midwest growers unite

[Chef Dude]

bababooey: no they are not all necessary, really no supplements are necessary for a soil grow, but every one of the supplements I use does have a noticeable and profound(in most cases of advanced nutes) effect on quality, quantity, and total grow time. the soil i use is miracle gro's organic choice garden soil and i also use miracle grow dustless perlite. the mix is 1 cubic foot of dirt to 10 gallons of perlite, i like a very loose mix so that i get better drainage and aeration of the soil and it also makes my plants not have to push roots as hard to get through the soil. this allows me bigger root systems especially with using voo-doo juice(which I would never grow without), and we all know the healthier the root system the better the end product. this soil mixture also allows me to not give base nutes for at least three weeks which saves money and also eases the clone into its new home. during those three weeks i still give them tarantula, piranah, carboload and sweet leaf twice to three times a week depending on uptake rates and soil water retention and voodoo juice once every three weeks throughout veg and once in the first week of flower. base nutes dont start for at least 2 weeks but sometimes as much as three depending on performance and needs of my babies.

 

[PhilCuisine]

white ash....

white ash....

PhilCuisine's schrom burns down to a nice, white ash...

is a sign of a fully flushed out plant...im getting close to running out of shrom, gots 1 jar left. but i gots a gardenful of great strains w/schroms grown in soil and water, again i've been chopping down plants bout every 2 weeks. here's a link to my garden video. this is my set it and forget it, no meters, no res change method of growing. my method of hydro growing is/was possible b/c of chicagoland tap water, it rules. wish i could say lake michigan water but i guess it all depneds on your city or town's water filtration systems. Hope this helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bXKBzKhaek&feature=channel_page

Disclaimer: what works for me might not work for u, u gots to do ur experiments....

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/2094icmag_123-med.jpg

 

[guest]

I killed Bob today. No need for the extra pollen count in the air.

Collected pollen on cotton pads. Then lightly tapped the cotton over the lower branches of the female. Still hoping to have the top conna for consumption along with seeds.

Can see seeds forming now ..

This is great!

Next, I get to see if this strain can be kept in veg cycle with 24 hour light.

If so, I'll be able to get clones and much larger yield.

 

[Bababooey]

CD: mg makes a surprisingly good looking soil with their organic choise. ive never bought fox farm, but mg organic choice is pretty rich and black and its not even any more expensive than their potting soil.
so is that basically a 1:1 soil to perlite mix? or is there more perlite than soil? either way, thats a pretty aerated mix...
can you give us your nute regimen? Like im using rezdog's formula now, which is :
(All Products are GenHydro,pH at 6.0)
(All measurements are per gal.)
6ml flora micro
9ml flora bloom
5ml Floralicious (during week 3 of a 4-5week,24-on,veg cycle.)

Week 5,transition into flower-6.0 pH h20 at <100ppm


Based on 63 day 12/12 Flower Cycle:

Day 1-14
6ml micro
9ml bloom

Day 15-21
6ml micro
9ml bloom
7ml Kool-Bloom Liquid (0-10-10)

Day 22-28
9ml Bloom

Day 29-35
9ml Bloom
7ml Kool-Bloom Liquid (0-10-10)

Day 36-52
9 ml Bloom

Day 50-63 (Flush)
6.0 pH h20 at <100 ppm

im going to use about 2/3 of the amounts he gives at first, just on the safe side.
What is your regimen for your organic soil mix?

PC: Your weed indeed burned white, but the problem with dank weed is that its leaves a lot of resin behind, so that one little hit encrusted my bowl with a layer of hard, black goo. that's probably the only time that bong is ever that clean again.
I like that video. Were there any phototrons in that video, or did i just miss them? how big is that space again? hard to tell with the mylar; it could be surpringly big or surprisingly small. knowing you, its probably not small. whats the deal with all those ropes hanging from the ceiling? that to hold the branches up as they get heavier? too bad you cant talk. is there a program where you can have text on the screen to explain stuff as we're seeing it? (theres the white widow, i keep my clones here, etc).

PB: usually when i see seed pods im not too happy, but your's are intentional...

 

[guest]

These seeds cracked about 12/17.

35 days later seeds forming.

 

[guest]

One take two.

