SoOrbudgal
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Just beautiful
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First Time 100% Perlite Hydro Grow.
- Thread starter BaccaRacca
- Start date
BaccaRacca
New member
SoOrbudgal, thank you! So far so good.
BaccaRacca
New member
Ckbrew Amazon sells something very similar to what I have and they call them Peony Support Cages.
https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Bunny-S...lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2PEQG4OIUFAFW&th=1
Their model has four support legs where mine only has three.
As for 100% perlite, a bit of experimentation. Really, a whim. Short answer, yes, increased irrigation abilities.
Long answer I'm trying to mimic DWC while keeping the pots very mobile -- having the ability to go from cabinet to cabinet, move for life cycle changes and even for photo purposes.
I'd had some really great crops using 30% peat as a buffer for my alkali tap water, but I also had a couple of stinkers. I suspect, for environmental reasons my tap water was fluctuating wildly and the buffer would either over or under correct. This happened almost exclusively in my 2.5-gallon pots. On larger pots there always seemed to be some place the roots found comfortable.
But I wanted to go to smaller pots and see what these drip irrigation systems can do. Once I bought into the EC and Ph meters (and maintaining them) that just seemed like the way to go.
So far, so good.
https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Bunny-S...lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2PEQG4OIUFAFW&th=1
Their model has four support legs where mine only has three.
As for 100% perlite, a bit of experimentation. Really, a whim. Short answer, yes, increased irrigation abilities.
Long answer I'm trying to mimic DWC while keeping the pots very mobile -- having the ability to go from cabinet to cabinet, move for life cycle changes and even for photo purposes.
I'd had some really great crops using 30% peat as a buffer for my alkali tap water, but I also had a couple of stinkers. I suspect, for environmental reasons my tap water was fluctuating wildly and the buffer would either over or under correct. This happened almost exclusively in my 2.5-gallon pots. On larger pots there always seemed to be some place the roots found comfortable.
But I wanted to go to smaller pots and see what these drip irrigation systems can do. Once I bought into the EC and Ph meters (and maintaining them) that just seemed like the way to go.
So far, so good.
BaccaRacca
New member
Midweek photos. Four days after flippin' we have break through the screen. Always a bit of an exciting time -- seeing how evenly the primary and secondary stems come through the screen.
Ph. in the bucket for the plant on the left was running a bit hot at 6.5, so I brought it down with 3/8 tsp of Ph. down. Now at 6.1. Both pots are down about 3 gallons in four days, with 2 gallons left.
Currently using MG Vegetable & Herb at a rate of 1.0 tbsp. per five gallon bucket (.6 tsp. a gallon), giving me readings between 750-800 ppm with tap water reading 170 ppm.
​ 
Ph. in the bucket for the plant on the left was running a bit hot at 6.5, so I brought it down with 3/8 tsp of Ph. down. Now at 6.1. Both pots are down about 3 gallons in four days, with 2 gallons left.
Currently using MG Vegetable & Herb at a rate of 1.0 tbsp. per five gallon bucket (.6 tsp. a gallon), giving me readings between 750-800 ppm with tap water reading 170 ppm.
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BaccaRacca
New member
S-s-s-t-r-r-r-e-e-e-e-tch!
Week 1 since 12/12 flush & flip and the plants are doing well.
The plant on the left (Gertrude, White Widow Extreme standard seed from AMS interbred for more standard seed) has been my healthiest plant, grew about an inch a day, taking in about 12 oz. of nute solution 8 times a day. Measuring her runoff I got a reading of 1850 on my EC meter, but that was in a dirty saucer. I changed out saucers, ran a couple of gallons of ph-adjusted water (6.1), and measured things at around 450, with a tap water base of 170.Then started with a nute base of 1 tablespoon MG Vegetable & Herbs 18-21-21 and 1/2 tablespoon of MC Bloom, 10-52-10, for an overall nute ratio of 2-5-3 and EC at 1050 ppm.
