Ok, this is for keeps this time!

[WeirdWiredWolf]

2x3 grow tent
SOIL: FFOF in 2gal smart pots, feeding is alternating Grow Big with CalMag/Armor Si/Microbe mix (should I have CalMag in the Grow Big water as well?)
Roleadro 300W LED panel on a timer (18/6), small fan in corner of tent

"Audrey" died a few weeks ago of unknown causes, she's survived by two clones (Audrey II and Mini-Me). I found a grow shop that's a more reasonable travel distance than I thought--I can get there on the bus--so went to get some supplies and advice.

I'll need to find some shorter hanging hardware eventually (I didn't realize that the cables for the light were so long; even doubling them doesn't help much...the pitfalls of such a small tent). I know I'm going to need at minimum an exhaust fan. Staying in veg until August which was what I had originally planned a year ago (sigh).

I've noticed some black specks on Audrey II (plant on the left), not sure whether it's dirt flecks or mites (original Audrey had mites, but these clones were taken from "clean" treated branches and quarantined for two weeks). If they are mites I don' t know where they could have come from except the soil...I've been treating the leaves with Safer band plant soap and am going to spread some diatomaceous earth. The brown spots on Mini-Me's leaf is most likely light burn from the crappy LEDs I had before (one bulb died, so I had elevated both plants under one bulb until I could get the real light set up).

Temp with the light on is 86F (eeeek)...that was before I I found a desk fan to put in there. Until I can dial that in I'm leaving the tent open when the light and fan are on.

 

[Dutchman1]

You may want to consider this easy fix to gain more height for your lights. Metal threaded rods would be better but I was lazy and in a hurry. I had the heavy wire hanging around.

 

[WeirdWiredWolf]

That looks sturdier than what I was planning, thanks for the tip!

 

[oldjarhead100]

hey Dutchman thats exactly what I was going to tell him great mind think alike lol

 

[WeirdWiredWolf]

I managed to get a few more inches with my light for now by redoubling the cables. Things are humming along...RH and temp are still in the strange zone (74F light off, 84-86F light on; RH is between 22-26% depending). For a humidifier I have two of those ceramic-stone bowl things which worked well enough with the old lighting, but this new beast has definitely changed things. One thing I have noticed is a tad strange though...I'll try to describe it as best I can and also get a pic the next time I check things. In general I haven't noticed any visible damage on either (minus the mild light burn when it was too low), but I have removed a couple fans with red stems; the affected stems seem more brittle than the rest and the related leaves had higher concentrations of the black specks I was seeing before (foliar treatment seems to have that under control/cured). The majority of the plant seems healthy....just need to get temp/RH under control! Trying to keep the canopy (such as it is) right where it is.

And my timer (Hydrofarm digital) doesn't seem to be working; I still have to plug and unplug the light manually which is a bit of a pain but doable since my work schedule means I'm up at 5AM anyway most days; really need to get that sorted soonish as I am going to be out of town at some point. I have someone I trust to babysit, but I don't trust them to not screw something up. I'm looking into a Blumat system for watering, what would folks recommend for reservoir size with 2 2-gallon pots? (given the temp issues, I don't want to put my res in the tent and I don't think there's room anyway unless I get really creative)

Some days I can detect a bit of an odor from the tent; sometimes it's just a green-plant smell, sometimes it's citrusy.

 

[Dutchman1]

Smell will get much stronger, lol.

 

[alltatup]

They're looking good! Are you really keeping them in veg until August? Why so long?

 

[WeirdWiredWolf]

I'll be away for a week next month and don't want to have them in flower unattended (roomie is coming with and we don't have anyone we trust to look in on them and keep their mouth shut). I also have to figure out what other equipment I'm gonna need (fans, etc). Just was told that we shouldn't have my light on when we're gone (main concern is if anything happens, as they are doing work on the units above and below ours)...so I'm trying to suss out if they'll be decently happy in a sunny windowsill or I have to call in a major favor to another friend.

Here they are now. I got rid of a few yellow leaves low down, but that seems expected with this unruly mass (no matter what I do, something's going to not get enough light). I'm just pruning things back (fresh fan leaves are actually quite nice in salads) and trying to tie down but they pop right back up again. I can definitely only flower one at a time...yup, got in over my head juuust a bit. Anyone local to Boston want a cutting of a mystery plant?

 

[WeirdWiredWolf]

So I found a friend to babysit my two big plants for a week. He's taking the entire setup tent and all, all I have to do is set everything up/do the major feeding and write down the basics (check for dead leaves, take moisture/temp/RH, etc). Getting everything out of the building is gonna be interesting and the twins will need an extensive haircut first (interesting catch-22: the bigger they are the closer RH is to the sweet spot BUT...they're crowding each other which I don't want).

My two clones should have roots by that time, and I don't want to complicate things for my buddy too much. Would the two smaller plants be okay for a week in a sunny windowsill? The pots are only 3" or so, so I don't know if there's room for a full Blumat system or if I can jury-rig something using the fittings I have (one sensor in a vacant pot of dirt with two drippers in the plants)? I can get a better pic of them in the next day or so.

Roomie may also be able to pop them in her garden at work, but that depends on when she gets her other plants in for camouflage (and if I can set up some way to keep mine shorter than the surroundings yet still getting enough light). If we do this the entire pot would just be sunk partway in the dirt so no worries about transplanting.