1st Journal - Unknown Strain - DWC - 400W MH/HPS

[BakedAlaskan]

1st post, and 1st journal. Little bit of background -

I haven't used much smoke since I was 16.. waaaay too many years ago. About 10 yrs back my wife starts to get headaches. Then they got worse. For the last five years they were downright debilitating. A few months ago a mutual friend gave us some cookies. For the first time in as long as I can remember her pain vanished. We talked it over and decided that it made sense to grow our own meds. With the recent changes in state law, the risk reduced enough for us to give it a go.

Anyway, on to the grow. I lurked here for a couple of weeks and then went out to locate some seeds. I ended up coming home with four clones... all from different strains. I am still working on determining what they are, but at this point my primary focus is to grow and learn.


What strain is it? >> Unknown; four varieties
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages?
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? >>Veg
If in Veg... For how long?>> one week
If in Flower stage... For how long?
Indoor or outdoor? >> Indoor
Soil or Hydro? >> Hydro
If soil... what is in your mix?
If soil... What size pot?
Size of light? 400w
Is it aircooled? Not yet
Temp of Room/cab? 81.2
RH of Room/cab? Unknown
PH of media or res? 5.5
Any Pests ? Spider mites
How often are you watering? DWC
Type and strength of ferts used? GH Floranova

I had a rough starting week. The clones had spider mites. They were potted in soil w/peat moss pods. I sat those things into the DWC baskets and they simply refused to root down to the water. In an act of desperation I gently opened the peat moss bags and let the roots out. It didn't take long for them to get down to the water. I read that the "hot shot" bug killer hanger works. We picked up one Sunday and it appears to have eradicated all of the live mites already. We got a 36"x36" grow tent. So far it seems to be a pretty high quality item.

Until tonight, I had them under a 35W CFL bulb. Earlier this evening my 400w MH/HPS setup and what a difference! I think the plants perked up just in the last hour! After looking through some of the journals I am seriously considering a hempy setup. The DWC seemed like it is a good idea, but maybe I should learn more of the fundamentals before trying it. Finally, I am thinking of a SCROG. Perhaps a 34" square SCROG divided into quarters. That way I could flower all four strains and see which one works best for her needs.

Some pictures from tonight..

This is one of the leaves recovering from spider mites

The root are finally taking.. but looking a little brown. I added a capful of h202. Should I add more?

Here is a shot of the DWC. It is a 14g Rubbermaid.

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

What a day

Last night my thermometer registered 93degrees! I took a 90CFM computer fan and mounted it to one of the upper openings. It took the temps into the 80-81 range. However, the water in the DWC was very warm. The roots were getting brown and slimy. I took the air pump out of the tent and that helped a bit.

When I got home tonight, the girls looked happier. However I decided that starting out with DWC is probably not the thing to do at this point. I may try it again later, but it seems like hempy is a better route to go.

Looking a little too brown on the roots. Here is another lesson learned - Be careful when committing to an airpot - Pulling the roots out was not fun and some damage ensued

I gently transferred the plants in. Here is the 1st one in her new pot.

Here are all four of the girls waiting for their 1st water in the hempy pots.

I tested my water before adding nutes. Looks like 6-6.5

After adding nutes, it dropped below 5.5

Eight drops of PH+ brought it back to the 6.0 range

Here are the girls back under the light. Hope they didn't go through too much shock from the transition

Temps are in the 80-81 range. On a positive note, there is no sign of spider mites except the egg pouches. Hopefully they will stay gone with the no-pest strip. It seems like the strip makes my eyes burn with just a little amount of time in the tent. Cant wait until it is no longer needed.

All for now.

 

[shottafire]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

If you dont have luck with the no pest strips. I would look into mighty wash by npk industries or sns217.
both are safe to use and pretty effective.
Your plants look pretty good considering the mites and high temps.

good luck and happy growing.

 

[Cultivator]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

Hi mate.

plant vitality works for spidermites, ive used it successfully more than once.

i'd of liked to to stick with dwc but hempy method is good too. if i were u i'd invest in a ph probe, like a bluelab combometer. its an investment that u will thank over time. they are very accurate. the plants look healthy after transplant, just make sure u treat the spidermites or u will have a nightmare.

goodluck mate.

 

[Alkhemist]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

hey there matey!

plants look great considering their rough introduction to the world! yeah spidermites can be killer i tend to go with predator mites myself and a gentle spray regimen in the early veg days with organic insecticides and miticides... prevention is key and worth the effort.
ive been having big issue with heat lately myself.. my room is reaching up into the 35-36 celcius regions!! a little disconcerting as i dont have aircon and balance temps merely by intake and extraction fans on timers.. but when its HOT outdoors(which it has been here!)its tough regardless. you could try root additives for your DWC set up, in my last grow i started using Roots Excelurator — House & Garden Nutrients #1 Root Stimulant to aid in the protection of my plants root system and it worked magnificently! the cost of it was frickin crazy but it lasts forever(1.1mil per gallon of water) there are other prods im sure that will aid in preventing algae build up and root issues and even hydrogen peroxide works to a degree.. best of luck with that in the future.. and yeah, keeping the DWC solution cool especially when the roots get larger can be an issue, unless you can chill the solution or turn to undercurrent recirc DWC setups to remedy the heat issue.

im stoked to hear about your wife finally finding relief through green meds! once again it just confirms the beauty of this misjudged plant and hope her relief can be an ongoing one through green

all the best with this grow! and will look forward to seeing your ladies grow and fatten up into beautiful flowers

keep up the great work

 

[Cultivator]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

try switching ur timers so lights come on through the night. that will bring temps down.

