First grow: 300+ plant 3000 watt vertical

[ImaginaryFriend]

I think this looks like good fun.

Taking 600 copy to hope that your keeper is still there when you're all done...

Two jobs in addition to this project makes about 4 full time jobs all together.

Don't loose your mind.

Label everything three times.

Keep a close eye on temps and humidity.

120 degrees is no way to find your girls potential...

I hope you can find time to keep us updated.

 

[RJ99]

brings back memories of my first attempet at indoor, 13 metal halide 1000 w, big 48 ft by 32 ft steel building, 120 sativa planted str8 in ground, flowered in 120 degree temp, spider mites, white flys, good god what a failure, this was back in 1980 so i dident have the internet to learn from but belive me i learned the hard way. lol..

Wow that's really horrible. I'm glad you've bounced back so strongly.

I've been a lurker here for a lot of years and it's comforting to know that even my grow heros had growing pains of their own. I pray that kind of disaster never happens to me.

 

[vdog]

vertical is where its at!

 

[bobblehead]

ok, stop fertilizing your seedlings... when they're that small, they don't need it. end of story. pH 6.0 water w/ a little cal/mag and they'll be fine... Wait until they have some real leaves to start feeding them. They can't use the fertilizer w/o the leaves.

Take the plants off the shelves. I've done it before... It's pointless unless you have full blown bushes on the floor, and you don't want your seedling getting crowded out... Put everything on the floor. Everything is a seedling... they're all equal so far.

 

[~Shhh~]

Looking good RJ, I think you can pull this off mate... don't worry... hater's gonna hate lol... just kidding pics show people your for real bro, the help will follow

You need to be very focused for this one... As I said out before cloning all those plants is going to be an absolute nightmare for you. I think that you need to get a few of those EZ cloners to make things a bit easier then you just need to watch the water level and start killing off the ones you don't want come harvest time. Still looking after 600 clones will be like another grow altogether!

Still I reckon you can do it mate, will be spectacular once all your 5x5's are in bloom

 

[Grizz]

Wow that's really horrible. I'm glad you've bounced back so strongly.

I've been a lurker here for a lot of years and it's comforting to know that even my grow heros had growing pains of their own. I pray that kind of disaster never happens to me.

serisouly think about cutting your numbers down, like bobble said about your sativa seed stock, its all unproven, you have no idea how they will stretch and how long it will take to finish. i would really recomend trying to pick out 40 females that you like the look of, ie strong stems , fast healthy growers, label them all and take cuts and label those then flower the females out, see what ones you like the best and take those clones and make moms then try your mega number grow

 

[PeterGriffin843]

Looking good man i'm looking forward to seeing the kc brains seeds.

 

[megayields]

This will end badly...one way or another.

Dude if you don;t have anything positive to say just; STFU.

RJ99 just keep on ..keeping on man. Don't listen to haters, your doing fine, just have a plan and we will try and help you minimize your mistakes or make suggestions to help you.

Peace

 

[ploppertop]

New to the forum but not to the sport and I have to say this is a very expensive and mentally taxing way to fall on your face (most first grows fail and are far less challenging than yours don't feel bad).

you should run one easy strain through harvest in just one 5x5 space to get somewhat familiar with what you're doing. also hand watering a medium with less water retention than soil is going to eat up your whole life (50/50 coco/perlite may not even last a full day once the roots fill the pots). If you have a job or school to attend to you will almost certainly fry your ladies by not being able to water them in time, in veg they may be able to recover from that somewhat but in flowering they will be irreparably messed up and produce poorly, the added stress can actually force them temporarily back into veg in order to repair themselves.

I could probably write a book on all the likely problems you would have so I'll stop here. Seriously do yourself a favor, throw 25 plants of one or 2 strains in one of your 5x5 spaces and make mothers of the rest. also transplant into larger pots with 85/15 coco/perlite or dirt.

People are egging you on because they want to see what happens next not because they believe in you. Not trying to be a dick just being honest because I don't want to see a newbie pulling his hair out.

