Icemuds LED grow: 2 tents, multiple strains, recycled soil under COB and Blurple LED.

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by Icemud, Jan 1, 2016.

  1. Hey Everyone! I'm back with another grow journal and in this journal I will be doing 2 grows at the same time. I will be starting one tent in flowering and the other tent I will be doing a full grow from early veg to harvest using new white cob led technology. I'm running some new strains which I have never flowered before (originally from clone), a few mother plants that I have kept for a few years, as well as some of the best tangie phenos that I am finishing up currently. Lets get into the grow details :) I welcome everyone to join in the fun as we do multiple strains in organic recycled soil under new LED technology. Here's the details:

    What strains?


    The flowering tent (Budmaster GOD tent) (Currently in veg and will be flipped as soon as other Veg tent is ready)
    Ogiesel, Area 51, Black Diamond OG, Fire OG, and 4 of my best tangie Phenotypes from my last run.

    The Veg tent and will be a full grow to harvest (Budmaster COB tent) (not yet started as plants are currently just rooting and will be swapped in early veg in 2-3 weeks to new tent)
    Blue Dream, Harlequin, Black Cherry Soda, Fire OG, Area 51, Black Diamond OG


    Blue Dream Lineage: Blueberry X Haze Genetics: 80% Sativa / 20% Indica

    Fire OG Lineage: San Fernando Valley OG F3 x OG Kush: (60% indica, 40% sativa)

    Area 51 Lineage: (snowdog x space queen x smurfberry) (source
    was another grower familiar with the breeders) I can't find any other
    info on this strain so we will have to run with that supposedly a sativa dom with a very fruity taste and lots of trichomes

    Black Diamond OG lineage: Blackberry kush x Diamond OG (supposedly its a indica dominant offspring of OG Kush, 70% indica)

    Tangie Lineage: California Orange (Cali O) x [Skunk #1 x Unknown] Sativa Dominiant


    Harlequin Lineage: Columbian Gold 70s x Thailand x Swizerland x Nepal (High CBD strain, Sativa Dom)


    Black Cherry Soda Lineage: (nobody really knows the exact lineage of this strain as far as I know, but I was hinted towards it being possibly Airborne G13 X Ortega x C99 x Blackberry x Cherry AK-47 – 20% Indica/80% Sativa")


    Ogiesel Lineage: SFV OG Kush x Giesel (Chem Dawg d x Mass Super Skunk) (hybrid I would say is slightly indica dom)






    Grow Area Description and equipment


    Grow area enclosure:
    I will be using 2 Hydrohut Silver 2x4x7 tents for this grow. Each tent actually measures about 2 1/2' x 5' x 7'.


    Ventilation and temp control:

    Each tent contains a carbon scrubber, a 6" hydrofarm extraction fan mounted at the top back of each tent in a similar fashion. The fans are connected with manual speed controllers and usually kept on medium low/medium high depending on my room temp.


    Pot type and size:

    Each grow will end up in 5 gallon plastic square pots however the veg tent will start out with the plants in 2 gallon round pots and transplanted when needed into the final 5 gallon plastics pots.


    The Soil:

    The soil I am using is a recycled (probably 2-3 year old) mix 100% organic soil which is dumped into a large 100+ gallon rubbermaid container inbetween grows and re-amended in between. Leaves trimmed off my growing plants are dumped into the bin and composted and the soil typically can cook from 3 to 6 months or more and is constantly cycled and replenesed with my perpetual grow. Each time the old soil is mixed with the newly dumped soil and cooked with new amendments.


    Original soil blend included these items listed below, now I just re-amend it every cycle with some of the below mentioned, but the base mix has not changed and is still the same as day 1.



    The Base Soil Mix:
    ProMix HP
    Worm Castings
    Volcanic Pumice
    Alaskan Forest Humus

    The Amendments:

    Azomite (trace minerals and micronutrients)
    Calcium Carbonate Powder 97%
    Soft Rock Phosphate (Collidal Clay with high phosphorus and CEC value)
    Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
    Crab Meal 2-3-0 23% calcium(also a P source and source of chitin a hormone/growth regulator)
    Fish Bone meal. (3-18-0) 24% Calcium
    Lava Sand (adds trace minerals and supposedly adds paramagnetic value to the soil)
    Crab Shell Meal 2-3-0 23% Calcium
    Kelp Meal (also has growth hormones and PGR's, plus trace minerals)
    Alfalfa Meal. (2-0-3) (contains Trichontinol which aids in plant growth and health)
    Humboldt Myco's Maximum (Beneficial Bacteria and Mycorrizae Fungus)
    Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate)
    Greensand (0-0-3) (Trace Minerals)
    Biovam
    TandJ enterprises biominerals




