CFL growlog, round 2 of 1st grow

[jkalb42]

I started growing these a few weeks ago, i'm not really sure exactly when...but it hasn't been too long. i was growing all three in one small pot, it was all i had, and today i decided i better transplant them. they were growing in MG continuous feed up until today. I think i may have made a mistake by transplanting them into straight Scott's Premium Topsoil. am i ok on that? also, i made this grow...box...room today. I'm planning on making a divider in the middle and maybe get a SOG kind of thing going. the fan is pretty big, it was the only one i had though. too big? Thanks, ill try and keep this one updated. im still calling it my first grow since my last plant had to be "let down" before i left for Christmas break. let me know what you think!

[jkalb42]

Here are some pictures of what i hope is at least 1 female. is there something more that i should be doing to them? im still going 24/0 with 4 bulbs, 120W i believe. they are planted in scotts premium topsoil in an 18 gallon rubbermaid and they get watered with those MG Singles packs, i haven't read about anyone else using those, but my plants arent dead yet lol. i havent found a place where i can get good ferts and soils, all my stuff is from home depot.

#1: all three plants together
#2: the runt
#3: the biggest one
#4: the middle height plant
#5: the nasty pot they were growing in before

[GoldenGraham84]

i'm pretty sure there's some stuff wrong. but i only've ever done hydro so i shouldn't be too pretentious here.

the soil isn't perfect, for sure. i know roots like oxygen, and i'm not sure how good the drainage is in that top soil. perhaps adding some perlite/vermiculite?

i'm sure a lot of people might chime in and lecture you on not having 3 plants in the same planter.

also, you don't want to be feeding every watering. salts and whatnot will build up. try a water, water, feed, repeat cycle.

i hope some soil pros jump in and give advice. other than that, good luck and welcome to the CFL grow club.

stay safe
-GG84

[jkalb42]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, i figured i'd get some heat for the three plants in there, once they're done im going to find some square pots or something that will fit nicely in there. I've been doing feed-water-feed-water, with a drop of superthrive to every gallon, I'll try going two waters to a feeding though. should i not put the superthrive in every watering also? I thought about picking up some pearlite today, and after seeing the topsoil out of the bag, i think youre right, drainage looks minimal. how would i go about putting that in now that i've already transplanted? any pointers on the grow box would be great too, keeping in mind its not done yet and i ran out of tape lol. space blankets are awful to work with also.

[jkalb42]

i think that if any of these three are female, they will just become mother plants. i've been hoping to learn hydro methods, i made a DWC out of a large rubbermaid. i havent used it at all yet, i dont know if my pump is strong enough. i think i have too many holes in it as well. its an 18 gallon rubbermaid with 8 spots for net pots situated as 3-2-3. i dont have any net pots, and i made the holes with a soldering iron, i would guess 2-3" net pots would fit. the pump i have is from walmart, a Whisper 30-60 and 2 18" bubble rocks. would this be sufficient for flowering, or am i better off to go with 4 buckets and maybe 5" net pots? i have a 4-5 foot vertical growing space.

[sensilights]

It looks like you may need some perlite in your soil (i may just not be able to see it in the pics) I like about 30% perlite for good drainage.

If you are in need of some good nutes/soil look for a local nursery...they should be starting to open up for the season in the northern states soon and should be open year round in the south. Or you can go to fox farms website and do the little search for who sells FF in your area :)

[bigtopsfinn]

Yeah you should get those into separate containers ASAP... If you have problems with one, it could screw with the other ones. Especially if you are going to make these mothers, you will need 5 gallon pots for each.

Get some individual pots, and transplant so that you can put in a decent amount of the new soil/perlite mix. The roots will get tangled very quickly and you could stress them even more if you try to get them apart.

Sorry, I'm just a soil guy, nothing to add about the hydro stuff:jointsmile:

[jkalb42]

thanks for the input. i picked up some more cfl's today, making a new light to compliment the one already there. got supplies for a separator in the middle, and some stuff for cloning. yes, you are right about no perlite in the soil. i looked at 3 different places today, all three of which only had MG perlite...yay for no one having good stuff. but i guess that can be expected. im sure i can find a place around me that sells better soil and nutes, i just haven't looked on the internet or anything. that makes me sound incredibly lazy lol. yeah i only have the one pot right now, so i think ill move the small one into it and transplant the other two into new ones when i get them.

