Super Thrive?

[liberiamom]

My HPS light (which I have to wait to use until flowering, right? I so want to set it up!) came with a few bottles of Super Thrive- is this stuff any good? I says it should be used in addition to fertilizer. Please advise- I feel like I should be doing something more than just looking at them :jointsmile:

My three little blue haze are about two weeks old, and I just put them in big girl one gallon pots over the weekend. They experienced no transplant shock; they seem quite perky, but I haven't started feeding them yet- when should I start doing that, and what are some recommended ferts?
I'm just happy that I haven't killed them yet!

Also, the basement is a little chilly- what is the lowest temp they will tolerate, and what will the plant look like if it is too cold (shivers!)?

[Splifted]

During veg I feed superthrive every watering w/ or w/o ferts. 1-2 drops per quart or gallon, doesn't matter much you won't hurt your plant. Just has a few vitamins and hormones plants like. Also, you can feed it a heavier dose when you transplant to help prevent shock. I hear not to use it during flower tho.

As far as when to feed, about 2-3 weeks after you plants sprout, they should be about ready for food. Start off with 1/4 strength dose of whatever your fertilizer recommends and gradually work your way up. I personally used the FoxFarm organic nutrient 3-part system. The girls absolutely loved it, and if you look around the boards, lots of ppl use foxfarms, great company, great soil, great ferts.

You can pick up foxfarms nutes and soil from your local grow shop, or order it online from somwhere like www.wormsway.com or www.hydrowholesale.com

Check out their site: http://foxfarmfertilizer.com/productsfox.html

And that attached pic is the feeding chart for their system.

Hope that helps LM :rastasmoke:

[Splifted]

Oh, and don't be scared to set your HPS light up now, I know you've heard how "HPS is good for flowering" and "MH is good for veg". I'll let you in on a little secret, HPS is works just fine for veg. I'm speaking from experience. Light intensity is more important than light spectrum. Plus, that HPS should take care of that chilly basement :D

Stop by the thread in my signature, you can see on the first page how fast they grow vegging under the HPS :D

[liberiamom]

Hey thanks for all the help- I will order some ferts tonight:jointsmile:
I will try to get some pictures of my baby plants soon to show them off once they are bigger. When should I top them? I did that three times to a plant before and looked like a maple tree- too bad it turned out to be a male.

I am wondering if I should try that L- that's when you tie the plant down a little bit and it grows up, right:o

[liberiamom]

I meant to say LST - my computer spazzed on me mid message.

I see that you grow peppers! I just started a Kung Pao hybrid, and a Jamaican Hot Chocolate, and next week I am starting some Purple Jalapeno, Bulgarian Carrot, Golden Cayenne, Tabasco, Marbles, Ancho, and Pasilla Bajio- I went crazy for pepper seeds this year. I wish it was that easy to get cannabis seeds!

Thank you Mr splifted

[lovetogrow]

hey get a hps converstion bulb for that hps. it burns as a MH then you can veg. and use the other hps bulb for flower. best of both worlds.

[Splifted]

Hey thanks for all the help- I will order some ferts tonight:jointsmile:
I will try to get some pictures of my baby plants soon to show them off once they are bigger. When should I top them? I did that three times to a plant before and looked like a maple tree- too bad it turned out to be a male.

I am wondering if I should try that L- that's when you tie the plant down a little bit and it grows up, right:o

Well LM, if you're gonna top & LST, I can show you what I did. The plant in this link was topped at the 6th or 7th node, then it was LST'd. It produced the most even canopy out of all my experiments w/ topping, lst'ing, lst'ing + topping etc.

http://boards.cannabis.com/showpost.php?p=1144765&postcount=116

If you got any questions about LST'ing (or anything), just ask. I'm a noob too, but I've got the whole LST'ing thing down, and I probably have a link bookmarked for every other question a noob could have :) I'll probably not be back on these boards til day after christmas tho, so until then merry christmas and stay safe :areindeer:

PS, I know what you mean about pepper seeds lol. I just started collecting them a couple months ago and i have like 19 varieties now. I love trading peppers, its so easy to find ppl that will help noobs out :)

[liberiamom]

My little plants on just starting the fourth node, so I will hold off until they get to six- the plants on your thread look great! I will continue my research:) - my garden keeps getting more and more interesting-
Have a very happy holiday! :noel:
I will show you some pictures of my three seedlings when you return.

