Earthbending Time

Welcome Fam!

The purpose of this journal is to:
- view process of grow progression
- aid brainstorming and development of improvements
- provide point of reference for some basic guidelines and information

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." ~ Carl Sandburg

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you have a good time, and be safe!

~V~

10.21 - placed 18 seeds in wet paper towel under plate n bowl, heating pad placed underneath with a book in between to displace the heat ~ the seeds are good bagseed which was saved over 8+ years but improperly stored

10.23 - all popped open but one, dropped in rockwool which was soaked in water with very lownut ratio

10.24 - setup 4x 24W CFLs to light the sproutlings

10.25 - Temps are dropping fast, CFL lights are not very hot and the little space heater does not have a digital temp setting, Mostly been able to steady around upper 70s but dropped to 60s one morning and was up near 90 for a short period before it was adjusted once

10.26 - maintaining watering as rockwools dry, keeping them from medium to wet, rockwool is rumored to breathe incredibly allowing for the extra wetting

10.28 - have moved the CFLs away and using x3 now (4 was too much too early). 1 sproutling looks really struggling, 2 more are curling up badly =/

11,1 - soiled the cubes and watered throughly for their first watering, allowing for water to seep from the bottom, then once more. tossed the deader which has no growth beyond its initial push, planted the 2 other strugglers but am skeptical. Most sproutlings have new growth, several are miscolored a bit. possibly causes - poor seed storage, over nut soaking the rockwool cubes, too much light too fast, or a couple of temperature mishaps. Breaks my heart to think I might have lost a great plant. Will happen, learning process.
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So as far as the room goes, it is greatly a work in progress. The goal is to have 2 seperate sections for veg and flo cycle by the time the first round gets to flo stage. Origionally planned to split the room longways from the entrance, however the roof slopes right from the door all the way down to the end of the closet. With a longways cut plant v light height will make it difficult to utilize the space towards the rear properly in both sections. In addition to making an unatural triangular curtain/wall. Latest schematics would have a divider going across the room sideways, using the front, taller half for flo and the back for veg. I had hoped to have the ability to enter the room directly into the veg side, increasing the time avail to work there since it's not home for me, but I think I will have to just plan my time accordingly.
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"Q) What's the fifth element? ;P"

Time - often considered another dimension, here it's one of the completing elements as you can have all other things in order but you cannot control nor provide what time can do. Patience and experience is a great factor and invaluable in this process.

Tree - your little friends are one of the chinese symbols which completes the circle of elements,
This IS about the plant!

Coin - While metal is the final element in the chinese cycle of elements, for our purposes adapted to money. This is NOT a plentiful substance so many methods utilized will be most likely be as efficient as possible, there will be some DIY methods utilized and/or mentioned which might be of value for consideration.
This IS NOT for the $$$.

Heart - This is the final element for... CAPTAIN PLANET! haha, couldn't resist. In my world, all risks are valid; thus one's circle needs stay very loyal and dedicated. No weak hearts the penalties for breaking this rule is too harsh.
In addition, plants are living things and will flourish with the care you give to them which is what they in turn provide to those who use her for medication and relaxation. It IS for the LOVE!

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11.5.09 - Mostly quiet on the field. Sproutlings have seemed to take to their home, New growth, some awkward... a bit concerned about lighting distribution. Watered primarily the cubes a bit yesterday and today as a few are exposed and getting a bit dry, the soil is moderately moist still tho so laying off watering much of that until tomorrow. In addition to testing the soil with my finger by digging down and checking for moisture, I got a new toy! Some of them were slightly banged up so I got 50% off the meter. Hindsight, it's not too expensive so I should have just sprung for the non bent one, maybe I'll just go back and get another.
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The meter tests ph/moisture/light! Was $8 down to $4. (the stuff behind was used to help seal the door for light and temp control)

