Dreaming Big

Yeah after I pulled the male flowers off the auto I moved everything and cleaned the whole room again, walls floor fans. replaced all plastic(didn't even worry about the cost of what I threw out.) only a month after setting up. I sprayed all 5 plants, that were in there at the time, down with water. pretty sure I flushed any remaining pollen away. I have constant fresh air coming in and I exhaust directly outside(no filters as of yet, but only have the lone AUTO in flower) I was not looking to cross pollinate. wasn't looking to produce any seeds, but there's really nothing I could have done. they were so hidden inside the canopy I didn't see them and I spend hours a day examining that thing. just because of how good it looks. I know all about LOCKOUT issues. my last 2 grows. I know it was from me turning up EVERYTHING all the time without seeing what her limits were. I was such a noob I thought the more fert the bigger the plant.... hahahaha I didn't even have internet access at that time to see what I was doing and what I could do to fix it. I cut leaf samples and went to Grower's Edge over in EP, talked to Brian Santos(owner) and that's how I found out about that shit. that's when I started paying a lot more attention to what I was putting in. followed directions. and any sign of over fert was followed up by a completely clean flush and rest on nutes until the next watering day.

Were any of your previous grow lockout issues due to being rootbound? Or were you getting random symptoms that would magically get worse, change, or disappear? Figured I'd ask, just out of curiosity.

The previous grows were all my trial and error done with only bag seed. I didn't have any intention on screwing up true genetics. Before I switched to my current nute pack I used a few different things... First I was using MG, horrible. that was for a single Sinclair Viper clone that I bought off a friend. then I started my bag seeds. and used FLORADUO, 2 part with no micro. this was all before I knew to check the pH of my water going in... once I found out about the lockout I got a Milwakee pH probe tester. tested the floraduo mix and WOW 4.2 going in. I was killing them with negligence. Went back to Grower's Edge and bought my first GOBOX. and BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE. haven't really seen much for any issues since. like I said any notice of blotched leaves or darkening spots gets followed up by a full flush with 100% clean water. and no nutes until the next watering day. I have only had one plant root bound. my last one. root bound in a 6" transplanted to 7Qt, then it was root bound within 2 weeks, transplanted to a 3.9gal and it was rootbound again a week later and stayed that way. got 1.5oz off her though. stunted growth and all.

OK so my AK seeds that are growing... will have the same genetic glitch to heat stress as the plant that produced them right? or will I have a better chance of growing all straight herms from day 1??

Went to go see my buddy Brian over at Grower's edge today.... Just caught him before he took off... lucky me the register was already cleaned out and I walked out with two 7gal($4.95ea), two 10gal pots($7.95ea) and 4 large water trays($2.50ea) for 20 bucks even! GROWER'S EDGE = AWESOME DISCOUNTS. Now I just need 2 more bags of CocoGro, 1 Qt of BioBud, another 400w reflector and ballast, 2 brandy spankin new hortilux. and then the place is rockin! these 4 will be big. current heights are ; Blue Dream 25.5",GrapeGum 28.25"but I also bent the center stalk because she was growing too tall with plenty of light.and She's still going over 28, Royal Kush is the midget at 24, and Sour Diesel#2 is hitting 27 as of yesterday. So far I suck at cloning. tonight I took 6 SD2's soaked the cuts in Olivia's solution, took off the lower leaves then I started doing shit I have never tried but read about.... 2 got sides shaved, 2 split in half, and 2 split twice, then all were dipped in CLONEX rooting compound gel(well one at a time as they left the solution). all planted in CocoGro with Olivia's also and put on a "heat source" with dome. no far I've rooted 2 of 14 HAHAHA, and only one of the 2 survived the humidity change. so I have a single blue dream baby who will be staying with me for a while. we've become attached(my first survived clone) hahaha. once the AK is done I will be taking one of the surviving SD2 clones out of the mix and putting it with the Blue Dream baby. they will stick around for the next few months. The remaining survivors will be thrown into flowering without a veg along with their mother and the other 3. I will figure this cloning thing out soon enough. that's what my babies are for. the plan is 2x400w in a 3'x4'x7' space(2 plastic and 2 painted walls) AC outside room for cold air intake(haha like my accord) and also air cooled 400's and exhaust directly outside. that is the plan and should start taking effect within 3 weeks, even if i'm still running the single 400 (I am getting another I just gotta find the used light dude's #) Until later, It's a pleasure to serve the RIU community.

