Darth Fader's 1st Grow - DR100L/400watt CMH/wick/coco

[Darth Fader]

Day 40 Flower - Mar 11
- siphoned just over a gal from the MK res
- measured @138 x 10 ppm & 7.0 pH - pretty high
- fed 9ml Bloom + 5ml CalMag + 5ml Hygrozyme to all 3 ladies
- need to test res solution on the other 2
- Thought my CJ buds were knocked over from the light the other day, but apparently they're just to heavy for their stems.
- Tied up a bunch of stems w/ twisty-ties & string.
- "Some" of the CJ branches stretched quite a bit - 6-8" past the others. I have no idea why they didn't all stretch the same amt.
- Will use Silica in next run to strengthen stalk/stems.
-picked up some snippers & (4) new 2 gal smartpots for new clones this wknd.
- will rig up a new veg tub for the clones
- 10 days to flush on the MK!

 

[Darth Fader]

Day 41 Flower - Mar 12
- 9ml Bloom, 5ml CalMag, 5ml Hygrozyme - all 3

Day 42 Flower - Mar 13
- No feeding, they have enough water
- Picked up Pro-teck Silica for next run.
- Picked up clones for rd 2. All OG Kush.
- placed the rockwool in coco-filled sytrofoam coffee cups (hole punched in bottom)
- Wet coco w/ straight 6.0 ro water & place clones in the cfl-bucket.

Day 43 Flower - Mar 14
- FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!
- Irony can be so ironic at times ....
- I've been reading up on Powdery Mildew
- Noticed since I put up Hygrometer that I am hitting 92-93% RH overnight.
- Had been shutting off the filter/fan when light went out.
- Don't panic - spotted a few white spots on a few leaves of MK & Ch4
- Put the fan/filter on a 2nd timer, obviously need to continue to run it at least for a while after the lights go off.
- Will run it 24-7 for a few days & then see if I can cut down
- Ran to store for skim milk, mixed at 1:10 ratio w/ H20.
- Sprayed down the canopy w/ the milk solution
- Ordered Greencure.

I'm feeling neurotic about this grow getting across the finish line. Humidity paranoia though, it appears, can be a useful condition. In that regard I was able to pounce on it. I don't want to make predictions but I will say that although I have a lot of tops, most of these aren't really big buds, and there's too much of it trapped too low. It's bothering me. Chill dude, it's a process. (Trying to listen to the inner voice). My bud shots are not going to be as big as a quart bottle some of the pics on here. Whatever, but I hope it's respectable at least. The canopy was nice and even when I went to 12/12, but the stretch made the canopy pretty uneven. Should I have cut everything small & underneath the screen at this point? Maybe the screen should have been lower itself. The lower stuff is underdeveloped.

 

[thegonz1]

Don't panic

Don't panic

If your just noticing mildew spots on leaves, you are prolly still good. Run your exhaust fan 24/7 like you said, and remove any blatently mildewed leaves (to an extent). The mildew thrives when humidity is high and temps are low.

If you let your exhaust run constantly, the problem shouldnt get worse.

 

[Darth Fader]

If your just noticing mildew spots on leaves, you are prolly still good. Run your exhaust fan 24/7 like you said, and remove any blatently mildewed leaves (to an extent). The mildew thrives when humidity is high and temps are low.

If you let your exhaust run constantly, the problem shouldnt get worse.

Thx Gonz, I reset the Hygrometer so I could get a good Min/Max RH reading after switching to 24/7 exhaust. We'll see if the milk trick works. Greencure should arrive in a few days. I'll try that @1/2 tsp per gallon asap.

I also picked up a used 1000w ballast. Thinking about throwing it into the mix.

 

[thegonz1]

Got milk?

Got milk?

What's your theory with the milk? I haven't heard that 1 yet.

...btw, looking forward to watching the og!

 

[Darth Fader]

What's your theory with the milk? I haven't heard that 1 yet.

...btw, looking forward to watching the og!

Every PM thread seems to have someone using a milk solution to battle PM.

I've heard OGK is especially susceptible to air-flow & humidity issues. They should be fun though. This time I will clone and play with diff topping/training methods. I might lose the scrog so that I ca get better access & rearrange the pots as needed.

 

[whatissixbynine]

.

