*Under The Stairs!

[killfrenzi]

Whats up all!

I am on my 3rd grow and now finally have some decent space to grow some doja. I have recently purchased a 400-1000w switchable (Mh\Hps) ballast and air-cooled hood setup, $311. A 6" inline fan (540cfm), and about 5' of 6" ducting, $50. a Grape Ape clone and 6 seeds of unknown strains.

I am growing under the stairs, typical household stairs, so I am growing at the highest point for the entire process. I am using FoxFarm OceanForest Soil in 16oz party cups for the seeds, started 5/1, and same for the clone but in a 1/2 gal pot, purchased 5/3 @ 7".

Room temp is at 78 degrees and 51% humidity, seale. When I have it uncovered the temp drops to 71 and 45-47% humid. Running 18/6 light cycle for veg under 400w Mh. 3-4 weeks then switch to 1000w Hps 12/12 flower.

Any input on nutes and when best to start, or any questions at all would be SAAWEEEET!!!

[superskunk1]

Nice setup if you dont have any nutes yet try Advanced Nutrients Ive only heard good from them iim currently using Gro-tek and i cant complain.

You shouldnt use nutes until they are atleast on there 4th node

[killfrenzi]

I repotted the sprouts 5/11, am waiting fpr the other 3 to get a lil more rootbound. And the clone repotted 5/10, started the clone on GH FloraNova "Grow" 5/11. And will wait 1 more week to start nutes on the sprouts.

Any ?'s or input is always welcome!

[TheChameleon]

With fox farms ocean you just need to keep transplanting to bigger pots,,, the stuff has nutes...

[killfrenzi]

Here are a couple updated pics of my current grow; pic 1 is the Grape Ape clone, and the 2nd pic is of all 8 plants. I just got a (LGS) Lime Green Skunk, clone on 5/14 she was 7" when i got her she is now 9" The grape ape clone is now 18.5", and the rest of the seedlings are 3.5".

Any questions or comments,....... Always welcome

[TheChameleon]

You must go to Wal*Mart,,, I have the same little black fan... The fan was like 3.98 I bought 3 at the end of the season...

The new plants look good...

[GetThisOrDie]

Whats up?

I use fox farm trio with the ocean forest. Big bloom, Grow big, and tiger bloom.

I bet its going to get hot as shit in there with the 1000w hps on! Did you test the temperature with it before hand?

Good luck on getting your doja!

[killfrenzi]

I originally had the set up in a closet that had less sq. footage, tested the 1000w'er and the temp seemed to stay steady around 84, now keep in mind i have also changed my ducting from 4" to 6", added a 16" oscilating fan, added a second intake, and have more sq. footage in an area that is concrete on 2 walls and of course the ground, that helps keep temp levels down as well.

Although I am a lil curious about what the temps will get too when I change light cycles. Less time on though, and from what my Electrician buddy says, " Mh get hotter than Hps", but the Hps is also 600w more than the mHalide. I guess Ill find out when the time comes, but if it gets too hot, Ill spring the extra $35 to get another exhaust fan.

Oh yea, I also made this homemade 8" carbon filter. Havent used it yet.... no smell. Got the info from... of course http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs/99371-diy-how-carbon-filter.html

Here are a few pix!

Pic1: Original Area Setup
Pic2: Carbonfilter (HomeMade:thumbsup:)

[GP73LPC]

if you don't mind me asking how do you access the space under the stairs. if that is a security concern than i understand you not wanting to share.

i considered doing the same thing and thought about removing a closet and putting in a hidden door to access the area to help increase the stealthiness...

go to youtube and seach on hidden door bookcase for an idea of what i am talking about...

[killfrenzi]

It was originally supposed to be a closet, but a door was never put on. So i went to home depot and bought a 8'x4' piece of stirofoam insulation and am using that as a temporary door. It has reflective stuff on the other side, and this is where my intakes are located.

Heres a few pics of the door:

[GP73LPC]

cool, any plans on making it more disguised ???

[Phant0m]

Posted on the other thread, looks like this one is all go tho.

