Half a LB a Month in an Aeroponic Tent

[HashAssassin]

You mentioned that you're using a heater... what kind/capacity. If not using already using one, have you considered a thermostatically controlled electric baseboard heater? An added expense to be sure, but it could be considered insurance.

I looked into that but could not find a digital line voltage t-stat for baseboard. The heater I currently use is a 1500w with a built-in t-stat. It has high, low, and fan only modes.

 

[WeednFeed]

So 1500w still doesn't cut it. Is the 70 degrees since insulating going to be adequate for you? If not, have you considered using two of the same heaters? Also, if your home has forced air heating, is it possible to tap in and extend an insulated temp duct to the site?

 

[Steve McStoferson]

really nice setup man, I'm in the market to build an aero system soon.. Going to build a cloner first and then work my way up and get out of soil. I don't want the costs associated with additional hydro nutes used, but I'm to the point now where I'm spending $20 a cycle on soil, so might as well for sake of simplicity.

definitely can't wait to see what kind of yield you get in those systems. Aero always yields great results from what I've seen.

 

[HashAssassin]

Forced what? Heating? jk...we have an old oil furnace that is useless not to mention expensive and a pellet stove insert on the fireplace, also useless not to mention loud and obnoxious. I haven't turned on the furnace for 2 yrs and even if I did there is no way to duct over to the garden. I already have two heaters going in the garden. 1 for flower and 1 for veg. Any more than that and I will start poppin' breakers.

One option might be some Dricore panels to block the cold coming up through the concrete but for now 70-74F will have to suffice.

 

[WeednFeed]

A good layer of insulation will keep you from losing heat down low. Other than that it seems you've done everything you can short of moving to a warmer climate!

 

[HashAssassin]

A good layer of insulation will keep you from losing heat down low. Other than that it seems you've done everything you can short of moving to a warmer climate!

Yep. I added some foam insulation board down low and now my temp is at 79F. Think I'm good now. Time to sit back and .

 

[Dee House]

way ta go hash getter done

 

[WeednFeed]

Balmy man. Good going. Glad you're fixed... relax for sure.

 

[airavata]

Dig the setup, bro. I'm looking forward to the day I upgrade to hydro. I was planning to veg and flower with a DWC setup and build an aeroponic cloner.

 

[Giovanni831]

Hash, you were asking me about the growth from veg to flower. I was looking through your grow again, and it seems that you are going really light on your nutes according to your first post. I have never used Botannicare, so I had to refer to their feeding chart to get the numbers. For example, it says 7.5ml/gal of grow, and bloom then migrate it to 20ml/gal bloom. You sited having a 25 gal res. To me that comes out to 500ml of bloom. Your post said that you are using way less than that. Im all about going light on the nutes nowadays, but 50% is too low. I would shoot for more like 70-80%. Bottanicare Pure Blend formulas are organic, and from my understanding, over fertilizing, burning, and nutrient lockout are way less common with organics. Double check that somewhere because i am not sure about it. It is only second hand knowledge that I have.

That is just one thing that I noticed off the top. You may or may not have addressed that somewhere in your thread, but I wasnt able to catch it. Just looking to see what advice that I can throw at you.

Also, I seen that you were adding insulation recently, so you must have had some temp issues to deal with. Highly contrasting temps, or overall low temps will retard growth as well. That is something else to consider.

 

[HashAssassin]

Gio, it's a combination of stress and temps (not the nutes) that have retarded these girls. These plants were grown in soil, moved to coco in an ebb and flow, and from there into the new system. On top of that they were messed with several deficiencies and spider mites when I got them. At this point they are lucky to be alive.

As far as the nutes go I may up them a little but the formula has proven success with other growers in the same system, that why I'm using it. PPM Veg- 750 and Flower - 1000

 

[Giovanni831]

Gio, it's a combination of stress and temps (not the nutes) that have retarded these girls. These plants were grown in soil, moved to coco in an ebb and flow, and from there into the new system. On top of that they were messed with several deficiencies and spider mites when I got them. At this point they are lucky to be alive.

As far as the nutes go I may up them a little but the formula has proven success with other growers in the same system, that why I'm using it. PPM Veg- 750 and Flower - 1000

no worries brother, like I had said, I have never used Botannicare products. I know that there is different concentrations of each brand of nutes. I dont usually go by the directions, unless I know some people that have used them before. I have found that the nute companies want you to make them rich by overfertilizing, then having to buy other products to offset that. Such as flushing solutions, suppliments, etc.

