In Review
This grow was defined by a few major principals, each of which was experimental to my experience. The new growing situation, its experimental lighting, and the implementation of 99.9% organic gardening techniques are the three components that will be addressed in this review.
The tent measures 1.5'x2.5'x3' wlh from
Gotham Hydroponics; it proved to be an effective microgrowing space and it fits in the surrounding closet with just enough room to run ventilation ducts. The two exhaust ventilation holes in the tent come with velcro covers and pull-tie seals; theyre on the sides of the tent and could be more useful in the evacuation of heat if placed on the top. There are large passive intakes on the lower bottoms of the left, right, and rear walls that are covered with a screen mesh as well as a lightproof flap. There are also small intake-fan/electrical holes at the bottom corners of the back wall. Given Florescent lighting and space requirements: 5/5 rating.
The ventilation system was an all-DIY project and though effective, was too expensive as there was no definite plan. The original idea was to use a single 4 booster fan to exhaust the cab while pulling air through the passive intakes. It was effective through veg at keeping the temperatures stable at 78F. This changed when flowering began and a carbon filter was required. The DIY filter was more duct-tape than carbon and it provided substantial resistance on the air stream. The 4 fan was not strong enough to push air through the filter and temperatures were in the upper 80s. In need of a quick fix, a 120mm fan and 80mm fan were purchased. The 80mm was installed as the intake in one of the 3 holes (fit surprisingly well) and the 120mm was added to the beginning of the exhaust line. This was enough to keep the temperatures less than 84F with the lights on. Due to the lack of pushing power, however, this ventilation setup could not fully remove the plants smell. With the closet door closed, it only smelled faintly of herb before lights on. When open, at least 1/2 of the apt smelled of burning bud and electricity consumption. After further research, a centrifugal fan would have been most effective. Final notes about ventilation: 80-84F, 45-60% RH, and minimal smell throughout flowering, expensive. Ventilation rating: 3/5.
The use of
PAR T5 lighting was a pleasing and effective method to maximize the return on investment in this small space. During the planning stages, the tent was intended to be a seedling/clone; a 2 foot 4 bulb T5 fixture with 6,500k bulbs was purchased under this assumption. When the plan changed, a decision had to be made: get a small HPS, switch to CFLs, purchase 3,000k T5 bulbs, or a combination plan. Out of the actinic, I stumbled on the pr0fesseurs thread. He offered a way to maximize ROI using the T5 fixture through the implementation of aquarium bulbs. A combination of 50/50 red/blue was recommended for a 4 bulb fixture. 2x Fiji Purple, 1x UVL Red Sun, 1x UVL 454 were purchased and installed from
ReefGeek. This combination was very successful. It produced healthy, green growth with compact internodes while using only 96w of electricity with little extraneous heat. During flowering, the buds developed quickly and started packing on the trichs. At the time of purchase, the Fiji Purple was believed to be 50/50 red/blue; however, I believe that it is dominant in the blue spectrum and until this can be confirmed or denied from multiple sources, it should not be the base bulb. Please note that this bulb is unique in its output and similar results with different purple bulbs are yet to be shown. If a four bulb fixture is used, this could be better employed as a filler bulb in a red dominant combination: RedSun, Coral Wave, Fiji, RedSun; Fiji, RedSun, Fiji, RedSun; or RedSun, 454, Fiji, RedSun - for example. Given the space, heat, and resin production: 5/5 rating (with room for improvement).
The most familiar part of this grow was the organic gardening principals. These were reinforced by the mid-grow reading of
Teaming With Microbes. The soil consisted of the following: 2 CropCircles Coco discs, 1 Gallon Sunshine Advanced #4 mix, 1 Gallon Vermiculite, 1 Gallon Hydroton Clay Pebbles, 2 Cups Espoma PlantTone. MycoGrow was added to the rootball at the end of veg and would have been most effective from the start. Compost was added to the top of the soil three weeks into flowering, this allowed enough biological activity and nutrition through flowering. The plant experienced burning through the excessive application of Guano tea. This burn caused the plant to produce leaves later into flowering than preferred and could have been avoided if the teas had been limited to EWC and Molasses. The improper application of 5/5 principals gets a 2/5 rating.
Summary
This grow was a wonderful learning experience with pleasing results. After four days of drying, the bud has been jarred with a grassy smell. Over the course of the curing period, the spicy-sweet pine smell is likely to return. It smokes smooth, expands in the lungs, and stays lit for an entire bowl; the effect is mentally relaxing with the addition of physical couchlock upon higher dosing. The bud is comprised of more resin than calyx material and when combined with the 25g pre-cure weight, it reinforces my belief that the burn had more of an effect than I originally thought. Overall, its high quality medication from a pleasing experience with definite room for improvement.
Rating of the outcome: 3/5
Rating of experience: 5/5
Thank you for reading, I greatly appreciate everyones contributions and encouragement.
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Thank you RIUers and PAR T5 community.
Happy Growing.
