Combined LED and HPS Grow

[aphrodisia]

Hi everyone, as all you who followed my last grow using only LEDs will know, it turned out to be a right effing disaster. Started out well enough in the veg stage but was woefully disappointing when it came to flowering. Now comparing my new grow with that last one and with seeing how the buds came out that last grow I have come to the conclusion that the LEDs didn't perform as well as they could have because I was growing during the winter and my grow box temps were way too low resulting in the plants metabolism slowing to the point were they were just not growing at all.
I have searched for threads were growers were using a combination of LEDs and HPS for flowering and there doesn't seem to be too many so I thought I might as well post mine up for like minded growers.

This time Im only growing 3 plants not 4 like I did previously, I am using my vipar 300w LEDs (actual draw of 180w) together with my 250w HPS for flowering and I can say that the plants are already looking better in just 20 days of flowering than my last grow using just LEDs did at eight weeks, I put this down mainly to the radiant heat emitted by the HPS and the extra lighting.


here they are at day 11


day 14 of flower coming nicely along


day 18 of flower


day 20 of flower

I think using a combination of LEDs and HPS lighting really rocks. Hopefully this will make up for the disappointing last grow. The plants are a BLZ Bud, one NL#5 x Haze and one sugar punch. Can anyone here tell me if 400w of mixed LED and HPS lighting will be the same as 400w of pure HPS lighting or it wont be as effective ?

Will be updating as they come along.

 

[aphrodisia]

The LEDs really complement the HPS lamp. From previous grows I have had with the 250w HPS I would say that if I hadn't used the LEDs I would be seeing a lot more stretch with loads of bare stems between the nodes. The LEDs help limit the stretch of the HPS and make the plants more bushy and stocky. And looking at pictures of my previous grow using only the LEDs I have just noticed that I never really saw any pistils as such developing like Im now seeing in this grow and previous grows.
I am blasting these babies with nearly 108w per square Ft. so lets see what results that brings. I think LED manufacturers should really give some thought to maybe developing an LED lamp that actually gives out some radiant heat as I think that will help their performance a lot.
Looking good so far on day 24 of flowering.

 

[aphrodisia]

I can see them growing taller with each passing day and I think Im definitely going to have some height issues later on, especially with the NL#5 x Haze which is turning out to be something of a beast. Will probably end up having to tie them down or something.

 

[GroErr]

Looking great aphrodisia, looks like a nice combo, the hps+LED's. 26 days into flowering you shouldn't have much stretch left, tying them back/down should be manageable if needed, as long as it's not too much as they can't handle too much pulling down as they mature, easy LST without stressing them is no biggie, they're flexible. I keep them tied back to the end just to keep the centre clear and allow light through the centre. As the buds get heavier they colas tend to bend and stay down anyhow

 

[crazyhazey]

is this a grow journal? would love to see how these gals do under both hps and led.

 

[aphrodisia]

Hi GroErr, thanks for dropping in man. I see you have finished your own grow on your thread. Any dry weights yet ? Will sure be interested to see what you got with those LEDs. Yes I think I will have to keep an eye on the NL#5 x Haze. I reckon it could have taken up the entire space by itself if I had grown it alone and its really pushing out the pistils.
I think I will be doinv a combined LED and HPS grow from now on as they really complement each other. You get the quality spectrum from the LED and the heat from the HPS.

 

[aphrodisia]

is this a grow journal? would love to see how these gals do under both hps and led.

Welcome aboard crazyhazey. Yes its a grow journal. I did one before using just the LED but got disappointing results due to struggling to keep my temperatures up so Im now combining both HPS and LEDs and as you can see from the pics
they are loving it.

 

[GroErr]

Glad to see you got a good run on it's way, that combo should do very nicely. Nothing wrong with combining 2 or 3 light sources for sure. Will be supplementing the panels next round with LED Tubes and some DIY white light cob panels I'm building now, that should work well. I've been supplementing my veg cabinet with white LED Tubes this veg run and they're turning into nice balls with some ST and FIM, should be good. On my current grow journal, just decided last night after some close-up pics that I'll chop this weekend, putting them into dark for 2-3 days, then chop on Saturday or Sunday. I was expecting to have to let them go until the weekend under the lights but a closer inspection showed they're good to go, I don't like too much amber and they'll have some by the time they're chopped. Very pleased with the run, will be about 3-4 weeks before I post the final weight, I'll post the dry/cured/trimmed weight. I'm guessing in the 180-210g dry/cured which would be quite acceptable and the size/quality/density is looking like top shelf. Tried a week old runt bud that fell off off the bottom of one of the PBK's (well, I may have knocked it off when watering), it was nice and dense, and knocked my socks off so if that's any indication, this will be a nice stash

 

[crazyhazey]

Welcome aboard crazyhazey. Yes its a grow journal. I did one before using just the LED but got disappointing results due to struggling to keep my temperatures up so Im now combining both HPS and LEDs and as you can see from the pics
they are loving it.

cant wait to see how these gals turn out, this spectrum should yield some good results.

