FEM AK48 *Flowering* / CFL / Pc Grow / First Grow

These posts have been consolidated and moved from a previous thread I had.

*Construction*

Case:
1 x 7 slot power strip
Mylar
4 x 6500k CFL's
4 x 2700L CFL's
Giant roll of reflective tape
An old server case I bought second hand (About 26 inches tall)
2 x 80mm case fans (exhaust)
1 x 120mm case fans (exhaust)
1 Light Timer
Some industrial strength velcro to adjust the light height (Saw this on here and thought it was a great idea)
Hannah PH Tester
PH Up and Down

Soil:
2 x 1 gallon pots (I think they are a galloon seems like they are half gallon though to be honest)
FoxFarm Trio of Nutrients (Grow Big, Tiger Bloom, Big Bloom ) Soil Formula
Pro Mix Organic Soil (contains ocean compost, perlite, peat moss, mycrose, and limestone)
Perlite
Vermiculate

 

*Vegging*

Week 3 update (i know the plant is small for week 3 im battling learning curves)

I transplanted it into some new soil last week and it really has started to grow more. Added a dose of big bloom today at 1/4 strength and noticed the ph run off was 5.0 coming out but 7.0 going in. Hoping im not in nutrient lockup but I'll raise the pH next time and see what happens.

Going to top pretty soon will probably wait for one more node to come out then 4 way LST after the top.

Anyone care to give me some advice on the pH levels or can is my game plan sounding alright.








Heres another update. Topped about 4 days ago and she is starting to fill out. Will be trying my hand at a 4 way LST as soon as the topped branches come out a bit more.

One thing I noticed today from yesterday is the very tip of some of the leaves have turned brown. I moved the light up about an inch because it looked like it was getting a bit close. I'll have to keep an eye on it and look it up.

I'm having a hell of a hard time keeping my pH up. It's at 6.0 right now and I can't seem it get it where I want it. My meter is calibrated to 7.0 and I used pH up in my distilled water, no nutrients last watering. I flushed it pretty well too I believe.








Update, plant has been topped a second time. I made a tiny reflector hood for the cfl's to hopefully redirect more light down to the plant itself. I also transplanted it into a bigger and wider container for more soil so the roots can spread out some more and hopefully take more advantage of that.

old planter:


new planter:






So a little update here. I finally managed to get my PH adjusted properly. My second top is really coming through now and I've managed to keep the plant fairly low and bushy. Not sure if this will help or hinder me once i flower.

I think I'm going to let it veg out for another week then let her flower. Should I do a flush prior to flowering?

I think this plant is 5 weeks old now. Kind of sad how small it is but I chalk it up to experience and confined space with less light. It seems to be healthy, however.

 

Trying to post all my updates quickly but its taking a bit of time. Check back shortly and I will include my current stages.

 

*Vegging*

Week 3 update (i know the plant is small for week 3 im battling learning curves)

I transplanted it into some new soil last week and it really has started to grow more. Added a dose of big bloom today at 1/4 strength and noticed the ph run off was 5.0 coming out but 7.0 going in. Hoping im not in nutrient lockup but I'll raise the pH next time and see what happens.

Going to top pretty soon will probably wait for one more node to come out then 4 way LST after the top.

Anyone care to give me some advice on the pH levels or can is my game plan sounding alright.






Heres another update. Topped about 4 days ago and she is starting to fill out. Will be trying my hand at a 4 way LST as soon as the topped branches come out a bit more.

One thing I noticed today from yesterday is the very tip of some of the leaves have turned brown. I moved the light up about an inch because it looked like it was getting a bit close. I'll have to keep an eye on it and look it up.

I'm having a hell of a hard time keeping my pH up. It's at 6.0 right now and I can't seem it get it where I want it. My meter is calibrated to 7.0 and I used pH up in my distilled water, no nutrients last watering. I flushed it pretty well too I believe.








Update, plant has been topped a second time. I made a tiny reflector hood for the cfl's to hopefully redirect more light down to the plant itself. I also transplanted it into a bigger and wider container for more soil so the roots can spread out some more and hopefully take more advantage of that.

old planter:


new planter:

 

*Week 5 or so*

So a little update here. I finally managed to get my PH adjusted properly. My second top is really coming through now and I've managed to keep the plant fairly low and bushy. Not sure if this will help or hinder me once i flower.

I think I'm going to let it veg out for another week then let her flower. Should I do a flush prior to flowering?

I think this plant is 5 weeks old now. Kind of sad how small it is but I chalk it up to experience and confined space with less light. It seems to be healthy, however.

 

*Flowering*

Day 1:

So I swapped over to my flowering cycle today. Will be doing 13/11. I had 4 bulbs for floweing but I guess one wasnt working so I am using 3 23w 2500k and 1 23w 6500k. Maybe this will provide a nice balance of spectrum? Or perhaps I should grab another 2500k to replace the one that was broken.

I decided to pop it into flowering because I wanted to ensure the plant could reach its full potential in the case without having to be cut early due to overgrowing it. If it doubles or triples in size right now it should still be fine with the height.





Hope to have some interesting updates in a few days!

 

Hey everyone,

So it's about 5 or 6 days into flowering and we have a confirmed female! She is growing really well and I have tied her down some more to make sure that it gets nice and bushy. Started feeding her tiger bloom and big bloom today so we shall see how she reacts.

 

Hey everyone,

Day 12 or so of flowering: update on the plant, things are going well. She is seriously outgrowing the PC case and I'm trying to think of clever ways to still keep her height down. A little bit of stretching going on so I'm trying not to keep the lights too far away.

The health of the plant seems fine, a few blemishes here and there but nothing I'm concerned about I've been watching it closely everyday to see if its spreading but its generally specific to a leaf or two.

I counted 17 bud sites around the plant so I think thats a pretty good thing considering the size of the plant and the case it is in. Still plenty of room to grow upwards.

 

Hey everyone,

It's just hit its third week of flowering and things seem to be going well. The plant grew a bit too tall and one of the buds started touching the cfl and burned a bit. The others seem to be doing alright theres some minor blemishes here and there but overall health is good.

It's really growing out of control and getting harder to manage within the PC case. I am constantly having to tighten the strings in order to keep the branches from reaching up too high, but I think I will be able to make it the full flowering cycle without having to move it out of the box.

Here are some photos:

 

thanks thevaleyhaze!

 

sweet! go right ahead. just remember you really need to grow smart with a pc grow. it can get out of control really quickly and you have to adapt constantly.

 

Week 5 of flowering.

Everything is going fine. Started adding some molasses about a two weeks ago to every watering. They are starting to plump up really well and I'd estimate another 3 weeks or so and I'll be ready for a harvest. Starting to show signs of nitrogen deficiency so I know it's normal just making sure I keep it until control with proper pH.