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Klompen's (somewhat less chaotic) Winter 2020 QB Project

Klompen

Active member
Guess what I just got! We may not entirely have indoor plumbing or an oven, but we sure as hell have a serious light now.



Just finished setting it all up tonight. I found some picture hangers that work brilliantly as hangers for the SSTX heatsink, and I demolished an old T8 shoplight to get some 18ga solid wire. I am not sure what wattage it currently runs at, but I would guess around 100ish.



I wanted something like a load center board like you'd find on a wall, but the wall up above the cabinet is too far back to reach so I made this little stand to mount it all on where I can reach it.



Today I was looking at the cabinet and decided that I had packed too many plants into the space. Ironically enough, I also discovered today that Loud n' Proud #1 has gone hermie in a spectacular manner and had to be culled as a result. That now leaves me with Summer Breeze trifoliate, OJSDKB, Black Triangle, and Killer Orange in the soon-to-be-flowering chamber. I think the removal of the LNP hermie did at least ease up the crowding in there.

Getting sleepy here but so there shall be more to come with any luck. Questions, comments, and relevant feedback are welcome!
 
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Klompen

Active member
I spent most of this last week tinkering on and off with a little project to reduce the glare off my QB96 and cool it down a bit more all at the same time. Getting the anodized coating off the inside was not easy, and I did not measure a single thing in the entire project(couldn't find my precision measurement tools). I'm still fairly pleased with the results.






 

Klompen

Active member
Officially started 12/12 on November 4th. Tried on the 3rd, but my timer was set to turn on only on Wednesday for some reason. Now that I have that fixed, we're good to go. The door is also still being worked on a bit, but so far so good.

Here's some pics of the grow:

 

Klompen

Active member
I haven't been on this site quite as much lately, but I have still been working on my project. I have picked up a bunch of Samsung V series strips for ultra cheap and I am working on putting them together as side lights, but for now its still just the QB96 overhead.

Sadly its going to be a lame Christmas. Our outdoor stuff is rapidly disappearing due to its quality being low. A little of it was decent, but with it all being bagseed it hasn't been amazing or anything. I have used some bud shake and some iso oil together to make a sort o jelly hash that will hopefully help extend our supply a little bit longer. I think these girls should be done right around New Years

 

Klompen

Active member
I have been feeling really shitty, really not high, and extremely depressed lately so I haven't kept up on this all as much as I would like. This day has been fucking horrible. I discovered that there must be a light leak issue or something and Killer Orange has hermie flowers all over it :(



This is so depressing. It was bad enough I didn't manage to get these into flower fast enough to avoid a few weeks without decent weed, but now I have to pull her out of there. There is nothing else I can do. The bugs, the cold temps, and a small light leak has hermied the hell out of this plant. What's also tragic was finding one pair of nanners on Summer Breeze.

I had them all out today to spray them with nicotine, neem, epsom salts, and s-methoprene. While I had them out I noticed the nanners. I really wish my state had some dispensaries so I could just go get some until I get my grow sorted out. Then again, I'm not even sure I could afford that even if that was available. I pulled out a tiny chunk of Toof Decay we still had sitting around and the crippling back pain, my gout, and several other issues I have were all greatly improved for one day, but I don't have enough left to do it again more than once. We're probably going to save it for Christmas.

I pulled out Killer Orange for the moment and put it in a bag to keep it in the dark until I know what to do with it. I plucked every nanner I could find but there were hundreds. I put Loud n' Proud in there in place of it, which I am pretty excited about at least. That plant is so bushy and tall already. Its going to be huge when it really blooms. The others should be done before that though at least.



That's a shot of the chamber with Loud n' Proud added in the back left.

So that's where we're at right now unfortunately. Life hasn't been showing much mercy lately, and this is just one more thing among many.
 

chilliwilli

Waterboy
Hey man nice grow. Impressiv for just~100watt.
Its a depressive time a lot of people around me including me are struggeling lately. Chin up and do something good for u. The fatigue that comes with depression is a bitch because doing the things u like helps out of it.
 

