Psychedelic Anti-Bolshevik Rail Disaster (Closetmaid, CFL, 3 strain grow)

[Dogwap]

Hey all,

Been a couple of weeks since I posted here. I've relocated the detailed journal to try and get more play.

But I'll provide summary updates here as I get a chance.

Last two weeks have been eventful, traumatic, and exciting.

Exasperated by the nutrient deficiencies I was experiencing during my first three week, I ditched the Lucas formula and the GH nutrients, and switched to X nutrients that I got as a free sample from my local store. Started off at 75% of the recommended three-part recipe.

This seemed to help.

Then disaster struck.

The spray nozzles clogged and my plants started to die.

I redesigned the system so that the nozzles are easily inspect-able and replaceable. The retrofit took a full day, but by late in the evening the plants were coming back to life.

The plans for my new Exo-Aero Grow System are shown below. It's working excellently.

But the plants took a lot of damage from two days will little water/nutrients.

Next, I added the Scrog screen and started tucking and trimming.

Then I switched to the flowering phase. Changed lights, nuts, and timing.

As of today, the plants are doing great with no signs of deficiencies, and the screen is filling up.

 

[Dogwap]

Thanks OG, it's been fun so far.

Although I've spent a lot more time on this project that I planned.

 

[Dogwap]

Been 12 days since my last post.

No real drama.

Screen is pretty much full (one corner still open).

White Russian is starting to bud nicely. Not much action on the Train Wreck.

Only problem is that a single stalk on the Train Wreck has risen a full 6 inches above the rest of the canopy, making even lighting a challenge. But I've moved the bulbs around and things are looking good.

Took these shots yesterday AM while I was switching out the nutrient solution.

 

[Dogwap]

Hey OG thanks for the tip,

I'm gonna have to do something. Is it too late to top. And the stem is thick'ern a #4 pencil. So bending won't be easy.

Please explain what you mean by pinching the stem and bending it?

 

[FatMarty]

Hey dog you can use something like an s-hook to weight down the branch or tie it down.
The trick is to start with a little weight near top and gently over a day or two 'pull' it to the spot you want it. It is not too thick to change yet.

Your grow looks good and your DIY skills are killer cool man.

Question: Where did you get those little lamps sockects you used to construct your overhead cfl array with?

 

[Dogwap]

Thanks for the tip guys. I got behind the curve on this one. One day it was the tallest kid in the yard, and the next, it was the Incredible Giant Woman!

So I started bending it last night. I used a couple of velcro ties and am pulling it toward the one open hole. I was saving that hole for a branch that's slowly coming in from below. They'll have to fight for it now.

Fatty, thanks for the props. But I suck at building shit. On the other hand, I'm not bad at design (mfa from a good design school).

I got those sockets from Lowes. But you can find them at HD or on Amazon as well.

If you're interested in the light fixture, check out this thread, which details all aspects on the design and build. It was cheap and easy to build, and is working very well.

 

[Dogwap]

Last night and this morning, I trussed down the three tallest Train Wreck stalks.

The following is this mornings's entry:

D51/B19: 12-15-11 @ 6:10 PM

Garage Temp: 63.5
Grow Chamber Temp: 83
Grow Chamber RH: 37%
Reservoir Temp: n/m
Reservoir pH: 5.4
Reservoir ppm: 1190

Noted that the bugs are coming from the roots. A few dead bugs in the sticky trap.

Added 10 ml pH UP.

After the addition:

pH: 6.0
ppm: 1210

 

[Dogwap]

Brief update and some photos.

Last Friday, the cabinet flooded. Turns out that the roots are impeding rail dranage. What happened was that nutrient pump schedule of 1 min on/ 4 mins off did not allow enough time for the root chamber to drain.

Reset the timer to 30 seconds on and 10 minutes off. Works fine now.

The following is my journal from yesterday...

Sunday-D54/B22: 12-18-11 @ 6:30 AM

Garage Temp: 66
Grow Chamber Temp: 91.5 (Lights were touching the sending unit)
Grow Chamber RH: 30% (Lights were touching the sending unit)
Reservoir Temp: n/m
Reservoir pH: 5.3
Reservoir ppm: 1100
Reservoir volume: 3.6

Removed about 3.5 gallons of water (as much as could be siphoned). Reservoir looked empty.

Added 8.5 gallons of Ralphs RO water

Added:
5 ml GH Flora Grow
64 ml GH Flroa Micro
107 ml GH Flora Bloom

21 ml MagiCal
21 ml Botanicare Hydroplex

20 ml GH pH UP

Calibrated the meter: It read 6.9 in 7.0 pH Solution; 4.2 in 4.01 pH Solution; and 1490 in 1500 ppm Solution.

Put lights back in their original configuration (30 and 42 watters in the main fixture, and 23 watt bulbs in the doubles). Temp and RH should read correctly again.

Found powdery mildew on several leaves and cut them off. Stuff looked pretty cool on my $3 Amazon pocket microscope. Will need to do some research on powdery mildew. But I suspect that just thinning out the foilage and not using the spray bottle will kill it.

After the additions:

pH: 5.9
ppm: 1090
Volume: At least 9.5 gallons

Sunday photos: