help with home made led lights

aloha,
sorry if this has been asked in a different thread but iam a newbee here.
im trying to make a small led grow light with 5w ledengin emitters and was curious if anyone knew of any led drivers w/ dimmers(so i could control the spectrum) that would work well with these. iam using 2 deep reds(660nm), 2 reds(630nm), 2 far reds(740nm), and 1 blue(450nm). i was planning on running each band on its own driver and i wanted the far reds to be on its own power source so i can use it on a different timer.

would they all have to be on there own power source?

what drivers would you recommend?

how many 5w leds could i run on the driver?

and what would be a good power source?


weezard please help. need your advice braddah. i saw you made a similar light with a cake pan or something but cant seem to find that post of yours again to take a good look. cheeeeee!!!

help a braddah out please...

mahalo. :)

heat and electricity are my problem so thats why i wanna try dis out. im planning on just growing a plant or 2 for me.
also would it be smart to run this in combination with cfls or flouros or would this be strong enough on its own?
sorry, i forgot to mention this is gonna be in a small cabinet about 30"t x 20"w x 12"d.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alohamahalo

aloha,
sorry if this has been asked in a different thread but iam a newbee here.
im trying to make a small led grow light with 5w ledengin emitters and was curious if anyone knew of any led drivers w/ dimmers(so i could control the spectrum) that would work well with these. iam using 2 deep reds(660nm), 2 reds(630nm), 2 far reds(740nm), and 1 blue(450nm). i was planning on running each band on its own driver and i wanted the far reds to be on its own power source so i can use it on a different timer.

would they all have to be on there own power source?

what drivers would you recommend?

how many 5w leds could i run on the driver?

and what would be a good power source?


weezard please help. need your advice braddah. i saw you made a similar light with a cake pan or something but cant seem to find that post of yours again to take a good look. cheeeeee!!!

help a braddah out please...

mahalo. :)

---

No worries, brah.
There are picture of "cake pan" in my albums, with captions.
Click on my avatar an' browse.
If you need my attention, jus' leave a picture comment and I will get notified.

The build thread for Ledengin emitters is "Calling out to Weezard for led advice"
You will see the 6 Amp. dimmers that I used. and the rational behind my choices.

I'm sure you will have some other questions then, an' I'll be happy to he'p.
Bump da thread an' I'll pop on over.

Aloha,
Weeze.

Cheeee! Tanks braddah. Preciate em! I was looking over at the thread and saw the post of the cake pan light. That thing is sick. Dope stuff Breh. What kinda driver did you use for that? Are the lights dimmable? What kinda power source you use on em? I basically wanna make the same light you did but with the 2 far reds and on a heat sink aswell. Or you have any recomendations for a diff dimmable driver/power source for these buggahs? Btw im uneducated with electronics. Sorry if i sound stupid.
mahalos braddah
Cheeeeee hoooo!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alohamahalo

Cheeee! Tanks braddah. Preciate em! I was looking over at the thread and saw the post of the cake pan light. That thing is sick. Dope stuff Breh. What kinda driver did you use for that? Are the lights dimmable? What kinda power source you use on em? I basically wanna make the same light you did but with the 2 far reds and on a heat sink aswell. Or you have any recomendations for a diff dimmable driver/power source for these buggahs? Btw im uneducated with electronics. Sorry if i sound stupid.
mahalos braddah
Cheeeeee hoooo!!

---

I'm sure it's all in the thread.
But, for anyone passing by, I went cheap n dirty onna current limiters.
Used LM317 voltage regulators an' tricked 'em into behavin' like current limiters.
Ya jus' hang a resistor between the output and your emitters.
I used a 1.25 ohm 10W. because I wanted a little over an amp. if I recall.
When the LED draws current through the resistor, it creates a voltage drop.
If you tie the sense lead of the regulator to the load side of the resistor the regulator will try try to maintain that voltage.
That keeps the current constant .
If you use a high wattage resistor you can avoid thermal creep and it works a treat.
Not the most efficient way, but it works, it's easy, and it's cheap.
'zat what ya wanted to know?

