250 Watt Single Rubbermaid CFL Autoflower Grow

This is my first real grow. My last grow was dreadful. This is a 45 gallon Rubbermaid I think that I shoved all manner of CFL's in and duct taped myself up a magic pot box. 250 watts in all. 2700K. 2x 42 watts in the middle with 2 power strips with bulb socket adapters/4 10 watt, 2 13 watt, 5 20 watt bulbs and y-splitters. 14 bulbs in all. I have a 4'' desk fan as an intake, with three others to stir up air. I have a 240 cfm fan extake, and I'm using Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil.

I have a layer of perlite at the bottom soaked with water for humidity. The strains are Little Devil (Lowryder), Chronic Ryder and Royal Dwarf. They are about 10 days old today. I used a microscopic amount of Monty's Joy Juice as a foliar feed and mist them occasionally. Temperature stays around 77-82 degrees and I just put them on a 20-4 light schedule. I just added a reflector system I made from zip ties and aluminum roasting pans. If anyone has any comments or suggestions I'd appreciate it.

I'm considering using fertilizer soon and replacing the smaller bulbs with 20 watts.

The smallest is the Royal Dwarf, the largest Chronic Ryder, on the left Little Devil.

what about when they get taller? everything looks good tho. im in the middle of an auto grow as well

I've got another small tupperware that they're sitting on. There's more space than it looks and it's Lowryder.

I just covered it with an emergency blanket.

The temperature was getting hard to maintain inside the rubbermaid container with the lid on. I've hung a 400 HPS cool tube above my rubbermaid bottom and took the lid/CFL rig off. I periodically place my CFL rig to the side of the Cool tube with the CFL's inside the rubbermaid. The plants are about 10'' from the cool tube and about 2'' from the CFL's on one side. The side growth is intense.

I've been using small amounts of Veg formula, but it is 8-16-8, I just realized that. It has a shit ton of Phosphate in it. So I've been mixing it with the flowering formula which is 2-15-15.

I fed/watered them yesterday and put a microscopic amount of hydrogen peroxide and molasses in the water.

I plan on feeding them twice a week.

I water them when the soil is bone dry and try not to over water.

Hell, I don't know what to do because two have hairs on their nodes already so should I just switch to flowering formula?

Should I top my Lowryder? It has good node growth off the main stem. Would it increase yield?

Also, they're in what appears to be half gallon pots. Should I transplant?

The bottom leaves, the first to grow above the seed leaves are a bit crispy and brownish on the tips on my Lowryder and Chronic Ryder and grew no more fingers. They appear otherwise healthy. I attribute it to foliar feeding, lack of light or overwatering, maybe an overdose of phosphate.

I'm going to have to hook my carbon filter up. I have a 240 CFM fan on the cool tube so I guess the light proximity is cool?

It was so bright in the tub it burnt out my shitty camera.

I tried to make my pics artsy lol.

Any suggestions? kiss-ass

The lack of interest saddens The Chodesman. I topped my Lowryder so I'll take pics in a few days.

Looking good dude, that's an awesome light stack in your picture.... Home many watts is that bad boy and what did you use to make it?

I used two power strips and a portable light socket with the reflector taken off for the two 42 watt bulbs in the middle. I used 7 y-splitters, 6 outlet to socket adapters, a shit ton of duct tape, 14 CFL bulbs and I poked holes in and zip tied them to the lid of my Rubbermaid container.

I shouldn't have topped my Lowryder after some research. I'm pretty sure I just fucked that one up something awful yield-wise. It didn't have any hairs on it yet so idk.

I'm going to buy some more beans and maybe set-up my grow tent soon.

I made the reflector for the CFL rig out of aluminum roasting pans. Combined it's 250 watts of 2700k.

Ugh I'm not trying to be a chode but I'm a bit of a noob and I'm having issues and like a concerned parent I'm... concerned.

I guess my Chronic Ryder decided to chop a tip of his fan leaf off?

I hate myself for topping my Lowryder. It looks sad.

Why are my bottom Lowryder leaves fucked up like in #1 and #2?

Help!

Everybody is doing well. My topped Lowryder doesn't have pre-flowers yet but my Chronic Ryder is covered in bud sites. It's been raining here so I've collected a few gallons of rainwater, they seem to really like it. I Flushed my Chronic Ryder and cut the burnt part of the few burnt leaves off. Nutes were too strong I guess. Will update in a few days. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it. I'll take better pics too. Plants are about 22 days old.

Here's some attention for you.

*The weed fairy waves his magic wand*

They look nice, keep doing what your doing with adding ventilation. (cracking the lid doesn't cut it)

passive intake, power exhaust.