    The Lights:


    I will be using 2 separate types of LED lights for this grow, both are made by Budmaster. This is the first time I will be using the GOD series (GOD-4)(purple panels) and will also be the first full grow with the all new white COB-X-4 led lights as well. I'm really excited to be trying these out as many have raved about them and they use some of the best LED chips on the market, Osram and Citizin chips so they should make for impressive grows. The God lights are made up of multiple OSRAM SSL horticulture grade chips and the COB series uses CitiLED COB's who originated the white cob technology. The COB lights will be used in a full grow from early veg to harvest, and the GOD panels will be used to flower out some currently vegging plants and then once done I will start a completely new grow from clones :)





    Typical Temp and RH% of the growing area:
    Generally my temperatures stay between 72-84F depending on if the lights are on or the lights are off.
    My RH% for most of the year is a perfect 50% +/-5% but during the winter months it usually drops to about 5-20% outside, so my tent hovers from around 20%-40% during these times and depending on watering frequency.



    Soil PH
    I haven't checked this ever. I let the plants do what they need and since using only organics and compost teas the microbes take care of whats needed.


    Any Pests ?
    I typically don't get pests at all unless I somehow bring in new clones that are infected, however I have had an occasional thrip make its way into my garden in the past as well as some spidermites which is very rare and usually also along with new clones. Pests usually don't bother my garden.
    I do keep on hand regiments of organic sprays including SNS products, spinosad and a few products by bonide.



    How often are you watering?
    Watering volume and frequency depend on the time of cycle. In early veg usually about 1x per week until the roots get larger.
    As veg gets to mid later veg I usually will water about 1x every 3-5 days depending on the plants needs and the pot size
    In flowering I generally water every day to every 3 days depending on what part of the flowering cycle, usually about 1-3 cups of water each feeding per plant.

    Nutrients used:
    I do feed my plants with bottled nutrients but everything is organic and/or natural. Even though my soil is rich and hardy, I do use bottled nutrients for issues in correcting deficiencies as well as a good soil drench every few feedings.


    My bottled nutrients are:
    Earthjuice Grow
    Earthjuice Veg
    Earthjuice Catalyst
    Earthjuice Micro
    Earthjuice MetaK


    Humboldt Nutrients Equillibrium 12:2 Ca/Mg 1-1-2
    Humboldt Nutrients Bloom Natural: 0-10-0 soft rock phosphate
    Humboldt Nutrients duece duece: potassium sulfate flowering booster



    I also do foliar feeding with certain products including:
    cold pressed seaweed
    organic b
    yucca extract
    hydrolyzed fish 2-4-0
    potassium silicate


    I also make compost tea's on occasion: generally using a combo of the above nutrients and amendments.


    Well that's about all the details, Lets get started with the journal! I invite everyone to join in the fun and feel free to ask questions, as long as you keep it positive and productive! I tend to know a lot about plant lighting so that is my specialty area, but I also do know a lot about other aspects of growing so I should always be able to help, unless its hydro questions which I know nothing about :)






     
  2. Thanks Deez Budz! I'll get some photos up when I can, I tried tonight and for some reason was getting an error.

     
  3. #4 Icemud, Jan 1, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2016
    Here is a writing I did recently that explains a lot about plant lighting and how we measure it. Enjoy


    Understanding Light


    Let's say we are looking at the sun, we can see visible light, but there is also a lot of other types of energy or rays we commonly call them released as well. We all feel the sun on our bare skin warming up and this is mainly due to visible light and Infrared light. Or we have all
    gone to the beach or a pool and put on sunscreen to block the UV rays that can harm our skin and cause cancers. We know that putting food in the microwave can also warm it up and we know that gamma waves from
    nuclear waste are very very harmful to anything living. We even go and get X-Rays to look inside our bodies in search of broken bones.

    These Rays that we refer to are groupings of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) and are measured and ordered by their "wavelength", in the units of nanometers. EMR is released in Photons, which show characteristics of
    a wave and a particle at the same time. If we were to look at a photon,it would have properties like an ocean wave, with peaks and valleys. Wemeasure the "wavelength" of EMR by measuring the distance between the crests(peaks). For EMR, this is measured in the unit Nanometers most of the time when relating it to visible light, and the longer the wavelength, the less energy the photon has, where as the shorter the wavelength, the more energy it has.

    Now these groupings "rays" we were referring to above are ordered by wavelength in this order:

    In order from High energy to low energy

    Gamma rays, X-rays, Ultra Violet, Visible Light, Infared, Microwaves, Radio Waves.

