Blimey's Ghetto Perpetual

[Blimey]

Been busy as a bee recently, and the plants have been a little neglected. Such is life.

Even in a 1 litre pot, the Black Forrest is determined to hit the ceiling...

Day 35 for the BF....this Power Black is 10 days behind.

Might have something.....nice......in the garden soon......

 

[s_man]

Might have something.....nice......in the garden soon......

whats that then b?

a new strain?

sometimes you cant help but neglect them.

just means you got more work to do when you do get in there

peace

 

[Blimey]

Hey S_man, thanks for dropping by.

OK....I never fail to be slightly surprised and humbled by the generosity of various cannanauts I have met and grown to call friends on this site.

I can proudly reveal that a pack of Mr Nice Super Silver Haze and a pack of Mr Nice Black Widow are now in the stable. Thanks again to my benefactor.....you know who you are

Been having a devil of a time germinating seeds recently, so these new gems will probably wait until the long-awaited upgrade I have planned, which will allow me to do them the justice they deserve. That will be early Sep, if all goes to plan.

So everything is sort of in a holding pattern until the big upgrade.....but let's see what's happening right now.....

Afghani x Northern Lights....day 40.....strangely nute sensistive, although it might be a pH issue causing the claw...

Black Forrest day 40......long way to go...just scraping the ceiling despite massive root restriction, and equally holding up well healthwise despite the conditions. At least 2 months to go, probably nearer 3.

Power Black Day 29.....just getting her act together...

Don't let the bastards grind ya down.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GeiAGyUP18

 

[RudeDog]

Can't wait to see some photos of your upgrade mate...Soon be September. I'm going to have wait until December to upgrade me light the way things are going for me.

How do you germing your beans? I've had 100% success just dropping seeds straight into soil and propagate them on the widow sill.

 

[Blimey]

Hey RD!
Yeah, I'm getting really stoked about the upcoming upgrade. Just waiting for payday now lol.

Re: the seed germination - I'm a paper towel guy. That part hasn't been the problem so much as they aren't coming up after they split and I put them in the ground. Probably my soil mix...still working through this cat litter experiment.

I need to get a new batch of soil made....just getting the time and effort to do it.

 

[VerdantGreen]

im intrigued blimey, plants look good and i cant wait to see what you've got cooking with the upgrade...

 

[Blimey]

Hey VG

The upgrade plans are still slightly cloudy.....basically I want to keep the current flowering setup as the seedling/veg cab, and go with either a 250 or 400 HPS for the main cab. I'm thinking a DarkRoom tent or similar about 80 -100 cm square by about 1.2m - 1.5m tall. My local hydro shop has recently moved to bigger premises and expanded their product range, so I'll pretty much see what they have and ask them about the right extractor and carbon combo for the tent/light combo I get.

Other than that, plans are to keep the actual growing aspect simple...still soil mixes, probably leaning more towards an organic mix like yours, with larger containers for flowering, maybe 11 litres or similar. Not considering anything too complex like E&F, DWC et al.

Aim is to pull approx 1 oz per week, so I'm thinking a 400w is what I'll need, as I can't see me matching your sort of results for a couple of years yet

Anyhow...watch this space - all will be fully detailed, and I might need the odd tip on setting up the extractor etc.

I'm getting excited like a kid waiting for Christmas...silly really at my age hehehe

 

[JamieShoes]

I'm getting excited like a kid waiting for Christmas...silly really at my age hehehe

hehehe...gotta take the excitement where we can these days, eh feller

 

[Blimey]

Some cannabis plants are delicate creatures....they wither as seedlings, they burn their tips, they fall over....

Some cannabis plants simply ignore such trifles as no root space, low ceilings and erratic feeding regimes, and grow like the monsters they are.

The Black Forrest is such a plant....day 48.

The Power Black is done stretching (it doesn't stretch much at all) and is all about the buddage now....at day 38.

Finally.....rarest of the rare.....a female Black Cheese!!! This girl had an unhappy childhood in the accursed cat litter mix, and is now doing the gangly teenage bit. I doubt I'll get much off her, but am looking forward to see how she smokes.

 

[s_man]

hey b

how you doing?

they banned a fellow member for no known reason, but at least we are still here

i am having a great time with some beans i were gifted. the same 1's you were gifted. they took long to florish, but now they're up, they are flying

im calling this the cherry bomb sativa

your gonna love them bro . they absolutely stink even in veg. best seeds i cracked in a long time

i have also scored some mr nice beans. but like you, they wont get cracked for a while. too much ado with too little time.

you got rid of your mites i take it? did you pull out the plants that were infected, or did you treat them?

be safe

 

[Blimey]

Hey S_man....

All fine here...life has been very busy recently, but that's how it goes.

