BuzzWired's #18 OG Kush S1 Grow Journal - 2010

BuzzWired

New Member
K, I'm starting this thread as I have become the Grim Reaper for seedlings and I wish to lose the title. I'm starting a very small grow and managed to kill all but my one girl who is now doing fine. I killed the others through two simple methods; impatience and rushing. Without getting into that part I decided it would be best to seek help from those who know best.

Grow Room: Secret Jardin DR80 Grow tent (2.7 ft x 2.7 ft x 5.3 ft (80cm W x 80cm L x 160cm H) )
System: (2) General Hydroponics WaterFarm
Bucket Size - 4/2 gallon Resevoir / Grow
Medium - Easygreen clay pebbles
Lights - (1) 250W MH, (2) 4' Sunblaster T5, (1) 250W HPS
Nutrients - House & Garden
Strain(s) - #18 OG Kush S1 (female seeds)
Flowering - 8 - 9 weeks
# of Plants: 1
Yield : 3 - 7


After introducing nutes too early, stretching and generally stressing her, my last female has managed to start growing quite well. She's now starting her third week of Veg and I've been following the H&G formula. Aside from her curvy stalk she seems to be doing ok. Today she's about 9" tall. I've placed a piece of dowel in the medium as a stake. She's starting to lean and I don't want her to collapse under her own weight.

There's a few things I'm concerned about with my system as I plan for the future. First, did I make a mistake with the 250 Watt lights? The grow area is small and lined with very reflective material. For vegitative I've got the Sunblasters strapped vertically adding more light to the underside of the canopy.

Second, I'm not crazy about the GH Waterfarm system. While the ring soaks the medium nicely it also splatters grow-juice onto the ring, bucket rim, floor and most importantly - the base of the stalk. It's easy to wipe up the floor every day or two to keep it nice and shiny but the build-up on the stalk base looks dangerous. I've used a spray bottle with fresh water to rinse it off but I don't like that solution.

Another issue with the ring is that it wets the surface of the clay pebbles. This has lead to algae build-up which I'm not sure how to deal with.


I'll use this thread to keep you posted on the progress and to listen to your feedback. Thanks for listening!

Grow room pic
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Growing well but you can see the algae build-up
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I'm starting to see purple threading through the stalk. I don't think this is good.
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Little update....

2 days before the schedule says I should switch to bloom. Things seem to be going well. The purple streaks in the stalk don't seem to be getting worse. Lots of nice new growth both upward and outward.

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A little yellowing on a bottom leaf tip
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Algae build-up on clay balls. Can this be prevented?
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Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
This past Monday market the start of the bloom stage (at least according to the schedule). Pre-flowers were clearly visible all about. My girl was about 13" tall when I switched lights and moved to the H&G bloom schedule.

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I've got a 250 Watt Eye Hotilux HPS bulb. Presently I've shut down the 2 4' Sunblaster T5 lamps. Can (should) these lights be used during the bloom phase along with the HPS or should I just leave them off?

Also, any tips on how to deal with the algae would be greatly appreciated!
 
I would add some H202 (hydrogen peroxide) to your rez the next time you switch everything. That can help with algae. As far as purpling in the stems, usually not an issue. Do your temps drop more than 10 degrees when lights are off?

Thanks for the tip Smokey. How much H2O2 do should I add to the mix. The resevoir holds about 8 litres.

The temperature does drop approximately 10 degrees. I'm working to fix that problem. Is that what may be causing the purple? Other than that she seems to be doing quite well.
 
Move the fan below the light blowing on plant,cover clay etc.(black plastic,paper etc.)h2o2, and lack of light will help.
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I've put the fan on the floor. It's blowing away from the plant but still creating lots of circulation. I've also covered the medium and watering ring with a layer of white plastic. Thanks for the tips.

Oh, and I turned the T5 tubes back on.

A million years ago back in the '90s I did a few grows at my old place. During those grows I used fishing weights on leaders as mini weighting systems for branches. I used the weights on my girl to spread her branches out so they can catch more light.

It's always scary at first as the leaves are usually turned away from the light and the plant doesn't look as "pretty" (yeah, like that's possible). Anyway, after about 10 hours of HPS everything looked great again with all the leaves pointing skyward.

I found this technique gave me a much better yeild in the past. The nice thing about fishing weights is they can be added and removed easily as necessary. Always remember though to go light at first so as not to strain the branches too much and watch your point of contact with the branch. You don't want to crush any developing goodies.

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I've set up an area for seedlings and vegitative growing. Once I get things up to speed I should be able to keep a continuously rotating crop.

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Back to the $100,000 question though; What concentration of H2O2 do I add to my 8 litre resevoir?
 
I would add about an oz. per gal(3%)., I am not a reg. user of it but many are and some one will give you a better idea, but that is a good starting point
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Hi Buzz, some strains have purple in there stems. Love the idea of fishing weights!! I have been using small pieces of chains with S hooks, can add a few links at a time. But might try some fishing weights. Will be watching this grow! :popcorn:
 
I use regular fishing leaders and the weights with rubber in them. This type of weight is easy to add, remove or move as needed. The type you have to squeeze shut are more of a pain in the butt.

