First Proper Grow Attempt - DWC Vs Soil Testing

[GreenThunder]

Haha I'm not so sure I'll be waiting 2 months! Don't think I could if I tried. This is to smoke in maybe 14-21 days hopefully (if I can even wait that long haha). Basically so I can smoke some of my own herb while I harvest my own herb . Once I get a proper harvest under my belt I'll go for a nice 2 month cure on some choice buds I think though. Planning to go with the long cure on the organic soil ones and then smoke the DWC in the meantime. Should be plenty of it to last me haha.

I'm reading your last several posts and nodding in agreement I can relate to all of it, although we're not getting ripped off but just tired of paying (didn't expect to enjoy the process so much!!)
I harvested my first, a single plant, 19 days ago and am enjoying some while the rest cures ✌ Damn good stuff and a real thrill to smoke what I grew!

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Well in light of me wierdly feeling better about life than ever before in the last 24hrs. Mostly down to my incredible family, my grow and you guys.
Now bear with me here while I turn into a weed related cooking blog. I decided I'm going to try and make a further change in my lifestyle and try to atleast eat a healthy breakfast every day. Crazy right? Lol I usually skip breakfast completely or just eat a chocolate bar and some crisps at 11 and call it breakfast. Starting today breakfast is going to go more like this. Hopefully I will feel a difference in my health/energy and it will inspire me to stop eating pizza and other shit all the time. Its just so tasty tho! (I'm also blessed/cursed to be one of those people that could eat butter by the kilo and lose weight while not exercising playing xbox. I have now wised up a bit and realised that my weight isn't the only thing that matters diet wise.)

Those 2 big fan leaves on top of Bdog1 are blocking the light completely from hitting the two shoots trying to come up below them.
Solution:

Now back to breakfast :

Two very big, fat, fine indica leaves washed and stalks trimmed off:

Add portions of frozen fruit (I don't get through fresh fruit quick enough and it goes off, for that reason I buy it frozen, but it makes a nice cold smoothie so it has upsides):

In the blender with 2 spoons of honey:

Add whole milk:

Blend:

Breakfast:

Conclusion:
The cheapy croissants were disgusting . Like seriously bad .
The smoothie was delicious, fresh, fruity, smooth, basically everything you want in a smoothie. I couldn't even taste the leaves in there (might add 4 leaves tomorrow and see if it makes a difference). I do feel oddly a bit more energised than usual. Maybe I'm just imagining that because my brain wants it to be the case, but I dont think so. Will definitely be trying to continue with this every day. Don't worry I wont fill my journal with it all the time though . I just thought if I post it in here I'll have to stick with it If I find any killer recipes along the way I might add em in from time to time however.

{Sorry more off topic stuff I know, but I'd rather use my own thread to share this stuff than clog up other's with it. And I enjoy sharing it on here for my own benefit mostly, but also for others in the hopes we can all maybe learn something/better ourselves in some way or another. Even if its just a smile people take away from my journal it means it made a difference and was worth it to me.}

 

[Skullman420]

67% is too much. Especially this far out. I found that watering only for a few hours right after lights on and then closing their access to the reservoir the rest of the time, reduced my humidity by 10%. that only works with soil of course.

The dwc doesn't let out vapour like soil do anyway so that is not a problem.

Managed to get mine down from 70% to 45% with defoiling and
Closing the reservoir. Defoiling alone only reduced it to 60%. I too have to get a dehumidifier. I can't work like this with 32 plants. 12 is already a nightmare.

And besides.... I want the leaves to stay on the plants. They are there for a reason. It's only a stupid emergency solution because I'm broke most of the time

 

[Skullman420]

I see you already got it down to 60. That's great. But you should get it down a little bit more. Just a little bit to be safe from that dreaded budrot. You'll most likely be fine though. I'm just very afraid of that thing.

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

I see you already got it down to 60. That's great. But you should get it down a little bit more. Just a little bit to be safe from that dreaded budrot. You'll most likely be fine though. I'm just very afraid of that thing.

Yeah got it down to around 60% max now. I always water as soon as my lights come on just by chance anyways so I think the dehumidifier will have to be the solution. I'm in the same boat and always broke too though so it will have to wait. I'm terrified about bud rot also but right now there isn't a lot more I can do except hope for the best. Some of my plants were meant for the outdoors in wet climates (Sensi Outdoor Mix) so they are supposed to be very BM resistant.
Cheers for stopping in Devil.

 

[Skullman420]

I think you'll be fine.

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Ok flower update.

Temps and humidity still the same so no worries there .

DWC had drank only 5L this time, its odd how its seems to drink more some days than others. At first I put it down to temperature but my temps have been really consistent since installing the controller. Anyways topped her up. PH'd to 5.8 and added Bloom A&B to 1.4 EC. Still no sign of any brown hairs at all. Guess she has a while to go. In some ways that sucks, in others its good, I guess the buds will be huge if she goes a long time. They are already pretty big.

Any bud that is big enough to rest a bottle on top of while the fan is on it, is fine by me.

