Bagseed LED Closet Grow

[MerryPrankstr]

3 x 5 x 8' closet with 1 TI Smartlamp 600 and 2 Procyon 100's.
Grow log starts at the end of the first week of 12/12 photoperiod after growing 2 female bagseed beans grown under 2 weeks natural sunlight followed by 4 weeks under 2 Procyon 100's in a Ghetto styled cardboard box grow chamber.

Photo's to follow soon.

[MerryPrankstr]

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1775-grow-log-week-1-flowering.jpg


6 Days after changing to 12/12 flowering

[Weezard]

Dang!
That plant,
"look, a like, a man":(

From the size and shape.
Just an observation, I could be quite wrong.:stoned:
Can ya see any pistils on it yet?

Regards
Wee Zard

[MerryPrankstr]

Hey Weezard,

Thanks for stopping by my humble grow.
That plant does have an odd shape, doesn't it.
I snapped a quick close-up photo today (day 9 flowering) and have
posted it below. I changed the photo period on Easter Sunday so I could remember for sure (besides writing it on the calander)


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1776-day-13.jpg

It was shot under the LEDs so the color is all off (LOL) but considering the fact that it's an LED grow, I'd say she's off to a decent start.

I'll try to get a better shot tomorrow ...

Thanks again for the comment, everyone is welcome to coment for that matter.

I like constructive criticism, it helps me grow and learn as a person.

Merry :hippy:

[Weezard]

Hey Weezard,

Thanks for stopping by my humble grow.
That plant does have an odd shape, doesn't it.
I snapped a quick close-up photo today (day 9 flowering) and have
posted it below. I changed the photo period on Easter Sunday so I could remember for sure (besides writing it on the calander)


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1776-day-13.jpg

It was shot under the LEDs so the color is all off (LOL) but considering the fact that it's an LED grow, I'd say she's off to a decent start.

I'll try to get a better shot tomorrow ...

Thanks again for the comment, everyone is welcome to coment for that matter.

I like constructive criticism, it helps me grow and learn as a person.

Merry :hippy:

Allright!
That's a big ol' girl.:thumbsup:
Lookin' good for 9 days.:cool:
What are ya feedin' her?

Regards,
Wee Zard

[MerryPrankstr]

My Grandpappy was a hemp farmer during WWII, in fact until the late 50's when the government started to need less rope and he switched to corn. I sorta follow the way he did it. He used manure, but I'm doing chemical this grow, mainly because I didn't plan it out properly. I've taken a few years off growing and am just geatting my chops back, so to speak.

Nute regime has been Shultz Expert Plant food for the veg stage, only when the sun leaf stem turned a bit purple. No nutes right until Sunday (two week point). I'm open for suggestions, but in the past have had good results in the past using Shultz Bloom under a 400 watt HPS rig for flowering. BTW fanal transplanting 3 gal containers this weekend...

I've been growing all thses years using the minimum nutes possible, but have been reading this site and the more agressive nute regimes.

Merry :hippy:

[roundabout41]

Nice work so far, she forming very well. I would keep to your usually nute regimen especially from my past experience with leds is that they don't need as much food as their HID/CFL counterpart. Are you going to use any 730 nm incandescent to help her fall a sleep easier at night?

[MerryPrankstr]

That's a very good question, Roundabout...

The TI Probloom has far red already, but I can't quantify exactly how much. :weedpoke:

Probably not this grow...

I'm going to get some known genetics and set up a more stable grow environment, then play with that variable.

Merry :hippy:

[MerryPrankstr]

Here's a view of the general lighting setup with two procyon 100's on the left and the TI probloom 600 suspeded from the ceiling. It was heavily photoshoped to show the lights in more detail while operating.

Merry:hippy:

[MerryPrankstr]

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1779-grow-log-lights.jpg

:thumbsup:

[MerryPrankstr]

Transplanting into final 15 in pots from the 7" pots this week end...

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1784-grow-log-week-day-12-flowering-3.jpg

Here's an overall picture pic of the young ladies.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1785-grow-log-week-day-12-flowering.jpg

And a closeup of the one closer to the door.

The one in the back seems a few days behind the front one.

Next week I'll start giving them flowering nutes, just water these last two weeks. Almost no stretching in the last week. They've only grown one inch for the front, one and one half inchfor the back one.

Later,
Merry

[MerryPrankstr]

1/2 strength flowering nutes last Sunday have produced this:


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1865-flowering-day-20-rear-plant-about-week-behind-but-forming-up.jpg

The rear plant is about a week behind but forming up.


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1863-flowering-day-20-front-female-top.jpg

The top on the front plant.


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1864-flowering-day-20-close-up-showing-tricjs.jpg

I tried to capture the early trich's that are beginning to appear. The seeds may have been from a bag (unknown genetics) but it was very dank with frosting all over the buds. We shall see...

