Aberration Goes Ker Bloom! - Perpetual

[Tricks]

Thanks so much for this journal! I'm just starting and will be doing veggies and such, and I'm very inspired by what you have done!

 

[MSquared]

Hey there Abe!
Sorry I have been away for so long, but I am back. I have caught up on your journal and all I can say is VERY NICE new flower room, very nice indeed!

I can't wait to see it in full swing. Keep it up and see you around.
I am starting a new journal next week and hope to see you there from time to time.
Have a great weekend.

 

[Aberration]

Looking A1 as always

Thanks. Though it doesn't always go as good as I would like.

i sometimes have clones dry out and look dead when put in dirt from the cloner, but after giving them a week, they come back usually with new growth.. i have an og kush that this just happened to recently

That long? Wow.

Thanks so much for this journal! I'm just starting and will be doing veggies and such, and I'm very inspired by what you have done!

Welcome! It's planning and consistency and smoke and mirrors. Well, just one mirror. Lot's of smoke though.

Hey there Abe!
Sorry I have been away for so long, but I am back. I have caught up on your journal and all I can say is VERY NICE new flower room, very nice indeed!

I can't wait to see it in full swing. Keep it up and see you around.
I am starting a new journal next week and hope to see you there from time to time.
Have a great weekend.

Hey, nice to see you! Thanks. Too bad I have to tear down the cool dry box, but when you plan and build while high it doesn't always go as planned.

Link me when you start your journal and I'll totally follow along.

---

I finally got around to testing my new USB pocket microscope. It's doesn't compare to a real microscope, but it was only about $40 and it takes OK pictures. The originals were taken at 1600x1200:

It's not easy to get good shots, but I think I can improve some still. It can gather video too (once I get the software installed).

 

[darkpiece]

wow ab... those are excellent pics i must say.

truly remarkable to look at them and see the structure at that level.

 

[Aberration]

Yeah, they're something else, aren't they?

The two issues are:

1. You have to hold it perfectly still for a long time to get a good picture. It's sloooow. It has a stand to fix that, and I have it here somewhere...

2. There is no way to control depth of focus. I think that's the right term. I mean the distance between the nearest object in focus and the farthest one in focus, basically. So at this magnification, there is only a narrow band of distance for decent focus. You can see it in the pictures. You have to try to get everything in a plane and view from perpendicular to the plane.

I'm no photo guru, I just spend extra money so my camera is usually smarter than me. I usually use a D90 w/ AF Nikkor 35-80mm lens and I have a little experience with lengthening the zoom to get a better depth of focus. This pocket scope doesn't let me do that.

It will do 10x-150x at the turn of a knob, but then you have to adjust the distance between the scope and the subject to get focus at any given magnification. So it's like the camera has zoom but no focus ring. While this is not the end of the world, it makes getting a good picture require a lot of fiddly adjustment work. And you can't really adjust depth of focus, which limits the image possibilities. :sigh:

Oh, and it came broken, it took 3 weeks of repeated attempts to get a response from the manufacturer and then they wanted me to send it back. It was actually only missing a small part that prevented the lights from working (those are the source of the 6-point ring of highlights you see in some of the trichome heads above). I found a way to repair it myself just this evening. It works great now and the repair is sturdy but I'm going to avoid Celestron products in the future due to abysmal customer service.

I had an open ticket I could log into and see. I left regular messages in the ticket and was ignored for 3 weeks. And then they couldn't offer me the missing nut, or even the specs of the pitch and ID. They offered to pay shipping both ways to send mine back and replace it with another. That seemed like so much waste, and I found a way to make it work with about 1/2" of the wire stripped out of a twist-tie. I tied it in there with hemostats and it's solid. It functions perfectly both mechanically and electrically now. I'm keeping this one. But I'm not buying their stuff any more. Sorry Celestron, but

Booooooooo! Hiiisssssss!

OK, I'm done ranting.

In the end, though, it's a great little scope for $40. Seriously. I'm happy I bought it. Comparable scopes were otherwise $70-80, so I guess you get what you pay for, eh?

 

[Aberration]

Holy crap. I completely forgot to include the feed report in the last post. That was actually why I was posting in the first place. I'm such a stoner sometimes. I get a little embarrassed by my occasional contributions to justifying the pothead stereotype.

I'm giving the bloomers and the smallest veggers a bye tonight. Dryer would be better. We'll see what they look like tomorrow.

