NorthernCosmos' First Indoor Soil Auto Grow: 2019

[CraZysWeeD]

It's hot enough alright! Ca. 31C and 40% RH in the tent right now, and there's nothing I can do about it. It could be worse seeing as the ambient temp is 28, so the extractor at max blast with disconnected filter seems to be able to move most of the heat from the light. I've tried cooling the room with a huge fan, but it's basically just blowing hot air around There's a bit of canoeing leaves, but otherwise the plants seems to handle it. From what I read though, these conditions seriously stunt the growth and bud density of the flowering plants...

Seems like you are peeking the growth now with those values, heard people discuss the optimum temps for LED vs HID and 31C is perfect condition and with that seemingly low RH you got its perfect. Think I had like 34-37C at max with the 400W HID and that gave them burns, had a big floor standing oscillating fan constantly blowing at them and this was without any tent.

The datasheets for the LED power supplies says they have efficiency of 0.9 or better, so there'd only be 30W of heat to be saved by moving them outside the tent, and then they would heat the room a little anyway.

That's right, its not that much in degrees to win by moving them outside the tent. Why I have my drivers outside is pure esthetics...

Edit: tried the big fan in the room again in a different spot and with an open tent - it got hotter by more than 1C at canopy level, so not a good idea. The extractor fan alone does better job with a closed tent.

Also right, the draft from the fast exchange of air from a small enclosure is more of a cooling effect than with open tent.

The plants may seem to cope better with the heat than me - I'm pretty much knocked out. The greenhouse is too hot as well, and I have chillis that has burns. I'm about to cut the grass now - have mounted a drink holder on the lawn tractor, only missing a huge sombrero...

I also get knocked off my feet with this damn heat... Get blistering migraine from the sun after the accident. Seems like most plants get burnt now days, we must be putting some real bad chems in the air we don't even know about yet... What do you put in that drink holder, beer? I wished a few years ago I had a beer holder on my lawnmower but now I don't drink any beer any more, just Zero... Haven't had a beer in 3 years now, I even got beer in my fridge that passed its drink day last year... LoL

The first summer grow is a lesson in heat management, or rather the lack thereof... I really need an AC for the room/tent, but the price of buying and running one is out of the question for now (not being cheap, simply don't have the money). When one has a decent stash, a growing pause at summertime seem the right way to go. Pulling the brakes on the overlapping grow is kind of inconvenient though; I'd have to throw away healthy plants, and I can't bring myself to do that. Well, this is purely a luxury problem - no complaints, just observations

Luckily I got hold of a discarded mobile AC from work a few years ago I salvaged, had a busted hot side fan. Put a bigger Österberg inline fan outside on my balcony and drilled a hole in my balcony door to vent out the hot air with the door closed for better cooling. Could use it for the grow but as you say there is another 800W on the electrics an hour for every hour the grow is in operation and that literally doubles the expense for each gram of weed...

I'm also having a hard time throwing away healthy plants so try keep running for as long as you feel its possible, always nice to explore the limits of whats possible. You know me by now and I've been there as well, I even know the limit of my own body by now.

Looking forward to some pics soon, miss growing a lot now and already looking forward to fall in comparison to this unbearable heat. Work is even pleasant now with constant 8C in the cellar under the plant.

Stay safe Cosmos!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I'm not sure about the conditions here right now. The plants are showing heat stress every day, with the canoeing leaves, but yeah, no burns or anything else. Did you check out that VPD thread and the charts - it's interesting stuff. According to it, in flower at 30C the RH should be in the region 60% to 65% for the best respiration. Right now, in the nice and cool evening, it s 26C and 40% RH in the tent, which is in a much better zone for respiration.

I would have expected a little more packing on by now, at day 60 - but it's hard to know what to expect since these are two new strains and the temps are off the scale.

I've started turning the light around to have lights off at the hottest hours of the day - will get there in 10 days or so... I just hope that's not another stress factor that tips them into hermying or something...

I only finished mowing the lawn an hour ago or so. Did in in the chill evening, with a cold cider in the drink holder. It could have been a beer too, I'm not adverse to that

Edit : forgot the pics, not too much growth since last time, and a little droopy since its feeding day today - actually one day past the normal schedule. Top view for cola count:

and side view to show the height, or rather the lack thereof:

Stay safe Cosmos!

