First Ebb & Flow Hydro Grow

[Crysmatic]

thanks guys!

i've removed the tomato plants, and potting the girls (as they show) in 1 gal containers with coir. four girls to date. it's starting to look like a proper grow :)

i'm also trying to apply for a med license. my pharmaceuticals are giving me interesting vivid dreams, but i also don't want a criminal record for a few plants.

 

[Crysmatic]

new room

here they are in their new flowering room. it's 26* and 40% rH. i watered them with bt and layed out yellow sticky traps to kill a few fungus gnats. i'm going to give them more food to stop lower sun leaf yellowing and falling off.

this first grow is moot. i didn't move into the space i was anticipating. i'm just flowering them, hopefully finding a good mom, and reveging it to clone for a proper grow.

first is pink kush, then apple pie. the bag seed are all very similar height and appearance, and no branching.

 

[JoeGrow420]

Ya I agree mj in full bloom sucks nutes n h2o like a prosta on the strip... Lol My experiance w "Kush" strains isn't perfected but the two iv experimented w wer pretty hungry plants, so I'd suggest a 50 also... Happy growen

 

[Crysmatic]

Day 18

i'm watering every other day, feed/water. the plants have all really picked up and look a nice green. yesterday i noticed the bag seed are already putting out trichs XD. they seem to like the lights that close, although temps are sneaking up to 28C. they're starting to crank out flowers.

i won't get more than a few oz, but i think it'll be good quality. i'm hoping to harvest most of it by may 24 - the apple pie will go an extra month.

 

[SkyHi]

Better get at least a 40 gallon reservoir for a 4x4, get a 50 and you'll be a much happier camper.

Hell ya i have a 20under my 4x4 and have to top off everyday :dull

thanks for the input. i've already paid for it, and it's worked for others. however, if it is miserable, i'll fix it before i expand.

Miserable is a good way to describe having to top off everyday lol or maybe im just lazy

it's called stereoscopy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy
when we look at something, our brain takes the 2D pictures from each eye and sews them together. the brain does this seamlessly (you probably hadn't even thought about it). that's how we see depth.

if you let your eyes go cross, you'll see a third frame between the two pictures. obviously it's not really 3D (it's still on a flat monitor), but it will have a sense of depth. because i hacked together this photo, it hurts my eyes, and doesn't show a crisp image...but you get the idea.

My eyes now hurt and i can barely see what im typing, thanks lol

Are those reefermans pink kush and apple pie ?

 

[Crysmatic]

the 3d pics will really show their worth at harvest :) i'll really have to step it up to get the trichs in focus.

it is indeed reeferman gear. i've also done nl5, early purple kush, and bc gold. the bc gold smelled nice, and got ripped off. the nl5 was very potent. i like apple pie's high, but i don't have the patience for the 95 day flower. i'd love to play with some different canadian varieties, and hope to graduate to elite plants. yea, i can finally buy seeds through the farm :D

health canada just revamped their mma site! it even has a calculator to tell you how many plants you can grow. at 5g/day, i can grow 19 indoor plants. they're encouraging trees...so i'm split on my next grow. either use the table i've bought, or pony up for something wicked. these small containers need babysitting...i can hardly get away for a weekend for a good time. i'm definitely going automated watering.

 

[Crysmatic]

420

welcome to day 28, and thanks to everyone for following!

they've greened up nicely, and they have slight leaf cupping. i'm guessing it's water stress. it's still 28% rH, and 25C. i've had to crack the door open to keep temps down, but rH is down as well.

it's interesting watching them flower under so much light. they're sending out hairs everywhere. the apple pie in particular has shot up, and is setting the foundation for some good sized buds (on a 24" plant no less).

i bought dr atomic's blueberry jam last week. i also want to get serious seed's white russian and bubble gum. i'll definitely save them for a proper grow.

1st: pink kush
2nd: bag seed
3rd: apple pie

 

[Crysmatic]

aside from heat stress, i believe i have locked out calcium/mag/p by lowering the pH too much. i thought that because i was using coco, i could lower pH to ~5.5 to compensate. i'll keep it at 6.0 from now on. i'm also using litmus drops, so i'm eyeballing pH.

i'll also raise ec from 1.85 to >2.0 - they could probably use more nutes with the more intense light.

i ran dnf through PM/Lucas' spread sheet, and found that i'm totally missing p :( so i either shell out for a bloom booster, buy a bloom fert, or try making one myself. i want a 4-9-9.5, and dnf sells the chems individually for those who want to diy. i should have started a week ago - so i'm not too far off.

 

[Crysmatic]

i tested the run off, and it's about 5.0 (oops). i'm running non pH'ed water now until it gets near 6.0.

i bought dnf's 0-50-30 today. in 5L water, i'm applying at 2.3 g, along with 22 ml dnf bloom a/b, and 1.7 g epsom salts. (yes, it's low in mg too) ec came to 1.99. i need to measure the ec of various ferts in 1 ml water for the spreadsheet to calculate ppm properly, but i think i'm in the ball park.

AN sensi bloom seems to want 1/2x A, and 2x B. dnf diy should do the same job for $32. it's certainly a future experiment.

 

[Crysmatic]

Day 41

tap water : 0.32mS
0-50-30, 1.3 g : 0.48 mS
MgSO4, 3.0 g : 0.75 mS
25 mL DNF Bloom A/B : 2.22 mS
pH, 12 drops HPO3 : ~6.0
25C 40% rH

bagseed: smells kinda citrusy/bubblegummy
pink kush: smells peppery
apple pie

btw, will 800w make you start seeing white spots?

 

[Crysmatic]

i had one really sick plant...so i chopped it down. the pot never dried out, so i figure root damage. it had some good structure, and would have filled out well given proper conditions.

i know it's too early, and i couldn't stand to watch it suffer. it trimmed up pretty nicely, and it's curing right now. it'll be mild, and maybe a little harsh, and it's developing a sweet scent.

