Cfl growing in the "high" desert

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by JaneSays, Jul 31, 2010.

  1. Hey Everyone,
    Im new to the forum so i figured id throw some pictures of my current grow up. Along with some info on the strain, my techniques, and the nutrients/supplies used in the process. So ill start off by saying that i am growing a beautiful strain known as "Wonder Woman" i bought some off Nirvana Seed Company's website.They are pretty decent but i perfer Greenhouse Seeds in the long run though, much better pricing and much further info on the seeds you are going buy. Plus, they're color coated in a nutrients so they germ better and DONT look like marijuana seeds. So, Here is some info on the strain from what I've gathered from it so far..."Wonder Woman" is an amazing plant, an extremley fast grower, with a snappy maturation rate. Wonder Woman combines Its mother "Ice" (1998 Cannabis Cup winner) with its father "Top 44" making it a very potent F1 hybrid mix of Skunk, Afgani, Nothern Lights, and Shiva genetics. These three lovely ladies are quite indica in apperance but is actually 60%/Indica over 40%/Sativa with almost 15.0% THC. BE WARNED if you live with your parents or any non-420-freindly's do not grow this strain, it STINKS, my entire house reeks from 3 little plants just 42 days into vegg! Nirvana swears by the high yeild from this plant, supposedly half a kilo per square meter...Thats NOT gonna happen with CFL's, but, i took some clones from topping and ill have them moving on to vegg under 4 HPS bulbs in my big grow instead of my little closet experment. Thats it for the strain infromation, now for some background on the nutrients and equipment in this frankenstien grow. One day, I got bored and decided to spend a few bucks on some CFLs and other store bought good,s such as miracle gro, to try and grow a private plot. Heres what i've got, four 26watt CFL bulbs, Mylar, In/out fans, three one gallon pots (used), Manual timer, Miracle Gro Organics potting soil, Miracle Gro Bone Meal, Miracle Gro Blood Meal, Miracle Gro Perlite, Miracle Gro Organic Liquid Plant Feed. Before everyone out their starts getting hysterical, let me explain, i used the Miracle Gro Organics products as an experement, i have always had bad results using Miracle Gro starting off so i just switched to Advanced Nutrients and companys like Canna and never tried store bought agian. So, while i was at Wal-Mart i noticed Miracle Gro was selling organicsw now too, so i jumped at the idea of its possible use, shit, at 4.00 a bag ill buy anything. But, heres where it gets tricky, i noticed there was not perlite so i used it as a base mix with blood meal, bone meal, sand, and perlite. It worked out AWSOME no joke. If you are a beginner and know a little about mixing soil you're in bussiness. You could probly find a decent guide on such on youtube or somthing. Also, these plants are being grown in the desert of Nevada, hence the title...and it is 100% LEGAL. If you have any questions on techniques or anything else, feel free to ask.
     

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  2. Looking good, a bit small for 42days old though
     

  3. oh no, those pics were from 20 days into vegg, im attempting to upload my pictures from 42 days (today) but the server isnt allowing me at the moment. Sorry about the confusion.
     
  4. So those pictures where from day 20 of vegitation. Now, here are the pictures from day 38 of vegitation. In the first picture(from left to right) the plants are as follows Plant 1, Plant 2, Plant 3 from the last picture set. The first plant has not been topped. The second plant has been topped in its 3rd week of vegg. Finally the last plant has been topped in its first 1 and 1/2 week of vegg. I forgot to add that i am using a vitamin supplement called "Superthrive" its an old standby for most growers if you havnt heard of it i suggest you buy it it will save your plants alot of stress. Superthrive can prevent transplant shock, germ seeds faster, sring up seedlings, create bigger/smellyer buds, and stimulats root growth all in ONE DROP PER GALLON. On top of which its 100% ORGANIC and alvailable at most major retailers like Wal-mart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Etc. As before feel free to ask any questions you want and i will awnswer them to the best of my abilitys.

