Yet another PC case growbox thread

[CouchGrass]

The last week has been very eventful for my grow. I have been picking off buds from the seedplant to find the best time to crop that strain.
In terms of flavour I am bowled over, no sign of chlorophyll or grass, just bags of sweetness with a strong orange flavour and a mild hint of kush, even before I begin to cure it.
The buds themselves are incredibly dense and that has lead to my first problem, mold. There is no issue with humidity and I even reduced the fan speed to retain more heat and less moisture, but at around 28% RH I still got mold on 1 bud.
Sadly there is also another issue. This stuff is pure narcotic and doesn't suit me at all. Just a couple of hits from a bud bomb and I have to sleep, there is no euphoria or deep concentration, no creativity or elevated feelings of wellbeing. Just an overwhelming urge to lie down and sleep.

I don't see any point in continuing to grow something I don't like, so I have emptied the case of all plants except the hempy with moss. I still want to know how that pans out.
I also popped the Chronic seed in to germinate as I do intend to keep growing in the case. I just need something more suited to being awake long enough to enjoy my high.

The case has been sprayed with bleach to kill any lingering spores and is currently empty, awaiting the new batch of Chronic clones.

Afraid that this phase of the grow is over then, but I hope to be back in 5 or 6 weeks with an improved cab and some real genetics. In the meantime I'll be lurking around here looking for new ideas to incorporate into my system.

Thanks for all the help and support. Be back soon.

Oh and just a quick picture of that moldy bud for anybody who doesn't know what that looks like...

 

[CouchGrass]

Posted the above update yesterday but the site went down so it doesn't seem to have registered.

 

[quinoa64]

Argh, too bad about the sleepy strain, CouchGrass. Do you think it might dial back a bit as it cures?

For mold in one spot, I'd be tempted to hit it with a spray of 3% H2O2 to neutralize. Not sure if that's even a good idea, though. I guess I need to go read up on that, too.

Best of luck on the next grow!

 

[CouchGrass]

Hi Quinoa64, after a good cure the strong buds remained too potent for a social thing but it has proved useful as a narcotic to help with sleeping. It tastes damn good as well so I'm not so down on it now. Thanks very much for the advice on budrot.

I have made some changes recently so maybe it's time for an update.

The HPS light was doing ok for me but even a 100w is very big and it kicks out a lot of heat. As my skills have developed and the plants have got better, they are getting burned tops by being too close to the light.
I was rather hoping that it was me that would be burning those tops in my spliffs!
So I picked up a twin 70w electronic ballast and a couple of warm white ceramic halides. I've made a ghetto light box to fit them in and I'm cooling that with positive pressure from an adjustable pc fan.
I went with positive pressure as the heat in that lightbox would destroy the fan if it had to suck it through.

So now I have 140w of HID light in the case and the plants are absolutely loving it. Temps seem to be around 6-8F below ambient room temps and even the buds within a few millimetres of the glass are showing no signs of stress at all.

Here's some pics of the before and after.


Before:




And after:

 

[CouchGrass]

There were some burglaries on my street last night and I ended up answering a knock at the door from the cops around 2am. They asked me some questions while sat in my house for about 30 minutes.
The reason I mention it is because the grow uses no odour control at all and was running with lights on all the time they were here but they smelled nothing.
Big up to Serious Chronic and DNA Sharksbreath for being extremely low odour strains. They are both within days of being harvested.

I actually forgot to post up the original Chronic plant from which my cuttings were taken, she is a perfect plant for a PC grow. Take a look for yourself...

 

[kiwi_growa]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Neekz]

Damn couch! That Chronic's got the 1l Coke bottle shape going on! Lovin the show bredren, keep it green! P.C. Grower's unite (Pig's cant even smell our OP's cookin...)!

 

[CouchGrass]

Thanks for looking in you guys, I appreciate the kind comments.
Apologies for the long absence but things are not all tickety boo at Couchgrass Cottage just now. Wasn't meant disrespectfully.

I've been a bit hit and miss with my cab over the last few weeks, but everything is still alive. These ceramic lights seem to have made a big difference to trich development but the summer heat has forced a slight change to the case. Here's where I was at yesterday..



