My First DIY Cab Grow: Using the K.I.S.S. Method

anyone else having issues seeing pictures?

dont see any pics

I also am not seeing any pictures.. How those gals doin?

Think it's a server thing, should pass shortly. I noticed it on some threads earlier this morning and now some of them are starting to show up again. I'll keep checking back to see how those Sunday pics came out!

EDIT: I know it's Monday. I hope all of this makes up for the late posting. D:

Alright, folks. Lots of pictures incoming.

The TLDR is: I optimized everything. Stable temps at 80 degrees, doubled the exhaust power, simplified my carbon air filter system, tripled the light output, made the entire box use waaaaay less power, reduced a lot of the noise, reinforced the side panels with zip ties, and went OCD on all the cables.

The long version:
-Removed the power supply and computer fans. This wasn't giving me enough exhaust (at least not the amount that i wanted). This was used for the veg box.
-Used one of the three air circulation fans for the exhaust.
-Removed the carbon air filter. The design was inefficient and way too complicated. All I need to do is crush an ONA block into bits and sew it into a cloth that's circular and kind of flat. Throwing this in there should more than cover my ass from the neighbors smelling anything.
-Lights arrived. The big lights are so much cooler to the touch than the small LED's I ordered. The entire box is lit up like a Christmas tree.
-Cable management. In keeping it K.I.S.S., I re-arranged the cables to give it that "professional look and feel."

Pics:



I'm really satisfied with this. No need for any more major changes.

Now for pictures of the plants.



My main investment. I couldn't be more proud of myself right now. It's been such a rough ride but now she's looking so healthy... I'm curious to see what these new optimized conditions will do for her. There are 7 tops growing evenly on her at the moment, and this is a "high yield" Indica strain, so I'm excited to see how she'll form her flowers.



It's a jungle in there. Several different tops with different leaves. I can tell which one wants to be dominant, but I'm hoping this'll change now that there's more lighting.



Duckfoot. Still taking its time, lost 4 leaves. It has three tops coming in, though. I expect them to take off by next sunday.



All three next to each other for size comparison.

On a side note, I've learned that it's in my best interest to run two plants per grow, preferably in lower and wider pots.

SECOND EDIT: I forgot to add pictures of my veg box setup. No clue if this will be permanent or not, but this will do for now.


CD Drive and Floppy drive work. The power supply is what runs the exhaust fan. There's no network cable plugged in yet because I'm not using it. I'm leaving the broken power supply and the stripped fan system there for "ambience (remember, I'm imitating a poor man's server rack here)."

Let me know what you all think!

LST technique seems to be working great - they are displaying good horizontal growth with vibrant green leaves. I am looking to do the same to my three new seedlings as well (Master Kush strain). How long are you going to veg for? I am limited in ceiling height as I am growing in a kitchen cabinet, so I am going to LST and FIM my way to a maximum possible yield for the grow space.

OrganicEcoGrow said:

LST technique seems to be working great - they are displaying good horizontal growth with vibrant green leaves. I am looking to do the same to my three new seedlings as well (Master Kush strain). How long are you going to veg for? I am limited in ceiling height as I am growing in a kitchen cabinet, so I am going to LST and FIM my way to a maximum possible yield for the grow space.

Click to expand...

With the way things are looking at the moment, I might flip between mid to late October. Growth is going much faster now, so I don't have a proper gouge on it

Small update. It's only been about three days since I made the changes. Check out this leaf health:



Greener, smoother, and a bit more vibrant looking. New growth is coming in very fast.

Pepper's starting up some serious five bladed leaves, and Keeper is upgrading a few of its nodes to 7 bladed leaves. Will keep everyone posted. More pictures on Sunday.

This is just to show everyone that the changes are working.
Edit: I have a feeling flowering is going to be quite fun, now that I have the conditions right.

S W E E T ! ! !

Great thread man, look forward to watching this all unfold.

So I got that Brita filter that I've been talking about. I have to say it's spectacular.

The PH of my tap water was at a solid 7.5. Ran it through the filter into the pitcher and it's right on par with distilled water, PH wise (6.4 to 6.5)

This will be put to good use.

Just read through the grow, gotta say looking good. I'm going to be building my stealth cab asafp.
Going to be using LED as well, but a bigger light, still chinese LED though. http://www.amazon.com/QueenshinyLED-Bestseller-Indoor-Hydroponic-Spectrums/dp/B00DS1S83Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1380776713&sr=8-6&keywords=135w+10band+led.
I will also do a SCroG with topping with some LST as well.
I am subbed for the ride, Cheers.