"Looking good! I'm afraid I can't help you with Nutes as I'm new. But I will take note of what people say.

But a quick question for you, what method did you use to germ the seeds?

Good luck and thanks!"

[killfrenzi]

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I used the simpelest method possible; I have tried every way in the book and this is my fav and seems to be most reliable;: Start with 16oz party cups, the darker the cup, better for roots. I used styro cups though, easier to cut away during transplant. And clear cups for the dome. Seed 1/8" to 1/4" into soil; cover seed DO NOT PACK SOIL, needs to be as loose as possible for the seed to sprout; water w/ ph'd water until medium is 75% heavier than it was dry, or 1/4% water runoff, after watering. i did 18/6 light for 3-5 days and they popped. The longest sprout was 7 days;



Heres a pic of what it was like:

[killfrenzi]

Here are a few pics taken 5/24:

Question, comments, or even Advice...... Always Welcome!

Thnx,


Will post more pics this afternoon, after i transplant the larger plants. I am also converting another closet into a veg chamber.

Pictures coming soon:

[Phant0m]

^
I used the simpelest method possible; I have tried every way in the book and this is my fav and seems to be most reliable;: Start with 16oz party cups, the darker the cup, better for roots. I used styro cups though, easier to cut away during transplant. And clear cups for the dome. Seed 1/8" to 1/4" into soil; cover seed DO NOT PACK SOIL, needs to be as loose as possible for the seed to sprout; water w/ ph'd water until medium is 75% heavier than it was dry, or 1/4% water runoff, after watering. i did 18/6 light for 3-5 days and they popped. The longest sprout was 7 days;



Heres a pic of what it was like:

Thanks heaps for the in-depth method! If the method I'm using now fails ill try yours! seems the most natural method anyway?

Ill keep an eye on the thread, good luck and thanks again!

[drudown11]

My advice........ Wait until they get a little taller and LST them.




This will also keep your plants short and bushy, instead of tall and lanky.
In the first pic you will see how when you bend the plant over, every top shoots upward in search of light. This creates an even canopy of colas that all recieve a good amount of light, thus increasing your yield overall.

You can bend branches back too if you want to take it even further and create a monster bush. When i bend and LST correctly and give them a little longer veg time, i can come pretty damn close to 1 gram per ever watt of light. You should be able to do the same!!


In the last picture you will see a LST'd female 2 1/2 weeks into flower. It does not have a christmas tree shape, its more of a bush. When you have one plant that is 3 times as big as the others(as you have in your garden) you might have a hard time trying to light your garden.

[killfrenzi]

"DruDown"

I am not limited to any kinda height restriction. My closet is 8.5' tall, and I dont think my plants are going to get any taller than 5'5". I plan on starting flower in 2-3 weeks when the tallest plant reaches 2'-3'. Also the 6 seedling are not garuanteed females. I only plan on having 3 maybe 4 max, in flower. I also plan on cloning the Grape Ape and LGS before flower, and possibly making 1 of each clone a permanant mother?

Any ideas or input?


Also quick question about watering. How often should i water w/ regular ph'd water? I watered 5/25 w/ reg water and was the fist time in 4 weeks?

[Giggitagator]

bending your plants is the way to go. even if you have the height just by bending your plants you allow more light to more leaves. When you do so it sends floral hormones to more places on the plant, instead of concentrating them in the main stem. Why have one main large cola when you can have 4 of equal size. you want the most you can yield correct? bend them suckers you wont regret it! :rastasmoke::thumbsup:

[killfrenzi]

I agree w/ everything you guys are saying, and my last grow fas actually LST'd and I was pretty impressed, but I think i might be limited to width and depth, my space is only 3'x4'. if they get too bushy they will consume the entire space? I seen drudowns grow and his area is 9'x5' and he can only access the back plants by crawling under the canopy. And i know I can get 4 mains by just FIMing or topping the plants.



I dunno what would you guys suggest doing in an area that is 3'wx4'dx8'h?

Advice before its too late, the biggest plant is 19" and i dont wanna stress her.

