500 Watt Blackstar LED Grow- 6 OG Kush

Flushing is a myth, its completly unnecessary and is a badly misunderstood version of drowing the roots prior to harvest.

Those plants are literally rotting away, there's PM all over them...would you not just spray them with something instead of just letting the spores spread freely? Id use bleach on every inch of my grow area when those are done too.

So I decided to listen to some of you and I decided to harvest today, so the PM doesn't spread any worse. I was hoping to salvage some of my buds so I can smoke them. My fingers were so sticky, and the buds smell just like how OG should smell. I tried to trim as close as possible trying to get all the PM away from my buds. When I get back from my trip, there are a lot of adjustments I need to make so I can have a better harvest with no PM or any issues. This grow was on a time constraint, and I rushed it.

On another note, these LEDs really grew some dense, i mean sticky dense buds. I am sure if I didnt come across the PM they would have been fatter and even more dense! So at least thru this journal I know my Blackstar was not a waste of money, and I was able to Vegg and Flower with the same light. I will still continue this journal for smoke report, etc. Thank you all for viewing, and I hope this was a learning experience not just for me, but for everyone viewing.

sleezy1 said:

So I decided to listen to some of you and I decided to harvest today, so the PM doesn't spread any worse. I was hoping to salvage some of my buds so I can smoke them. My fingers were so sticky, and the buds smell just like how OG should smell. I tried to trim as close as possible trying to get all the PM away from my buds. When I get back from my trip, there are a lot of adjustments I need to make so I can have a better harvest with no PM or any issues. This grow was on a time constraint, and I rushed it.

On another note, these LEDs really grew some dense, i mean sticky dense buds. I am sure if I didnt come across the PM they would have been fatter and even more dense! So at least thru this journal I know my Blackstar was not a waste of money, and I was able to Vegg and Flower with the same light. I will still continue this journal for smoke report, etc. Thank you all for viewing, and I hope this was a learning experience not just for me, but for everyone viewing.

Click to expand...

I was crazy and a major asshole for giving this advice. You're humble...

final weigh in?

curly604 said:

final weigh in?

Click to expand...

Just chopped yesterday curly. I will give a final weigh in at the end of the week when everything is dry.

Been following along since the pcgrowbox fire og thread u had, (what a nice grow i must say) and have been convinced, L.E.D has reached a pinnacle finally where im interested in investing in them. First off i want to thank u and others who have opened up the LED myths and trashed them. I hope to be in your footsteps within the next few months, minus the PM (sorry to see that happen)... Few questions
~So im trying to figure out where you got your 300 watt blackstar from and how much did it cost?
~Im thinking of going with 3x 240watt blackstar's on a scrog grow instead of 2x 500's. Im also going to add sum 70 hps (not sure how many in total) to supplement as needed.
What tent size do you think I should get and is going for the 3x 240 watt smart? Im straying away from the 500's; reason being i figured since im doing scrog my concern with ligth penetration through the various canopy layers is minimal rather than with coverage area, hence the 3 seperate lights.
~Are inline fans required fro tents with these leds? if not what shoudl i use? i still want to keep odor down though, would i have to rig up a sytem witha carbon filter still or do those gonzo bags really work? Also if they do work will they affect the end smell of my bud after cured?
srry if i overloaded.
Anxious to see what you have planned next... Sneak peek maybe?

loudpac said:

Been following along since the pcgrowbox fire og thread u had, (what a nice grow i must say) and have been convinced, L.E.D has reached a pinnacle finally where im interested in investing in them. First off i want to thank u and others who have opened up the LED myths and trashed them. I hope to be in your footsteps within the next few months, minus the PM (sorry to see that happen)... Few questions
~So im trying to figure out where you got your 300 watt blackstar from and how much did it cost?
~Im thinking of going with 3x 240watt blackstar's on a scrog grow instead of 2x 500's. Im also going to add sum 70 hps (not sure how many in total) to supplement as needed.
What tent size do you think I should get and is going for the 3x 240 watt smart? Im straying away from the 500's; reason being i figured since im doing scrog my concern with ligth penetration through the various canopy layers is minimal rather than with coverage area, hence the 3 seperate lights.
~Are inline fans required fro tents with these leds? if not what shoudl i use? i still want to keep odor down though, would i have to rig up a sytem witha carbon filter still or do those gonzo bags really work? Also if they do work will they affect the end smell of my bud after cured?
srry if i overloaded.
Anxious to see what you have planned next... Sneak peek maybe?

Click to expand...

