The Incredible Bulk Adventure

[Man'O'Green]

My next grow will be Dr Krippling's " The Incredible Bulk" photoperiod strain.

I have some changes to accomplish in my grow space to get started. I am going to rockwool blocks so I needed a flood tray and drip irrigation setup; I completed that today. I have 6 more COB Leds to add to the space and hopefully will complete that tomorrow after I clean the space from the last grow. I hope to drop the seeds by Monday.

 

[Man'O'Green]

After some wiring errors were corrected I got the new lights hung and the space is all cleaned up from the last grow. I have measured the drip irrigation flow @ ~15 oz. per block per minute. The recommendation per Grodan is 16.23 oz. per block per watering with 1000 watts of light. So I have an email out to the Grodan rep to see if I should go up to 2 minutes? My timer only does 1 minute increments.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Ok so why am I changing from DWC to rock wool blocks after such a successful autos grow? Well it all started with a vendor show at my local hydro store. House & Garden’s booth was right next to Grodan’s and they tag teamed me with information. Then House & Garden gave me really generous samples of their entire line. WOW thank you House & Garden! Ok so my DWC system used about 70 gallons of nutrients per week - not too expensive using Dyna-Gro (which I love) but it would be fairly expensive to run House & Garden at that rate. By going to the 6” Hugo blocks I should be able to cut the nutrient needs down to about 24 gallons a week – this is doable. Also the high heat I have here in the summer is a problem for maintaining oxygen levels in the DWC reservoir. The roots will get more air in the rock wool system hopefully averting the summertime oxygen problem.
Ok, I just like doing new stuff…………….. LOL.

The Incredible Bulk x 6 seeds by Dr. Krippling

House & Garden’s full nutrient line with Mammoth P, Dyna-Gro PH Down, GH PH up.
Grodan’s rock wool A-Ok 1.5” starter plugs, Hugo Blocks with Cubecaps drip irrigation.
Citizen DIY cob LEDs 14 x Clu048 1212 3500k 90 cri @ 1400ma max. = 700 watts
2 – Roleadro Led light fixtures 225 watts at the wall for 925 watts of leds.
4 – 3 watt 730 nm SemiLeds.
4 foot 6500k fluorescent lamp for seedlings and veg because I have it.
AgroMax 4 Foot (45.75") Pure UV T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Bulb in late flower.
Autopilot analog CO2 controller to control CO2 enrichment.
8” HyperFan w/carbon filter for exhaust.
16” and 6” fans for circulation and CO2 disbursement.
Bluelab Guardian Monitor Connect to help me maintain the reservoir nutrients.
Serenade OMRI fungicide as a prophylactic.
4’x6’x8’ Orca Grow Film lined room.
Arduino computer to control the lights, exhaust fans and CO2 timing.
The plan is to manifold and veg 6 plants under scrog to fill 135 – 4” squares with one cola each. I will use Serenade as a preventative measure because controlling the humidity in late August – September has been difficult here in the past. The Incredible Bulk (from now on Inb) is described with really large dense colas and therefore a mold candidate in my environment.

Hang on to the handlebars here we grow………………………………..

 

[Man'O'Green]

Dropped the beans just now. I added a Pyramid White Widow in case one of the Inb don't make it.

I am following Grodan's instructions to the letter since I have never used rock wool starters or Blocks. I PHed the A-ok starters in a weak solution of H&G A&B with root excelerator.

 

[Man'O'Green]

All 6 of the Inb have sprouted.::

 

[Man'O'Green]

A big shout out to GroDan for having a knowledgeable rep that I could actually talk with!

I have forwarded a copy of this information to the GroDan rep for review if anything changes I will update it later in this thread.

Ok so after communicating with the west coast GroDan rep; there is a newer "Precision Watering" method recommended in my scenario that supersedes the previously published information. I am going to reiterate the information sent and discussed with me here and I will try to explain what it means to me in my 6 plant grow as well as some of the ideas behind the changes. You want to slowly water about 3% of the capacity of the rock wool block on each pump on cycle with enough cycles to accomplish a 10% to 20% of that total volume as run off by the end of the watering period that day.

Watering Formula

1 Gallon of Water = 231 in3
1 Hugo = 216 in3 (.94gal)
1 Ounce = 1.805 in3
1 Gallon = 128 oz.

Formula:
216 ÷ 231 = .94gal. x 128oz. = 120 x 3% = 3.6oz.

