Here we go again... Blue Dream!

Hey, guys! I know I've seen some of you around and had many of you help me out in many of my threads, I'm finally confident enough to start posting my journal here. This first post will go over the specs of my grow. I am extremely grateful to say this is my first legal grow here in the great state of Maine. (As a side note, if any legal Maine growers could point me in the direction of some good reading material regarding our state's laws, that'd be awesome.)

Lets see what we're working with!

For a strain I picked what I know best, Blue Dream. I have found this strain to be an excellent yielder, resulting in 300+ grams for my third grow under a 400w light. It is a highly tolerant plant, heavy feeder, and is a king when it comes to topping and training. Fat dense colas weighing over half an oz dry are easily achieved with this strain in my limited experience.

For nutrients I will be in the future using sub's supersoil with some teas made from Earth Juice to supplement. Currently, the original five from seed are in a roots organic and pro mix blend approx 60-40 roots to pro mix, with the addition of maybe 20% perlite and a small (maybe two gallons to 50 gallons total) of uncooked supersoil. It is also amended with some epsom salts, lime, azomite, humic acid, and myco granules from Earth Juice.

My veg area is a small 3x3 tent but will do the trick just nicely, I am running a perpetual setup, having a harvest every six weeks. This means my veg time will be shorter than I'd like, so I am looking forward to cloning these girls which are from seed. Tomorrow will be week 3 since they have popped out of the soil.

I am running a 400w cool tube light with a 6" fan and filter in this tent, humidity ranges from 40-60% with a humidifier running in the room. Temps are excellent, maxing out at 73 and the lows are 63, ideal for Blue Dream.

For my flower area my temps are significantly higher, but aside from adding an AC which isn't viable in this space, I'll just have to go with it. In my experience, Blue Dream is relatively heat tolerant. I put two 400's in the 3x3 for my last grow with Blue Dream and had temps pushing 90s, even then my yield was fantastic. My only concern is going from 80-85 down to 65 when the lights are off, but with this strain I think it'll work OK. We will see.

The flower area is a 4x8 plywood construction. I am very proud of it, and I hope you like it! Two 6" fans are cooling the room with a filter as well. I am a little leery of going over the filters max CFM but we will see if that becomes an issue or not. Two 600w lights illuminate 4x4 areas perfectly, and boy is it seriously bright in there with the flat white walls. Two 6" intakes are located at the bottom of the structure, with shroom filters. I love the idea of these overpriced suckers and hope they last a lifetime for what they cost.

That's about it for my setup, included in this post are pictures of my flower room and veg tent as well as the adjacent area I have as workspace. Let me know what you think!

As a side note, I encourage your responses to this thread, I take any and all advice into consideration. Feedback is key to improving any field and I appreciate every comment.

Okay so time for the girls! I'm trying to take a picture every day, but I only started the last few days. The first one is day 11, the second is day 17, third is day 19, fourth is day 20, taken today.

I have had some troubles with over watering, the pots are just too large and in the future I will start in 3 gallon smart pots to prevent overwatering. But they are nearly dried out and will receive another watering within a few days.

Looking good blue dream is a well rounded strain

horribleherk said:

Looking good blue dream is a well rounded strain

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My only complaint is its finish time. I feel strongly it's a 12 week strain for its full potential. Hence the 6 week perpetual harvest.

bend/top'em, them early they grow soO tall so fast.

The last "to dos" in the room are to add a float valve to my humidifier connected to the faucet so I don't have to manually fill the damn humidifier every day... the room is dry as shit usually 15-25% rh.

Also, I plan on adding an air purifier (no ozone) with an ion generator. I am curious if anyone has experimented with negative ions. I have read some pretty outlandish studies conducted that claim yields were hugely increased with the addition of negative ions to the air when growing tomato plant. The room is wicked dusty so it will hopefully have dual purpose, keeping the air dust free, and boosting plant growth with negative ions. Let me know if anyone has seen any improvement with an ionizer.

SoOLED said:

bend/top'em, them early they grow soO tall so fast.

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She looks beautiful! I have always since grow one used bending and topping to increase yield and it has always paid off. My first blue dream grow was a monster bush probable 24x24 around and a foot and a half tall. I hope to replicate that with these five with less veg time.

I've been meaning to drill some holes for tie down points, I'll probably get to that within the next few weeks.

Quick update, days 21 and 22. The bottom right has some real Sativa characteristics so I'm worried about the flowering time, I might ditch her but we will see. She does look pretty, but she isn't as bushy as I'd like. The nodal length is much greater than the others and as of now I am still waiting on the 5th set of true leaves to top.