Klompen

Active member
Thanks man. I really thought we'd just tough it out and go without for a couple weeks while we're waiting, but I really didn't expect my body would go crazy. My lower back hurt so bad I thought I was having kidney failure. Couldn't sit, stand, or do anything without pain. As much as I love cannabis; I really hate being dependent on it. My GF is even more so and its very stressful supplying her(especially given how disinterested she is in growing science).

I bumped up the QB96 to maybe as much as 120W. I have been hoping to get my side-lights going too but I can't afford a 24 or 48V driver for them right now. I had a few, but someone in my family left the tote full of them out in the weather and they sat in some swampy water for nearly a year. Oops! I'm going to put 4-5 Samsung V strips on each side wall for another 10-12K lumens of ambient.
 

chilliwilli

Waterboy
I know that myselfe. Turning lowgrade into oil helps alot imo. I tend do bingesmoke when quality is not as expected and turning that into oil helped. But its a matter of self controll. When i smoke oil like i smoke weed the stash would be gone in short time. But 1-3 dabs can be enough imo for a day to feel it the other morning.
 

Klompen

Active member
I've taken lots and lots of fan leaf and done ISO oil from it, but its a bit gross. I had hoped it would make passable medicine but it really isn't much relief. I had hoped some of these plants will be done by New Years Day, but I'm feeling less confident of that now that we're only 10 days out. They just don't look only 10 days from being done. I am not sure if these strains just finish slower than expected or if the cold temps has slowed them down. Hopefully they'll kick into gear here and start to really fatten up. I wish KO could have waited for that phase before going hermie.... would have been so much fatter and better for early sampling.

Hopefully this new Loud n' Proud won't hermie on me like the other one did. I now know there must be a small light leak up there, but wow have a couple of these plants been quick to hermie! I think its probably because I do long veg times and it gives them a chance to really express whatever genetic issues they have. On balance it might end up being a good thing to select out hermies and get the most stable genetics in my chamber. Hopefully my body doesn't fall apart in the mean time while I get supply sorted out.
 

Klompen

Active member
So we're still struggling along here. Things have not gone very well here with temperatures getting way too low in the cabinet and nothing I can do about it, with hermies galore, and with a light leak caused by the cold damaging caulk joints.

On day 100 we harvested the top half of Black Triangle, but it only yielded us about 1/2 an ounce (dry). Summer Breeze, OJSDKB, and Loud n' Proud are still in there. Loud n' Proud is an amazing plant that is filling out so intensely, but its also very badly hermie and I have had to pluck hundreds of nanners off of it. I can't give it the chop though because we're already back to buying weed again and I literally can't afford any more setbacks.

On the plus side I got all my side lights installed....

 

Klompen

Active member
I still can't find my damn camera charger, but things are still going. I have been dealing with multiple types of pests and may have finally gotten them under control but we'll see. Loud N' Proud is STILL not done. Its going on 100 days. It had an initial bud swell phase and now its sort of acting like its reblooming. So strange. Its filling in more, but its torture how long this plant is taking :(

In better news Gooey13 is approaching day 50 and it looks really great It has had aphids, barnacles, gnats, and some sort of weird flies that look like sawdust when they die and fall on lower leaves. I think I might finally have them beaten, but its been a rough road so far. This plant is easily the most exciting we've had in this cabinet so far though. Despite some early herming its been producing beautiful dense buds that hopefully will soon be swelling into big fat colas soon here
 

Klompen

Active member
I finally got my hands on that charger and got a few shots. These two are getting close to finishing now, but I have certainly had a rough road to get to this point. Both of these strains hermed, but that may have been pest related.

Loud N Proud(the one in the smaller bag in the foreground) was in the chamber during the really bad cold part of winter, but its fluffy buds have been undergoing some sort of rebudding and are really filling out with foxtails. She went in to the chamber in early December, so she's waaay overdue to be done. She didn't get the side lights until half way through that however.