Aloha,
Weeze

howzem brah. i came up on some money just now and was wondering if you knew of any drivers that you could just wire to the leds. i dont mind spending $20 to $30 per driver aslong as they could drive atleast 2 or more 5w emitters.

and could be down to buy a more expensive drivers and wanna make sure theyre dimmable. mahalos for the help brah! seriously appreciate em a tons!!! cheeeee

what about buck pucks with proprietor? how many 5w leds would one of these drive? are they efficient?

sorry about the other posts. im really new to electronics. now let me see if what i learned is right.

4 x deep red:660nm,5w, 2.8v, 1a
2 x far red:740nm, 5w, 2.6v, 1a
1 x blue:440nm, 5w, 3.6v, 1a
2 x power supply:24v, 6.5a
3 x 3023-D-E-1000PmA Wired BuckPuck (one for each color)

i wanna wire the deep reds on one buckpuck, the blues on its own buckpuck, and same for the far reds. i wanted to wire the blues and deep reds on the same power supply(the attachment shows how i would wire it). would this work for my situation? also are the amps in the power supply a bit much?

ive been really confused about how many leds can run on a driver and how to figure it all out. if anyone could help out that would be awesome.

weezard mahalos again brah, i hope you dont mind all my questions. and if anyone else beside unko weezard get any input on my idea feel free to comment. im really interested and wanna learn about this.

R=red, FR=far red, B=blue, *=spacing between leds. the forum wont let me post with spaces in the beginning of lines.

this is how i would place them on the heat sink.

**R*R**
FR*B*FR
**R*R**
would this probably be the best layout or should i lay them differently?
far reds only come on when flowering(1hr before the lights turn on and turn off 1hr after, then 1hr before the turn off and 1hr after they turn off. do i need more far reds? is the time i would be running these sound about right?

would this little panel even have enough total power to grow 2 plants about 20" tall in a small box?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alohamahalo

sorry about the other posts. im really new to electronics. now let me see if what i learned is right.

4 x deep red:660nm,5w, 2.8v, 1a

4 X 2.8 = 11.2V
2 X 2.6 = 5.2V
Etc.
Do not exceed Vmax and do not power-up without a heatsink.

I have no experience with buckpucks.
So document and we'll learn sumpin', yah?:)

2 x far red:740nm, 5w, 2.6v, 1a
1 x blue:440nm, 5w, 3.6v, 1a
2 x power supply:24v, 6.5a
3 x 3023-D-E-1000PmA Wired BuckPuck (one for each color)

i wanna wire the deep reds on one buckpuck, the blues on its own buckpuck, and same for the far reds. i wanted to wire the blues and deep reds on the same power supply(the attachment shows how i would wire it). would this work for my situation? also are the amps in the power supply a bit much?

ive been really confused about how many leds can run on a driver and how to figure it all out. if anyone could help out that would be awesome.

weezard mahalos again brah, i hope you dont mind all my questions. and if anyone else beside unko weezard get any input on my idea feel free to comment. im really interested and wanna learn about this.

R=red, FR=far red, B=blue, *=spacing between leds. the forum wont let me post with spaces in the beginning of lines.

this is how i would place them on the heat sink.

**R*R**
FR*B*FR
**R*R**
would this probably be the best layout or should i lay them differently?
far reds only come on when flowering(1hr before the lights turn on and turn off 1hr after, then 1hr before the turn off and 1hr after they turn off. do i need more far reds? is the time i would be running these sound about right?

I do not know.
The timing is right but I can not even guess at the R:Fr.
Mo' betta, run that by KNNA.

It is my experience, that 4. 660nm. and one royal blue are ideal for blooming without the 740nm.
The 4:1 ratio actually promotes stretch, and early flowering in veg.
So much so, that I had to switch to a 7:3 ratio array to keep it from happening and to shorten the internodes.
When they are ready to flower, I'll go back to the 4:1 Ratio.

That's why I use a dimmer on the big array.
I just turn down the reds for vegging and can adjust internode length to my needs. 3:1 makes 'em short n squat.
Then turn them back to their maximum of 5:1 for flowering if they have the headroom.

would this little panel even have enough total power to grow 2 plants about 20" tall in a small box?

