5Lbs/1Kw Challenge-The Quest for 80 Zips with Galactic Grape

[aerokrafter]

Day 14 Bloom Update

Unit:

Even Canopy:

Tracking Plant:

Data:


You can see how the plants responded to the trellis on day 13. They gulped the nutes and jumped to a new level of growth. You can see on the track plant that flowering has really started. Overall they are eating with a piggish intensity and the Ph has done a nice slow stroll towards the lower limits.



I had to clip the very bottom shoots - one per head. They were already trying to compete with the main bud. Because the main stalk is pinched these side buds were even in height and getting taller. This should be the last prune. We will find out in a week or so if I made the right decision on these.

I will continue to pinch the main stalk for at least the next few days until early bud formation. I will also pinch large sideshoots to keep everything in proportion.

If I can keep them slowed to 1.5 - 2 inches a day, we should be able to keep everything straight and avoid having to twist the plants around. About 9 days of stretch left.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome.

-AK

 

[TripleDraw27]

Day 14 Bloom Update

Unit:
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=37094&pictureid=885651&thumb=1]View Image[/URL]
Even Canopy:
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=37094&pictureid=885652&thumb=1]View Image[/URL]
Tracking Plant:
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=37094&pictureid=885653&thumb=1]View Image[/URL]
Data:
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=37094&pictureid=885655&thumb=1]View Image[/URL]

You can see how the plants responded to the trellis on day 13. They gulped the nutes and jumped to a new level of growth. You can see on the track plant that flowering has really started. Overall they are eating with a piggish intensity and the Ph has done a nice slow stroll towards the lower limits.

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=37094&pictureid=885654&thumb=1]View Image[/URL]

I had to clip the very bottom shoots - one per head. They were already trying to compete with the main bud. Because the main stalk is pinched these side buds were even in height and getting taller. This should be the last prune. We will find out in a week or so if I made the right decision on these.

I will continue to pinch the main stalk for at least the next few days until early bud formation. I will also pinch large sideshoots to keep everything in proportion.

If I can keep them slowed to 1.5 - 2 inches a day, we should be able to keep everything straight and avoid having to twist the plants around. About 9 days of stretch left.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome.

-AK

so this is what plants look like without thrips

 

[aerokrafter]

Day 14 Bloom addendum

I took the data shot above without the action notes for the day. Here's a pic showing the prune and the circle-s showing a foliar spray was done.




-hammalamma

About 6 years ago I bought an expensive German bulb with dual filaments - both MH and HPS. I found the Hortilux to yield better results in just about every way. That is the extent that I have experimented with mixed lighting in bloom. Do you have any experience doing this?

-TripleDraw27

Don't even say the T-word! I had to recheck my leaves. I try to prevent pests as much as possible. I found a single Hot Shot in the room is enough to prevent the borg(spider mites) and most everything except fungus gnats. Just never let them get wet - they are dangerous. To stop the gnats I occasionally toss a mosquito dunk into the RO cistern thats supplies all my water. Between those things and generally keeping everything as clean as possible - its been a long time since I had vermin issues.

Best of Luck!

-AK

 

[Scottish Research]

Looking great AK!

Looks like you got a lot of clone material.

R.Fortune

 

[genetic freaked]

Amazing thread AK. Thanks for taking the time to go into such detail. I never post and am more or a lurker but I had to post.
The last time I saw a thread this detailed on aero was from Pirate.
I will be following this until the end.
Good luck on ur goal I'm cheering for u

 

[hammalamma]

I was actually referring to using a mh bulb for the first 2 or 3 weeks to keep stretch down. I know this works for node spacing. Amino aides also help with node spacing. Maybe that would help as well.

 

[Scottish Research]

Hello AK,

Anecdotal evidence suggests that using a MH lamp the first few weeks of flower increases yield.

Can you tell me where your Aeroflo laser lines are placed? Are they 1/4 inch lines?

Do you clean your lines after each run?

Thanks.

R.Fortune

 

[aerokrafter]

I'll be updating a lil later. I want to get caught up on questions and such now.


-genetic freaked

What a compliment - delurking after 2 years. Be careful! Look at all the crazy stuff I'm doing since I dropped out of lurkspace!

Seriously tho - thanx.


-hammalamma & R.Fortune

On running MH for the first two weeks.

I read incomplete stuff about this. It certainly makes sense. I think its worthy of a future experiment. Thanks guys for the followup on this.


On Spraylines.

