Volks Grow

[CanbisMxmus]

Not sure if I did the pictures right, but there's what I had at first. I removed the cubes and put them in trays to root properly before returning to the machine. The fogger is a 6 head unit from Nutri-mist and blows a nice cool vapor over the clippings.

[maxximus]

That a 1,000 watt lamp you got running CM?

Your plants are all rooted? Can you see roots coming out the bottom of the cubes?

How long are you planning on running the fogger for?

You can run even a small computer fan in the cool-tube just to evac the hot air from the fixture. Enough foam to go around the outside of the fan will hold it on place inside the end of the tube if your fan is the right size.

Just a thought.

Cheers,
Maxx

[CanbisMxmus]

Maxx,

Yeah, it's 1000w but I had it down to 500w (it's adjustable). No roots yet, remember I was attempting to establish roots in the machine, but the lil boogers kept trying to commit suicide (falling out). The fogger has a multi-voltage power supply, so I can adjust the vapor flow to my desire, so I would usually leave it running. I really only use it to help start clippings, and for foliar feeding (it works awesome for that). I originally had purchased it (the fogger) for my aeroponic set up, but the vapor doesn't seem to carry some of the heavier elements in the nutes, causing deficiencies. It cost me about $400, so I try to use it whenever possible.

I recently moved, only 20 minutes from where I was living, but the climate is entirely different. I went from a hot arid zone, to a cooler coastal climate, and so it has caused me to have to change how I do things. I've been at my new location for about 4 months and am close to getting things "dialed" in, but I have encountered new problems. Mainly bud mold. Cool, dewy mornings have been unkind to my babies. Seems if it's not spider mites and caterpillars, it's mold and fungus gnats. Lol. I will overcome. I use einstein oil, but only in veg. and early flower. Indoor growing eliminates some of these prob's, but introduces a whole new set. It keeps me on my toes though.

Once my clippings are established, I plan on supplementing the 1000w, with two 45w LED panels, and possibly two 125w cfls. I believe this will give me the greatest spectrum coverage, as well as aiding growth below the tops of the plants. Just a thought. I'll find out when I get there.

[CanbisMxmus]

Oh yeah, thanks for the computer fan tip. I don't know why I didn't think of that. That is what propels the vapor from the fogger, and I have a few (fans) sitting aroung just waiting to be put to use. Lol. Sometimes I overlook the simplest solutions.

[maxximus]

I have read somewhere that the rotation while promoting above ground growth, somehow reduces root growth at the same time, so you maybe be better off sticking to flat land till you have dropped visible roots.

Cheers,
Maxx

[HazeSeeker]

Looking good , i'll be watchin
Good luck m8
+rep

[Soniq420]

Here we grow

Originally Posted by CanbisMxmus

[WheeloFortune]

awesome. finally something to look at. lol.

a couple suggestions as my smoke has me thinking:

it looks like you could push your bulb in a bit farther. try to center it. on my 600, i push the bezel all the way into the glass housing. 1000 w is bigger so maybe it is already.

i would only use the fogger till you go 12/12 not after that. promotes mold.
If you want to try to put them in ASAP, the earliest i would try is when you can pick up the plant from the stem and it holds the 1" RW cube. if it can hold the RW, the RW can hold it.

I am happy with my tent, but i could have gotten a smaller one. a 4x4 (thats a little bigger than 4, like 4 1/2) would be a great size.
It can hold heat,but they are made to be vented. they keep out bugs, help control accidental light poisoning. you could get a small dehumidifier to control humidity and mold. they are pretty sweet i must say.

i like the LED supplement, been thinking about that myself.

do you have a top to your resevoir? or an air stone in it?

[WheeloFortune]

oh yeah,
i just went and looked at my plants with my green led flashlight and remembered another point i wanted to make.

i don't know if you saw it in my journal, it was early but you should have a channel at the bottom of your rockwool, i didnt realize it at first, but you should have the channel visible from the open sides of the holder. that will let it drain the best, so check them all if you didnt already.