[jkalb42]

also, i have a quick question about topping that i havent read in any posts on the subject. does it matter how far down i cut? i was just wondering because i wanted to use the cutting as a clone, and i'd like it to have a decent amount of height to it right off, or at least enough of it under the soil for a good root system.

[jkalb42]

I put the big one into the old pot (after cleaning it out) and spaced the two smaller ones more evenly in the rubbermaid. i added perlite to both containers, mixed it in good, and watered them with only 1-2 drops of superthrive in the water. i hope that wasnt a bad choice. as you can see theyre a little droopy, but i now have 8 100W CFL's going on in there, 6 6500k and 2 2600k. hoping theyll come around soon, anyone who reads this please answer the topping question in my last post lol.

#1: The new lighting situation
#2: two smaller plants
#3: the bigger plant

[jkalb42]

i take that back, i have 10 CFL's in the box at the moment. im thinking cardboard was not the best building medium...i'm drawing up a design for a box made of plywood, hopefully i can build it nicely, though it will be much smaller than this, i may go to 12/12 from when clones root, if i ever get to that point lol.

[jkalb42]

I cut a clone about 5 minutes ago, dipped it in Schultz Take Root and put it in a seed starting jiffy mix watered with a bit of Superthrive. I've read many posts on taking clones, but reading still isn't doing. So i just did, and i have no idea if i messed up or not. on the bright side, cutting this clone should not make my plant die regardless of how well i did, so i guess i'll just sit back and watch 'er grow! (hopefully) another plus, i seem to have great luck with transplants, every time i've done it they seem to bounce right back within a few hours. pretty nice.

[GoldenGraham84]

i dig the lighting rig, man. almost exactly the same as mine, but i have 2 three bulb fixtures with y splitters, for 12 total bulbs. very nicely done.
best of luck with the clone. maybe in the future you could get the little peat pellets for cloning. my friend has had great success with them. a few more tips, try cutting the fan leaves down to 1/2" each, and consider using a humidity dome. mist frequently and be patient for them roots to show!

stay safe
-GG84

[jkalb42]

hey thanks, yeah i was gone over the weekend and got back, i did two clones and they both look healthy still, i thought i'd try peat pellets next. but i went to check on them, and the light fixture fell down, surrounding my smallest plant with like 4 cfls lol. needless to say it's done-ski now, shriveled up. only the bulbs fell though, since i was lazy and instead of screwing them to the board i duct taped them. fixin it now, ill post pics later. thanks for the cloning tips too.

[jkalb42]

heres the pics, the first one is the middle sized plant, second is the bigger plant after i took the clones and tied it, third is the roasted plant, and last is the clones. i do keep the clones in a humidity dome, i just took them out for the pictures.

[GrinKyle]

I always get sad when I see a dead cannabis plant.

[jkalb42]

me too...makes me very sad...that lowers my chances of females lol

[jkalb42]

hey, these are the plans for the box i want to build. any advice on it is welcome.

The first part just kind of shows the dimensions, with the flowering portion on bottom and cloning portion on top.

The second part is the light setup down below. I'm planning on SOG with 12/12 from when the clones take root, so one side has lower bulbs to be closer to new plants while the back and other side are all higher so there plants stretch up to them. the hope is that they end up with 1 cola.

The third part is the cloning setup, the shelf is there for the cuttings with extra room underneath for supplies, and extra room to the right side for a mom or two. there will be lights for the mom, i just forgot to draw them.

So, if anyone has any input, it would be great asap. Where do you thing the best place for the input and output air would be? should i make a hole between the two chambers or put separate fans in them? i thought about putting the bulbs below cased in a long plastic thing, blowing air through that to take the heat away. any help on anything would be great.

[jkalb42]

I just took a new cutting off of the other plant, i'm hoping for roots, and sometime next week i'll be putting them under 12/12 and see what i have. Any info on previous posts would be appreciated, and ill be adding pics later tonight.

[jkalb42]

The first and second pictures are new growth on the plant that i took 2 cuttings from.

the next picture is the medium height plant (or smaller since my other died tragically) after i took a cutting earlier today.

the last two pics are the rooting (hopefully) clones, the two that are more fanned out are from plant one and the other is from plant 2.

