Colorado High - Soilless - LED/CFL - Skunk Red Hair - 2014

[Pittbull72]

Will be watching closely! I just started my first indoor grow (cfl) and if its successful the wife gave the ok to invest more for the next grow. Iv been considering the same light your using. Cant wait to see em grow!

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks Pittbull72! to Glad to have you along for the ride!!

 

[grand]

i'm in! and look forward to it!
setup is nice and clean
one question how different is rockwool from the Rapid Rooter Natural Plant Starter Plugs that you used?

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks grand and to

I've not used rockwool before so I cannot comment on the differences between the two although I have read that rockwool will develop algae if left in the light for too long. What I like about the RR plugs is their simplicity and success rate at getting sprouts to the seedling stage. On my first two grows, out of 14 seeds all of them germinated, but only 7 survived to seedling stage. With this grow all 6 sprouts made it to the seedling stage significantly faster and much healthier than previous grows.

 

[grand]

cool thanks for the info.... well I'm on the sidelines cheering you on

 

[David Bowman]

No problem, you're welcome grand! The more, the merrier!

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Looking forward to your next pic update

 

[David Bowman]

Day 14 since the start of germination and after that initial brief stretch brought on by the height of the lights as well as an inverted GLR schedule, the babies are doing very well. All 6 of them are starting their third node, counting the first set of real leaves as the first node, and the node spacing is very, very tight. On the tallest one, the space between the first and third nodes is only 1/8". Since their transplantation a week ago tonight, they have shared one half gallon of molasses water. They are starting to lighten in color a bit and I believe that they will soon required some additional nutrients.

Group shot of the babies on day 14 since the start of germination -

Single shots of the back row from left to right -

Single shots of the front row from left to right -

Close-up shot of the tallest seedling showing the tight node spacing -

The next step is getting up and running with Doggett & Simpson Growology Step 2 once the babies start crying out for more food. Until then, I'll be doing what I can to maintain an environment in which they can continue to thrive.

 

[b.real]

looking good

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks b.real!

 

[David Bowman]

Day 18 since the start of germination and the kids are doing fine and have shared another one half gallon of molasses water since the last update. The majority of them are starting their fourth node and while the internodal spacing is increasing, it's still only around 1/4". Watering frequency is about 4-5 days at this early stage and they've yet to be fed any nutrients. I've been spending some time inspecting the kids trying to see what, if anything, they are trying to tell me and I've noticed something that was, to me at least, unexpected. Under both my LEDs and CFLs, I see subtle coloring changes and patterns in the leaves that are much less visible, if at all, under just the 5000K CFL sidelighting. I've tried to take comparison photos but the differences aren't readily visible to the camera. For instance, under the LEDs/CFLs, I see evidence of some sort of deficiency, it appears to be N, that is not at all detectable under the CFLs alone. I also see dark blotches on some of the leaves that otherwise look perfectly green and uniform under the CFLs. I think that this effect is due to the "shadowing" you get when light is produced in specific wavelengths broadcasted from multiple discrete locations rather than from a single source like with CFL/HID/Incandescent lighting. What I've been wondering is if this artifact of LED lighting is something that could be used to diagnose plant issues much earlier than with "regular" light. While I'm waiting for the kids to start getting N-deprived and start them on D&S Growology Step 2, I'm watching this indication of deficiency that I see under the LEDs and seeing if it directly correlates to what I see under the CFLs when the kids start to express their need for food. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon before or am I partaking of my Easy Rider just a tad too much?

 

[b.real]

do you have a new journal? can you link us?

 

[David Bowman]

This is the new journal b.real. Grow #3 in my signature below.

 

[b.real]

wow. sorry dude, I thought this was the super skunk journal

 

[David Bowman]

No worries b.real!

 

[stealthgrow]

Seedlings are coming along nicely.

I find with my LED lights that necrotic spots, and deficient parts of the leaves show much clearer under the LED lights vs. the regular incandescent lights I have in my grow room. I've never grown with HPS/MH lights before so can't compare to those. I would assume like you mentioned, that this is due to the different wavelengths/spectrum of light from the LED's.
Have a great weekend CH.

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks stealthgrow, you have a great weekend as well!!

 

[Mike Wright]

For instance, under the LEDs/CFLs, I see evidence of some sort of deficiency, it appears to be N, that is not at all detectable under the CFLs alone. I also see dark blotches on some of the leaves that otherwise look perfectly green and uniform under the CFLs. I think that this effect is due to the "shadowing" you get when light is produced in specific wavelengths broadcasted from multiple discrete locations rather than from a single source like with CFL/HID/Incandescent lighting....Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon before or am I partaking of my Easy Rider just a tad too much?

Yep, I've seen all of that too. I do think there is some banding/burning from uncombined wavelengths going on when the LED's are too close. I agree that you can see more of the leaf health under the LED's. Since there is no green, the red/blue light is probably reflecting off 'deeper' structures in the leaf.

Cool, eh?

 

[David Bowman]

Very cool Pantagruel! I can see what appears to be N-deficiency on all of the kids now, starting on the lower leaves as expected. It looks like I start feeding them next watering, then we should see them take-off!!

 

[Light Addict]

Hope all is good and green my friend! Good info above for me as Im going under my big LED soon!