Gooey 13(in the large silver grow bag) is on day 61 I think. I am hoping she will swell up a bit more, but she's looking really pretty at least. The herming stopped for the most part and its been nice solid bud growth since then. Buds are everywhere on the plant but I am worried my total yield won't be enough to keep us in smoke considering our high consumption needs. We'll see what we end up with though. These buds are very dense.

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Klompen

Active member
So tonight, April 29th going on 30th I gave everything the chop. Gooey 13 was at day 68 I think and Loud N' Proud was on day 115 or more. All told Gooey 13 yielded in the range of 8+ ounces (wet) and Loud N' Proud produced around 6(though just barely). So despite the pests and delays, a cabinet with approximately 175W of overall lighting produced about 14 ounces wet. That's definitely better per watt performance and I am certain this cabinet can do much much better than this. This isn't sufficient output for our medical needs, but I have the parts to set up a second chamber and will hopefully get output more steady.

Loud N' Proud suffered pests its entire flower cycle, suffered freezing temperatures, and hermed bad enough I had to pluck hundreds of nanners to get almost seedless bud. I have not saved a clone of LNP and I do not plan to germ another in any hurry. I haven't had good luck with those beans thus far. Gooey 13 hermed for a while but stopped completely and I think it was because of the pests.

Loud N' Proud has very little smell or flavor(probably due to what it suffered), but Gooey 13 tastes like the aftertaste of apricots. Its lovely. We've only sampled some bits of lower bud that aren't dry enough yet so it remains to be see how the fully cured flavor turns out. As far as high its similar: LNP has a kind of generic, modest high, and G13 has a very pleasant sort of dreamy high but we'll see how that goes once its dried a bit more. Gooey 13 is the first plant that started with side-lighting and it really shows. Granted, it only had one side of the lights to start with, but after a couple weeks I got the other side done too. The buds on her are basically the same all over. Tops from the sides, even at the bottom of the plant, look very similar to the very top canopy. Truly vindicates this lighting strategy. With careful planning and less disasters this will make an excellent perpetual setup. It takes a bit of time to veg the clones up to the right size for this but the result is low plant count, high uniformity, and high output(setbacks aside)

One last shot of Gooey 13 before she got the chop
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Once the chamber was cleared I deep cleaned and coated the lower reaches of the chamber with neem oil and a mix of herbal pesticides as a preventative. Then I put the next plant ready to go in. I don't know a lot about the strain, but J1 Hashplant is by far the biggest plant I have started in this cabinet. I had to take it off the foam blocks because it was too close to the QB96. HOPEFULLY she will stay a girl and will yield enough to keep us supplied with vital medicine.

Here's J1 Hashplant in her new home:
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Klompen

Active member
Just some updates on J1 Hash Plant
Center chamber with J1 Hash Plant
Overhead view of J1 Hash Plant
J1 Hash Plant 1.5 weeks into flower, pistils beginning to show
That's it for the moment. She's got a few issues but so far things are going well. This cabinet produced about 1/4 pound with the last run that could have gone better. My hope is to aim for an HP from her. Maybe that is ambitious, but we need to do better than this last run. Our buds just aren't going to last us till next harvest and that's exactly what we're hoping to avoid eventually. Now we have to try to track down some weed somewhere :(

One bit of good news is that I now have another QB96, and another 10 Samsung V strips, plus large enough drivers to handle them being added.... so I should be able to get another chamber going here soon. Now I just need to get a driver for the griddle light so I can use that in the veg chamber. I need to get my veg game going better. I have clones in the works though and if I can ever get this shit sorted out I might have a good perpetual rig.
 

