Perpetual Automation & Some Human Error: A Garden Of Jack, Barack & Some Duct Tape

[425jesse]

Well, the clones are rooting, the moms are fat, and we are ready to kick of another grow from the Pacific Northwest! My setup hasn’t changed too much...that being said here is what I have, and what’s changed.

I run a hydroponic system with 8 growing locations. Each bucket gets fed from the 20 gallon primary reservoir, and that is backed up by a 20 gallon secondary res. Automated pumps send 15 minutes of water and nutes to the plants 4 times a day to keep things happy and fed. I run 4 led lights, that have an actual draw of about 250w per fixture. I have the lights in ventilated hoods to keep the temps as low as I can. Spectrum is around 4000K. I used to have to connect a drain hose to each bucket to clean, but have since replaced that with a simple valve at each bucket, and waste lines to get rid of the expired water/nutes. Only real changes are new lights and new drain lines.

I have selected 3 strains for this grow, Jack Herer, Obama Kush, and Duct Tape (GG4 and Dosido cross.). I have a dozen Duct tape clones going, and will pick the best 4 once their roots a have developed to my satisfaction. The JH and OK have established roots and moved from the clone booth to the hydro room. Hopefully the DT is right behind them. Here are a couple shots of how we sit now...

I want to thank everyone that has been part of my past grows, every comment and every like is encouraging. So here we go, off to the races so to speak! Thank YOU for being here, hopefully we enjoy the ride together!

Cheers!

JB

 

[dr.h00k]

... ......cheerz......h00k......

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

Nice setup. I ran 2 Waterfarms with Blueberry quite a few years ago. Had them under 400W HPS, and 400w MH for 800W total. I got 8 ounces per plant. Biggest plant yield indoors for me. Next grow, I got root rot and it destroyed both plants late in bloom for no yield. That was my last Waterfarm grow.

 

[425jesse]

Nice setup. I ran 2 Waterfarms with Blueberry quite a few years ago. Had them under 400W HPS, and 400w MH for 800W total. I got 8 ounces per plant. Biggest plant yield indoors for me. Next grow, I got root rot and it destroyed both plants late in bloom for no yield. That was my last Waterfarm grow.

Yeah, the waterfarm concept is garbage, and just begs for issues. I only use the buckets that came with the waterfarm. Inside the buckets is an automlevel and drain system, they are top fed with fresh water/nutes and the water returns to the reservoir. Each bucket dumps into a 2” water return line that uses gravity to feed water back to the tanks. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[425jesse]

Here are some really exciting photos of the plumbing

The black tubes are primary circulation, the blue tube valves are to drain from the bottom out when it’s time to flush. Everything drains back to the main reservoir, and then I open up the valve on the main reservoir in that dumps all the garbage. Happy hump day everyone.

 

[425jesse]

Good morning and a good Sunday to all! Today was planting day for the remaining clones that were almost as rooted as I wanted. I ended up putting 6 Duct Tape, 1 Jet-A11, and one Jet-A1. A friend gave me the Jet a Phenos. I know pheno 11 is female, the jury is still out on pheno 1.

The 6 DT that went into the buckets were the strongest of the 9, and hopefully they grow well.

Our lighting is currently only running at half strength. Once the clones all look like they are taking it well, we will move up to 75%, then another week later we can go full strength.

I have used a SOG in here for my last few grows and have been pleased, but the last grow I had a lob sided garden because of a difference in age of the plants. These clones were cut 7 days apart, and that shouldn’t give us any kind of trouble.

The Herer is very happy so far, and the OK is adapting well. Here are a couple photos, starting with the garden as a whole.

Enjoy the weekend, see y’all in a few days!

 

[Van Stank]

I am gonna grab a chair Jesse.......cheers brother!

 

[425jesse]

Well, an update is due, so here we are. One of the clones that I brought back (or all) started to show powdery mildew after my last update. Its amazing how tough that stuff is on plants but with diligence and a lot of sanitation, we seem to have the problem either under hand, or maybe even wiped out. By drastically reducing the humidity, and raising the temperatures, we make the climate less hospitable for the mold. At my local grow supplier they gave me some meds for it too, which were applied to the surface, and mixed into the water tank for the hydro system. Wiped down and cleaned the whole grow room, and watched for 2 weeks with no additional symptoms, but continued treatment. Damn near stopped these girls in their tracks, and I did end up tossing 3 buckets out. In their place I have some clones I’ve been growing in my middle size space that have outgrown that space. They were treated the same as everybody else as far as treatment goes. Haven’t grown in coco in a while, but these girls seem to like it and the nite mix I’m using. Hopefully things continue to go well for the next week or so, then it will be time to flip to flower, and start planning for next round.

Thanks for stopping by.

JB

 

[dr.h00k]

...I've never had PM in the grow room,but usually get it on my zukes and cukes and it's a bitch to be rid of...glad you got it under control...cheerz... ...h00k......

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

I use neem/dish soap spray on a regular basis to control PM in my greenhouse.

 

[425jesse]

Today we flipped...the recently potted clones are growing a a furious pace, and I’m not doing a SCROG this time, so lights have been adjusted! Did a flush of the resi, and filled with phase correct nutes and water. I’m interested in how much stretch i am going to get, might be cracking some stems!

Anyways, have a nice weekend all

Cheers.

 

[425jesse]

Welcome to the Sunday update! Well, it’s no @Hyena Merica garden, but it will do. A week into flower and we are stretching fast and we have pistils everywhere! The smaller plants on the left are the Jack Herer, The middle is all Duct Tape, and the far right are jets and Ducts. I am starting to enjoy this grow again, which feels nice

That’s where we are for now, enjoy your weekends!

 

[425jesse]

Just a couple photos of flower progress. The PM has shown back up, a little here and there. I have started treating it again, but it has me a little worried...

 

[425jesse]

Sunday photo op! Just a couple shots of progress

Happy Sunday, hope you all have a great day!

 

[425jesse]

I’m not the type of guy to admit defeat...that being said, I’m also not willing to fight a fight that’s not worth winning. Over the last month, since starting flower, the powdery mildew has come back. I was treating it every 7 days as recommended, and even then, it’s still growing faster than I find acceptable. So, I closed this garden and am dumping all the equipment (except lights) and will do a multi week sanitization to prepare for whatever I grow next. Sad, but no reason to grow weed I can’t or wouldn’t smoke.
The bummer is it was at the stage where the smell is so good and fruity, and the frost is taking over....but so is the mold. Wife has a serious mold allergy as well, so no big deal.

Cheers grow universe, see you next time.

 

[425jesse]

Admin, please archive this journal.