Giovanni831 — Aeroponic / CFL Constant Grows

[Giovanni831]

A few issues in the growroom for me since yesterday...

I rearranged my lights and ducting yesterday so that the HPS footprint better covers the plants. The reflector puts out a rectangle pattern and it was the wrong way until yesterday. It wasnt covering the ones on the ends very well. Now those girls are all lit up. When I moved them yesterday and seen them under daylight I noticed some bright green, yellowed growth up top. I grabbed some MagiCal from my hydro guy, and threw in a few spoons full. They seem to like it as the leaves are returning to green. I went light on the MagiCal so I could see what the minimum that I could get away with. The bottle said 2tsp per gallon to overcome a deficiency, but I didnt want to throw almost a quarter cup in the res. I will play it by ear, or I guess eye in this case.

So, on a worse note...

I wake up this morning to go open up my room, and check on my drying. I walked in and was greeted with a bunch of humid ass air. It was 65% in there. So I decided to pull some of the buds out of the dryer box to check them really good. I found a small spot of mold on one of them. It was small and thin still, about half the size of a dime. I cut off the whole top of the affected bud so that I made sure that I got it all off. The piece that I cut off was about the size of a golf ball, so I think it was enough.

I took all of the buds out and checked them with a scope, especially the ones directly around the moldy one. I didnt find any more. It was the largest bud, so I am thinking that I may have gotten lucky and caught it just as it began to form. I decided to turn the fan on today in the tub to try to get some more of the initial moisture out. I will setup the timer to turn the fan on for 5-10 min every hour tomorrow and then I should be good to turn it back off.

In hindsight, I have been battling humidity for a few weeks now, so it may have started before the actual harvest.

I am open to suggestions from you guys for how to best proceed. The only thing that I know for sure is that as soon as I post this, I am on my way to Target for a dehumidifier. I have needed one for a few weeks, but money is super tight. I was trying to hold out until I got rid of those clones. Plus the guy is going to pay me to setup a clone display in his dispensary. Maybe I will give him a call today and set that up. The clones will root in the next day or two.

6 oz was my guess before you chopped. Anxious to see if I'm right.
Do you have any prelim pics of the trimmer? That is something I could use since I have a hard time holding scissors or doing any repetitive movements.

That was about my guess before I started too. Seen a few things that I did on the 2 larger ones that I think helped to turn them into monsters compared to the rest of them.

I dont currently have any pics, but I will take some today and try to get them posted for you. I dont have issues with the repetitive movement, its just kills my back. Like I said, I kinda enjoy trimming. Smoke out and put on some good music, close the door to my room and go for it. After about 2 hours though, I am over it. Time to teach my girl how to trim =). Or finish my project.

Gorgeous buds dude!
And 6 oz is an awesome harvest for sure,never no could be more...but great job!

Thank you sir!

Beautiful done Gio! Those buds look awesome. 6 oz is good! What was your goal weight? Rest up man, give you back a day or two if it needs it. I think we can wait fo the pics. If you need the rest. So which plants did u top? And did u see an increase in yield? Will u top more frequently now? And how tall where the girls when they finished? Well loom forward to the next harvest. Peace

Thanks brother. My goal was 2lbs wet, so I guess 8oz. Im all rested up now, but will be back at it working to fix the new issues. I guess the work never stops. Im thinking that I should have started off this grow with soil, but I like aero, and will get over the bad mood as soon as I go burn one =).

The two in the middle (#2 & #5) were the ones that got topped the most. I topped them pretty good in veg, then again a few inches at the beginning of flower. That combined with cutting off all of the side shoots turned them into 6 headed beasts. Last harvest I was trimming tiny buds all day and night long. So I would definitely recommend eliminating bottom growth, and severe topping. The ones that I only took off the very tops, grew like shit compared to the ones that I took 3-4 inches off. I averaged about 3oz on the smaller ones, and 5 on the larger two, so I would say that it definitely helped the yield.

They were just over 2ft when they were done. My next ones that are under the HPS are about 2.5ft. and will still get a few more inches of buds. I will guess that they are going to end up about 3ft in the end.

I too am looking forward to the next harvest. Thanks for stopping by bro.

 

[Giovanni831]

So I went to about 10 different places yesterday and was unable to obtain a dehumidifier. So I just ordered one off the net and paid for express shipping.

I am using the fan to control moisture. I had it on constant for 24 hours, now it is on a timer to kick on for 15 min with an hour between cycles. I will step it down to 10 min every 1.5 hrs tomorrow, then 5 min every 2 hours the next day. I figure that by then alot of the moisture will be out, and I can turn the fan off for the last couple days of drying. Then it is into the jars.

