SSH Tree - Volumetric Growing

foaf · May 28, 2010

OK, so I made that term up, but it's kinda what I'm trying to do, have a top canopy, a bottom canopy, and light throughout a large plant that is positioned and vegged to fill a space entirely. The relatively large yeilds that I've gotten out of this space are due to the sheer volume of branching and the fact that I get nice mature buds deeper in the plant and from top to bottom. My other big tree grows didn't produce pretty top colas, and this plant isn't either, so far.

I chose this technique because I have a very tall room, but its only 3.5 x 4 feet. Im trying to maximize the space at the expense of probably not as efficient of a grow and longer veg times than if I grew multiple plants.

Also it's kinda like a sports car, more horsepower than makes sense. I don't really know how it might fit into other's plans as they design their grows, but I'm quite sure that something like this could be scaled down to smaller spaces. The CFLs are key, they let you safely and chaeaply spread out light over a wider distance so that it can be distributed throughout the plant, you just have to deal with multiple fixtures. LEDs could naturally be built in a linear way and screened like this also. HID lights are great, of course, but you need much more space between the lamp and the screen, so they arent suited for multiple small columns.

foaf · May 28, 2010

So the bucket is about 3' 4" feet tall. The plants top is currently 9 feet off the ground, and the bottome branches are trained more than a foot below the base.

24 x 85watt cfls. 1/2 and 1/2 warm/cool. 1k HPS aircooled overhead.
14 gallon reservoir with ph pen and tds and temp and float switch all on a mast that i can take out and service
recirculating dwc with 50 lpm air to the one bucket through the big bubba airstones
recirculates to the bottom and then flows out of a 1" flexible spa hose drain at the top.
RO water topp offs and add GH Flora Nova by hand and Cal Mag and beneficials. PPMs somewhere between 1000 and 1300 and ph between 4,3 and 5.5
Chiller at 68
Humidifie, in picture with chiller, to keep ro up in veg. As the branches get up against the plastic on the walls, I have to turn that off and go with dry environment till the end.
My GroZone fan controller is shown, it adjusts the two carbon filtered exhausts so that the room stays a stedy temp, and it has a minimum idle to maintin co2 turnover, even when its cool in the room.
A screen is at the top about 9" from light glass. I dont think Ill get much canopy there, I dont know how much the plant will stretch and I kinda played it safe flipping today. My instinct told me to go a couple more days.

Im going to concentrate on the lower canopy. Its a new addition to growing: a narrow bucket, plant base high, and lighting from below.

The space is behind a secret door. I have kinda a mini lab back there for other projects in addition to the grow space.

foaf · May 28, 2010

Super Silver Haze from Fem GHS. Vegged for 70 days. This is the plant on the day I flipped.

So its been 8 weeks since flipping the lights, I vegged 70 days. Starting to get a stray older fan leaf dying off and some tip "burn" on most of the leaves in general, but that might just be their time, she is an old plant now. If the buds keep filling in over the next couple of weeks like they have this past week itll be a pretty heavy yeild. I dont know how long it'll go, but she isnt ready yet. I think there are about 2 lbs in there as of today. The bottom "colas" from the limbs that go lower than the base, are really dense and full of bud. Some of the 10 or so tops are very skinny and a few are very large. but then again there hasnt been much big cola growth the other times I have grown in this way. Appearently this hyperlight tree style thing leads to a bunch of smaller buds instead of concentration on the ends. makes sense. makes me want to top the hell out of it when I reveg and shoot for more smaller tops. plugging along.

This is today with HPS off.

joe fresh · May 28, 2010

looking good man,i got a few ssh trees myself

Natagonnaworrie · May 28, 2010

damn this shit is cutting edge. I have never seen another grow like it.

Nice work on the creativity. Did the mescaline reveal this to you?

Awesome! :tiphat:

Work2much · May 28, 2010

Over-under on 4lbs?

Nice sativa SSH pheno you've got there, I hope she smokes superb for you.

foaf · Jun 9, 2010

I hope it will be close to 4 lbs. This plant just keeps growing. I have some tips that have added 6 inches between 9 and 10 weeks. There isn't a cloudy trich to be found. There is a good bit of old age yellowing going on, but it's her time soon. Since this setup sucks to photograph, and it's not really a technique that lends itself to beautiful colas, I did a video that kinda shows it. You still can't really see the forest for the tree. Smelling great and adding lots of trichs in the past 2 weeks. edit add -> ive gone back more sober and that video sucks. Ill do one at harvest as I hope to groom it on the vine so to speak, so it should be interesting to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THVK-TuToNs

redspaghetti · Jun 10, 2010

damn foaf you're doing it again, i saw your previous grow and it was amazing, if my memory serve me right you got like 3+ with the previous, i dont think 4 is going to be hard for this one foaf, all in all, tagged! this is gonna be fun!

cheers,
red.

foaf · Jun 12, 2010

10 weeks. So I defoliated this plant to some extent the other night and plan to soon have most of the leaves off even on the far side where I have to crawl under. She is eating nutes well, and still having too much vegetative growth. I can find a rare amber trich, but no cloudy ones and the clear ones are very clear. So Ill have to cut in 2 weeks regardless because of going out of town.

