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hush's PCK grow

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
I just went through a round of PCK from seed and selected two plants to keep. This will be a journal where I grow them out as mono crops to see which one I like better. One grew very tall, up past the light, and smells like sweet lemon candy. The other was short and smells like licorice. I've decided to start with the lemon one because of how vigorous and stretchy it was. I think it'll fill the SCROG screen pretty quickly.

90cm tent under 250w LED light. Here is the humble beginning.

0TRvQPA.jpg


Follow along with me if you want to. I just realized I grow almost exclusively Ace genetics and never did a journal in the Ace forum, so here I am.
 

dubi

ACE Seeds Breeder
Vendor
Veteran
Thanks hush for starting a grow diary for your PCK selection :) The bud coming from her looks delicious.

I usually recommend sativa x PCK F1 hybrids like Congo, Violeta, Malawi x PCK or Panama x PCK for monogrows since they are more vigorous, higher yielding and more potent, but nothing wrong with growing a particular selection you really like.

Taking a seat! Take care
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
I usually recommend sativa x PCK F1 hybrids like Congo, Violeta, Malawi x PCK or Panama x PCK for monogrows since they are more vigorous, higher yielding and more potent, but nothing wrong with growing a particular selection you really like.

I don't believe I've ever really caught you saying that before but I'm glad to hear you saying it now. I think I'm going to heed your advice and get some of those in my next purchase. Because honestly I think that's just the best method for me, in my circumstances, is to do mono grows like this, and PCK is definitely a low-yielder and not very strong. But I like the laid back, anxiety-free effects I get from it. Even the most potent one I had, which was also the lowest yielding and leafiest one, was very relaxing and comforting and I never found myself thinking, "I'm too high" no matter how much I vaped it.

So, which of those 4 options you mentioned above are the most like pure PCK, in terms of the effects?
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
I'm too lazy to take pictures at the moment but the plant is growing, and filling out the screen... It's just that I also had a problem recently: my pH meter was all out of wack and the last time I changed the res, I apparently adjusted the pH down to like 3.0-3.5 or so. And the plant was responding, and did not like it! I hope I caught it in time... There's a little damage, but barely any. The real issue is I don't know if it stunted the plant at all. That's a pretty extreme pH mistake, I'm ashamed to say. I calibrated the meter and fixed everything today with some silica, which raises pH and makes plants stronger. So hopefully it will be fine, if not just a little delayed. And in the worst case scenario, even if the plant was stunted, I have my other pheno selection I can put in here and start over with, so that this journal can keep going. But fingers crossed for this one because of the lemon drop aroma... That's the one I wanted first.
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
Yeah, ever since getting rid of my HIDs I've vowed to keep using the LEDs that I already have until I can afford bigger and better ones down the road, so the one I'm using here will be the same one used during flowering. It can perform though. It's a Viparspectra V600 which is about 250 actual watts, and when I had it in my 2x2 tent it gave me about a half pound of Golden Tiger. So I suspect I'll get at least that with a lighter yielding strain in a tent with more than double the square footage (3x3).

I was going to upgrade for this current grow but I'm being taken to court by a creditor and I don't know how much I'm going to be taken for so I had to nope out of that plan. Looks like I'll be using this light all the way through, now.

I really want the Mars Hydro quantum board that's designed for a 5x5 so that I could dim it down and run it in this tent, so that it would be overkill. That's just going to have to wait until I get out from this financial struggle that I'm still dealing with, more than two years after my divorce. Fucking divorce.

Don't get married, kids. :dunno:
 

eyes

Active member
Veteran
Yeah, ever since getting rid of my HIDs I've vowed to keep using the LEDs that I already have until I can afford bigger and better ones down the road, so the one I'm using here will be the same one used during flowering. It can perform though. It's a Viparspectra V600 which is about 250 actual watts, and when I had it in my 2x2 tent it gave me about a half pound of Golden Tiger. So I suspect I'll get at least that with a litter yielding strain in a tent with more than double the square footage (3x3).