 

[Crysmatic]

my bottom leaves are slowly turning yellow and dropping. the stems are purple. the buds are packing on trichs, and i hope they won't suffer too much the last two weeks - i plan to take them down at 56-63 days (depending on their maturity, of course).

up until now i was feeding with lucas formula. this feeding, i tried to mimic AN's sensi/connoiseur's npk ratio. i'm using DNF GROW as the base (~22 ml), along with a 3 g of holland's bulb booster - for its urea content - as well as 0.2g each of DNF 0-50-30 and epsom salts. it should be 106-36-136 ppm. final ec is 2.03, and pH was slightly below 6.0 - without even using phosphoric acid.

the only thing i don't like about holland bulb booster is that it's slow release. i got .31 mS, but i don't know what ppm of nitrogen was dissolved. i think it also uses bone meal, which doesn't easily dissolve.

 

[Crysmatic]

day 63

i picked the bag seed at 63 days. i let it dry out enough to sample it. hint of grape, very clear high, nice, and not overpowering. very functional, euphoric and creative. i left 4 nodes and potted it in a 5 gal bucket. we'll see how it does outside :)

the pink kush is nearing the end...hopefully within this week.

the apple pie...i'll transplant it into a larger pot, and let it finish...in about 4-5 weeks.

 

[Crysmatic]

i gave five plants to a friend. they were his seeds, and i didn't really want them.

i kept his sixth, harvested, dried it and smoked it. everyone loved the smell, taste, and look. it was very cerebral, didn't last long, and had an abrupt let down, but no crash or sleepiness.

pic: the pink kush came down around 65 days. it has a strong peppery smell. it takes a few tokes to feel good - not super strong. nice and dense, very little leaf to trim, good yield. it's now in a 5 gal bucket outside too.

my year old apple pie stash is still the best. super up, creative, great for music, clear headed, euphoric, i don't want more than a few tokes. i hope the new stuff is similar. it still has a week to go. i won't grow out super sativas again, unless i have a full room, and continuous cropping - i've had one plant under a 400 for two weeks now.

 

[entrails]

First this thread has been great to read. I love your detailed reports. Thank you for taking the time to post so much about what you have been gowing through with your grow!

For anyone brand new to hydro who is art all seeking any wisdom learned from others..

Better get at least a 40 gallon reservoir for a 4x4, get a 50 and you'll be a much happier camper.

This is sound advice!!!!! Its a 50 gallon reso per 1000 watt light with a 4 by 4 flood table. A 40 gallon has led to too many dry pumps for me that I had to replace! I go nine plants per table in most cases........

When I was new to hydro this would have helped me.....


When starting out first invest in a good meter and use Flora Nova bloom ala Lucas, unless growing Cal/mag hungry strains such as the chem line, which you should not be for your first run anyway. I follow this formula for each 4 foot plot!


1) 1k hps light
2) a light rail mover from day 1(does not cost a lot, you are a fool to not use a light rail from day one, I said day day of planning your grow op...I bought this with out my grow partners permission and he was pissed but not after we saw it in action and saw the results)!!!!!!!
3) 4 by 4 flood table (I can buy the white botties for $89 bucks) holes drilled with a conical drill bit....in the proper places...
4) 50 gallon reso, the black hydro farm kind that have water markers are what I use.
5) 396 pump
6) use digital timers 100% of the time. In no way will I ever use a push pin timer ever again, pieces of crap.
7) 6 inch GH coco pots are used to put clones into with growrocks.......this is for veg.....roots come out the sides after a couple of weeks...
8) 9 inch scquare pots are then used. Transplant by placing the entire 6 inch coco pot with all the hydroton into the square net pot and fill with additional hydroton
9) set up the plants in 3 rows of 3

Buzz with light mover!!!!

Sorry to be a bit off topic..but I typed that all really fast so it did not waste much of my time.....

 

[Crysmatic]

unfortunately, the laws encourage few, large plants. i may not use my table at all if i get a license, as i hope.

here is the apple pie at 92 days. i just started straight water, and i have a feeling it'll top 100 days easily :S it's a little wispy - maybe because i gave it dnf grow through flower, maybe because it was in too small a pot. dnf grow actually has more P, and better NPK ratio than dnf bloom:icon_dizzy: i added 0-50-30 in the middle weeks to boost bloom.

i'm getting grape, woody, incense smells. great pot, i just don't have the patience to grow it out.

 

[Crysmatic]

here is a pic of the bagseed in the 5 gal pot. the pink kush is barely doing anything yet.

my plants hate me for using that 'soil' :(

the apple pie is still going at 98 days...

 

[Crysmatic]

the apple pie is still going...it's sitting in my garden, under the sun, ripening.

i bit the bullet and transplanted the bagseed. i washed away all the old 'soil', drilled a bunch more holes in the bucket, layed down 1" of hydroton, and put fresh pro-mix. it should take off soon.

 

[Crysmatic]

i finally took down the apple pie at day 105. it's hanging in a cool, dark place. i dried a small bud and rolled it with some previous apple pie, along with a little finger hash. it's great for listening to music, and a little on the weak side. seasoned smokers won't care for it, and i don't like the flower time.

the mystery seed is doing well. in retrospect, i should have started it in a much smaller container. it's been raining a lot in the last week, and now i don't know how much nute soln to give it.

the pink kush is just starting to veg. we'll see if it yields decently, or even finishes before first frost.

i bought some lady bugs to control beasties in our garden :)

 

[lone_botanist]

good thread here,, i am a predicate soil growe myself jus getting togethermy first ebb and flow system,, keep up the good work!!