400watt hps Budbox grow!

[cairnzy]

Im starting off my budbox grow next week when i get some clones from a friend.
The budbox is 1.2m x 1.2m square with:
400watt hps lighting kit & Reflector
Extraction system & Carbon filter
4x15litre pots
1 bag of Plagron light mix
Digital Thermometer & Humidifier
Ph kit with ph up + down

The Nutes + addatives ill be using are:
FHD nutrients
Carbo Blast
Super B+
Micro-Grow-Bloom 3 part
Bud Start
The Heavies - Bud bloom
Ton O Bud

Ill upload pictures of the tent setup and keep you updated once the clones arrive, also if anyone has had experience using FHD nutes and addatives i'd like to know what results they gave you.
Thanks For your time and ill keep you up to date with the log!

[cairnzy]

Could someone tell me if in soil, i water with nutrient + enhancement solution every feed or do i use plain water then feed with nutes weekly? New to this feeding shcedule and im unsure on this. any help appreciated :thumbsup:

[cairnzy]

Chaange of plan, I couldn't get a hold of any clones so I've baught. 5 x Critical Haze femenised seeds from Resin Seedbank I also received 2 free seeds from Dinafem. 1 x white widow and 1 x blue widow. I germinated 3 crritical haze seeds and the blue widow also these aare the 4 I've chosen. Just waiting for them to sprout :Dill post pictures of the setup in a minute

[cairnzy]

Setup

[cairnzy]

Week 2 and everything is looking good! gave the plants their first feeding today everythings looking bright and healthy.
I will Take some pictures tonight when the lights go out. I got rid of the Blue Widow and replaced with Another Critical Haze as whilst i was transplanting the Blue Widow, the roots might have got damaged and growth dramatically decreased. So this leaves 3 x Critical Haze + 1 x White Widow seedlings :D

Quick question, a friend told me i should get rid of 1 or 2 of the plants so that there more room for fewer, bushier plants meaning the yeild is increased, does anyone agree with this?
thanks for your time

[mmjman]

I'm not sure about removing a plant. Lets see a pic of your plant placement. Yes, do feed your plant on every watering, and make sure you get at least a 10% run-off of nutrient solution to prevent dry spots and build up. However, do not let your plants sit in the run-off.

[bigsby]

And don't give advice if you don't know what you are talking about... DO NOT feed your plant every watering. Every other or every third watering. Whatever you do, start with a low dose and increase over time. Start with 1/4 recommended does, then 1/2. Monitor the plant for adverse effects. Different strains can take different nutrient loads. With nutrients, less is more. Once you damage the plant you can't take it back. Damage is for good.

[mmjman]

Feed your plants every water during flowering and flush the last two weeks. What book did you get the 'every other or third watering during flower?' Just curious. Been watering evertime in flower for the last 16 harvests starting at 1000ppm in week 1 with a peak of 1250ppm at week 6. I don't see the advantage of starving your plants.

[bigsby]

Feed your plants every water during flowering and flush the last two weeks. What book did you get the 'every other or third watering during flower?' Just curious. Been watering evertime in flower for the last 16 harvests starting at 1000ppm in week 1 with a peak of 1250ppm at week 6. I don't see the advantage of starving your plants.

Actually mmjman, advanced hydro growers run a feed/starve cycle at least 2x during flower. It promotes faster and denser bud development; the plant reacts to the reduced nutrient intake by focusing on bud development in a race to survive. I do this between week 3 and 4 (in soil). But that is a different discussion. Starving the plant during flush induces additional bud development. It is part of the rational for flushing at the end of the grow.

I don't advocate starving plants and yes, during the middle weeks of flower I feed consecutively 4 - 6 times. But during veg and the first 3 weeks of flower it is every other or every 3rd watering, strain dependent. This advice is especially relevant in this case as the grower is using a soil that includes added nutrients. Different strains can tolerate different nutrient regimes, which you surely know from experienced gained over 16 harvests.

