Emmie's Berry D'licious 2019 True Living Organic: No AACT, SCROG, COB, SuperSoil Production Grow & Seed Run

[DeanWest89]

I will get you some pictures when I get home if you haven't been able to find the few I put on the last grow journal. Be sure to check out @fanleaf 's thread on the build of his huge $4500 COB array. I am using regular 3590 3000k COBs and for future grows I am going to add 2 more 5000k COBs to the array to make the light spectrum a bit more in line with the actual output of the sun. The 3000k lights are more centered in on the red side of the spectrum and have a little bit of deficit in the blue portion of the spectrum... and adding a couple of 5000k cobs will correct that and hopefully make this array CRI 100... a 100% true representation of the output of the sun.

Did you get the 80cri 3000k or the 90cri 3000k

 

[Emilya Green]

Wow I am amazed at how clean and professional this diy light looks , what size of grow space does it cover, this is a very impressive light , what are the umol/par readings for 18” ?? I am curious. So with everything all in how much has this light cost you to this point , I know you mentioned something about 5000k auditions , but I think after seeing this light and witnessing the results , I may make my own for my 2x4 grow space. Have you looked into adding IR and UV to the light ? I was looking into making my own with smd chips was gonna do 2700k 3500k 6500k with deep red and IR and uv but i ended up buying the mars hydro lights I have ,and honestly the smd chips are so small I think I would have been a little over my head building it . But I’ve seen how these Cree ( are they cobs) are built and I think I would be able to build this type of light . This has really inspired me and I really appreciate you uploading this for me , I’m sure you promised to a few other aswell . OUTSTANDING job on the light em , and what a wicked name , she sure does tend to those children well. Thank you for this , your grow is looking spectacular . Have s good day friend

The frame was built for the same size space you have, a 2x4x7. For umol/par you are going to have to go to the CREE specs to find that, I don't own such a meter. I do however have a lux meter and I did a study on the intensity of this light at various heights. You can find the link here: LUX, Wattage & Distance Analysis: 6x CREE CXB3590 Array

Frame and all, I have just shy of $500 in this light, but as I said I am planning to add 2 more 5000k assemblies and another meanwell driver, so about $300 more to get the incredible light that I desire for that space.
I have done experiments with both deep red and UVA. First, the 3000k cob has a good part of the deep red in it already. The only other use I would have for deep red would be as trigger lights that come on 20 minutes before and after the light period, so as to help the plants orient toward the horizon. This trick is used in many greenhouses to keep internodal length short and stretching to a minimum. UVA also has its use, but not full time. More experiments years ago by a friend proved that UV lights for 2 hours at NOON, to simulate the sun directly overhead, was beneficial... any more than that and the quality and quantity of trichomes was negatively affected.
Thanks for all the compliments on the light, and I also have to give credit to @fanleaf who gave me the courage to leap into the project, and who helped me with the frame and the initial design.

Did you get the 80cri 3000k or the 90cri 3000k

I got the 90 CRI because my goal is to replicate the spectrum of the sun as closely as possible, and when I even out the blue part of the spectrum with 2 more 5000k cobs, the entire array should have a rating very close to CRI 100.

 

[fanleaf]

planning to add 2 more 5000k assemblies and another meanwell driver, so about $300 more

You should be close to $200 or just under it shouldn't you? Unless you have some classified materials for future additions you plant to surprise us with hehe.

 

[Emilya Green]

You should be close to $200 or just under it shouldn't you? Unless you have some classified materials for future additions you plant to surprise us with hehe.

I was just doing a quick calculation of about $90 per cob and heatsink and then another $60 or so for a driver... but I had not looked into actual costs. I do know that I will have the equivalent of commercial lights costing nearly $1000 when I get finished.

 

[Emilya Green]

Evening update:
Our two girls (no pistils yet) needed water in their 2 day cycle. They got Recharge. Before applying the recharge I sprinkled 1 tablespoon of Andesite mineral complex across the top of the container to sink down into the soil. The soil now has many of the unique minerals found in volcanic soil.
Two of the boys got water, and the new runt, Norm, met his demise and now sleeps with the nematodes in the compost bin. I wanted to sneak a look at his rootball anyway, and I was not impressed. No wonder he was a runt... his roots had only started to extend past the original solo cup size. I gave my Dad a dirty look, because he is the one that told me to tear that rootball apart a bit before replanting... maybe not with the gusto that I took to the job. Live and learn. I am glad that it was a boy that I tortured.