22 days into flower

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVY_SuZfMJ8&feature=channel_page

AK47.

To big in a cramped area for still pictures to capture the whole thing.

 

[Chef Dude]

dudes nute and supp regimine

dudes nute and supp regimine

all mesurements are per gal
flowering is based on 56- 63 day cycle
veg is 30 days from clones hitting dirt
clones usually take 14days to root completely and then go into 10oz cups of soil for 7 days to acclimate to the soil environment before going into the 5 gal grow bags, and im actually going to switch to 3gal grow bags and upping my plant count to 30(hopefully staying around the same size) for the next generation that started today. YAY!! New babies to love! I need to go start a new grow journal now that i think of it.

clones: 1qt. distilled water and 1oz jumpstart sprayed multiple times a day in spongy grow plugs.

veg: weeks 1-4
2oz Botanicare pure blend pro grow 3-1.5-4
2g Piranha 0-0-0
2g Tarantula 0-0-0
1Tbsp. Miracle grow oganic choice blood meal(this is per plant)**
1oz voo-doo juice(this is 1 application every 3 weeks, so two apps including one in second week of 12/12)
1/2oz. Sweet leaf 0-0-1
1g carbo load powder 0-0-0

flower:weeks 5-9
2oz Botanicare pure blend pro bloom 2.5-2-5(weeks 5-8)
1oz voo-doo juice 0-0-0 (only one application the second week of 12/12!!)
2g bud blood 0-39-25(first week only but every 2 days like clockwork)
2g big bud 0-15-40 (weeks 6-8)
1oz Sweet leaf 0-0-1(weeks 5-9)
1.5g Carboload 0-0-0 (weeks 5-9)
1/2 oz Overdrive 1-5-4 (weeks 5.5-8)

as far as soil goes im using miracle gro oganic choice garden soil and miracle grow dustless perlite at a ratio of 1cu. ft dirt to 10 gal of perlite (one bag dirt to 5 bags perlite)

hope this is helpful, I really had to stretch my stoned ass brain to get it all in print

 

[PhilCuisine]

nice vid...

nice vid...

peanut....my vid's resolution suck's and it's one of them hd video cams...any way here's some answer's..
Bab's no tron's in that video just go to my channel for more swc/tron grows.
u know what, i never really measured it..prolly bout 4ft. by 10 ft. ropes hanging down were from my previous grow the hell raiser grow room, go back a few pages and check out the difference. needed them for the huge braches that formed last grow. prolly wont need them this grow. did not talk b/c my voice is distinct way too many ppl know me from the board of trade and they will recognize my voice...ha ha...btw. i think i might have given u and another guy here on this thread my "Hawiian Punch" strain i made, not the Strawberry O'wreck. Sorry, it's still from good pedigree tho, so grow it out. it will have a punch to it. Hope this helps.

Ps...postin' pix sux now, not as easy as b4..so i wont be postin anymore pix.

 

[Bababooey]

PB: nice shot of the scrogged ak. looks like a good 30+ colas there. i tell ya, you dont need hids if you have enough flouros. im guessing you got close to 400 watts of cfls in there. you probably told us but i forgot.
also, is that the plant that's seeded? i know you told us that too but i forgot (damn stoner moment).
i just checked the last couple pages and i didnt see where it said which one was seeded. icmag is running slow these days.. i need to archive these pages.

CD: thanks for the recipe! that thing is complicated, no wonder you had trouble getting it all down.
i have a couple questions, please dont be mad:
the 'spongy grow plugs' you refer to, do you mean rapid rooters?
the blood meal: do you mix it in the water jug or do you sprinkle it on top of your soil?
2 oz of pbp is almost 60ml per gallon, basically 4 TB per gallon. this seems a lot to me. i tried searching for other icmagger's formulas and from the short search i did it seems other people are using less. obviously your experience is different but in your estimation are you just short of overnuting them (which is a good thing, you want to give them all they can handle without harming them).
do you use the hydro or soil version of pbp bloom?
the PBP line seems to me to be analogous to the GH Floranova series of nutes, which are one part bottles, a veg formula and a grow formula. FN is also at least partially organic and people say its thick, id imagine pbp is too (from the botanicare website, it's got all sort of organic ingredients in there like guano, kelp, etc)
when you say you use 1 bag soil to 5 bags perlite, that one soil bag is the big bag, right? so it's like a 65:35 mix of soil to perlite?
most of your supps seem to be from Advanced Nutrients. you dont use their base nutes, just their supps?
how long have you been tweaking this recipe? ive had some pretty successful grows in the past but still trying to get things dialed in.
i find your recipe intriguing and something i might take a chance on if i want to go organic soil. do you think organic soil gives the best flavor? my friend raves about the stuff he's smoked that was grown organic soil. you said youre moving to aeroponics so maybe you dont care about the difference in flavor that much. i dont know how realistic it is that i switch mediums cause a) i dont want to spend all that money and b) i dont know if i want to deal with that much soil (water comes in and out through my pipes, soil, not so much).

