After an unexpectedly successful first operation of which I am currently enjoying to the max, it's time to embark on a second journey... That of course means cleaning everything: the grow closet, the AG, the air pump, and myself. I managed to clean 3 of the 4 and proceeded to make an ideal closet setup to replace the "let's just duct tape this light here" way it was setup before. The plan is for two plants under a SCRoG system. The first week or two they will be in the AG for sprouting. Once that is complete, I'll transfer them to a 5.5 gallon converted fish tank (design in the works). The babies will be under 24/0 during the first week or two upon which I may transfer to 20/4 (not 100% sure I will). I will start the HPS pretty much immediately after I remove the domes. Note, the seeds are currently in rockwool. Of course, the genetics! I will be growing the Green-O-Matic autoflower by Greenhouse Seeds. While I don't have a physical breeder pack, from what I've read online the green-o-matic typically can be harvest from seed-to-chopdown in under 8 weeks. It should grow to about 1-1.5 feet in height. Because of the ruderalis in it's genes, it isn't affected by the photoperiod which means 24/0 should be no problem. And so the purely fictional experiment begins! I hope you enjoy
AWESOME! I will be watching this grow intently. this is the first hydro grow of GOM i have seen. I do think that switching to 20/4 like you said would be a good idea. I think the plant needs a little time in darkness. I ran mine 24/0 all the way thru, but i think it would have gone better if id switched to 20/4 when it was into flowering (2-3 weeks, tho mine had started flowering after 1-1/2 weeks) I have been reading a lot about auto's and they seem to like 20/4. best of luck to ya, ill be watching.
As long as they are similar I'd think you could use the same thing... I'm not 100% sure what I'll be using... chicken wire? heheh Good to have ya here TC, roll up a chair and i'll provide the blunt hehehe... I think 20/4 is going to be best... I want to try conventional seeds after this tho, auto's are cool but I have a feeling that nothing beats the yield of traditional seeds.
Day 1) We officially have taproots on both specimens, success!!! Once I see some cotyledon leaves I'll switch it to 20/4. Once I get a pair of fan leaves, I'll turn on the HPS and start the flowering bulbs... Now that I have all the right tools (ph meter, tds meter, AC, nutes) it should be a much smoother ride. With those answers questions, I start thinking of new questions like how can I really fill her up in 60 days. Topping? LST? SCRoG? and dozens of other methods... time to start studying. I GOT BIG DREAMS FOR YOU GIRLS, BIG DREAMS!
Day 2) I have two crazy plants... one is growing ass backwards, roots high... the other is growing underground... ... they must be gettin foooked up off of cypressita's vapor Temps are low 80s to low 70s at night, fan running on lights, humidity is 45-55 in room, currently lit at 24/0. My Crazy Hermanitas Ostrich gene? ... or maybe the worm gene?
Day 6) The crazy ladies have decided to settle down and turn into some good looking sprouts! I'm not sure why the root system was launching up in the air like that.I took some rockwool and covered her up while applying as little pressure as possible. On day 3 I switched from 24/0 to 20/4 and turned on the 150w HPS on Day 5. I am still using the AG hood, but it is unhooked and providing more lateral lighting. The more light the better is my theory. I try to compare this setup versus sunlight... The sun provides an insane amount of lumens and heat and yet plants can survive and thrive outdoors with good outcomes. Indoor growres are trying to reproduce that sunlight and the only way is with highpowered HPS. The concern for most of us are the electric bills. I currently pay $.22-23 cents/KWH and these systems can add up. It costs me $130-140/month to run the 1000 watt system in this short story of a thread. (600 watts for AC/Vent, 350 watts for lights, 50 watts for air pump and aerogarden... Here's my math ($130-140/month = 30 days * 20 hours * 1KWH * $.22-23) Maybe it's time to some solar panels or a wind farm going Anyway... You can see the one on the side much... but it'll take root Last time we saw her she was ass-backwards... I took some rockwool and covered the exposed root trying to minimize contact and damage. Are those the beginning of some sugar crystals or is my plant just happy to be alive
Dam, just read through your other grow from start to finish. Subscribing to this one. Your a beast bro, Good luck, we'll be coming back for sure to check on these girls.