You too!

And that includes staying hydrated - not a problem for a water plant tech, I should think

 

[CraZysWeeD]

I'm not sure about the conditions here right now. The plants are showing heat stress every day, with the canoeing leaves, but yeah, no burns or anything else. Did you check out that VPD thread and the charts - it's interesting stuff. According to it, in flower at 30C the RH should be in the region 60% to 65% for the best respiration. Right now, in the nice and cool evening, it s 26C and 40% RH in the tent, which is in a much better zone for respiration.

I would have expected a little more packing on by now, at day 60 - but it's hard to know what to expect since these are two new strains and the temps are off the scale.

I've started turning the light around to have lights off at the hottest hours of the day - will get there in 10 days or so... I just hope that's not another stress factor that tips them into hermying or something...

Well its sure they do like heat more than cold anyway.

I always run day cycles during Earth nights to get more stable temps to use for cooling, does appose a problem if having an auto to move outside which very easily turns hermie... But I think your caution with 10 days aclimatisation should work fine!

I only finished mowing the lawn an hour ago or so. Did in in the chill evening, with a cold cider in the drink holder. It could have been a beer too, I'm not adverse to that

Edit : forgot the pics, not too much growth since last time, and a little droopy since its feeding day today - actually one day past the normal schedule. Top view for cola count:

Best time for mowing... Cider is nice. Don't drink any more since I got all these weird meds since the accident that don't work any well with alcohol. Cannabis works great with some cider, beer or even a good wine.

and side view to show the height, or rather the lack thereof:

You will get the height when moving on to photos which you can easily control with veg time. You have graduated a long time ago from them.

You too!

And that includes staying hydrated - not a problem for a water plant tech, I should think

That was one of the problems when starting there, either one ran to the toilet to take a piss or drank water all the time caused by all the breezing sound from falling water.

Love the place but the work environment have changed a lot during my 8 years there now including myself and I'm in a position right now wanting to move on from there but I'm not in the position to do so yet, very undeveloping climate to be in.

If I win the Eurojackpot I'm starting a printfarm, just one problem need to bet to win right and I really dont like the odds on gambling.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Yesterday was feeding day. First feed for the little ones - today is day 21 for them and day 63 for the seniors.

The Babushka Blacks, as well as the seniors at the same stage, are not growing as vigorously as my first plants that I grew in the winter time. Below are the Babushkas, then 4 previous plants at the same age. So far, my takeaway from this is that winter is a better growing season here.

Stardawg and Blackberry Gum doing their thing. Also slow growth in the beginning, but otherwise not bad if they manage to bulk up in their last month. This time I took a pic the day after feeding, so that you can see them in a more perky state than the usual slightly thirsty one:

 

[CraZysWeeD]

Ah you got the insight about growing indoor summer months is not that great as well now.

I still think you are doing great and much better than I was first year growing during that extreme summer we had a few years back. Had a whole plant that just dried up and turned brown from heatstroke. Well better times for indoor growing is not far away now and I'm actually looking forward to fall already.

Wish I had a studio though for all my projects, think my neighbors are getting tired of me running machines in my apartment by now... LoL

Seems like X is getting tired of the summer place as well so I guess this is the last summer I'm spending there... need to get a property of my own soon....... a craZy property.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

need to get a property of my own soon....... a craZy property.

Yes, you do. With a garden and a shed and a doghouse and a workshop and...

I lived in apartment buildings in the big city for 40 years. Moving to the countryside gave me a new life, so to speak - newfound freedom and comfort, lots of room, surrounded by nature. I can play music when I want and as loud as I want (very important to me), grow what I want (!!!), run little projects as I want, party freely in the garden/woods... Of course I'm in no way living a perfect and careefree life - far from it - but those basics elevate the quality of life.

You should have that too, and you will!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

It's day 66 for the seniors and day 23 for the juniors.

I raised the lights 6 inches a few days ago, and I think it may have caused the juniors to stretch a little bit. The recommended height above seedling is 24" and I now have it at 30". The next seedlings will start 30" below the light - let's see if that'll give me a little taller and more LST friendly plants. The seniors are at 15" below the light, also a little more distance than recommended.