---

Not really. :(
Mo betta grow one plant right. The yield will be about the same as 2 plants because of the crowding effect.
(They read each other's reflected far red and compete, makes 'em spindly.)
And a 6.5A. power supply will run cool and happy with the light loading.
It also allows room for future expansion.:cool:
Aloha,
Weezard

Hello Alohamahlo,

You are really in good hands with Weezard, he will not steer you wrong.

DreadedHermie, who's humor I much miss, used to recommend Meanwell LED drivers. I've used thier product line to spec out DIY lights and they seem to cover most needs.

I realize that you are looiking to use the far red as trigger lights, great idea.
You will probably be able to run them thru out the photoperiod, the ratio is physically 2:1, light output wise closer to 3.5:1. The most important part of using the far red as a trigger, is for that far red be the last light seen by the plant and again the first light seen.

Hopefully with this bump, maybe Knna will see this and chime in. :thumbsup:

Good luck with the build, hope you post pictures.
OM

Mahalos old mac and weezard. I appreciate your guys time. I think I might use meanwells instead. I found a place online that sells em about the same as buckpucks and it will leave room so I can make the light bigger if I decide to which is almost guarenz ba bearinz. Cheee. Tanks again braddahs. Ima start building once I get back home from this family trip im on. I will be posting pictures so hang tight.
cheeee hoooo!!!
mahalos unkos
Alohamahalo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alohamahalo

Mahalos old mac and weezard. I appreciate your guys time. I think I might use meanwells instead. I found a place online that sells em about the same as buckpucks and it will leave room so I can make the light bigger if I decide to which is almost guarenz ba bearinz. Cheee. Tanks again braddahs. Ima start building once I get back home from this family trip im on. I will be posting pictures so hang tight.
cheeee hoooo!!!
mahalos unkos
Alohamahalo

---

I am curious to see how this goes. Keep me/us posted as maybe your homework can motivate a DIY. That'll be great for a lot of us LED newbies- even though im running LEDs myself, I would like to know much more on the workings of it, such as what you are doing. It sounds very good and I know if you gather somemore information and post it here, I would follow suit..

Good luck..

Hey weez. When you used ledengin leds have a hard time soldering them? I burned out a bunch of them now. The solder wont stick to them. I've soldered things before but never had this happen. I am using a 25w radio shack soldering iron and alpha metals 60/40 rosin core .032 solder. I searched in google and getting mixed responses on what to do but would rather hear you opinion or experiances with the product them selves.
cheeeeee!!
Aloha and mahalo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alohamahalo

Hey weez. When you used ledengin leds have a hard time soldering them?

Sure did, with the 5W. stars!
At first.
But, it was my own dumb fault.
Mounted them on the heatsink, then tried to solder them. (D'oh!)

My 25W. Rattyolshit was not up to it
Hadda dig out my HOT iron, tin the pads, tin the wire, glue the wire to the 'sink, then reflow solder with the big iron.

The 15W. emitters were a piece of cake.:)

I burned out a bunch of them now. The solder wont stick to them. I've soldered things before but never had this happen. I am using a 25w radio shack soldering iron and alpha metals 60/40 rosin core .032 solder. I searched in google and getting mixed responses on what to do but would rather hear you opinion or experiances with the product them selves.
cheeeeee!!
Aloha and mahalo.

---

My second run at the 5W. stars used copper screws instead of thermal epoxy for mounting.
Good thing too, cause I had another senior moment and mounted before soldering, again.:wtf:
So, I jus' backed out the screws and used the small iron. :cool:
Tin first, then re-flow.

Aloha
Weeze

Ok. I tried tinning the leds before I mounted them but the solder would just fall right off as I was moving it to the side. And the black star started turning white so I gave up and mounted/kinda wired em and checked em and sure enough burnt em. Why wouldn't they stick. It was so frustrating at the time. Haha.
mahalos again brah. Your input is appreciated.

I got a new order of leds and a new soldering iron and everything worked out cherry. Thanks you for your time and aloha. Ill post pics once I come around a camera and computer at da same time and by then I should have a couple girls in there and let you know how it works.
Cheeee! Till then my friends.
Mahalo,
alohamahalo

Hey Weezard,


I have a few questions for you, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

I would really appreciate it.