 

[SQl2kGuy]

It sort of depends on the females. If I only have 2, scrog it is. 3 or more of this stature are going to be hard to ignore though.

I like the idea and simplicity of the ScrOG ... but I really like to take my plants out ... put them on the counter ... look at them close up ... spin them when I water and train them.

I don't get as much hands-on with the ScrOG though

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Very general guidelines here.
Purple LED' go 45-50w per square foot of grow space. COB LED and quantum boards go 35-40 watts per square foot of grow space. Those are actual wattage pulled from the wall. Not advertised wattage. Read the fine print on actual power consumption. 4x4 grow area =16 square feet.

Thanks @fanleaf ... I had okay X6 lights to get me started ... but found out I was using them wrong when I got my LUX meter.

And thanks to @Emilya and @Old Salt ... I've got a pretty good handle on Soil ... Feeding ... Watering ... Nutrients and Light now.

I'm even setting a few plants in the window to get some real light during the day now!

Now ... I'm trying to figure out trichomes with the microscope so I get my first harvest right

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Thank you Amy! Not just pretty, but highly functional too... stops the flying critter's life cycles cold.

Done ... adding bark to my grow skill set

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Holy Cow my friends, just since the last posting there has been visible growth! Nan has just risen her new top growth to the point that I could easily nip the new tip, whereas earlier I couldn't quite see getting my little scissors down on it. N just got her 2nd cut. It feels very prepubescent in the room right now... I expect to see signs any moment.
The top 2 plants have not been idle either. Node 2's tips have now breached the large fan leaf at the very top and have worked their way around it to reach the canopy and these will need to be topped soon. Offhand, if I had to guess, and was forced to give my opinion; I would say that the plants like 20,000 LUX..

Buddy the wonder dog came in to help this afternoon. He likes to check out all fluids and really gets concerned if anything odd is happening downstairs.

Hey Buddy ... Dr. Watson says hi ... and keep those cats away from the fan leaves!

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Now it is evening, and I clearly have just seen male parts on two other plants!!
I could hardly believe what I was looking at, but at the moment we are looking at 3/5 being male, T, N and B. Egads... we are back to planning a scrog and hopefully we have now seen the males show up early and Red and M&M will be our girls. To that end, Red just got her 3rd topping of the top node.
There will be no hesitation in choosing the top male to take pollen from, T has been the winner since the beginning.

Way to go M&M!!!

​

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Thanks @fanleaf ... I had okay X6 lights to get me started ... but found out I was using them wrong when I got my LUX meter.

And thanks to @Emilya and @Old Salt ... I've got a pretty good handle on Soil ... Feeding ... Watering ... Nutrients and Light now.

I'm even setting a few plants in the window to get some real light during the day now!

Now ... I'm trying to figure out trichomes with the microscope so I get my first harvest right

Actually ... when some of you guys get a chance ... will you please take a peek at my first trichome photos using a microscope ... I'm trying to apply what I have learned to what I am actually seeing so I can get my first harvest right.

Trichomes - Theory to Practice Using a Microscope - Help Needed Please

My girlfriend has chronic pain and restless leg syndrome so I am trying to get this right for pain and sleep medicine.

@Dutchman1990 just showed me how easy it is to see the amber ... but I am finding it hard to see the difference between cloudy and clear.

 

[fanleaf]

Actually ... when some of you guys get a chance ... will you please take a peek at my first trichome photos using a microscope ... I'm trying to apply what I have learned to what I am actually seeing so I can get my first harvest right.

Trichomes - Theory to Practice Using a Microscope - Help Needed Please

My girlfriend has chronic pain and restless leg syndrome so I am trying to get this right for pain and sleep medicine.

@Dutchman1990 just showed me how easy it is to see the amber ... but I am finding it hard to see the difference between cloudy and clear.

If you are using a scope with a good zoom factor it should be quite easy. If you google "pocket microscope" you will see a Carson 60x-120x for like $12. I use one that is equivalent to that and makes every trichome look like a baseball lol.

 

[Amy Gardner]

difference between cloudy and clear.

Hey 2kGuy! The cloudy look like frosted glass, whereas tle clear are more like a tiny droplet of water. And if it looks like a bit of both, then it can happily go longer. Hope that helps.

Hi Em I think we’ve spent about the same on our built lights - mine with QBs and recently added, strips and for a 3x3. A very satisfying thing to do no?

