The Orchard - 8 Plant Multi-Strain RDWC Grow With DE-CMH 630W Lighting

TheOrchard

New Member
Hi everybody!

I have been a long-time reader of journals on this site. The majority of my growing knowledge was learned right here!

So, I finally decided it was time for me to contribute my own journal. It is my hope that I can improve as a grower, and that others can learn from my countless mistakes.

In this first post, I'll introduce my equipment as I finish construction and get ready to start growing this weekend.

The grow room

Grow tent:
I will be growing inside of a 4'x8' tent. The tent is a cheap off-brand I got on Amazon for about ~$105. It has served me well so far.

This is my previous grow in the tent:
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Lights:
I will be using two non-matching lights.

First, I have a Vivosun 1000w ballast and air-cooled single-ended reflector (another cheap Amazon pickup). For veg, I will use a Vivosun MH 1000w that came with the ballast. For flower, I'll switch to hps (duh). The HPS bulb I have now is ready to be replaced. I'm going to pick up a new one tonight. I was planning to get an eye hortilux, but if anyone has a different suggestion, I would be open to try something else. This light will be dimmed to 600w for the entire grow (don't have enough amperage left on the circuit I am using)

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My second light is a Grower's choice double-ended 630w CMH (3k-R). I picked this up with a GC 630w LFSW ballast on sale for about $275. I will be running it in a nock-off Chinese AC/DE reflector I picked up for about $100 (if anyone wants a review of the reflector, let me know, seems like a no-brainer vs the $250 acde from sun system)

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RDWC system:
My girls are going to be living in my DIY RDWC system. Basically, the system consists of 8x 5-gal buckets, connected via 2" PVC to a 27gal tote (resivior). I have half-inch tubing, connected to an eco plus 1000gph pump, supplying fresh nutrient solution to each bucket.

Here's a photo of the system:
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Only 4 buckets are built right now, I'm going to add the other 4 this weekend.

I have an EcoPlus commercial 5 air pump, connected to an 8" air-stone in each bucket, with 2 in the res.

I am running an EcoPlus 1/4hp chiller that I picked up on Craigslist with a broken thermostat for $80. I hacked the chiller up so the thermistor from the new thermostat sits in the resivior, rather than inside the chiller. I keep it set to turn on at 68 and off at 66.

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Nutrients

This is the part where I feel completely lost. It it so hard to find good, unbiased/sponsored information about what the best nutrients are for our plants.

Here are the products I am currently planning to use throughout this grow:
- Base nute (I currently have Botanicare PBP, but will be purchasing something different before starting this grow. I have not been satisfied with the results from the PBP so far) Right now, I am considering CANNA Aqua or Substra. If anyone has a better suggestion, please share it
- Botanicare Cal-Mag (necessary as I use RO water)
- GH Armor Si
- Botanicare Sweet raw
- Great White & Hydroguard
- GH Rapid start
- Cannazym
- Bloom Booster (?) Tbd

I'm also looking for a new preventative pest spray. Vegamatrix FTB looks pretty cool, they claim to use cannabis terpenes as it's active ingredient. Has anyone tried this stuff?

Or, does anyone have a different suggestion? I want something that's organic and can be used safely in flower.

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The Ladies

I'm going to start with clones from a local dispensary, as I don't want to deal with seeds just yet.

Most of the clubs where I live get their clones from Dark Heart Nursery. Does anyone have any recommendations from their genetics?

I am hoping for two high-yielding, big-cola, frosty, short Indica strains.

Strain Catalogue | Dark Heart Nursery

...

Thanks for coming on this journey with me everyone! I will post updates and more pictures very soon.

If anyone has any questions on anything I am doing, feel free to ask.
 
...

Day 0 Update

Sorry for the slow updates. I did not get as much done as I had hoped this weekend. One of my DWC buckets started leaking, and I had to spend much more time than expected building a new one. Finally, I have 8 buckets in my system. Here's a photo of the completed RDWC

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I also went to the hydro store and picked up some veg nutrients. I decided to try CANNA Aqua Vega. I didn't get the bloom nutrient just yet, so I can make sure I like the Aqua line before spending the money.

I also picked up some CANNA Boost and 8 fresh 8" airstones

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If I don't smoke too much tonight, I'm going to try to go and pick up the clones. I think I'm going to get Alien OG, Boss OG, and SFV OG from Dark Heart.
I'm hoping going with all OG's means they will feed similarly.

Thanks for following! I'll post more updates as soon as progress is made.
 
...

Day 1 Update

Is anyone following??