Bela and Bohdana the Babushka Black autos went into training today. This time around I'm using a counter tie support rock, so now the counter tie should not slip down to, or below, the soil:

Sophia the Stradawg and Bianca the Blackberry Gum are still nice and green, a few yellowing lowers which is fine with 1/3'ish of the time left before harvest. This time around I have less nute burns than ever. That Advanced Nutrients 3 part pH Perfect nute scheme must be reduced to 2/3 of the manufacturer's recommended strength to avoid burns in these small autos of mine. Neither so the display any deficiencies with spots or discoloration of the leaves. So yeah. these are on their course for some tent records in the areas of area-coverage, cola-count and 'freshness'

 

[CraZysWeeD]

Yes, you do. With a garden and a shed and a doghouse and a workshop and...

I lived in apartment buildings in the big city for 40 years. Moving to the countryside gave me a new life, so to speak - newfound freedom and comfort, lots of room, surrounded by nature. I can play music when I want and as loud as I want (very important to me), grow what I want (!!!), run little projects as I want, party freely in the garden/woods... Of course I'm in no way living a perfect and careefree life - far from it - but those basics elevate the quality of life.

You should have that too, and you will!

Lived my first 24 years on the family place that lies outside the town and loved every stone and the creek that lies next to the house there. Had lots of room there with an old barn and garages, craZy's mind went bananas in there... At the start of my growing career I converted one of those old pc maxi towers with a 250W hps light and with a small hydro pot. Wish I had the 3d printer then... LoL

Would like to take over that place that's still in my parents hands, if we ever can settle on a descent price....

Having trouble settling in to city life, guess its not for me at all...

I raised the lights 6 inches a few days ago, and I think it may have caused the juniors to stretch a little bit. The recommended height above seedling is 24" and I now have it at 30". The next seedlings will start 30" below the light - let's see if that'll give me a little taller and more LST friendly plants. The seniors are at 15" below the light, also a little more distance than recommended.

That's a great idea, you can always adjust height for seedlings with various stuff under their pots. Läskbackar is a great thing...

So yeah. these are on their course for some tent records in the areas of area-coverage, cola-count and 'freshness'

Those two look amazing NC and they grown as much as you have in caring for them.

 

[CraZysWeeD]

How's things with plants and the Danfoss PS7B? Got the thing replaced and pumping again, plants need water man!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

The plants are doing fine. Pics coming soon. I've turned the day around in the the tent and night time is now at 13:00 - 18:00. Of course as I did this, the heat wave disappeared and day temps went from 30C to 18C Oh well, at least I'm prepared for the next wave.

I'm getting water from the neighbors in buckets and canisters. The plants got some of that yesterday, so they're good.

I got the new pressure switch yesterday, a 031E021566 which is the replacement for the PS7B. I'm going away today, so the replacement will happen tomorrow. I've been reading about well maintenance, have adjusted the switch for 4bar off and 2.5bar on pressures as a starting point (the instructions has tables for how many turns the screws need for these pressure points), will pump the bladder in the pressure vessel to 2 point something bar - and I'm ready the job.

Just a bit scared of the ejector pump which is said to be tricky to get pumping again if it runs dry - I hope that after several days with an unpressurized/empty system, it will pump water and not air

This is what I've got to work with: WELL-X-TROL 120l pressure vessel, ASEA 4.5kW motor, Grundfos CPE 3-100 pump, a roll of teflon tape and no pressure gauge. Will post a report when the job has been (attempted...) done.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Pics as promised. I wish I could dazzle you all with more exotic grows and methods, but I fear you'll have to contend with my somewhat mundane noob-building-up-grow for now

It's day 73 for the seniors and day 30 for the juniors. The little ones were a bit slow in the beginning but seem to have picked up some pace now.

