My First DIY Cab Grow: Using the K.I.S.S. Method

[notballin]

Minor update (no pictures)

Lanky... for some odd reason... decided to grow three tops. I wondered why vertical growth stopped and now I know the reason. Looking promising if it's a female, though I have no desire to clone it.

Duckfoot is beginning to extend her nodes a bit and make bigger leaves, which is good. The white discoloring has faded a lot.

Keeper continues to give zero fucks.

Pepper (the feminized seed) is fleshing out her second and third set of leaves on her two new tops.

Everything's looking nice and green. Paycheck hit, so I ordered a few more LED's and some directional light socket adapters. I also ordered one that's flexy. I plan on overhanging a 20w Blue/Red LED in a bulb attached to the adapter (the gears in my brain are turning and I'm going to need an overhanging source of light sooner or later).

Will update later next week with pictures and, hopefully, new box upgrades!

 

[TheDude0007]

Love the cab. I think it is a very neat clean and simple setup. Looks really cool and the stealth is understated. I feel it work very very well. No one will know unless they are there and the light are on inside. Amazing job. Good luck with your plants.

 

[notballin]

Love the cab. I think it is a very neat clean and simple setup. Looks really cool and the stealth is understated. I feel it work very very well. No one will know unless they are there and the light are on inside. Amazing job. Good luck with your plants.

Thank you, sir! And you just gave me an idea.

Before flowering, I think I'll fix the remaining light leaks (under the cab and right at the seam of the very top surface) to make it completely light proof. I'll make that my next big project.

I appreciate the kind words, and happy growing!

 

[notballin]

K.I.S.S. at it's finest.


Metal strips from a pie dish make anti-peak strips. They fit snugly and are superglued at the base of the cabinet, meaning it can't be cut or brute forced.

Assuming someone wanted to cut down the middle of the outer layer, there's an inner layer to prevent peaking as well (for every crevice).

Doesn't look too shabby when closed either.

 

[notballin]

More uploads. The 20w LED that i purchased just arrived. Took a bit of creativity to install it, but I'd say I did a fine job. Why over complicate things?



Now I feel confident in the light that's being provided.

I also decided to do a bit of LST. Just an l-bar made of coat hanger to keep the plants down at an angle (no need for tying!). I also made a few to angle the tops on Pepper so they stop overlapping.

More pics to come soon.

 

[reku]

It's like a disco in there. Makes me wanna dance!Saturday night fever style!

 

[notballin]

From the looks of how everything's going, I should be able to flip them to flower at the end of October (at the absolute latest, considering worst case scenario).



I hit Keeper with a bit of LST. It's a coat hanger, angled and pushed into the soil to keep the plant down. No need for tying, and the new growth has plenty of space to reach up. New growth areas are appearing at the old nodes as well. Should make for some pretty decent tops once they take off.


Duckfoot is thriving currently. I'm actually surprised at how much it's grown and it looks to be playing "catchup." The nodes are super compact at the moment, which I'm not too worried about (they're nowhere near the lights) as I expect a bit of stretching during flowering.


My main investment: Pepper (Peppermint Kush Femenized). I'm starting to regret all the mistakes I made earlier in my grow. She should be so much bigger than she is now.

However, it looks like she'll be more than ready by the time my expected light flip occurs. I've been gently shaping the two main tops with curved coat hangers to encourage the tops to spread out a bit. Now that they're angled the way they are, I can let them grow naturally. I'm looking forward to a comparison picture of now and a week from now.


And now for a not so happy tune: Lanky is not doing so well and is -just- recovering -again-
I'm not sure if it's weak genetics or a mutant plant, and it doesn't seem to like the fish fertilizer I've been giving my other plants. I'm also a bit concerned because it decided to grow three tops instead of one and I did nothing to it. We'll see how it turns out. It may be unattractive, but I'm sure it'll still produce some quality bud. No point in throwing it away unless it's a male.

I've been hitting it with just water, cut off the damaged tips, and I'm giving it a light nutrient solution only once per week.


SIDE NOTE: For everyone that likes to browse this section but doesn't really like to post:

A few key things I've learned from this grow so far, from a still newbie grower that's learning as he goes:
-Effort pays off big time. Don't give up on them, they won't give up on you.
-Not all plants are the same. Some take what you throw at them like Popeye after a bowl of spinach, and some are frail and don't need much at all. Next grow, I'll be choosing feminized seeds that grow vigorously and love to eat (not saying I'll overfeed them, but I like fast growing plants).
-Patience.
-Patience.
-A bit more patience.
-Needs more patience. Not enough patience.
-Keep reading. Read everything. You'll have to work on your "bullshit filter," but once that's tuned it's steady growing from there.

Next grow I'll probably making a super-rich organic soil mix to skip all of this "time your feeding" mess. I think I can get away with doing that and adding some fish emulsion once a week until flower. Less work for me and less risk of damaging the plants.

For now though, I'm satisfied with what I have so far. By the end of October, I'm sure I'll have little monsters on my hands. I'll flip if they grow to expectation before the due date (can't afford outgrowing my box space).

 

[CrazyBrennie]

"Bullshit Filter". I like that.

Did you know:
If you stand on your head while drinking a glass of water, your plants will grow at least one more trichome. Sounds weird, but true.

 

[CrazyBrennie]

It's like a disco in there. Makes me wanna dance!Saturday night fever style!

Ha! It does look like a disco, although, (I suspect) you are showing your age my friend. People go to Raves now, but they call them "shows" or "Festies".

 

[notballin]

Ha! It does look like a disco, although, (I suspect) you are showing your age my friend. People go to Raves now, but they call them "shows" or "Festies".

Sounds about right, lol

Small Update with no pictures: The LST on Keeper produced three tops! I was surprised because the LST only took place a few days ago. I just fimmed the strongest top (it's on the right), so we'll see how this goes. If it's a female, I will definitely be taking two clones from the fim cut.

