Vertical Coco - No Runoff

[whodi]

Got a 4 x 5 x 8 area with 11 plants surrounded by one 1k hortilux and a 6 inch 435 CFM inline fan

I've got 2-3 clones in the 5 gallon buckets and the ones on the side are single plants in 3 gallon buckets. They've been vegging for a while in 16 oz cups under a 400 watt due to space restriction but now they are in their new home.

ill be vegging another 2 weeks before flipping to 12/12

Nutes are GH flora micro/bloom with liquid kool bloom. Coco is botanicare.. flushed really well. This will be a no runoff grow.

Strands are NL/AK and AK99

The yellowing is due to them being rootbound for so long and little nutrients. All is well now.

 

[dazzerx2000]

Hi whodi this looks great i like how reflective your walls are should be a really efficient grow, are you planning on using a cage around the light or have you got on ok without one in the past? do the plants try to touch the bulb at all and burn also whats your temps like. thanx

 

[whodi]

Hey, dazz thanks

No cage is needed for me. The branches do grow towards the bulb and can get pretty close without them getting burnt. I will be using 16 gauge craft wire to hold the branches back if they get too heavy or too close to the bulb.

 

[DEDHEDFRED]

Well now you`re in my territory but why arent there plants on all 4 walls to the ceiling my brutha........Use that sideways light..........build some shelves so all of em can get as close to the bulb as possible come flower time..........

Just my thoughts Bro...........lookin good regardless cuz you`re helpin the community.................Peace..........DHF..........

 

[whodi]

well i don't plan on doing high plant numbers.. just testing these 2 strains to see how they do vertically then i'm gonna be using the X pattern rooms like i learned from you, DHF.

I still have plants on all sides of the bulb

In the future i'm gonna be vegging these out really nice and big so wont be any need to stack plants to ceiling

thanks for commenting

 

[DEDHEDFRED]

I understand bout plant numbers Bro.........You`ve adapted well....Keep up the killer work my buddy.............

DHF.........

 

[Power13]

I love it! Great to see a simple small grow thats all about efficiency.

As far as no cage, I would recommend getting one. Either around the bulb, or around the plants. Either way, it will make life easier for you. To take good advantage of that 1k, you want fairly tall plants. With taller plants, comes the problems of heavy branches, that also need arranging. This is much easier to do when you have a cage. I've done it both ways, tying branches like you mention. And while its possible to do this, the cage was much simpler and easier to do.

You can also use tomato cages around each plant. It makes life easier.

 

[*mistress*]

excellent garden whodi!

can insert 1/2-1" nylon ropes into drain holes, and bottom feed. this will permit a drier medium & thus more oxygen present.

ideally, would place ropes into media & out of drain hole(s) @ transplant. this places roots right on top of/in middle of ropes. roots will burrow into & inter-twine into ropes. can also simply use stake/stick to rope/microfiber towel into drainage hole. this makes bottom-feeding w/ 1-2 inches of water/nutes doable. can actually see water uptake - & know exactly when/when not to water...

also, would definitely lower the bulb to mid-top 1/3-1/2 of the plant. want innards of plants to get light, not just grow up. similar config, w/ 1k's. in veg, lower light to ~parallel to, or centered, w/ plant. gradually raise to no more than top 1/2-1/3 of plant. want inner-flower development along w/ terminal flowers.

would also take fan out of tub. place on couple of cinder-blocks, or other wise have fixed so is pulling air from all of room; not blocked by sides of totes. that may be decreasing total air flow. if dont have space, can place that 1 plant in 1 5 gal bucket; will leave room to fix fan so that more of room air is circulated up and around.

nice work! a 2 week veg 7 some thinning + training & staking will be even nicer.

enjoy your garden!

 

[whodi]

Ya i guess i should lower the light a bit and good tip about the fan.

What kind of training is useful in vert? Dunno much about thinning either.

