2nd Grow: Organic Bagseed CFL Coco Grow

[TheDankness]

This is the start of round two. Some of you may have followed my first thread, I'm doing quite a few things differently here. I had a grow cabinet made for me near the end of my first grow, so this time I'll have ample space to work with. The veg chamber is 24"WX24"DX18"H, and the flower chamber is 24"WX24"DX36"H. Probably even a little taller, those were the dimensions I told him, but it seems taller than that. For reflection the inside is covered in a couple layers of flat white paint. I use PC cooling fans to feed exhaust holes in each chamber, fresh air comes in via passive intake holes. I have a negative ion generator to take care of the smell, its proven itself already in the first grow, almost no smell at all. The lights are all CFL's, three 27 watt daylights in the veg chamber, four 42 watt warm whites in the flower chamber. I may add another 27 watt to the veg I haven't decided. To those of you scoffing at the wattage, it worked just fine in my first grow. This time I'm using Roots Organic Soil Mix, which is a coco coif based soil replacement. Can't wait to see the results I've heard great things about coco coif. I use Pureblend Pro Grow and Pureblend Pro Soil Bloom, and some superthrive pops up in the mix as well every now and again. I'll give a summary of everything below, just in case we have some impatient readers. Let me know what you think!

Nutrientsure Blend Pro, Grow and Soil Bloom
Superthrive
Growing Medium:Roots Organic Soil Mix
Lights:3X27 watt daylight for veg, 4X42 watt warm white for flower
Fresh Air: PC cooling fans driving exhaust and passive intakes
Odor Control:Negative Ion Generator

 

[TheDankness]

First Update: November 11, 2008

Alright here we go. I have some pics of the two plants I have going so far, both in the Roots Organic mix under some humidity domes. I plan to start them in cups like this, top them after the third and fourth nodes, then put them straight into flower. I am going for four strong colas on each plant, nothing else. There are also pics here of what I have left going from the first grow, I have already harvested most of the cola's off of both plants, just letting the popcorn ripen up.

 

[socom3riot]

how old are the smallest ones in those pics?

 

[bnoc450]

u really inspire me to flower with cfls, not many cfls but great reults

 

[TheDankness]

The babies are just a few days old, I'm going to start germinating the second round probably tonight. Thanks for the kind words, don't let your resources limit you, you can achieve great results with creativity.

 

[TheDankness]

Here's some harvest photo's from the first grow, this came from the second plant. These are the first buds I harvested off of her, I think they finished a little earlier because they were hit the worst by nute burn early in flower. Their little airy but that's because of the burn. I still have a few buds drying, and about 2/3 of the plant left to harvest. These buds taste a lot different from her sisters. They have a hint of Trix cereal, with a roadkill skunky bottom end. The high is not as powerful as the first plant, but still very pleasant and clear. The next batch to finish drying are a lot more dense, pics on those coming soon.

 

[TheDankness]

Update: November 13, 2008

Here's some new pics of the babies, I took top and side shots of both. Also took some pics of the best buds left on my plants that are still going, and look at all that popcorn. I already managed to cause some spots on the babies fan leaves from water droplets, oh well.

 

[TheDankness]

Update: November 17, 2008

Here are some pics of how the babies are doing, and let me be the first to say they are doing great. This Roots Organic stuff really is amazing, I am seeing MUCH faster growth out of the seedlings, I can't wait to start their feeding schedule. I have a total of three seedlings and one popped seed buried in dirt, so if all goes well I should have four seedlings for this grow. I have been feeding with nothing but spring water, except for a drop of Superthrive about every fourth water. I also threw in a pic of some popcorn I have drying, they have a really cool neon look don't they? Last but not least, I also took some shots of the nearly fully harvested plants. There is one pesky cola that just won't stop growing, there is new growth on the top, but the middle of the bud looks completely mature. Its changing some cool colors though so I think I'm going to wait till the tip matures before I chop, can't really hurt. Let me know what you think!

 

[Bubbuh Kush]

The lil ones look perky and the older girls are looking dense. good job dude!

 

[TheDankness]

Update: November 19, 2008

We officially have four plants, our newest addition to the family popped its head through the soil late last night! The usual here today, shots of all the seedlings and the mature plants. There's a shot of some more buds I have drying, and yes that is some purple on them. I couldn't be happier with the results of the seedlings so far, it seems that they're really off to a good start.

 

[TheFaux]

Hey bro, I like what you've done with the place. If you have access to PBP then why don't you go ahead and get an HID? That 150w HPS kit is like $20 and I think all you'd need to set it up is an extension cord.

How much coco is in the RO? Seems like you might wanna get some Cal-Mag soon.

Those harvest pics look dank bro..... very nice.

 

[TheDankness]

What is PBP? Actually I've been researching some different 150 watt HPS options, funny you mention it. I have only seen them as cheap as 70 bucks, that was a mini enclosed ballast unit. Post a link and I'll check it out. I would probably have to wait till I get a little more dough, but I'm definately considering it.

Oh, and the RO is a soil replacement, and its been amended with a long list of organic nutrients. I guess I'm just assuming the lack of Cal/Mag only applies when you use near pure coco coif, the stuff I'm using is coif based. I think they'll be alright, you can use pure blend pro in hydro right, so it should have all the cal/mag I need. Tell me if I'm wrong in thinking this.

Added: I figured it out, you mean if I have access to Pure Blend Pro. Man do I feel stupid. I bought that online, and shipping an HID unit gets pricey, and I have never seen one for 20 dollars.

 

[TheFaux]

What is PBP? Actually I've been researching some different 150 watt HPS options, funny you mention it. I have only seen them as cheap as 70 bucks, that was a mini enclosed ballast unit. Post a link and I'll check it out. I would probably have to wait till I get a little more dough, but I'm definately considering it.

Oh, and the RO is a soil replacement, and its been amended with a long list of organic nutrients. I guess I'm just assuming the lack of Cal/Mag only applies when you use near pure coco coif, the stuff I'm using is coif based. I think they'll be alright, you can use pure blend pro in hydro right, so it should have all the cal/mag I need. Tell me if I'm wrong in thinking this.

"Coir-based" is kinda generic, but it sounds like a lot. PBP is low in cal-mag from a coco perspective. Coco is not the same as some other inert hydro medium. You might not need cal-mag, but you should keep an eye out for tiny red dots (calcium deficiency) and oblong interveinal reddening (magnesium deficiency).

 

[TheDankness]

Here is a list of what Roots Organic Potting Soil consists of:

Coco fiber, perlite, pumice, compost and peat moss amended with bat guano, mycorrhizae, earth worm castings, fish bone meal, kelp meal, feather meal, prilled rock phosphate, green sand, soybean meal, humic acid, K-mag, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal and oyster shell flour.

The problem is that I'm not really sure if any of these ingredients are a good source of Cal or Mag. I did read that if using coco medium to supplement with calcium and magnesium for the first couple weeks, but I think I might be covered. Can anybody tell me? K-mag sounds promising... let me know

 

[TheFaux]

Here is a list of what Roots Organic Potting Soil consists of:

Coco fiber, perlite, pumice, compost and peat moss amended with bat guano, mycorrhizae, earth worm castings, fish bone meal, kelp meal, feather meal, prilled rock phosphate, green sand, soybean meal, humic acid, K-mag, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal and oyster shell flour.

The problem is that I'm not really sure if any of these ingredients are a good source of Cal or Mag. I did read that if using coco medium to supplement with calcium and magnesium for the first couple weeks, but I think I might be covered. Can anybody tell me? K-mag sounds promising... let me know

Where did you read that it is okay to stop supplementing cal-mag after the first couple weeks? That's laughably bad info.

There's a lot of stuff in the RO, sounds like you would be covered for a while, but when you have to start using the PBP you should consider supplementing with cal-mag. I have hard water (220 ppm) and that still isn't enough for coco.

 

[TheDankness]

Well I read it on Botanicares recommended feeding schedule for PBP. They say if you use reverse osmosis water, or if you use coco media, to supplement with at least 5ml of Cal-Mag for the first 2 weeks. But this isn't straight coco, and I just did a little reading on some of the ingredients in RO, and it seems like they took the lack of Cal-Mag into account and added ingredients to eliminate the problem. I don't know, I think I'll just keep watering with straight spring water until I start the feeding schedule, I'll keep an eye out for any deficiency, thanks for the heads up.

 

[TheFaux]

Well I read it on Botanicares recommended feeding schedule for PBP. They say if you use reverse osmosis water, or if you use coco media, to supplement with at least 5ml of Cal-Mag for the first 2 weeks. But this isn't straight coco, and I just did a little reading on some of the ingredients in RO, and it seems like they took the lack of Cal-Mag into account and added ingredients to eliminate the problem. I don't know, I think I'll just keep watering with straight spring water until I start the feeding schedule, I'll keep an eye out for any deficiency, thanks for the heads up.

Botanicare makes a nutrient called CNS-17. They said it was for coco, but when people figured out it didn't do so good, Botanicare came out with a coco & soil formula CNS-17 with less potassium and other good shit. The stuff is like $25 per gallon so you might wanna check into that when your PBP runs dry.

Botanicare CNS17 (Commercial Nutrient System) Coco & Soil Formula Bloom Gallon (2-2-3): A from Kalyx.com - Hydroponics & Gardening - Nutrients, Liquid Here's the bloom formula. you could find the grow formula too, but if you use fresh RO each grow you might get by with just a bloom fert.

.....something to think about.

 

[TheDankness]

Update: November 22, 2008

I took some more pics today, all of the young ones this time, no new buds harvested yet. I transplanted the two plants I germinated first into 2 gallon containers, they will stay in these new containers up until harvest. One of the plants had a little droop going on for a while but I just checked and she is perking up very nicely. I know what you're thinking, two weeks is way too early to be transplanting, but I think they are growing so fast that they were already root bound in the dixie cups. I plan to start their feeding schedule very soon, I'll keep you posted. Also I threw in a pic of the soil I'm using, so far it receives my full endorsement, couldn't be happier.

 

[TheDankness]

Update: November 24, 2008

Took some more pictures during watering today. The two that I transplanted are doing excellent, they look very lush. The babies on the other hand, seem to be taking forever, which probably means they're females, I have my fingers crossed. One of them seems to have been slightly burned, the soil is a little warm for seedlings, but I'm sure she'll grow into it just like the other two did. I finally got that pesky skyscraper cola off of the topped plant, the popcorn is bathing in much more light now. I kind of wish I would have let the LST plant go a little longer, now its turning purple, but there is barely any bud left on her. Take a look at the close up, the color is really pretty.

 

[dgafaboutanyone]

looking good bro >_<