I brought home clones today!!! :welcome:

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From left to right: 2x Pink Lemonade (Radio Ridge), 1x Prism (Radio Ridge), 1x Strawberry Milk (Radio Ridge), 2x Black Triangle (Radio Ridge), and 2x Alien OG (Dark Heart)

Super excited to get these ladies planted! :cheer:

I'm slightly concerned abut one of the Alien OG's. It has some reflective spots on a few leaves.

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Is this normal, maybe just some residue form foliar spray?? Or, is this a disease of some sort? Should I separate this one from the rest of my babies?

HELP please!!
 
Maybe residu, maybe mites keep a close eye on them....
Did you buy them like this and should nt you put them in your system
 
Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I definitely owe you an update.

This might get long since its been a while since I posted. Didn't think anyone was watching. I'll post all of the photos I took, to get you caught up to where things are now.

I finished building the system, and water tested it to make sure there are no leaks. Success!
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Here's what the inside of each bucket looks like to the roots
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I planted all 8 clones.
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Thanks for the input on the Alien OG. I was really excited about growing this strain, and didn't have the money/time to replace them. this also opened my eyes to the fact that all of the clones were probably contaminated in some way.

So, I mixed up a solution of 2 gal RO water, 1 oz of this stuff, and a squirt of soap. I dipped all 8 clones in this and let them dry.
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Seems to have done the trick. I'm not seeing any more shiny spots. I didn't check them with a microscope as HydroTunez suggested, as I'm not really sure what to look for. Maybe I'll give them a check tonight.

Anyway, here's what the Alien OG's looked like after their dip
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Definitely not looking super happy, but at least no more spots.

This was about 1.5 weeks ago, and I haven't seen any sign of the spots coming back.
 
Week 1 Update

Here are the pics I took of the ladies at the end of week 1. Looking pretty nice and rooting well. Rapid Start definitely gets the job done.

Alien OG
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Black Triangle
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Pink Lemonade
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Strawberry Milk
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Looks like I forgot to get a pic of the Prism.

Here are what the roots looked like. Sorry, I don't remember which is which.


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Week 3 Update

Here are the pics I took at the end of week 3. This is about 5 days after I switched to 12/12

I also upgraded to an iPhone X, so my photo quality should get a lot better from here.

This was about 4 days ago, so if I have time, I'll post another update tonight.


Pink Lemonade #2
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Pink Lemonade #1
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Black Triangle #1
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Strawberry Milk
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Prism
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Sorry, forgot to take pics of the Alien OG.
 
Update time!

Week 4/5 Update (Week 2 Flower)

Things are looking good! I emptied and replaced the full 40 gal in the system; this included the switch to Aqua Flores. Plants seem to be loving it.

I am seeing the beginning of some beautiful buds.

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At this point, I am noticing a clear difference between the side of the garden under the DE-CMH and the HPS.

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If this continues through flowering, I will definitely be purchasing a second 630W CMH for my next grow.


Here are updates on the individual plants

Pink LemonAid #2

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Prism

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Alien OG
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Pink LemonAid #1

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Strawberry Milk

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Black Triangle
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Roots

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I am, unfortunately, starting to develop nasty looking leaf spots on the two Pink LemonAid's

At first, I thought this was the same shiny fungus I had on the Alien OG at the beginning of the grow. I tried to spray with some of the fungicide I used earlier (Trifecta Crop Control), but this time it dis not help. So, either this is something different, or the Crop Control doesn't work.

Would really appreciate some help determining what to do here. Is this a fungus? deficiency?? caterpillar????

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PH and EC are fine, so I know this isn't a lockout or burn.

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Is there a better spray you guys recommend? I just want to make sure to get something completely safe for flowering. Anyone have experience with the Vegamatrix FTB? Using terpenes as a fungicide seems like a pretty cool idea.

Vegamatrix FTB - Vegamatrix

I'm also considering some microbe based fungicide like the Garden Friendly Fungicide (have also heard this can be added to the res as an alternative to hydroguard)

GARDEN FRIENDLY FUNGICIDE — Southern Agricultural Insecticides, Inc.

Any advice would be highly appreciated!


I used the last of my botanicare sweet.
I'm considering switching back to AN Carboload. I used this prior to Sweet, but only for soil grows. In general, I was more satisfied with the results from the Carboload. Does one contain something the other does not?? Should I use one over the other? Both?

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Tonight, I'm going to lollipop all the ladies, and make some clones! Pics coming soon.

Thanks for looking!

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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.

:Namaste:
 
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