 

[*mistress*]

prune to 4 main leads (i's), & 6-12 leads (s's). process begins much sooner though... all plants topped @ 5th node. do this to observe reactions, see if form bowl or star, etc... makes desired 4-6 leads & 8-24 tops...

here, @ last wk of veg + 1st wk flower, remove ~1/4-1/5 of fan leaves & lower, or under-developed growth. side shoots that grow into the center of the plant + fans that grow into the center of the plant are removed. pre-determining direction for plant to develop in. fan leaves are not just removed out of spite; but they are carefully selected. older fan leaves lose efficiency. can usually tell by the loss of waxy cuticle. damaged leaves are removed. all little would-be branches are removed. leaves that shade innards of plant are removed... this is thinning

plant is staked, into bowl shape. 4 stakes for i's. 6+ stakes for s's. so, @~ day 7 of flower, plant may look barren, for a flowering plant. only strongest leaves/limbs/shoots/growth remain. this will later form into abundant flowers, w/out unwanted appendages. this is training.

should now have a well-focused plant. after a couple weeks under 1k's, plant will be lush, have focused growth, and will not be wasting energy on unwanted parts.

accompanied w/ aggressive foliar feed during this period, the plant will re-generate and peak @ the right moment.

every gardener will find their own methods. but, under 1k's want to stake/support/yo-yo/and thin to strongest limbs. otherwise, can just have big plants w/ no solid structure. vegging under 1k, w/out a regime, may lead to over-grown plants. best to prune/stake/etc before-hand. different than vegging under a 400, as the roots usually stop growing if vegged under 400, then transplanted to flower, so dont really get chance to get trees - even if placed under 1ks.

2-4 weeks of veg under a 1k will make a giant plant in a 5 gal. if have multiple plants, may crowd ea other out @ wks 4-9 of flowering... may be good to consider this.

enjoy your garden!

 

[mrred]

lower it alot, a few inches above the soil line is ideal

 

[whodi]

i figured since im still vegging i should leave the light at the top more.... but sure thing ill lower it.

 

[*mistress*]

i figured since im still vegging i should leave the light at the top more.... but sure thing ill lower it.

a quick way to determine spread of light is to raise/lower it until it casts different angles of shadows. want the shadows from the plant to be almost directly behind them, not necessarily below the leaves. the shadow should be cast on the surface behind the plants, nearly parallel to the light+plants.

also, if light is shining in the eyes when go into room, light is too high. light can be placed slightly below direct eye-level. this means that a direct glare from the meat of the light will not hit human when entering room. instead the most intense part of the bulb will be centered on plants.

old kbs used to have lights affixed higher, almost @ ceiling, but this was after 8 weeks of veg w/ the light in the middle of the plants. is raised in kbs @ flowering, because plant has bulked up next to lateral light source.

w/ 2k, stagger the lights so that 1 is slightly throwing light onto tops, 1 covering rest of plant; but primary objective is to have an entire plant that is a canopy - not just tops...

even hps-type bulbs have a vertical point where they will shine the most light out - laterally. they have no curvature like mh's, but there is a critical part of the light that generates most photons. ~middle... this is where lights are cenetered onto center of plants...

this is the point of the training & thinning under 1k veg... & the point of vert lights, bare-bulb: no restrictions of cool tube glass/reflector-hood glass, or inferior angles of shine. vert bare bulb makes entire plant canopy. if pruned, thinned and trained, there will be no popcorn-cherry-tomatoes, only fully developed flowers down the entire branch...

enjoy your garden!

 

[whodi]

thanks a lot for the info mistress... good points.

 

[mrred]

i just reread it and seen you have a 1k, why dont you have like 2+ levels of plants? seems like theres alot of wasted lumens

 

[whodi]

no more plants and as stated before, i don't run high plant #'s.. just threw these in a spare room to see how they branch out and grow vertically... besides these plants will end up a good 4-6ft im sure...

I've lowered the light so they will be getting a lot more light now...

 

[mrred]

are you under a medical plant number regulation? why dont you like high numbers, i think its all the same if its below 100 because it becomes federal if over like 100

 

[*mistress*]

......

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Lookin good, whodi.

This was one of my vert screen experiments. It helped to keep them out of the lights.

Worked great... 1" hurricane fencing is too small, needs to be 2 in squares.
bamboo poles, 2 gal FFOF