The AeroFlo uses 1/2 inch laser pierced lines that are clipped into the corner and run the length of each root chamber. Aiming the spray to the opposite corner creates the fine mist that makes aero go. These are the weak link in the system. It is easy to overtighten and break the plastic fitting that hooks them into the manifold. They also clog easily and must be sterilized after every run. That being said, they are easier to maintain than the micro sprayheads found in many aero systems.


On Clippings.

Yes those could have been some excellent clones but unfortunately, not in my schedule. The timing required to get the proper size clones at the date when the run is supposed to begin comes down to the day.

It is possible to keep viable clippings alive for up to 2 weeks until its time to start rooting. Wrap the fresh cut bottoms in wet paper towel and put bunches of clippings in a large ziplock that has a couple small holes in it. Store in the refigerator - checking them every couple days to make sure the paper is saturated. They get a little raggedy, but will pop back to life when you put them in the cloner. Make sure to recut the bottoms before cloning.


Thank you all for your questions, followup, and comments.

-AK

 

[aerokrafter]

Day 17 Bloom Update

Serious Flowering has begun!

Unit:


Canopy:


Tracking Plant:


Uneven Edge Row:


In the last shot, you can see a developing problem. The outside edge rows aren't getting as much light as the ones in the middle. The row on the extreme right is about an inch or so behind. If they get too far behind, they will never catch up. I adjusted the light sideways and will watch carefully to see if this improves. This will always be an issue, as the light moves back and forth - not side to side. I adjusted the light rail stop back to a slow 10 count - to counter a slight dish in the main canopy.

The plants got their first res change today. I change out the res about every two weeks. After extensive testing - from weekly res changes to none at all - I found biweekly to be optimum. It is possible to go with no res change at all, however I found it to be only 85% as effective as biweekly res changes.

I use the opportunity of downtime to take apart the pump and clean the filter at res changes. Low pump pressure means less mist, and therefore less growth.

As always, your questions and comments are welcome.

-AK

 

[Scottish Research]

AK,

Thanks for the info on the lazer lines. I found some for under $8.

It is possible to keep viable clippings alive for up to 2 weeks until its time to start rooting. Wrap the fresh cut bottoms in wet paper towel and put bunches of clippings in a large ziplock that has a couple small holes in it. Store in the refigerator - checking them every couple days to make sure the paper is saturated. They get a little raggedy, but will pop back to life when you put them in the cloner. Make sure to recut the bottoms before cloning

This is good to know, but mine would probably end up in a green salad if stored in the fridge.

I have a few questions:

I know that the res is 40 gallons. Do you fill it all the way up?

Do you have a light meter?

I found the specs on the Block Buster hood (non-vented)
21"L x 24"W x 10"H

This is supposed to be really good. Might not be as thin as you need it to be. It looks like you got the room.

I have up to 9 Ft. head room and my current location.

Heading off to pre-school.

Thanks for the update.

R.Fortune

 

[abellguy]

In just the past the 3 days they have really started to fill that space in and quick! It's gonna be very interesting to see how you manage that canopy come day 21 when stretch is completely over. I see what you mean about the plants on the end hopefully your able to even those out so they don't drop to far behind, keep up the good work

 

[St3ve]

interesting.. good luck

 

[smoooth]

Looking good aero. That canopy looks like its going to fill in very nicely with a sea of buds good luck with the rest of the grow. I'll be keeping an eye on this.
Very organized

 

[Bonzo]

unreal growth!

 

[Smokindogcujo]

Looking real good! Love threads like this that gets everyone's attention.

Did you get any shades of purple in your original run? How does this strain compare to your purse candy pheno of Grand Doggy Purps?

Dude, I'm cheering for ya...I definitely hope ya smash your goal!

Grow Safe

SDC

 

[aerokrafter]

Growth Review

Day 3


Day 7


Day 12


Day 14


Day 17



And its accelerating, I dont expect it to slow down for 4 more days. I will replace the reflector in 2 days to get an extra 7" of head room. They have grown six inches since that last pic!. I will know by next update if the tops will need to be criss-crossed - I'm hoping to keep them straight. I stopped folair feeding for the moment - I will come back to this in a few days when the situation has clarified. My edge row is still lagging behind, but not falling further back. The opposite edge will suffer soon - so I am sliding the light every day - 6 inches from side to side.


Questions & such.

Thanx for all the kind thoughts.


-R.Fortune

I fill the res to the bottom rim of the access hole. I always fill to this level with RO at lights on. This way my readings(after waiting 4 hours for circulation) will always be consistent.

I don't have a light meter, but it's something I'm considering and prolly should have aquired for this challenge. But my dream got ahead of my plan!


