My First Grow Journal...EVER! 600W MH/HPS Bubbleponics Cabinet Grow

[bigtrucker315]

Wow. Really sorry to hear that.

[ellz]

I was sorry to hear that my anger is not compatible with the outside world. I guess I should remain a loner.

[ellz]

I will post some pictures of the spider mite damage because that may help others. Here are some photos from the infestation of evil bugs. I didn't use any zoom so this is how they look to the naked eye basically.

Side Note: There is likely only another week of growing left so I may post the rest of the progress photos in a one-week cluster. Not much else to really update beyond the bug issue and adding water from time to time at this point. I will however update the post no matter what with a final total of how much these two plants produce as I know some may be interested in that. Apart from that, I am going to regroup, reconsider my options for online journals (not really my thing as you all can tell) and I may try to come back and keep a more un-emotional grow journal in the future. Until next time, thanks for reading and happy growing!

[ellz]

Will post one final yield post for this and that will be that.

[ellz]

Should be in the next week...possibly in multiple parts depending on how developed all the buds are. There are several that are getting very close but I notice more in the back that may need more time. Will update when the girls are done though.

[Sheesh]

Were you able to get rid of the mites Ellz?

[ellz]

Sheesh I think they are all dead. Nothing is moving on the leaves any more each time I check them so I think so. Still have bodies of the buggers everywhere. Will need to rinse the buds off thoroughly before drying and curing but I think it will be okay. All I used on the bug problem so far was Neem Oil Concentrate. I sprayed it all over let it drip dry then sprayed it all over again. That seems to have done the trick but I will be buying something with Spinoset just to be sure next time.

[ellz]

Wanted to update everyone on the status of the girls. They are almost done based on the trichomes and pistils now both starting to turn mostly amber. Below are photos from the past 6 days along with a bud close-up from today showing the amber trichomes. Thanks for reading.

[bigtrucker315]

Nice buds. Thanks for the close up of the amber trichromes, it will assist me in what to look for

[ellz]

No problem. I am going to post two more close-ups from yesterday below.

[ellz]

Two more 60x zoom photos from yesterday...

[ellz]

10/28/2017: Went ahead and mixed up my flush mixture for tonight. When the light comes on I am going to drain whatever is left in the reservoir and refill it with my pHed water/FloraKleen mixture. I plan on running that until Tuesday and then it will just be pHed plain water from then on. It looks like I will be harvesting around Monday or Tuesday, and possibly doing a second harvest a week or so later (some smaller buds may need more time). Either way, the bulk of the grow will be ready in a few days. The trichomes are all looking cloudy or even amber and for the most part, the pistils have changed over to orange and red from what I can tell. Here are a couple of pictures from the past couple of days. Will update again around harvest or just before. Thanks for reading!

[ellz]

Graff420 do you notice that the HPS bulb makes it really hard to tell if the pistils are red? It feels like the red from the bulb is washing out the red in the pistils. I feel that way because in the photos where I zoom in with my scope (which has a built-in LED) the pistils appear red but looking at it without the scope they look white.

[Graff420]

Lol im colorblind so i dont really do red that well i mostly ask my gf about specific colors because i cant really differentiate when things are small lol but yea thats what my gf told me she said my hps light turned my red pistils were white

[ellz]

Wow...I never thought about how difficult it would be to grow being colorblind. That is quite a conundrum! Glad she can be your pistil spotter though!

[ellz]

Photos from today...just changed the reservoir over to the flush mix.

[ellz]

10/31/2017:

09:00PM: Drained the flush mixture out of the reservoir and replaced it with pHed water (NO HYDROGUARD). This is all the girls will get from here on out...just pHed water. The flush did great...lots of residue in the bottom of the drainage tote meaning that deposits have been pulled out of the growing medium and roots! It's almost impossible to tell what color the pistils are on the larger buds under bright light. The red from the grow light is washing out the red in the pistils. I plan on blocking the light with a piece of cardboard and using a LED or CFL bulb to see if I can see them better. I have also been checking the trichomes and they are a nice mix of some amber, more cloudy and very few clear. A couple of smaller buds are ready and I will likely cut them later on tonight or tomorrow. For all the small buds, I am drying them in a mesh drying rack in my garage. The other, larger buds will be dried in my dry box but I am not running ventilation or any of that just yet. I am just going to leave the door open and a fan blowing on the crop from a distance. The environment in the garage is pretty ideal for drying so it should be okay. Below are photos from the past 3 days, along with some bud shots from tonight. Will update again when I start harvesting, which should be this week for the most part. Thanks for reading and for sticking with me! Happy growing!

[ellz]

11/02/2017:

11:00PM: Began removing the undergrowth today. It basically took 3 hours to cut all the popcorn from under the main canopy. A lot of it had decent buds...though small, they are frosty! Some was dead...not sure what happened but you live and learn. I threw out about 3/4 of a 10 gallon tote's worth of leaves and dead stalks. The rest I trimmed and dunked in a bucket of clean water, then shook them off (all one at a time mind you) and placed most of what I cut in the bottom 3 levels of my mesh drying rack, with about 5 larger colas hanging in my drying cabinet. I imagine I will cut most of it down tomorrow evening. Just wanted to get a good start on it today and I am glad I did...that was A LOT OF CUTTING! Photos below. Thanks for reading. I will keep updating as I finish out the harvest.

