Aussie First Time Grow

[aussiebuddy]

It sounds like you have a solid plan my friend

thanks man hoping it pans out.. i dont really know what im doing with plants or have anyone in real life that i know who smokes that i could talk to about it and cant find much on these nutrients online so totally winging it

 

[McRib]

thanks man hoping it pans out.. i dont really know what im doing with plants or have anyone in real life that i know who smokes that i could talk to about it and cant find much on these nutrients online so totally winging it

I reckon you'll do well. I don't really have anbody either buddy. I do have a mate who is also just starting to grow and he's no help to me at all. He's totaly winging it. He'll probably end up with a sick harvest lol.

I'm loosely following Cultivator's advice. Mainly on the EC targets. Link in my signature. I'm picking up some GT Coco Bloom from my local before I flip. I also have some Monstabud which has quite a following in our part of the world but not really sure how to use it yet.

 

[OceanicBud]

Late to the show but looking great @aussiebuddy, you sure this is first grow? Lol.
I like the automation you've rigged up, It so much easier to just check EC / PH morning & night and top up res when needed opposed to a rigorous manual setup demanding daily close proximity.

How did you go for heating & RH, particularly your water temp in the res ? I just received a ITC-306 temp controller this week so now can keep the tent at that 25c mark as we get into winter here down under, I found when connected to small electric heater actually dries the air a bit so inadvertently lowers the RH to 35-45% which is great for last half of flowering, perhaps consider defoliation @ week 3 of flower also if RH is still on the high side, plus will give light to the lower bud sites.

P.S. Feel ya pain on the flooding, had the res overflow last week, luckily the tent spill liner held up.

OB

 

[McRib]

Late to the show but looking great @aussiebuddy, you sure this is first grow? Lol.

hahaha. I reckon he's sandbagging us. Been growing since the '90s

 

[aussiebuddy]

haha thanks for the kind words guys

How did you go for heating & RH, particularly your water temp in the res ? I just received a ITC-306 temp controller this week so now can keep the tent at that 25c mark as we get into winter here down under, I found when connected to small electric heater actually dries the air a bit so inadvertently lowers the RH to 35-45% which is great for last half of flowering, perhaps consider defoliation @ week 3 of flower also if RH is still on the high side, plus will give light to the lower bud sites.

i got a similar controller recently and am keeping it at around 17 with a little 1000w ceramic heater in there - its sitting around 24 during lights on at the moment. humidity in lights on is ok because the fan can step up to 70% and still stay warm enough, but lights off the room is sitting at 17deg/56% RH currently. if i want it any warmer i'll need to run the heater almost constantly which will cost too much

i am not paying the water temp much mind to be honest. it sits at 17 deg all the time without me doing anything and im not noticing any issues. ive got a $20 fish tank heater but i havent used it. if it starts dropping to single digits in the middle of winter ill chuck it in

i have been thinking about defoliating but i wasnt sure. i didnt consider it will reduce RH, but makes sense now i think about it (less transpiration = less water in the air)

 

[OceanicBud]

Ahh sweet, 24on / 17off temps is fine, and yeah I'm conscious of power bill too for heating. I think water temp is equally if not more important to dial in, I've read that 22deg is the "Happy place" where the girls will be sure to take up all the nutes needed to thrive, as too hot (Like my recent summer grow hitting 29) means less oxygen in the water and a playground for pathogens and flipside to that is too cold (15 or less) will shock and halt growth and prevent certain nutes or micro-nutes like magnesium (noticeable under 18c) from being taken up leading to deficiencies, stunned and sickly plants.

Based on this and the colder days setting in for the Aus winter I put in the aquarium heater to avoid the above.

I was over cautious at first with defoliation, not to mention it's a long debated topic, however with all that congested leaf matter, especially in bushy Indica plants it gets humid, forrest like (As seen in my BigBud journal) it had to be done and the difference was great, lower humidity, much better light penetration through to lower bud sites and much better air flow that keeps mould at bay (especially if you lollipop the bottom 3rd). I didn't notice any reduction in yield, in fact the lower buds that usually wouldn't be fully developed were as good as the rest IMO.

