C99 345W LED Grow Test

[RickyW]

Hello everyone. I am an intermediate lvl grower and beginning in August I will be documenting (pix/video) an indoor grow with cindy99 using the 345w Penetrator LED from HGL Technologies. My contribution to the noble side of the war on drugs.

I have read many posts/articles/science mags, etc, regarding LEDs and If this technology is finally catching up with old growing techniques I would like to contribute viable information to anyone who needs it

 

[RickyW]

I wasnt going to take any photos until flowering began, but after reading a few grow journals it seems like folks start from earlier. Below are some pix of the fem cindy99 girls which are 7 days old. I also included a few pix of my setup.

I bought the seeds from BC Bud Depot which Ive heard some bad things about. however mine were here in a about 3 weeks, all 12 that I planted germed and 3 extras were included. Im using 2 48" sun blaze T5s for germ and veg and the 345w Penetrator obviously for flower.

 

[ilynnboy]

Ran a seed run of Fairlights f5 C99, really stable. All 3 females and the two males looked like clones of each other. The only difference was the smells two girls were sweet fruit and one pungent almost rotted fruit one, which is supposed to be the strongest one. No clones, but about 1500 beans to find the "princess" . Didn't find her on this run but she'll show sooner or later and when she does I'll be ready with silver spray and a razor knife.

 

[SteveHman]

Ricky,
Welcome to 420. I think HGL is a former sponsor and are no longer advertising here. 420has a policy of not promoting former sponsor products in the journals, particulary if they left under less than favorable conditions.

Best of luck on your grow.

 

[RickyW]

Its unclear what you are asking. I cant have a grow journal on 420mag because the manufacturer of my equipment used to be a sponsor?

 

[RickyW]

Ran a seed run of Fairlights f5 C99, really stable. All 3 females and the two males looked like clones of each other. The only difference was the smells two girls were sweet fruit and one pungent almost rotted fruit one, which is supposed to be the strongest one. No clones, but about 1500 beans to find the "princess" . Didn't find her on this run but she'll show sooner or later and when she does I'll be ready with silver spray and a razor knife.

I kno enough about genetics to be a little dangerous but, I havnt read any books. What I know is mostly from my bio med degree that I dont use . my operation isnt big enough to need my own seeds but as soon as my state is legal I want to go commercial and will get into crossing etc. good luck finding that stubborn bitch!

 

[Greenhouse250]

Its unclear what you are asking. I cant have a grow journal on 420mag because the manufacturer of my equipment used to be a sponsor?

Hey nice start! That's not what stevehman is saying, its her name and company name that are not welcome here. Not sure if the post is still around but its about 8-10 pages? long and gives you a good idea how she runs her business. Also flea-bay links are not welcome either.

on your grow!

 

[RickyW]

Hey nice start! That's not what stevehman is saying, its her name and company name that are not welcome here. Not sure if the post is still around but its about 8-10 pages? long and gives you a good idea how she runs her business. Also flea-bay links are not welcome either.

on your grow!

Thanks, lets not mention it again then. I hope I didnt waste money tho.

p.s. this is my first grow with cindy and ive seen some people just grow the main cola and some use a scrogg. anyone experienced with either care to give advice?

 

[RickyW]

Well, I think Ive over watered the seedlings though I am a bit confused. Although I have 5 grows under my belt, this is my first time growing with rapid rooters

The problem Im having is that the rapid rooters appear to be bone dry in the morning (7am )when I go to water them as well as being light. I give them a good watering until the they feel heavy again and cant except more water, excess water easily flows from the rr. Around 6 or 7pm that night they already show signs of being dried out tho and the past 3 nights Ive decided to give them a partial watering and theyve started to droop and yellow a bit. Even when i give the partial watering in the evening the rrs are still dry by 7am the next morning btw.

Anyone have experience with this grow medium please help! Looking back I guess I should have limited my variables while testing this light

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[SteveHman]

Do you have a humidity dome over them? That would keep them from drying out too quickly. I use Root Riot plugs to start my seedlings and don't use a dome. I place them on a layer of coco/perlite mix in a tray, about an inch thick on the coco mix. The coco holds a lot of moisture and wicks it up to the plugs to keep them moist, but not soaked.

Also you may want to place a small fan on them to start strengthening the stems, just a slight breeze so they move a little bit.

 

[RickyW]

Do you have a humidity dome over them? That would keep them from drying out too quickly.

In my past grows I have always taken the dome off after the first two leaves appeared, should i keep it on for longer?

The coco holds a lot of moisture and wicks it up to the plugs to keep them moist, but not soaked.

I have read that its not a bad idea to place the rr in a tray with a few cm of water in it and the seedlings take up what they need, any objections?