Soil is still a bit moist from last weekend's transplanting into 13" dia pots and subsequent watering/ferts. Photoperiod is still 12/12. Lower branches are filling in and beginning to crown.

Some random thoughts on this grow that I didn't mention before:

I have a total of 530 watts LED's in this room. The lights cost close to $2k. So this grow is obviously not trying to use LED's to grow cheaply, but rather to see if one can grow with similar results to HID watt for watt. Moore's law says that power usually grows exponentially every 2 1/2 years so the next generation of LED's should bring us to the point where penetration of canopy is less a problem.

Also the frequencies made by the TI ProBBloom include Orange, White plus Near and Far Reds. The output is much more like HID or sunlight that LED and does not have that pink cast to it. I'm sure that the 200 watts of side lighting doesn't hurt.

See ya next weeks unless there are questions.
MP:hippy:

[syde00]

Moore's law says that power usually grows exponentially every 2 1/2 years so the next generation of LED's should bring us to the point where penetration of canopy is less a problem.


Moore's law actually doesn;t deal with power... Moore's law is about the number of transistors that can packed economically into an integrated circuit.

Its a law that actually follows the number of transistors in a computer CPU. Gordon Moore is one of the co-founders of Intel ;)

There are many variations of Moore's law that do cover other things... like RAM capacity, pixels per dollar (in relation to digital cameras)... i haven;t seen a variation of it that covers LEDs, or lumens per watt or anything like that though, but i also wouldn;t be surprised if one exists. All the variations i've seen have had *something* to do with computing.

grow looks awesome btw :jointsmile: LEDs as grow lighting is really interesting to me... i just wish it was the initial investment for it wasn;t so high :(

[MerryPrankstr]

Hey there, syde00!

Thanks for the props ! I'm not a technical grower and am learning a lot from the resources here. I have a green thumb and some practical experience from my youth. A farmers approach, if you will...


"Moore's law actually doesn;t deal with power... Moore's law is about the number of transistors that can packed economically into an integrated circuit.

Its a law that actually follows the number of transistors in a computer CPU. Gordon Moore is one of the co-founders of Intel
"

Yep, and one of my personal heroes!

It is indeed one of the inverse collary(sp?) of his law.

I was looking at some of CREE's web links. They had photos of prototype LED streelights being tested in China. Very promising indeed. As LED gains more acceptance and therefore an increased production we should see a reduction in price so that LED's make financial sense. Right now they are for experimental use I'm afraid unless you are good with electonics. I probably could home-brew the lights but fortunately have the the means to buy them.

Thanks again for visiting my grow and taking the time to post your ideas. They are very welcome!:thumbsup:

MP

[Weezard]

Just beautiful, M.P.
Yer givin' me "lumen envy"!:D

Aloha and mahalo
Weezard

[syde00]

lol... lumen envy, thats awesome :)

[MerryPrankstr]

Just beautiful, M.P.
Yer givin' me "lumen envy"!:D

Aloha and mahalo
Weezard

Heck Weezard, your Frankenlight is no slouch.
Thanks for the compliments on the grow ! They do seem to be coming along nicely. 3/4 strength bloom nutes tomorrow and see what happens.
:weedpoke:
Until later,
MP

[MerryPrankstr]

Soil didn't dry out until Tuesday. Accidental 1x nutes applied with no adverse reactions. Incidental notes: divided room into a 3x3x8 grow section to enhance light usage last Sunday after the transplanting. Growth is so good I decided to give an mid-week update. Also, I found my macro lens so photos will be much clearer here on out.


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1899-flowering-day-24-2.jpg

First up is the rear plant showing the tip of the top. This plant is much more sparcely flowered but the encrustation factor is over the top.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1900-flowering-day-24.jpg

Next up is the familiar top bud, but whew how hit has grown in just a few days! Since this is early peak flowering the illustrated growth is all along the primary floral axis. I can't wait to see how this plant fills in later when she fattens up.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1901-flowering-day-24-3.jpg

Final shot is a close up of the bud showing trichrome developement. As expected all the heads are milky.

See you all Saturday,
MP

[oldmac]

My Grandpappy was a hemp farmer during WWII, in fact until the late 50's when the government started to need less rope and he switched to corn. I sorta follow the way he did it. He used manure, but I'm doing chemical this grow, mainly because I didn't plan it out properly. I've taken a few years off growing and am just geatting my chops back, so to speak.

Hi MerryPrankstr,

I thought I had left a comment days ago, but don't see it soooo I'll try again.

Great job you're doing with your grow. I have two TI ProBlooms and like them very much. (Also had 2- Procyons but recently sold those).

What really caught my eye was your above quote. I also started out with hemp. Me and my older brother where sent to live on my aunt and uncles' farm in SC in 1940. Mostly tobacco and hemp, plus some row crop vegtables.
I was really fasinated by the hemp, and later more interested in "wildwood weed", that the workers tended in small patches between fields. Found out years later that wildwood was actually marijuana.