I will be taking the bottom six branches as clones, leaving a double top which will be topped at least three more times before flower. As this is from seed, it is a selective process. Until I complete a full flowering cycle, I won't know which to ditch. Hopefully, over a few cycles, I will narrow down one plant and keep a mother so as to speed up the veg cycle.

P.S.

What's your favorite so far? Who has the most potential! I'll be buying some popsicle sticks to number them today or tomorrow.

So not much going on here today, I've been slacking on numbering them and drilling some holes for lst. They received their first top on Friday along with their first feeding. Boy, they've perked up. They're branching out now, so hopefully by next Friday, I will be able to take some cuttings. I was watering them from the 2-gallon water can splitting it evenly between the five, but I think now I will just use the 1-gallon as it seems that is more than sufficient.

After this posting, I will begin using my nicer camera as opposed to my phone camera because I've noticed the photos posted here seem quite grainy. I hope you guys will appreciate some nicer pics!



As you can see, in the second photo they're looking quite nice! Days 23 and 24.

gogogogogogo said:

She looks beautiful! I have always since grow one used bending and topping to increase yield and it has always paid off. My first blue dream grow was a monster bush probable 24x24 around and a foot and a half tall. I hope to replicate that with these five with less veg time.

I've been meaning to drill some holes for tie down points, I'll probably get to that within the next few weeks.

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that plant has 9 main colas, scrogged out, so the lowers are coming up as well. you can use thumb tacks too rather then drill if you using plastic pots.

I don't De-leaf, but most of those leafs will fall off soon as the N stops. I don't just switch over I slowly change from N based to PP based over the first 4 Weeks. by the 5th they wont be getting any N based nuets, just whats in the mix.

Nice set up gogo! I have a similar set up. My grow will be azure haze which is basically the same strain as blue dream from what I've read. Just Dj shorts version. I've started a journal as well, check it out. Good luck!

Tonzalito said:

Nice set up gogo! I have a similar set up. My grow will be azure haze which is basically the same strain as blue dream from what I've read. Just Dj shorts version. I've started a journal as well, check it out. Good luck!

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Looks like it's going well man, can't wait to see the end result!

Just a side note for anyone looking to grow Blue Dream... these girls stink in veg. I mean they already smell like flower. It's amazing how quickly the stink up the place, the smell wafts into the kitchen from my bedroom upstairs which only has two small bushes growing in the micro cab. Beware the stank!

HD Pics coming tonight along with my quick DIY auto fill humidifier if anyone is interested. I'm setting this up so I don't have to fill the humidifier daily, which is kind of a pain in the ass. I still have to add the cleaning solvent, but that takes only a few seconds. Keep your fingers crossed for no leaks.

DIY Auto Fill Humidifier

Materials:
1/2" Float Valve (I recommend Kerick)
1/2" barbed poly female adapter
3/4"x1/2" barbed brass faucet adapter
3-4 hose clamps
1/2" inner diameter poly tubing (cut to your length
3/4" hose washer
1 humidifier
Flathead Screwdriver
Vice Grips
Plumbing tape
3/4" drill bit
(Not all items are pictured here as I had already made some connections.

Okay so this was actually really easy, it just required the proper parts and connectors. Anyone can do this. I'm sure there is better ways of doing it, and a plumber might have a good laugh, but as of now nothing has failed and the connections are sound. If I get leaks, I might consider using some PVC cement but am not sure if that works with poly fittings.

Step 1
Connect 1/2" tubing to a faucet, with the proper adapter. Faucets use 3/4" female adapters, so find a 3/4" to 1/2" barbed nozzle. Fasten with hose clamps. I used two, as well as wrapping plumbers tape around the barb after I discovered the fit wasn't perfect. Generous amount of plumbers tape and a second hose clamp did the job.



Step 2
Drill a 3/4" hole in the humidifier SLOWLY. I made the mistake while experimenting on a plastic bucket of using too high a speed, you can't control it and the hole won't be perfect.



Step 3
Screw in your float valve, with the small white washer on the inside of the humidifier. A second will be added to the outside. The plastic on this humidifier was too thick for the threading of the float valve to fit through, so I had to carve a bit out with a razor blade. This was a pain and something I didn't anticipate, but it still appears to be water tight.



Step 4

Wrap the threading with plumbers tape and fasten washer properly against the humidifier tank. If it is not flush with the tank, you will have leaks. Plumbers tape is strongly recommended here.



