Garage Grower
Well-Known Member
What strain is it? Nirvana's Northern Lights
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages? supposedly Indica dominant hybrid (don't know %s)
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? currently in Veg
If in Veg... For how long? 18 days
If in Flower stage... For how long? n/a
Indoor or outdoor? indoor
Soil or Hydro?soil
If soil... what is in your mix? FFOF with extra Perlite & a handful of Vermiculite
If soil... What size pot? exact size unknown... guessing 2-3 Gal.
Size of light? 8 CFLs
Is it aircooled? yes - passive intake with 8" duct booster fan exhaust
Temp of Room/cab? 65-80
RH of Room/cab? currently in the low 40s, slowly increasing
PH of media or res? FFOF says 6.3-6.8
Any Pests ? none yet, doubt I will for THIS grow
How often are you watering? as needed
Type and strength of ferts used? FF Grow Big, 3/4 strength every other watering since first full set of leaves
This is "technically" my 2nd grow... but the first was a completely feeble, uneducated attempt. I had a bagseed and got a shovelful of dirt from my yard, put it in a bucket and watered... there were no holes in the bucket, no fans for circulation, and my lights consisted of just ONE incandescent "grow bulb" in a cheap clamp-on reflector and an equally cheap 18" fluorescent "grow light" that more resembled a cheap under-cabinet kitchen light... and BOTH lights were entirely too high from the top. That actually sprouted and got one full set of fans before toppling over and died. knowing what I know now, I'm sure it was combination of improper lighting and absolutely NO drainage LOL.
fast-forward 10 years or so and I decided to give it another try, this time with known genetics and a little knowledge under my skull. Placed my order with Nirvana and while I anxiously awaited delivery (or a visit from customs agents LOL), I did my research. Many of my Google inquiries led me here to 420, so I signed up and read through many of the journals, learning a lot about soil, nutes, lighting, ventilation, etc - as well as working out a few ideas of my own. I also got materials together and built my garage box.
Box is built on top of my workbench, which has a large loft-type shelf above it - floor and ceiling taken care of. a few scrap pieces of lumber got the rest of the box built. so far, no money spent. I already had the mechanical timer from my previously mentioned failed attempt, and I had the 8" duct booster fan (something like 270cfm) from a previous temporary heat/AC duct I had run. so I went off to Homer's and got a roll of 24" reflectix, a 4-lamp bathroom vanity fixture, 4 Y-socket splitters, and a couple packs of 23w bright white CFLs. Got the box up and running in a day.
my seeds came from Nirvana and I popped one in a wet paper towel, then into a ziploc bag and put it in my desk drawer, checking it a couple times a day. by the end of the first day, the seam on the shell had cracked and sort of looked like a tiny pistachio LOL, but no tail yet. by dinner-time the 2nd day, it had a tail poking out almost 1/2" long, so I put it in my first soil mix... a mix of top soil, perlite, peat & humus. Seemed to take forever to pop ground, thought at first maybe it died. Then it finally came out, but growth seemed really slow from other journals I've seen here, so I thought something must be wrong with my "custom" soil mix, so I went to the garden center and bought a bag of FFOF and started prepping my bucket for early transplant. I get my cat litter in these great plastic buckets that I use for just about everything. Took one and cut it down to what I thought was an appropriate height, drilled a mess of holes in the bottom and lower sides, then washed it a few times. first with hot water and dish soap, then wiped it down with vinegar, then filled it with HOT water (hot off the stove) and 2 cups of bleach and let that sit a few hours. While that was stewing, I searched my salvage pile and found some roof shingle vent - looks sort of like a super-thick scotchbrite pad - soaked that in the bleach solution too... this I cut to fit the bottom of the bucket as sort of a drainage filter so the soil didn't risk clogging (or coming out) the holes.
Made my mix of FFOF, Perlite & Vermiculite and put in the bucket, then transplanted the weak plant into it and gave it a thorough watering, put it in the cabinet and left it alone for a day and a half on 19/5 lighting. When I checked on it next I couldn't believe how it had bounced back! Since then it seems to be growing at a pretty decent rate compared to what I've seen around. About a week ago I started giving 3/4 strength FF Grow Big every other watering and it seems to be loving it. no odd coloring of the leaves and growth seems to be going well.
