My First Grow - Death Star Scrog

KGB420TIME

New Member
Hello Everyone :welcome:

My First Grow! Haven't really told anyone I'm Growing yet. Aside from my wife :love:. So I am excited to share with you what I have been up to, and being able to talk with you about it. I am already 6 weeks into flowering(it's taken me a while to get here). I will do my best to bring you up to speed. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. I apologize in advance for the pictures, they all looked right when I uploaded them, which are now in all directions. Now, without further ado... My Grow.

Grow Journal
First Grow :)
First time growing anything.

Received clones on Oct 18th & 21st. They had been outside on a friends porch in a box with about 8-9 others. My friend said I should take some. Said it was a rare strain, Death Star, and wasn't really even supposed to say they had it. Otherwise it would go to waste. I thought about it for a minute and decided to take one. Started a little research. A few days later while at the hardware store picking up a few things... a couple clamp lights, some 5000k lights, PH balancing kit, a pot and soil. I decided that my one plant would be lonely :( Got two pots instead of one and stopped by my friends on the way home to pick out the next best clone. Having chosen what I thought was The best as my first. They were already 2-3+ weeks old(not really sure). And I'm pretty sure they were thinking of flowering, having been on the porch for a week in mid October. They were in 16oz plastic cups. Placed under x2 25w 5000k LEDs at a 24/0 schedule, having read that this light schedule might be the best way to reverse possible flowering



On Oct 21st I transplanted them to 3.75gal pots, into some organic soil with very little nutrients(0.05-0.0-0.0). From what I understand, it's best to start with low nutrients for seedlings and clones. A fair portion of my free time is now spent researching how to grow cannabis. Also added a new light. A 300w (100 X 3w chips) 9-band LED w/ x2 heat sinks and fans.



Did some more research and decided to do "scrog"(screen of green).

Nov 6th, I built a 50"x30" screen with wood, nails and some mold and mildew resistant string(2" x 2"grid), to fit the back of my closet. Also received second light. They are now under x2 300w 9-band LEDs & x2 25w 5000k LED flood lights. Total of 650w, LED!



Plants were a little tall, so I "Super-cropped" the central stalk about halfway down. Crushed'em and bent'em in half! It hurt :(... Placed the screen on top at the level which I had bent them(19" from the floor), tucked branches here and there, and it was up and growing!

Nov 10th, I lined the walls with 2mil Mylar. Also, with x2 50" wooden dowels, I made a Mylar screen/sheet that I can raise and lower to access the plants. The lights can be raised so that the bottom of the light panels (where the light comes out) is 43" from the top of the scrog screen. The mylar on the walls and the hanging mylar sheet all run up 43" from the scrog screen. There is also a mylar lined lid that I can open or remove to help with airflow and humidity. The lights have built in cooling fans pushing air up which helps to circulate the air. Essentially, they are in a 50"W x 30"D x 43"H mylar box.

This one's right side up :)

They seem to like it in there ;)

Sometime around Nov 18th, I discovered Spider Mites! Went and bought some insecticidal soap. Treated plants thoroughly! Two days later, still saw some life. Treated again after 3days. Ordered Azamax. Treated them thoroughly with Azamax. Supposed to wait 7days between Azamax treatments. Checked repeatedly during those 7days. Found nothing. Still did second treatment. They appear to have been eliminated. I have no photos of the mites or affected areas of the plants. Battle waged with mites from Nov 18th - second Azamax treatment on Dec 2nd. At which point I declared myself the Victor!
.
Nov 21st... Up until this point, I've been running an 8" non-oscillating fan to maintain some airflow. Replaced today with two 8" oscillating desktop fans. One is positioned in front of the screen on the floor at the center angled up. In this spot, it's range is such, that it blows air up through the plants from one side to the other across the whole screen. The second fan is set about 1' above the screen and 2' back. It blows across the tops of the plants, anywhere from 2-6 hours, during their dark period.

Kept plants in Veg through Nov 25th. Tucking and bending... Learning how to scrog. I just kinda went with what felt right as far as a watering schedule. Which led to them getting a half gallon each on Mon, Wed and Fri. On Monday they get a full dose of nutrients. On Wednesday they get a half dose of some. On Fridays it's just PH balanced water. Initially the light cycle was 24/0. The nights leading up to the 25th I reduced the light period by 4hr increments, reaching 12/12 on the 25th. They seemed to handle it well and flowering commenced. Tucked a couple times after 1st and 2nd weeks of flower, then let them go. The next 3 shots are at 2wks flowering...







Dec 20th... Have been flowering for almost 4wks. I think they are looking pretty good...





Here they are at 4 1/2wks...





They appear to be doing well. But I really don't know.
Here is a night shot at 5wks. I'm using a green LED horticulture light, so as not to disrupt their light cycle.



Here's an oops, the flash went off during their dark period.



