Crown Royale Indoor Coco Coir Grow

Preamble:
I'm a new grower, with a lot of gardening experience. I can't smoke or vape cannabis without trying to cough up my lungs. I chose capsules for my meds. A size 2 capsule will hold 150mg, and a size 0 holds 250 mg or ¼ gm. That's enough for now, as I'm not trying to get high. Buying from a licensed producer, or the illegal dispensaries is far too expensive on a pension, which is why I'm growing my own.

After reading the material here, I decided on growing hydroponically. I have a reverse osmosis system as the water from my well is not potable. The arsenic content is ten times the maximum set by the World Health Organization. Note that only 25% of the water fed to a RO comes out as potable. The remaining water is waste. I started by installing a 55 gal (200l) drum as a tank so I'd have plenty of water on hand for my grows. Alas, the first time I filled the tank, the pipe in my well burst at the pump down at 350 ft or 106 meters. I dropped the pump down to the 430 ft. (130 m) level, used heavier pipe, and had to replace the wiring with a heavier gauge. As this cost $1400, I decided against hydroponics and looked for a method that used much less water.

I decided on growing in coconut coir as it seemed to require much less water. This method also has the benefit of giving me full control of the nutrients for my plants. As the recommended nutrient strength is the same as that for hydroponics, I should also realize a savings in nutrient costs. I decided on General Hydroponics Flora Series nutrients as they have a good reputation.

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Calculator available on request.

Equipment:
Grow Tent: Fusion Hut 2' X 4' X 5'
LED light: King X6 Dimmable 1800W Full Spectrum COB LED Grow Light (300 actual watts max)
Ventilation: Fusion Breath 6" Fan & Filter Kit (good up to 12m3)
Heat: similar to Royal Sovereign HCE-100 Ceramic Electric Heater
Humidifier: ZooMed Reptifogger
Heat/Humidity Controller: ZooMed HygroTherm
Electrical:
- 2 Woods 50009 Indoor 7-Day Heavy Duty Digital Outlet Timer with 2-Outlets
- 2 desk fans: 6"
Grow Pots: DIY 3.8 US gal (15 l) fabric pots made from 3oz/sq yd landscape cloth
Drainage Trays: Standard size fiberglass horticultural trays with egg crate diffuser

Measurement:
- oral syringes: 1ml, 5ml. 10ml as required for nutrients (free at pharmacies in Canada)
- pH meter: Etekcity 0.05pH High Accuracy Digital
- TDS / EC meter: NADAMOO TDS Meter Digital Water Tester
- 3 Kg X 1gm kitchen scale (for measuring water volume; 1Kg = 1liter)
- shot glass (to calibrate pH and TDS meters)
- AcuRite Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer with Humidity Sensor

It requires approx. 50% of the expanded coco coir's final volume of water for the expansion. I pH adjusted the water to 5.8. It took about 10l water per bag before the run off was at a pH of 5.8 as well. When I filled the grow bags, they bulged out enough that they wouldn't fit in the drainage trays. My solution was to cage them with 16ga 1" X 1" fencing, in a 36" width. A little planning went into deciding on the width to buy and the cut pattern to minimize waste.


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My next post will quickly cover the first two months of this grow.
 
Seeds started 29-Oct

29-Oct: Five seeds started in paper towel between two plates on heat mat
03 Nov: left to geminate too long, seeds need to be spread further apart, 4 of 5 seeds germinated
03-Nov: planted in 4" square pots with coco coir/perlite
03-Nov: feed schedule - every other day, alternate nutrients/water, runoff pumped out of trays daily
19-Nov: plants about 2" tall
23-Nov: Plants topped
01-Dec: Plants rootbound
02-Dec: transplanted into 9" X 9" X 11" (3.8 US gal) caged grow bags
02-Dec: feed schedule change - every other day, alternating nutrients/water 500ml (2 cups) per plant

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05-Dec, 37 Days into the Grow​
 
07-Dec: LST started, 4 branches per plant, paperclips bent to suit
10 Dec: topped four main branches per plant
19 Dec: pruned lower leaves
22 Dec: insufficient nutrient mix (500ml/plant) for 20% runoff
24 Dec: 750ml (3 cups) nutrients per plant, runnoff not pumped out as roots extend through grow bags into trays
24 Dec: left home for two days (one hr power outage 25-Dec during light cycle)

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Dec 24: 56 Days into the Grow​
 
26 Dec: 750ml (3 cups) water / plant
27 Dec: feed schedule change - switched to two cups daily, alternating nutrients / water
31 Dec: added Liquid Cool Bloom to the nutrient mix
04 Jan: added Floralicious Grow to the nutrient mix, noticed white deposit on bottom 2.5cm (1") of grow bags

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Jan 04: 67 Days into the Grow​

Notes:
  • I suspect the deposit is salts left behind by evaporation. I'll keep an eye on it.
  • Paper clips have been removed. Wire ties are used for LST at this point. The cages provide a handy method of securing the wire ties.
 