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

Thanks, Shot.

So far the No-Pest strip appears to be pretty effective. I hope it continues that way but if not I'll look into the wash

-Ty

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

if i were u i'd invest in a ph probe, like a bluelab combometer. its an investment that u will thank over time. they are very accurate.

Thanks for the tip on the combometer. Question - Will it work for testing the media in the hempy, or only for calibrating the water/nute solution before watering the girls? If the latter, how critical is it to have such an accurate reading? I will mix nutes for every feeding so if my measurements are accurate I should know PPM. The PH test kit is subjective; I would not be able to discern 5.6 from 5.8, but if I can confidently keep my water in the 5.5 - 6.0 range will that suffice?

Just asking because getting Finance Committee approval for another couple hundred dollars of equipment probably isn't likely right now.

 

[Cultivator]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

dont worry about ph of medium, if u can keep in that range u will be fine. strips arent the most accurate way to measure ph but if plants dont show deficiency u'll be ok. if they do then get the meter.

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

hey there matey!

im stoked to hear about your wife finally finding relief through green meds! once again it just confirms the beauty of this misjudged plant and hope her relief can be an ongoing one through green

all the best with this grow! and will look forward to seeing your ladies grow and fatten up into beautiful flowers

keep up the great work

Thanks Alkhemist.

I think modern medicine needs to re-learn old practices and un-learn others. Modern medicine is amazing when it comes to treating an injury or stabilizing a paitent who has an accident. However I don't think they offer solid treatments for many illness conditions unless the regimens include expensive dependencies on pharmaceuticals. Sad, really.. I suffered for years with asthma and the "maintenance" steroid inhalers. When I discovered that my diet was deficient in O3 oils and selenium, I self-treated and all but eliminated the asthma with nothing more than some supplements from GNC. My "Dr" rolled his eyes when I told him about the success. He isn't my "Dr" anymore.

My wife saw the top neurologists in the state. They put her on medications ranging from opiates to anti-seizures. There were mornings she literally could not get out of bed because the meds made her too dizzy to walk. Nothing.. and I mean NOTHING she took provided the relief she felt from cannabis cookies. As I prepared the hempy pots last night, I heard the familiar thump on the wall coming from our bathroom. On the really bad days my wife will take a hot shower and rhythmically pound her forehead into the tile wall. One would think that would make the headaches worse, but apparently it helps to some degree.

I would like to spit in the face of any politician who tries to say that cannabis has no medical use and therefore should be controlled like a schedule 1 drug. I would not wish my wife's affliction on them permanently, but maybe a week of experiencing her pain and the subsequent relief cannabis offers would change their perspective.

I look forward to the day when I can prepare meds for my wife which hit the sweet spot of pain relief without "stoning her out". We cant wait for modern medicine, and should not have to.

-Cheers
Ty

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

Start of Week 2. Happy Super Bowl day, everybody!

I am getting concerned for my girls. The pictures tell the story.

Since my last post, we needed to relocate the grow tent for security and discoverability reasons. the new location is in an unheated area. I hope that the 400w light can provide enough heat but alas the canopy thermometer read 69 degrees this morning. Is that close enough? Otherwise Ill have to get a heater out there and it is not clear if the electrical system will handle the load (on 1 15a circuit). My light is 18" above the tops.

I watered the hempy buckets and added nutes. I chose to use the lowest PPM to start. New growth is emerging on the girls, but the leaves tell another story.

Girl1 ('lil Bushy)

Girl2

Girl3

Girl4
Her stem got purple in the last couple of days. What does that mean?

 

[Cultivator]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

ph is too high hence the purple stems, its magnesium lock out. ph to 5.2-5.4. 69f is a little low also, 75-80 be better and 65f at night.

 

[Tokist]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

hey man, i did a dwc grow my first time out similar to yours and i had the same problems. everyone and their brother told me it was ph. by the time the symptoms really manifested, it was way too late to do anything about it. you sir, have root rot.

that snapshot of your roots in your second post is not a good indicator. your roots are supposed to be white as snow (check out the link of my first dwc grow. you will see my first root pics, they were gorgeous and white. as the pics progressed, they got brown and slimy, and began to clump together) and they aren't supposed to cling to one another like that.

root rot is pretty tough to fix and what i ended up having to do was cut my plants at the base and clone them. when new, fresh roots developed, i was able to repot them.

if your res temps are above 68-70, root rot or any other problem related is nearly inevitable. if you're sayin you got temps of 81, well... there's no way. when water heats up it's ability to hold oxygen diminishes. your roots need the oxygenated water (hence the airstone) to transport nutes to the plant. if the water's too hot, it's not going to hold near enough oxygen and your plants will begin to show signs of what appear to be nute lockout. many will say "check your ph". in essence, it IS nute lockout, but the cause is not due to your ph. it's because your roots are suffocating. even two degrees is enough to make a difference. my res temp averaged 74.

after looking at your pics, i'd bet money that that's what you're dealing with.