I FIMed the top main a few days ago and have at least 3 new tops... and 2 tiny nubs that MAY turn into tops also - will see in a couple more days. Just yesterday I FIMed 2 side-shoots and, though it's way too early to tell just yet, they seem to be doing good as well.
I was having camera issues at first, and was debating even making a journal, but now that I got that worked out, figured I'd start it while I'm still in Veg.
My lighting is 8 CFLs... I started out with 8 23w 6500s, because that was the highest I could find at Homer's in 6500.... just recently, I swapped out the 4 center ones for 42w 2700s, so my total wattage right now is 260.... once I flip to flower, I'll replace the rest of the 23w for 42w to make 336w in flower. The reflector is just a couple pieces of aluminum flashing material bent and duct-taped to the fixture.
also, don't know if it shows up in the pics too well... but since this cabinet is in my garage, and I live in the Northeast, and my garage is UNheated, AND it's now October and I'm basically just starting this grow - I have a small heater in the box... got it at Wally's for really cheap - like $15 or so, and so far when the night temps in the garage itself have been in the upper 40s, I've had no problem maintaining upper 60's-low 70's in the cabinet... and I currently have the heater dial at a really LOW setting, so I'm confident that even as it gets colder, I should be able to maintain a reasonable temp inside. Humidity is the bigger problem. Currently have a Sham-Wow hanging from the wall with the bottom in a container of water right behind the fan... I also have a metal cup filled with water positioned directly in front of the heater. my RH is currently in the low 40s, but it's been coming up slightly as the plant grows..
Finally, I've just begun LSTing (you can probably see the white wire hoops in the pics.... I took some spare electrical wire (again, from my salvage pile) and stripped the sheath so I could separate the conductors... then cut them into 10-12" pieces. While it's still short, I'm just bending them into U-shape, putting it over the branch and sticking into the soil. as it grows out, I'll probably drill holes around the sides of the bucket top to hook the wires into.
sorry for the babble
a few more pics taken today:
Thanks for visiting
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages? supposedly Indica dominant hybrid (don't know %s)
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? currently in Veg
If in Veg... For how long? 18 days
If in Flower stage... For how long? n/a
Indoor or outdoor? indoor
Soil or Hydro?soil
If soil... what is in your mix? FFOF with extra Perlite & a handful of Vermiculite
If soil... What size pot? exact size unknown... guessing 2-3 Gal.
Size of light? 8 CFLs
Is it aircooled? yes - passive intake with 8" duct booster fan exhaust
Temp of Room/cab? 65-80
RH of Room/cab? currently in the low 40s, slowly increasing
PH of media or res? FFOF says 6.3-6.8
Any Pests ? none yet, doubt I will for THIS grow
How often are you watering? as needed
Type and strength of ferts used? FF Grow Big, 3/4 strength every other watering since first full set of leaves
This is "technically" my 2nd grow... but the first was a completely feeble, uneducated attempt. I had a bagseed and got a shovelful of dirt from my yard, put it in a bucket and watered... there were no holes in the bucket, no fans for circulation, and my lights consisted of just ONE incandescent "grow bulb" in a cheap clamp-on reflector and an equally cheap 18" fluorescent "grow light" that more resembled a cheap under-cabinet kitchen light... and BOTH lights were entirely too high from the top. That actually sprouted and got one full set of fans before toppling over and died. knowing what I know now, I'm sure it was combination of improper lighting and absolutely NO drainage LOL.
fast-forward 10 years or so and I decided to give it another try, this time with known genetics and a little knowledge under my skull. Placed my order with Nirvana and while I anxiously awaited delivery (or a visit from customs agents LOL), I did my research. Many of my Google inquiries led me here to 420, so I signed up and read through many of the journals, learning a lot about soil, nutes, lighting, ventilation, etc - as well as working out a few ideas of my own. I also got materials together and built my garage box.