The soil plants are still coming along steadily. Soil 1 seems to be going a lot slower than I had hoped. The buds on her look aboit 3 weeks behind Soil 2, I'm quietly hoping Soil 2 might be ready to chop in 2 weeks or so. I gave them both 2L of plain PH'd water (6.2) today as they have had a couple feeds in a row now they could probably use the break.
Soil 1:

(Mutant bud can be seen on the near right of the above pic)
Soil 2:

Just before lights came on:

The TD is still stretching away, but oddly most of the stretching seems to be occuring on the side under the HPS lamp. It is placed half way between the HPS and LED. I'm going to leave it exactly where it is all being well and compare the buds from each side at the end. I went ahead and plucked a few of the big fans off the more stretchy branches not many though. Just want to slow them a bit before they get out of control. I also took off a couple more lower branches that didn't look like they were ever going to make the canopy. No water/feed for her today.

Finally the RCB doing her thing. Just slowly stretching up to the light now. I dont think it will stretch too much as it is meant to be a very indica heavy strain and it was a very short bushy plant even before the ScrOG. Again no water/feed for her today. I'm starting to get the hang of just lifting up the pots to feel if they need water now, that said I do still check with the moisture meter to be sure at the moment.

Sorry if this picture turns out sideways I have no clue why my phone did it.

Finally a view of the garden

Have an awesome day everyone! Keep on growing.

✌

 

[Scoooter]

Yeah man great day for you! Healthy breakfast and super healthy plants! Nice!

Sounds like you are going to take care of your body like your plants ... I could do more of that myself. Picking up fruit tomorrow for defoliation. .

Hey are your RH issues during lights out, on or both?

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Yeah man great day for you! Healthy breakfast and super healthy plants! Nice!

Sounds like you are going to take care of your body like your plants ... I could do more of that myself. Picking up fruit tomorrow for defoliation. .

Hey are your RH issues during lights out, on or both?

Haha yeah trying to make changes for the better (I've spent way too long not exercising and eating junk and just generally abusing my body). Glad you're giving it a go! It was really tasty lol.

The RH was spiking during lights off, now that I have defoliated it seems to stay in the 45-60% range. Still it is at its highest at the end of the 12hr dark period. Dehumidifier is on my ever growing wish list .

Thanks for stopping by bro ✌

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Had a busy day so just a quick picture update today sorry. Everything is fine tho no major news. I did some LST on Bdog2 and the TD clone. The Amnesia Auto is showing preflowers already . Its about 4 inches tall lol. DWC PH was spot on so just a top up (6L). Soil 2 is looking like its fattening up a bit and starting to get closer to the end now.

Bdog1 (topped)

Bdog2 (LST)

TD Clone(funky leaves are left over from cloning, new ones seem healthy)

RCB Clone

Amnesia XXL Auto (might bin this soon its just tiny and shitty - my fault I'm sure)

Flower tent:
DWC (finally got a few brown hairs now - hopefully wont be too much longer, my guess is 3-4weeks??):

Soil 2

TD

RCB (I raised it up to be closer to light today)

Overview

Have a great day all. ✌

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Today's update.

Temps are fine but the humidity is already starting to creep up over 60 again. I dont want to be plucking leaves every day to keep up so I will have to grt a dehumidifier. When is another matter as cash is in short supply at the moment.

I spent a bit of time today making some more ScrOG screens for the upcoming plants also. Seeing how the RCB is exploding with tops literally everywhere basically has me convinced this is something I'll be doing a lot more of! Its just mental! If I can tame the stretch of TD with a ScrOG then I'll be so happy. More on the ScrOGs in a future update .

DWC is doing well. EC 1.3, PH was 5.7 so I just topped up with nute solution at 0.8 EC & PH 5.7. I took a few of the lower branches out to get her to spend more energy in the very tops. Only took about 10 little branches that were just about reaching the lower part of the canopy. For the most part the buds on them were really airy and underdeveloped but a couple of the tops were ok so I put 90% in the freezer for hash and a few tops went on the drying rack. Holding out high hopes for this plant, the buds are already huge (atleast to me) and she is still just going strong not looking like she's slowing down any time soon. More and more frost by the day now too. Not much down the leaves but the buds themselves are completely covered in tiny little glistening diamonds.

Hash trim:

Keepers:

(Top shelf is DWC buds, below is the bud I cut a couple days ago of soil 2 just taken off the stem)

Soil 1 is actually fattening up a bit! Whoop!
Soil 2 is still chugging along bulking up and still finding room in her buds to throw out fresh pistils. Fine by me.
Soil 2 top cola:

As for the TD, boy am I happy I cloned this girl! She smells out of this world already! Seriously incredible, you're all going to be bored of me saying it soon because its that nice I wont be able to shut up. If anyone remembers the old "Tango" drink ads on TV the whole "You've been Tango'd" while getting smashed with tons of fruit. Well yeah it smells like the set from the Orange Tango ad. Its like getting smashed in the face with a truck load of tangerines. I'm genuinely scared to lose these genetics. If it turns out to keep this smell and yields well I might just only grow this for the rest of my life. It smells that good!
I fed her 2L today with BioGrow, BioBloom, Algamic, TopMax at 50% recommended strength and added Molasses & Great White.