Day 69

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Jan 06: 69 Days into the Grow

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Jan 06: 69 Days into the Grow (top view)​

Notes:
  • I'll keep them in the vegetative stage for a few more days.
  • I'll try put a couple of T5s in the tent for photos
 
Day 70:

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Day 70 - Still in Veg (After an LST session)

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Day 70 Top View - Still in Veg (After an LST session)​

Plants are a little on the dry side as shown by a soil hygrometer, so perhaps twice a day watering/feeding is in order. I'll wait a bit and let the plants tell me if it's time to switch.

I've installed the T5 for photography, and am using the timer on my camera to avoid blurring from movement. Was it worth it?

I'm using 20mm (3/4") cable clamps around the poles with chain to mount equipment in the grow tent. Next on the agenda is an adjustable grow through screen. I haven't figured out how to do this on a per plant basis, so it will be tent sized.

How does my progress look to experienced growers?
How much stretch can I expect? Will the plants double, or triple in size?
 
Day 70:

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Day 70 - Still in Veg (After an LST session)

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Day 70 Top View - Still in Veg (After an LST session)​

Plants are a little on the dry side as shown by a soil hygrometer, so perhaps twice a day watering/feeding is in order. I'll wait a bit and let the plants tell me if it's time to switch.

I've installed the T5 for photography, and am using the timer on my camera to avoid blurring from movement. Was it worth it?

I'm using 20mm (3/4") cable clamps around the poles with chain to mount equipment in the grow tent. Next on the agenda is an adjustable grow through screen. I haven't figured out how to do this on a per plant basis, so it will be tent sized.

How does my progress look to experienced growers?
How much stretch can I expect? Will the plants double, or triple in size?

OH GEE! Why the hell didn't I even see this!? I'm subbed up and ready to go, sorry it took me so long to find!

Got some AWESOME looking ladies there and I'm excited to see what's to come.

I wouldn't call myself an experienced grower, but I know good plants when I see them, and you're doing a mighty fine job!

I would wait for the tops to poke back up and then flip. They'll get like double growth from that point. Keep up the great work :goodjob:
 
Day 73: Preparing for Flowering

09 Jan: trimmed out all smaller growth tips
10 Jan: reduced all plants to 8 growth tips in preparation for flowering

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Day 73: Cut Back to 8 Growth Tips in Preparation for Flowering

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Day 73: Cut Back to 8 Growth Tips in Preparation for Flowering (Top View)

Notes:
  • The tent only has a 2' X 4' footprint. Plants were pruned to eight growth tips each for a total of 32 in the tent.
  • The change over to 12/12 will be in 48hrs to give the plants a chance to recover.
  • Light hours will be reduced over a six day period to 12/12. I have a timer programmed for this, and will dedicate it to the change overs.
 
OH GEE! Why the hell didn't I even see this!? I'm subbed up and ready to go, sorry it took me so long to find!

Got some AWESOME looking ladies there and I'm excited to see what's to come.

I wouldn't call myself an experienced grower, but I know good plants when I see them, and you're doing a mighty fine job!

I would wait for the tops to poke back up and then flip. They'll get like double growth from that point. Keep up the great work :goodjob:

I wanted to grow in DWC. but my well won't produce enough water for a continuous grow with a monthly harvest of four plants. Coco seems to require less than 25% of the water hydroponics would need.

I'm pretty much winging it for my first grow. I'll use it as a baseline for improvement in the future.
 
Lessons Learned During the Seed Through Vegetative Stages:

  1. The feed schedule looks good. Do not change for the next grow.
  2. The King X6 Dimmable 1800W COB LED Grow Light was at 55% power for the vegetative stage. Keep it there for the next grow.
  3. More attention needs to be paid to training and pruning of the plants. Lots of the plant's vigor in this grow was wasted on undesired growth. Growth tips at the end of the vegetative stage were not in the desired positions. Fix: Use NugBucket's Main-Lining technique for the next grow.
  4. The grow tent was located against a window / outside wall. This caused high humidity (up to 80%) at night. Try placing a sheet of styrofoam insulation between the tent and outside wall. Also increase the air flow through the tent to better control the humidity.
  5. The use of a ceramic heater was warranted. It kept the minimum temperature to 16°C (61°F) with -22°C (-8°F) outdoor temperatures.

NugBucket's Manifold / Main-line Growing Technique:

  1. Grow seedling to five or six nodes. You can leave it longer if the plant is not growing fast and healthy.
  2. Top to third node from the roots. Remove all but the fan leaves and new growth tips at third node on main stem.
  3. Train the two resulting branches to grow horizontally, at 180° from each other.
  4. Allow to grow at least two nodes on each branch.
  5. Top to desired node on each branch. They must be equidistant from the main stem.
  6. Train resulting branches to grow horizontally, at 90°to the main branches.
  7. Clear all growth tips below the end of branch growth tips.
  8. Repeat steps three to seven until the desired number of growth tips is reached.
  9. Remove any 'sucker' shoots that appear.