The plant on the right (Brunehilde, sister seed of Gertrude) had shown signs of heavy nitrogen fertilzation and tiny brown leaf tips, and is racing ahead of her sister. She grew about 2 more inches than her sister this week. It seems like all that nitrogen that gave her deep-green, twisted leaves went right into stretching. Her runoff measured at 850 in the clean saucer, which was about what the nutes going in were. I flushed her with a couple of gallons of ph-adjusted tap water before giving her the same nute treatment as her sister.
Currently, Gertie is 12" below the Vipar-Spectra XS 1500 lights, and Brunie is 10" below. No signs of heat stress.
Something to note on the middle stem. Originally they are the shortest ones, shorter than the six on the perimeter of the pot, but because I run a single VS XS 1500 above each plant, the light is stronger in the middle of the space. The middle stem actually grows even during stretch as you can see.
Here is the flush set up, EZ-PZ. And, yes, those are Blue Lab EC and Ph. pens, kept meticulously calibrated:
Meanwhile, another sister, The Seed Queen sits in her own 2x2 box under Vipar Spectra XS1000 lights. They are 100w lights compared to the Xs 1500 lights, which are 150 watts. I had stunted her growth intentionally before the flip with five days of light at 25%, with reduced nute solution. I don't want her too big. She will give me all the seeds I need. Because her nute takeup has been less than the other two larger plants it has not been time to measure runoff or flush. I will do that sometime today.
Inside the Breed Box I have two Seed Kings growing, the larger is stretching and doing so well that the smaller girl was killed. It was grisly; I will not show that.
And finally, in the germination/early veg box I have my Do-Si-Dos doing well and ready for transplanting.
So far, so good with this little experiment.
Week 1 since 12/12 flush & flip and the plants are doing well.
The plant on the left (Gertrude, White Widow Extreme standard seed from AMS interbred for more standard seed) has been my healthiest plant, grew about an inch a day, taking in about 12 oz. of nute solution 8 times a day. Measuring her runoff I got a reading of 1850 on my EC meter, but that was in a dirty saucer. I changed out saucers, ran a couple of gallons of ph-adjusted water (6.1), and measured things at around 450, with a tap water base of 170.Then started with a nute base of 1 tablespoon MG Vegetable & Herbs 18-21-21 and 1/2 tablespoon of MC Bloom, 10-52-10, for an overall nute ratio of 2-5-3 and EC at 1050 ppm.
The plant on the right (Brunehilde, sister seed of Gertrude) had shown signs of heavy nitrogen fertilzation and tiny brown leaf tips, and is racing ahead of her sister. She grew about 2 more inches than her sister this week. It seems like all that nitrogen that gave her deep-green, twisted leaves went right into stretching. Her runoff measured at 850 in the clean saucer, which was about what the nutes going in were. I flushed her with a couple of gallons of ph-adjusted tap water before giving her the same nute treatment as her sister.
Currently, Gertie is 12" below the Vipar-Spectra XS 1500 lights, and Brunie is 10" below. No signs of heat stress.
Something to note on the middle stem. Originally they are the shortest ones, shorter than the six on the perimeter of the pot, but because I run a single VS XS 1500 above each plant, the light is stronger in the middle of the space. The middle stem actually grows even during stretch as you can see.
Here is the flush set up, EZ-PZ. And, yes, those are Blue Lab EC and Ph. pens, kept meticulously calibrated:
Meanwhile, another sister, The Seed Queen sits in her own 2x2 box under Vipar Spectra XS1000 lights. They are 100w lights compared to the Xs 1500 lights, which are 150 watts. I had stunted her growth intentionally before the flip with five days of light at 25%, with reduced nute solution. I don't want her too big. She will give me all the seeds I need. Because her nute takeup has been less than the other two larger plants it has not been time to measure runoff or flush. I will do that sometime today.
Inside the Breed Box I have two Seed Kings growing, the larger is stretching and doing so well that the smaller girl was killed. It was grisly; I will not show that.
And finally, in the germination/early veg box I have my Do-Si-Dos doing well and ready for transplanting.
So far, so good with this little experiment.
