Looking for help w/ perpetual grow using "Grow Tents"

+ WitchDoctor +

+ WitchDoctor +

Well-Known Member
First off, congrats on getting your card and welcome to the site if nobody mentioned it. I'm in MI and new to the site as well. If you haven't already purchased a tent, I'm gonna recommend building your own. All you need is black and white poly from the hydro store, or online, and some 2x2's. I just finished some tents in my rooms in my basement and I spent less than 60 bucks making a 10x3.5 ft. tent. I can't recommend making these over buying them enough. You can design it to fit any space you want, and you can make changes to it if you like as you learn and grow. Here's a pic of the one I just finished for less than $60..
View attachment 2126851

I saw someone else recommend a 600 watt digital lumatek setup, I also use and recommend that for flower. A 400 watt for veg sounds great. So check this out. You can build your own tent, separated in the middle, with a 400 watt on one side and the 600 on the other, and you can keep out all the light from the veg tent when the flower tent light is off. Or you can build separate tents, either way. Just some ideas for you.

Also, I noticed you said safety and quality are priorities for you, so don't forget to check out the organic forum!!
 
NickNasty

NickNasty

Well-Known Member
that light I showed you was for veg. If you really want to use led then go to the led section and ask what to get because I have zero experience with leds and smart pots are great pots.
 
dirtyglove

dirtyglove

Member
Awesome idea about the tent i will def take into consideration..

And NN i posted in led section but i think iam at the very least going to use that t5 for veg/clones.. How would i position my veg/clones to that t5?

Jus waiting on some other posts atm till i get this pup sorted out appreciate everything
 
Metasynth

Metasynth

Well-Known Member
Dirty, have you ever had a sucessful grow under your belt? I recommend growing a plant or two to harvest before you try to chop every 2 weeks. And remember, one hiccup in your perpetual sets everything back, like a chain reaction.

That being said, I'm harvesting 3 big plants every three weeks. I flower for 9 weeks total, and have 9 plants in flower at a time, growing in DWC. The flowering plants are in sets of three, and the sets are three weeks apart. So every three weeks, I chop three plants and put three more into flower. I only veg 3 clones at a time, and 3 weeks in DWC is ample time for the clones to get big enough to transfer into flower. You can take cuttings off the plants you transfer into flower during the first week they are in 12/12, and root them for a couple weeks until they're ready to veg. Or you could keep a mother or 2, and take clones that way.

Perpetual grows are sort of a pain in the ass, but man, it's totally worth it not having to wait so long between harvests. Just be prepared to do a little more garden maintenance than the average grower. Also, trimming 2 or 3 big plants every 2 or 3 weeks REALLY SUCKS unless you have people to help/do it for you...Luckily I have free GF slave labor, so they get trimmed for free (sort of, since she almost smokes as much as me!)
 
dirtyglove

dirtyglove

Member
Metasynth:7312737 said:
Dirty, have you ever had a sucessful grow under your belt? I recommend growing a plant or two to harvest before you try to chop every 2 weeks. And remember, one hiccup in your perpetual sets everything back, like a chain reaction.

That being said, I'm harvesting 3 big plants every three weeks. I flower for 9 weeks total, and have 9 plants in flower at a time, growing in DWC. The flowering plants are in sets of three, and the sets are three weeks apart. So every three weeks, I chop three plants and put three more into flower. I only veg 3 clones at a time, and 3 weeks in DWC is ample time for the clones to get big enough to transfer into flower. You can take cuttings off the plants you transfer into flower during the first week they are in 12/12, and root them for a couple weeks until they're ready to veg. Or you could keep a mother or 2, and take clones that way.

Perpetual grows are sort of a pain in the ass, but man, it's totally worth it not having to wait so long between harvests. Just be prepared to do a little more garden maintenance than the average grower. Also, trimming 2 or 3 big plants every 2 or 3 weeks REALLY SUCKS unless you have people to help/do it for you...Luckily I have free GF slave labor, so they get trimmed for free (sort of, since she almost smokes as much as me!)
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Thanks for the post homie yeah i had 2 good grows of white rhino n masterkush but jus cfl grows.. I agree get a good setup and comfortable with a first grow then gauge wen i need clones or how long i want my plants to veg before i shoot them to flower
 
