Hi everyone! After looking at so many of your grows, I have finally decided to do a grow journal myself. I am also throwing in a bit of a twist in an attempt to satisfy my own curiosity as well as entertain everyone. I welcome and appreciate any and all feedback and advice. There are a lot of varying opinions out there as far as what is the best way to grow and I was torn in many directions. I settled on something that works for me specifically and that also fit my budget. I am a firm believer in K.I.S.S but I find that I often "Tim Allen" things when it comes right down to it so my biggest and toughest lesson to date has been that "less is sometimes more" lol. I will include all my blunders in a hope you do not make the same mistakes. Alright....so here goes and I will leave it to all of you to keep me in line.
My Hydro Setup- I am using the Eco Grower (IMHO- a very nice hydroponic setup that is extremely forgiving and easy to use) from General Hydroponics which supports six large plants and will be doing a side by side comparison with my DIY DWC. All factors will be identical aside from the systems so this should be an interesting show.
Nutrients- Ok let's talk nutrients. I have to say that there is a lot of hype out there and it is very hard to pierce through it all. I decided to go with the tried and true General Hydroponics line after months of research. I was very happy with my last grow using the three part Flora series and am not into the organics yet as I have tried both and could not tell a difference (I flushed well last go round). I will be adding to the regiment this time though so I decided to add all of the GH recommendations for flowering. I will be using Floralicious bloom, the liquid Koolbloom, and the dry Koolbloom following the Recirculating Expert Program listed on the General Hydroponics website. I decided not to use the Diamond Nectar or the Floralicious Grow as the plants were out of control last time and I cannot see how they could have possibly needed anything else. Roots were absolutely insane. Maybe next time
Grow Area- I am using The HomeBox which measures 3' 3 1/2" x 3' 3 1/2" x 6' 7". I have to say that I couldn't be more happy with the HomeBox for so many reasons. It was easy to put up, it has all of the input/output options I could need, and it is very sturdy.
Lighting- I am using a 400w HPS Bulb EYE Hortilux bulb and it is perfect for my grow area. I have the option of using a MH bulb with my ballast but after last time I figured why bother as my veg was unreal. I will add fluorescent supplements for the undergrowth during flowering so I can maximize flowering results. I am not sure this is necessary but I figure it can't hurt. I would love some input on this. I have also been tossing around the idea of running LED panels down the sides instead of flouros. Any thoughts?
Airflow- I have a clip on fan attached to the reflector that pulls the hot air away from the plants. I also have two small circular fans inside that create a tornado effect around the plants. I am using a Can Fan 4" Inline Fan HO - 178CFM that is attached to a Can Filter 2600 4" for odor control (I never smell a thing and neither does anyone else not to mention if I smoke in the same room, its filtered before anyone is the wiser). I have one other fan, an Active Air Blower - 180CFM that blows the fresh air in and adds momentum to the wind tunnel effect. Outside of the HomeBox I use two humidifiers to maintain proper humidity (40%-70%).
The Story- I got a 10 pack mix from Marijuana Seeds (cannabis Seeds) High Quality Low Prices and they also sent 5 free seeds which I used previously as well as two of the ten. I had 8 of the ten left to work with this grow and germinated by placing them directly into Rockwool cubes that were soaked in distilled water. The Rockwool cubes were placed in Ziploc bags. The Ziploc bags were then placed in a cabinet above my refrigerator. All 8 germinated successfully after a few tricks that some of you provided.
For the stubborn seedlings: (3 of the 8) I removed them from the Rockwool and submerged them in a shot glass filled with distilled water. After they soaked for a day I put them in new Rockwool cubes and then I used a hair dryer to periodically raise the temperature in the cabinet. The result was 100% germination! Unfortunately, this lead to a small problem - I now had two too many for my setup. One of the seedlings was somehow upside down in its cube. I went to fix it with a pair of tweezers but when trying to remove the seed casing for the little bugger, it simple disappeared into thin air (first lesson in "less is more"). I looked high and low for the little baby but after hunting everywhere I had to give up. I took a moment of silence and moved on.
So now, with only six slots I had to figure out something for the seventh baby. I did not have much left in the budget at this point and stumbled across quite a few threads on DIY (Do It Yourself) builds. I also read quite a few posts by people claiming that DWC (Deep Water Cultures) were the best way to grow. I was a little put off as I had already spent a good amount of money on my setup and was thinking "Well what a waste if I could have just built a hydroponic setup myself and for a fraction of the price". I studied the basic builds and went to the local home improvement store.
DIY DWC- I bought a five gallon paint bucket with lid (like $5). I got a dual air pump (about $12), two sandstones (about a $2 each), and a net pot (like a $1). I drilled two holes for the air tubing and cut the space for the net pot in the lid. Pretty simple and cheap.
