The Chow Mix Hempy Experience

[mrdizzle]

im with you bro my hempy room is packed and I love it because I can move the plants whenever I want to get around. I might switch to 10gal tubs next run so I can move all the plants where I want them


the stem rot is a lil different then root rot, stem rot is from the stem being to wet and decaying, the root rot is a water mold, once the stem stops pulling up water the roots will rot.

 

[amstercal]

Great thread, easy, and the ladies look great!

 

[easypleasie]

Thanks amstercal! I'll try to get some lights out pics here soon.

Dizz, I don't even know how the last two girls made it to the end. I totally lucked out.

Being able to move the girls is hella convenient...especially during the stretch period. They sit all the way in the corners now. Loving the ease of growing this way and yields are more than good enough for me. Just gotta have a big enough space for veg...and a big enough doorway to move them out!

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I have never had the need to move a tree before. I used to use bio-organics.com you can get 3 lbs for 85 lbs. I am now using a product that has half the bios in it but I get it in 25 lbs. so it goes far.
What about using 3.5 gal buckets in there and just drill them out, then smooth the holes with a propane torch? That would give you better drainage and a sturdier base for a tree. JK

 

[TrichromeFan]

Hey TF, I've narrowed it down to 13 dawgs pheno #3 and my white fire. Smoke is great and yield is decent with both and should be better with a little longer flowering this time around. I'm keeping my hazy jones but getting rid of the other phenos of the dawgs.

It's hard to dial things in when you only have one room and trying to run different strains. I built a small 8x9 flower room to play around with different setups and to flower new strains. I have 3 chow mix girls (one white fire and two dawgs #3) that i'm about to flip with one 1k vert in the test room. Then it's off to flowering some new strains. Got Sannie's Jackberry on deck!

The main flower room is gonna get 5 White fires in the old mpb setup. Clones are going into netpots in the next couple days. Gonna be fun growing at the same time with ya, bro! I'm gonna flip flop my 4k (2k on at a time) to see how that works out. I'm trying to get things a little more efficient and may end up trying it with 600s lol

How your new girls doing?

New girls are great. Getting bigger every day already. Haven't even been in the pots a week! I better get crackin' on finishing up the rest of the remaining details on my flower room. I'm definitely jealous that you have a second flower room going. I think that the single vertical 1k should be very efficient. You air cooling it? How about a single 1k with a 400mh stacked with it in a double cool tube? Maybe a 3 plant stadium scrog? Heath style, with low plant numbers!

-TF:evilgrin0013:

 

[easypleasie]

haha bro, get moving or you'll be in the same situation I was in! Girls grow like mad when vegging like this.

I'm still on the fence about using a single 1k or two 600s. I'd have better spectrum with the 600s since I'd use one mh and one hps but i'll get better penetration with the 1k hps. I might use the 600s at the beginning and end of flower and the 1k for the rest. If I was going for yield, I would use all of them! Trying to keep things as simple as possible.

I need to do a test run to see where my temps are first. Running bare bulb and no a/c or co2, just a single 8" exhaust fan. I have a spare cool tube I could use If I need it but rather not if I can get away with it. I'm using all leftover stuff and don't wanna spend any money on new equipment. Spent way too much already!

 

[TrichromeFan]

Easy,
oh you better believe that I remember your overgrown veg experience! That is one of the biggest reasons that I was slow to put plants in the system. I hope to start out maybe a little on the smaller side before flip on the first batch. That way I can gauge how much bigger to veg them on future runs, to max my bucket spacing, without total wild jungle!

Is the reason for not running the cool tube in the new flower space, because of decreased lumen output? I do notice that the majority of what I have seen of Heath's grows, that he runs bare bulb. I really dig his vertical stack of 2 bulbs. Makes perfect sense for better light distribution for those tall trees!

 

[easypleasie]

JK, I would prefer to use the stronger buckets and may end up using them. Already have some with holes drilled out. Definitely a lot more room for roots and drainage. I was concerned about the bottom of the bucket sitting too low below the water level in the bins. Do you see any problems with that? With the netpots, the level is 1.5" above the bottom of the netpot...about 4" with the buckets. I could cut spacers to raise them up or just use my modified netpots with the extra holes. Maybe even put a timer for the top feed...lots to figure out here. You mention only using one pump for your 3000...how are you running them? Top feed only? I was gonna try that with my old round krusty type tubs.

TF, no reason other than trying to keep things simpler. I wouldn't use cool tubes with 600s but will with 1ks. Cold temps outside make it possible to run bare bulb right now.

Heath is trying to get the most out of 600s and the little lumen loss with tubes may be much more noticeable with his grows. I don't think it's as much of a deal with 1ks since you have a lot more lumens to work with. I do like my old 2k vert setup with cool tubes and may try that again but on a flip. Lots of things to play with! If you have the space, build you a little play room to experiment with :)

 

[easypleasie]

Around 62 days

About another week for most of the girls in the room :) My Hazy Jones girl will end up going 1-2 weeks longer, which is fine cause this gives me more time to veg up my next round of mpb girls...all white fires! I was gonna use 3 chow mix and 3 rdwc but the chow mix girls got too big and need to be flowered now.