Day 14) Sorry for the lack of updates, I just wasn't in posting mood what with the heat wave up in new england. That heat took a toll on the ladies as they endured some heat stress, particularly when my A/C gave out while I was at work. Temps reached 103!! However, not all things are bad as even though the damage is apparent, the new growth is taking over. That, in combination with some nifty upgrades, mean my ladies are on track! Obviously the Aerogarden's reservoir is too freakin small, I think we can all agree on that. I mean look at the freakin' root system on these two small plants!! Who the hell knew that these little plants produce roots like it had an iceberg ancestor. This means I need a setup with greater capacity, 5.5x greater capacity to be exact! I invested in a 5.5 gallon fish tank which I then wrapped in mylar to prevent light infiltration. My pic might explain it a bit better... The AG water pump doesn't get power without being in it's holder which of course can't be submerged in water. I disconnected the AG water pump and duct taped (i'll get something more pro later) submersible water pump to the old tubing... easy! Day 14, is it time for some preflowers to show? These look like baby pistils And some baby leaves about to begin life And the remainder of the photos... I fed them half strength nutes yesterday per GH instructions (.5 tspn micro, .5tspn grow, .5tspn bloom) The one that started with an ass-backwards root system is the runt but seems to have some pretty nice growth and a healthy root system. The other girl is simply taking off... You can almost notice the difference between one day of growth. Day 13------------------------- 24 hours later Day 13------------------------- 24 hours later
Day 18) The transplant was a major success! The runt has completely rebounded and is on its way back to a healthy, and hopefully productive, life. They've taken to the half-strength feeding well and I think they're ready for full strength when I feed 'em tomorrow. It is also definitely time to LST, maybe I'll take some time this afternoon. Also have to think about designing an SoG... One step at a time. I came back home one day and saw my tank temp was 88 degrees!!! I paniced! I quickly realized two problems 1) The submersible pump produces heat and is on 24/7 and 2) the mylar is airtight. I solved these issues by placing the pump on a timer to go on and off every 15 minutes. I also cut a 5"x5" flap in the mylar and placed a duct with A/Ced air angled at the tank glass to constant provide air circulation I think the results speak for themselves
Nice work! I can't wait to see how huge these grow! I just started my second grow, so your over 2 weeks ahead of me, but we are growing the same strain so this should be fun! Good luck brother. And what was that photo of the hippo looking at the ring?
Day 23) Great progress, very healthy and lots of growth on both of them... I started LST and tied both of them down so they'll grow on opposite sides of the light. I feed/water on the weekend and gave full strength nutes last weekend. That consisted of 4 teaspoons of micro, 6 tspoons of grow, 2 teaspoons bloom and 1 teaspoon floralicious plus... Tank staying between 60-72 degrees, room temp is 70-85 degrees. So far so good JULY 18TH --------------------> JULY 23RD
haha, ok. and wow man, that little runt just EXPLODED! in just a few days it grew to almost the size of the other. thats nuts. i really like the setup! great job.
Day 24) I'm shocked at how well the runt has recovered, I once almost left her for dead and was going to replace her... fortunately I didn't Lazy saturday, woke up just after noon, went down the hall to see how da ladies were doin', one fine, two fine, me fine go, sendin' off to the liquor store The Sisters The Runt The Big Guy
Day 29) I have girls!! And girls that want to get chunky. They must have doubled in size in just one short week, the breeder pack sure didn't lie when it said that Green-o-matic goes through a violent growth period. It is definitely time to make a SCRoG system, maybe over the weekend. The girls are thirsty as hell too, been having to put about a gallon every two days. Ph is hanging between 5.8-6.3 depending on time of day. I am keeping PPM at around 400 for now, following the GH feeding schedule as closely as possible. Anyway... Let me introduce you to a visitor I found hiding in the swaying stems A shot from afar and side by side comparison after 5 days of growth! and the results of the pregnancy test, along with other titillating photos