Thanks. Sounds like some basis for the idea then, though I would expect those same fungi and bacteria are capable of reestablishing themselves. I haven’t ever noticed the effect in my buds, but I’ve been meaning to test it out. I’ve got a couple harvests in the dryer right now. I will purposely overdry some to a crisp and then rehydrate it and see how it is a few months down the road.
 
Update October 20 - Flip Day
Yesterday we drained and cleaned the reservoir, and changed out a better water pump for the one I was using, that was acting strange. Not filling. Probably needs cleaning, but I tossed it. Always keep a spare, people! (note to self).
Because I'm growing photoperiod plants, it is necessary to go to 12/12 in order for the plant to flower. So, I did that last night. The plants have grown substantially in the 23 days they have vegged in the big tent under the big lights, and have grown above the wire. The new trellis net above them is adjustable, so I can go up or down as needed.






Clones Update
My six clones are all doing well. I also have some spares, but I probably won't need them. If there is anything I'm good at, it's rooting clones. Germination sometimes gives me hell, but clones I can do. LOL. Here's a pic:
 
Midweek Update with Pictures
Happy Thursday! It's raining here in Missouri, a slow, cold drizzle that makes me want to light a fire and cozy up with a good book. Maybe later. Today I noticed that the growth this week has been phenomenal. So I'm going to show you a day by day photo montage:




As you can see, the first week of flower has resulted in a good stretch. It's not over, either. In the next week the tops should shove out of the second trellis and will be showing flowers.
The roots are looking good; this week the root growth has also been remarkable.
Let's take a look at today's photos:



 
I'll post pictures in a day or two - been out of town for the weekend. But I noticed when I got home today, the growth is way over the second net. And all the clones have roots.
I have a question that I'll post elsewhere, concerning my plant media. I'm thinking of finding a replacement for hydroton. It is heavy, messy, and accumulating. So, how about coco coir? Perlite? Any others?
 
It’s hard to deny, you were correct! Good thing the local hydro store has one . . . Saw it when I dropped by the other day to get a gallon of flora bloom.
 
Those look awesome, when I get up and running please help me, I'm going to have the tools, I just dont know how to use them.
:passitleft:
I’ll be here. And I will do my best to help you.
 
Update, Two Weeks into Flower
Good morning, all!
It was drain and clean/disinfect weekend, so both tents were treated to a clean reservoir and fresh water; of course, in order to facilitate this we had to drain the reservoirs, remove them and the pump, hoses, airstones from the tent and take them to the porch for a hosing down, application of a detergent cleaner (I use Simple Green) and scrubbing down, and then another rinse before spraying everything liberally with a bleach/water mixture. After about 10 minutes, rinse again thoroughly. When I say "we," it's not like I'm the Queen of England or have a mouse in my pocket. My husband and daughter help; we have it down to a science and it only takes about an hour. I know some growers don't like hydroponics primarily because of the work it requires. I understand. But I'm a tinkerer, and a gardener, and I take on lost causes on occasion. So I love hydro because of what it requires of me. When I first started growing, I wasn't as diligent about cleaning and draining and measuring and keeping the environment stable, etc. And I found out the hard way about all of it. Some people are like that; I admit I'm hard-headed and stubborn. I really do enjoy making my own mistakes. Usually.

Before the clean/drain, I spent a couple of hours pruning the undergrowth on the plants. I didn't do this for the last grow on purpose. I wanted to see what would happen in the back of the tent if it was allowed to grow unfettered. I guess I was hoping for that proverbial pot of gold. What I got instead was a lot of dead limbs crushed under the large colas. So this grow I will defoliate underneath the nets. Not as close under the top net, but definitely below the bottom net. Also, this grow I pruned away any branches that had no hope of making it to the top. So I have a lot of nice tops, many with branches that will all grow buds. I don't believe in removing fan leaves at this stage above the net. They are all pointing directly at the lights, and obviously creating food that will translate to buds.

And speaking of buds, all the tops have buds. Numerous buds, buds on every node. I will include a couple of baby bud pics in the montage that follows.


Pink - What about the clones?
Ah, yes, the clones. They are fine. Well, five of them are. One died. It happens. One of the survivors doesn't have roots. I thought they all did, but this one doesn't. But other than that, it looks great. I'll talk about the clones later this week. I have a lot to tell you. But we'll leave it there for now.

And now for the proof:





 
Nice, got most of my system setup last night and need some more hose, a few test runs, a decision needs to be made on lights, and ph controller, strains and I should be off and running by the 1st of December, a month later than anticipated but when doing most of the work by myself with arthritis in my thumbs I can only do so much without a few down days.
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20191103_221810.jpg
 
Nice, got most of my system setup last night and need some more hose, a few test runs, a decision needs to be made on lights, and ph controller, strains and I should be off and running by the 1st of December, a month later than anticipated but when doing most of the work by myself with arthritis in my thumbs I can only do so much without a few down days.
20191103_221820.jpg
20191103_221810.jpg
So, this is a bucket setup for ebb and flow? I’ve not done that but it must be very similar. Are you planning to scrog each bucket?
 
All About my Clones
This is an update on my cloning method and an explanation of what I am doing in the cloning tent right now.
Just before flip, I took seven clones plus a few extra cuttings to hold in escrow. Two of the seven died. And when I took one of the cuttings and placed it in the collar and net pot, it died. I think I know what was wrong: I didn't recut it, trim leaves, or place cloning gel on the tip. My bad.
Also, one of the cuttings is an experiment, whereby I took the cutting from the middle of the branch (after taking off the top for a clone) to see how it would fare. I have pictures.
I'm not really pleased with what the middle of the branch cutting has done. It has roots, but so far, no "fishbone" roots. I know that is not the technical name, but you know what I mean. Three of the clones are doing very well. Which is how many I need.

I didn't worry too much about the two cuttings that died from the first clone attempt, because I only need three. And I decided that I would not baby any of them and let them either do it or not -- With the idea being that only the strong survive (with apologies to Jerry Butler).
With some help from several members here, I have figured out that keeping the lights low is vital to root development. I upped it from 5 percent to 10 percent light yesterday to give the leaves some help, but I'm keeping it low until about a week and a half from big tent harvest, when I'll adjust the percentage up and get the plants ready for transplant. I have found that its best not to let the plants veg too far during the small tent phase. It make it easier to transplant them to ebb and flow from their DWC genesis.
So that is how my method has changed - (1) no babying; and (2) Keep the lights low.



 
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