First Time Hydro, Follow Along!

[Bonez]

hey guys,

I'm starting this late because I honestly didn't think my plants would last this long. I had nothing but trouble from the beginning, and finally things are starting to look better! My plan is to do a three plant ScrOG, under a 250 watt hps.

The three strains I have now are (left to right)
Snow White
Herojuana
GDPK
(and also some clones that I was temporarily taken care of)

I'm using a drip system, with a 10 gallon reservoir. It waters 3 times a day for 15 minutes each. Temp is around 70~ with a humidity close to 40%. Plants right now are getting right around 4 weeks old. Some are slightly older than others. As far as everything else goes,

Vegging Nutes:
Soul Synthetics, at about 800 ppm, res is at 5.5-6.0pH

Haven't decided flowering nutes yet.
Here's some pics of the beggining:

Right Now:

I had some clones mixed in as well that I removed today and am really scared by what I saw, Almost all these bugs were on this clone alone but I noticed one or two were on some of the others. I looked everywhere online and cant find a thing on them. Whatcha think?

Thanks all

 

[Love1Fear]

those black things are bugs? that live in ur reservoir never heard of that, if this is what ur saying

 

[Bonez]

those black things are bugs? that live in ur reservoir never heard of that, if this is what ur saying

I don't think they live in the reservoir, but they were all over the roots which were in hydroton. Especially on one of the clones, I'm guessing thats where they came from. So they seem to be crawling around all the hydroton now and climbing around or eating the roots

 

[Bonez]

It's been a day since the screen was put in place and the tallest plant was about 2 inches away, and the second maybe 3 or 4, I topped a bunch yesterday and already today two plants hit the screen for the first time!

 

[TorturedSoul]

Cool, I'm actually able to hit a journal close to the start of things. Good luck on your grow, Bonez.

Have you any macro-shots of your bugs? Would have to help in identification.

Are those lights a bank of florescent tubes? If so, how close are they to your screen? I know with the original scrog setups that used them, the lights were pretty much right at the screen and only raised as the plants got within an inch of the lights. Of course, if you've got some ultra-bright T5s producing 40k lumens, you might not wish to have them that close, lol.

Then again, I've seen plants growing right up to the glass in high-wattage HPS fixtures (when the fixture was air-cooled and that glass was not hot to the touch). Probably wasn't a good idea, but....

Thanks for starting your journal!

 

[Bonez]

I dont have any closer pics at the moment, only reason I had that last one was because I was moving the clone out. They are 6 bulb high output t5s. All before the screen was there they were 2-3inches from the top, but that screen is curved so its hitting on the sides right now.

 

[Bonez]

Through some azro-max into the res to get rid of the bugs. Also chopped 5 clones two days ago, and continued to top. Plant growth has slowed down because of all the mutiliating but it seems to be picking back up.

Concerning the screen, i'm still slightly confused on how to exactly train them. Do I just let them get a couple inches above the screen then just bend em down and put them in another hole? Does the stem HAVE to be higher than the leaves?

 

[Bonez]

Not sure if anyone is reading this, but my screen is pretty much over 3/4ths full. I wont have my 400 watt hps untill later next week. Would it be okay to start flowering for a week with the t5s? Would my yield drastically decrease and I should just wait?

Let me know what you think. I will throw up some pics in a sec

 

[TomatoPie]

Technically due to the perfectly controlled canopy in SCROG, you could start with your T5s if space is an issue. You're better off with a smaller light than overflowing your net. I prefer using training and supercropping, as the net seems very cumbersome.


I don't know if you have yet, but you could start tucking the smaller growth points through the net. Were the plants topped? Because lots of the shoots on the main stem will shoot out during stretch, make sure they have a place.

Looks very healthy, good luck

 

[Bonez]

My screen is starting to get REAL full, over 3/4ths. My 400 watt wont be here till end of next week. Should I start flowering now and switch the lights when they get here? Im worried they will get overcrowded.

I stressed the hell out of them today with all the trimming. Far too many fan leaves where bud sites are. I hope they dont hermie.

 

[Bonez]

Technically due to the perfectly controlled canopy in SCROG, you could start with your T5s if space is an issue. You're better off with a smaller light than overflowing your net. I prefer using training and supercropping, as the net seems very cumbersome.


I don't know if you have yet, but you could start tucking the smaller growth points through the net. Were the plants topped? Because lots of the shoots on the main stem will shoot out during stretch, make sure they have a place.

Looks very healthy, good luck

Yeah thats why im worried, each plant has been topped and those tops topped. One I think I even topped once more after that. the difference between my last two photos has only been 2 days... they are BEASTS

 

[TomatoPie]

I'd start flowering whenever you are ready, because they'll be doing a lot of growing soon, before any buds actually show up. I wouldn't mess with the fan leaves on the bud sites just yet, and even when you're flowering, I'd leave them as is.

