First Grow: 4Bucket Hydro With Barney's Lucy

Coloradical

New Member
Hello all, I thought I would start this journal for multiple reasons. I want to not only log my own experience for future reference, but to also gain feedback from those who have more experience in growing and give insight to those who are also new in the movement.
I have wanted to start a grow for several years now as I have been an avid consumer and it has always intrigued me but time and money weigh heavy on all of our lives. About a month ago, as with most starting growers, I discovered 5 seeds in a jar I had picked up and the momentum has not stopped since. Originally my plan was to simply buy some lights and do a straight up soil grow in my closet which is 2.25'x4'x8' and count myself lucky for whatever sprouted and further more whatever was female. I got the first grow room set up in my closet in about a week thanks to Home Depot and a local Hydro store. I used:
2x Fluorowing 125W T5 lights with 3' of chain to raise and lower
1x Large roll of Aluminum foil
staples
4x 6" pots
Happy Frog Soil


Grow Room #1

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I planted my first seed May 10th and had my first sprout May 12th. I wanted to use my first sprout as a tester, but using one unsexed seed to judge my green thumb did not seem adequate. I planted the remaining 4 seeds on May 15th of which 2 sprouted. I say 5 seeds total though one was white and unlikely to grow, I saw no harm in putting it in soil anyway.

Seedling #1

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Seedling #2

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Seedling #3

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But I caught the fever as soon as the first room in my closet was built and began doing some online shopping for a more serious set-up. As with most things in life, you get what you put into it. I purchased:
1x GenCom 48"x48"x78" Grow Tent
1x 400W light w/T5&Metal Halide
1x iPower Digital Ballast
1x 4 bucket Hydroponic system
1x BC nutrient solution starter kit
5x Barneys Farm L.S.D. seeds
3x Auto Trans Siberian seeds
1x thermometer/humidity reader


Today, May 27th, 2013, I am waiting on the seeds to arrive but they are expected to be at my door tomorrow. I have both rooms ready at this point, the closet contains the three plants already above ground and I expect these plants to remain soil bound. I ran into a nute burn problem with Plant #1 early which caused some of the first leaves to bend and warp, but I have gotten it under control and the newer foliage is looking much much healthier. Plant #2 is growing far slower than #1 but it is also looking healthier than #1 did at that stage. Plant #3 had a problem when it first popped above ground, one cotyledon became stuck over the top of the shaft and I did not know how to fix it at first. I used a water dropper to (what I hoped) soften the cotyledon enough to remove it and allow proper growth, but the cotyledon tore slightly still (not a problem). Plant #3 has been growing far differently than either of the others; slower, stockier leaves, taller initial stem growth, and it appears almost as if its' 3rd set of leaves are stuck to the 2nd set. Possibly a different pheno? I will let it grow out and let it make up its' mind.
I ran a 24 hour light cycle to get them to their first 4 leaves, then I transitioned to a 18/6 cycle and the plants seem to be much happier.

Plant #1

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Plant #2

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Plant #3

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I will be planting 4xLucy seeds in Root Riot seed/clone starter cubes as soon as they arrive and I expect to have sprouts by Thursday, May 30th.

Now for my questions I have for you more expert growers!
1) When do I place the Lucy seedlings into the hydro system? (I have heard after the first 4 leaves...)
2) I have seen many hydro users use quarter or half nute doses in the beginning, any preferences amongst you?
3) Has anyone grown, smoked, or known anyone who has done Barneys Lucy before? If so what experiences did you/they have?
4) Yield has been a curiosity of mine as well, I know Barneys claims that Lucy produces 600g/m sq but real world results speak more in my opinion.

I will try and add some photos of the current set ups and plants as soon as possible! Thanks for the feedback, I will try and post as often as possible!

-Coloradical
 
subscribed. i would stay away from using aluminum foil as a reflective material, it is said to create hot spots on the plants. i would use black and white "panda" plastic, or if you are on a budget use inexpensive camping/emergency blankets made from Mylar available at dollar stores. i start with 1/4 strength nutrients at around 4-6 inches of height and roots as long as that as well.
 
