Starting ambitious new SOG

[amsterdam2015]

Hello RUI,

I have not been able to grow for a little while, but have relocated in the Netherlands and am now undertaking a small closet grow with LED lighting.

The closet is 65cmx50cmx180cm

Through previous experimentation I have found that Hempy buckets work well, and I have found square 2ltr pots, which are perfect for filling the space.

I plan to fit in 6x5 rows of 2ltr buckets, using clones from SAGE and MK Ultra.

The LEDs I am using have a combined 270w and I will be looking for 8-10g for each of the buckets.

This should be 30 x 8-10g giving me an upper estimate of 300g.

(this should work out to over 1wpg, and around 75g per square foot)

Will update with pictures soon, I am in the vegging phase of the process and will be picking out the best SAGE and MK Ultras to clone for the next phase..


Cheers for reading guys and sub if you're interested

 

[vostok]

pics ...? please?

 

[amsterdam2015]

I will take some pictures during lights on tomorrow, it is all fairly uninteresting as far as the plants go, they are still seedlings (5 days old) but it will give an idea of the pot shape etc and how I will fill the cabinet.

I know 2x2 (roughly) is small, but based on previous grows, albeit with more light and less bottles I was achieving nearly 30g per single cola/2ltr bottle

That was with 600w HPS, these 135w LEDs "claim" to be like a 300/400hps, so if we say that is about 200% the realistic amount and its more like 250hps then 2 of them is at least 350-400hps equivalent.

So, shooting for a 3rd of the previous yield I think is within reason, in my head I am picturing an 8g bud, and its not huge, even when wet/growing, and to fill the closet with 30 of them seems all too easy.

Maybe I am getting something wrong, because when I first realised this was my growing space I was horrified that I would never be able to produce enough cannabis to last me, which is roughly 3g per day. However, if I achieve my goal of 300g this would last me 100 days, which is almost twice the length of time i'l be flowering for once things are dialed in, or I could smoke nearly twice as much..

I previously only used the LED for the veg phase really, so this maybe I am completely overestimating the ability, can anyone who reads this and grows with LEDs provide a gram per square foot amount please? Or traditional gram per watt amount..

Cheers for reading and boring pics tomorow

 

[ellydee]

50 grams per square foot is easily doable, but I use 1 AdvancedLed DS-200(186 actual watts) over each 2'x2' area(46.5 watts p.s.f.). 4 plants in 2 or 3 gallon airpots flowered to a height of 24".
Depending on the brand of your lights, you are probably equivalent to 250hps using both lamps.
What brand of led lights are you going to use?

 

[amsterdam2015]

Wicked! Nice for some insight into a previous growers experience in a similar sized space..

The brand, I am not sure, they are a UK company, but the panels have actual draws of 135W and 150W, so combined wattage is 285W rather than the 270W I originally thought.

Its interesting you used fairly large pots, can I ask how long you vegged for? Did you veg in the same space? For me, time is of the essence at the moment so I will be looking to get these into flower really quickly in small pots, for a faster turnover.

I did not state it originally, but this will be a perpetual grow, I am not sure the exact timing yet, but I estimate I will take 3 or 4 buckets a week (40g) and replace them with the same amount of clones, ready to flower.

Its also nice to know that my estimate is not beyond reach, 50g per square foot, I would be happy with really.

Pictures coming today..



Using Sensi Bloom/Grow range throughout the grow, with some canna PK 13/14 and Rhizotonic.

Also the hempy buckets are 100% perlite, the hole is 3 inches from the bottom to give a little more time between each watering. (annoying watering 30 plants at a time.. lol)

 

[amsterdam2015]

Upon doing some further research, the LED panel might well only be 60w.. so, with that in mind, I am not taking the chance on buying another from that company. I have found a panel that is 180W with an actual draw of 100W I plan on purchasing 2 of these, so, 200W, with this units 60w? probably looking at around 260W total now.

Changing the subject slightly, what I would really like to do eventually, is find the shortest strain/pheno out of what I grow, and make this 150cm box into a 2 level flowering box, and eventually get another 200w for the next chamber, giving 460w total in both.

Does anyone think you could grow a strain with only 75cm height, without doing lst, (because I have no veg room, only a tiny light for keeping clones alive) basically going single cola plants?

I have worked it out, and it seems possible, but I am not entirely sure..

28cm is the top of the pots im using.. if I give another 28cm for the plant height above the top that leaves 19cm for the led fixture and space between the tops.. If the fixture takes up 10cm, is 9cm too close to the tops of the plants? Probably too narrow of an angle to hit the corners?


Just really want to maximise this tiny grow space and I am struggling to think of how..

 

[amsterdam2015]

small update..

View attachment 2999382

 

[amsterdam2015]

Well, things are moving slowly as it always seems to be at the start.

Not sure why, but my hempys never tend to look that good till they get a few sets of leaves in, they tend to curl under, not sure why really..

Just a couple shots of the setup and the best and worst looking guys..

