Compact SOG with CFL's

[Tilt]

Dr. bud set the bar pretty high for anyone to follow and acheive the same results. I like a challenge I used what I learned in his threads and everyone else. I found my own way to get what I need with alot of surplus. I think the method has merits for some growers though. The learning curve is pretty sharp for noobs. Look at thunderurkel from where he started to where he is at now. I find it pretty amazing myself.

 

[Anti]

I don't know the Doc's recipe, but I know that I've done submersion in:

o Potting Soil
o Outdoor Soil
o Amended Soil
o Peat/Sphagnum/Perlite

You are definitely going to want to have something that won't turn to sludge when you submerge it.

Any of the above will do. I add 1/3 perlite to whatever I use.

Thunderkel is a little disenchanted at the moment. Doc's not answering many questions lately. You'll have to settle for me.

I submerge religiously.

But I still don't know his soil mix.

 

[Tilt]

I submerge. I found Kellogs garden soil has almost all the ingredients doc lists but he does not list ratios. He has been doing it so long he can tell what a soil needs by touch and smell. He probably can change it up to like a good pitcher in baseball. Most people that have done dr bud style has moved onto coco or other mediums.

 

[vStagger Leev]

some folks need to lighten up in this room... literally blaze one and calm the fuck down. Anyway this dude is fuckin killin it with his cfl's! Pretty epic bar to set for anyone. My first grow was cfl's and it turned out great, but no were near this fellas. Congrats bro you got that shit down! I am currently growing with 2000w's for fl ower and am almost getting 3lbs / harvest...wich is good, but there is always room for improvement, like this thread shows! Keep up the good work bro! The photos are my first cfl grow ever.

 

[Superceamy]

thx for a great thread ...

words cannot express how much u helped the community with this thread

/bow

 

[cosmik debris]

I think even the good Doc was still playin' around with his mix (seem to recall somethin' from his original micro post about that). My impression of his approach was a kind of WalMart KISS program. If it could be had off the shelf at the big Chinese commissary or right outside his door...it was good.

On another note, playin' with chicken/bird/bat shit can be a bit dicey even if you knew his exact proportions. It's pretty potent in nitrogen, and the level is dependent upon just how well composted and mature the stuff is. Too green could be a nitrogen bomb and seriously fuck with young plants. I don't think Doc was all that hung up about it. He was just using what was right outside his door (back when he was off the grid and livin' up on Billy the Mountain). Well aged compost is pretty mild (1-1-1 typically) by comparison, so it might be a little safer to experiment with. If it's not enough, you can always add, but it's a bitch if ya start with too much.

I've asked my fair share of stupid here and have generally received a great bunch of helpful input in spite of myself, but I think it goes without saying that anybody who takes the time to stop by is more interested in growing than fucking with people (at least that's my hope). As for the "noob" cracks...give it a break there George Washington Carver. We're all on the same wave here, just some of us are a little more anal about our preparation. Besides...everybody's a "noob" at some point.

A couple last comments on Dr. Bud's means and methods. There are a shitload of variables in play when you're dealing with any living organism, and as such the chances of duplicating something is hard enough when you're just trying to replicate something that you already grew yourself. Altitude, pH, water quality & mineral content, temps, barometric pressure, R.H., the synergy of the variables are incalculable. Hell even the store bought shit varies a good deal from bag to bag and batch to batch (how high was the dude at the mixing plant, how long did the shit sit in the sun, how long has it been on the shelf, etc.). If I were to try and copy one of Anti's soil mixes it might turn to total pig shit for me just because of the differences in the water that I sink it in. The point is, there really is no "right" beyond what works for you, and just about anything that you'll read about here will at least get ya started in the right direction.

 

[Pazuzu]

Compassion + rep

There is something to be said for the long lost art of humanity in a culture defined by money and greed.

 

[Pazuzu]

Forgot to post the quote for forementioned post (see above

Yes it's 3 in (either a clone or a Rejuv.they are good for 3 cycles thru) .....and 3 out every week ...only one box (It runs on batteries)....I only have 6 in there right now....I cut everything from 3-9 weeks last week for a VERY sick friend..to help him he NEEDS it and can't afford to buy it

 

[FreezerBoy]

Please, play nice. Argue science all you like as long as it's polite. Attacks and cheap shots will be binned

 

[big twinn]

Hey DrBud,
Your thread is far beyond inspirational and i would love your advice on my own setup.
After my current run harvests and i have my mothers decided upon, i want to impliment a similar perp. harvest as yourself.

