SLH Round 2! 400w MH/HPS

I started to get some leaf drop at the very interior bottom, which is expected to a certain degree, but because as these got taller I felt the plant wouldn't be all it could be without some supplemental lighting. I'm half tempted to try some of those CFLs that spit out UV from the pet store since I'm using the CFLs anyways.

I had these homemade fixtures which were originally made to be stood and hung horizontal for grows ago before I went HID, but I modified them to be verticle here. A PVC cutter and some 3 way joints provide a lot of options for not a lot of money.

Overall, the addition of 200w of CFL have probably bumped the box 2 degrees in heat, so we are at 78-80 most of the time. So now this is a 600w op. 400w super hps hortilux on the top. Each side has two 2700k and two 6500k CLFs that are 23-26w (don't remember). Hopefully, this will help some of the popcorn become more worthwhile and help production overall.

BTW, anyone who wants to build a fixture like this: All you need to do go to Home Depot: get those rubberized light sockets with 2 wires, 1 1/4 PVC, some 3 way PVC joints 1 1/4 size, an extension cord (not grounded..get a 2 prong) and a cheap PVC cutter ($12). Cut away and wire parallel. Super easy/cheap and easy to customize to fit just right.

6 weeks of flower done today

Damn man!! Shit is looking great. Huge thin leaves. Buds are getting there.

One of the right is behind the one on the left with much smaller/underdeveloped buds. I don't know if it's going to catch up or just going to be a staggered harvest. Maybe this will be a more sativa time frame as far as flower although I'd say about 15% of the hairs are turning brown. The leaves are kind of getting beat up...not from PH or nutes, but from getting smooshed in the box.

7 weeks of flower. The other plant is signifigantly behind this one

Damn dude nice!!! what kind of soil and nute are you using? im highly considering growing SLH

FFOF and the fox farm nute line up

Subbed... great thread MrDank007.

I'm taking a close look at your height/stretch issues with these SLH's and wondering... would you have maybe kept veg closer to 4 weeks? I also note your suggestion regarding using the MH thru the initial 12/12 stretch.

Also, what's the max tsp/gal on the FF nutes you've done with these? The bottles suggest 2 max, but I was thinking I might keep it at 1tsp/gal max for this grow.

Thanks for any insight!

wbd said:

Subbed... great thread MrDank007.

I'm taking a close look at your height/stretch issues with these SLH's and wondering... would you have maybe kept veg closer to 4 weeks? I also note your suggestion regarding using the MH thru the initial 12/12 stretch.

Also, what's the max tsp/gal on the FF nutes you've done with these? The bottles suggest 2 max, but I was thinking I might keep it at 1tsp/gal max for this grow.

Thanks for any insight!

Click to expand...

You just need to watch them. I had 5 gallon pots, which enabled them to stretch more. Depending on your height restriction and method of growing, I would count on them tripling in height. Yes, I wish I would have flipped a week or week and a half sooner. Too much plant energy was focused on growth and not enough on budding. I'm going to have a dilemna when it comes to the chop because the plants will be at least a week a part, so that throws a wrench in chopping the top half and lowering the light to finish the bottom...at least on one of the plants it will as there would be about a 2 foot spread.

As far as the nutes, I'm at 2 tsp/gallon. About 1.5 tsp of Tiger and 0.5 tsp of grow big. At first sign of flower, I would use even more grow big and less tiger. All of this also depends on the size of your plants, but the take away is that Tiger does not have enough N to keep lower and mid leaf drop and yellowing at bay so I would supplement some grow big during flower even though conventional wisdom says that too much N in flower is bad. Tiger drops the PH like crazy so keep some PH up on hand.

Interesting, thanks for the reply. I like to supplement with Big Bloom on the "plain" watering days, anywhere from 2 to 4 tbsp. I like to think of that as my nitrogen boost during flower, and I feel like it keeps the soil rich. Notice I said I "feel", I really have no idea. And I do like to continue to use Grow Big 2 weeks into flower, again to help with 12/12 stretch.

I think I'm going to stick with a 4 week-ish veg and see what happens. I will have that urge to go longer, but from what I see here it would be better to maybe fault on the shorter side until I'm familiar with how they'll grow under my 250 with my regimens.

Thanks for the advice on the Tiger pH, I unfortunately found out about that already, the hard way. I assumed that it would have the same effect on pH as Grow Big so was still pHing it DOWN when like you said I should have been going up. Needless to say this caused a terrible disaster and disappointing results with a plant that resembled Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, since I killed all the big and medium fan leaves off in a matter of about 2-3 weeks. Whoops.

What was your yield/SLH plant last time around?

Also, above which node did you top these?

I topped these above the 2nd node. I also use Big Bloom on the "plain" days, but if you look at the bottle the ratios are nill. Do what you usually do and if you start to see yellowing or drop early on, you know what to do. This was my dry yield off 2 plants under 250w last time.

Maybe an oz each then would you say?

I plan to top above node 2 as well, so you did yours at 2.5 weeks right? From what you remember of their size would you feel good about topping at 2.5 weeks and then going 12/12 a week and a half later?

Btw I have a possible runt too, unfortunately I have no backup plan.

Yeah, about an oz/ plant. That was a standard 250w hps and 2 gallon buckets. I was trying to double that this time, with a 400w hortilux and bigger pots/some LST scheme I dreamed up but one plant is being an asshole so we will see. SLH is just not a huge yielder although I've seen some better results with bigger lights and SCROG.

The topping is a feel kind of thing. I read UB's thread many many times, but for me the optimal point is this: When I feel the plant is hardy enough to top and any further growth will be a waste of time because...well I'm cutting it off. If those shoots to become the new dominant colas are already developed some they will take hold faster.

I would also factor in a week, maybe more to recover before flipping to 12/12. All this and of course considered with your desired height.

That runt bastard is on my deck...still in the party cup dying a very slow death. Always, crack an extra bean on small grows! I'd rather trash it and be out a couple bucks than 3.5 months of my time.

Thanks man! +rep

just got caught up on your slh grow brah. its lookin killer man. +rep im all the way subbed in. BTW im using a 4x2x2 grow box i made now with cfl's and a 400hps. my next grow i was stuck on getting a 4x4 tent but that settup of yours is nice. im so thinkin go the way of stealth now.

Thanks man! I got the box on craigslist for $100, but it took months of stalking to find the right one. It actually is a nice antique piece that probably should not have been destroyed for growing. Ideally, you want one that is the right dimensions with no crap or shelves in the middle to remove.

The main bitch about using wardrobes and cabinents vs. tents is the depth, next would be the height in some cases. They are rectangular instead of square. Ideally, I could do 4 or more plants with that cool tube if I could stack the plants behind each other and get more out of my light if I had a square tent. Or just get a hood with a better light print all together and more watts going.

The stealth route is definitely a more time consuming build and an exercise in space management. Just drilling 6in holes in wood for the ducting is a small nightmare. My vote would be on tent unless you are like me and live in a smaller place in an inner metro area. I just couldn't hide a tent, so i rigged up this deal in my office.

8 weeks of flower. May be getting chopped earlier than I thought

got some nice snow on top of those peeks bro. i think a grow tent would be ideal for placement but not as practical as having to hide it or explain what it is if ever i had the unexpected company. whereas a wardrobe tucked out the way with a little hum and wires coming out the back would be less conspicuous. stealth is deff the way to go for me. looking good in there man

Thanks! If you want to do a wardrobe I would still keep it out of the way and run your lights at night to be stealth. You are going to have to keep it off the wall about a half foot so you can get air exchange. If you find one and need tips on the build send me a PM. There are some potential mistakes that can be a real pain.

60 days. High to low