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[pinkdolphin113]

OKay, this is my fir...SECOND post but still go easy :)

I am currently a 21 year old student who got stuck into growing at the age of 16. But after 3 years of it, I realized how much it was affecting my life (losing proper friends and family, hanging out with the wrong crowd, etc.) so stopped and moved away to start fresh. But, after much discussion and contemplation, my current house mate went away for a weekend and came back with:
- 1 x 400W HPS bulb w/ballast and reflector (set-up kit if you will)
- 1 x 250W MH set-up kit
- 2 x sativa/indica strain he called a kush (beginning with A... Kush)
- 2 x something what he called Cheese

Now, this was his first time growing so I thought I'd help him out with it (basics and what not) but 6 months on and growing takes place in my part of the house.
He didn't really understand what equipment he had, but it was adequate. I personally would have gone with higher wattage/lumens but the grow spaces seem to accommodate these set-ups well.
I have, 1 cabinet (2ft x 2ft) holding the 250W for veg (with "cool light") and one larger closet (~3ft x ~4ft) holding the 400W for flowering (with "warm light"). Both areas are equipped with adequate fans for circulation.
I will upload photos later on (if its safe to do so?).

Now, all the "Cheese" cuttings I took for the next batch before putting the first plants into flower started dieing and decaying so I have no photos to ask for an identification. They didn't smell at all like Cheese either so I wasn't motivated to continue growing it.
However, the "Kush" strain I love, and the cuttings thrive after a week so I've managed to keep this strain on since we started. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any Kush strains which sounds like what he was calling it (Anniholator Kush or something?) so, if anyone can identify strains by visual, this would be great (I'll add a photo later on). It looks like Alaskan Ice but smells VERY lemony.


If anyone has any questions/comments/answers/corrections, please feel free. I'd love to know what you guys think.
Also, are there any handy tips to promote trichome growth anyone has to offer? The "Kush" strain is a great smoke, but doesn't contain a great deal of trichomes unlike other strains I have grown.
On the smallest of 3 flowering ladies I have at present, I have placed a thin layer of coffee grounds/soil mix to introduce a higher organic carbon content, hopefully encouraging trichome growth. I'll see how that works out. Bat guano would be perfect, but I haven't been able to get my hands on any around my area.


Great thanks, and I will put some pictures up later on.

Pink.

[bigsby]

How is the heat with that 250 in the closet? i have a 2' x 4' x 4' space and I'm considering either fluoros or a 250 (just for veg and mothers). Do you think a 250 would cover that space? It has some venting with draw from the flower room but it's not a ton of air movement.

[pinkdolphin113]

I wish I could tell you whether or not 250W would cover that space adequately, but I honestly dont know from the top of my head. I'm sure someone could tell you though.

As for heat; my 250W doesn't produce much heat at all. The plants have been less than 10 inches away from it at points and showed no signs of high-heat-stress. So, I firmly believe using a 250W light in a 2ft x 4ft space (w/ventilation) wouldn't be a problem.


Pink.

[pinkdolphin113]

Pictures as promised.

Flowering "Kush"

[attachment=o266247]

[attachment=o266248]

[attachment=o266249]

[attachment=o266250]

[attachment=o266251]

[pinkdolphin113]

[attachment=o266252]

Any ideas as to what it could be?
This is what it looks like in veg:
[attachment=o266254]


These are the latest little babies take from the Kush that's been in veg and the PPP which I've JUST put into flowering.

[attachment=o266253]


This is the flowering room:
[attachment=o266255]



Pink.

[bigsby]

I wish I could tell you whether or not 250W would cover that space adequately, but I honestly dont know from the top of my head. I'm sure someone could tell you though.

As for heat; my 250W doesn't produce much heat at all. The plants have been less than 10 inches away from it at points and showed no signs of high-heat-stress. So, I firmly believe using a 250W light in a 2ft x 4ft space (w/ventilation) wouldn't be a problem.

