The Experienced Beginner--600 watts, King's Kush and Himalaya Gold

Hey there everybody, I don't post much on here, but I want to start changing that. So, I decided the best way to start would be to post up the grow I just started.

Details:
Space: 2'x4'x5' tent
Light: 600 watt cool tube mh/hps switchable
Ventilation: 424 CFM inline fan on a speed control pulling out the air from the cooltube....passive intake.
Medium: Fox Farms Ocean Forest Soil, nothing else
Nutrients: Advanced Nutrients 3 part grow, bloom, micro
Containers: 6" square pots

Genetics: Green House Seeds--King's Kush (3x) and Himalaya Gold (3x). Both strains have an approximate flowering time of 9 weeks.

So far the seeds have all sprouted. I went from lukewarm water to paper towel for germination. Then dropped them in when they had nice little tails.

My grow method this run is going to be a veg time of three weeks and either topping or LST'ing to get about 4 main colas on each plant.

I am hoping to get a moderate 2 ounces off of each plant. This way I can get a half pound to contribute as a vendor, and then have 4 ounces to smoke up. This will cover my costs of initial investment too.

I will leave enough time to take a good amount of clones for the next round directly after. I am going to take 4 rows of 8 6" pots for a total of 32 clones that will be my Sea of Green. If I can veg for two weeks with these, and prune enough then I will hopefully get a half ounce on each to get a pound total.


DAY #1:




(Thai Super Skunk is just a little fun germination to see where I can take it...they were Attitude freebies anyway.)











Stay tuned!

and of course, anybody with tips or comments please chime in at anytime. Constructive criticism is a good thing. Also, anybody with experience SoG'ing I could use a few pointers, and anybody that is experienced using AN 3 part I would love to hear your feeding schedule and dosage.

If a mod could move this thread to the Grow Diaries section that would be excellent. I thought I was in that forum when I posted this... d'oh

Day: 3

a little bit of growth to update. I lowered the light to where it wasn't hot on my hand, and I'd say it is about a foot away. It could probably go more, but this 600 watter is strong enough for the seedlings right now.

I am going to start giving them very light nutes in a few days to a week. They are starting to grow quickly now, and I want them to be a decent size before I flower....I'd say 2 or so more weeks and then I will flip the lights (decent size for this tent....which is pretty small.

A little note on the inline fan. I got it off of ebay for about $100...just the steel fan that pulls 424 cfm's. I have it on reducers to use 4" ducting...and it exhausts out 5" ducting to a window. This thing is LOUD on full speed, but I put it on a reducer to about 70%, and it is much quieter. The ducting does help keep the volume even lower too. For reference, my sister can sleep just fine with the tent at full operation inside her room (the setup got moved to her room because her roommate fucked with the tent a little when it was in the garage).

Temps are consistent at 81 degrees Fahrenheit...which I think is perfect...not too hot for them at all.




(excuse my finger in part way of the lense...lol)

Hello snaggy- ,

Hey bro I was wondering if you knew that Greenhouse has a vendor forum here on IC!!! I as would others (more than likely) would like to see both the Himalayan and the King's Kush... Before you get too far along posting here please consider posting this report on the Greenhouse vendor forum, as the King's Kush is a new release and information and quality photographs are rather lacking at this time. There are a few don't get me wrong but more is always better!

Either way I will definately be watching this develop as I too have some King's Kush going (vegging now) along with some of GHS's Trainwreck (flowering as we speak), and some cutting of my favourite Arjan's Ultra Haze #2 phenotype from the grow I just finished a couple of months back....

Anyways, happy growing and good luck with the crop!

Cheers NYY

That is is a nice and clean setup you have there snaggy, i bet you´ll be harvesting some real topquality buds. I will be looking forward to follow your grow.:yay:

real nice man...i have a tiny version of that i use for mothers/clones in my closet.i notice in the pic you have your vent going right for the window.what is it connected to on the window frame?also ever any issues with your setup?im also growing kings kush....praying for that grape/purple pheno...

nice setup for a "beginner" nudge nudge, wink wink (you lie, you lie, you lie )

you've obviously been reading and paying attention, nice work up there.

one suggestion, if I may on the sprouting technique:

your letting the taproot get too long before you stick it in your medium.

on that tiny taproot, you can't see them with the naked eye, but there are HUNDREDS of tiny micro-fine hairs all over the taproot, later on in the plants life these become MAJOR water/nutrient passageways, when you let the root get that long, you can't HELP but damage some/a lot of these when you go to plant,....so simple solution, just keep a closer eye on them and plant the sprout just as it's "malting", or just splitting the seed case, and you JUST see a tiny white point barely poking through.