I was going to upgrade for this current grow but I'm being taken to court by a creditor and I don't know how much I'm going to be taken for so I had to nope out of that plan. Looks like I'll be using this light all the way through, now.

I really want the Mars Hydro quantum board that's designed for a 5x5 so that I could dim it down and run it in this tent, so that it would be overkill. That's just going to have to wait until I get out from this financial struggle that I'm still dealing with, more than two years after my divorce. Fucking divorce.

Don't get married, kids. :dunno:

Sorry bout the divorce. Yeah, thats shit has to be tough. Hang in there brother, things will improve for ya.
 

40degsouth

Well-known member
Hi hush,
I’m wishing you all the best for your grow and hoping your current situation resolves itself to your fullest satisfaction.
The reason I’ve chimed in is to ask for advice and help because you’re the only person I’ve found that has mentioned dimming Mars Hydro’s led lights.
I’ve been recommended the TSL 2000w, dimmed to %25 due to off grid power concerns, with a maximum winter capacity of 90w.
Is it possible this particular light dimmed to this percentage will keep cuts in veg?? The lights l used this past year we’re 30w supplemental, flowering lights (l found out after they were sold to me) x3 which l believe were not bright enough to stop a flowering transition when the cuts were put outside......it’s a problem that needs a resolution.
I’ve always used fluorescents without too many problems and being able to put plants out a month earlier.
I’m sorry to clog the thread so I’m happy to hear from anyone via pm if you’d prefer it.
Thanks everyone,
40
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
Hi hush,
I’m wishing you all the best for your grow and hoping your current situation resolves itself to your fullest satisfaction.
The reason I’ve chimed in is to ask for advice and help because you’re the only person I’ve found that has mentioned dimming Mars Hydro’s led lights.
I’ve been recommended the TSL 2000w, dimmed to %25 due to off grid power concerns, with a maximum winter capacity of 90w.
Is it possible this particular light dimmed to this percentage will keep cuts in veg?? The lights l used this past year we’re 30w supplemental, flowering lights (l found out after they were sold to me) x3 which l believe were not bright enough to stop a flowering transition when the cuts were put outside......it’s a problem that needs a resolution.
I’ve always used fluorescents without too many problems and being able to put plants out a month earlier.
I’m sorry to clog the thread so I’m happy to hear from anyone via pm if you’d prefer it.
Thanks everyone,
40

It's not a bother to me when people talk in my journals. Please, have at it, and if anyone has answers to those questions I implore them to respond!

But honestly, I don't know the answer to your question about dimming down to 25%. I will only be dimming down to 75% for what I'm looking at, and I know that's doable. I'm not sure if, with LED technology, dimming so much causes there to be a change in color spectrum or things like that, and I don't want to mislead you. So I do hope others will chime in and respond to you.

My first thought though, for the record, is that since diodes are controlled by essentially computers, that the color spectrum is probably pretty constant no matter what voltage is running through them. At least in the quantum board tech. But that's just a guess on my part. One thing you might consider, if all you're trying to do is keep cuts alive and in vegetative mode, without any significant photosynthesis, and keeping the wattage down, is to use the style of strip lighting that is common in the microgreens scene: basically just the LED grow light equivalent of the old fluorescent shop lights. I use them to grow whole heads of mini lettuce in my kitchen garden and they're pretty amazing.

jnFG6gV.jpg



These are the ones I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0814L4XPL/ref=dp_iou_view_product_mobile?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are the 2 ft long strips, which are 10 watts each, but they also have 4 ft long strips at 20 watts each.
 