Attachments
BaccaRacca
New member
Week 1.5 Into flip. & Big Things are happening.
But before I get into it ... To anybody new. Or anybody trying the 2'x4' grow space I'd like to recommend NebulaHaze excellent LED Grow Journal: Mars Hydro TSL-2000W vs Spider Farmer SF-2000.
It's a good read. I added the link to this post. I ran across it while putting this grow together. I'm doing some things different here and there, but also doing a lot of similar -- and picking up a few tips, too! So, if you're interested in this kind of space, how to grow in it and the kind of techniques and lighting you'll need for a good grow, take a look.
One thing that's piqued my interest in that article is that I'm using similar, yet different lights, 2 Vipar-Spectra XS 1500 lights, drawing 150 watts for a total of 300 watis.. I'm interested how these perform against that test.
And, of course, I have this obsession with using 100% perlite with frequent fertigation. And that is different, so we'll see how that works out as well.
It's really helpful to have that measuring stick out there, coming with a lot of good advice.
So back into the 4x2 box.
Both Gertrude and Brunhilde (White Widows from seed) have stretched 14 inches over the past 10 days -- 1.4 inches a day. And at least a doubling in size in that time. Gertrude was at 13 inches and Brunhildde at 14 inches before flip. Now they are 27" and 28" respectively, and fully fill their space. So they've done well and seemed to have adapted to the new nutes. Growing like crazy and already showing early flowers.
Breeder of the original seeds says maturity in just 8 to 9 weeks, so, maybe the stretch period is short as well. Maybe they done. We'll see tomorrow morning. Might be time for a cut.
As for watering, I'm averaging about 5 pints of solution a day, fed 10 ounces at a time, 8 times daily. That's eight days of watering using a 5-gallon bucket.
One thing I have to note is that while Gertrude grew as fast as Bunhilde while being a bit shorter and weaker, it is crazy Brunhilde with the once-twisted leaves that showing more viable bud sites. Of course she is. I like having anywhere between 16 and 21 good bud sites in one 2x2 space. Gertie looks to have around 16, and Brun, a bit more. We'll see after defoliation.
Gertrude:
Brunhilde:
Lights on the Vipar-Spectra are kept between 10"-16" above the canopy.
Flowering seems to have started in earnest.
Also. I murdered the Seed King's sister. She wasn't keeping up. It had to be done. Seed king stands alone. Plenty of little bud sites for dousing with collodial silver and harvesting girl pollen.
Seed queen has bounced back after the "runting" I gave her. And she is only under Vipar-Spectra 1000, 100W lights. I'm keeping her small on purpose. I don't need lots of seeds.
And finally Do-Si-Dos waiting, patiently, in the seedling chamber until space opens up once I have male flowers on my female plant.
So far, so good!
And be sure to check out Nebula's grow journal, too!
But before I get into it ... To anybody new. Or anybody trying the 2'x4' grow space I'd like to recommend NebulaHaze excellent LED Grow Journal: Mars Hydro TSL-2000W vs Spider Farmer SF-2000.
It's a good read. I added the link to this post. I ran across it while putting this grow together. I'm doing some things different here and there, but also doing a lot of similar -- and picking up a few tips, too! So, if you're interested in this kind of space, how to grow in it and the kind of techniques and lighting you'll need for a good grow, take a look.
One thing that's piqued my interest in that article is that I'm using similar, yet different lights, 2 Vipar-Spectra XS 1500 lights, drawing 150 watts for a total of 300 watis.. I'm interested how these perform against that test.
And, of course, I have this obsession with using 100% perlite with frequent fertigation. And that is different, so we'll see how that works out as well.
It's really helpful to have that measuring stick out there, coming with a lot of good advice.
So back into the 4x2 box.
Both Gertrude and Brunhilde (White Widows from seed) have stretched 14 inches over the past 10 days -- 1.4 inches a day. And at least a doubling in size in that time. Gertrude was at 13 inches and Brunhildde at 14 inches before flip. Now they are 27" and 28" respectively, and fully fill their space. So they've done well and seemed to have adapted to the new nutes. Growing like crazy and already showing early flowers.