Keep up your nice grow.
(BTW did you hear.....LEDs don't work. hehe)

[Shovelhandle]

Nice photos and great plants, Bub! :thumbsup:

[MerryPrankstr]

Oldmac, Shovelhandle, thanks for the kind words.

I'm feeling under the weather today so only picture in the update, I'll take some more If I feel better tomorrow. This is an overall look at the two young ladies. Lower branching is flowering quite nicely. They are presently 22" (rear plant) and 19 1/2" (front plant) I had anticipated quite a bit more stech than what happened or I would have let them grow a foot more. Well, hindsight is always 20/20 I suppose.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1915-flowering-day-27.jpg

Day 27 Flowering

Later,
MP

[justanotherbozo]

very nice man, those baby's look like they're fattenin' up real nice!

btw, have you considered adding molasses to your feeding regimen?
providing needed sugars frees your plants from the need to manufacture
those sugars and allows them to devote more energy to bud production.
or so i'm told, lol, i'm no expert.

also, i don't know if you've already discovered SnSstealth's LED grow yet and,
as it is well worth the read, i've included a link.
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/147698-led-growing-instructional-grow-log.html

anyway, very nice indeed, you definitely have a green thumb.:greenthumb:

[Shovelhandle]

Looking good... you may be seeing nice growth on the bottom of the plant simply because they are not >2' tall. They should fatten up and yield pretty well at that height. Anyway, we live and learn.

Good luck!

[MerryPrankstr]

also, i don't know if you've already discovered SnSstealth's LED grow yet and,
as it is well worth the read, i've included a link.
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/147698-led-growing-instructional-grow-log.html


Thanks for the link, bro...

It was SnSstealth's experimental grow log that gave me the "green light" to go "FURTHUR" and match the watts HID vs LED. Once agin thanks Bro SnSstealth for the pioneering effort.

JAB,
Thanks bro, gonnna stick to what I normally do to try and guage my current LED setup vs my "tried and true" HID rig.

Got this flu thing going on that's not cool...
Back to sleep with me.
MP

[Joefarmer]

This is the nicest LED grow I've seen. Kudos. I was thinking about one Procyon in a 3x3x7 closet but after seeing your three lights in a similarly sized room and the results so far, I'm having second thoughts. Quite an investment. Where did you get the Procyon's, I hear they're hard to get (always on back order). What type of ventilation do you have? Any problems keeping the temps down?
Peacefromthenortheast

[MerryPrankstr]

The Flu had me down for nearly a week.
Luckily the growroom attended to itself in my absence. I watered them Saturday and that's the last I saw of them until today. My friends are none worse for the experience.

Shovelhandle:

It took some time for what you said to be fully appreciated.
Perhaps aprox. 24" crop height is a practical goal for the present LED technology. Thanksfor the insight.

The buds are firm and heavy when handled. I don't wnat to do much more handling now that they are really cranking out the trichromes.

Joefarmer:

There are two approaches with LED grow...
"Low Energy" and "How much growth will my watts bring to harvest".
My grow is definitely the latter.

I can't even begin to be able to give any advise on their use. Only one thing is clear at this point. That is, that at this stage LED offer little or no financial advantage.

I got my Procyons from Indoor Agriculture back in February when they had about 10 in stock. They are presently back ordered there.

My ventilation is presently to 75 cfm fans exhasting the room by being mounted to two holes moounted directly to the wall.

The ambient temperature in room adjacient to the grow is around 72-75 F while the room is 74-78 typically. Very tolerable indeed.



Alas al things must pass and the grow roomis in store for a new configuration.

Details and weekly photos to follow tomorrow.

MP

[MerryPrankstr]

I changed my avatar because someone else was using it and I didn't want to steal his/her identity. Besides this one of the chief comimg out of the bus in flag clothes makes me smile and remember the "good old days".

The grow room needed re-configuration for odor control and better light containment. I found a Secret Jardin DR 100L still in the box at the local grow store. I also got a 140 cfm carbon can fan kit.

Mrs P and I spent the better part of the morning assembling the tent inside the grow room (sounds much easier than it turned out to be as there was nly 2" on each side extra in the room) and installing the carbon filter lights, power and of course the two voluptious ladies. Its a room within a room that fits like a glove.

The rear plant is so heavy with flowers that I had to support the main flowering stem with some twin and latex rubber tubing. The front plant continues to be a week ahead of the rear in terms of development.

I'm beat so photos later today or perhaps tomorrow. Only grow lights inside the grow room now so things will be more challenging to photograph. I'll come up with a way, though!

