GodAmJT's Perpetual Greenery

[GodAm4twizzle]

What's up guys? I'd been wanting to grow MJ for a while, and up until recently, was sort of intimidated by it; lots of factors, cost, etc... Regardless, a friend of mine locally grows MMJ and got me into it fairly quick after seeing his enormous hydro set-up with all of the high-end gear and results.. So I embark on my journey... I've been reading a ton of stuff on here and a few other forums to see if I can jive together information.. So far, I've received great advice from TheCapn, and I may model my grow more like his than a traditional DWC like I had planned...


So here it is..


Ministry of Cannabis Auto Blue Amnesia, or Delicious Auto LaDiva. It's a mystery to me, as I had put the seeds in baggies, low-and-behold, hole in one of the baggies mixes seeds, so I've got just as good of an idea as anyone as to what it's going to be.


Currently, day 8 since germination. Cotyledons are there, and the first set of true leaves is pronounces, second set is coming in. I'm using 2-23w 2700K CFLs and 2-45w 6500K CFLs for the time being. A 3rd set (as can be seen in the pictures) will be activated. Eventually when flowers start to emerge, I will get rid of one of the 6500K's and put in an additional 2700K, and perhaps an additional light fixture, depending on how big it gets. Light cycle is 19-5, but will more than likely go to 20-4 as soon as I get my better ventilation set up and can seal the box up better.

The grow cab is something I built. It's 2ft x 2ft x 3.5ft. I've got a single fan now, with a ventilation system (nothing too fancy) coming in the next couple weeks, so it's currently being passively vented. I was planning on doing a DWC to start, as that seems to be a relatively popular method for doing a single plant. I'm using the GH 3-part along with Florablend and Aquashield. I've picked up a few gallons of distilled water and plan to use it throughout, although the tap water where I'm at is astonishingly low dissolved solids, ~85ppm average.

So far, it's in a 4" rockwool, with a rapid-rooter as a starter. Light nute solution of 156ppm. RH is between 55-65%. Temp has been constant between 73F-78F, with only dropping down to 65F at night with the lights off.


Any advice, tips, concerns, critiques, I'm all ears/eyes!!

 

[TheCapn]

Looking good, God. I think you're doing just fine. I would water this block every third day right now, whether you think it needs it or not. It's difficult to over water rockwool, so you shouldn't need to worry too much. Give it another week and you should see it take off.

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Thanks a ton!!! You've really inspired me to get this project rolling in a better direction!!

Picture I just took:

First Grow - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery


So far, it's growing, and although a little slow at first, that's okay while I construct my new top-feed set-up just like your design. Strangely enough, it's cheaper to get the mini-cubes locally, than it is to get them online! I changed the nute solution this morning:


ppm: 202
pH: 5.7
RH: ~50% (fluctuates depending on time of day, +/-5%)
Temp: ~78F


I started using the 3rd set of CFLs, so now it's 3- 45w 6500K, 3- 23w 2700K. After doing some reading into LED stuff, I'm almost considering getting a panel after this grow just to see a difference. I had even considered getting a small LED bulb to supplement what I have for lighting already, but I may just wait to keep it simple..

Anyway, I can't thank you enough for the knowledge you've passed on and the wisdom!!!!

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

I went away on Saturday morning, and had rigged up a make-shift exhaust fan from a PC and spliced in a AC-DC adapter to make it happen, and like an idiot, I mounted it but forgot to plug it in, so I came home on Sunday afternoon, the interior temps were at 91F!! OOps.. According to the "Peak/Hold" function on my thermometer, that was the hottest it got, but the humidity was low at 16%, since I wasn't home to refill the humidifier.

The plant wasn't wilted or anything, but the rockwool was a bit dry, so I used a tiny bit of distilled water to moisten it up last night, and got the humidity back up, but ever since I turned on my 3rd set of lights, I can't seem to keep the humidity stable.. It fluctuates anywhere from 30% all the way up to 75%. Is this a bad thing? Temps have been pretty solid in the 70's, so I'm not too worried there. I watered it this morning with the 200ppm solution, about 5 or 6 pipette full, and the top is still a little moist.

My lights are about 3-4" away from the plants. Should I move them up a little, or should I wait until they grow into the lights? After reading a lot of the literature on here, it says that I should be starting to see explosive growth within the next week or so, provided I didn't stunt it or screw something up..


Some pictures I just took:

Peace!!


JT

 

[TheCapn]

Yes you should work on stabilizing the humidity. A 20% difference is ok but not too extreme. I would move the lights away just enough so the plant is not getting any heat from the bulbs.

"Explosive" growth doesn't start until about one month in. (about 10" tall)

Good luck. I'll be back to check on you soon.

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Not a lot to update today, except they've got a new set of leaves and I feel like I'm finally starting to get my humidity dialed in..






JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Oh, I forgot to mention, looks like a tap-root is coming out of the bottom of the big ole rock-wool.. Just the tip!!!! <giggity><giggity>...

I just picked up a bag of mini-cubes and I have a pot that I believe to be a 1gal nursery pot.. It doesn't say 1gal, but it's dimensions lead me to believe it is.. I'll take some pics tomorrow.. Regardless, I'm going to be moving this cube into the pot and the next nute batch I make will be at about 200ppm..

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

I did a nute change today, and finally swapped the lil-dude to the pot with mini-cubes. Looks very "at home." This dry weather is wreaking havoc on my humidity control today, and haven't been able to get above 35%, but temps have been stable as ever, ~79F.

Nutes are at a pH of 5.9, PPM of 232 with distilled water. The plant looks decent so far, but I feel like this thing isn't very big for being an Autoflower, almost 3 weeks from sprout.. Maybe an odd pheno, maybe I stunted it at the beginning.. Who knows?! lol Being my first "official" grow, it's been more than just a learning experience!!!!!


Capn: Got a question for you, if you've got a second....


So as the plant resides in it's home, and I'm going to be converting my DWC bucket into a poor-man's air-pot, my questions are more based on watering and drainage...


First off, it looks like you use passive drainage, like an E&F system, but your catch basin is a 10gal tote. Do you only have 1 drain for it, back into the res? Secondly, since I don't have the kind of space you do, I was going to use my DWC bucket (3gal size), but use a small 5-gal low-profile tote underneath it. Does this mean that I should anticipate using AT LEAST 5gal of nute mix, or should I try to go bigger with a 10gal tote? I ask, because I'm going to rearrange my enclosure so that it's up in the air on a shelf, and I can mount the res underneath, just wanted to know what volume res I should be looking for.. If I'm able to do that, I'll gain literally 1ft of vertical space for growth, which is pretty nice to me..


On the side, I'm piecing together a homemade LED grow light, from stuff I've had kicking around.. As I put it together, I'll post pics on here, maybe even throw some DIY instructions up there, too... I like tinkering with electronics!!

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

This thing is growing, little by little each day!!!! Humidity is still sort of fluctuating, anywhere from 30% up to 60%.. My roommate hooked me up with a bigger PC fan, as the one I'm using now is a little CPU heat-sink fan, so maybe that will help.. Temps have been extremely stable, between a low of 68F and a high of 81F, and the pH/PPM seem to keep themselves stable..




JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Forgot to ask... Should I be covering the rockwool with hydroton at this point, or should I hold off until it's in its final home?


Thanks again!!




JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

I tell you, everyday seems like a learning experience.. I suppose like any other newbie, I'm anxious for results, but I have the patience contrary to that of which dooms a lot of other new growers.. I feel like when I wake up in the morning until when I go to bed, this thing surprises me every second.. For some reason, even with the sort-of-low humidity, I think the Capn's recipe for success is truly something that should be more than just admired, but something folks should embrace!!!! I know it's early, but I'm looking at the pictures of the node spacing on this thing, and I'm kinda blown away when I compare it to the hundreds of the grows I've seen you fine folks doing on this great resource!!! Mine wasn't leggy, and maybe it's because I learned a few lessons while reading the countless threads.. Maybe I got lucky.. Maybe.... Maybe.... Maybe... Aahhhhh, f- it... I'm not going to push my luck..


Against my better judgement (and advice the Capn gave me), I used the hydroton to cover the top of the croutons and cube mostly because the local shop didn't have any more mini-cubes other than the massive case, which I don't have money for right now.. I'm sort of in limbo now, as to what I should expect next, as I've tracked the grows of a few other folks who have grown either of these strains.. I see their pics and their plants at this point in time were much more hearty, but fewer leaves and less growth, so I'm hoping the pheno I got just happens to be perfect for my limited grow space.. I'd be a liar if I said I kinda wish this wasn't a femme-auto for the fact I could clone it, but if this thing keeps going in this same direction, I'll have the shape I was hoping for without the addition of LST or ScrOG-ing.. I may still do those, but if this thing moves laterally, I'm going to have to buy some more lights!!!

The camera I have is... meh.... I think I need to work the white balance or maybe something else.. Those pictures make it look like the leaves are lighter, but from where I'm sitting, they are a nice, even green with no glossiness or spotting.. It's already skunky!!!





JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

So it's been a few days, figured I'd update this piece!!!


Little dude has really taken off in the last 48-72hrs! I'm truly amazed!! I kept having issues with humidity, so my roommate said I could use his larger cool-mist unit that is waaaaaaaaay more efficient. Turns out it was a great idea!! humidity stays at a perfect 50% with no fluctuations according to my monitor and from what my gf recorded for data while I was gone out of state for the weekend.. Temps have been a solid 77F as well, so I couldn't be much happier!! I changed the nute batch so now I'm sitting at about 322ppm and a very mildly adjusted pH of 5.9.. I'm going to be picking up stuff to make the beneficial tea this week and I will also be assembling the top-feed ring and poor-man's airpot in the next few days after finals.. The pictures I guess kinda speak for themselves..




JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Odd turn of events this morning... Looks like I'm already starting to get pistils on this thing... Is that normal for the plant being this small?? Or an I way off?? If that's the case, almost sounds like I'm going to be germing some other seeds today!! Not exactly what I wanted to see in terms of total growth but I guess it could be worse..


I had thought to swap out one of my 6500K bulbs for a 3000K bulb last night since I'm nearing week 4. Was this a bad idea?? Is this something that might've caused that from happening? I'm thinking yes, but was hoping for some feedback...





JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

I think I may have found my problem! I was scheming as to what might be the problem, and the one thing I haven't done with this thing is check the pH/ppm of the run-off as I water-to-waste with the rockwool for now until I get the top-feed done. The run-off ppm was right, but the pH was 7.5!!! Not sure what it's going to take to fix this, but I've been using a nute solution with a pH of 5.9 consistently throughout so I'm guessing this thing is NOT happy!! Should I be considering doing a mini-flush for the next couple days??

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

I did a mini-flush and ran some pH'ed distilled water through the rockwool until I got a pH of 6.4 and a ppm of 110-116-ish for the run-off.. I then used my 308ppm solution to water it and the run-off was now down to a pH of 6.1 and a ppm of 275 w/ 0.5 EC conversion.. I've repositioned my lights so that the 2 6500K's are hitting the sides/middle and the 2700K/3000K are covering the other areas and the top. Hopefully this little flush didn't just mess things up and hopefully I can have good results with tomorrow's watering. I may go out and get another socket and splitter to run a couple more CFLs for even more light. I have reflective material that I'd like to line the interior of the enclosure but just haven't had time to put it up because of finals.. Even spending the hour or so to take care of the plant today was tough to do because of school.. My last final is Thursday and then after that, I begin the building of the res, top-feed and set-up for when this thing is nearing completion. I'm germing my last auto seed tonight to prep for the next grow and will probably let that one go a bit longer in the humidome to get some serious roots going on before moving to the rockwool.. Lots of lessons learned here, and I'm glad I thought to check that today.. I still have hope that I can salvage this plant but it's going to take some work!!

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

So I think I've got it down for good, or at least for now.. I've ran through a few gallons of distilled water and almost a gallon of nute mix trying to flush this thing down to an acceptable pH.. Right now, with a 5.5 nute solution of a 326ppm, the run-off is at a stable pH of 6.0 which I'm happy with for right now.. Yesterday it was at a 6.1 and drifted to a 6.4 overnight. I did a little modifying of the enclosure today to celebrate finishing this semester.. This gold laminate was free and it works pretty well as it's not a paper-based laminate.. 3000K bulb burned out (it was an old one) so I threw another 2700K in.. Growth is still occuring on this thing and I think it may be nearing time to re-plant to it's final destination: a 3-gal equivalent air-pot that should be here any day now.. Once I do that, the top-drip system will be in full-effect!! I'm going to be making the reservoir and drainage tomorrow along with the drip-ring.. I'm hoping to keep this whole thing relatively modular/compact so all of the hoses will be as short as possible and all of the connections will be zip-tied to ensure their sealing.. I'll have more pictures by the end of this weekend.. Peace...

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Gotta admit, I'm feeling a lot better now than I did last week! This thing is growing and I'm liking the rebound it made!! I took out some CFLs because some small LED's I ordered came in, so I'm going to give it 24hrs and see how they do.. If they don't do much, then I might take out one and throw the CFLs back in.. It's freaking warm out today, compared to what it has been (about 85F) with not much humidity, so I've had to give up on keeping humidity stable since even the big humidifier can't keep up!! The enclosure is at about 82-84F, but it's already past the hottest part of the day, and it's supposed to be cool and drizzly, so humidity and cooling will no longer be an issue.. I was hoping FedEx was going to be so kind and deliver my air-pot today so I could use that instead of the poor-man's version I made, but we'll see.. I have a family emergency, so I have to leave tomorrow.. I've almost completely finished the top-feed set-up and I'll post pictures of it working, later on tonight.. The gf has been gracious enough to take on the responsibility of taking care of my little buddy until I get back this weekend.. I hope these little LEDs help out, even just a little bit, since it'd be great to bounce back from the set-backs I had and actually get more than a couple grams of bud after this is all said and done!! I also need to find a new way to rig the clip-on fan, because I think it's hitting the top of the plant a little too much..




