A walk through Hempy's Garden

[HappyHemphog]

High!

Since I'm new here, I thought y'all'd like a walk through my perpetual garden of goodies.

Hempy's Garden of Goodness
The heart of all good perpetual gardens are the mothers. They are the life from which we are given the blessings of cuttings. Here we have a lovely BOG Lifesaver on the left and a hardy Reeferman Royal Hawaiian on the right.


Weed being the miracle plant it is, gladly gives her trim to create new life. With some love and care, they will become their own life.


Weed is no different, it loves to veg out as a teenager. Just sit back and make leaves and stems.


Everyone loves a freshly popped cherry! These lovelys have just begun the journey to providing Nirvana to the Hemphog.


Here is a lovely Lifesaver just getting phat. This pheno produces the most delicious buttery-lemon smelling nugs that it makes your mouth water!


The Royal Hawaiian is one hell of a vertical grower, this stuff better than triples it's height when put in the flower room. I'm looking into something like Bush Master to use on them.


This Hawaiian was kept in veg too long as I had a delay in getting the second light up (first digital ballast recieved was bad ). It grew up into the light and started to get crispy so I've had to repeatedly nip off some new growth heading up.



Well, that was Hempy's Garden. I hope you enjoyed your visit. If your interested in more information on my growspace, read on.

Hempy's Grow Space
Some details on Hempy's Grow Space.
I am using GenHydro 3-part, 3-2-1 for veg and 1-2-3 for Bloom. I've just started to experiment with KoolBloom and the Lucas formula.
I have an RO system and 20 gallon storage.



The Nursery and Veg cabs are ventilated with a Fantech FR110 into the Bloom room. There is also a Fantech FX6XL in the Bloom room pulling through a scrubber and exausting into an unused chiminey.


I'm using a DYI Krypto inspired design carbon scrubber. Works like a champ. I replace the carbon once every 6 months. You can also see the ballasts hanging from ceiling, the old coil type on the right and a tiny digital on the left. They are both 600w.


As most that use WaterFarms do, I've made some modifications to my system to help overcome some of the design flaws in basic system as well as to enhance the ability to do maintenance. Drilling out holes is pretty much the standard mod, but I've added a few more. I plan on making a modification that will allow me to recirulate the nutes better.

The first was to add a shut-off valve to connection between the upper and lower parts of the rez. I close the valve, add my 10 gallons of RO, add my nutes, let sit, adjust pH if needed, and when I'm all happy, I open the valve to let in the nutes.


Having all these WF units hooked up to the same rez can cause a problem if you want to remove or isolate a certain unit. I solved this problem with WF Mod #2, Bucket Valves. The shut-off valves fit the bucket grommet perfectly so I replaced the T, Elbow or Straight with a valve. Not only can I isolate the nutes from the main system, say for final week with a rinse you don't want backwashing into regular nutes, but I can also pump the bucket out and remove it completely for washing and sterilization.


There, some details on Hempy's Prepetual Garden of Goodness.

Oh, of course this post wouldn't be complete without a photo of some results!

From left to right: RH branch cola, LS main cola, RH branch cola, RH main cola.


Woot!
Hempy

 

[cALyXTECH]

Welcome Hempy
Nice Setup......

Digital Ballast Huh been wonderin about those....
Nothin but problems with those waterfarms though,,, At least for me...Nice to see your mods though looks like you've worked out the kinks.....

Peace and happy gardenin........cALyX ..-------OuT.

 

[HappyHemphog]

Ah, the Waterfarm takes care to operate, but can provide a bounty of delicious nugz...



Lettuce and shredded carrot salad anyone?


I'm loving the digital ballast. Definately lower temps and very quick to start. And it's so small! (Still heavy as a mofo tho)

 

[guineapig]

Nice hempy.....i would love the lettuce and carrot salad.....

do you keep light low on the mothers to slow their growth a bit so they don't get out of hand? just curious......

Love the tour; thanks for the invitation! -kind regards, gp

 

[HappyHemphog]

Hempy's Cloning 101

Hempy's Cloning 101

High!

Perpetual Gardening is an excellent way to always have fresh nugs. I harvest two Waterfarm units, usually one plant in each, every week. And every week, I go through the same proceedure to be ready for the next week. This involves the harvest, moving of plants from veg to replace harvested ones, placing clones in veg to replace ones put into flower, and finally the taking of clones for the next generation.

The following is a step by step photo tutorial showing how I do my final step, cloning. I've only lost 2 clones over the past year with this method, and they died cause I let clone chamber dry out when I left lid off DOH!

For this adventure, you will need the following items:
-Mother plant
-Scissors
-Razor blade
-Rockwool cube (I use 1.5"x1.5"x1" cubes)
-Rooting Powder (I use Shultz)
-Small glass of water.
-Propagation tray with Humidome.

The previous week I had already placed a few rockwool cubes in pH adjusted RO water for soaking. I change the water once or twice a week and shake out the cubes at that time as well.