Breeder of the original seeds says maturity in just 8 to 9 weeks, so, maybe the stretch period is short as well. Maybe they done. We'll see tomorrow morning. Might be time for a cut.
As for watering, I'm averaging about 5 pints of solution a day, fed 10 ounces at a time, 8 times daily. That's eight days of watering using a 5-gallon bucket.
One thing I have to note is that while Gertrude grew as fast as Bunhilde while being a bit shorter and weaker, it is crazy Brunhilde with the once-twisted leaves that showing more viable bud sites. Of course she is. I like having anywhere between 16 and 21 good bud sites in one 2x2 space. Gertie looks to have around 16, and Brun, a bit more. We'll see after defoliation.
Gertrude:
Brunhilde:
Lights on the Vipar-Spectra are kept between 10"-16" above the canopy.
Flowering seems to have started in earnest.
Also. I murdered the Seed King's sister. She wasn't keeping up. It had to be done. Seed king stands alone. Plenty of little bud sites for dousing with collodial silver and harvesting girl pollen.
Seed queen has bounced back after the "runting" I gave her. And she is only under Vipar-Spectra 1000, 100W lights. I'm keeping her small on purpose. I don't need lots of seeds.
And finally Do-Si-Dos waiting, patiently, in the seedling chamber until space opens up once I have male flowers on my female plant.
So far, so good!
And be sure to check out Nebula's grow journal, too!
Attachments
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BaccaRacca
New member
Bluey, yes, both very good lights. We'll see how the Vipar Spectra's hold up. Heck see if the grow holds up.
The big difference I took away from the article was Watts/Gram. And it appeared the Spider Farmer's were the winners there. With her using clones of three different varieties I think she did a good job washing out potential strain differences.
With my grow using seed, an entirely different strain, a different irrigation system, and different lights there is a lot of variability there, but still a good measuring stick she's provided.
Oh, BTW, something I omitted, and really should be in the text of the journal. Since using these little irrigators is one of the big points of the grow. I'm averaging about 5 pints of solution a day, fed 10 ounces at a time, 8 times daily. That's eight days of watering using a 5-gallon bucket.
The big difference I took away from the article was Watts/Gram. And it appeared the Spider Farmer's were the winners there. With her using clones of three different varieties I think she did a good job washing out potential strain differences.
With my grow using seed, an entirely different strain, a different irrigation system, and different lights there is a lot of variability there, but still a good measuring stick she's provided.
Oh, BTW, something I omitted, and really should be in the text of the journal. Since using these little irrigators is one of the big points of the grow. I'm averaging about 5 pints of solution a day, fed 10 ounces at a time, 8 times daily. That's eight days of watering using a 5-gallon bucket.
Bluey
Well-known member
Watts/gram can only be accurately compared when you have the same wattage and same canopy size/grow space. I'd guess a more powerful light is always going to fair worse than a light better sized for the same canopy size/grow space and it appears to me that is the case here more so than the performance of the light. What we can conclude is all things being equal a 200watt light of a certain size performs better than a 300watt light of that size in a 4x2 grow space with a full canopy on a watt/gram basis. That is what I can take away from that grow.
It's still a great comparison and a ripper grow. I chose a couple of SF7000's for my grows and no complaints although the connectors get quite warm and that is a serious concern. Google "Spider Farmer fire" and you'll see what I mean. They do need better quality connectors or modified to reduce resistance.
It's still a great comparison and a ripper grow. I chose a couple of SF7000's for my grows and no complaints although the connectors get quite warm and that is a serious concern. Google "Spider Farmer fire" and you'll see what I mean. They do need better quality connectors or modified to reduce resistance.
BaccaRacca
New member
With the plants bloomin' all over I thought it was time for a trim. Defoliation always makes me nervous. I try to follow the tutorials, but still am never quite sure of myself.
Anyway here are Gertrude and Brunhilde, side shots.