    P.s. Pardon all of the type-o's
     

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  5. Very nice looking plants...:wave:
     
  6. Thnks man, you're not doing too bad yourself buddy! Saw a pic of your HPS setup, how many lamps you runnin over your ladies? I'm using four 400watt HPS lamps and digital ballasts with Hortelux bulbs in my big room(s)...i think i spelled that right. I moved from a Phillips HPS model to the Hortelux version. The Phillips is cheaper but the Hortelux shot up my last yeild by alot. You oughtta try using one bulb per plant, you'll be able to pull over pound per light. Im not kidding. I had some trouble beliving it too but my buddy showed me his setup and he was deff not joking, so i adapted the technique. Provided you have a few years under your belt, you should be ble to pull it off better than myself. But it looks like you've got the basics more than covered. You oughtta try "Deep-Water-Culture" hydroponic system too, it has alot to do with those yeilds. Plus i used Advnced Nutrients "Connisour part A&B, Bud Factor X, Big Bud, Carboload, Rhino Skin, Bud Ignitor...and some others i cant remember...Either way, sick grow, try some of these methods and you might see some added weight :)
     
  7. Haha, they do look much better now, great looking grow, however i still think their a bit small for 38days, I have 20 girl's under a 600w philip's son_T HPS and after 42 day's veg my girl's are nearly triple the size of your's. Even girl's I veg for 21 day's look just like that.
    I don't use nearly as much feed as your talking about however advanced nutrients sensi bloom A+B is in my lineup. But sexy looking plants non-the-less. You can tell you pay time and attention to em and thats all they really need.
     
  8. Ah, but their lies the confusion my freind. These arent pictures of my big rooms just my little clone closet with four 26watt CFL's. No HPS or MH bulbs. I use all of those nutrients listed in my deep water culture system's. 4 plants in vegg and 4 plants in flower. Plus i have an e-z-cloner with 6 baby clones in it for when i move my vegg plants into the flower room. I made the box mostly to experement with topping, organics, and have a few extra clones to play around with. They would deff be bigger under MH bulb. I'll try to throw some pics up of my jungle rooms.lol.
     

  9. THat makes sense for the slow growth, in that case, my bad lol. So you un a 4-4 perpetual grow??
    I cant wait for the pics, sounds like one hell of a great set-up. I hope you keep updating through to harvest, I'd love to see a finished product
     
  10. Hello again everyone, just dropping by to post up some pics and propose some methods id like some feedback on if at all possible. So, i expressed some concerns about the "Miracle Gro Organics" product line. But to my great suprise it is working wonderfully! Now, like everything in the cannabis growers/paitent culture, this comes with a catch. You pretty much have to make a personal soil mix from these products using the basics (perlite, sand, and base soil.) Otherwise, the soil mix they sell justs gets boggy. Which as we all know, is no good for quality sensamilia* Although, once you have your soil mix together and you know the basics of composting and soil nutrietns, these priducts combined work better than most commercial cannabis specific presoils like "Foxfarms" or "Canna." Either way i would never advise a fellow grower to buy a pre-mixed soil of any sort on any occasion. Hydroponics and custom soil mixes will ALWAYS bode well in comparison. Trust me, i've learned from experience. Now on to the plants! 47 days or about 6 weeks into vegitation and performing like cannabis godesses under their small source of CFL light. these laidies are getting more and more pungent every day. Im really amazed by the level of stench from these plants. These plants would be extremly hard to conceal if you didnt want anyone to know. But, if you have the greenlight on your grow, its just becomes another promising sighn of fantastic skunk buds. These plants are really bushey so i've been putting some thought into lilliopping* my plants in order to get more light to the hairs on the nodes before these gals are triggered to flower. I would like to get everyones opinion on this or even a different method, it would be much appreciated. The third and smallest plant in the buch, jokingly known by myself and freinds as "The Cannababy" has simply exploded in growth. After its inital shock from its topping she decided to catch up with the others. At this point i would say there are about 4-5 new tops on the plant which as any grower, makes me very happy. Of course this would not be possible in my mind without my trusty "Superthrive" vitamin supplement. I'm also looking for an ORGANIC bloom nutrient into the soil to get some added yeild, anyone have some suggestions? Well, thats it for now guys, im gonna try to get a post up of my larger grows but its proving a difficult task with paraniod roommates like mine. Let me know what everyone thinks of the new pics! :)





    *Senamilia-A spainish term meaning "without seed" or "seedless." Originally coined by California growers and later adopted by Dutch growers in Amsterdam. Most growers belive that the best sensamilia is found in California, but, as any cannabis user would tell you, the idea is open to debate

    *Lollipoping-The mothod of trimming the lower leaves and stalks on a plant giving it a "lollipop" apperance. By doing this, your plant will stop focusing its energy on smaller bud production on the lower side of the plant and transfer that energy to the largest top buds.
     