I found a piece that was almost dry and tested it out. It was still a little harsh, but only slightly. It burned clean except for the very center, which was a little moist. Here is the summary of the preliminary smoke report...

Burned clean: for the most part yes. Only the part that was still wet failed to burn. Ash was gray and fine. The wet part was obviously harder to light.

Taste: In a 1-10, I will say about a 5-6. Not great taste, but it is coming around. When a little more starch and chlorophyll leave, it will be better.

Harshness: Mildly harsh, but already better than alot of the stuff that I get at the lower end clubs.

Effect: I experienced mostly cerebrial high, which lasted a moderate amount of time. Possible an hour. This was with partially wet, and non cured. I expect that this will also get better when drier.

Of course I will give an update on it when it is actually dry and cured for at least a few days.

 

[Giovanni831]

Here is last weekends missed update...

29 days flowering...

10 days veg...

My last round of clones...

 

[Giovanni831]

Slight Problem...

Nothing too major, just trying to diagnose a little yellowing and curling. Its not bad, so Im not stressing it too bad. I had gotten that MagiCal and started with a light dose and worked my way up to almost the recommended level. I started thinking, maybe I should just do a light flush and start over. I
drained the water and ran FloraKleen through it for a few hours. I put my nutes in at 75% including the MagiCal. The light green leaves got back their pigment, so I do know that there was a deficiency. The more pronounced yellowing stopped getting worse but didnt get much better either. I put in another 5ml of MagiCal, which still leaves me below the recommended dose. I dont want any over fertilizing issues again.

I looked through a few manuals that I have to additionally try to diagnose it. From everything that I see it is either Ca, Mg, Fe, or heat stress. The glass isnt very hot to the touch, but I had no fan running on the tops, so it may be it. The yellowing and curling is isolated to the tops so who knows. I took a few pics to see what you guys think.

 

[Giovanni831]

Re: Giovanni831 – Aeroponic / CFL Constant Grows

What's up 52, no worries brother. Trust me, I am way to familiar with being busy. I am up from 6am til midnight at least every night. Good thing the growing is getting easier for mme, I couldn't keep this up forever. Oh well, gotta put in the time if you want to be good. I think I have read more in the last few months than i have in my whole life =D.

Thanks for stopping by brother.

 

[Giovanni831]

Update time...

I wanted to actually get these up last Sunday, but shit happened, as it has a tendency to do =D. Currently trying to work my way through the beginning of a mold issue again.

I dont understand wtf is going on. I bought a dehumidifier, got the RH down to 40-45% and I still found a little spot of mold. Fucking things are driving me crazy. I lightly sprayed them with the SNS fungicide, and will wait until tonight and dowsed the shit out of them. I really didnt want to spray them in the middle of the day because it isnt as efficient from what I know about plant biology. They tend to open up the pores more for respiration during the night cycle I believe. They told me that any of their product will permeate the growing and be fed up into the plant. They said that it is best to spray both so that it will work from inside outside at the same time to ensure that it works optimally. So I will let you guys know how that goes for me.

I only sprayed them earlier to get some on them asap. Additionally, I sprayed a few squirts into the rockwool in each plant. That piece of advice came right from the people at SNS. I called to explain my problem, and complain about a succession of broken sprayer nozzles. They told me you could use it up until harvest without effecting the flowers. They also mailed me large bottles of the fungicide and spidermite RTUs, and a small bottle of pesticide drench concentrate. I will say awesome customer service.

I was very specific in my question, letting them know it was for cannabis. In my experience I have people tell me something, I do it, it goes bad, then they say "why didnt you say that is what it was for". Trying to eliminate that problem.

Anyway, on to the pictures. I didnt have time to color adjust them so they are all red/yellow from lights...

Day 36 Flower...

Day 15 veg....

 

[Tmac12]

Re: Giovanni831 – Aeroponic / CFL Constant Grows

Nice looking grow!

 

[Giovanni831]

Thanks Tmac, Im trying my best here

 

[Giovanni831]

So I got me a Xmas present today....

I went in to buy some supplies at my hydro store, and was talking to the guy down there and told him I am kinda over the 3 part mixes and was looking for something with a 2 part. I use the regular GH Flora, and he knows I dont like the GH FloraNova series. So he gave me a setup of the new GH 2 part mix. Its called FloraDuo. Its like the FloraNova w/ some nute content changes, as well as being thinner and almost clear. He said he picked up a few bottles at a trade show a while back and has been using it for a 3-4 grows and said it is great. I hope you know that I would never turn down free stuff.