[jkalb42]

Wow, i need to figure out how to get more people to look at this thread lol.

[jkalb42]

If anyone was curious, I'm fairly certain that these plants came from strawberry kush bagseed. i remember that the bud smelled fruity and was a purply-red color i think.

[jkalb42]

Heres some new pics of plant 1, inside, new growth and stuff. I think she's* lookin good, what do you think? I'm also going to transplant #2 into a smaller pot, that rubbermaid is just so inconvenient.

* denotes the hope that i may, in fact, be growing a female plant

[jkalb42]

Well, no one really seems in a helpful mood here lol. I'm gonna move my box plans over to the correct place though, hopefully somebody will see it there.

Plant #2 is looking pretty good, i just put her* into a new pot instead of that overly-large rubbermaid. after new growth starts on side stems, is it ok to trim off some of the lower fan leaves growing from the main stem? these are both going to be mothers* by the way.


* denotes the hope that i may, in fact, be growing female plants

[jkalb42]

Picture of Plant 2 and Plant 1, both in their respective pots, doing well.

[jkalb42]

If anybody looks at this thread, please leave me some input.

[jkalb42]

Well, i guess im just gonna update this thread about my grow box plans, no sense in having two threads that no one reads lol. got most of the supplies today, a couple 4x8 sheets of plywood cut up into my pieces, only 10 bucks a piece. some hinges, foam weather stripping...i need to find me some good screws, i thought i might have some around the apartment but i havent looked yet. pics when i start building.

[GoldenGraham84]

don't feel sad that you don't get many replies. with the slew of CFL logs going lately, you should have no shortage of wisdom from others mistakes. new growbox, eh? fun stuff!

[jkalb42]

wow, thanks for coming lol. yeah, mostly i needed input on the box, a couple of questions too, but i don't mind learning from mistakes. thats how the pioneers did it, right? as long as everything is going fine, i suppose ill be alright.

[GoldenGraham84]

i'll do up an idea in MSPaint here quick and post my idea for your grow box in a bit. canncom still loves you.

[jkalb42]

Sounds good, im gonna post my current plans soon.

[hyphymikey]

im a newbie so i cant give you any advice, but i was wondering are you running 100 watt cfls or 100 watt equivalent cfls?

i was about to switch over to cfls and run that fixture that has two 65 watt cfl bulbs equivalent to 600 watts total output

[jkalb42]

100 watt equivalent. so around 1000 watts goin on in there with all ten bulbs

[bigtopsfinn]

Hey I think I replied to your question about the growbox in another thread and just saw the pics you had in this one... It may not be bad right now, but there will be a smell coming from those plants. Have you thought about ventilation and odor control for your growboxes? Luckily you have many options like DIY for cheap or plug and play for $$$.

Plants looked good to me:thumbsup:

[jkalb42]

Yeah, i've thought about that. i was thinking maybe if i could dissipate the heat the the plans for the lighting i have (picture attached) then i could leave it closed all the time, running some co2 to the plants through a hose contraption.

[GoldenGraham84]

so my paint program was devilishly hidden deep in my cpu. so, if you're building something from scratch, here's a quick idea.

[jkalb42]

thanks for that. i was thinking more of a SOG, with 12/12 from the time when the clones take root

[bigtopsfinn]

kinda like this?

This is my friends hydro setup. He vegged for a week or two, then flowered. I think this is Power Plant from clones (40 clones). He didn't get much out of this, 400grams.

I looked at your drawing again, and I'm thinking about your height issues, but LST or SCROG is great for that... I got a SCROG going right now in my second grow, and it helps a lot to keep my plants in control in my small space.

Another tip, keep those cfl's adjustable. They should always be just an inch or two from the plants. With that setup, the plants will stretch to the light and you will run out of room with skinny plants filling up the area.

I don't know about the sealed room thing... I think the plants will be starving for fresh air (even with the CO2), but I could be wrong. Instead of worrying about heat issues and CO2, its easier to get an exhaust fan+intake hole and get even more cfl's in there. More light will produce bigger buds, aim for at 3000 lumes per sq. ft., preferably over 5000. I'm running at close to 15K Lumens/sq.ft. atm.

