J.J.'s Everything Your'e Not Supposed to do During a Grow Journal

[GaladrielDreams]

My post to the Deep Water Culture:

Hello everyone!

I wanted to drop by and introduce myself to you all. I know there are a few of you here that I know from the Journals in Progress boards, SkooterClowns suggested that I look into getting DWC for myself and my husbands MMJ needs. I have a pretty lame first grow over on the Journals in Progress boards, and a lot of your wonderful members have welcomed me with such open arms and have said much kinder words than my feeble attempt deserves.

I saw the Deep Water Culture all over the boards here at 420 and they are just the nicest most helpful people I have had the fortune to run across. As I was meeting these Deep Water Culture, I noticed links to Roseman's Deep Water Culture Tutorial. I was HOOKED, and I must confess that Roseman has become my horticultural muse... Anyway I have just purchased a DWC Starter Kit from Stealth Hydro yesterday, and I can't wait until it gets here!

I am so hoping that with all of the wonderful knowledgeable DWC and Deep Water Culture here will help me become a successful Deep Water Culture.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Galadriel

 

[SkooterClowns]

GaladrielDreams,
First off I want to say that I truly believe you will not regret your switch to hydro! You will see that it is actually, IMHO, much easier than soil. I've read, from some dirt growers, that hydro is less forgiving of mistakes and so they are hesitant on going hydro because they are new to growing.

I can not say more emphatically that hydro is MUCH more forgiving that soil (IMO) in that if there is a problem (nute particularly) there is no need to flush the soil repeatedly, to get rid of the nutes, then water with a new mix and then wait for a few days to see if the mix is correct etc.

With hydro (and I am speaking of our experience with DWC but it's true of all hydro methods) the "fix" to a nute problem is fast, easy, and more importantly immediate. If you can do basic math and use measuring spoons then you can do hydro. Follow the charts that come with the nutes you chose (usually ml per gallon of water) and you are good to go.

BTW the only problems we've had with DWC is our stoner heads screwin' up the simple math and/or metric to US conversion. We found that if you go to google and type in 4ml in teaspoons (or any conversion you need) you will get what you need right there. It could not be any easier

I am excited for you and your husband GaladrielDreams. You are on your way to growing all the meds you need. And after all that is what this is all about.

If there is ANYTHING Slappy or I can do to help you we are on all the time. Feel free to drop us a PM or post on our thread or yours and we will be more than happy to assist you. And I know that you know, that is true of anyone here at 420magazine.

(A prediction if you will: you will drop the soil as a backup to your hydro once you see how easy and productive it is. You'll want to use that room for more hydro hehe)

 

[SkooterClowns]

I'm starting to really mix it up with the lights. I am getting impatient with them both. So now they are getting erratic lights on and off times. Hopefully it'll do something to get them to maturity. Otherwise I am going to give the girls the ax on the 4th of August. It will be 12 weeks flower by that date, and the limit of my patience.

Trying to decide on a drying method. It's been really rainy here as of late, and I'm thinking about the cardboard box drying method.

12 weeks can be absolutely a correct time to chop. There are factors that can slow down the maturation of a plant and increase the time it needs to finish. If you've had problems with lighting nutes or any other stress causing factors during the grow then them needing more time to finish is completely understandable.

It's been said before that this is the most important time for patience. Many a grows have lost a lot of their potential medical benefits due to chopping a plant before it is ready.

Because you see a couple of amber tri's now keep an eye on them. Once they start the rest will start turning very quickly. You may only need 2 or 3 more days so August 4 may be a perfect time. I would suggest keeping the light cycles the same. It is working fine.

Might I also suggest that if August 4 is the date then when the lights go on (on their normal cycle) let them stay out until you chop on the 4th. That last 36 to 48 hours of dark can help the plant realize it's days are numbered and may help fatten up those buds just a bit more. We do that when we switch from 18/6 to 12/12 and again just before chopping. Can't say that it actually does any good but it certainly hasn't done any harm.

Please know that these ramblings are from the mind of someone that really has limited knowledge of these things and I am only going from minor experience and common sense (well sense is a pretty strong word in my case but you know what I mean).

