Tweaking the new room, need some pointers!!!

[kest30]

Hello all!
I just moved out of the cramped, hot closet into a nice big grow room!

Here's my shklit:
Strains:
Zensation (Ministry of Cannabis) - Indica
Carnival (MoC) - Early Sativa
Black Cherry - Early Sativa
Super Lemon Haze - Late Sativa (still a seedling!)

Check the rooms!
Flowering: Veg:

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2 400 W Digilux Enhanced Blue HPS 1 400 W Hortilux SuperBlue MH
CFL's supplementing here and there

I grow in hydro and soil.
For hydro, I use modified Waterfarms (extra holes in reservoir, airstone, tying stakes added) with Flora Series nutrients.
For soil, I only have mothers growing in Rainforest Blend with FloraNova nutrients.
I add Superthrive (5-6 drops), Bud Candy, and a little peroxide to the mix.
The setup is a perpetual harvest, on a three week cycle.

I live in Arizona, so my main problem is humidity...can't get it over 40%! When it rains, it hits 50%...

I have looked at ScroG and lots of tutorials on pruning and LST, but can't figure which is best. When I LST, it seems the lateral branches shoot up but are very thin and weak. When I top, it seems I lose a couple weeks of growth! Opinions? Gonna try a ScroG, but can't decide on how to make a free-standing screen, any suggestions?

I'm also getting lots of stretch, i.e.
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and I'm worried my buds will never fill in! I'm so tired of getting 2-3 z's per plant that I've changed everything almost.
So, what do you guys think about the setup? I'm adding two 4 ft T5's for side lighting help, and CO2 is my next investment...
Also, any suggestions as to how to handle the Super Lemon Haze? Really excited about it.
Thanks everyone! I'll keep this thread as up to date as I can with pics and info

[kest30]

Here is a pick of all my baby-mama's. I'll keep the happiest two plants and of course the seedling.
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Clockwise from seedling: SLH seedling, Zensation x3, Carnival x2

Here is a pic of the little Super Lemon Haze seedling.

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I got 5 and only direct-sowed 1 fem seed. I have had a 100% success rate starting seeds by soaking in regular tap water for a couple hours, then sowing the seed 1/2", covering it with loose mix, and putting the entire small plastic pot into a large ziplock bag. She'll live in this pot until she's 8-10" tall. Notice the one cotyledon leaf that is curled under. Never seen that before...

[kest30]

Unit: Waterfarm bucket #3
Progress: End of veg week 2

Check 'em out:

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The second pic is sideways lol. 2 clones of Carnival in 1 Waterfarm. I topped both clones after 1 week of veg (seedling nutes) and Lo! They reverted completely back to symmetry at the fifth internode! Awesome! Gonna try LBH's 4-way LST LBH's 4 way lst tutorial (w topping sub-tutorial) (http://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/438784-lbhs-4-way-lst-tutorial.html) just gotta figure out how I'm gonna fabricate a screen. Think I'll add some eye-screws to the sides to tie down with...

[kest30]

Also done today, I trimmed the two flowering waterfarms out, cleared about the bottom quarter of the bucket. Could probably do more but I'm nervous lol
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The left bucket is in flower week 3, and the right one is week 5. I trimmed a little before but never unless that part of the plant was dying from low light or something. We'll see what happens I guess...

[turksteelman]

kest30,
I am also in Az in the low lands about 25 miles from phx. I have never had an issue with humidity. Its nothing I've ever worried about as we have very low humidity except for yesterday and today. You mentioned you get 2-3 z's per plant? I think that is great and I would be very happy with that. I found the the hydro stores have the netting, both string or plastic in case you wanted to Scrog. Best of luck. I will be running Liberty Haze starting in a week or two and I hope I can yield what you do. I will be running only 6 of them, legally of course.

[kest30]

Thanks turk, I've thought about trellis netting but since the plants have to move every couple weeks, I need the screen to be individual for each plant. Leaning towards some wrought iron on long legs at the moment...

