The Church - 108w CFL

[skunkyuk]

Hi all, got a few plants going this year for some cheap decent smoke for myself. Got a few outdoor churches going but i kept this one inside for some early smokage

The seed popped on the 10th of march and started flowering on the 14th of april. Been in flower a couple of weeks now then, looking good and showing some crystals which is nice!

Iv worked out that its costing me 5 english pounds a month to run the 6 x 18w spiral fluros which aint too bad really!

Im keeping is low because of space and lighting so its been topped and is now being lst'd.

Anyway the pics:

1st April Start of 12/12


Starting to bud up a bit! Around April 16.


Light setup - 6 x 18W total lumens 5700.


Todays pics - nice budage and thc forming


BTW The Church is crossed between Swiss Skunk, Northern Lights, Skunk and Super Skunk


http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=4367&pictureid=65563

http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=4367&pictureid=65563

 

[rave420]

Hey,
nice reflectors you got there, i like to keep it simple too. Just keep in mind that the paper (?) might catch on fire if one of the ballasts blows. At the end of their useful life, the electronic ballast overheats and most the time it melts through the plastic. The plastic is flame retardant but still. Don't burn your house down growing.

Also, how is the smell? Are you doing anything for odor controll?
Cheers,
Rave

 

[skunkyuk]

WHAT! fuck man so they just burn! WHO the fuck came up with that bright idea! i mean shit thats fucking pathetic so say the least, im stressed now. shit man that needs sorting asap, they are actually touching the plastic and strapped to it!
What do you mean they burn through!? Is it the actual plastic that the glass bulb goes into on the light itself or the cheap fitting that they plug into??

Smells fine, the mates i live with know anyway so no probs there, and theres no vent or fans at all i just open the cupboard door 2 times a day! I think smell will be more of a problem in a couple more weeks like, its picking up a nice wiff now

Please advice on the light burning thing because, yes the reflectors are thin cardboard paints matt white.

This is just an experiment to see what can be done with the minimal setup and lighting, but shit , i dont want me and my house burning down while im asleep!

 

[itsmysubaru]

the edges of your leaves are curling up like that cause they're seeing too much heat... id sort your airflow out before doing anything else. otherwise, looks v nice

 

[rave420]

hey, of course the lamps don't spontaneously start to burn because the ballast suddenly lights up... These lamps are tested & safe for the indicated lifespan. That's around 10000h of operation before they go into failure mode. Change your bulbs yearly (don't throw them out, use them around the house in your fixtures, that's what i do), and check the outside for discoloration or melted spots frequently.

chill man

 

[skunkyuk]

didnt get much sleep last night thinking about them shades lol could be a death trap right above my bed! Il take some more pics of the shade setup and post em see what you reckon...

So your saying they burn out over time maybe 2 days? I was under the impression they just burnt through in a couple of mins giving no time to notice.

I tested them on a totally enclosed paper shade for a few hours, it all got hot but no where near burning or discoloured. Totally missed the fact they might burn out or something. Anyway let me know what ya think, if its a death trap il re-think them, its my day of today.

Cheers subaru i think their looking pretty good most developed indoor grow yet, normally do outdoors without much sucess haha your right but i reckon thats because their 20mm from the bulbs and shades which give out a bit of heat after a while..

 

[skunkyuk]

Ok heres the pics. As youl see iv got some defficiency going on, i think its nitrogen so iv been foliar spraying with a saturation cold mix of bio's fishmix and grow. no improvement. Purple stems and yellowing old fan leaves. New growth is a nice healthy green. P ossib ly Mg defficient?

Also my light setup with cardboard reflectors. Check them out, is it a death trap? Should i re-thing them today coz its my days off. Any comments please??




http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=4367&pictureid=66101

 

[skunkyuk]

Couple more of todays pics.

DAY 21 Flower/ Day 56 Total

 

[rave420]

No man, chill out.
here is how these flourescents work. In the base, there is an electronic ballast. Open one up and have a look to see what i mean. This ballast will last aprox. 10.000h of runtime. This ballast wears out over time, somewhat dependent on operating temperature. At the end of it's life, the ballast overheats and therefore destroys itself. This is usually not a problem, since it's encapsulated in the flame retardant plastic shell. But i am saying if there is paper or anything else flamable wrapped around the plastic shell, it might catch on fire when that happens.
I just want you to know that, maybe next time you can construct something where the reflector is not directly attached to the bulbs.