The Stardawg and Blackberry Gum with almost a month to go:

The Babushka Blacks - I was so close to try quadlining on those, but in the end they got away with LST:

 

[BigD13]

Babushka Blacks.....sounds pretty exotic to me. A lot more exotic than the stuff I’m growing, like White Widow & Northern Lights. Talk about boring.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Well, I don't think I can say my White Widows are boring, and I sure hope the Northern lights coming out of cure in a few days for a serious tasting won't be boring... Yours can't possibly be either! I suppose I'm easily "entertained" though, still being in my 1st year of growing

I'm like a kid in a candy store with all these strains we can try... Come on BigD13, surprise yourself with some new seeds you've never heard of before!

 

[BigD13]

I do have a couple of others I’m growing, a couple of Mexican Haze and a Bubba Kush. That will be all for this year, since I only grow outside. The new ladies in waiting I have for next year are Acapulco Gold & Harlequin. The Harlequin, which are CBD, were the free seeds I got with my last order.

There really are a lot of strains. Someone posted that there are over 2000 commercially available strains in seed form. I’ll never run out of new strains to try.

 

[CraZysWeeD]

I've turned the day around in the the tent and night time is now at 13:00 - 18:00. Of course as I did this, the heat wave disappeared and day temps went from 30C to 18C Oh well, at least I'm prepared for the next wave.

That sounds like a better cycle these hot days that guaranteed will come again, I always run my day cycle during night for other reasons as well and this is stealth. Previous I even ran the ventilation fan on half speed during night cycle to keep noise down from it.

Always good to be prepared for the worst, maybe you should invest in a future C02 system then plants will be able to cope with higher temps specially during summer months. Need to start sketching on Greta 2.0... Btw found a busted magnatron lab stir in the lab at the plant, should be able to get it turning again....

I've been reading about well maintenance, have adjusted the switch for 4bar off and 2.5bar on pressures as a starting point (the instructions has tables for how many turns the screws need for these pressure points), will pump the bladder in the pressure vessel to 2 point something bar - and I'm ready the job.

Sounds like a good band to let it work in, not too low or high.

Just a bit scared of the ejector pump which is said to be tricky to get pumping again if it runs dry - I hope that after several days with an unpressurized/empty system, it will pump water and not air

You got a very long pipe/hose to the bottom of the well and if the checker valve is leaking just a tiny bit at the bottom it could result in an empty line down to where ever the level sits in the well.

Try running it after the fix (not more than like 30s) and if there is no water coming up you need to unscrew the suction end on the pump and refill it with water for the pump to catch. I'm guessing these flanges are old and rusty so the possibility of you tearing up the gasket between flange and pump are high. But break no sweat about it you could just scrape it off and use milk carton for some new gasket material if you don't have any at home, make them double to be sure. Really hope you don't need to but this probably worst case scenario so now you got a contingency plan as well.

WELL-X-TROL 120l pressure vessel, ASEA 4.5kW motor, Grundfos CPE 3-100 pump, a roll of teflon tape and no pressure gauge. Will post a report when the job has been (attempted...) done.

That's a serious setup for just one house, you should have a pressure gauge between pump and pressure vessel though.

And a very good luck to you NC, wish I as around the corner and could swing by and help you with it... better than helping retarded Bosnians (I'm aiming at a special person, not Bosnians as whole...) here that can do the job themselves but wants somebody else to do it for them.... and me being too nice and helpful.

Pics as promised. I wish I could dazzle you all with more exotic grows and methods, but I fear you'll have to contend with my somewhat mundane noob-building-up-grow for now

You are doing so great with your growing NC you should be prouder than you are! At least you are growing, I'm just talking...

Stardawg and Blackberry Gum

Under the circumstances with the heat stress they taken, they are looking great! My plants were more brown than green and yellow, then the Thrips feasted on them and killed them off. Remember I had to throw out at least one full seized plant during this period of summer growing 2018.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I do have a couple of others I’m growing, a couple of Mexican Haze and a Bubba Kush. That will be all for this year, since I only grow outside. The new ladies in waiting I have for next year are Acapulco Gold & Harlequin.

That's a good variety, and all strains I haven't grown (yet!). I'm hoping to grow some Acapulco Gold at some point - that's the strain I remember from the adventures of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, so it's kind of legendary

maybe you should invest in a future C02 system

I've had the thought, inspired by Greta of course! Right now I'm happy with keeping things simple for a number of reasons, but do dream of a high tech setup with programmable light spectrum schedules, CO2, air conditioning and so on.

