My 1200 Watt Perpetual Garden

[Wise]

This is a personal medical grow. Thanks for stopping in. I have found that the Soil forum to be the source of the most useful information for what I'm doing. So, I have chosen the Soil forum to share my experience with. I will be keeping a grow log complete with pictures. Hopefully your input can be useful to my garden and others similar. This will be a good place to apply continuous improvement techniques. It's always a work in progress with me. First, the specifications...

Basic Information
Genetics (started from seed) In this picture, they are roughly 20 days into flower. I have clones of each. The veg picture shows plants about 35 days into veg. I will be flipping them over soon.




White Widow - Feminized Green House Seeds
White Rhino - Feminized Green House Seeds
Cheese - Feminized Green House Seeds
Train Wreck - Feminized Green House Seeds
Boggle Gum - BOG Seeds

Soil - Promix, perlite, vermiculite & dolomite lime
Ferts - Tiger Bloom and Grow Big, Superthrive, liquid seaweed & Cal-mag plus
Watering - Hand water with pump and wand. A future upgrade will be Blumats.
Temps - Temperature changes drastically from summer to winter. Still need to dial all this in.
Location - North Western Hemisphere of the USA
Safety - 2 x 2kg Flame Defenders (1 for veg and 1 for flower)
Electrical - 1 x Dedicated 12 AMP for Flower and 1 x Dedicated 12 AMP For Veg and misc.

Setup - Flowering Room
Size: 6.5' x 5.5'
12/12 Light Cycle
3 gallon pots
12 Plants

2 x 600 Watt Digital Galaxy Ballasts
2 x Yield Master II Supreme (6" Air Cooled)
2 x 6" Room Exhaust Fans - 1 Carbon Filtered and 1 closed loop for sealed reflectors
1 x 5" Intake Fan
1 x 24" Circulating Fan
6" Can-Filter 33

Setup - Vegetative Room
Size: 3.5' x 2.5'
24/0 Light Cycle
1.5 gallon pots
12 vegging plants
2-3 Mothers

1 x 400 Watt MH with standard white reflector
1 x 4" 125 S&P Exhaust Fan
4" Can-Filter 9000
2 x 6" Circulating Fans

Doing some quick math estimates for cost of lights, nutes, soil, misc to be $150 - $200 from clone to harvest. It might actually be a bit less. What type of costs are you guys looking at? As you can see from my pictures, it's not a full tilt yet. I have clones on the way and plan on keeping the best few for mothers. It's all for personal smoke I suffer from horrible headaches. I cannot afford my medicine on the streets.

Thanks for stopping in. Make sure to check back for progress reports. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

 

[StacksOnDeck]

what is your projected yeild? and how often?

 

[Wise]

I will be harvesting every 2 months and hoping for 10 ounces. That should be enough to keep me medicated. Is that realistic?

 

[spainmedman]

Nice set up! I like the flame defender, are they expensive?
I would say after looking at your soil mix and ferts you may want to add some worm castings....BUT...after looking at your plants they look mighty healthy to me, good job.

 

[Wise]

Thanks spainmedman. As I mentioned in another thread, this grow is literally a year in the making. Between finding a secure location, designing and implementing the grow room. It's be a long, but positive experience. After this grow I should be on track with the perpetual setup.

This size flame defender is about $45 each and will cover a circumference of 4 feet. There are larger units that will cover a larger space. I know I sleep much better having a couple of these hanging up!

As for the worm castings, I totally agree but couldn't find it price right locally. How much worm castings would I need per gallon?

Today, while the lights and fans were off I ran the sulfur pot in both the flower and veg rooms. I haven't seen any powdery mildew, but it's better to be proactive about these things!

Check this out... A GHS Cheese showing pre-flowers in the veg stage. After some research I found that this is a sign that the plant is ready. It was quickly put into the flowering room.


I will be updating in the coming days. Stay tuned!

 

[denvermmj]

nice setup

 

[Wise]

The veg area floor space is perfect for the twelve plants I need for the perpetual setup I invision. With that being said, that leaves no room for mothers and rooted clones. So obviously I need more room.

I have a little over 6 feet height to work with. The picture below illustrates vegging plants that are 40 days into veg and around 30 inches in height. The 400 watt light is approx 17 inches from the top of them. From the looks of it, there will be plenty of room for me to build a small removable shelve above the 400 watt light. I could use the 150 watt CFL light for the mothers and rooted clones. Would that be enough light? Edit - found shelving unit, see below for pictures..



Has anyone done anything similar? Let me know what your thoughts are.