I can't wait to see your harvest photos and yield/smoke report.

Good luck and more importantly...HAVE FUN!

 

[Snuggs]

Seeds galore! You never disappoint with the pictures

12 weeks is a long time. I may have cut my Bl a little early but you said it best "patience". I got one now that is 11.42 weeks in and I'm gonna try the patience route this time.

 

[Barry Manilow]

Seeds galore! You never disappoint with the pictures

12 weeks is a long time. I may have cut my Bl a little early but you said it best "patience". I got one now that is 11.42 weeks in and I'm gonna try the patience route this time.

I'm thinking that the cfl's may drag out the harvest? Mine are at 8 weeks and most are nowhere near ready. I put away the cfl's because of the heat but they only get 5-7 good hours of sun most days and I don't think it's enough.

But since it's my first grow I actually have no facts or prior experiences so maybe it's perfectly normal.

There seems to be a consensus that more light = better yield. Does more light also = faster maturity?

 

[GaladrielDreams]

GaladrielDreams,
First off I want to say that I truly believe you will not regret your switch to hydro! You will see that it is actually, IMHO, much easier than soil. I've read, from some dirt growers, that hydro is less forgiving of mistakes and so they are hesitant on going hydro because they are new to growing.

I can not say more emphatically that hydro is MUCH more forgiving that soil (IMO) in that if there is a problem (nute particularly) there is no need to flush the soil repeatedly, to get rid of the nutes, then water with a new mix and then wait for a few days to see if the mix is correct etc.

With hydro (and I am speaking of our experience with DWC but it's true of all hydro methods) the "fix" to a nute problem is fast, easy, and more importantly immediate. If you can do basic math and use measuring spoons then you can do hydro. Follow the charts that come with the nutes you chose (usually ml per gallon of water) and you are good to go.

BTW the only problems we've had with DWC is our stoner heads screwin' up the simple math and/or metric to US conversion. We found that if you go to google and type in 4ml in teaspoons (or any conversion you need) you will get what you need right there. It could not be any easier

I am excited for you and your husband GaladrielDreams. You are on your way to growing all the meds you need. And after all that is what this is all about.

If there is ANYTHING Slappy or I can do to help you we are on all the time. Feel free to drop us a PM or post on our thread or yours and we will be more than happy to assist you. And I know that you know, that is true of anyone here at 420magazine.

(A prediction if you will: you will drop the soil as a backup to your hydro once you see how easy and productive it is. You'll want to use that room for more hydro hehe)

LOL thanks Skooter!

I am going to be picking your brain A LOT with the DWC grow. Hubby was a math major in college, so he gets the PH and the TDS stuff. I am going to be doing the physical stuff. Like draining and replenishing, adding nutes, water etc.

 

[GaladrielDreams]

12 weeks can be absolutely a correct time to chop. There are factors that can slow down the maturation of a plant and increase the time it needs to finish. If you've had problems with lighting nutes or any other stress causing factors during the grow then them needing more time to finish is completely understandable.

It's been said before that this is the most important time for patience. Many a grows have lost a lot of their potential medical benefits due to chopping a plant before it is ready.

Because you see a couple of amber tri's now keep an eye on them. Once they start the rest will start turning very quickly. You may only need 2 or 3 more days so August 4 may be a perfect time. I would suggest keeping the light cycles the same. It is working fine.

Might I also suggest that if August 4 is the date then when the lights go on (on their normal cycle) let them stay out until you chop on the 4th. That last 36 to 48 hours of dark can help the plant realize it's days are numbered and may help fatten up those buds just a bit more. We do that when we switch from 18/6 to 12/12 and again just before chopping. Can't say that it actually does any good but it certainly hasn't done any harm.

Please know that these ramblings are from the mind of someone that really has limited knowledge of these things and I am only going from minor experience and common sense (well sense is a pretty strong word in my case but you know what I mean).

I can't wait to see your harvest photos and yield/smoke report.

Good luck and more importantly...HAVE FUN!