I had a fear that the aluminum foil might cause the room/plants some heat troubles, but so far with the fan going the room stays at 78 degrees and I rotate the plants every few hours so as to avoid any one side getting too much attention. I haven't heard of panda plastic but I will certainly look into it! Thanks for subscribing, I have high hopes for the next few months.
So generally you wait until your sprouts are 4-6in in height before using nutes? Soil or DWC?
 
i use a fog cloner for my cuttings, in it i can produce long hearing bone white roots up to 16 inches long if i wish. i have the best results when i do not add anything except cuttings with rooting gel to my cloner. i then transfer those clones to my Deep Water Culture or soil. if i start a seed in soiless mixture and it germinates i wait until i have 5-6 sets of leaves then add nutrients at 1/4 strength dosage or if i begin to see the leaves yellow in soiless mixture i begin to add 1/4 strength nutrients. usually the plants are 4-5 inches tall at that point. by taking clones from my fog cloner to Deep Water Culture i have roots long enough to reach the nutrient mixture i set at 1/4 strength to begin with.
 
Once again I have not heard of fog cloner, but as far as a dwc set up goes that sounds ideal. Every grow log I read reported massive growth immediately after the roots dipped into the mixture. I am thinking of running the system with only quarter strength to start, then wait to see if the plants love it or hate it and adjust from there. Apparently Lucy is a little touchy in early veg with nutrients from what I have gathered.
 
A quick update! Plant #1 is growing beautifully, I am really very impressed by how quickly it is expanding. I decided to check the root system last night and found it had filled a majority of the 6" pot, so I transplanted it to a 10" pot and it seems to have handled it well. Plant #2 is growing perfectly, just a lot smaller in size. Plant #3 is still looking strange, it has such short, round leaves that look so much different than the other two.
The Lucy seeds are seeing success as well, two are full blown sprouts already and the other two appear to be well on their way. The first two took 3 days to sprout. They have even already shot their first root out of the cube, so I am thinking about putting them into the DWC tomorrow and running 1/4 nutrients... If anyone has any input on that (waiting/not waiting) please let me know.
I ran into a problem with the DWC when I filled it for a test run (thankfully I decided it was worth it to check early) and found a pretty substantial leak out of the master control bucket in the water level indicator. I tried several methods of fixing the leak including just buying a new damn elbow for the indicator, but no one around carried the correct fitting. I have decided to simply plug the indicator and deal with it, an inconvenience certainly but I don't feel like fighting it anymore and it isn't vital to the survival of my girls.
Once again let me know thoughts on sending the first Lucy girls to the DWC.
 
i would recommend many more roots coming out of the cube before putting them in there. my first couple journals are nothing but me drowning seedlings lol.

the cube is more than enough room for them to grow, and they dont drink a ton when they're that small. they'll get plenty of water in the cube. wait until you have more roots imo.
 
Glad to see you took the time to read what i said and not only that but you posted in the journals section.

im subbed and along for the journey,the mylar plastic is cheap and available i saw it at a craft store by the house but im sure you can find it in the crafts section or gardening section of most stores.

looks great so far, lots of care and work nice job.
 
Thank you Legalised, I set out to do this as best I can from the start! I plan to take down the closet grow room soon and build something else for the plants for when they are larger, I don't have the best way of ventilating it now and the smell could draw attention if I don't figure that out. So I think I may go shopping around for the mylar, and build a box to house the plants and put that with the tent. Haven't decided...

As far as the plants, all are growing healthy! The Lucy seeds have produced 3 seedlings, still waiting on the last one to pop up. There is definitely something growing, its just doing it slowly. I am just waiting on the root systems to establish in the cubes enough to put them into the DWC. Until then... I am just anxious. I had them germinate in a pot run-off cup I had extra sitting together in the middle with water in the outer rim for moisture enclosed in a gallon zip-loc, it worked well, but I feared it was causing them to get too lanky keeping them in there after sprouting. Keeping them moist has since been a problem, they dry out every 3-4 hours which is a pain considering the room is at 73 degrees anyway. Dry mountain air. I feel a lot like a parent taking care of newborn quadruplet daughters, they are always hungry and have required me to set an alarm at 3:00am to ensure their survival.

Lucy Seedlings
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The 3 unknown plants are also healthy, especially plant #1. I discovered the tips of a few leaves were turning slightly yellow so I have given it nothing but water since and it hasn't worsened. Plant #1 is now 5" tall and has an 11.5" leaf span. The secondary branches are now really filling out the middle of the plant as well. I took a few pretty good pictures of those. I am really very impressed at the rate it is growing. Plant #2 is still growing healthy, not a problem to be spoken of this entire 3 weeks. Though it is healthy it is very small, but it is still growing steadily. Plant #3 has a strange odor unlike the other two, it still looks different, especially the round leaves, and its growth is unlike the others.