[kindprincess]

hi lbmom, long time no see... i use floro's for veg, for cost reasons more than anything, but if you can use the hps all the way through, i say go for it. and if you give me a month or two, i may be able to get you a mh400w...

merry christmas:)

love, kp:p

[liberiamom]

Hi cutie- glad to hear from you! My three blue haze babies are doing fine, and I will be setting up the light tomorrow, so I will take some pictures and try to post them as part of my Christmas celebration. We are going to divide the grow room in two by building a kind of stealth flowering section in the back that is light proof, that way we can have vegging plants in one side and flowering plants in the separate section. It would be great to have the MH lamp - I am also growing tons of peppers and other veg, so I can't have too much light.

Once we close off the back of the room for flowering, I will need to figure out some way of moving air there, with a vent. Would I be able to get like a bathroom fan from Lowes, or must I order from a special store online? I'm trying to cut costs as much as possible.

I sure hope these three are girls! I am still waiting on some Power Plant from Seedboutique, but someone else on another board ordered from them and haven't received theirs, so I hope I am not out of luck. It's only been a week, so I'm not giving up- if another week goes by, I will order the Joey Weed from Hemp Depot- I am afraid of ending up with three big old males- that has happened twice before with bagseeed:(

I hope you have a wonderful holiday dear kp!:noel:

[kindprincess]

what is the size of your hps? i'm thinking you'll need more air flow than a 50-60cfm fart fan... i rigged up a box fan that works wonders. it replaced the bathroom fan, and the passive intake is enough to shake and blow the plants. so i've been able to x the oscillating fan as well.

i'll call a friend tomorrow... there's a guy i know who has several mh lights from a construction job. i got two 400w's for 50$. maybe i can get two more... some dissasembly required, these lights look like the outdoor ones at lowes (under the hangar...)

my personal two bits would be to let your hazies go to just over ten nodes, so when you top you'll have 20 main branches and a nice cutting for a clone mom (if it turns out female ~fingers crossed~)

as for temps, you realy don't want to let it get below 60, but i've had outdoor plants take to 50-40 degrees without too much harm... if you're having heat probs, i'd suggest using the hps, if for no other reason than use of a heater. my mh400 heats my entire room! and uses 700w less than a space heater...

remember to have as much room as possible in your flower room; it seems when you think you've got it perfect, it turns out to be too small... lol... just my luck i gess. i'm trying to get some new stuff going, so i have a little time left to make alterations before the grand 12/12 switch. i plan on having an 8x8x8 in the end... wish me luck (i have to go watch bob villa now)

merry crhistmas lbmom, and to all of you out there... may your lights be blindingly bright.... and may all your christmas buds be white:D

love, kp:p

[liberiamom]

My hps is 600W- how much space will that cover? That would be great if your friend had more lights! The plants have about 4 nodes now, so maybe top in a couple weeks? I've actually tried the FIM thing before and it seemed to work, but darn it they turned out to be boys so I murdered them - what do you think of that process? Should I LST after I top, and how soon?

What did you do to the box fan to rig it? I have two little "blizzard" fans moving air around right now, but the plants are still little, and under cfls. Once we move them into the hidden back space, under the big lights, I will need to keep it cool, though being in the basement helps.

