Hi! First, Thanks for visiting! This is my first grow journal, and my first grow.. love the internet!
This is a late entry, and ive been battling with a few problems already, only 2 weeks 5 days in. Most im sure is just being new to growing in general, and starting with Deep Water Culture seemed like an easy, controllable way to learn. Im finding out, that it may be easy, and very controllable once you learn, the learning curve can be fairly high. No worries about that at least here, i enjoy a challenge!
On to the facts, and info!
What strain is it?
A Variety of Blue Dream, Jillybean, Northern Lights, and a Sour Diesel/White Widow cross.
Blue Dream, and Jillybean were donated Clones
Northern Lights are seeds from a Hermed plant from a friend of a friend.
Sour Diesel / White Widow is a Pro Seed, 1 of 10 (other 9 are saved incase this fails)
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages?
Unsure of any
(i believe most are Indica)
Is it in Veg or Flower stage?
Vegetative
If in Veg... For how long?
2 weeks, 5 days
Indoor or outdoor?
Indoor
Soil or Hydro?
Hydro, DWC
Size of light?
600 watt MH / HPS Dimmable Ballast
Is it aircooled?
Yes, Light is in a "Cool Tube"
Temp of Room/cab?
Day= Steady 74-76 Degrees F,
Night= Same (Unsure why it does not drop, but hopefully wont stress plants out)
RH of Room/cab?
45-55%
PH of media or res?
Ph Fluctuates between the 5.8 i try to begin at, and all the way up to 7.0
(Using filtered tap water, standard ph of 7.7-8)
Any Pests ?
I Had spider mites, or thrips, but they have been dealt with and killed... *knocks on wood!*
How often are you watering?
Once Daily till roots were out of pots, then they eat on their own, yay
Type and strength of ferts used?
I use GH Flora Gro, Micro, and Bloom (also used some rapid root start at the beginning)
Bucket Size -
5 Gallon
Medium -
Water (rubber Mulch for stem support)
Lights -
1 85 watt cfl for Germ Station, and 1 600 watt MH and HPS Dimmable Ballast with CoolTube
Nutrients -
GH FloraGro, FloraMicro, and FloraBloom
System =
DWC, 8 - 5 Gallon Buckets, wrapped in a black trash bag, then wrapped with cheap ass tape i bought for packing (less than 25 cents a roll) ( I also cut a circular piece of cardboard to tape to the bottom of the bucket to prevent permanent rings on my tent floor)
Bucket Lids have a small space jig sawed out on the side for airline/airstone removal/entry. 6 inch hole for netpot in middle. (Lid was spray painted with a paint for plastic)
Airline is just normal aquarium airline, plastic T's, and normal small blue airstones (have been since replaced, since i ruined those for soaking in water for more than 4 days on accident, before use with airpump)
Replaced with DARK blue/ almost blue black airstones that seem to produce a bit more bubbles.
Air Pump is a 10-60 gallon rated whisper pump, dual outlet
Ok, now that the list making is done, some explanation may be in order!
(Start of Clones)
I started with clones, clones started in soil. I stressed them hard first 2 nights by apparently not giving enough water. Lesson Learned, didnt expect any to survive. All but one did.
Very stunted growth, almost no root growth at 1 week and 5 days (i figured out that the soil was way to compacted, coupled with the stress of not enough water, in addition to being moved down a very bumpy ride home stunted them severely)
(Received Herm Northern Lights seeds, decided to germinate a few, will keep a VERY close eye on them)
After a day of contemplating how to save my very first clones i decided to transplant into 6 inch netpots with a little soil for support, and filled with rubber mulch up to first internode.
Plants skyrocketed in growth first day or two, seemingly to love the aerated soil and room for growth.
Plants also had spider mites and what looked like powder mold. i bought some strong pesticide/fungicide spray after trying multiple home remedies, including milk/water/dish soap spray (worked the best for the mold), Tobacco juice bath ( totally worked for the mites, yet didnt kill eggs) and the h202 spray, which i dont think was strong enough. Conditions cleared up rapidly after using spray. over night infact.
Initiated bucket setup 1 day later.
6-10 hours from bucket initiation something went wrong. REALLY wrong. LOTS of foam/unbreaking bubbles, and it left residue, and crust, and smelled like a bad swamp on steroids. What i mixed into the buckets -
GH Nutes, according to their simple recirculating schedule
(gro,bloom, micro, and rapidstart, and some Mycos that came with .. the germ station i think.)
i wasnt monitoring water temps at this juncture, and foam could have been caused by a number of things.
My 3 theorys =
1. Tape/Glue residue combined with the Myco's and nutes, and possibly unclean water. The tape was lipped over the edge of the bucket, and could have gotten rinsed down from bubbles/and or filling the bucket up.
2. Unmeasured Myco-whatever-zy's. They came without instructions, and i accidentally dumped the whole bag.. about 1 inch by 1.5 inch cloth like packet. I tried to even it out since it sat at the bottom of the bucket, and used the first bucket to mix all the nutes.
