Jerry Garcia Growing Up

[Guest]

I dont know what a corn cob light is, but 100w doesnt sound right to me. I used to run a 400w mh in a 1mx1m tent and it was good. But even there..the ones squeezed to the sides were growing differently even the jump to a 250w would probably be an improvement. On the other hand, if you plan on using higher wattage in the tent later anyway, then it would be better to get rid of the temperature problems now for good. Decisions, decisions.. tell me something about those corn cob lights, are those led?

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

Hi Ivan, it is an LED. I just don't know a lot about these and went with some other growers advice to try it in my veg tent. It seemed to work fine very close to some early seedlings but I'm certain it won't do the trick for what I need that tent to do for me (mothers/clones/veg). I feel I am going to need to get a mh in there and think I might try a 315w Hortilux cmh. Heat may be my crux again but if I need to get ac in there, I will. The only issue is where to put the ac unit...amazing how you run out of room pretty quick. The tent, the flower area, a 5 shelf metal unit for all the goodies and a large rubbermaid for my teas. I just don't want the room to feel cramped. I'm getting close to being happy with the setup, just a few more tweaks.

 

[Guest]

Bugger about the light. If you need to install an ac...how about throwing out that shelf for the nutes, as they like dark storage more and than maybe putting heavy duty brakets on the wall to hold the ac up off the ground so you dont loose space there?
Greets,Ivan

 

[Crazy Chester]

Hi Ivan, it is an LED. I just don't know a lot about these and went with some other growers advice to try it in my veg tent. It seemed to work fine very close to some early seedlings but I'm certain it won't do the trick for what I need that tent to do for me (mothers/clones/veg). I feel I am going to need to get a mh in there and think I might try a 315w Hortilux cmh. Heat may be my crux again but if I need to get ac in there, I will. The only issue is where to put the ac unit...amazing how you run out of room pretty quick. The tent, the flower area, a 5 shelf metal unit for all the goodies and a large rubbermaid for my teas. I just don't want the room to feel cramped. I'm getting close to being happy with the setup, just a few more tweaks. View Image

I think CMH is the best light available - if you can get one - I say go for it!

 

[Guest]

I think CMH is the best light available - if you can get one - I say go for it!

What's the difference to other lights? I was out of the growing scene for alomst 10years and i remember people talk about those,but i think they weren't good enough back then. Cheers Ivan

 

[Crazy Chester]

What's the difference to other lights? I was out of the growing scene for alomst 10years and i remember people talk about those,but i think they weren't good enough back then. Cheers Ivan

Hi Ivan - yeah, the HPS/MH are not the only HID choices anymore because the CMH came into its own during the period you were out of the game. My take on the CMH is that it is now at the level that it's similar to a MH in light spectrum but it gives higher yields than a MH (almost as high as HPS) and runs cooler than either a MH or HPS. Also, it's probably the best for trichome production I've ever seen - more than MH.

 

[Guest]

Sick shit...do you swap bulbs then too or just one all the way? ...how long do they last? And last bit not least...how bad do they hit your wallet?



Sry for the offtopic questions,jerry

 

[Crazy Chester]

Good question on the bulbs - I don't know how long they last, but I think most people use them in both veg and flower. I think they cost a bit more than a MH or HPS of similar output. As far as expense - you hit the nail on the head - I wonder what the bulbs cost and how often they need to be replaced. But, sick is right - some buds under CMH look like the trics were dumped on there with a teaspoon! Some are getting yields with a 630 watt CMH close to what their 1000 watt HPS is giving them. Here's the harvest page of someone who did a side by side comparison of those lights (4 630 CMHs yielded him 9 pounds, 8 1/2 ounces - 4 1000 HPS yielded 8 pounds, 15 ounces):https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=352859&page=10

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

The hortilux 315v cmh I grabbed was around $100 and I’ve read to maintain optimal performance you need to be replacing the bulb every 12-14 months assuming it’s running 18 hrs/day. Well, that is at least what hortilux states on their website. I have also read conflicting articles that state CMH bulbs outlast MH and HPS bulbs. So, really, who knows. Just an FYI, I purchased the Sun Systems compatible ballast for around $280. Certainly not a cheap add to my grow room but I'm excited to give it a try in the tent.

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

So I installed the 315w cmh in the tent yesterday. With the grow room reading around 77-78F, that puts the tent at 84F. I don't like that high of a temperature in there so I'm gonna try a few things. I'm gonna pull air from my unfinished basement into the tent. My basement temp is currently around 68F so that should definitely help. I am also going to open up some of my exposed ac ducting and bring that into the room. I'll have a damper on it so I can close it up once we get the heat turned on in the house. Let's hope this brings my temperatures inside and outside the tent in line. Can you tell I am really doing everything I can not to install a dedicated ac unit? It's not so much the cost as it is other things. Primarily amperage draw, space in the room and noise. My grow room is right under my dining room and some folks we have over just don't need to know what is going on down there.