Best regards to all following my grow,
MP

[MerryPrankstr]

The first wave of pistols are turning redish brown and a new wave of flower growth is beginning. There is no smell now, but the temps inside are in the 82-84F range now. The grow are is now 3'x3'x6'

An Overall view of the plants and their new room:
http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1956-flowering-day-35.jpg


And one of the Carbon Filter and tent roof.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1957-flowering-day-35-2.jpg


See ya all next week,
MP

[MerryPrankstr]

One more try:

Plants
http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1959-flowering-day-35.jpg

Can Filters installation.
http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1958-flowering-day-35-2.jpg

Sorry about that,
MP

[MerryPrankstr]

Close-Ups of the top buds:


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1960-flowering-day-35-3.jpg

The Front Plant


http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture1961-flowering-day-35-4.jpg

The Rear Plant

Later,
MP

[headshake]

looking good mp! i'd rather get get beat with pistils and trichs over whips and chains any day of the week and twice on sundays! and todays sunday.....

and you happen to have two plants! ok, so the last two were just coincidence.

you've got some real beauts my friend!


-shake

[MerryPrankstr]

Thanks Shake!

I have a green thumb and growing experience but I'm not a technical grower. Gotta say I'm learning lots just hang'n around, including spelling(LOL).

My grow room is shared with other plants I have that need lots of light.

I love trees and keep lots of them in a pre-bonsai stage. I just don't do the radical root trimmings to get them in their shallow pots. I really brings me up in the long northern winters.

Catch ya later,
MP

[headshake]

that's awesome. i might have too look into that. sounds very serene.


-shake

[MerryPrankstr]

Been very busy this week. Wednsday had a heatwave and my air conditioner evaperator was iced up due to a stupid mistake by yours truly and te,perature in the room reached 92 F. Luckily the soil was nice and moist and all that seemed to be affected was a bunch of pistals turned orange that day.

Both plants made out ok but the rear plant hardly seemed affected at all.

Water and nutes to be applied this morning


So...
Some pictures and I'll wrap it up for this week.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2028-flowering-day-41.jpg

Overview of the grow this week.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2048-flowering-day-41-7.jpg

Just the cola from the front plant

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2029-flowering-day-41-2.jpg

Closeup of the front cola tip

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2030-flowering-day-41-3.jpg

Same shot in alternate lighting

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2031-flowering-day-41-4.jpg

Closeup of the lowest bud on the front plant

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2033-flowering-day-41-6.jpg

Closeup of the tip of the cola from the rear plant

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2032-flowering-day-41-5.jpg

Lowest bud on the rear plant

I'm trying to get the qualty of the pictures up bu the grow tent's interior reflects so well that I'm haing trouble keeping the contrast ratio up there.

Take care until next week, folks...
MP

[headshake]

hey mp, so do you think you can successfully grow buds with LEDs? j/k.

looking very nice!


-shake

[MerryPrankstr]

Headshake:

It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings, but I'm keep'n my fingers crossed.

MP

[justanotherbozo]

they are lookin' pretty frikin' nice man! and nice camera work too!

btw, my work bonsai-ing my mother plants has me trying to educate myself on
the art of bonsai, lol.

i need to figure out how to take and root cuttings from trees.

[MerryPrankstr]

JAB,
Thanks for the compliment.
Trees are no different than cannabis. Take your cuttings from the growing tips and include 3 to 5 nodes. Use your prefered cutting techniques and preparations (I have some German rooting powder my mother-in-law gave me) and rooting media. I'm thinking of moving fot a bubble cloning system, myself.

MP

[justanotherbozo]

JAB,
Thanks for the compliment.
Trees are no different than cannabis. Take your cuttings from the growing tips and include 3 to 5 nodes. Use your prefered cutting techniques and preparations (I have some German rooting powder my mother-in-law gave me) and rooting media. I'm thinking of moving fot a bubble cloning system, myself.

MP


thanks man, lol, somehow i thought it'd be more complicated and difficult than that!

btw, if you check my sig you will see a link to a thread i did documenting my DIY
bubble cloner build.

works like a champ and all for about $25.00 depending on what and where you buy.

here's a couple pics of mine.

[MerryPrankstr]

Hey cool.
I can build that, thanks!

Once you get your trees rooted, lets talk!

MP

[Weezard]

Headshake:

It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings, but I'm keep'n my fingers crossed.

MP

Aloha M.P.

I can tell that you're an "old time toker" .
And I'm sure you have a tolerance that'll smoke most anyone under da table.
So do I my friend.
So I offer a happy caution to ya.

When dat first test bud is ready for bio-assay.
Choose a day with nothing important to do!
Finish da chores first.

Then take 1. (one) hit.
Put the pipe down and wait a few.
I've been tokin' for 40 years and I'm not easy to impress, so I took 2. hits from a small, glass pipe.

Turned me into an amiable simpleton for 4 hours!

Had D.H. scarfing an entire 'fridge, w/poker chips.:D

That 660nm. seems to be a potency booster.
And without any UVb to to degrade the resins the potency keeps rising with time.

(If ya want my UVb mythbuster rant, you have but to ask.:))

You have been warned,
Enjoy, and type us a rant, yah?