Here is the point mmjman. You need to consider your audience. You are talking to a new grower. New growers almost ALWAYS overfeed their plants leading to burned plants and/or pH lockout and a discouraged first time grower. And judging from the array of nutrients proposed, this grower stands a pretty good chance of doing the same. An underfed plant will survive whereas an overfed plant may not. Similarly, an underfed plant can recover more quickly and more completely and thus outproduce one that is burned or suffers from lockout. ALWAYS advise a new grower to start slow on the nutes until they get a feel for it. It is the best advice you can give. Also, I never recommend that a new grower (or any grower really) follow the feed directions from the manufacture as they are always formulated for a greedy plant grown in optimal conditions, something the new grower is unlikely to achieve.

Any other questions?

[bigsby]

You might consider adding some safety equipment. I have an auto shut down / hot strike protection that covers the lights and fan. If temps go over 100 degrees it shuts everything down. If you have a fire you don't want the fan running... and if your room over heats for other reasons you don't want to kill your plants. Other items to consider - a smoke detector and a flame defender fire extinguisher.

Hope this helps. Good luck!



400watt hps lighting kit & Reflector
Extraction system & Carbon filter
4x15litre pots
1 bag of Plagron light mix
Digital Thermometer & Humidifier
Ph kit with ph up + down

The Nutes + addatives ill be using are:
FHD nutrients
Carbo Blast
Super B+
Micro-Grow-Bloom 3 part
Bud Start
The Heavies - Bud bloom
Ton O Bud

[cairnzy]

Hey,
Thanks for your advice guys, Bigsby i was already wondering about safety measures i needed to take, how much roughly will it cost to setup this system?
About the nutes, the first feed on tuesday i mixed the nutes closely following the manufacturers diretions, only i added an extra 1 Litre of water to the Gallon to weaken the solution. As you know i'm pretty much new to growing except a couple previous autoflower CFL closet grows using no nutrients, this is my first HPS photoperiod grow using nutes and addatives so any tips or advice with feeding is greatly appreciated, Ive been a member of this forum quite a while now and ive learned alot from hours of reading through threads and stickys but haven't seemed to find much on feeding. The ladys should be due a feed tomorrow so ill give them some plain water until the next feed and maybe mix a whole new solution with half the reccomended doses.

Also since there are 4 plants in a 1.2m2 space would you reccomend i look into using the sea of green method, i have been following grow logs using this method and the results look great. Or maybe im better off keeping things simple until ive gained more experience.

Here is the only picture i have of the four plants this was taken before the feed on tuesday, ill take a new one later today as they seem to be very healthy.

At the back, on the right is the White Widow by Dinafem and the other 3 are Critical Haze by Resin Seeds (the white widow is less developed as the 3 critical haze possibly due to transplant stress)

Thanks for your time :thumbsup:

[bigsby]

You can get an auto-shut-down/hot strike preventer for ~$65 but you'll need to look around to get that price. I have the HLC-3 High Temp. Shut-Down w/15 Minute ON Delay by CAP. I got a 1 kilo flame defender for $52. Smoke detectors are cheap - $20 to $30. It's also good to have CGFI outlets. You can get a plugin extension if your don't have them built in to the sockets.

Those plants are young and your soil has nutes in it. Seriously, I would start at 1/4 recommended dose and work your way up. You can't take back damage but you can always up the does. Also, they look very happy. Why mess with them? They'll tell you if they need attention. Resist the urge to do things to your plants and keep it simple. The fewer variable s the better. It makes it easier to fix if it goes south. Also, remember that anything applied or corrective action taken will take 2 - 5 days to be realized in the plant. It doesn't happen over night. Finally, if damage is done (and at some point you will damage them, everyone does) remember that once damage is done it can't be undone. So look to the new growth in order to determine the efficacy of the remedial steps you take. You're doing fine.