They're surprisingly tolerant so you look well on track to get a healthy sizable outcome, anyhow that more than my 2c worth and I'm keen to see end result.

 

[aussiebuddy]

water temp wasnt even on my radar. i might chuck that heater in now.. 17 is pretty close to 15!

thanks for the advice and perspective mate its appreciated

 

[aussiebuddy]

definite candidate for defoliation. its starting to stink in there already too. the rhino cookies smells fruity as hell but that smell coming from the og is what i came for

is it realistic to think negative air pressure in the tent + a carbon filter will clear it all up in full flower?

 

[aussiebuddy]

bud sites are setting in. upped the feeding from 3 to 5 times a day.

started noticing that a few leaves were starting to go bad on the edges with a couple of brown spots on the lower ones. ph going in is never lower than 5.8 or higher than 6.0, plenty of run off. i could see a little bit of purple on the stems so thought maybe P deficiency but i tried upping the EC to 1.4 (from 1.3) and noticed the tips of a few leaves get upset so backed off to 1.3 again. finally i touched the coco before feed last night and it was pretty dry... i upped the number of feeds yesterday and will see how this goes. i think they look happier today at lights on

 

[aussiebuddy]

im trying different cloning techniques

trying just cuttings in tap water changed every 3 days on some rhino cookies taken first week of flower

sapphire OG in rockwool in dome on a heat mat with misting and 0.3ec feed every couple of days sprouted roots. potted a couple in some coco. fingers crossed

both rhino cookies taken in veg sprouted in the rockwool on the heatmat too but i dont know which is male and which is female.

just tied some tall ones down in the tent and screwed some wood on my scrog frame so i could mount the fans in a better position too

i bought a dehumidifier to put in there too but i need to find something so i can raise it off the ground a bit to suck in the humid air at canopy level. i plan to hook the continuous drain line to the tank with the pump ive hooked up for the waste feed

 

[aussiebuddy]

buds on the way!

rhino cookies looks to be a couple of days ahead of the sapphire og

 

[McRib]

Looking great!

 

[aussiebuddy]

Looking great!

cheers man. getting exciting now!

 

[aussiebuddy]

first sprinkles of frost

i had to get a screw driver and poke some holes down the coco on the rhino cookies - the root mass is too thick and water is pooling on top

clones are looking a bit haggard but are starting to show new growth and the roots are filling out the cup.

so far ive spent about $120 on nutrients / additives. its looking like it will run me about $240 all up with some left over for next time

 

[aussiebuddy]

showing a bit of def - mag or nitrogen

running 1.4EC, tried to go 1.5 and showed a tiny bit of burn. dropped to 1.3EC and added calmag to 1.4EC

looked a bit greener. that feed is empty, new mix has no calmag. if this has the bottom leaves still looking unhappy ill add some more water + calmag again

 

[McRib]

You’re smashing it! Beautiful little buds

 

[aussiebuddy]

You’re smashing it! Beautiful little buds

cheers man. im spending a lot of time making sure temp/humidity/nutrients are as good as i can get it on a first run... steep learning curve. i feel like im reading about plants 24/7 at the moment

hoping it rewards me well!

 

[McRib]

You sure you’re not a botanist?

How’s the odour?

 

[aussiebuddy]

You sure you’re not a botanist?

How’s the odour?

haha starting to stink. ive got a carbon filter so if its all closed up there is no smell but if i open it up to flush or something its pretty noticeable

the rhino cookies is fruity already

 

[aussiebuddy]

about to end flower week 4 and the OG Sapphire has just stopped stretching. Rhino Cookies looks about a week ahead of the OG.

few leaves dropping and a light green/yellow one here or there. i was a bit worried but the canopy / buds look OK. a bit of light burn on the OG closest to the light. ive tied and supercropped but still right up there... no space to tie it so will just deal with some shit buds there

these should run about 9 weeks. thinking i will start with the PK next week