PC: yeah, i can see your plants are mostly in veg now, i saw one flowering. nice job filling that space up again, i hope to have my turnover problems sorted out soon (didnt help that i had to chop two tubs because my thai hermied).
i was thinking of cracking northern whites since ive always wanted to try NL and white widow. so the strawberry owreck is actually hawaiian punch? good to know. im sure its dank.
check this thread out about uploading photos.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=108848
ive subscribed to your channel.
check out this guy: http://www.youtube.com/user/hashbean420
he's sort of my stoner hero. he's a eurohippy, but he's cool.

 

[jalajaslet]

Hello to my fellow Deeeetroiiiit growers

Hello to my fellow Deeeetroiiiit growers

I started my grow Diary. I am a medical grower/user....well the the grower part is new since Dec 4th however the user part.....Well, hell, there's a foot of snow out there, what do you expect me to do but sit back, relax and get my smoke on? Hopefully can get to know a few local fellow growers who will share their knowledge and expertise with me here. I have been a member of the Michigan Medical Cannabis Community Online since Dec, but that web site is pretty new, not a whole lot of members and although i have received a WHOLE LOT of help from members of that board, i am hoping to find additional help and support here as well, So please feel free to check out my grow diary and give me your input. I have been unable to get my pics small enough to load to a reply page, however a have a few in an album attached to my user id....

Peace....

 

[Chef Dude]

Bababooey: first off im always happy to answer questions, never hesitate to ask, please. Spongey grow plugs are "Rapid Rooters", I found the package they came in the first time i bought them(then I learned about bulk from http://www.plh.com ). second i sprinkle the bloodmeal once every two weeks, with a spoon from my kitchen. all of my other nutes and supps are delivered by 3gal pesticide sprayer one plant at a time with a stop watch in hand to make sure they all get the same love. third yes you are right it is a high amount of pbp but with such a light mix that im using(ie so much perlite so little dirt) I am basicly running a hand powered hydro system with a low amount of soil and starter nutes to ease the clones into the dirt environment. the mixture drains so fast that i water in between feedings as well, usually feed every 3 days and water at least once in between with 6gal/20 plants. A feeding is ten gallons of tea/ 20 plants. In the veg room its a little different, those only get 5 gal of tea/ 20 plants every 3 days and 3gal/20plants water in between. therefore they are getting flushed in between. I just use the floor of my grow tent to collect the water and then it becomes humidity and i sit nice and pretty at 55%almost steadily, never seen a bug or mold in this set up yet. and yes i guess you could say i take it to the brink as far as nutes and supps go but they are all organic save for overdrive and its 95% organic, so I am very comfortable with the threshold I have set for them in the environment that they are in. the pbp bloom is the hydro version I believe and both the grow and bloom are organic, this is why I chose them. My goal is to take the great things from organic with the benefits of modern science, and see how it compares to the best chem grow I have done. soil is 1 cubic foot bag to 5-8 quart bags of perlite id say it comes out to a volume of about 25 gallons when all mixed up. Oh I also add a cup of dolemitic lime to my soil as an organic ph buffer and i mix it in the dirt box before planting. yes all my supps are AN and for obvious financial reasons(look up all those supp prices here http://www.discountadvancednutrients.com/, so I had to find a cheaper alternative to Iguana, which i will be buying soon. I actually just researched and decided upon this recipe at the start of this grow and I only had to tweak it once, and that was to up it, and it was good. Yes I can't say it enough the flavor is second to none and my pers will always be grown in dirt and 100% organic, no two ways about it. i highly recommend trying just a couple along side your tables and just seeing the difference, it wouldnt take much space, and theres always at least one more cutting that can be taken!
The move to aeroponics is because I want to build a completely computerized system with the intelliclimate controllers and dosers and that costs a lot of money. Also, I want to have a 110% controlled environment, tweakable at a keystroke of my computer, I want to take the best genetics I can find and Breed it Until its ten times better and then give it to my father who has emphasima( in non smoke form of course) so that his last years can at least be comfortable and human. I wont lie either I want to be notarized for what I can do, I want to be a household name like gypsy and shanti and mr nice and all the others.

