400w CMH, 12/12 from seed, all organic, IN A MOTORHOME!
- Thread starter BakedBeans
- Start date
BakedBeans
Member
Thanks, everyone for stopping by!
Rest of the gear is on its way. Hopefully this show will be rocking soon!
bb
Rest of the gear is on its way. Hopefully this show will be rocking soon!
bb
BakedBeans
Member
Ugh, I've been taking care of a sick family. One of my kids had a schoolfriend stay over and they left us a respiratory bug with lots of phlegm to go with it. 
Despite this, I was able to get a few beans popped under flouro's which gave me enough time to get the shower operational. I just swapped to it about 3 days ago but I don't have new pics yet. Already I can tell a difference in leaf development from switching lights. I went from mixed-spectrum Wal-mart T8's to the 400CMH and the light is just radically different.
My temperatures are too cold and I've overestimated the heat-mat's ability to warm up my containers. I've only got 4 germinations as a result and because it's so dry here my soil needs to be constantly watered on top. It's keeping the top inch of soil too dry to sprout.
I'll try the paper towel method with a few more and potting up with smaller containers. I've started out in 1/2 gallon orange juice boxes this time because I wanted to go with a low plant stress grow the first time, longer tap root, etc. I'll mix it up some and see what works better.
I need a recording thermometer too.
Ugh. More pics later.
bb
Despite this, I was able to get a few beans popped under flouro's which gave me enough time to get the shower operational. I just swapped to it about 3 days ago but I don't have new pics yet. Already I can tell a difference in leaf development from switching lights. I went from mixed-spectrum Wal-mart T8's to the 400CMH and the light is just radically different.
My temperatures are too cold and I've overestimated the heat-mat's ability to warm up my containers. I've only got 4 germinations as a result and because it's so dry here my soil needs to be constantly watered on top. It's keeping the top inch of soil too dry to sprout.
I'll try the paper towel method with a few more and potting up with smaller containers. I've started out in 1/2 gallon orange juice boxes this time because I wanted to go with a low plant stress grow the first time, longer tap root, etc. I'll mix it up some and see what works better.
I need a recording thermometer too.
Ugh. More pics later.
bb
BakedBeans
Member
Another update,
I've had a whirlwind of a week. We just found out they're not renewing our lease on this place since they have some major repairs to make in the bathroom and roof. We've got to get moved ON to this RV by the end of May.
I'm going to keep this grow going since I think I can pull it off. We found a temporary place to park and plug-in that's even got some farm/field action going on. I may get to actually garden this year though I'm not sure about outdoor ganja. The place where we are going was actually a commune way back forever ago but now it's just a loose collection of cool renters. The land is irrigated by the acequia system and also a local, natural warm spring. It should make for some interesting water.
I've got a lot of work to do to the motorhome to make it liveable. I was able to start it up right away after sitting through the winter for months. Edelbrock carbs and 454's are solid!
I've got 4 or 5 plants sprouted. They are looking really, really good. It's so dry here that the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of soil is drying out overnight and so I've really had to stay on top of the water. It's making me consider a drip system, even though I'm running a modified Moonshine Mix which should be water sensitive.
I've experimented with adding 20 gallons of hot water to the shower tub and then adding my 200watt aquarium heater to it. The first night the water was still and it didn't work at all. I had some electrical issues too and solved those. I added an air pump and that got the water moving but the heater isn't enough to keep the water anything but 50-60 degrees or so.
I'm going to have to plan for power outages. They are a fact of life on a motorhome with circuit breakers, campsite brownouts, etc. We're planning to be on the road again or at least to be ready to leave if we decide not to try another Northern New Mexico winter. I've been thinking about upgrading my on-board battery bank to four Trojan 6-volt deep cycle Golf Cart batteries in order to boost my 12V storage capacity to 450 AH (run in series and then in parallel). I have a Sears 750watt inverter that should be enough to run the 400watt CMH, heat mat and fans. I'll have to upgrade everything to do it though including adding solar panels, but could run the system just plugged in. I only need a few hours of run time to buffer for unexpected outages.
More later!
bb
I've had a whirlwind of a week. We just found out they're not renewing our lease on this place since they have some major repairs to make in the bathroom and roof. We've got to get moved ON to this RV by the end of May.
I'm going to keep this grow going since I think I can pull it off. We found a temporary place to park and plug-in that's even got some farm/field action going on. I may get to actually garden this year though I'm not sure about outdoor ganja. The place where we are going was actually a commune way back forever ago but now it's just a loose collection of cool renters. The land is irrigated by the acequia system and also a local, natural warm spring. It should make for some interesting water.
I've got a lot of work to do to the motorhome to make it liveable. I was able to start it up right away after sitting through the winter for months. Edelbrock carbs and 454's are solid!
I've got 4 or 5 plants sprouted. They are looking really, really good. It's so dry here that the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of soil is drying out overnight and so I've really had to stay on top of the water. It's making me consider a drip system, even though I'm running a modified Moonshine Mix which should be water sensitive.
I've experimented with adding 20 gallons of hot water to the shower tub and then adding my 200watt aquarium heater to it. The first night the water was still and it didn't work at all. I had some electrical issues too and solved those. I added an air pump and that got the water moving but the heater isn't enough to keep the water anything but 50-60 degrees or so.
I'm going to have to plan for power outages. They are a fact of life on a motorhome with circuit breakers, campsite brownouts, etc. We're planning to be on the road again or at least to be ready to leave if we decide not to try another Northern New Mexico winter. I've been thinking about upgrading my on-board battery bank to four Trojan 6-volt deep cycle Golf Cart batteries in order to boost my 12V storage capacity to 450 AH (run in series and then in parallel). I have a Sears 750watt inverter that should be enough to run the 400watt CMH, heat mat and fans. I'll have to upgrade everything to do it though including adding solar panels, but could run the system just plugged in. I only need a few hours of run time to buffer for unexpected outages.
More later!
bb
eurasian_farmer
Member
hey bb, hows it goin? u cool ? been a while brah...
BakedBeans
Member
Wahh!
We spent all summer LIVING in the motorhome with seriously unstable electricity (erm, sometimes none?). Growing in it was definitely not an option.
We're back in a house, and now winter is coming. The temps are just too unstable in the motorhome shower as we go down into the 20's at night now and we'll plunge down into the negative teens and beyond all winter.
I decided to move everything inside. I still have the soil and I'm sprouting some new seeds.
Sorry for the lack of updates but life's been kicking me in the pants.
bb
We spent all summer LIVING in the motorhome with seriously unstable electricity (erm, sometimes none?). Growing in it was definitely not an option.
We're back in a house, and now winter is coming. The temps are just too unstable in the motorhome shower as we go down into the 20's at night now and we'll plunge down into the negative teens and beyond all winter.
I decided to move everything inside. I still have the soil and I'm sprouting some new seeds.
Sorry for the lack of updates but life's been kicking me in the pants.
bb
Mt Toaker
Member
So you haven't talked a whole lot about your light, I have a 400w HPS that I am currently using in my veg room. CMH bulbs to my understanding should plug in no problem to the HPS ballast and work properly. Is this correct or am I confused some where? I just want to double check before I go buy a bulb that isn't going to work. Its an older light with a magnetic ballast.
Ty_Kaycha
Member
It'll work as long as you get the CMH bulbs that are made to work in a HPS ballast. It'll say something about being a conversion bulb.