Weezard:jointsmile:

[MerryPrankstr]

Thanks Weezard, I'll keep that in mind.

That's the kind of problem I can live with.

So let me hear the UVb mythbuster rant, please.

MP

[Weezard]

Thanks Weezard, I'll keep that in mind.

That's the kind of problem I can live with.

So let me hear the UVb mythbuster rant, please.

MP


Yes, I said that UVb is not only un-necessary, but that it actually degrades potency!
And I'll stand by that statement.

Read some real lab assays of thc percentage vs time of harvest a while back.
Noon was lowest, evening was higher, and morning was highest.
So, I used to harvest outdoor buds in the early morning for maximum potency.

The UV in sunlight degrades thc all day long as the plant produces more.

Wanna simple, easy, test?
Lay one cured bud out in the sun all day and keep one in the dark.
Then bio-assay.
I'll have the dark dank thanks!

That Weedman rant on youtube is NOT science!
It's not even good assumption.
But it sure sells a lot of Reptile lamps. :D

And the theory that MJ produces resins to "protect it's self" from UV is hogwash.

There is more evidence to show that MJ resins do thwart a clear and present danger though, birds n bugs.
(Not the borg though, they are small enough to avoid the trichomes and just suck sap.)

But, I have seen grasshoppers lying on their backs under a half eaten leaf.
I have photos of a honeybee hanging by it's mandibles from a pot leaf swaying in da breeze while it regained enough balance to fly.
[attachment=o218713]
The resin quickly stupefies any bug that ingests it and tangles their feet if they stomp around on it.
I have also seen birds land on neighboring plants and stretch their necks to try and steal pot seeds. They do not like to land on colas.
Makes their feet sticky and smells funny, (to them).

There is so much mis-information about weed that I feel compelled to test all the "old stoners tales" trying to find the science behind them.
Many of them are just plain silly, most of the silly ones are, at least, harmless.
This UVb myth has been consuming time, money, and potency for a long time.
Now that we have ways to test it, test it I did.
Not that it was all that necessary.
Fifteen minute of critical thinking should do.
Next up?
Adding sugars/molasses to your waterings so the plant does not have to make it's own sugar!
Any real chemists out there care to explain in simple terms why that is oh, so, wrong.

For me, it's not enough that something works or does not work.
I must know why.

Now, ain't ya glad you asked?:)

Aloha,
Wee Zard.

[MerryPrankstr]

Weezard,
I gotta agree with ya. Even most of the books I read indicate a decay of THC even while it is still being synthesized. Most don't indicate what causes the decay, but it has the ring of truth to it. Even when I cure weed in glass jars I always keep them in a cool dark place for that reason.

A real short story for ya...

Back around '94 or so I came across some beans from Afganastan and grew a few of them in my closet. I was using a 600 watt HPS rig at the time and had the door open to allow some extra cooling while I was changing some window screens. In comes a huge bumble bee that heads directly to my closet and my Afgan hash plants. Well it landed on a 2 1/2 ft top cola and never moved again. It took me days to gather enough courage to approach the plant and it's visitor, but when I touched it the bee had passed on to bee heaven and was preserved with it's wings still folding up to land...

I didn't stand a chance, but I imagine it died with a smile on it's face (if bees could smile).

MP

[oldmac]

Hey MerryPrankstr,

Very nice looking LED grow, your pictures are great.
Nice choice of lights!
OH, and thankyou for asking Weez to do his UVB rant.

Yo' 'Zard,

You make some fine points, but I think you may be wrong on a couple of points.
I think you are very correct about not putting cured bud under the sun or UVB, nothing good can come from that.
As to how healthy it is for growing plants may be another thing. UVB is present outdoors everywhere (when the sun is out) and in various amounts, depending on latitude, altitude and atitude. Well maybe 2 out of three of those. Long before I saw the mj man video I had a theroy that the best grown stuff on earth came from areas with higher amounts of UVB. That included Alaska where I saw some of the biggest, juciest buds and tastiest stuff grown, at a latitude almost to the artic circle! What they had there was some 24hr light in the middle of thier grow season, and with that come a daily dose of UVB to rival the equator. Most equatorial areas never recieve more then 14 or so hours of light, but again the uvb expose in these areas is very high. I therefore contend it isn't just the hours of light that influences the plants potency but something else these areas have in common, UVB.

It's been awhile since I tested growing without it. So I'm going to run my personnel grow without it next time (abt 7-10 days from now). I'll let you know what happens.
BTW: I'd like to hear a good explaination of the sugar/mole asses thing too.

[Weezard]

Hey MerryPrankstr,

Very nice looking LED grow, your pictures are great.
Nice choice of lights!
OH, and thankyou for asking Weez to do his UVB rant.

Yo' 'Zard,

You make some fine points, but I think you may be wrong on a couple of points.