 

[MightyMike530]

Yes, interested to see how this turns out. I am leaning towards this being the best way to grow, LED complimenting a HID light, though Im leaning more towards CMH, but whatever.

 

[aphrodisia]

Quick update. I swopped them around and brought the BLZ Bud to the front and put the NL#5 x Haze to the back. I think my heaviest yielder is definitely going to be the NL#5 x Haze followed by the sugar punch. I cant believe how thick the stem is already on this girl and shes just pumping out pistils. The BLZ Bud is the about a week younger than the others though.

 

[foreverflyhi]

yo homie,

nice start up, may i suggest better quality pics with the lights off, makes for a better view

 

[aphrodisia]

Looking really good so far. All really coming along. I have been adding calmag with every watering which I am having to do every 1 or 2 days at the most so rate of transpiration is good. The calmag does seem to help as I havent really noticed any more leaf browning/bleaching since I started using it.

 

[aphrodisia]

Im one happy bunny. Plants are going great and the BLZ Bud is coming along now as well. Will try and post up some pics next time with the lights off but in the meantime here are some pics taken before the HPS kicked in.


day 29 flower day 32 flower


happy growing everyone

 

[GroErr]

Some fine looking plants aphrodisia, close to 1/2 way through, should be a nice haul for you

 

[aphrodisia]

Some fine looking plants aphrodisia, close #5 x 1/2 way through, should be a nice haul for you

Hi GroErr, yes thats what Im thinking. I will definitely be getting a good yield off the NL#5 x haze for sure. The buds are already looking nice and thick and they havent even gotten into their stride yet. If you like sativa leaning strains you ought to check out the BLZ Bud. Its the only strain im growing again.

 

[GroErr]

Sounds like a good one, will be putting it on my list to check out, I keep a list going from recommendations, but definitely down the road. Right now I'm over-strained if that's a term. Got on a buying spree for the last few months so will be growing those out, as well as doing some of my own crosses/seeds for the rest of this year.

So far on my grow list for this year, currently vegging, seeding, and/or breeding:
Jack The Ripper (just finished and a keeper so will keep this one going)
Platinum Bubba Kush (just finished, have a couple more outdoor but supports PM so no more indoor)
Blueberry
Acapulco Gold
Blue Dream
Critical Kush
PPP (Pure Power Plant)
LSD
Pineapple Chunk

+ Breeding projects
Jack The Ripper (want my own stash of seeds)
Jack The Ripper male + Platinum Bubba Kush female (hoping JTR passes on PM resistance to PBK)
Jack The Ripper female + Ace of Spades male (should be a good producer)
Jack The Ripper male + PPP female (good producer + fire, both trains are mid-20's THC)
Ace of Spades female + Ace of Spades male (apparently this strain is being discontinued)

That should keep me busy for the rest of the year - lol

 

[aphrodisia]

Sounds like a good one, will be putting it on my list to check out, I keep a list going from recommendations, but definitely down the road. Right now I'm over-strained if that's a term. Got on a buying spree for the last few months so will be growing those out, as well as doing some of my own crosses/seeds for the rest of this year.

So far on my grow list for this year, currently vegging, seeding, and/or breeding:
Jack The Ripper (just finished and a keeper so will keep this one going)
Platinum Bubba Kush (just finished, have a couple more outdoor but supports PM so no more indoor)
Blueberry
Acapulco Gold
Blue Dream
Critical Kush
PPP (Pure Power Plant)
LSD
Pineapple Chunk

+ Breeding projects
Jack The Ripper (want my own stash of seeds)
Jack The Ripper male + Platinum Bubba Kush female (hoping JTR passes on PM resistance to PBK)
Jack The Ripper female + Ace of Spades male (should be a good producer)
Jack The Ripper male + PPP female (good producer + fire, both trains are mid-20's THC)
Ace of Spades female + Ace of Spades male (apparently this strain is being discontinued)

That should keep me busy for the rest of the year - lol

Good luck with your breeding project, its always been something I wanted to do myself but Im very limited in my grow space plus having to be a stealth grow doesn't leave me with much room. The BLZ Bud is a 3 way cross of trainwreck, silver haze and G13 and its the bomb. Cures to a lovely dark brown that kind of reminds me of a really good chocolate thai. You seem to like TGA strains, have you ever grown their agent orange ? Its one of the strains Im looking into although Ive already got more seeds than Im ever likely to grow out, being a bit of a seed collector.

 

[kmog33]

Its a good call. If it wasnt summer id still be running the combo.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Rollitup mobile app

 

[aphrodisia]

PS. My mistake. That should be super silver haze, not silver haze.