Might be needing another curing jar!!

That top fan is removing all the heat that warms up the top of the case and it seems to be doing a great job, temps are good and the plants are happy. funny enough it actually doesn't look out of place but I'll be glad to take it off again in the autumn and get back to a full stealth appearance.
Everything inside the case has grown a bit out of control due to the lack of care recently, but the biggest plant is ambering up nicely so I will reclaim some much needed space in 4 or 5 days time. I can run round the place with a vac then lol.

I've been trying to run a coco/hydro cross system to keep pot sizes small but all my best colas have come from a 2 litre straight coco pot. I'll be sticking to that in future I think.

 

[CouchGrass]

I've been watching the plants quite closely recently as I want to see how they react to the ceramic lights. I've already run the Chronic under sodium for a whole grow but the next plant to come down will have done about half and half, finishing under the ceramic.
Initial thoughts are that the ceramic lamps seem to produce many more trichs than sodium did on the same genetics. Finishing time seems to be a little longer though, although I suppose that makes sense. If the halide produces twice as many trichs then it will take longer to convert them all to amber.
Well it makes sense to me anyway

Obviously I have to look at the trichs to notice this, which brings me nicely on to the subject of bud porn. I have been somewhat remiss in that department up to now but here's the oldest Chronic up close and personal..



There's enough amber to cut a couple of the branches now. Under sodium I chopped at 70 days and was very happy, there was about 15% amber when I chopped but that increased as they dried to maybe 25%. This plant is on day 72 and overall it looks to be about 10% amber.

One question for any knowledgeable growers reading this. I know that harvesting some of the colas will send the plant into shock, but does this stop the trichs developing as well or will they continue to turn amber at the present rate?
I'm chopping some anyway but it would be nice to know for sure.

 

[CouchGrass]

All the big stuff is out of the case now and I have 3 new ladies resident, a Sharksbreath with 35-40 days to go and 2 Chronic. I left 15 days between each planting and it just dawned on me that is way too small.
If I keep it at 15 days between plants then I will have to put 6 in before 1 is ready to come out, and that just isn't possible. So I'm gonna shoot for 3 from now on and leave a 25 day gap. Both strains take 70 days of 12/12 under sodium so I'm guessing around 75 for these ceramics based on what I've read.

With all that said, what I should do is kill the middle of the 3 plants in the case. Tat would put me right on track, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm gonna try and ride it out as best I can. We'll see how it pans out...





Strain notes: I've now had well cured samples of each bud and they are both very smooth. The Shark has a real funky fruit smell to it when you get into the bud while the Chronic is much more understated. Both were harvested at around 15% amber which is perfect for me, but could be tuned up or down for a daytime smoke or a narcotic.
The Shark is both uplifting and introspective in nature, the Chronic is more of a creative energy.
In terms of growing, the chronic is easy to clone and grows a stunning donkey dick bud if left as a single cola plant but this is prone to mould in cramped conditions like mine. It works well when topped or trained also, turning out profuse buds. There is no discernible smell from it during growing and only a mild aroma as it dries.
The Shark is tricky to propagate but it can be done, cooler temps seem to help. It stretches a little more than the Chronic so topping or bending is needed for me to control growth. Again no odour in veg or flower with a minimal scent while it dries.
Both strains seem to stretch more now summer is here and they are getting a bit warmer than they would like, I suppose that is true of most strains. I will try adding silicon to the food as it's supposed to help them tolerate heat better.

 

[CouchGrass]

So the summer heat continues but the plants are looking ok. I've been adding some silica to the water and I think it's helping them cope.
Made another mistake with the bending thing though. I planted them in the middle of the pots, so when I bend them over I waste half the pot and they hang way out over the other side. In future I need to plant at one end and bend them to the other end, that way they should fit in the pot and that would really help out when I rotate them round the case.





