hush grows up! 1000w MH/HPS in 4x4 tent

[Jhhnn]

Big Steve, what size jars are those? Gallon? I couldn't find those anywhere, except for some decorative, throwback Ball jars in gallon size that used push-on lids instead of the screw on band-type. I must admit, I almost bought a few because they looked cool, but the push on lids seemed unusual to me, even though they looked like they would still get a nice seal.

I will check out your journal right now...

Might check out the hermetic glass storage jars, here-

http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10011037&N=&Ntt=jars

The 5.3 qt jar is quite spacious, and the 34oz jars hold ~2.5 oz of bud. They have all kinds of other jars, too. There's one of their stores not far from us, & the place is a trip.

Haven't seen you posting- wazzup?

 

[Sativa Dragon]

I kept a Jar for a year, and the time really does change the buzz a lot, it takes the edges off.

Peace

 

[hush]

Well, I gotta say, just in the few months I've had them curing, the changes have been staggering! Not only is the smoke smoother, but it takes less to get where I need to be! The quality of the high has stayed relatively the same, for the most part, with a few noticeable, subtle changes, all for the better. But the look, smell, and potency has definitely been augmented. I have 8 ounces left!

Haven't seen you posting- wazzup?

Thanks for noticing, man. Makes a guy feel like a bit more than a fly on the wall know what I mean?

Yeah, life gets in the way from time to time, what with a wife who has a back problem that flares up every so often. During this past episode, though, it thankfully wasn't as bad as it has been before. But when she gets laid up, guess who is next in line to have to do all the housework, and cooking, and all that fun stuff?

 

[Jhhnn]

Well, I gotta say, just in the few months I've had them curing, the changes have been staggering! Not only is the smoke smoother, but it takes less to get where I need to be! The quality of the high has stayed relatively the same, for the most part, with a few noticeable, subtle changes, all for the better. But the look, smell, and potency has definitely been augmented. I have 8 ounces left!

Glad it's working out that way. I've enjoyed your journals, particularly the 1000w grow. Having one, running out of smoke means you consume a helluva lot or that you're an unlucky gardener. It's the magic never run out don't buy weed if you don't really want to machine, a truly powerful engine. Va-voom!

I think that the cure slows way down after a couple of months. Wherever it's going, that's 90% of the way it's getting there. Changes after that, at least so far, have been subtle but real. The aroma gets a little deeper, the taste a little better, more finished. It's not just cured, it's aged like wine.

Thanks for noticing, man. Makes a guy feel like a bit more than a fly on the wall know what I mean?

Yeah, life gets in the way from time to time, what with a wife who has a back problem that flares up every so often. During this past episode, though, it thankfully wasn't as bad as it has been before. But when she gets laid up, guess who is next in line to have to do all the housework, and cooking, and all that fun stuff?

View Image

Tell me about it. Having recently retired, the rest of the family seems to think that makes me the maid.

Au Contraire! That makes me a guy with enough time to be the boss, a role I try to avoid. Maid... or Boss. At this point, I pick Boss. It's a no-brainer.

 

[NKOTS]

hush, hoping that you get your world organised enough to be able to throw a bit of green in here from time to time

stay cool, buddy

 

[hush]

Hey, thanks man. This particular thread is long expired, but I will always keep my signature updated with my current grows. So feel free to click on one of the grows in my signature! I am currently about to harvest some Silver LA from under the 1000 watter, in only a few more days. Then I will be going on vacation, and when I come back I will be starting a super silver haze grow.

I've also got my small 2x2 garden going right now with lemon skunk and stacked kush. That one is in like week 3 of flowering. It will still be flowering when I go on vacation, but it will be near the end by then, so I'm thinking it will be okay to survive while I'm gone. That one will be almost finished when I return to town, so that'll be nice.

But actually my life has calmed down a bit now. My wife has a back problem that occurs every so often, and that's what throws everything out of whack from time to time. But it's happened often enough now, ever since we got married, that we have now figured out some routines and we know what to do and stuff. It's no longer a freak out time, lol. It's more like, been there done that, we know what to do now!

So this last time it happened, I was able to keep the gardens going. Well, except for the cfl scrog... I let that one die, and I won't be starting that one up anymore. But I've decided that I can totally keep 2 gardens and a mother cabinet, and not be overwhelmed by that. Anything more and it tends to slowly overwhelm me when other shit goes down.

Anyway, yeah feel free to check out my silver LA thread before I harvest, or my 2x2 tent.

