Tex’s Farm: Perpetual CFL Micro SOG

[repuk]

The kalichakra is like 75% sativa 25% indica. I've grown them in the past in an ikea cab, And have 3 seedlings going for this new cab (and lights, will veg w/ PLLs, flower with a homemade LED) project.

Is a top yielding strain (I got more than 1gr/w with a 600W HPS), will see how it performs with LEDs.

I've grown or tasted about 20 strains or so, I don't like pure or indica dominant strains, don't like the couchlock the less potent give me, neither the sweating, blood pressure drop, etc more potent indica strains give me.

My favourite in growing and high to date is Kali Mist from Serious (Sativa)
Next comes Kalichakra (sativa too)

Regarding more indica ones, I liked Sadhu, and tasted Critical+.

The most potent indica I've tasted to date is Mohan Ram.

 

[izzybud]

I don't know when or how I will get any new strains. I ordered these beans before I had anything setup. Now that I'm in production I'm not sure if I want to risk having any beans sent here.

bagseed? got some friends in texas(assuming u live there from ur name) u can send to them lol. or theyll bring u some bagseeds.

cant wait for updates! stay safe.

 

[Kushion]

Hey Tex, are you still rocking? Updates?

 

[TexMex McDirt]

Kushion - Yea, still going. I got a bit off track of my schedule while I was trying to find the M#1 mom. But the train is rolling along. I will try post up some pics of what's what later tonight.

sgapetti - I pulled the last 3 M#1 ladies at 9 weeks instead of 10. Man, what a difference. I think 10 weeks was just to long for em and they lost some potency. At 9 weeks it's way better!

 

[Kushion]

Tex, good to see you are still grow in'. I stumbled across your thread today when searching for micro cfl sogs. I have a very similar setup with three in and three out every two weeks. I started some moms in June and am just chopping the first clones. It is looking like the first ones are going to be higher yielders, like you. I think due to getting all of the light from the start. My highest yields was 9 grams and lowest was 5. Anyway, it is exciting to finally be harvesting perpetually. Good luck with your grow and I will be back with some questions when the wife isn't pestering me.

 

[sgapetti]

wsup tex, I take my mandala#1 between 55 and 60 days, bit more racy and energetic, glad you like them better now! Very smart not ordering seed at you grow location, better safe than sorry. For giggles, a cross of mine ( KalichakraXmandala#1) indica pheno , nice mix of both strains, evaluating the mom before deciding what to do with the clones i took.


Peace S

 

[TexMex McDirt]

Kushion - Nice, sounds like you're getting a great setup dialed in. Now to pester you with some questions if you don't mind... Do you have it posted here yet? I'd love to see your gear. What strains are you running? I am really glad I figured out the M#1, it's nice to have a bit of variety. What cloning method are you using? I am totally obsessed with cloning nowadays since it literally took me moths to figure out a method that worked for me. I do love the perpetual micro SOG method. I hear some folks gripe about the maintenance it needs, frequent watering and such. But I love it, I really enjoy the time I spend tending to the farm. It is a great hobby. Cheers mate!

sgapetti - If I pull the M#1 at 9 weeks, that is 63 days, so almost spot on with yours. repuk was talking about the Kalichakra too. That cross sounds fun. I have not yet ventured into a seed run. I don't know if I ever will, I think I would need another cab for breeding and I don't really have the space or extra ventilation it would need.

I didn't get any pics posted up, camera was dead, on the charger now. I should be able to get some current pics up later this week.

Happy farming, stay safe!
Mahalo.
Tex

 

[Banefoul]

oh i like this! learned a bit more which is always a good thing. subbed.

 

[Kushion]

I don't have any pics up, but I can post some if you want. My setup is
a dual cabinet pantry. It is the perfect size that it holds a standard
nursery flat, which I think is 22x11. I have about 30 inches of
vertical room in the flowering side, with 4, 42w 2700k cfls and 2, 23w
6500k. I use 20 oz. hempys and Lucas formula for the flowering girls.

In the other cab it is divided in two by a shelf, so I only have about 15 inches
of vertical space for the moms, and 15 inches for the cloner. Over the
moms I have 2, 42w 6500k and over the cloner I have an 18" flouro.

For the moms I keep them in 3.5 inch square pots and bonsai them to
keep them short and bushy. They stay in soil and get fed fish
emulsions a few times a week. I have six of them in there. I have
World of Seeds Kush x Skunk, Delicious Seeds Critical Jack, Reserva
Privada Skywalker Kush and Kosher Kush, G13 Labs Pineapple Express and
Greenhouse Super Lemon Haze.

For the cloner I made a simple 6-site bubble cloner and have gotten 99%
success with it after numerous failed attempts with other methods. I
take 6 clones every 2 weeks and the roots usually show in a week and
are well developed in 2 weeks.

I put three clones in every two weeks with a maximum of fifteen if
they go 10 weeks. I started out doing two every week, but realized the
math didn't add up.

I just harvested my first couple last week and am trying to dial in
the appropriate harvest time for each strain, hoping none go over 10
weeks. Hopefully since we are running similar setups we can bounce some ideas off each other.

How are the buds you have harvested, density wise? My first ones came out pretty fluffy and hairy when they dried, but I may have harvest early. I just today read that CFLs can take longer than HPS to flower the same strain.

