First Solo Grow - DWC Kosher Kush

[AlphaPrime]

As of today it has been 8 days since flipping to 12/12 and roughly 4 days into flower. All plants are now starting to form their first little buds and my scrog net consructed only shortly before flipping to 12/12 is 70-80% filled.

Everything seems to be pretty dialled in at this stage in my grow. RH is hovering between 30-40%, Lights on temp is at 72-76, lights off around 65-67. Ive been consistently trying to do a complete reservoir change every 7 days, and this week was the first time where I had waited 9 to change it. I set ph to 5.55 with every nute change and it doesnt really go much higher than 5.75-5.8x before the next nute change is due. Working with a PPM around the 900-1000 range.

I defoliated quite a lot when i first put the SCROG in and also supercropped the main cola on each plant as they simply grew too rapidly ! Was a bit worried as it was my first attempt at it - but they recovered quickly and performed just as expected of them! Lots of stem growth at bend/break site and gave the other stems a boost in catching up, as well as tons of new stem growth from the main colas !

At the moment im keeping the lights around 8 inches from canopy top - is this too much / too little ?

As always, any input, praise or criticism is most welcome ! Let me know what you guys think !

AP

 

[AlphaPrime]

And here are a couple snaps to show current progress!

Side view - Think I will trim any ofthe tiny branches which have only grown in the last 5 days or so if they look like they wont make any great progress by the timeenxt res change comes around - or latest around day 28 of 12/12 where i plan to do some major defol again.

Only thing im really left questioning at the moment - is how often and how thoroughly to defoliate! Ive read most of the High Yield Defol. thread available via google

But every night when lights come on and I look into the tent I see loads of stems that could benefit from further light being blocked off by some of the big fan leaves! Also after last defol the leaf growth exploded for several days following, combined with a very noticeable stem growth from the areas that I hit the hardest! Therefore I definitely think I will be sticking to a defol regime in the future

 

[AlphaPrime]

I just remembered that my Lumatek ballas has a "boost" button - which apparently increases power or lumen output (forgot which) by about 10-15%. Anybody know how valid such claims are / when its best to use it if at all ?

Thanks !

 

[AlphaPrime]

Holy sh...

Just got in from work and had a look at my girls ! The 20 mins or so of pure air whilst changing res and adding fresh nutes must have worked their magic! The entire canopy appears to have grown by about 2+ inches in a 24 hour period !

Im mighty glad i added the SCROG - There is also an abundance of new bud sites developing, but the vertical overnight growth is definitely more controlable with the screen !

 

[CronicHempHog]

mostly everything below the screen should be defoliated at some point
all the energy should be given to the area above the screen

 

[AlphaPrime]

I thought as much - Just had real bad back pain the last couple days so will hopefully get around to it asap !

PS for anyone not done so already give Breaking Bad a try - just got the boxset the other day and have to admit its one of the best TV series I have seen in a long time... Of course not forgetting epic classics such as LOST or Game of Thrones

 

[KingJohnC]

subscribed

 

[AlphaPrime]

subscribed

Welcome on board buddy! It may be a bumpy ride but hopefully I will learn a lot and pave the way towards some decent meds along the way !

 

[Hiker]

Looking good in there AP!

8" is probably OK with 600's, but I'd watch them closely at first. As long as they are done stretching, you should be OK. Otherwise, I'd be worring about a growth spurt putting them a couple inches from the light.

 

[Bassman59]

Girls are looking great AP. Yes, res changes are wonderful for the gals. They get a nice boost of oxygen to the roots I guess and love it.

I'm subbed and looking forward to following along. I just flipped 4 Kosher Kush into flower yesterday myself.

 

[AlphaPrime]

Looking good in there AP!

8" is probably OK with 600's, but I'd watch them closely at first. As long as they are done stretching, you should be OK. Otherwise, I'd be worring about a growth spurt putting them a couple inches from the light.

6-8" Seems to be working great for me ! Before lights go out in the am i always check to see if any adjustments need to be made and its all been smooth sailing so far !

AP

 

[AlphaPrime]

Girls are looking great AP. Yes, res changes are wonderful for the gals. They get a nice boost of oxygen to the roots I guess and love it.

I'm subbed and looking forward to following along. I just flipped 4 Kosher Kush into flower yesterday myself.

Hi Bass!

Mighty glad to have you on board dude - Im sure you can see my tent looks at least a little similar to yours haha

Got some new pics coming up in a moment - Had massive growth since switching to 12/12 about 2.5 weeks ago - curious to see how much longer the stretch will last!

A little lazy to start measuring just now but rough estimate is 100% growth spur since flipping lights - I think I have room to accomodate the same growth volume again before height starts becomign an issue - Do you think they will stop stretching in time ?

 

[Bassman59]

You'll have to tell me how tall they are from the bucket. But @ 2.5 weeks they are almost done stretching. If they are getting too tall or close to the light you can hit them hard with defoliation now to stop the stretch and they'll be fine. Otherwise, wait a bit till stretch is done.

 

[AlphaPrime]

Not sure if i can call this flower porn - but it my opinion my girls are getting HOT! lol

Here we got some outside tent shots x2:

And moving in a little closer x2:

And finally some closeups of random (Non main cola) flowers building up:

What do you guys think - My view is of course biased but im hoping these are looking very good for a first grow attempt on my own accord Do they look like they are lackign something ?

Any praise and/or criticism appreciated as always!

- And may the weed gods be with you !

AP

 

[Bassman59]

They look great man. How far are they from the light?

 

[AlphaPrime]

You'll have to tell me how tall they are from the bucket. But @ 2.5 weeks they are almost done stretching. If they are getting too tall or close to the light you can hit them hard with defoliation now to stop the stretch and they'll be fine. Otherwise, wait a bit till stretch is done.

Looking for my tape measure as we speak ! Hopefulyl wont take too long lol - smoking beforehand definitely doesnt help !

Ok- found it !

Just measured and they are 28 inches tall, and 6 inches from the light !

When you say almsot done stretching - did yours still continue to grow throughout their flower cycle even after aggresive growth ?

 

[Bassman59]

I would surely say defoliate them now and shut down the stretch, OR... Super crop about 4" maybe 6", let them finish then hit em hard. You got 3-9 days of stretching to go still.

Yea they'll grow a little bit more during flower but not much.

 

[AlphaPrime]

I would surely say defoliate them now and shut down the stretch, OR... Super crop about 4" maybe 6", let them finish then hit em hard. You got 3-9 days of stretching to go still.

Yea they'll grow a little bit more during flower but not much.

Think I will go with super cropping - already did light defol a couple of times and they rebuilt themselves too fast lol ! Oh and when I say 6 inches from the light ... I can still move it up about 15-20 inches... Should I wait a bit longer and let them stretch - or did you already take account of light to be moved up ?

Hope that makes sense - didn't make myself very clear earlier

Proposed plan to supercrop --> wait out the stretch --> heavy defol and adjust light as necessary - just need to figure out how long to wait before beginning the whole process !
AP

 

[Bassman59]

oh ok you're fine. I should have been more clear and asked if you were at max height on the hood. You are however, @ 28" away from the light at maximum benefit for a 600w hps.

Take a look at the light depth chart here for a better understanding: How far of a distance?

 

[AlphaPrime]

Now that you mentioned that it seems so obvious yet completely slipped my mind !

At the moment I've still got a 200w CFL as pictured on first pages; as used to grow the seedlings.... Is there any point in building some sort of holder to incorporate it in the middle of the plants at a lower level ?