==> Mature Veg (12):

BBX.4C, BBX.4F : 0.25 gal ea
GKA.1B
SLH.1A
TDR.1B

SLH.1D : water to saturation
AH1.0A, AH1.0B
QLR.0A, QLR.0B
WW.0A

L.6D : water to saturation

-Mix (3) gallons
-Per gallon:
1 T Pure Blend Pro Grow
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
--- t Big Foot (ord)
--- t TM-7
Natural @ 720 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.27 @ 20.2 C
1/2 t Companion

 

[Aberration]

==> Bloom - Pre-feed flush (4)

GKA (41/56 days) : 0.50 gal
BBX.3F (41/56 days) : 0.50 gal
CH (41/56 days) : 0.50 gal
L.5Q (41/56 days) : 0.50 gal
MTP.3D (06/63 days) : 0.50 gal
MTP.3E (06/63 days) : 0.50 gal

-Mix (3) gallons
-Per gallon:
1 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Yucca
pH target: 6.40 (±.10) Actual: 6.32 @ 20.6 C
1 t blackstrap molasses

==> Bloom - Feed (4)

GKA : 1.00 gal
CH : 1.00 gal
BBX.3F : 1.00 gal
L.5Q : 1.00 gal

-Mix (4) gallons - LATE
-Per gallon:
2 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Biggest Bloom
2 t PGE
1 t Silica Blast
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
2 t Notrozyme
2 t Organic Supplement
1 t Soil Nute
--- t Big Foot (ord)
1 t Calcium Syrup
1/2 t Carbon sweet
2 T Amino Blast
1/2 t TM-7
Natural @ 930 ppm
pH target: 6.40 (±.10) Actual: 6.44 @ 20.5 C
1/2 t Companion

MTP.3D : 0.75 gal
MTP.3E : 0.75 gal

-Mix (2) gallons - EARLY
-Per gallon:
1 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Biggest Bloom
1 t PGE
1 t Silica Blast
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
2 t Notrozyme
2 t Organic Supplement
2 t Soil Nute
--- t Big Foot (ord)
1 t Calcium Syrup
1/2 t Carbon sweet
1 T Amino Blast
1/2 t TM-7
Natural @ 1000 ppm
pH target: 6.40 (±.10) Actual: 6.40 @ 20.3 C
1/2 t Companion

 

[Aberration]

By the way, I think the pH meter I've been using may be contributing to my issues. I conditioned and calibrated a new one, and calibrated the existing one. Even then, with both successfully calibrating using 7.0 and 4.01 reference solutions, the results are dramatic: .15 to .25 difference in pH immediately after two-point calibration. Not to mention the new one is way faster.

The old meter was an older one with a six-month-old replaced probe. I do take care of my meters.

The feed report above uses the new pH meter. Let's see if that allows them to recover any.

 

[Aberration]

==> Mature Veg (12):

BBX.4C, BBX.4F : 0.25 gal ea
GKA.1B
SLH.1A
TDR.1B

SLH.1D : water to saturation
AH1.0A, AH1.0B
QLR.0A, QLR.0B
WW.0A

L.6D : water to saturation

-Mix (3) gallons
-Per gallon:
1 T Pure Blend Pro Grow
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
--- t Big Foot (ord)
--- t TM-7
Natural @ 800 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.22 @ 20.5 C
1/2 t Companion

 

[BWC BayArea]

Droppi ng by to say hello bro. Still looking good I see.

 

[Mr Smith]

I want a usb microscope!

 

[Xlr8]

Yeah, they're something else, aren't they?

The two issues are:

1. You have to hold it perfectly still for a long time to get a good picture. It's sloooow. It has a stand to fix that, and I have it here somewhere...

2. There is no way to control depth of focus. I think that's the right term. I mean the distance between the nearest object in focus and the farthest one in focus, basically. So at this magnification, there is only a narrow band of distance for decent focus. You can see it in the pictures. You have to try to get everything in a plane and view from perpendicular to the plane.

I'm no photo guru, I just spend extra money so my camera is usually smarter than me. I usually use a D90 w/ AF Nikkor 35-80mm lens and I have a little experience with lengthening the zoom to get a better depth of focus. This pocket scope doesn't let me do that.

It will do 10x-150x at the turn of a knob, but then you have to adjust the distance between the scope and the subject to get focus at any given magnification. So it's like the camera has zoom but no focus ring. While this is not the end of the world, it makes getting a good picture require a lot of fiddly adjustment work. And you can't really adjust depth of focus, which limits the image possibilities. :sigh:

Oh, and it came broken, it took 3 weeks of repeated attempts to get a response from the manufacturer and then they wanted me to send it back. It was actually only missing a small part that prevented the lights from working (those are the source of the 6-point ring of highlights you see in some of the trichome heads above). I found a way to repair it myself just this evening. It works great now and the repair is sturdy but I'm going to avoid Celestron products in the future due to abysmal customer service.