Whew..... Ok so let's talk first about that small 3.6 oz. of water (nutrient mix) per cycle for the Hugo. I could not understand why such a small amount of water per cycle until in the course of our conversation the topic of "Water Channeling" came up. When you water in larger faster volumes the water develops "channels" through the block instead of permeating the entire block. Smaller slower more frequent watering provides a more desirable capillary action. This capillary action moistens and aerates the block more evenly which is the goal as opposed to just the areas close to the channels. It was like a light went on for me with this revelation. Using "X" number of water cycles per day to achieve a 10% to 20% run off of the total water applied in those cycles by the end of the day has to be accomplished by observation and measuring the run off. This small runoff is what is flushing any salt build up out of the block daily. The number of cycles in a period is going to change as the plants uptake changes and I think I have figured out a way to keep tabs on that in my system. More on that as the grow proceeds.

The "when" to water patterns has changed as well from previously prescribed regimes, it is now recommended for me in Veg. to start watering 2 — 4 hours after lights on until 4 — 2 hours prior to lights out. So this is a 12 to 14 hour watering window in veg. Listening to your plants is part of determining when to start and stop within these hourly ranges. Remember you need to achieve that 10% - 20% runoff of the total by the end of the watering time frame. Not watering during lights out is going to provide a very important "Dry Back Period" in the block which stimulates root growth and health.

In flower mode you water from ~4 hours after lights on until ~4 hours prior to lights out. Here we are talking about a 4 hour watering window in which to accomplish the runoff. Shrinking down the watering window places more stress on the plants to strive for "survival of the species with bigger better flowers hoping to get pollinated" at least that is the theory behind it. I think that this may set a very fine line between good stress and too much stress that can cause hermies in some strains. Consequently I may opt to be a bit conservative here.
When I am ready to transplant the A-Ok starter blocks into the Hugos, I will prepare the Hugos by following Grodan's instructions soaking them in 5.5 PH water for 30 minutes then flushing to waste with ¼ strength nutrients PHed 5.5 to 6.0. Transplant, and then don't water for 7 — 10 days in order to establish a good root system in the Hugo. Watering should start when the blocks are ~30% - 50% moisture content. Just picking them up is the test here they will be light yet should still have about 36oz to 60oz of water.

The "First drip watering", It has been explained to me that runoff from this first drip watering will begin at around the 4th cycle which means I will have applied about 14.4oz per block and would be looking for 1.4oz. to 2.8oz runoff; If I don't get that then I would want to add another cycle in which case I will have applied 17oz and looking for 1.7oz to 3.4oz and so on. Remember I have a big watering window and the plants will not be very large yet so I should be able to dial this in.

Now I don't want to water again until the block is at that ~30% to 50% moisture content range again which may be a few days or more but now I will have a better idea on the number of cycles needed to get the proper runoff.

As the grow progresses I will just keep ramping up the number of water cycles to meet the plants demands and getting that 10% to 20% runoff as well as keeping within the other watering parameters above.

Now to make this happen I added pressure compensating .5 GPH drip emitters to what I already have and in a 5 minute time interval I accomplished the 3.6oz per block desired.

I know that right now that seems complicated but I think it will be easier once I get it going.

Another benefit to this precision watering method is an even more substantial savings on nutrients. I am pretty sure I can run this with <12 gallons of nutrient mix per week!

 

[pino0911]

Love the journal so far. Where did you get the stuff for your drip system. I have a boutanicare ebb n flow set up but really love the block caps u have on the system. Havent seen that before. I havent used my table yet because i decided at the last minute to do my first grow with coco. I did love coco but want to broaden my growing and try different methods and pick which works best for me. I also love the cob set up u got. Great set up on all ends!! I want to set my table up like urs i just need to know where to get manifold and block tops. Did u do a write up on how u made your table. Man that would b great to see. If you dont mind m subbing cause for my next grow m gonna need this journal for watering rates and ppms your running. I also am digging the detail u went into for the watering rate. Great info and still on the first page!! GREAT STUFF!! Please keep up the great work!!

