1400w Psuedo-Hydro-Organic Coco mix: Nirvana Ice and my Element Zero

This first post is just going to be such a tease for anyone looking for the finished product. The seeds were just planted today, give me a break!



What I am working with:
5x5 Mylar tent
6" 400cfm inline fan, 4" 180cfm blower, 4" axial, two 16" circulation, 8" circular fan.
1000w Switchable ballast w/ 1000w Eye Sunlux HPS and Coolsun 6
400w Switchable ballast w/ 400w Phillips MH
Two 2.5'x5' tables
Two thermometers/hygrometers
5000btu window AC unit
3 gallon SmartPots
Hanna GroCheck pH/EC multi-meter
Two 18 gallon reservoirs (15 gallon really)

The mix:
I used about 10L of Botanicare CocoGro that I had pre-expanded using a weak solution of water and rhizotonic amended with Humboldt nutrients Myco Maximum. This was then mixed with 1.5cuft of Roots Organic hydroponic Coco mix. The mix includes Coco fiber, perlite, pumice, worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal, greensand, soluble kelp, leonardite, and probably a few other things.

The final mixture is mostly coco, with a little extra aeration material to offset the organics. Recommended to feed at 5.5 to 6.5 pH, I will be using 6.0 as my midway point allowing the coco to do the rest of the buffering. I may run lower, 5.8pH, during flowering to assist in the utilization of PK bloom enhancers.

Seedlings will be started in pure Botanicare cocogro in party cups and allowed to grow for about 2 weeks in that before being transplanted. They will be transplanted to 3 gallon Smart Pots which I will be filling with only 2 gallons of the coco mix. This creates a wide base for the roots and will allow me to water as frequently as I desire. More media isn't required for the length of the grow. Since I only have 16 smartpots a few plants might need to spend a little time in 1 gallon planters if I don't have enough for sure females, or if I have more than 16 seeds actually start (usually 100%).

Flowering will be carried out in the larger tent. I will use the 1000w bulb at the top of the tent to cover the canopy. Plants will be placed in a circle around the 400w MH bulb (uncovered, but with the vortex fan blowing the heat upwards to the vented cool sun). In this way I will have a vertical 400w MH and a horizontal 1000w HPS.

I am planning on finishing 6 to 10 plants, probably 8. Modest harvest expectations given space and shorter veg period. I won't be employing any training methods to keep the vegetative period productive and short. Aiming for large central colas.

Genetics:
Planted Eight Nirvana Ice plants (White genetics). Growing one of them out now in a 1 gallon container and it seems to be doing well for 6 weeks in. Nothing crazy.

Also planted Twelve of my own strain Element Zero. This is a Big Bud x (G13xHash plant) mixture I made from seeds acquired from a dispensary in Santa Cruz, CA. Historically a heavy yield, with a sweet and peppery flavor. Purple tendency from the Mr. Nice (G13xHashplant) cross. 90% Indica with the occasional Sativa-esque blend.



Nutrients:
Using Canna Coco A+B, Cal-Mag Plus, and a little Liquid Karma and Pro-Tekt for Veg.
Cutting the nutrients to 1/2 strength after transplanting.
Bloom enhancers I will use include Botanicare CNS17 Ripe, Hydroplex, General Hydroponics Liquid KoolBloom, and AN Bud Candy.

The EC of the solutions will fluctuate from week to week (there is a plan) and will usually stick between .8 and 1.4 EC. During Bloom there is a period of two weeks or so where 1.9 EC will be used at the most.

The watering habits when a seedlings, and after the transplanting, will be similar to soil watering habits. I will allow the media to essentially go dry (almost, but not quite) between feedings/waterings. When the plants need a drink every day I will then begin feeding in the morning with nutrients and then watering with plain water in the evenings before bed. Twice a day, every day, in 2 gallon planters, should be fine when it comes to a healthy root system in coco. I will of course tailor feedings and waterings as the plants require... but this process is the goal.

Seeds planted today, February 8th. Should be above ground on February 12th. So that is day 1. I will be transplanting and migrating to the tent on March 5th (I hope). Flowering will begin around March 12th. Harvest will probably be in the first week of May, give or take.

That's it ladies and gentlemen! I hope you enjoy the show as it happens...
The reason I'm not in the tent already??? These still have about 25 days left.

What?
Why would you bother saying that Troll?
I wonder? Are you running out of things to keep you entertained in life?

I'm still waiting for the seedlings to be above ground. Just getting the thing started. I guess to not "fail" I should have harvested the beans I planted 5 days ago by now? What ever will I do now that I have disappointed Raw?!?!

Thanks for your input. I will not require more of it. Hence, you're going on ignore. You know what that means right? If not, let me clarify. It means I don't ever read anything you post. Ever. You will probably still bother. Because you are a troll, and trolls must have the last word. Doesn't bother me. I won't have to read it. Thank you for exposing yourself as the ripe talent you truly are.

Some of the seedlings have arrived. I have 12 I know about, probably should pick up the rest over the next 2 days.

Here we are now, seedlings are four or five days from breaking surface (most of them arrived within 24 hours of the first one).