I will take and upload new pictures of my entire grow later today.

Pete at 3 guys always has used gear if you're looking for 400's, they are common as many people upgrade to thowies. I say forget the other 400 and go right for a 1000, you've already built in the ventilation. 2 x 400's, air cooled in a room that size, wont add much heat

LBH said:

Pete at 3 guys always has used gear if you're looking for 400's, they are common as many people upgrade to thowies. I say forget the other 400 and go right for a 1000, you've already built in the ventilation. 2 x 400's, air cooled in a room that size, wont add much heat

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I think the biggest i'd get is a 600w to add to my 400w. I only figured 2x400w because of the optimal coverage area.3'x3'x3' so the area's would overlap giving me a brighter grow. with reflective walls I should be able to get a decent yield off each plant in 7 or 10 gallon pots. right? coverage for a 6 is 4'x4'x4' so technically speaking I wouldn't need much more than that by itself. but as I've stated before. I'm new to this. all I've ever done was bag seed. this Is my 3rd grow. I've read the books and watched the dvds. that's the extent of my knowledge.

Reflective walls, mylar, etc, all designed to take $$ from a growers pocket. Paint it flat white.

The equation can be simplified to this.

More light=more bud but not without room for roots. 7's and 10's will be considerable sized plants. You'll need to give them at least a 6-8 week veg to fill those pots with root before flipping them. Whether you put them under 400,600 or 1000 will determine the yield (provided you have a decent grow) Obviously, the yield from a 1000 will crush a 400. For the extra cost, you get lots more bud. VEry cost justified upgrade.

SxIstew said:

I think the biggest i'd get is a 600w to add to my 400w. I only figured 2x400w because of the optimal coverage area.3'x3'x3' so the area's would overlap giving me a brighter grow. with reflective walls I should be able to get a decent yield off each plant in 7 or 10 gallon pots. right? coverage for a 6 is 4'x4'x4' so technically speaking I wouldn't need much more than that by itself. but as I've stated before. I'm new to this. all I've ever done was bag seed. this Is my 3rd grow. I've read the books and watched the dvds. that's the extent of my knowledge.

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You're doing just fine, and good choice with the 600W decision vs the 1000W. The spacing is better on 600s, and to me.. 2 of them would well outperform 1 1000W.. and I don't mean just in terms of pure wattage, area covered by the light is critical in your master plan.

Root mass is already quite large. plants are currently 7 weeks old(already growing in 3gal grow bags, ready for transplant). and have another week to 2 weeks before I change to 12/12. giving me plenty of time to harvest the auto, transplant these little ladies, get another light(400w or 600w depending on out of pocket cost) and set up the trellis.

Picture dates from the last week. I tried to put my digi lens up to the microscope to get some trich shots. but they are slightly blurry. anyways here you go. have a look see. I'll do my best to put them in some kinda order this time.. Various dates. AUTO AKRoyal Kush left, Sour Diesel#2 rightBlue Dream left, GrapeGum rightRoyal Kush FIMSour Diesel#2 FIMBlue Dream FIM(one of 3)GrapeGum FIM(1 of 7, because of bending, giving a nice even top growth)Trichome pictures from a few days ago(yes they are getting amber and it's not a lighting thing) Lower main stalk sample.higher up sample still from main stalk

Oh man, things are looking really good! You got some super frosty nugs, good job!

LBH said:

Reflective walls, mylar, etc, all designed to take $$ from a growers pocket. Paint it flat white.

The equation can be simplified to this.