I had an open ticket I could log into and see. I left regular messages in the ticket and was ignored for 3 weeks. And then they couldn't offer me the missing nut, or even the specs of the pitch and ID. They offered to pay shipping both ways to send mine back and replace it with another. That seemed like so much waste, and I found a way to make it work with about 1/2" of the wire stripped out of a twist-tie. I tied it in there with hemostats and it's solid. It functions perfectly both mechanically and electrically now. I'm keeping this one. But I'm not buying their stuff any more. Sorry Celestron, but

Booooooooo! Hiiisssssss!

OK, I'm done ranting.

In the end, though, it's a great little scope for $40. Seriously. I'm happy I bought it. Comparable scopes were otherwise $70-80, so I guess you get what you pay for, eh?

Good info on that product, Aberration. Like Mr Smith, I really want one of these types of scopes! Sounds like another company might be the ticket though... Cool pics by the way!

 

[Aberration]

Droppi ng by to say hello bro. Still looking good I see.

Thanks BWC. How are you?

I want a usb microscope!

They are affordable. Get one!

Good info on that product, Aberration. Like Mr Smith, I really want one of these types of scopes! Sounds like another company might be the ticket though... Cool pics by the way!

Yeah, maybe not Celestron. I have since read that their customer service is legendarily bad. My experience resembled that reputation. The scope itself is pretty cool.

We transplanted tonight.

==> Transplanted (12):

BBX.4C, BBX.4F : 0.50 gal ea
GKA.1B
SLH.1A
TDR.1B
Transplanted to 2.0 gallon pots

SLH.1D : 0.25 gal ea
AH1.0A, AH1.0B
QLR.0A, QLR.0B
WW.0A
Transplanted to 1.5 gallon pots

L.6D : water to saturation
Transplanted to 5" pots


-Mix (7) gallons.
-Per gallon:
2 T Organic Supplement
1 t Big Foot (1st)
2 t PGE
1 oz. Yucca
Natural @ 430 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.05) Actual: 6.22 @ 21.1 C
1/2 t Companion
1/2 T Myco powder
1 t Bt-i

 

[MSquared]

Here there Abe, was wondering why you have to tear down your way cool dry box? I am building one very similar to yours, so I was wondering was it a desgin change or location.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Aberration]

Oh, it's completely the location. The design is just fine for putting a lot of dry in a small space, but it's drying too fast in the bloom room and I don't want to take my foot off of the dehumidifier's accelerator. It runs 35-50% humidity in there and that's great for the grow, but too dry for drying pot IMO.

With the new setup I have going I'll be able to set up the dry box in veg, where the humidity can be at the 60% I'm looking for without causing trouble. I'll have more room there anyway.

==> Bloom - Pre-feed flush (6)

GKA (44/56 days) : 0.50 gal
BBX.3F (44/56 days) : 0.50 gal
CH (44/56 days) : 0.50 gal
L.5Q (44/56 days) : 0.50 gal
MTP.3D (09/63 days) : 0.50 gal
MTP.3E (09/63 days) : 0.50 gal

-Mix (3) gallons
-Per gallon:
1 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Yucca
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.10 @ 19.6 C
1 t blackstrap molasses

==> Bloom - Feed (6)

GKA : 1.00 gal
CH : 1.00 gal
BBX.3F : 1.00 gal
L.5Q : 1.00 gal

-Mix (4) gallons - LATE
-Per gallon:
2 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Biggest Bloom
2 t PGE
1 t Silica Blast
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
2 t Notrozyme
2 t Organic Supplement
1 t Soil Nute
--- t Big Foot (ord)
1 t Calcium Syrup
1/2 t Carbon sweet
2 T Amino Blast
1/2 t TM-7
Natural @ 910 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.23 @ 19.8 C
1/2 t Companion

MTP.3D : 0.75 gal
MTP.3E : 0.75 gal

-Mix (2) gallons - EARLY
-Per gallon:
1 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Biggest Bloom
1 t PGE
1 t Silica Blast
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
2 t Notrozyme
2 t Organic Supplement
2 t Soil Nute
--- t Big Foot (ord)
1 t Calcium Syrup
1/2 t Carbon sweet
1 T Amino Blast
1/2 t TM-7
Natural @ 1010 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.25 @ 19.6 C
1/2 t Companion

==> Mature Veg (13):

BBX.4C, BBX.4F : 0.50 gal ea
GKA.1B
SLH.1A
TDR.1B

SLH.1D : 0.25 gal ea
AH1.0A, AH1.0B
QLR.0A, QLR.0B
WW.0A

L.6A, L.6D : water to saturation

-Mix (5) gallons
-Per gallon:
1 T Pure Blend Pro Grow
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
1 t Big Foot (2nd)
--- t TM-7
Natural @ 730 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.15 @ 19.7 C
1/2 t Companion

==> Young Veg (6):

BD.7C, BD.7F, BD.7J : water to saturation
CH.1A, CH.1B, CH.1C

-Mix (1) gallon
-Per gallon:
1 t Pure Blend Pro Grow
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
--- t Big Foot (ord)
--- t TM-7
Natural @ 460 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.19 @ 19.1 C
1/2 t Companion

 

[MSquared]

Oh, it's completely the location. The design is just fine for putting a lot of dry in a small space, but it's drying too fast in the bloom room and I don't want to take my foot off of the dehumidifier's accelerator. It runs 35-50% humidity in there and that's great for the grow, but too dry for drying pot IMO.