Other than that, nice plants. I don't see any deficiencies

 

[skunkyuk]

Thanks for explainin that i see how it work now bud. Today i made an ajustment on em see pics bellow. Used strips of tin to hold the cardboard to the light with a layer of cellotape, even if cellotape melts off thats sound because it aint guna do much. If i change them every year like you said it wont matter anyway though. Sound

Are the red stems normal at this time of flower?

Their looking sweet now like im liking the smell. Cheers for ya tips man

 

[ScrubNinja]

Today i made an ajustment on em see pics bellow.

You forgot the pics Red stems are usually fine. My shivas were red even in veg. As long as it's not a deficiency, you'll be fine.

May wanna look into some of that dimpled reflective sheeting they use in conventional reflectors? It's very soft and easy to work with and it'd be a safer long term idea methinks. Like, you could use metal clamps to then hold the reflectors so there'd be zero plastic/tape/cardboard in what is the hottest area.

Anyways, keep it rocking. I'm always down for some funky skunk action. Good luck!

 

[skunkyuk]

Woops stoned as a basted when i posted that haha had one big joint too many after a 2 week break i felt like my head was floating in mid air.
I only the 1 pic but it shows the setup.
Great idea about the metal clamps it would improve this a lot. and when i was stoned last night got thinkin about other safer ways and come up with what you said, that dimpled reflective stuff iv seen about. Would be ideal!
Il stick with these now, i opened a light up as suggested by the raver and its a lot clearer how it would work, so i think im pretty safe with these for now. They were just an idea and prototype thing, they work ok aswel. Have a better idea how effective they are when the plant finishes in around 40 days.

 

[skunkyuk]

30 days of flowering

30 days of flowering

Update time!
Day 30 flower. 4 weeks more flowering then chop. Its smelling really lush and its only half way there!

 

[skunkyuk]

Whats everyone think they looking ok? well i know their looking ok coz they stank and are really gettin sugared up now but whats everyone views on this lady any good, another 4 -5 weeks til chop.

What weight could i get dry any ideas as iv never done an indoor grow before. I was looking for an ounce but i doubt that looking at it now more like half ounce.

Day 31 better pics:




Cant wait to smoke some of this, sample time next week i think or maybe the week after duna yet.

 

[iSmokeFunk]

I think close to an ounce is definitely feasible by the looks of that plant.

 

[guanito]

look'in good bro.
should yield about 25gr dry if your lucky.
not bad for your setup.

got my eye on Church.
might be my next purchase. Looks like great genetics at a bargain rate. Also the lemon Skunk. Can't go wrong there.
cheers!

 

[skunkyuk]

cheers mate and yea its deff a good choice for some cheap/quality smoke. Iv had it before i think, i reckon its quite common in the uk iv had a few bags in the last year that smell exactly like this shit. Very strong, pungent and a bit spicy. If its what iv smoked before its a knockout smoke lovely taste.

Its looking sweet now dont think i can wait another 4 week while its looking as good as it is lol shit this is torture!

Now another question iv been thinking about!

4 weeks left of flowering. If i topped the 4 big bud heads off, will this make the lower branches fill out more? Dont think many have done it before, i reckon it could work, dont no mind, but it might be worth a crack! Any thoughts anyone?

 

[guanito]

I think it might work.
Some guys here harvest in stages.

 

[skunkyuk]

Good stuff, i reckon it will too, so as soon as the top buds are ripe il take them and leave the rest to plump up see what happens. I reckon the plant will have more energy to put into the lower buds instead of concentratin all of it at the top buds.

Cheers

 

[rave420]

mhh it's a single plant indoor grown under cfl right?
I would NOT expect an ounce. I did that mistake on my first grow, and got hugely disappointed. Wet, it might be an OZ, but dry, i would not expect more than a 1/4 OZ per plant, dry. How big is the pot you're growing in? Knowing that, i can give you a better estimation on yield.