[drudown11]

If your want to top them, then you should do it as soon as possible. It takes a good 2 weeks for the plant to fully recover from getting topped, so i would do it a couple of weeks before you plan to flower.

I say FIM:rastasmoke:

[killfrenzi]

thnx dru, I will actually try 1 of each. I will post pics 5/29 or 5/30. give em a lil time to recoop from the transition.:smokin:

[drudown11]

Sweet!! good to here that your gunna try it out on some of them.. I too was skeptical at first, but then i started reading threads on how some the of the people on this site yield ridiculous amounts of chronic. All of them used some kind of training or LST'ing. At first i tried with one plant, now i bend them all. Im not a big sea of green fan, why have 20 when you can yield the same with 5. But thats just my opinion.

I made a little diagram for you. Im stoned as shit, and its kind of half ass but you may find it helpful.

You should already notice your tops bending towards the light. Its doesnt take long for them to recoop.

[drudown11]

i made a spelling error. OOPS!!

[killfrenzi]

Okay so I have decided that I am going to keep the 2 clones as they are, because they are already 19 and 13 inches tall..?....? I am going to take 3 clones off the Grape Ape and 3 off the LGS to use as clones for the next round, but I plan on making 1 of each clone a permanant Mother. But with the baby's im going to LST all of em except the one I FIMed.

Here are 2 pics:

1. LST

2. FIM

Also. wanting to know how often I should be feeding nutes, before a ph'd flush?

Any Advice or Input? Lemme Know!

[killfrenzi]

Dru you are Fu**ing hell.ar.ious. I love stoners, your diagram was definantly made while you were ripped!!!:stoned: :jointsmile: :D :thumbsup:

[drudown11]

Also. wanting to know how often I should be feeding nutes, before a ph'd flush?

Any Advice or Input? Lemme Know!



I also use Ocean forest soil and I prefer to flush once a month. I use Fox Farm nutrients and i get some salt build up(specifically nitrogen) after about a month and a half of a consistent feeding schedule.

If i ever have a problem with my garden, flushing with PH'd water(or better yet, a clearing solution) is the first thing i do. The most common problems i run into are a wacked out ph and nutrient toxicity.

[smpaz420]

Ill second that drudown. I use the Fox farms trio and the powder trio as well, and follow the feeding schedule.
I was having ph problems with FFOF and ended up having to use some natural lime additive when i mix up my soil, i add some later in the water as well. If i dont do that my ph gets really low and like you said the nutes become toxic! Just keep an eye on your ph and check your runoff once a week and you will know if you need to add anything else like lime to your soil.

[killfrenzi]

Whats good all?


Here are a few pics taken today... I have LST'd all but 2 outa the 8 plants; They all seem to be takin on the extra light like they never seen it before. I will start tieing down, bending and training the new shoots in a few weeks, give em a lil time to re coop and grow.

Drudown I would apprecieate a lil more input on how you actually tied down your main shoots or did you jus let grow wild. It seems that you have done some seriuos LSTing. Cause thos 4 plants seriously look like 30.


Lemme know a lil more about your technique,

Anyway here are the pics:

[drudown11]

i drill holes in the sides of by plastic pots and use string to tie the plants down. I take the biggest branches and pull them across the sides of the pot and tie them down. I try to make sure all of the plants and tops are bent to an even height, like a nicely trimmed bush(that was never trimmed of course, just bent over).

Yes i trained all of my main shoots. They are your beefiest branches and grow the fastest. I bend them back everytime one gets taller than another.

I used a combination of Fimming and LST. I Fim to stimulate lateral branch growth, and then bend shortly after to create more tops.

[drudown11]

btw theyre looking good. It looks like your plants are responding well to the bending.


Also that one in the first picture, this might just be my personal preference but i would bend it over a little more at the tip. like a 90 degree angle. It might make your back middle and upper branches shoot towards the light a little more.



A couple of weeks before flowering i like to cut all of the small branches and leaves at the bottom. If it doesnt get a reasonale amount of sunlight, i chop it off.