With the new setup I have going I'll be able to set up the dry box in veg, where the humidity can be at the 60% I'm looking for without causing trouble. I'll have more room there anyway.

Thanks for that. I am building one very similar, so would you change anything on it, or is it good to go?

I love the new room by the way !

 

[Casa Verde]

Respect there man .
Love the white room you have
Great read also .

 

[Aberration]

Thanks for that. I am building one very similar, so would you change anything on it, or is it good to go?

I love the new room by the way !

One thing I would change is that the fan probably needs to be on a timer so that it can just run 1 minute of every 15 or something. If the room you are in maintains a reasonably even keel as far as humidity goes, you should be able to find an interval that let the bud dry over 7 days (or whatever you like). You may need to dial it in first though. Alternatively, hang a humidistat in the center of the box and use it to control the fan.

The other is that it needs to be humidified. The wood should be well soaked until saturated. If it was being made from cedar you could soak the boards for a few days, then let it dry in a room that keeps the humidity level you want in the box later - for a few weeks. I think I want 60% r.h. for drying myself, but I'm not settled yet and tastes vary.

I would do this because the dry wood will absorb moisture from the bud too quickly - like there's a dehumidifier in there with it. You don't want to dry the bud too fast. Overly wet wood will weep and be too moist. Wood that is kept at "drying humidity" for a while will equalize with the room. It will then weep a little when it gets dryer, and will absorb a bit when it gets wetter. After you build the box, the very box itself will help to act as a buffer, helping to control humidity and minimizing swings. That way if you maintain the correct humidity inside with the fan and timer/sensor, the box is always drying bud at the same pace. Steady Freddy wins the drying race.

I tried to wet mine with rags and spray, but it wasn't enough. I'll do it right next time. Other than that it's a great design for a box. I haven't filled it yet, but I took it to 3/4 full and the drying was uniform.

Respect there man .
Love the white room you have
Great read also .

Thanks. Feel free to jump in and ask questions or make suggestions anytime.

 

[MSquared]

Thank you Abe! That is exactly what I was after

Any pic updates coming soon? I just really like your grow space.

and happy growing!

 

[Aberration]

Glad it helped. I expect to do pics this weekend.

Everybody is out of sync and I'm feeding day by day now. The veg is too big and needs to be cloned and trimmed. Along with other stuff that needs to get done, this weekend is going to be a busy one for me. I'll try to post it up as I go.

The four oldest bloomers are about ready I think. The pH meter problem yellowed them out and I think they have stopped doing anything anyway. I'm sure the 'lavender' indica is ready. She's usually good at 45 days, it'll be closer to 56 after flush, and she's doing better than the rest IMO. My final decision on each plant will depend on how they look when I scope the trichomes. I'm hoping to use my new digital microscope to take trich pictures so I can post them. If the pics show what I want, this will turn out to be their last meal:

==> Bloom - Pre-feed flush (4)

GKA (46/56 days) : 0.50 gal
BBX.3F (46/56 days) : 0.50 gal
CH (46/56 days) : 0.50 gal
L.5Q (46/56 days) : 0.50 gal

-Mix (2) gallons
-Per gallon:
1 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Yucca
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.24 @ 20.4 C
1 t blackstrap molasses

==> Bloom - Feed (4)

GKA : 1.25 gal
CH : 1.25 gal
BBX.3F : 1.25 gal
L.5Q : 1.25 gal

-Mix (5) gallons - LATE
-Per gallon:
2 T liquid steamed bone meal
1 T Biggest Bloom
2 t PGE
1 t Silica Blast
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
2 t Notrozyme
2 t Organic Supplement
1 t Soil Nute
--- t Big Foot (ord)
1 t Calcium Syrup
1/2 t Carbon sweet
2 T Amino Blast
1/2 t TM-7
Natural @ 1000 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.21 @ 20.6 C
1/2 t Companion

==> Mature Veg (2):

L.6A, L.6D : water to saturation

-Mix (1) gallon
-Per gallon:
1 T Pure Blend Pro Grow
1 t Cal-Mag
1 T Yucca
--- t Big Foot (ord)
--- t TM-7
Natural @ 910 ppm
pH target: 6.20 (±.10) Actual: 6.23 @ 20.4 C
1/2 t Companion