Thank you for your input. I did away with the whole Rubbermaid idea. Hanging my 400 over the Rubbermaid bottom worked really well. My plants are loving the rainwater I've been giving them recently, and I've spotted preflowers on my Lowryder. I can't wait to see that six-headed monster start budding.

I'm considering getting my 3x3 grow tent out of storage and I'm working on my new CFL grow CAB. I'll post some new pictures tonight, it's pretty hard to get good pictures of these tiny plants.

Hey guys it's been a week since my last post and I thought I'd update. Everything seems to be doing well, everybody is 30 days from their first seed leaves. I've been watering my plants with nothing but rain water and have barely been fertilizing. Every time I fertilize even with a 1/4 of the recommended amount my plants seem get a bit of nute burn, even if it's a weekly feeding. I suppose this Fox Farms soil has about enough nutrients in it for an autoflower. It is some good dirt though, expensive.

I transplanted my Chronic Ryder into a bigger pot, I think everyone else is in 1/4 or 1/2 gallon pots. I've been watering about once very day or two. I sometimes put a bit of hydrogen peroxide in the water.

I'm still using my 400 HPS and placed a 42 watt 2700k CFL by my C. Ryder plant.

My Royal Seeds Royal Dwarf has really taken off. It's covered in crystals and bud sites. i never thought much of it considering it was slow to develop and was a freebie from Attitude, but it looks like it will be some dank smoke.

My Lowryder I topped has essentially six heads, with tons of bud sites now but topping it I think slowed it down a bit. Although I don't think I'm too far behind. I don't think you're supposed to top an auto so I'll find out.

Too bad my Easy and Diesel Ryder didn't take hold. Those bastards were expensive. I reckon these are about 5 weeks from being ready but I'll check the trichomes to make sure.

I'm not sure if i should fertilize again, I know you're not supposed to fertilize 2 weeks before harvest for taste and they don't look like they really need it, but maybe the bit of nute burn is hiding a deficiency. I'm considering flushing the couple plants that I haven't flushed. The one with the worst burn, or the only burn, the C. Ryder, I flushed started looking a lot better after I did but the damage was done, a bit of necrotic leaf tips on the bottom.

They seem to self-mutilate, or I'm not careful enough with the bottom leaves and smoosh them between the pots.

Any comments/suggestions are appreciated because I'm a newb. Sorry for the long post. Will update soon or reply to comments. I've got some pics. The tallest by the paint is C. Ryder and the other is the RD. Not much going with the LR. Peace.

Looks like you and Busey have problems with hoilding the camera right... Man my plants are in their 30th day of growing and no floers yet, but hopefully soon... Good going

Plants smell fruity and skunky, covered in trichs. C. Ryder looks like its half cola and forming orange hairs, dense at 31 days. Lowryder seems to be taking off. Lots of bud sites, looks almost like six heads. I'm not sure how many heads she has technically but it's the craziest plant I've seen in awhile. I'm considering scrapping this thread considering this is no longer technically a rubbermaid, nor true CFL grow. New pics, will possibly update if I get some interest. Peace.

Looks good, I'd love to see how they come along.

I decided to go balls out and hooked up my 3x3 tent to a 240 cfm fan and carbon filter. It took hours to set up and I had my plants under my CFL rig while I was hooking it up with no filter and it stunk the apartment up like fruity skunk balls. These ladies might be getting some new sisters soon.

So this has gone from a CFL rubbermaid, to a 400 HPS hung over a Rubbermaid hull to a grow tent. I feel like a crazy mad scientist. I seem to have a knack for this type of thing. I wish I had a better camera phone though. I might shove some CFL's in there soon.

Up next possibly:

3x Little Cheese
3x Pineapple Express
1x Chronic Ryder
1x Afghan Kush Ryder
1x Nirvana Auto Blue

Help guys I was going to start some new seeds but my new soil mixture isn't what I expected when I tested it. I cut a bag of Ocean Forest with some top soil and perlite and it felt soft and wonderful but it's muddy and doesn't drain well at all when I watered in a pot. It absorbs a lot of water and I don't think I'm going to risk it by starting 9 plants in it. The top soil was rich and black and everything looked awesome. Water will literally sit on top of it and not drain and it's not even compacted yet.

I scavenged for pots as well and a few had the one big hole in the bottom instead of the holes around the sides. I think I need to buy more pots and soil. Ugh I've spent so much money already but I'm not going to risk everything using bad soil. This is going to set me back at least a week until I can get some more Ocean Forest.

hi buddy

i'm growing an Afghan Kush Ryder like your in a self built box.
Just wondering: my baby is 37 days old and 50 cm. tall now. Isn't it too much tall? I see your baby isn't that tall!!!
It's a big problem since my box doesn't allow anymore growth...
Any idea when it should be ready for harvest?