And their new canopy shots:
Seed Queen side view and canopy shot after the trim:
Thank you for subscribing and viewing!
Anyway here are Gertrude and Brunhilde, side shots.
And their new canopy shots:
Seed Queen side view and canopy shot after the trim:
Thank you for subscribing and viewing!
Attachments
SoOrbudgal
New member
Well you are able to post pictures, wonder what's up with my end. Anyhow sorry about the loss of your other plant but it looks like she's gonna hog the whole tent. A real beauty.
BaccaRacca
New member
Thank you SoOrbudgal for playing along!
Killing plants is a sad thing, but necessary when growing from standard seed. Also, if I need one clone I often clone a few, pick the best, and compost the rest. You know the scene in Fargo where the body is getting sent through the wood chopper. It's that grisly, only on a smaller scale.
Killing plants is a sad thing, but necessary when growing from standard seed. Also, if I need one clone I often clone a few, pick the best, and compost the rest. You know the scene in Fargo where the body is getting sent through the wood chopper. It's that grisly, only on a smaller scale.
BaccaRacca
New member
S-s-s-t-r-r-r-e-e-e-e-tch​ 2!: Week 2 After Flip.
Plants went from 13" & 14" tall at flip to 31" to 32" tall yesterday. They seemed to have slowed the stretch now. Whew! I was running out of room. I had forgotten that this was the strain that taught me late-session LST, LOL! Still, I never imagined that plants so short at flip would add 18" of stretch.
The one plant that has not stretched much is the Seed Queen, which I had dwarfed by reducing nutes and cutting light back on the Vipar-Spectra XS-1000 to 25 for three days. While this showed up a small bit in veg stage, it really showed up during stretch. Seed Queen is only about 17" tall. Perfect for Seed Queen.
Irrigation
It's interesting to note that since I pruned these plants three days ago, nute solution uptake has not changed appreciably, both are taking up 10 ounces, 8 times a day, or five pints total. After removing so many fan leaves, I'd expect less uptake due to less transpiration. Water must be going somewhere. Building flowers and new leaves?
Nutes
Changeover to flower nutes appears to be doing well so far. I've had a good stretch in the second week and early buds are coming in well. Nothing has died.
Current mixture in 5 gallons of water: 1-tablespoon Cal-Mag, 1-tablespoon Miracle Gro Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer (18-21-21, including Soy Protein Hydrolysates), 1/2-tablespoon Miracle Grow Bloom Booster (10--52-10), ph. adjusted to 6.0. PPM on EC meter at 1050.
At the current level of fertigation I see a slight damp spot from the evening cycles, which dries up during the day. That seems to be the right balance for delivering nutes round-the-clock.
Pruning
Brunhilde, the plant in the 2x4 box on the right got the most severe pruning mid week, and since then it has grown a few more shaders and sweaters that I'll need to remove. Plus I may take out some more suckers. Shaders and sweaters and suckers, Oh My!
As for Gertrude, to her right, she did not receive as severe a pruning as Brunhilde, and she will get more of one now that the stretch has slowed down.
That's it for now. So far, so good. Thank you for following!
BR
Plants went from 13" & 14" tall at flip to 31" to 32" tall yesterday. They seemed to have slowed the stretch now. Whew! I was running out of room. I had forgotten that this was the strain that taught me late-session LST, LOL! Still, I never imagined that plants so short at flip would add 18" of stretch.
The one plant that has not stretched much is the Seed Queen, which I had dwarfed by reducing nutes and cutting light back on the Vipar-Spectra XS-1000 to 25 for three days. While this showed up a small bit in veg stage, it really showed up during stretch. Seed Queen is only about 17" tall. Perfect for Seed Queen.
Irrigation
It's interesting to note that since I pruned these plants three days ago, nute solution uptake has not changed appreciably, both are taking up 10 ounces, 8 times a day, or five pints total. After removing so many fan leaves, I'd expect less uptake due to less transpiration. Water must be going somewhere. Building flowers and new leaves?
Nutes
Changeover to flower nutes appears to be doing well so far. I've had a good stretch in the second week and early buds are coming in well. Nothing has died.