What should i expect using a 250watt HPS with additional UVB reptile lighting for increased resin prod. and 24 2liter mountain dew bottles if i stagger them similarly to yours. If this was your setup, what yield goals would you work towards and what advice aside from whats already been said would you have for me.

My soil setup is all organic and mixed up my self.

 

[greenhaus]

this thread is from 2007. i wonder if he still does this?
if so i would love to learn his technique as i am going to try my 1st indoor cfl grow soon.

 

[big twinn]

read from page 1...should answer all ur questions^^

 

[Anti]

The info is all here, guys. Doc doesn't hang out here much any more, but he has been known to pop by from time to time.

This entire website is a wealth of good information. Virtually everything you ever wanted to know and many things you never even heard of have been done by the users of this website and documented in the threads.

If you haven't done so already, read the biggest, longest threads you can find from first to last, even if it takes you several hours or days to get through. Take notes as you read and I recognize organizing those notes in a word processing program into sections like "lighting", "environment", "ventilation", "soil", "nutes", etc.

If you spend a few weeks/months diligently reading through different people's grow threads, you will develop an understanding of the different techniques and start to get a sense for which you think you're ready to start with.

Doc Bud's style with CFL is a good place to start if you are looking for self-sufficiency. If you are looking to take over production in your neighborhood you'll want to look into bigger ops. If you want to maximize your GPW, I recommend you study up on vertical stadium and Colosseum growing.

I started my original Dr. Bud style CFL grow 2 years ago.

I am about to start building my colosseum SOG.

 

[Tatz]

As always Anti, you hit the nail on the head !
It really is like that (....simple !) It takes some work, it´s all about understanding the process.
To all new-starters, try to understand Everything. You´ll never get there, but you´ll learn a lot !
Try to use this incredible source of knowledge. Filter DrG's posts, it makes it easier to read a whole thread from the start if you dont read all the BS some donkeys feel the need to load off.
Enjoy ! ;-)

 

[DrBudGreengenes]

My guess would be that "local peat" in his neck of the woods is topsoil with varying amounts of semi decomposed fir trees, fiddle head ferns, skunk cabbage and aspen lea

Um prolly not...My PEAT comes from Ooooo ya a Peat Bog​

Which is to say that I don't believe the good Doctor had an analysis done on his local peat, so your guess is as good as any.

Its Pure Peat...dug rt from the Bog​

Ultimately good draining humus with plenty of readily available nutrients is what he was working with. His approach seems to have an over riding air of "don't stress" about it so I would say try what's in your own back yard first and see where it takes ya. Unless you start mixing in moisture absorbing polymers I think anything short of straight clay or sand will work fine in place of his "local Peat", and it's easy enough to test without having to risk any high quality seeds.

Good luck and Happy Growing

 

[TexMex McDirt]

Hey Doc! For all of us that you have inspired to be medically independent, thanks man. Pretty soon, like so many many others, I shouldn't ever have to buy my meds again. I don't think I ever woulda tried had I not found this thread. CFL Micro SOG'in. Peace man. Happy Farming. Stay Safe.

 

[311devon]

Start somewhere. Use what you have available and see how it works out. Try other things as you have the inclination and option, and see how that works. Fine tune your mixes to suit your style and methods.

Then come back and share your findings with the rest of us.

Happy Community Rejoices!

And here are my findings:

I've run my DrBud cab for almost 2 years now and have tried a few different soil/soiless mixes and nute programs.

