Hootenanny's Perpetual Grow

[Hootenanny]

I've been away from the forums for almost a year...I was lurking around here for a while when I was first learning to grow, I'm now on my 4th grow and visiting the site yesterday made me realise I have learnt a bit over the last year.

I now have a perpetual room going, a 8x4 (2400 x 1200) tent with 2 x 600w air cooled hps for flowering and a 3.5x3.5 (1000 x 1000) tent for veging clones and odour free drying.

I'm going to take flowering clones this weekend, so its the perfect time to start a new journal and document what I do and what I've learnt over the last year to hopefully shortcut the process for those just starting, and a reference for me to look back on in another year or twos time to see how I'm improving.

But first a QUICK summation of the last 4 grows and what I've learnt, as much for my benefit to think about them and to pass on the lessons to you guys.

1.) Tried growing from seeds in soil, plants were VERY slow to grow.. it may have been the case that if I had of persevered with this method I would of had some success, but fortunately I crossed paths with an old friend who gave me 2 clones he had no room for and gave me the tip to switch over to CANNA coco coir and House and Garden coco A&B.

2.) 4x4 (1200x1200) with 1 x 600w hps 2 x Plants in 25L (~6gal) of coco. Veged for 4 weeks from when i got them. Watered with 4ml of A&B/ Litre. Flushed for two weeks. Resulted in 24 ounces. About 18oz of quality and 6 of popcorn. Good smoke, probably picked a little early. Here's a thumbnail pic of them at 3 weeks into flower.



3.) 4x4 (1200x1200) with 1 x 600w hps 4 x Plants in 14L (~3.5gal) of coco. I didnt quite fill the whole tent the first coco grow so next time I went 4 x plants, but when I went to the shop the pots came in 14L and then the next size was 32L...!?! I think bigger pots (while costing a tiny bit more to fill) result in bigger plants and more yield.. (I now use 21L (5G) pots) This grow was also in the middle of summer, and the warmer temps meant they were getting closer to drying out daily.
I also tried defoliating the plants this grow to try and reduce the amount of 'popcorn' I get... I had a negative experience. End result with 4 plants was ~23 oz but the quality wasnt as good, buds were 'airy' and strength wasnt as good. In hindesight I was probably taking too many leaves off.

4.) Upgraded to a 8x4 tent with 2 x 600w hps) 4 x plants in 21L (~5G) pots. I wasnt really ready for the tent upgrade (didn't think the wife was going to agree) so I only had 4 plants. Didnt defoliate. This time i tried using a pk 13/14 product, mixed @ 1ml/L at the start of weeks 3, 5 and 7.Can notice a burst of new growth after using the pk13/14. End result was ~47 oz. with only 4oz of popcorn and the quality is good. Pic of the plants around the last week and trimmed / undried goods




That brings me up to my current grow.. now running a 8x4 tent with 2 x 600w hps, 8 x plants in 21L (~5G) pots. This time round im doing more plants in the same sized pots, but as the plants have veged I was pruning them to have roughly 6 main branches each. Also different this time round is I'm trialling a net, mainly because I'm sick of all the time spent tieing branches to the top of the tent when they all fall over, so it should help with support, plus.. it allows a little bit of training to create a more even canopy!

That's it for now... will do another post tomorrow morning, when I take clones for the next round

 

[Zincite]

Whats up Hootenanny? Your grow looks great. Outstanding harvest on your last grow... Mind if I just sit in and watch and learn?

 

[Hootenanny]

Hi Zincite

Thank you! Last one went well, but there's still alot of room for improvement! I think somewhere between 55-65oz is possible in this space!

Will be going into ALOT of detail on how to achieve it over this next grow.

 

[Hootenanny]

Today I gave the big girls a bit of a tidy up below, and while I was at it I took a few clones.

When working with the plants I have found that this strain (Mangolicous from AMS) takes about 3-4 days to recover from anything major. Training, transplanting, cutting ect.. Because of this I try not to do too much at one time and give adequate recovery.

