2014/01: UBS + AAF, CFL & LED, indoor/outdoor

Hi there. Haven't grown since I was fresh outta high school over 13 yrs ago. Lots of new practices out there & new tech. So I guess this makes me a novice again at best. I don't smoke (for the past 10 years), I don't sell. This is a hobby, product may be donated to the sick, or destroyed upon completion. Northern West Coast Rainforest.

Stains:
- Unknown Bag Seed/Strain x 1 (indoor) *referred to as UBS
- Afghan Auto x 4 (3 indoor/ 1 out) *referred to as AAF

Equip:
- grow tent (2.13'Wx3.6'Lx5.25H)
- 90W turbo fan
- 5.98L & 3.98L pots

Lights:
- 90x1W LED ufo
- 125W 6400K CFL x 1
- 42W 2700K CFL x 4
- 23W 2700K CFL x 4+ (not being used until shade developed down low)
* 18/6 light sched.

Nutes:
- Black strap molases & special mineral tea
- Rotting fruit tea
- Diluted urine 1/10 parts min.
- Home made mineralized rain water

The UBS was given to me. Thought what the hell lets see what happens... then I caught the bug and got some equip. I will use it as a trainer, to learn mainlining, LST, supper cropping, and taste test certain nutes, etc. It was germinated and planted on Dec. 20, 2013. I have since topped it for the first stage of mainline, was a bit keen and topped a bit early so I left the leaves on to help recover. Recently transplanted it to a 6L pot from a 2L. It is completely organic, 100% compost mix (with some beach pebbles and rock sand).

The AAF was planted on the 3rd of Jan/14. It is in a ~50/50 mix of rehydrated moss & Promix HP mycorrhizae high prosperity soil. They are in 4L pots. The three AAF pictured above soil are staying indoors, while the large 6L pot with no seed breech in the bottom left will be moved outdoors as soon as i feel it is ok to do so. I realize it is January and still a little cool, but there have been no frosts for near 2 weeks and the next 2 weeks are looking at ok temps.

here are some pics:




Tips & tricks, new ideas are all welcome and encouraged. I realize that auto's aren't really well thought of in the community but there are very specific reasons why I have to grow auto's for the moment until a better situation arises.

Thanks ladies and gentlemen. That is all for now

update

Have since moved the light set up around a little. Added 3 x 13w 2700 cfl's.


Also had a little problem with 2 of the plants. The UBS was seemingly suffering from what I thought was either nute burn or light burn. I flushed it with lots of Ph'd water and adjusted the lights. It was also under a lot of stress from topping, defoliating, new nuts & transplant to a larger pot within a 48 hr time period. All seems well now though I took off the two fan leaves of the 3rd node this morn in hopes the 2 new colas with start to grow a little faster.

One of the Afghan's also made a stretch into a light / I had my cfl too close anyhow, and is rehabbing from canoeing under light burn.


^ 3 AAF's, closest one has light burn and canoeing, crow's eye of an AAF

^ light burn on the fan leaf of this lighter coloured UBS, cut those leaves off anyhow

The still unbreeching AAF seed in the larger pot has not broken surface. I made a quick decision to transplant it to a straight mix of pro mix HP soil instead of the 50/50 I had initially after germination. It is fine, but I think I will take it away from the lights until it breaks ground.

*somewhat off topic, I have start a ROLS bin and intend to use it for my next grow. woot!*

Also, not sure how this shit works. I have a grow journal thread? (this one), AND a grow journal blog... which is exactly the same... so not sure if Im following proper RIU ethics or what, but feel free to post in this thread.

Question to the CFL ppl.

Question ONE:

I am using a total wattage of 422, 332W of mixed CFL and 90W of LED favoured for flowering. I am running 1 photo period plant and 3 Autos that should remain relatively small.

You think this will be enough lighting for the mix bag o' plants for complete follow through? Its pretty bright in there but I guess there is no real canopy development yet. Also when the Auto's finish, the PP plant will get the full lighting. Autos should be finishing up give or take a week around the time I plan to shoot that PP into 12/12.

Opinions? Also take a look at the lighting in the above posted pic as reference.


Question TWO:

Compared to the majority of journals, my plants seem to be taking there sweet time growing out in veg. PH of the solid is sitting between 6 & 7 of all the pots. Haven't hit the nutes hard yet as I consider them still young. The Bag seed is 4 weeks & 4 days with a height of 4". The auto's are at 3 weeks tomorrow w/ a height of 2" but on there third node.

Is there something strange going on here or am I just being an impatient jerk face? Is there something I can do to promote quicker growth?

Hi there ....

subbed up to see how you get on ....

