I started this grow in a larger cabinet in my unheated shop in mid-December. Then the coldest winter weather we've had in years set in. I had problems regulating temperature and humidity, and my plants were suffering. I made an emergency move into my basement, using a smaller cabinet that I originally used for starting seeds and vegging. My plants are a lot happier; the basement seems to be the perfect environment. The bigger plants were vegged for about two weeks before flipping to 12/12. The seedling was popped under 12/12, and I have one more in the peat puck that should be sprouting any day now. My plan for this grow is 12/12 from seed perpetual. I have hardware-cloth cages for the light fixtures that will allow the plants to grow right up around the bulbs. I'm waiting for a couple of 50W HPS kits that I'll use to build remote ballast fixtures to replace the flouros. Right now, I'm pumping in fresh humidified air through the ghetto duct-tape hood; the cabinet is loose enough that old air gets pushed right out. I have a duct booster fan vented to the outside if needed, but I'm not running it right now. And this ain't my first rodeo; there will be bud!
Very cool cabinate man. What sort of yields have you had with 12/12 from seed in the past? im doing an auto in a box a lot smaller than yours so im interested to compare our yields when the time comes. Cheers!
Last time I ran like that, maybe 1/4 oz from a nice little single cola plant. That was under a 250W. Kinda hard to tell until I guess this all figured out and dialed in.
nice to see someone using proper pots instead of old jars and stuff haha. nice box mate, is there a reason you have both your intake and outake at the top? I'm thinking if you had your intake and the bottom the general air flow would be more efficient. they would benefit from a circulation fan blowing on them I reckon, I find fans make huge differences to growth rates. however I must say your gals are looking pretty healthy anyway
Originally when I used this to start seeds, the venting was passive, so I just wanted the hot air to rise up and dissipate out the holes. I was running less wattage, so heat wasn't a factor. I just reused the same vent holes for this setup. If I decide to keep my grow in my basement (which I'm leaning towards), I may rework my setup. I want to get this micro 12/12 from seed thing figured out, then I can tweak it.
It figures, this plant has been the grumpiest and the little bitch just started sprouting pussy hairs. Sprouted 12/19/12 under 18/6, flipped to 12/12 on 1/1/13.
The basement move was a good thing. The first crop is happy; starting to show sex. The first 12/12 from seed sprout is looking good, and the second is just popping. I went ahead and installed the screens around the bulbs; my experience has been that once the plants make the transition to flowering, they'll blow up in a hurry. I hope they grow right up around the bulbs to the top of the cabinet. The grumpy droopy female rebounded once she dried out. I'm going to try to let these plants dry out a bit to where they start to wither before watering if I can manage. I've done this before, not neccessarily intentionally, and have been amazed at how they responded. It's a bit tricky with the younguns, 'cause the line between life and death is thin.
Finally getting a break from the brutal weather. I tore apart the cabinet in my shop; won't be using it again, will be working indoors. So I have parts I can re-use. I fitted in my nice Elicent 4" inline fan; plugged into a fan speed controller. This thing is an air hog; with this little cabinet and the controller set at minimum speed, it keeps the temps close to ambient (~65F). This exhausts straight through a duct to the outside; this space was originally designed as a laundry closet. I can handle more lights, maybe a 50W HPS in the middle of the CFLs. I want to leave a little room for the plants though. I also installed a couple of 18" flouros, 15W each, with plant bulbs, can't tell you the spectrum right now. And I cleaned up my ductwork.
I would usually say around 10 to 12 weeks, but I haven't run them before with this specific setup. Lots of variables. Plants won't flower until they're ready, usually 3 or 4 weeks after sprouting, then 6 to 8 weeks. Stay tuned!
Most definitely. My ideal setup is a clone mom in a rooting/veg chamber with a handful of rooting clones (couple weeks maybe) then a ~12ish week straight up 12/12. SoG type thing, permanent harvest. Living the dream. Subbed for the ride, of course.
I have run rooted clones straight to 12/12 before, nice little single-cola plants. Dumbass at the dispensary told me I'd get nothing; there's a reason I no longer deal with that crap.
From the pics of the closed box, it looks like a potential of light leaks. Do you keep the room dark? Being a new grower I'm not certain the issues (if any) of leaks on a 12/12 SOG. You're where I want to be in 8weeks. Currently vegging up my mother. - Bob
I'm subbed I'm all about 12/12 from start but I use clones. I'm surprised you didn't keep your other box to have a mother plant going.
Argh, been wrasslin' with grumpy plants; drooping in particular. I had to tweak my climate control, but I think the main problem was that they were rootbound in their little pots. I transplanted four of them to one-quart pots, waiting for the last two to dry out so I can do them too. The ones I pulled out of those small pots were definitely all bound up. I think the basic setup is working good, I just have to sort out the details.