Hermi-one is spitting out more and more bananas, and I think, but am not sure, that Penelope may be starting to make some bananas. I think that the flowering cycle may be getting to the too long point and it is starting to stress them out.

I've sampled the girls, and the buzz they are giving is very good. They taste good, and I think it is time. They are not getting any puffier, and the pistils are starting to change from white to amber. I think it is time...

 

[GaladrielDreams]

Seeds galore! You never disappoint with the pictures

12 weeks is a long time. I may have cut my Bl a little early but you said it best "patience". I got one now that is 11.42 weeks in and I'm gonna try the patience route this time.

Thanks Pres!

My patience is running out. Along with my dispensary stash LOL. But it is time for the girls to be harvested... The pistils are starting to change, and I am getting a few amber trichs on the scope.

 

[GaladrielDreams]

I'm thinking that the cfl's may drag out the harvest? Mine are at 8 weeks and most are nowhere near ready. I put away the cfl's because of the heat but they only get 5-7 good hours of sun most days and I don't think it's enough.

But since it's my first grow I actually have no facts or prior experiences so maybe it's perfectly normal.

There seems to be a consensus that more light = better yield. Does more light also = faster maturity?

I think my problem is that I have only red spectrum lights on the girls. My blue spectrum CFLs are all dead. I need to go get some more.

I also have light issues. My dogs like to unplug the extension cords, and I live in a rural area, where we have power outages a lot.

 

[Green007]

Your girls look really good!

Congrats on your DWC purchase, you will not regret it. SkooterClowns knows his stuff and will be a great help to you. SK

 

[GaladrielDreams]

Your girls look really good!

Congrats on your DWC purchase, you will not regret it. SkooterClowns knows his stuff and will be a great help to you. SK

hee hee, I am already trying to figure out how I am going to start seeds. I figure if I get an irrigation hub, and hook it up to the pump and get the tubes in I will have a do it on the fly Deep Water Culture set. That way I can start seeds with it, and beyond... well after I get another DWC kit, or a Deep Water Culture kit. I am wavering between the two.

Man I seriously need some couchlock meds. The stuff I got is relieving my pain, but its a energetic type high. Gets your mind thinking about a lot of stuff...

I want to go down to the city and check out Home depot for a few things. I'm making a list of supplies that I need, and I want to do it in one trip, not 4. I live an hour away, so we make each trip count.

How long does Stealth Hydro take to send a tracking number for your order? It says on their site it ships out within 3 days...

Finally starting to get sleepy. I took the freakin Ambien at 11!!!

 

[GaladrielDreams]

Checked on the girls this am. Penelope is no longer spitting out white pistils and most are amber. She'll be coming down soon. Hermi-one still has white pistils, but she is spitting out more bananas. So she'll be coming down soon.

Seeds still haven't come up yet, but I just managed to get the soil soaked yesterday. I'm in no rush, since my DWC kit isn't here yet...

I have a question. Since you can't germ seeds in DWC, how do you do it? Do you soak rockwool in ph balanced water with a small amount of nutes till they come up and have roots dangling in the water???

 

[ItsChrome]

Hey Hey, HO HO that hermie is ready to go!



Yeah if your happy with the Tric amber to cloudy ratio and are just waiting on pistils you can bring it down when ready. Pistils will change after you drop the plant. By the time your done drying and ready to move on to the cure you'll have nothing but amber pistils. Trics actually do the same. After harvest they continue to mature for a few days.

As for your question for starting for DWC. You basically have it down. You get rock woll cubes, soak with PH'd water and insert seed. place in a warm dark place will they sprout. then when they are you place the rock wool into your cups in the DWC.

You don't need to give seeds any nutes, same with seedlings. The plant has all it needs for the first week or two of its life. When you look at a seedling and you see those small leafs that eventually just die of, those are called cotyledons. they are food supplies for plant to feed off of.

 

[GaladrielDreams]

Hey Hey, HO HO that hermie is ready to go!



Yeah if your happy with the Tric amber to cloudy ratio and are just waiting on pistils you can bring it down when ready. Pistils will change after you drop the plant. By the time your done drying and ready to move on to the cure you'll have nothing but amber pistils. Trics actually do the same. After harvest they continue to mature for a few days.