ganjaman87

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
Metasynth said:
Dirty, have you ever had a sucessful grow under your belt? I recommend growing a plant or two to harvest before you try to chop every 2 weeks. And remember, one hiccup in your perpetual sets everything back, like a chain reaction. That being said, I'm harvesting 3 big plants every three weeks. I flower for 9 weeks total, and have 9 plants in flower at a time, growing in DWC. The flowering plants are in sets of three, and the sets are three weeks apart. So every three weeks, I chop three plants and put three more into flower. I only veg 3 clones at a time, and 3 weeks in DWC is ample time for the clones to get big enough to transfer into flower. You can take cuttings off the plants you transfer into flower during the first week they are in 12/12, and root them for a couple weeks until they're ready to veg. Or you could keep a mother or 2, and take clones that way. Perpetual grows are sort of a pain in the ass, but man, it's totally worth it not having to wait so long between harvests. Just be prepared to do a little more garden maintenance than the average grower. Also, trimming 2 or 3 big plants every 2 or 3 weeks REALLY SUCKS unless you have people to help/do it for you...Luckily I have free GF slave labor, so they get trimmed for free (sort of, since she almost smokes as much as me!)
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This is the best way right here. I am starting a small perpetual and I took clones after 1 week flowering and the clones rooted within a week and have been vegging almost 2 weeks which will make them 4 weeks behind the plant currently flowering when I put the clones into the flowering chamber in a couple of days. I plan on repeating this to get a harvest every 4 or 5 weeks....This is my first time maintaining plants in veg and flower at the same time and its more work most definately and uses nutes way faster but I think its worth it because hard work always pays off
 
dirtyglove

dirtyglove

Member
ganjaman87 said:
This is the best way right here. I am starting a small perpetual and I took clones after 1 week flowering and the clones rooted within a week and have been vegging almost 2 weeks which will make them 4 weeks behind the plant currently flowering when I put the clones into the flowering chamber in a couple of days. I plan on repeating this to get a harvest every 4 or 5 weeks....This is my first time maintaining plants in veg and flower at the same time and its more work most definately and uses nutes way faster but I think its worth it because hard work always pays off
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can u break it down a little more for me? im horrible at math lol..
 
ganjaman87

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
Well I started a plant from seed vegged it for 3 weeks and put it into flowering under 600 watt hps. After 7 days of flowering I took clones from the plant and it took those clones 7 days to show roots. so at that point the plant I took clones from had been flowering for two weeks right. So I took the clones and started vegging and they have been vegging for almost 2 week so the plant that that i took these clones from has now been flowering for almost 4 weeks. I will place the clones into the flowering chamber in a few days when they are exactly 4 weeks behind the plant that I took the clones from get it? Then after the clones have been flowering for 7 days I will take clones from her then repeat the process all over again....I think the thing about perpetual is you have to just work one or two strains and keep taking clones because you know the grow tendencies such as how long they take to flower etc. I think it would be hard to do perpetual with multiple strains
 
Metasynth

Metasynth

Well-Known Member
ganjaman87 said:
Well I started a plant from seed vegged it for 3 weeks and put it into flowering under 600 watt hps. After 7 days of flowering I took clones from the plant and it took those clones 7 days to show roots. so at that point the plant I took clones from had been flowering for two weeks right. So I took the clones and started vegging and they have been vegging for almost 2 week so the plant that that i took these clones from has now been flowering for almost 4 weeks. I will place the clones into the flowering chamber in a few days when they are exactly 4 weeks behind the plant that I took the clones from get it? Then after the clones have been flowering for 7 days I will take clones from her then repeat the process all over again....I think the thing about perpetual is you have to just work one or two strains and keep taking clones because you know the grow tendencies such as how long they take to flower etc. I think it would be hard to do perpetual with multiple strains
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Haha, I have 9 strains flowering, and another 2 vegging. They're all in individual buckets, so I can control the nute mix individually for each plant. I like to keep feeding plants I just transferred to flower Grow nutes for the first couple weeks of 12/12, not to mention I like to flush for a few days towards the end of flower.

All that, and it's been a load of fucking work to keep up multiple strains. Never have an even canopy, but I use 3 x 400w lamps, so I can vary the height on them. Eventually I'm gonna narrow it down to 3 strains at a time in flower, but for now I'm having fun being able to pick and choose what I'd like to smoke at any given time....I do like variety, so it's been worth the extra effort.
 
ganjaman87

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
Metasynth said:
Haha, I have 9 strains flowering, and another 2 vegging. They're all in individual buckets, so I can control the nute mix individually for each plant. I like to keep feeding plants I just transferred to flower Grow nutes for the first couple weeks of 12/12, not to mention I like to flush for a few days towards the end of flower.

