Return of the Quantum Tower LED PC case

[trem0lo]

xmobotx, I don't play the bass, but you have the range correct. I am a musician for a living for anyone wondering.

Yours is sound advice (for any noobs watching) and my light design (it's actually knna's, credit to him) will give results whether your run it at 350 or 700mA. Hell, you could probably drive them at 1A and they would not melt if your cooling/heatsink was oversized. But I'm not recommending that Always good to err on the safe side. Also the major challenge for the micro grower is gardening, not soldering ability, so I'd urge beginners to hone their skills in that area first.

 

[xmobotx]

rock/metal fan/"musician" here & i can dig what u r say'n

 

[Dr.Zoidberg]

oh man they look super nice

 

[Doji!]

It took me a while, but i finally figured out how to sub to threads..

Added

 

[trem0lo]

At about 40/30 days things are just dandy. I may harvest the yellowing girl a bit early as it's evident she won't yield as well. Actually I'm just finding excuses to smoke since I'm completely dry but it gives me a good reason to get more clones going the correct way.

I'm still thinking about the blumat solution, since the drip lines require an elevated reservoir... there's just no easy way to implement that.

Pics!

 

[trem0lo]

This update I wanted to outline my micro-cloning method.

First, I give you a photo of the ladies at day 52 (42). Not quite as big as last time, due probably to the use of one blumat spike per container instead of two. Thought I could get away using one, but no. The plants have spoken, haha.



It's a week before I think about harvesting, which means it's time to think about getting clones ready for the next run. In two weeks, the younger plant will be nearly ready. Having solid, rooted clones will ensure a quick turnaround. I will keep growing out this pheno despite the fact she's cranky, stretchy, hungry and hermi-prone because I cannot get enough of her knockout, euphoric, psychedelic high. I prefer it to previous phenos; it's better even than the original F1.

First we have the mostly happy mother... I'm using a bonsai soil mix cut with worm castings and lime/azomite/kelp/alfalfa for an extra kick. She is a hungry girl and takes feedings often and generously for such a small plant.


Now for the empty cloning containers. I simply cut the rockwool cubes in half, poked new holes, and divided the plastic into two compartments. It's my version of a micro cloner.


This time around I'm using a product called Azos, (short for azospirillum brasilense), which are bacteria that promote root growth and convert nitrogen from the air for plant use. This is my first time trying it, and hopefully it gives me better results than the regular cloning gel. The mother seemed to enjoy it, and about a week after treatment I noticed a general increase in health.

Scissors and razor now disinfected with iso alcohol, I make the cuts. They're then dipped in an Azos/water 1:2 mixture, then inserted into the cubes (which have been soaked in the mixture as well). It's a close fit, but they'll be ok.


The cover is put on and everything is ready. Hopefully within a week we see roots on at least two. I'm looking for a cover with more headroom as these clones are much bigger than last round. For the time being, though, they'll get just enough light and high humidity.

 

[trem0lo]

Hi guys, long time, no post

The micro cloning method shown above worked surprisingly well--I thought the cuttings might suffocate being crowded in there, but 3 of 4 rooted really well within 7 days. The Azos allows them to fix N from the air, so when I removed the cover, they actually grew an inch or two while still in the cloner with no signs of yellowing or mold, and super healthy roots.

I was so impressed with Azos that I bought the sister product, Mykos, which is simply spores of glomus intraradices, the beneficial soil bacteria that huge pumpkin growers use. My two new clones have been inoculated, so we will see how they turn out.

Summer is coming early it seems, and my temps in the cab have been rising accordingly. During the last few weeks of flowering, I reduce the fan speed to allow for better scrubbing. Unfortunately this raises the temps ~3 degrees, so I end up with 86-88F ambient. Unlike my HPS days, the plants have no problem with this and I see no signs of heat stress. This is all with my central air set to 74F.

Now for a few pics, with one plant ready to be harvested in a couple days. Two clones are right next door, transplanted six days ago. Using Mykos, they endured the transplant with no stress and are almost to the screen already. Compared to my last runs, this is impressive.

 

[xmobotx]

dude! every time i m amazed @ the bud density you r get'n w/ that thing

i m gonna have to try that azos/just about to trans some clones using cootz' aloe; humic and; {like pro techt/ag-sil or ? potassium silicate} ~pretty happy w/ those results/look'n like 100% and praying leaves the 1st few days after cutting

 

[trem0lo]

@xmobotx Thanks man, I will have to try aloe & humic acid at some point in the future. I hear good things.

We are very close to harvest, day 60 and day 10, respectively. When she gets chunky you know it's not far off. Harvesting is generally quick, which I am happy about. The tricky part is keeping fresh flowers out of the filtered environment for as short as possible. If you leave flowers (or even trim) out for more than a few minutes the place really starts to reek. That means you have to work fast.

I'm impressed with the Mykos product--the two youngins are probably the healthiest plants I've grown to date: fast, vigorous, large, with no sign of deficiencies (not even purple stems, which I always see on this pheno). I assume the Azos bacteria (from the cloning chamber) are still colonizing the roots, so they might be helping also. I topdressed with some alfalfa meal to keep things nice and happy, and I wet the top layer every time I fill the reservoir to help with overall soil moisture and to keep the roots from wrapping too thickly around the blumat spikes.

 

[GP73LPC]

nice little plant

 

[trem0lo]

harvest & new pics

harvest & new pics

harvest time, come and gone! this little plant didn't yield a whole lot compared to last time, but it's better than nothing, and I learned an important lesson to use two (2!) blumats per pot.

here's the main cola, before & after chop...


i'm very happy with the new recruits, however, as they have really gone gangbusters with the Mykos being the main thing I've changed. they grow faster with more side branching, and share a 2 gallon pot with ease. overall, super healthy. can't ask for much more than that

19 days here...