The space we had planned for the flowering area would be about 8 feet long and 2 1/2 feet wide, like a long closet- We would frame it out, and make it as light-tight as we can. It would run along the back of the existing growroom (which is about 8 x 8) with a small door so that it just looked like a cabinet to store chemicals, but when you open the door, voila! At least, that is what I was thinking. We could vent out into the rest of the basement. Any suggestions on set-up would be appreciated, kindprincess!
Sorry for all the questions- but I am getting hooked into this growing. It is like growing specific grapes for wines, so many different types to try... I'd love to be able to breed a few diff varieties just to see what develops-fun!

I'd better get to bed now, or Santa won't come-
Nighty-nite friends.

[kindprincess]

if i'm not mistaken, a 600w will cover about a 6x6...

i'd top when you have as many nodes as you want to end up with. each node will be two main branches. fim-ing works, i use that technique on my clone moms to make them mass produce... once you top, and start to flower, you WILL lst, whether you want to or not. as i mentioned, each node becomes two main branches, a the plants become monsters. the branches will have to be spread apart and tied for lighting reasons... on the up side, you can get a qp per plant with this method...

with the box fan, i cut a hole in the cab material, directly above the hps bulb. i made the whole just a little smaller than the surface of the fan. then, i put it on high, and plugged it up to the timer, so when the lights come on, so does the big fan. cut extra intake holes, works like a charm. and venting to and from the basement is an excellent idea, if you don't have to worry about smell...

for your cab size; i want to say that's not big enough for you to do what you want, these babies are going to need room... especially once you start getting into more strains;) maybe make that cab a 4x8, that's the size of mine...

well, with that, i'm off to wrap the rest of the gifts... Merry Christmas:)

love, kp:cool:

[liberiamom]

if i'm not mistaken, a 600w will cover about a 6x6...

i'd top when you have as many nodes as you want to end up with. each node will be two main branches. fim-ing works, i use that technique on my clone moms to make them mass produce... once you top, and start to flower, you WILL lst, whether you want to or not. as i mentioned, each node becomes two main branches, a the plants become monsters. the branches will have to be spread apart and tied for lighting reasons... on the up side, you can get a qp per plant with this method...

with the box fan, i cut a hole in the cab material, directly above the hps bulb. i made the whole just a little smaller than the surface of the fan. then, i put it on high, and plugged it up to the timer, so when the lights come on, so does the big fan. cut extra intake holes, works like a charm. and venting to and from the basement is an excellent idea, if you don't have to worry about smell...

for your cab size; i want to say that's not big enough for you to do what you want, these babies are going to need room... especially once you start getting into more strains;) maybe make that cab a 4x8, that's the size of mine...

well, with that, i'm off to wrap the rest of the gifts... Merry Christmas:)

love, kp:cool:


Merry Christmas to you too honey, you have been a great help! I will take your advice and expand the cab, since I do love these sativa girls!
I'm posting pics later-

[kindprincess]

can't wait for them pix:) i just put some up on godbudxdreamweaver...

kp:p

[elway07]

I know it has been said already but wanted to add again. I use fox farm nutes "big Grow" for vegging and "tiger Bloom for vegging. I use Super thrive ( 1/4tsp per gallon of water that goes into my soil period. Always. It's great stuff. I also continue to give the veg nute through the first week of flowering then switch to the bloom nutes. I find it an easier transistion for the plants. Good luck

[rhizome]

Couple of observations-

Superthrive is pretty awesome, but you'll want to discontinue when you flip the lights- it'll extend flowering time, and lower final density. I wouldn't use a 1/4 tsp / gal on an extended basis myself- I use 1ml/g for veg, and save the big doses for transplant. Don't kick the bottle over- it'll reek for months.

You'll have trouble lighting 8x2.5 with a single fixture- I'd slap that 600 into a 5x5 room, ideally. To get good light intensity at the ends of the room, you'll need to use a mover. If you go for the mover, get the Light Rail- The slip chain designs never gave me any peace.

When ya talk about heat management, it's helpful to know what the reflector design is- this can have a huge impact.