 

[redbudduckfoot]

everyone needs to stop telling him what he is doing wrong; this is his first grow and is going balls to the wall. 300 plants might be a bit much for 3000w, so i might suggest culling any mutants/slow growers right now. lets get past the initial shock of his crazy high plant numbers and give him advice on how to make it work. only reason my first grow was only 1k was money.

only real solid advice i have for ya is make up some supersoil and just water only unless plants start showing signs of nutrient deficiency.

this is what i do for the grows i set up at other peoples places; i just mix up a bale of pro-mix w a 30lb bag of earthworm castings and 4 cups of Foxfarm marine cuisine dry ferts and that is good for my 65 day srains; my sourD ibl needs to be fed ferts once or twice days 55-65. i only go to this spot once a week and i swear the girl responsible for watering is doing an amazing job. 16 plant vert 1200w.

keep it simple, u will do fine.

 

[RJ99]

ok, stop fertilizing your seedlings... when they're that small, they don't need it. end of story. pH 6.0 water w/ a little cal/mag and they'll be fine... Wait until they have some real leaves to start feeding them. They can't use the fertilizer w/o the leaves.

Take the plants off the shelves. I've done it before... It's pointless unless you have full blown bushes on the floor, and you don't want your seedling getting crowded out... Put everything on the floor. Everything is a seedling... they're all equal so far.

Done! They'll get ph balanced water with 1 drop per gallon superthrive for the next few days.

ploppertop, thanks for your insight but I planned this out. Every grow guide I've read indicates a 50/50 mix is ideal for root growth and that root mass = yield. I cut it down in my smart pots though, since they dry out faster anyways. I'm thinking about quitting my part time job to give me more time to work on this project for the next few months. Yes, it has been expensive. Thus far I've sunk about 7k into equipment, supplies, and seeds. I got my degree in accounting and I'm using Quickbooks to keep track of my expenses. I believe that bottom watering will prevent the calamity of dry plants. Simply placing plastic trays under the plants and over-watering a little will create a resoviour of sorts from which water will wick up as needed. My pal at the hydro shop explained that this is how he's gotten his best results. I thank you for your critique as harsh as it might seem. If it can prevent me from a disaster it's well worth hurt feelings.

megayields, you're one of my heros on these forums. Your encouragement is very meaningful to me.

joesy whales, I'm always impressed with your fine work. I value your advise and I don't doubt that cutting down the plant count and working with more clones would make for greater stability. I can not at this point afford to throw away my whole plan. I've already killed over a dozen plants though neglect, negligence and fertilizer burning. I've got plenty left to play with. I know it'll be a challenge but I am prepared for it. Long hours and hard work is where it's at. I want these long flowering unstable sativas for my own. Maybe it's bad to say that they're my toys when I'm jumping in head first but the sativas will be my personal joy. I plan on taking clones and flowering the clones to reduce their flowering time and select mothers. I really don't expect much from the hazes, maybe .25 gpw but I want them for me. And I have enough rooms that I can afford to play with one.

I think there is a general misunderstanding about how many 5x5 rooms I have here. Right now I have four plus the 8 x 8 veg space. I may just buy another couple tents and make it six 5x5 grow spaces. With the flibboxes I'm using each ballast runs two rooms on a 12/12 or 18/6 flip flop. These will not be 300 plants in 3 rooms, but 300 in a minimum of four and possibly six rooms.

ImaginaryFriend, Thinking about it realistically I don't think I'm personally capable of handling 600 clones. I will most likely take a portion of josey's advise and clone the most vigorous plants and any outstanding strains which I have a personal liking toward. If an outstanding plant slips through I will attempt to reveg it after harvesting most of it. It may work and it may not but I am certain that I'll have some elite mother plants after it's all said and done.

~Shhh~, I don't think I can handle dealing with so many clones at this point in my growing career. I have jumped in the deep end but if I paddle out too far I'll overwhelm myself and sink. It's better to stick with my core competence for now, I think.

