Mist's Ebb&Gro with ST#3XBlack Russian grow diary

[EvilTwin]

Mornin' Mist,
I see that was almost a decade ago. I've only been doing hydro for a few years. Was a dirt farmer before that. First grow in the '70s.

I can totally see how the complications of DWC could be a hassle. All those roots messing with the air pump and drain outlet and water temps being critical. Easy to make but hard to maintain.

I started hydro with a single hydrofarm. Was impressed with the rapid growth. Then I had three 3x3 E&F SOG trays set up for continuous harvest. That was like a full-time job. All that cloning. but I loved the yield. So my current move is to minimize plant count.

I used one of my E&F trays as a vegging area and I can do a little crimping and training before putting them into the large pots. Read your crimping tut before we struck up this conversation. Useful info. Previously I mostly topped and trimmed leaves to shape the plant. A little lst.

That hybrid you're growing...mostly indica? Or does the AK stick it's head out occasionally? For personal use, I prefer sats but I grow for a couple of med patients that need indicas.

Looking forward to your next grow. (and mine too far as that goes)
Peace,
ET

 

[Mist]

I started out a dirt farmer too. Many years of outdoor before I got into the indoor thing. I did a little bit of hydro with my father back in the late 70's, but that was back when you mostly had to make your own nutrients. And what a mess that was because it was all organic. I think we got the recipe out of Mother Earth News, LOL!
It was a wick system and the growing medium was plastic balls. What a stinking mess that was. The plants seemed to love it though.
The strain I am growing has some very diverse phenos. The one I picked has some AK like traits. There is such a diverse background with this one that it is hard to pin down what came from where.
I do have 1 lonely Cherry AK47 seed that I will probably pop soon. I also have some DAB seeds that I need to pop. That is one BAD ASS sative dom strain. Nothing quite like it in flavor or strength.

Looking forward to seeing your system up a rolling now and see what you got going.

 

[L~B]

good to see another ebb and grower
nice work btw its tagged

 

[Mist]

I just turned the ballast up to 100% today since there were signs of new growth and it is time for them to really get going.

I will be showing the training/bushing up of these plants in my crimping turorial. I also get the room all cleaned up from the after harvest mess. I am sure you all know what that is like. SHIT EVERYWHERE! At least with me there is. It really is nice when it is all clean though and the tent has been really easy to keep that way.

 

[Mist]

Just 2 more days have gone past but the clones are starting to show some growth. They look a bit droopy in the pics because they were taking their evening nap and I snuck in a snapped a few shots.
I just get excited when I see that the new grow has gotten used to the HID light start taking off. These are about the size of the ones I just finished when I put them into flower. I am going to bush these up a bit before they go into flower. So watch out for some monsters!

 

[newhiddengrower]

All i gotta say is WOW....... nuff said.

time for questions.

What Medium did you use for the clones? rockwools? I want to follow your steps from start to finish.

What was your peak nutes ppm?

did you veg in the same flower room?

thanks man

 

[Mist]

Thank you very much!


I didn't use any medium for the clones. They were in an aero cloner and I had them staged so that when my grow was done they would be ready to go into the ebb&gro system. So they went right from the cloner to the system. and the cloner doesn't use any medium>



And I am sorry but I don't use a ppm meter for growing. I do use Canna's grow quide for my nutrient mixture>

http://www.canna-uk.com/growguide

I do check the ph every day of course. And adjust it if it is way out. If it is just a little off I leave it alone.
And for vegging I do use the same tent for right now. I plan on getting another smalller tent for vegging in and also for cloning, but that will come later.
If you look back through this thread you can see all the stages in the past grow. And if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[L~B]

hey mist! I thought you might like a peek in my room...

http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=123394

 

[newhiddengrower]

Thank you very much!


I didn't use any medium for the clones. They were in an aero cloner and I had them staged so that when my grow was done they would be ready to go into the ebb&gro system. So they went right from the cloner to the system. and the cloner doesn't use any medium>



And I am sorry but I don't use a ppm meter for growing. I do use Canna's grow quide for my nutrient mixture>

http://www.canna-uk.com/growguide

I do check the ph every day of course. And adjust it if it is way out. If it is just a little off I leave it alone.
And for vegging I do use the same tent for right now. I plan on getting another smalller tent for vegging in and also for cloning, but that will come later.
If you look back through this thread you can see all the stages in the past grow. And if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

So you take the netpot and you stick it in your 5 gallon bucket?

 

[Mist]

So you take the netpot and you stick it in your 5 gallon bucket?

No, I take the clone and plant it in the ebb&gro bucket without any kind of net pot. I just fill the bucket about 1/3-1/2 way full of geolite and then place the plant in the middle and fill in around it. I like to bury them fairly deep too. Usually about half the plant deep.
That is why the net pots you see in the cloner have their bottoms cut out. The neoprene insert is what is actually holding the clones and there are 2 cuttings per cup.
SHouldn't be too much longer and I will have another tent to use for clones and vegging. I will get another setup of 12 buckets and use the liners with a continuos top feed for vegging and then move them into the flowering tent. This will cut down on the vegg time and make it where I can harvest and move new plants in for flowering in just one day.