This is 21 days since flipping to 12/12 and because I was doing a tidy up and taking clones at the same time I took big cuttings.



Starting with something like this..


and then cutting that branch down to the tip, dipping in clonex gel and putting it in a rock wool cube soaked with plain water so it looks like this..


I took 12 in total, and will choose the best 8 for the next run..



They go under T5s on 24/7 until they show roots out the bottom of the cubes and get transplanted into their first pots. They will then go under a dimmable 400w metal halide on 18/6 until its time to flip.

 

[Hootenanny]

Been a week since taking the clones, cant see roots out the bottom of the rockwool but they look like they're going strong so this morning I gave them some nutes @ 2ml of A&B / Liter.

Big tent is at the end of week 4 and looking good. Though I have run out of head room..

When I first started I had a 4x4 tent with a single air cooled light. It was a smaller hood and when i got the bigger tent and second light I made sure it was a bigger hood for more even coverage.
With the smaller fixture it concentrates the light too much, and it results in a couple of taller colas which leaves the light too far from the colas that dont keep up.. for the next grow im going to try and get a second bigger hood and that will be far better!

Here's a side by side so you can see what I mean..

 

[Zincite]

Just checking in on ya, looks like you have everything going your way. With the coco your using you have an automated drip system in place?

 

[Hootenanny]

Hey zincite.

Nah I'm still hand watering.. I looked into going automated, but I'm still pretty new to growing and enjoy watering and working on the girls, so I decided against it.

I mix nutrients up into a 9L watering can and then pour into a small 2L can which makes it easier to reach the back pots. I water until a little bit of runoff and I leave the plants sitting in the run off. At the moment its about 1L/day for each plant. If I have watered too much, and the saucer at the bottom looks close to full, I have a wet vacuum that i use to suck up the excess. Usually nutrients one day, water the next. Currently that means ~3.25ml/L of A&B. (which is about half the recommended dose) But I keep an eye on the plants, If I start seeing nutrient burn - the next time I give them plain water I do a bit of a flush and suck the water out the bottom... or just cut back a little on the nutrients.


Because I'm using 5 gal pots, If im busy or going away they can go without watering for a few days... the longest I've been is 4 days with seemingly no ill effects. I just make sure the last watering is one with nutrients.

 

[Hootenanny]

Silver lining of having the light concentrated is a couple of particularly large colas

 

[Hootenanny]

Half Way - Update

End of week 5, am probably going to let these go to the 10 week mark which will be the longest I've flowered this strain by a few days. They got off to a slow start due to a transplant the day of being flipped (not a good idea in hindesight) and I decided to put lights on during the day (where i usually have them come on at night) because its winter and I wasnt going to have to worry about heat, and I wanted to try and take advantage of the solar power I have... this in hindesight was also not the best idea, as they get too cold at night and aren't drinking anywhere near the amount I want.

Soo things could be going better, but overall things are going ok. I dont usually take photos, so seeing a single cola one week apart opened my eyes to how much progress they're making. When you're seeing them each day it can sometimes feel like they've stopped growing

The clones I took still aren't showing roots out the bottom.. they still look ok though so im not too worried. I accidentally watered them with a nute mix that was probably too strong for the stage they're at which would of shocked them. I gave them a bit of straight water to try and rectify that... they'll bounce back and once they get roots into coco take off!

I've been reading a few journals since coming back to the 420 forums. Mainly @Asesino85 and @Cultivator, both grow in coco and their passion for growing the best they can has inspired me a little to want to improve my own quality.

The take aways from both journal have been many but some of the stuff I've implemented are..