Oh, I don't doubt dat!
I've been wrong before.
I remember, once in April of 1970.:(

I think you are very correct about not putting cured bud under the sun or UVB, nothing good can come from that.
As to how healthy it is for growing plants may be another thing. UVB is present outdoors everywhere (when the sun is out) and in various amounts, depending on latitude, altitude and atitude. Well maybe 2 out of three of those. Long before I saw the mj man video I had a theroy that the best grown stuff on earth came from areas with higher amounts of UVB. That included Alaska where I saw some of the biggest, juciest buds and tastiest stuff grown, at a latitude almost to the artic circle! What they had there was some 24hr light in the middle of thier grow season, and with that come a daily dose of UVB to rival the equator. Most equatorial areas never recieve more then 14 or so hours of light, but again the uvb expose in these areas is very high. I therefore contend it isn't just the hours of light that influences the plants potency but something else these areas have in common, UVB.

Had the same thoughts in the '70s.
Tried growing some Columbian seed in S.F. Ca. to test the lattitudenous part.:stoned:
<Sigh> got rustled by pot poachers.:(
That's one of the reasons why I did my first led grow.

Peatpot to monkeypipe.
There was never a whisper of even reflected UV a, b, or c.
under 625 nm. red the potency was a solid "7".
Now, here's what has me intrigued.
Same strain, (clone), under 660 nm. (0 UV) is causing me to re-calibrate the scale or call it "11"!

Not braggin', (well, maybe a little bit), its just the results I've observed and my attempts to draw conclusions from them.
Gets very hard after even the smallest of bio-assays.:stoned::stoned:

It's been awhile since I tested growing without it. So I'm going to run my personnel grow without it next time (abt 7-10 days from now). I'll let you know what happens.

Yes please! I'm done with my UV experiments, and am fairly confident in my conclusions, but if you get different results, I wanna know, bro.

BTW: I'd like to hear a good explaination of the sugar/mole asses thing too.

"A man's got to know his limitations" - Dirty Harry

That's why I called for a real chemist.

I audited a few chemistry lectures 40 years ago and have read a book or two, but am not up to an in depth explanation.
Suffice to say that IMO, it's only a little silly.
And when growing in dirt it may serve to feed the beneficial bacteria and actually do some good.
But seems to me that adding it to hydro will, at best, do no harm.
Everytime I visit the hydro store I'm amazed at the amount of almost useless crap that they stock, and sell and promote.
"Thunder bud liquid light marketing hype" dahoozits abound.
If one more noob says "I added this at week 7 of bloom and the buds got a lot fatter." I may hurt my face with grinnin':D:D
There's no end of meaningless crusades to join, so, one picks one's battles.
If I can keep a few folks from harm with a UV rant or two, it was worth the effort.:jointsmile:
If they grow better meds because of it, its a win win.:D

Drat! 2 hits an' I can't frikkin' type.
L8R
W.

[MerryPrankstr]

I had removed 1 Procyon in ordder to balance the heat load last week, so I added an additional 140 CFM Fan and filter to make a total of 240 cfm air removal. Temps at the canopy hover around 75F now with 530 watts power.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2116-flowering-day-47-2.jpg

Nothing special to talk about, been lurking at the LED threads and learning and letting my plants do their thing on thier own. Soil is still moist after last weeks watering with 1/2 strength nutes. Many red pistals in the front plant, I think I may have had a rougue male flower or two go off on he but new flowers are still eing produced and the trichs are mostly still milky:

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2118-flowering-day-47-4.jpg

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2117-flowering-day-47-3.jpg

I letting her grow and hoping for the best.

Here's the overview of the grow:

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/merryprankstr-albums-1st-led-grow-picture2115-flowering-day-47.jpg

So I guess that's for this week for me folks.

Take care till next week!

MP

[flipwithit]

this is nice to find...i decided to try LED's back when i first read SNS thread and havnt really been lurkin since.

i am currently vegging with my panels and getting great results. when i flower, im going to have 470watts (2 100w panels and 2 bloom boost panels) over a 4x4 tray that im SOGing and a thouie on another in the same room.

they advertise each light out performs a 400w hps. they also work with the department of agriculture here in california. heres a link to their website.
Go Green Grow Lights (http://thegrowlights.com/index.html)

im lookin forward to your harvest, things look great

[MerryPrankstr]

Thanks for the compliment.

I don't know anything about that source of lamps, but their claim seems a bit optimistic, IMHO. Maybe 2:1 efficiency but 4:1 would be stretching it.

After following Weezards posts on LEDs elsewhere I'm wondering if I have a bit too much light in my tent so I've ordered a lux meter and will take some measurements when it arrives.

Watered the front plant with 1/2 ususal amount at 1/4 nute strength this morning. rear plant has about 1 more day until it needs water/nutes.

MP

[flipwithit]

i hear ya. im a bit optimistic myself, thats why i bought about 500w, lol. ill be sure to post up my experience.

[Weezard]

Thanks for the compliment.

