Think Outside The Box

[v12xjs]

Greetings my fellow farmers.
I am from Manchester UK and it is just a week since our city received such a painful blow from ISIS. We are getting through it by sharing what we have.
Manchester ran the first ever computer program back in 1948 so it seems apt for me to share my pc grow in my little act of defiance and solidarity against those that would silence us.
So here is my share:

I use a pc case as my main cab, sounds crazy I know but I've perfected a style to ensure I max out every inch of space.
I expect about 1 ounce per harvested plant and I harvest a plant every 3 weeks or so.
Here's a few snaps of previous grows:

I'm just about to start another cycle. All are welcome to tag along.

 

[closetgrow69]

Those ladies look great! What size pots do you use? And how long of a veg time?

 

[v12xjs]

Thanks closetgrower. They don't really get any veg time, maybe a week, I just put rooted clones straight in to 12/12.
The pots are 1.8 litre and the medium is coco.
I'm just about ready to start so I'll be switching the cab on tomorrow.

 

[SMACKA]

You know I'm tuning in! Those nugs look great.

Last time I heard from you, you were running a 100w CMH, has that changed? Is the case new?

 

[v12xjs]

Hey Smacka, good to see you in here ;)
Yes the case is the same one I've been using since 2010 and the light is still 100w ceramic. There's not much room for improvement when I get everything working right, so no reason to change anything really.
For the benefit of anyone else, here's the spec for the grow:

CAB: Full tower PC case - 20"(H) x 18"(W) x 8"(D)
BALLAST: 100w Tridonic PCI digital
LAMP: 100w Philips MasterColor Elite Ceramic Metal Halide
FAN: S&P TD Silent 250 fan with Rhino Pro filter (to be swapped out for 12v pc fan soon)

MEDIUM: Canna Coco
NUTES: Canna Coco A + B

REGIME: 12/12 from seed/rooted clone, perpetual 3 week cycle, LST

Basically I run the cab on a permanent 12/12 but instead of filling it and harvesting every 3 months, I use a perpetual system to harvest half the cab every 3 weeks. Thus doubling my crop :)

 

[v12xjs]

So if I'm putting a clone in every 3 weeks, I will need some clones!
Here's my original seedplant at around 11 days with the 1st cutting already taken:

And 5 days later, there are another couple of candidates I can take from the top:

Now I have enough clones to last me a while, I can get the show on the road.

 

[SMACKA]

Great stuff! How are you managing/timing your clone schedule?

Are your "rooted clones" becoming mother plants as they transition into flower in week 3?

 

[v12xjs]

Sorry for the lack of updates, had to make a few road trips recently so the grow took a back seat.
I kept everything in the clone cab for simplicity and only took the large seedplant out last Sunday. She looked terrible, but a week on and things are settling down.
The new 20w LED in the clone cab seems to be working wonders as evidenced by lots of 9 fingered leaves on the seedplant and clones. One clone clearly hated the hot and cramped conditions and she didn't make it, but here's what's left:

I'll be putting the next clone into the flower cab in about 2 weeks.

 

[SMACKA]

View attachment 713670 View attachment 713673

Makin' it look easy, damn! You seem to churn out clones faster than I'm churning out leaves!

How long are your clones typically staying in the clone chamber? What's your schedule for taking new ones?

 

[v12xjs]

Thanks Smacka.
The ideal system is to have 2 clones available at all times. I then top the oldest 1 and root the top. The bottom part gets a week to recover and then goes straight in to flower.
They are all a bit bigger than I would like but I should be ok.

There's a simple bit of knowledge that makes cloning easy for me. Roots don't grow out of stalk, they only grow out the sockets where leaves used to connect to the stalk. So just make sure you remove some leaves and apply the rooting hormone to those areas especially.
It also helps if you water the mother plant 20 minutes before you take the cuttings.

 

[Midwestjay]

Best micro ive seen

 

[v12xjs]

Thanks Midwestjay.
As I often find myself saying to the women in my life:
It might not look like much to you but it's all the world to me :)

 

[blazeup420]

They look so healthy, compact and those nugs look killer. Well done

 

[v12xjs]

Thanks for the kind words blazeup420, glad you like the grow.

The seedplant has been in stretch for almost 2 weeks now and she's shot up. She is giving me good info on what to expect from the clones however, so I need to take note of what's happening.
Here she is this morning, so almost 2 weeks since the switch:

And after a little LST to help those top colas get back into the light:

She will need some more bondage before she finishes but I think I can keep her under control.

 

[v12xjs]

Happy Birthday Canada :)

It's time to secure my supply. If I want a cutting every 3 weeks then I'm going to need more than I currently have.
For those that don't know exactly how to take cuttings I'll try and cover the main points in this update.
I only want to take the minimum I need to produce a plant simply due to the size of the plants I use.
Here's the donor:

And my workbench:

I'm going to take 2 cutting from the top of this plant.
The genetic instruction for plants to grow upward comes from a group of chemicals called Auxins and they usually congregate at the top of the main cola, pushing it upwards as it were, so there will be lots of vigour in a cutting taken from there.
Observation also shows us that nothing grows from the stem other than at the point where a leaf set grows.
That is where leaves, sidebranches and flowers all come from and it is also the only place roots will come from if we stimulate it accordingly.
So what I am looking for, from the top of the plant down, is a leafball and 3 sets of leaves.
Without cutting anything I first remove the leaves at the point I want the roots to form:

Sap is flowing freely through the plant so there is a low possibility of infection getting in, which is why I take the leaves and any sidebraching off now.
Next I will make a 45 degree cutting about 0.5 cm below this point and immediately put the material into the rooting hormone, taking great care to ensure that the exposed leaf sockets are well covered.

I leave it in the hormone for about 20 - 30 seconds to ensure it is fully taken up by the plant.
While it is in the hormone I clip the ends off 3 fingers of the new bottom leaves. This damage prompts the plant to take the nutrients out of the leaf and kill it as a protective measure, but obviously it has the effect of providing food for the cutting while it makes roots.

I use the butt end of the paintbrush to make a nice hole in the medium so that I retain as much of the hormone around the base as I possibly can. Once it's in I just pat everything down gently and water in with 5 or 6ml of mild feed and a light misting with plain water.
Finally I use a humidity dome to keep them in a mini ecosystem. They need high humidity so I also lightly mist the inside of the dome. They are just 2 litre coke bottles with the tops cut off (I actually use lemonade cos if you buy coke then the US goverment tracks your piss). I tend to cut them roughly so that there are air gaps at the bottom to prevent 100% humidity and provide a small air exchange.
I mist most days for a week or so and they turn out fine. See the donor plant for a good example ;)
Speaking of which, this is what's left. She will go into flower in 7 days:

So now I have 12 weeks supply and can top from any of them:

 

[blazeup420]

Looking good! Thanks for explaining the clones too, I've been meaning to research for myself personally, so that root hormone you use, looks like it's called clonex?

 

[dnewsome2]

Awesome thanks!

 

[Farmer P]

Cool little setup. I thought my first cabinet was small lol. Subbed

 

[v12xjs]

Thanks for commenting guys.
Hey blazeup420, yes it's called Clonex. It works well but I'm guessing so do all the others, just make sure to give enough time for the plant to take up the hormone.

 

[blazeup420]

Thanks for commenting guys.
Hey blazeup420, yes it's called Clonex. It works well but I'm guessing so do all the others, just make sure to give enough time for the plant to take up the hormone.

Thank you