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In the past I've used a small fish hook with a short length of line tied to it then added the same type of weights. The leaders make things a bit easier. Just be careful of your attachment points

Here you can see a branch which has pulled itself up after being bent down. Left untouched this branch was being shadowed by leaves above it. Now it gets way more light and is agressively reaching skyward.

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In this pic I've attached a weight to a leave adjacent to the top bud. This causes the plant to bow. As time progresses and with the right weighting and teasing I've been able to generate a plant that seemed to have multiple "tops". That, of course was over 15 years ago. Let's see if I can still manage to do it. :tokin:

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Oh yeah, these pictures were taken about 10 minutes after my darling woke up so she hasn't hit her daily stride for perkiness and gorgeousity. I was pleasently surprised though.

Going to try adding some Hydrogen Peroxide tonight to quell the algae.
 
Thanks for the comments and tips folks.

Things are going well with my girl (who I've named Fenchurch). She's into the third week of bloom and coming along nicely.

Here she is a few days ago
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And this morning
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She seems to be blooming nicely
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She's getting lots of new buds in low light areas thanks to the weighting
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I've taken some clones from her which seem to be doing well in a makeshift buuble aerator. I'll include some pics in a follow up thread.

That's all for today - Be well!
 
Minor update. Rounding out bloom week 4.

My darling Fenchurch has some nice buds and thick foliage.

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I had a question about trimmings; When do you start saving them? I have been doing some minor trimming since early on but now it seems that the time to save them is approaching. I want to use the trimmings to make cannabutter and oil. Are the trimmings taken during the bloom stage useful? Are only the trimmings from the cleaned up buds after harvest any good?

Any help would be appreciated!
 
Good looking grow Buzz :bravo: Good job at overcoming the obstacles that come with growing. OG Kush is a great strain!

I too am growing with a Waterfarm and can understand your complaints. Looks like you solved the alge problem by covering the media, that's good. I know it's too late this grow but you can cut the air and water supply tubes down some so the ring sits in the media to prevent the splashing. Make sure you are flushing that ring out once a week to prevent clogging.

Do you have air stones at the bottom of the bucket? If not I would add some with an air pump.

I'm not up to speed on cooking with cannabis so I'm not sure about the leaves. It seems they would not be potent until harvest time when trichomes where at their peak ripeness.

Good luck with everything :popcorn:
 
Thanks for the kind comments everyone! I have to say I love getting back into growing having been away from it almost 15 years. I still have a ton to learn.

The name Fenchurch actually came from Douglas Adams fourth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy; So Long and Thanks for all the Fish. She became the love of the series main character Arthur Dent. Her name (in the book) came from the fact that she was conceived while her parents were waiting in the ticket queue (line) at Fenchurch Railway Station in London. I don't know why I chose it. I just wanted to give her a better name than OG#2 :)

Glad to have another Waterfarm grower here to commiserate with YD. Knowing what I do know I don't think I'd have gone that route again. The great news (for me anyway) is that I discovered a WELL STOCKED hydroponic store less than 15 minutes from my home. Previously my trip was 45 minutes each way. Anyway, they have a FAR more efficient system than the GH system for self contained farms. Check it out....

Here are the two systems together (GH on the left). They each hold about 10 Litres of water and are about the same physical size.

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The insert for the new system provides much better "ventilation" than the GH (which is not much more than a few holes drilled in the bucket).

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And while the fill indicator bar seems like a good idea it's a breeding ground for algae.

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Also, the pumping system on the GH, which is quite messy, requires a proprietary component

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The new system is pretty much a stock pump, a length of tube and an L turn.

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Setup is simple. I just used a Dremel to cut a little slit in the bucket for the power cord (and an aerator hose) to slip in.

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I'll be using these new setups from now on but I plan to drill some more holes in my GH buckets and replace the pumps (and the fill indicators) for future grows.

And here's a picture of my lovely girl before her beauty sleep

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More to follow....
 
Thanks for the kind comments everyone! I have to say I love getting back into growing having been away from it almost 15 years. I still have a ton to learn.

The name Fenchurch actually came from Douglas Adams fourth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy; So Long and Thanks for all the Fish. She became the love of the series main character Arthur Dent. Her name (in the book) came from the fact that she was conceived while her parents were waiting in the ticket queue (line) at Fenchurch Railway Station in London. I don't know why I chose it. I just wanted to give her a better name than OG#2 :)

I believe in giving plants names... thanks for the history on the name! I think I have the book, will find it ...
 
That bucket set up looks like a winner to me! To be honest if you wanted to save some money you don't need the pump. It's almost just as effective to keep the water level high enough to keep your media and rockwool damp until the plant develops roots. Then lower the water level to normal as the roots grow. Don't forget the air stones for the res too.
 
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