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  11. Thanks, I am only running one 400HPS in my flowering tent, there are 3 plants out there... my veg tent (I also run auto's in there) is now full of cfl's probably 12, mostly daylight bulbs, a few bloom bulbs thrown in for fun ;)

    I will be watching.... p.s I'm a girl :p
     

  12. Sounds like a nice setup! My bad its kinda hard to tell that over the forum.lol. Any tips on some organcs?
     
  13. Hello everyone!
    So, after 7 long weeks in vegg its finally time to bud my ladies! I went out and doubled up the wattage. Now there are EIGHT 23 watt cfl bulbs buring at 2700K. I also switched to the 12/12 cycle this morning and got some big new pots. Really nice ones at that.Rofl. I figured id throw some pics up from day one of these skunky wonder women. Right now, although the pics are very deciving the main plant is 1.2ft tall and the other topped one a solid 1.0ft. I also decided to NOT flower my last plant, i like the strain so much i wanted to keep it in vegg and take clones from it as long as possible maybe even breed it if i get bored enough. Well, thats it for now. Let me hear your feedback, its more than welcome here.
     

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  14. :hello::hello:The fun part is finally here. They look really good buddy , can't wait for em girls to get some BIG titties lol. Which one you think gonna have double D's:D:D
     

  15. Haha! I know ive been looking forward to trying this bud so much! I love skunk breeds but i never grow them so these ladies are gonna be heaven when their done. Should be about 8-9 weeks from now till harvest time. Im a big indica fan too much like most paitents i know. Sativas dont get me that really "stoned" feel. But to each their own. Whats your preference? Both growing and smoke wise? Im thinkin the first plant is gonna have some really potent stuff considering its disoretning aroma but the other one might have a nicer yeild. Either way they are gonna have some big sexy vaginas growing all over. Gonna wait one more wek then im gonna get Advanced Nutrients "Collosal Bud Blast" ive never tried it plus its organic so well see what happens. Il have a weekly post up so you can track whats happening. Hope to hear from ya soon. Im diggin the feedback!:smoke:
     
  16. Hello once agian everyone!
    I would like to apologize for my abcence aver the past 3 weeks, myself and the wifey found ourselfs in a very very bad position. The federal government decided they wanted to bust down the door of my house...and take everything i had in my rooms. A truley depressing/scary scenario. Luckly my wife and i were only slapped with a fine and no serious jail time. The fee for the fine is accounting over $1,000. Apparently a good freind of mine ratted us out for money...But, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud. The federal government, as moronic as they are, did NOT find my cfl closet grow. Which after spending the night in a holding cell at LAS VEGAS'S local jail, made me very happy. I truley do love this strain and i would have to see the feds take it. So, i figured id throw some pics up from what i assume is week 3-1/2 of flower (i lost track over the past few weeks with all that has been going on with my court date.) So, these skunky ladies are really looking good considering how little attention they have been getting. At first, these girls looked very indica. But, now that they have spent some time in flower, they're sativa genetics are really starting to show. Personally, i think she looks very much like a pure shiva plant which makes me very happy! The branches have spread out and started doing their thing, covered in some semi-big stinky buds! Mmmm! They are standing about 2-1/2feet to 3feet tall. In the picture where you see me standing next to my mother plant you will notice it stands above my waist, with the added height of the pots. I stand at about 6'1'' so you can get the idea of how massive these plants are for a CFL grow. As far as nutes, i have stuck to my "store-bought" guns. I am only using superthrive and miracle grow soil nutes, along with some liquid organic feed, also made by miracle gro. Now, for you first time readers, THIS IS ON PURPOSE, i am doing this grow simply for experementing with CFLs. Well everyone thats it. Please pay no mind to my sob story, me and the wife have already started back up and plan to move to a safer location very soon. No worries! But let this be a lesson to all growers, DO NOT LET ANYONE SEE YOUR GROW IN PERSON! This was obviously a rare occasion and a very big mistake on my part. Looking back, i should have listened to my wife, and kept everything a secret. But oh well, its all over an done with now. So, heed my words everyone and enjoy your grow to the fullest...without sharing it. Thanks everyone for the nice replys! Keep it up! Were really happy with the feedback!
     