-abellguy

From your posts I see that you are familiar with the issues I'm facing. Yes - the struggle for control is far from over.


-Smokindogcujo

No purple at 65. I plan on running these to 70 to see if I can find some. The Grand Doggy Purps buds are what I call "bite the back of your hand beautiful". I can't think of many that can compete on appearance and taste. GLG is a different vibe. It's still pretty - check the pics in the glg thread - it has a lot of kush influence in its character. It is after all half fire alien.


Reader Mailbag

Amongst the questions in pm's that I get, there were questions raised that I thought would be worth sharing here.

Where did you get this plant?

The seeds are from Carpe Diem. They can be found in the private breeders section on Seedbay. This phenotype was one of four females explored in the Galactic Grape thread below in my sig.


And many have asked - Can I do this?

Depends. The last thing I want to do is lead the unprepared into an expensive failure. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Can you commit to spending time(minimum 30 minutes) nearly every day with your plants?

Are you prepared to increase the discipline in your growing methods?

Can you read plants? This is key. You have to understand what your plants are saying. This is the experience level needed - doesn't matter if you come from dirt or other hydro methods.

Can you afford to fail? Of all the methods of growing, aero has the least amount of safety nets. You have to consider this.

If you can say yes to all those, there is no reason for you not to give it a whirl. If you are serious, read the Tips n Trix thread below. I take you all the way from clipping clones to clipping buds - covering everything you need to know in the rambling, detailed style that's me. The guidelines in that thread will get you a long ways towards success.

Due to the number of inquiries, and if you are still interested at the end of this challenge - I'm thinking of gathering all the first timers together to do a group grow. We could all hold hands together and blow the learning curve to smithereens!

Thank you all again for your interest!

-AK

 

[abellguy]

Yes I love areo very much. I have built a couple of systems one being based of off the areo-flow like you have except mine had 56 sites spread out more with 11" centers and fit under 4 lights. There are some pics in my album of it. I really love how you can literally watch the plants grow from light on to light off sometime inches in that time, its crazy.

The reason I switched from that to rockwool wasn't lack of performance it was purely bud quality also the fact I couldn't easily move plants around and not to mention the summer time and the rezi. I was having many people comment on my buds lacking things and well I wasn't giving it to them. I am not saying it can't be done, this is something I have plans for working out in the near future, is a way of being able to feed thicker stuff to the plants without it causing clogging issues. Coupled with that I am looking to find better nute regimes for all adds and micros cause with the direct injection the application rates are very hard to dial in for each specific strain.

I really look forward to getting back to it, especially with watching what you have going on your doing a great job, I'm enjoying the show

 

[Scottish Research]

AK,

I really like the growth sequence photos.

Have you tried including Bioags' Ful-Power into your line up? They say that it will work in the aero system.

Based on my research a great way to reduce problems with your lines clogging would be to use a product such as HydroBalance Pond Guard or HydroBarley Extract.


R.Fortune

 

[aerokrafter]

Day 21 Bloom Update

Heading into the end of stretch - and just in time! I installed a new reflector that got me another 7 inches of head room. I bought a crappy one cause I knew I was going to be drilling and cutting on it to get it wired up as high as possible.

Unit:
　
　
As you can see we have added about 8 inches in the last few days.
　
Head Room:

　
You can see the new reflector in its highest position. We have 2-3 days more of stretch. I figure I have 6 inches of space left before I will be forced to criss-cross the tops. It is going to come down to the wire for sure.

Track Plant:
　
　
Bud Shot:


Data:

　
The plants got their first PK boost on day 18 and got the slightest hint of tip burn on day 19 from it. Nutes are in the groove and the plants are feeding heavily.

In my normal runs I remove bottom leaves and selective bud leaves after bud set. In this run we are going to use those bottom leaves up until the plant culls them. I want every watt of energy captured and put into the plant.

These leaves will also be used as a nute wick. We have a solid 2 foot layer of super healthy leaves that can soak up foliar nutes while leaving all the buds dry. As the buds grow, they will get shaded out, but I intend to force feed the leaves until they die. I will start this in about 3 days when the head space questions should be resolved.

I’ll catch up with questions soon - I have a very busy day today in the bloom haus.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome.

-AK

 

[Mister_D]

Definitely one of the tightest, most even canopies i've ever seen Can I ask your logic in not removing fan leaves so lower bud sites develop better? I've never been big into foliar sprays, but I have my doubts they are more effective at increasing yield over defoilation. A few more details how you arrived at sprays over defoilation would be awesome.