He had tried some of my last batch and the only suggestion that he had was floraNector for a little bit of sweetness. He said other than that, keep doing what I am doing. So I guess Im doing okay.

Here is the bottles in the event that you havent seen them. They retail for about $12/ea. for the quart size.

 

[Giovanni831]

Quick update...

I am currently having problems uploading pics so, while I try to get them to upload, I will give an update....

I have recently switched my nutes to try to make life easier for me and get better results.

I was using..

GH flora (gro, bloom, micro)
FF granuals (open sesame, beastie bloom, and cha ching)
FloraNova MagiCal
***everything mixed at 80%

Now I have switched to another formula

GH FloraDuo - mixed at 80% recommended (new GH 2 part mix)
FF granuals - mixed at 50% recommended
MagiCal - 60%
FloraNector - 60%

with this I have been coming up with a PPM of 750-850 veg, and 1100-1200 flower. I am way more comfortable with that than the 1600-1800 I was getting with old mixture.


HK#3 (44 days flower)

Unfortunately, I left the water with a low PH (5.0) overnight on xmas, so I think they locked up on me. I flused them and have them running at quarter nutes right now. I think that I will increase the nutes tonight or in the morning. They seem to be growing again. I can say that the sweetener has significantly altered the smell of them. My last harvest had no substantial flavor, but was good, so I decided to use the FloraNector. Its not like I could throw molasses in my res =). Other than that issue these girls seem unproblematic.

Mendo Lav #1 (9 days flower)

They seem to have realized that they are in flowering now. I got about 2 inches of growth since moving to flower. Although new growth is pretty light green. I added another 5ml of magiCal to see if it will rectify it. Might add a little more if it doesnt. I have room for a bit more before hitting the recommended dose. Trying to go as light on nutes as possible.

Mendo Lav #2 (9 days veg)

I threw these into the veg setup before they busted roots, so I am not too sure if they will take off or not. They appear to have a little new growth, so I should see roots in the next few days. If not i will clean the system and wait for new clones.

 

[Saturn]

Did I read right? You don't have constant air circulation?


In veg I use the sulphur pot to control mold and fungus, I've never had any mold or fungus.

I tend to shy away from using it in the bloom room.


You have some very nice looking plants going there.

 

[Giovanni831]

Did I read right? You don't have constant air circulation?


In veg I use the sulphur pot to control mold and fungus, I've never had any mold or fungus.

I tend to shy away from using it in the bloom room.


You have some very nice looking plants going there.

No, there is constant circulation. I am running a vortex fan hooked up to my HPS hood for air circulation. I also have 2 clip on fans in my veg room and 4 in my flower room. The problem was the area that I live in. The RH outside gets up to 95%. I am able to keep it below 45% w/ the dehumidifier and DampRid buckets.

I dont have an option to limit the sulfur burner to only veg right now. Everything is in the garage with chambers for veg, and 2 for bloom...

The images arent the best to display it, but I am still having issues uploading right now.

I appreciate you stopping by.

 

[Giovanni831]

Saturn...

I am going to do a little more research today and probably pick up a few items at homedepot and build myself a DIY sulfer burner. I made one a few years back for a friend. It only cost me about $20 to make one that worked better than my commercial one that I bought.

I am just not too familiar with burning sulfur. Not too sure of on/off times, best time to run I assume is night cycle, and of course, effects on flowering plants.

To be honest, I didnt event think of it as an option until you brought it up. going to see if it will adversely effect my flowering or curing buds. I am limited to using the garage only for grow, bloom, dry, and curing. I know that isnt optimal, but it is all i have right now. Just have to figure out numbers to make everything happy at one time.

If anyone else wants to DIY a sulfer burner, I will hook up a tutorial for you guys as soon as I get one up and running.

 

[HashAssassin]

If anyone else wants to DIY a sulfer burner, I will hook up a tutorial for you guys as soon as I get one up and running.

Yes, I want to see the DIY. I'm getting ready to do a DIY scrubber...better than the bucket version I've seen on here, more like the commercial can filters.

 

[Saturn]

Sulpher burner: Yeah, I think it would be super easy to make your own.

Ever tried an old coffee pot/maker? I need to check the temps, been saying that for a while........

I have used the sulpher in bloom before only as a precaution and I believe it's safe to use. I didn't notice any taste of sulpher but I suppose you could over do it and cause it to taste/smell like sulpher.