TheBeardedStoner said:

Just read through the grow, gotta say looking good. I'm going to be building my stealth cab asafp.
Going to be using LED as well, but a bigger light, still chinese LED though. http://www.amazon.com/QueenshinyLED-Bestseller-Indoor-Hydroponic-Spectrums/dp/B00DS1S83Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1380776713&sr=8-6&keywords=135w+10band+led.
I will also do a SCroG with topping with some LST as well.
I am subbed for the ride, Cheers.

Click to expand...

Let me know how the UFO light works for you.

notballin said:

Let me know how the UFO light works for you.

Click to expand...

I will as soon as I get it ordered and set up.

It is truly an amazing experience to garden any type of plant. Simple to complex modifications of the grow-operation and design may have direct impacts on the biology of the system, and this can be seen in an intricate cause & effect relationship with the grower and the plant; careful observations and system management result in healthy plants and high quality crops. Replicating the way Nature is, in our human-constructed growing systems of a plant, might lead to a greater yield from the focus organism [cannabis]. It is a beneficial symbiotic relationship for all parties involved: plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, protista, macro and micro organisms, and lastly humans. Good luck to all fellow gardeners and growers of life.

That's great about the Brita btw... I hope it enhances your bud quality (I think it should). I am limited to a Pur brand filter on my tap, then a Brita pitcher filter, so it does get filtered twice but if I had the resources, I would choose to use reverse osmosis or collected rain water from a forest or rural area..... Hmmm the benefits of an outdoor guerilla grow seem compelling..

Uploading some photos. Nothing fancy. Just an update on how the plant is doing:



I upped her feeding schedule. The bottom leaves have a tinge of yellow on them, so she's ready for more food!

Canopy is nice and even. There are 7 main tops. Probably 8, if I count the smaller located between the big one's. Things are looking good so far.

I might need help next week in deciding if I should flower. She's starting to grow pretty fast.

EDIT: She's working on 7 bladed leaves now.

And another photo for good measure.



I felt the first one didn't do it justice. She's gained quite a bit of mass since last week.

Decided to see how K.I.S.S. making a custom light fixture was. It's not that difficult if you're used to daisy-chaining cables. A few zip ties and some outdoor mounting tape go a long way.



Not much to say about this. Just need a small fan for circulation, but other than that this veg box is DONE.

EDIT: So I walked outside to throw away some garbage when I came upon a broken 3 head lamp. I took it apart and decided to use one of the spare LED's I had to make a smaller more compact desk lamp. Getting my feet wet before I take on a major lighting project in the future.



I like it. It sets the mood, and it's fully adjustable (different angles). One man's trash...
(I know the lamp doesn't involve "stealth grows," but I figure having an LED lamp just adds to the lighting effect of the Big box and Veg box, and it helps me gain a bit of experience in rigging lights. I have a big idea for the Big box, but it'll have to wait until this grow is finished.)

No major updates. Still continuing the countdown to flower and getting everything ready. I went ahead and ordered some Dyna-Gro liquid Bloom for flowering, as well as some ONA gel. I picked Dyna-Gro because it's low in soluble salts (meaning it shouldn't completely murder the microherd), it's inexpensive, and they've been around for a while with some positive feedback.

I plan on using it at a quarter strength until I feel safe using more, and I plan on using it with blackstrap molasses.

I also went and purchased some liquid kelp. Seems to be as close to a "magic bullet" as one can get with gardening... it has so many benefits.

Plants are doing pretty well. Peppermint Kush is getting pretty tall and I can smell it from a distance (in veg...). It's almost time to flip the switch. When I do flip, I'll put this veg box to use by planting some autoflower freebies (fem) that I got from my original purchase.

Pics to come at the end of the week. The final big purchase that I'll probably make is in an uninterruptable power supply (both for my PC and the box). I'm not down for power outages when I flip the switch to flower.

EDIT: Shelving the Miracle Gro Organic Choice fert. I have a feeling I'll have more success vegging with Alaskan Fish Emulsion and Pure Kelp Plant Food.

Nothing much to say. Here, have a picture.


EDIT: Here's another picture.


EDIT: One more. Did a bit of defoliation on all three. Keeper -really- needed it.