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Micro Adventures with Mr. Sparkle

M

Mr. Sparkle

Ashla's looking nice. I'm intrigued by the auto flowers. Do you have much experience with using them? How do they smoke?

Zero experience, as these are my first, and we will see.

I want to see how they compare to the photo-periods, in both just my veg box 18/6 schedule and also to see how they do under 12/12 under the same schedule as what i do with my photo-period seeds as they typically only take 10-11 weeks from germination to Harvest anyways, which is what an auto would finish under.

So unless they offer a gram per kWh used advantage, ill probably wont bother with them apart from being able to fill up Bogan with its veg timing.
 

pop_rocks

In my empire of dirt
Premium user
420club
"I want to see how they compare to the photo-periods, in both just my veg box 18/6 schedule and also to see how they do under 12/12 under the same schedule as what i do with my photo-period seeds as they typically only take 10-11 weeks from germination to Harvest anyways, which is what an auto would finish under."

you would expect there to be more growth in the plant that recieved more light
(18h is 50% more light, so i would think a similar gain is growth, no?)
very interested in your results

/your thread keeps getting more and more interesting
/needs more wind and ghosts
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

you would expect there to be more growth in the plant that received more light
(18h is 50% more light, so i would think a similar gain is growth, no?)
very interested in your results

/your thread keeps getting more and more interesting
/needs more wind and ghosts


Ideally i think we would like to assume so, but i know plants tend to have their own non-linear curves on what works best for them.

And thanks, also ill try a find some loafer dancing girls instead of ghosts and wind though, more entertaining.
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

Will post box pics tomorrow, but today i decided to chop three ladies, as they were all pretty much done, as in mostly cloudy trichomes and the plants were finishing out.

No high yields with these due to some grow issues, but still decent buds. Ill be interested in the one auto's yield but even still wont accurately reflect what's possible.

So here are the pics with some info.

Quick One Auto - Royal Queen Seeds
Had quite a few issues through its cycle, but nothing due to its genetics, all user related.
Seed To Harvest in 9 Weeks under 18/6 schedule

4gun103.jpg



Orange Bud - Dutch Passion Seeds *Clone
No where near as big as it could of been due to an issue caused by flushing other plants. Smells nice very compact super easy to trim.
8 weeks from 12-12 switch to harvest

9w104UG.jpg



Critical Cheese - Dinafem Seeds
User Related issues as well, has a weird sweet funky smell currently, it's not a bad thing just weird to me, wasn't planning to keep it, and won't be, just not my cup of tea, but we will see with the dried product.
8 weeks from 12-12 switch to harvest

xpJkW29.jpg
 
N

Navigator

Those homemade fabric pots look incredibly clean for their size. Seen a few DIY that look like potato sacks. Yours appear to be really well done. Nice work.
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

Those homemade fabric pots look incredibly clean for their size. Seen a few DIY that look like potato sacks. Yours appear to be really well done. Nice work.


Thanks, i've made more than my fair share of them, but it's just in the way you sew them.

Not that to many people would care to know or would be even making their own.

It's just two pieces of fabric ones a circle for the bottom and the other a rectangle a bit larger that the circumference of that circle with a width of however tall you want your pot to be.
Then you just sew the circles edge to the rectangle edge while turning the circle and once you're done the bottom you just pinch the two ends of the rectangle together and make one sew up the edge and lock the stitch and your done apart from trimming off any excess

Only trick is starting the rectangle a bit further in than the direct edge because it allows you to easily pinch the fabric for the side stitch.

And the bigger the pot the easier it is.

My smallest pots in use now have just a 7cm diameter and are 12cm tall, ive made smaller in the past but they were unnecessary for the most part.
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

The Weekly Picture Post:

No real issues to report slight nitrogen deficiency in Ashla but nothing major, and the farthest plants in Bogan still have a little issue getting water, but i have a possible solution to that.
I'm going to make a very shallow false bottom out of some corrugated expanded metal mesh, its typically used in industrial filters, but i'll make it shallow enough that the water can easily and evenly fill the bottom of the tray, but have it short enough that the pots will easily be able to touch the water level. As the advantages of using fabric pots to me is they as as a wick apart from the air pruning, so as long as they are able to touch the water they'll wick in what they need.

But we will test it out.

Here's Bogan:

The mother's needed to be cut down bad, so i took 3 cuttings of both the Lemon Kush and Orange Bud, and 2 of the C99, and just got rid of a lot of extra, but i was having issues with cloning as the medium was staying too wet and rotting the stems, but this time did a couple things different that will fix that issue hopefully, one was pre squeezing the media before putting it in the plastic pots i use for cloning and the second was i made a couple of spacers to get the pots off the bottom of the tray, so when the automated waterings happen the pots won't get touched, and i'll just hand water in a week plus if i even need to.

UwexGWw.jpg



Ashla:
I moved the one Orange Bud clone over, And the one 12/12 bubblegum seedling decided to stretch for the light cause it was hidden under another's plants lower fan leaf.

