Destro's Firsts!! (Custom Cab, Mr. Nice Shit, Canna Coco/Nutes)

[Destro Grows]

Hello, this is my first real grow, in coco or otherwise. I'm putting it in the coco forum as I've noticed a lot of other rookies looking to start their growing experience with coco and someone out there might be able to learn from my mistakes (and I'm sure to make many).

If you haven't already sprained your wrist furiously clicking BACK to go to a more interesting thread, thanks. If this wasn't my grow, I know I would have.

Yeah, so like the title says, I'm doing a grow of Mr. Nice's "Shit" (a supposedly easy Skunk #1 strain), handwatered in grow bags with Canna coco and coco specific nutes.

My grow space is a custom built cabinet with separate mum (bonsai!!!), vegging and flowering chambers. The mums got a 125W CFL, vegging has got two 125W CFL and the flowering has got a 400W HPS Hortilux in Daystar AC with Lumatek.

Pics:

Doors Open


Mum and Veg


Storage


The Good Stuff


If the chamber layout looks a bit weird it's cause I went a little overboard in the design process, working out this really complicated hydro setup with ebb and flow in buckets for flowering and a DWC for vegging. I portioning out chamber space for all these specific components without really knowing what I was doing. It wasn't until I was halfway through building it that I decided to K.I.S.S. and go with coco handwatered in pots, so I was stuck with the original cab.

Anyway, I'm going to be looking for a good mum as I've read that some Mr. Nice Shit seed packs can have loads of different phenos and I'd like to keep a nice one going. Eventually I'd like to have a whole shelf of different bonsai mums. I've got some questions about how early I can actually start taking cuts from a vegging plant, to determine sex and for actual clone material, but that's not coming anytime soon and there's always the search button.

My flowering chamber is 2.5' X 2.2' X 5'. I'm planning on squeezing in eight plants in one gallon grow bags that have only been vegged a few days before going to 12/12. Hope to yield a half pound.

So down to the actual grow, so far I've got six seeds tucked in moistened paper towel under a humidity dome in total darkness. If (and that's a big IF) they sprout a tap root, they'll be going into small 2" pots filled with Canna coco out of the bag to get their roots. Then the fun begins.

Ready, Set...


If you've read this far, then you're to be commended for your dedication to the art of listening to rookies ramble on. I would totally add to your reputation if I had enough posts.

Please feel free to point out any obvious mistakes I'm making. Baby steps to wisdom, I know I don't know shit.

 

[J-Roc]

OMG OMG OMG DESTRO!!!!
ur cab is AMAZING
any grower on this site knows a lot of work goes into somthing like that.
and uve done this before!
amazing freakin job
k+ for you

 

[Gangsta Lean]

coo
i veg with cfl's, use a 400w hpss
have bonsai moms
so i'll b around to
give advice when needed hommie

 

[bigbluedog360]

is that fan pushing or pulling through that filter? also where did you get those light baffles/grills?

 

[Destro Grows]

J-Roc -- Thanks for the kind words, but to be honest the only reason I was able to pull it off is because I'm lucky enough to have access to a well equipped wood shop. This was my first wood working project of any kind and it's actually turned me on to the art of furniture design/building. I'm actually planning to take it on as another hobby. My next project (canna related) is a nice stash box for the buds I'm hoping to harvest -- exotic wood, fancy joinery, built in kif screens -- all of that.

Gangsta Lean -- Good looking out, I'm sure I'll be needing it. I'm still trying to decide how much vegging I need to do to keep my stretch within my height requirements. I've read that the general rule is they will stretch 3X on 12/12, but with coco it's a little more. I'm sure this is strain/pheno specific so I guess it's all about trial and error.

bigbluedog360 -- The fan is sucking air from the cabinet through the filter and blowing it across the light and out the vent at the top. The light tight louvers are by Doran and actually made for darkrooms. This is the model I have, it's 12" X 12" but they also make a 8" X 8" version. Kinda pricey, but worth it to me cause of the ease of installation and effectiveness.

 

[BorisTheBlaze]

sup bro.
lookin proffesional and clean
ill be along for the ride

peace
boris

 

[Gangsta Lean]

yea, ur gonna have to know ur strain when i comes to stretch
lol my girls went from 6'' to 36'' stretched 6x's
but im growing a diesel so thats to b expected
is shit a hybrid, indica, sativa wha?

 

[EddieShoestring]

the cab looks tasty-
good luck man

eddie

 

[Guest]

new members are coming through with some sick cabs lately, right on man that thing is ill

 

[Destro Grows]

OI! I checked on my paper toweled seeds tonight and found this:



After approx 24 hours, all six beans cracked and three were definitely showing their tails. I'm going to be busy pretty much all day tomorrow, so I decided to jump the gun and put them in coco now. You're supposed to let the tails grow out a bit longer, right? Hopefully they won't be worse for wear.

I filled up six 2" pots with Canna coco out the bag and moistened the tops with distilled water that I PH'd to 6.1. Made little holes with a chop stick, stuck the seeds in there tail down about a 1/2" and covered them up with a little coco.