You got a very long pipe/hose to the bottom of the well and if the checker valve is leaking just a tiny bit at the bottom it could result in an empty line down to where ever the level sits in the well.

Yes, 120m is a long way to lift water... I'm humble in the presence of this apparatus that squeezes water out of rocks, so to speak. It's the giver of our lifeblood - water is a serious business.

Try running it after the fix (not more than like 30s) and if there is no water coming up you need to unscrew the suction end on the pump and refill it with water for the pump to catch. I'm guessing these flanges are old and rusty so the possibility of you tearing up the gasket between flange and pump are high. But break no sweat about it you could just scrape it off and use milk carton for some new gasket material if you don't have any at home, make them double to be sure. Really hope you don't need to but this probably worst case scenario so now you got a contingency plan as well.

Thanks for those tips! I really dread having to take apart the pump flanges; there's a good bit of rust and deposits on the pump. Do you know if the intake is on the top or bottom of the pump (it's in the usual vertical position with the motor on top)?

I also wish there was a pressure gauge there. WIth a bit of luck. the pre adjustments I made according to the inst ructions are close enough to get it working. I just hope stop pressure (4 bar) > start pressure (2.5 bar) > bladder pressure (2.2 bar) will be a workable starting point. I'm fine with adjusting it on feel from there.

OK - I'm starting the job now. First preparing a tool tote; it's tight down there and nowhere to place tools, and If I loose any I might not be able to pick them up again, so I need a tool bag I can hang on the ladder. The only tools I have that are big enough are tongue and groove pliers - not ideal, so I might have to take a trip to the hardware store and pick up something like this.

Edit: nothing budges and the working space is cramped with maybe 30degrees available for turning the wrench - I'm off to buy proper tools!

 

[BigD13]

Make sure you tether your tools, so you don’t lose them if you drop them. Good luck.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I'm pumping water again!

Right after I mentioned this over In the Fog, the hysteresis went completely bust and the switch started oscillating - thus I had to shut down the well completely.

Here's the culprit, a very rusty PS7B, and also today's new tools that made the replacement possible.

Danfoss' documentation says that the adjustment screws on the new switch is at minimum tension when delivered. They provide tables that says how many turns they should be tightened to reach the required start/stop pressures. But no, that's not the case because I had to turn the screws pretty much back to where they were set from the factory to get things working at all. It sucks to not have a pressure gauge and having to do all this blind.

Here's the well. The old switch is still in place in this picture. It has now been successfully replaced with no leaks. Unfortunately the pipework is very shoddy. The pressure switch and shutoff valve(s) sit on a construct of several pieces of pipe and T-connectors, and that whole construct is suspended by the flexible black tubes at it's left and right. The upright tube that the switch sits on is under tension towards the wall, and it's the body of the switch that is touching the wall and taking that load. Not good.

The result is that the movements made as I worked on it caused rust flakes to drop off from the underside of the shutoff valve (1). I can peel off rust from it with with my fingers, and it feels like I'm about to break the pipe. So now there's a leak where the valve connects to the pipe The leak rate is ca. one drop per second. It occurs to me that this is probably too much to hope that it gets plugged by mineral deposits from the inside(?) While I could take on the switch replacement, replacing that rats nest requires materials and tools that I don't have - I'll most likely need a professional to do that.

If the pump had run dry, I suspect that the upper T-connector is the inlet since it has a plug on top (2) that would be handy for pre-filling the pipe.

 

[Mars Hydro]

It seems so complicated, I admire people who can fix things themselves

 

[NorthernCosmos]

It seems so complicated

It's not really that complicated, but it's a bit fiddly and water is the most critical thing of all, so it needs to be done right.

Oh, and you've seen some of the grow setups on here, with amazing grow room builds, lots of wiring, ducting and fans, watering and hydroponic systems, multiple lights and controllers, humdifiers/dehumidifiers, heating/cooling, CO2, pH/temp/RH/xxx monitors, tens of types of nutrition that have to be mixed and administered in various ways, soil recipes and cooking projects, various curing and extraction methods etc. - now, that can become complicated