Hey all, it seems finally time that i become a part of the community, both to gain knowledge and to share what i'm able to produce
I've gotten past the point of being able to enjoy my growing herbs all by myself, and feel the need to share it with somebody (everybody) else. I had the urge to start a grow setup, and wanted to get the right equipment to be able to expand if/when i got the opportunity -- for now all I have is a 2' x 6' closet to work with. 1000w in that space might be overkill, but tbh with the thickness of the canopy right now I'm glad i have all the juice I can get (experimenting a bit with different pruning methods, but I want to see how these guys come out just lightly pruned).
i've got 5 plants i've raised from clones: started off with 2 Blue Dream, and then a few weeks later got a chocolate something-or-other kush and 2x GDPs. With only one light, i left 'em in veg for a while so the little guys could catch up to the BD, but there's still a noticeable size difference. all the better for trying out a variety of sizes and seeing which i like better!
I'm using the "lucas" formula with GH nutes and had superthrive in the mix when they were a bit younger. That formula calls for the Micro-Bloom variants (@ 5-10 veg, 8-16 flower .. ml/gallon), and leaves out the interim "grow" solution, which I have but am just not using if i don't have to. I'm experimenting with it right now, but am very open to suggestions about how to improve the formula based on my results. Right now they're a week into flower and boosted with Koolbloom. I put a bit of fungi into the root system too, but I honestly don't know if that's been doing anything to encourage root growth, and i haven't been reapplying it. I'm using a neem oil spray for bug control (they are few, but damn those little gnats and flies.). I haven't noticed any infestations whatsoever as a result, and love the stuff.
The room can get pretty hot, so I have a 6" inline fan hooked up to the light fixture pumping through ducting out of the closet and through a carbon filter to help with the smell when the time comes. The average temperature ends up being around 80-85 during the day, and then cools off in the night cycle. The reservoir is in the room, but covered to keep light out. I throw a little OH in the water, but have an air stone to keep it oxidized. Right now I'm watering by hand about once a day; i have the equipment for the irrigation setup but would rather keep a closer eye on it. I'm also pretty sure there's plenty of co2 with the inline fan circulating as much air as it does in such a small space.
It might be obvious from the pictures, but they were vegging under a 1000w MH at 18/6, and a week ago switched over to a 12/12 cycle with a 1000w hortilux HPS. I have an Xtrasun hood which is plugged into a 1000w Galaxy electronic ballast on the shelf above the entire rig. When they were little clones I had them under a 175w MH light to conserve electricity -- got a nice jolt from a live wire comin out of that ballast one day while i (stupidly) had it plugged in and learned my lesson early to respect electricity for reals. The light hood is hooked up to and cooled by the attached inline fan, pumping air out of the closet through ducting when it's closed up and recycling it out into the room through the massive carbon filter that i have.
They're being grown in a coco-fiber coir soilless mix, in a 2 feet x 6 feet (ish) closet that's just one of the closets in my room I've emptied out and purposed for the occasion. I've lined it with that white visqueen shit, for max reflectivity.
The reservoir I use is 9 gallons -- I refill it with a 100% nutrient solution until I've refilled another 9 (or so) gallons and then remix and clean out the reservoir. I should really hook up an intricate irrigation system with the piping, drip connectors, and water timer I have but i get kinda lazy watching them grow. It's more intimate hand-watering, and for the first grow i'm perfectly fine with paying attention on a daily basis.
comments/recommendations always welcome, if friendly and in good taste ^^
((wanted to also mention: one day when i came home from work i found that the fan had been blowing so hard it blew the ducting off and left the room to cook up to around 120F. not chill. so i went to ace and got some gorilla tape to keep that shit on, and now it stays. but that's why some of the tips of the leaves on the blue dream bush are a little crispy in a few of the mid-veg pics, but they've healed now.))
I've gotten past the point of being able to enjoy my growing herbs all by myself, and feel the need to share it with somebody (everybody) else. I had the urge to start a grow setup, and wanted to get the right equipment to be able to expand if/when i got the opportunity -- for now all I have is a 2' x 6' closet to work with. 1000w in that space might be overkill, but tbh with the thickness of the canopy right now I'm glad i have all the juice I can get (experimenting a bit with different pruning methods, but I want to see how these guys come out just lightly pruned).
i've got 5 plants i've raised from clones: started off with 2 Blue Dream, and then a few weeks later got a chocolate something-or-other kush and 2x GDPs. With only one light, i left 'em in veg for a while so the little guys could catch up to the BD, but there's still a noticeable size difference. all the better for trying out a variety of sizes and seeing which i like better!
I'm using the "lucas" formula with GH nutes and had superthrive in the mix when they were a bit younger. That formula calls for the Micro-Bloom variants (@ 5-10 veg, 8-16 flower .. ml/gallon), and leaves out the interim "grow" solution, which I have but am just not using if i don't have to. I'm experimenting with it right now, but am very open to suggestions about how to improve the formula based on my results. Right now they're a week into flower and boosted with Koolbloom. I put a bit of fungi into the root system too, but I honestly don't know if that's been doing anything to encourage root growth, and i haven't been reapplying it. I'm using a neem oil spray for bug control (they are few, but damn those little gnats and flies.). I haven't noticed any infestations whatsoever as a result, and love the stuff.
The room can get pretty hot, so I have a 6" inline fan hooked up to the light fixture pumping through ducting out of the closet and through a carbon filter to help with the smell when the time comes. The average temperature ends up being around 80-85 during the day, and then cools off in the night cycle. The reservoir is in the room, but covered to keep light out. I throw a little OH in the water, but have an air stone to keep it oxidized. Right now I'm watering by hand about once a day; i have the equipment for the irrigation setup but would rather keep a closer eye on it. I'm also pretty sure there's plenty of co2 with the inline fan circulating as much air as it does in such a small space.
It might be obvious from the pictures, but they were vegging under a 1000w MH at 18/6, and a week ago switched over to a 12/12 cycle with a 1000w hortilux HPS. I have an Xtrasun hood which is plugged into a 1000w Galaxy electronic ballast on the shelf above the entire rig. When they were little clones I had them under a 175w MH light to conserve electricity -- got a nice jolt from a live wire comin out of that ballast one day while i (stupidly) had it plugged in and learned my lesson early to respect electricity for reals. The light hood is hooked up to and cooled by the attached inline fan, pumping air out of the closet through ducting when it's closed up and recycling it out into the room through the massive carbon filter that i have.
They're being grown in a coco-fiber coir soilless mix, in a 2 feet x 6 feet (ish) closet that's just one of the closets in my room I've emptied out and purposed for the occasion. I've lined it with that white visqueen shit, for max reflectivity.
The reservoir I use is 9 gallons -- I refill it with a 100% nutrient solution until I've refilled another 9 (or so) gallons and then remix and clean out the reservoir. I should really hook up an intricate irrigation system with the piping, drip connectors, and water timer I have but i get kinda lazy watching them grow. It's more intimate hand-watering, and for the first grow i'm perfectly fine with paying attention on a daily basis.
comments/recommendations always welcome, if friendly and in good taste ^^
((wanted to also mention: one day when i came home from work i found that the fan had been blowing so hard it blew the ducting off and left the room to cook up to around 120F. not chill. so i went to ace and got some gorilla tape to keep that shit on, and now it stays. but that's why some of the tips of the leaves on the blue dream bush are a little crispy in a few of the mid-veg pics, but they've healed now.))