Tale of two Afghans (full-term fluorescent grow)

[Purpstickipunch]

Insanly Awesome! The babies look fab!! Though when Ace of Spades stalk snapped.... it was probably for a good reason.. MORE BUDS!

Oh and PH!? Gimme some input on your ph of the system. What you using for a tester? Is it soil ph tester or strips? Which do you perfer I guess would be better. Also, your water, you using store bought water? This is more for me and my grow, but if you do buy store bought water, distilled or drinking water which ones the best option for our plants?

Also props to your grow, its organized and clean.

Kudos!

 

[Lynk]

Mogrow, I'd wager that the height of your cabinet is killing you. As you well know, T5 HO tubes do emit a bit of heat. In my case, I keep the house rather cool, so the trouble for me is lack of heat.

You can see the "outside" temperature probe in my pictures, middle of the back wall, just below the flowers. Min/Max is currently reading 13.4/26.2 *C, which I realize is a huge swing. On the bottom floor of the closet I have a Min/Max of 13.8/18.3 with humidity ranging from 44-57%. I had intended to install an exhaust fan and charcoal filter above the light; however, life events have put a hold on the finish work.

As it sets, the closet is a simple industrial shelving unit, encased with rigid foam insulation, with a pair of u-bolts on the center of the top rails for hanging a light. Including the light and bloom tubes, the entire setup cost around $500. I expect the finish work to cost another $500. Yet, I'm glad that I decided to run through this grow, because the original plan called for too many plants.

Purpstickipunch, I'll get back to you with another post. :pimp:

 

[lazarus718]

I'm a fan of the fluoro grows, started out in the same boat with a little bit more vertical room than you. I'd alternate one 6500K, one 2700K all the way down the line to get a good mix of spectrums. You are going to have some more issues with that Ace of Spades (Sub's genetics, right?) because it has some Sativa in it, I'd add some stakes in your pot then tie the colas back to the stake with plant ties as she nears the lights. The lights will be hot enough to ruin your trichomes once the tops get close and you probably have until around Week #5 before your stretch is over. Other than the breakage looking good dude, there are definitely no problems with a personal fluoro grow! Next time do your topping, training, etc. in veg before you flower. Doing it in flower is going to decrease your yields due to the plant being stressed to repair itself. Take care man, looking forward to some more pics!

 

[Lynk]

Mogrow, here's an outside picture of the closed closet. I'll leave the wall-side of the enclosure alone. The plan is to use 28" slab door for the ends, which will provide some overhang both front and rear, plus vent at the bottom. The front will be framed with wood and decorated, before getting hung at the ends. The picture is in my mind... the concept is simple. Of course, a proper exhaust will be included.

Purp, here ya go. I started this grow with a soil probe, but stopped using it a day after I bought it. Can you tell me how to read the thing?! Here's a picture of a soil test that I just performed:

To me, that indicates that the soil had a pH of around 6. When the meter isn't in use, the analog rests on the line *between* 6 and 7, so it *could be* indicating a pH of 6.5. Doesn't really matter, because I won't use it. If I had a digital meter, I'd aim for pH 6.3.

I've been watering with distilled water, but the grocers are starting to make wacky remarks about thirst. So what if I'm buying six gallons of distilled water? heheh... I've got a few five gallon pails of tap water conditioning in the tub. Hopefully I don't run into any issues with the switch to tap water. The distilled water has been reading around pH 5.5, whereas my tap water is pH 7.

I generally feed once per week with General Hydroponics Flora Duo, and only started that a week before switching to bloom. The guy at the hydro store gave me a sampler, so I've been putting it to use. Yet, with higher consumption of fluids, I had to feed the girls again this morning.

Half of the time, it's water only; the other half is either nutrients or 0.6% hydrogen peroxide. I started the H2O2 regiment when I got some pesky fungus gnats. The plants reacted so well to the treatment that I just kept it. Hydrogen peroxide won't hurt the plants, but that extra oxygen in the root system sure seems to give everything a boost the next day. Give it a shot!

Lazarus, thank you for the kind words. I got the Ace as a clone, but have no reason to doubt that it's from Subcool. In fact, I'd very much like to obtain some seeds for the strain. The heads-up is very much appreciated. With the break came about a foot of relief in my lights, so I'll keep an eye on the stacking in those colas and raise the roof as needed.

 

[bongtime]

Excellent thread fella be good to see how these buds turn out i might buy a t5 myself...Atb bongtime

 

[Lynk]

Thanks, BT; you timed that post perfectly, eh?

 

[Lynk]

Lazarus, thank you again for mentioning the late stretch from this Ace of Spades; I caught it trying to put its face in the lamp again. A little repositioning of ties, and that problem was solved. I was also able to remove the two lower strings that had started cutting into the stalk.