Current mixture in 5 gallons of water: 1-tablespoon Cal-Mag, 1-tablespoon Miracle Gro Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer (18-21-21, including Soy Protein Hydrolysates), 1/2-tablespoon Miracle Grow Bloom Booster (10--52-10), ph. adjusted to 6.0. PPM on EC meter at 1050.
At the current level of fertigation I see a slight damp spot from the evening cycles, which dries up during the day. That seems to be the right balance for delivering nutes round-the-clock.
Pruning
Brunhilde, the plant in the 2x4 box on the right got the most severe pruning mid week, and since then it has grown a few more shaders and sweaters that I'll need to remove. Plus I may take out some more suckers. Shaders and sweaters and suckers, Oh My!
As for Gertrude, to her right, she did not receive as severe a pruning as Brunhilde, and she will get more of one now that the stretch has slowed down.
That's it for now. So far, so good. Thank you for following!
BR
Attachments
MagicMike66
New member
Your plants are looking great, you’ve definitely got them dialled in nicely. They would benefit from you removing all the little bits that you’ve left at the bottom of the stems. These won’t be worthwhile or get enough light so the plant is just wasting energy on these when it can be used on the tops
SoOrbudgal
New member
Boy i'll say they've stretched just a beautiful setup and grow.
BaccaRacca
New member
Thank you MagicMike66. I'm taking the trim conservatively. Those fan leaves will go in due time. Even faster on poor Brunhilde, as she turns out to be Brun-HERMIE!
BaccaRacca
New member
Oh, thank you SoOrbudgal. Had a hiccup today. Brunehilde turned out to be Brune-HERMIE. So I had some moving around to do today.
BaccaRacca
New member
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Nuts.
One of my big girls just came out of the closet. Brunehilde is actually Brune-HERMIE. It was a horrible end for her. She's now keeping the world's happiest worms even happier out in the compost pile.
This has meant a bit of moving around.
First off, Seed Queen, which had been under 12/12 in my 2x2 veg cabinet, has been moved into the 4x2 flower cabinet. She'll sit in there until the Seed King grows boy flowers and gives me girl pollen. At which time I send Seed King to the great compost pile in the sky, and move Seed Queen in to the Seed and Breed box.
With Seed Queen out of the Veg box, I've moved my Do-Si-Dos from the seedling box into the Veg box. This will help her grow more. By the time Seed King gives me pollen, and I move Seed Queen to the Seed & Breed box, I should be ready to move the Do-Si-Dos into the Flower box.
d
And as the Do-Si-Dos moves out, I drop an Amnesia Trance feminized seed from Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds, into a pressed paper seedling cup filled with vermiculite, damp her down with diluted nutes, and put a chloche over her.
That's life in the continuous grow. Hermies happen. Schedules are updated. Next plant up takes their place.
Thank you for following!
BR
Nuts.
One of my big girls just came out of the closet. Brunehilde is actually Brune-HERMIE. It was a horrible end for her. She's now keeping the world's happiest worms even happier out in the compost pile.
This has meant a bit of moving around.
First off, Seed Queen, which had been under 12/12 in my 2x2 veg cabinet, has been moved into the 4x2 flower cabinet. She'll sit in there until the Seed King grows boy flowers and gives me girl pollen. At which time I send Seed King to the great compost pile in the sky, and move Seed Queen in to the Seed and Breed box.
With Seed Queen out of the Veg box, I've moved my Do-Si-Dos from the seedling box into the Veg box. This will help her grow more. By the time Seed King gives me pollen, and I move Seed Queen to the Seed & Breed box, I should be ready to move the Do-Si-Dos into the Flower box.
And as the Do-Si-Dos moves out, I drop an Amnesia Trance feminized seed from Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds, into a pressed paper seedling cup filled with vermiculite, damp her down with diluted nutes, and put a chloche over her.
That's life in the continuous grow. Hermies happen. Schedules are updated. Next plant up takes their place.
Thank you for following!
BR
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