[kest30]

Here are some of the problems I've had:

First was the cat. She wants to play with everything!!! Especially if it hangs down. I trained her not to enter the room. Now, she lays down at the door threshold and waits for me to finish :)

The first plant problem I had was stunted cuttings. I knew not to give fertilizer until they rooted well, but had no idea what would happen to them. I had a Bubblicious and Aurora cutting. They both froze up for a couple months, and revived with a little FloraGrow foliar feed and a lower light level.
Now, when I transplant clones into a Waterfarm, I give half strength nutrients in settled tap water until they start growing again. Sometimes this is after a couple days, but it has been as long as 10 days. Once the clone begins to grow normally, it's time to harvest is the same as everyone else, and I never noticed any drop in yield or quality. The Aurora was tossed, eventually, because of a different problem...

[kest30]

Okay, so one of the things I'm now monitoring closely is TDS. Never really cared before because it was too much trouble! lol
The week 3 flowering plant was even after a day, meaning that it took in the same amount of water and nutrients throughout the day, so it's balanced well.
The week 5 flowering plant, however, dropped by >100 ppm. This means it needs a little more nutrient, right? So I can add a little bit extra of something. What do you guys suggest I add? I am leaning towards more Koolbloom which is 0-15-15...

[LOC NAR on probation]

You top up your rez with ph'ed water only. When you have toped up an eqaul amount to your rez it is time to change. Or when you see your ppm's drop way down they are feedig good and you need to change the rez. Reason is cause your plants piss off waste in yur rez so fresh is best.

[kest30]

Thanks for the heads up, LOC, I have heard about the topping off. I change my reservoir every saturday regardless. I refill with half strength nutrients. That puts me at about 1500 ppm already! So Sunday Monday Tuesday I top off with pH'd water and continue to hold reservoir pH at 5.8. Then wednesday I make another batch of nutrients and top off with 1 gallon of the mix per reservoir. Then top off with water until Saturday.
I figure this way, the plant gets an opportunity at full strength nutrients over the course of the week rather than getting shocked with nutrients on saturday and slowly processing all week. It keeps the ppm low, and that's why I think I may be able to add a little more of something.
I know this method may be somewhat wasteful or something but I haven't had any nutrient stress this way - not even tip burn.
I also added Bud Candy (magnesium), tho so that helps with the nutrient burn...

[LOC NAR on probation]

Your idea is sound. As with many things here we find what works for us and the plant. if they are happy I'm happy.
Can't wait to see some large buds in those pic's.

[kest30]

Thx LOC.
Today, I tied down the Carnival plants in Waterfarm #3, mid-week 3 veg. I had topped them when they were very small as an experiment. So far, so good...
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I tied each top, 4 total (1 topping per plant). My next step will be to top them again once they've adjusted to the bending. Then I'll move them into flower and add a screen (I think) for my first scrog grow!
Incidentally, the SLH seedling is happy. 4 days from sprouting
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Also sowed a fem seed of Blue OG today. Anybody familiar with this strain?

[kest30]

Hi everybody, happy f'n thursday, blah blah had the worst day ever!
Nice coming home to so many sexy ladies lol

Topped one of the plants in Waterfarm #3 to slow its vertical growth so the other plant can catch up a bit. This will give six main colas for the bucket, and we'll see what I get from the LST...now, I'm all done working for the day. Gonna break out some Black Cherry. This pheno looks like it's done after 7 weeks, but letting it ride out a few more evens it out nicely so it should have a little couch lock to go with the head buzz.
Anyone here compare results of a strain soil vs. hydro? I look at threads and all I find is opinion, very few stats...

[kest30]

Today, I need to select two mothers from the plants I've been nurturing. What do you guys use as parameters for selecting mothers? I usually pick the one with the most tightly spaced internodes or the most lush foliage...

[higher_than_you]

just checkin kest, how is the #5 after chopping the bottom? lol u scare me with casually just topping in week 3 looking forward to seeing her closer to harvest.
looking good.
peace

[higher_than_you]

soil vs hydro??:thumbsup: -liking this..

[higher_than_you]

my bad week 3 of veg..:stoned:

[kest30]

Your idea is sound. As with many things here we find what works for us and the plant. if they are happy I'm happy.
Can't wait to see some large buds in those pic's.