Group shot:


The Nirvana Ice:



The Element Zero (Mr. Nice x Big Bud):



They just got their first watering the other day.

I'm running about 200w of daylight CFL's give or take.

19/20 hatched but one of them is all fraked. I'm going to run these 8 Ice and 10 EZ and hope for at least 9 females. I'm fine with just 6 though.

Snow---Looks great man! Im Subbed...+rep on the grow and booting that Jackass....he has chimed in on my posts also... idiot. I will send you picks of my PE and Hawaiian Snow this weekend...they are 2 days old above ground now... I will start them under CFLs today until they are ready for some real light. Check in with you later!

Figured I'd toss up an update.

I tested the EC of my run off from the first watering and found it to be a staggering 2.0! I allowed for about 4 days from the last watering and rinsed them good yesterday. The EC is now down around .6 to .7

The first set of leaves show the results of the rinsing at this stage. The lighting also has the plants looking a little less green then they really are.

All plants are about 7 days old. Some closer to 8, some closer to 6, but about 7. Early on the difference just a day makes is pretty impressive. Later on it won't matter much.

Snow....my plants fell over and died again....I feel hopeless... What temps are you running? With and without light? I am wondering if they need more humidity?? The plant was so fucking healthy...it felt dry so I watered it with only a cap full of water and it fell over probably less than 8 hours later and I saw the same thing as before....stem started withering up thin and spongy... maybe I am not ment to grow...sad cause my other plants Jalepenos etc are awesome.... I am getting great germination now...but still having them fall over and die...I just dont get it.

How deep are you planting your seeds?

When you water are you watering from the top or bottom of the cup? Can you please let me know approximately how much water you are giving them....thanks sorry for all the questions...

hudman said:

Snow....my plants fell over and died again....I feel hopeless... What temps are you running? With and without light? I am wondering if they need more humidity?? The plant was so fucking healthy...it felt dry so I watered it with only a cap full of water and it fell over probably less than 8 hours later and I saw the same thing as before....stem started withering up thin and spongy... maybe I am not ment to grow...sad cause my other plants Jalepenos etc are awesome.... I am getting great germination now...but still having them fall over and die...I just dont get it.

Click to expand...

I'm actually paying no attention to the temperature at the moment. Room temps hang around the low 70's, I have plenty of air circulation, so I'd imagine somewhere in the mid to high 70's when lights are on. I'm not sure what the issue is with your setup.

hudman said:

How deep are you planting your seeds?

Click to expand...

To be honest... Not sure. I stick my finger in there, maybe 1/2 and inch, maybe a little deeper. Not something I stress about.

hudman said:

When you water are you watering from the top or bottom of the cup? Can you please let me know approximately how much water you are giving them....thanks sorry for all the questions...

Click to expand...

I water from the top of the cup until I begin to see water flow out the bottom of the cup. Then I add another 100ml to 200ml of solution to get plenty of run off. I only water when required, right now that's about every 4 days before the coco is dry enough to water again.

Damn it seems like that is way more water than I am using.... any other ideas?

Watering isn't about volume. It is about frequency. You can kill a plant with just an ounce of water if you add that ounce too often.
The process is what is important. Going from totally, 100%, evenly saturated to moistly moist but partially dry. I'm watering twice a week... Maybe... right now. So when I do get the chance to water I make sure the media gets evenly wet.

Also, I plan ahead.

To give you an idea of what the schedule looks like nutrient-wise:
Week A: 0.400
Week B: 0.900
Week C: 1.100
Week D: 1.250
Transition: 1.000
Week 1: 1.300
Week 2: 1.600
Week 3:1.650
Week 4: 2.000
Week 5: 2.050
Week 6: 2.000
Week 7: 1.100
Week 8 and onward: <0.200

These levels will be tailored as needed of course, but that's the plan. Having the plan allows me to know what I'm going to mix and when I'll get a chance to feed until I can get on a regular schedule when the root zone is full.

I cannot honestly think of any one reason you could have killed so many seedlings. Change the watering habits of course, but you've moved the plants and made sure the environment is dialed... I really think there's something you're doing. Babying them too much maybe. I check on my plants maybe twice a day, and just to look for a moment to make sure the lights are still at an okay distance.

Those are looking healthy! Wish I could have a serious setup like that. I have to keep it small and stealth, sadly. In due time. I'm subbed on this log.

How about an update Snow.... stoked!

No problemo. I'll toss one up when the lights come back on here in about 45 minutes.

Not much going on. About another leaf set taller. Everything is on track.

Not too much going on. I did feed them recently with a 0.6 ec solution of Liquid Karma and Cal-Mag the other day.



On probably Monday or Tuesday I will be using a 0.9 solution consisting of:
5ml Canna Coco A
5ml Canna Coco B
4ml Cal-Mag Plus
3ml Liquid Karma
4ml Pro-Tekt

Nice green. So vibrant.

Subbed rep for the help

I just wanted to toss up some pics from just before lights off tonight. I finally got the seedlings and clones moved out from under CFL bulbs. Everything is now located under a 400w MH bulb. Temperatures are consistently around 78 to 80 degrees.

I don't know how I've been missing this. Looking good. How is the Coco? Looks interesting, are they about ready for water in the latest pics?