[jkalb42]

yeah i dont know if the closed room would be any good for me, but this is what i was going for, and if it didnt work i could always adjust.

DrBudSOG (http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=88449)

[denialisback]

kinda like this?

This is my friends hydro setup. He vegged for a week or two, then flowered. I think this is Power Plant from clones (40 clones). He didn't get much out of this, 400grams.


baring in mind 400g's is 14 or so ounces!

[chadsvb]

Hey bud. Looks like you've got things under control. I do have a question for you though. Back on page 1, where your plant pics are posted, they really look like you cut the ends of the leaves (all of them). Did you? And why?

I would offer suggestions, but you'd look at my log and laugh right now. Given a few more days, things should be looking up for me.

You got some updated pictures?

[denialisback]

Hey bud. Looks like you've got things under control. I do have a question for you though. Back on page 1, where your plant pics are posted, they really look like you cut the ends of the leaves (all of them). Did you? And why?


think thats cause it keeps the leaves hydrated or something...

[jkalb42]

the trimming of leaves like i did should not be taken as common practice by any means. it was an experiment i tried because i figured the worst that could happen was i would learn not to do it again. i wanted to see if it would get light to the leaves underneath and further in without taking away the fan leaves. I'm not going to say it was good or bad either way, but my plant seems to be doing fine, with the new growth peeking out now. it looks great to me, but i'd ask someone with more experience about it. you can see in the pictures where i trimmed between 1/3 and 1/2 of some of the leaves off, as well as the new growth.

Some of the fan leaves off the main stalk on both plants are turning yellow. what does this mean? also, as you can see from the picture, plant 2 is very droopy. i just repotted like a week ago. maybe the ph is too high? i dont know, i have never checked...but i'd rather it be...not droopy lol. i only water every 2-3 days, with ro water now from like wal-mart.

the new box is starting to take shape, i just need some boards cut down a bit.

Pictures:
the first three are of plant 1, where i tried trimming the leaves down in order to get more light penetration. as you can see, my plant looks fine.

the last 2 are of the droopy plant. any thoughts?

[bigtopsfinn]

i think you need calmag+ with the ro water... a ph test wouldn't hurt either, get some cheap strips and at least you get an idea of your ph going in and coming out...

and instead of cutting my fan leaves, I tuck or tie them down to expose bud sites (I do LST and now Scrog anyways). The plant takes nutrients from the fan leaves, which absorb the light energy and store it for the dark cycles. If the leaves on the bottom turn yellow, its usually normal. They just aren't getting enough light and the plant is using up the remaining nutrients. You should only pull leaves when they snap off easily with a slight tug.

[jkalb42]

calmag+ eh? hmm...have to order that off the internet. i searched and searched, there is no where near where i live that sells anything good for plants. soils, nutes, everything is crappy from home depot etc. yeah, i tucked with the droopy plant and trimmed the other, just to see how it would roll. i have them on 24/0 right now, maybe thats why nothing happened when i trimmed.

[jkalb42]

the box is formed, just need one more piece of wood cut a little for a shelf now. theres quite a bit of room inside, more than i thought, but i have a feeling it will feel small once i get it running. i'm still not sure what im gonna do with the lights and airflow, but i think i'll have it at least planned pretty good by this weekend.

[RamblerGambler]

^ You got that right. When I built my my box I thought I'd have plenty of room, then you put 4-6 plants in there and they start taking up some room! Are you thinking about LST'ing or topping to maximize your limited space?

Drop by my CFL log (http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/167730-1st-go-round-cfls-bagseed.html) if you want. It's a bit incomplete - no veg. but it's into the 3rd week of flower.

[jkalb42]

actually, i posted a link a couple posts back, somewhere in there lol. its a SOG grow, 12/12 from the time the clones hit the flower room. he set his lights up as close to the top as he could. the plants were forced to stretch and eventually hit their limit, producing only one large cola in the process. they are supported by bamboo sticks and dowels if they need it. i was hoping to do something like it, and space is good because the plants are all in 20 oz soda bottles.

