My unintentionally difficult return to growing - The Journal

Relic79

Well-Known Member
3 Plants remain

2 Lemon Thai Kush and 1 AK-47 x White Widow.

I've had a chance to smoke the Lemon Thai Kush and am not impressed overall, but the AK-47, these are the largest, nicest looking buds I've had. It smells on Lemon and is super dense.

The time was getting nearer. I took it out to inspect it and though I saw some PM on a leaf. My heart sank.

I cut off the leaf and put it back to watch. Some of the calyx's seemed to be drying and cracking and the stickiness was disappearring.

Around day 104 I chopped her and watched. Something just wasn't sitting right. I got worried. 4 days into drying, I learned of H2O2 wash.

I washed my 4 day dried buds, then tried to fast dry them. I think I messed up more by letting them partially dry and then re-absorb water. Eventually the sweaty sock smell took over, and I found a little fuzz on one bud. I threw out all 6.4oz and my hopes of smoking what looked like a very nice plant.

I am still hurting a little inside. I had taken a clone of her in late flower, and it didn't re-veg, so she's gone forever. I know there will be others.
 

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Relic79

Well-Known Member
2 plants remain, present day

Whelp, this could have gone better eh? This was going to be my epic restart of my aspirations from 20 years ago. I knew it all. I planned for everything, and then failure.

I have the 2 foxtailed ladies left pictured above and here. I'm into week 18 now, and they are just starting to frost up. I'm not expecting much, and imagine those foxtails are going to dry up to almost nothing.

I had tried to take clones of the plants I liked, specifically the AK-47 but it failed. I ended up with a clone of the Nefertiti, and one of the Lemon Kush that re-vegged.

I had no room in my grow room, so had to think on my feet. Here I present EcoBox the recyclable grow box. I have a Nefertiti mother, a Lemon Thai Kush Revegged mother, 5 Nefertiti clones, and a tray of 4 day old Lemon Kush clones.

The little T5 HO unit keeps the box around 78f, and it comes with manual circulation flaps, simply open and close rapidly for periodic air exchange. A little bit of a fungus gnat issue due to temps and a small bout of over-watering. I'll have them sorted soon.
 

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Relic79

Well-Known Member
The Future: Grow Cycle 2

So I've had problems:
  • 2 x 600 watts with ballast in room I couldn't keep summer lunch time temps below 30c for 4 to 5 hours at a time. Had to leave door open.
  • Leaving door open was against agreement made with wife to allow the legal grow to be built.
  • To combat temps, I took one of my 8x8 vents and ran it into my lights for air-cooling. This lowered the amount of fresh air intake and seemed to make the room a but stuffy.
  • The table is too high and I'm loosing head room just to be able to keep an inline fan under the table for the air cooled hoods.
  • Keeping mothers and clones in a box outside the room while not smelly, is not appreciated and is also against the agreement.
  • Making my drying boxes in the back hallway was also against the agreement.

Solutions:
  • I am scaling back to using only a 4.5x4.5 area for flowering. I will partition this space off within the room.
  • I will using the remaining 3.5x4 space to divide up into mother and early veg/clone space.
  • I am running one 500watt LED lamp. This should both run cooler, and give me some room to run a couple more lights for mothers and early veg.
  • I will move my plants into the 3.5x4 space.
  • I will flower a single strain at a time so I can harvest and hang to dry in the flower area.

To this end I bought a BudgetLED Series 3+ FullSpec on sale here: https://www.budgetgrowlights.com/collections/lighting-for-large-sized-grow-spaces-4-x-4-or-larger/products/series-3-full-spec-500-watt-dimmable-grow-light-1

As it is going into winter, already snowing and I don't have a workshop so can't build out my room the way I want. I don't want to wait though. To run my next cycle I plan to simply use panda film to partition the 4x4 space and run the 5 nefertiti clones straight to 12/12

I'm going to plant them in Fox Farm, use Gaia green to top dress and water with plain water. I might add some dolomite lime to help buffer PH as my tap water comes out at 7.

