Basement Buds in Bed

[Guest]

As soon as I see new growth I stop hand watering. But I use both long and short carrots. I like the short ones for the cover crop.

Have you used the blumats before? I love the things and need to get mine set up in my bed as well before the plants I have in there get too big again.

Thanks for the reply, GOT_BUD?. Never used them before, but been watching lots of videos and reading up on them. In the video Chunkypigs posted, they talk about the BlueSoak lines being buried under mulch and how the feeder roots just glom onto the soaker hose and wrap all around it. I'm not planning on using the BlueSoak lines, but I'm wondering if it would be possible/advisable to place the distribution drippers UNDER a layer of straw mulch, or if they should be dripping ABOVE the mulch layer? The search continues...

BTW, also received the African Night Crawlers yesterday, much earlier than expected. I was not quite prepared, food-wise, but I gave them a tiny amount of corn meal. Plus, the bedding I made should keep them filled up for a little while until I get a few days worth of food waste to feed them. I'm pretty sure I ordered a bag of worm food, too, but I'll have to double-check. They started crawling out of the bin, I think because the bedding was a little too cold down in the basement (~68F). So I put them under the light and it bumped up to ~73F, and they seemed much happier.

Peace
DM

 

[GOT_BUD?]

Thanks for the reply, GOT_BUD?. Never used them before, but been watching lots of videos and reading up on them. In the video Chunkypigs posted, they talk about the BlueSoak lines being buried under mulch and how the feeder roots just glom onto the soaker hose and wrap all around it. I'm not planning on using the BlueSoak lines, but I'm wondering if it would be possible/advisable to place the distribution drippers UNDER a layer of straw mulch, or if they should be dripping ABOVE the mulch layer? The search continues...

BTW, also received the African Night Crawlers yesterday, much earlier than expected. I was not quite prepared, food-wise, but I gave them a tiny amount of corn meal. Plus, the bedding I made should keep them filled up for a little while until I get a few days worth of food waste to feed them. I'm pretty sure I ordered a bag of worm food, too, but I'll have to double-check. They started crawling out of the bin, I think because the bedding was a little too cold down in the basement (~68F). So I put them under the light and it bumped up to ~73F, and they seemed much happier.

Peace
DM

I don't bury my emitters simply because they're easier to monitor and make adjustments at the carrot. I usually have them hanging out about an inch above the surface of the soil. Then they get overgrown by the cover crop and I lose sight of them, lol. But by then I've got them dialed in correctly.

 

[Guest]

I don't bury my emitters simply because they're easier to monitor and make adjustments at the carrot. I usually have them hanging out about an inch above the surface of the soil. Then they get overgrown by the cover crop and I lose sight of them, lol. But by then I've got them dialed in correctly.

Good to know, thanks! I'm still trying to figure out my cover crop(s)... Figured I'd start with some grasses and clovers for quick growth, get those roots down a few inches real fast. In a fresh bed, do you plant cover crops first? And if so, how long before you plant MJ seeds?

Continued working in the room these past couple of days...got the interior wall up. Bought a 24"-wide pocket door, but need to shave about 1.5" off due to space constraints to make it 22.5" wide before I can install it. Should get started on insulation and drywall tomorrow.



Peace
DM

 

[GOT_BUD?]

I don't put any thought in about my cover crop because once you establish one, it will continue to grow whether you want it to or not. Cut it down, comes right back. Put lighting into 12/12? Doesn't care. Rip it out by the roots? Too bad you missed a couple.

They're weeds, dude. Don't overthink it.

 

[Guest]

I hear ya...Guess I feel the need to make sure I'm not putting something in there which will be detrimental months/years down the road; have to think about how each plant will affect the soil biology. I don't intend to put anything in there without having done my due diligence.

The centerpieces of this flower bed are also considered to be weeds by many, all part of an ecosystem.

Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

Got the pocket door hung, as well as some ceiling studs for hanging drywall, lights, fans... Didn't actually start the drywall like I wanted today, took it easy for the most part.