Here's our mothers. We will be taking a Royal Hawaiian clone for this tutorial. I've found that this strain is very easy to clone and grows like mad.


Ok, now on to the steps used in cloning.

Step 1
Select a candidate branch from your mother. For me, I usually take the tallest branch to keep mothers in check. I usually try to get at least 8" of branch as it will be trimmed down.


Step 2a
Trim the lower leaves and branches from the stem leaving the top 4" to 5" of vegetation.


Step 2b
Cut the three largest blades on each sunleaf that are 1.5" or longer. This is to reduce the amount of moisture lost through transpiration as well as to reduce the amount of energy the cutting needs to sustain itself until it has roots.


Step 3a
Now using a sharp razor blade, cut at a 45 degree angle between two branch nodes reducing the cutting size to ~6". The reason for this location is that roots tend to emerge from the nodes first and you don't want that part poking through the bottom of the rockwool cube and 6" is about how much space I have in my humidome.


Step 3b
Now gently use your razor blade on the bottom 1" of the cutting to carefully scrape the outer cell layers. New roots must push through this tough outer layer of cells so we are giving them a head start.


Step 4
Now that your cutting is prepped and ready, give her a bath in some plain water. I usually keep a small shot glass with pH'd RO water handy while doing my cuttings. When I am not handling the cutting, I leave it sitting in the shot glass. If I happen to walk away or get distracted, the cutting will be safe. This is a good practice to make a habit of.


Step 5
I use Shultz's Rooting Powder but you can use any product adujusting these steps to fit the directions for your product. Take the clone and gently swish it around in the powder about 1" deep to ensure good adhesion. Gently tap off any excess powder.


Step 6
Take one of your soaking cubes and shake out as much water as possible. Gently insert the stem into the cube. The hole only goes halfway through, so once you start to feel a little resistance, push just a little more so the excess stem below the lowest node jabs into the rockwool. This will help hold the clone in place without restricting the important root growing area around the nodes.


Step 7
You now have your very own clone! Carefully examine your work to ensure everything looks right. I usually pour a little water from the shot glass onto the cube at the hole to wash down any powder on the surface. Careful! Don't water log the cube!


Step 8
Place in your propigation tray and give a good misting. Here's where the most important advice I have is: Do NOT allow cubes to become waterlogged. They should remain moist, but not soaked. Too much water and the roots will NOT grow.


I remove the Humidome at least twice a day and mist all interior surfaces to ensure humidity stays as high as possible. I do not pour any water into the tray, instead I use my mister to create a small film of water across entire tray.


As I said before, my only losses have been due to my stoner forgetfullness of leaving the dome off. That will dry and kill your clones fast! When I first started, I didn't realize you didn't want the cubes waterlogged, so I was getting no roots and couldn't figure out why. One day I noticed that a cube that hadn't been waterlogged had a zillion fesh white roots! Since then I've kept the cubes moist, but not soaked. They should not feel heavy in your hand. If a gentle shake can cause water to drip out, it's too wet.

Well, there you have it. My final task in harvest day, Cloning. I will be adding step-by-step tutorials of my other harvest day tasks so that others may learn the wonders of Perpetual Gardening!

Cheers!
Hempy

 

[HappyHemphog]

Highya Guineapig!

The mother chamber has 8 24" floros, 4 on top and 4 on sides. I can't really get the light much closer. It's not really that big of a problem. It does afford me huge cuttings to work with which is nice.

The real shame is on occasion I have to throw cutting away as I have no room or someone to share with. Yeah, I know, it's blasphemy to throw away a perfectly good cutting, but it's better than letting the mother get out of hand and develop problems and crappy growth.

Cheers!
Hempy

 

[Guest]

Hey Hemompy , Damn good thread so far!! Iv got the popcorn ,cant wait for the trimin to start Do you ever have any wilting problems with clones?

 

[HappyHemphog]

They got wilted when I lost those two to getting dried out. The remaining clones were wilted and I was all pissed off. My buddy said not to worry, mist them up and put lid back on he says. A few hours later the survivors looked no worse for the wear.

 

[GreatLakes THC]

Nice tour Hempy. And thanks for the fine detail about cloning. It's really the little things that'll kill you. I've been noticing that with my cloning. If any one variable is out, you see losses. Growing is truly a science, and we're all trying to perfect it our own unique ways. Thanks for the tutorial.

GreatLakes THC

 

[BigToke]

Happy Hemphog, this is one nice thread ya got here well done…….

 

[Jimmy Shelter]

Happy Hemphog, Thank for the well explained " how to" Ill be watching for more insight from ya. Welcome to I C MAG,some of the best people on earth congregate here.

 

[Sleepy]

hello, happy hemphog!!!

nice perpetual setup you have!!

wonderful tutorial on taking cuttings, thanks!!!

i'll hang over here...next to the cured buds!

 

[HappyHemphog]

Welcome to the Garden Jimmy and Sleepy!

