BC Northern Lights Producer Grow #2

[Bigbux]

Thanx for the info. Hey stillcant, didnt u have the godbud journal in the producer? How many oz u get? And, can I cut clones in 3rd or 4th wk of flower and expect them to revert back to veg? I'm lookin at cutting about 50 to a hundred out of here if I follow recommendations of leaving 3 to 5 branches and it would be a shame if someone couldn't use them.

Any more updates, Ancap??

 

[stillcantroll]

Thanx for the info. Hey stillcant, didnt u have the godbud journal in the producer? How many oz u get? And, can I cut clones in 3rd or 4th wk of flower and expect them to revert back to veg? I'm lookin at cutting about 50 to a hundred out of here if I follow recommendations of leaving 3 to 5 branches and it would be a shame if someone couldn't use them.

Any more updates, Ancap??

Actually, it's funny you brought this up, because I was just doing a deal of research into this matter. As it turns out, you CAN cut clones from flowered branches. They WILL root, and root well. I've come across a great many growers who maintain a great perpetual garden *without* mother plants by doing this!! I've been told to cut them no later than the third week of flower. You can cut your branches as early as your plants can take it, so you can stay on top of your bushy plants earlier on, which is what I aim to do (around first week of flower up until 3rd).

You mentioned you'll taking 50, I'm not sure if you'll get that many, but try to take no less than 25-30 in order to eliminate chances of failure on 18 good healthy clones. Then, if you can muster it, get a closet veg station, and slowly veg them in some 1 and then 3 inch rockwool. If cut at week 3, you should have nice tall healthy clones ready for your box on week 7-8 if vegged under a CFL. MH might cause them to grow too fast, but I'll have to test it out. Good luck!

 

[Bigbux]

The guy I got the ak clones from swears it's a 40 day flower. He said the latest he waited was 47 days. And that was in soil!! I'm very curious to see if they can pull off that quick of a flower. If I followed what u just said about vegging in a closet in 1" then 3" rockwool, do you think they'd be ready to go straight to flower on Day one in the Producer? My goal(as I'm sure is all of our's) is to start day one flowering the day I harvest the previous batch. If I can pull that off with a 40 to 50 day flower that would really make my day

 

[Bigbux]

Anyone tried Bushmaster? I need to stop vertical growth ASAP! 18 to 22" at day 12flower.

 

[stillcantroll]

The guy I got the ak clones from swears it's a 40 day flower. He said the latest he waited was 47 days. And that was in soil!! I'm very curious to see if they can pull off that quick of a flower. If I followed what u just said about vegging in a closet in 1" then 3" rockwool, do you think they'd be ready to go straight to flower on Day one in the Producer? My goal(as I'm sure is all of our's) is to start day one flowering the day I harvest the previous batch. If I can pull that off with a 40 to 50 day flower that would really make my day

I would be pretty impressed with a 40 day flower... question is, where are going to incorporate your flushing into there? 40 days of nutes is totally acceptable, but 40 days including a week or more of flushing? I'll have to see it to believe it. Not discounting it but, I think in this situation you're outlining, something has to give. I've never once sampled really quality product that was flowered that quickly. That delicious fresh brewed coffee smell that I drool over only comes out in the last few weeks after a good solid flush, and never around day 40. I have a feeling if you do manage to squeeze those clones out, they might be ripe, but you could improve them dramatically by leaving them in with pH'd water for another 10 days. Just my opinion based on my experience, and there is, of course, an exception to every rule, and I hope you're right! Only one real way to find out... try it. Buy a microscope and prove me wrong, let's see! I'd love to see how those turn out.

And yes, they absolutely will be ready to go into flower in day one if it's the proper strain. The problem with certain pure indica strains is they will need extra veg time, due to slow vegetative growth and lack of stretch during flowering. But who knows how your strain will turn out. That's the curse and beauty of these machines, you have no idea what you're getting into when you switch strains. If you clone a strain that shoots 10-15 inches during flowering, you stand an excellent chance (with the help of a closet station) of getting down to one week, or possibly zero weeks of veg time. However, if you have an indica strain that only shoots about... 3-10 inches or less, then you'll have to veg accordingly. All down to the genetics. If you were to veg too long in the closet, you'll run out of room for your roots, and your transplant will become impossible. I'm sure theres a way around this, there always is, I just haven't come up with it yet. Maybe we can figure it out over time. I'm trying to brainstorm a system of an ez-cloner type machine to veg them out nice and tall, then transplant into hydroton in the producer, but I'm not sure how it'll work.