 

[RJ99]

everyone needs to stop telling him what he is doing wrong; this is his first grow and is going balls to the wall. 300 plants might be a bit much for 3000w, so i might suggest culling any mutants/slow growers right now. lets get past the initial shock of his crazy high plant numbers and give him advice on how to make it work. only reason my first grow was only 1k was money.

only real solid advice i have for ya is make up some supersoil and just water only unless plants start showing signs of nutrient deficiency.

this is what i do for the grows i set up at other peoples places; i just mix up a bale of pro-mix w a 30lb bag of earthworm castings and 4 cups of Foxfarm marine cuisine dry ferts and that is good for my 65 day srains; my sourD ibl needs to be fed ferts once or twice days 55-65. i only go to this spot once a week and i swear the girl responsible for watering is doing an amazing job. 16 plant vert 1200w.

keep it simple, u will do fine.

I've already purchased quite a bit of coco coir. I'm not opposed to organics. In fact I think organics is generally superior though less efficient. My factor is cash now. I have certain sunk costs and some costs I'm yet to incur but I can't financially afford to go organic. I have a sample pack of hydro organics stuff and I'm impressed with it. My planned method really isn't that much more complicated than soil. It's just a slight variation of the KISS method, just adding superthrive and rooting supplements. Organics is just not affordable to me at this point.

Peter Griffin, I'm also looking forward to the KC brains genetics. KC33 sativa pheno is used by some well respected breeders such as shantibaba due to it's exceptional vigor. It's in the back of my mind that I might like to make my own seeds for a future run and a strong vigor from a kc33 keeper could be very valuable. That's why I've got 3 packs!

 

[redbudduckfoot]

well you can always return the coco. in my opinion, coco is the worst idea for your first grow. things have to be dialed in as much as a hydro setup.

on the organic tip, i didnt say anything about organics. not once did i mention organic. foxfarm marine cuisine isnt organic, only maybe 60%. it has some time release chem ferts in it. it only cost 20$ a bag and one bag will do about 200 gallons of soil. hmmmm.......

third, there is no way 300 2-3 gallon bags of coco will be cheaper than a soil mix after you figure in how much u will spend on liquid ferts, hope u realize that w/ coco you have to water/feed everyday, sometimes twice a day in mid to late flower.

i am sure there are plenty of coco growers out there who will back me up on the cost of ferts.................. you will be going through 100-200 gallons of water everyday, now how much liquid fert is that gonna be? thats like 100tbls of ferts=50ozferts=1.5 qts of fertilizer used every feeding........ does that sound economical?

not to be judgemental, but what is the point of documenting this grow and putting it out there for us experienced growers to help u with if you ignore nearly all the advice we give you? this is going to be a flame fest unless you change yer tude and listen at least a little.

 

[Bobby Stainless]

Fuck the haters.

Add another 3k of lights!

 

[iSMOKE.KUSH]

i'm with bobby on this one. you need more lights, or you are going to need to flip those bitches asap. like in the next week.

over vegging is hardly talked about. i've over vegged multiple times, and my yields suffered because of it. bigger plants doesn't always equal better yield.

the numbers aren't the problem, it's the ammount of light, and with 100+ plants per light you should be flipping almost from seed. my buddy runs 32 plants per light on a 4x4 ebb and flow, and he flips a week after they are rooted...

 

[bobblehead]

I have mad respect for you bro, having your bs in accounting. My only question, is why you don't get your CPA... You could be making $200k legit.... And you have more experience accounting than growing...

That being said, if you have the skills to be an accountant, you can grow a few plants. I like that you're going to use several 5x5 rooms instead of one big one. It's a lot easier to control a micro-environment.

Just remember, air exchange 2x a minute, try to keep humidity up to 70% weeks 1-4, and down to 50% the rest of flowering. Try and keep lights on/off temps within 10F.