If you've ever done this before I'm sure this is pretty ho-hum stuff, but to me this is some exciting shit. So exciting I took pics!!!

Sterilization Station


All Done


Goodnight


Yeah, so while uploading these pics I realized they are interesting to nobody and kinda suck. Sorry.

Anyway, hopefully I see sprouting within a few days. I'm planning on just keeping the soil moist by watering every few days with PH'd distilled water (and maybe Rhizotonic?). Once I see true leaves I'm going to start a weak nute solution of 1.0 EC and see how they do.

One question, when trying to follow a nute schedule using tap water, do you take in to account the EC of the tap when mixing your nutes? For example, my tap is about .4 EC and I'm going for a weak nute mix of 1.0 EC for seedlings, do I add nutes until my EC is 1.4 or just until it's 1.0? I know this is a total rookie question and I've read the answer before, but I'm not able to find it again right now.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Destro Grows]

BorisTheBlaze, EddieShoestring and rkrone -- Thanks for stopping by. Your encouragement is appreciated.

Gangsta Lean -- "Shit" is just Mr. Nice's Skunk #1, just by another name. They're saying it's from a "Skunk#1 (Dom. Afghan) x Skunk#1" family, but I've read conflicting reports about the phenos exhibited by growing out from seed. Some people have uniform indica dom grows, others have varied pheno experience. I'm looking for a mum that's got that middle of the road smoke -- blow a little for that motivation to be productive during the day, blow a lot and get lost in back-to-back-to-back episodes of Frisky Dingo.

 

[Gangsta Lean]

lol werd

 

[mitsu1]

DG..Looks like you've done your homework!! This is going to be a piece of cake for you...You know more"shit" than most rookies..What ever you don't know can be answered here in the coco forum....I'm trying Coco for the first time also. Done soil for quite some time, wanted to try something new so here I am..
Got This Basic Kush clone in Coco..




Soon yours will be up and runnin'!! I'm takin' a seat...mitsu

 

[NPK]

Nice!

Nice!

I grew out MNS Shit in coco (force-flowered outdoors) and found it to be a dynamite yielder. I had two phenos--one rather lanky, the other fat and squat. The plant responds well to topping. The buds came out really dense. It's middling in flavor but gets the job done, especially after some time in glass.

This was taken a week or so before harvest:

 

[Destro Grows]

mitsu1 -- Thanks, and yeah I've spent a fair amount of time reading various forums and of course Cervantes' "bible" cover to cover. It's funny though cause even with that info I was all over the place about what to do before I found the coco forum (see original post about complicated hydro setups). This place has given me some serious direction and I can only hope to give back a fraction of what I've gained.

NPK -- CHEEZY CRUST THOSE LOOK PLANTS LOOK AMAZING!!! It almost looks like all you have to do is cut the main stem and they're ready to be hung out to dry. If I get a yield even approaching what your pics are showing then I'll be in high heaven, literally.

Since you've got definite strain experience, I've got a few questions for you if you don't mind:

1. Of the two phenos you got, were there any differences in the potency or the type of high? I've read people either having a serious couchlock effect or something a little more cerebral suitable for daytime smoking.

2. Those look to be approaching three feet tall. How long did you veg them for? I've got a good three and half feet of usable vertical space, but I was only planning of vegging for a few days. I don't want any wasted space so would a longer veg be more suitable?

3. You mentioned topping in your post, FIM or just taking off the whole top? I'm actually trying to squeeze eight of these ladies in a 5.5 sq ft space, so I was thinking a little more along the line of a single cola SOG style grow. Topping in a cramped space like that would lead to smalled buds though kinda defeating the purpose, right?

4. Can you elaborate on what you mean by a "middling" flavor? I'm inferring that you mean nothing too great, but not too shabby either.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

 

[Destro Grows]

Here's a little update for anyone interested.

Opened my cab this morning and to my surprise all six beans had sprouted:



One was definitely ahead of the rest (the bottom left in the flick above), but they were all above ground and I that makes me happy. Now if only a few of these can be female so I can grow out their clones and find a winning pheno.

Something of note which might be out of the ordinary, one of the seedlings still had remnants of the actual seed stuck to the cotyledons not allowing them to separate and open up.

Destro's solution -- time to operate!!!

Haha, basically I just got a super sharp hobby knife, dipped it in alcohol and made an incision in the seed remnant to allow the cotyledon to open. Who knows, it might have shed the remnant by itself, but this way I get to pretend that I'm the one they call Dr. Cannabis.

Pre-Op

Post-Op

Anyway, the coco was looking a little dry, so I fed them a light mix of Rhizotonic and Canna Coco A + B, the Rhizo at 4ml/L and the A + B at 1ml/L each. My final EC was .7 using spring water with an initial EC of .2 and I PH'd the mix down to 6.0.



This flick was from 11 hours ago. I just checked on them, and they look great. All six are completely opened up and are welcoming the light from the CFL. I'll feed again every couple days with the same strength nutes until I see development of the first real set of leaves. Then I'll up the nutes to 1.0 and see what happens.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I shouldn't be watering seedlings every day, right? Something about easy access to nutes making the roots lazy?

 

[NPK]

Destro, thanks!

