Hey Al. First off, Thank you.
This is the first hydro op I've ever put together. I didn't order the parts but after taking inventory, I realized that everything I had was almost identical to your setup. I set up the plumbing ventilation spacing and even switched to fytocell (after having inconsistent results with rockwool) using your thread as a blueprint. The subtle differences turned into individual problems which were solved by committing fully to your methods. I'm a happy grower thanks to you.
Thanks very much for the compliments. Glad it's working for you.
Now, of course, I have some questions if you don't mind.
Some plants are really healthy. Others were stunted and remained that way for one reason or another. All recieved same treatment. Can you tell me how to prevent this?
The stunted plant is exhibiting a fault called 'rosetting,' making small leaves and little vertical growth, caused by root probs. Root disease often follows overwatering, either while still in the clonebox or later in the flowering area. Fytocell can be overwatered, but it's not easy. If you're watering 1x/lights on, water every other day at lights on. Apply H2O2 50% grade @ 1ml/L in the nute solns every 3-4 days. Dump tanks, clean and renew nute solns biweekly.
Since I'm growing sativas and i'm new to sog, the pruning has been very confusing. Would you have pruned this plant the same way?
Yep, looks great, nice work.
All you need do is remove the branching on the lower 1/3 of the plant, once at the end of wk1 and again at the end of wk3.
And finally, I came accross this bubba strain that's blowing my mind. The plant grows in a straight line with not a lot of nodes and very short branching. The smoke is amazing but the plant doesn't seem to like sog...
Indica dom hybrids generally work better in SoG as they have a more squat habit. Purer sativas tend to get leggy, not the best for keeping the bulk of the foliar mass in the highest intensity light.
would topping the mother and cloning the mainstem with the 2 tops work create a better yield? The plant grows in a straight line with a little number of nodes spaced out and very short branching. An 8" clone is finishing barely at a foot tall. But the bud looks too good to pass up.
You should be taking your clones from the fattest stems you can get off your mums. As you take cuttings from mums, their growth will divide and they will produce several >10mm stems for cuttings every 2 weeks, provided they're being hit with some strong light. I use a 400HPS on my 10 mums, but a 250 HPS or 175MH would do for 6-8. When doing a batch of cuttings, nip off any very small branches from the mums, encourage the stronger branches to grow to make some nice fat stems for the next batch of cuts.
Once again, you've been a huge inspiration, and I appreciate any help you provide.
no wuckin' furries, mate.
Keep up the nice work.