Day 19 flowering (22 Jan 2012):

Ace of Spades - Top cola

Ace of Spades - Top cola

Ace of Spades - Canopy

Afghan Kush - Top cola

Excluding the top cola, I count 14 separate lollis in the Ace's canopy. The bud sites have already started to get frosty, and this baby has about another 36 days to go! Lest we forget, the Afghan Kush, au naturel, is giving that slow-and-steady glow that suggests it'll be something special. :dance

 

[lazarus718]

Lazarus, thank you again for mentioning the late stretch from this Ace of Spades; I caught it trying to put its face in the lamp again. A little repositioning of ties, and that problem was solved. I was also able to remove the two lower strings that had started cutting into the stalk

No prob dude! I was growing in a pretty small space initially so I've got some experience with heavy duty training. Moved up to a closet but the shelf in that closet limited me to about 28" or so (had to leave extra room for the 400W HID light). With your fluoros its not a huge problem but they will burn too. Main thing is keeping your trichs far enough away on your main colas. Good luck bro, will keep checking in!

 

[Lynk]

Nothing from yesterday; sorry.

Today was the first day of week four... I fed 'em, and left 'em alone! Having moved the thermo-hygrometer to the top part of the cabinet, I now know my temperature and humidity ranges at the canopy. These buds are basking in 15.0-27.2 *C (59-81 *F) at 31-57% relative humidity. Mmmmm, I sure hope it stays that way! :pimp:

Day 21 flowering (24 Jan 2012):

 

[Lynk]

Day 22 flowering (25 Jan 2012):

 

[Lynk]

Y'all want some new pictures? Check out how much this Ace is stacking and frosting! We're not even at the end of week four.

Day 24 flowering (27 Jan 2012):

Day 26 flowering (29 Jan 2012):

 

[E.C.U.G]

Your doing a good job with the fluros bro! the plants are looking really well.

~KMK~

 

[jeffadies]

Lookin good for sure man. keep it up.

 

[Lynk]

We're four weeks deep! Check out these photos...

Day 28 flowering (31 Jan 2012):

:pimp:

 

[D1RTN4PS]

Excellent work Lynk. Large ups for the Flouro crew. I have an HPS but T5 are pretty impressive. I'm running Afwreck or Plane Wreck whatever you wanna call it and they're about a foot tall right now. How much did your Afghanis stretch in bloom? 2x? 3x? I'm just doing a closet show and don't wanna run out of head room if you know what I mean. Thanks bud keep up the good work.


:hunter: :banana1sv6: :pimp:

 

[MakinGoo]

Nice work those buds look great

 

[Lynk]

Dirtnaps, both of the plants were switched to 12/12 at two feet tall. The Afghan Kush grew another foot in the first week; if I hadn't planted it so deep in its five-gallon pot, then it may have stretched another six inches. The Ace of Spades got knocked down after two weeks of bloom, when its height had reached 52 inches.

That Afwreck is Sativa dominant, so I suggest training early, or switching to bloom with lots of ceiling room. Your plants may triple in height. Leave yourself an out.

Anyone else have experience to share with DirtNaps?

Thanks, MG!

 

[D1RTN4PS]

Dirtnaps, both of the plants were switched to 12/12 at two feet tall. The Afghan Kush grew another foot in the first week; if I hadn't planted it so deep in its five-gallon pot, then it may have stretched another six inches. The Ace of Spades got knocked down after two weeks of bloom, when its height had reached 52 inches.

That Afwreck is Sativa dominant, so I suggest training early, or switching to bloom with lots of ceiling room. Your plants may triple in height. Leave yourself an out.

Anyone else have experience to share with DirtNaps?

Thanks for the quick response! I thought the Afwreck would be sativa dominant too but the internode on them is about an inch right now, maybe less. And I found a Plane Wreck thread on here where the guy said it didn't stretch at all in flower. Had about a three foot tall plant. I don't know which way to go. Too early and they're too short, too late and they're overgrowing the space. The classic tale I guess... I'll probably flower them when my 2nd 240cfm fan gets here. Cold air intake for the space, not just the light... Thanks again.
P.S. They're five weeks old, so they should be way taller if they are truly Sativa dominant I would think. And I'm using subcool super soil so they never had a single deficiency or anything. Mostly 80-85 in there too and 30-60% humidity... So they never stopped growing...

 

[Lynk]

I was just judging by the stretch on my Ace. If others are advising that the plant won't stretch, then that may be the case. Given the Sativa dominance, I'd seek a third opinion.

:hunter:

 

[D1RTN4PS]

I was just judging by the stretch on my Ace. If others are advising that the plant won't stretch, then that may be the case. Given the Sativa dominance, I'd seek a third opinion.

:hunter:

For sure. I'm waiting to talk to some of the people who have mega experience with this strain up north... Just so short and bushy for being 5 weeks old. Thanks again. Props cuz.:banana1sv6::banana1sv6: