Hindu Kush - indoor (my second grow ever)

I started some Hindu Kush seeds from Kiwiseeds a few days ago. I used 3 of the five to try them out. I plan to put them into bubble buckets later when they are ready and grow them in a tent indoors. The tent is 4x4 so they will have more than enough room to grow however they wish.
To start them off, I used the seeds in a shot glass method like my last grow. All 3 started to grow tails the next night so I took them out and put them into wet paper towels. The only thing I did do different was add a drop or two of B1 to start them off with healthy roots. I really didn't add more than 2 drops overall. The idea was just to give enough to start it off right without overdoing it.








After they had grown a bit, I put them into rockwool and into a container with a high clear plastic lid. What is nice about the lid is that it has plastic pieces on the top so that you can open for more air or keep closed for more humidity.

This container is made by Mondi and seems to be working well so far. I mainly got it because I could grow my seedlings in it as long as I want to and not worry about height and later use it for clones if I need to.




I am going to try to use my new Lumatek 600W digital ballast that can use MH or HPS. It is voltage switching and they only sent the 220V cord. I bought a 110 cord from a local store so I will TRY it. I have a nice reflective hood that is enclosed and has venting at both ends. I just need the 6 inch ducting now. My MH bulb is a Growbright and the HPS is an AgroMax.

I picked up a Hanna GrowCheck monitor for TDS and PH and all that good stuff. Haven't tried it out yet so that will be cool.

Once my other plants get done growing, I will use my 90W UFO to supplement. The 120W is weirding out and only half of it lights up. When it is off, sometimes part of it still lights up. Weird. I have tried to resolder the loose wire but to no avail. I give up.

This should be a fun grow. I grew in dirt last time and learned a lot so I will try the bubble buckets to learn even more. I am going to grow in hydroton with 6 inch baskets in big buckets.

A buddy hooked me up with his old system so it's got a great air pump and multi-valve system. I have black air tubing and these cool flexible airstones.



I now have a single outlet and a dual outlet timer. The single has worked great on the other grow and I will likely use the double for this next one.

I only have a cheap exhaust fan so far but may upgrade later on. This whole set up had cost me some serious cash so far so I may have to wait a few months for any upgrades.

I will try to keep this up to date and may include a few pictures of my Strawberry Blue that is still vegging. It was planted at the same time as the Easyryder that I have already harvested.

 

Here is a closer look at the babies. One took off growing, one is catching up and one is... well, trying.

 

Here is my STRAWBERRY BLUE that is vegging. She is doing well now after a very slow start. She was so pale and small at the start I considered just trashing her. She does have what appear to be dual pistils so, so far so good!

 

These pix are from the EASYRYDER (AK-47 x Lowryder2) grow but they show the same method for starting the seeds.

 

If you want to check out my first grow journal use my signature link or just use this

My indoor Easyryder grow (first grow ever)

 

Growing here in this hot climate I have to struggle with high temperatures and humidity. I will see how it goes on this grow. Hopefully now that it is a bit cooler I won't have any problems. I do have 2 fans that I will use inside the tent. One is a sixteen inch and the other is about nine inches. Any ideas about temp. and humidity solutions are welcome.

By the way, please post any suggestions you have. They are all welcome.

If you have pictures of your grow, you are more than welcome to post them here as well. I don't mind at all.

Hope you enjoy reading this journal because it is really fun doing it.

 

BigD - all good ideas. I do have the 6" fan so far but it is a cheap one. It just has to last for a couple of months. My problem is space for the tent. The side room is fine but we will have guests coming to visit us and that may not work well with some of them. I put it up in our back bedroom and it barely fits a corner but ventilation room is a concern. If I could move the waterbed a foot over, it would be great.
I do run lights at night and they go off from 11am until 5pm right now. Seems to work well. Getting ready to switch over to 12/12 fairly soon. will keep you posted on that switchover. If you need a clone of the Strawberry Blue, it is ready for you to cut. Maybe after the meeting, you could swing by if you want one. I do have some seeds so if you are in need, let me know. I got some Pineapple Express but haven't tried it. maybe I could get a clone at some point and see how I like it before I grow a bunch of it?
The 7 plant limit does make it hard to stay in the legal limits. If you flower them, they still take a long time and you never know for sure you have females so the young ones aren't always going to be kept. Hey, if you want to post any pictures, please feel free to do so.​

 

Here is the tent. It may not look that large in a picture but it is plenty large.







What is really cool is that it has so many vent locations and with different sizes to fit almost any equipment you may have. I also like the clear plastic so you can peek in without totally unzipping the tent. When you are done you can just zip it all back up.

 

Seeds are coming along nicely. The last one is still looking like it will grow eventually. I have faith in it. The seed is open and it did have a little "tail" when I put it in rockwool. Growing is so much fun. I can't stop looking at the plants and taking pictures.

This one is opening up and should be making some real leaves soon.



The middle one




The little seed that could

 

I have moved the bubble buckets into the tent along with the fan, pump, hydrton, baskets and tubing. Getting excited about this grow!

 

Bubble buckets are just 5 gallon buckets with nutrient solution in them and some sort of aeration (bubble) device such as bubble tube or airstone like you would see in an aquarium. The roots grow out of the rockwool and into the hydroton which is held in a little basket atop the bucket. The roots then hang down into the bubbling solution to get nutrients. Clean up and nutrient change is simple, just prepare the solution in a clean bucket and move the top over to it with the bubble device and tubing as well. Then dump the old bucket and clean it up. Simple stuff. I was thinking of doing aero but my buddy here had the buckets and pump ready so I thought I would try it.


In the picture you can see the pump at the bottom right. Look close and you might see the splitter for sending air to mulitiple tubes.


I have aeration tubes that bend any way you want to place down in the buckets. I have a picture of them earlier in the journal. They are so cool. You can get up to 4 feet long which means that you can coil it downward to have maximum bubble throughout the bucket!

 

Keep reading, that is what I did. I watched tons of videos and read a lot of books and magazines. I think I learned the most though from just growing.

 

BigD, I love those pictures! Very cool. Keep posting. You are ALWAYS welcome to post on my journal. Hope to see you on Saturday.