I had some questions I was going to post up but I didnt want to be "that guy" whose first post is a question and I figured I was going to have many more in the future so I thought I might as well start a journal to keep track show everyone my progress and most importantly post the pics! Hopefully some kind soul will come along and pass down some advice and maybe answer a question or two. So this is my first grow and I thought I had it all planned out but when the time came to execute all my plans changed. My original plan was to go hyrdro and use hempy buckets with a 240w Blackstar LED and some additional CFLS in a grow tent. I had planned on getting two clones of the same strain. Due to cost and availability I ended up going with soil and using the organic nutes the guy at the hydro shop recommended. Now on to the details. Nutes-Age Old Grow,Hygrozym Soil-Fox Farm Ocean Forest Lightiing-2 100w 5000k CFL's,BlackStar LED 240w Tent-Mylar 32" X 32" X 63" Hydroponics Grow Tent Fans-1 6"stationary/2 4" exhaust fans mounted at the top of the tent Strains-1 Larry OG Clone/1 Tahoe OG Clone/1 Sour Diesel Clone/3 Unknown Seedlings This is day 10 for the clones and at this point I will only be reporting on the clones if the seedlings get interesting Ill start reporting on them as well. I have been watering every day or so and I'm only using the AO grow at the recommended dosage at this point. Sour Diesel-Looking pretty good I think however I'm noticing that the side that is facing the light is filling out more that than the other side. Should I be rotating? Larry OG-This girl has taken off the best but noticed the same thing as the SD with the side facing the light filling out more than the other. Tahoe OG-My problem child. I have no idea what's going on with it but check out the weird curly leaves. It also has a purple stem and has shown the least amount of growth. So this is where I'm at now. I look forward to any comments or advice.
looking into which led panel to buy myself right now so i'm curious why you have 200 watt's of cfl if your only doing 3-6 plants under a 240 watt led.... reason i ask is because i know some led are crap and the good ones are rare and expensive.. ex i'm expecting to pay 5-800 for an around 300 watt led. Interested what the specs are on your LED and maybe if the cfl are overkill?
I borrowed the idea of the CFL/LED combo from another grow journal here and it seemed to work pretty well but I honestly couldnt tell you if they are helping much. In fact the two plants (Larry/SD) farthest from the CFL seem to be doing the best. The LED I have is a blackstar 240w flowering model 2011. You can google it for more specs. For the price and what I wanted it do it is performing well but this is my first grow so I dont have anything to compare it to.
So I think the root of my problem is one to many plants. I think this LED is probably best for two plants. I just ordered another light and it will be here next week hopefully it wont be to little to late.
I give my plants and pots a quarter turn everyday i make it into the tent as well. even the seedlings in the bubbler get a turn.
Day 16- So this week Im going to repot all the clones in to 3 gallon pots and move the 3 seedlings into 1.5 gallon pots. I'm also expecting my 2nd blackstar 240w this week that I will be throwing in to the mix as soon as it gets here. This is the Larry OG. She is growing really fast and I'm a bit worried she may get to tall. Can I still top her at this stage? Any advice on doing it? It sort of freaks me out. Sour Diesel-Moving along pretty well. I think I have some stretching issues that I'm hoping the new light will help fix. Tahoe OG-She has picked up her pace a bunch this week. Still have some stretch problems with her as well. She also looks like she might have some nute burn. I'm going to cut the nutes dose by 1/2 for her. BONUS PIC-These are the two mystery seedlings I was given they are growing quick. Not sure what I'm going to do with them if they are females as they wont be ready to flower at the same time.
You can still super crop those OG plants that are getting tall. There's a few nice video demonstrations on YouTube if youre worried about the technique.
Hey stealthd0c, Looks as if the supercropping killed it all off ! But I hope not. This one looked interesting.. Sigh.
I agree with you that 2 plants per 240w panel is the way to go. The coverage just isn't there, but they are some kick ass lights. I am doing my first grow and journal with a BS 240w. I am pulling up a chair, very curious to see how your grow turns out as yours is slightly ahead of mine. Stay Green My Friend
Sorry for the lack of posts its been a busy month! Ill try to post some new pics tomorrow since by the time I get home the girls are already fast asleep. A couple new developments though. I got my 2nd light in and installed and wow did it help the ladies just exploded on me which leads me to a new problem SPACE! You guys will see what I mean when I post the pics. I also switched them over to 12/12 about three weeks ago and I'm starting to see nice budding on the Tahoe OG and the SD but the Larry OG seems to be a bit behind the curve and hasnt shown any buds yet. Also when I swtiched to 12/12 I switched the nutes over to Age Old Organics Bloom. Thats all I got for now Ill post the pics tomorrow and any other info that I left out today.
You are my hero for getting a second 240w. I am really wanting to get another myself. 2 panels with 4 autopots and 4 plants in my tent. IMO 2 240s should give you better results than one 500 Blackstar because you are able to cover more area. I bet those young gals are really liking the extra light. I can't wait to see how this turns out. Stay green.
So I think the biggest mistake I have made so far was not topping these are trimming them at all. They have got a bit wild and are out growing their tent. Luckily I have a friend who just got a tent but isn't able to use it for a while so he let me borrow it so I split the three ladies up in to two tents. The Larry OG is now in a tent by herself with one 240w BS LED and the Sour D and Tahoe are in the other tent with one 240w BS LED. I'm about 2.5weeks in to flowering and overall they have been under the lights since 9/1. Here is a pic of them all in the same tent. Can you say overgrown? Larry OG and Random seedling Larry OG Larry OG Sour D Sour D Tahoe OG Tahoe OG [FONT="] Tahoe OG Tahoe and SD In their new home This is where it all started [/FONT]
So you guys wouldn't advise growing 3 plants using a 3W 240watt LED set up? Something like this? Newegg.com - LIGHTHOUSE 240W Blackstar UV LED Grow Light 3w LED's