[RamblerGambler]

Must have missed that, I'll need to go check it out. It would be a refreshing change to see a few nice girls that aren't into being tied up. Good call on the height btw, I thought it would be a great idea to go shorter. Needless to say that decision was regretted

[jkalb42]

yeah, i wanted it tall enough to fit a cloning space into the top. that will be around 1.5-2 feet tall, and the rest will be flower room.

[jkalb42]

well, i bought most of what i still needed to finish the grow box today. pretty excited to get this underway. i also bought an air freshener that goes on the air filter in my ductwork, which should mask the smell of the plants at the moment, as well as the spraypaint that i stupidly used in my room without ventilation. thats a high ive never experienced before lol.

[jkalb42]

and shes painted! took forever...bought some brush on flat white today for it, since the spraypaint didnt go too well lol. gonna start wiring in lights and stuff tomorrow.

[jkalb42]

Heres some pics of the growbox. the lit up one is for clones and moms, the fit in there great (2 moms). i just need to put in a little shelf on the right side to set the cloner on, and underneath will be some storage for some stuff.

the bottom part is about 40" tall. i have the 12 sockets in there, no splitters yet because i was just checking my wiring (which works). yeah i know they arent adjustable. again, i'm trying the method Dr.BudGreenGenes did (*this is the link to it* (http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=88449)) and if it doesnt work, i can always make little stool/stair/booster seat things for my plants to sit on. Not a big deal lol.

The only major thing i have left to do is set up my exhaust for both chambers.

The top won't be too bad, i think ill throw a couple computer fans in there, they don't smell bad so i won't worry about a filter.

The bottom though, i'm going to make a carbon air scrubber, but i need advice on a fan. i would love to NOT have to order it on the internet, because i need it quick. Also, the space in the bottom is about 16 cubic feet. Here's my questions on the exhaust:
1. How many CFM does the space need?
2. How many CFM to push through the carbon scrubber?
3. Any ideas on where to pick one up and how much it would cost?

Thanks a lot for any feedback.

(BTW, picture 4 is sideways.)

[bigtopsfinn]

Pretty nice looking box there...

Not really sure about cfm's in this case, but the best way IMO would be an intake in the flower chamber, and an exhaust in the veg chamber, with the fan pulling the air through the carbon filter (better than pushing it)... Then of course the flower and veg room have to be connected, with another fan pulling air out of the flower chamber. This is what I would start with...

The intakes could be computer fans, but the for the exhaust you could use one of those wall mount kitchen/bathroom fans from Home Depot. Depending on temps, you could put the larger fan exhausting the flower chamber and run it around the other way, but that depends on the temps and conditions outside and inside the box.

My fans and ventilation tubing keep the light out of my cabinet, but thats something else to think about also with this setup.

Good luck:jointsmile:

[jkalb42]

I was thinking about the kitchen/bathroom fans, but those arent meant for24/7 use are they? also, the carbon filter i was planning to build was a circular can-lookin' one, i dont know how i could pull through that.

[denialisback]

I was thinking about the kitchen/bathroom fans, but those arent meant for24/7 use are they? also, the carbon filter i was planning to build was a circular can-lookin' one, i dont know how i could pull through that.

nice box jkal, I think most extractors are designed to work 24/7.. maybe not the bathroom ones, but some do actually run 24/7.. should be OK

I have to ask though, where the hell do you get CFL light fixtures from? I've looked everywhere for them.. Where am i going wrong :)


Peace,
Denial

[jkalb42]

i got my light fixtures from lowes. just regular sockets, theyre plastic and cost 1.25 a piece. the only thing is, they were in one of those "dont forget to pick this up" bins, i don't know if they put em out on the shelves. i looked for them once and all i could find were the expensive ceramic ones, i luckily stumbled upon these. I'm sure theyll have them, either lowes or home depot. are those kitchen/bathroom fans pretty loud though? the one in my bathroom is.

[denialisback]

i got my light fixtures from lowes. just regular sockets, theyre plastic and cost 1.25 a piece. the only thing is, they were in one of those "dont forget to pick this up" bins, i don't know if they put em out on the shelves. i looked for them once and all i could find were the expensive ceramic ones, i luckily stumbled upon these. I'm sure theyll have them, either lowes or home depot. are those kitchen/bathroom fans pretty loud though? the one in my bathroom is.

hey dude thanks for answering my Q :D yeah... some of them can be, always check the db rating i guess, cfm is usually a good indicator of how loud it will be..

:thumbsup:

Peace,
denial

[jkalb42]

is 4 db very loud? do you think i could get by with 50-60 cfm?

[denialisback]

is 4 db very loud? do you think i could get by with 50-60 cfm?


Yeah dude I thinkso .... here is a basic decibel scale .. so 4db is gonna be SILLLLENT!


Weakest sound heard 0dB
Whisper Quiet Library 30dB
Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB
Telephone dial tone 80dB
City Traffic (inside car) 85dB
Train whistle at 500', Truck Traffic 90dB
Subway train at 200' 95dB
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss 90 - 95dB
Power mower at 3' 107dB
Snowmobile, Motorcycle 100dB
Power saw at 3' 110dB
Sandblasting, Loud Rock Concert 115dB
Pain begins 125dB
Pneumatic riveter at 4' 125dB
Even short term exposure can cause permanent damage - Loudest recommended exposure WITH hearing protection 140dB
Jet engine at 100', Gun Blast 140dB
Death of hearing tissue 180dB
Loudest sound possible 194dB

I'm thinking that 40-60 cfm is okay for a few hundred watt of CFL, but might not be perfect for a HPS equal to or over 400W.


hope this helps :) :thumbsup:

Peace,
denial

[jkalb42]

Thanks guy, you are A LOT of help, i'm gonna go get one of those right now lol.

[denialisback]

Thanks guy, you are A LOT of help, i'm gonna go get one of those right now lol.

teehee pleasures mine dude! Goodluck! will check in on your log


Peace,
Denial

[bigtopsfinn]

I was thinking about the kitchen/bathroom fans, but those arent meant for24/7 use are they? also, the carbon filter i was planning to build was a circular can-lookin' one, i dont know how i could pull through that.

Well the carbon filter you are making sounds like mine. It looks like a bullet shell open totally on one end where to fit the tubing. The rest of the filter walls has the actual carbon, and the air enters through the side wall, through the carbon, into the middle of the filter, and out the tube end. So, I just put my carbon filter where I want my "exhaust" (the point where the hot are is leaving the grow space, not the grow box), and had the fan actually outside of my box (you can mount yours on the wall maybe)

I drew you a little picture...
http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo80/bigtopsfinn/filter.jpg
The carbon filter should be big enough so it doesnt restrict the fan, and that it can handle the smell. I have a 220m3 fan (~129cfm), so my carbon filter is 250m3, (i think about 2,3kg of active carbon, and its quite heavy).

Hope this helps... Good luck!

[jkalb42]

nice, that looks like it would work awesome. ill be thinking about that when i put this together a bit more tomorrow.

[jkalb42]

so, the fan is not in yet...sloooow progress on that, due to the fact that the only cutting tool i have for the dremel is the cutting disks, and i have no other power tools. couple that with the 3 exams i have this wednesday, my lack of preparation for them, and the poor cooperation that a certain built in windows vista program is showing me, and you can see that i'm having a great week. also, i dont know if i'll be here long enough for my buds (if i even HAVE any females) to fully mature. worst case scenario: there is no females. second to worst case scenario: i have to load 20+ plants into the trunk of my car, drive 28 hours, hope they survive that, and then, if by chance they DO survive, find a place and enough equipment to finish the job. my two moms* aren't looking their best, but they're doing fine. has anyone had any experience with "Living Earth" organic soils? and also, the new fanleaf growth on my moms* are not coming in pairs anymore, but are alternating. i know this is not something bad, but to be sure it just means theyre ready to start flowering right? BTW, as of now, if you haven't noticed yet from this post, i have NO IDEA what sex these plants are. lol, i hope everyone is having a better week than me!

[jkalb42]

i went to home depot and bought some rotozip sabercut bits, cut out that hole in no time at all. i still have to do the intake air holes, and the in and out in the top chamber as well, but its almost 8 here and its exam week, don't wanna make too much noise. i'm afraid my neighbors are gonna call a noise complaint some time with all the building noise going on over here, although they haven't even complained to ME about it as of now. those dremels are LOUD for how small they are, but very handy anyway. i'm covered in saw dust...good thing i have a vacuum to clean the carpet up lol.