Box is built on top of my workbench, which has a large loft-type shelf above it - floor and ceiling taken care of. a few scrap pieces of lumber got the rest of the box built. so far, no money spent. I already had the mechanical timer from my previously mentioned failed attempt, and I had the 8" duct booster fan (something like 270cfm) from a previous temporary heat/AC duct I had run. so I went off to Homer's and got a roll of 24" reflectix, a 4-lamp bathroom vanity fixture, 4 Y-socket splitters, and a couple packs of 23w bright white CFLs. Got the box up and running in a day.
my seeds came from Nirvana and I popped one in a wet paper towel, then into a ziploc bag and put it in my desk drawer, checking it a couple times a day. by the end of the first day, the seam on the shell had cracked and sort of looked like a tiny pistachio LOL, but no tail yet. by dinner-time the 2nd day, it had a tail poking out almost 1/2" long, so I put it in my first soil mix... a mix of top soil, perlite, peat & humus. Seemed to take forever to pop ground, thought at first maybe it died. Then it finally came out, but growth seemed really slow from other journals I've seen here, so I thought something must be wrong with my "custom" soil mix, so I went to the garden center and bought a bag of FFOF and started prepping my bucket for early transplant. I get my cat litter in these great plastic buckets that I use for just about everything. Took one and cut it down to what I thought was an appropriate height, drilled a mess of holes in the bottom and lower sides, then washed it a few times. first with hot water and dish soap, then wiped it down with vinegar, then filled it with HOT water (hot off the stove) and 2 cups of bleach and let that sit a few hours. While that was stewing, I searched my salvage pile and found some roof shingle vent - looks sort of like a super-thick scotchbrite pad - soaked that in the bleach solution too... this I cut to fit the bottom of the bucket as sort of a drainage filter so the soil didn't risk clogging (or coming out) the holes.
Made my mix of FFOF, Perlite & Vermiculite and put in the bucket, then transplanted the weak plant into it and gave it a thorough watering, put it in the cabinet and left it alone for a day and a half on 19/5 lighting. When I checked on it next I couldn't believe how it had bounced back! Since then it seems to be growing at a pretty decent rate compared to what I've seen around. About a week ago I started giving 3/4 strength FF Grow Big every other watering and it seems to be loving it. no odd coloring of the leaves and growth seems to be going well.
I FIMed the top main a few days ago and have at least 3 new tops... and 2 tiny nubs that MAY turn into tops also - will see in a couple more days. Just yesterday I FIMed 2 side-shoots and, though it's way too early to tell just yet, they seem to be doing good as well.
I was having camera issues at first, and was debating even making a journal, but now that I got that worked out, figured I'd start it while I'm still in Veg.
My lighting is 8 CFLs... I started out with 8 23w 6500s, because that was the highest I could find at Homer's in 6500.... just recently, I swapped out the 4 center ones for 42w 2700s, so my total wattage right now is 260.... once I flip to flower, I'll replace the rest of the 23w for 42w to make 336w in flower. The reflector is just a couple pieces of aluminum flashing material bent and duct-taped to the fixture.
also, don't know if it shows up in the pics too well... but since this cabinet is in my garage, and I live in the Northeast, and my garage is UNheated, AND it's now October and I'm basically just starting this grow - I have a small heater in the box... got it at Wally's for really cheap - like $15 or so, and so far when the night temps in the garage itself have been in the upper 40s, I've had no problem maintaining upper 60's-low 70's in the cabinet... and I currently have the heater dial at a really LOW setting, so I'm confident that even as it gets colder, I should be able to maintain a reasonable temp inside. Humidity is the bigger problem. Currently have a Sham-Wow hanging from the wall with the bottom in a container of water right behind the fan... I also have a metal cup filled with water positioned directly in front of the heater. my RH is currently in the low 40s, but it's been coming up slightly as the plant grows..
Finally, I've just begun LSTing (you can probably see the white wire hoops in the pics.... I took some spare electrical wire (again, from my salvage pile) and stripped the sheath so I could separate the conductors... then cut them into 10-12" pieces. While it's still short, I'm just bending them into U-shape, putting it over the branch and sticking into the soil. as it grows out, I'll probably drill holes around the sides of the bucket top to hook the wires into.
sorry for the babble
a few more pics taken today:
Thanks for visiting
I imagine humus would be pretty nasty to eat, while most hummus I've tried is rather tasty
