Super Stealth Micro-Scrog

[Gdawg61]

Hello all! My name is Gdawg61. I’m an ex OG’er, and like most I am devastated by the recent events with HS/OG. I stopped growing for 2 months. Luckily I had enough stash too get me through the rough times. I have completely changed my view of our government and the drug war. I have been more aware of political issues. CNN is now my favorite show. I check for ‘big brother info” online and in the news. Canada is slowly moving backwards it seems. I’m getting started again. My purpose here is joining a community with people who care about growing this wonderful plant.

I’m not a big player anyway, just a closet grower with mucho experience. I have grown with a 1Kw HPS, 400w HPS, with fluorescent starting chamber. I grew hydro/organic soil less (perilite, vermiculite, and worm castings). It was a perpetual harvest that yielded 12-14 oz a month. I grew Hawaiian Indica and Skunk #1. I did this for 3-4 years with other smaller operations for personal use during my lifetime. I am a Grandpa to give an idea of my age. I’ve been to A-Dam twice, always after the CC. I smoked Mothers Milk with Robert Connell Clark in ’94. I think that’s his name. He was an author and we met at the HT’s headquarters. He was hanging out after the cup and had some samples left. That was some lip smacking good weed. I never heard much about it after that. I grow for myself and to share with friends. My people know I do not sell. Never!

Here's a pic of my grow.

 

[Gdawg61]

oops here it is.

 

[Gdawg61]

I also guerilla grow outdoors. 3 years in a row I have had a harvest. I have some interesting info to post in the outdoor section. I also dabble in feminized seeds. My current mothers are C99 F1, C99 F2, Blueberry Magic, and SWT#3. My feminized seeds consist of:
SWT#3 x C99 F1
C99 F2 x C99 F1 (S1)
C99 F1 x C99 F1
Durban Poison x C99 F1
A11 x Bogbubble
BogB xBogB (S1)
Swt#3 x Swt#3 (S1)
I have a few more, but these are the ones I’m working with. I put my outdoor grow out too early. I thought I would get a jump on growing season. I put out 4 Swt#3 x C99 feminized females. They ended up budding and I had to pull them. It was getting hot and we were getting lots of rain. They were pulled 5/30. I figure 3 weeks early. The trich coverage was impressive at the early stage. The potency surprised me, but too get a true sense of them they need to finish. I currently have 4 clones in my SCROG grow at 2weeks 12/12. I saved the most potent as a mother. I have a plan to increase my selection pool. More on that later.

 

[Gdawg61]

Here’s my setup with a little history. I grow stealth, but different from most. I have many skills and they all contribute to my operation. My old setup was safe, but not secure. I grow in a false wall. I couldn’t see having any type of dresser, closet, or box housing. I love the dresser. What if they try to open a drawer? Or the humming box with no apparent purpose. My situation requires true stealth, meaning they need to actually dig HARD to find it. Here is a pic of my operation. I used to grow hydro, but have switched to organic for many reasons. #1 being the taste of he weed. Organic C99 blows away hydro. Potency is the same, yield is lower (I’m working on that), and I save many hours of maintenance. I don’t dump nutes down the drain and that helps the environment. I use less water, which as you see makes sense (wood floor). The old hydro harvest was about 5 oz average; with organic my first was 70% of hydro. I average about 55-60 days per harvest. The mother chamber uses 2 x150 HPS, grow chamber is 8x 24w HO T5’s. The mother chamber uses 4 x 22w. I use a negative pressure system and vent through the attic. I am use an in-line duct 8” fan at 400CFM I think. I don’t use CO2 and cannot. The negative pressure needs to be maintained. I am set to add odor control when needed, but the last grow the smell vented without one. I do all my design from my head; therefore I tend to make some mistakes. This is a great improvement over the last setup, but I still made some mistakes. When growing like this the heat is the main concern, then the air flow. I don’t want huge bills for venting the house. I had to compromise and find the right airflow to get a good harvest. I didn’t want higher heating and cooling bills. I could increase the air flow and yield more, but life is about compromise. By switching to soil I also don’t need pumps and timers. I wired my unit for hydro in case I want to. But after my first organic SCROG, no way! Soil is so much easier, cheaper and the product tastes better. I use about 2 gallons every 2-3 days for the entire system. I don’t have to haul water to and fro. There are a few keys to growing organic. One is you have to control the fungus gnats. My trick which I read somewhere is to put a layer of worm castings to the top. They hate breeding in it; it also acts as a mild fertilizer during watering. Two, the roots need vertical space more than horizontal. The deeper the roots can go the taller the plant. I am trying 11” of soil depth. Last grow was 7” and it wasn’t enough. I already see the difference in this grow. The plants are more robust and taller. They are closer to the hydro size.