 

[trem0lo]

one more thing, here's a clone that has fully rooted. left to its own devices, she simply grows happily in the cloner. (the white stuff is the Azos residue.) the second pic is after transplant, four days later. she hits the ground running, with no signs of stress.

 

[xmobotx]

i have tried the mykos w/o noticing much change {if any} but i m curious about that azos

looks like you are getting notice-able results

 

[trem0lo]

my guess is that I don't use high quality, fully-alive soil amendments like homemade compost. if i did, i probably wouldn't see such dramatic results. i know my last few posts sound like an ad for this stuff... but i am impressed so far.

growing in a small space is a big challenge, and i don't have room to keep gardening supplies around the house (and a steaming compost heap on the deck), so every little bit helps.

 

[xmobotx]

idk when you consider a certain species/it may or may not be among the populations

i figure i have pretty good humus sources ~which is probably the explanation for not getting much difference from the mykos

i have a feeling that azos will make a difference & the thing which piques my interest was discovering a ref to it somewhere i cant remember now then seeing it in your post

 

[trem0lo]

idk when you consider a certain species/it may or may not be among the populations

Right. I spent a lot of time researching different beneficial soil microbes, and originally tried the time-release tablet form, which consists of endo and ecto spieces. They seemed to work ok, of course now I know cannabis doesn't play with ecto species. I use them in my mother plant and she seems happy with robust growth, so some mycorrhizae are better than none, even if you have to add them to subpar soil.

I eventually found the pumpkin growing forums, where the prizewinning growers hang out. They grow absolutely massive pumpkins, and most supplement with mycorrhizae, the most popular being Mykos (aka Pumpkin Pro to them--same product different marketing). They really know their stuff--interestingly there is a lot of discussion about whether to use multiple bacteria, or just one species (glomus intraradices in this case) to grow the largest fruit. The argument is that too many species end up fighting for resources, or fighting each other. In nature, this is probably fine. In a controlled environment where the largest fruit or flower is our goal in a short period, maybe not. So Mykos is simply g. intraradices, the most studied and probably the most all-around beneficial soil species.

Another interesting thing I learned is that g. intraradices spores need direct physical contact with the roots to spread. In sub-optimal soil, the chances of this may be rather low, and the bacteria need a few weeks (at least) to populate the root system. So the earlier you effectively inoculate the roots, the better. Competition pumpkin growers bury and inoculate each node of the vine. They also make liberal use of organic soil amendments, homemade compost and compost teas.

i figure i have pretty good humus sources ~which is probably the explanation for not getting much difference from the mykos

I'm always jealous of those steaming compost piles I see in the organics forum. Plants must go nuts for that stuff! I get my castings from a farmer's market, but nothing beats homemade.

i have a feeling that azos will make a difference & the thing which piques my interest was discovering a ref to it somewhere i cant remember now then seeing it in your post

Well it eliminated my mold and yellowing problems, and once the clone is rooted she'll just keep right on growing like a champ once the humidity dome is removed.

 

[Chloemobile]

Simply Beautiful looking plants. Makes me want to micro grow with LED's haha. If Im ever forced to change my growing conditions to accommodate stealth as an essential factor this is my guide.

Soil is easy to maintain while growing because you simply need to add water but a fully organic living soil takes some time, space and ingredients that aren't always easy to be stealthy about. A form of passive hydro (hempy bucket, hand watering coco combined with bottom feeding- there is a great thread around about bottom feeding accompanied with a once a week top feed that is a great read) could yield some better results simply because you can maximize the efficiency of passive hydro. Your plants look fantastic and are growing beautifully in the soil but because it isnt getting compost tea, fresh compost etc its probably not firing on all cylinders. But its hard to move away from the simplicity of just adding water vs having to mix nutes - i am fighting that battle in my mind right now.

Always looking forward to your updates!

 

[xmobotx]

this is as good a yield and as dense a bud as i have seen in a micro grow like this

a testament to the efficacy of LED as well as organic soil

it might be interesting to see what the differences may be ~esp. because hempy has it's advocates but; it's hard to imagine it's any less than 'dialed in'

 

[Chloemobile]

I agree about the density and quality of the buds - simply exceptional. If satisfied with the yield - then it is definitely dialed in. This is the first time ive really been "sold" on LED's. My own desire to constantly improve results was probably more the source of the comment then trem0lo's results. Ive grown both in Hempy and Organic soil and find bigger plants with negligible difference in quality when growing in the Hempy. However, because I have 0% experience growing with LED's my speculation is only half informed ><

 

[trem0lo]

I agree about the density and quality of the buds - simply exceptional. If satisfied with the yield - then it is definitely dialed in. This is the first time ive really been "sold" on LED's. My own desire to constantly improve results was probably more the source of the comment then trem0lo's results. Ive grown both in Hempy and Organic soil and find bigger plants with negligible difference in quality when growing in the Hempy. However, because I have 0% experience growing with LED's my speculation is only half informed ><

Thanks a lot, I appreciate the support

Hydro is something I've often thought about but just don't have the time to invest in learning it right. Since I'm out of town a lot unfortunately I can't water often enough for some of the simpler hydro setups, like hempy. There was a guy who did aeroponics in a pc case... now that's something I'd be interested in However I do like my organics, and the flavor you get is amazing.

Good things are happening @ 22 days 12/12. You can see how I tie down the main stems to snake along the screen with the main cola of each plant standing up at the end. Some of the side branches have raced through the screen also, which is exciting. Resin production is ramping up.

This pheno tastes like hashy lime through the vape with an aftertaste of skunky diesel. The effect is a nice 60/40 sativa, intense and euphoric at first with that great racing head high but relaxing toward the end. Huge fan, right here.