Scars 250W Cmh Micro Grow

Hey Blades,
 
I am back after a small growing hiatus. Trying to grow some plants that'll put a smile on my face.
 
Strains:
 
-2 x Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL's Autoflowers (2 gallon pots)
 
-1 x Barney's Farm Critical Rapido (1/2 gallon pot)
 
-1 x Ace Seeds Mix Pack Feminized (4 gallon pot)
 
-2 x Bagseed (16 ounce red Solo cup)
 
Lights/Ventilation/Grow Room:
 
-250 watt Philips Mastercolor Ceramic Metal Halide
 
-2x2x2 foot Cube stuffed into the top corner of a closet (stealth)
 
-4 inch Sunleaves Windtunnel Fan extracting into the attic; passive intake
 
-No carbon scubber since venting into attic. Will use ONA Gel is necessary. 
 
Air Conditioning:
 
-I tapped the Central Air Unit while in the attic and ran a 4 inch hose into my grow room. Without this, the 250 watter would make the temps 115 degree Fahrenheit. With the AC, I'm down to the mid 80's.
 
Soil/nutrients/water:
 
-Homemade Organic Soil Mix. I'v been building my own soil mix for 3-4 years now. Works great outdoors. I sterilized enough soil for my indoor grow in the oven and will give it a try indoors. I use tap water that sits out overnight (pH is 7 on the dot).
 
Anyway, I'll be back with some pictures soon.

 

OK, so here we go. I am not a professional photographer but will try to get better pictures next time. The 2 bagseed plants have not sprouted yet but any day now hopefully. 
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #1 (3 days from seed):
 

 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #2 (8 days from seed):
 

 
Barney's Farm Critical Rapido (8 days from seed):
 

 
Ace Seeds Feminized Mix Pack (8 days from seed):
 

 
Group Shot:
 

 
 
Anyway, that's all for now. I welcome questions and comments so don't be shy and speak up. Meanwhile, I'll go eat this for now (Canna-Indian Ghee on toast). Be safe everyone!
 

 
 

 

I really like it too. Been reading about some growers getting bud that is more leafy than dense with this light so time will tell if I need to switch back over to HPS.
 
Thanks for stopping by.

 

Got a better camera and the bagseed plants finally broke ground so I decided to do a quick update. I am astonished at how fast these plants are growing in this soil. Very healthy and smooth grow so far. Here are some pics, let me know what you guys think!
 
Brazilian Bagseed: Day 3
 

 
 
Jamaican Bagseed: Day 3
 

 
 
Barneys Farm Critical Rapido Autoflower: Day 13
 
*little bit of heat stress*
 

 
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL Autoflower #1: Day 8
 

 
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL Autoflower #2: Day 13
 

 
 
Ace Seeds Feminized Mix: Day 13
 

 
 
Group Shot:
 

 

Dang GC, Why can't I get some love?
 
Are my plants ugly or something?
 
It's all good though. I guess I'll just leave this thread to track my progress or something.
 
Anyway, here another update. Looks like my organic soil mix has cycled perfectly. I have never had better growth before and the roots are going insane! What's cool is that I have been using the same soil for 3 years. True organics guys. All I do is water.
 
***Oh the little plants you see growing around the MJ is Wild Purslane, a type of Succulent. It is a companion plant. I am trying to get them to grow around the soil to create a natural living mulch. These plants also have Nitrogen fixing properties. They are also edible and contain high sources of Omega 3/6/9 fatty acids.
 
Anyway, here we go!
 
Brazilian Bagseed, Day 8 (Official Solo Cup Challenge #3 Competitor):
 

 
Brazilian Bagseed Roots, Day 8:
 

 
Jamaican Bagseed, Day 8 (Official Solo Cup Challenge #3 Competitor):
 

 
Jamaican Bagseed Roots, Day 8:
 

 
Solo Cup Challenge #3 Clones, Pakistani Bagseed (left) & Ace Seeds Bangi Haze 100% Pure Sativa (right):
 
I took these clones from my outdoor plants. I am trying to clone straight into soil for the first time without any rooting hormones. I just cut with fingernails, stick in soil and leave them on my bedroom window sill with a single 23 watt CLF. I spray them with water as much as I can and under a humidity dome. I hope they root soon. What's weird is that the Pakistani Bagseed looks pure Sativa to me and the Bangi Haze looks straight up Indica. They are supposed to be the other way around. Hmmm.
 