I'll get some pics up here as I get things going again and with other thoughts along the way!
 

Relic79

Well-Known Member
Finally

So I finally decided to cut down my silly FoxTail grow. Oddly in week 20 the top FoxTails started to frost up. Here is what they looked like before I cut them. I know they were all kinds of wrong, but I had time to kill while my cardboard grow box plants established.

Also, I let my cardboard growbox get solid round of Gnats, and I'm in Isolation, so I ordered dunks. Was hoping to kill off the Gnats before bringing them into the room, but it wasn't to be, more on the next.

I now display my shame openly for all to see.
 

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Relic79

Well-Known Member
Round 2....Fight!

So my plans were thrown off, due to Covid exposure, I've had to self isolate until December 1st.

My cardboard box clones were growing into the T5's and starting to burn, Fungus Gnats have taken hold n the box, and because it is just a box, they have gotten loose into the house. Wife not happy. (See above about keeping my hobby inside my filtered,sealed room).

In addition, because of isolation, I can't go shopping for the nutrients as I had wanted, and don't really want to run a bunch of errands. I manged to get a 40L bag of Vermicompost. A bag of Happy From, and from previous grow I have perlite, and various Gaia amendments as well as a shit tonne of coco.

I ordered Mosquito dunks, and put a fan in the box to pin down the Gnats. While the Fox tails plants dry, I am mixing my batch of soil, and tearing down my room for a retool and deep clean. Like real deep clean.

After the dismantling of the framing I did for my first grow which I never used (was going to put up a net), I put the flood table back in and move the plants in with the T5, fixture, Gnats and all.

Next day, I cut the table in half to make it a 4x4 and hung my new BudgetLED Series 3+ FullSpec.

Today, I finally got to sit in a clean room, and under full spectrum light, prune and begin training my plants.

I have 5 Nefertiti clones. I'm going to scrap one clone that is not performing, and am going to do a run of 4. It did well for my father, and didn't hermie for him, so I'm hoping to do a better job this time.

Also in the photos are 2 mother plants: A Nefertiti and A Lemon Thai Kush (the Fox tail plant above, which also didn't Foxtail for my father).
With them are 5 Lemon Thai Kush clones and 3 AK-47 seedlings.

I don't like how the re-vegged Lemon Thai Kush is growing, so I plan to select one of the 5 as a new Mother, then gift the other clones back to my father.

To keep myself busy. While the Nefertiti flower, I will turn the 3 AK47's immediately into mother plants, then clone them. I plan to flower those clones for round 3 and select the best one to add to my mother plant fledgling collection.

Onward!
 

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kovidkough

Well-Known Member
Thanks! I kept the nicest looking tops and threw the rest in the trash, it was crispy, and dying except for some of the very top colas.

I'm on to better things now! (I hope!)
gotta make lemonade from the lemons I keep getting tossed trust me
 

Leeski

Well-Known Member
If only my friend, if only! This grow went south on me. I have a harvest, but it's not quality! I'm almost done this cycle though, and am going to absolutely nail it within the next 1 to 2 cycles. I've got a plan.
Looking forward to seeing your next runs I’m subbed ☮
 

DrKiz

Well-Known Member
Nice one man! I liked your details. First grow with the new room and equipment is the best. Learn a tonne and the subsequent grows keep getting better and better. I like the growing better than the smoking (almost) nowadays!
 

F80M4

Well-Known Member
Why don't you keep the space you have. Build a seperate spot inside the flower room for the clones and mother. When you chop just dry in the flowering room for now
 

Relic79

Well-Known Member
Why don't you keep the space you have. Build a seperate spot inside the flower room for the clones and mother. When you chop just dry in the flowering room for now
That's the exact plan my friend! 4x4 under my new 500watt led, and dividing the other 4x4 area horizon ntally to have veg space on bottom and mothers up top.


For this cycle I'm just going to wrap the 4x4 in panda plastic to get this round done, then in spring between cycles I'll make improvements again when I can work outside. (No workshop for sawing indoors)

What I did learn from my first grow, is that a well grown 4x4 will provide me more than enough cannabis, andthat I'll have more fun if I scale back and can keep more plants in different stages to work with.

