SWC Micro Grow

[khyberkitsune]

Member for years, finally deciding to post, with a starting project - a converted A/V Workstation case (larger than your typical PC case) into a growing box.

It takes up just over one square foot of floor space, and I have about 1.5 cubic feet of growing space inside. I am using a 6-quart container modified into an SWC container for two plants. For ventilation, I have a 120mm computer fan powered by a 12VDC wall-wart from some random electronic equipment. I am using an over-sized air pump and air stone for the setup - I want to try to maximize yield and eliminate all possible limiting factors. For lighting, I will be using a 50w tri-band LED panel of my own design (I've been making these for horticultural companies for a while, now) and will attempt to get more than 50g of TOTAL USABLE PRODUCT (some people don't count sugar leaf, I do as it's certainly smokeable and contains a higher ratio of trichome/leaf matter) from my setup.

I will be using a combination of several nutrients. General Hydroponics' 3-part Flora series, with Diamond Nectar, and then Grotek's Pro Silicate and Botanicare's CalMag. I will be keeping my pH around 5.5-6.0. My strain is Hindu Skunk, the clones are already developing roots in their starter tanks. I do have other plants gong, but those will be under a different journal. Currently, the clones are rooting/vegging under 20w of LED lighting. 70% blue, 30% red. This helps keep internode spacing tight while it develops, while still allowing for enough red light to keep other regular processes going. Kinda like a stasis light more than a veg light.

50w of pure plant-usable light in one square foot of space, I wonder if that's actually overkill?

khyberkitsune Reviewed by khyberkitsune on 02-24-2010. SWC Micro Grow Member for years, finally deciding to post, with a starting project - a converted A/V Workstation case (larger than your typical PC case) into a growing box. It takes up just over one square foot of floor space, and I have about 1.5 cubic feet of growing space inside. I am using a 6-quart container modified into an SWC container for two plants. For ventilation, I have a 120mm computer fan powered by a 12VDC wall-wart from some random electronic equipment. I am using an over-sized air pump Rating: 5

[catlova]

Subscribed! I am going to be starting my first grow coming up soon. Do you have any previous experience doing micro grows? I dont understand how a plant can grow in such a small place.

Thanks for any tips and good luck!

[khyberkitsune]

Subscribed! I am going to be starting my first grow coming up soon. Do you have any previous experience doing micro grows? I dont understand how a plant can grow in such a small place.

Thanks for any tips and good luck!

I have much experience with micro grows. The trick is learning how to train a plant so that it fills a small area, either through LST or through pruning/trimming. If you watch this whole grow I will be demonstrating this as I'm fitting two plants into that tiny space

My lights just need to hurry up and arrive. I'm getting antsy and people wanting to buy my lights are getting antsy. Ditto my investors!

[catlova]

That is good news to hear you are experienced. There is not a whole lot of info I could find about micro growing. I am going to attempt my first using some Feminized Sour Diesel.

I did some research and saw on youtube a guy had success growing White Widow in a pc case using:

2 weeks veg
8 weeks flower
1 week dry

Does those times seem to be pretty close to what you use?

[khyberkitsune]

That is good news to hear you are experienced. There is not a whole lot of info I could find about micro growing. I am going to attempt my first using some Feminized Sour Diesel.

I did some research and saw on youtube a guy had success growing White Widow in a pc case using:

2 weeks veg
8 weeks flower
1 week dry

Does those times seem to be pretty close to what you use?

8 weeks for white widow in flowering? Way too premature IMHO. Otherwise, I would have about that period of time for my grow, yes. I couldn't see myself trimming/training for more than two weeks in this case, and I wouldn't use a strain with a long flowering period. 1 week for drying is about right, maybe a week and a half depending upon humidity at the time.

[stra8outtaWeed]

use some bushmaster to keep the girls from stretching...and it will help your yield:thumbsup:

[catlova]

use some bushmaster to keep the girls from stretching...and it will help your yield:thumbsup:

I will be doing a soil grow, not hydro. Will Bushmaster still work for me?

[khyberkitsune]

I will be doing a soil grow, not hydro. Will Bushmaster still work for me?

With the exception of ammonia/urea based nitrogen sources (ie not fixed in a nitrate format) nutes are nutes and should work in any system.

I've used GH in soil grows with great results.

[stra8outtaWeed]

I will be doing a soil grow, not hydro. Will Bushmaster still work for me?

absolutely...it is good stuff:thumbsup:

[khyberkitsune]

absolutely...it is good stuff:thumbsup:

So I see, now that I have read up on this, sounds like good stuff for vert growers, for sure, and might do the trick with my PC case grow, though I think I'll be able to just suffice with an LST since 50w of purely usable plant light in a square foot is quite intense. That is pretty much unheard of, at least at sea level. From top of SWC reservoir to the bottom of the LED panel will be about ten inches, so it's going to get intense irradiation all the way through.