1) Always feeding with nutes. It make sense that nutes daily would be better then every second water. Though it has meant adjusting my feed schedule a little. I have pretty good base water coming out of the tap (we have a whole house filter which helps) it comes out at 250-300ppm. I am now adding 2ml/L of house & Garden coco A&B + 0.5ml/L of PK 13/14 which brings my ppm up to 1050-1100 going into week 6. This currently means about 1L per day for each pot (not much at all)

2) Not watering until run off every time, and not letting the plants sit in the run off caught in the saucer. Over the course of the many Cultivator threads I read, he continually repeats "do not water until run off, until its time to flush"

3) Fan Leaf defol at the end of week 5. As you can see from the above picture, I have a bit of a jungle going
That picture is after a defol! I have only once before, but I can see the logic in allowing a bit better light penetration and air flow, so I took off a few of the bigger fan leaves out of the guts to try and get a bit more air flow. It helped a little.

Something else I'm going to do this grow is remove all fan leaves the last week!

 

[Hootenanny]

Quick Clone Update

Its been 14 days since I took the clones, they were a little slow to get going (its winter here) and I may of accidentally watered them with some nutes that were a bit strong but today I pulled a few cubes out and a couple had some roots showing. I had the arvo from so I decided to pot up all 12.

They're now in ~3 liter pots under a 400w MH dimmed to 150w on 18/6. I soaked all the coco in nutes mixed at 1ml/L of A&B.

They should start to crank now! They will get 2 weeks in these pots then I will pick the strongest looking 8 and transplant into some new 19L (5gal) geopots I have coming in the mail



The big girls have started to pick up pace again.. first sign has been no run off the last 2 days with the usual 1L per day and visually starting to bulk up! Only at the start of week 6 so if all goes to plan it should be my best grow yet!

 

[Hootenanny]

Update Week 7 - 3 to go... and things are generally looking good

Next generation are looking healthy. Off to a slow start, though its going to be a good thing. Have run out of head room this grow and the lights are a little closer then I'd like. Give these guys another week then they should be ready for transplant.

The end with the small hood was getting some bad fox tailing and light burn. I decided to snip the foxtailing off and hung the lights as high as I could. Its slowed the problem and I will make it to harvest but these colas have suffered First cola pic is of the one i snipped about an inch of foxtail off.

Down the other under everything is happy days!

 

[Hillside]

Quick Clone Update

Its been 14 days since I took the clones, they were a little slow to get going (its winter here) and I may of accidentally watered them with some nutes that were a bit strong but today I pulled a few cubes out and a couple had some roots showing. I had the arvo from so I decided to pot up all 12.

They're now in ~3 liter pots under a 400w MH dimmed to 150w on 18/6. I soaked all the coco in nutes mixed at 1ml/L of A&B.

They should start to crank now! They will get 2 weeks in these pots then I will pick the strongest looking 8 and transplant into some new 19L (5gal) geopots I have coming in the mail



The big girls have started to pick up pace again.. first sign has been no run off the last 2 days with the usual 1L per day and visually starting to bulk up! Only at the start of week 6 so if all goes to plan it should be my best grow yet!

How nice is that

 

[Hootenanny]

Welcome to my grow @Hillside and thanks for the kind words!

I concur, its very nice indeed

 

[Hootenanny]

Flower tent Update

The flowering tent is ticking along nicely. Some orange hairs starting (I will try and get some nice photos in the morning as the lights are coming on). This weekend I'm going to give them a good flush for a harvest date of 25/8. I cant get too exact with when to cut down as I have to get all the trimming done over a single night because the wife doesn't want our 4.5 year old son wondering what we are doing and unintentionally mentioning something to people at school or her parents. The legality of the plant in Australia is stupid and what's worse is the years of government brainwashing has left the majority of people with a negative opinion of cannabis, which when asked they can't really explain how their opinion got there.. soo many sheep! anyways..

This flush I'm planning on watering with plain water until a tiny bit of run off, letting them sit for half hour (the idea being it will dissolve any built up salt) then putting about 8L (2gal) through each plant, collecting all the run off. Collecting all the run off will take a bit of time which is why I want to do it on the weekend. Then im going to let them dry for 2-3 days and start watering with plain water and 1 Tbsp of honey/4L of water for the rest of the grow.