I don't know anything about that source of lamps, but their claim seems a bit optimistic, IMHO. Maybe 2:1 efficiency but 4:1 would be stretching it.

"They do seem to be "stretching it":D

After following Weezards posts on LEDs elsewhere I'm wondering if I have a bit too much light in my tent so I've ordered a lux meter and will take some measurements when it arrives.

Worth doing, I learned a lot with the lux meter.

'til it comes though, a practical indicator of too much light ,( over 91k lux), is a drastic slowing of photosynthesis.
Good indicator of that, is transpiration.

If you have a spare scale, set the plant on it and leave it there.
If the weight stays constant for more than a day, she's not moving water, growth has stopped, raise the light an inch or so and see if it resumes.

Watered the front plant with 1/2 ususal amount at 1/4 nute strength this morning. rear plant has about 1 more day until it needs water/nutes.

MP

That said, those girls look great! :greenthumb:

Seems they are still drinking and they look ready to me. unless you are shooting for couchlock.

If so, be aware that waiting for amber trichs under LEDs can be misleading.
Without UVb cooking them you will only get amber from senescence.
I let my first crop go too long.
This last crop chop was "mostly-cloudy".
Talk about peak production!
I've been silly-high for two weeks.:stoned:

Have you had an "oops" test yet?

"I swear, it was an accident, this branch just fell right off"
Perhaps, I'll dry an try.;)

Further,
Weeze

[MerryPrankstr]

That said, those girls look great! :greenthumb:

Seems they are still drinking and they look ready to me. unless you are shooting for couchlock.

If so, be aware that waiting for amber trichs under LEDs can be misleading.
Without UVb cooking them you will only get amber from senescence.
I let my first crop go too long.
This last crop chop was "mostly-cloudy".
Talk about peak production!
I've been silly-high for two weeks.:stoned:

Have you had an "oops" test yet?

"I swear, it was an accident, this branch just fell right off"
Perhaps, I'll dry an try.;)

Further,
Weeze

Hmmm... I was waiting for the amber trichs to guage the harvest timing.

I just trimmed the lowest branch for a test. It's pretty sticky and heavy.

Thanks for the heads up, Weez...

I think the back plant still has time to go as most of the pistils are still viable.

The test buds are drying on the Heastsink of thr TI Pro-bloom as we speak.

MP

[MerryPrankstr]

Here a shot of the smallest bud from the test (lowest) branch.
[attachment=o219225]

Looks and smells real nice. Dry and bio assey to see if its ready, but sure looks that way. This bud actually did fall (after I cut the branch, LOL)

Oh well :)

MP

[Weezard]

But that li'l budlet made me say Suzy Creamcheese right out loud.

You might wanna siddown for this one.
I'm having virtual acceleration g-force rushes.:rastasmoke:
Had a thumb sized cola, um, fall off, last Wednesday.

Just sat down with her.
wow
the air around my fingers is too thick to type through.
Uh,


W.

[MerryPrankstr]

But that li'l budlet made me say Suzy Creamcheese right out loud.

W.

LOL, Weezard, what got into you?

MP

[Weezard]

LOL, Weezard, what got into you?

MP

"Blew my mind on too much kool-ade"

Weeze.

[MerryPrankstr]

"Blew my mind on too much kool-ade"

Nope, that's my excuse for real! :hippy:

T'was just quoting Frank Zappa along with ya.

"Suzy Creamcheese, Whats got into you?"

Darn bud is still moist and sticky...

Anticipation,
Anticipation is making me wait

MP

[Weezard]

Nope, that's my excuse for real! :hippy:

T'was just quoting Frank Zappa along with ya.

"Suzy Creamcheese, Whats got into you?"

Darn bud is still moist and sticky...

Anticipation,
Anticipation is making me wait

MP

That's what got into Suzy, yah?

What got into me,
you are about to see!

Gird your grid lad.
2 hits was one too many, for this '60s survivor.
Just took one today,
and it's just stomped in and said hi!
Oh my goodness!
Um, Holy crap.:stoned:
Thaat's fast,.
Gonna stroll the garden.
Your fortune cookie says; Good things yourway comes.
(So, it was a made in Austria, knock-off fortune cookie, there's equality in their validity)
Woof!
Bye :jointsmile::D:D:D:D:D:D:)

[MerryPrankstr]

Well,
I harvested the two voluptuous ladies last night.
This ends the grow log for all intents and purposes...
I will post my LUX readings for the grow room when my meter arrives.

BTW, the answer is "Yes you can grow real'phat' and dank buds with LED's. The quick dry bud smells like a combination of fine hashish, cinnamin and marigolds, and glistens in the light like it's encrusted with diamonds.

Total of 50 days flowering switching from 18/6 to 12/12.
Not bad at all if I have to say so myself, as I had expected my LED harvest to come in late. I grow for my meds only so I don't have a scale to weigh the harvest.