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

ph is too high hence the purple stems, its magnesium lock out. ph to 5.2-5.4. 69f is a little low also, 75-80 be better and 65f at night.

okay, should I flush them with adjusted water? Clear water or nutes? I don't want to cause more shock to the girls.

 

[Cultivator]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

it may not be root rot mate. but thats a possibilty. after he transplanted the plant would have pushed out new root growth. root rot is very easy to fix.

get some H2O2 (i use essential hydroponics oxyplus 17.5%). mix 8ml per 10litres and pour through the plants with 1/2 strength nutrient, allow a fair amount of run off. Next day run 1/2 stregth nute with super thrive or b-52 until a small amount of run off. then resume regular schedule. mix ur ph at 5.4. if u see no improvement within 5-7 days, repeat with 5ml per 10litres water h2o2.

use roots excellurator and the following (any one product will do but a combination would be better), voodoo juice, piranha, rhizotonic carboload (half strength, this is just to feed the beneficials).

follow my journals in my signature to see how to grow with hydroponics, lots of pictures to show how i do things and ask any questions u likee.

 

[BakedAlaskan]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

hey man, i did a dwc grow my first time out similar to yours and i had the same problems. everyone and their brother told me it was ph. by the time the symptoms really manifested, it was way too late to do anything about it. you sir, have root rot.

after looking at your pics, i'd bet money that that's what you're dealing with.

Not only did I have some root rot when I abandoned the DWC, but I lost some of the roots when I took them out of baskets. I hope these girls are not a total loss, but moving to hempy seemed to be the best way to stabilize them. Strange.. I went from too hot inside to too cold outside.

 

[Tokist]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

continuing from the last post, i just had a thought.

your plants are going to have to regrow an entire new root system before you'll see any forward progress, as it has to replace the rotted roots completely. since they are not able to get sufficient nutes via the root system, it seems to me that you will want to make a simple ctea or something and do a nice thorough foliar feed until the plants begin to bounce back.

 

[Tokist]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

it may not be root rot mate. but thats a possibilty. after he transplanted the plant would have pushed out new root growth. root rot is very easy to fix.

get some H2O2 (i use essential hydroponics oxyplus 17.5%). mix 8ml per 10litres and pour through the plants with 1/2 strength nutrient, allow a fair amount of run off. Next day run 1/2 stregth nute with super thrive or b-52 until a small amount of run off. then resume regular schedule. mix ur ph at 5.4. if u see no improvement within 5-7 days, repeat with 5ml per 10litres water h2o2.

use roots excellurator and the following (any one product will do but a combination would be better), voodoo juice, piranha, rhizotonic carboload (half strength, this is just to feed the beneficials).

follow my journals in my signature to see how to grow with hydroponics, lots of pictures to show how i do things and ask any questions u likee.

i tried that on my grow with very little success. if i had caught it earlier, perhaps. once the roots are brown, it's pretty much too late. you can put them in some h2o2, but all you're going to be doing is bleaching dead roots white. as you and i stated already, the plant is going to have to replace the dead roots.

if you want a sure fix, tyofwa? cut those bitches at the base of the stem, dip em in some cloning gel and let them regrow brand new roots. it'll set you back a couple weeks, but so will waiting on root rot to rectify itself.

if i were you, wait a bit to see if maybe they'll bounce back with some foliar feeding. if you feel the plants are only getting worse, then try to pseudo-clone them as explained in the previous paragraph.

you've got options, so lets wait it out and see, eh? the plants arent near dead yet, they've got a ways to go before you really need to start freaking out.

 

[Cultivator]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

obviously if the plants are just a bout dead it would be difficukt to bring back. but its not true to say once roots are brown u are just bleaching them white. i have experienced root rot several times and never lost a plant. u need to sterilise the system then have a recovery program. usually if plant is in half decent condition it will root after sterilsation. adding guardian angel allows u to run temps into high 70's without incidence. my res is currently running at 78f and roots are beautifully healthy. using cannazym and beneficials help also.

 

[Tokist]

Re: 1st Journal - unknown strain, DWC, 400w MH/HPS

obviously if the plants are just a bout dead it would be difficukt to bring back. but its not true to say once roots are brown u are just bleaching them white. i have experienced root rot several times and never lost a plant. u need to sterilise the system then have a recovery program. usually if plant is in half decent condition it will root after sterilsation. adding guardian angel allows u to run temps into high 70's without incidence. my res is currently running at 78f and roots are beautifully healthy. using cannazym and beneficials help also.

learn something new every day!

i've never heard of either of those nutrients, but a quick google search helped me out.

perhaps had i have had more knowledge, i MAY HAVE been able to save my last grow a lot easier, but hindsight is 20/20 i suppose. thanks for the education, cultivator