Undercurrent RDWC With Compost Tea Grow - First Journal

[gangadoctor]

12 days in and with the addition of a humidifier this is what they look like. nice lush and bushy... and the roots are amazing too.

today i flushed and added new water. tomorrow i'll be adding some freshly brewed tea then on saturday my nutes - then i'm going to supergroup them and add a scrog net as i'll be away for a week and my intention is to come back and flip them over to flower... i still can't believe how they've turned out after the effects of root rot! i just can't stop looking at them lol

 

[Papageno]

Love it man!!!!

I try to stay out of the debate...but if you go over to the hydro area there are tons of people who can not be convinced that doing this...following mother nature and trying to replicate an great ecosystem...is the right thing to do.

Don't get involved with the argument. Just keep working your grows and learning.

I totally forgot to get back to you about the clones... So I try to make sure that after i clean them up I have 3-4 nodes above the line on my clones. I try to get 6 to 8 fan leaves there. 2 or three may fail after cloning so having 6 there guarantees it will survive.

You have pulled off flowers. All of that stuff will basically immediately die you wont have much left on may of those to keep the thing alive. and cloning in bloom takes a long time. So you really want the extra leaves there.

Not saying it wont work...I just never tried to clone such small pieces in bloom. I have done it many times in veg with just one node and it works just fine. But 3 works much better.

And I am gonna be offline for a few days until Monday US Pacific time. So have a great weekend I will catch you on the flip side.

 

[gangadoctor]

There's so many people everywhere that support sterile systems and the hydroponics shops do not recommend anything but sterile that anyone getting into dwc, like myself, can only go by what the majority say.

Personally I did well with sterile but I just couldn't get over my root problem so out of desperation and my natural fight not to be beaten I researched and tried the tea method.

I think everyone at some stage will make the transition. It's just a matter of time. They will evolve once they can't find a sterile solution.

I like the beanies because they're cheap, they do the job, and it makes me feel as if I'm growing partly organic. It also makes me feel closer to my plants which I know sounds weird but it's true. I hope the missus doesn't read this - she'll get jealous lol

 

[Papageno]

Yeah water chillers and chemicals make them more money than worm castings. There is no reason for them to explain how to do it right. They want you coming back to buy stuff.

Just like chem companies tell you it is best to buy their complete line...because their silica is better than someone else's...right?

And oil companies are obviously right that global warming doesn't exist.

 

[gangadoctor]

let the pictures do the talking...

pictures taken at lights off so they look a little sleepy...

i'm off for 7 days from today so i upped the nutes bringing my ec to 1.3 / p.h 5.7 which should be enough for the week from my calculations.

i super cropped them all and added a net so they can do there thing whilst i'm away then when i get back i can switch them to flower. here's a tip - i used a long nose pliers to carefully crush the stems and bend them - worked a treat.

so long as nothing goes wrong it's nice to go away rather than see them everyday because when you get back things should look bigger and better. having said that i've got cctv set up in the rooms so i can check on them.

bon voyage!

 

[gangadoctor]

i'm back!

...and i'm glad to say i've got nothing to report and everything is going boringly smooth.

i was watching my ph and ec levels over my cctv everyday and the fluctuations were very small. the girls look lovely and green and healthy so i've decided to switch them over to 12/12. the only problem i foresee is that maybe they're a bit big and i should have done it before so i may have to prune them more than i wanted to. here's some update pics...

this is how they looked before i touched them this morning

and the view from my camera...

this morning i spent a little time tucking everything under the screen...

and lastly a view of the healthy roots which only 3 weeks or so ago were non existent

the only concern i have is where i've tucked the leaves under the screen there is not much room for air to circulate. hopefully i'm not going to get mold. i've adjusted my dehumidifier to lower the humidity just incase so fingers crossed.

my next job is to take some clones so that will be my next update.

 

[Papageno]

Slow and steady wins the race.


Looking good my friend!

I keep telling people to come read your journal. You are my latest Hydro convert.

I don't have to convince people... I can just point them here and say "it worked for this guy when nothing else would".

 

[gangadoctor]

What with so many people having root problems I'm surprised this journal hasn't been more popular. Thanks again for your help

 

[Papageno]

Remember how scared you were at first? You did it out of desperation kicking and screaming. People do a few good grows and think they know what they are doing not realizing growing weed is supper simple anyone can do it. It is so simple you can do it using poor techniques and methods and get great results. So they get hung up on "I know how to do this". You don't know what you are doing until you have mastered multiple techniques including both soil and hydro. You may know how to do one type of grow but that is saying very little.

 

[gangadoctor]

hi guys, not much to report really. i ran out of my last batch of tea yesterday and the girls are in pre flower so instead of making some more I'm going to try some Ocra liquid and pond-zyme. i wish i could stop fidgeting and experimenting lol!

i took some clones and they're in the propagator. and i lollipoped the girls. here's some pics...

the only slight problem i'm having at the moment is i can'y physical get right under the scrod to spread the branches. this is my first attempt a scrod and i think i'm only getting it has right... but i don't know which half!

 

[gangadoctor]

nothing too exciting to report today... i'm into the first week of using ocra and pondzyme and the res looks nice and clear. just added some more today. i took some cuttings 3 days ago and they're in the dome. the stems have started to show root bumps so i think another few days and i'll be able to pot them up too.

i'm noticing the ladies are drinking more water than nutes which is a little odd because i've fed them such little nutes that i was expecting the nutes to either come down quicker or at least at the same speed as the ph. anytime now i'm expecting the pistols to appear on them so i can start my flowering countdown.these girls are feisty type - i really can't believe how they came back from the dead now now they look so beautiful and sexy!

the only one thing that is bothering me is my scrog. i have such little space in this grow room that i only have about 6 inches to spare. it's meant that i can't under the scrog to thin any leaves or unwanted flowering site

 

[Papageno]

During the transition to bloom it is common for the nute uptake to drop. Make sure to limit the nitrogen you add from here on.

As far as the SCROG goes that is something it takes a fe grows to master. May people fill it in too much before blooming or don't keep up with the underbrush until it is too late. You will do better with each grow. But this will work fine.


Looking Good!

 

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.