They look so cute so far. Subbed for this. 
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Diary Lets grow some weed
- Thread starter exploziv
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aliceklar
Well-known member
Ah, yeah, that would make a difference! They often seem to be most active, and enter via the drainage holes, rather than the top (which is why I dont think keeping the compost drier helps a great deal, as to keep them off you would need the whole thing to be bone dry, which would not be good for the plants..)
A better way is to water from the bottom, so top of the soil is always almost dry, and that stimulates the roots to fill the bottom of the container too. I think this with the help of the gravel cover should do it. If i managed to get rid of gnats when I caught them late, I think this will be a success, too!
About those gnats brother...
Have you tried BTI ? Watering with it twice in a 10 day period sorted them out quickly everytime I had them.
Many forms available, mosquito dunks probably the most common form. But you can also get a tiny bottle of drip solution...
CC
Have you tried BTI ? Watering with it twice in a 10 day period sorted them out quickly everytime I had them.
Many forms available, mosquito dunks probably the most common form. But you can also get a tiny bottle of drip solution...
CC
As i said already, I can't find any bti products around here. But the gnat problem is already fixed, me thinks.
I did find 2 or 3 random flyers around the tent after I put the gravel in the pots, but they don't seem to be able to get into the soil anymore.
Anyway, plants started growing more vigurously, at 1 day after last pics they were already double in size, so everything good.
Today or tommorow I will do last tests on the VPD controller and then roll with it to see if it does what I planned.
I had some set backs because the fan speed controllers I have don't work on solid state relays but then I ditched them and now I am controlling the fans speed straight from my controller, digitally. Who needs a separate dial when you can just have seamless digital speed changes based on vpd?
I did find 2 or 3 random flyers around the tent after I put the gravel in the pots, but they don't seem to be able to get into the soil anymore.
Anyway, plants started growing more vigurously, at 1 day after last pics they were already double in size, so everything good.
Today or tommorow I will do last tests on the VPD controller and then roll with it to see if it does what I planned.
I had some set backs because the fan speed controllers I have don't work on solid state relays but then I ditched them and now I am controlling the fans speed straight from my controller, digitally. Who needs a separate dial when you can just have seamless digital speed changes based on vpd?
For gnats there is a product called Tanlin or Nilnat by a company called canadian express.
Expensive for a small bottle but you only use 2 drops in a gallon. some kind of inert crystal that the larva ingest and it kills them. i've just started with it and it seems to work. They have it on amazon in the UK.
VG
Expensive for a small bottle but you only use 2 drops in a gallon. some kind of inert crystal that the larva ingest and it kills them. i've just started with it and it seems to work. They have it on amazon in the UK.
VG
News are good so far, no gnat flyers for the last 2 days, plants started growing well (most of them are at node 2/3), no larvae seen in soil.
Also I finally installed and tested ventilation, time to write the code tommorow to control room temp and humidity by VPD. I run some tests today and I can change humidity % by 30 points in under 5 minutes, both when adding humidity and when venting it. Works much faster than the bigger rooms that take half an hour or more to fix. Also this controller should be more efficient than the one I usually use to fix temp and humidity independently.
Anyway, light is at around 45W now and soon i will go 50%. Will probably post an update with pics over the weekend.
Also I finally installed and tested ventilation, time to write the code tommorow to control room temp and humidity by VPD. I run some tests today and I can change humidity % by 30 points in under 5 minutes, both when adding humidity and when venting it. Works much faster than the bigger rooms that take half an hour or more to fix. Also this controller should be more efficient than the one I usually use to fix temp and humidity independently.
Anyway, light is at around 45W now and soon i will go 50%. Will probably post an update with pics over the weekend.
Thinking about VPD in mini setups and even attempting to control it is so cool.
I'm trying the same right now after a chart for flowering cannabis. My temperature is relatively stable and I have a dehuey that I'm now hooking up to a humidity controller to rh where it needs to be for the right VPD.
I'll be watching you closely Sir.
CC
I'm trying the same right now after a chart for flowering cannabis. My temperature is relatively stable and I have a dehuey that I'm now hooking up to a humidity controller to rh where it needs to be for the right VPD.
I'll be watching you closely Sir.
CC
Well, this grow is done with random pieces and bits I got laying around so I am trying to add the most I can from what I got in my spare time.
The controller I am working with is my arduino test setup with spare sensors and some custom "shields" i made to easily connect sensors and AC stuff. I didn't even make a box for it, all parts are just laying around in a foodsaver box, except of the mains (220 V AC) parts that are in a insulated electric box.
By the end of this grow, if this works well it has a chance to replace my main controller. Till then I hope to dig around a find a bigger display that I know I have hidden somewhere. What's for sure is that this will evolve and will probably look totally different by the time I finish with it. Hopefully more organised..
The controller I am working with is my arduino test setup with spare sensors and some custom "shields" i made to easily connect sensors and AC stuff. I didn't even make a box for it, all parts are just laying around in a foodsaver box, except of the mains (220 V AC) parts that are in a insulated electric box.
By the end of this grow, if this works well it has a chance to replace my main controller. Till then I hope to dig around a find a bigger display that I know I have hidden somewhere. What's for sure is that this will evolve and will probably look totally different by the time I finish with it. Hopefully more organised..
I took some pics. They are kinda rushed but I didn't have much time to play around. I promise better pics once plants grow up a bit.
As you can see they all started growing well, even the little one that is abit behind. I hope she catches up to her sisters soon.
