My first Root is Down

[.RootDown]

So I like to think I'm getting to know my plant pretty well. This morning I predicted that the droopiness I witnessed at the end of her day would continue.

I was wrong, she's looking great! I'm not making any changes to the light cycle today. I will have the QB installed tomorrow, it'll be switched after she's been awakened about six hours. I plan on dimming it to 50% and starting at a height of 24".

Day14 VEG. TWO WEEKS into veg. I guesstimate I've got another four before the flip (advice welcomed as always). I don't know when I'll start with 25% nutes, maybe another two weeks? If she starts showing signs I'll start earlier.

 

[.RootDown]

Day15 VEG
I got my Quantum Board installed. Currently it's dimmed to 50% at 12" from the canopy. The white is so much more pleasant to look at than the blurple.

Growth is still going strong. You can see how shaded the lower leaves are in this picture. LST begins in a few days probably.

 

[.RootDown]

Day18 VEG

A couple of days ago I began LST. Two days following she was looking great, but today the leaves appear faded and not as green. The past few days the humidity has been near 50% and the humidifier hasn't needed filling. Max temps about 82-85, and the growth has been explosive.

Is this light stress, due to the change to the Quantum Board or is it time to start the nutes?

 

[pthobson]

@RootDown You’re overthinking the watering. When you water just make sure you’re ph is right and soak the pot with a good amount of runoff. You can let the soil get quite dry before you should need to water again. The plants typically will droop for a little while after being watered but that is normal.
What QB are you using? I have the 260w V2 in a similar space as you but two feet shorter. No way I’ll be running it full blast. Your plants look great.

Edit: sorry yours appears to be the 260 as well. Didn’t see your picture. I’d back your light off the plant some more for sure. On some of the top growth some of your leaves edges are curling up. Mine were doing the same when using QB at first and I moved the light further away and it seemed to have helped.

 

[.RootDown]

Thanks pthobson.
Watering, that's exactly what I've been doing- I don't water until it's dry and then soak it in with pH6.5. I may be watering this evening (her tomorrow). Probably a related note the humidifier is being activated more now.

Lighting, hopefully raising it to 18" will improve things a bit. I will say that today (her PM Day18 ) she has grown a bit. It's crazy that over the course of nine hours there'd be a visible difference in growth but I can see it. Color is about the same, the next few days at this new height should tell us if it's improved.

 

[.RootDown]

Day21 VEG

Ended up moving the light to 24" and dimmed all the way down to 50%. She's looking great again, color and posture returned. I ended up doing a little more LST and pruned a few of the lower leaves. Response has been good.
Had the exhaust fan off for a couple of days now, it's been chilly and I've been struggling to maintain temperatures.

 

[pthobson]

Day21 VEG

Ended up moving the light to 24" and dimmed all the way down to 50%. She's looking great again, color and posture returned. I ended up doing a little more LST and pruned a few of the lower leaves. Response has been good.
Had the exhaust fan off for a couple of days now, it's been chilly and I've been struggling to maintain temperatures.

Glad backing the light off helped you. I was having the same issue as I am new to this LED thing. They look nice. Good job

 

[pthobson]

And also i wouldn’t start Nutes yet

 

[.RootDown]

And also i wouldn’t start Nutes yet

Agreed. In The Cannabis Grow Bible by Greg Green it's recommend not not start the nutrient program until there is a yellowing of the newest leaves.

I have started to add silicates to my watering, at the advice of my local garden center.

 

[.RootDown]

Day25 VEG

Color/posture/growth have been good.
Yesterday I transplanted to a 3gal. Perhaps a little early, but without seeing the root I really didn't know.
It's been looking good, but seemed to be stretching more than I thought it should. I finally got a KillAWatt to measure the power consumption. I thought the pot on the Meanwell driver ran at 50% power when turned all the way down- turns out it runs at 31% for a whopping 86W. Full power is 270W instead of the 285W I was expecting. I increased the wattage to 150W to achieve 30W/sq ft. I'll be watching over the next few days to see the reaction. I may need to decrease. I've still got the lamp 24" from the canopy.

 

[Nutzach91]

I've been looking into the KILLAWATT
and can't find which one I should buy. Yours measures the watts right away right? Will you post a pick of it and are you happy with it and possibly a link to it. Thanks in advance. OP looks nice really starting to bush out!