Just in case my high bagseed hopes fail, I topped Duckfoot. It's starting to look more like a really healthy and happy plant. When its two tops take off, I'll top those and hope for the best.

I plan on topping the Peppermint Kush again. Just waiting for a bit of height on those two tops before I start cutting again.

-My idea is to make up in height with girth and multiple top main cola's.

 

[rikcherron99]

Hey looking good subbed for the ride keep up the LST very interested in seeing how yours do. im trying lst for the first time myself and so far im loving how many tops it can produce so simply and it a matter of days its amazing. anyways keep it up and more pics =P

 

[notballin]

Hey looking good subbed for the ride keep up the LST very interested in seeing how yours do. im trying lst for the first time myself and so far im loving how many tops it can produce so simply and it a matter of days its amazing. anyways keep it up and more pics =P

Yeah LST is crazy, man. It seems to work really well for shaping plants into "pipelines (I understand mainlining now)."

Anyone ever notice how plants with big broad leaves tend to take training methods easier?

 

[notballin]

Just to keep the party going, I figured I'd throw in a few pictures of my PC Veg/Clone box that I'm working on.

It's a really old PC... we're talking about the dark ages of Pentium 3 Processors here. A lot of the materials are welded onto the case meaning I have to make the most of the space that I've been provided since I don't have expensive hardware to separate or cut half of this stuff.

The first thing I decided to do was work on the back panel and light fixture. I've had success with socket adapters so far...

Anyways, pictures!



Here's what I've come up with. Using a bit of computer repair knowledge, I decided to tear apart the motherboard that was in the case and use a bit of electric tape, superglue, and Jenga skills. The above picture is the result. I wish I had a desk cable organizer to put in the middle of the cap... but for now this will have to do.

Below are a few pictures of it's construction:


It can still be popped out and undone if I really need to get the cable out.

The lights will be held by mounting tape. I've seen the power and how much it can hold... so I'm K.I.S.S.ing it and using what works.

Next step is to clean out the inside, install cooling fans (yeah, that's right! This PC came with zero cooling fans...), throw up reflective material, and arrange the light

The basic idea behind this PC box is to mimic an actual PC. When running, the CD drive can be opened, the Floppy Drive will function, the LED for the power button will auto on if I can find the connector for it, and it will have a black network cable attached to it for plausibility. I'm also using LED's so there's no "obvious glow" to the inside of the case.

I will keep everyone posted as things progress.

Immediate "To Do" list: Find something that acts as a slot for the extension cable.

EDIT: One more picture!

 

[rikcherron99]

even if there was a colored glow you could say you used neon glow wireing inside a lot of computers use that now a days most are clear tho lol

 

[notballin]

Small update, more pics. I decided to add a bit of security to the case in progress.



Drill + Patience = Locked PC case.

 

[notballin]

More updates: I decided that this'll be my last training applied to the plants for veg.

I got this idea after seeing the power of LST on my bagseed plant Keeper. I LST'd it and it grew four tops naturally,one in which I FIM'd (at the very edge of the plant. I didn't even make it the lowest point of the plant. 4 shoots just decided to explode from the original plant top).

Anyways, here's a bit of training on Peppermint Kush Femenized:



If what I've learned about placing the highest point on the plant below the stem is correct, I should have at least 10 tops on this plant when the auxins change their flow (and i feel pretty confident in saying this).
-I topped both tops and waited a few days for them to show tiny leaves.
-Applied LST so these are no longer the highest point of the plant.

With this, the plant should grow more tops along the branches and everything should grow evenly.
This would explain a lot. Now I have a standard training method to maximize yield, if anything. Top it semi early, let the tops grow out, lst them below their stems, then wait.

At least my worries on taking clones are now over. This should work just fine and I should get a decent yield on my primary investment alone.

EDIT: In other news... I need to find a power supply. The Veg box is basically "done." It's just the power supply in this old pc died and it needs a new one.

TLDR: You can max out on yield without cutting your babies.

 

[NoSalt]

First post, first thread subbed. Your little cabinet and your PC look good. I like how you have set it up. Can't wait to see how this turns out for you. I'm planning on building 2 "stealth" (little plywood boxes in my closet) very soon. 1 for mothers and clones, and 1 for veg/bloom, using a 2ft 8 bulb t5 fixture in each box, and going scrog in the veg/bloom box. I'm completely new to small/stealth box grows, so I will hopefully be learning a few things from you as we go, as you are a few steps ahead of me. Good luck, and keep it up.

 

[emannn2010]

hey nb, looking good and looking forward to watching it grow. good luck and happy growing

 

[shoki]

excellent build, mate

i have few questions, if i may:
why did you give up on ONA solution?
Also, regarding your carbon scrubber: is it working good enough?
thanks

 

[notballin]

excellent build, mate

i have few questions, if i may:
why did you give up on ONA solution?
Also, regarding your carbon scrubber: is it working good enough?
thanks

To be honest, the plants aren't giving off any funny odor's at the moment, since everything's still in veg.

I'll definitely invest in a bit come flowering time. At the moment, I'm just testing different mixtures, Right now I mix 1 cup water, some fabreeze beads, half a cup vinegar, and a tsp of lavender essential oil.

I'll let you know how the two compare when I purchase it
(though I'm pretty sure I'll end up blown away when I get the ONA).


Side update:
-The tops are forming. You know that critical time in LST where the plant needs to be shaped correctly to ensure you get the max amount of tops? This is why I'm using "L Bars" made from coat hangers. Easy lift and adjust once a day to ensure everything grows evenly.

I'll have pictures by Sunday, assuming the growth of these things don't take their sweet time... but everything's looking really good so far.