AK GreenLover
New Member
Hello Everyone and welcome to my very first grow journal! Let me say I have been a VERY long time follower of these forums. A lot of what I am now as a grower came from reading a lot of information on these very boards. Through many years of growing I think I have refined my process to where I feel good enough about it to share with my friends here on 420.
So first of all let me say that this journal wont start from seed. It will start now in the very late stages of vegging. Currently I'm at week 5.4 of veg. I completed a full defoliation of fan leaves, and reaped all undergrowth on week 5.0. This is something I like to do about a week or so before I plan to flip them to flower. It's one of the many tricks I now use in order to get better yields and quality smoke.
Here are some pictures of the girls. Currently there are 6 in the picture but I will only be flowering four. This picture was taken 2 full days after my reap. Those poor girls went from bushes to little skeletons. By day two all shock had worn off and sugar leaf size production sky rocketed.
Here are the girls right now as we speak 4 full days after the initial reap. All side shoots are experiencing a massive boost to growth.
They are starting to almost look like bushes again!
There is one thing I can't stress enough. Those freaking 200 Extreme veg lights from Advanced are HANDS DOWN the very best vegging lights I have ever used! Just look after 4 days the canopy is packed with new shoots starting to get that perfect light now that they are not shaded! Once they do they even out with the rest I love it!
One thing you will notice during this journal is that I do not top very often. I like to tie my girls down and promote maximum under growth development. If I want the top to slow down I simply tie it lower than my other branches. I want each branch to be level and each to be a huge cola factory. I do not like uneven plant height and will combat it to the very last day of flowering. The main goal is perfect intense light spread over the level canopy. I am VERY huge on air flow between branches during all stages of growth. This is why I preform defoliation's of all main fan leaves during certain stages of development. I do this once during the 5th week and popsicle out everything that cant make the screen. I do it again on the 15th day of flowering to completely end stretch and open up the sugar leaves to more intense light and better airflow. Then again on or around day 44 of flowering.
Be ready to cringe when the girls look so beautiful then I complete a reap and they look like ghosts of what they once were. Then sit back and watch the sugar leaf explosion! It's going to be a wild ride! If you have ever wondered just how well the defoliation method + SCROG boosts yields this is the thread for you! I also must give HUGE credit to the peeps at Advanced for making lights that cause explosive leaf and flower growth!
Before I get to ahead of myself lets go over the details...
This is going to be the biggest throw down of all times. My girl is going to grow two and I will be growing two. We will see who has the greener thumb!
Let's just hope the student doesn't surpass the master ROFL! I will never live it down, but yet I am so looking forward to this!
What Strain?
Barney's Farm (Word starts with an L and ends with a D. It also has three letters.) If you cant figure that out it is what it is hehe. Currently they have been vegged for 5 weeks and 4 days as of today. They are ready for screens. Grow time will be 63 days of flower before harvest.
Growing Medium
I use a 50 / 50 mix of Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Humboldt. I put 6 gallons of each in a big tub. I then add two cups of flour lime, two cups of ground kelp, and 1 gallon of Growstone GS-2 mix. (soil aerator) I mix that all up really good. I don't really go above and beyond that. I keep it pretty simple.
Grow Containers
This is where I go above and beyond to ensure maximum root growth. I like to use the 7 gallon black Smart Pots. Before I pour any of my dirt into the pot I put a layer of the big chunky Growstone Hydroponic mix all across the bottom. I then put a 1 gallon scoop of dirt on top of the layer of coarse Growstone layer. On top of that dirt I pour 2 cups of the thinner GS-2 mix and spread it out evenly. I do another layer of soil mix, then GS-2 mix and soil until I reach the top of the pot. I then pick up the pot and drop it a few times just to slightly pack the mixture. I will now add the seedling or clone to the pot, and put a nice layer of the thicker Growstone Hydroponic mix to the top.
This is a method that I use to attain explosive root growth. Air and water flow freely in and through the mixture and the pot itself. The big chunky layer of Hydro mix on the bottom and top are essential. The bottom layer promotes the ultimate root aeration and the top keeps your top few inches of soil from drying unevenly. Both the GS-2 and the Hydro mix are a blown glass product that kind of looks like lava stone but is really light. I VERY MUCH love how it retains both WATER and AIR which is extremely important to your roots. The pots themselves just amplify this effect. Figure on 5 gallons of actual soil mix with 2 gallons of space being layers of GS-2 and the chunky Hydro mix.
Fertilizer
We will be using a Fox Farms feeding schedule. Nothing special other than adding Cal Mag to each nutes feeding. We will also be using molasses during most feedings, sometimes in the water flush as well. A ph dropper is used after the feed is mixed to ensure it's as close to 6.7 ph as possible. We will be doing a nutes then water rotation. The feeding schedule with these lights and this soil mix is every 4 days pretty much on the nose.