As for your question for starting for DWC. You basically have it down. You get rock woll cubes, soak with PH'd water and insert seed. place in a warm dark place will they sprout. then when they are you place the rock wool into your cups in the DWC.

You don't need to give seeds any nutes, same with seedlings. The plant has all it needs for the first week or two of its life. When you look at a seedling and you see those small leafs that eventually just die of, those are called cotyledons. they are food supplies for plant to feed off of.

There are a few amber here and there, and I figure they will just continue to mature after I dry and cure.

I'm just wondering how long it will take before the roots grow long enough to dangle in the water...

I might buy the irrigation hub from SH and rig it on my DWC to germ the seeds. The only problem with that, is I am going to have 2 extra hoses. I was thinking of just leaving them not hooked up to anything, and have them dribble into the water. But I dunno... I guess I'll find out how that works when I do it.

So I am taking the clowns suggestion and I am going to do a extra long dark cycle before harvest. So Monday, the girls are going to get 48 hours of dark before I harvest on Wednesday. I'm also going to dry them using cardboard boxes with newspaper covering them. I might stick the boxes in the garage because our nights are nice and cool, and I can keep it dark there. But not sure about it... critters might get into it there...

Our monsoon season is back, and it has been raining like crazy here. As a matter of fact, we have a flood watch and I live at 9000 ft above sea level!!! So that tells me there is a LOT of rain...

 

[ItsChrome]

Oh no! flood warnings at 9000 ft! man my ark aint ready yet...

Yeah the extra long dark period is a great way to get the plant to finish maturing and slow her down before she dies. Not really sure about moving the bud to the garage to cure. Especially if its been rainy and humid. The best place to dry/cure is some place with as close to a constant environment as possible, Warm and dry.

As for the DWc question. I assume you'll be starting them in the rock wool in a dome of some sort before moving to your bucket. You'll want to keep them there untill you see roots poking out of the cube. I have never used rock wool but I do use peat starters in a dome. They take about a week for the roots to poke though. Once you have the roots you'll move them to their new home. being that they still be in the rock wool they will have moisture there to live off. the roots poking out how ever will do what they do best, grow and search out water. So as they dangle above the water the plant will drink the water in the wool and the roots being exposed to air and sense the humidity coming up off the water this will draw them down ward. figure after a few days they should be dipping in.

Stay dry and stay safe!

 

[GaladrielDreams]

I am reorganizing my closet. Since it's been so rainy, I am anticipating that the hot water heater pilot will go out. If it isn't the winds, it will be the rain dripping in through the vent. It's a pain in the ass to move everything every time the pilot goes out, so I am relocating the grow to the opposite side of the closet. That way if and when it happens again, I can just light the pilot. Not have to move the entire grow out of the way...

I can use the shelving, (no pole) to hang the lights I get from Stealth Hydro off of. It's like a wire shelf, with a partition for hangers. I'll take a pic of it once it is all done. I plan on enclosing it with some mylar, and light proof it, (I think light leaks made Hermione turn hermi). The shelf is kind of narrow, so I need to put something, like a wood block or something so I can staple velcro for the light proof layer. I'm thinking of buying a black tarp, and lining it with mylar on the inside with doublestick tape. Also the corner that I am moving the grow to is closer to the electrical outlet. My problem is that there aren't any plugs in the closet, aside from the light switch. I know enough about electricity to be dangerous, so I am going to rely on extension cords and surge suppressors.

The area I plan on using in the closet is roughly 5 feet wide, 5 and a half feet tall (to the shelf where the lights will hang) and 3 feet deep. I will have plenty of room for an additional DWC tank or a Deep Water Culture tank when I decide to get another. I can use the top of the shelf for clones, and I think I will keep a vegging momma in soil to use for clones. I just haven't decided on where to put that yet.

I am rambling, but I need somewhere to put these rambles. I have a crap memory... LOL

I have 5 boxes of crap I haven't been into in over a year, so they get moved out to the garage I have a bunch of clothes that need to be put into space bags, then they can get stored in the garage. Mostly my hubby's stuff. That man is a clothes horse!!!