 

[Bigbux]

Stillcant-I'm trying to brainstorm a system of an ez-cloner type machine to veg them out nice and tall, then transplant into hydroton in the producer, but I'm not sure how it'll work.

That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. You use hydroton too? I went half rockwool chunks and half hydroton and the chunks get over-watered and the hydroton gets under-watered but they both producing the same looking results-lush green healthy looking plants. You like hydroton?

 

[stillcantroll]

Stillcant-I'm trying to brainstorm a system of an ez-cloner type machine to veg them out nice and tall, then transplant into hydroton in the producer, but I'm not sure how it'll work.

That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. You use hydroton too? I went half rockwool chunks and half hydroton and the chunks get over-watered and the hydroton gets under-watered but they both producing the same looking results-lush green healthy looking plants. You like hydroton?

I don't currently use hydroton. I use rockwool. What I was saying was, if I were to use an EZ cloner, then I would be forced to use hydroton, as rockwool wouldnt be an option at that point (unless using those tiny little rockwool cubes, but I have no experience with those either). BCNL openly endorses the use of either medium. I've used a combination of peat moss into rockwool as well with success. One thing I will say about rockwool is that salt buildups can occur, and can be solved by doing a 2 day hydrogen peroxide and plain water flush 2-3 times throughout the grow (every 2-3 weeks or so). You could also use a product such as Clearex in lieu of or in addition to the hydrogen peroxide. Last grow I lost a plant to some real nasty salt buildups in the medium, won't be making that mistake again!

 

[85kryptonite]

ancap did you get the royale? arent you about ready to harvest soon?

 

[ancap]

ancap did you get the royale? arent you about ready to harvest soon?

I just purchased the producer with a veg upgrade. I just harvested the remainder of the two plants I had to early harvest because of mold. Everything else seems to be progressing noticeably. More pictures to come later today possibly.

 

[85kryptonite]

how much was the producer with veg upgrade?

 

[stillcantroll]

Why not call BCNL and ask them :S

 

[Bigbux]

Does anyone have issues with ph climbing up rapidly? I got my nute mix to 5.5, changed rez, and 30 minutes later it was up to 6.2. So I got it down to 5.7ish and hours later it had climbed to 6.8!! I've been dealing with this for a while but now it's worse than ever. I've used half a litre of TechnaFlora's pH Down in 25 to 30 days. I'm also wondering if too much ph Down is bad for roots and/or nute solution. What everyone else think?

 

[Bigbux]

Ancap, what's the word with you?

 

[ancap]

Alright, I've got some pictures coming soon. I don't have great news though. I had a major dilema... with the carbon filter on the box, my humidity was averaging about 65%. With it off, the humidity was averaging about 40%. However, when the filter was off, you could smell fresh marijuana from my driveway near my front door even though my box is in a back room. I was in denial, but the smell was confirmed by several trusted friends. As soon as the filter went back on, the smell dissapated within hours.

I took a chance with the filter on, and thought that if I kept both my portable ac and dehumidifier running, I could avoid mold and rot. Well, I was wrong. It attacked about three quarters of my primary colas in the final stages of their growth, though I was able to salvage good bud from each of those colas. I've been harvesting the smaller colas with success however. My final yield will be in the 4 to 6 ounces range. It would have been double or triple.

Humidity is a huge problem in these boxes as I've learned over two grows. I will be doing some research and speaking with BCNL on some strategies to counter this. Here are my initial thoughts...

1. I think trimming every branch on the lower 3/5 of the plants is a definite. Just grow the main colas.

2. Keep the dehumidified AC running into box at all times during the final stages of growth.

3. Find a filter alternative that doesn't obstruct airflow.

4. Install two small fans on the top, inside corners of the grow chamber.

 

[Bigbux]

that sux man! sorry to hear. my comp died so i gotta web-surf with our Wi! its kind of a bitch type so i mite not b around 4 a few days but im goin to try and get my journal up when i get cmp fixd. was ur humidity high at nite or during day? mine is 30 to 35 day but up to 70 at nite. whats the max it should get to at nite?