3. Not enough airstone action, and lack of H202 or other water stabilizer etc
Since then (about 5 days now) I have scraped the bucket system (to be reinstated when more rootgrowth is apparent) and set them up in some folgers cans (the plastic red ones, with the handles) that i empty and refil daily, with a VERY small amount of nutes (about 2.5 ml per gallon), and some h202.
I have started a sample run, or test run if you will, of my bucket system.
1 5 gal bucket, with lid, and 2 airstones. no plant. no mulch, or net pot. i did add enough nutes for 1 gallon of water (2.5 gal is used) just like i plan to start out with, so as to not overfeed. Has now been running 5 hours, water is slightly clouded, but not smelly.
I noticed a web like substance on the bottom of my net pots, and was wondering if this could be root rot? or is it those pesky spider mites, living in my roots/pot? i Dunked in a strong(20 ml to gallon) solution of water (ph stabilized to 6.0) and H202( 3%)
(btw i can see healthy looking roots poking out of the net pot, with small stubby looking "fingers" starting to grow. most are about 2-4 inches long, and only some have the fingers. all are white, and healthy looking)
( i have now germinated the SD/WW seed, and have all seeds growing in a small 1.5 inch rockwool block. turned upside down and own hole poked for the seeds, watered, and put into humidity dome at 76 degrees, with a heat mat with digital thermostat)
Ive had to scrap 4 clones now, because of various reasons.
1. Water stress at cloning stage
2. spider mite and mold damage
3. ph lockout
4. over watering
2-4 could have been a combo of all
Will have more die as time goes by, im sure.
If the bucket system does not produce foam, or smell bad, PH stays fairly stable, i will put the remaining clones into it in 2-4 days.
Im sure im missing a lot of info, and im sure some stuff is out of order. Forgive me, it is very late.. or early... I have not slept well since starting this grow, becuase of all my problems, yet i am as determined as ever. I am getting frustrated, but keeping an open mind to the learning experience, and im sure things will turn rightside up.
oh, intake/exhaust!
Exhaust - 1 200 ish cfm inline fan hooked up to a homemade window vent with uninsulated ducting, pulling air through the cooltube (cooltube has an open back, so i let that be my entire exhaust, except for an open top vent for heat escape
Intake - I recently bought a hydrofarm 400 cfm centrifugal fan, and have it set up to the window as well. It sits inside the tent, with a homemade ducting "silencer" that travels inbetween the plants, with holes in the ducting pointing at the plants ( open end is zip tied into a curl so it points at the cooltube)
1 14 inch oscillating stand up fan
Again, sorry for the mess, will try to clean it up! Will post pics as soon as lights are on
light schedule.. lol.. is a 18/6, dark period is 1-7 in the morning
This is a late entry, and ive been battling with a few problems already, only 2 weeks 5 days in. Most im sure is just being new to growing in general, and starting with Deep Water Culture seemed like an easy, controllable way to learn. Im finding out, that it may be easy, and very controllable once you learn, the learning curve can be fairly high. No worries about that at least here, i enjoy a challenge!
On to the facts, and info!
What strain is it?
A Variety of Blue Dream, Jillybean, Northern Lights, and a Sour Diesel/White Widow cross.
Blue Dream, and Jillybean were donated Clones
Northern Lights are seeds from a Hermed plant from a friend of a friend.
Sour Diesel / White Widow is a Pro Seed, 1 of 10 (other 9 are saved incase this fails)
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages?
Unsure of any
(i believe most are Indica)Is it in Veg or Flower stage?
Vegetative
If in Veg... For how long?
2 weeks, 5 days
Indoor or outdoor?
Indoor
Soil or Hydro?
Hydro, DWC
Size of light?
600 watt MH / HPS Dimmable Ballast
Is it aircooled?
Yes, Light is in a "Cool Tube"
Temp of Room/cab?
Day= Steady 74-76 Degrees F,
Night= Same (Unsure why it does not drop, but hopefully wont stress plants out)
RH of Room/cab?
45-55%
PH of media or res?
Ph Fluctuates between the 5.8 i try to begin at, and all the way up to 7.0
(Using filtered tap water, standard ph of 7.7-8)
Any Pests ?
I Had spider mites, or thrips, but they have been dealt with and killed... *knocks on wood!*
How often are you watering?
Once Daily till roots were out of pots, then they eat on their own, yay
Type and strength of ferts used?
I use GH Flora Gro, Micro, and Bloom (also used some rapid root start at the beginning)
Bucket Size -
5 Gallon
Medium -
Water (rubber Mulch for stem support)
Lights -
1 85 watt cfl for Germ Station, and 1 600 watt MH and HPS Dimmable Ballast with CoolTube
Nutrients -
GH FloraGro, FloraMicro, and FloraBloom
System =
DWC, 8 - 5 Gallon Buckets, wrapped in a black trash bag, then wrapped with cheap ass tape i bought for packing (less than 25 cents a roll) ( I also cut a circular piece of cardboard to tape to the bottom of the bucket to prevent permanent rings on my tent floor)
Bucket Lids have a small space jig sawed out on the side for airline/airstone removal/entry. 6 inch hole for netpot in middle. (Lid was spray painted with a paint for plastic)
Airline is just normal aquarium airline, plastic T's, and normal small blue airstones (have been since replaced, since i ruined those for soaking in water for more than 4 days on accident, before use with airpump)
Replaced with DARK blue/ almost blue black airstones that seem to produce a bit more bubbles.
