600w hydro setup - Blue Cheese, Pineapple Express, Lemon Skunk, Gigabud

1-31-10

This is my first grow journal, and I decided to post it near the end of the grow cycle instead of doing it over a several month period. I've made several half-attempts at growing with soil over the years with the occasional minor success, but never got serious about it until this past summer (2009) when a friend of mine brought over a very basic 11 plant ebb and flow hydro system. The system itself was a very rudimentary DIY setup, but it included a bunch of Technaflora nutrients, a bag of probably 200+ seeds, a 216 watt 4' T-5 Sunleaves grow light (with both sets of tubes), and a pump. All of this was free because a friend of a friend was cleaning out his closet, and didn't want his experiment to go to waste. I also just happened to get laid off due to this recession, and I found myself unemployed for the first time in almost 20 years. I now had the time, the setup, and the place to do it. Here's what happened next...

Within a few days we had everything setup in my walk-in closet, and the (bag)seeds were germinated - ready to put into the system. Of the 24 seeds we sprouted, 21 survived into adulthood, and of those we had 9 females. I took very few pictures of this first crop, as it was intended to be just a learning experience that would hopefully yield some good smoke along the way. The summer went by, the plants got big, and I harvested 9 very beautiful, and all very different plants. Some were obviously indica, others were definitely sativa, while a few appeared to be a mix. The yield was about 6-7 ounces of dried herb, with about half of it being some very good smoke. I was very pleased, and decided to move forward in a very serious way.

Chapter (crop) 2

By this time (fall 2009) I had found a job, so we had extra funds available, and we began investing in our operation. For the second crop I decided to buy some seeds from Attitude (only a $100 budget this time), then upgrade both my growing area, and the equipment. The first thing we did was claim a part of my walk-in closet, and enclose it. This area is 6 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet tall. I use a 4'x4' section for the flower chamber, and the remaining 2'x4' section for the cloning/mother chamber. I bought a 600W HPS Cool Tube with a 471CFM fan to cool it (OMG does it ever work good - but a little noisy). We also bought new grow tubs and reservoirs from Lowes, which saved us hundreds of dollars over buying from the grow shop. I'll make a complete list of everything in use later on, maybe in a grow room thread...

Here is the grow room:

In the beginning...



The grow room is a work in progress. Here is the first pic taken after getting the main platform in place. The rest of the journal will show it's evolution as well.

The seeds I ordered were (all feminized):
2 x Bug Buddha Blue Cheese
2 x G13 Gigabud
2 x G13 Pineapple Express
1 x Lemon Skunk (FREE seed)
1 x L.A. Woman (FREE seed)

Germinated 12-1-09

10 days old



24 days old – Christmas Eve


28 days old - That Gigabud is growing fast, tall, and strong

The plants will generally be referred to as:
BC1 & BC2
GB (It was GB1 & GB2, but GB1 died just days after germination very suddenly)
PE1 & PE2
LS
LAW

I ordered the Blue Cheese for obvious reasons - no explanation necessary. The Gigabud was chosen as a candidate for the general purpose, high-yield smoke. The Pineapple Express was pure curiousity since I'd seen so little concrete info about it, and the little I read was positive. The Lemon Skunk was a VERY nice bonus, and I was quite excited they threw that one in since I wanted to buy it anyway but it was beyond my budget. The L.A. Woman was not something I cared about, but it was free, and my wife decided to take that one under her wing as her pet project. The total for those seeds/shipping was just a hair over $100.

Day 6 in flower 12/12 cycle – newly rooted and potted clones on the left


The 600W HPS light didn't come into the picture until the current crop was about 6 weeks old (from date of germination). I vegged them for a month under the T-5 lights so I could get some clones. This was my first attempt at cloning, and of the 18 we cut, 14 of them lived. I was very happy to say the least. By the time the 1st gen plants were put onto the 12/12 cycle they were already 18" to 24" tall, which is of course more than I'd like for a SOG setup, but I'm not about to toss them at this point!

I began flowering them right at 4 weeks from germination, and after two weeks flowering under the T-5's, the 600W HPS arrived - just in time YAY!! The plants had just begun showing hairs, and both the PE's, and GB were strutting little buds already. We installed the light, and ventilation, then turned it on. I was in no way prepared for how bright it was going to be, and we were all a bit surprised how bright it was in that 4'x4' area - WOW.. We used sunglasses in there for the first few days..

Installing the flexible duct for the cool tube's air flow.


I have to take all pics of this 600W HPS through some darkish sunglasses. I tried 4 different cameras, and none of them can deal with the light level.