I'm finding at least 3-5 worms escaping their bin every few hours. Not sure why, temp is 75F, ph is 6.8, moisture level is good. They have food scraps, good bedding... IDK

Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

I switched out the standard 15V outlet for a GFCI Wet Rated one, and also moved it up the wall to be closer to the lights/fans. Added some studs around the steel beam in the ceiling, and started hanging insulation & drywall. I cut the ceiling piece backwards, then installed it without putting the insulation up there (@%#$@&#*$%*#@!!!!!!!!), so I took it back down. Will try again tomorrow.

I read a little more about African night crawlers, seems it takes them a while to settle into a new home. I'm not concerned about a few escapees for now...



Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

...more drywall...



After drywall, then it's mud, prime, paint, hang fan/filter and lights, and this room will be operational. Here's hoping that the temperature test passes after that!

Edit: Bonus points if you can guess what that spot near the top of the wall is? Think gravity...

Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

...Bonus points if you can guess what that spot near the top of the wall is? Think gravity...

A worm escaped the bin and found it's unfortunate demise at the hand of a falling sheet of drywall. Upon closer inspection, victim appears to have simply exploded on contact.

More drywall, almost done with the flower room, possibly start mudding tonight.



Peace
DM

 

[ReikoX]

Nice watching you make such quick progress compared to my build. Enjoying the show.

 

[Green81]

Nice handywork McSmoker. I think your going to get some insane terps from growing in living soil.

G81

 

[Guest]

Nice watching you make such quick progress compared to my build. Enjoying the show.

Thanks, I finally have the house to myself during the day, starting this week. Will be nice to get this thing knocked out!

Nice handywork McSmoker. I think your going to get some insane terps from growing in living soil.

G81

Thanks G81! I'm thinking Dr. Ben Higgins at KIS Organics knows what he's doing. Making sure to keep it moist and cool, per his direction, until the room is up and running.

Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

Finished taping the drywall in the grow area...



...and got about half-way done mudding before needing a break.



Peace
DM

 

[GOT_BUD?]

One bit of advice I would give you for your Blumats - higher pressure is your friend.

I kept getting runaways when I had my res a couple feet higher than the carrots. When I moved it to a shelf above my head, I stopped getting runaways.

Ideally I'd like to move the res to the floor above and pipe it down (It's a closet which is handy), but I really don't want 2 holes in my floor even if it is in my closet. I might try fishing the wall and cutting a retro ring in, but that's a bit more involved than I can be right now with so many other things going on at the moment.

Build looks good.

Nice to see Ben getting some props for being one of the best in the business.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the tip! I'll make sure there's good pressure at the reducer before fine tuning the carrots.

All finished with the first coat of mud. Started scraping some of the first half I did yesterday, and it's still not completely dried where I was filling some bigger gaps. So now I wait... Still shooting for September 1 beans in dirt, but not sure I'll make it. Pretty close, though!



Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

Just about finished priming before I ran out... Still have to do the ceiling, but it looks so much better already.



Peace
DM

 

[Mars Hydro Led]

Looks like a bright and powerful light. What is the cost of it?

 

[Guest]

Looks like a bright and powerful light. What is the cost of it?

All the parts, excluding the ratchet cords for hanging the light, came out to $852.92. Took me about an hour to put it together.

I haven't plugged it into the power meter yet, but plan to do so today.

Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

Finished priming the ceiling and painted everything flat extra white last night. Got the fan installed today, too. I was a couple inches short of hanging it where I wanted, horizontally, so I ended up situating it vertically instead. Should have put the water line over a few more inches...oh well. Starting the temperature test now; it's up to 78F at a height of 24" after 30 minutes.



Also plugged the lights into the power meter, they're pulling about 635 watts when cranked up all the way. I had only been running them about 100 watts keeping the worms warm.



Peace
DM

 

[Guest]

The temps with the lights at 24" are averaging right at 80.0F since the start of the test. I might try moving the light up to 30" tomorrow for the 2nd 24 hours. In anticipation of an acceptable test result, I put the first two beans in paper towels:

VerdantGreen - Bubba Kush S1

CSI: Humboldt - Bubba S1

I know I'll likely need a mini-split at some point, but I'm pretty confident so far that I'll be able to move the lights up and/or dim them as needed to control the temps. Plus, Winter Is Coming, in case anyone hadn't yet heard.

Peace
DM