I changed the reservoirs this morning. I'm pretty surprised once I have seen for sure the amount of nutrients the plant uses in a week. Seems like they can actually take more than the weekly prescription if the TDS is kept low enough. Now I truly understand why RO water is better, because the EC/TDS is so low that you can add more beneficials.
Got a couple 3000K 4 foot T5's that I will install soon.
Blue OG sprouted and kicking.
Pics tomorrow, lots of fun shiznit
HTY, the topped plants are coming out soooo pretty. Topped 'em again today. They go into flower next week. That will give 8 main colas and we'll see how the side colas come up...werd. I would be afraid to top a seedling so young unless I knew it was feminized because I feel like the stress might make a regular seed go male on a brotha. So remember they are from cuttings.

Tomorrow I have to make some hard choices. Gotta toss out some ladies and some cuttings. Getting rid of the Black Cherry. I always feel a little sad when good plants are destroyed...

Note to self: My success at making cuttings is 99% so I will start cloning from my vegging plants from now on. No point in keeping mothers around when I can get more seeds if needed. The two seedlings I just sprouted will hold me for a year...Anyone ever get drop in quality or yield from a clone-of-a-clone-of-a-clone...?

[kest30]

Hi everyone! Here's some updates. First, let's talk about the screen! My buddy made it with 1x2's and bailing wire. It's about 40" tall and is 12" above the buckets. I weaved the tops through the screen wire as best I could. I haven't cut anything yet, I'm hoping you might have suggestions! Check it out:
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I've got a 400W superBlue HPS over the screen at 18 inches. Let the stretching begin! This is the sativa-heavy Carnival btw. My first hydro grow of this strain. From the soil grow, it looks pretty awesome!
On to the seedlings. The bigger one is Super Lemon Haze and the smaller is Blue OG. Werd. The far pot is a Black Cherry cutting and behind it is some Zensation. I'm not ready to let go of the Zen yet, the shit is too powerful! Hoping the Blue OG will be close but yield better.
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There was a little spot on the first true leaves of the BluOG and I have no idea why, but it seems to be growing just fine. The SLH is two weeks old. Definitely very lanky like an equatorial sativa. Totally looking forward to it!
More next post...

[kest30]

Ok here is Waterfarm #4, Carnival, week 2 veg:
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I had just topped the lady. She is by herself in the waterfarm. For awhile, I was growing 3-4 plants per unit. Now I have some different methods that will make one plant plenty for a single unit. I think...
This is the Zen mother getting some LST action. The 4-way LST is great! Check out how many colas she'll have with no FIM delay!
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Okay, so here we are:
Waterfarm 1: Zensation, ripening as we speak. Gonna flush Thursday and Friday with tap water and FloraKleen. Then, I'll put some black cherry in it.
Waterfarm 2: Zensation, Late Bloom week 1, 3 to go! Not quite forming trichomes yet...
Waterfarm 3: Carnival, ScroG setup, transitioning this week under the new screen.
Waterfarm 4: Carnival, Late Veg week 1 of 3
Soil: Carnival and Zen mothers, SLH and BlueOG seedlings, BC cutting.
My cloning chamber is empty for a week. Feels weird...

Quick aside:
After keeping close watch on TDS levels for a couple weeks, I realize some things. First, the plant can take more. Second, I needs consistency. I'm trying to find the best way to do that. I tried following the weekly schedule, but then the plant is shocked weekly when you give it fresh, strong solution. Then, I tried giving it half-strength solution twice a week, but the TDS levels never get very high! Like under 1000. So here's my solution:
\The reservoirs each hold 2 gallons. That much full strength solution is way too strong, but I want to ensure they get full strength over the course of the week and keep TDS at about 1200-1300. Turns out, the GH schedule is NOT NOT NOT too strong over the week. The plants can eat more, just not at once - causes lockout I figure. So I am giving them 1/2 solution to begin the week, and topping off with full strength until the second gallon of solution is used. Then water. On Friday, I bet good money the TDS levels will be below 1000, proving that the plant can take much more than the prescribed amount if metered correctly! If this is true, I should get monster yields without nutrient deficiencies or stress. Good times...Now that I've typed it out, I am thinking it might be best to top off with half-strength solution for the whole week, but that would change alot since the water needs of the plant vary.

[pushit]

A couple posts up you asked about taking clones from clones etc.. After the 3rd-5th gen I started noticing a difference. I made it to about the 9th generation before I scrapped them. A huge difference from the mother in quality,appearance, and yield. I would recommend either keeping the original plant or make a mother from the first or second gen clone. The genetic drift sucks otherwise IMO.