Within just a few days under the 600W HPS the buds really began taking off. The Pineapple Express is growing VERY nicely, and has the largest, tightest buds of them all. The Gigabud is hanging in there with it, but the PE smells so very nice, where the Gigabud does not. In fact, the GB has very little smell right now, but I've read that this changes as it matures and cures. The BCs, LS, and LAW all have little buds, but they are only a third of the size of the PEs and GB. The PEs and GB also sem to grow straight up, and need very little elbow room. The BCs are bushing out, and seem to want quite a bit of room to grow. We have begun tying up the branches so they use less space, and the limbs are pushed up into the light canopy.

Some girly pics:

This is 21 days into 12/12 flowering - GB


GB triple top


Also at 21 days – PE1


PE1 weed-boobies up close

2-17-10

The girls are doing amazing. They just hit the 6 week mark since I put them on the 12/12. They are all so funky it's ridiculous. PE1 is probably leading the pack in weight, and beauty, but PE2 is not being much of an over-acheiver. The GB is coming along very nicely with bunches of nugs popping up all over the branches. The GB and PEs continue to grow very vertically, and tightly, making them very well suited for this kind of grow. The GB is beginning to look like it's maturing rapidly with 70-80% of the hairs turning red, and it may be ready to chop soon. The PEs are just beginning to see some of the hairs turn orange as well, but maybe only 5-10%. I think it's time to start flushing...

The BCs are doing very well, though they did suffer a bit of either Mg or Fe defficiency about 2-3 weeks ago, and they suddenly had yellow spots everywhere. None of the other plants had any problems, though a couple had very minor yellowing on just a leaf or two. Since this is my first coco grow, I assumed I probably just didn't add enough CalMag for the BCs specifically, so I hit them with a strong shot and everything responded very nicely. The Lemon Skunk is doing very well, and she has an absolutely amazing aroma. Both the BC and LS smell incredible, but I can't describe how much I look forward to the first cured toke of the LS. I've read that she can take 10-13 weeks to mature, so I'm very excited to see how she turns out considering how the buds look now.

Here are a few pics at 6 weeks into flower:

Lemon Skunk – about 4-6 weeks to go!


The top of the LS



Here's the Gigabud top at 6 weeks. The pic doesn't do it justice, as there's a good bit more under there you can't see, and I didn't get any other pics of it...


Here is the top of PE1. This thing is VERY nice, and I am looking forward to weighing the mature cola, then applying some heat to her when the time is right. The top buds (3 of them) are each about the circumference of a toilet paper roll (the empty core part).

Looking good! Thanks for stopping by my journal. +Rep

Very nice bud nugs! Will be watching...

I always like to see what other people with 600w are up to... it inspires me! Subscribed

ColoradoLove said:

I always like to see what other people with 600w are up to... it inspires me! Subscribed

Click to expand...

The two BCs were showing about half milky/cloudy, some clear, with a little amber, so they got the chop. The GB had some little pollen sacks developing, and we found an immature seed developing, so it also got the chop. The GB was unfortunately not fully ready, with maybe only 20-30% of the trichs turning cloudy. Most were still pretty clear.

The buds dried out over a 3-day period in a dark closet with a small fan on LO providing a little air movement. They were then put into jars for a while, and are now rather tasty.

The two PEs, the LS, and LAW are still flushing, and I expect at least two of them will be ready to cut down this weekend.

Keep in mind these were from-seed mother plants that were not intended to grow in this setup, they also did not have the 600w HPS the entire budding cycle. I expect future grows to do better.

Results:
BC1 - VERY nice smoke. Apparently picked up the BB parentage/phenotype. Very sweet, fruity, and smells/tastes much like blueberry. The buzz is very strong, but doesn't leave you brain dead if you only do a few puffs. Take a few more and couch lock sets in...
Yield: 34g

BC2 - Also great smoke, but not the same as BC1. Much skunkier, with a heavier high. I like it quite a bit, but I've already decided the BC1 strain will be the only BC I grow in the future.
Yield: 25g

GB - This has been one surprise after another. The final product is incredibly resinous, and it looks like something wet sprinkled with rough sugar. The fist hit from this stuff will make your head get all warm, and the rest will lull you into a comfort zone that makes sleep very easy. Very heavy hitter, with a strong earthy taste. The only disappointment is the size of the buds, which were smaller than I expected from the name, and the part where it went hermie when none of the rest did. I have 6 more GB clones ready to go, so I'll see how they look this time. If they herm also, I'm dumping them despite the great smoke, and decent yield.
Yield: 55g

Pics of the plants, and buds will be posted shortly.

Next report will have more info about the remaining four plants, and the beginning of my true SOG cycle. First cycle will be 7 Blue Cheese (currently 4 weeks into flower), followed by 7 Pineapple Express, and 5 GigaBud, which just came out of vegging in the clone chamber. Full capacity will be 12 girls in each tub about 4 weeks apart.

It's about to get sticky up in here!

Whats new Jeff?

Good man yourself you have it goin well do you think the lemon skunk needs mch elbow room

sounds awesome man, how did the LA woman turn out?