Thanks to Weezard for the help in harvest timing/ trich coloration clues, and all of the rest of the gang for their compliments and encouragement.

I will post some harvest photos soon, but right now I'm gonna have my first taste. The little budlet is finally dry enough to smoke, so I'm off to see the Weezard.

Again, my sincerest thanks to everyone here on Cannabis.com

Later all !!!
MP

[MerryPrankstr]

Thanks again!!!
[attachment=o219362]

[Weezard]

Thanks again!!!
[attachment=o219362]

I no weigh dem eeder, I jus' count da jars.

You still had a few white pistils, but they were ready and about to "foxtail" it looks like.

Ok, brah, we won't see you for a while.
Have a wonderful trip!:bigsmoke:
Den come by and try to decribe it.:S2:

Aloha nui loa!

Now you will see why I split my space in three..
Half bloomery , half veggery, and, the other half is "cloistered clonery":D
I want' this shite, on-tap atta time, yah?

Happy "trails" brah!

Weeze

[MerryPrankstr]

Mrs P and I sat down to a couple of test tokes last night. This was a 40 hour quick dry with no heat applied, just the exhaust of a carbon filter blowing gently on the branch. Bud easily smokable, but the main branch is still slighly pliable so no container storage yet!


I spent the night trimming off the sun leaves and a rough manicure to both plants. Gonna let everything dry then cure in glass jars.

To the test results:

Taste is sweet and delightfully smooth and refreshing. Potency is unreal!

I took one toke at 8:00 and didn't even think of another until 10:00 when I thought "what the heck" and took three more. I was swirled into another world of color sound and smells that were swirling around and making me want to smile and laugh at just about everything. I woke up this morning and I was still buzzed.

It is really cerebral stuff with couch lock only if you smoke "too much" whatever that means. Mrs P calls it "rocket fuel" and says it hit's her in the back of the forehead. :thumbsup:

LOL, I just realized that that I had only sampled the front smaller plant, and that they were the most bottom popcorn part!!!





Weezard ---
Now you will see why I split my space in three..
Half bloomery , half veggery, and, the other half is "cloistered clonery"
I want' this shite, on-tap atta time, yah?

Yep Weezard, I may just have to try something like that too. ;)

Still wating on the LUX meter...
I'll be back when it isn't so hard to type.

MP

[Weezard]

Roger that, an' ditto.
W.

[headshake]

nice looking harvest MP! how tall where they before you paul bunyon'd thosed babes?


-shake

[MerryPrankstr]

Hey Shake !

The tall one was 22 inches while the smaller one finished at 19 inches. Considerably shorter than what I anticicated as they grew only 1-1 1/2 inches after switching from 18/6 to 12/12 hour photoperiod.

Thanks for your support and interest.
I started the grow log only because you suggested I did due to the interest in LED grows.

MP

[headshake]

those are some very impressive fat ladies that have just sung my friend!

how much do you think your light had to do with the non-stretching?

i appreciate you taking the time to keep the log, especially if it was because of my suggeston. you guys are doing amazing things and even though it makes my head hurt i enjoy learning and to jumping into tinkering headfirst as soon as i get the chance.

so many projects and so little time (and money)!

thanks again!


-shake

[MerryPrankstr]

those are some very impressive fat ladies that have just sung my friend!

Thanks Shake, for their size they were very productive with thick buds.
This run was mainly to start to guage the light and ventilation for production. The room still needs modification before continous growing starts.


how much do you think your light had to do with the non-stretching?

Quite a bit I think. the room was 2' 11" x 2' 11" x 5' 11". The LED fixtures were about 12-18" away frorm the light source with 300 from the top and 100 watts facing the iso-center of the top from oposing corners. That's a lot of lumens flying at the center, and the walls are all refelective mylar. I have to wait for my LUX meter to arrive and take quantitive measurements but it was uncomfortable to go inside the tent without some sort of eye protection.

The Manufacturers both suggest between 12-24" distance for primary lighting so I was on the bright side of the application. I think the side lighting was excessive so that will have to be fine tuned.

I also kept the plant so that the sunleaf stems were just tinted with purple. This means the the plants were just on the edge of N starvation. A more agressive nute regimen would have certainly increased both total height and number of flowering node. The good news is that this is an example of the leanest, barebone, lowest efficient grow posssible and that any cultivation of that sort is bound to reap bumper crops. The bad news is that I have a smaller less impressive harvest this cycle in order to create that baseline.


I'm watching a few threads with areo/DWC/coco with an eye to try one out to maybe give me even better harvests at faster intervals. For me it's so many techniques, so little time as I am getting older (LOL)


i appreciate you taking the time to keep the log, especially if it was because of my suggeston. you guys are doing amazing things and even though it makes my head hurt i enjoy learning and to jumping into tinkering headfirst as soon as i get the chance.

It was fun to experiment and everyone was quite nice and supportive.

MP

[SonicHaze]

Congrats! Looks good.