Sup Loudpac? Thanks for following my journals! Glad I could give you some intel on the LED lights! Here are the answers to your questions:

1)There is no 300watt blackstar, only a 240. You can buy them on Ebay, but make sure the seller is "Gotham Hydro", or you can call them directly and ask for Victor. Mention my grow journal to him, and he might give you a discount!
2) I think you should be good with the 3 240s! The light penetration is really not an issue, its more of the "sweet spot" that the plants will be in. I think with the 3 240s, you should cover your grow area just fine! I would go with a 4x4 tent, and scrog that sucker up!
3) Inline fans are not required! I used 2 clip fans from Bed Bath and Beyond. If you go back over my journal you will see what I used. I used 2 clip fans for intake and exhaust, and 2 tower oscillating fans for air circulation. To avoid the PM, I would look into getting a small dehumidifier, and water your plants in the morning when the lights are on.
4) For odor, try out the Gonzo bags. I went thru my whole grow without any issues with odor using them! Now my plants are the stinkiest when they are drying and the gonzo bags contain all the odor within the grow tent. I can't smell much until I initially open up the tent. The gonzo grow bags do not affect the smell of your buds. Once I have them in glass jars, I am sure it will reek bad when I open them up.
5) Next grow when I get back will probably be 6 more OG kush plants. I was thinking about doing a SCROG, but I want to make sure I got the humidity in the grow tent down first, otherwise it would be nearly impossible to throw out plants if they got infected. Hopefully my dehumidifier will fix this issue. I started having the PM issues around day 30 of flower, because the humidity level skyrockets when all my vents were closed. And it takes longer for LEDS to dry out the soil compared to HID. HOpe that answered your questions!

Here is some bud shots a day after being chopped down. So far the buds have not lost much water weight, because they were pretty dense when I chopped them. You can definitely see all the trichs more in these pics. Odor is becoming more intense as the plants are drying, much more than when they were alive. I will probably have to do a better trim before I cure them.

loudpac said:

Been following along since the pcgrowbox fire og thread u had, (what a nice grow i must say) and have been convinced, L.E.D has reached a pinnacle finally where im interested in investing in them. First off i want to thank u and others who have opened up the LED myths and trashed them. I hope to be in your footsteps within the next few months, minus the PM (sorry to see that happen)... Few questions
~So im trying to figure out where you got your 300 watt blackstar from and how much did it cost?
~Im thinking of going with 3x 240watt blackstar's on a scrog grow instead of 2x 500's. Im also going to add sum 70 hps (not sure how many in total) to supplement as needed.
What tent size do you think I should get and is going for the 3x 240 watt smart? Im straying away from the 500's; reason being i figured since im doing scrog my concern with ligth penetration through the various canopy layers is minimal rather than with coverage area, hence the 3 seperate lights.
~Are inline fans required fro tents with these leds? if not what shoudl i use? i still want to keep odor down though, would i have to rig up a sytem witha carbon filter still or do those gonzo bags really work? Also if they do work will they affect the end smell of my bud after cured?
srry if i overloaded.
Anxious to see what you have planned next... Sneak peek maybe?

Click to expand...

Hey loudpac, I'm doing the same this with 3 Blackstar 240's and they will fit perfectly in a 4' x 2' tent running long ways front to back spaced 5" apart from each other. Ultimately 4 lights would fit perfect in this configuration but I have 2 now and will add as I can afford them.

@sleezy1 I hope you did decent on the pre-harvest, buds look good and look forward to your next grow.

sleezy1 said:

Here is some bud shots a day after being chopped down. So far the buds have not lost much water weight, because they were pretty dense when I chopped them. You can definitely see all the trichs more in these pics. Odor is becoming more intense as the plants are drying, much more than when they were alive. I will probably have to do a better trim before I cure them.

Click to expand...

They certainly do look dense! You should most definetly do another grow journal so we can see what 2 500w Blackstars are all about when completed.

BlackMesa said:

They certainly do look dense! You should most definetly do another grow journal so we can see what 2 500w Blackstars are all about when completed.

Click to expand...

And they are dank buds too! I just got back from the gym and I picked one of the smallest nugs from the bottom of the stem and smoked it. I can immediately feel a rush envelope over my brain as I am typing this. Its going to be great stuff! I will definitely do another grow when I get back. So stay tuned after august 13th! These buds were harvested 6 days early, but I am sure the PM slowed down the full potential these plants had! I was always growing for my own consumption, and never to sell back so I am happy with the results. Yes the PM was unfortunate and pissed me off, but what are you going to do, cry? I made the best of the situation and tried to stretch it out to day 60, but I did not want the PM to spread further.

Smart move see you back the 13th be well

Harrekin said:

Flushing is a myth, its completly unnecessary and is a badly misunderstood version of drowing the roots prior to harvest.