Klompen

Active member
Thanks brother! One of these days things will go smoothly and we'll get a nice pile of medicine that we can't outpace...
 

negative37dBA

Well-known member
Veteran
Hi there. Good job getting through some tough times there. Proud of you for pulling off a harvest despite all the issues. I wish you some good times and big yields coming soon. It has been a tough time for a lot of people so don't feel alone out there. I myself have been battling with depression and quitting my job because the company who I worked for sucked ass. I am lucky enough to have a bunch of meds on hand to help me get through though. I really hope things look up for you and turn around. Try to get a handle on those light leaks and that should help a lot. Before you put new plants in that room make sure you have it all sterile. Bleach it out or maybe do a fogger. I use green Cleaner for my IPM and it works well. Heck I even beat the borg(russet mites) but it took me a couple runs to do it.
Keep you head up and you are going to make it all right. Don't mean to push into your personal life but if you could talk to your GF about how important having this medication in your life is to you that may help. I know when I involved my significant other and really started teaching her some growing stuff she got more interested and helped out a lot more.
Have a great day and I am is wishing you better times very soon!!
Peace, negative.
 

Klompen

Active member
Hey man I want to thank you because I think you've identified my mysterious last plant pest. I have had quite a few different kinds of pests on them this winter. Springtails, aphids, corn borer worms, barnacles, and apparently my mysterious mites are russet hemp mites. Thanks man that really helps a ton actually. I have beaten spider mites plenty of times and honestly find them easy now that I have a method for them. It looks like most of those techniques work on russet mites too so that is what I'm going to do.

I doubt there will ever be much progress getting her interested in the growing. She just wants it to be all playing with plants and its really mostly science and tedium. She loves to smoke it and needs it as medicine more than I do but her brain glazes over every time I start talking to her about it. I quit growing a few years back for a while because she was getting so annoyed with me talking about it. It really frustrates me because we have to spend a shitload of money on medicine and the one thing that would stop that just doesn't interest her. Its so frustrating. These days I really have nobody to talk to. I used to have a buddy I grew shrooms with and could talk growing with, but he's moved far away. If I ever get my hands on some spores again I really want to give that a go again. I know for sure I'll be doing that all by myself too. I love this woman with all my heart but it would be nice if she took even a little interest in this stuff.
 

negative37dBA

Well-known member
Veteran
No problem...hope it puts you on the path to green grows from now on. I really understand about having nobody to talk to. I have found myself with really no one that I do anything with besides my lady. The other day I realized it has been a year since I went out and did something with someone else....kinda a bummer. I have tried to get to know people through work but it seems they are never interested in really getting to be friends with you, just work acquaintances. I try to focus on the positive of what I have going for me. I have a lot of time and I have my lady and my dogs and a house. So it could be worse.
Growing can be a sort of solo lifestyle sometimes. I try to get some of my "friend fix" by sharing on this forum with some people who can appreciate what I do. On that subject it seems like I have gotten way less views and comments on my diary this run than ever before. Oh well. I will keep posting things and trying to give advice where I can. These dairies are a good way for me to look back on what I have done.
I did not say this in my first post to you but it took my lady getting cancer and nearly dying before she realized the value of this plant. That turned her around as far as the interest and help with growing. I can understand about the constantly talking about growing getting old for some people but it is what I love and there is so much to talk about!!
If you want some more info about the russets let me know. I can let you know all the symptoms.
Have a great one. Peace, negative.
 

Klompen

Active member
No problem...hope it puts you on the path to green grows from now on. I really understand......

Sounds like you definitely can relate to where I am coming from! I'm very much a small-circle sort of guy, but even that has been tested by this last year. Growing has long been a passion of mine but getting circumstances in which I can do it has been really challenging. For how many years I've put into this hobby now I really don't have much to show for it and that really sucks. I even lost my whole seed collection in 2019 because I stored them somewhere too hot while we were homeless. I lost all my Hybrids from Hell(among many others) stock that can't ever be replaced and I lost some seeds I got in trouble for having so that made all that completely pointless. I honestly still get really sick to my stomach about all those beans. I still keep planting them hoping something will have survived :(

Sorry to hear your lady had cancer. How is she doing now? I am fairly certain even cancer won't make my girl interested in this stuff. My gf has a nervous system disorder and if she stops smoking she starts to lose control of important muscles like her mouth, hands, feet, and to a lesser extent the limbs themselves. Its really bad, and she wants me to succeed at growing but I think I'd have to fundamentally reprogram her somehow to get her to stop turning into mental gelatin every time I try to talk to her about plants or equipment.
 
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