I had originally posted my grow in the general indoor growing section. I had originally planted my clones in soil. After a few days i decided to switch things up and convert over to a hydro grow. I havent had too many hits with the first post, so i decided to move it over here to the advanced growing section to see if i had better luck with getting any help. This is my basically my first grow. The reason i am posting this journal is to try and acquire any input or advice from you more experienced growers.I will be adding updates along the way, any reccomendations or advice based on what you see is HIGHLY appreciated. I dont really have too much growing experience. Basically what im working with is knock off the stealth hydro bubbleponics system. Its pretty much the same system, but i only spent about $50 to get mine running. I purchased a basic 18 gallon rubber maid bucket. Cut out 4 holes for 4 six inch net pots to sit. I added a water pump to circulate the water through two drip feed lines per plant. Added a couple Day light Cfl's and so far so good. I am in no way talkin on down on stealth hydro, just lettin you kno what im workin with. I had originally started in soil on 10/4 but switched over to the hydro system on 10/6. So this is where im at, exactly ONE week into the grow. Just switched over from 24 hour lighting to 18/6. .WEEK TWO. <<< Platinum Blue Berry. <<< Sage Kush. <<< Master Kush
Right on, are you going to use the cfl's through the whole grow? 18/6 will give a lil' bit of room between nodes compared to 24 which is a good thing in my opinion. I assume you have a bubbler in there too? I love the budget setups!; Good luck. I prefer to cut the lowest set of branches/fan leaves as they veg to give more space/air under the plants especially when there is a fixed distance between plants. -BO
I'm not saying you should cut them yet. I usually trim them up once a week during veg, but I'm running 600w.
As far as i kno, i plan to use cfls throughout the whole grow. Unless i come across some money along the way. I heard that Soft white cfls are better for the flowering stage,so i plan to add a couple of those when its time for flowering. Should i switch to only soft white cfls for the flowering stage, or is a mixture of both day and soft light substantial? I also plan to add a 32" T5 cool white bulb too give it a little boost. Or would that be TOO much light?I havent put in the bubbler yet, but i plan to purchase and add that within the next day or so. <<< Bubba Kush <<< Bubba Kush <<< Sage <<< Master
New Addition.Air Pump.Airstone Went to the store and picked up a dual air pump for $14. Currently only running air from one of the two valves, through a 12 inch air stone. Should i attatch another airstone to the second valve or is one airstone more than enough?
More stoneage isn't worse if that's what you mean but technically necessary. It is my understanding that you want the water level up to the roots. It can be lowered as the roots descend. Keep the roots cool. I've had good luck with the product hygrozyme as far as root rot is concerned. Look into something like that if you can budget it in.
I mean technically NOT necessary. For some reason, the blue light is more helpful for vegetative phase, but what makes leaves and stalks thrive directly benefits flowers. The pinker light favors flowering. Who knows why? Not I. Maybe it signals that the sun is fleeting more than the cooler color. Many claim to have gotten best results by using both metal halide and high pressure sodium together. I think you should keep a cool bulb around.
Day 10. Added some nutrients and the ph level seems ok at 8. The plants are doing better then they were at first. I hope they start showing some progress soon.
Aph of 8 is WAYYYYYYYY to high. They will begin to die very quickly at that ph level. You need to lower the ph to about 5.5 to 5.8
I concur on the ph being way too high. It needs to be around 5.5 to 6.2 for the best results. I just ordered a ph meter myself because so far I've been flying blind. Luckily mine are thriving. My thread is under 2nd Grow, 1st Hydro if you want to check it out. Also the best thing you can do with the airstone/pump is get a tee and just put both outlets into the single stone. That way if one diaphram busts you'll still get air through the stone. It also increases the quatity of bubbles which is never a bad thing.
Yeah, bring the pH down into the yellow with a lil orange tint. A pH meter is a huge quality of life upgrade.
Keep the nutrient level low, 1/4 up to 1/2 of recommendation. I hope you have pHed it down. In a pinch you can use vinegar, lemon juice. Also, sulfuric acid works. The Hydro store I frequent recommends the sulfuric acid for soil and the other type for hydro, although I'm not sure of the chemical makeup.
Update: Had some problems with the ph levels and lost a soldier or two. Got that problem solved and added a new healthy Bubba Kush Clone. Waiting to add one more plant to the empty spot, and hopefully get these babies ready for flowering within the next few weeks... <<< Bubba Kush. <<< Bubbz. <<< Sage Kush. <<< Bubba. <<< Bubba. <<< Platinum Blueberry.
man down! haha, atleast you were able to replace them quickly, some of them look very healthy now, cant wait to see what happens
Just made a terrible discovery. Some of the plants have spider mites(i think thats what it is). How can i get rid of them?
Oh shit. Don't flower 'til it's gone. Keep humidity high and temps low. Einstein oil with an emulsifier helped me. You can get predators. I have had luck with both lady bugs and praying manti, but there are specific mites that supposedly do a better job if conditions are right. Use the Einstein oil every 2 to 3 days spraying the undersides of leaves especially. Good luck. You can work through it. I have had it happen twice but it always coincided with neglecting the garden and letting humidity stay too low for too long.
Im using neem oil on my plants and its clearing up my bug problem. I mix it in a sprayer bottle at a ratio of 1:20ml and just spray away til theres a decent layer on all leaves. I lift my light up 1-1.5' while doing this to keep from getting moisture on the bulb and to keep the bulb from burning the plants while theyre wet. You may not need to move yours at all since your using cfls. Ladybugs and praying mantis from the wild are better than store bought IMO. The storebought ones are prefed so they wont be eating too much off the bat.
Update: Spider Mite Problem Solved Went to a local hardware store and picked up some lady bugs. They took care of the spider mites in 2 days. Ill probably keep them around for a couple days to make sure the mites dont come back. Added two new plants Headband and Sour grapes. I was told by the dispensary that the sour grapes is supposively a blend of ChemdogxSourdieselxPurple so that should be interesting. =Bubba= =Headband= =Sour Grapes=(ChemdogxSourDiesel) =Platinum Blueberry= =Bubba Kush= =GroupShotz=