Air Pump is a 10-60 gallon rated whisper pump, dual outlet
Ok, now that the list making is done, some explanation may be in order!
(Start of Clones)
I started with clones, clones started in soil. I stressed them hard first 2 nights by apparently not giving enough water. Lesson Learned, didnt expect any to survive. All but one did.
Very stunted growth, almost no root growth at 1 week and 5 days (i figured out that the soil was way to compacted, coupled with the stress of not enough water, in addition to being moved down a very bumpy ride home stunted them severely)
(Received Herm Northern Lights seeds, decided to germinate a few, will keep a VERY close eye on them)
After a day of contemplating how to save my very first clones i decided to transplant into 6 inch netpots with a little soil for support, and filled with rubber mulch up to first internode.
Plants skyrocketed in growth first day or two, seemingly to love the aerated soil and room for growth.
Plants also had spider mites and what looked like powder mold. i bought some strong pesticide/fungicide spray after trying multiple home remedies, including milk/water/dish soap spray (worked the best for the mold), Tobacco juice bath ( totally worked for the mites, yet didnt kill eggs) and the h202 spray, which i dont think was strong enough. Conditions cleared up rapidly after using spray. over night infact.
Initiated bucket setup 1 day later.
6-10 hours from bucket initiation something went wrong. REALLY wrong. LOTS of foam/unbreaking bubbles, and it left residue, and crust, and smelled like a bad swamp on steroids. What i mixed into the buckets -
GH Nutes, according to their simple recirculating schedule
(gro,bloom, micro, and rapidstart, and some Mycos that came with .. the germ station i think.)
i wasnt monitoring water temps at this juncture, and foam could have been caused by a number of things.
My 3 theorys =
1. Tape/Glue residue combined with the Myco's and nutes, and possibly unclean water. The tape was lipped over the edge of the bucket, and could have gotten rinsed down from bubbles/and or filling the bucket up.
2. Unmeasured Myco-whatever-zy's. They came without instructions, and i accidentally dumped the whole bag.. about 1 inch by 1.5 inch cloth like packet. I tried to even it out since it sat at the bottom of the bucket, and used the first bucket to mix all the nutes.
3. Not enough airstone action, and lack of H202 or other water stabilizer etc
Since then (about 5 days now) I have scraped the bucket system (to be reinstated when more rootgrowth is apparent) and set them up in some folgers cans (the plastic red ones, with the handles) that i empty and refil daily, with a VERY small amount of nutes (about 2.5 ml per gallon), and some h202.
I have started a sample run, or test run if you will, of my bucket system.
1 5 gal bucket, with lid, and 2 airstones. no plant. no mulch, or net pot. i did add enough nutes for 1 gallon of water (2.5 gal is used) just like i plan to start out with, so as to not overfeed. Has now been running 5 hours, water is slightly clouded, but not smelly.
I noticed a web like substance on the bottom of my net pots, and was wondering if this could be root rot? or is it those pesky spider mites, living in my roots/pot? i Dunked in a strong(20 ml to gallon) solution of water (ph stabilized to 6.0) and H202( 3%)
(btw i can see healthy looking roots poking out of the net pot, with small stubby looking "fingers" starting to grow. most are about 2-4 inches long, and only some have the fingers. all are white, and healthy looking)
( i have now germinated the SD/WW seed, and have all seeds growing in a small 1.5 inch rockwool block. turned upside down and own hole poked for the seeds, watered, and put into humidity dome at 76 degrees, with a heat mat with digital thermostat)
Ive had to scrap 4 clones now, because of various reasons.
1. Water stress at cloning stage
2. spider mite and mold damage
3. ph lockout
4. over watering
2-4 could have been a combo of all
Will have more die as time goes by, im sure.
If the bucket system does not produce foam, or smell bad, PH stays fairly stable, i will put the remaining clones into it in 2-4 days.
Im sure im missing a lot of info, and im sure some stuff is out of order. Forgive me, it is very late.. or early... I have not slept well since starting this grow, becuase of all my problems, yet i am as determined as ever. I am getting frustrated, but keeping an open mind to the learning experience, and im sure things will turn rightside up.
oh, intake/exhaust!
Exhaust - 1 200 ish cfm inline fan hooked up to a homemade window vent with uninsulated ducting, pulling air through the cooltube (cooltube has an open back, so i let that be my entire exhaust, except for an open top vent for heat escape
Intake - I recently bought a hydrofarm 400 cfm centrifugal fan, and have it set up to the window as well. It sits inside the tent, with a homemade ducting "silencer" that travels inbetween the plants, with holes in the ducting pointing at the plants ( open end is zip tied into a curl so it points at the cooltube)
1 14 inch oscillating stand up fan
Again, sorry for the mess, will try to clean it up! Will post pics as soon as lights are on
light schedule.. lol.. is a 18/6, dark period is 1-7 in the morning