 

[Bababooey]

Ah, so your mix is 15 gallons mg organic choice soil to 10 gallons perlite, with a cup of lime. Gotcha.
The watering in between feedings makes sense, it's probably too much to feed them every watering.
I saw that AN site last night and yeah, those prices are steep. they seem like they have some decent package deals though.
when you researched this recipe, did you basically copy it from some other grower or is it an amalgamation of several different recipes? its impressive that you decided to start off with so many supps.
i might consider keeping a couple organic soil grow bags in the ol' closet, just to see the difference. i dont know that ill be using all the supps you're using though, cause dangit im not sure i want to spend that much money unless it's for a used 1k and a light mover. i have blood and bone meal and lime and mg organic and perlite, maybe i can do a cheapo organic run?
your desire for a computer-controlled grow room sounds like a book i just read: "The New New Thing" by Michael Lewis. It's a biography on Jim Clark, founder of Netscape, Silicon Graphics, and WebMD. He's a billionaire from silicon valley who decided he wanted to build a massive sailboat that was completely computer controlled. He wanted to be able to sail it by computer from anywhere in the world; he could be at his home and sail it in the Indian Ocean.
good luck with that project. your breeding plans sound ambitious but you seem like a go-getter so i wouldn't put it past you.

 

[PhilCuisine]

Had to creat an album to upload...

Had to creat an album to upload...

I used to get my advance nutes on ebay b/c they dont sell it at B&G.....Hope this helps.

got it just today from accross the pond..Blockhead strain...gots to return the case filled with TW cuttings...

my 3 banger in 1 bucket....Rainbow Kush

schrom in soil pregnant with Vietnam Gold seeds

MTF nuff sed...

Ms.O'wreck 2

Flame n Kush....looks like a very sativa pheno

MTF in soil fully flushed and pregnant with seeds

whole garden as of today....Hope this helps.

Edit: sorry didnt mean to make the pix so big..still trying to get a hang on this uploading pix thing.

 

[Bababooey]

PC: Yeah PC, i meant to ask you what your nute regimen is. I know you mentioned the brand you use, which wasn't GH, but i'd still like to know your 'recipe' if its not too much trouble.
Those cuttings look good! Didnt know you could send cuttings that simply. Gonna have to try it out sometime... thats just a ziploc with some water sprayed inside, not even a wet paper towel?
That last pic is a good shot of the overall grow. The ones in the middle left seem to be about the same size. how tall were they when you put them in? how tall will they finish?
Also, is it a pain to reach the plants in the back? do you have to move the stuff in the front to get to the back ones? my space is only 2 feet deep so i dont have that problem, if you call having more room a problem....
good to see youre still rocking the trons. im sure that when they get bigger theyre pressed up against the flouros: ever get leaf burn from that? i keep my mom under flouro tubes and when they grow up against it i get some burn, which inhibits the number of clones i can take. i need to train my moms better, have to stay on top of that...
and i know you mentioned this before but how much wattage are you running in that space? is that an mh light? looks very white...
sorry about all the questions. ive just been thinking that once i get my closet dialed in, a 1k on a lightmover would be much better than 2x400's....gotta learn to walk before i can run though.