 

[.RootDown]

I got the KillAWatt P3
https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550236434&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=killawatt+meter&dpPl=1&dpID=41jXOUcM37L&ref=plSrch

I got it new from eBay, a few bucks cheaper, no shipping/tax, and another bump on my feedback score.
It's very easy to use, and it's a great tool to have.


On another note, my girl wasn't too happy at the end of her day. The leaves we're curled under. I lowered the wattage to 125.

 

[Nutzach91]

perfect thanks bud I'm gonna order one of these, so I know the exact watts on pulling when I dim my qb up and down.

 

[.RootDown]

So I mentioned this morning (her afternoon, so confusing) she wasn't looking so hot... Newer leaves were curled up and folded in. Wish I'd taken a picture. She was clearly not happy with 150W (30W/sqft) so I dropped it down to 125. So far, she woke up on Day 26 VEG looking much better. Hopefully she'll continue to look this good later.

Or maybe I should wish she doesn't look so great and I'd lower the wattage even more. I can go all the way back to 86W and save a few bucks!

 

[.RootDown]

So here's some pictures of my setup as of now. The "Electrical Control Board" is tucked way back on the far side of the tent. I want to mount the Meanwell driver there to get heat out of the tent and have the dimmer control where I can more easily access. I built a custom wiring harness this week, and I have a replacement heatsink (my original slate was damaged, HLG was phenomenal with the warranty process) so at some point I need to tear down and rebuild the Quantum Boards. I'd also like to bring the electrical board closer to the front so I don't have to poke my head through the shelving unit to see the readouts or make fan adjustments. So a slight re-arrangement is in order, but overall I think a pretty nice place to spend time.

 

[.RootDown]

Here's what I wake up to each morning-

These were taken this morning (her Day 28 VEG a few hours before lights out).
The newest growth folds up, the older looks tired. I see some slight yellowing of the tips of the new growth. The lights may be a little strong (QB two 288v2 125W 24"). Hopefully I'll have some PAR readings in the next few days or so...

 

[.RootDown]

Also this morning, this leaf underneath the canopy was very shaded. This is the only leaf that looked like this. Since it is one of the oldest leaves I am assuming this is because it was shaded and not a deficiency, am I right?

 

[.RootDown]

And finally that brings us to today-

Day 29 VEG
She looks great, pic was taken about five hours after lights on. Everything is open and taking in the light. Getting a little dry, tomorrow is watering day. I keep looking at her timeline and wondering when to start feeding. Between the (single, old) yellowing leaf, the slight yellowing of the tips of the newest growth, and feeling like the leaves overall should be a bit darker green has got me thinking of starting a small dose tomorrow 1/3 of recommended Fox Farms. Some input here would be helpful. The only thing I've fed so far is silicate.

 

[diggs99]

just a heads up

When I tried feeding my plants a minimum dose of nutes at day 35 veg they immediately began showing signs of N tox

FFOF can carry plants for quite a while, so just be wary and careful of how much you give them.

I ended up not feeding again until the day I flipped. Day 47 ii think?

Obv different strains will react differently etc

I have also read that guys growing under leds/cobs need to be giving more calmag to help with nute uptake. Something about the leds not pruducing enough heat. Another option is raising your temps.

What are your temps normally?

 

[.RootDown]

day 35 veg they immediately began showing signs of N tox
I ended up not feeding again until the day I flipped. Day 47 ii think?
What are your temps normally?

I remember when you had that early nute burn, I thought it was around day 20 but dang day 47.
Glad you responded, the logic side of my brain says wait. I need to stop listening to the other side for a bit longer.

I didn't know CalMag supplement was tied to temperature. I thought it was how much TDS was available in tap water (mine is 138ppm).
The past week and a half or so I've been keeping the exhaust fan one the cooling circuit, so temps are very steady slow swing from 75-82. I'm concerned about fresh air intake however. When the fan is on constantly it's a constant swing between the same temps, but up and down quickly all day long. Less than ideal and humidity take a huge hit as well. I think the six inch fan may be a bit much for my small tent. I have a speed controller set to minimum. I went with six inch because it's a long run to vent through the roof.

I just ordered a fan controller/timer which will allow me to turn on the exhaust for a set time period every hour. I'm thinking ten minutes on, thirty off. Hopefully this will give me the best of both worlds of temp control and fresh air intake.