Oh yea, just for reference. The ebb&gro buckets are 3 gallon.

 

[newhiddengrower]

oh thats awesome, i want to learn how to veg with HPS too. i dont have a ballast where i turn it up or down. How far should i keep my 1000 watt HPS from the little babies?

 

[Mist]

Vegging under HPS lighting doesn't take any special tallent. I just find that it keeps the internodal distance tighter. Which means that there is less distance between limbs on the main stem.
I would vegg the plants a bit under fluorescent lighting before putting them under the 1k light. They should be at least 4" tall and have a couple sets of limbs. And then you need to keep the light about 3 feet above the plants for the first week. Then you can move it down to a little at a time over a few days and let them fly.
Be aware that when you first place a young plant, from seed or a clone, under HID lighting that there is a bit of a stall that can last up to 10 days. The plant will just seem to hang there and not grow, but what is going on is underneath. The roots are going crazy growing to support what it knows is coming with the mass amounts of lighting available.

By little babies what do you mean?
Some people say that and they are 14 inches tall and then othe people talk about how big their plants are and they are 24 inches tall. LOL!~

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Mist,
Nice turn-around protocol. One question though...I've always heard that HPS lights would cause stretching, meaning greater internodal distances. Never done it myself.

So you find that you get nice tight nodes vegging with HPS? Very interesting.
Take care,
ET

 

[Mist]

Hi Mist,
Nice turn-around protocol. One question though...I've always heard that HPS lights would cause stretching, meaning greater internodal distances. Never done it myself.

So you find that you get nice tight nodes vegging with HPS? Very interesting.
Take care,
ET

Well that is something that I learned when I first started doing indoor in '98. I had never even thought about internodal distance before then. With outdoor plants you get what you get. All the old timers at that time told me to use HPS to keep my plants nice and compact. So I did that for a while and then decided to do something different and new. I used got a switchable ballast and used MH to vegg with and then flower with HPS. What happened blew me away. I had been growing the same strain for 4 grows and knew what to expect as far as vegg time and stretch during flowering, or so I thought!
The plants were all stretchy, to me, during vegg and when I put them into flower it was a mess. So I went back to HPS for vegg and flower after that and never went back.
I guessed that the old timers were right and I was stupid for doubting them, LOL!

 

[EvilTwin]

Mist,
That may be one of those examples of erroneous information leaking out and being accepted as truth.

I'm currently using T-5HO flouros as veg lights and my nodes are very tight. Almost too tight. I have a spare 400hps laying around. I had an old friend who said: "One test is worth a thousand expert opinions."
Peace,
ET

 

[Mist]

Well I am always up for a test, LOL~

I vegg under floro light too much of the time when I have the space to do it. I like to have my plants vegged out before I put them into the flowering room but just don't have the setup for it right now.
My idea is to setup a tent with a normal ebb and flow system in it and use 6" square pots for them to vegg in and then transplant them into the larger Ebb&Gro system by taking them out of the square pots and putting them into the larger 3gal. buckets. My only worry is that there will be to much root sticking out the bottoms of the pots for transplanting that way.
My point is that I don't always do all the vegging under HPS. It all depends on my setup. I would like to have a 4ft.-8 bulb t5 light for vegging actually. SO I am flexible that way.
But by all means, test the theory with a know strain and see what you get.

 

[onthedot]

Killer results and the next round looks to be dialed in for a stellar finish.

 

[EvilTwin]

My idea is to setup a tent with a normal ebb and flow system in it and use 6" square pots for them to vegg in and then transplant them into the larger Ebb&Gro system by taking them out of the square pots and putting them into the larger 3gal. buckets.

Hi Mist,
That's a good plan and one that I'm setting up too. I have a 3x3 E&F table with 400mh and then the 6 bulb 4' T5HO which is over an 18"x36" E&F tray. Theoretically, once I get a few clone mommas selected, I won't have to mess with dirt at all.

While one run is in bloom, I'll be vegging the other to have it all ready to go at harvest time. Very similar to what you'll be doing.

I had a little setback in that I'm really disappointed with the strain I was planning to use first. But I have some back-ups which are now coming in to play. Strains I'm familiar with which I should have done from the gitgo.
Cheers,
ET

 

[L~B]

Well I am always up for a test, LOL~

I vegg under floro light too much of the time when I have the space to do it. I like to have my plants vegged out before I put them into the flowering room but just don't have the setup for it right now.
My idea is to setup a tent with a normal ebb and flow system in it and use 6" square pots for them to vegg in and then transplant them into the larger Ebb&Gro system by taking them out of the square pots and putting them into the larger 3gal. buckets. My only worry is that there will be to much root sticking out the bottoms of the pots for transplanting that way.
My point is that I don't always do all the vegging under HPS. It all depends on my setup. I would like to have a 4ft.-8 bulb t5 light for vegging actually. SO I am flexible that way.
But by all means, test the theory with a know strain and see what you get.

mist the plants in my room are sitting in 6 in square pots inside the three gal buckets

 

[Mist]

Hmmmmm, do you fill in around them with hydroton?