TropicGrow's OG - LED - Coco Journal - 2016

TropicGrow

New Member
Hi everyone and welcome to my first grow journal. Also a First time poster here on 420magazine.com, but have been a guest in these forums for years. Let me explain a little bit about myself and why I am documenting my grow here. Im Tropicgrow and Im an amateur grower (and professional stoner). I live in a place where medicinal grade marijuana is non-existent. Instead we have copious amounts of dirt weed (Im serious, your hands turn black after rolling a j). So I have made it my mission to produce quality herb for my self.
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Just look at this bunk!


As mentioned I'm fairly new to growing herbs. I have made several attempts in the past to grow cannabis, starting with a decent outdoor grow but at the time i knew very little on how to maximize its potential. This outdoor grow was never meant to be serious anyway. Many years later I tried a microgrow in a closet - high heat, poor ventilation, lighting, improper nutrients and a general lack of experience caused this grow to be unsatisfactory. So third time is a charm, I have moved into a larger home and have dedicated half a room to having a functional perpetual grow.

Okay so actually this wont be my first successful grow here in this new set-up but its the first one Ill be documenting. I invite all of you readers to please pinpoint anything you see that I may be doing wrong as my mission is to really try to get as close to perfection as I can.

So lets start with the details shall we?

My plan is to have a perpetual grow (2 sections one for veg, one for flowering) in where I can make a fresh harvest of OG every 2 weeks.
This Journal will cover the start of veg fro clone, through flowering and on to harvest.

# of plants: 2 OG clones Every 2 Weeks.
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Strain: OG Kush (The package I got only said OG. It was gifted to me by a friend living in san diego and had picked it up from a local dispensary there)

Indica/Sativa:
While many websites and dispensaries list OG Kush as an indica, many people argue that the strain is in fact a sativa, or some sort of sativa-dominant hybrid .
(From past grows I do see a lot of indica traits as well as sativa so I can’t really put my finger on this)

Veg/Flowering: Both, 3-4 weeks veg, 10 weeks flowering
Veg Room
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Flowering Section
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Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Medium:
100% Coco Coir

Size of Pot: Roughly 1 Gallon home made hempy style pots

Size of Light: Veg - 1x 85w, 2x 40w CFL. Flowering - 1x 400w LED + 1x 300w LED full spectrum.

Aircooled: Airconditioned room

Temperature of room:
Veg 75-78F, Flowering 66-70F

RH of room: 45%-60%
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PH: 5.5-6.0 (usually 5.8)

Pests: Negative!

How often watering:
roughy 2-3 times a week or when pot feels light

Type and Strength of Nutes:

Veg -
General Hydroponics Floraseries
GH FloraGro
GH FloraMicro
GHFloraBloom
GH ArmorSi
GH DiamondNectar
GH Calimagic
Sticking to original General Hydroponics Floraseries drain to waste vegetative chart. Reason being that I have tried using (Lucas) H3ADS Formula for Coco Coir but I found vegetative growth of OG’s to be extremely slow due to low nitrogen, compared to the original General Hydroponics Chart.
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Flowering -
General Hydroponics FloraSeries + Additives:
GH FloraMicro
GH FloraBloom
GH KoolBloom 0-10-10 Liquid
GH FloraNectar
GH CaliMagic As needed
A Slightly Modified Version of (Lucas) H3ADS Formula for Coco Coir . I chose to increase it a little as I have grown OG with H3ADS Formula and I wasn’t too impressed. I remember reading in a forum that the OG strain will bulk up in flush phase. “A 2 ounce harvest can become a 4 ounce harvest”
I recall reading, so long as enough P&K is given prior. Hence the modifications to H3ADS. I also have a bottle of FloraNectar I’ve been meaning to try so it is included.
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And that should cover the basics. I will try to post photos every other day of the progress as well as give you guys regular updates as to what imma do to the beautiful ladies :) Thank you and hope you enjoy the journey
 
I look forward to seeing your progress. I just had to comment on your Temp pic, at 66.6° F. That's the number of the Beast, 666. Hopefully that's not a bad omen, Lol. Good Luck and Happy Growing.

