First time in a long time - LED woes

[J Greenthumb]

I grew a number of crops (indoor and outdoor) in the late 90s/early 2000s. Since then I've grown ton of veggies/berries/fruit and I have a large, organic butterfly/hummingbird/bee garden.

When my state legalized recreational growing, I decided to grow some cannabis in a small closet in my home office (approx 4x2"). I bought a couple varieties of fem seeds from Robert Bergman's site.

I bought 1 (and later a second) vipraspectra LED light. I probably should have just bought HIDs - but I didn't.

The biggest issue I've had is temperature. My closest temp is 73-64. My plants take forever to dry out and I think it's really stunting bud development (I'm 2.5 weeks into flowering and not thrilled with what I'm seeing). I live in a large colonial with a single zone upstairs, so turning up the house heat means keeping all the bedrooms warmer than I want and my wife feels a space heater would be unsafe. So I'm stuck.

The second issue I've had is that I have too my plants with 8 (Didn't expect 100% germ rate). As a result, I've been pretty much forced to defoliate, (plus, as a tomatoe grower I love pinching suckers), so my plants have lost a lot of leaves/growth.

I'll see how this crop turn out, but I think next time I'll go back to HID and do 1/2 as many plants.

Some pics toward the end of veg:

 

[savingson]

Is it at all possible to insulate the closet better? I am growing in a cabinet and I had to use insulated mylar from Home Depot. Its helped my temps a lot.

Sent w my Light, Love and Energies

 

[J Greenthumb]

Is it at all possible to insulate the closet better? I am growing in a cabinet and I had to use insulated mylar from Home Depot. Its helped my temps a lot.

Sent w my Light, Love and Energies

I don't think so, the big issues seems to be the floor (hardwood), it's always cold, which obviously isn't good. I recently put foam and cardboard under the plants to see if that helps a little. But, at the end of the day, the LEDs just run so cold it only raises the temp in there a couple degrees even with the closet door closed!

 

[DukeO]

If it was me I would add another light if it would fit before a heater and then top in about 3 days from now and then defoliate 3 or 4 days later and set 12/12 in about a week and grow colas.

There is not enough room to really grow plants all the out. So instead top them and let 4 of the lower branches grow upward by defoliating above them and letting light down to them. That will turn them upward with some spread to them and then you will have two colas from topping and four from the branches.

You want to end up with everything even across the top. Do that by supper cropping and you will have a room of colas

I like to grow buds not leaves...

 

[J Greenthumb]

If it was me I would add another light if it would fit before a heater and then top in about 3 days from now and then defoliate 3 or 4 days later and set 12/12 in about a week and grow colas.

There is not enough room to really grow plants all the out. So instead top them and let 4 of the lower branches grow upward by defoliating above them and letting light down to them. That will turn them upward with some spread to them and then you will have two colas from topping and four from the branches.

You want to end up with everything even across the top. Do that by supper cropping and you will have a room of colas

I like to grow buds not leaves...

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. I added a second LED when I switched to flowering, which the plants seems to like, but the temp is still too low. I did some defoliation already, but I should do more. I was oringanlly even thinking about doing a single coloa per plant as the area is just so tight for 8 plants.

Pics from about a week ago (2wks into flowering).

 

[CronicHempHog]

the leds don't take moisture out very quik barely had to water when I had some soil pots indoor with my hydro

 

[Nightcrawler]

Hey J,

I've had a similar issue with low temps seeing as it's winter here and i don't want to heat my whole place up to 75deg. I'm using a grow tent with one air intake and one exhaust, which simplifies things for me, but i put a small space heater near the intake, along with a small humidifier. Air intake is on lower left edge of tent while exhaust is in upper right, so the warm air should be pushed through the plants. It's my mini climate control and it seems to work pretty well. I leave the space heater on low some days while lights are on, and turn it off at night when lights are off. If you have a reliable space heater and put it on a timer, I don't think it would be unsafe. Just don't leave it on for days at a time with no-one home.

Good luck man, looking forward to seeing how your grow turns out!

 

[J Greenthumb]

Hey J,

I've had a similar issue with low temps seeing as it's winter here and i don't want to heat my whole place up to 75deg. I'm using a grow tent with one air intake and one exhaust, which simplifies things for me, but i put a small space heater near the intake, along with a small humidifier. Air intake is on lower left edge of tent while exhaust is in upper right, so the warm air should be pushed through the plants. It's my mini climate control and it seems to work pretty well. I leave the space heater on low some days while lights are on, and turn it off at night when lights are off. If you have a reliable space heater and put it on a timer, I don't think it would be unsafe. Just don't leave it on for days at a time with no-one home.

Good luck man, looking forward to seeing how your grow turns out!

Thanks, weather has been mild here lately, so that's helped. It's just so strange to water so infrequently (I'm in fox farm soil).

Anyway, I'll post up some pictures this weekend.

 

[lxstnr]

just getting into flower myself with a vipar spectra!

heres my canopy at about 4 weeks flower


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[J Greenthumb]

Still plugging away:

 

[CronicHempHog]

They look Happy

 

[J Greenthumb]

Anyone think I should add another 300watt LED? Currently have a 600w and 300w- closet is approx. 4'x2'. I'm not running CO2. I have way too plants.

 

[DukeO]

In my flower tent I run 60 watts psf pulled from the wall of 5w led's and it has been working great.

1200 watts of leds will pull about 550 to 600w from the wall with the way they rate them.

 

[Nonpoint]

Would you be against laying down a peice of 1 inch foam board for a floor plate? That would at least help keep your geothermal down.

As far as space heaters go how about a heat panel? No exposed elements and they are rather energy efficient.

 

[J Greenthumb]

Would you be against laying down a peice of 1 inch foam board for a floor plate? That would at least help keep your geothermal down.

As far as space heaters go how about a heat panel? No exposed elements and they are rather energy efficient.

Thanks, I did put some insulation under them, but fortunately the weather has so much milder milder so the temp is in the mid-70s, not perfect, but better!

 

[Eeko]

A small electric blanket? Also, those oil filled heaters are not as dangerous as the "normal" electric space heaters.

I'm in a similar thingy with the cold. I thought my basement which was a nice 65 would work fine until I got a heating bill and found out that someone cut holes in the ducting to heat the basement. With the ducting fixed it's now a 45 degree basement.

 

[J Greenthumb]

Blooming away in my tiny, cold closet adding a third LED this weekend.

 

[blue rust]

For a tiny cold closet they look ok from here, living in grassachussets I've had some heat problems as well especially at night. To combat that I did a heating bulb from tractor supply that they use to keep chick's warm at tractor supply set up to a thermostat. It would have to be outside your closet because it does put out light but hers a pic it may do the trick for you.

It only kicks in for me when it's probe is below 68 but you can adjust that accordingly.
Your a couple of weeks ahead of me so I'll be following along. Best of luck.

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[J Greenthumb]

For a tiny cold closet they look ok from here, living in grassachussets I've had some heat problems as well especially at night. To combat that I did a heating bulb from tractor supply that they use to keep chick's warm at tractor supply set up to a thermostat. It would have to be outside your closet because it does put out light but hers a pic it may do the trick for you.

It only kicks in for me when it's probe is below 68 but you can adjust that accordingly.
Your a couple of weeks ahead of me so I'll be following along. Best of luck.

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Thanks, that's nice setup with the heating bulb, I mmight have to consider it. I was loving that warm stretch we had, but now it's cold again.

 

[blue rust]

Brutally cold, I'm in Rhode Island looking at schools with my daughter and it snowed over here. Walking around campus is making me wish we looked this summer.

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