 

[MrStonerMan]

Awesome setup! thanks for sharing

 

[Tarus Bulbar]

What up Wise! Thats a sweet set-up your running bro.
As far as your question about the veg area,maybe you could
hang the 150 cfl closer to one corner of the room. That way
ur mother plant(s) will be also getn a little of the 400 watter
as well. You could also hang a shelf about 2.5ft up off the
floor for your clones.They dont need very strong lighting
for the first couple weeks anyway. Hope this helps bro!!
Keep those pics coming! Cheers

 

[Wise]

Thanks MrStoner and Greenadain. I will need the entire floor space for the vegging plants. So, I need to find a place for a few bonsai mothers and misc plants such as rootED clones and small plants. Maybe you can be a little more specific of the design. I am trying to use as little space as possible. Anyway, thank you so much for your input.

The grow is looking good. Both Cheeses have been put into flower. They have been in flower for less than a week and are only showing a few female pre-flowers. I transplanted them into 3 gallon containers at the same time. One of the Cheese (the one that showed hairs in veg) is really druppy. I fed it some straight water with a bit of Superthrive this evening. I'll keep you updated on it's progress.

The other two, White Widow & Rhino which are 3 weeks into veg are looking terrific. Stick around this is fun!!

 

[Tarus Bulbar]

Hey bro!! I went bck n checked out your pics n figured out
what you were thinkn. I thought the colourful scribbles were
to block out shit u didnt want us to see!!! LOL(duh)
Ya man thats a perfect spot to hang a shelf Up top!!

 

[JackTorrance]

Wud up Wise! Yo Greenadian is spot on with the mothers and clones. Hand the bulb in the corner like he mentioned and buy/build a shelf on the far wall to set your mothers and clones, neither need too much light unless you need a butt load of clones from the mothers. You could even use empty pots or buckets and a board to set them on. A better pic of the area would be helpful. Good luck and keep it green! Be safe!

Peace.

jack

 

[Wise]

Thanks for the input gentlemen. Just a quick little update. I have threw the remaining plants into flower lastnight. Once again in veg, a GHS White Widow this time was showing pre-flowers. I guess I waited too long!

It's a waiting game with the clones I took. Figures crossed!

Any tips, suggestions or comments are always welcome. Thank you for stopping in!

The first 2 closeups are White Rhino and the last 3 are White Widow.

 

[Tarus Bulbar]

Ah Yeah Wise!! Lookn good bro!!
Im keepn n eye out

 

[Dr.Greenthmb420]

Nice garden my friend

Nice garden my friend

Looking good mane! Are you using feminized seeds? If so how are they? Have only been doing clones myself but been curious on how these turn out. Do any show Hermaphrodite issues ect..

One of my ladies below

 

[northstate]

Great start, way to make it happen.

Great start, way to make it happen.

Hey Wise, just replied to you in infirmary and checking your grow out it looks pretty damn good in there. Salt build up is on my mind though if you dont flush 10% or so out the bottom every other watering, stuff builds up over time with no place to go. Personally I like to de-foliate a bit through veg to get them used to it and after stretch I pick off 20% fans and light blocking leaves to allow developement of lower bud sites. Training LST, or bending and tying is key to yeilds and maximizing light intensity. think flat canopy. Earth worm castings at about 1.5-2 cups for three gal. pots just mix it and go! I like to add kelp meal also for trace minerals @ 1tbs / gal. of soil.
Look at the chart in the "benefits of growing vertical" in the vert section at the top. Deals with light intensity and fall-off ect. I run 4k regular style and will be doing a bare bulb vert in about three weeks!
SelfHemployed has a thread you should see. After years of keeping moms I now have changed my ways and clone my veg plants before they go in to flower, there is debate about genetic drift but nature doesnt move that fast in my opinion there are reports on this site of 20+ years same clone of a clone with no probs. You seem to be doing research and are off to a great start. Myself I dont use FF products but people can grow great things with them, just not for me. BurnOne has the "Organics for beginners" thread in the organic soil forum its long but a real wealth of info. Almost able to PM so if you have any specific Q's I would be glad to help anyway that I can. Good luck! NS

 

[Wise]

Dr.Greenthmb - Massive plant man! Yes, they were colored Green House Seeds feminized. This is my first run with them and my second indoor grow ever. If everything goes according to plan I will be using clones from here on out. As seen below, I have roots! Any idea on how much longer I should let it go?

northstate - Hey man, thanks for popping in and sharing your advise! I really appreciate it bro. Because of my veg area, and high quality reflectors, I feel that horizontal is the only way for me. I really only have room for 12 plants in veg. As for the nutes, I have already taken your advise and watered with straight water tonight. After calibrating my pen, the tap water PH is 7.4. It went down to like 6.7 when I mixed the ferts a few days ago. How is my tap PH?