[tvbfe]

Ok just curious, why did you dunk your buds in water?

[ellz]

tvbfe because of the spider mite infestation. Wanted to try to wash off any of the bugs I could.

[tvbfe]

Damn spider mites

[ellz]

11/03/2017:

10:30PM: Started on my second round of cutting from the two girls. This time it took about 3 hours and 15 minutes to cut through the larger colas and more of the popcorn (larger stuff today). I should have about 2-3 more hours of trimming left before it's all harvested but so far it's looking like I will have a decent yield. The spider mites are all over the place so I have been dunking all the buds in water and swirling them around then drying them off one-by-one to try to remove what I can. That is what's really taking the time besides the trimming once the stuffs cut off. I am keeping smaller leaves but removing all of the larger fan leaves and even some of the larger bud leaves. The stuff I am leaving is to help slow the drying process since my humidity is low and since I am using a mesh drying rack for some of it. Below is a picture of the two plants after 6 hours and 15 minutes of trimming, along with a shot of my drying box and mesh rack. Thanks for reading!

[bigtrucker315]

Very nice looking buds.
you have to b be proud with this grow.

[Sheesh]

Looking good Ellz. BTW, I learned a neat trick from Tika on this forum. Use the drying rack to hang the big buds and put the small stuff on the racks. See pic below of my recent harvest for an example

[ellz]

That's a great idea! Only one problem for me....my sides are all enclosed so there is nothing to clip the larger buds to. I am not too sure how strong this mesh rack is...it was one of the cheaper ones...but I could possibly wrap something around the outside and clip to that. My only fear is it would rip the mesh...again, cheap rack. Either way, that is really cool and I might have to buy a rack like that for next time! Thanks!

[Graff420]

Looking good lol cant wait to figgur out that weight

[ellz]

Me too! I have been weighing as I go (after trimming off the bulk of leaves) and some of the hanging buds are 2-3 ounces each! But we all know they will lose about 90% of that mass due to drying so I am not sure what it will end up at. Will post the "wet weight" total when I have it...should be soon. I have another round of trimming today and that should be it...unless there is some scraggly stuff I want to let grow out.

[bigtrucker315]

Very nice ellz

[ellz]

Thank you! I wanted to trim the buds up more before drying but due to the low humidity, I chose to leave the smaller leaves on. I might go out and trim them some more as they are drying. They smell absolutely amazing! I can't wait to try some!

[ellz]

11/09/2017:

03:45AM: Finally have a dry weight! 2 plants yielded 7.9oz in 9 quart-sized jars. There is still some plant to trim and dry but it looks as if it won't be all that good. Still gonna harvest it. Any bud is better than no bud. The bugs are still alive on the buds, so I guess they will either be getting high while it cures or searching for air because the jars are staying sealed (except for burping once a day). Overall, the bud quality is mediocre at best. Very airy and leafy. I am not too pleased with this crop. It's been a huge learning experience and if I do another grow (IF!) I will have some info on what NOT TO DO next time. The bug thing basically killed it for me and the airy buds were the final nail in the coffin. I can honestly say that growing it is way too much hassle for very little return. The best I can say is that I paid for my cabinet (but not all the other stuff) with this 1st grow. At $200/oz, the average price where I live at the rec shops, I am looking at a total of $1580 in bud. I invested around $1600 on the cabinet equipment and another $500 in miscellaneous stuff (nutrients, pesticides, supplements, accessories). I wish you all luck in your grows. Clearly I haven't got the patience I used to have for it. I may try again when I run out but I am not sure. I have the seeds I ordered from Seedsman still...so who knows. Not sure if I will keep an online journal then either, since I had the issues this go round with it.

Either way, for those who are still with me...the final dry weight was 7.9 ounces.

[Graff420]

Fucc yea i kinda figgured they might be slightly airy the most advice i can give is go for an indica next time and it will slowly take over your cabinet instead of it takeing over as fast the sativas did and you would get a great yeild as long as you keep her trimmed up and direct light on the buds they dence up great and they will also get alot more dence dureing cureing atleast mine are. I thought mine would be airy as hell concidering how they felt at the final dry point but now im 2 weeks into cureing they feel alot more dence than they did 2 weeks ago
hope you dont leave us here you did great and the bugs on the buds id say leave them sealed for 2 to 3 days steal the oxygen the bugs need then id say try to wash them

[Graff420]

No problem and i think your buds were airy due to so much leaf coverage

[ellz]

Graff420 I agree. I need to prune more and do some better training.

[Graff420]

Training was great but what i would do it take any fan leaf off that way more 2weeks old or longer she responded well amd id clip atleast 2 leafs everyday lol