then one more suggestion that was given to me many, many years ago by an old farmer friend of the family:
Plant that sprout taproot pointing UP (yes, I said UP), the reason is, that the root will sense gravity, and immediately flip a U-turn and start heading downward, and this downward growth of the taproot "flips" the entire splitting seed case/opening cotyledons upwards using LEVERAGE, and not just relying on the plants stores of sugars.
until the plant gets the cotyledons open, and chlorophyll production started, it has to rely on stored sugar for growth.

it's a trick bean/pea/peanut farmers use to get a higher percentage of sprouts up faster, and it TOTALLY works with cannabis as well.

I personally don't believe in soaking beans prior to the paper toweling, but that's my preference, the jury is still out on whether it has a positive or negative impact,...for me the risks far outweigh any possible benefits, so I just start beans in wet toweling, and open the thing OFTEN after 24 hours, so they don't surprise you and have a half inch root sprouting all over the place.

nice looking setup ya got there tho, "beginner" or not

can't wait to see the buds/smoke report

My apologies everybody! I got so busy reading all the other threads everywhere on ICmag. This place has all too much good info, and my brain is going numb trying to absorb it all!

nyy27 said:

Hello snaggy- ,

Hey bro I was wondering if you knew that Greenhouse has a vendor forum here on IC!!! I as would others (more than likely) would like to see both the Himalayan and the King's Kush... Before you get too far along posting here please consider posting this report on the Greenhouse vendor forum, as the King's Kush is a new release and information and quality photographs are rather lacking at this time. There are a few don't get me wrong but more is always better!

Either way I will definately be watching this develop as I too have some King's Kush going (vegging now) along with some of GHS's Trainwreck (flowering as we speak), and some cutting of my favourite Arjan's Ultra Haze #2 phenotype from the grow I just finished a couple of months back....

Anyways, happy growing and good luck with the crop!

Cheers NYY

Click to expand...

I was aware that Green House has a designated spot here. I was just unsure whether I should post in there as my grow is pretty small, and my experience isn't up to par with many people bringing in great harvests.

Might as well put a few pictures throughout the grow in the GHS forum. Thanks for the tip. I hope your grow goes well!

freeworldorders said:

That is is a nice and clean setup you have there snaggy, i bet you´ll be harvesting some real topquality buds. I will be looking forward to follow your grow.:yay:

Click to expand...

Thank you! I am glad to be getting some good feedback so far!

indoorsavant said:

real nice man...i have a tiny version of that i use for mothers/clones in my closet.i notice in the pic you have your vent going right for the window.what is it connected to on the window frame?also ever any issues with your setup?im also growing kings kush....praying for that grape/purple pheno...

Click to expand...

I also hope I get the purple pheno of King's Kush! I am seeing the strain in couple dispensaries around here and it is going for $65 an eighth when most of the top shelf is only $50!

I think I may have lucked out on at least one of them because I saw a very distinct purpling on the inner leaf of new growth. The picture I will post soon shows it slightly.

As far as the vent goes, I put a 6" to 5" reducer on the exhaust to setup the ducting that came with a portable air conditioning unit I had a while back. There is a plastic window jam it came with that clicks into the ducting so it can exhaust out the window with the glass closed.

Only issue with my setup so far is the temps. It has been warming up here recently, and my tent stays about 8 degrees above ambient.

Good luck on your King's Kush grow!

reckon said:

nice setup for a "beginner" nudge nudge, wink wink (you lie, you lie, you lie )

you've obviously been reading and paying attention, nice work up there.

one suggestion, if I may on the sprouting technique:

your letting the taproot get too long before you stick it in your medium.

on that tiny taproot, you can't see them with the naked eye, but there are HUNDREDS of tiny micro-fine hairs all over the taproot, later on in the plants life these become MAJOR water/nutrient passageways, when you let the root get that long, you can't HELP but damage some/a lot of these when you go to plant,....so simple solution, just keep a closer eye on them and plant the sprout just as it's "malting", or just splitting the seed case, and you JUST see a tiny white point barely poking through.

then one more suggestion that was given to me many, many years ago by an old farmer friend of the family:
Plant that sprout taproot pointing UP (yes, I said UP), the reason is, that the root will sense gravity, and immediately flip a U-turn and start heading downward, and this downward growth of the taproot "flips" the entire splitting seed case/opening cotyledons upwards using LEVERAGE, and not just relying on the plants stores of sugars.
until the plant gets the cotyledons open, and chlorophyll production started, it has to rely on stored sugar for growth.

it's a trick bean/pea/peanut farmers use to get a higher percentage of sprouts up faster, and it TOTALLY works with cannabis as well.

