Late to the party - Veg Week 5 - Day 4
Yeah, so I didn’t journal the whole 1st part of this grow, but I’ll give a recap.
Tents: 3x4x7 germination tent, 3x3x6 tent, 5x5x7 tent
Pots: Fabric (2x#5 and 4x#7)
Nute: Mills
Medium: Mills Coco DNA
Lights: 1000w LED & 600w metal halide
Germination: 1 day in ph 6 water, 2 days in wet (ph 6) paper towels laying on a germination mat, 10 days in 2x2 rockwool cubes in a germ dome.
Last time I did 4 plants, 4 different nutrient lines. Heavy 16 won out on the experiment, but it’s just not cost effective, so moving forward, I’m sticking with Mills, the 2nd place finisher. I ended up just over 2lbs said and done. Not bad for 4 plants if I do say so myself.
I’ve made several changes to my configuration - I put 1000w LEDs in my germination tent and the 3x3x6 tent. I switched from the 2000w LED to a 600w metal halide setup in the 5x5x7. I also added an irrigation system because that was the #1 challenge with the scrog last time.
I won’t lie, it took a minute to dial in the lighting changes. No damage was done, but I basically pissed away a week figuring out what height the plants wanted. I started out doing the 12-16" that I’ve done in the past but it was too close. Nothing burnt, but they didn’t feel the need to reach for anything either. So, of course, I raised them too far and they stopped being very effective. I’m still not confident with where the 3x3 is and keep making adjustments, trying to find what works. In the big tent, the plants are liking the light about 2 ft above the canopy.
I topped at the end of weeks 3 and 4. I’ve been rough-handling them all for a couple weeks, keeping them pliable for when the scrogs go in.
For feeding, I’m up to 1 qt a day each at 50% strength. There was a tiny bit of yellowing trying to happen at one point a couple weeks ago, so I started throwing in a few ml of CalMag and everything has been fine.
Overall, it’s been uneventful, which I’m more than happy to accept. So who’s ready for some pot porn?
Thanks buddy. I work so damn much that I haven’t had time to garden AND journal about it, so I’ve been just doing the gardening part. Things at work are slowing down a little finally and I wanted to get back to it. Curious to see who else is still around.
Veg Week 5 - Day 4
I’m figuring out that the irrigation system I set up sucks. I need a stronger pump I think. The description said it could push to 25ft of total hose. I’m running around 15 ft and the pressure is terrible. It’s decent getting to the 1st 2 plants, but really weak after that. It’s proving to be more hassle than it’s worth. I’m either going to get a better pump or scrap the idea and go back to climbing around with a wand sprayer.
The light in the 3x3 is still throwing me for a loop. I raise it and the plants stop reacting to much. They’re healthy but so squatty. I lower it, thinking they’re not getting enough, and the edges of the leaves start curling up. Yesterday I noticed yellow-ish points starting at the very tips, so I raised it again. I expect them to be somewhat smaller. I used slightly smaller pots, and they’re shorter strains. It’s a drastc difference though. I may not even scrog. They’re behaving like autos.
@Sirsmokes - #5 in the small tent and #7 in the big. All with handles so I can tie to them for LST
@KingVars - ha that’s a whole thread’s worth of questions. I’ll do my best to answer.
Topping - many people don’t. Some FIM instead. I top, but when and how many times fully depends on strain and grow properties. Anyone with any strain should be able to get away with topping by the end of veg week 2. If you’re growing autos, i would top mid veg week 3, just once. I’m currently growing all fems and forcing a 6 week veg. I’ve got the space and patience to do so. I topped end of veg week 2 and again at the end of veg week 4. The key is stopping while there’s enough veg time left for the plant to recover. I like at least 2 weeks of recovery and resettlement/reshaping.
LST - low stress training. Do this whether you’re going to scrog or not. Early in the grow, start slapping the plant around. Bend but don’t break the stems. Keep it all pliable. Using a silicate helps with this. The point is that you want to be able to control the directions your branches are going so you can keep it all spread out. Get the light and airflow down into the middle of those suckers.
Defoliation - controversial topic among growers. Some swear by it, some swear at it. I do it cautiously. I’m not 100% for or against yet. I did it for the 1st time last grow and had a great harvest. But the boosted success could have been any number of factors. Like I said… cautious and conservative.
ScrOG - I’ll never not do it again. Same reasoning as I described with LST. Light and air. Instead of bushes, you have a canopy of top colas. It’s a beautiful and highly productive thing. When weaving your branches around in the net, you’ll be happy that you LST’d to keep it all pliable.
Last but not least, the best advice any grower can give is that you shouldn’t try to replicate any 1 grower’s method. Use the info to develop your own methods. Try things, make adjustments, try more things. Accept that your 1st couple grows will likely be shit while you figure out your methods and environment. There are too many variables that will come together in 1 unique way that exists only in your grow.
Stick with it. You’ll get there. You’ll have mistakes and straight up tragedies along the way. The key is knowing what you’ll do different next time. Journaling helps with that a lot.
Veg Week 6 - Day 2
I abandoned the irrigation system while the plants are still small enough to pull the drip rings out. The hassle isn’t worth the return. I need a better pump or a different configuration. Something… I’ll try again next grow I’m sure.
I took this last night after feeding. That’s usually when I take the pics, but morning is when I tend to post. Tonight I’ll try to get closer shots of each of the 6 strains so I can compare leaf structure and plant size/shape (although I’ve been bending the shit out of them for 3 weeks).
P.s. If you look close at them, there are a lot of good topping sites. I did exactly that right after taking the pic. Yes, with a week to go before flowering. If they don’t bounce back in time - they will - I’ll just run another week of veg. The options with non-auto!
And now I feel like I gave autos a bad rap. Autos are great. They’re super fast. They remove the guess work on a big variable- when to flower. Fantastic options when starting out, or to do a quick test of new environment configurations, or for a quick return of some stock for your pile. My only beef with autos is quantity. If I didn’t have the amount of stock I do, I’d go for speed over return just to hurry up and get a little. I have the luxury of time, space, and patience. I can let the plants tell me what they want.
I lied. Lights are out and I don’t want to disturb them like that. Just from taking a quick peek with a flashlight though, I’m glad you told me this. I can tell that the trichs on the buds aren’t as advanced as the leaves. In the morning, I’ll really get in there and look with the endoscope again before deciding anything. The Banana is practically drippy with the stuff and I’m ready to sample.
Oh, I’m sorry I had to burst your bubble, but it’s better to know. Post some more pics tomorrow and i’ll take a look. I know you probably can’t wait to harvest, but you want it to be right.
and my 
