background. :hmmmm:
 
Well, it's been almost two weeks since my last plant update and so far the lower temperatures and increased lighting have been very beneficial to my grow. I'm watering every 4-5 days and feeding with FF Big Bloom and Grow Big every other watering. My star performer is 8" high, which is about one third of the expected final height of this strain according to the information I have read. The smallest is 3" in height. My thoughts are to start the flowering cycle when the smallest plants reach 12", one-half of the expected final height of 24". I have plenty of room, height wise, so I'm not that concerned about space. Plus, it might give a chance for the more advanced plants to start showing sex prior to flowering since they will be that much further along and be full of flowering hormones due to GLR. I'm hoping for at least two females in the bunch. Legally, the maximum I can have at one time in flowering is three plants, (six plants in vegetative).

My star performer at 8" high -

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Second best performer, germinated one week after the other plants, at 5" high -

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Third best performer at 4" high -

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Fourth best performer at 3.5" high -

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Fifth best performer at 3" high -

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Wide shot of my top two performers -

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Wide shot of the middle man, with my dry pot in the foreground -

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Wide shot of the two runts bringing up the rear -

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OFF TOPIC

My heart goes out to everyone affected by the record flooding this last week here along the front range of Colorado. By all accounts what we have experienced was a 1000 year event and definitely not anything that I've ever experienced, or probably will again, in my lifetime. I am thankful that we were not directly affected by any flooding and hope that the recovery effort goes well throughout all of the affected areas.
 
I see a few of them flying around but nothing overwhelming yet. I break up the soil to help dry it out but so far haven't really had a problem with them. I'm not that impressed with the Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix that I'm using which seems to be rather inconsistent from pot to pot. Some pots drain fine and dry out well between waterings and others hang on to the water forever it seems. Needless to say I won't be using it again and will use Fox Farm soil mixes for future grows. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind for future reference.
 
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