Top of Plant #1

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Side of Plant #1 (just woke up from 6hr nap)

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Interior Plant #1

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Plant #2

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Plant #3

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Closet Grow Room - Week 3 & Germination

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It sounds like over watering is a slight problem for you, the leaves will get droopy/yellowed in color.

Another sign is curling leaves and i am doing outdoors my plants get alot of rain water i seem to have yellowing tips on one white widow,
its only on two leaves of the same set. but nothing really major and also you only want to water every 2-3 days when they are a bit bigger like your plant #1 and #2. when they are small or saplings i like to water once a day or twice/when its dry.

Actually keeping them from getting "dry" shouldnt really be your problem you only water every 2-3 days because they thrive off of it.
as long as the air has humidity you are fine and even if the air is dry where you live , watering the plants (especially how many you have)
puts plenty of humidity in the air.

If it really becomes problem/concern to you then maybe consider getting a humidity guage, the one i have checks temps/humidity.
if its really that low in humidity maybe put a small glass of water in there or put it next to your intake fan.

also you have older plants and young saplings, maybe consider setting a water/feeding schedule for the bigger plants and keep from watering with the young plants. great way to avoid nute burn/ over watering.
 
I think I did overwater it when I transplanted, trying to send the water throughout the soil. Just a minor discoloration! Once the saplings root they are going to go in the grow tent, the humidity in there stays at about 30-40% without plants.

cool with good sized pots which i know they will be. the humidity will be about perfect.
 
Update! Plant #2 was transplanted today, and plant #3 needs to be transplanted, but I have run out of soil. I will be purchasing more tomorrow to finish the job! Plant #2 did not transfer as smoothly as #1, but I do not think it will be too stressed. Plant #1 is now 6"x12", and the interior of the plant is growing like crazy. Plant #3 is starting to look a little more normal the taller it gets.

The seedlings are also very healthy. There are still only three sprouts, the fourth is not doing much. It has a white point out of the seed, but it has had that since day two of planting... this is now day 9. I may just be impatient but if anyone knows anything about that... I just want to be able to have all four wells up and running at a similar pace. The first sapling now has roots shooting out of the sides and more out of the bottom. I think tomorrow may be the day to move it into the DWC and just water by hand until the roots reach the mixture.

The DWC is fully fixed, holding water and running like a dream!
 
I am having difficulties keeping the temp in the tent down, it spikes up to 94 which is far too high, and that's with the vents open and a fan running. I'm attempting to add a few more fans to bring air in and try to cool it that way, however I am curious how others have solved their heat problems. If anyone has a good, hopefully quick, method of cooling down a tent please don't hesitate to voice your help!
 
ducting from a window or vent with an inline fan taking it into the tent maybe 2, i have a small cupboard with 2 600w hps and have a 6 inch and 4 inch inline fan bringing air in from the vents in the attic temps stay around 84 -88 but never any higher

hope this helps mate
 
Thank you that does help, I was trying to avoid purchasing inline fans yet due to their price tag but I may have to just pay up. Or at the least get a cool tube and a fan to pull air through, that would greatly reduce the heat inside the tent. The temps today (which today was the hottest day of the year so far) inside the tent ranged from 84 degrees in the morning to ~89-90 degrees at the peak of the day's heat. It really does not feel as hot as that inside the tent though I must say. I rigged together a fan to pull hot air out from the top of the tent and I have what was a blower to keep an inflatable castle filled blowing air into the tent, it is very efficient!

Air-In

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Air-Out (temporary)

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The Lucy saplings are happily placed inside the DWC, it feels good to have them in their home, but I have to say it is extremely stressful putting them in. My soil grow is so much more simple than using the DWC, but it is a learning experience. I mixed up a 1/4 batch of nutes and put them into the system, though I don't think it is mixing evenly throughout the buckets... I have searched for a good grow journal using DWC but I haven't come across anything too similar to my set up.

Lucy #1

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Lucy #2

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Lucy #3

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DWC in Tent with Lucy Saplings

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Lucy Saplings with 3 Unknown

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