If you're going to rehab some old hi-boy MH fixtures, go the bucks for good lamps ( Sunmaster Cool, Hort Blue). Also, remember to burn those lamps sideways! The hiboy design is great for Walmart- less so for your closet. Also, those things weigh a ton.:mad:

[liberiamom]

Couple of observations-

Superthrive is pretty awesome, but you'll want to discontinue when you flip the lights- it'll extend flowering time, and lower final density. I wouldn't use a 1/4 tsp / gal on an extended basis myself- I use 1ml/g for veg, and save the big doses for transplant. Don't kick the bottle over- it'll reek for months.

You'll have trouble lighting 8x2.5 with a single fixture- I'd slap that 600 into a 5x5 room, ideally. To get good light intensity at the ends of the room, you'll need to use a mover. If you go for the mover, get the Light Rail- The slip chain designs never gave me any peace.

When ya talk about heat management, it's helpful to know what the reflector design is- this can have a huge impact.

If you're going to rehab some old hi-boy MH fixtures, go the bucks for good lamps ( Sunmaster Cool, Hort Blue). Also, remember to burn those lamps sideways! The hiboy design is great for Walmart- less so for your closet. Also, those things weigh a ton.:mad:

At the risk of sounding stupid:o Sideways?
Also, I had planned to make the room about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide, so would that work if I added another light- what would the minimum wattage have to be to make it work in that size room with the 600wHPS?
Thanks so much for your help!

[rhizome]

By sideways, I mean horizontally.

Almost all of the light being produced by an HID light is emitted at 90 degrees from the tube. A lot of industrial fixtures burn the lamp vertically, sending the light out paralell to the floor. This works well to disperse the light over gigantic areas, but not so well for indoor horticulture purposes. Anybody who's old enough to remember big 7 & 8 ' parabolic reflectors will remember that they burnt the bulb in the vertical position. Modern ( horizontal) reflectors are much more efficient, unless you're lighting up, say, a Walmart. ( If you are going to light up a Walmart, remember to douse it in petrol first :D )

A 600 would be perfect for a 6x4- unless you wanted to stick 2 600's in there. I would hang the reflector so that it was paralell with one of the four foot walls- this should give you the best distribution pattern. It may be more conveniant, depending on door placement, whether or not you need to run ductwork, etc, to hang so that your bulb is paralell to the longer walls, but you will have a tradeoff in the canopy penetration at the ends of the room. If you go for two lamps, you're essentially lighting 2 3x4 areas- making the 4 foot wall the long wall, so I hang the bulbs paralell to the six foot ( or the two x three foot) wall.


Also, I should mention that if you're going to adapt old vertical fixtures to new horizontal ones, please please please make sure that the socket that you use is rated for at least 5kv and that the cable you use is rated for at least 600v- the current coming off the ballast is 600 volts, and 1000w @ 600v will turn an extension cord into a heating element- like in a toaster.

Glad to be of help- assuming I'm actually being helpful, and not just a grumpy old fart ;)

[kindprincess]

hey, i liked it! good info rizzy;)

lbmom, how's the construction going? i've just decided to dedicate a 12x16 room to my projects:D now i have to do some planning...

love, kp:p

[Villui]

My HPS light (which I have to wait to use until flowering, right? I so want to set it up!) came with a few bottles of Super Thrive- is this stuff any good? I says it should be used in addition to fertilizer. Please advise- I feel like I should be doing something more than just looking at them :jointsmile:

My three little blue haze are about two weeks old, and I just put them in big girl one gallon pots over the weekend. They experienced no transplant shock; they seem quite perky, but I haven't started feeding them yet- when should I start doing that, and what are some recommended ferts?
I'm just happy that I haven't killed them yet!

Also, the basement is a little chilly- what is the lowest temp they will tolerate, and what will the plant look like if it is too cold (shivers!)?

fox farm grow big and tiger bloom worked great for me

also if you want you can buy a mh conversion bulb for the hps, thats what i did