[jkalb42]

well, the ten clones that i took...what...not yesterday...pretty recently anyway, all of them are growing mold. F*CK F*CKING PEAT PELLETS. done with those cock suckers...ill try the bubble cloner method. wow, i'm definitely a little bit angry about that. i don't understand how the mold grew the first time in 24/0 light. this time i went to 18/6, but i popped holes in the humidity dome, dried everything and cleaned with alcohol beforehand, squeezed most of the water out of the peat pellets before putting in the cuttings, AND propped the dome open in half hour intervals AT LEAST 4 times a day. wtf...

[jkalb42]

My grow box is coming so deathly close to completion. i just need a fan or two in the upper chamber, maybe buy a few more cfl's and splitters, then shove 'er in the closet! the door of it didn't have enough stability, it was a little too heavy being only attached to one side and all, so i rigged up a wheel on the swinging end. works great now :D does anyone have a method for auto-watering plants over an extended period of time without a water pump and the rest of that rig? i was thinking about putting the flowering plants into a small tub-type thing filled 3-5 inches with a water/superthrive/nute mix. i have a bubbler, and i was thinking if i left that on in the water oxygen wouldnt be a big problem. for the mothers in the top chamber i figured i'd set up a milk jug just right, poke some tiny holes aimed at the plants, and hope they do ok lol. most definitely any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Picture 1: Top veg. chamber with a few new clones, a sturdy well-rooted clone, and a bucket of garbage.

Picture 2: Both chambers (picture is sideways) with the same situation in the top, and 5 more well-rooted clones in the flowering chamber.

Picture 3: The flowering chamber with all 6 plants gettin ready to show me if they're female or not.

Picture 4: Veg. chamber re-situated, with both moms* hangin out

Picture 5: Another sideways picture of both chambers, my outflow fan on the left of the bottom chamber. if you look close at the front mom*, you can see how yellow and crispy the biggest fan leaves are. why are they they only leaves that look awful?

[irydyum]

I just skimmed over your log here, and I'm not sure what kind of help you are looking for? The only immediate question I have is why does it look like you are trimming the leaves of your vegging plants? Just curious, saw that in some of the first pics.

[jkalb42]

oh lol, i've gotten that question before. i just wanted to see what would happen, i was pretty sure it wouldnt die so i didn't mind too much, was hoping that by trimming some of the fan leaves, more light would get to the newer growth. i tried to tuck some back, but it just wasnt doin it for me. thanks for skimming btw. i guess the only help i'm really needing right now is a more experienced grower to read my last post and tell me if my watering idea would work ok, since im leaving for home in montana on thursday and will be gone for 10 days, and also, have you ever heard of "Living Earth" soil? the city i'm in doesnt have a specialized garden shop or anything, just home depot, lowes, and their unending supply of MG products. that stuff is the only non MG (or scotts) soil i could find in town. it says its organic and stuff, but that doesnt convince me that it's any good.

[Greenthing]

Hi just looking at your log through your link in another post and i will surely be lurking in here from time to time, first grow is the hardest and i reckon you are coping well.
All the best of luck to you.:hippy::jointsmile:

[jkalb42]

thanks for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

[jkalb42]

I have not slept at all since saturday night. not one bit. today i started hallucinating, i've been seeing rainbow glitter on everything, and i keep seeing bugs crawling on everything even though they arent there. i have to leave here at 3 am tomorrow morning, but if i go to bed i might not wake up lol. by the way, it's because i had exams this week and i've been studying in the absolute worst way possible, by staying up lol. in other news, this morning both of my moms* seem to have been overwatered but some idiot...oh, i'm the only one that waters those...right. the water went right through one pot down into the catcher thing, filled 'er up all the way. i took the thing off, poured the water out of it, and let the plant drain into the tub. the same thing is happening to both, and just this morning too. no i'm worried about them getting water over the 10 break i'm taking. i cant water them now since it seems that they aren't even drinking it, and i dont have a great plan for the auto water deal while im away. damn huh? oh and also, the water that came out of the plants was yellowish and smelled bad. does that mean they have root rot? augh...