It will get pretty crowded in there. SOG may be a good option for you. You can and probably should also simply keep the plants on the smaller side by flipping to flower earlier in veg. Research your strains and have an estimate of how much they will grow in flower. Flip accordingly. I run a scrog and started out that way on my first grow. So long as you do your homework you will be fine running a SOG. And look around here - there are some pretty dumb-ass people who grow this plant successfully. You clearly understand the principle of self-study and application of knowledge. If they can do it you should be able to start a nursery... Seriously. I have a couple good stickies in my signature but I'm thinking you have already seen those. I'll stop by again to see how you're doing. Update us as you go.

[cairnzy]

Quick updatte (pictures later) the plants are looking good, nice and bright lime green in colour and plenty of new budsites and new growth. Ill get some pictures laater tonight. Bigsby I've been looking into the auto shutdown systems and such and I think its a vital must have which I hadn't thaught about untill you mentioned. Ill be sure to buy everything needed. Also, as for the nutes and feeding after the first feed some of the leaves got slightly burned as you predicted, I took on board everythinng you said and used 1/4 of the reccomended doses for the last feed and they seemed to react much bettter than the first time.

[cairnzy]

I have searched for people growing critical haze and can't seem to find any useful info on how much they stretch after the flip, all I know is they grow tall The plants have been in veg for 3 weeks now. They are roughly 12" tall. I was going to flip to 12/12 a week today. As for the scrog method I think ill wait until next time to try out simply because I have more researching to do and wouldn't like to take any risks. Would you reccomend trimming lower growth before flipping to flower even if scrog isn't being used? Only I've read mixed reviews on doing so. Thanks for your time ill get some pics uploaded asap

[bigsby]

Go ahead and scrog. It's easy. You'll do fine. I ran a scrog from my first grow. Just go with it. You won't be sorry. As for trimming, it depends on your light. If you are running 400w or less then yes. If more, then no need.

[cairnzy]

Right, ill go for it. I've been looking on Grow FAQ's and can't find any posts on sog so do I start by LST'ing the ladies or is this not needed? Tonight when I get home ill find as much info as possible on the topic and see how I get on as I'd rather know what im doing so I don't feel as though I'm being carried along the way. I know sog is used to keep the canopy even meaning light can penetrate evenly throughout. With the plants being so short still how heigh would you reccomend I fix the netting? And when should I do so? As I mentioned in the last post the plants are all roughly 12" tall and I plan to flip in a weeks time. I've tried keeping the light as low as possible to reduc eany stretching, I read on a thread that some strains can double in size after switching to flower so in a week I could fix the netting roughly double the size they are at the time maybe lowe rand raise the light so all growth reaches the netting. Does this sound ok to you? And again thanks for your time and concern, much appreciated

[cairnzy]

The Critical haze plants are really filling out! only at 3 weeks old and theyre already on their 8th alternating nodes, The Cheese not as developed on only its 5th or 6th alt nodes. Heres a couple of pictures of all 4 of the plants sorry for the poor quality i didnt have much of a chance to take them out of the tent to snap some pics. 3 x Critical Haze (square pots) and 1 x UK Cheese (round pot)
the UK cheese was given to me by a dumb ass friend who was convinced he could grow 6 full size plants in a 1m2 growtent! it is only days away from being the same age as the 3x critical haze.
Temps on averge are between 72 and 78 and humidity is ranging from 25-50 percent.
Today im going out to look for some netting for the SOG, im not sure on weather to buy netting with 2" holes or 4", maybe ill buy a legnth of each.