 

[DeanWest89]

@SQl2kGuy You know it’s perfect (perfect for me ) when you get about 10% Amber trichomes, just make sure you check the buds not the leaves when your judging when to take it down, that’s one thing I made a mistake on. The leaves were 10% Amber but my buds still had 10% clear ones still , but that is a VERY nice microscope

 

[Emilya Green]

Hey 2kGuy! The cloudy look like frosted glass, whereas tle clear are more like a tiny droplet of water. And if it looks like a bit of both, then it can happily go longer. Hope that helps.

Hi Em I think we’ve spent about the same on our built lights - mine with QBs and recently added, strips and for a 3x3. A very satisfying thing to do no?

Yes it was very satisfying, especially after my first LED fiasco 5 years ago when I bought $500 worth of LED's intending to build my own, only to realize after they arrived that I had bought surface mount LEDs that I had no equipment to work with. Still have bunches of them... I now make little gift projects with 2 or 3 of them at a time.

Hey Buddy ... Dr. Watson says hi ... and keep those cats away from the fan leaves!

Buddy says "Woof" and told me in confidence that cats are just a good snack... and to let me know if I ever had a problem.

If you are using a scope with a good zoom factor it should be quite easy. If you google "pocket microscope" you will see a Carson 60x-120x for like $12. I use one that is equivalent to that and makes every trichome look like a baseball lol.

That is a nice scope, and I love the upgraded stand. This is still on my wish list... maybe this round I will make it happen.

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 31

Well, here we are a month into veg and I am very happy what has happened here, other than the 3 males and 2 females thing. So far no pistils showing on the girls, but the fact that there are no balls yet still convinces me that these are girls. Not a lot visually going on except the plants keep getting taller and wider, and I keep topping nodes that rise to the top to take dominance, still attempting to get node 1 all the way up to the top. Red is still quite a ways ahead of M&M, probably nearly a week in development.
Water use on the top two is holding steady at about 2 days, telling me that we still have some work to do on the roots. As soon as I confirm pistils on these two females, I will be transplanting them to the 10 gallon containers, taking down the veg table and setting them on the floor of the tent. The next big project will be assembling the SCROG screen and getting it attached to the 4 corners of the tent and then we will settle in for another month of veg under the screen. I will need to change the fan situation in the tent for SCROG, and am looking for some clip on fans, either to the light assembly or a couple of the corner supports of the tent.
Lastly, the past 3 days I have been running the lights harder than ever before, throwing 22K LUX on the top of the canopy, and the leaves are taking it. Timber was definitely on to something when they advised taking the reflectors off of these COBS during veg, and truthfully, I am enjoying this new experience of having too much light in my tent... that has never been a problem before!

Here is a picture of Red, already with enough nodes to make her an 8oz plant.

 

[DeanWest89]

I wish I could easily produce 8 oz plants on the regular , I bet my 105 day vegged plant doesn’t even hit 8 oz , everything looks marvellous, I can’t wait to see this pan out. When do you put your scrog on emilya?? This is gonna be a good lesson for me

 

[Emilya Green]

I wish I could easily produce 8 oz plants on the regular , I bet my 105 day vegged plant doesn’t even hit 8 oz , everything looks marvellous, I can’t wait to see this pan out. When do you put your scrog on emilya?? This is gonna be a good lesson for me

I am waiting until after the transplant to 10 gallon, and for that I am waiting for pistils... I am hoping this all happens by the end of this week.

 

[Vulx]

Vulx is a product where they claim you only need to feed and water 50% the normal amount or atleat the side by side grow I watched was , the vulx plants didn’t look so good , but it was in testing stage I’m pretty sure they did some changes to counter this , but I actually followed it on this website. I just can’t remember who did it or I’d link them into this , congrats emilya I hope to see this product work , if anyone can do a fair comparison it’s you. Do they still claim 50% less water and nutrients needed to grow your plants ?

Just saw this - we are gonna stop the 50% less water. Depends on how you water it! Definitely "less" though.

As for nutrients, we are covering that in a new case study, but I don't expect to see any different. Still recommend starting at 50% less and adjusting based on what you see. First grow always requires dialing in the mix. Could take a couple feedings to get it just right.

 

[DeanWest89]

I for one would love to see this product hold up to its claims , who wouldn’t want to use 50% less . Or even 25% less . I’m excited to see how it works out for emilya