I'm just looking to cover the space. My mothers can go off to the side - they don't need a ton of light. I really just want to light up 6 - 8 clones through a 1' veg with low heat and low power consumption. The costs roughly equivalent. I was looking at PL-55 fluoros but I'm now leaning towards using two 125w compact CFLs hung vertically. That way I can start with one bulb and then add the second towards the middle of veg. Fewer total lumens, less penetration but less heat and option to run 1 or 2 lights. Anyway, I won't clutter your log here. Thanks for the feedback.

Nice setup and interesting back story. I recommend this kind of clean break for anyone single and mobile. Push yourself to self reliance. Key to controlling the social factors is to minimize your grow to personal use (don't grow for friends) and tell no one. Too bad your room mate is on board b/c you can't control his/her mouth. NO ONE. It sucks that you can't share the hobby with friends but 99% of people can't keep their mouth shut about your business.

[pinkdolphin113]

I'm just looking to cover the space. My mothers can go off to the side - they don't need a ton of light. I really just want to light up 6 - 8 clones through a 1' veg with low heat and low power consumption. The costs roughly equivalent. I was looking at PL-55 fluoros but I'm now leaning towards using two 125w compact CFLs hung vertically. That way I can start with one bulb and then add the second towards the middle of veg. Fewer total lumens, less penetration but less heat and option to run 1 or 2 lights. Anyway, I won't clutter your log here. Thanks for the feedback.

I would go with splitting the 250W :thumbsup:
1 - two well positioned lights are gonna penetrate further into the foliage (surely?)
2 - you may be able to get the lights closer to the plants, increasing PAR(?)
3 - potential for multiple/wider light spectrum




Nice setup and interesting back story. I recommend this kind of clean break for anyone single and mobile. Push yourself to self reliance. Key to controlling the social factors is to minimize your grow to personal use (don't grow for friends) and tell no one. Too bad your room mate is on board b/c you can't control his/her mouth. NO ONE. It sucks that you can't share the hobby with friends but 99% of people can't keep their mouth shut about your business.

This is very true. I don't believe he's told anybody other than his girlfriend and he's a trustable character.



I was also thinking about adding a T5 tube for a few hours a day to provide some UVa and UVb rays. Any recommendations/comments on this?


Pink.

[seventhchild]

are there any handy tips to promote trichome growth http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/187784-molasses-sweet-organic-goodness.html

[bigsby]

I was also thinking about adding a T5 tube for a few hours a day to provide some UVa and UVb rays. Any recommendations/comments on this?

I've been looking at some of the reptile fluoros to do this. I thought a double bar of T8s would do nicely. My understanding is that you would only run these lights for 3 - 4 hours in the middle of your light period simulating high noon conditions when UVBs are the strongest. I think omnibuddy runs these. See his grow log here: http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/195756-omnibuddy-custom-led-grow.html

For me the two hanging 125w bulbs are also the cheapest and easiest options to implement so I'm really leaning that direction.

[pinkdolphin113]

http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/187784-molasses-sweet-organic-goodness.html

Yea, I read all of this and gave it a go. Any idea when I should be seeing a difference?

So is it just a general up the carbs sort of thing to promote trichome growth, or is there more to it?


Pink.

[rattlingdags]

Lovely plants pinkdolphin, especially liked the baby pic - they look happy :thumbsup:

[pinkdolphin113]

Ahh thank you! Most of them have grow up a little now...still as happy though!
I like put lots of root hormone in the bottom of my propagation box. That way it lingers in the air, soaked up by the plants and they grow large root balls before they're planted! I find this stresses the babies out a lot less and they don't tend to wilt as much when first transferred.

The kush is just about ready...been bulking it right up with Canna PK13/14 solution for the past 3 days. 3 more days to go then its flushing time.
I like to soak the soil through with water 2 times a day within the plants last week, followed by 1 (maybe 2) days of drought and 24 hours of darkness. This way, the plants are flushed out of nasty nutes but doesn't take as long to dry out as well as trying to defend itself against death (which often results in more growth depending on temperatures).
I will post pictures of the kush when it's just about to be cropped.


Pink.