infrared
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Let me start from the beginning at the top of the list . . .
Actually, let's go back even before the beginning, to a scenario that did indeed involve me and havoc. Situation like this:
Started this June with clones from four different strains. 707 Headband and Blue Dream from Oaksterdam via Fruitridge Wellness Center along with Romulan and Skywalker OG from the recently closed California Holistic Care. I chose these strains based on previous experience with what was available in the area when I got my Secret Jardin DR 150 II back in early June. I vegged them for six weeks, topping with Uncle Ben's method for four main colas.
Things were going fine but I was wasting a lot of energy paying too much attention to some stuff and not enough to other things. I'd been alternating between the Fox Farm prescribed nutrients and pure water and taking notes on which plants needed what, because they'd been growing at different rates and some were larger/thirstier than others. At some point, I ended up giving nutes to the larger of the two Romulan plants full-strength food for like four waterings in a row, and started to get some clawing from nitrogen toxicity.
Back to the theme of misappropriated attention, I'd paid about $1500 for a 1200w tent setup but hadn't prepared to have any fans circulating air within the tent. I got a tiny clip-on desk fan after what was really too long, and ended up using that for the entire first grow. I was running the humidity way too high as much as 70%, especially once all of the plants were upcanned to their final home in #3 Smart Pots.
I got around to buying an absolutely shitty dehumidifier for about $50 on Amazon in early August but had already one too far with the stagnant, bad-dank air, and soon noticed some PM that would plague me throughout the grow. I used a variety of sprays ranging from pH 8 water to a 10% skim milk solution and most frequently, a product I got from a teacher at River City Wellness that's basically some oils with a wetting agent. Having to use these sprays through harvest to prevent PM from taking over made the need for improved ventilation abundantly clear.
My battle with PM also taught me the need for care with foliar sprays, as I badly burned both of the 707s and the aforementioned larger Romulan by spraying them and immediately resuming their exposure to 2x600w HPS. Around this same time, I started noticing other issues with the 707s in particular that I never conclusively got to the source. I chalked all this up to burns from the spray, but once checked the runoff and found it to be in the 4-5 range, which is either a salt buildup and/or . . .
Another key revelation is the importance of pH in all these concerns. I've had a much easier time maintaining rich green foliage after getting my Hanna combo meter.
But back to the comedy of errors:
I sent that shitbox 60w dehuey back from whence it came and ponied up for a 70 pint Kenmore that did a decent job. By this point, I'd already let the tent get way too hot, sometimes nearing 90 and took too long to buy an AC then rig it up, which involved using some of the 15A available in the bedroom adjoining the tent's home. This meant with all the lights and fans I was running, I could effectively choose between AC or dehumidification.
Too hot = airy buds, but too humid = PM = death and thousands down the drain.
I choose airy buds and make a plan to budget for a new place where electrical modifications are more readily implemented. The dehuey is in the tent and keeps things under 45%, really under 40% most of the time, but generates way too much heat and we're looking at high 80s high temps all summer long. It's become clear to me now that a good dehumidifier can handle a bedroom easily so the thing can be on the outside of the tent and that'll reduce the temps inside by 5 or more degrees by itself, easily. Add in running the lights at night during the cooler months and we're now locked in to ideal temps, highs 73-78 and nighttime lows around 68. Oh, and did I mention, I hadn't rigged it up to drain into a reservoir, so I was moving plants around on my hands and knees every morning and night to drain the tiny catch box.
So I wasted a lot of time and energy and made what in retrospect are several quite obvious mistakes, perhaps the greatest being that I didn't reach out for help as soon as I saw the first symptoms. I still kinda hate posting when I have a problem, but I realize ego bruises are a small price to pay for an unlimited supply of AAA+ top shelf meds.
And it's not like I didn't get some rewards from the first time around despite all the troubles. In fact, if I'm generous enough to consider my product on par with the top shelf stuff I'm used to buying (it's not. yet.), then I managed a profit even with all the initial expenses. I'll be back soon with a look at my first harvest with a bunch of photos and observations, to be followed soon thereafter by a recap of the current cycle's veg stage to bring us up to date with the first week of flowering.
Looking forward to meeting some new friends and learning from some of the world's best
TL;DR
First cycle yeilded nearly a pound from 5 plants but could have done much better under 1200w with 8 girls at the start. Starting to get things dialed in and I'm almost glad I had some trouble at first because I can really see the differences. Coming back soon with pics from the first cycle and harvest, then more posts to get up to date (it's now day 6 of 12/12 as of this writing).