Germinated another 3 seeds, this time Silver Haze from Sensi Seeds, as I need to keep populating the grow box until the plants in there can be cloned ready for the next run.

 

[amsterdam2015]

 

[amsterdam2015]

Also, been chopping and changing with regards to which LED lights to purchase, and I think I am going to opt for a better brand and pay a little more, for less overall wattage, hoping that the better build quality etc make it the right choice.

I am going with a VIPAR 400w (actual draw 200w) which in my space gives me over 75w psf

I will then use my existing 135w (60-90w) LED panel for clones and keeping the mother plants alive.

Cheers for reading guys and I know its boring as hell as the moment right now, but in time it gets more interesting rest assured! The cabinet will eventually be absolutely packed to the brim with colas, these hempys have not let me down yet!

After reading several newer diaries with LED technology, around 1gpw does seem a realistic target, so will eventually be aiming for a 200g yield..

Pics of the Sensi - Silver Haze will come when they pop through the riot rooters..

 

[amsterdam2015]

Just a small update again, things starting to pick up pace a little bit now. The 3 Silver Haze have all popped up and they are now under the lights too.

The new LED was ordered a little while ago and is on its way, I will set things up properly when that arrives as I will be able to have a separate veg area and can put these girls under 12/12.

Still have some issues with regards small leaves and node stacking, I am putting this down to it being my first grow in the new place and I have not got things quite right yet, I have no PH pen for instance and the tap water here is obviously very different from in England.

Just hope things are going to pick up nicely when they hit the reservoir at the bottom of the pots, I think I have to wait for this to happen before going to 12/12 or it tends to severely stunt the overall plant size (if you flip prior to them hitting the reservoir I find the plant does not stretch at all, and just buds at whatever height it is, I have had maybe 6-10 plants that Ive accidentally put under 12/12 too soon and they ended so strange, just a mini bush that turns into one bud.

Anyway, hopefully this can serve as some sort of guide for people starting hempy for the first time, I will keep things updated throughout.

 

[amsterdam2015]

Re potted them into smaller cups as I felt they were going to take too long to hit the reservoir. (transplanted far too early in retrospect.. my fault)

Hope this will spur them into life as they are tiny compared to where they should be at 2 weeks..

 

[amsterdam2015]

Does anyone else grow in hempy that has read this and can offer suggestions on a better start?

 

[amsterdam2015]

Losing 2 weeks or so to slow growth is pretty annoying, especially when you have to pay around 15 euro per gram to buy it, the weeks end up being VERY expensive.

 

[joe macclennan]

15 euro? that's like20$/gram?

damn, that's nuts. are you really in amsterdam? cuz I would think it would be cheaper than that there.

 

[amsterdam2015]

Hi,

Yes, I am in Amsterdam, and it ranges to be honest. You can pick stuff up for 8-10e but it is not really too good and you go through it so fast. The nicer stuff on the menus is from 13-20 per g of weed and the ices and waxes etc can be 100e per gram.

Before I moved I was growing and probably smoking 5g a day, smoking 5g a day here is painful.. lol simply cannot keep it up..

I am only smoking maybe 2g a day, but even that is crippling me financially.

So, any tips for a desperate guy? lol

 

[amsterdam2015]

some places do discounts on 5g purchases, but its hardly a dealbreaker, annoying not being able to buy larger amounts.

ive worked out that in england, it was costing roughly 5e/g when I used to buy it in ounces, so this is roughly 3 times as pricey.

Its a tourist trap really, but hopefully will use it to my advantage when it comes to selling to the coffeeshops

 

[joe macclennan]

So, any tips for a desperate guy? lol

yes, but i'll probably get flamed as a hater....which i'm not.

get yourself an hid bulb and fixture. You will see much better growth ime.

i've tried the blackstars....and was not impressed. It would take easily 3 watts of led to =1 watt of hid in growth and mass..if you could get that even.

let the flaming begin

 

[amsterdam2015]

Sorry, its not an option. Ive grown for a couple years with a 600w HPS, but still used an LED for vegging. This is a vegging issue, its about how quickly they have started to grow, its got nothing to do with flowering, or about LED lights.

Please keep it on topic, i'd like some help with hempy buckets, and if people have some tips when it comes to feeding seedlings right off the bat with 100% perlite setups.

The lighting has nothing to do with the issues im having.

 

[amsterdam2015]

I am thinking it might be a boron deficiency causing them to bunch up and have tiny leaves.. The apartment itself feels very dry, so I am going to assume that my grow room is exceptionally dry and I have just read that low humidity can cause a plant to exhibit boron deficiencies as it struggles to absorb at the low humidity. I keep a towel in there anyway in order to keep the air moist, but I guess that is not working..

Boron is also when plants are underwatered, and I have just put them into new "dry" mixes so maybe this is why they are looking bad?

Its so frustrating having to try and sort all these problems when the last setup worked perfectly with basically the same equipment. Different country I guess has different temp/humidity and the water is obviously very different here because I still cant rule out PH problems.

Just want things like they were! :/