It bothers me sometimes that growing this way doesn't make a pretty looking plant.

Top down view from ladder, bottom up view camera held on floor.

extreegrowerrr · Jun 12, 2010

nice!!

GrnMtFinn · Jun 13, 2010

this is pretty insane. liking the crazy column design. how much longer till you chop her?

thisismynewxbox · Jun 20, 2010

wow , wow

the only thing i see is the possiblity of poor ventilation. That plant looks pretty bunched up in the middle onto itself. Is there good ventilation goin through the middle of the plant?

wow

Capn · Jun 20, 2010

I'm diggin the chainsaw in the pic.

Foafs too awesome for fiskars.

foaf · Jun 22, 2010

I'm at a bit more than 11 weeks, the buds are really getting dense. I had expected airy buds given the way it grew early and seeing some other sativa grows, but they are gonna be fully dense and heavy. I have pulled off many of the fan leaves. Ill start pulling buds down next weekend. It is hard for me to flush when she is still eating lots of nutrients, I am running lower ppms, like 700 now, and when I reveg

, I am going to do the whole grow at low ppms, and with different training. Should be funner than the initial grow, I hope.

I cant wait for the smoke. I broke a bigger bottom branch like a month ago and the buds from that are running out. Very tasty for not cured, and Im so happy for the new high after 2 or so years of bubba kush and bubba oil. Quite the different buzz. Ill never grow a deep indica again, that said, I have a good stash of bubba left and oil cause there are times when that mellow buzz is real nice. The early pick ssh keeps me awake in bed thinking, I like a bit of that.

Its hard to appreciate that this goes back a full 4 feet. Standing on a ladder.

A random branch from the middle upper zone. Before and after pulling the yellowing leaves off.

The buds that grew sideways are now giving off fresh new up-aiming budlets. It is happening in droves. I dont know how long this plant would continue to add new bud structure.

The trunk. I wonder if it will get bigger with reveg and regrow?

bobblehead · Jun 22, 2010

This is cool! I wasn't sure what to think at first, but you've got a nice setup!

Che · Jun 22, 2010

Cool setup foaf! Those foxtailing buds are pretty insane looking

avatopaz · Jun 22, 2010

foaf... That is a crazy looking spider plant. I love the cascade style. Can you tell a big difference from the top (hps) and the bottom (cfl) buds?
AvA

foaf · Jul 2, 2010

So its 13 weeks yesterday, I started cutting at 12 weeks. A couple of hours a night, its a pain in the ass for sure. Seems like about the amount of the last two, roughtly. Hard to tell, but its plenty

Some pictures from the last week of harvest and drying racks. Im leaving for a week or so soon, if I can get everything dry enough so it wont rot, I can seal it up and finish drying it just right when I get back.

The best buds were about half way from the bottom to the top, but the low hanging buds were better than the tops. by better I mean bigger and more symmetric and mature in color with less leaf.

real ting · Jul 4, 2010

Your tree setups have to be the most space maximized grows ever, I mean it seems there's even more plant area compared to grow area than in say a coliseum. You do things completely different than I've ever seen before. It's almost a reversal of traditional vert setups, instead of having a bulb hanging in the middle with a circle of plants, you got a circle of bulbs with a plant going everywhere.

Props.

One thing though, I noticed you mention this method doesn't produce the prettiest plants. Did you mean at the end the bag appeal of the bud is less than traditional methods, or just when it's growing the plant is such a monster it doesn't have that christmas tree structure?

Do you think it is due to the combination of cfl and hid lighting, or the training, distance from lamps, or genetic factors?

Must be nice to get that hazy high after a couple debilitating years of bubba kush. You've probably been glued to the couch for two years straight.

So the plan is to leave the base of the plant in there and reveg, then flower again?

Maj.Cottonmouth · Jul 4, 2010

Amazing setup foaf, bummer on not being able to let it finish but if the stuff you already pulled is working without a cure the harvest will be sweet I am sure.

One question, how many gallons is the container the roots are in and what are the dimensions of it? Thanks and congrats on the fat assed grow.

SSH Tree - Volumetric Growing

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