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  17. Hello hello!
    Just stopping by to post a fancy new pic. This picture, if anything, gives you a better view of the beautiful crystal clear resin glands forming on the foiliage around the budsites. These plants are showing some obvious sighns of stretching, nothing devistating considering the background of the grow. After some research on other forums and message boards, i came to the realization of exatly how well these plants are doing. Of course skill is a factor, i have a few years under my belt, im not sure how experinced the thread owners were. I bought an organic spray bloom nute from www.supergrowplants.com i saw the videos this guy was posting on youtube and decided his product was at least worth a try. So far, noting crazy, but its only been applyed to the plants once so no real enhancement is expected yet. If it works and really makes a diffrence in my yeild i will make sure to show the difference, if any. On a lighter note, my grow rooms are back in action! i got some equipment on loan from a freind. All together i have one 1,000watt Air-Cooled MH lamp, Soil Pots (same Miracle Gro Organic soil mix :D), 5gal pots, Propane Co2 Generator, and two high velocity ocilating fans. i got some "White Cinderella" & "Sky-Walker" clones from another freind and fellow paitent in my cannabis club. No real nutes now, they're gone. But i think im just gonna go with the Advanced Nutrients Organic line and keep the green thumb going. Im pretty set on doing the whole organic thing now. The yeilds are impressive from what ive seen, and the scent of the plants seems more pungent or "earthy" in sense. Im gonna get Bud Candy, Iguana Juice Grow/Bloom, Colossal Bud Blast, Voodoo Juice, Nirvana, Organic-B, Etc. Anything organic they sell really. Well, thats it for now, let me har some feedback on the nutes i want to know the best organic nutes to use.
     

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  18. hello Jane I have two outdoor Wonder Woman in a bubble keg(DWC)
    .... its just .... well that seems like a lot of additives.. have you ever tried the lucas formula? it sounds like you have a bunch of grows under your belt

    oh on a much more important note MOVE TO CALI AND GET YOUR RECOMMENDATION.
    at the end of 2005 my local pig force came and broke down my door and took my grow and gave me a felony. well 3 years later i got it dismissed. and now two years after that I'm fucking legal. so the next time the pigs are at my house I offer them a bong hit hehe
    just my 2 cents ... but I understand ;)

    btw these Wonder women are beautiful plants have you tried the smoke from them? how is it?
     
  19. #19 JaneSays, Sep 2, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 4, 2010