I got very bored just having flowering plants, and want to be able to always having something to work on for my personal happiness and sanity.
 

F80M4

Well-Known Member
That's the exact plan my friend! 4x4 under my new 500watt led, and dividing the other 4x4 area horizon ntally to have veg space on bottom and mothers up top.


For this cycle I'm just going to wrap the 4x4 in panda plastic to get this round done, then in spring between cycles I'll make improvements again when I can work outside. (No workshop for sawing indoors)

What I did learn from my first grow, is that a well grown 4x4 will provide me more than enough cannabis, andthat I'll have more fun if I scale back and can keep more plants in different stages to work with.

I got very bored just having flowering plants, and want to be able to always having something to work on for my personal happiness and sanity.
Nice bro! You said u have a grow permit so you from Canada too?
 

Relic79

Well-Known Member
Nice bro! You said u have a grow permit so you from Canada too?
Yep, my license allows just enough plants to be able to have a few at different stages so I can keep busy. I only ran 8 plants last time because I was gifted extra clones and thought I could pull it off. I always panned to have smaller sections to try support a 4x4 almost perpetual style grow.

My first run, and even this one now, my room isn't finished. I am planning to go with blumats hooked up to my water line directly. For this run I will hand water with tap water to see how the garden responds to my city water.

If my soil is buffering the ph, and plain tap water works, then I will automate.
 

Leeski

Well-Known Member
Looking forward to seeing your work good luck with your grow sure it will be a great success ☮
 

Relic79

Well-Known Member
Holy Crap - Where did the time go?

So I've been a bit busy. I tore my room down, bleached it, and split it into a 4x4 diy tent (wood frame, cardboard, and black&white film). The rest of the room if walk-in, and mother/veg.

The 4x4 tent is 7' high, and I have a 480watt BudgetLED Series 3+ FullSpec, I run the temps 28 to 29 celsius and my RH swings from 35 to 55 depending on where in my roughly 3 day watering cycle I am, and day/night temp fluctuations (I drop to about 25 or 26 at night).

I'm growing out the Nefertiti again, it threw nanners near the end when my last grow fell apart, so I'm back at it for one more go.

This time I'm growing in a mix of:
- Most of a bag of happy frog.
- A whole bunch of coco from my last grow, washed.
- A bunch more perlite.
- About a 1/3rd ratio mix of Vermicompost.
- Gaia green all purpose 4-4-4 at the bags application rate.
- Gaia green 2-8-4 at 1/3rd the bags application rate.
- Gaia green Glacial rock dust. (4 to 6 cups-ish)
- some Gaia green alfalfa meal I had laying around.

I've been water with plain tap water, mixed with some left-over CalMag at about 50ml in a 5gal home depot bucket.

I water slowly about every 3 days until some runoff collects in the saucers, and watch throughout the day to make sure the little runoff gets wicked back up, or evaporates before I zip the tent backup.

Every Sunday during Veg, I added 2tbsp per 7gal pot of the all purpose 4-4-4 and dug it in with my fingers into the top inch or so. Now that I have switched to flower, I add 2 tbsp of 2-8-4 every Sunday.

I had 2 bottles of CalMaf left over from my last grow. I always add a sparing amount of CalMag to my water and it hasn't seemed to hurt. I won't replace it when it runs out unless the plants show a need. My goal is watering direct from the tap with nothing added at all.

Here are some shots from today 12 days of 12/12. I've been continuously cleaning up the lower part of the plants every day here and there, and shaping them to fit the space. I also have been removing lower bud sites and branches that were getting choked out. I'm not interested in spindly branches or popcorn at all this time, so am trying to prune in a way that every branch and cola has it's distinct place in the canopy.

By end of Sunday, anything left that didn't make it, or is being left behind by the plant is coming off, then I'll pretty much let them go with minimal pruning in order to maintain air flow and make sure I don't get sweat/moisture between leaves like last time.

Onward!
 

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