My method is to make sure they go into the bloom room free of any mold etc. by burning the sulpher in the veg room regularly.

A half hour every few days is a good middle of the road interval, at night, you are correct. Keep it at least 4 feet away from the plant to prevent sulpher burn. I have over done it and burned some leaves. If you have to be closer than that, a good breeze mixing it in the room should help to prevent burn.

 

[Giovanni831]

Sulpher burner: Yeah, I think it would be super easy to make your own.

Ever tried an old coffee pot/maker? I need to check the temps, been saying that for a while........

I have used the sulpher in bloom before only as a precaution and I believe it's safe to use. I didn't notice any taste of sulpher but I suppose you could over do it and cause it to taste/smell like sulpher.

My method is to make sure they go into the bloom room free of any mold etc. by burning the sulpher in the veg room regularly.

A half hour every few days is a good middle of the road interval, at night, you are correct. Keep it at least 4 feet away from the plant to prevent sulpher burn. I have over done it and burned some leaves. If you have to be closer than that, a good breeze mixing it in the room should help to prevent burn.

I wasnt thinking of the coffee pot one. I was going to build an aluminum hanging one. Its just a few paint cans and a heat source. I will post it after I get it dialed in. I wanted to go get the stuff today, but my chick is out with her daughter in the car. My car isnt registered, and the last thing that I need is to get pulled over and harassed.

My garage is a two car size so I think that keeping the sulfur away from the plants shouldnt be too hard. I will start with 15min 3x's a week and take it from there.

Appreciate the input and will for sure get a tut posted for everyone. I think everyone is seeing that I am a DIY kinda guy.

 

[Saturn]

"My method is to make sure they go into the bloom room free of any mold etc. by burning the sulpher in the veg room regularly."

The hope is that if they go in free of any problems I can avoid problems down the road, that's the hope.


For those that aren't sure what sulpher burning is: It is a small pot that heats up like a hot plate and the sulpher pellets melt and become liquid, the vapor from that is what prevents mold/mildew/fungus.

The PH that sulpher vapor creates is 7 = neutral, mold can't live at that PH level.

At least, that's the way it was explained to me.

 

[Saturn]

Glad to be along for the ride........

 

[Giovanni831]

well I have been MIA for a little while. I got a little sick pushing myself a bit too much through the holidays. I am recuperated now though, and apparently I am able to upload images again. So I will be converting and uploading the images in a few minutes here.

Saturn... Hey, I ended up not making a sulfur burner right now. I just used one of those little pots that warms wax for girls to use for waxing various body parts. My girl had one in the bathroom so I grabbed it. I just dumped some sulfur (about a 1/4 cup) into a cleaned out tuna can. It kicks on at full power for about 10 minutes, which melts the sulfur, then it kicks down to maintain the temp. I do notice that it stops giving off visible evaporation after approx 10 minutes though. From what I have read online that is all I want to do at one time anyway. I am going to setup a timer on it to run 3 times a week. I will build a better one in the next few weeks, just trying to work on a DIY trimmer since I will be chopping down the last of the Hindu Kush in about a week.

So anybody have any advice on sulfur evap, please feel free to chime in here. I am trying my best to obtain some useful knowledge before making decisions these days. Thus far, everything has been kinda hindsight, I want to take some more preventative measures. My girls cant keep suffering from my lack of knowledge =). I can say that I have learned a substantial amount in the last few months though.

Well, on to the update....

 

[Giovanni831]

HK#3 - 50 days flowering...

I am stoked to be done with this strain. They have been fairly easy to ease my way into growing, but I am anxious to get on to bigger and better things.

I do feel bad about the nutrient lock last week, it was the worst possible timing. To lock them up 3 weeks from finish, right when they are supposed to put on the most bulk. Oh well, they look like they are still going to chunk up a little tiny bit more. The pistils are about 75% orange, but the trichs are still mostly clear, so I will let them sit in there until the trichs are ready. I dont really give a shit about the pistil color, since it doesnt effect potency =).

Mendo Lavender #1 - 13 Days Flower...

These are growing remarkably similar to the Hindu Kush, but are definitely lighter green at new growth. I stepped up the MagiCal dose a little to see if I can get them to darken up a bit. Might be nitrogen though, I have opted to not use the bloom boosters right now. I am trying to see if it is affecting taste, or if it is in my dry/cure. Still trying to get a proper process in place. I have been tracking modifications in spreadsheets, so that data is helping me out alot. I guess I need to just spend a little more time in books and asking questions online =).

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