[bigsby]

Just keep reading. You're on the right track. Self educate rather than relying heavily on the advice of others... That said, I'll give you my input. Decide if you are going to sog or scrog and then read all you can. You want to have your screen in place in time for the flip or shortly there after. You can start training in veg by LST the main stem after 5 weeks or so and then put them under a screen before they get to flower. That's an option which helps manage growth in the right direction. It is certainly not a requirement. Don't do any LST, topping, etc. for a week before you flip. They will start growing 3 - 4 days after the flip and they won't stop for 20 - 30 days. Stavia's stretch more than indicas. Plan for at 3x stretch so you can accommodate any strain. A popular technique to build a scrog screen is to constructed a frame out of 3/4" PVC. Then zip tie a screen in place made from 2" x 3" plastic coated rabbit fencing. Other sized will do but best not smaller than 2". Do not be tempted to use chicken wire. It can rip up the plant stems. The screen can be fitted to the wall by sitting the frame on a few bits of 2x4 screwed into the wall. I don't have experience implementing sog but the concepts are similar - spread the plant to achieve an even canopy and better light penetration. Scrog will be shorter by definition.

I took a look at the album you posted under your profile and left you a message. Have a look!

[cairnzy]

ok bigsby thanks for your advice and ill go for the SOG and get the screen fitted sometime this week, as im growing in a tent im thinking i could ziptie each corner of the screen to a pole in each corner of the tent keeping it in place. The critical haze is a cross between barneys amnesia haze and a vigirous Critical mass male and is mostly sativa 60/40 meaning its likely to grow tall, so i planned on flipping tuesday (week 4) to avoid plants stretching too tall, what do you think? Ill check out your message now :D

[bigsby]

You can also build a frame from PVC piping but 3/4" will be too flimsy. Better to go with 1 1/2" if you go that route. 1' tall is a good size plant. Let us know how it goes!

[cairnzy]

Veg - Week 3 - Day 3
Not much happening today, Feed yesterday went well, I gave the plants half the doses reccomended this time and they seem fine. They are all starting to fill out and look much bushier. Ill slowly pick up the nute doses over the next week or so.
Temps are running around 73-76 on average. Hopefully getting the screen in place today ready for the flip Tuesday (if all goes well)
Ill get some pictures later today
Peace!

[cairnzy]

So i set up a screen and started to scrog my plants, heres a few pictures from today. Not sure if the screens fitted too high or too low just judging height by other peoples grows. and if 70% of the screen must be covered before flip im not sure how much longer im gunna have to keep them in veg. I was planning on flipping on tuesday what do you think?

[cairnzy]

Flipped to flower lastnight, plants are stretching out and filling the screen nicely. I'll get some snaps later today. I have mixed the nutes and addatives for the first week of flower at half stregnth. Ph - 6.5 Temp - 78 Humidity - 38.
I mixed a little Super B+ into water on monday and used as foliar spray and the plants seemed to love it. All of the new growth on the lower section of the plants is really thriving now and is almost above the screen. As for trimming, i trimmed a few fan leaves and some growth from the bottom of 1 of the plants to and waited a few days to see the reaction and it was quite noticable how much slower the trimmed plant grew compared to the others so i left the other 2 to it. If needed can i trim during early stages of flower?

[cairnzy]

Day 4 of flower and screen seems to be filling out nicely, plenty of new shoots growing through. Fed With half stregnth nutes wedenday, plain water on friday and half stregnth nutes tomorrow. I've been watering them 500ml each every water and feed. Next week ill up the nute doses to 3/4s. Here's some pictures taken this morning.

[cairnzy]

Today i noticed some Pistils are starting to come through after only 5 days of flowering. Ready to mix new nute solution today at 3/4's the stregnth. Ill get some pictures tonight when lights go out!

Temp - 77 Humidity - 54

[cairnzy]

Day 10 of flower
The ladies are looking healthy and there are plenty of pistils coming through. Temps during light are 70 and in the mid 60's at night, Im gunna buy a smal oil heater to have on timer for when the lights go out to keep temperatures up at night.
I'm just about to mix nutes at full stregnth as they seemed to react well to the last feed at 3/4's the stregnth.
Heres what il be mixing into feed per Gal;
7ml - Micro
4ml - Grow
12ml - Bloom
8ml - Super b+
0.5rams - Budstart
1gram - CarboBlast

I have found my digital camera also so i will be able to get some good quality pics and close ups of pistils ect. I'll update within the next few hours with pictures.