[killfrenzi]

Here area few more pics taken about 30 mins ago! I am going to start flower in about 2-3 weeks on the Grape Ape and LGS. It looks like 1 of the babies are female. It has a few pistils shooting out:D and I will put the babies under some CFL's til the are ready for flower.

I just got my electricity bill for the month of May!:( I live in a 2 story + basement townhome about 820-900 sq ft. The bill...... $213.??. My fiance is trippin.:mad: I needa wire my basement for 240v, But from what I hear from my electrician buddy... is that the 240v wire is pretty expensive, and i need about 50ft of wire, the outlet and, my buddy is going to supply the breaker and Labor.

I will post close up pics of the 3 LST'd babies, and ill try to get a close up pic of the suspected Female for more early opinions!

[drudown11]

have you tried out that homemade Carbon filter yet?

[killfrenzi]

Damn.... No It hasnt started to stink yet!? I really hope it works though. I also need to purchase another 6" inline fan to hook up to that bad mama jama. Although I know for sure in the next 2 weeks it will be stinkin to the high heavens. I have a LG skunk strain!

Anyways I will try that suckah soon!

[drudown11]

looks like your getting some nice bushes!!! Are you gunna SCROG or us some some of screen to support the Nugs during flower? Things are going to get very heavy during the end.

[CovertCarpenter]

You may actually have to turn some other stuph off, if you're paying A Lot per kWh. Or run yer light(s) while yer power is cheapest, if you're on pay-by-the-time-of-usage.

Don't sweat the large bill. If they call ya on it, explain that you've been leaving your Large Gaming PC and Bigscreen TV on, and you and yer fiancé have already had That Fight, thankyouverymuch. But they are always amenable to payments.

Or, move somewhere yer 'lectricity is included...

[drudown11]

You may actually have to turn some other stuph off, if you're paying A Lot per kWh. Or run yer light(s) while yer power is cheapest, if you're on pay-by-the-time-of-usage.

Don't sweat the large bill. If they call ya on it, explain that you've been leaving your Large Gaming PC and Bigscreen TV on, and you and yer fiancé have already had That Fight, thankyouverymuch. But they are always amenable to payments.

Or, move somewhere yer 'lectricity is included...


just remember that your a huge customer to them, give them some bullshit reason why your using tons of power and theyll gladly take your money.

[killfrenzi]

*Suspecion* is not an issue for me, (I dont think I spelled that right) We are legal! I just hate paying the extra $50 a month, I can spend $50 1 time and buy the 12/2 Romex (50ft) $35, a 240v 20amp outlet ($5), and an outlet cover (.87). And my electrician buddy has over 7k worth of breakers he has saved up over that last 10 yrs of being an electrician, so I aint gotta spend the extra $50 on the breaker... Awesome!!


Lookin at getting re-wired Monday?!?!


With the SCROG I am not too sure. I might either buy some 1" chicken wire or an Ass-Ton of string and hooks? I dunno what method did you use Dru?

I love advice and opinions!:jointsmile:

[drudown11]

Lookin at getting re-wired Monday?!?!


With the SCROG I am not too sure. I might either buy some 1" chicken wire or an Ass-Ton of string and hooks? I dunno what method did you use Dru?

I love advice and opinions!:jointsmile:




Chicken wire sounds like it would work fine. You might wanna get a little more than 1" though, Hopefully your colas are too big! Ive seen quite a few people that use wire or chain link fence. I like that idea because theyre really heavy duty and sturdy. Ive used a string net in the past and it was such a pain in the ass to hang and when colas got heavy they would still lean quite a bit. With metal, that shit aint going no where.


The SCROG idea is totally up too you. I was just putting it out there because with the bushes your starting to get, things are gunna get heavy. Plants that are more christmas tree in form have more support from the main stalk when they gain weight at the end of flower. With LST you bend that main stalk over, and nugs tend to lean and fall over on the sides.

[drudown11]

when i seed out my next crop of the purple ill send you some seeds.