Is1IJWL.jpg
 
Last edited:
N

Navigator

Thanks, i've made more than my fair share of them, but it's just in the way you sew them.

Not that to many people would care to know or would be even making their own.

It's just two pieces of fabric ones a circle for the bottom and the other a rectangle a bit larger that the circumference of that circle with a width of however tall you want your pot to be.
Then you just sew the circles edge to the rectangle edge while turning the circle and once you're done the bottom you just pinch the two ends of the rectangle together and make one sew up the edge and lock the stitch and your done apart from trimming off any excess

Only trick is starting the rectangle a bit further in than the direct edge because it allows you to easily pinch the fabric for the side stitch.

And the bigger the pot the easier it is.

My smallest pots in use now have just a 7cm diameter and are 12cm tall, ive made smaller in the past but they were unnecessary for the most part.

Great info. I am assuming you have a machine? I am not a savvy sewer, but for the long run I think it would be worth it to learn. Especially for the small sizes. Still using nursery pots and considering the switch. May I ask where you are sourcing your fabric and what blend you prefer (ecofelt, biostrate, etc)?
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

Great info. I am assuming you have a machine? I am not a savvy sewer, but for the long run I think it would be worth it to learn. Especially for the small sizes. Still using nursery pots and considering the switch. May I ask where you are sourcing your fabric and what blend you prefer (ecofelt, biostrate, etc)?

Yes i have an old kenmore i've had for about 8 years now and it's From the 80's, i got it for free and just needed to get a bobbin cage "ebay" as it was missing it, then i just gave it a maintenance lube and have been using it since.

The older machines might not have all the fancy stitch options as new ones but they are typically more robust and usually more powerful even for their age, and for 98% of the stuff an occasional user such as myself does with one you don't need those features, but even still i could probably pick up the same machine locally through craigslist or whatever for less than $40 probably closer to $20 and under.

As for the fabric i'm just using some non-woven polyester cloth, that can be had at any fabric store for cheap, like each pot is literally a couple cents worth of fabric, i had a bunch of it for using it as a disposable breather cloth for composite vacuum laminations, but used some to make my own smartpots years ago, and it worked damn well and was durable as well, so haven't even tried anything else, as there was no need too.

Also having a sewing machine is handy skill and tool to have for a lot of other projects and repairs too, i definitely wouldn't give up mine and i'm more or less a minimalist to an extent, and have had mine follow me through 4 moves, and use it frequently enough to warrant having one.
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

So as the one 12/12 xl bubblegum seedling in ashla was getting out grown and covered up again, and her sisters in bogan are a good week ahead of her due to the 18/6 cycle, im chopping one of the Auto Mazars to make room, so i can put her in bogan for a week or two.

She was pretty much done anyways, would of liked to have about another half a week, but she's mainly cloudy with ambers on the tips.

No high yields, or really nicely done buds on this one due to the issues i ran into, so now you can see when things don't go as well as intended, the other Auto Mazar is worse, but she still has at least a week to go.

xYJVYC0.jpg
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

Also the box pics will come probably monday as ill be away.

But update wise, i made a false bottom for the trays to allow easy water flow, made them level again instead of slanted, and tweaked the water programming, the girls seem to be enjoying it, and are alot more evenly watered.
 

Arf

Member
So as the one 12/12 xl bubblegum seedling in ashla was getting out grown and covered up again, and her sisters in bogan are a good week ahead of her due to the 18/6 cycle, im chopping one of the Auto Mazars to make room, so i can put her in bogan for a week or two.

She was pretty much done anyways, would of liked to have about another half a week, but she's mainly cloudy with ambers on the tips.

No high yields, or really nicely done buds on this one due to the issues i ran into, so now you can see when things don't go as well as intended, the other Auto Mazar is worse, but she still has at least a week to go.

View Image

That photo looks very similar to the columnar pheno that dominates Top44, how tall was it in the end?
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

That photo looks very similar to the columnar pheno that dominates Top44, how tall was it in the end?

The structure was like most other plants that want to have the pine tree shape, i can't say how it compares to top 44 other than by pictures but a lot of genetics stack that way.

As for height she was the shorter one, and ended up only about 8-9" tall, plants in the other box typically are in the 11-13" range or are at least kept that short due to height requirements.

That's nice shot there. Talk about a 1 bud plant. Good job.
negative

Thanks Negative
 

doams

Member
Very nice case you got there few questions:
1. what size pots?
2. Do you make them /pots/ yourself?
3. Are you bottom feeding the plants from that reservoir above case?
4. Is that thing at the back of case at the pipe water pump or is it some sort of blocking device which opens for few seconds to let feed mix just flow thru pipe with just gravity power?
5. are you running the lights at 12/12?
6. not a question but would love to see how is that carbon filter made and how it works been battling the smell using tons of ona which works but its expensive using like 15litres of ona gel/per round currently.

thnx!
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

Very nice case you got there few questions:
1. what size pots?
2. Do you make them /pots/ yourself?
3. Are you bottom feeding the plants from that reservoir above case?
4. Is that thing at the back of case at the pipe water pump or is it some sort of blocking device which opens for few seconds to let feed mix just flow thru pipe with just gravity power?
5. are you running the lights at 12/12?
6. not a question but would love to see how is that carbon filter made and how it works been battling the smell using tons of ona which works but its expensive using like 15litres of ona gel/per round currently.

thnx!


