135W LED Closet Grow - 2 X DP Think Different Auto, 2 X Dinafem Moby Dick Auto

Hi Everyone,

So I finally decided that the time has come to put my half-metre[SUP]2[/SUP] closet space to good use! What better way than to cultivate some glorious herbs?!

I just received my latest order of seeds along with my new 135W UFO LEF Grow Lamp..

So it begins... I'll be growing 4 auto flowering ladies in a tight-scheduled 10 week grow. I'm using soil as a medium and the LED Grow Lamp as a light source - at least for the veg period. In my experience accounts of LED light performance varies massively; as far as i can tell they certainly work but there is contention over how effective they are, the wattage required and conflicting accounts of potential yield etc. Bearing all this in mind I am still optimistic that a 135W LED should be sufficient for the grow space. I am interested to see firsthand if they are all they are cracked up to be after reading so many contrasting reviews. My light was fairly pricey at £130 ($210) for a 135W.. but it claims to be able to replace a 250W or even 400W bulb

...we shall see. Lets just say I'm not converted yet, despite finally getting round to trying out an LED Grow Lamp I have got my 250W HPS waiting on standby. In any case, hopefully I'll have something useful to contribute to the LED lamp argument in 10 weeks. On to the grow:

My seeds:

• 2 Dutch Passion Think Different Fem Autos - Dutch Passion's answer to AK47 x Lowryder 2
• 2 Dinafem Moby Dick Fem Autos - a cross between Dinafem's Haze and White Widow Autos

I was keen to get strains that I had grown before (or at least had grown one of their parents before) so I could get some perspective on the performance of the LED lamp. Experience and research led me to the conclusion that these are two of the best auto strains (though both quite pricey). Iv grown a different seed company's AK47 x Lowryder 2 strain before with great success so really looking forward to seeing what Dutch Passion (and potentially the LEDs I guess) can add to this classic auto. I have also grown White Widow before producing some really incredible smoke so very intrigued by Dinafem's offering.

Here is a full list of kit:

• 135 Watt LED Grow Light
• (250 Watt HPS Grow Light - Only will get used if the LED light is under performing)
• 11L (2.9 gallon) Square Pots
• Canna Terra Professional Plus Soil Mix
• White light tight Reflective Mylar Sheeting
• Advanced nutrients Iguana Juice - 1 x Grow & 1 x Bloom
• Advanced nutrients Mother Earth - 1 x Grow & 1 x Bloom
• Advanced nutrients Voodoo Juice
• Advanced nutrients Final Phase

The grow Space:

• Dimensions: 55cm (21.6") x 160cm (63") x 50cm (19.6") - width x height x depth
• Digital Thermometer & Humidity Meter
• Thermostat controlled 1ft 60W Tube Heater
• 9" Intake fan

To start with I will be operating without an outtake fan. I am fairly certain this setup will be fine - the LED Lamp produces very little heat and its quite cold here (hence the heater) so don't want to much of a draught through the space, also obviously the air will displace itself to a certain extent anyway helping to bring down humidity and cycle the air while preserving the temp. I ended up going for the white reflective sheeting - as opposed to silver - for this grow space after watching this http://www.youtu.be/IMBaPNAlAIg ... was certainly interesting enough to warrant a test move to white. Other than those distinctions the setup is typical for a grow of this size.

The seeds:


I just prepped the seeds for germination. Will get some photos of the grow space and setup after the weekend, hopefully with some freshly sprouted girls.

Feel free to comment/ask questions though that may be superfluous at this point.. ill be sure update and add more photos soon.
Peace
Panda

Hi All,

Everything has gone well so far

I germinated the seeds in wet paper towel stored in labeled shot glasses that were then wrapped in cling film (seran wrap) to preserve humidity.



I then left them in a dark cupboard at 20[SUP]o[/SUP]C for 24hrs. When i came back and checked all 4 had sprouted a tap root so i transplanted them to their new plastic cup homes.
This temporary pot is just going to be used until leaves are showing and my new thermostat plug arrives, my old one seems to have died so iv had to rig up a desk lamp as heater temporarily - shown below.




I mentioned earlier that iv done a AK47 x Lowryder 2 and a WW grow, these were done with my mate at his place. The journal for the first WW grow can be found here.
Thats all for now, really looking forward to seeing some fresh shoots in the next couple days!
Panda

DAY 3: They hatched!

Herrow everybody,

So 3 dias from germination and we have leaves!!

All 4 are poking their tiny green heads through the soil, here are some pics:



The biggest one came up significantly faster than the others so has been drinking in the light for a full 24hrs. Hopefully the others can catch up soon though all in all extremely happy with their speedy progress.