 

[Gdawg61]

I would like to endorse to use of worm castings. IMO they are the best ingredient you can use. They buffer the soil and contain many nutrients. I make my own at home. 30-40% of my mixes are castings. Home Depot now sells 15lb bags at $10. I did a soil analysis using Rapid Test, and it contains surplus of the main three. My own tends to be lower in nitrogen. I use mine for flower and HD’s for veg and top dressing. I try and use enough for the plants to finish with the nitrogen depleted. My mixes are still being worked on. This is really fun work. I want a mix that only needs water and the occasional teas. I do use lots of guano tea and my homemade worm tea. I also use FF soil. This stuff is strong so be careful with young plants. Miracle grow now has an organic potting mix. I don’t use much, and this current grow is the first with it. I usually get an organic soil from Lowe’s.

I have eliminated the adjustment period during transplant. Based on Bog’s method of placing the pots into larger ones and allow the root system to expand. There is some shock when you remove the root ball from the container and plant. I start my clones in rock wool using Olivia’s cloning gel. I start the seeds in a soil mix. I purchased many 4” plastic square pots. They are real easy to cut with a razor. I cut two ¾” slots on each face of the square pots. I then insert it into another uncut pot. When it’s time to transplant I remove the inner pot and place in the larger container. The roots will grow into the larger pot. I went online to find the proper size Rubbermaid container for the veg chamber. I wanted to keep the soil depth at 6” and utilize the complete space. I found some 10 gallon ones at 13 “ x 22” and cut them down to size at 7.5” I then drill many ¾” holes in the bottom and sides like a big net pot. I built a wooden enclosure to house the unit. I would need to lift it out at shoulder height. I used ¾” wood and added sturdy handles on the side. I used 2 layers of 6 mill poly plastic and lined the box, and placed the Rubbermaid in it and filled with soil and young plants. I want as many shoots as possible so I use a screen to constantly train to get many bud sites. When they are ready for the flower chamber I mix up a high P & K mix. I put 3-4” of soil in the bottom of the 27” x 15” box. I place the Rubbermaid on top and fill in the sides and ends. The roots will grow into the new mix and really boost the plants. It really saves about 10 days of grow time. Then I put a 1” layer or worm castings on top. This is a great way for un-interrupted soil grows. I also use water retention crystals, they really work well too.

 

[Gdawg61]

My grow area is 15” x 31” for flower, 15” x 24” for veg, and 15” x 24 for mother. I made some changes during the build and miscalculated. The vertical height of the mother and veg chambers is less than what I wanted. I can manage it, but just another reason to draw plans. I had to be a bit creative on light timing to keep the temps down. I hope to run the flower chamber at 12/12 except for a few days each cycle. I run a 20/4 cycle on both mother and veg chambers. All three lights are on together for 4 hours each day. With indoor temps at 80, the mother chamber will reach 92F for those 4 hours; it drops to room temperature with lights off. The veg chamber gets to 89F at the lights, the mother chamber 86F. These are the highest temps during the summer. My highest electricity bill with the AC was $200. In the winter it’s very low. So this works for me.

My current grow consist of all my mothers and 4 feminized Swt33 x C99 and 2 DP x C99. I want to get an accurate organic finishing time on all my mommas. I am evaluating all my feminized seed and each grow will have some. As a closet grower my selection numbers are limited. I figure selecting from 50 feminized is the same as 100 regular. I cannot grow that many, but what I can do is grow 8-10 and keep the best mother and include this #1 mom in each successive grow to compare. Eventually after 4-5 grows I should have the best mom. It’s not perfect and takes more time, but I am selecting from a much larger pool for breeding. I am currently looking for the best Swt#3 x C99 female for backcross to reversed C99. I have 4 in the current grow I am at D14 of 12/12. In veg I have 4 Blueberry Magic, 2 C99, and 6 feminized A11 x Bogbubble. Soil grow allows you to grow multiple strains easier than hydro. Keeping the height equal takes a little more time and training, but I like the different taste. I am also adding 2 more strains if they arrive safely. DJ Short F13 and True Blueberry. Fingers crossed and praying. After that I should be set. I have many seeds of my own to test and evaluate. I can’t wait to try the C99 S1’s and feminized C99 F1 x F2.

Well I think I am played out. I have needed to vent for sometime. I miss the community. I have some outdoor stuff to post also. Thanks for your ear (if you could stand it). Peace be with you.

Gdawg61

 

[tr1ck_]

Love the settup, makes me jealous

 

[Supacalabala]

You have a great setup going. When did home depot start selling worm castings?? Went to HD yesterday didn't see any. How's the miracle grow organic soil treating you??

 

[420ponics]

Very nice there buddy! Keep it growing!

Ponics!