With this I did alot of testing with the light meter from my young sproutlings. The lights are dist between 3-4 in away from the younglings. It seems most of the CFL's are sending about 500 lumens a piece to the least lit sproutlings, these have 2 within the similar distance so I'm assuming those sproutlings are receiving about 1k lumen. the one's sitting directly under a CFL get high on the meter.. reading at like nearly 2k lumens (I do NOT, by any means, standby these readings as fact since they are based off of a non professional meter ;P). Some conflicting opinions on the optimal environment have led to the raising of the lights to >4 inches for the most part... our consultant suggested that it is a bit too early to be giving the sproutlings such light and also too early for the fan to be blowing on them as I had placed in hopes of figuring on giving them strength in their stems. Comments welcomed!
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~V~

On a different note, hit up Lowes to begin assembly of a more consistent setup in consideration for the future. This is a bit difficult to explain in words, I'll get pics up as soon as I can start implementing. *while the first round has 14 sproutlings at the moment, sex has not been determined, I decided that it was more advantageous to spend the time planning for what I want to be doing once I've found a few good strains from the bagseed (or seeds are ordered)

Setup plan for vegging section -8 plants-
4x fixtures each on 2' 1x3 planks -0--0--0--0- of these, 2 will be topping the plants sidebyside in line
fitted with Y fixtures= 8 bulbs per plank on top x2planks = 16 bulbs on top
as the plants grow, I will fit the remaing 4 planks with bulbs (no Y here planned for now) and place them parrallel on the sides to supplement

Shopping list (incomplete due to financing, babies aren't grown yet so there's time):
-32x 26w CFL bulbs (6500 rating for veg)
-2x 6' 1x3 planks cut down to 2' per
-24x light fixtures
-wire
-6x extension cords (1 for each plank, each plank will be using between 104 and 208 watts, these will be sliced and the 4x fixtures per plank wired to them)
-2x ext cords w/ atleast 3 sockets per (each side will plug into a 3way equalling between 416 watts and a possible 624W if I use Y sockets on the sides ~typically cords are max at 660W)
-8x Y light socket adaptor

Ran across nice couple trying to get rid of a $64.10 gift card for $40 ;P. Also partner sprung on a intersting table top filter/ionizer etc all in one thing (dood like's to splurge) figuring it might be nice to help keep odors at bay.minifilter.jpg

I expect the costs to be about 140, which is comprable to the costs of a MH setup prolly. However there are 2x 400w HPSs ready to flower, hoping CFL might work out well for the 1' max veg.

~V~

11.13.09: (Friday the 13th) OP's safety compromised as pigs showed up on the location's doorstep in response to complaints of heavy traffic. Immediate site shutdown.

11.15.09: Things are still up in the air. Looking for a new place for my babies assuming the shock from moving doesn't finish them off. For now they are sitting in a tub I was prepping for a mini SOG or a couple lollipops.
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I had also been working the lighting system planned for veg. These could be hung above, then more added as side supplement as the plant grows. Now I just have 2 hanging over the tub as a temp home.
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very, very well said ....and done..Love your approach, I have a similar grow in progress, check it out!
hope you don't sweat this post.......scribed.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/259570-nugbuckets-cfl-grow-diesel-dieselgum.html

11.17.09 - fed the babies for the first time in their new home.

11.18.09 New growth, but slow going still. Heat is an issue in the tub, running one set of the lights for the full 18 hrs and the other is now set every halfhour to try to manage the heat until I improve the air flow. Also, received ordered seeds from 11/8 from tha tude. Unfortunately, the good location for op has been soiled so I'm not sure where I can birth these babies.

Since the move, and for the days before, growth on these babies has been stunted. Growth has seemed to resumed but is slowed and the three healthiest are droopy...019.jpg022.jpg024.jpg027.jpg

Possible culprits:
-overwatering (my first consideration, to try to rectify, I did not water from before 11.13 until 11.17)
-old seeds
-root bound
-humidity too low (removed the cover once they had popped open, previous caretaker did not mist as often, even now the levels stay around 30-50%)

Any thoughts? Also included, pic of new blue dot, my first all glasser ;D nubong.jpg