JT

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Sooooo.... Been outta town for a few days and my gf was keeping watch.. She did a good job of recording all of the stats, and finally, I feel like I have everything dialed in, with regards to temp, pH, humidity, ppm, etc.. This thing nearly doubled in height, I swear, since I left!!!! when I came home, the res was low and I wasn't expecting my gf to mix up nutes or even have to pH water, since I didn't have time to teach her before I left.. Such is life, but when I came home, ~7gal res was down a little less than 2gal, which was good, but was also only down about 35-40ppm which I thought was odd, but anyway.. Lots of what I presume to be bud-sites all over this thing.. I switched the 6500K lights out with some more 2700K bulbs as well as re-positioned the LEDs and lights a little to get better coverage.. I have a feeling if I don't mess anything up, I could probably get a fair amount of successful growth yet!! I'm really maaaaaaybe close to halfway, maybe a little less.. Depends on who you talk to.. Some folks say 10wks, the manufacturer of the Blue Amnesia says 60-75 days, and I think the La Diva was about the same, maybe a little longer?? Anyway, I'm thinking closer to 75-100 days, just to play it safe.. I'm loving this recirculating top-drip!! My res temps have been steady around 67F without any chiller (it's still nice and cool outside here, so it helps a lot!) and the humidity and temps in the enclosure have been nice and firm in the 70F's.. I'm happy so far, but there's much work to be done..

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

Not a ton to update on, except for the fact that I cleaned up the inside of the enclosure a bit to organize the wiring a little better and to fit a smaller catch basin in. I'm still not happy with the lighting arrangement because I feel like I'm missing some spots, but what can you do with CFLs?? I've got 4 small LEDs at the top and with all of them together, it puts out a relatively decent amount of focused light. The leaves all appear to be healthy, but this thing is a scrawny one!! I'm not sure if that's because I left the 6500Ks in too long, or if maybe this thing was supposed to be waaaaaay more full, but since I stunted it a little, it didn't want to fully develop. There are bud sites forming all the way down to the base of the plant!! I'm not really doing LST in the traditional sense by tying stuff down. I have these bamboo skewers that I'm using to sort of push the fan leaves aside to bring more light into the middle of the plant.. I think ultimately, I may just use a larger LED panel (that I was supposed to be constructing, but at this point, it may be easier to just buy one) over the top of the plant and use either T5/T8 single-bulb fixtures on the corners for side lighting and just swap out color spectrums.. I don't know.. I feel like It'll take a while to get the set up exactly how I want, but it's getting there!

Did a nute change yesterday after 8 days, ppms were a little low as I had topped off with just pH'ed water for the last couple days. pH was 6.2 (still creeping up a little) but with the new batch, I pH'ed it to a 5.6 counting on a little drift. I also did a full switch to the bloom-heavy nutes with a ppm of about 480-ish to see how it reacts.. If it seems more hungry or if it starts to get fatter, I might bump it up a little with the next res top-off later this week.. Temps and humidity have been awesome and consistent so I'm hoping maybe another 4-6 weeks?? This is day 40 since sprouting, but they state this is a 60-75 day strain, so I figure it's a 75-90 day expected time.. Actually, I'm HOPING, just off the of the fact I hope this thing fattens up a bit!!!


My nutes are as follows:

25ml GH Florablend
25ml Botanicare Aquashielf
10ml GH Grow
15ml GH Micro
25ml GH Bloom
10ml Botanicare Cal/Mag+
10ml Botanicare Silica Blast
5ml GH Floralicious Plus
6gal distilled water w/ slightly varied pH between jugs, 6.1-6.6



Anyway, any comments, suggestions, questions?!?

 

[GodAm4twizzle]

This plant is just kinda cruising along so far; nothing too crazy to update.. The smell is starting to get more and more pungent!!! I brushed against the side of the brand when I was changing the water in the humidifier and my hand/arm STILL smell!!!! When I did the res change yesterday, ppm were at ~770 and pH was at a 5.7.. After this morning's feeding, ppm was down to ~640 and pH was up to 6.1, looking like the plant/rockwool took about a half gallon of water and a bunch of nutes!! The leaves are starting to get frosty and today is day 47.. These buds are starting to get a bit bigger.. I have to remind myself to stop staring at it because I feel like it's not growing, but when I go back and check out pictures from last week, it's amazing how much bigger it's got!!!

Anyway, here are some pics from a couple days ago.. It's really starting to fill out where it looked super-scrawny before.. I think I may end up getting a tent sooner than I thought because this enclosure may not be big enough to grow the size of plant I want, or I have to come up with a better way for humidity and get rid of this extremely large obstacle in the grow space.. I could get a good-sized ScrOG net going in there if it wasn't for the fact the humidifier is large.. I may see about modifying the back wall so that I can just pop that out to do water changes so I can leave stuff more stationary but my next grow will be more LED-centric and possibly use 2-4ft T5s as supplemental lighting.. I'm always scouring Craigslist and local ads for cheap and free stuff like lighting and anything that could make this grow more efficient!