I personally don't believe in soaking beans prior to the paper toweling, but that's my preference, the jury is still out on whether it has a positive or negative impact,...for me the risks far outweigh any possible benefits, so I just start beans in wet toweling, and open the thing OFTEN after 24 hours, so they don't surprise you and have a half inch root sprouting all over the place.

nice looking setup ya got there tho, "beginner" or not

can't wait to see the buds/smoke report

Click to expand...

Quality tip right there! I may be a beginner, but I know how to spot good advice a mile away.

I always thought I kept my tap root at a pretty decent size...not too big, but not too small. Upon your thought I will be sure to bury the seed right when it splits and the root is just visible.

I actually did plant the seeds upside down so the taproot could do what you explained. I read that early on, and thankfully I remembered. If I hadn't done that, my seeds would probably be dead, because I nearly killed them right as the cotyledons showed...but they came back to life with what little energy they had left, and now the grow is underway!


Updates coming after this post

WATCHOUT!! MULTIPLE POST UPDATE ON ITS WAY!

WATCHOUT!! MULTIPLE POST UPDATE ON ITS WAY!

Here they are a bit bigger:

Thai S-Skunk


Himalaya Gold up front, and King's Kush in the back



And this one is what I suspect to be a purple pheno of King's Kush (in back)...notice the darker interior of the new growth--it is purple when looking at it up close.


This guy looks a little warped (also Thai S-Skunk from DNA), but it does get better

Almost There

Almost There

The plants looked a little off...some dried out leaves and a few spots, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. PH of the water is at 6.5






And the Thai S-Skunk

AH Drought!!

AH Drought!!

So I opened the tent to find the plants wilting and looking pretty bad. I watered, and then checked the soil. Turns out the water is going about an inch or so deep and then draining down and out.

To fix it I brought out the trusty aqua globes. These things work wonders.

Not looking good:


(sorry about the photo, Flickr doesn't want to let me rotate it)



Thai S-Skunk

The Next Day

The Next Day

Day 21
Week 3 from seedling
Week 2 of veg

One or two more weeks and I will start flowering them. They need a new home though...my sister was having roommate trouble and needless to say, the plants can't stay. This grow is in compliance with prop 215, but I guess the cops say it is illegal for the grow to be in another location...which is bullshit, but I don't have the time or the patience to deal with cops on power trips.

Their new home will most likely be my friends house where we are working on building a bigger operation. If the tent fits somewhere at his place then it is good to go. I'll just split the earnings with him instead of my sister.

Here they are looking better, nicely perked up leaves with a little bit of damage still. I needed to do some pruning anyways though.



Nicely trimmed, and misted to compensate a little for the heat

(Flickr being retarded is really pissing me off! sorry for the mindspin)

Yikes! It is hot in there. The sativa's seem to like it though! Told you they got better.



And for the final pic in the series of updates. I topped a Himalaya Gold and a King's Kush to see how the respond. If it goes well I may do it to the others. (bad picture beware)


Thoughts?

get that temp down!,...fans, fans, fans,....leave the hood open, SOMETHING,...you keep those at 90 degrees and problems will soon start

a little "wetting agent" in the soil mix before you stir it up helps the water absorb into the soil, and not run down the sides of the pots,....there are pro's and con's to using wetting agents : http://www.global-garden.com.au/burnley/dec02jan03dte.htm

I choose NOT to use a wetting agent, and just "pre-wet" the soil: I splash just enough water on the soil surface to completely wet it out,......in a five gallon bucket this is like 2 cups.
then I wait 15 minutes for the top of the soil to soak up that 2 cups, THEN I water with the 3/4 gal it takes to soak the entire bucket, and only have maybe 2 cups run out the drain holes,...I water relatively slowly, letting each 2 or 3 cup "pour" soak in, before adding the next.

you might get some ribbing for the aqua globes, but I always liked this saying when it comes to stuff like that:

"If it's stupid, but it WORKS,.....it's no longer stupid." (I might just go grab a set and try em out!)

your girls still look good, keep it up, soon they'll look like these:


those Grape Ape's are getting chopped in 4 days

My jaw just dropped looking at those Grape Ape plants!!!! Very beautiful....and I imagine very tasty!