Anyway, The closet is getting progressively more organized. I may even divide up our clothes Oh the horror of having a spot for his and hers

 

[Barry Manilow]

This hermi thing has me intrigued. My runt just turned hermi and of all my plants she was the least stressed because I basically ignored her except for feedings & waterings. No moving in and out of the garage, no changing light cycles, etc.

Maybe it's just in their genes. Wonder if there are examples of entire grows going hermi, that would make me think it had something or a lot to do with their environment.

Did Hermi-one get exposed to more light leaks than Penelope?

 

[Woodsman]

Hello Galadriel! Just read up the last few pages of your journal so I could catch up a bit.. Looks like just in time as your harvesting soon. Girl, you take some terrific pictures with your camera. You should enter some in the contests they have.

I also had a plant that went 12 weeks, actually two, one this last grow with my regenerating NL#5 (indica dominant) Runt and she turned out to be a great smoke. My grow before that one, Mazar also went forever and she was not so great, not sure why, but I had very minimal lighting with that grow, only the 100w HID's. I added eight cfl's for the last grow (4 x 26 w and 4 x 40 watt mixed spectrum in flower). Not sure what caused the long grow times, but it could very well be (as mentioned by some of your viewers) nute issues, specifically pH issues in early flower.

Good luck with your harvest and your upcoming 'water world grow'! Say hello to Mostly Crazy for me when ya get there he is one great guy as is Roseman and all the other Deep Water Culture.

 

[GaladrielDreams]

This hermi thing has me intrigued. My runt just turned hermi and of all my plants she was the least stressed because I basically ignored her except for feedings & waterings. No moving in and out of the garage, no changing light cycles, etc.

Maybe it's just in their genes. Wonder if there are examples of entire grows going hermi, that would make me think it had something or a lot to do with their environment.

Did Hermi-one get exposed to more light leaks than Penelope?

Hermi-one is closer to the closet door. I didn't light proof the door, because I didn't think that any light that managed to make it through the crack in the door, and the 6 inch width of the doorjam was enough to do anything. All I have in my bedroom is a 30 watt equivalent CFL for a night table lamp.

Some hermaphrodite plants are just that. Seeds of a hermaphrodite plant. It has the tendency to turn hermi if it is stressed or it will just be a hermi. I have heard rumors from growers that if one turns hermi, it will turn the rest of the crop hermi. But I think that is more of Old Wives tales than anything. Most people plant a number of seeds from something that they thought was good schwag. Kind Bud, if grown properly, will be seedless. Unless you buy from a seed store. But then again, I am an amateur at this...

 

[GaladrielDreams]

Hello Galadriel! Just read up the last few pages of your journal so I could catch up a bit.. Looks like just in time as your harvesting soon. Girl, you take some terrific pictures with your camera. You should enter some in the contests they have.

I also had a plant that went 12 weeks, actually two, one this last grow with my regenerating NL#5 (indica dominant) Runt and she turned out to be a great smoke. My grow before that one, Mazar also went forever and she was not so great, not sure why, but I had very minimal lighting with that grow, only the 100w HID's. I added eight cfl's for the last grow (4 x 26 w and 4 x 40 watt mixed spectrum in flower). Not sure what caused the long grow times, but it could very well be (as mentioned by some of your viewers) nute issues, specifically pH issues in early flower.

Good luck with your harvest and your upcoming 'water world grow'! Say hello to Mostly Crazy for me when ya get there he is one great guy as is Roseman and all the other Deep Water Culture.

Awww you are too kind Woodsman! If you could see how big they are, I don't think I would win any contests. The colas are as wide as my two thumbs put together. I have seen buds that would make my main colas look like popcorn buds.

You could be right about the PH issues, I don't have a ph meter YET, it is coming with the SH DWC growers choice kit. Along with their light kit.

I don't know what kind of bagseed this is, but in my searches for seeds, I saw something called Charras Finger, and my girls look like it. They also resemble some White Skunk that I have saw. It's a logical explanation for why it keeps spitting out white pistils when so close to being done...