40degsouth

Well-known member
Thanks so much for that Hush, l can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help. Those lights are so cheap, l can’t believe it!! The ones l got were $150 each and use so much more power?? If l put up two lots would that be twice as good and twice as much light??
I noticed you mentioned they may not encourage “significant photosynthesis” but would they encourage growth enough to take cuts, encourage rooting and grow those clones on??
I have seen a grower on here build a grow cupboard using led lights you’d put in your house, very clever stuff.
Indoor lighting and spectrums of light is something l know nothing about and need some help with.
Thanks again,
40.
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
Thanks so much for that Hush, l can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help. Those lights are so cheap, l can’t believe it!! The ones l got were $150 each and use so much more power?? If l put up two lots would that be twice as good and twice as much light??
I noticed you mentioned they may not encourage “significant photosynthesis” but would they encourage growth enough to take cuts, encourage rooting and grow those clones on??
I have seen a grower on here build a grow cupboard using led lights you’d put in your house, very clever stuff.
Indoor lighting and spectrums of light is something l know nothing about and need some help with.
Thanks again,
40.

Well, all I can say is that I am currently revegging some previously harvested plants in that very same garden pictured above, and yes they are growing shoots and I've already had to cut several off, which would have been fine specimens to root if I wanted to. I just threw them away, though, because I'm not trying to root any cuttings at the moment. So I want to say yes those lights would be fine for what you want. But maybe you want them to grow faster, and if so, you might want a bit stronger lights. The ones I have, and linked to, are the T5 equivalents, but they also make T8 equivalents that have a V-shape to them, with double the amount of LEDs along them, and you might consider those instead. If you did a search for Barrina T8 LED grow light you would find the ones I'm talking about. All I know is that quantum boards, even the smaller ones, put out a lot of light and make plants grow pretty fast, so if you are okay with them growing a little slower, using these strip lights would probably be a better option. Also you can put these lights right on top of the plants and not burn them or anything, unlike with quantum boards which have to be like 18 inches or so above the plants. I mean, they're just a very economical option, so that's why I put that out there for you to consider. People use these strip lights to grow microgreens and baby leaf greens in vertical farms, and they're kind of like the industry standard there. And in my case, I grow whole mini heads of lettuce under mine, which as you can see in that photo do quite fine. So yes, there's photosynthesis. They don't just keep your plants in a suspended animation state. But they do grow slower than they would under a quantum board. I hope that helps you somehow.
 

40degsouth

Well-known member
That’s fascinating hush, thanks so much.
I guess my only questions now are can you flower under them or do you swap to a different lighting system and have you, or anyone else, tried to put cuts outside from under those particular lights??
Maybe l should go for the T5’s over winter and the T8s for when sun light levels, in spring, alow for a bit extra power. Hopefully this will translate into into higher brix levels and a hardier plant to go into the great outdoors ??
I’ve also been researching high lumen, solar, garden lights that I’m hoping may also be a good thing to interrupt early outdoor flowering??
Thanks,
40.
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
That’s fascinating hush, thanks so much.
I guess my only questions now are can you flower under them or do you swap to a different lighting system and have you, or anyone else, tried to put cuts outside from under those particular lights??
Maybe l should go for the T5’s over winter and the T8s for when sun light levels, in spring, alow for a bit extra power. Hopefully this will translate into into higher brix levels and a hardier plant to go into the great outdoors ??
I’ve also been researching high lumen, solar, garden lights that I’m hoping may also be a good thing to interrupt early outdoor flowering??
Thanks,
40.

I wouldn't flower under them. I don't think they throw light far enough. They're meant for being close to the plants and saving vertical space in vertical farming type scenarios. The whole reason I brought them up was because you said you need to keep plants alive through the winter and you need very low wattage because of being off grid. If any flowering will need to happen under artificial lighting, I would recommend you go back to looking at quantum boards. I have a quantum board by spider farmer that only uses 100 actual watts and lights up my 2x2 tent quite nicely. The only thing I use those strip lights for are vegetative growth, mostly for lettuce, but occasionally for revegging harvested cannabis plants and seed starts. That's it.
 
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