 

[Jhhnn]

I've been meaning to ask you about your impressions wrt the light intensity in your 2 tents. In the 2x2 w/ 400w, you have 100w/sq ft. In the 4x4 w/ 1000w, you have 62.5w/sq ft.

So far, I've obtained solid results at 62.5w/sq ft. Do you think that the results are proportionately better at 100w/sq ft? Is the extra intensity worth the expense?

 

[hush]

No, honestly I would have to say I don't notice much of a difference between the 400w in there, or the many previous grows in the same size space with a 250w. So I think the only real benefit is the increased (slightly) ability to penetrate the canopy. The top buds are definitely taller and more filled out under a 400. But if trying to minimize power consumption wherever you can, I would say a 250 is really the appropriate wattage for a 2x2 space.

I only went with the 400 because it was cheaper than any digital 250 setups I could find, back when I bought it. I was replacing my ancient magnetic 250 ballast. I figured I could always dial it down if it got too hot or whatever. Turned out I didn't have to worry about that, and I like that I can grow tall plants now and not have to scrog like I did with the 250. So that's the real benefit to me.

 

[Jhhnn]

No, honestly I would have to say I don't notice much of a difference between the 400w in there, or the many previous grows in the same size space with a 250w. So I think the only real benefit is the increased (slightly) ability to penetrate the canopy. The top buds are definitely taller and more filled out under a 400. But if trying to minimize power consumption wherever you can, I would say a 250 is really the appropriate wattage for a 2x2 space.

I only went with the 400 because it was cheaper than any digital 250 setups I could find, back when I bought it. I was replacing my ancient magnetic 250 ballast. I figured I could always dial it down if it got too hot or whatever. Turned out I didn't have to worry about that, and I like that I can grow tall plants now and not have to scrog like I did with the 250. So that's the real benefit to me.

Thank you. I'm trying to figure out where the point of diminished returns exists wrt light intensity. 400w is 1.6X the power of 250w, so if it doesn't yield 1.6X the bud in the same space as a 250w, it's inefficient to have that much light. OTOH, it's not total overkill, either, and probably worth the extra yield in a small tent.

The more my experience grows and the more I find on the subject, the more I'm convinced that 60-65W/ sqft is a sweet spot of sorts, not far from the point of diminished returns. I gather that also from pics of professional ops and the one professional grow I've seen in person.

BTW, I'm very pleased with my 1000w dual arc plantmax bulb. I see valid points on both sides of the MH vs HPS discussion, so I just run both in a single bulb. It covers all the bases. I think the higher energy blue light at sufficient intensity helps to keep internodes short & maybe aids in bud maturation. Nice chunky solid buds. Even the popcorn is mostly good, not larfy. It's a mid price bulb, something you might want to consider when a replacement is called for.

 

[TheAfficianado]

Howdy Hush,
Not a big criticism, but I was directed here because I want to do an in-bedroom tent grow with a 1000 watter. Great info on the A/C. Did you ever run an ozone generator in the bedroom? Looking at the pic in post #302 as your longest running plant, I felt you harvested your garden maybe 2 weeks early. I realize you wanted non-couchlock, and once I saw the dried colas, I realized how big the buds were. I just felt that they looked like they could have gone another two weeks min and really packed on some weight. I felt that the reason why you cut might have been that you had moved from a 400 watt to a 1000 watt, and simply couldn't believe they would still put on more weight. As you say, "Hindsight is 20/20," but with your grow so dialed in, you may consider letting them go a bit longer next time, especially with sativa strains. Just my 2 cents and now off to your 2x2 grow thread. Thanks for the great thread.

 

[hush]

I appreciate your observations. I don't necessarily agree with you, but I understand why your observations lead you to that conclusion, and I can't argue with that conclusion, in general. But this strain is weird. If I had let the plants go any longer, the top buds might have been a bit more mature, while the rest of them would have been overripe. This is actually a very common trait of Mandala genetics. It has something to do with the percentage of untouched landrace genes in each variety. The plants never stop throwing out new white pistils on the tops of the plants. If you use microscopy to look at the trichomes, to determine the proper date of harvest, you get different results on the top buds than you do the lower buds. So in theory, the only way to properly harvest Mandala plants is to do a staggered harvest. I can't really do that, so I had to find the middle ground.

I know exactly what you mean, though, and I think your observations are spot on... I just think that there are more factors to consider than sheer weight, at least for those of us who aren't selling the end product. Also, this is almost a pure indica, for the record. The buds might be spear-shaped, but this is indica genetics from Kashmir.

I definitely appreciate you speaking up, and also for bumping this thread. I like looking through this one every so often. I learned a lot during this grow!