Also you may want to place a small fan on them to start strengthening the stems, just a slight breeze so they move a little bit.

I only placed them where they are to get a good picture. There is plenty of "breeze" for them.

I placed a dummy rr in the tray and I will cut it open when I think it looks dry enough to need water and see the actual moisture inside. I just hope by then I havnt done irreparable damage to the girls.

 

[Jozo-sha]

In my past grows I have always taken the dome off after the first two leaves appeared, should i keep it on for longer?



I have read that its not a bad idea to place the rr in a tray with a few cm of water in it and the seedlings take up what they need, any objections?



I only placed them where they are to get a good picture. There is plenty of "breeze" for them.

I wait until I have the first true set of leaves before popping the dome, generally - your mileage may vary.

I use Root Riot/ Rapid Rooters too, and I usually just hand water them daily until roots are popping out the bottom, then I plant 'em up....any time I've used standing water in the bottom of the tray, I've gotten rot.

 

[RickyW]

I use Root Riot/ Rapid Rooters too, and I usually just hand water them daily until roots are popping out the bottom, then I plant 'em up

I have been hand watering them once a day at 7am right when my lights come on (fully soaked) and by the next morning the rrs seem VERY dry. Is this ok in your experience? Also most seedlings already have 10+ roots poking through the bottom, but as they are so small I figured I should wait till the roots come out the sides as well, should I pot up now or wait till they recover some?

I guess Ive been lucky but this is my first trouble, do they look very stressed, is my final product already affected?

 

[RickyW]

I wait until I have the first true set of leaves before popping the dome, generally - your mileage may vary.

I will do this in the morning thx!

 

[SteveHman]

I have read that its not a bad idea to place the rr in a tray with a few cm of water in it and the seedlings take up what they need, any objections?

You don't want them in standing water. Like JZ said, you are inviting rot. I use the coco to raise them up about an inch, the coco stays moist and wicks the moisture up, but stays pretty aerated (don't pack it down). Just a method I kind of stumbled on that works for me.

You want the plugs to be just slight moist to the touch, not soaked, the coco really helps keep them that way. Once mne get their first set of true leaves I put the plugs into a cup with coco/perlite/vermiculite mix with a small hole an inch up from the bottom, ala hempy style:

After that they are off to the races. I'm a hydro guy, but I do all of my seedlings and moms in coco, I'm starting to love that stuff.

 

[RickyW]

I use the coco to raise them up about an inch, the coco stays moist and wicks the moisture up, but stays pretty aerated (don't pack it down).

I really like this method ur describing and If I can get coco from a local store I will do it tomorrow. Its late and Im not sure I can read anymore Can you suggest a brand of coco - not even sure what it is, and can I get it from homedepot/lowes?

thx both of you for your input!

 

[RickyW]

You want the plugs to be just slight moist to the touch, not soaked, the coco really helps keep them that way.

I cannot achieve this unless i water them slightly every few hrs which is impossible for me, hopefully the coco will solve this dilema?

 

[SteveHman]

not sure if they sell coco at HD, all of the hydro places have it though, if you have one locally, the stuff is very inexpensive. It comes in a compressed brick, add water and it swells up to a 5 gallon bucket size. I mix about 30% perlite in to help keep it aerated. I also add a little vermiculite to help hold more moisture, but not really needed if you aren't going to be gone for more than a few days at a time. (I water my hempy buckets every three days, it would be every other without the vermiculite).

The coco coir, is the husk of coconuts that is shredded, steamed, dried and then compressed. It is pretty much pH neutral, and is considered a soiless mix. Looks like soil, feels like soil, but it's pretty inert, so you have to add nutes to it if you want to grow them out in the mix. For my moms I use Osmocote plus (OC+) as the nutrients. You can read a lot about it on here. Many growers use OC+ as their base nute and not much else and get great results.

Best of luck on your grow.

 

[RickyW]

Steve, your grow journals are something to mimic bro. Quality stuff!

Last night before I crashed, I flushed the seedlings with highly oxgenated water with 1/2 tsp of peroxide per gal. Sounds counter productive after an over watering problem but it worked. After falling asleep in the utility room for 3 min, i decided to hit the hay. This morning all the yellowing was gone, they are a nice deep green now and the leaves have picked up on the majority. I am definitely going to use coco on my next grow after reading about it this morning. I think I have a handle on water retention of the rapid rooters and the less stress on my poor girls the better I think. I also like to limit my trips to the hydro store :icon_cool

 

[Maer]

You can get coco at pet stores, they use it as a bedding for terrariums i think. It comes in bricks you add water to and expand.