 

[Man'O'Green]

Love the journal so far. Where did you get the stuff for your drip system. I have a boutanicare ebb n flow set up but really love the block caps u have on the system. Havent seen that before. I havent used my table yet because i decided at the last minute to do my first grow with coco. I did love coco but want to broaden my growing and try different methods and pick which works best for me. I also love the cob set up u got. Great set up on all ends!! I want to set my table up like urs i just need to know where to get manifold and block tops. Did u do a write up on how u made your table. Man that would b great to see. If you dont mind m subbing cause for my next grow m gonna need this journal for watering rates and ppms your running. I also am digging the detail u went into for the watering rate. Great info and still on the first page!! GREAT STUFF!! Please keep up the great work!!

Hi Pino Welcome:

I got the drip caps on amazon and the manifold is just standard vinyl drip line and fittings that I got a Home Depot and Ace Hardware. The pump is an EcoPlus 264 and there is a second pump in the reservoir to keep the nutes stirred up and aerated. I have a 35 gallon top off tank (overkill for this system) from my previous DWC grow. I am still going to use it but probably only need 12 - 15 gallons to keep the reservoir topped up. I keep the nutes in the top-off tank aerated, PHed to 5.8 and the PPMs around 250.

The watering schedule will be a "fly by the seat of my pants" affair but I will report what I am doing. As far as PPMs I will be using House & Garden's schedule at about 75% to 90%. with .6 ml/Gal. of Mammoth P.

After talking to the GroDan rep Flood and Drain is completely ruled out as an inefficient and poor method for what I am doing.

 

[Man'O'Green]

These Inb girls really surprised me with their desire to grow. I went to check on the water content of the A-ok starter cubes this morning and the tap root is out more than an inch which is the signal to transplant. so I soaked the Hugos in 5.5 PH and I am flushing to drain now with 1/4 strength nutes per H&Gs chart for week 1 veg. I will transplant them this evening after the Hugos get flushed well.

 

[pino0911]

Looks like the fun is bout begin!!
Cant wait to see how ur table perfirms. I expect nothing but good things!!

 

[Man'O'Green]

I was not quite prepared for the speed of these seedlings but the Hugos are on a final flush to drain and I should be able to transplant tomorrow morning. They got a little more stretch than I like but since they will be manifold trained I think they will be ok.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Day 4:

Transplant day, this could not have been easier. Pick-up the seedling and place in the hole in the Hugo and press down Wha-Lah done.

 

[pino0911]

Its bout to go down!! Look at them girls so small n petite but just wait they bout to explode and be fine grown women in a perfect enviroment!! M following very closely cause if all goes well m gonna memic your voyage!! Cant wait for the next update!!

 

[Man'O'Green]

The heatwave here in central California is forcing me to turn down the watts on my lights. I have them dialed back to about 400w. I really do not have the resources to deal with this in any other way. My plants and I are f@#$ing hot! 108°F today and expecting 110°F tomorrow. the house is at about 85°F 57% H the grow room is running 91°F 60% H. This is going to be a looooooooooooooong summer if it keeps this up.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Day 7: and time for the weekly update. The girls seem to be weathering the heat better than I am. Not really much to see yet.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Tomorrow will be the first drip irrigation of the Hugos. The ninth day since transplant. In order to determine the water content of the Hugos I put 40 ounces of water in a 1 gallon water jug and hefted them side by side. Remember, watering should start when the blocks are ~30% - 50% moisture content at about 36 oz. to 60 oz. of water. Based on this test they are ready.

I mixed the House & Garden at ~60% strength and got a PPM 575 - 125 starting water for about 450 PPM. These are the amounts I added to 6.1 gallons of water. The nutrients were PHed after adding A & B to 5.8.

My time clock is set to water at 2 hours after lights on and then 4 more times every 2.5 hours. Each cycle is five minutes long and applies ~ 3.6 ounces.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Day 14: Two weeks and the girls are looking good. Time to start training soon.

I don't see any signs of nutrient burn so I will up the nutrients to 80% of H&G's feed chart next week.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Topped the girls this morning and built a framework for the LST prior to the scrog.

 

[Man'O'Green]

Fresh nutrients mixed today for tomorrow's watering. Since there are no signs of nutrient burn I am upping the mix to 80% of veg week 3 H&Gs chart recommendations. These are the amounts in 6.1 gallons of water, PH 5.8 850 PPMs - 125 (base water) = 725 PPM. This will be the 3rd watering since starting the drip system. I am using the "heft" method to determine when to water. I already did the foliar feed a few days ago.

 

[pino0911]

Looking fantastic they are bout to take off. Everyone is looking very green and and happy!! Fun is really bout to begin!!