More light=more bud but not without room for roots. 7's and 10's will be considerable sized plants. You'll need to give them at least a 6-8 week veg to fill those pots with root before flipping them. Whether you put them under 400,600 or 1000 will determine the yield (provided you have a decent grow) Obviously, the yield from a 1000 will crush a 400. For the extra cost, you get lots more bud. VEry cost justified upgrade.

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More light does not always equal more yield. Sometimes more light equals more stress, and that doesn't help. I've pulled a lb off of 400w more than once, and I do at least that with 600w on a regular basis. All you have to do is mimic the outdoors and you will get great pot! A steady ready source of bright light, nutrient and moisture, and comfortable temperatures and climate will give you excellent products!

If we was going to step it up to a 4x4 and grow 4-5ft plants I'd say grab that thowie and grab that weight! But if you are a noob it's a pain in the ass! I am far from a noob, and I've ran as much as 30kw, but seeing as I am currently a hobby grower I much prefer my lower wattage lamps and the versatility!

Some people just grow like a fucking boss right off the back with thowies, some people can do it with the lower wattage lamps. I've seen a friend do some impressive work with even a 250w even, which I always talked down on, now I think they are just as great as anything. Every lamp has it's proper place.

Gonna go with a 3'x3'. set up the 7's and 10's in the room today to judge the size i'd need. and 3'x3' is going to be plenty for these 4 ladies, and whatever babies that survive( I took another 4 blue dream 3 royal kush and 1 sd#2. 5 of 6 of my last Sour Diesel #2 cuttings damped off. and I have only one surviving Blue Dream from the first attempt. I plan to keep her for a bit. and start 3 new seeds halfway through the next budding cycle.(GHS White Widow, The Church and Trainwreck. also got A.M.S but i'm not going to get her popped quite yet.) OK so back to these lovely ladies.... the trellis will be set up approximately 32" off the top of the pots. I still have more trellis netting, would a second layer help in anyway? or just get in the way? maybe put one just below all my tops now pre 12/12. and add the second at 32" when I switch photoperiods.. I got 4' bamboo stakes too. they are all a little lanky from the CFLs but I have PLENTY of support going in for them to get as big as I can get them. is it true the less they have to support their own weight the bigger and heavier they get? I mean I know I have to have the perfect conditions and enough light to back it all up. but would I have a heavier yield with the support rather than without?

Trellising the flowering plants that are pictured? Just throw up one, and see how much that helps, if it's useless, throw up another. Don't go crazy if you don't have to, tangles and whatnot can be a mess. Trellis height depends on plant height, so don't worry to much about specifics.

I reread what you said and I think you mean your plants that are just about to go into 12/12, right? Makes a lot more sense! Trellis height will still be based on whatever height the plants are, try and keep them short; keep your grow cycles short, and keep your flower stalks within your lamps means and you will quickly be pumping lots and lots of amazing big nugs. Now if you are talking about SCROGing, I'd just drop the trellis down until it bends the plants over a little bit and try and direct the stalks so they fill the screen. Let the growth come up, and either weave or flip your lights.

The Church is pure fucking fire, I love The Church! I've heard bad things about GHS lately, so I've been hesitant to order it, please let me know how it goes! It's been a long time since I've had it. Brings me back to High School, haha, I remember I picked up 2oz of it for cheap and flipped it, it took a while to catch on because people were iffy about the name and smell. Once they smoked it, it became a very hot product.

Tell me about your clones! I can definitely help! I've pulled some serious clone missions, sometimes transporting them 14 hours to their destination in a wet cub with no hormone, and still get roots 99% of the time.

