Ay up! I'm about to embark on the wondrous horticultural adventure that you all know and love, and after lurking here for some time I thought i best sign up and let you in on the action of my first time! My set-up: Gorilla Tent 2ft x 2'5ft x 5'11ft 250w CFL lamp (6400k) w/ reflector 250w Sunmaster Dual Spectrum lamp w/cool tube + 250 ballast Carbon filter and fan with up to 105 m3/h airflow rate and ducting Small moving fan to move plants a little. Nutes: Biobizz; Root Juice, Bio Grow, Alg A Mic (growth stage, right?) Bio Bloom, Top Max, Bio Heaven (flowering?) I plan on making a hydro set-up. One 50L box with 4 pots and 2 air stones. I've got a few questions before i begin, i think i've got most of it sorted but i'd like to double check before i go messing things up, you guys are the experts, not me, I'll take all the advice i can! First question, are these nutes ok for hydro growing? I really want to do the hydro bubble style grow, but why waste good nutes. If they're not usable then i guess i'll go 'soil'. If they are hydro ready, then the second question comes into play; I plan on growing 4 different strains, they are all autos and all have a grow period of 65 days, they are also all 'short' growers. (Flash Babylon Auto, Pineapple Chunk, Blue Treacle Auto, & Automatic AK) Will they all be ok in a shared water supply or do they need separate buckets? Bonus of shared tank seams to be that it's easier to monitor and adjust one body of water, balancing ph's etc and topping up. Also saving on nutes as you only need to dump one big lot which probably adds up to less than 4 separate buckets? BUT im guessing the issue will come when i need to flush and if any of them arnt ready to flush? And is my set up enough for 4 plants? (I have a SoG net) I want to do 4 because if i'm going to be paying the electricity bill i may as well get the most for my money And who doesn't like choice!? That's my concerns, now here's what i plan on doing, i taken all the different info i've had access too and tried to make a coherent grow plan, but there's bound to be something i've missed or not understood. That's why I come here. You guys all seam to have the best collective knowledge and i know you'll get a kick out of following the progress and helping a wee sapling out! Germinate seeds and plant into coco blocks, put inside pots and stretch clear film over top to keep condensation inside, while using the CFL on them, but not too close. Run on a 24h lights on cycle. Once they sprout remove the film from the pots and water with plain 5.8ph water until they get their first set of 4 pointed leaves (about a week). (keep water at 5.8ph through out, even with nutes in) Once they have leaves, switch to 18h on 6h off lights, move them over to net pots filled with HydroCoco 60/40 and fill the water level till just covering the bottom of the pot so water wicks upward, if plants look dry water a little from the top. Once they have their first node split (when you'd start to top them?) start using 1/4 of the recommended nutes, a week later 1/2, then move to full strength the third week. All the while slowly letting the water level drop (still replenishing) to just bellow the pots so that the roots touch the water but the grow media is kept moist from the mist created by the bubbles and not submerged. This is where there seams to be different info around, is that the right rate to add nutes or is it too slow? And is that right about water level? Use extractor fan without filter and CFL for whole time. After 4 weeks switch to dual spectrum lamp for flowering and attach extractor and carbon filter to the cool tube. Change to 12h on 12h off light cycle. (can i continue to use the CFL or should i switch entirely to the dual spec lamp?) Switch to flowering set of nutes, 1/2 strength 1st week then full from 2nd week onward, flushing with clean water for 2 weeks before cropping. (Should i flush between growth and flower nutes?) I thiiiiink that's everything. This is where i wait to be eagerly corrected! Tomorrow i begin germination! Looking forward to keeping you updated.