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I look forward to seeing your progress. I just had to comment on your Temp pic, at 66.6° F. That's the number of the Beast, 666. Hopefully that's not a bad omen, Lol. Good Luck and Happy Growing.

Sent from my KFTT using 420 Magazine Mobile App

Hi and thanks for tuning in Believf! I'm excited to be documenting my grows for the first time and hopefully learn a thing or two from some of you more experienced growers. As for the 66.6f that was totally unintended haha but I did figure it'd be interesting to post. Those temps are for flowering obviously, but I still dont know if thats too low even. One thing I want to keep in mind is that I grow in the tropics where its usually very hot and I wanted to get the densest nugs I can out here. Heard running a cold, dry environment helps with that.
 
As I mentioned, I run a cold dry room in a very hot and humid country. That being said my electricity bills do not come cheap, and this is living in a country that has one of the highest price/watt in the entire world. Still the prices I would have to pay for some imported cali grade nugs would cost me much more. We are speaking to the tune of $800.00 an ounce (which I have previously paid for several times). It's impractical for anyone to pay $20 dollars gram, what more $800.00 and oz. I also live in a place where marijuana is punishable by death. So bottom line, the fewer people I have to interact with to get my smoke then the safer I am.

Okay on a serious note here is some progress on the og clones I have. They are exactly on their second week of vegging today which means I will begin Week 2 Early Growth nutes once the coco dries up a little bit more. Refer to my first original post for what Week 2 Early Growth nutes are.

So in the photos you will notice that I have topped each of the og clones early so that the new tops are more or less the same height and symmetrical . I plan to transplant these into a bigger pot with hooks screwed around them so i can tie down some branches later (LST). I do plan to have about 6-8 main colas from the topping.

One issue i do have is - these OG clones are looking a little small for week 2. I may lower the CFL bulbs in that room or create some kind of reflective canopy because i know im not getting the most out of the 85w bulb. Regardless, I may decide to prolong my Week 3 Veg schedule depending on how big these get in the next week. Would be a waste to flower these things prematurely.


These are the OG clones in smaller pots. They share a veg room with several other vegging plants (after all this is a perpetual grow and need these in rotation), but for photo purposes i move the other potted plants out of the way.
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In these images you can clearly see where i topped the little clonies. "2 from 1", amazing how versatile and resilient mother nature is.
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Stay tuned, I know in these early stages not much happens but will keep you guys posted.
 
So just another update guys ever since the topping of the clones there is good growth, the length of the branches below where the clones have been topped are growing at a decent rate. I moved these clones closer to the cfl bulbs so that seems to have helped. I know that the closer the better but to be honest the Veg room is a little crowded but for the sake of this journal I prioritize these clones and are roughly 3-4 cm from the 85w bulb. the other smaller wattage bulbs are just for maintenance of the mother plant as it is much taller as depicted in my first post.

Like i had previously said i have switched to week two nutrients, the change in growth isn't drastic but I didn't expect it to make much of a difference compared to positioning the plants under the light properly, which I feel has a more positive effect. I have posted some pictures of Day 10 of these clones. So these photos are a little been outdated but I have left town for the weekend all the lights are on timer obviously and i gave them a heavy feeding before I stepped out, so they won't be thirsty until I get back.

So here we are so far:
DAY 10
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RED CUP DAY 10
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BLACK CUP DAY 10
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Once again I appreciate any suggestions or comments. I openly admit Im not a grow Master, you are not going to hear me brag about my quality, my quantity, the size of my set up or the years I've been doing this. Im really here to join a community of hobbyists that are passionate about what I am passionate about. Like, on this note, if anybody has any other recipes for OG in coco, or tips using LED's - maybe I'm not maximizing my lights. Any comments are appreciated and will be taken positively.

I know there are other strategies too that just bending branches and tying them down, SCROGging and Fluxing. I might try these later down the line but Im really concerned about just getting decent rotation of harvests so I can save a lot of money. This is all for personal consumption so if you have any tips rest assured Im not selling out your secrets. Thanks all, and I appreciate all the continued support. Though not that much yet, I will be persistent in this journal and hope to impress and gain a following of at least a handful of you guys at least..