Clone Update

Clones are looking healthy, so today I decided to take their tops off!

I take the top shoot off to encourage the lower branches to reach up. They start out looking like this..

Next up is a close up of the fresh growth. Flowering clones start off with lots of mutant growth and shoot branches out everywhere!

After cutting the center out here's what she looks like. Each of those fresh shoots will turn into a main branch. 5-6 main branches seems to be working out pretty good space wise on the current grow so I will probably aim for the same again.

Thanks for stopping by

Will try and get some bud porn up tomorrow

 

[Hootenanny]

Woke up early this morning, listened to a jordan peterson interview before getting some pics. Had one line really resonate with me "At some point in life you have to decide whether you’re in love with what you know, or what you dont know."

Never stop trying new things, and remain open to new ideas.

 

[Hootenanny]

Grow Room Update

Went for a drive to the Hydro shop over the weekend to get some supplies and upgrades for the room.

Was starting to get a bit smelly, so it was time for a new carbon filter. First one has lasted me a year, it was a 150x400mm and when i got it I thought i was going to be growing in a 4x4 tent, its a little undersized for the job so it wore out quick. New one is substantially bigger and heavier. So where I had previously drawn through filter, now I have the carbon filter up in the roof space and am blowing though it. I also got another XXXL air cooled hood so I have space and weight restrictions in the tent.

I also got myself a weather station, to get a clearer picture of what my environment was like. I had it set up before changing the filter out to see if there would be any change in air flow which may change RH or temp but it was the same with both filters.

Temp low - 18 celcius (64F) high - 27 celcius (80F)
RH low - 56% high - 62%

This is the first time I have run the lights during the day, next cycle will be lights on at night to reduce that variability in the temp.

RH is high for this late in flower, but I checked the weather and the RH outside is 56% atm so increasing air flow isnt going to do much, and I cant justify the cost of running a dehumidifier 24/7 to my wife atm haha

I picked up a PH pen and some PH up / down while I was there..

The way I was mixing nutrients for the flower tent with tap water had the ph at 6.5... just in range.

I then did a few batches with ro water mixed with tap -

8L of RO mixed with H&G A/B @2.5ml/L = ph of 4.1
6L of RO mixed with 2L Tap water + H&G A/B @2.5ml/L = ph 5.8
5L of RO mixed with 3L Tape water + H&G A/B @2.5ml/L = ph 6.2

So somehwere between those last 2 = Happy Days

Not sure yet how much plant health improvement I will see being closer to desirable ph and having a lower starting ec.. but its got to be a step in the right direction!

When mixing up nutes for the clones I had to use some ph down to get it from 6.4 down to 6. I mixed 10ml of hygen ph down with 1000ml of ro water. adding 2ml of this mixture brought it down where it needs to be.

Another long post, I know... haha Thanks for stopping by

 

[Hootenanny]

Clone Update

Had some free time today so I potted up the best 8 clones in their new 5 gallon geo pots!

They had bounced back from getting the snip a few days ago, and the roots looked about ready.

I like how the geo pots take full advantage of the whole vege tent! The other bonus is I wont have to pot up again. last time I went 3L -> 14L ->21L because I couldnt fit the 8 x 21L pots in the veg tent...

 

[Hootenanny]

Few pics from inside the flowering tent just before lights come on.. They look about ready to flush.

Pushed them a little hard on the nutes these last few weeks. I'm putting it down to watering nutes every day. Will continue to water nutes everyday, but dial it back a bit, and do a mini flush at the end of each week with weak nutes next round.

 

[The Dirty]

Looking the goods man.

 

[Hootenanny]

Looking the goods man.

Cheers Dirty. Ended up with some free time this arvo so I gave them a flush. 8L of tap water through each pot.