I will be reiterating a lot of info that i posted when i asked for assistance elsewhere on the forum. So i hope that this will not be considered a re-post. I decided to start growing a couple months ago, so like anything i am interested in i started researching. In doing this, i was constantly directed towards these forums whenever i reading on new topics/techniques. That is why when I had an issue of my own, I joined this forum. So i got my check and bought my supplies. I had a 300$ limit to get started. I ordered what i would need for the first month of growing. And decided to wait on things that would be needed later in the grow. My wife and i then spent a weekend getting our grow space set up. First we ripped out our old inoperable furnace from our closet. This provided a perfect space with a vent out of our roof. (Smell is not much of an issue. I live in Oregon, and my block already smells like half the residents are growing.) When this was done, we set up thermal blankets in the open space, drilled holes and hung hooks to get ready for lights. While removing the furnace, we had found a brand new vent fan in the box that the previous owners had left behind. I installed that on the wall and vented it out the wall port that lead to the roof. Bought and installed another on the floor to pull air from the crawlspace for a cool air supply. Rewired the main power lead that went to the furnace originally to have a power outlet. This was perfect because the furnace was originally on its own 30amp circuit. So I would have plenty of room for upgrades in the future. Got the fans ready and waited for the parts to come in. My Setup: Grow room: 3.5'w x 2.5'd x 9'h Lighting: 1 Homdox 300watt dual fan Led. Medium: expanded clay pellets. Hydroponic setup: 1 Five gallon DWC with a 6'' deep net pot. One small aquarium air pump and stone. One small aquarium/fountain water pump with small side line that is meant to add air bubbles that was reconfigured to drip water instead of suck air in. Plant: 1 Blue Widow clone (blueberry x white widow) supplied by a local grower. Nutrients: General Hydroponics micro/flora/bloom series as well as their ph up/down product. Tools: PPM meter, PH meter, measuring spoons, Digital therm with wireless outside probe. So 4/21 (i know, would have loved to plant a day earlier) our plant arrives, and we get everything set up. I follow a chart that I found for GH nutrients when growing bud, and balance the PH. She didn't show any signs of stress from the transplant, and took to the hydroponics very well. Fast forward three weeks now, and she is growing very rapidly. I just topped for the first time yesterday after some great advice from another forum member. At this point I am planning on a 10 week veg cycle, which means I should be switching over to flower on the 22nd of June. I plan on doing a long cycle this round and adding a couple buckets and lights the next time through to do much more rapid but smaller plants. I am open for suggestions about this grow if anyone has something that I might be missing or messing up.
5/8/16. Normally i change my resivore out on fridays, but D&D ran long this week. Changed the resivore this morning and i was happy to find that the root ball had finally doubled back on itself. She is also getting alot bushier.
5/11/16. Almost 4 weeks since i transplanted. I removed the the drip feed and supplemental pump now that her roots have balled up in the dwc bucket. Topped a week ago, and several lower branches caught up to the top and now there is a significant amount of new growth in the canopy. Noticed when i got home this morning that she had started growing some pistols at her joints. Second led, timer, and light hangers coming in on friday. So i am pretty stoked to up her light intake potential. Now wondering if my origional plan for close to 10 weeks of vegging will be warented with the two 300w leds fixtures over her. Gonna hit the forums and adjust plans accordingly if i am convinced the plan is overkill for my setup.
Supplies came a day early, so i installed the light, timer and adjustable light hangers on 5/12/16 . D&D ran long again friday, so i did not change nutes out until this morning. Noticed pretty substantial growth in the root mass from the previous nute change. Canopy is filling in nicely as the lower branches have caught up to the main top. Going to top the side branches over the next week to keep them from overtaking the top, and to produce more colas later on.
5/15/1 Started topping side branches that are growing faster than the top. Two of five tppped, lst'ing the other branches. Going to top through this week, and then transition to 12/12 the week after.
5/16/16 finished topping today, and then finished lst'ing the branches down to finish off the canopy. Checked water reserves, and it was down two gallons from 5/14/16. Ppm went from 560 to 430 with the drop in water. Going to top off water in the morning. I also noticed another significant increase in root mass from were it was. I added a larger fan after the last resivore change as well. After quiet a bit of reading last night, and this morning i learned that i should let the plant recover for at least 10 days before pushing her into flower. So plans change as i learn and now i plan on starting 12/12 on 5/27/16.
5/21/16 Changed resivore today. Upped nutes acording to feeding schedule. Ppm now at 680, PH at 5.8. She is healing very well from last weeks toppings. Hard to believe that i have only had her for a month now. Super stoked to see how she does this week, because this is the last week of veg before i turn her over to flower. Last week she was drinking almost a gallon of water per day, so i have to stay very diligent from now on so her res does not dip to low.
5/26/16. Changed resivore, and switched over to a 12/12 lighting . Since then i have noticed a fair amount of growth in the canopy. Ppm at 560, ph at 5.8. Temps going from 65 at night to 75 during day light cycle.
5/30/16 resivore down three gallons. Ppm down to 350 from 560. Topped res, added nutes, phed water. Ppm at 600, will check again after work.
Checked res again before work. Down a gallon, ppm at 590, ph at 5.9. Lst'ed several branches down again, but didn't have enough time to finish. Will finish in morning after i get home.
6/7/16 resivore down three gallons. Topped res with cool water and added nutes. Adjusted several tie downs and picked off some dead foliage in the undergrowth of the plant.
6/11/16 resivore down three gallons. Changed resivore, asded nutes, phed water, cleaned dead foliage. Ppm at 650, ph at 6.0. Lots and lots of little bud sites forming in the canopy.
6/14/16 Resivore down three gallons. Topped resivore, added nutes and phed water. Pruned some dead leaves, and had to take a few small branches from the bottom of the plant. The branches were resting against the dwc bucket, and had no budsites.
Late entry for 6/18/16. Replaced water in resivore, added nutes, and trimmed dead leaves. Ppm at 650, ph at 5.9. Took two more branches from the bottom that had nothing but dead leaves and a couple budsites that barely peeked into the light. Over the last few days, the plant has started leaning to one side. This was partially because i overfilled the res wich cause the buoyant hydroton to become loose. So far i have kept the leaning in check by anchoring the plant to the net pot lid with three small eye hooks that are screwed to the lid. They hold some pipe cleaners that actually anchor to the plant to assist it in staying up. Going to read other posts about dwc grows to see what other blades do in my situation. I expected that within the next couple weeks that the plant will no longer be able to hold itself up, so i need to find a way to suspend my plant while still being able to remove the resivore to fill it up. I would hate to have to start filling through the water level indicator hose, but that may be my only option here soon. Only a little over a month away from harvesting, and the excitment and anticapation are palpable.