BTW great looking girls man and nice clean set up!

[kest30]

Happy New Year!
I've got soil v hydro, screen v free, sativa v indica, LST v super cropping, short veg v long veg. AHHHH! Life is sweet. Super sweet.

[higher_than_you]

looking good man, loving the LST pic will be good to see what shape she takes :thumbsup:

[higher_than_you]

nice disclaimer ;) happy new year dude, looking forward to seeing your results! good stuff:thumbsup:

[kest30]

BTW, the ScroG is the same bucket from the Dec 19th post. That sumbitch blew up!
I can't wait to see how these ladies turn out!

[kest30]

Hi all, it's been a few weeks...
I've worked with this scrog thing for about six weeks now, and I'm very impressed. The buds aren't huge, but the quantity of them is high. I have had one problem. Too much foliage. Way too much. I think there's excessive N in the GH Flora series line during flowering. The Micro is 5-0-4! Here's an example:
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So I got some Botanicare going in the next bucket down the line, which is in Flower week 6ish (lol). It's much lower on the N. Plus, I keep hearing about Liquid Karma.
I'm foliar feeding with Floralicious and Liquid Karma.
Of note, I have harvested the soil v. hydro buckets and will post results soon. I'm giving the screen a thumbs up. Also I am a fan of super cropping. Can't figure why people say LST is better. Like most things, a combination of the two, along with a screen setup, is my preference. Topping early, twice, then LST, then supercrop those tops, install the screen, and tuck tuck tuck. I'm gonna have to revisit nutrient balances with Botanicare coming along.
I heard so much about Sativas and I enjoy them, sure, but I will keep the Zensation or the BlueOG around awhile. I dig the narcotic effect. The other day, I couldn't move my legs. That's what the fuck I'm talkin' about!

Hey!!! Who has experience with Bushmaster? What about Snow Storm? I'm totally interested in trying something crazy...

[kest30]

Hi all. Here are some pics of the first harvest from my scrog setup. It's Carnival, at 9 weeks flower. I have flushed with Florakleen and RO water for 3 days. I plan to harvest the lower buds beginning next weekend.
The Scrog before harvesting:
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Auxilliary cola before manicuring:

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Auxilliary cola after trimming:
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If this were an Indica variety, I would've let it go a couple more weeks to see if it filled in more. As it is, the trichs are looking on the cloudy side of things, so I went and harvested the larger tops above to give light to the lower buds. We'll see if they fill in more at all...

[painretreat]

Hi all, it's been a few weeks...
I dig the narcotic effect. The other day, I couldn't move my legs. That's what the fuck I'm talkin' about!

Hey!!! Who has experience with Bushmaster? What about Snow Storm? I'm totally interested in trying something crazy...

Hi kest, I've been following this grow! Very nice!

Which strain did you get the couchlock with? thanks!:jointsmile: pr

[kest30]

Hi kest, I've been following this grow! Very nice!

Which strain did you get the couchlock with? thanks!:jointsmile: pr

Well sir, I'll tell ya'. That there Zensation makes me slur and stumble. I've been smoking WOW 20 years now and (holy shit I'm getting old!) I'll take the Pepsi Challenge with anybody, anytime. Other varieties from Ministry of Cannabis I can't vouch for, even the Carnival (good, not great), but I've grown WW, MediBud, Bubblicious, Giesel, Bloody Mary, Sour Kush, Purple Kush, and Black Cherry, and that Zensation wins hands down. It smooths down the sides of the neck and slides over the shoulders and down the spine. It's great. Incidently, of those strains, I ranks them overall as such:
10)Black Cherry - All head, no body
9) Carnival - Vibrant, energetic
8) Bubblicious - Stoney, silly
7) Bloody Mary - Foggy, forgetful
6) Purple Kush - Sedative, my buddy calls this his 'Nighttime' weed. Ain't leaving the couch.
5) WW - Not body enough to help my back and neck, not heady enough to make me not think about it, but enough of both for a damn good time
4) Sour Kush aka Headband - My buddy calls this his 'daytime' weed. Get up and get to work!
3) Giesel - I couldn't un-cross my eyes for a couple hours
2) MediBud - Awesome balance of all the good traits of kind bud
1) Zensation - I give this to the pretty girl at the hydro store. Nuff said.