 

[Darth Fader]

maybe SOG?

Yeah, I was thinking of running more plants, fewer tops, larger colas. ... undecided. VerdantGreen does a really nice 1'x1' bucket scrog which is almost the best of both worlds. He's gotten so good at topping/training that he can produce 12 nice colas/tops per 1sq ft screen. Amazing. Another decision is to either partial-harvest, taking the top buds & letting the bottom buds finish, or to re-veg the Casey & take cuts for another run.

Day 44 Flower - Mar 15
- 9ml Bloom, 5ml CalMag, 5ml Hygrozyme - all 3
- No visible signs of PM today - milk treatment must have worked
- Not sure how long milk treatment lasts
- RH max/min read 57%/27% today. 57 = WAAAAAY better than 92, eh?
- pics coming (snapped)
-OG babies doing ok - fed 1/4 str nutes this morning.

 

[whatissixbynine]

.

 

[Darth Fader]

42, (6x9),
Any particular reason on the re-veg? I just wanted to save a cut for a mother. Perpetual would be nice if you have the space.

...And on the the show.

The Garden - Tops galore. Prob too many. I Need to really experiment w/ training & learn how to hit the right balance. I would trade 25% fatter buds for 25% less tops.

Well, I ran into a powdery mildew (PM) issue recently. I had just bought a hygrometer and it was reading max overnight RH @ 92%! My fault for putting the fan/scrubber on the same timer as the lights. Once I fixed that, running the fan 24/7, the max RH comes in at 57%.

The fan/filter

This little fan doesn't move a lot of air but keeps it circulating.

Chem4

Slideshow here

Any shiny/splotchy spots on the leaves is just residue from the milk spray. Sorry about all the yellow from the 2.7k warm cfl in the photos. I was tired & didn't have it in me to take the time as I should have. I'll fix the light next time thru.

 

[Darth Fader]

Day 45 Flower - Mar 16
- no feed

Day 46 Flower - Mar 17
MK: 9ml Bloom + 5ml Hygrozyme + 5 ml CalMag
CJ/Ch4: 1 tsp KoolBloom boost + 9ml Bloom + 5ml Hygrozyme + 5 ml CalMag

Day 47 Flower - Mar 18
stopping CalMag for MK,
MK: 9ml Bloom + 5ml Hygrozyme
CJ/Ch4: 9ml Bloom + 5ml Hygrozyme + 5 ml CalMag

 

[whatissixbynine]

.

 

[Darth Fader]

Day 48 Flower - Mar 19
-Decided to drop CalMag entirely since it contains Nitrogen
-All: 9ml Bloom + 5ml Hygrozyme
-Got my GreenCure in the mail

Day 49 Flower - Mar 20
- Found a bit more PM in the back corner. Might've missed a few spots, or at least full coverage with the milk spray.
- mixed 1/2 gal of the GreenCure at 1/2 tsp/gal.
- sprayed the garden down pretty good.
- Cutting Hygrozyme now too (no CalMag either)
- Beginning Flush for MK
- MK - .35 gal H20 + FloraKleen (@10ml/gal)
- CJ/Ch4 - .35 gal 9ml Bloom

For the next run I'd like to find a CalMag substitute that doesn't contain N. I need the Ca & the Mg for my ro water though. I heard molasses would work. Gotta look into it. Also considering a roots excelerator since these clones are really moving slowly.

Other thoughts:
- 3 gal smartpots sitting right on top of a 5-gal bucket lid, feed to waste. Do bigger pots = bigger buds
- lots of clones, lots of experimenting w/ topping and/or training
- no scrog so that I can move them around.
- SOG?

Also, not sure about the nute line-up. I'd like to try some diff options, but I never did dial in the GH & I have a lot of it left.

 

[Darth Fader]

Day 50 Flower - Mar 21
- 2nd day of Flush for MK
- MK - .5 gal H20 + FloraKleen (@10ml/gal)
- CJ/Ch4 - .5 gal H20 + 9ml Bloom

everyone for all the help & encouragement.

Expecting to chop the MK on day 60. Picked up a radio shack microscope to inspect the trichs. I can't see anything thru that thing. I'll try it w/ batteries in it to see if it works.