Grow Area & Equipment
Currently in Veg we are using 2 x 200 watt 5w extreme veg lights as well as 2 x 400 watt 5w XTE lights set to the blue and white veg channel. When it's time to flower we will be using the 2 x 400 watt 5w XTE's to finish them out. During veg the lights run at a 24/0 light schedule. When we flip they will run on a 12/12 cycle.
There is an 8" carbon filter and fan combo for air flow as well as a 6" booster fan for an air intake. Temperatures inside the tent at canopy level stay between 70 - 74 degrees. I have the vent system set to trigger if the temp gets any higher than 74 degrees and kicks off at 69.
The tent is a 6.5 ft x 6.5 ft x 6.5 ft Lighthouse Hydro model. I can't complain much there is very minimal light leaks which were easily fixed with aluminum sticky tape. The zippers are of great quality and over all don't leak light very much. For the price OMG great deal no kidding!
The girls are on racks that sit inside of plastic tubs. This is great for getting air under your pots as well. It is also win to simply use a wet dry vac to remove all that runoff in the tubs after each feeding or watering.
Relative humidity is always 50% due to my win humidifier that keeps it right at that level.
I also have a nice pump sprayer that I use to spray down the girls each day with WATER and nothing else.
There is a nice tower model oscillating fan that sweeps the tent back and forth.
I will be making a 4" x 4" rack with net very soon as the flip is rapidly approaching. Stay tuned for more updates on that as it unfolds at a later time. It'll be made from white pvc pipe with a basic netting over for branch support and leveling of the canopy.
My main reason for doing this is to give back to the 420 community for all the fine guidance I have received over the years. It has always been my desire to grow the very best medicine my lady's needs. It pleases me to no end that she is finally taking that first step in growing her own. To know exactly where it came from and to know that she alone created her medicine. Helping people is what I like to do. So I hope that this grow journal not only helps my love but also those that choose to follow this grow... I will most definitely be featuring defoliation so brace yourselves. There is a method to the madness as well as timing that causes monster yields. This is a technique I have developed over the last few years. If you choose this path rest in the knowledge that you will have a huge advantage over casual growers. You're going to maximize your yields as well as your over all quality. No more popcorn fluff. Everything is a nug from top to bottom.
So first of all let me say that this journal wont start from seed. It will start now in the very late stages of vegging. Currently I'm at week 5.4 of veg. I completed a full defoliation of fan leaves, and reaped all undergrowth on week 5.0. This is something I like to do about a week or so before I plan to flip them to flower. It's one of the many tricks I now use in order to get better yields and quality smoke.
Here are some pictures of the girls. Currently there are 6 in the picture but I will only be flowering four. This picture was taken 2 full days after my reap. Those poor girls went from bushes to little skeletons. By day two all shock had worn off and sugar leaf size production sky rocketed.
Here are the girls right now as we speak 4 full days after the initial reap. All side shoots are experiencing a massive boost to growth.
They are starting to almost look like bushes again!
There is one thing I can't stress enough. Those freaking 200 Extreme veg lights from Advanced are HANDS DOWN the very best vegging lights I have ever used! Just look after 4 days the canopy is packed with new shoots starting to get that perfect light now that they are not shaded! Once they do they even out with the rest I love it!
One thing you will notice during this journal is that I do not top very often. I like to tie my girls down and promote maximum under growth development. If I want the top to slow down I simply tie it lower than my other branches. I want each branch to be level and each to be a huge cola factory. I do not like uneven plant height and will combat it to the very last day of flowering. The main goal is perfect intense light spread over the level canopy. I am VERY huge on air flow between branches during all stages of growth. This is why I preform defoliation's of all main fan leaves during certain stages of development. I do this once during the 5th week and popsicle out everything that cant make the screen. I do it again on the 15th day of flowering to completely end stretch and open up the sugar leaves to more intense light and better airflow. Then again on or around day 44 of flowering.
Be ready to cringe when the girls look so beautiful then I complete a reap and they look like ghosts of what they once were. Then sit back and watch the sugar leaf explosion! It's going to be a wild ride! If you have ever wondered just how well the defoliation method + SCROG boosts yields this is the thread for you! I also must give HUGE credit to the peeps at Advanced for making lights that cause explosive leaf and flower growth!
Before I get to ahead of myself lets go over the details...
This is going to be the biggest throw down of all times. My girl is going to grow two and I will be growing two. We will see who has the greener thumb!
Let's just hope the student doesn't surpass the master ROFL! I will never live it down, but yet I am so looking forward to this!
What Strain?