I'v been useing 24hr light and will continue for the next day or two then i'll drop back to 20/4 -probably when i put them in their new pots.. Ill be transplanting them to their large homes soon to ensure that root growth isn't diminished due to the clear plastic cup enclosure (a possible result of light reaching the roots through side of cup). After the transplant I'll start a nutrient routine, beginning with 1/4 strength Grow nutes (both Iguana Juice and Mother Earth) and Voodoo juice though I'll put up photos as i go along.

Ill keep y'all updated with any development!
Panda

Nice setup, love Dinafem but I've never grown their autos. I had some bad luck with their regular WW seeds but their DinaChem is my new favorite.

Thanks for stopping by majek. Yea, im hoping dinafem's autos live up to the rep that their other stains have.. cant imagine that Moby is going to be anything other than a seriously killer stain though.

I'v been doing some reading on here, checking other peoples LED grows and after reading this thread (post #34) iv decided to add some auxiliary lighting, namely a couple of CFLs. After some online browsing I went for 2 Warm 125W compact CFLs. I opted for warm since the majority of the plant life cycle will be flowering. Im hoping these are a viable way to keep heat down while ensuring the plants are getting plenty of food - as opposed to switching to the HPS which obviously has heat implications.

They're set to arrive on the 16th!

Really excited after seeing their efficacy in duudical's grow.

Panda

Day 4: 2 Good, 2 Great

Yo,

So they've had some great growth over the last day and a half. All of the girls have properly opened up and most are sporting their first set of fanned leaves..



I gave them their first water since they got into their pots on day 2 today since the soil was finally drying out. Very happy with this seedling potting technique; Iv placed each potting cup inside another clear plastic cup then put a hole in the bottom of the inner cup so that a mini reservoir will form at the bottom which can then be reabsorbed.

Panda

Day 14: Smooth Sailing

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd throw up another update on day 14 - 2 weeks in, 8 to go!!

The girls are coming along nicely with significant growth since my last post as you would expect. The 2 main changes to the grow are that I repotted them all to my medium sized pots and that I added the 2 125W warm CFLs:



They put out a lot of light which can only be good and I'm really glad about the addition as it should hopefully help produce some big killer buds Other than that its business as usual; I'v been watering as required, keeping ph around 6.5 with 1/8 strength nutes. Iv got temperature steady at around 27 celcius (80F) with the lights on, dropping to about 18 or so (65F) at night. Still running 20/4 light cycle which seems to be going great and my 9" intake is keeping air circulating. Here they are:



Lots of development across the board all having pretty much caught up with the big'un. New nodes are forming and the stems are thickening nicely. Ah, they just grow up so fast...
I'll get another update up in a week or so before they go into autoflower.
Panda

Day 20

So.. Loads of growth, big leaves, up to full strength nutes, alls looking good.



Will throw up a couple more pictures as soon as they are budding.
Panda

Awesome looking plants! I have some "think different" about the same age. Under a 200watt led setup. Will check in on your progress.

Day 25

Thanks growingoldgal, they are really nice plants hope you have a good time with them.. I really cant wait for harvest, think its going to be a good one... Growth has kept up high rate and the plants are looking awesome.



One of the girls has stayed a bit shorter than the other 3.. though she does have very dense foliage so hopefully her shorted stature wont limit her crop. The first pistils have started to show on all the plants, though more so on the 3 bigger ones.



Going to repot and switch nutes over to flowering tomorrow to help keep up this growth rate.
Peace
Panda

Whoa! Your girls have taken off! We were told to wait until 4 weeks before starting nutes. Looks like it was bad info. Your girls are bigger. How far above the plants is your led light?

Looking at the size of your plants and the size of mine made me think I need to add the cfl lights. The led light I bought is full spectrum. I guess you have a really green thumb.

I'm starting my very first grow with a very similar setup, I'm only doing 2 plants with 120w LED in a 60cm X 60cm X 140cm lxwxh and using auto pots (I've got spame outside my tent for the res). I'll be keeping a very close eye on this! Please keep us updated as posible!

subscribed!

Day 34: Half way... pretty much

Growingoldgal: i keep my led about 40cm above the plants. I would start using nutes before 4 weeks certainly, though i did not use full strength for the first few weeks.
Iceauron: Sounds like a nice set up, i wish you good luck.

Ok so its been a while since I last updated.. everything is still going smoothly which is obviously great..

The girls are of course auto flowering so they're pretty much at the half way point!! its a very exciting time... They are looking great, maturing nicely and starting to show their pedigree. Iv been maintaining as optimal conditions as possible, nutes are full strength flowering by now. I repotted since the last photo op into the big 2.9 gal pots, I think this has really keep growth steady. The two Moby Dick plants are really starting to put on the pounds fattening up nicely already.. I really cannot wait to see how big these babies get. The Think Differents are on the right and the Moby Dicks are on the left:



Both strains are developing plenty of bud sites and Im hopeful that its gonna be one killer harvest.

