Grape Ape: Closet Grow

[TLD420]

Hey all...
I am new to these forums, but I am a long time grower that has been on hiatus and I'm finally getting back into growing after too many years away.

The story behind this grow...
I just moved into a new house after 7 years of living in an apartment and ever since I was sure I would be moving, I have been planning to start a small grow in the new place.
I had 10 GDP seeds that have been living in a drawer in my music room for the last 13 years, 3 Lemon Kush seeds given to me by a friend a few years back and 3 Grape Ape seeds that I found in a single bud out of a 1/4 I got from the club.
Dec. 22nd I planted all the seeds in Solo cups filled with Sunshine seedling mix and saturated the soil with purified water. I placed the cups in a plastic bin under a single 23 watt cfl running 24/7 and waited to see what would happen.
36 hours after planting, the first Grape Ape seedling started pushing through the soil and reaching for the light. Two days later, on Christmas morning, the second grape ape seedling sprouted and strated reaching upward.
None of the Lemons sprouted, and as expected, my old dusty GDP seeds were probably too old, and to top it off, they were never stored properly, so I wrote them off and shifted my focus to the little grape sprouts.

This morning, I watered my little babies with about 1/4 cup of purified water each, and as I was going to throw out all the duds, I noticed that one of the GDPs was poking through the soil, so under the lights it went.
Today I also added more lights, I am currently running 4 6,500k, 23w cfls, and I added a light timer which will be set to 16/8 for the first two weeks of veg and then will be adjusted to 18/6.

So for now, it's hurry up and wait time, and while I wait I am contemplating what light setup to use. I have had success with the old standard mh/hps setups and with CFLs. I think I may give LEDs a chance on this grow, but I'm still hesitant to make the switch. Any opinions on LEDs that may help sway my decision one way or the other?

Either way I go...I believe I can achieve solid results. So follow along if you're interested. I'll try to keep this updated and do my best to document any mistakes or issues I encounter as I shake of the gardening rust.

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[ktfinch]

How are your grapes doing? I'm going on week 3 of veg with 2 grape ape clones myself. First time grow for me also. I transplanted on December 27 to 1 gallon pots. I've had them under cfls since then but I just ordered a 300 watt led so hoping that will help speed things up and give me better yield during flower. I'm also lst training due to 45 inch grow box height. I went with viparspectra 300 watt led from amazon. On a budget for the first grow! lol

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[ktfinch]

3 gallon fabric pots. These pics were right after I did some training yesterday. They are all perked up today. I'll have to take a few more pics tomorrow.

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[ktfinch]

Here they are 1 day after lst

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[TLD420]

What's up everybody, my apologies for the long gap between posts.

Everything has been going very well with my plants. Today is day 46 from the day I planted my seeds and at this point, in the final phase of the veg cycle, everything is right in line with where I want it to be.
A lot has changed since I started this log, so I'll give a rundown of what's been happening.

After the seeds sprouted in their Solo cups, I left them on 24/0 lighting for the first week before switching them to the standard 18/6 light cycle they would be on for veg. They grew very quickly under 4 23 watt CFLs and at about the two week point needed to be transplanted. I waited a day or two longer than I normally would have to do that first transplant because I was going back and forth about which soil to use. I finally decided to go with the old standby, Ocean Forest and transplanted up to tall 1 gallon pots with Mykos sprinkled on the roots and the plants loved it. I also added 2 40 watt CFLs to the mix and at that point, the plants had their first real growth spurt and although #1 was a bigger plant, #2 started catching up quickly. I also added a fan and let the babies dance around and build up strong stalks.

I topped the plants after the 6th node, cleaned up some bottom growth and transplanted up to 5 gallon pots after about 2 weeks in the 1 gallons, still using Ocean Forest and Mykos.

As the plants grew, and began to smell, the closet became a less and less viable option. I contemplated how to seal and ventilate the closet and once I planned it all out and did the math for the supplies, it was clear that a grow tent, and all new setup in general, was my best option. Still planning on a fairly compact grow, I bought a 2x4x5 tent, carbon filter/fan and a 450w (210w actual draw) LED grow light. The light I chose, based on specs and reviews, is the Viparspectra reflector 450. So far it's giving me great results and I'm interested to see how it performs moving forward. I'm using it in conjunction with the two 40 watt CFLs, and my plants are getting plenty of light.

Up to this point, the plants have been given nothing besides the nutes in the soil, Mykos, and purified water; and to that point, they have needed nothing else. Yesterday, I switched my light cycle down to 16/8 and flipped on the bloom switch of the led to begin adding some red spectrum to the mix and once I top again and transplant to their final pots, I will flip to 12/12 and let them do their thing. At that point I will also be replacing the 40 watt CFLs with their 2700k equivalents, and adding a 125w, 2100k cfl for supplemental red spectrum light. I will also begin giving them some nutes, starting with only Fox Farms big bloom and then limited feedings of Tiger Bloom, finishing with a molasses or brown sugar and a long flush. Of course, if they need anything I will amend these plans, but this is where I'm at right now and so far so good.

Enough of all that, here's some pics...

After the first transplant.

In the 5 gallon pots.

New tent, new light. (Plus a guest appearance by the money tree, Pachira Aquatica, that almost got killed...twice)

Getting bushy. #1 left, #2 right. This pic was a couple days ago and they have shown noticeable growth since then even.

More to come soon...

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[TLD420]

Flower Day 24

Just over 3 weeks into flower and everything is going quite well. Soon after I flipped the lights to 12/12, plant #1 grew balls and was exiled from the tent and promptly chopped down. Plant #2 however showed her first pistil a couple of days later and she's been off to the races ever since.
After switching to flower, I added Fox Farms Tiger Bloom to the feeding schedule and have also fed 2 small doses of molasses.
Resin production from this plant is exceptional and she truly smells of over-ripe grapes and I can't wait to smoke this one.
I figure I have about 5 - 6 weeks to go and at this rate, I expect a higher than average yield from this plant. My 2x4 tent is nearly filled, with no screen or training. I just topped her twice in veg to allow the canopy to even out and that was it.

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[ProOrNoIGrow]

Looking good...I just put my 2x4 together last night. Question: does that light not glow pink?

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[TLD420]

Thanks! The light does have a pink/purple hue to it that doesn't translate well through my phone camera. Also...I have 4 40 watt, 2700k cfls in there, so that changes the color as well.

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[Amadeus Forzin]

Hope all is well in your world.

How did this grow turn out?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

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I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.