Mini-Tote CFL Soil super crop (first grow)

I inherited a slightly mistreated plant and this is a test of the mini-tote grow chamber idea. I dont have a closet that is not in use and I cant afford tents or larger more sophisticated setups, so instead of doing a cabinet grow (which would require I build a cabinet) I assembled a container/light/fan system that could support multiple indoor growing methods (hydro, soil, aero) that was also self contained and easy to clean and has some stealth/portability. This is a test of the environment and its suitability to grow and flower.

Apologies for the photo quality, I'm using a cell phone camera.

Strain:
Unknown, looks like 70-30 indica I guess. If I can find out I will post. The plant has been sitting in the corner of a guys closet for an unknown length of time, hasn't been performing well and has some stress/pest issues. Plant is approx 3" in height as of October 15th 2011. No idea what sex it is but I presume its a cutting from some female somewhere. Its a mystery at the moment.


Colour is mottled, probably a nutrient deficiency and pest damage, but if you can identify a specific issue please let me know. Its not the solid green I would like to see, but its not too far gone either (I hope).



Starting to train it right away.

Top is bent past 90 degrees and I plan on training it along the circumference of the pot as it grows. Looks like someone tried to top the plant; incorrectly. Not sure what to do about that, just a stump on the stem, it didn't split.


Tote:
Rubbermaid 79L Clever Store Blue Tote 17.5" wide, 18" high, 23" length (painted white interior, used a direct to plastic spray paint, but one should use a sanding sponge on the inside surfaces first to promote better bonding).

Pot:
10" wide, 9" deep. I will need to change to a shallower container at some future point, assuming the plant survives.

Lights:
4x Philips 23W (100W equivalent) EL/mDT 2BC 1600 Lumen 2700K. Peak output should be in the 550-650nm range and should be okay for flowering. I cant find a spectral output graph, but similar bulbs have peaks in the yellow/red and blue. I plan to mix in a couple Daylight (5000K) versions of the same bulb in the future to get some more intensity during veg. Going to see how the plant performs under the 4 soft whites first. 4 of these might be enough for veg and flower. Have it on a 18 hour veg cycle right now.

Soil:
Unknown, presumed standard potting soil from hardware store, no perlite that I can see. Water did drain out the bottom after I gave it about a litre of water. I am a bit concerned about oxygen availability for the roots. I have aerated the soil with a pencil for now. Will change soil composition a bit when I change pots later on.

Temperature/Humidity:
Unknown, need to install meters.

Cooling:
2x 9mm 37 CFM fans, one intake, one output running off a salvaged AC Adapter (12v .850 amp) fan wires soldered together with molex connectors for easy power disconnection. Air flow is enough to shake plant at the present.

pH:
Unknown, need to buy a test kit for the house water, I think its high though so I am letting the water sit out and adding a bit of vinegar for now.

Nutrients:
None at present, will likely buy some basic all in one nutrient for now.
(SCHULTZ Plant Food, 10-15-10 - 300g)

Watering:
Gave it a good soak today, with added air movement compared to its old environment I will have to gauge how often it needs to be watered over the next couple weeks. leaves do not appear wilted, but the plant is a bit weak.

Pests:
Spider mites of course, cleaned the web off as best I could with a sponge and wiped the underside of the larger fans. Will buy some sulphur powder soon, but will clean by hand for now. Only one plant so I should be able to manage this during training sessions.


The whole contraption:

Four lights, painted interior, 2 fans

The fixtures, wire boxes and wire all cost about $20, the lights where $10 for a 4 pack and the tote was $10. I would have bought a white tote if I could have found one, but they only had a semi-transparent one and thus is why I needed to paint the interior of this blue one.


$5 digital timer and power config above and you can see the electrical setup on the lid below. Didn't really need the 4th interconnection as was in series, but did it absent mindedly.


I am looking for feedback/suggestions on anything you see here so feel free to post. Particularly the plants health.

It's my first grow, so be gentle

Cheers

 

Yep, working on that, I just pasted the links from the gallery so it should work.

Fixed, for some reason when you copy from the links provided in the gallery they dont resolve to the image location. I had to manually add the entire domain structure to get the links to work.

 

Here is a higher resolution image of one of the many bad fan leaves I pulled off the plant yesterday.





I want to know what type of nutrient problem may cause this colouring or is it just spider mite damage?

 

Well no, thats obviously not the case as I just put it in there, this damage was accumulated in its previous environment. There are CFL's and Fans in this setup so temp should be in the 70's at this point anyway, but yes I will be verifying humidity and temp soon, just don't have a spare therm laying around right now.

I do know that there was NOT sufficient light on the plant and the plant was at least 24" to 30" from any light source. The soil is the same soil I haven't re-potted yet. So I know it wasn't getting too hot in its last home. It was neglected, but wasn't burnt and it looks like its been watered regularly, if not too much. No nutes were used to my knowledge.

I can't see the plant performing worse in this setup but My particular concern is the soil and if the leaves are showing nutrient problems, too much, too little etc.

 

I seem to have the mite issue under control now. I used a home made (mineral oil, chilli pepper, garlic, tobacco, soap) spray. Training is going okay, not allot of growth as I've been pruning aggressively in an attempt to get this mite infestation under wraps. Now that I can just continue to do occasional controls with insecticidal soap (I also have ladybugs) I can give the plant a rest and just get some straight growth out of her. (it better be a "her", lol, or jeeesus I'll be pissed.)

So it looks kinda mangled right now, so no pics, but I'll update again in another couple weeks.

 

Well, figured I would put the screen on her this morning, if anything its going to be my impatience that kills this plant. lol.

So basically I found a screen that was the front of a large floor type fan, cut it down to fit the box and mounted it to the pot with some zip ties. I think this will work and provides a nice fit in the tote. I can still get it in and out easy.

As you might be able to see there is some curl down and leaf tip browning. So next couple waterings are going to be sans nutes. pH test u/d kit should arrive soon, so no data on run off or source water numbers. but soon. New small growth is even showing the browning tips, although impossible to see in photos from crappy phone camera. (its a BB, you'de think it would be better). next phone is going to be a Samsung Galaxy Android, but I digress....

All in all its been under a lot of stress and I think its looking better overall, bushier and certainly more healthy with the mite infestation bashed down. I would be surprised if they are completely gone, so I will just keep spraying them occasionally.

Projects for the next week or so are , 1. the pH issue (and PPM if I can find a cheap way to do that), 2. Install digital therm/hygrometer and 3. Install a Rheostat on the fan assembly, there is a lot of air going across this area, which is good, but I would like a set and forget way to manage fan speed to give me some sort of environmental control.