I began to feel like my canopy was looking a bit thick. As you can see above. More research! Pruning/defoliation during flowering? Is it ok? Yes! Even recommended by some. Could possibly increase my yield as well! I decided I would get in there and do a little, and see. By the time the plants looked and felt good to me, I had pretty much removed almost every large fan leaf. All that was left were the small to medium/large leaves at the bud sites. There was still an abundance of those. You could almost call it an extreme defoliation. And I said to myself, 'Self, that's a lot more than you was plannin' on takin' off of them'(I don't really talk like that ;). They looked real nice though. And it felt right. It's a little hard to tell in these before and after pics, because they are night shots.

Before




After




It seems to have lowered the rooms average humidity a bit. Things seemed to, maybe, slow down a bit. I let them be for a week and here they are at week 6...









Also during week 6 I bought a pocket microscope so that I might view my Trichomes better as I approach harvest time. From what I've read, Death Star has an 8-10 week flowering period. Here a few close-ups...







On day 1 of week 6, I replaced the x2 25w 5000k LEDs with x3 23wCFLs(=100w). With those 3, and the x2 300w LEDs you could either call it 669w or 900w equivalent... What do you think? Heres what it looks like now..





Well, I think that pretty much gets you to where I'm at. They are now at 6wks 2days of flowering. I will continue to update and post pics. I will also try to respond to any comments or questions in a timely manner. Life can be rather busy sometimes. Please let me know what you think, and thank you for taking the time to read my journal.
:Namaste:
KGB
 
Good day for you sir!

Nice plants you have there! To be honest, it's hard to believe that this is your first grow.. you're at least a semi-pro man! :D
You did your homework with flying colors, and as I see, you'll get your reward for it soon.
One thing I have noticed:
I think that the lights are a bit far from the canopy. LED and CFL has the advantage that it can be very close to the canopy, and gain almost maximum penetration. I used a 600W HPS before, and it didn't burn the girls even from 18-20" (with a cool-tube). You should aim for that as well, especially with the CFLs, which is almost useless from 15"+. If I were you, I'd place the CFLs to the corners of the box for some side light, 4" from the canopy, and lower the LEDs to the above mentioned 18-20", but you're the one who feels the heat.
Aside from that, it is brilliant, excellent and can't wait to read your smoke report!

Happy growing mate!
:Namaste:
 
Looks stellar dude! Excellent grow especially battling the mites .

Your pics are uploaded the way you held the phone/camera when the photo was taken. For example my Samsung has to be held landscape with the home bottom on the right side.
 
Good day for you sir!

Nice plants you have there! To be honest, it's hard to believe that this is your first grow.. you're at least a semi-pro man! :D
You did your homework with flying colors, and as I see, you'll get your reward for it soon.
One thing I have noticed:
I think that the lights are a bit far from the canopy. LED and CFL has the advantage that it can be very close to the canopy, and gain almost maximum penetration. I used a 600W HPS before, and it didn't burn the girls even from 18-20" (with a cool-tube). You should aim for that as well, especially with the CFLs, which is almost useless from 15"+. If I were you, I'd place the CFLs to the corners of the box for some side light, 4" from the canopy, and lower the LEDs to the above mentioned 18-20", but you're the one who feels the heat.
Aside from that, it is brilliant, excellent and can't wait to read your smoke report!

Happy growing mate!
:Namaste:

Hey Budlike,
Thank you very much! It is my first :) The closest I came to a grow was as a teenager watching my older brother fail at several attempts with seeds from southern California shwag! Of which there was an abundance! Ahh, the days of $20 1/4s and $60oz., with no appreciation for Quality Cannabis ;) I appreciate the input. When I first set it up, the lights were very high. Almost the full 43". I gradually lowered it a bit at a time, seeing how it would effect the ladies. I got all the way down to 15" from the top of the plants and was there for a few days. It almost seemed to be pushing them down and I went back up to 23". It wasn't long after that I switched to 12/12. A few days after they had finished their stretching(only several inches), the tallest tops appeared to be browning and the hairs were shriveling. I measured and found that they had grown to be almost exactly 15" from the lights. I raised them 4", they now sit right at 19" :) , and the ladies seem very happy. Your advice of 18"-20" is spot on. As for the CFLs, I had thought for a minute of how to place them without blocking the light from the LEDs. I hadn't thought about coming in from the corners. Thank you! I will either get a fourth light and rearrange them, or leave the 3 where they are and get 4 more to fill in the corners. Maybe I can find some with higher watts.

Thank you, again :)
KGB
 
Looks stellar dude! Excellent grow especially battling the mites .

Your pics are uploaded the way you held the phone/camera when the photo was taken. For example my Samsung has to be held landscape with the home bottom on the right side.

Hello Mr. Bubbles :)

Thank you very much for your positive remarks! Also, thank you for the info regarding the pics. I will try and rotate and reload them. If I get it right, do you know if I am able to remove the old ones?