Weezard. I gotta question for you. I've got a clone that I just flipped to flowering with the leds that I made based off your cake pan(which works for veg at about 6"-7" from canopy).

My question is for flowering how high above your canopy you keep da lights? Im scared to bleach her.

And I swear everyone, once I get a computer with internet and a camera cord ill post pics of the light and the girl I got growing under it. Till then all I got is my friends smart phone when he feels like letting me play around on it. Haha. Spent a good amount of my moneys on my leds cause I burnt out the first batch and got a pay as you go no internet plan :(

Mahalo weeezzzz!!!!
Hopefully hear from you within a few days.
Cheeeeee!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alohamahalo

Weezard. I gotta question for you. I've got a clone that I just flipped to flowering with the leds that I made based off your cake pan(which works for veg at about 6"-7" from canopy).

My question is for flowering how high above your canopy you keep da lights? Im scared to bleach her.

What kine leds, how are they arranged, and how hard do you drive them?
Without basic information my answer is, at best, a guess.

And I swear everyone, once I get a computer with internet and a camera cord ill post pics of the light and the girl I got growing under it. Till then all I got is my friends smart phone when he feels like letting me play around on it. Haha. Spent a good amount of my moneys on my leds cause I burnt out the first batch and got a pay as you go no internet plan :(

Mahalo weeezzzz!!!!
Hopefully hear from you within a few days.
Cheeeeee!!!

---

IF, you are using 15W. emitters and burning more than 75W, at least 6",
12" would work well.

Aloha
Weeze

5w emitters. 8:2 Reds at 900ma and blues at 400 ma.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alohamahalo

5w emitters. 8:2 Reds at 900ma and blues at 400 ma.

---

Prolly safe at 4" but I'd give them 8" to allow for growth and leaf movement.

Congratulations on the build, brah.
Feels good to roll your own, yah?

I grew dis li'l pup under 5W. leds;
[attachment=o265358][attachment=o265359]

It was a right li'l wig tightener.

Aloha,
Weezard

Mahalos boolay!!
Yeah its awesome knowing I built it and seeing it work. I feel like a little grom everytime i check the cabinet and see the lights. Haha. Im enjoying this hobby very much so.
mahalos again weez and om. I appreciate all your help.
till the next which will be when I get a comp, internet, and a camera cable all together to post some pics of my girl in the cab and some shots of my lights for you guys.
And to anyone interested in making your own led panels, I say go for it if you have a basic understanding of electricity and soldering. It was a fun projects and even better to see something growing under it.

Have a good day!
aloha & mahalo, over & out!!
Cheeeee hoooo!!!!!

i was trying to post pics of my lights and plant thats growing under it and it wont let me upload them. any thoughts?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alohamahalo

i was trying to post pics of my lights and plant thats growing under it and it wont let me upload them. any thoughts?

---

you need that + after your name to upload directly to the threads. You can create a catalog and reference pics in there or use one of those online picture sites. ;)

Emmie

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...-45-36_577.jpg
when i first got the plant. vegged for only a few days.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...-32-30_603.jpg
turned the exposure down cause it was too bright so you could see the plant.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...-38-11_695.jpg
day 3 of flowering.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...-52-13_819.jpg
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...-52-24_253.jpg
baby buds. week 1 flowering.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...-51-09_683.jpg
week 2 of flowering. shes blew up. stretching pretty much stopped.

for veg i was running the blues at 90% and deep reds at 60%.
for flowering im running the blues at 40% and deep and far reds at 90%. the far-reds turn on 15 mins before the rest do and turn off 15 mins after the rest acting as a trigger light. the cooling fan for the light turns on and off with the far-reds. my exhaust/intake fans turn on with the lights and turn off an hr after the lights. im 2 weeks and 3 days into flowering and stretching has slowed down and hoping has stopped. my canopy climbed to about 2 inches from the light and no signs of bleaching so i kinda just been letting her go.

