Opening pandora's box..

RECAP

It started when I converted my basement into an art studio..
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9886/studiopanoramafe2.jpg
and discovered I had enough room left over for 'art supplies'

built the box..


8" + 10" extractor fans in upper compartment
2 small intake fans at bottom
small ionizer (in exhaust compartment)
small compartment at right of unit for clones

got her running..

450w HPS + Ballast
b/w mylar film
Vacation timers / multi plug adaptors / PADLOCKS!

I was given a starting plant, ready to flower.. turns out she's cherry berry, not strawberry skunk.
I vegged her for 2 more weeks while I was sorting things out.



Figured out, with much advice, that the little compartment was basically useless.
So being 'hard rubbish collection' week here I set out with a mate, a jeep and a
freshly rolled fatty in search of a cabinet.

Bingo..




Set her up..

Small Flouro - I've got a bigger aquarium 'grow light' in the pic but she's tempermental.
Intake fan (stole one from the flower cabinet)


Currently getting my first batch of clones to take root..

Water Cloning Tank

Aquarium gear (Pump/Water Heater/Airstone)

(Reappropriated my flatmate's test tube / shot glass set)


While the clones are healthy, they weren't sprouting roots. I'm figuring that
the roots were being exposed to too much light so I've covered the top of
the stand with mylar to limit the light beneath the canopy.


I'm expecting to have a couple clones ready for soil within the next 2 weeks.
2 weeks in soil then I'll start introducing them into the large flower cabinet,
setting up a rotation system for regular biweekly harvests.

So it's 6 weeks since I started, I'm 2 weeks into flower and no major dramas yet..

I was frying her at 30ºC. Dropping to 19ºC at night. That can't have been good.

Click to expand...

Ya I was cooking her.. had the light as far away as I could get it and ventilation on 24-7 (a lot of ventilation too)
and I still couldn't get the closed-door temperature to below 30deg. Seems the big exhaust fans were crippled
by the relatively small intake fans. I've replaced one intake fan with a screened vent and got the temperature
in there to an even 23deg.

I've only got 1 plant in a big space so I've screened her out and she's looking flowerlicious. Lower leaves really
went yellow when I went to 12 - 12, I'm trusting that was her redirecting energy into the flowers and not any
major error on my behalf. Humidity is floating between 55 and 65% so I'm misting daily. PH around 6.7. Feeding
her guano 'superbloom' (5ml to 1ltr) with her water almost daily. Disabled the other fan for the moment, might be
useful for stem strengthening in the future tho..

Once the cabinet starts filling up I'll move from a SCOG to a SOG and see what kinda yields I can generate. Then
after I've pulled a couple harvests I'm still keen to try a vertical screen setup - I've got over 32 square feet in there
if I run the screens up the side walls.

For now though it's 2 more weeks of watching flowers bloom and waiting on the clones to sprout roots.. new pics soon

I love your setup! Expecially the design of both boxes. But man that picture scared the shit out of me lol.

BBE

praying mantis do not eat plants. they are binifitial and eat only insects. there good in the garden.

if i read you first post correctly, are you're planning to flower your mother BEFORE you get clones? that's wrong, dude. the mother should never be on a 12/12 light schedule. cut clones off of her while she's vegging under 18/6 light, move those cuttings to 24 hrs or 18/6 hours untill they're big enough to flower under 12/12 light.

sorry if misunderstood you.

are you're planning to flower your mother BEFORE you get clones?

Click to expand...

While I get clones.. I already cut the clones in the first week of flowering. The plan is to get
some buds out of mom while I'm fucking around waiting for them to root... transplant.. flower..
I'll pick out one of the clones for my new mother plant once I'm really high on this one.

I love your setup! Expecially the design of both boxes.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I designed the first box but then I got stuck building it. Never again.. I could have
got a second hand wardrobe or armoir and converted it in half the time.. the second box
I got off the side of the road, had it ready to grow in about a day.

good jpb so far. hit up the grow faq on cloning

good jpb so far. hit up the grow faq on cloning

Click to expand...

Been there.. giving my mate's water cloning method a go. Thanks.

WEEK 4 BRINGS..... C R Y S T A L S ! ! !





WOOHAA! 5 weeks to go..

End of week 4...

I hadn't seen little Fresh in a while and wasn't too concerned, he gets out occassionally and a couple days later he'll be hanging around by the door until it's watering time. So I wasn't surprised to spot him at the door yesterday and I let him back in without thinking about it.

!!MANTIS BATTLE!!

Turns out, Fresh was hiding in the plant and I had let in a rival female. She fucking waasted him.. When I checked in this morning he was floating in the water bucket. The new killer mantis had even dropped an egg sac and was all like "Oh Ya.. this is my hood now bitch". Word.

I named my new killer mantis Jessica. She bad.



Egg sac!! that's like 100-400 babies!! wicked!

WEEK FIVE






:
:
:
:
:
:
::ROJECT ATLANTIS::: Jazer's (slowly evolving) water cloning method.

1::::The shoebox lid, the Esky, how ghetto is that?? where are my seeds?

Not Pictured..

air pump, airstone, aquarium heater (24deg), outake fan (behind the grow light)


2:::Architecture



*I have discovered the importance of shielding the roots of the plant from direct light.

Several plants were showing decomposition at their bases last week. They were recut
and dipped in rooting hormone. The plants that weren't recut have grown healthy roots.



3:::Everyting


4:::aworkin


5:::nyce


Lets get to pottin.

Potted the 5 plants that were showing good roots.
4-5" pots, gravel base, 50/50 soil to perlite mix, a pinch of root-blast.





Test plant - roots had only just sprouted, I've potted it in a clear cup (drainage holes added) so I can see whats happening.





How do I guage when they are ready for the flower chamber?

we have now entered...---Week 7---

Things sure started gettin stinky a few days ago.. more crystals, fattening buds, definitely more resin on the plant.
She's a sexy lil minx.. got my first red hair on Thursday!! Supposed to be a 9 week flower cycle with this strain but
seeing red hairs already makes me think she might be done in 8.. watching very closely.


Had a 4-6" branch at the bottom of the plant with 2 small shoots coming off of it. While neither of the shoots were
going to be able to access the light
all 3 tips were showing flowers...

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT! Decided to chop and sample the off shoots to see
1) What the potency was like
2) whether the remaining bud would grow noticeably faster
Result.. I've smoked worse. Was well happy considering they were tiny immature buds off the bottom of the plant.
I'm now fairly confident that I'm growing some good quality weed. Will watch the remaining bud's development closely.

also feeling the urge to rape again.. to the dealer quick!!

1/2 of the clones that hadn't rooted last week are now ready for soil, the rest of them look quite content rootless..
no rush there. Looks like I'll have 10 plants in veg cycle by Thursday.

The clones that went into soil last week seem to be fine.. don't look a heck of a lot different than when I planted them.
The little test plant died after about 12 hours.. seems those roots need to be at least 2-3 inches in order to support the cutting.

--

So all good in the wood. I'm guessing there's about 1 1/2 oz on the plant at the moment but I can't tell, I'm used to
seeing the stuff in neat ziplock bags. My mate figures there's more than that.. I'd be well chufflled if I could pull 2oz
of flower off my first plant let me tell you..

-- WEEK TEN --

No magnifier to check the trichromes with but this strain is
meant to have a 9 week cycle and about 1/2 the hairs on the
plant have turned red.. my poorly dried samples pack a nice
buzz - It's time to harvest.

Let me introduce you to my first fully grown marijuana plant.





chop chop..


(took at least $50 of cuttings from her over the last week as well - !!RESULT!!)

Here's the rest of the gang...

congradulations! Now how long do you plan to cure it?

Good job. To buy a closet like that you would pay $3000+. I love the radiator fans. lol.

nice nice!
did you happen to take a wet weight?

congradulations! Now how long do you plan to cure it?

Click to expand...

I've read a few different methods on here now and haven't really decided.
10 - 12 days I figure but I'm going to watch them real close and just take it as it comes.

Put a big plate of baking soda in there today.. I'm so terrified of mould.

Good job. To buy a closet like that you would pay $3000+. I love the radiator fans. lol.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Those little fans totally outperform the big 10" extractors.

did you happen to take a wet weight?

Click to expand...

No scales yet! Looks like 2 1/4 oz at the moment.. just a guess tho. I'm expecting to lose about 1/3rd of the weight in drying??

Awesome thread dude. Im surprised more peeps havent commented. Its good to see another literate grower, they are rare.
Your clones are looking good, and the buds look tasty. Good shit dude.