Bubba Kush DWC on the Fly

[Heks]

Greetings, one and all! I am here today to share with you a wonderfully frustrating situation that I have so graciously taken upon myself.

Okay, it's not frustrating at all, in fact this has been putting a smile on my face since day one and this is how my story goes; A friend of mine that enjoys growing everyones' favorite plant speaks of a another gentleman who does the same, in a high regard, over time trust was earned and blah blah blah I'm fairly baked

Onwards and upwards, I went to a secret facility where a small (poorly cut) clone was given to me in a plug and a party cup, I'll spare you the details of what I thought to be a battle with spider mites...hahaha...I've never grown indoors before, so supplies have been lacking and this is a very on the 'grow go'

There were a few ways I wanted to go about raising the bubba kush (secret scientist claims it is) and buds in general, but because there's just one plant DWC seems like the job for this man? I kid, it's fun, really. Really fun to build the bucket and a friend is loaning me a hydrofarm 48 watt fluorescent veg light 5500k paired with Dutch Master gold veg nutrients that were the cheapest, surprisingly, at my local hydroponics store, may be a bit more in the long run, depending on how long before she flips. Paired with two cylinder air stones (pic some other time)

The bucket wasn't added until I had her a couple weeks, so she wasn't looking too hot by the time she got what she needed.

Which brings me to the next point: mistakes. I made a very big one early on and another.... Thankfully Sandra (cause it'll be like sand's in your eyes ) did not die. First, simple, splashed her with some nutrient water (1/4th strength) that bleached a couple leaf tips

Also, I personally drink RO water every day, but decided to buy some 2.5 gallon sparkletts water jugs from the store. Turns out they put a small amount of ?chlorine in the water? which made my dwelling smell toxic after a day at work! immediately swapped the water for what I drink and she has recovered, for the most part...Lost a few leaves though, life goes on and she grows on.
Albeit she got scarred and mutated from that, as you can see the lighter shade, but not the the crusty texture on her leaves from that experience, also a few of the new ones are kinda missing chunks..



Here she is just a day or two ago (full strength nutrients now after topfeeding 1/2 strength);

Also, happy to see her first few roots hitting the water;

Since she just got to the soup this should get really fun soon, especially cause I'll be upgrading as it goes.
Still fairly baked, so I probably forgot to mention several other points, but oh well, hope ya'll like it!

 

[Heks]

First update here, Sandra is looking a lot better, although it has been fairly cold during the nights. The pH has been great, barely climbing up .1 per day. Roots have begun their voracious campaign against the nutrient soup and I will be ordering a new light next week (LED) time for her to move up in the world.

 

[Growing247]

Very coold DWC and strain. I got some clones in Dixie cups labeled Bubba Kush and they grew so incredibly tall I could have sworn they were Sativas. The colas are starting to fill in now. 4th week of flowering. This grow I did 2 DWC in 5 gallon buckets, vegged with Fox Farm Grow Big and flowered with AN Connoiseur(sp?), Sensizym, and AZAMAX because I had fungus gnat maggots attacking my roots in the hydroponics buckets and I am very very impressed with the results so far. Next grow I will be doing 6 DWC and all the same strain. I have a Water Farm also but I stopped using the drip ring and put a airstone in the bottom and just use it as another DWC. The strain is Purple Urkle and the plants roots are so big they take up almost the whole bucket and are white and healthy thanks to AZAMAX and sensizym

 

[Heks]

definitely cool here, other night was supposed to be 40 degrees F outside! I think the several cold nights halted her growth a bit, but during the day she perks up and is getting dark green leaves sprouting all over. At first I was going to have a set time to start flowering her, but I think I'll go more on height; between 1 1/2 and 2 ft.

I'll definitely read up on azamax and sensizym as I am new to hydroponics and indoor growing, better to study and take small steps, imho.

is your 6 DWC going to be recirculating?

 

[Heks]

So, here's an update, I was gonna add a root shot and a few other angles, but the battery on this phone died so that will be later today, pH is 5.4 currently, fresh nutrients added today with 3 gallons of r/o water. She's still under the itty bitty fluorescent, which is going to change very soon.

also, i read up on sensizym, it seems to be a useful product and I will be picking up a liter to try out as i begin flowering.

 

[Heks]

Been a bit late and slacking very much, not on the plant, just on this thread.

She's now around a foot tall, and I know I said I'd have a root shot, again; lazy.
added the 15watt 6500K CFL to hold her over until the light i ordered gets here, next week, very excited about that though.

Other than that there's not much in the news department

 

[eBUD]

Heks, she is looking nice and healthy. Im not a huge fan of using LEDs for primary lighting but they are good and will produce some sticky buds if used correctly. Your plant looks awesome along with the bucket setup. Props to you for a good start on your grow!