 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #1, Day 13:
 
I am very impressed with this strain from Dinafem so far. The plants are very stable, great growth structure and she is growing almost exactly like her older sister. 
 

 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #2, Day 18:
 
Big sister showed sex a couple of days ago. Shes about to start her stretch I think. She has also developed a very skunky smell with a hint of sour grapes. Again, impeccable growth structure with this strain. I am very impressed so far.
 

 

 
Barney's Farm Critical Rapido, Day 18:
 
It seems this is my problem plant. She is growing and developing just fine, but she is extremely sensitive to heat. My grow room never gets over 83 degree F and she still cups. She has some really funky looking leaves. Some leaves are mutated with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 fingered fan leaves?!?! She is also root bound and is starting to yellow from the bottom. I can't transplant her into anything bigger than the 1/2 gallon because I have no more room left in my grow room. I decided to break the organic regimen on this plant and I gave a somewhat heavy feeding of Fox Farms Microbe Brew to try and get some her back on track.
 

 

 
Ace Seeds Feminized Mix, Day 18:
 
Don't mind the droop. The lights had just come on and she was still waking up. She is growing very fast with excellent branching and structure. She has a strong smell but I can't seem to put my finger on it yet. I plan on vegging her for 60 days then I'll flip the switch to 12/12. I think she may be either the Pakistani Chitral Kush or China Yunnan strain.
 

 

 
Group Shot, Day 18:
 

 
Well, that's all I got for now. Thanks for looking!

 

Disaster has struck.
 
I'v been super busy last few weeks. I needed to go out of town for 5 days and told my sister to water my plants. Of course she forgot.
 
When I came home, the bagseed were dead and Critical Rapido was dead. The 2 Dinafems and Ace Seeds plants lost over 50% of their big beautiful dark leaves. 
 
The 3 remaining plants have been recovering for a few days and they have clearly suffered. Thinking about pulling the plug in this grow and starting over. Or maybe I should start some new plants.
 
Thoughts?
 
In the meantime, here is my sad little grow. 
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #1 Day 37: She is 18 inches tall and lost 50% of her leaves.
 

 

 
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #2 Day 42: She is 12 inches tall and lost 50% of her leaves.
 

 

 
 
Ace Seeds Feminized Mix Day 42: She hasn't grown in almost 10 days. She is alive and recovering very slowly but she still looks pretty sad.
 

 
 
Group Shot Day 18: The foil is to help with water retention. I can't afford another mishap like this one.
 

 
 
Thanks for looking!

 

Things are about to change real soon as far as my setup goes. The auto's are about to come down and I will be updating the health of the plants in a few days.
 
But for now, I wanted to post a little budshot from one of my ladies. Hope she looks as good to you as she does to me. Enjoy.
 

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys!
 
Even after the problems I faced the last 2 remaining autoflowers are coming to an end of their life cycle. I tried to help them recover as best as possible. I will say that I did like the genetics, growth structure from Dinafems XXL line. I just couldn't do them justice this round.
 
Here's a small update.
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #1 Day 52: This one is tall and more on the sativa side. Very resinous, more sticky than her older sister. There isn't as much bud as I wanted but what is there is very dense and smells like nasty musty socks. It is not a pleasant smell at all unless you rub your fingers on the buds. She is quite colorful and should be ready in 1-2 weeks. I think the high will be nice on this one.
 

 

 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #2 Day 57: This is one looks straight indica and is really short. Produces great resin but not as much as the sativa pheno. This plant had sooooo much potential to yield and I couldn't seize the moment. But it did recover somewhat. Smells very pungent. Not like berries at all but rather skunky, not afghan skunky though. Hard to really put my finger on it. It's the kind of funk that you smell and automatically think, "Oh, that's weed."
 

 

 
Ace Seed Mixed Fem Day 57: This plant is very big now and has recovered pretty good. It is about to hit the ceiling of my micro grow room. I need to tie it down and switch to flower at day 60. It is been through a lot recently but the potential is really exciting with this Ace plant. She really stinky, even in veg. Smells just like kush with orange spices. Hopefully she continues to get healthy.
 

 
 
 
That's all for now. Hopefully next round I'll be having some kind of harvest to show you guys!
Thanks for looking!

 

 
 

Thanks!
 
Actually, the mishap is only one issue. The other issue I have is that they are drinking water too fast! I litterally have to water 1 gallon to each plant every 1-2 days. I just need to keep up with these plants.

 

I don't even know what a gravity fed drip system is. But I'll look into that, thanks for the tip. I am thinking of ideas on how to build a SIP container that will fit in my tiny ass room.
 