I have quite a few snapped branches this time. Mostly from the white fire and my middle 13 dawgs girl. I didn't think I was gonna need the yo-yos on a few branches...I thought wrong! It might be time to try some silica blast for the next run.

 

[HG23]

Looks fuckin dank man, nice work. I might use the chow mix to transition into vertical lighting, would you recommed it? Also is there anything you learned that is specific to the chow mix that might be helpful, like watering frequency or the wicking that JK talked about? Keep us posted on the harvest report brotha. I cant wait to see you *white* fire up the mpb's.

 

[motherlode]

shit is crazy in there - sick ass colas!

silica will help a bit bro, support them up or your losing weight, especially on white fire (or any og)

 

[easypleasie]

HG23, if you wanna grow big plants, vertical is the way to go. Doesn't really matter what you use to grow in but chow mix is nice and simple. I think the only time you have to worry about the wicking is when your plants are still small and your roots aren't fully established in the containers. Also depends on the ratio of coco/hydroton and how much water your container holds at the bottom. Mine only hold about an inch and probably isn't doing much since I water more than once a day. Just gotta judge how much they are drinking and water accordingly. My girls drink a ton from week 3 on so I have to water twice a day or they will dry out.

motherlode, I didn't use a cage this time and paid the price. Stakes took care of the main support and yo-yos took care of most the bigger branches. It's all the weak little branches with heavy golf ball sized buds that are snapping. Kinda odd to see dense little buds on tiny branches lol

 

[Mountain High]

damn EP this grow is kickin' some ass! happy to hear the chow mix is doing good for you. i just bought some hydroton and coco chips last week, getting ready to run this mix next round.

 

[Coxie]

Hey easy,

My mouth is watering, look at those bitches!! Looks to be a good yield, sticky too. Nice!!

 

[motherlode]

motherlode, I didn't use a cage this time and paid the price. Stakes took care of the main support and yo-yos took care of most the bigger branches. It's all the weak little branches with heavy golf ball sized buds that are snapping. Kinda odd to see dense little buds on tiny branches lol

yeah that white fire og grows nice ass buds on very little stem and even the bottom branches not getting much light really finish out

 

[altitudefarmer]

My goodness

Nice grow, buddy! I am currently experimenting with a couple girls in the chow mix. Glad I saw this thread- inspiration for sure! I mixed my hydroton 50/50 with coco; the pH drops about 1 whole point by the time it gets to runoff. Does that seems right? (just eerily similar to my peat-based soil...)
I mixed 20 gallons of chow- 10 gal hydroton, 10 gal coco, added 1 TBSP dolomite, 1 tsp azomite. Sound like a good mix, anyone? Never grown in coco.
Only been on it about a week, and the plants are growing just fine. Thanks for sharing this thread! Peace

 

[easypleasie]

Mountain High, If you mix coco with the chips, make sure you don't have any spaces in the container. I tried a 50/50 mix before and I had huge air spaces where roots couldn't grow.

Coxie, def should be a nice yield. I haven't found my beast keeper though. Still searching for a strain that will break the 3 lb. barrier lol :)

motherload, you're totally right about all the buds being nice from top to bottom! My buds in the far back of the plant are even developing. She doesn't seem to need the intense lighting like my other girls.

Welcome altitude :) Good to see someone else trying the chow mix. How's your white fire girls coming along?

A point drop is a lot! Sounds like you might have a bit of salt buildup. What are your feed ppms? Are you using hempies or regular containers? I'm gonna get rid of the hempy feature on future runs as I don't think it's serving much of a purpose for me. It just collects salts and ends up causing the ph to be really low at the bottom. No roots grow at all in the bottom 2" of hydroton. This is good cause it doesn't clog the drain but it's two more inches of root space that could be used. I'll probably use a tub in a tub next run so the bottom one can be the drain and i'll be able to rotate the plants if I need to.

 

[altitudefarmer]

Good idea- tub in tub. The point drop was on a test watering with no plant in the container. I just wanted to get a general idea. I took a 2 gallon pot and filled it with my mix. I then watered with 7.0pH water, and the runoff tested a little over 6. I think the dolomite and azomite may have contributed to the fluctuation. I ended up mixing a total of 30 gallons and did not add any extra dolo or anything else. pH drop is not about 1/2 point- very manageable. Thanks for the response!
Btw, I'm using smart pots.

 

[easypleasie]

Make sure you rinse the coco real good. Sometimes I get batches that are really high in salts and that could throw your readings off...especially if you're using RO water. You probably won't need to amend the mix with anything. That might be more trouble than it's worth! I like the idea of using smart pots with the chow mix. Best of luck, bro! Hope you journal your experiences.

 

[HG23]

Hey EP, if I wanted to use the H&G line for chow mix, it would be the COCOS A&B right? or Aquaflakes?