    Now by knowing this, notice how all High energy, short wavelength light is harmful to things like humans and plants (UV, X-Rays, Gamma Rays). The reason for this is that they contain so much energy that it can damage living tissues. On the opposite end of this, notice how all long wavelengths like radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared and Visible light are virtually harmless to living things, this is because they contain low energy.



    Now that you understand this, let's explore PAR:



    What is PAR?

    PAR or Photosynthetic Active Radiation is the range of wavelengths that drive and influence photosynthesis. Just like we have the groupings of X-Rays and Microwaves, PAR is a grouping of EMR that specifically drives plants photosynthesis. This grouping or range is measured between the 400nm wavelength (deep purple) and going to 700nm wavelength (Far-red) generally, but some scientists argue that it actually can extend from 380nm(UV-A) to 780nm (Infrared). Generally most light manufactures in the horticulture world and even most research I've read deals with 400nm-700nm range when referring to PAR.

    Here are the general wavelengths and the visual names we represent them by.
    UV Light
    UV-C: 100–280nm, (Very harmful to skin, eyes, microbes and bacteria)
    UV-B: 280–315nm,
    UV-A: 315–400nm

    Visible Light:
    Violet: 380–450 nm
    Blue: 450–495 nm
    Green: 495–570 nm
    Yellow: 570–590 nm
    Orange: 590–620 nm
    Red: 620–750 nm
    Infrared: 700nm-1mm (1 millimeter)


    So even though PAR light is pretty much the same as the light we see referred to as visible light, the abbreviation PAR is used because it specifically deals with the range of light that drives photosynthesis.



    So why is PAR important to measure for plants?

    By now you probably have heard the terms Lumens, Lux, PAR, footcandles, candlepower. Well what is up with all these measurements, why are some important, some not. You probably have also heard the term "Lumens are
    for humans, PAR is for Plants" Well why is PAR so much more important than these other measurements when dealing with plant lights?

    This is an easy question to ask, but much much harder to explain. I will do my best.

    Since PAR is the range of light that drives photosynthesis, we know as wavelengths from 400nm-700nm (violet to red), when EMR or Light is emitted in this range in comes in little packets called photons. When these photons fall upon a plant leaf, some are reflected, and some are
    absorbed. Now when we look at photosynthesis in general, when approximately 8-12 photons are absorbed into a leaf, this will split up one molecule of CO2 (photosynthesis). Once absorbed, these photons
    releases electrons which then go through a complex process and eventually split this single CO2 molecule apart. So now that you know this, you can see how the amount of photons a plant absorbs, will directly effect the rate of photosynthesis.


    Now like I mentioned, once a photon is absorbed, the wavelength/color doesn't matter much. Importantly noted though, before a photon is absorbed, when it first hits the leafs surface, it can be reflected. Now commonly you may have heard this is the reason that plants are green,
    because they don't absorb green light, they reflect it, but this is only partly true. Plants actually do absorb green light, just not as easily as other colors like red and blue. So those that say "plants don't absorb green light" typically believe they don't absorb any green light
    and this is false, and actually the graph below will show the wavelengths of light that plants reflect, and the amounts. You will see that all light in the PAR range is absorbed, and the difference between blue which is absorbed nearly at 100% vs Green absorbed around 80%, there is only a difference of about 20%. The common believe that plants don't absorb green light is why the LED market originated by offering lights with only 2 bands, red and blue, however as more research came
    into play it was realized that all wavelengths of light are absorbed which is why you see many full spectrum panels on the market now.


    So now that you understand how Photons directly drive photosynthesis (ingeneral terms), you can understand why measuring PAR is important...Plants are pretty much photon counters, the more photons available, the more photosynthesis occurs.



    What is a PAR measurement, and why is it useful?

    A PAR measurement, known in the lighting world as PPFD or PPF

    PPFD is Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density, and this measurement describes how many photons, fall on a square meter, every single second.PPFD is a useful measurement when determining how high to hang a light,
    how far will a light actually cover, and what size light you need for a certain type of plant and grow area. This is a directional measurement in which readings are generally taken on a surface that would represent the canopy of your plants.

    PPF is Photosynthetic Photon Flux, and this measurement is used mainly to compare lights for their Photon efficiency. What I mean by this is PPF is a omnidirectional measurement and irregardless of direction, it measures all TOTAL photons emitted from a light. PPF is usually measured in an integrating sphere or Ulbricht Sphere which is a huge reflective sphere that measures light coming from a source at all angles and directions. This measurement is usually used more for HID bulbs than LED but can be used for both when comparing how efficiently a light source creates photons per watt, many times measured in the units Mols/Joule.
    Other than comparing light sources for photon efficiency, this measurement of PAR light isn't used much. PPF is much more usefull for comparing HID bulbs, so you can see at a same wattage and same ballast, which bulb will product more photons in the PAR range vs another. Being
    that the bulb would go into a reflector and shape the output, PPF is used to compare the actual bulb's photon efficiency, but also could be used to compare one LED panel to another at a Same wattage. It wouldn't show you anything about coverage, or hanging height, just which panel at the same wattage produces more photosynthetic active photons.