Then you can do a SCROP. Screen of PURPLE!!

[killfrenzi]

Well Dru... I would more than appreciate if you wanted to send me some seeds!!

And in this case of LST, What method did you use? How did you go about keeping your colas in an upright position?

[drudown11]

I took big stakes of bamboo and stuck them all around the pots. I then tied all of the Colas to them with string and these little plastic Clips. Pretty much the same thing you would do with really heavy tomatoe plants.

I wish i would have used chain link fence or chicken wire though.

[CovertCarpenter]

...bamboo stakes, and plastic clips!

Just like fondling tomatoes, eh?

I think you got kinky enough without the chainlink prison fence motif ;)

[LST is da bomb] :D

[killfrenzi]

I dont think i feel like doing all the extrawork to support or hang the chain link fence or chicken wire; but I might have too, otherwise it will be an asston of string hanging from the ceiling to support em: Prolly jus easier to hang 4 pieces of wire and some chain-link, as opposed to 60 diff strings hanging from the ceiling?

And an other question? I need to transplant my smaller LST'd plants to larger pots; What is the easiest way to transplant an already LST'd plant?

I have 2 Babies that I can see the pistils starting to form, already have lil hairs comin from the Nodes.....:D

I have 1 more 5gal bucket and a smaller 1gal pot. I might jus transplant the larger of the 2 babies, but I will jus go to Lowes and get another 5gal bucket, ($2.34).;)

Ill post pics of the pistils when they come in a lil clear'r on my camera. Jus so ya'll can see!!

[drudown11]

...bamboo stakes, and plastic clips!

Just like fondling tomatoes, eh?

I think you got kinky enough without the chainlink prison fence motif ;)

[LST is da bomb] :D

Ive tried whips, whistles, handcuffs, and a 30 year old midget........but the bamboo and plastic clips always work the best.

[drudown11]

when you transplant you just have to re bend the plants according to the new pots. Your stems and LST'd branches should already be bent over and tying them back up is pretty easy.

[killfrenzi]

Sorry all, I have had some internet issues lately.... I have some pics I will have to dig up. They have been flowering for about a week. Plan on flowering for almost 2 months. Trying to get the most of the yield. Ill post pics within the next few days......:thumbsup:

[disoBAYish]

You have the same set up as I do. I grow SoG-style under my stairs as well in a 3 x 3 1/2 space. I stick with clones indoor and grow mothers from seed outdoors. :thumbsup:

Is the hatch to get underneath your house in that same closet? If so..... you have hit the Jackpot location.

[killfrenzi]

Well DAMN! Its been a long time since this grow. I had a falling out with my ex, and we broke up. had to get rid of the setup and recoop my losses. I currently have an entire room (12'x14'x8'H) dedicated to growing. Currently, I am only using one side of the room, as I have limited resources. I am currently growing 12 diff strains. Last grow was soil, this time I decided to go Hydro. I have 12 ladies in flower now, S=started flower Jan 1, projected harvest - Mar 3. Unfortunately like I said I had to get rid of the last setup, so I lost out on a 1000w Switchable (MH/HPS), Air-Cooled HID Light, ducting and all the other goodies. So this time I am using, because it was only $100, A 600w electronic ballast, w/ batwing reflector, HPS for flower, and MH for veg. 2, 80 cfm PC fans for exhaust, a fan mounted on the wall and a oscilating stand fan. My strains are: Sour Willy, Sour Diesel, Sour Cream, White Siberian, White Berry, Blue Hawaian, Purple Haze, Agent Orange, Bruce Banner, Herijuana, Vortex, and Void. As soon as my tax return is in I am going to purchase anothe HID light, mmm.. probably a 1000w Air-Cooled, Either SunMaster or HydroFarm.

Ok this is enough for 1 post renewal. Ill post pics this evening of my current set up and plants.

[roachman67]

Sweet diagram! ha ha, but ya way more yeild with LST. Don really matter how much space you have. Training your plants at a young age is Very Benefitial! mine sure love it!

[killfrenzi]

My current grow! What do ya think?


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