Nebula's Modified Manifold to Produce Eight Growth Tips:

  1. Grow seedling to five or six nodes. You can leave it longer if the plant is not growing fast and healthy.
  2. Top to third node from the roots. Remove all but the fan leaves and new growth tips at third node on main stem.
  3. Train the two resulting branches to grow horizontally, at 180° from each other.
  4. Allow to grow at least four nodes on each branch.
  5. Top at third node from main stem.
  6. Remove growth tips at the second node from the main branches. Eight growth tips remain on the plant.
  7. Train resulting branches to grow horizontally into the desired form.
  8. Remove any 'sucker' shoots that appear.

Notes:
  • Leaves may be left at any stage above. The growth tips must be removed as detailed above.
  • Take care when orienting the plants in square pots if an oval or rectangular footprint is desired.
 
Recommended Timer:

I've been looking for a good, low cost, interval timer for quite a while. I finally found one, and it more than meets my needs. Permanent Industry's T319 Multi Function Programmable Timer Switch is this wondrous item.

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Permanent Industry's T319 Multi Function Programmable Timer Switch​

It features:
  • 3 time of day on/off timers
  • count down & turn off timer
  • count down & turn on timer
  • interval timer programmable in hrs:min or min:sec
  • interval timer active for a set period
  • interval timer combined with time of day timers

This timer is suitable to control fans or other equipment. You can use it with Ebb and Flow, RDWC, and aeroponics systems to pump nutrients intermittently. With its 15A 115V rating this timer is suitable for smaller grow ops. Larger loads would need a relay. I'll be using it to control my fans when I switch to flowering.

You can find this beauty on Amazon.ca
 
Looks good I have 6 crown Royale in flower now bout 3 more weeks to go I got one girl that has 15 grow tips on her but I had it to cold for them not gonna get the yield off like I wanted but now I know what happens when it's to cold I was at 72 day peek and as low as 57 some nights I added heat to get me back up to 78 /66 range but let it go to long but there nice and frosty and there sistees was real good smoke with a nice punch to it so will be good for what you are gonna do I'm in
 
Day 78: One Day into Flowering Changeover

12 Jan: unable to find Floralicious Bloom in my area. Purchased Floralicious Plus. Diluted to 25% strength for ease of measurement.
14 Jan: change to 12/12 initiated. This takes 6 days. Transition nutrients used, alternating 500ml (2cups) nutrients/water per plant daily.
15 Jan: Installed slides for an adjustable, grow-through screen.

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Day 78: One Day into Flowering Changeover

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Day 78: One Day into Flowering Changeover (Top View)

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Side of tent showing slide for adjustable grow-through screen.

The right side of the image shows the slide. The fan and wooden rail are at the top and bottom of the slide. Nylon cable clamps (two visible at top edge) guide the slide along the poles. T-nuts are used to fasten the fan and screen to the slides. The main body of the slide is covered with reflective film I cut from a Coleman Emergency Blanket. I may cover the bottom rail with reflective film after this grow. There's no use for a reflective tent if one is going to fill it with material that absorbs the light.
 
Day 79: Second Day into Switch to Flowering

Jan 16: Built and installed grow-through screen.

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Tent Sized Grow-Through Screen for Plant Training and Support​

I don't know why the images are being rotated 90° counterclockwise. Perhaps an admin or moderator can shed some light on this.

The screen was made from 2" X 2" 16 ga fencing. The frame is 1" X 3" strapping, selected at a home improvement store. The pieces were cut to length, the holes were pre-drilled to clamp in the fencing. Doing it now ensures the holes will line up. The front and rear rails, as well as the center rail were rip sawed to form a clamp and support. The fencing was stretched and clamped to the rails, and the ends were installed. The ends have a 1/8" dado 3/16" deep to accept the screen overhang. The hole for the 1/4 - 20 X 1-1/2" bolts was countersunk in the end pieces to make it easier to install.

The screen and slides work well to provide vertical adjustment. The screen is easy to remove and re-install as only two bolts hold it to the slides.

Now I need to train the plants as best I can to use the full tent. I'll cover the frame with reflective film after this grow.
 
High Old Salt and welcome to :420:

Your pics, I used to suffer this issue when taking pics on a mobile phone. For the image to upload the correct way, the pic should be taken with the phone in landscape mode, buttons at the top. If you take them in portrait, they get flipped 90°. This LINK will explain better, the link should take you to post 7 of the thread.

Let me know if I can of more assistance :passitleft:
 
Pictures are taken with a Cannon SX600 HS, not a cell phone. This started to happen yesterday, when I uploaded the image showing the slides. I rotated that image with Corel Draw before uploading it, and it reverted.
 
Hmm, perhaps the software remembered the pictures original orientation?

That might be the problem. I ran a few tests:
Use MS Paint to rotate and save the image before uploading - fail
Resample the rotated image in Corel Draw - fail
Right-click on the image in Windows Explorer and rotate the image before uploading - usually works

Note check the image after 420 Magazine has uploaded it, before it is processed. If the orientation is wrong, clear the "Add Photo?" box and click "Process." The image will not be added to your gallery. Try rotating the image by 90° four times. That has worked for me. If the orientation is correct, click "Process," and the image will be added to your gallery.
 
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