Which on another note, its there anyway to promote my journal posts? Not looking for fame or anything but maybe some recognition by more experienced growers would be a great asset to have when seeking professional advice. Cheers brothers and sisters.
 
Looking good over there in the Tropics.:thumb:

Looks like you have your setup all worked out. Nice lighting for the Flower room.

I would suggest some kind of reflective hood for the CFLs and also some kind of reflective covering on the walls in the Veg room. Even if it is just paint the walls white, that would be better than the brown wood panel at reflecting some of the light.
 
Looking good over there in the Tropics.:thumb:

Looks like you have your setup all worked out. Nice lighting for the Flower room.

I would suggest some kind of reflective hood for the CFLs and also some kind of reflective covering on the walls in the Veg room. Even if it is just paint the walls white, that would be better than the brown wood panel at reflecting some of the light.

Appreciate the suggestions. Yeah I really think Im losing a lot of potential lumens that can be focused down toward those vegging clones. Im going to go to the hardware store in a couple days to pick a couple of reflective hoods up. I was gna paint the veg room white but I am thinking of ordering myself a grow tent which will have mylar reflective surfaces - except like the typical pothead that i am I've procrastinated on doing this . Until then do you think maybe i can find some white card board boxes to reflect some of that light would that work? or do i need some kind of gloss / semi-gloss coat of paint?
 
Actually any kind of white surface would be better then what you have.
Aluminum foil is another option.

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Yeah ill end up coating the vegetative cabinet walls with something white for starters. What I'll probably do is get some wooden ply-wood pieces, paint them with a semi-gloss white coat and cut em just big enough to fit the cabinet perfectly. Don't really wanna ruin a good cabinet by painting over it, I'll probably use it for something else once I can get that grow tent I was mentioning about.

On another note Ive heard that aluminum foil, although highly reflective, can create some concentrated hot spots which at times may burn the leaves? Can anyone actually confirm this because I've only heard rumors and numerous posts, but never seen actual photographic evidence. If aluminum foil DOES NOT create these hot spots it may actually be a much simpler solution for me.

I'll keep you guys updated with photos of how the improved veg room looks like too :) I know its very "homemade" at this stage but everyone starts somewhere I suppose haha.
 
Subbed this one. Im also currently my first grow with coco and led so i might pick summin up
Nice set up btw

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Thanks for following my journal Manic. I do know there are a whole lot more experienced growers out there so I appreciate you tuning in. My setup is quite modest if you see it in real life hehe but it serves its purpose. Nothing fancy (yet) just keeping it stoner simple (KISS). Id be happy to share anything I know about doing coco grows w/ LEDs to the best of my knowledge.. Which if you would like to know is 3 years of reading and researching because as stated I live in the tropics. This country is one of the largest suppliers of Coco based products in the world.. And well temperatures here are also soaring hot so it only made absolute sense to do a coco/LED type grow where the lights don't burn down the home I'm living in.. Actually since I have invested enough to make some pretty decent stuff I may think about some HPS grows, maybe in some super soil that ill whip up in the future.. But only after i have mastered the art of the COCO/LED method first. :D
 
Hi I came on board too.

You have good ladies going here.. and yes..white walls flat paint or aluminum foil.
You can make aluminum shades for the lights too..

Thanks for the compliments Angrybird, means a lot to a noob like me hehe.

So aluminum hmmm..

On that note I I'm thinking of picking up some of those lightbulb socket reflectors like this for those CFL's:
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They shouldn't cost much at all. And if nobody can show me actual evidence that foil may burn my plants through magnifying and reflecting hot spots onto my plants then I will proceed with coating the cabinet in aluminum foil. Ill just make sure that its as smooth as possible, no wrinkles so it doesn't create these so called hot spots :D Will definitely post photos of the new and improved veg room once its complete most likely after this weekend. :D thanks for tuning in AngryBird
 
Sign me up for the grow log Tropics, looks like your well on your way to some homegrown buds. Let's make it better than that pressed weed in your opening. Ouch! Good luck with the rest of the grow, I'll be hovering around observing the progress.