***EDIT - I meant different concentrations of nutes compared to what they recommend. Like for instance, 80% of company A nutes, or 75% of company B nutes. Not just whats on the bottle. Im sure you already knew what I meant, but others might not.

That range seems appropriate. I run mine only slightly higher. I go 800-1000 veg, then 1200 flower until 2 weeks from finish. At that point, I dont add more nutes, just keep topping off with RO water. It usually ends up that for the last 5-6 days I am under 100ppm. The last ones were at like 15ppm =). To me that is clean.

The problem with the flushing solutions to me is that they are only sugar water, which breaks down the nutrient salts. Which in your case is minimal since you are using an organic based nute. The other problem that I have with flushing solutions is that they recommend that you use clean RO water with no nutes. If you drastically drop the amount of nutes, the plants seem to lock up the nutes that they have in them.

I have personally had a way better experience just using 1/4 strength nutes to initiate a flush. The only time that I am using any other agents is prior to water changes, I use about 25ml of Florakleen added to the 5 gallon res as it is when it is time to change water. I let it sit for an hour, dump the water and then fill it with 4 gallons of 1/4 strength nutes that I leave for a few hours. Then I add another gallon with the rest of my nutes into it. I usually add the last gallon in 2 or 3 shots spread out over a few hours to minimize huge jumps in EC.

I am not sure if that explanation made any sense or not. Super loaded right now, and typing isnt going too well. The other thing is that I am not too sure if it is a "proper" method, but I can say that it has givin me some good results. My plants, and colas are getting bigger compared to the previous harvest. This is an ongoing learning experience for me. I invest alot of time in my grow, but figure that it will pay off in the long run. Im on disability, what else do I have to do with my time? =)

 

[HashAssassin]

I have found that the nute companies want you to make them rich by overfertilizing, then having to buy other products to offset that. Such as flushing solutions, suppliments, etc.

Exactly, that is the reason I used the reduced nutes. Since my base ppm is so low, 28, I will be ditching the Clearex in favor of a straight water flush.

This is an ongoing learning experience for me. I invest alot of time in my grow, but figure that it will pay off in the long run. Im on disability, what else do I have to do with my time? =)

Relearning for me since it's been years since I did aero. I'm not on disability even though I should be. No money to go to the doc to get everything tested and documented. I should have gone to the doc when symptoms started showing up 18 months ago when I was still working. Been out of work for almost a year and all our savings were gone long ago. Long story, short, I don't have anything else to do either. You can only look at the same employment ads for so long.

 

[HashAssassin]

Flower Day 28 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

First the good. The flower tent is now full.

Bush Widow

Flo

MK-Ultra

The bad...Veg tub is empty.

The clones that were supposed to go into veg were severely retarded by the cold. The plants you see here are actually in solo cups filled with soil. While they are well rooted, they are just strain savers that will go away after the clones I take next week have rooted.

Looks like I will have to procure six large clones to put in here soon. Maybe some White Widow clones?


The ugly.

These clones are also just strain savers...if they make it. The really ugly ones in the back all have healthy roots showing BUT they suffered the worst of environmental issues and the plant they were taken from had mites really bad. The clones in front were cuttings taken from the Bush Widow four weeks ago and thrown into my soil bin. They sat in a covered bin until a couple of days ago when I pulled them out, trimmed them up, and put them in the cloner. Two of them are definitely toast but I might actually get a couple of them to root.

I am going to empty the cloner out next weekend, give it a good scrub, then fill it with cuttings of the TF and the MK. With my environmental challenges solved I should be able keep on truckin' from there.

 

[WeednFeed]

Hey Hash. The ladies are looking lovely. Hopefully those strain savers will pull through as well. I guess most importantly, the environment is straightened out and you won't have to deal with those variables any longer!

 

[HashAssassin]

Not too worried about the strain savers as I can get them all again fairly easily. There seems to be an over abundance of Afgoo, TF, and AK-47 clones on the market these days.

At this point it would be easier to only have two, maybe three strains tops. Not enough space for anything else.

 

[HashAssassin]

Flower Day 3 / Day 31

The flower tent is chugging right along. I took clones earlier than I normally would so I could get a decent start on my next round. Any extras I end up will either get donated to other gardens or just go straight to the trash depending on there condition. I was given a couple of AK-47 clones last night to help fill in the gaps in the veg tub. They were a little tall so I topped them and put the tops in the cloner.

Flo

MK-Ultra

Bush Widow

 

[Hydrogrown]

So sick!

 

[Dee House]

nice buds hash..good score on the ak

 

[Tmac12]

Very pretty grow going on there!