Thanks to you guys for all the advice so far as it's been very helpful. Man, I just didn't think setting up this tent inside a room would be this tedious. Years ago when I vegged and flowered in a single tent it seemed so easy compared to this.

I guess the 6 bag seed are on day 26 and the three (NL#2 x Chem) x OPG are on about 10-11 days. I'm happy with the growth rates so far and they seem to be happy and healthy for the time being.

Cheers all and happy growing!

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

Everything is looking good with all of the plants starting to take off. What I am liking at the moment is the vigor of the (NL#2 x Chem) x OPG. It looks like they are going to catch up to the bag seed so I will likely just get those flowering at the same time. I'm aiming for about 2 feet in height before I flip so based on their growth rate, I should be flipping in around 2 weeks, maybe a little less. I'm hoping they show me some sex by then.

I have all the materials needed for my upcoming room changes (pulling air from my unfinished basement into the tent and opening up an ac vent into the main room). I'll have it done in the next few days. Temp in the room is holding at 78F with RH at 42%.

 

[Crazy Chester]

Everything is looking good with all of the plants starting to take off. What I am liking at the moment is the vigor of the (NL#2 x Chem) x OPG. It looks like they are going to catch up to the bag seed so I will likely just get those flowering at the same time. I'm aiming for about 2 feet in height before I flip so based on their growth rate, I should be flipping in around 2 weeks, maybe a little less. I'm hoping they show me some sex by then.

I have all the materials needed for my upcoming room changes (pulling air from my unfinished basement into the tent and opening up an ac vent into the main room). I'll have it done in the next few days. Temp in the room is holding at 78F with RH at 42%. View Image

Your plants look to me like they are saying - "perfect climate" - keep up the good work, Jerry!

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

Thanks Chester! Going well so far. Bag seed 5 showed some sex this morning...oh well, one down.

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

So here we are at about 4.5 weeks for the bag seed and they all are starting to show sex. Some of the preflowers are still very small so I'm waiting a little bit on culling the males. I think I will be looking at 4 females and 2 males. I'm debating if I should take a few clones...again mainly for practice.

I'm debating getting the EZ Clone Classic 16. Does anyone have any experience with one of these...are there better ones to purchase or would one of these be a good one to grab?

 

[Crazy Chester]

That's cool they are showing sex, Jerry - won't be long now before you got some flowers - or pollen. Yeah, why not take some clones - due to my low light mom/dad room, I'm taking clones to replace the mom/dad often.

As to the EZ Clone Classic 16, I think the water cloners are the best way to clone. I've been suffering with a dome and rockwool for a while as I've told myself I'm going to build an EZ cloner, but, that project hasn't gotten to the top of the list yet. In any event, I think the EZ cloner will work well for you.

 

[Guest]

How are the plants going, Jerry? Hope everything is going well

 

[Guest]

Sorry for double posting, but it wouldnt let me edit for some reason.



In case you go with a cloner,I'd do what crazy chester suggested and make my own. You'll save heaps of money and its so simple. Check the following link out. That's how cheap you can go or even cheaper like a dwc with an airpump only. I used one and it worked, just gotta make sure it bubbles everywhere underneath and there aren't any dry patches



https://youtu.be/22tAeqMa9us

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

Thanks for the cloner link Ivan!

So a little update on the plants. I just transplanted the four bag seed ladies into 7 gallon fabric pots. Gonna veg for a few more days and then flip. The three (NL#2 x Chem) x OPG are just starting to show sex. Still officially undetermined but I may have 2 males and a single lady. A few more days and I should know for sure.

I noticed a lower fan leaf looking funny on one particular plant late last week. It looked to me like classic calcium deficiency which is odd given none of the other plants are showing the same and I have adequate dolomite lime in my soil mix. Regardless, I gave all the plants a light dose of Earth Juice's Cal-n-Mag at one teaspoon to a gallon of water. I know it could also be the start of a pH issue. I"m feeding plain tap water and an Earth Juice tea both adjusted to a pH of between 6.5-6.8 but I guess it isn't impossible my soil has gotten a little acidic. I'll let them adjust to the new pots and watch them close.

 

[Guest]

Hey Jerry, good to see an update.
Looks a bit like your plants didnt grow too well. I think mine,which had a bad start,caught up to youes or even took over in growth. Hard to say as o pruned mine heavy and gave them a LST treatment. Maybe youre r8ght about the ph...but I'd cut the leaf and check it out with a microscope for any pests.
Btw..i just made my own cloner bucket yesterday..i got itchy after you mentioned it...hehehe. it works beautiful. In the next days ill cut clones of the best growing strawberry Akeil.
Regards, Ivan

 

[Jerry_Garcia]

Interesting Ivan. I’m curious when you popped your seeds compared to mine and the growth you are getting. Different strains/different rates but still curious. The two bag seed females I didn’t LST are about 19”. The NL#2 cross that are about two weeks behind are around 12”. From seed and in soil I’m pleased with the growth rate of them all.