Food recipe per litre of water:
7 drops silica liquid
2.5ml Canna Coco A
2.5ml Canna Coco B
ph 5.9
water daily to 10% runoff

 

[Neekz]

I feel you, been a hot week man, damn global warming. [YOUTUBEIF]http://youtu.be/Klgp_qDiRhQ[/YOUTUBEIF] Funny vid I saw on global warming for all the skeptic's still in denial! Good growin btw Couch! Love the breadpan hood!

 

[CouchGrass]

Thanks Neekz, let's hope it cools down some this week. Good spot on the bread tin!

 

[Mini0n]

Lookin real sexy in your growbox couch. Good stuff

 

[Chloemobile]

hands down the fattest colas ive seen in a micro grow. 140 watts in a PC case. just awstruck man. But i guess the no odor control makes it a bit easier to cool.

 

[Chloemobile]

There were some burglaries on my street last night and I ended up answering a knock at the door from the cops around 2am. They asked me some questions while sat in my house for about 30 minutes.
The reason I mention it is because the grow uses no odour control at all and was running with lights on all the time they were here but they smelled nothing.
Big up to Serious Chronic and DNA Sharksbreath for being extremely low odour strains. They are both within days of being harvested.

I actually forgot to post up the original Chronic plant from which my cuttings were taken, she is a perfect plant for a PC grow. Take a look for yourself...

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=46563&pictureid=1089310View Image https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=46563&pictureid=1089311View Image

^ this

 

[CouchGrass]

Hey guys thanks for stopping by and big thanks for the props CM. I think the Chronic is the reason the buds look so good, it just fills up like crazy. Obviously the 140w helps considerably
No CF does make it easier to cool for sure. It feels very weird looking at such juicy buds and not smelling anything though.

I saw your thread just now Mini0n and I'm relly impressed with your grow, I think we also share a common problem with stretching..



That plant is the middle plant I should have pulled when I worked out the right gap between plantings. She's developing really well with a bit over 6 weeks left before the chop. The main cola is getting a bit tall however and I need to do something about that. It's actually touching the plexi now.

Here's another pic with some weird stuff going on and I wonder if anyone knows what gives?



It looks a bit like it's growing a brain ffs.
There's no similar growth anywhere else on the plant and all the other leaves seem normal enough. Only thing thats changed is the added silicon so I'll drop that as a precaution and look into the dosages a bit more.
Meantime I'd be obliged if someone could chime in and tell me what's causing the funky top.

 

[CouchGrass]

No harvests since the last update but the plants all look ok so I should have something to chop soon.
The funny yellow growth mentioned above has sorted itself out. It was probably a result of high temps and strong light but the temps are ok now and it is growing normally again.
This is what the cab looked like yesterday. I put a new plant in there this morning so it's even more cramped now!

 

[CouchGrass]

I've had the painters in.
I was having trouble controlling the stretch while I have so much plant matter in there, so I took out the baking tin shade and slid a glass plate under the lights instead. It gained me about an inch and it also illuminated the top corners of the case better.
I got it from a duff halogen lamp dumped in a skip and I'm guessing it's eighth inch borosilicate glass.

I also adressed some lightproofing issues which mean the case is now back to pretty much standard spec when viewed from outside. Sounds just like a pc on tickover as well
The only external mods are a 12v feed going in and the digital timer in the socket.
These are the 2 oldest plants in the new environment..



It is far, far brighter than it looks in those pics. The camera seems to be toning everything down.


There's 2 more plants growing in the case now with about 60 days (of 12/12) between them. My current regime is water daily, feed every watering.
Mix is 2.5ml A and 2.5ml B of canna coco feed plus 1ml of buddha tree pk 18/9 (I got a sample bottle for free while mooching in a hydro store last week).
Thing is that even the baby plant is eating up the feed and there's no deep green. I think maybe I could really throw some nutes at these genetics if I wanted.
Right now I'm still trying to get the best plant shape and planting gap.
I'll push the nutes some other time maybe. Doesn't seem much point right now with things looking so good.

 

[CouchGrass]

I just tried to upload an update pic but I have no storage space left in my albums. Afraid the show is over for this grow then.
Thanks for all your help and support everyone. Good luck with your grows.