Barney's Farm (Word starts with an L and ends with a D. It also has three letters.) If you cant figure that out it is what it is hehe. Currently they have been vegged for 5 weeks and 4 days as of today. They are ready for screens. Grow time will be 63 days of flower before harvest.
Growing Medium
I use a 50 / 50 mix of Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Humboldt. I put 6 gallons of each in a big tub. I then add two cups of flour lime, two cups of ground kelp, and 1 gallon of Growstone GS-2 mix. (soil aerator) I mix that all up really good. I don't really go above and beyond that. I keep it pretty simple.
Grow Containers
This is where I go above and beyond to ensure maximum root growth. I like to use the 7 gallon black Smart Pots. Before I pour any of my dirt into the pot I put a layer of the big chunky Growstone Hydroponic mix all across the bottom. I then put a 1 gallon scoop of dirt on top of the layer of coarse Growstone layer. On top of that dirt I pour 2 cups of the thinner GS-2 mix and spread it out evenly. I do another layer of soil mix, then GS-2 mix and soil until I reach the top of the pot. I then pick up the pot and drop it a few times just to slightly pack the mixture. I will now add the seedling or clone to the pot, and put a nice layer of the thicker Growstone Hydroponic mix to the top.
This is a method that I use to attain explosive root growth. Air and water flow freely in and through the mixture and the pot itself. The big chunky layer of Hydro mix on the bottom and top are essential. The bottom layer promotes the ultimate root aeration and the top keeps your top few inches of soil from drying unevenly. Both the GS-2 and the Hydro mix are a blown glass product that kind of looks like lava stone but is really light. I VERY MUCH love how it retains both WATER and AIR which is extremely important to your roots. The pots themselves just amplify this effect. Figure on 5 gallons of actual soil mix with 2 gallons of space being layers of GS-2 and the chunky Hydro mix.
Fertilizer
We will be using a Fox Farms feeding schedule. Nothing special other than adding Cal Mag to each nutes feeding. We will also be using molasses during most feedings, sometimes in the water flush as well. A ph dropper is used after the feed is mixed to ensure it's as close to 6.7 ph as possible. We will be doing a nutes then water rotation. The feeding schedule with these lights and this soil mix is every 4 days pretty much on the nose.
Grow Area & Equipment
Currently in Veg we are using 2 x 200 watt 5w extreme veg lights as well as 2 x 400 watt 5w XTE lights set to the blue and white veg channel. When it's time to flower we will be using the 2 x 400 watt 5w XTE's to finish them out. During veg the lights run at a 24/0 light schedule. When we flip they will run on a 12/12 cycle.
There is an 8" carbon filter and fan combo for air flow as well as a 6" booster fan for an air intake. Temperatures inside the tent at canopy level stay between 70 - 74 degrees. I have the vent system set to trigger if the temp gets any higher than 74 degrees and kicks off at 69.
The tent is a 6.5 ft x 6.5 ft x 6.5 ft Lighthouse Hydro model. I can't complain much there is very minimal light leaks which were easily fixed with aluminum sticky tape. The zippers are of great quality and over all don't leak light very much. For the price OMG great deal no kidding!
The girls are on racks that sit inside of plastic tubs. This is great for getting air under your pots as well. It is also win to simply use a wet dry vac to remove all that runoff in the tubs after each feeding or watering.
Relative humidity is always 50% due to my win humidifier that keeps it right at that level.
I also have a nice pump sprayer that I use to spray down the girls each day with WATER and nothing else.
There is a nice tower model oscillating fan that sweeps the tent back and forth.
I will be making a 4" x 4" rack with net very soon as the flip is rapidly approaching. Stay tuned for more updates on that as it unfolds at a later time. It'll be made from white pvc pipe with a basic netting over for branch support and leveling of the canopy.
Closing thoughts before this throw down begins...
My main reason for doing this is to give back to the 420 community for all the fine guidance I have received over the years. It has always been my desire to grow the very best medicine my lady's needs. It pleases me to no end that she is finally taking that first step in growing her own. To know exactly where it came from and to know that she alone created her medicine. Helping people is what I like to do. So I hope that this grow journal not only helps my love but also those that choose to follow this grow... I will most definitely be featuring defoliation so brace yourselves. There is a method to the madness as well as timing that causes monster yields. This is a technique I have developed over the last few years. If you choose this path rest in the knowledge that you will have a huge advantage over casual growers. You're going to maximize your yields as well as your over all quality. No more popcorn fluff. Everything is a nug from top to bottom.
Stay tuned for more updates! 
First Grow Journal featuring Defoliation and SCROG!
AK Greenlovers Garden Featuring 2 x 400 XTE 5w LED Lights Top Genetics!
First Grow Journal featuring Defoliation and SCROG!
AK Greenlovers Garden Featuring 2 x 400 XTE 5w LED Lights Top Genetics!