Coco can be a mofo, but it's not that terribly hard to figure out... Your coco/perlite mix is good. Just add 1mL per gallon of drip clean by House and Garden to your feed regime. It will prevent any salt buildup. I would also recommend 5mL per gall each of Silica Blast, SM-90, and cal/mag. You're gonna have issues w/o a few additives...

Listen to what these guys are telling you about these sativas... They're gonna take up a lot of space, and not provide you with a lot of product come harvest time. Maybe you should designate yourself a personal grow, apart from your production rooms? b/c how much do you plan on smoking? You're a smart guy, and I don't think you're in this to get high...

Focus on the indica/sativa hybrids... Make some nice moms... slice the shit out of them and build up a clone army. Flower out the extreme sativas right away. You'll recognize them b/c they'll be the 1' tall plant when everything else is still a seedling.

 

[Billy Liar]

test the theory...
I learned long ago to do a small "mock up" of what I want to achieve in a larger grow..
peace
BL

 

[megayields]

I have mad respect for you bro, having your bs in accounting. My only question, is why you don't get your CPA... You could be making $200k legit.... And you have more experience accounting than growing...

That being said, if you have the skills to be an accountant, you can grow a few plants. I like that you're going to use several 5x5 rooms instead of one big one. It's a lot easier to control a micro-environment.

Just remember, air exchange 2x a minute, try to keep humidity up to 70% weeks 1-4, and down to 50% the rest of flowering. Try and keep lights on/off temps within 10F.

Coco can be a mofo, but it's not that terribly hard to figure out... Your coco/perlite mix is good. Just add 1mL per gallon of drip clean by House and Garden to your feed regime. It will prevent any salt buildup. I would also recommend 5mL per gall each of Silica Blast, SM-90, and cal/mag. You're gonna have issues w/o a few additives...

Listen to what these guys are telling you about these sativas... They're gonna take up a lot of space, and not provide you with a lot of product come harvest time. Maybe you should designate yourself a personal grow, apart from your production rooms? b/c how much do you plan on smoking? You're a smart guy, and I don't think you're in this to get high...

Focus on the indica/sativa hybrids... Make some nice moms... slice the shit out of them and build up a clone army. Flower out the extreme sativas right away. You'll recognize them b/c they'll be the 1' tall plant when everything else is still a seedling.

RJ;

Listen and learn, this guy knows what the fuck he is talking about, everyone here has great idea's also. I just know that Bobblehead (and DHF) literally turned my CoCo grow around and I increased my yields by only 100% and potency and quality went through the roof as well. I cannot add to what he has said other than to say, I got mad respect for someone going so BIG the 1st time. I truly wish you the best, and remember mistakes will happen, just keep moving forward and learn from them, the BEST lessons were from when I made a mistake, I just don;t make the SAME mistake twice lol.

 

[Grizz]

your doing a good job weeding through all the advise your getting, one item i over looked and someone else brought up is the veg time, there spot on . flower them sativa's as soon as you can, i have seen ecsd streatch up to 5ft from a 1 ft clone in a month and a half. also i dont see any problem with coco, its the easyest thing i have ever used

 

[Aksala]

Please don't say things like that. I'm counting on our seniour members to help me along here, not give me bad vibes... This will end in a big pile of weed. It will be good!

Its not bad vibes man...its reality...

And of course you are gonna have a big pile of weed...and if that is literally all your after...then more power to you.

But your weed is gonna be hit and miss in terms of quality and probably loaded with seeds..and are you prepared to deal with a spider mite/fungus gnat infestation ect?

There are sooo many things that can go wrong...and something ALWAYS does...just the nature of the beast.

Its a process man. I hate to sound cliche but practice definately makes perfect when it comes to growing cannabis.

I've been growing (legally btw...) only a few years...maybe 3ish...have read a few books have read TONS online at this site and others...got a couple strains dialed in ect..but in reality I consider myself a novice at best.

Let me ask you a question...what made you want to grow weed?

Regardless....good luck to you...and add more lights.