A Twist- Another interesting twist in this story: I attempted to contact Marijuana Seeds (cannabis Seeds) High Quality Low Prices so they could tell me what was in the mix but they couldn't. They did respond though and they said "There should be at least one White Widow, one Buddah, one Afghan but the rest could be anything. This presented me with a bit of a problem. Two of the ten were in the previous grow and I have little to go on as narrowing down the strains for the remaining eight. Hopefully you all can help me narrow down the possibilities as we see these babies develop.
Did I miss anything?
Vergere
P.S. A few pics of my setup.
My Hydro Setup- I am using the Eco Grower (IMHO- a very nice hydroponic setup that is extremely forgiving and easy to use) from General Hydroponics which supports six large plants and will be doing a side by side comparison with my DIY DWC. All factors will be identical aside from the systems so this should be an interesting show.
Nutrients- Ok let's talk nutrients. I have to say that there is a lot of hype out there and it is very hard to pierce through it all. I decided to go with the tried and true General Hydroponics line after months of research. I was very happy with my last grow using the three part Flora series and am not into the organics yet as I have tried both and could not tell a difference (I flushed well last go round). I will be adding to the regiment this time though so I decided to add all of the GH recommendations for flowering. I will be using Floralicious bloom, the liquid Koolbloom, and the dry Koolbloom following the Recirculating Expert Program listed on the General Hydroponics website. I decided not to use the Diamond Nectar or the Floralicious Grow as the plants were out of control last time and I cannot see how they could have possibly needed anything else. Roots were absolutely insane. Maybe next time
Grow Area- I am using The HomeBox which measures 3' 3 1/2" x 3' 3 1/2" x 6' 7". I have to say that I couldn't be more happy with the HomeBox for so many reasons. It was easy to put up, it has all of the input/output options I could need, and it is very sturdy.
Lighting- I am using a 400w HPS Bulb EYE Hortilux bulb and it is perfect for my grow area. I have the option of using a MH bulb with my ballast but after last time I figured why bother as my veg was unreal. I will add fluorescent supplements for the undergrowth during flowering so I can maximize flowering results. I am not sure this is necessary but I figure it can't hurt. I would love some input on this. I have also been tossing around the idea of running LED panels down the sides instead of flouros. Any thoughts?
Airflow- I have a clip on fan attached to the reflector that pulls the hot air away from the plants. I also have two small circular fans inside that create a tornado effect around the plants. I am using a Can Fan 4" Inline Fan HO - 178CFM that is attached to a Can Filter 2600 4" for odor control (I never smell a thing and neither does anyone else not to mention if I smoke in the same room, its filtered before anyone is the wiser). I have one other fan, an Active Air Blower - 180CFM that blows the fresh air in and adds momentum to the wind tunnel effect. Outside of the HomeBox I use two humidifiers to maintain proper humidity (40%-70%).
The Story- I got a 10 pack mix from Marijuana Seeds (cannabis Seeds) High Quality Low Prices and they also sent 5 free seeds which I used previously as well as two of the ten. I had 8 of the ten left to work with this grow and germinated by placing them directly into Rockwool cubes that were soaked in distilled water. The Rockwool cubes were placed in Ziploc bags. The Ziploc bags were then placed in a cabinet above my refrigerator. All 8 germinated successfully after a few tricks that some of you provided.
For the stubborn seedlings: (3 of the 8) I removed them from the Rockwool and submerged them in a shot glass filled with distilled water. After they soaked for a day I put them in new Rockwool cubes and then I used a hair dryer to periodically raise the temperature in the cabinet. The result was 100% germination! Unfortunately, this lead to a small problem - I now had two too many for my setup. One of the seedlings was somehow upside down in its cube. I went to fix it with a pair of tweezers but when trying to remove the seed casing for the little bugger, it simple disappeared into thin air (first lesson in "less is more"). I looked high and low for the little baby but after hunting everywhere I had to give up. I took a moment of silence and moved on.
So now, with only six slots I had to figure out something for the seventh baby. I did not have much left in the budget at this point and stumbled across quite a few threads on DIY (Do It Yourself) builds. I also read quite a few posts by people claiming that DWC (Deep Water Cultures) were the best way to grow. I was a little put off as I had already spent a good amount of money on my setup and was thinking "Well what a waste if I could have just built a hydroponic setup myself and for a fraction of the price". I studied the basic builds and went to the local home improvement store.
DIY DWC- I bought a five gallon paint bucket with lid (like $5). I got a dual air pump (about $12), two sandstones (about a $2 each), and a net pot (like a $1). I drilled two holes for the air tubing and cut the space for the net pot in the lid. Pretty simple and cheap.
A Twist- Another interesting twist in this story: I attempted to contact Marijuana Seeds (cannabis Seeds) High Quality Low Prices so they could tell me what was in the mix but they couldn't. They did respond though and they said "There should be at least one White Widow, one Buddah, one Afghan but the rest could be anything. This presented me with a bit of a problem. Two of the ten were in the previous grow and I have little to go on as narrowing down the strains for the remaining eight. Hopefully you all can help me narrow down the possibilities as we see these babies develop.
Did I miss anything?
Vergere
P.S. A few pics of my setup.