[GrowinGreen23]

don't worry if a lot of people dont respond sometimes people like to see the results then respond. I like the whole setup and grow. I do have one question, what is the purpose of cutting the tips? makes it bushier or you use that toward clons? i though you needed the whole leaf if you did that...

[jkalb42]

well, everyone, i did indeed miss my flight this morning. somehow i turned off two alarms without waking up. called in and they said ok, pay us 350 bucks and we'lll get you another one! great. GrowinGreen, thanks for coming by. Not too worried about anyone coming here to comment. If not many people came when i updated before i dont suppose a whole mess of updates will bring anyone now lol. but it's not a big deal. the answer to your question, i've answered twice. look a few posts from the bottom of page three, it's somewhere around there. again, thanks for coming.

[Greenthing]

what is the purpose of cutting the tips? makes it bushier or you use that toward clons? i though you needed the whole leaf if you did that...
Some growers that don't have the hight to grow tall plants nip tips out of the main stems to keep the plant short but then that makes the plant bush out which what i do to a plant if i am keeping it for a mother because it creates more cutings for clones.
I think thats what you are asking.

[cman20118ut]

man i'm sorry to hear that...i almost missed my first exam this morning...well 1 down for today 2 more to go...anyways...if you are looking for advice just keep going thru the grow logs and see what works and what doesnt for ppl...but hey man good luck with the rest of the grow...i hope your females* turn out to be females

[jkalb42]

had my 3 exams yesterday, calculus killed me. yeah, the plant i trimmed stays in a space with only like 10" for growth, so i keep it short.

[irydyum]

Just looking at the last posts is confusing the hell out of me. I asked why you were trimming leaves in half on your plants, and somehow it turned into a dialogue about topping plants.

You should not trim any healthy leaves on your vegging plant. You can remove some of the bottom growth completely if it is not recieving light, but you want to leave anything healthy alone. Leaves are the carbohydrate and photosynthesis factories that will produce your prized buds. There is a direct correlation between the amount of healthy leaf material and amount of bud created on the plant. You need leaves to catch light and create sugars to create more new material, if you are removing half of each leaf you are taking half the capcity for growth away from that leaf

Many people do this practice when they root new clones. There is a specific reason for it though. When you take the leaf tips off and "half" your leaves, you cut the transpiration rate and take away the possibility of molding. In other words, you take the huge leaf tips off a big leaf, it won't sag and stick to your humidity dome. And lowering traspiration rates means it takes less fresh air to feed the clones, allowing you to keep them in a dome for longer with less adverse affects.

Topping a plant, or cutting off growing tips, changes the hormonal balance in the plant. The growth hormone is most concentrated in the highest top of the plant. When you remove this top, it diffuses the hormones back down the plant to the next nodes nearest the top. These 2 nodes will then replace the first giving you a plant with 2 main colas. This practice is repeated to get the "bushy" plants that most desire as mothers. In my experience it also increases overall yield of the plant.

If anyone on here is looking for help, and you need a conversation in real time, hit me up on yahoo messenger. My name on there is Irydyum also, i'd be happy to help, and if I don't have an answer for you I will find one. I also can share pictures to demonstrate different methods. My grow log on here is outdated, many more pics to share and not enough patience to post em. :)

BTW, I'm going to go read your post about your watering system, but it looks like you won't need it. You missed your flight right?

[jkalb42]

i had a quite large post ready to go in response to that, but it was deleted somehow...to sum it up, it was pretty much saying that i'm experimenting, trying things to see the results. there is no better knowledge than what you get from your own experiences. thanks for the info, i've been wondering why we trim clones for a few weeks now, just haven't got around to asking yet lol.

[domromer]

Great thread. I've only ever grown outdoors but am about to try my first cfl indoor grow. I noticed your lights seem pretty far from the plants. Do you put the plants on something to get them closer to the lights, or do you just keep the lights and the plants that far apart?

[jkalb42]

Theres a link on page 2 to another grow that i was modeling this after. the point was for the plants to stretch up towards the light and have 1 large cola. they would have to be supported by bamboo sticks, however. thanks for posting here, unfortunately the local police have taken my plants away. im still waiting for them to come beat me and arrest me. i was away for ten days at the time, and im upset that i didnt get to see their progress over the time i was gone.