 

[TexMex McDirt]

Kushion - Great summary man. Happy to bounce ideas around any time. I read a lot here, but I don't post a whole bunch outside of my thread, unless I think I can contribute something helpful to someone. So let me know if you set up a grow log or feel free to bounce in here, I check in several times a week. Our setups really are very similar.
You have a nice collection of strains to work with. I went with the NL and M#1 because they were both affordable, both available on the Boo for one stop shopping, both flower about the same time (although now I know the M#1 needs to get pulled at 9 weeks while the NL is great at 10) and both were reportedly low odor (stealth is VERY important to me). The NL is VERY low odor, the M#1 has a bit more, but I would definitely call it low odor. I like have more than 1 strain to play with. I would love to have 1 or 2 more, but not sure about ordering mail order now that I am in production.
I have read some people say they think CFL buds take longer than HID. I don't know about that from my limited experience. I am sure my buds would be more dense under HID, but the CFLs work for me, I can manage the temps and the buds are nice and dank, I would not call them fluffy or airy at all. I am not trying to win any competitions, just trying to keep us in good buds and not have to bother with buying underground. So far that is working.

Happy farming, stay safe!
Mahalo
Tex

 

[LesterBallard]

Very cool man, also doing the perpetual attic thing. Nice work.

 

[TexMex McDirt]

Lester - Thanks for looking in man. You're set up in an attic space also? Nice, welcome aboard mate! Do you have it posted here? I have only seen a couple of good attic setups, so you have my interest.

Cheers!
Tex

 

[TexMex McDirt]

So here is where we are today...

Both cabs going strong. We have the Mom/Clone/Veg cab on the left and the flower cab on the right...



Inside the Mom/Clone/Veg cab. We have the NL and M#1 moms, some clones, and 2 new potential NL moms...



Clones, all NL, 6 new clones to flower (front) and 2 clones from the potential moms, from when they got topped (back)...



Moms...



Potential new moms and their respective clones...



More from the flower cab next...

 

[TexMex McDirt]

And from the other side...

Group shot. From left to right, the rows are: M#1, M#1, NL, NL, NL...



In the drying box is the last bud from the runty M#1. I scrapped that mom, the other M#1 is way better...



The next set of M#1, I think this Sunday they will get the chop...



Then the next 3 NL girls to get the chop in a couple of weeks...



That's about it, chugging along smoothly.

Happy farming, stay safe!
Mahalo
Tex

 

[Kushion]

Looks incredible. It's amazing what you can do with some CFLs and 2 inch clones. If it weren't for Dr Bud I wouldn't be growin'. I like how you gave him props.

Few Q's:
Do you trim fan leaves?
Have you outgrown your lights yet?
How have your weigh-ins been?

 

[TexMex McDirt]

I pull some fan leaves here and there. I don't have any sort of method.
During the summer when my temps were consistently higher, there was more stretch than normal. So yea, there were a few times that they grew taller than the lights, but there is enough clear space in the middle of the cab between the light on either side that they can grow like 4 or 5 extra inches, to the top of the cab. Now that the summer heat is gone my temps have been lower and the stretch is much more manageable.
Weigh ins have been pretty consistent, around 5-7 grams per plant. Which is enough to keep the wife and I happy. We might run out for a day or 2 here and there, but that's fine.
And yea, Dr. Bud is the reason I ever even tried to grow too. After I read his thread I was like, Oh holy shit - I can do that too. I can grow my own top notch bud and never have to buy underground again. So not only am I now self sufficient, not having to buy from shady dealers (no offense to any shady dealers out there, but I prefer to not have to do business with you) but I am enjoying way better bud than I could afford before. I love this hobby!

Cheers!
Tex

 

[Kushion]

I didn't realize that heat affected the stretch. That is interesting to know. Some of my first ones outgrew the lights, and like yours found enough room in the middle between the lights. I think it helped them fill in, but the very tops got too hot and got brown and crispy. The more recent one are all staying just below the lights now that it has cooled off, which is perfect. I actually had to top the Skywalker because it had so much vigor and stretch and other plants were already in the middle.

After reading your thread I may experiment with letting some of the shorter strains veg for a few days if they are rooted in the cloner before they are due to go in the bud chamber. I usually let them stay in the cloner and they go straight in to the hempy and bud chamber on day 14. The skunk/kush requires something to sit on to reach the lights and usually has roots by 9-10 days so I could let it veg in the mom chamber for 4-5 days.

Good stuff Tex. I appreciate you putting your work in journal form. It's so awesome, I find myself thinking about it all entirely too much, and like you I enjoy watering every day and checking on the girls frequently.

Grow on!

 

[TexMex McDirt]

I read something in one of the tutorials here that said it is optimal to have something like a 10-20 degree drop in temp between lights on and lights off. Since I am in an attic space my lights are on at night and off during the day and I don't usually get much of a drop. Small price to have my setup in a stealth place (somewhere the wife never sees it, so she doesn't worry about it or gripe at me about it). I tried to keep the girls in flower right to left from newest to oldest. But now I kinda start em on the outside and move em towards the middle in case they do stretch to much.

Cheers!
Tex

 

[Kushion]

Hey Tex, do you have a recipe you follow for your ONA mix? Like, a certain amount of water to ONA to soil moist?

 

[TexMex McDirt]

No recipe. I use a Tupperware container, like the kind that lunch meat comes i from the grocery store. Started off w a tablespoon or so of the ONA Pro Gel and the Soil Moist and then filled it up 2/3 of the way w water. Now I just add a little more of each thing here and there, no method, just madness.

Cheers
Tex