[WheeloFortune]

one last thing,

about the nasa comment.
nasa actually has a ton of trouble growing plants in the absence of gravity. they have developed some strains and found that some do better than others, but in general a plant doesn't know how to grow without gravity. With a lot of hard work and due diligence nasa and other scientists have learned to grow without gravity, but its not good for the plants, just like it isnt good for us. when astronauts go to the space station for 6 months they can lose like 40% bone mass even when they exercise 4 hours a day.

if you wanted to grow in space you would use almost exactly the volk's design, only way way bigger. and spin it to 1g, or maybe even like 1.2 g just to give it a little more weight.

[maxximus]

Originally Posted by WheeloFortune

one last thing,

about the nasa comment.
nasa actually has a ton of trouble growing plants in the absence of gravity. they have developed some strains and found that some do better than others, but in general a plant doesn't know how to grow without gravity. With a lot of hard work and due diligence nasa and other scientists have learned to grow without gravity, but its not good for the plants, just like it isnt good for us. when astronauts go to the space station for 6 months they can lose like 40% bone mass even when they exercise 4 hours a day.

if you wanted to grow in space you would use almost exactly the volk's design, only way way bigger. and spin it to 1g, or maybe even like 1.2 g just to give it a little more weight.

I can imagine a f**king mess with what you are describing LOLOL water flying off the thing like crazy.

good point about the channels in the rockwool cubes.

the astronauts also get swollen heads, im sure that helps. if we would stop trashing the place then maybe the idea of leaving it .......

Cheers,
Maxx

[Propa Gator]

WOF, I'm too old, stupid and stoned to do the math. How many rs you gotta spin that puppy up to pull a g? You got one of those geek calcs and know how to use it? Inquiring minds want to know.

[WheeloFortune]

the wheel has a radius of 5588 mm
so 1g would be about 40 rpm.

if we built a hydro space farm lets say 4m radius (that's 8m diameter!)
you would still need 15 rpm to get 1G.
1 revolution every 4 seconds.
thats still spinning pretty fast, such a big thing would be heavy, and therefore have a lot of momentum.

[CanbisMxmus]

Y'all are crazy!

I have the bulb as centered as possible, without measuring, I'm sure it looks off center due to the angle of the pics. As for the fogger, I only use it during the rooting process, and the occasional foliar feed. I had read that foliar feeding (too often) disturbs the osmotic reaction in the plant and confuses it, and yes, it can cause mold and powdery mildew quickly.

I was not aware of NASAs difficulties, only of the accomplishment, but it only stands to reason. Plants have been perfecting their growth patterns for thousands if not millions of years, they're kind of used to growing the same way they always have. Ii guess that's what makes it so interesting to try it other ways.

As far as the channels on the rockwool, when I assembled my VG, I went to the website for printed instructions (not just the demo video) and that was one of their tips as well. Good looking out though! I'm all ears when it comes to advice from those who have been there before me (unlike my teen years). Anyway...

I usually give my clones a light tug to see if they have started rooting (if I can't see any roots) and go from there. Maxx mentioned about the rotation affecting root growth, and since I am growing in rockwool now (as opposed to aeroponic), I can use beneficial bacteria and fungus which greatly stimulate root production and health. It works great on my container plants, now I will be able to benefit from it indoors as well.

I have a small hydro-hut, I think 3x3, but I bought a cheap one, and you get what you pay for. I can see you spent the few extra bucks and got a nicer one (I can tell by the reflective lining). I have an excellent indoor area, but I am working on acquiiring all the environmental conttrols as we speak. I already have co2 supplementation, and a thermostatic fan control, as well as a resevior chiller for my ice box. I was told the ice box (since it is only cooling one 1000w bulb) will also act as an air conditioner, cooling the air in the room as well. I can only imagine that should also help relative humidity in the room. I still have yet to add a fresh air intake, or exhaust. I just open the doors on both ends of the room and let it vent as necessary.

I have an airstone, and have been contemplating what I want to do for a res cover, since I am letting the clones root still, my VG is just sitting there waiting to go to work. It won't be long though. Thanks again!

[omenman]

how is that working trying to root in the rw while spining? are you having a problem with them trying to dry out? and are you using the food and drain setup yet to keep the blocks a little wet?