Right now I have no photoperiod. The auto AK was left under 24 at one side of the room with my 400w HPS and the other 4 are set up on the other side of the room with CFL's and a 4' T12 "Shop Light". There is reflective sheeting surrounding those to make sure the lower parts are getting light at the moment. The GrapeGum and Blue Dream are pretty much lollipopped because of failed cloning attempts. I didn't want to disfigure them in anyway because I knew I wouldn't get this down immediately. so far I've taken a total of 23 cuttings from 4 plants. now the saddest part is. There are 9 fresh that I'm trying to root [in a tray with CocoGro and Olivia's solution, it have a dome over it(I leave slightly vented) and an electric heater below it set to a warm temperature, not hot enough where I can't hold my hand on it for a long period of time though]..... and only 1 Blue Dream survivor. so if these 8(I know one SourDiesel#2 is already damped off) survive then I have 9 of 23. and that is how you can tell a noob from a pro. haha. I have no problems saying I don't know what I'm doing. This last time around, last night actually, I did not use any Olivia's solution. I normally use a clean blade, take my cuts one by one placing them into the Olivia's solution. Then once I have my desired number of clones, I take them one by one and first, Dip them in Clonex rooting compound gel, trim leaves.(I think that was my problem, leaving too many leaves or something. because the only survivor had only the top 2 left before it started to root.) So yeah this time I trimmed all but the top 3 leaves and snipped the biggest of the 3 down to stop transpiration. And I ONLY used Clonex. I have 4 Blue Dream, 3 Royal Kush, and 2 Sour Diesel#2. I don't like the stretchiness of the GrapeGum, so I'm not going to save the strain.............. As for GHS. I have no plants growing at the moment because of what I bought. I am hearing bad things about the Color coating, that is supposed to contain root stimulants and other shit. I TRIED to pop a White Rhino, I've lost a total of 1 seed in the last 2 grows, the seed rotted on me before I could do anything. I am pretty sure the colored shell held to much water in causing the seed to rot inside out.

survivor 1 of 15 rooted.lost 6 sd2 clones in the last 2 days. bottom middle is the only one left from that batch. to it's right is a new sd2, the left 3 are Royal Kush which always turn yellow within 24 hours of me cutting them off the mother, and the remaining 4 clustered in upper right are the blue dream(which appear to look fine compared to the rest.)Nothing was done to the area I cut besides clonex. no shaving the sides of the stem or cutting it in half or anything. that killed 4 sd2 cuts in 2 days.

don't cut them until you are ready to dip and plug into your tray, if air gets in the stem it won't work. clones should stay warm, that's it, put a hand towel between the mat and tray. don't vent your clone dome until day 5 or 6, I usually vent when they start to root, you can tell often because they show deficiency on only the bottom leaf. the amount of leaf on that blue dream clone is perfect. how wet is that coco, it should be wet, but not dripping or drenched. what ph is the water you soak it in? do you test the ph of the coco? put some coco in a cup and get it super soggy with fresh water and test it's ph to be sure. I'd give more advice but I'm in bed on my phone. I'll give some better info tomorrow, try and help keep a few more of your clones around.

I love stumbling across journals like this one. Very well done, + rep.

Coco pH was neutral prior to starting. I used distilled water when mixing the Olivia's solution so that no other trace elements were in the water. The pH dropped to 6.6-6.7 it was a bouncing read. but still within where I need it. everything is setup on the table that my plants are on prior to making any cuts. I use a clean razor blade for each plant to insure no contamination. I know I have been going about this a little more carefully than I should but I am not "babying" them and causing the damp-off. I take my cut about 4" to 4.5" from the tip of the shoot, at a 45 degree angle. Quick and clean... And, besides last night, I place the cutting into Olivia's solution and move on to the next cut. Once I have my cuts together, one by one I take them out and immediately smother the tip in Clonex rooting gel. Once I know I have covered the entire "root zone" I snip leaves and plant into premade holes, pressing from the corner down to connect coco with the bottom of the stem and then fill in around it. Before last night I was leaving a lot more leaf in the cuts. The new Blue Dream cuts are as you say "Perfect" and less than my normal leaf amount. So I am hoping for a good success rate here. thanks again for the input. more to come from me. and soon the questions of proper cure will come from me. AutoAK is 6 days out. and now it's 5am again and I gotta get to bed before the sun wakes me up. GOTTA LOVE GETTING STONED AND ZONING OUT TO THE RIU COMMUNITY