 

[Heks]

Thank you very much!
There was a week early on (after the chlorinated water incident) that I didn't think she would make it through, but she has since thrived and pretty much doubled in size each week after (one foot tall now), really need to get a root shot, there are lots of almost fuzzy stubby roots out the side of the net pot, a few long stringy fishboned as well.

I think the stubby almost-fuzzies are attributed to the two cylinder airstones in the bucket, they made lots of small bubbles. LED lighting wasn't my first choice, but after assessing my space and ventilation situation; LED is a decent alternative to HID, especially since it's usually warm and humid here anyways. Also, the LED I was looking at for a while has been proven several times to grow very decent buds, see if you can guess which one it is! Mine will be arriving in a week, and I can't wait!

Seriously, she's under 63 watts right now, she really needs an upgrade. Thanks for stopping by, hope you stick around, this is just the beginning of something that will evolve into an impressive, efficient, quality bud growing beast.

 

[Heks]

'Nother update, she has been, well, growing, a lot.
unfortunately, my LED won't be here next week, I got an e-mail and will be getting a newer model, so hopefully it arrives before the new year, cause this girl doesn't want to wait much longer. Will probably be adding another dinky 16 watt 6500K CFL to try and hold her over.

drumroll....rootshot!
yes, the water is a bit low, she's a thirsty one!

 

[Heks]

Been almost a month since my last update, gonna keep it brief, ended up using a 400 watt HPS hortilux enhanced spectrum. current nutrients for flowering: AN bloom A & B, AN kushie kush..going to add some h202 in the reservoir cause I'm not sure if she's showing early signs of root rot or not..
pictures taken today, 11th day of 12/12..

afraid the net pot might burst :x

i forget if this is the main or not, was smoking while taking the pictures..

 

[Heks]

hi
her first 'official' day of flowering was the 13th, very excited to see how this goes from here. the ph level seems to be jumping above 6 everyday, just adjusting it down to 5.5 each time, and she is drinking almost half a gallon per day.

These were taken right after the light went off

 

[Heks]

hiya, everything has gone well so far, pH is staying in a decent range, she's drinking so much I might have to change her reservoir every 4 days...wish i had a camera with macro shots right now, starting to get the first bits of sugar dust...yummy

home brewed c02 that's a 3 gallon jug, for scale

 

[SmokeyMcMedic]

Lookin good man. Real good. I love how the base of your plant is more like a tree trunk. I have a 400 watter on the way... its reassuring to see that people are getting good results with them. How does it do on heat? Well, I am subscribed. Keep the updates coming man!!

 

[Heks]

Thank you very much, she definitely puts a smile on my face everyday. I'm not sure if the treeness is her natural style or a result of trimming the lower branches, and/or shaking the trunk a bit every now and then. If anything, her size and thickness is due to DWC.

I've been opening her center up and kinda LST'ing the few outer nug branches into the center beams of light under the canopy overall trying to get light on every budsite. The 400 watt is not nearly as warm as I thought it would be, well the heat it puts off, the bulb is very hot. i have a box fan blowing air up her skirt and right now the bulb is 16"-18" inches away with lots of ventilation, she has some room for growth before it becomes uncomfortable, hopefully more up than out, she takes up the optimal footprint of the light already.

I'll get some new pictures soon, she's starting to fatten up those pompoms and has been trimmed a bit more to focus on top growth.

 

[labradoodle]

Hey, i have a couple noob questions. I have all the grear to do what you are doing with DWC. my questions are:

Was the plug rockwool ? or what was it ?

If i started a seedling in soil can i transplant to hyrdotron for DWC? Or should i just start a new seed or cutting in a plug ?

so you pretty much only top feed until roots hit the water?

Looks good so far man, i wanna try this, keep it up

 

[Heks]

Hi, noob to noob, i'll try my best to be helpful
The plug she resides in is not rockwool, it's a soil-type plug, which had me worried about mold, etc. the clones taken from her are in rockwool though.

If you start a seedling in soil it might be too much of a shock to transfer into hydroton, you're better off with less hassle by starting the seed in a plug or using a clone.

I put the water level right next to the bottom of the net pot while top feeding them the same water, so the bubbles and such keep moisture up until the roots hit soup.

Thank you, this is my first indoor and first hydro, but now I'm hooked on DWC and will continue learning about it.

 

[Hydrologist]

 

[Hydrologist]

No way! Im growing Young Shepard too! Nice plant mannnn I hope mine yields as much! Lol

 

[Heks]

update, these pictures are a couple days old, but it's all good.

 

[NEPharmer]

What up Heks, lookin good so far, DWC is a great way t get started in hydro. I did a soil grow first, and went with DWC next, I love growing in the bubbleing buckets. Such explosive growth! I'm back to soil this run, going for a 100% organic grow to see what all the fuss about amazing taste with organics is about. Grow is very addictive, have fun and good luck. Your off to a great start, and your in the right place, lots of knowledgable growers here to help you through any problems that may arize.
Peace, NEPharmer