All that, and it's been a load of fucking work to keep up multiple strains. Never have an even canopy, but I use 3 x 400w lamps, so I can vary the height on them. Eventually I'm gonna narrow it down to 3 strains at a time in flower, but for now I'm having fun being able to pick and choose what I'd like to smoke at any given time....I do like variety, so it's been worth the extra effort.
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Yeah well thats the only thing about multiple strains is the height issue its just so hard to get an even canopy. All but one of my grows have been multiple strain grows and I always have the same issue with one strain just overtaking the whole tent. I have Sour Diesel and Headband growing right now and Ive got the headband stacked on like ten books just so I can get an even canopy because the sour diesel is just so much taller, thats why I only took Headband clones because its just gonna be easier changing nutes and stuff I am growing in single bucket dwc also and the sour diesel is becoming a Bitch to take care of on a daily basis because of its size.
 
Metasynth

Metasynth

Well-Known Member
ganjaman87 said:
Yeah well thats the only thing about multiple strains is the height issue its just so hard to get an even canopy. All but one of my grows have been multiple strain grows and I always have the same issue with one strain just overtaking the whole tent. I have Sour Diesel and Headband growing right now and Ive got the headband stacked on like ten books just so I can get an even canopy because the sour diesel is just so much taller, thats why I only took Headband clones because its just gonna be easier changing nutes and stuff I am growing in single bucket dwc also and the sour diesel is becoming a Bitch to take care of on a daily basis because of its size.
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Yup, I'm thinking my next step might be to just buckle and build an Undercurrent system, or at least RDWC so I don't have to top off and worry about weekly water changes. I'm tired of lugging aroung 15 buckets full of water every tuesday...lol...15 buckets, because I have 6 extras that I fill with water and mix nutes in before I start, then I just take the lids off the old buckets and put them on the ones I just filled...Then I wash out the old ones. Easier than doing evrything one bucket at a time.

But doing my research, Undercurrent seems straightforward enough, and I can get all the parts to build one for drastically cheaper than it would be to buy one pre-fabbed, and it's customized to my needs. Or I could convert my current system to RDWC for probably less than 100 bucks.
 
Zeplike

Zeplike

Active Member
NickNasty said:
1 more thing instead of using a whole tray for 1 or 2 clones take a clear 2 liter bottle and cut it in the middle then take 1 of those inserts you put your rapid rooters in and cut out a square of 4 and stick that in the bottom of the 2 liter then you can fit the top of the 2 liter around the middle of the bottom as your dome to keep the humidity in and it takes up much less room.
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thanks for the advice i have a ton of extra 2l bottles. would you go straight to 12/12 and stay in the 2l or transplant?
 
Medical420MI

Medical420MI

Well-Known Member
I have one of those led wholesalers grow tents from amazon.com and it's decent if you are on a budget like me. I had to do a little self modification to seal out light leaks. If money isn't an issue I would get a better quality tent. You will be happier with it and it will last longer.
 
missnu

missnu

Well-Known Member
ganjaman87 said:
Yeah well thats the only thing about multiple strains is the height issue its just so hard to get an even canopy. All but one of my grows have been multiple strain grows and I always have the same issue with one strain just overtaking the whole tent. I have Sour Diesel and Headband growing right now and Ive got the headband stacked on like ten books just so I can get an even canopy because the sour diesel is just so much taller, thats why I only took Headband clones because its just gonna be easier changing nutes and stuff I am growing in single bucket dwc also and the sour diesel is becoming a Bitch to take care of on a daily basis because of its size.
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it isnt hard to control height of different strains...just bend the tall ones over even with the others...these plants will grow in any direction you tell them...you just have to know how...stakes, and twine...stakes and twine.
 
ganjaman87

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
missnu said:
it isnt hard to control height of different strains...just bend the tall ones over even with the others...these plants will grow in any direction you tell them...you just have to know how...stakes, and twine...stakes and twine.
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Man thats too damn much extra work
 
crazyhazey

crazyhazey

Well-Known Member
ganjaman87 said:
Man thats too damn much extra work
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pinch the branch where you want it to bend between your thumb and index finger(i put my index finger and middle finger together, i think it works to make the stem forgiving enough to bend and not snap. if you do it enough, lightly try to bend them down. use twist ties or fishing line to tie down, zip ties also work very well but any string too thin can bruise the stem.
 
dirtyglove

dirtyglove

Member
appreciate all the replys but it looks like for now im doing a pc grow because my dad doesnt know im a patient nor would he allow me to grow in a tent lol
 
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