I know I really have to get the temps down. The day was already 82, and without air conditioning there isn't much I can do. I am going to rig up an intake using some pc fans...that should help some. I also turned up the fan to full speed, and then reattached the ducting exhausting out the window--this usually makes the tent have more effective negative pressure in my experience.

The temps should be back down to something reasonable for now. It usually stays just under 80 which isn't too bad.

I have never heard of wetting agents before...interesting concept. I have found that FFOF usually starts out pretty hydrophobic, but this time it snuck up on me. The aquaglobes have really helped in the past to work the soil into taking in water. The aqua globes I use are the mini ones. If the soil is already wet when you put them in fully, they can last two or three days. Really handy!

I am going to transplant soon so I will layer in the soil with waterings in between. This should help some.

Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it.

snaggy- said:

My jaw just dropped looking at those Grape Ape plants!!!! Very beautiful....and I imagine very tasty!

I know I really have to get the temps down. The day was already 82, and without air conditioning there isn't much I can do. I am going to rig up an intake using some pc fans...that should help some. I also turned up the fan to full speed, and then reattached the ducting exhausting out the window--this usually makes the tent have more effective negative pressure in my experience.

The temps should be back down to something reasonable for now. It usually stays just under 80 which isn't too bad.

I have never heard of wetting agents before...interesting concept. I have found that FFOF usually starts out pretty hydrophobic, but this time it snuck up on me. The aquaglobes have really helped in the past to work the soil into taking in water. The aqua globes I use are the mini ones. If the soil is already wet when you put them in fully, they can last two or three days. Really handy!

I am going to transplant soon so I will layer in the soil with waterings in between. This should help some.

Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it.

Click to expand...

82 degrees I could live with,...........90? no

my space goes between 70F night time (keeping night temps at 70 or less the last few days really brings out the purple!), to about 80-81 during the day at the hottest,..usually I'm in the 73-78 range,.......the thing with 85+ degree high temps is most times the plants LOOK fine, they just aren't GROWING is all.

I use a 20" box fan at one end of the space, and two 7" clip-on oscillators (which break every 3rd or 4th grow), the main deal is getting the heat of the light OUT of the grow space, I use a 8" vortex type fan(valu-line), sucking through the light, and out.

yes, those grape ape's are just STUPID,...I am very proud of this particular grow, I stuck to the plan/schedule, and except for a tiny calcium def that showed very late in flowering, this grow has had no bugs, no heat issues, no nutrient problems, and is coming out spectacular!

just tryin to get you drooling for what yours are going to do!

Wow, those buds once dried and cured are going to be epic! Good job on a steady grow.

I am going to see if I can rig something up today. PC fans should do a decent job...hopefully!

Small update. Had to drench these things with water because I am out of town right now up in the mountains waiting for some powder so I can get my shred on.

I took my little portable sports mister, filled it up with nutrient mixed water, and took the misting attachment off so it was a little pressurized hose. I stuck the hose straight down into the soil at the roots and went to town. Then I filled up every single mini aqua globe I have with plain water so that the plant can get enough while I am gone without relying on my sister to water them.

Once the soil dries out of the nutrient water, the aqua globes will just time release the rest so that the plants can get enough air too.

When I get back I have to move the setup over to my friends house. From there I am going to let the plant go one more week. I have some samples of those green pads that release co2 without the expensive setup. Hopefully the plants will like this, and grow to where they should be after dealing with the temps.

I put in a pc fan to spread out the heat coming down from the light, so that should help some. The weather is supposed to ease up, and temps will be normal again if they aren't already.

Most of the new growth looks good, and there are only a few spots still left on the plants. They are getting much better. I am hoping the topping I did works well for them though.

Plant on bottom left got all the big fan leaves removed as a test to get it branching well. We'll see how that goes.




Fan won't do much, but hopefully it helps.

Stepping it up!

Stepping it up!

Day 30

I figured it was time to move the grow out of my sisters house, and over to my friends house. We both have mmj recommendations so we are legal, and we are forming a small collective.

We took the tent away, and replaced it with an old playhouse/storage shed. I would estimate the space to be 6' x 4' or so.

Ducting was upgraded to 6" and covers both sides of the light now. The fan was raised up and is now hanging to reduce vibrations. A little drywall and some handy work has given us a pretty decent and permament grow space until we go off to college.

My buddies dad is a well accomplished grower in his free time, so there are some good people watching over this grow. He has 25+ year bonsai trees outside that are worth quite a bit of money (not cannabis, actual bonsai trees). But the dad's curiousity for growing the ganj has really helped us get this going.

Gave them a little bit of pruning, and they are looking about as good as they can.

wow man looking good, bushy as can be!