-is it bad that the soil takes about 5-7 days to dry out? ive been curious about this and dont wanna get root rot or anything.

ill post some newer flicks when i come across the internet again. haha. sorry. i ran outta time on my friends comp.

aloha and mahalo to you weezard. super stoked! couldnt have done it with out your input.

cheeeee heeee!!!
alohamahalo

"-is it bad that the soil takes about 5-7 days to dry out? ive been curious about this and dont wanna get root rot or anything."

That's normal for LED grows.

It's a good idea to transplant 3, or 4 times when growing under LEDs because of the slower transpiration and less evaporation.
I start with a smaller pot than usual and up-pot 3 times in veg, then again when I flower.

"aloha and mahalo to you weezard. super stoked! couldnt have done it with out your input."

You are welcome, my friend.
I'm impressed with your build, and results.:thumbsup:
Gonna hang around and watch.:jointsmile:

Aloha,
Weeze

(i know, older thread resurrection) hey alohamahalo, do you have a schematic of your build? and all the components used? thanks

Notatall, this thread needed a :bump2:!
I'm keen to know how the harvest turned out.:smokin:

No schemo needed actually.
It's just LEDs, glued to a heatsink, wired in series, and attached to a commercial led driver for each color.
Keep track of the anodes n' cathodes n' add up the forward voltage drops to size the drivers.
If you can string beads, (and speak solder), you can build a LED array in half a day.


Mahalo fo' bumpin',
Weeze

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Weezard

Notatall, this thread needed a :bump2:!
I'm keen to know how the harvest turned out.:smokin:

No schemo needed actually.
It's just LEDs, glued to a heatsink, wired in series, and attached to a commercial led driver for each color.
Keep track of the anodes n' cathodes n' add up the forward voltage drops to size the drivers.
If you can string beads, (and speak solder), you can build a LED array in half a day.


Mahalo fo' bumpin',
Weeze

---

hmm, i may have missed something in the thread, but, i don't recall alohamahalo posting what he actually ended up using, just what he thought about using. ?? unless the below was what was used in the final design and just wasn't mentioned?

Quote:

---

4 x deep red:660nm,5w, 2.8v, 1a
2 x far red:740nm, 5w, 2.6v, 1a
1 x blue:440nm, 5w, 3.6v, 1a
2 x power supply:24v, 6.5a
3 x 3023-D-E-1000PmA Wired BuckPuck (one for each color)

---

weezard, what up man, thanks for the reply. (gonna go all creeper for a minute) but i feels like i've known you for the longest time, because i've lurked around this place since "the perfect LED grow thread" but i've finally built up something like the courage(more like heat is killing me, and i have to do something about it), so after years of on and off research i'm going to build something(and post every now and then also)(hurray for run on sentences). I think if i can diagnose electrical gremlins in many a auto, as well as run new harnesses, i should be able to figure this out(been soldering for years nows).

Yeah, basically, i'm rreealll leery about ordering something from china and hoping i got what was advertised/asked for, as well as having really weird dimensional requirements(not being able to find something commercial to fit).

then not wanting to build a current regulator/diving into how i think that stuff works(because i'd rather buy a buckpuck--which also does neat things for getting rid of extra voltage, and doing so very efficiently, but still finding specifics on that). Buying a bench supply just to build a few small arrays doesn't seem logical.

wow.. went a little overboard on that there post. so, here is where i'm loosing this battle a little bit. lets say 5w LEDengin 660s min Vf=2.48 max Vf=3.44, ok, so thats 1volt ether way, which is a sizable amount with anything more than 3 emitters in a string, without testing each emitter.

Next issue is driver, i've been reading through, and yeah those meanwells, but their current output is way over 1000mA(but 12v is good for a small string). So, ultimately, there is my killer, finding a power supply with the right numbers to fit these LEDs.

