Thanks for the compliments guys. Hodji. I got my lights from Hydroponics Hut. Ordered online. Hydroponicshut.com. The model I have is the pro grow 180. They seemed like a good brand that's been around a while. Reasonably priced compared to some other brands. I think they are working pretty well. But, I'm a beginner. Im not going to judge these lights based on the yield from my first grow though. I'll decide whether they are good or not after a few grows. Cheers.
Heres a quick current pics update. Day 49. Day 28 of 12/12. Watching and waiting and a little leaf pruning to let more light on the inner bud sites. Everything seems to be going fine. Thanks to all who are watching. Peace.
This is just what I would do. I would take out about half of all those fan leaves especially every one blocking direct light from a bud site. As flower goes on I would get trimming a few more off every day, to get light into my lower canopy and get any kind of size and frost on the lower sites. Make better hash that way. I have always been told that by around day 30-40 of flower to clip leaves, "If you can see a stem cut it off." But there is debate on this subject here in the ol' GC. Now on to the praise. AWESOME job bro. Keep up the good works.
Thanks Socal. That's exactly the kind of info I need right now. Just what I needed to hear. I agree with you. I have been trimming a few leaves every other day when I water. But not more than a couple each time and only the ones that are completely blocking light from bud sites. I would like to do more. I think it will help a lot. I just wasn't sure if that would be wise. So thanks. I feel better about it now. I know I can get a lot more light to the inner bud sites with more leaf removal. I'll increase a bit and get more light in there. Checked out your update too. I can't wait to see those pics. I hope that J is everything that you hoped it would be. Peace.
Hey Socal. I did some more removal of fan leaves. It let tons more light through. It is scary though. I read up on the fan leaf removal debate. You are right. Its a hot debate. Some people are totally against it. They kind of make me nervous to be honest. Lots of very scientific detailed arguments as to why its bad. I still think it will help rather than hurt in my situation. I have too much plant material shoved into a small area. Just makes sense to me that thinning it out some will help with light, airflow, etc. Take a look at these after pruning pics and tell me what you think if you don't mind. Anyone else is welcome to comment too. I'm trying to determine if I've done something beneficial here. Cheers.
Hey taste bud. Im gonna start growin I'm a beginner and I was wondering if u could help me what would be the cheapest equiptment for growing?
Hello Austin. I really don't know what the cheapest set up is. I'm a beginner too. This is my very first grow. I do know from my own research that it depends on how big your indoor grow area is (which lights to use to best cover your area). And, to what degree you will need to control the temps, smell, airflow, etc. I list what I'm using at the beginning of this thread. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more help. I'm just a rookie too. Peace.
dude they look great, all points of the trimming debate aside. Once I trimmed my fan leaves back i noticed alot more growth in the bud sites that started getting light. They doubled in size and got lots frostier. Too many people here in GC, though I love you all, get buried in the concept this is a hard plant to grow. You can go start to finish on plain water if you wanted to. These are weeds. I have heard people say if you cut off leaves you send the plant into shock, to which I think, so if a deer comes by and munches a few leaves it isnt going to kill the plant is it? Well the answer is no, it won't. I have now fan leaves at all left on my plant just the little bud site leaves, and my girl is still growing and bulking and getting better. And my counter point to the anti-trim crowd is, How do you promote more vigorous growth in plants? Oh wow usually with pruning. My Dahlias on my patio, if I dont trim and prune them they stop flowering, they don't die cause i trim them, they get 300% more blooms and look even better. I think the non trimmers get one huge cola, the trimmers get dozens of nice colas. But that's just my ignorant backwoods opinion. P.S. A thinner canopy makes air flow easier and makes it harder for PM to get a foot hold.
Thanks for the reply SoCal. I'm with you on pruning. I still have plenty of leaves IMO. And now a lot more light on bud sites. Being a newbie, I just get worried easily. As soon as I get through this first grow, I'll be more comfortable with what I can do to my plants without hurting them. So far I've topped em, dosed em with bushmaster, and pruned em. You are right. They are weeds. Very resilient. I need to relax and keep that in mind. Thanks for your help. Cheers.
Hi tastebud. On the subject of leaf removal, I do exactly what you're doing. ie. Remove larger leaves as necessary to allow light/air in. If done prudently, you won't reduce the yield, you will increase it. Keep up the good work.
Wow. Thanks Wardrobe. That's reassuring. I feel even better about it now. Best of luck to you on the new grow. Thanks for helping me with mine. Cheers.
Have you heard anything about when to start flushing hempys before harvesting? I've heard several different things but cant find anything definite about hempys.
Horseman. Thanks. BillMurray. I am not sure on the flush before harvest. I do know that I have noticed that with coco, it's very easy to flush. Water soaks through and fills the trays under my pots pretty fast. I don't really think that the Hempy pots make that much difference. I just make sure that plenty of water goes through to thoroughly flush the coco and replenish the bottom res with new fresh water. I will ask this question too though. Maybe someone will help us. When is a good time to stop nutes and water with plain ph'd water in general. 1 week prior to harvest, 2 weeks maybe? Any advice will be appreciated. Here's an update- Watered with all measurements per 1 gallon. GH Flora micro 5 ml, bloom 10 ml, flora nectar 5 ml, cal mag 5 ml. Everything seems to be going well. No complaints. Cheers.
Personally, I drop the nutes but continue with Canna Boost for one week, then one week of only pH'd water. Taste and smell are fine. (Everyone has their own opinion on this one, like on exactly when to harvest.)
Thank you Wardrobe. I've been following member SoCal's journal too. It looks like he flushes for two weeks with plain ph'd water. I know you mention keeping the Canna Boost in for one week of your flush. But, the Canna Boost is just a carb/sweetener type thing isn't it? I think that it is similar to my GH floranectar. Maybe a little more advanced based on the price though. I think I will drop nutes and use just floranectar for one week and then plain ph'd water for one week. Try to do what both of you guys are doing in a way. You both get very good results. Just trying to learn as much as possible and develop a good grow method. Thank you very much for checking in and answering my questions. You've helped this newbie immensely. Peace.
Yeah some guys run their sweetener all the way to the end, I say plain water but that still has my Botanicare Sweet in it.
The Canna Boost is, as you say, a sort of advanced sweetener. It enhances smell and sweetness as well as helping the buds thicken, in conjunction with a week of PK 13/14. (That was a few weeks earlier.) It has no 'nutes' as such and doesn't alter the EC of the water. I tried to get a better description from their website, but they're too busy extolling the virtues to accurately describe the product or even hint at what's in it. This is the best I could find:-
Hello SoCal. Thank you for the input. I appreciate it. I'll bet the Botanicare sweet is pretty similar to my GH floranectar which I have been using since switching to 12/12. Its just a sweetener pretty much. Hello Wardrobe. Thank you as well. I read up on the Canna Boost too as I intend to try the Canna Coco line after I use up my GH. I agree. Not very informative as to what's in it. But, based on your results, its good shit. I think that my GH floranectar is similar enough and can be used in conjuction with my GH kool bloom to get similar results. That's where I'm at right now on my grow by the way. Just upped my floranectar dose from 5 ml to 10 ml and added GH kool bloom at 2 ml. That was yesterday's feeding. So far today, no damage done. We'll see how beneficial it is. Gh recommends using kool bloom for three weeks on their feed schedule. I'm on week 5 of 12/12. I figured I better add it now and see if it does some good. Thanks to both of you guys. Your making my job easier. Peace.