Step 5

Screw on the small grey nut that came with you float valve. Hand tighten to start with and use the vice grips to fasten securely. Make sure the washer is compressed, and that the float valve has not spun upside down. You want it to be centered in order for it to work properly.



Step 6

Screw on your 1/2in barbed poly adapter.



Step 7

Wrap that sucker with some generous amounts of plumbers tape and push on the tubing. Make damn sure you get that hose clamp on the tube first, though!



Step 8

Turn on the water at the lowest pressure possible and check for leaks. I will note, I had practiced this with a 5 gallon plastic bucket to avoid wasting a perfectly good humidifier. I'd recommend doing this unless you're extremely confident in your abilities here. I turned it on, success! No leaks as of yet.

I realize probably no one will replicate this exactly as is, but for those of you with low humidity this might inspire a similar solution. I thought it was a neat idea and figured I'd share it with all you guys.

Hope you like it, and thanks for reading.

Day 25

They are beginning to explode. Here's where it all gets interesting. HD pics, but I'm not the best photographer, sorry!

Day 27

So my computer decided to "fix" my SD card and deleted 10 pics from yesterday. Oh well.

Yesterday I finally got some popsicle sticks and numbered them 1-5. 3 is my favorite. Short and bushy, it has the quickest growing branches which is just what I am looking for. 5, the sativa dominant girl, looks like she is beyond happy. Seeing her perk those leaves up toward the light tells me I am doing something right. Those solar panels are in overdrive mode.

Drilled some holes for LST, which I will probably begin Friday after cutting 4 clones off each.

Also discovered I have a small fungus gnat infestation. Because of this, I will be allowing them to dry out quite a bit. My over watering problems seem to be disappearing and the water uptake has increased substantially. I will also be adding some BTI (mosquito dunks) to kill off any larvae remaining.

Here's the pics



Cheers guys! I'd really like to see some lurkers chime in for comment. I can see that view counter, you know!

In other news, had my student orientation today for college. Back to school after three years, boy that's going to be weird. 17 credits hope I can manage school, work, and my medical grow.

Day 29

So not much going on, growing has kind of slowed, unfortunately. Not sure if it's a nutrient def or a ph issue, or even my imagination!

Today I ordered some Rockwool cubes, a heat mat, and a new CFL light and reflector for cloning, an air pump for teas, a soil ph meter, along with a new PH meter and PPM meter with calibration fluid and also some PH up and down.

Using Earth Juice dumps the PH to super low levels, and having added lime as a buffer to the soil I'm curious where the soil PH is at.

I also ordered a small air purifier. It emits a small amount of ozone, which I have concluded in low concentrations does not seem to harm plants, as well as emitting negative ions. I have a dog, and the room in which these plants are has exposed insulation, so dander and dust is a problem. Curious to see if negative ions will provide any noticeable effects, but I suspect they are quite exaggerated.

That's it for today. I haven't seen any more gnats so I think drying it out killed off the larvae, or they simply haven't reached maturity yet. They will get a full watering along with the BTI (mosquito dunks) on Sunday. Hoping to take some clones on Sunday, too.

Here are some pictures from today.



The top left one is still looking mopey, I'm not sure if it's not getting what it needs or if it's that phenotype. The Sativa dom plant is growing on me, I like how quickly it develops its branch structure. Middle plant is still my favorite. I think those two might be winners, but only time will tell. Below is two more potential winners, albeit grown under very different conditions. Check out these little bushmasters.

Day 32

Some big changes! All the ladies got a round of defoliation. Their giant fan leaves were blocking off light from penetrating to the lower branches. In my opinion, defoliation is a hugely successful technique that can increase the size of your plants and allow you to shape them to your desires. The only drawbacks are a couple days of slower growth, followed by an explosion about 3-4 days later.

As you can see, I introduced them to some low strength training bondage goodness. I'm really happy with the way they look, it took about an hour to tie them up and remove the giant fan leaves.

In other news, I got my tea brewer set up. Nothing fancy, just a 5-gallon bucket with an aquarium pump and a couple air stones. Seems to be going nicely. In the tea is : Earth Juice Grow, Micro, and Catalyst, 10ml/gallon of each. There is also some HI-BRIX Molasses, 10ml/gallon. I also added about 10ml/gallon of hygrozyme, and finally about 1.5ml/gallon of Superthrive. The brew is already frothy and the wonderful biology has lots of carbs to feed on! Nom nom.

Without further ado...

Sorry if i missed it, which blue dream are you growing? Hso?