    When we are looking at picking the right grow light we are typically using PPFD. We want to know on a flat surface (our canopy) how many photons are falling here every second. As we described above, plants are photon counters, and so the more photons that are falling on a surface, the higher the rate of photosynthesis. This is why its very important for grow light manufactures to list PAR data, usually in the form of a 4'x4' grid, where at each 6" or 1' mark a PPFD reading is taken. This lets us know when a light is hung at "X" distance, then we can expect
    "Y" amount of PPFD to be available for the plants.

    Now to measure PAR, you probably have seen in my video by now the Apogee Quantum Meter I am using. This device uses separate photodiodes to sense photons and basically counts them. As plants are photon counters,
    my quantum meter also counts photons, and this reading is displayed in the units Micromoles/Meter squared/every second, and usually written like this " 500umol/m2/s-1.

    I do want to notate that the PAR meter I am using is fairly accurate, but there are much better ways to measure par. There is a Li-Cor brand PAR meter which is much more accurate than the Apogee one I have because it is more sensitive to blue/red light than the one I use, however for
    reference and general purpose testing this pricey $360 Apogee fit my needs and my budget. The Li-Cor is up over $1000. The most accurate way to test for PAR is using a Spectroradiometer, but those cost $3500 on
    the low and and can go as high as $20,000 or more for lab grade ones. The reason that Spectroradimeters are more effective is that they break white light into tiny little bands just a few nanometers in range, and have individual sensors for each little band, where most quantum meters use photoelectric diodes and usually have 3 or 4, so their sensitivity is less than a spectroradiometer would be.

    Apogee MQ200 error range... notice on the chart the boxed in area is the PAR range and an ideal PAR meter would be equal across this range insensitivity, therefore you will see in the deep red and deep blue it is less accurate.




    OK, so you now showed me your photon counter is 500umol/m2/s-1, but what does this mean to me?

    So we have these PAR measurements, now what do they mean when talking about plants. The best way to look at this is that a plant has a certain"requirement" of the amount of photons it needs during the daylight period of growth. Each plant species has its own light requirements and you may even remember mom talking about this gardening when you were little, planting tomatoes in a sunny area of the yard where other houseplants didn't need as much light and would do fine in a windowsill.
    In botany related applications this "light requirement is known as Daily Light Integral or DLI.



    What is DLI



    DLI is the amount of photons a plant need per day to be in optimal light for growth and photosynthesis rates and as I mentioned above each plant species is different. DLI is typically measured in Mols per meter squared, per day (very similar to PPFD) but instead of each second, this
    measurement is totaling all photons per daylight period.

    A low light plant such as a fern only needs 6-10 mols/m2/day of photons to grow which is why ferns are commonly seen in dense forests under the canopy.

    A high light plant such as Cannabis needs a minimum of 22 mols/m2/day of photons to as high as 65 mols/m2/day which is the range of optimal growth. Yes if you don't have that much light, cannabis will still grow,but you will typically see lower yields, less dense buds, lower THC
    percentages because the plant isn't operating at its best.



    Converting DLI to PPFD

    Now how do we get from DLI Mol/m2/day to PPFD or micromoles/m2/second.

    The formula to convert this would be:

    You would use this formula...

    PPFD x 0.0864 = DLI

    OR

    DLI / 0.0864 = PPFD

    So lets look at cannabis, knowing that cannabis needs at least (Minimum for optimal growth) 22mol/m2/day DLI at minimum for optimal photosynthesis lets break it down.

    22 / 0.0864 = 254.6 micromoles/m2/s-1 (PPFD)

    This is the amount of photons you need every second, averaged over 1 square meter, for the whole 24 hours if usuing a 24/0 daylight schedule (no dark period).

    So what happens if you are using a 18/6 veg period or a 12/12 flowering light schedule... simple...

    If using a 12/12 flowering schedule, you are only using 12 hours of the 24 hours of the day, which means you would take the 254.6 Micromoles/m2/s-1 and multiply it by 2, since you are reducing the amount of daylight by 1/2 (12 hours), then each hour of the daylight period you need double the amount of photons... so in this example you
    would need 509.25 micromoles/m2/second.

    If using a 18/6 schedule, you are using 3/4 of the amount of daylight with 18 hours on, 6 hours off, therefore you would multiply the 24hr PPFD by 1.5 because you are using only 3/4 of the day, or 1 1/2 times the 12 hour requirement. In this example a DLI of 22, under a 18/6
    schedule would amount to 381.5 micromoles/m2/second.


    So for cannabis, bottom threshold for optimal growth and photosynthesis is a DLI of DLI of 22 would be:

    ****Going lower than these numbers will still grow cannabis, however yields, bud density, potency and THC percentage may suffer.

    24/0 schedule: 254.6 micromoles/m2/s-1

    18/6 schedule: 381.5 micromoles/m2/s-1

    12/12 schedule: 509.25 micromoles/m2/s-1



    For Cannabis, the Top threshold for optimal growth and photosynthesis is a DLI of 65 moles per day.

    ***extremely important notice, only go up to these amounts if you areusing supplemental CO2, do not go this high if you are not using supplemental CO2 as you will actually slow down photosynthesis and waste energy.



    24/0 schedule: 752.31 micromoles/m2/s-1

    18/6 schedule: 1128.465 micromoles/m2/s-1

    12/12 schedule: 1504.6 micromoles/m2/s-1


    The generally accepted guidelines for artificial light PPFD in flowering are this:

    in a 12/12

    PPFD of at least 510 micromoles/m2/s-1 for the low end of optimal intensity

    PPFD of at least 800-1100 micromoles/m2/s-1 for perfect optimal lighting without additional CO2.

    PPFD of at least 800-1500 micromoles/m2/s-1 for perfect optimal lighting WITH additional CO2.








    So now that we know what all these numbers mean, how to we interpret these PAR charts or 4'x4' grids with PAR readings?




    Typically if a Lighting company presents a PAR chart "4'x4' grid" with measurements, you will see a bunch of readings all over the place.

    Even though PAR measurements are in micromoles/METER/second this is with a constant and even light source what the average would be... grow lights, especially LED's do not have an even footprint and
    intensity can change rapidly over just 6" or 1" away from the center of the light. This is why these 4'x4' PAR grids are important because the light source is not even, it shows us the Actual area that will produce the OPTIMAL amount of PHOTONS for driving photosynthesis at each point of the grid.

    So now knowing for flowering you need to see a grid with a bunch of 510's all over it or higher for flowering, you can see exactly how far a light will spread to OPTIMALLY drive your plant. Also, usually when a company makes these grids, they do it at heights of 12", 18", 24" and
    36". By comparing the charts, you can tell at what height a certain light will spread providing 510's or higher and at what height would be optimal to hang the light. The closer the light is to the canopy/or meter, the higher the amount of photons that will be hitting it, but the narrower the coverage area will be (less light is scattering). The
    further away you move the light, the more photons that scatter leaving less to hit the canopy resulting in a larger coverage area but less Photon Density (PPFD).

    Now if you don't see 510's or higher across your chart for your light, does that mean it wont work...NO.. it will just produce less photosynthesis which typically results in more airy buds, less potency and THC, and lower yields.

    You can also look at these charts to see how you would hang multiple lights, by combining 2 charts together... lets say 2' out from the center of your light, the chart is only reading 250 micromoles/m2/s-1, well you know if you added a 2nd light and combined their outputs, with
    them spaced apart 2 feet from each other, then that center point between them (the 250 micromole/m2/s-1 mark) would double, now making that area optimal for flowering in a 12/12 schedule.

    This is why it is important that companies provide this information, so we can all make accurate decisions on plant lighting for our plant species, photoperiod usage, and making sure to have a even light footprint over our canopies.


    So all and all the things you will want to remember from this are:

    *Light plants use is in tiny packets called photons.

    *Plants count photons, this count directly drives photosynthesis.

    *Only photons with a wavelength of 400nm-700nm matter for photosynthesis (some say 380nm-780nm)

    *All colors of Light/wavelengths in the PAR range will absorb, at 80% or higher rates

    *PAR measurements are taken with a quantum meter or spectroradiometer and are measured in micromoles per meter squared per second
    (umol/m2/s-1)

    *When choosing a lights by PAR measurements we are looking for a PPFD of 510 umol/m2/s-1 or more across the entire canopy for optimal flowering results, less will still work but not at optimal levels for best results

    *Having a 4'x4' grid with PAR measurements at different heights is the best way to judge a plants actual optimal footprint/coverage area based on plant type and photoperiod. Also aids with hanging height and
    blending of multiple panels/lights.



    I hope this gets you on PAR with PAR, I tried to explain this
    complexity in the most simplified manner possible. If you have questions, ask, I will be happy to answer them.
     
  4. Happy New Years Everyone!!!!! 2016 here we come!
     
  5. Dude, that was pretty intense. I used to do film and television lighting, and photography. I thought I knew a little, but I'm blown away from this information. Feel like I'm back in electrical school. Haha.

    Very impressed with your post, do you, or have you ever made your own lights? I'm interested in the idea, but I don't know where to begin. I know that I just spent over 1200$ Canadian on 600w of LED lighting from platinumled . They are very good lights, and I can't wait to get mine, but I would prefer to learn to build my own.

    I'm noob in growing, this is my 2nd attempt, and I didn't finish the first on account of security issues. But I'm trying to put in the research, and am confident that I can grow something, besides a beard. Lol. I hilt my own soil too, I don't like the idea of adding chemical boosters to my plants. IMO if you need to flush your plants for 2 weeks, then there has to be a better, healthier way. Anyways I'm excited to be following your, thanks in advance!
     
  6. Thanks Deez Budz for the compliments and the chuckle [​IMG] lol I wrote that because I see a lot of growers misguided by misinformation when they are looking at plant lighting so I wanted to do my part in helping to provide information that is to my best of knowledge accurate and helpful for those that truely want to learn.


    I actually haven't gotten into making my own lights yet, its been in the plans. I have been lucky enough to be able to be a tester for multiple brands and lights and so I have been trying all different types and designs and technologies to see what I like but I think in the near future I will be staring my first build. Eventually I would love to have my own designed product but that is still a few years off I believe as technology is still changing and emerging. I definitely will be using a combo of white Cobs and 5w diodes


    I've heard good things about Pled from growers who used them, I never tried those but so far have tried a few brands that I like and a few I don't [​IMG] right now testing out these budmasters to see how they do.


    Good to hear your still growing as a grower, I've only been growing for about 5 years max and still perfecting things and always trying new techniques and applying learned knowledge [​IMG] my specialty is in the lighting aspect but also have dabbled with high brix growing and soils too, and was a scrogger for a while [​IMG] always trying to keep it natural and organic [​IMG]


    I started just like you though, did my research and then planned everything and had a very successful 1st grow [​IMG] I'm with you on adding chemical to the grow, not my cup of cannatea [​IMG] I personally don't exactly flush my plants though since I grow organic so I just reduce the nutrient levels and kinds towards finish pretty much wrapping up with compost teas and enzymes.




     
  7. Well since I couldn't upload photos for some reason, I made a video update of my grows for this journal. Enjoy!



     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. #9 Icemud, Jan 3, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 3, 2016
    Hey Everyone, Quick update:

    Day 67 Flowering.

    The plants continue to mature in flowering and are looking frostier by the day. I'm really excited for this harvest since my premature hermie tastes so good, I can't imagine how these will be.

    Gave the girls a compost tea watering composed of 5 gallons of r/o water:
    a paint strainer full of my cooking soil mixture
    40ml of carboload
    1 spoonful of azomite
    1 spoonful of calcium carbonate
    yucca extract
    humic acid
    humboldt nutrients bloom (soft rock phosphate)
    Humboldt nutrients equilibrium
    some bio vam sprinkled on top

    I also put some in my spray bottle and sprayed all my vegging plants, but not my tangie tent in flowering. There so close to finish I don't want to spray them with anything, and haven't since early flowering.

    My veg tent pretty much is just chugging along as well, not much to update on besides the foliar feeding I already mentioned and they will be getting a watering in a few days once needed of compost tea.



     
  9. The Deed has been done...Day 70 Harvest time!

    I decided that it was time to take them down, after reviewing the plants growth traits and calyx's and pistils they had all the signs the plants were ready. I took photos of the trichomes and even though I slightly prefer about 15-25% amber but since the tangies were at pretty much the Peak of THC with most of the trichomes being cloudy, I decided over the couple week drying and curing that they should still have a fair amount of CBN as well for the couch lock feeling too.

    So with each plant I cut the plant after taking multiple photos, and hung it inverted in my tent. I turned down the fans to low and the lower circulation fan off to slow down the airflow and keep the higher humidity for the drying period as my goal will be 60%RH for the first week of drying.

    The plants will be dried until the buds lose about 85% of their weight and water and then will be trimmed and manicured and jarred.


    I still can't upload and add photos so I guess we will have to wait to get a solution.. not sure why it doesn't work anymore..? anyone know?

     
  10. Quick update on the vegging plants:

    As I prepare to finish up this harvest and clear the tent for my next grow I am just letting the plants that will be going into this tent veg and they are doing really well. Also as soon as I move the plants over to the new tent for the next grows, I will be cloning the 4 tangies I will be flowering to keep the genetics going, as well as the Ogiesel which will also be getting flowered out.

    Yesterday I prepared their feeding and I wanted to focus on my old regiments for high brix results so I got 5 gallons of water filtered and added:

    40 ml of 2-4-0 hydrolyzed fish
    30ml of 2-3-1 hydrolyzed squid
    40 ml of 1-1-2 12/2% cal/mag
    10 ml of 0-10-0 10% cal humboldt bloom (soft rock phosphate)
    yucca extract

    I fed all the girls today as well as gave them a foliar feeding of the
    above mixture which smells horrible, but I know the plants love it



     
  11. Hey everyone!!!!

    Well I appreciate all of you for following along as we flowered out my last grow with the Budmaster COB-X-4 LED grow lights and we are now ready to get started with part 2 of this journal. Since last grow we didn't get a chance to see the COB's through a full grow I have 2 simultaneous grows that will be featured next.

    1st up: The flowering tent:
    Strains: Tangie #3, #5, #6, #8, Ogiesel, Area 51, Black Diamond OG, Fire OG.


    In the flowering tent we will be exploring the Budmaster GOD-4 LED grow lights and their capibility to flower out my tent with 8 plants using only 340W (170w each panel). Typically I would go with 3 of these panels for optimal coverage but I am very pleased to have the 2 GOD panels and excited to give them a run for their money, as we flower out these
    larger vegged plants. (mentioned above). I took clones of the (4) tangies, and the Ogiesel which I do not have copies of currently and will be waiting to flip to flowering about 1-2 weeks to make sure that the clones root properly. As soon as all 5 strains have at least 1 rooted clone, I will be flipping this tent to flowering and we will begin our journey

    Each of the clones was taken from lower branches that needed to be removed anyways to clean up the plants and had at least 5-6 nodes and a firm stem. Each cutting was dipped in clonex and put into root riot peat plugs and placed into a humidity dome with a 26w CFL bulb (cool white) and a heat mat. The clones were all sprayed with a mixture of 1-1-1 thrive alive b1 (organic) and r/o water.

    For each of the plants in this tent, I lightly manicured the lower branches with a very very mild lolipopping as well as cleaned up any dead leaves on the plants. I also added 1 spoonful of TandJ biominerals 2-4-.2 7% Ca, .5% Iron: (Cotton seed meal, Soybean meal, Soft rock phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron sulfide, and Iron Oxide.)

    The plants then were each given 4 cups of plain R/O water to wet down the biominerals and help work the powder into the soil. I will not be watering again until I see the leaves slightly wilting to encourage the roots to really fill in that soil and stretch.

    This tent is still in veg under an 18/6 schedule and will be flipped to flowering in about 1-2 weeks once the clones root.


    The Budmaster COB-X-4 Tent: (full grow):



    In this tent I will be featuring the Budmaster COB-X-4 LED grow lights in a full grow. The plants that will be featured in this grow are:Harlequin, Blue Dream, Black Cherry Soda, Fire OG, Area 51, Black Diamond OG and each of these plants have been cloned from the mother plants and are about 1 month old with the exception of the harlequin and blue dream which are a few weeks older than the rest.

    All of these plants were placed into the tent and immediately topped, to encourage branching as my goal will to be create a nice full canopy similar to a scrog, so I imagine that I will be topping these plants possibly 1-2 more times over the next month or 2 until I get a nice full canopy and they are large enough to flower. At that time I will take clones of all the plants to keep the genetics going and flip them. The goal of this grow is to see how the Budmaster COB-X-4 lights perform in a full grow. I tried to time the grow where I was starting the plants earlier, but due to limitations in space the plants are slightly older than I would have preferred for this grow but still will give a good indicator of how they do under the COB-X-4 panels.

    The pots were still very moist from a previous watering about 5 days ago so they will not be watered again until the soil is dry and I see wilting. I again want to water stress these plants to max out their root covereage before they get transplanted into 5 gallon square pots later in veg.




     
  12. Since the photo upload is not working, here is a grow video update :)



     
  13. Quick video update of what is going on in the garden... Day 16 flowering.



     
  14. IMG_20160205_000118.jpg



    Day 19 Flowering in my garden :)


    IMG_20160204_235900.jpg
    IMG_20160204_235947.jpg
    IMG_20160205_000022.jpg
    IMG_20160205_000028.jpg
    IMG_20160205_000034.jpg
    IMG_20160205_000046.jpg
    IMG_20160205_000054.jpg
    IMG_20160205_000111.jpg


     
  15. IMG_20160209_215534.jpg

    Hey everyone!!
    Update time!
    The Flowering Tent: Day 24 (from flip) under the Budmaster GOD series


    So the flowering tent is looking really really good this run and I honestly can't believe how frosty the girls are getting already. They have all been slowly fattening up and gaining more and filling in slowly the space between the nodes and things right now are going great. Today I gave the girls a watering using 5 gallons of r/o water with : humboldt equillibrium, potassium silicate, earth juice grow, humboldt bloom and some biovam.