I started with an approximation of DrBuds mix and used the Shultz/F.E. program for the first couple of months. After reading a lil about organics and how there isnt a need to ph what your watering with(i hate doing this, drives me bonkers), I went fully organic with LC's#1 and brewed nute teas using ewc, guanos and kelp, even started a worm bin for fresh castings. Flavor and odor was improved however yields suffered, as i found it very difficult to get enough Mg in the program without using epsom salts(i forget why i decided against that). I persued the fully organic avenue for about a year and found that with the tiny pots ya just cant get enough nutes going to get em to full potential(without bottled organics anyway, i dont know about those, never tried em). The organic guru's tell me that 20oz of soil isnt enough to get things fully crankin organicly. I was averaging 5-6g per cut with organics, which was ok but i wasnt satisfied.
A fellow grower i know, after seeing my cab, had a brainstorm and decided to twist things a bit and go for even smaller finished clone and just kill it with numbers. Like 100's of 4" clones. He knew he needed a simple all in one nute plan sinced he was watering it all by hand. We looked around and found the K.I.S.S. thread here on ICmag and he decided to give it a shot. 65 days later he's pulling 4" clones that dry to 3.5-4.5g each outta yogurt cups with maybe 6oz of soiless mix! One mix for all stages, even veg and no ph'ing.....I was sold instantly and am now averaging 8-9g/cut in soiless mix and will soon see what straight coco yeilds.

My advice if your just starting a DrBud cab:
1. Dont worry about your soil mix too much other than how well it drains. You cant get enough nutes in 20 or so oz of soil to matter that much anyway. It does need to drain enough IME that at full flower they need water at least every other day.

2. Look into Lucas formula. K.I.S.S. method is based on this using GH Maxibloom powder. Its cheap as hell and works very well. Plus, its basicly idiot proof. All 8 of my mothers, vegging clones and flowering plants get the same mix. 1tsp/gal, no defs ever.No PH'ing. Easy as hell. Fucking rocks.

3. Stick with the submersion watering. I really believe the total gas exchange it creates is one of the keys to good yields in a DrBud system.

4. My Sativa dom strains are flowered as soon as they fill the pot with roots, Indica dom's are vegged to 6-8" start height.....The sativa dominant strains yield better as they put on more nodes. Maybe this was what DrBud was refering to when he said sativas love this system..




On a side note, does anyone know of a thread where DrBud growers are discussing strains grown this way? I.E.. start heights, which strains yield best, and so on.....???

 

[StealthDragon]

great info 311devon

On a side note, does anyone know of a thread where DrBud growers are discussing strains grown this way? I.E.. start heights, which strains yield best, and so on.....???

there's a thread/discussion about it in the micro group that anti started...it needs some love though. see if this link works..it's an open group still I think...so just clik join. ..it's acalled micro strain guide...I listed my results with a few strains dr. bud style, but like I said it needs some more love.

 

[Anti]

great info 311devon
there's a thread/discussion about it in the micro group that anti started...it needs some love though. see if this link works..it's an open group still I think...so just clik join. ..it's acalled micro strain guide...I listed my results with a few strains dr. bud style, but like I said it needs some more love.

If your link doesn't work, there's a link to it at the bottom of my sig. The group is indeed an open group.

I think that your "sweet spot" is going to be dependant on your own personal setup. Your environment is going to factor into how quickly your plants grow. The size of your cabinet, the wattage and spectrum of your lights and shape of your container may also effect things. (It did for me.) The medium, ferts and attention paid are going to be variables between each grow.

For instance, in my container of choice (Mini Tree Pot MT2510, google it), I flower my plants INSTANTLY as soon as they are rooted, between 1"-3" tall (depending on the size of the clone). They grow all the way to to the top of my cabinet (23") and sometimes need to be tied down or bent over to avoid smacking the glass.

So in my cab, in my containers, with my medium, with my wattage/distribution of light, with my ventilation, the sweet spot of Serious AK47 is to flower at about 2" above the soil line.

If any of those variables change, your sweet spot will change as well.

The easiest way is gonna be like Doc Bud suggested. I labelled each clone with the approximate height it was at before 12/12. Then I ran several perpetual cycles through the cab, adjusting the height each time. Now I know that a 4" clone is going to end up about 3-6" too tall for my microcab, but that a 1" clone is going to stop about 2" from the glass and a 2" clone will grow up so that the hairs on the very tip are just brushing the glass. (For those not in the know, my cab has a glass partition between the lights and the plants to help exhaust the room and the lights and keep the heat down.)

 

[blazedmonkey]

Drbud thank you, i made an account so i could search your thread and post that you did an amazing job. You seem like a truly intelligent and nice guy.

Read through the whole thread and learned a ton. Thank you friend!