 

[PhilCuisine]

PC: Yeah PC, i meant to ask you what your nute regimen is. I know you mentioned the brand you use, which wasn't GH, but i'd still like to know your 'recipe' if its not too much trouble.
Don't really have one bro, i just look at the plant.
Those cuttings look good! Didnt know you could send cuttings that simply. Gonna have to try it out sometime... thats just a ziploc with some water sprayed inside, not even a wet paper towel?
These cuttings came all the way from Europe bro...can't believe it made it thru customs.
That last pic is a good shot of the overall grow. The ones in the middle left seem to be about the same size. how tall were they when you put them in? how tall will they finish?
Them are my bonsai moms Ms.O'wreck 1 & 2..btw, Ms.O'wreck 2 is growing like my Train Wreck which is right next to it. Ms.O'wreck 1 is growing more indica like, not the same as the real deal TW.
Also, is it a pain to reach the plants in the back? do you have to move the stuff in the front to get to the back ones? my space is only 2 feet deep so i dont have that problem, if you call having more room a problem....
Hell no, I gots a funnel with a hose at the end and the lids on my buckets have a couple of holes on them, each hole is bout 2" for the hose..don't have to lift the lids to add water or nutes.
good to see youre still rocking the trons. im sure that when they get bigger theyre pressed up against the flouros: ever get leaf burn from that? i keep my mom under flouro tubes and when they grow up against it i get some burn, which inhibits the number of clones i can take. i need to train my moms better, have to stay on top of that...
Gots to train the branches away from the lights the 1st. 3wks. then it gets easier.
and i know you mentioned this before but how much wattage are you running in that space? is that an mh light? looks very white...
sorry about all the questions. ive just been thinking that once i get my closet dialed in, a 1k on a lightmover would be much better than 2x400's....gotta learn to walk before i can run though.
Very good Babs, u noticed that huh....i decided to use MH this time round 1K just for the hell of it.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bababooey]

This midwest growers thread is quickly becoming bababooey's personal question and answer page. sorry all, but i need to get my shiznit dialed in, im really cheating myself out of yield, so you'll all have to bear with me for a bit longer.

PC: What do you look for when a plant needs nutes? Conversely, what do you look for when a plant just needs water, no nutes?
Everyone says that when you can read your plants, thats when you know you have it.
and when a plant needs more nutes, how much do you give it? what do you give it? does it vary?
I know the basic signs (burnt leaf tips -> overnuting; yellowing -> undernuting) but is there something else i should be looking for before it gets to that point?
yeah, cuttings can be real stinky. u'd have to think if they can smell a seed they can smell a live cutting.
one of my 400w ballasts is an mh ballast. I run a sunmaster neutral deluxe bulb, supposed to replicate natural sunlight and be good for all grow phases. It still looks way more white than an hps, but i cant tell any difference in yields after two harvests. of course, the fact the hps is right next to it means that every plant gets some hps, but if it made a difference you'd think id be able to tell by now.
i dont think youll notice much of a difference in yield, if any.

 

[astartes]

Bababooey ---

From your pics, it looks like all your problems are stemming from an off pH. Your plants still uptaking nitrogen well, but are showing signs of pH swing by throwing 1,2,4 bladed leaves.

If your pH is off, it doesn't matter much what you're feeding them as the pH will lockout nutrient uptake.

If you don't already have one, get yourself a pH meter and use it religiously. Get to know your plants like the back of your hand. Then start experimenting.

astartes

 

[Bababooey]

AS: You know, I actually do have a ph meter. I try to keep my ph between 6.2 and 5.5, although occasionally it will dip down to the low 5's before i correct.
You know, I think the 1-4 bladed leaves might be because they were clones put right into flowering, or the clones were even slightly flowering when they were first put in. i believe that plants in flowering wont throw off full 5-7 bladed leaves, especially when budding. I mean, it might grow a few regular leaves during the first several days of 12/12, but after that the leaves tend to be 1-3 fingered.
Am i wrong on this?
i do agree that my clones would look better if they werent flowering when put in. my mother/clone area had a window that wasnt lightproofed, which ive corrected.
EDIT: also, my flo mom is flowering a bit because of the aforementioned light leak, so i need to work on replacing it. i guess i could wait till it revegs, but its ragged looking anyway and should be replaced.

 

[PhilCuisine]

Im a non-conformist...

Im a non-conformist...

This midwest growers thread is quickly becoming bababooey's personal question and answer page. sorry all, but i need to get my shiznit dialed in, im really cheating myself out of yield, so you'll all have to bear with me for a bit longer.