The RCB is doing brilliantly too, no smell yet, she's too busy pushing out tops and bud sites everywhere for that. Think this ScrOG is somewhat of a success so far as its just a giant flat canopy of bud sites. Lets just hope I don't cock it up somehow down the line . I have officially stopped any tucking and weaving on it now. (Disclaimer-I may still tuck large fan leaves just not branches) Excuse the DE I still had a few thrips knocking around it turned out, so back to looking like a wild cocaine party in there...It gets everywhere...

Final overview:

Hope everyone has an awesome day!

Keep on growing all.

 

[Dr Fish]

This is a pic of Thrips at work, looks a lot like the short plants up front... Could be it's just water spots

 

[Scoooter]

GM you are killing it! I laughed at the pic of the new drying tent. I can imagine you placing them in there then turning them every few hours in anticipation . That and how you put them on two levels. Hehe

Don't know if you read my last entry on mine about when I increased my duct size with the same size fan my humidity dropped a bunch. I assume it increased the efficiency by lowering back pressure. Intake and out both.

.

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

GM you are killing it! I laughed at the pic of the new drying tent. I can imagine you placing them in there then turning them every few hours in anticipation . That and how you put them on two levels. Hehe

Don't know if you read my last entry on mine about when I increased my duct size with the same size fan my humidity dropped a bunch. I assume it increased the efficiency by lowering back pressure. Intake and out both.

.

Haha thanks dude! I keep imagining it full . Can't wait for the day. I did see your post but unfortunately because of my particular set up I have to have the opposite going on. I have to run mine to a reducer from 6inch to 4inch so it fits the outlet vent. I do have a massively overkill fan though so I don't think that will make a huge amount of difference. The humidity in the house is 55 so its hard to get lower than that without a dehumidifier I think.
Thanks for stopping in bro!

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

This is a pic of Thrips at work, looks a lot like the short plants up front... Could be it's just water spots

Yes indeedy. I do have thrips (feels like an std ). They are not on the ScrOG up front though (atleast I dont think they've made it that far). That is Diatomacious Earth all over them as a preventative measure. The thrips are mostly on my 2 plants on the left and the DWC at the back. Thanks for stopping in dude!

 

[GreenThunder]

At what point do you start and how often do you give molasses?

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

At what point do you start and how often do you give molasses?

Eh...you found my weakness lol its just about the least scientific bit of my entire grow . Not something I know too much about, it was just a case of read it in a few places, tried it and saw trichs appear everywhere, so stuck with it.

I just kinda dip the end of a pipette into the jar then mix that tiny bit into the water with feeds. I'd guess its about 1/4ml-1/2ml into a 1.5-2L feed.

I don't bother on the vegging plants and I'll stop when I get to flushing in flower.

I give it with every feed and I'm trying to feed 2 out of 3 waterings roughly. Depends how the plants look, if they look hungry they get a feed if they have been fed a fair bit they get water etc... They end up with atleast 1 feed a week though.

Sorry I know that's all a bit vague but as I said its not something I know loads about. I just read it increases trich production and it helps feed my soil life at the same time. I don't use much as on the ingredients of my particular jar it has LOADS of calcium in it so I don't want to cause issues with too much of it.

I fed it to my TD and the thing has little trichs on already! Its still somewhat in stretch mode and already got trichs, on my other plants I didn't see frost untill about 3 weeks after stretch (and even then it was after feeding molasses for the first time lol)! So I have faith it works just need to research more to understand why and to get the most out of it .

I imagine it is currently atleast working somewhat well because, as with all things plants, they seem to prefer 'little and often' rather than huge doses of anything. Something I learned very early on (just before starting my journal) when I mixed a batch of full strength nutes for what was effectively a seedling -extra crispy

Sorry not too much help I know.

 

[GreenThunder]

Eh...you found my weakness lol its just about the least scientific bit of my entire grow . Not something I know too much about, it was just a case of read it in a few places...

Sorry not too much help I know.

Not as vague as you might think and actually quite helpful I've seen someone describe the level of knowledge I feel that I have as being a kindergartener
I feel like I learn something new every day and am soaking it up like a dry spong!! Thank you for sharing your experience ✌ I'm using a similar learning method (read and experiment)
⛈

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Not as vague as you might think and actually quite helpful I've seen someone describe the level of knowledge I feel that I have as being a kindergartener
I feel like I learn something new every day and am soaking it up like a dry spong!! Thank you for sharing your experience ✌ I'm using a similar learning method (read and experiment)
⛈

To me it was fairly vague sorry lol, I included everything I could think of though .

I know what you mean about feeling like a kid sometimes, there is always something new to learn in this game. Just when I settle on an idea I find out some new piece of information that changes everything .

I find its the best way to learn for me, just try it out, I'm a lot more likely to figure out quickly if something suits my styles/setup etc by doing it, than by trying to theorise in my head for weeks what is best. I end up never making a decision and circling round ideas if I do that haha.

Cheers for stopping in bro. Flower update incoming shortly .

✌

 

[GlaucomaMeds]

Hold that thought spanner in works update on hold...