Let me start from the beginning at the top of the list . . .
Actually, let's go back even before the beginning, to a scenario that did indeed involve me and havoc. Situation like this:
Started this June with clones from four different strains. 707 Headband and Blue Dream from Oaksterdam via Fruitridge Wellness Center along with Romulan and Skywalker OG from the recently closed California Holistic Care. I chose these strains based on previous experience with what was available in the area when I got my Secret Jardin DR 150 II back in early June. I vegged them for six weeks, topping with Uncle Ben's method for four main colas.
Things were going fine but I was wasting a lot of energy paying too much attention to some stuff and not enough to other things. I'd been alternating between the Fox Farm prescribed nutrients and pure water and taking notes on which plants needed what, because they'd been growing at different rates and some were larger/thirstier than others. At some point, I ended up giving nutes to the larger of the two Romulan plants full-strength food for like four waterings in a row, and started to get some clawing from nitrogen toxicity.
Back to the theme of misappropriated attention, I'd paid about $1500 for a 1200w tent setup but hadn't prepared to have any fans circulating air within the tent. I got a tiny clip-on desk fan after what was really too long, and ended up using that for the entire first grow. I was running the humidity way too high as much as 70%, especially once all of the plants were upcanned to their final home in #3 Smart Pots.
I got around to buying an absolutely shitty dehumidifier for about $50 on Amazon in early August but had already one too far with the stagnant, bad-dank air, and soon noticed some PM that would plague me throughout the grow. I used a variety of sprays ranging from pH 8 water to a 10% skim milk solution and most frequently, a product I got from a teacher at River City Wellness that's basically some oils with a wetting agent. Having to use these sprays through harvest to prevent PM from taking over made the need for improved ventilation abundantly clear.
My battle with PM also taught me the need for care with foliar sprays, as I badly burned both of the 707s and the aforementioned larger Romulan by spraying them and immediately resuming their exposure to 2x600w HPS. Around this same time, I started noticing other issues with the 707s in particular that I never conclusively got to the source. I chalked all this up to burns from the spray, but once checked the runoff and found it to be in the 4-5 range, which is either a salt buildup and/or . . .
Another key revelation is the importance of pH in all these concerns. I've had a much easier time maintaining rich green foliage after getting my Hanna combo meter.
But back to the comedy of errors:
I sent that shitbox 60w dehuey back from whence it came and ponied up for a 70 pint Kenmore that did a decent job. By this point, I'd already let the tent get way too hot, sometimes nearing 90 and took too long to buy an AC then rig it up, which involved using some of the 15A available in the bedroom adjoining the tent's home. This meant with all the lights and fans I was running, I could effectively choose between AC or dehumidification.
Too hot = airy buds, but too humid = PM = death and thousands down the drain.
I choose airy buds and make a plan to budget for a new place where electrical modifications are more readily implemented. The dehuey is in the tent and keeps things under 45%, really under 40% most of the time, but generates way too much heat and we're looking at high 80s high temps all summer long. It's become clear to me now that a good dehumidifier can handle a bedroom easily so the thing can be on the outside of the tent and that'll reduce the temps inside by 5 or more degrees by itself, easily. Add in running the lights at night during the cooler months and we're now locked in to ideal temps, highs 73-78 and nighttime lows around 68. Oh, and did I mention, I hadn't rigged it up to drain into a reservoir, so I was moving plants around on my hands and knees every morning and night to drain the tiny catch box.
So I wasted a lot of time and energy and made what in retrospect are several quite obvious mistakes, perhaps the greatest being that I didn't reach out for help as soon as I saw the first symptoms. I still kinda hate posting when I have a problem, but I realize ego bruises are a small price to pay for an unlimited supply of AAA+ top shelf meds.
And it's not like I didn't get some rewards from the first time around despite all the troubles. In fact, if I'm generous enough to consider my product on par with the top shelf stuff I'm used to buying (it's not. yet.), then I managed a profit even with all the initial expenses. I'll be back soon with a look at my first harvest with a bunch of photos and observations, to be followed soon thereafter by a recap of the current cycle's veg stage to bring us up to date with the first week of flowering.
Looking forward to meeting some new friends and learning from some of the world's best
TL;DR
First cycle yeilded nearly a pound from 5 plants but could have done much better under 1200w with 8 girls at the start. Starting to get things dialed in and I'm almost glad I had some trouble at first because I can really see the differences. Coming back soon with pics from the first cycle and harvest, then more posts to get up to date (it's now day 6 of 12/12 as of this writing).
). 