 

[stillcantroll]

Alright, I've got some pictures coming soon. I don't have great news though. I had a major dilema... with the carbon filter on the box, my humidity was averaging about 65%. With it off, the humidity was averaging about 40%. However, when the filter was off, you could smell fresh marijuana from my driveway near my front door even though my box is in a back room. I was in denial, but the smell was confirmed by several trusted friends. As soon as the filter went back on, the smell dissapated within hours.

I took a chance with the filter on, and thought that if I kept both my portable ac and dehumidifier running, I could avoid mold and rot. Well, I was wrong. It attacked about three quarters of my primary colas in the final stages of their growth, though I was able to salvage good bud from each of those colas. I've been harvesting the smaller colas with success however. My final yield will be in the 4 to 6 ounces range. It would have been double or triple.

Humidity is a huge problem in these boxes as I've learned over two grows. I will be doing some research and speaking with BCNL on some strategies to counter this. Here are my initial thoughts...

1. I think trimming every branch on the lower 3/5 of the plants is a definite. Just grow the main colas.

2. Keep the dehumidified AC running into box at all times during the final stages of growth.

3. Find a filter alternative that doesn't obstruct airflow.

You're breaking my heart. I hope you nail down a solution soon.

I totally agree about the branching, it just becomes a wet mess in there if the air isnt allowed to pass freely between the plants. I'm thinking of going just a couple branches on each plant at the very bottom, rather than the very top, so that the light can run all the way down the cola to the stem, instead of the stem being shaded by larger top branching. BCNL sells something they call a "pro filter". I was discussing it with them when i was having smell issues. I know it has a seperate fan and is much better than the stock slide on carbon filter. Maybe that might be your solution, certainly worth investigating.

 

[ancap]

Thanks stillcantroll,

I'll check out that other filter option for sure. Don't feel too bad for me though... This thing could still pull 6 ounces or more! I've been trimming like a bitch for the past few days and the buds are in better shape than I thought. I did lose quite a bit to mold, but I've been able to salvage a lot from those big colas and the smaller colas have been mostly healthy. I've got lots of underdeveloped buds that should have been trimmed back a long time ago as no light was penetrating to them.

Another saving grace though is that I am saving all the underdeveloped and sickly looking bud for making hash with my bubble bags.

Pics still to come...


Bigbux, I think you want that humidity to stay well under 50% at all times in the later stages of flowering, even at night. 30-40% is perfect. I would start becomming concerned if it went anywhere over 50% at any time. Keep your dehumidifier or portable ac on at night to keep that humidity down. You will kick yourself like I did when you see your beautiful, thick buds growing mold.

 

[ancap]

Final dry weight is around 9 oz of good bud. Most came from the tons and tons of side branching. I've saved tons of premature bud and sick bud to make hash oil and hash from bubble bags. I probably lost 3-4 ounces from the mold. Here are some final pics...




Smoke Report

The dry bud is not currently finished curing, but smells light and fruity. Despite finishing with 200ppm (slight nute res), the smoke is smooth and no one has complained, even when asked for an honest opinion. I cannot detect any scratchy, smokey taste or burn. Some of the buds were a little premature, but the high is still great; a cerebral rush that sticks around for maybe an hour with two small hits. The more mature bud has more of a body high, but is still very cerebral and lasts a bit longer.

 

[stillcantroll]

Final dry weight is around 9 oz of good bud. Most came from the tons and tons of side branching. I've saved tons of premature bud and sick bud to make hash oil and hash from bubble bags. I probably lost 3-4 ounces from the mold. Here are some final pics...

View attachment 1003949 View attachment 1003950 View attachment 1003951 View attachment 1003952


Smoke Report

The dry bud is not currently finished curing, but smells light and fruity. Despite finishing with 200ppm (slight nute res), the smoke is smooth and no one has complained, even when asked for an honest opinion. I cannot detect any scratchy, smokey taste or burn. Some of the buds were a little premature, but the high is still great; a cerebral rush that sticks around for maybe an hour with two small hits. The more mature bud has more of a body high, but is still very cerebral and lasts a bit longer.

View attachment 1003958

Well done! looks like you exceeded your re-evaluated expectations. Always good to hear. Buds look fantastic... nice cola! look at that friggin donger!

On to the next one bro, looks like you don't have much time I'm almost on my third and last week of veg right now, hopefully we'll be toe to toe for another run and learn as much as we did this go.

 

[85kryptonite]

damn thats a big ass cola, those buds are lookin delicious. so what modifications have you made to the producer? can you take a pic of your portable ac vented to the intake?