Weird, but the MK has seem to have packed on any weight at all these last couple weeks. The other two have. Dunno why. Could it have been due to the lockout earlier? Hopefully, the other 2 will make up for it.

 

[DSDFreak]

Hey Darth, Just finished reading through everything till now and Id like to chime in on your "deficiency" situation. To begin with my current plants (lemon diesel) are growing a tad slowly and have pale growth and purple stems. It looks all to similar to what you had been experiencing.
Well I was reading Jorge cervantes' grow bible and realized that an overabundance of calcium can cause a sulfate issue as well. Sulfur/Calcium toxicity really looks like the culprit. I don't remmeber reading even one post of you flushing with r/o water only. If the amount of calcium and sulfur was not changing very much in your soil.. AND you keep adding calmag with every feeding, then the soil itself was probably the issue.. not just your feeding schedule.
I plan on flushing my plants tomorrow so Ill let you know how it works.. but until then, this looks sooo dank!

 

[Darth Fader]

DSD, thx for the input. You're right, I really didn't do much in the way of flushing. As much as I love coco for the ease of hitting the target in terms of under/over watering & oxygen (esp w/ smart pots), the nute lockout/deficiency issues have been perplexing. But hey, 1st grow and this IS a learning process, right? I recently read another coco grower who would flush the 7th day of every week. I will adopt this practice for the next run. Additionally, drip-clean may help too.

 

[Fat J]

Hey, nice grow man - looks very tasty. I was gonna reccomend the drip clean from hg, but i see you've heard of it - i use it in every resi till i do the water only flush at the end. I havent had any real nute buildup since I started using it - i used to flush every week or so too. Careful not to flush too much early on and overwater or cause the ppm levels to bounce like a rollercoaster. I only flush if I see salts building up ('cept end of bloom)

For Cal/Mag with no N - The CaMg product from GH has no N i believe, just CA, MG ^.^

 

[Darth Fader]

Day 51-54 Flower - Mar 22-25
mostly ...
- MK - .5 gal H20
- CJ/Ch4 - .5 gal H20 + 9ml Bloom

pH @5.5-5.8 , not too particular here in the home stretch.
- did add 3ml CalMag to the CJ/Ch4 mix on 23rd/24th (such a waffler)
- no feed for CJ/Ch4 on 25th
- It's all Good!

The baby OG's:
They're just moving reeeallly slow. Mixed up a batch of 1/3 str nutes (5ml ea, Grow, Micro, Bloom) + 3 ml CalMag + ?ml Pro-teckt Silica + 1 ml Roots Excelurator!
All 4 OG's (Tahoe, SFV, ******, HA) are sitting under (2) 26-watt cfls in styrofoam cups w/ holes poked in the bottom and around the bottom-sides. The tent won't be open for another 2 weeks. So they'll be 4 wks before they go to the tent. No prob, they're tiny and I plan to practice taking clones & messing around for a bit before flipping. I imagine they'll get a couple wks under the 400w b/f 12/12 as I hone my training skills. The only squeeze is starting them in time to finish b/f the worst heat of summer arrives. Pics soon!

 

[Fat J]

Just wonderin - why are you ysing silica so early on?

Silica can make the ph bounce around and they dont need it yet... id say do 1/2 str nutes with no silica, silica can cause issues so early on.

Can't wait to go to CMH for my veg room... damn lazy hydro shop.

 

[Darth Fader]

Just wonderin - why are you ysing silica so early on?

Silica can make the ph bounce around and they dont need it yet... id say do 1/2 str nutes with no silica, silica can cause issues so early on.

Can't wait to go to CMH for my veg room... damn lazy hydro shop.

Fat J, thx for the tip amigo. Prolly should've looked into it, I haven't used it before & just figured to start it on 'em early, but I have no idea what's recommended. BTW, when do you recommend adding it? I made up another batch of nutes, full strength minus silica & diluted it out w/ the original 1/4 str mix (had most of the gallon mix left. I now have about 2 gal of 'just about right'. There is one prob & I'm not sure what it is - twisty, shrivled leaves - a bit of taco-ing, but the most apparent issue is that the edges are folded in. One guy has told me that it's probably that they need more CalMag. Hmmmmm ... I'll start another thread for my 2nd run w/ pics. Overall they're a nice dark green ... but slow.