I apologise for the lighting in the photos, none of the lighting combos seemed to actually work well for all the photos.. Ill put up another update in a week or so when they've thickened up even more.
Panda

Panda, thanks for the information. After seeing your grow I added 2 cfl lights. Got way too hot in my small area. Will have to re-Think that. Your grow is fantastic.

Looking amazing BlazedUpPanda! I can't wait until my plants get that big!

You actually inspired me to start my own journal! Feel free to drop by and comment. Any tips welcome too

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/625190-first-grow-2-fem-swiss.html

Day 39: Photo Shoot

growingoldgal: Thanks for the props, I always appreciate kind words. Yea the CFLs did add a lot more heat than I expected as well, though its obviously still minimal compared to the heat given off by a HPS or MH. Personally if possible I always would go for more light and more ventilation than less light in order to keep heat down. Hope you found a way to make it work for you.

Iceauron: Congrats on your first grow and starting a journal. Def think its well worth doing.. even if everything goes well and you just use it as a place to put up some nice pics of fat buds

Thought I'd put up a more comprehensive photo set to show the girls off; i am really loving these strains' genetics. The plant arrangement has changed with the Think Differents being the back left and front right plants...



The first set of 4 photos below are of the slightly shorter Think Different pheno, she's 38cm at the moment.. The bud sites are developing nicely and her and her sister are giving off a really gorgeous sweet aroma. The second set of 4 are of my leggy Think Different, she is significantly taller than the first (and the Mobys) at around half a metre but she's also is packing more weight that her sis. I am interested to see how the bud development progresses with this strain.. hopefully the vertical growth with be fully replaced with bud production soon so the calyxes will have plenty of time to swell before they get to harvest. Will have to see, though that said I am super happy with them already and they still have around a month before the estimated harvest date.




The two sets of photos below are of the two Moby Dicks. These girls are already looking ridiculously fat. Truly prolific bud production. The second is the taller of the two by a couple centimetres, all her bud sites are already massive and the top cola looks like its going to be obscene. The first is currently my favourite, shes already boasting 100% 360 degree bud coverage for the top 15cm of the plant. I am fairly certain that over the next month the taller of the two will fill out to be my highest yielding plant though right now I cant take my eyes off the first one.






Ill get another set of photos up in a week or so.. I genuinely cant believe these Mobys have still got a month to go, theyre already looking biblically epic..
wow that took longer than expected. time to go smoke a bowl
Panda

Panda, girls look incredible. Worried about you, last we heard you went to do a bowl. My girls seem to be stunted. Did you keep the cfl lights on the whole grow?

Day 48

growingoldgal: Hahaha.. no need for concern; as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough smoke a bowl.. been meaning to get another photo shoot done for a while now. Decided tonight was the night, hope you enjoy.. about the cfl, yea I have used my cfls the whole way through as well as the led. sad to hear your girls are looking short, what nutrient regime are they on?

So with 22 days remaining these 4 little ladies are starting to really put on the pounds. Again I'v got the TD's on the left and the MD's on the right...

View attachment 2545242View attachment 2545243

Now for some close ups...
First the leggy Think Different:
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Her shorter sister:
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The smaller Moby Dick:
View attachment 2545251View attachment 2545252View attachment 2545253
And finally, the fattest of them all:
View attachment 2545254View attachment 2545256View attachment 2545257

As i hoped - particularly about the TDs - all the plants have seemingly reached their final heights and have started to increase bud production. Whether this due to them finally getting pot bound or just genetics i cannot say.. Both the TDs are looking much better for it with all the bud sited swelling. As i predicted the larger of the MDs is now the favourite for largest yielder. It really is quite remarkable, roughly the top 20 to 25cm of the plant is entirely covered in bud!

All the plants now have crystallisation on leave surrounding the calyxes - the MDs more so than the TDs - and are starting to smell seriously dank.
I'm planning to start another 4 plants - probably 2 more Mobys and 2 Blue Treacles - in the next couple days so i'll be uploading some photos of the new seedlings here as well.
Peace
Panda

Hey Panda, the grow is doing amazingly well and thanks for the pix. Because of the nutrient rich soil we were told not to feed until week 4, and then to use 1/4 strength Botanicare pure blend pro bloom
1 4 5. Always wondered if we should use more nitrogen during veg. Cycle. Did you use the 6400k cfl only, or did you switch to 2700k for flowering?