I'm pumped about the Super Lemon Haze. If it comes out nice, I'll keep it and the Zen and drop the others.

[higher_than_you]

looks like u did alright bro :thumbsup: i dont think i have heard of half the strains you have listed?? but that zen sounds sweet! do you get your seeds from our way or home turf?
supe lemon haze you should be pumped for! she won loads of cups she is meant to be top notch! did u go ghs company? whilst looking for this i did actually notice ur lemon haze thread so will check it out too, also are u doing a log on the BOG?? love ur comment bout narcotic test btw

[Farmer Rich]

Hey Kest,

Nice thread!

I saw your trellis' a few post back and wanted to put a picture or 2 up for you to check out.. I do something similar, though I use 2' x 4' carts with wheels and a trellis. I originally designed the carts to be used with a ghetto areo/nft recycle system.. since I've gone back to soilless mix (another story..). With the T-5 panels and 600's with wing reflectors I use, the 2 x 4' size works perfect, plus it fit through the door when I had 2 rooms. The other thing that's nice is being able to easily rotate the carts during the grow to balance the light out and such. The painted out room is the most current. Anyway, check it out:

[kest30]

Hey Kest,

Nice thread!

I saw your trellis' a few post back and wanted to put a picture or 2 up for you to check out.. I do something similar, though I use 2' x 4' carts with wheels and a trellis. I originally designed the carts to be used with a ghetto areo/nft recycle system.. since I've gone back to soilless mix (another story..). With the T-5 panels and 600's with wing reflectors I use, the 2 x 4' size works perfect, plus it fit through the door when I had 2 rooms. The other thing that's nice is being able to easily rotate the carts during the grow to balance the light out and such. The painted out room is the most current. Anyway, check it out:

Right on, thanks for checking things out! Your screens are just like mine I see. Although it looks like you are using your screens as support not really as a scrog. Check out the tutorial posted earlier in the section, I think ul like it!
Wheels on the screens is nice! I thought about it, but decided to go with simple.

Just when I think I might be doing things right, I find out something new. Thanks!

[kest30]

Hi everybody! This log has gotten all weird and I am going to try something different to get back to the comparison/experiment thing. Here's the plan:
I have 2 Waterfarms open and am getting a couple cuttings from a buddy. I will grow them side-by-side. What experiment should I perform? I thought about dueling nutrient lines but that is expensive! Maybe just using the basic three-part and nothing else in one unit, then all the additives in the other unit. Dunnno. Ideas?

[low_rdr]

You guys both have me eager for my new space (6 weeks until construction is done), I can't wait! Big :thumbsup: to both of you!

[kest30]

It's still weird to get seeds across state lines here, so I have been getting them online. Attitude once, MoC once, some crap company once. The SLH is GHS it looks and sounds amazing but it's a b to grow. Very low tolerance for overdose and very stretchy. So stretchy that I popped another seed hoping to get a different response.
The BluOG looks great. It is already filling in nicely with "not great" light. Her cutting is really nice. She's a keeper. My mind changes like the weather apparently, but i am ready to settle into one or two strains and call it a day. We'll see if I can!

[Farmer Rich]

Right on, thanks for checking things out! Your screens are just like mine I see. Although it looks like you are using your screens as support not really as a scrog. Check out the tutorial posted earlier in the section, I think ul like it!
Wheels on the screens is nice! I thought about it, but decided to go with simple.

Just when I think I might be doing things right, I find out something new. Thanks!

Hey Kest,

You're right, though my intent was not really to do scrog but build more of a trellis.. I generally grow 2 plants in #5 containers, or 1 in a #7. For all I just start fiming, beginning at the top and 2-3 sets of branches down depending on the plants. This produces 2 main colas on each and great side branching, all while keeping things manageable in the carts. Normally I'm pretty agressive as far as trimming under the screen, but have gone easier lately. I also vary the height of the screen dependent on the plant and how tall I expect it will get. Having a lot of flexibility in my lights where I can adjust them as needed to stay close is helpful too..

Is your yield noticeably higher when you scrog? I personally haven't found a lot of difference.. Big plants with lots of bud sites = more bud. :jointsmile:

Farmer Rich

[growdemon]

sweet...

looks great