It almost looks like all you have to do is cut the main stem and they're ready to be hung out to dry. If I get a yield even approaching what your pics are showing then I'll be in high heaven, literally.

You're right, they weren't too bad to trim. Seems there's less leaf when you grow in coco (as opposed to soil). Actually, I've read that's the case with hydroponics in general. Also, MNS strains are all generous yielders. Your jars should be stuffed after harvest.

Of the two phenos you got, were there any differences in the potency or the type of high? I've read people either having a serious couchlock effect or something a little more cerebral suitable for daytime smoking.

It's not one-toke-and-you're-out bud; I smoke this stuff during the day without impaired function. (Actually, I tend to like a couchlock effect, but I'm not complaining.) To tell you the truth, I didn't notice much difference from plant to plant, but I also didn't mark my jars and wasn't really on the lookout for any variance.

Those look to be approaching three feet tall. How long did you veg them for? I've got a good three and half feet of usable vertical space, but I was only planning of vegging for a few days. I don't want any wasted space so would a longer veg be more suitable?

Yep, that's about right, though the lankier phenos were probably closer to 3.5 feet. I vegged them pretty big, to around eighteen inches, so if you're short on vertical space you would do well to keep the veg time short--especially since you're using a relatively small space. It's gonna be packed if you've got eight of these girls.

You mentioned topping in your post, FIM or just taking off the whole top? I'm actually trying to squeeze eight of these ladies in a 5.5 sq ft space, so I was thinking a little more along the line of a single cola SOG style grow. Topping in a cramped space like that would lead to smalled buds though kinda defeating the purpose, right?

I fimmed 'em, but it didn't lead to smaller buds--it resulted in several fat branches, each capped with a fat cola. The space I flowered in was 4' x 5.5' and it was really crowded in there by harvest with branches flopping around everywhere. So you might try a SOG, because you've got a fairly tight space.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by a "middling" flavor? I'm inferring that you mean nothing too great, but not too shabby either.

Yup yup, that's about right. Mind you, I'm a flavor freak: it's super important to me, at least as much as potency and yield. Shit doesn't taste like, well--shit but it does have sort of a generic, nothing-special flavor.

Still, the upside is considerable: it's easy and pleasing to grow and a FAT yielder. I still have a bunch of beans and will grow 'em outdoors next year.

Luck to you man, I'll be following your grow! Looks like you're off to a good start.

 

[Destro Grows]

NPK -- Thank you so much for the response, it was a lot more detailed than I expected and I appreciate your time. Your experience will be invaluable to my grow.

 

[Destro Grows]

Oh yeah, and a little a update. Well, more of a confession than an update.

Rookie mistake numero uno -- the light timer that I set to 18/6 for these seedlings has been set to "override on" mode for the past 48+ hours. The six hour dark period was set for when I sleep, so I didn't notice it until today that the light has been on 24/0 since these babies popped their little heads above ground.

Here's a flick taken a few minutes ago:

(sorry, the camera exposure is a lil bright, the leaves are a good color green tho)



Hopefully 48+ hours won't cause them too much light stress and I won't be stuck with a sausage party full of dudes. Oh well, still got 11 ungermed beans waiting in the wings.

 

[Guest]

Oh yeah, and a little a update. Well, more of a confession than an update.

Rookie mistake numero uno -- the light timer that I set to 18/6 for these seedlings has been set to "override on" mode for the past 48+ hours. The six hour dark period was set for when I sleep, so I didn't notice it until today that the light has been on 24/0 since these babies popped their little heads above ground.

Here's a flick taken a few minutes ago:

(sorry, the camera exposure is a lil bright, the leaves are a good color green tho)



Hopefully 48+ hours won't cause them too much light stress and I won't be stuck with a sausage party full of dudes. Oh well, still got 11 ungermed beans waiting in the wings.

Your ok bud...the 18/6 rule for more females usually comes into play the 3rd/4th week.. along with more blue light,higher humidity,lower temps,higher N,lower P. Also about the watering.. roots take faster in less wet coco.. even though it's almost impossible to overwater in coco.. it's still possible to slow down there growth with alot of watering... just some tips from what I learned on my first 1st grow homie. I just pop'd some seeds in Coco on the 6th so Imma watch this grow I'm using Botanicare Coco with Floralicious Grow/Bloom n I also have Koolbloom this run.. should be interesting to see a side by side grow...
Good Luck on your female ratio homie

heres pic just so you see how close I have my t5 floros.. np for them.. see the temps n humidity np for them.. also the coco isn't as wet as I used to keep it(top soil drys up quick).. np for em either. lights are 24/7 till the they have more roots.. When they have a decent root system I start to pamper them with more frequent watering n what not... I top 2nd node then top those 2 new nodes so i have 4 colas.. I use those tops as a clones so i have the choice to either grow more plants or make mom plants ... you'll do np homie just stay on top of em.



different strains but you get the picture i'm sure n like NPK says.. make sure to train your plants for max yeild for your space

toping early doesn't mess up anything just alittle more stress.. just personal preference when to do it is all I know.. early top'd God Bud clone ready to be toped 2 more times(4 colas).. apox 3-5inchs tall