Hey I'm not following exactly. Hydroton doesn't need to be mixed with coco. It's going to make a huge mess. What nutes are you using? I don't think you want to top your autos. You'll lose on valuable veg time. Top watering is also unneeded in dwc. A proper air pump is key. What kind are you getting? Are you sprouting the seeds inside the coco blocks or doing something else and then putting them in the block? "Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now." 1000 watt Scrog Journal
Also sog and net don't really belong together. SoG implies lots of little plants. SCRoG implies a plant (s) under a screen like this... "Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now." 1000 watt Scrog Journal
The Hydroton Coco mix is what the local Hydroponic center sells. I thought it would just be natural solids mixed with pebbles, but if its some weird stone and soil mix then yeah i'll just use Hydroton. The nutes i've been given are the BioBizz ones i listed, but i don't know if they are viable in a hydro set-up or if they are just for soil grows, in which case i'll go the soil route as i have these already. So no topping on autos then? Do you just let them grow wild and free, and use the net to spread them out/get even light distribution? I thought SOG and SCRoG were the same, cheers for pointing that out, so it's SCRoG that id be doing with the net? Its a fish tank pump with air stones that would be in the water bellow. The plan was to sprout the seeds in coco/soil until the roots were big enough, then gently remove the soil and transplant into the hydro medium in the net pots. Cheers for chipping in, valuable info.
Ah I see again lol. You may not even want to use a screen. Tie downs and low stress training are probably your best bet. Most bottled nutes specify right on the label somewhere if its soil, hydroponic, or both. If its not on the label check the white papers on their website. Sounds like a good plan for transplanting. Easiest way I've found to get rid of dirt and stuff from transplants is to dunk them like a donut in a bucket of water. When transplanting to the netpot fill a bucket up with water and fill up the Hydroton in the netpot. Stick the lid in the bucket so the rocks float. Put your transplant in and lift out the pot. The stones will settle around the taproot/roots. "Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now." 1000 watt Scrog Journal
Cheers man. The info i seam to be turning up is that some biobizz products are ok for hydro, but they go bad pretty quickly in the tank and need changing more regularly. Looks like im going for ye olde fashion potted grow this time around Im now just a little concerned about how to get the most out of my plants. Would you say do no topping what so ever when it comes to autos? (was kinda looking forward to a bit of tree surgery heh) Just grow it and pull it around (gently) with string and the net to give it the most light possible? Edit: Def going to note down your transplant tip. Going hydro next time for sure!
If going soil you'll want to transplant as little as possible. Once you get your seedling established transplant your cube directly to your final grow pot. This will minimize lost time from transplant shock. "Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now." 1000 watt Scrog Journal
With autos I like to plant and forget. No topping, fiming, or lst. From lowryder #2 I get on average 80g dry per plant ( on average ). I also use a living soil and feed water only from start to finish. Sometimes I add a bit of aloe or molasses to help feed the micro herd and to help keep itself healthy. Good luck on your grow!
Thanks for the advice guys.I woke up to find all 4 seedlings had popped up through the roof of their grow cubes! Success!The tops are curled over but i can see the beginnings of the two leaves starting to open up on them, i imagine by the time im home this evening they will be upright and almost fully open.Should i now move them from their cups into a pot of soil and put them under my lights? Or do they need a few more days before i hit them with the tent set-up?Cheers!
So I moved the cubes into 2L pots for rooting (moving to 5L later). I then moved then to the tent under my 250w CFL (the big'uns, like the size of your thigh) and on a 24h on cycle. In the few hours they were in there they looked healthy and started to straighten, but the temps have now hit 25C on the floor (20C above the lights) and humidity is at 90% and two have started to flop! I've switched to 20h on and 4h off while I'm in bed to try and drop the temps, and I've opened all the top vents to try and remove some humidity. I had the lamp about 12" above the plants but I've moved it way up the tent now so they it doesn't fry them before I wake up tomorrow. Could do with some advice guys. Are these temps n humidities ok, is the time schedule ok, and what height should I have this size of lamp over seedlings? Cheers any one who can help.
How did your flash Babylon turn out? Gunna be my next strain to grow but a bit like auto bomb can't find many grow logs.