PC: What do you look for when a plant needs nutes? Conversely, what do you look for when a plant just needs water, no nutes?
Everyone says that when you can read your plants, thats when you know you have it.
and when a plant needs more nutes, how much do you give it? what do you give it? does it vary?
I know the basic signs (burnt leaf tips -> overnuting; yellowing -> undernuting) but is there something else i should be looking for before it gets to that point?
Enviorment is a key factor, where i grow is not the same enviorment where evryone grows....being a non conformist i dont even follow the directions on the BC nutes label...they say to make 3 different batches of different strength nutes for ur grows, to hell with that..I just make 1 batch of super strong nutes and just water it down as needed. they also say to change res. every week, thats b/c they want u to buy more and use more nutes....u dont need to. less is more IMHO. if i see any yellowing of any kind on my plants i add 1 cup of my nutes in the bucket or buckets and in 24hrs. i can see the yellowing go away. if the leaves start to cup up or down I would ease off on my nutes. as far as adding water, well this grow my plants wont get as big as b4 so i've only been adding water just every 10 days..smaller the plant the less they soak up the bigger the more they soak up. last grow i was watering almost every 5 to 7 days b/c they were huge compared to this grow.
yeah, cuttings can be real stinky. u'd have to think if they can smell a seed they can smell a live cutting.
well this Blockhead came from France and was shipped last wk. thursday and was surprised to see them in great shape..surprised to see them at all. didnt think they would make it thru.
one of my 400w ballasts is an mh ballast. I run a sunmaster neutral deluxe bulb, supposed to replicate natural sunlight and be good for all grow phases. It still looks way more white than an hps, but i cant tell any difference in yields after two harvests. of course, the fact the hps is right next to it means that every plant gets some hps, but if it made a difference you'd think id be able to tell by now.
i dont think youll notice much of a difference in yield, if any.
yeah, this isn't the 1st. time i've used mh to flower, done it several times b4 with great results....Hope this helps.

Notes on Blockhead:

This Blockhead is pretty easy to clone, depending on what cloning technique you use.
She's vigorous, grows relatively fast.
Grow her into single cola stalks, you can bush her but you're not going to be as happy as if you put it all on one stalk. I veg her about a foot tall or more, she'll grow another 60% or more (in my garden) in flower and end up 3 feet tall or more.
In week 5 or so, she'll start to smell. Mango, all the way. In week 6, she'll start to look ready, but don't let that fool you. She'll put on lots of weight between week 6 and 8. I do a 10-12 day flush and have her finished at day 70-75. You can probably harvest earlier, but you know how it is. An extra week or two never hurts quality or yield.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=754&pictureid=6149

 

[Bababooey]

PC: thanks for that.
At first, when i heard that you just make a batch of super strong nutes and add as needed I thought you were crazy, but then the more I thought about it it seems like a good idea. Here's why:
The formula i plan on using, Rezdog's formula (incidentally, GratefulHead of Head seeds uses almost the same formula, minus the supps - if im going to copy anyone's method it might as well be two breeders) calls for 6ml micro and 9ml bloom (GH Flora series), with the micro being cut out a couple weeks into flowering.
6ml is 1.2 teaspoons, 9ml is 1.8 teaspoons. so im thinking to myself, everytime i gotta addback, i have to measure 1.2 and 1.8 ts? i have steady hands but it's still a pain in the butt.
so when you said you just make a strong batch and add a cup as needed, that got me thinking: i could just add 6 tablespoons micro and 9 tablespoons bloom to a empty gallon jug, and just use a cup of that at a time. that's 16 cups to a gallon! so simple it's stupid that i didnt think of it before.
so every time i addback, i would just dump a cup of the nute solution in and also a gallon of water... that way id only have to mix nutes at most twice a week (when a tub is going strong, it uses about a gallon a day - 4 tubs would drink about 4 gallons a day) instead of 4x a day. badabing badaboom cuts my time tending the plants by at least a few minutes a day, plus it's more accurate, it's hard to get a fraction of a teaspoon measurement right.
whaddaya think? anyone, anyone?

BTW, that blockhead pic looks pretty awesome: frosty, nice tight looking buds, hairy as well. good thing she clones well, if it was from a less hardy plant those cuts might not be viable. let us know when you get them in the buckets.