KiG :green_heart:cheers
 
Sign me up for the grow log Tropics, looks like your well on your way to some homegrown buds. Let's make it better than that pressed weed in your opening. Ouch! Good luck with the rest of the grow, I'll be hovering around observing the progress.

KiG :green_heart:cheers
Thanks for the show of support! Grab some popcorn as I will be trying to impress you guys so I'm going to try to make this grow journal as visually appealing as I possibly can hehe.
 
TG great job! That Mom looks crazy, like one of the evergreens that line my street.

I've seen people use disposable baking pans to make CFL reflectors. You could put a few lamps through to make a nice hood.

I have grown in coco for a while now, I usually add about 1/4 perlite to my mix to help with aeration. You can water/feed coco every day and it will reward you for it. It is impossible to overwater. Also, especially using LEDs, you're going to want to ramp up the cal/mag. Maybe get some Epsom salts to have on deck. You can foliar feed if you start to see a mag deficiency, I've had to use it quite a bit and it work fast.

I grow organic so I can't say for sure but I think you can get coco specific nutes.

Sounds like you have a good plan, I've grown perpetual before, it's nice to have a harvest every few weeks I could imagine mixing nutes for different stages every time could be a little bit of a hassle though.
 
TG great job! That Mom looks crazy, like one of the evergreens that line my street.

I've seen people use disposable baking pans to make CFL reflectors. You could put a few lamps through to make a nice hood.

I have grown in coco for a while now, I usually add about 1/4 perlite to my mix to help with aeration. You can water/feed coco every day and it will reward you for it. It is impossible to overwater. Also, especially using LEDs, you're going to want to ramp up the cal/mag. Maybe get some Epsom salts to have on deck. You can foliar feed if you start to see a mag deficiency, I've had to use it quite a bit and it work fast.

I grow organic so I can't say for sure but I think you can get coco specific nutes.

Sounds like you have a good plan, I've grown perpetual before, it's nice to have a harvest every few weeks I could imagine mixing nutes for different stages every time could be a little bit of a hassle though.

Hi grimm, welcome and thanks for tuning in. Hehe i didn't expect the mother to get quite that big. You can see i had to hang another smaller bulb just for the top region of the plant to keep them from sagging and losing leaves. Definitely have no shortage of cuttings for a long time. Baking pans, i get what you mean in creating a canopy for them all I may go along this route yet I guess everyones giving good ideas now i don't know which one to take again haha.

I do in fact have some calimagic- i know the recipe is a tad different from the actual cal/mag brand but seems to do the job. at the very first signs of copper rust spots i throw a couple ml/gallon before mixing my nutes and that seems to prevent it from ever getting out of hand. When I get a new pack of coco though I always rinse it out extremely well with tap water. the PPM of my tap runs at over 400+ with lots of calcium in it. To be honest once the runoff is clear I usually water once or twice with ph'd tap to let the coco absorb the calcium and it helps with the cal/mag issues in my grow (almost completely). I really wish I could determine what the rest of the minerals in the tap were though just for curiosity sake.

Mixing the nutes at times is a hassle, especially when the lights go off and I haven't returned from work yet. On other occasions though i look at it as part of the fun. Mixing the nutes, talking to the girlies telling them these are the nutrients and vitamins that'll help them grow big and strong. Always positive :D

I can get coco specific nutes, i do ship every single nutrient over from the states because my local grow stores only carry these crystalline, cheap, badly formulated chinese brands and i really didn't feel like experimenting with anything that wasn't already well documented online. Problem is I've still got 2 gallons of GH micro and 1 gallon of GH flora to finish off. (I once believed that lucas formula would be all I ever needed). Perhaps the next order i place from amazon/ebay will include coco specific nutes. I did order some guano and worm castings as well that I have on hand. I heard this is absolutely phenomenal stuff and strong too. It'll be a little bit of time before I dial in a grow using it though. Definitely keep you guys posted.
 
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