After the stretch (w3 ish) you can clean up the useless popcorn stems in the bottom, those who won't make it up to the light. Leave the fan leaves down there! They are a warehouse FULL of goodies for the plant, let em shed them herself, they act as a buffer for certain deficiencies.

If it comes off easy, it was pretty empty. If it has some give, leave it a few more days the plant still has a use for it.

 

[Bonez]

I'd start flowering whenever you are ready, because they'll be doing a lot of growing soon, before any buds actually show up. I wouldn't mess with the fan leaves on the bud sites just yet, and even when you're flowering, I'd leave them as is.

After the stretch (w3 ish) you can clean up the useless popcorn stems in the bottom, those who won't make it up to the light. Leave the fan leaves down there! They are a warehouse FULL of goodies for the plant, let em shed them herself, they act as a buffer for certain deficiencies.

If it comes off easy, it was pretty empty. If it has some give, leave it a few more days the plant still has a use for it.

woops... well I'll remember that for next time, there is still a decent amount but the bottom is getting a lot more airflow.

Question: do I switch to full flowering nutes when I change the light cycle or do a 1/2 mix of veggy and flower? I've always wondered

 

[harryo]

use some hydrogen peroxide 35% foodgrade 1or2 tblspns in you resivour and you can make a mild solution to spray your plants controls all bugs mouls fungi and any other mites or bacteria it helps oxygenate uor root system

 

[Bonez]

Okay, its been exactly one week of 12/12, snow white on the right seems to be the bushiest but possibly a little stressed. I have been seeing a couple three leaf sets.

You guys think its going to get overcrowded?

Feb 23rd, before I installed my new hps:

Today the 25th, they are lovin the new light.

 

[Bonez]

today was exactly day 14 of 12/12. Everything seems to be going well. If you have any suggestions or advice id love to hear it.

 

[TorturedSoul]

today was exactly day 14 of 12/12. Everything seems to be going well. If you have any suggestions or advice id love to hear it.

Only a general one: Measure the days of "stretch" that your plants go through. Count from the first day of 12:12 until the last day of visible stretch.

 

[Bonez]

Only a general one: Measure the days of "stretch" that your plants go through. Count from the first day of 12:12 until the last day of visible stretch.

So say if a strain was a 55 day flowering strain then you dont start counting the days of flowering until the stretch is over? Or just keep track of how long the stretch went for just for a general idea on how long it would take?

 

[Bonez]

Just decided to take a picture without the light on. its visibly grown during the day. I'm lovin this compared to soil

 

[TorturedSoul]

So say if a strain was a 55 day flowering strain then you dont start counting the days of flowering until the stretch is over? Or just keep track of how long the stretch went for just for a general idea on how long it would take?

If a strain is reported to have a 55 day flowering period, I'd expect the stretch to last 22 days from the day that I switched to 12 on / 12 off.

If the stretch actually lasted, for example, 27 days... Then I'd know that it was actually a 68-day strain instead of a 55-day one.

And if the bank that sold me the hypothetical strain listed as being a 55-day flower that actually was a 68-day one called it "an early harvest with sativa-like affects," then I'd know right away that they were trying to pull a fast one on me by trying to get me to harvest early so as to get a quick, raw, speedy affect. Not that they've ever done such a thing grinjoint:). But in such a case I'd take it to the calculated 68th day of flowering for a different, but more natural - although more couch-lock, +/- - affect (even though I prefer sativas). I'd get fuller buds since they tend to put on the final surge of trichomes (and weight) close to harvest.

[While many people eventually adjust the exact harvest date (slightly) to suit, cutting an indica down mad-early (premature) to get some supposed "sativa-affect" is, IMHO, like letting a 115-day sativa go to 135 days to get a couch-lock/narcotic "indica-affect." Like that fat redneck comedian said, "It's like wiping before you p00p - it don't make no sense."]

I've found that to be pretty accurate. Assuming no major "oh shits" occur that so stress the girls that flowering is delayed, and assuming that major light changes do not occur (switching types or color-temperature), cannabis will "stretch" for the first 40% of its flowering period and "fill-in" for the remaining 60%.

Called the 40:60 rule for that reason. Handy.

You might harvest a bit earlier or a bit later in order to (somewhat) adjust the characteristics of the affect, but if you've got the exact stretch time and have to go on vacation with a helper who can follow directions but not determine the harvest date, then your calculated harvest date would be safe as houses.

Count the flowering period from the first day you introduce a full 12-hour dark period. Count the stretch period from the same. You should be able to tell when the stretch stops. It might not completely cease, but it'll go from "wow is this thing ever going to stop getting taller?" to "it might have grown a little," lol.

Certain hormone supplements may play havoc with this formula (and the plant). And auto-flowering strains of course, are an aberration.