As far as the lights and burning....ehhhh yeah, I for sure underestimated how big my plants would get. I got AC in my little grow room and can safely let the plant get to about 4 inches from the bulb before there is any burn. But I'm going to start training the branches down as I switch to 12/12 in a couple of days here.
 
At this point, I am just trying to wrap this round up and get some new beans started. 
 
Maybe Ace Bangi Haze or some varieties from Sweet Seeds. Maybe, I'll try a couple of more autos. We'll see.

 

What's up GC?
 
Things are getting interesting so here's an update.
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #1 Day 60 (Sativa pheno): This thing is loaded with dense, thick bud from top to bottom. About 18 inches tall. Covered in dense crystals! But it smells bad. Like nut sack, sweat and skunk all mixed in together. No joke. I hope it smokes/cures ok. With that said, I am still excited. As long the high is good, I'll be satisfied.
 
This one looks like it may need a couple of more weeks since I still see many white hairs and mostly clear/cloudy trichomes. No Amber yet. I cut all the sparse little popcorn buds off to let them focus on the main buds. I'm just seeing if they fatten up more. I have read that most autoflowers perform best if you let them go 12 weeks or so. 
 

 

 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #2 Day 65 (Indica pheno): This thing is about 12 inches tall. It's very stocky but also covered in pretty dense bud. Much denser than the XXL #1. It smells AMAZING! Like blueberries and classic 80's Skunk weed.
 
My only gripe is that it is not as frosty as her younger sister. The trichomes are smaller in size but whenever I touch the buds, my fingers get super sticky, more so than than the other auto. Almost as if it is more greasy than crystaly. Also, this one has more red hairs than the other plant and may finish 1 week sooner. But I still might let her go for a while.
 

 

 
Ace Seeds Mixed Fem Day 65 (still in veg; 18/6): Wow, where do I begin with this plant. She is just so robust! FAT think stem, uncountable shoots, beautiful autumn leaves (never seen this in veg), and very aromatic. I am so impressed with the genetics from Ace Seeds!
 
However, I really underestimated how big she would get. She hit the ceiling of my grow room yesterday at 24 inches tall. There is no way I could switch to 12/12 with the way her structure is, my grow room would become a overgrown jungle.
 
Here she is right before I did a simple LST procedure, pretty ain't she?
 

 
I have autumn colors due to cool temps in my grow rooms. I think she may still be a little underfed so am going to up the feeding for her upcoming stretch when I switch to 12/12 in a few days.
 

 
And here she is after the LST, so many growth shoots, I cannot even count them all! I am going to let her recover and start settling into her new position and then switch to 12/12. Hopefully a week or less!
 

 

 

 

 
I am so curious to as to how well she will perform in flower. I think this is a plant with a lot of potential. Anyway, that's all for now. As always, thanks for looking!

 

So I have been sampling lower buds from both my autoflowers for over 2 weeks. I probably sampled 7-10ish grams from each plant. I stopped today and I went ahead and harvested both Autoflowers. It looked ready to me. Most of the leaves have yellowed and fallen off/died. Basically, buds on a stick.
 
I am very pleased with the density, aroma and display of colors. The main colas on both plants are as thick as a baseball from top to bottom. I honestly won't be surprised if they both yield 1.5-2 ounces dry together. Considering my problems with this round, I am very pleased with the end result from these 2 stunted runts.
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #1 Day 73: I really like the high, very cerebral, very thought provoking. As you can see, I sampled way too much off this plant. She is pretty though and completely frosted. About 18 inches tall. Smells like wet gym socks but high is amazing. Can't wait to dry/cure this one. She is rock hard, with fox tailing towards the last week. No amber, almost all milky.
 

 

 
 
Dinafem Blue Amnesia XXL #2 Day 78: This is really stoney weed. Leaves me dazed and confused with a ferocious appetite. I sleep like a baby with this one. Smells like really strong skunk. Like 80's Afghani. Although only 12 inches tall, this one is even more dense than her sister. I sampled a lot from this plant too and the high is really different form the other plant. I am very pleased with this runt.
 

 

 
Going to hang these to dry in my closet for 3-5 days then into jars for curing/storage. I'll post dry weight when they are ready for the jars.
 

 
Anyway, round 2 will be better. I promise. I still got the big Ace plant in veg and I am going to pop 2 more seeds in a couple of days. I'll be back with a proper update.
 
Thanks for looking.