At the moment....I am mite-free!!! But basically because I emptied out the flower cab...(and destroyed a long-time toker friend with pure spliffs of Black Forrest and Power Black)...currently it has one Black Cheese in there.....and I have one seedling of (I think) Spoetnik #1 x Deep Chunk in veg. I got one of those gifted beans to pop....but it came up helmet-headed, and then did that thing where either the root or the stem gives out...so no joy there yet.

The upgrade is imminent, so we should be seeing a few changes very soon......

 

[Blimey]

These tent things are a real pain in the arse to assemble......I count myself lucky that I only tore it once.....duct tape to the rescue!

Tent : Secret Jardin Dark Room DR120W
Lamp setup : 400W Star 1 ballast, Son-T bulb, Dutch Barn Reflector
Ventilation : 5" two-speed RVK (tent has 4" holes...will use on low-speed with reducers)
Odour Control : El Cheapo PrimaKlima carbon filter.

I would show it "in action".....but my one Black Cheese in flower was a boy (R.I.P.)....so you'll have to wait a while.

 

[VerdantGreen]

get thee behind me ghetto

looks great, perhaps in the long run the totally clean start will do you a favor - to completely break any mite/pest cycles. get those seeds popping! plenty of them

VG

 

[RudeDog]

Looks good mate....Whats your plan? How many plants you fitting in there?

What was the total cost of it all?

 

[Blimey]

Thanks for the kind words, gents

I have no idea as to how many I can fit in there.....it really depends on what pottage I can get organized. I have quite a few in 3 - 5 litre size, which I can probably fit 3 or 4 per sq ft ....which would equal 25 - 30....(tent is 4 ft x 2 ft square, and 5' 3" in height ) if I invest in some 10 litre or so....a few less.

As I will still be running perpetual, it probably won't be crammed full most of the time...at least for a while.

As for cost.......about £375, including a couple of hangers, but excluding any timers, relays, or other useful things such as pH or EC/TDS meters. Those will be introduced in "Phase II"

 

[mellow yellow]

Hello m8

Nice tent you will love it. I got the DR80, was running a 250 hps. Just got a 400hps in a cool shade, temps seem fine so roll on December

Happy growing

 

[Blimey]

mellow - thanks for dropping by. Glad your temps are good.....a little warm here.

Well, I've picked a couple of sacrificial lambs to christen the new tent.....and, not entirely unexpectedly, there are a couple of issues to be sorted out.

Firstly....I need to find a better way of attaching the ducting to the fan, other than duct tape, which does a pretty poor job of holding it on.

I've seen people using metal band things, so I'll guess I'll go that route.

Secondly.....it's a bit noisier than I'd like.....which means I have to run it during the day (too loud to sleep with it on)...upgrading to acoustic ducting will probably help there.

Thirdly, and most importantly......the heat!!!! I've just now reduced the amount of ducting between the fan and the hole out the tent, and it's now pumping out hot air.....earlier today the air coming out wasn't all that warm, and after 6 hours on, ambient temps at pot level was in the 90s.....I'll recheck the temps later, but this seems to be the big issue at the moment.

I've got all the flaps (except one against the wall) and exit holes open plus a small 4" fan blowing the air around inside the tent.....but will probably need to make a few more changes to keep temps within a few degrees of room temp.

Am I making any obvious mistakes?

 

[JamieShoes]

I find it better to have the fan outside the tent as it's motor will add to the ambient temp and also that closing some of the vents might help... it seems illogical at first but the aim is to get the amount of air leaving the tent to be greater than that going in (negative pressure) you can actually see this on your tent as the sides get sucked in (if they're not getting sucked in, this is because the vents offer the air an alternative route) you want your sides sucked in but not so tight as the seams are pulled to stretching (you'll see light between the stiches when this is the case)


these things always take a bit of a tweek before they're set up right, but usually pretty solid once you get it sussed


edit - adding the "metal band things" is a good move as they offer the best seal (equals better performance) and also adding a length of duct to the exhaust side of the fan reduces noise considerably - this is when set up as drawing air out of the tent rather than pushing... (make sense?)..

 

[Blimey]

Shooey to the rescue! Thanks for the quick reply.

The fan will probably have to stay in the tent.....but I'll move the ballast outside (D'oh! just noticed it sitting on the tent floor). I think I have negative pressure (slight sucking in of the front), but I've shut one of the end flaps just to be certain

I think I need to try a few different positions for my circulation fan.....as I noticed that the air at fan level, above the reflector (which is being sucked out) is much cooler than that on the tent floor....which seems illogical, hot air rising and all.

Plenty of time to get it sussed to my satisfaction... the two test subjects are nothing special (bagseed and one of my own crosses), and the vegging stuff all has a while to go yet.

 

[JamieShoes]

ooh defintely move the ballast out mate, thats a must for heat reduction and also for not spilling water n shit on it