Thank you, again :)

KGB
 
No problem took me forever to figure out lol I think you can rotate and reupload the existing using a PC otherwise it may be easier just to retake them and edit your post.
 
Hey KGB,

You're welcome mate :high-five:
Yeah, back in those times, your brother probably didn't have that many many info that you can find on this site only. :)
Not to mention the whole web.. :nomo:
But you have the chance to produce A+ quality dope, and I'm happy to see that you took it.
You're pretty close to harvesting, right? 2-3 weeks maybe. Maybe you should consider defoliating those sticky buds now. They would gain some serious weight imo :yummy:
Also, I'd love to see some new pics on those buds with normal light (not purplish or green)... you know... some BUD PORNNN!!!! :drool:

Keep up the good work buddy!
 
Hello again :Namaste:

Though I have figured out how to properly upload my photos, I haven't found how to edit my post. If someone could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it :)

Budlike, I took your advice on filling in the corners with the CFLs. Instead of moving the 3 from above the plant, I upgraded those and added more. I went to the hardware store the next day to see what I could find and scored!
Asked if the had any large CFLs in 2700k and was told they only had only a few left on clearance. Turns out they had 8 65w(=300w) 2700k bulbs left. Couldn't have asked for better. I only wanted 7, but took the 8th as a backup. Now there's the 2x 300w LEDs and 7x 65w CFLs. That puts it at either 1055w straight, or 2700w equivalent! Here's how I have it set up now.

image5996.jpeg


Looks like I've trapped a bit of the sun in there :smokin:

image5997.jpeg


Yes I am getting close. I'm expecting somewhere around the 27th. They'll be at 9wks then and I plan to start checking my trichomes regularly in the 8th week.
 
OMG DUDE!!! You're so fckin serious!! :biglaugh:
Those ladies are spoiled man!
I think the CFLs could be closer though, the plant won't grow much in this state to touch it surprisingly.

Unfortunately, I can't help you with post editing, but you can always post new photos. I'm really curious about how those buds are developing. They look awesome from this distance
 
NIIIICE!!!
Where did all the fan leaves go? You got rid of them?
Those pistils are surely getting brown now, harvest is coming soon :grinjoint:
 
NIIIICE!!!
Where did all the fan leaves go? You got rid of them?
Those pistils are surely getting brown now, harvest is coming soon :grinjoint:

Thank You,
I did remove almost all of the fan leaves. I started from the top down and removed almost everything that was overshadowing a flower site, for the most part leaving only the leaves near the bottom that weren't covering anything. Most of them I just trimmed back and didn't actually cut them off at the stem. I don't know if this was ok or if it was too much:bitingnails:. I guess I'll find out what kind of a difference it makes in a few days. Here are before and after shots of the plant on the right.

Before
image6073.jpeg

After
image6074.jpeg


Harvest should be coming soon:hookah:. This is their last week of nutrients. Next Monday they will get PH balanced water with a dose of Sledgehammer to help break up any build up. Followed by a thorough flushing on Wednesday. After that, depending in how their trichomes are looking, I may continue with just PH balanced water or start letting them dry out in preparation for harvest.
 
:goodjob: Very impressive for a first grow. -Let alone a first grow of anything.:biglaugh:

Next time you want to try utilizing two "nets". You have the one you lay down ontop of the bud sites at first. Then another when they get to about 8-12 inchs taller. Then on their last "push" the will be supported more evenly and stronger. ;) IF you want to go all out, I suggest learning about "super-cropping" then utilizing this method. ("SCROG") Synchronizing both of these techniques will help you yeild almost double or even triple then what you got off that first grow ;) :thumb:

Check out my journal in my signature to see exactly what I mean. ;)

:peace:
 
Hope all is well in your world.

Thanks for sharing this grow with us.

Please head over to the 420 Strain Reviews forum and post your smoke report there too.

I’m moving this to Completed Journals now.

Have you started a new grow you would like to share with us?

If so, please feel free to start a new journal here: Journals in Progress

You can use the Report Post feature found at the bottom left of every post and we'll move it for you right away.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

:Namaste:
 
Hope all is well in your world.

Thanks for sharing this grow with us.

Please head over to the 420 Strain Reviews forum and post your smoke report there too.

I'm moving this to Completed Journals now.

Have you started a new grow you would like to share with us?

If so, please feel free to start a new journal here: Journals in Progress

You can use the Report Post feature found at the bottom left of every post and we'll move it for you right away.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

:Namaste:

Hi David,
Thank you for moving this journal for me. Thank you also for your kind thoughts and words! Sending love and positive energy you as well :)


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Talk less... Smile More :)
:Namaste:
 
To anyone who may have been interested, I harvested 57g from both plants combined. I think my lack of knowledge and the increase in heat from the additional CFLs stunted their growth a bit ;) I no longer use CFLs, only LEDs


-------------------------------------------
Talk less... Smile More :)
:Namaste:
 
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