    Great question, I have been growing since i was 16 im 26 now(10yrs in total) Let me explain my nute schedual by breaking down an adapted philosophy i have about fertilizers. Imagine you just bought an Accura RSX (fancy car) and you plan to modify it. You add a "Super Charger" and the horse power jumps up. Then, you add some "No2 Injection", agian, your horse power skyrockets. Now, imagine you only added the supercharger, your horse power is greater, but, no where near what it could be. The point of this is to show that you cant add one thing and expect your car to go as fast as the pro's. This translates directly into cannabis cultivation. If you only add one nute, your yeild will be greater, but still hindered. The addition of ALL of these factors makes for a truley heroic harvest. So in the end it ALL matters. Although, this is NOT for the faint of heart. You MUST know the PH of the grow medium itself in order to obtain the coveted "PH perfect." Say your grow mefium has a PH of 0.0, then, your nutrient compsition should be around 6.0-8.0(depending on the grow medium). Making sure you know the PH of both the medium and the additives is crucial. The mix you make of nutrients should be carfully calculated to make sure its PH remains contant. Many variables tend to effect this process. For example, sunlight tends to alter nutrients chemical composition, UV rays are to blame for this reaction. Here is a big misconception by growers. A PPM meter, does not help in many ways. As long as your water has been distilled and filtered by "osmosis." then you know your PPM is at a constant 0.0. If your are using tap water or spring water then a PPM meter is an essentail tool. Now, most growers belive that measuring the PH/PPM in any spot will give you an accurate result. THIS IS INCORRECT. But your not to blame! The Perfect place to measure your PH is actually in the root sytem. As few growers know, your root sytem actually produces alkalinity at a certian PH. So getting a result above or below the root mass will not be on-spot. I have tried alot of other nutrient brands like, Canna, Foxfarms, General Hydroponics, Etc. One thing is clear after all these years. Advanced Nutrients shadows all. While they may be a bit more pricey, the extra cash is woth it. Advanced nutrients thruoughly tests all of its proucts for quality control. This leads to one important factor. Advanced Nutrients adds somthing called "chealts" to their nutes, in other words, "micro nutrients." Having a "chealted" medium is very important in a quality harvest. This is contrary to most other companys who DO NOT add these crucial vitamins. Big Mike, owner of Advanced Nutrients, obviously took great consideration of this while forming his products. As for my run-in with the law. My grows are LEGAL, Las Vegas/Nevada does have a medical program thanks to Harry Reid. Though dispensarys are still illegal...It doesent stop a few from opening shop down here. I DID NOT exeed my number of plants either. Now, the "state police" DID NOT bust down my door. They were full on DEA agents with AR-15's and a door ram. So, they came in, put my WIFE, DOG, and my own F**KING BABY at gunpoint...I was upstairs sleeping off work when it happened, so you can imagine how i reacted when i saw that...What the feds were tipped off about was the weight i was holding. Over 3 pounds growing in my DWC systems...at least thats they're weight...i dont think that was the weight of the buds only. As you know, growing is legal for us only on a state level...Not on a federal level...So theres not much i can do about it exept bitch, pay my fee, and hope those stupid f**king idiots didnt scar my son for life. I do LOVE Las Vegas and i dont plan to move...Deff not to California(dont take this the wrong way, but im sure you know how lame people from california can be...especially Southern Cali with their bros/broettes.lol) I actually moved out of the city a few days go. Im still within 20 miles of the strip. But i think there is much less of a chance now. Plus theres a great day-care center not too far away for my son. So its a win-win for me and the wife. Now that my monolouge is finished, let me tell ya about the strain. The taste is...hard to explain...kind of like a very rich black liqorish with a prodominant earthy skunk flavor. Not quite narcotic, this smoke creates a more contemplative/introspective sativa high while maintaining an exeptionally long realxing indica stone throughout. Indica dominant by phenotype it remains a perfect balance between the two. It is a great smoke for the late afternoon before dinner or even a nice long hike in the mountians at sunset:). Though i feel the flavor could be a little better its still some nice "chill" smoke. The yeild, Is majorly hyped. Even under a HPS/DWC setup. I would actually suggest applying flowering fertilizers as often as possible while maintaining a steady nitrogen level. Organics are definatly preferred. But i would suggest maybe using chemical for a larger harvest with some added caution. Advanced Nutrients "Big Bud" would be a good option. But the end product is true quality no matter how you go about it. Hope this helps you understand the facilitation of so many nutrients.

    Thanks,
    JaneSays

    P.s. Outdoor DWC...be carful...Wonder Woman apprently has major problems with mold...and all that still water being outside cant help very much. Is your setup screened-in or out in the open?
     
  20. Whatsup grasscity!?
    So my WW plants are about ready to get their heads chopped off!(sad face) weve got about 2 more weeks until harvest time. The buds themselves are really looking massive considering the low light conditions. The smell has really been reduced over the past week. They have dropped the heavy skunk aroma and moved on to a VERY strong tropical fruit scent with some earthy skunk hues. Using organics in this process has really led to some quality plants. Were going to have about 1 more week of using low PH spray nutrients. Then about 5 days of flush followed by the last two days with no water, nutes, anything. Hope everyone enjoyed this thread! Ill be back in two weeks to finish it off with some pics of harvest.

    Best wishes,
    JaneSays
     

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