Light is now set at around 50% on the dial (actual watage 55w out of 138W) and as you can see in the last pic it is very bright already. I will slowly up the wattage during next week, and then change lighting schedule from 24 hours to 16 hours of light per day. So far I am very happy with the TS 1000 led panel, can't wait to see what it can do in full power and when plants go to flowering stage.
As you can see they all started growing well, even the little one that is abit behind. I hope she catches up to her sisters soon.
Light is now set at around 50% on the dial (actual watage 55w out of 138W) and as you can see in the last pic it is very bright already. I will slowly up the wattage during next week, and then change lighting schedule from 24 hours to 16 hours of light per day. So far I am very happy with the TS 1000 led panel, can't wait to see what it can do in full power and when plants go to flowering stage.
Yeah the fancy white marble is killing me too hahaha
Is that perlite?
- No Sir, it is the finest marble around.
hahaha
Maybe time to upgrade and throw in some gold hardware for good measure?
Wishing all the best brother
CC
Is that perlite?
- No Sir, it is the finest marble around.
hahaha
Maybe time to upgrade and throw in some gold hardware for good measure?
Wishing all the best brother
CC
All that while mantaining soil humidity and lowering soil surface temperature, like any mulch does.
aliceklar
Well-known member
Winner!
Actually it seems it may be a bit too efficient at keeping soil moisture, 3 days has passed since last watering and soil humidity dropped just 3 % in this time. If I didn't have the soil probes I would have watered way sooner that it's needed.
Anyway, from now on most watering will be done from the bottom of the pots, except the ones where I add nutes, when needed.
Except of what I put initially in the soil mix, only things I added since are water and a powder root stimulant (added around the plants before I covered them with gravel).
So far the gnat problem seems fixed. Will check for larvae once in a while but no new fliers on yellow tapes, so that's a good sign.
Been also reading about how marble can raise water ph in aquariums while showly disolving and wondering if it can do that in soil as well, but I am not too worried since my mix is a bit on the acidic scale because of all the peats and moss. The grow will be finished in months and most waterings will be done from the bottom so the process should be barely happening in my pots. Marble should also leach a bit of Ca when it disolves. If anyone has more info on this please enlighten us, this is all I could find on the subject so far.
Also plants growing out like crazy. The bigger ones were doubled in size 1 day after last pic and the small one was about three times the size. So she is indeed catching up.
Light is now at 65W, will up it by 10-20 W every day or so. Also need to raise it a bit since plants have grown.
See you guys soon!
Anyway, from now on most watering will be done from the bottom of the pots, except the ones where I add nutes, when needed.
Except of what I put initially in the soil mix, only things I added since are water and a powder root stimulant (added around the plants before I covered them with gravel).
So far the gnat problem seems fixed. Will check for larvae once in a while but no new fliers on yellow tapes, so that's a good sign.
Been also reading about how marble can raise water ph in aquariums while showly disolving and wondering if it can do that in soil as well, but I am not too worried since my mix is a bit on the acidic scale because of all the peats and moss. The grow will be finished in months and most waterings will be done from the bottom so the process should be barely happening in my pots. Marble should also leach a bit of Ca when it disolves. If anyone has more info on this please enlighten us, this is all I could find on the subject so far.
Also plants growing out like crazy. The bigger ones were doubled in size 1 day after last pic and the small one was about three times the size. So she is indeed catching up.
Light is now at 65W, will up it by 10-20 W every day or so. Also need to raise it a bit since plants have grown.
See you guys soon!
Hello again! I just passed 100W on the light, so I took some pics to update this thread. Plants are 1-2 days away from having 2 weeks veg (from germination). Soon they will get from 24 hours of light a day to 16 hours a day, and they will also get the full led power of 138W.
The gnats you see on the yellow traps are all the gnats that I caught since I put the gravel on the soil, so far no larvae seen in soil, they are probably just the adults that remained alive. Hopefully there will be none in the future. Have to check how much does a fungus gnat live but I guess it's not much.
There are some darker spots on leaves of 2 of the plants, dunno why, hope they won't show more. If they progress I will try to identify the problem.
plants are all same colour but I took 2 of the close-up pics with light on and 2 of them with light off.
Environment is 23.5 degrees C, RH 75%, VPD 6.
soil humidity is still high, basically they just lost 5% soil humidity since last watering, which was before last update, about 4-5 days ago. Clearly the gravel is very efficent at keeping water in so I will have to water them less.
The gnats you see on the yellow traps are all the gnats that I caught since I put the gravel on the soil, so far no larvae seen in soil, they are probably just the adults that remained alive. Hopefully there will be none in the future. Have to check how much does a fungus gnat live but I guess it's not much.
There are some darker spots on leaves of 2 of the plants, dunno why, hope they won't show more. If they progress I will try to identify the problem.
plants are all same colour but I took 2 of the close-up pics with light on and 2 of them with light off.
Environment is 23.5 degrees C, RH 75%, VPD 6.
soil humidity is still high, basically they just lost 5% soil humidity since last watering, which was before last update, about 4-5 days ago. Clearly the gravel is very efficent at keeping water in so I will have to water them less.
aliceklar
Well-known member
Looking fine!
I wouldnt worry about the soil humidity - itll just be because the plants are still relatively small compared to the size of the pots. Once their roots have filled the pots, and they have more leaf mass to transpire with, they will get thirstier! I've one auto in my current grow which is way smaller than the regs that surround it, as I planted it later so that they would mature at roughly the same time. I have to keep reminding myself not to water it for those same reasons.
