This is my first grow in this room. I've only grown once before as a caregiver for about 5 months in a very low quality setup. I'm what you could call a science and engineering hobbyists. I initially learned from old-school Dead Heads all around south-central Oregon. Room is 6 X 4.5 X 5.5 1000watt HID, separate and sealed intake and exhaust system. Co2. Dehumidifier. Fox Farm OF mixed with a less spongy local organic soil. The 3 basic Botanicare nutrients plus Budswell and Root Bloom. I have 4 Blue Dream plants in there now. Harvesting within a week.
It's all in the details. Had what I think was a magnesium deficiency combined with a ph imbalance causing the leaf spots. Was able to correct it in time. I think the combination of Co2 and the ballast being set to its Super Lumens setting really pushed them to top shelf quality.
This is everything I've used on them. I ph test and keep my mix as close to 6.5 as I can with a little phUP and phDOWN but I haven't really needed to use them. I try to stay on the lean side with the Botanicare stuff. The Fox Farm Ocean Forest mixed with my local organic soil got them pretty far on its own before I ever added anything. Several people I've shown asked how I got the trichome production so high. It's got to be a mix of things. Here's a picture from vegative stage when the first showed their sex at the nodes off the stalk As you could probably guess, this made me feel pretty hopeful from the start. I cant prove it but I think guano helped to really frost the buds up. They produced a lot of trichomes early and kept getting more and more frosty as the buds filled out. I stopped feeding them early enough that they have been sucking the foliage bone dry after they yellow but I left plenty of leaf for the plants to pull from. That's how I think I got that nice soft green color in my buds. It should get me a good taste and soft smoke. At harvest, I'm going to cut every leaf with a stem that comes out past the buds and hang them whole and upside-down at 50%RH. I'll be curing in several 1-quart jars with a Boost 62% humidity pack in each. Still trying to decide if I'll use some small oxygen absorber packs also.
This is my watering system. Made it my self. Air pump, circulation pump, and plant feed pump. Cost me about $70 when all was said annd done.
Beautiful. Nice work. THC glands function as a sunscreen. There's been numerous studies into this. The highest THC strains in nature grow at high altitudes near the equator where UVB levels are highest. One of the big factors in making a lot of glands is light intensity, some spectrums like UV being more influential. I have 2 plants that are identical clones I just raised in the corners of my bud room to fill space. One had more direct light than the other and noticeably had more crystals. Even in this picture you can tell the plant on the right is frostier. That's one thing I've noticed about my leds. The plants definitely have more glands. They respond to the different light spectrum. Plant on the right had more direct light. I'm curious about your CO2 system and how you manage it. I'm guessing you don't have a separate veg area yet? Do you shut off all exhaust when lights are on except the light venting? Do you turn it back on in dark cycle for air changes? I'm sure you've probably noticed there's not many people running CO2 much here in home grows. I only see it in big commercial operations lately. Most people say it's too much trouble for not enough benefit. Do you run it all the way through the bud cycle? When do you end CO2? You should do a journal next crop. Definitely get some cal/mag. You should be doing hydro.
I actually have another room just about the same size right behind that room. I turned my plumbing access closet in to the rooms. The whole thing is hidden I draw basement air from outside the rooms, behind the wall. Ducting runs through the rooms to the light and blower. Both rooms are fully sealed. This took a lot of panda plastic, staples, and duct tape. Soooooo much duct tape. There is no air exchange in the room. I have a circulation fan, a dehumidifier, and the Co2 so with the plants doing photosynthesis, the air is always fresh. For the Co2, I hooked up a cubic-feet-per-hour regulator that I dialed in and connected to an electric valve that i wired to a power supply which is plugged in to a repeat cycle timer (with photocell, so it only releases during the light cycle). I could have bought a pre-made system but I had my own electronic valve already. The light's blower kicks on after the bulb warms up and kicks off with the light. The dehumidifier and my circulation fan are always on. I started running Co2 lightly (about 650ppm) when I initiated flower and upped it gradually to around 1,400ppm by week 5 of flowering. I'll run it to the very end. The Co2 is a little bit of trouble but I've also got about 6 tops in that room that are a foot long and as big around as my fist. I've thought about converting to hydro but I don't want to sacrifice quality or flavor. I've noticed that hydro buds usually lack the kind of robust flavor profile that organic soil gives. I've also noticed that hydro buds have calyx with a strange swollen and hollow characteristic. Their pots are big enough to accommodate a real large root mass. The microorganisms seem to help keep my roots fresh. My soil is light and I water about 2/3 a gallon one day and 1/3 the next (4 minutes and 2 minutes on the watering system's timer).
Using some absorber packs would be a good experiment for you, but you gotta remember that the best cure is a meticulous one. If you try to remove the moisture too quick you'll be left with a crispy outside and a far more moist interior of the bud which could lead to mold, etc. you know this stuff already I'm just reminding. Are you planning at harvest to cure them in multiple mason jars?
I've got 24 one-quart wide-mouth mason jars. If the hang dry & tub dry goes nice and even, a humidity pack and oxygen absorber should mean that I can jar them up, leave them in the dark and check back in 2 weeks.
Yep, you got this bro. It's gonna be a beautiful grow, make sure to post the end product, I'm hyped to see it.
Dam u really are a mad scientist. I have a friend that wants me to have his guys teach me all this. Whole shabang computer sensors that tell u exactly what plants need. So u think if someone like me that lives in a climate where I have a 1k hps light would need all the tech? My temps are a perfect 77 in my spare bedroom when light is on. Humidity 30-40%? This is without turning on anything but light. So I am curing my first 2 plants. Looks as good most smoke I see in Cali. Been smoking for 30 years so info know weed. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I believe that the 2 most important tools an indoor grower can have are accurate data and measurements. What you need depends on your situation and resources but the more you are able to fine tune your grow, the better your results can be. The more redundancies you have, the less chance you have of a catastrophic failure. Once I modify my dehumidifier to self drain back to my reservoir, my room should be capable of managing it self for 2 weeks at a time without me.
https://supercloset.com/product/grow-rooms/big-buddha-box-9′-x-9′-vertical-grow-system/ I love the name big buddha
I could build something like that my self for less than half the cost. Seems like it would be better to bring the e&f system in a little tighter and instead of the HPS bulbs in the center, mount an LED panel on each of the 4 walls so they aim at the center. Their design leaves your largest square feet of growth space in the shade.
Yo that british dude was completely right, furry walls feel like awesome noodles in my hands or something
Hey, I was curious about your watering setup if you don't mind. I like the thought that I can walk away for a few days and they will get watered a set amount with a timer and a pump. What is your pumps gph? I wanted to ensure that the pump I'm purchasing is strong enough to push the water but not pop the smaller lines off or spray water away from the plant.