I think this should answer both questions.... IMO you have enough light but not a great deal, this is why your growth is taking time and your finished yield won't be alot, Have alook at getting stronger Cfls or even better a Hps light if you want a faster and heavier yielding grow.....
A 600w Hps gives out 90000 lumens so you can see you only have around (guessing here)7000 lumens ....

I hope this helps and good luck

And I hope your bag seed turns out female, you could take a cutting when it gets older and sex it that way first so you don't spend all your time and energy and it turns out to be a male .....
Just a thought

P.s I am no professional grower just on my fourth grow myself and trying mainlining on one of my plants and a few other things, so I am just passing on information I have read on here and the internet, but will try and help out best I can ....

Im watching a few Vipar LED grows. I will probably end up getting 1 or 2 of the 600W if their final weigh in is decent. I will expand regardless I think, just a matter of when. Keep the current lighting for the shady parts of the tent.

Thanks for the reply. I'll come check out your grow.

I also find the T5 set ups interesting, so they may be on the menu as well.

prob won't go HID route.

Expensive the LEDs though, but probably get that back in the energy you save ......

I think you might of topped a bit early and taken a bit to much foliage off ..... You have hardly any leaves on the UBS, it will catch back up just take time, I done the same mistake myself, topped to early but I left the fan leaves on

Yes I did top a bit early but its super healthy and has kept on trucking. I threw the babies outside to day cause the sun was out and its super nice. They are lapping it up, come an hour or two they will take up their usual residency in their nice warm tent.

My grow is about how much I can do for free or at little to no cost to me. From rain water, to nutes and soils taken from the ocean and rain forest where I live, to sun light when able.
This is to teach myself what matters, what can be sourced from my environment, when & where to intervene with outsourced product. A perfect first grow to get back into the scene from being out for so long. I think I'll probably even enjoy a toke, it's getting me pumped. Even my pot-culture hating wife seems to be showing signs of interest

I went to the local hydro store looking for a bat-wing light canopy thing. The only ones that where metallic cost ~$150 and where only 2 ft long.
fuck that. I went to the hardware store and bought a checker plated 12 outlet power bar. Went home, cut a piece of wood and covered it in tinfoil. Mounted the power bar to it and made a light refracting canopy for it (4ft long) out of cardboard and tinfoil (glue stick and stapler) and put it all together. Its fuckin awesome. here it is:



This new contraption has a (suggested) max output of 1'875 W.

So I can put 2x42W CFL in a light splitter per outlet and it I will only be running 1'008 Watts.
I could put 3x42W CFL's / outlet and only be running 1'512 W!
Thats 36x42W bulbs just in the adjustable top mounted light plant I built.
I could even put in up to 6x 42W CFL's / outlet for a max of 3'024 W of over head, if I felt risky.

What I may do is install 3 or 4 more of these 12x power bars on the sides and in the middle of my tent with the one over the top for limitless Wattage & placement possibilities.

The cool thing about having these are that the outlets are only 3" away from each other. So as the plants grow, and the leaf canopy gets to dense, I can add however the hell many lights I want, where I want them; on all sides, corners, in the middle and from the top.

I think I just pwn'd CFL grow, at least in theory.

CFL guys looking for this power bar, its perfect, its even cross hatched reflective metal plating. The brand is NOMA.

Anyhow here is some pics in action. I lost 2 brand new CFL 42W bulbs, they just stopped working while I was setting up the new light plant in the tent. I had to swap them out for 26W. on the very right side. There is also a third 26w from the far right you can't see .

They are spaced at every second outlet, and only 4 outlets are being used out of the 12 available.

The current low watt set up (564 incl 90wLED)


BRIGHT AS HELL!

I think I may have a case of Nitrogen toxicity, possibly over watering also complicated by temperature change as well. 24 hrs and the plant is still looking like the pics provided. Dark leaves, drooping plant, slight claw effect on the top cola leaves but not a straight 90 degrees, more of a curl.

Over the past 72 hrs:

- I gave them a rot fruit tea, guess it wasn't really needed as the plants where going strong and looked like they where on viagra.

- moved them outside, from an inside temp of ~20'C/68'F to outdoors in the direct sunshine ~8'C/46.4'F (I've done this before and they where fine, its also T shirt weather for me)

- Noticed a droop going on the day after the fruit rot tea, so I flushed with PH'd water


No yellowing burnt tips yet. What are your thoughts, any corrective actions suggested or preventative measures?

Thanks

bump

looking for some advice on this problem and a second opinion on the diagnosis

thanks

looks like its drowning to me? did you tap out? come back to us i want to hear more ab your massive cfl light bar