1. 7cm dia x 12cm tall, but not filled to the top so around 400-420ml
2. Yep explained it a couple pages back
3. Yes again
4. 12V Valve for dumping Nutrient mix into tray, when my soil sensor say it's too dry, and yes gravity fed.
5: Ashla "white box" 12/12, Bogan "Black Box" 18/6
6. The carbon filter was made out of galvanized tin and bent and cut into more or less two pieces that were riveted together apart from the screen and magnet attachments, as it help on by magnets for easy removal, but it has a 2" thick layer of carbon, and it works reasonably well for most strains that are not super pungent, really stinky strains overpower it, but i also run an air purifier in the same room as backup and general circulation, which helps as well.
 
M

Mr. Sparkle

Weekly update:

Bogans doing great, noticed that the trays still work better with a slight slant as one side it a tad wetter "fine tuning", due to a couple reasons but to remedy it, i've re propped them up on the dump tube side, but they are half ways between where they were before and flat. should be good, also adjusted bogans programing some more, just cause the soil sensor runs wetter at the same setting as the other box.
Also shes getting crowded and the 4 Photoperiod seedlings need to get moved over to Ashla.

Ashla:
Not much just slanted the tray as well, and she's running good, the plants are enjoying it and the false bottom trays, would like to transfer over the 4 photoperiod seedlings but they will be crowded so i'd like to clear out a couple plants, but might not have a choice as only the Cherry Bomb and Lemon Kush Clone are almost ready, but the Cherry Bomb might be end of the week or sooner and its a mixture of cloudy and clear and amber at tips, and the lemon kush next week as its still going.

But saying that i'm at the point where i need to throw the seedlings over, or if i veg them some more they will stretch to much once in flower. but at the same time being crowded in Ashla they will stretch anyways, so have to decide what i'm gonna do.

Which brings up another problem, i'm gone for a bit over a week shortly, so have to decide, do i let the plants run out while im away and potentially have an over done plant mainly the cherry bomb, or chop them early to get a decent drying curing cycle started by the time i leave, or cut them just before i leave which will risk them becoming too dry over the time im away, there are few ways around it i guess, but currently need to think about it, chime in if you have an idea or something that has worked for you in the past in a similar situation.

On to the pics

Bogan:
iNPVaO2.jpg


Ashla:
ZtStHgD.jpg
 

doams

Member
1. 7cm dia x 12cm tall, but not filled to the top so around 400-420ml
2. Yep explained it a couple pages back
3. Yes again
4. 12V Valve for dumping Nutrient mix into tray, when my soil sensor say it's too dry, and yes gravity fed.
5: Ashla "white box" 12/12, Bogan "Black Box" 18/6
6. The carbon filter was made out of galvanized tin and bent and cut into more or less two pieces that were riveted together apart from the screen and magnet attachments, as it help on by magnets for easy removal, but it has a 2" thick layer of carbon, and it works reasonably well for most strains that are not super pungent, really stinky strains overpower it, but i also run an air purifier in the same room as backup and general circulation, which helps as well.

1. 7cm dia x 12cm tall, but not filled to the top so around 400-420ml
2. Yep explained it a couple pages back
3. Yes again
4. 12V Valve for dumping Nutrient mix into tray, when my soil sensor say it's too dry, and yes gravity fed.
5: Ashla "white box" 12/12, Bogan "Black Box" 18/6
6. The carbon filter was made out of galvanized tin and bent and cut into more or less two pieces that were riveted together apart from the screen and magnet attachments, as it help on by magnets for easy removal, but it has a 2" thick layer of carbon, and it works reasonably well for most strains that are not super pungent, really stinky strains overpower it, but i also run an air purifier in the same room as backup and general circulation, which helps as well.

Great info very helpfull yet still dont fully understand how exactly is carbon placed inside carbon filter is it like horizontally or vertically placed inside?

Are you maybe willing to make a simle drawing for me for better understanding when you will have time for this still dont fully get it? /blame my head stupidity please/.

Ive tried to make carbon filter myself some time ago but main problem was carbon was placed between two fans Ive just placed carbon into one fan case ive removed shovel from middle fan using heat and filled the space with carbon and that carbon filled fan space was between two fans like middle fan without shovel just used it like a case for carbon imagine three fans put together middle fan was filled with carbon but the problem was carbon was pressed and back fan which was pulling air into carbon was not strong enough to blow thru carbon and all air was just striked back now i know I had to use sucking power insead of blowing power.. still got it in case but its just not working at all. Thats why im intrested in your design so much :)

plants look healthy and its the best pc case Ive seen good sir! :)
 

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
You may try letting them dry "on the vine" if it's only a week or two. Basically put them somewhere dark and leave them until you get back. They should slowly die, then start drying. May even still be wet when you get back.
 

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