    Other than that not much else to report on today. The humidity for the last 3-4 days has been under 10% so I'm sure that its slowing the girls development slightly, and will be adding some wet towels to the tent to help raise the RH inside.


    IMG_20160209_215414.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215445.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215517.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215534.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215605.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215637.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215700.jpg
    IMG_20160209_215721.jpg








     
  16. The Veg tent: under Budmaster COB series:

    The Veg tent is moving along fine now as I gave all the girls a slight flushing with some plain r/o water and epsom salts added to help wash out any issues in the soil. Most of the plants were showing some kind of deficiency, looks sort of like K, Mg or Ca but not quite sure so have been upping the amounts of each and wasn't seeing much progress. I let them plants soil dry out fully and drenched them with water with epsom salts as my understanding of this is that the Mg helps knock loose other ions from the soil. (I think thats what I read). lol

    So after giving them a nice flushing the other day, things are looking really good as most of the plants are showing nice healthy growth, with the exception of the black cherry soda's which are both still just in limbo at the time. I'm sure they will pick up and they always were one of my more finicky plants.

    Other than that my pheno #6 finally rooted (purple tangie pheno) and so I place it in the tent along with my Ogiesel which also finally rooted. Gave them some plain water and a spray of some b-vitamins and they seem to be happy in their new soil

    Here are some photos


    IMG_20160209_220107.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220113.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220119.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220125.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220130.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220135.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220142.jpg
    IMG_20160209_220147.jpg


     
  17. Day 26 Flowering:

    Today makes day 26 flowering under the purple lights and I honestly cant get over how frosty the plants are getting! amazing! I don't know if italso has to do with the jasmine tea I have been spraying on the plants or just the lights or what but wow! impressed.

    I have been using the jasmine tea because I was doing reading and research on things that affect trichome production and supposedly the methyl jasmonic acid that is released from the jasmine plant can effect neighboring plants causing a stress factor that increases the essential oil production, trichome production and other stress related responses. So I have been adding some decaffeinated jasmine tea to my foliar feedings and spraying the plants. Caffeine has shown to delay growth and
    cell replication so I made sure to get decaffeinated.

    Other than that I gave the girls a little water today of some nutrient tea I have had bubbling for 2 days, with earthjuice grow, humboldt bloom, humboldt equilibrium, and potassium silicate.

    Here are today's photos:


    IMG_20160211_191234.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191251.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191300.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191318.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191342.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191427.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191433.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191520.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191536.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191621.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191725.jpg
    IMG_20160211_191747.jpg


     
  18. Here are some quick photos of my VEG tent under the COB panels:

    The girls are all starting to look better after their deficiency issues and new growth is showing on all the plants now and the leaf issues have stopped. I fed them just plain r/o water with epsom salt the other day and I won't water them for probably 2 more days in which I will be giving them a nice compost tea with epsom salt added to it.

    Other than that not much else to share but some photos, enjoy!


    IMG_20160211_201752.jpg
    IMG_20160211_201816.jpg
    IMG_20160211_201820.jpg
    IMG_20160211_201825.jpg
    IMG_20160211_201839.jpg
    IMG_20160211_201849.jpg


     
  19. Hey Everyone...

    So today makes day 29 of flowering and things are coming along quite nicely as the girls continue to get frostier and the buds slowly are getting larger and more full. Still quite some time to go

    So today I decided to check some Brix readings to see where the plants were at.

    Taking the measurements was at hour 5 of the daylight period which is typically when I try to take my readings, at the point of highest metabolism which would be my plants 11am hour..noon.

    I took a sample where I always do, about 4-5 nodes down from the top, a fully developed leaf, and usually I take one that is covering another budsite so removing it serves 2 purposes


    I also noticed that many of these tests were not completely a defined line but more of a gradual shading which is supposed to mean more TDS.

    Here are the results:

    Tangie #3: 14 brix

    IMG_20160214_213043.jpg
    IMG_20160214_213312.jpg



    Ogiesel: 15-16 brix

    IMG_20160214_213426.jpg
    IMG_20160214_213752.jpg



    Tangie #5: 15-16 brix

    IMG_20160214_213932.jpg
    IMG_20160214_214032.jpg



    Tangie #6 (purple pheno): 17-18 brix

    IMG_20160214_214151.jpg
    IMG_20160214_214449.jpg



    Fire OG: 18 Brix:

    IMG_20160214_214625.jpg
    IMG_20160214_214733.jpg



    Black Diamond OG: 15-16 Brix

    IMG_20160214_214901.jpg
    IMG_20160214_215000.jpg



    Tangie #8: 17-18 brix
    IMG_20160214_215130.jpg
    IMG_20160214_215219.jpg




     

Share This Page