Those plants are literally rotting away, there's PM all over them...would you not just spray them with something instead of just letting the spores spread freely? Id use bleach on every inch of my grow area when those are done too.

Click to expand...

bud from unflushed plants can produce black ash,be terrible to burn,taste nasty and give you a head ache.

bud from flushed plants will burn nicely,be smoother,taste better and the ash will be white/light grey.

flushing is important especially if you use synthetic nutrients.

I guess sleezy1 has a perfect opportunity to do a side by side with the whole flush/nonflushed. I don't really know witch is better as I am hearing it both ways.
And the pictures of the buds are always my favorite, and these are no exception!

resinousflowers said:

bud from unflushed plants can produce black ash,be terrible to burn,taste nasty and give you a head ache.

bud from flushed plants will burn nicely,be smoother,taste better and the ash will be white/light grey.

flushing is important especially if you use synthetic nutrients.

Click to expand...

Did you enjoy regurgitating what you learnt? How many farmers "flush" their crops. Flushing is a reult of dutch growers back in the day over fertilising and then having to create a flushing procedure to clean the plant. Feed the plant moderately and it will flourish without any need for cleaning at the end. Doh..

what did you get in terms of dry weight ?

maxpesh said:

what did you get in terms of dry weight ?

Click to expand...

Hold your horses Maxpesh! I just chopped on Sunday, so I will not get a dry weight until 5-7 days of being dried. I will let you know! Don't worry! I did salvage 34 grams from the other two plants I trashed.

Hey Sleezy,

I have been talking over grow medium with my local shop and everyone seems to agree that a super light potting mix should be in order since LED's are giving off no heat for me. So I've decided on 2 parts organic soil, 1 part perlite and maybe 2 cups of pete moss in 2.5 gallon square planters. I may even bump the perlite up even more to say 50/50 and then I should be able to do daily waterings...any thoughts on that?

Ok, so luckily I checked on the buds today because they were dry, almost too dry! I have been drying for only 4 days, and I was aiming for 5-7 days. But since it has been in the 100 + degrees and dry lately, the buds were dry. As you can tell from the pics I have attached, the buds did not shrink much at all! They were so dense, and since the PM was killing my plants already, I think they were getting dry anyways. I did another quick trim on the 4 plants and my fingers were sticky again. I just popped in a bowl and hit that sucker. It went down the lungs and out the lungs pretty smooth. After my exhale though, I was coughing and choking so bad I thought I was going to cough to death. I had drool dangling from my face and my eyes were watering so bad! HOLY SHIT! I was lit from just that one hit! The buds have not even been cured yet! I think I did a good job salvaging my buds, and harvesting 6 days early. I did not yield much at all, which is not surprising given all the problems I had during flowering. I am happy that I was able to get great quality buds harvesting early and with the PM issues. Here are the final numbers

5 Plants- 186.7 grams

= 6.67 ounces

Not very impressive numbers at all, considering my SCROG grow yield 3.75 ounces off one plant! So I take it as a learning experience, and I am dialing in what I need to do growing under these LEDs. I am very impressed with the density, the trichs, the smell, and the high of my buds, so all in all, I guess its quality over quantity this round.

sleezy1 said:

Ok, so luckily I checked on the buds today because they were dry, almost too dry! I have been drying for only 4 days, and I was aiming for 5-7 days. But since it has been in the 100 + degrees and dry lately, the buds were dry. As you can tell from the pics I have attached, the buds did not shrink much at all! They were so dense, and since the PM was killing my plants already, I think they were getting dry anyways. I did another quick trim on the 4 plants and my fingers were sticky again. I just popped in a bowl and hit that sucker. It went down the lungs and out the lungs pretty smooth. After my exhale though, I was coughing and choking so bad I thought I was going to cough to death. I had drool dangling from my face and my eyes were watering so bad! HOLY SHIT! I was lit from just that one hit! The buds have not even been cured yet! I think I did a good job salvaging my buds, and harvesting 6 days early. I did not yield much at all, which is not surprising given all the problems I had during flowering. I am happy that I was able to get great quality buds harvesting early and with the PM issues. Here are the final numbers

5 Plants- 186.7 grams

= 6.67 ounces

Not very impressive numbers at all, considering my SCROG grow yield 3.75 ounces off one plant! So I take it as a learning experience, and I am dialing in what I need to do growing under these LEDs. I am very impressed with the density, the trichs, the smell, and the high of my buds, so all in all, I guess its quality over quantity this round.

Click to expand...

Well done anyway, growing with LED is not easy, only people who use it know that. You'll get it dialled in soon enough.