I was just getting ready to start taking photos for my next tutorial, From Clone to Veg, but my camera batteries have died!! ARG!

I've also got a nice PowerPoint presentation on Perpetual Gardening that I made when I started. I need to update it to reflect the realities of what the Garden has become then I plan to post a series a images from the presentation.

I just put those big buds from that photo in storage today and lost three small nugs to friggen mold! GRR!

 

[GreatLakes THC]

...i'll hang over here...next to the cured buds!

I'll be over there with Sleepy.

GreatLakes THC

 

[HappyHemphog]

Weekly Harvest Update for Nov 5 2005

Weekly Harvest Update for Nov 5 2005

Well, this weeks harvest was a single monster Hawaiian we let go an extra week.

It's probably 3 oz dry total. So far that's the most bud off a single plant I've had. The buds were just flopping over and hanging out the side of the tomato cage.

Next week are two Lifesavers that have been on a boost regime. I've noticed they have more density for sure, but don't appear much bigger.


I've added a small boost to rez nutes and the plan is to islolate a unit 2 weeks prior to it's harvest date, add additional boost for a week, then finish the final week with water flush. I top off isolated buckets by hand.

As you can see from the above picture, each WaterFarm is connected to nute supply with a shutoff. I can turn off the valve and pop it out of the bucket to allow me to remove and clean it.

Got some batteries for the camera so I'll be taking pictures of my weekly tasks to add to my tutorials.

I still am not sure how or where to post them. I'd like to start a new thread for each one and put one post per step like OG, but not sure if that's cool. I don't want to post them at OG cause the place is full of smacktards. IC is where it's at!

 

[Guest]

If your tutorials are about building, put them in the "Growroom Designs and Equipment" forum. If they are about growing hydro, put them here.

 

[vta]

Great thread! I am glad you decided to post here at IC and I look foward to more of your posts.

 

[HappyHemphog]

Hempy's From Growth to Flower

Hempy's From Growth to Flower

High!

Welcome to Hempy's From Growth to Flower Step-by-Step

For my perpetual system I need to move 2 plants from the growth stage to the flowering stage each week. This is a step-by-step pictorial showing the proceedure I use for my garden.

For this task I use the following items:

20 gal Rubbermaid tub.
10-15l of Hydroton, washed and cleaned.
1 WaterFarm unit minus the bottom bucket.
1 Spare square bucket identical to WF bottom bucket.**
1 Clone, 28 days old, from growth cabinet.

Step 1: Getting Prepared

I picked up a few spare buckets that were identical to a WaterFarm bottom to use for various things and I am glad I did, they get used for many things. Bury the bucket in the Rubbermaid tub with Hydroton. This will help hold things in place as well as catch any Hydroton that falls, and plenty will! Pop the top unit of a WF into the buried bucket.

Step 2: Pre-fill Bucket

Add enough Hydroton to cover the botton about 3 pebbles deep. You don't want to be able to see the bottom of the bucket as well as keep the roots from sitting any pooled nutes at the botton right away.

Step 3: Selecting a Clone

I have 2 clones reaching ~4 weeks of age each week. They are nice and healthy with plenty of growth and branches. This healthy growth is a bit much and leads to the next step...

Step 4: Trimming

I trim off the lowest 4-6 inches of side growth as it rarely produces good bud and serves to rob the bigger buds higher up of nutes. Chop, chop!

Step 5: Remove From Pot

I can usually just grab the corners of the grow bag and jiggle it a bit and the pot just falls off.

Step 6: Remove Grow bag

Grasping the plant stem at the base firmly but gently, I tilt the plant over allowing loose Hydroton to fall into WF. Then with the other hand, I gently tug the grow bag off the root mass. I may have to poke at the roots to untangle them as I pull the bag off, but it's usually easy.

Step 7: Position Root Ball

Place the root mass into the center of the WF unit. Position it so the stem is in the center and standing vertical.

Step 8: Backfill and Install Drip Ring

Gently add Hydroton distributing evenly all the way to the top of the unit. Give the bucket a few gentle thumps with your hand to help settle the Hydroton. You may need to add more after that. Position the drip ring around the stem and gently push into the Hydroton. I like to keep my ring partially pressed into the Hydroton to help cut down on nute splash and the associated stem burn.

Step 9: Place in Flower Room

Lift the top bucket out of the buried bucket and place in the waiting WaterFarm in the flower room. Hook up the air supply and pour about a quart of fresh plain water around the stem to wet things down and give a slight dilution to the standard bloom nutes running in system.

This task takes about 30 minutes to complete for both plants.

**If your looking for a place to buy a square bucket like the one used for the bottom of the WaterFarm, they can be purchased from either US Plastic or The Cary Company. The Cary Company also has the 2 gallon top square bucket used by the WaterFarm.

Hempy's next task: From Clone To Growth

 

[WeedMafia]

May i have 10 percent of your gross harvest?

 

[HappyHemphog]

May i have 10 percent of your gross harvest?

Don't know whether to laugh or run and hide at this post!