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<-- noob! 1st grow -- 5 plants (Blue Dream, GDP, Choco) 1000w

wewter

New member
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.))

 

phog

Well-known member
Veteran
very nice first post wewter- welcome:wave:

everything looks very healthy and happy- good job

how are you liking the digital ballast?
 

HansHanf

rebmeM
Veteran
glad to here you finally made it up to ic wewter:wave:

best wishes for your grow looks awesome so far

hans :)
 

wewter

New member
thanks for the good wishes! things are looking amazing now, i will post updates as they happen, and can't wait to see the final results. digital ballast is working well, so far as I can tell. it does get hot tho.. guess what all that aluminum heatsinking is for on the outside ^^
 

wewter

New member
update**

2 weeks of flowering behind us -- and holy fuck, i did not think these things would get this big. colas galore.

/smokebowl

/endbowl

pictures!

p.s. I'm working on getting another camera so I can start taking HD pics of the colas growing and developing. As soon as I get it, I'll post 'em. Enjoy what I have for now :)
 

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wewter

New member
didn't realize max of 4 attachments per post!

more posts for more pics! ^_^
 

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wewter

New member
tres mas ..
 

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wewter

New member
*bump*!

So i'll be able to put up some really nice photos @ the 4 week mark, but are a few I managed to snatch with the camera (despite not having the nicer lens on it, yet).

how they lookin? ^_^

*pics are taken at end of 3rd week flowering*
 

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T

Tarus Bulbar

Thats lookn Great wewter!! Those are filln out huge!!
Cheers Bro
 

wewter

New member
**BUMP**

29 Days of of flower and my ladies are bursting with joy :)
i got a new lens converter so I was able to smack on my up-close lens and take some shots of the main colas of each plant. enjoi!
 

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wewter

New member
and comment! lemme know how i'm doin', and give me a chance to check out your grow ^^
 

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Giant

Member
Lookin good! Ill be following this one for sure. How is the lucas formula working for you? What PPM/EC are you running?
 

wewter

New member
You know, the ppm/ec readings have been guesswork for me. I haven't ponied up yet and gotten an ec meter, but it might happen for my 2nd grow. I guess I wanted to see how "absolutely necessary" it is; it's been relatively easy keeping things under control without one, so we'll see..

But ya, my plants seem happy :) Next round I'll just be able to make sure that they're getting the right amount of all their nutrients using the meter

kingsley and dani -- thanks! ^_^
 

wewter

New member
And so far the lucas formula is working great! I'm using just the Micro-Bloom variants, despite also having the Grow part of the GH 3-part for kicks. Right now, it's 8 ml Micro / 16 ml Bloom per gallon + ~2 tspn of Koolbloom in the mix. My buddy dropped off some extra stuff the other night, including some of this Humboldt county "Gravity" stuff, which I'm going to finish up flowering with, after hearing good things mentioned about it.
 
You know, the ppm/ec readings have been guesswork for me. I haven't ponied up yet and gotten an ec meter, but it might happen for my 2nd grow. I guess I wanted to see how "absolutely necessary" it is; it's been relatively easy keeping things under control without one, so we'll see..

But ya, my plants seem happy :) Next round I'll just be able to make sure that they're getting the right amount of all their nutrients using the meter

kingsley and dani -- thanks! ^_^

i only check ph and ppm
 

wewter

New member
epic grow(s) frank!

more pics to come tonight, and thinking about adding some "Gravity" to the reservoir for the next week and a half or so -- it's the 5 week mark, so feels about right for that (i guess, haha).

I'm also going to take one from frank's (and whoever else's) book and give them increasing amounts of dark-hours starting soon. I'm thinking an hour more of dark every 5 days over a 20 day period, to eventually be @ 14/10.

If you've any advice for me on that, gimme yo 2 cents $_$.

they are all supposedly an 8 week harvest, but we'll have to let the trichomes tell the story.
 

JACKtheREFFER

No Longer a Human Watering Can
Veteran
:wave:
Great show for your second grow !!! looking good

Get that PPM or EC pen soon your plants will thank you in the long run..

GDP is a fav of mine and has had some runs in my room, treat her kind and she will be some fine herb!!

:tiphat:
 

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