Then, ok, buckpucks for current regulation and they come in 1000mA formants, and are(supposedly) good for up to 18w strings, and, in the process are good for cleaving off extra voltage and do so very efficiently(forget the science/electrical theory behind why). right.. so, why haven't i just bought the stuff and built it with that "knowledge" in hand... because. wwayyy to much theory for me to be blowing up $10 emitters.... xD lol

Honestly, bluntly even, i'm just looking for a A goes into B. Unfortunately, i ether have huge wholes in my understanding(aside from smaller but, still very noticeable wholes), and i am unable to find a driver that meets my needs, or i missed something that says they are "smart" and adjust for you(which i'm nearly positive they don't)

yeah..

yeah, basically, my issue as stated by Hermie there. so i dunno, i'm not trying to be a drag on anyone, and, i'm sure at some point, walking people through things gets old, but i know if i had a few wholes filled in i'd be able to figure out what needs to happen. Ether way, its cool.

peaces. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DreadedHermie

and Shake, the biggest problem with doing a straight-through tutorial on led light construction is you have to mount and measure your light sources (IMO) in order to decide the best way to power them.

---

right, so, specifics. I'm looking for 30-40w using all 5w 660nm LEDengin emitters. that is the goal, in which i'm having a real hard time finding a driver for.(20-25w would even work)

alohamahalo, i am so sorry, i'm hijacking your thread hardcore. BUT!, if you ever got around that issue with your soil, my two pennies would go to a looser soil mix, or go straight coco. On top of that, i'd look into airpots, i use em, they are the bees knees, only better.

wow. i havent been on the forums in awhile. my roomies canceled the internet and i finally went to starbucks to use the internet. haha.

anyways, wav3, weeze. i ended up using meanwell drivers(one for each color). they work good and so do the LEDengin emitters. the plant i grew wasnt the best but it was my first grow. the plants i got going now are turning out much better. i think the strain was also part of the problem. it was given to me from a friend and was also already too big for my box. i wanted to add onto my panel for the next grow but money wasnt and still isnt on my side so i added cfls to the grow box and its looking good. ill post some pics next time i come to starbucks.

weeze, once again...mahalos braddah. they didnt taste good(my fault) but i wouldnt have had smokes this month with out you braddah...CHEEEE!!!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wav3F0rm

right, so, specifics. I'm looking for 30-40w using all 5w 660nm LEDengin emitters. that is the goal, in which i'm having a real hard time finding a driver for.(20-25w would even work)

alohamahalo, i am so sorry, i'm hijacking your thread hardcore. BUT!, if you ever got around that issue with your soil, my two pennies would go to a looser soil mix, or go straight coco. On top of that, i'd look into airpots, i use em, they are the bees knees, only better.

---

This may help
10. 5W. 660nm. deep red
and.
3. 5W. 460nm. blue.
Here's the raw wiring;
[attachment=o275700]

Drove this from a couple voltage regulated supplies for a while.
Then got smarter.
Added 3 current regulators and ran them with a laptop power supply mounted on the light atop the fan;
[attachment=o275701]

Here's the simple schemo for the cheap n easy current regs;

[attachment=o275702]

Any mo' holes to fill?:)
No worry. we will strive to fill da whole hole whenevah time permits.;)

Sticky fingers, dirty knees.
Tiny 'zards aims to please.

Aloha,
Wee

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alohamahalo

wow. i havent been on the forums in awhile. my roomies canceled the internet and i finally went to starbucks to use the internet. haha.

anyways, wav3, weeze. i ended up using meanwell drivers(one for each color). they work good and so do the LEDengin emitters. the plant i grew wasnt the best but it was my first grow. the plants i got going now are turning out much better. i think the strain was also part of the problem. it was given to me from a friend and was also already too big for my box. i wanted to add onto my panel for the next grow but money wasnt and still isnt on my side so i added cfls to the grow box and its looking good. ill post some pics next time i come to starbucks.

weeze, once again...mahalos braddah. they didnt taste good(my fault) but i wouldnt have had smokes this month with out you braddah...CHEEEE!!!!!!!

---

You are welcome brah.
Enjoy!
Pictures would be most welcome.
And that's good advice from wav3F0rm.

Aloha nui.
Wee 'zard[attachment=o275703]

Hey weeze, I got a question for you about sending and receiving seeds in hawaii. Pm me with a answer or just reply here. Either way works. But the question is what's the safest way for a friend in cali to send seeds to me in the hi state? I been playing around with bagseeds and wanna try a strain that I know what it is.
let me know braddah. Thanks. And pictures from my last grow are coming.
Mahalo in advance.
Alohamahalo

You have rep!