I do want to get away from Tiger Bloom & Grow, I just have a few bottles left over from my outdoor grows. I'm thinking about trying the Soul Synthetics line, anyone have experience with that product?

Last week I ordered Tropf Blumats from the UK which are due to be here soon. This should, according to first hand accounts, correct my over and under watering issues and allow me to spend more, and extended periods away from the garden without thinking about it. Of-course, they will be documented here. Any tips for running ferts in a res?

I was wrong before, the White Widow & Rhino are exactly 30 days into flower today. The others are only a few days into flower. I'm praying that atleast one, hopefully both BoggleGum's will be females. Clones are already being propagated!

How do they look? Be honest

Pictures are as follows: Rooted(?) White Widow- which happens to be from the next 5 pictures. The last two are White Rhinos.

 

[Wise]

Sorry for not updating recently. I've been busy with life and a few room upgrades.

Things are looking good overall, other than what I believe is a high PH water problem. About half the flowering plants are lime green. It could also be a soil issue?? So I'm switching my ferts to the Advanced Nutrient Micro, Grow & Bloom line. Tiger Bloom seems to be shit because everything is always rocking until I start using my bloom fert (ackhm, Tiger Bloom). The Blumats are in, ventilation upgraded and clones transplanted. Life is good! Full details and pictures coming soon! Cheers to a fantastic 2011 all around!!

 

[Wise]

Finally, an update...

Finally, an update...

I'm back for a much needed updated. Since my last update, I've been busy...

• Finished Flower Room Exhaust - 6" dedicated carbon filtered fan and 6" fan for air cooled lights. The air cool lights sucks air from an adjoining room and will only turn on when the temps rise above 78 degrees. The exhaust is sent out an ajar window.
• Installed Intake - Added 5" intake sucking air from the same adjoining room. This alone has lowered my lights on temps 10 degrees! If you can see in the below captioned picture, the intake directs fresh air towards the fan which blows across the plants. Hopefully this adds CO2 since there is an open window near the intake entry. Any comments on this? Is this actually a noticeable amount of CO2? Winter temps are averaging 75 degrees during lights on and 55 degrees lights off.
• Relocated Ballasts - Lowered temps in flowering room by moving remote ballasts into another area
• Silence Mode - This is a setup I thought of awhile ago and finally got around to implementing. With a remote controlled light socket powering all my fans, I have arranged for an automatic kill switch that will turn off all fans and therefore eliminating all noise adding to stealthiness under certain circumstances. The switch is in located in a discreet place on the way to the garden. Now my question with this is- how long can I keep the filtered exhaust fan off and not having a smell problem?
• Shelves Added To Veg Area - As promised, I have added a shelving unit to the veg area so I can keep mothers on another level comfortably.
• Tropf Blumats - This has got to be the ultimate upgrade, Blumats!! I am no longer a slave to watering my girls, saving time for the real thing! Serving both veg and bloom rooms.
• 3-Part Advanced Nutrients - While I find their additives to be very expensive, their 3-part grow, bloom and micro is reasonably priced. As stated before, I'm using Superthrive, Kelp, and Cal-MagPLUS as additives. Can you think of any supplements that I'm missing? My experience will be documented here.
• 100% Clone Success - I want to have 12 plants in veg and 3 mothers. Being my first time cloning, I figured on a low success rates. Well, I was wrong and had all 24 root! Now I have 24 plants and I really only need 15. Not sure how to handle this "problem." For those interested, I used a rapid rooters with a dome under a 20 watt florescent and a heat mat.
• Topped Rooted Clones - Went through and topped most of the rooted clones at the 3rd node. Their future looks bright!

When I unzip the flowering room, I'm immediately smacked in the face with the sweet smell of dank. Since I'm new to indoor, is that usual with a carbon filtered room?




White Widow (50 days), White Rhino (50 days), Cheese (~37 days) & Boggle Gum (30 days)

The White Widow will be coming down in a few weeks, and I have already began flushing because it's my first run with her and not sure on finishing time. The White Rhino flipped at the same time seems to have 30% longer, and the flush process has also started with that one too. Advanced Nutrients was used after these pictures were taken so we should see some results soon!

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Your feedback is what makes this fun, so thank you to those participating. Don't be shy!

 

[.M3TH.]

Is your 10 ounce expectations every 2 months just a conservative estimate? Noticed you have some plants near finished. Still expecting the same amount? I have a VERY similar setup as you so your thread caught my eye, as did your yeild expectations. Goodluck, things are lookin good! Bet you get more than the 10