First indoor grow - delicious seeds selection

olafthegreen

olafthegreen

Well-Known Member
H.A.F. said:
Before you invest in AC, different lights might be cheaper. The thing I have liked about the Quantum Boards is that there is no internal electronics-cooling fan that blows heat around (like blurples), and they don't create enough heat to need them like CMH, HPS etc. They are cheaper on the electric but get better light penetration (fatter buds - even lower on the plant) - and all you really need is exhaust. the heat naturally rises.

I should add that I have a 300w, and a 600/1200w blurple in a drawer. I might bust them out if I have a light go down but that would only be for as long as it took to get a replacement QB ;)
Click to expand...
I hope to get on the QB bandwagon before next summer, so we can see how that affects temps. If there is not much increase on ambient it would work. All work and $ dependent, this is just a hobby for me. An obsessive compulsive none stop crack-like-addictive hobby. I read somewhere that the first thing you will say after growing indoor is 'Why didnt I do this sooner'. It's true.
 
H.A.F.

H.A.F.

Well-Known Member
olafthegreen said:
An obsessive compulsive none stop crack-like-addictive hobby. I read somewhere that the first thing you will say after growing indoor is 'Why didnt I do this sooner'. It's true.
Click to expand...
Exactly - on all points. This is that thing on the lights. For what it's worth, I grew 4 crappy plants in 2 gallon pots that had issues all through flower, almost no leaves left at harvest. I got over 7 ounces dried bud. They were under a 135w QB. ;)

So for planning purposes the 135w and the 160w are the boards they use to build the bigger lights. (a 260w is two 135w boards).
They have 60w and 100w boards that are also great, but don't have dimmable drivers. Great for seeds or clones.
But the 135w is both big enough to flower a plant, and the smallest one that's dimmable. As I buy new lights it will be those smaller ones rather than saving up for a ginormous one. One per plant is optimal, then individual plant heights can be accommodated for the hobby grower that tosses different strains in.

I would rather get the 160w, but they always seem to be out of stock. I have 7 clones in 2 gallon pots comfortably vegging under a 60w.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Plants need a lot less light in later flower than at the start too so you could always just use less light until they finish up. They don't look like they need more nutes.

:peace:
 
H.A.F.

H.A.F.

Well-Known Member
olafthegreen said:
This is really interesting, does each board get its own driver or do they just use a more powerful one when they multiply them?
Click to expand...
My first was a 260w, whish is 2 quantum boards mounted onto one heat-sink, with one driver controlling both. What I like about the 135 is that it is one board, it has a heat-sink (the 60w and 100w don't need them) and it's own driver.

So if I had started with that size, I would have bought more of the same instead of bigger. I loved the 260 so much I got a 135 for a small tent just for starting plants. After growing a plant to completion under the 135, I bought another to even out the tent, then built a second grow room, then needed a tent light...

I know about the obsessive thing ;) BUT DON'T STRESS! After you get your lights/environment set you can go all OCD on nutes, seeds, and growing techniques. There's always something else to keep your attention.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
olafthegreen said:
you would stop altogether with nutes and just use water?
Click to expand...
I generally will stop feeding by end of week six for an 8-9 weeks strain. Might add a little extra K and some Epsom salts but not a lot. I like to see lower leaves going yellow at the end. Tells me the plants aren't loaded with nutes and stealing from the old leaves to finish up.

With these Mega Crop nutes I shouldn't need to add extra K tho they sent me some of that too.

:peace:
 
olafthegreen

olafthegreen

Well-Known Member
H.A.F. said:
I know about the obsessive thing ;) BUT DON'T STRESS! After you get your lights/environment set you can go all OCD on nutes, seeds, and growing techniques. There's always something else to keep your attention.
Click to expand...
Hahah That is a massive relief, I was worrying I would have to move house to get more space!

It makes sense for me to start with a single 135W then it's super modular whenever I get extra $ I can add another, Eventually I guess I'd want 4 for the space I have - which is 4' x 4'.

OldMedUser said:
I generally will stop feeding by end of week six for an 8-9 weeks strain.
Click to expand...
How long would you say I've got left to go, I posted the question in this form and was advised perhaps 4 more weeks?! If that's the case I probably need to feed for another week or so. If not (which would be lovely) I could start to cut them now.

I'll get some more photos this morning.

Meanwhile the weather has announced it's going to be 39°C tomorrow!
 
H.A.F.

H.A.F.

Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, I heard an old hippie rule-of-thumb that plants are ready for harvest 3 weeks after the first brown pistils show.

Because being able to plan a harvest (and the prep) that far out makes life a lot more simple, I have been keeping an eye on that particular. So far it has been pretty damn close.

Also, the 2-3 weeks with no nutes isn't necessary if you use a flushing agent like Sledgehammer you can keep feeding (and bulking) longer. It takes "X" days for your plant to drink what you fed her. So "X" days times 2 or 3 is all you need. So if it takes 3 days to dry out, 6-9 days before is fine.

I count the flush about a week out as the next to last watering, then another just RO after that. And if they go longer, another plain watering.
 
olafthegreen

olafthegreen

Well-Known Member
Easy for beginners is good, I will check it out.

It's so hot in there tonight I've had to turn the 600W down to 400 to keep things even close to 26°C. It was over 30 at 600W. Curse this heat!
 
H.A.F.

H.A.F.

Well-Known Member
One other thing to watch for with the temp fluctuations is your water level. If you are in soil, the pots being moist or dry makes a difference. If you can sort how that part factors in (if it does) it might help manage the temps.

I had one plant that cycled water like a pump. I could watch the room temp for a degree or two rise and know she was ready to water.
 
olafthegreen

olafthegreen

Well-Known Member
H.A.F. said:
One other thing to watch for with the temp fluctuations is your water level. If you are in soil, the pots being moist or dry makes a difference. If you can sort how that part factors in (if it does) it might help manage the temps.

I had one plant that cycled water like a pump. I could watch the room temp for a degree or two rise and know she was ready to water.
Click to expand...
Good tip especially for soil. I'm in coco & fabric pots - watering 2x daily each plant takes up between a litre and 2L a day in total. Varies between plants and is affected greatly by fans / temps, as would be expected. Sometimes I water more to get run off, but it's a bloody pain with my configuration this time. When this harvest is done I've got a plan to modify the saucers and have a collection pan to retrieve the run off.

Either that or go DWC..... :o undecided as it's more stuff to buy. I'm keen to build something though :blsmoke:

First grow - loads of errors, and loads of learning. Next time it will be so much better!
 
H.A.F.

H.A.F.

Well-Known Member
olafthegreen said:
Either that or go DWC..... :o undecided as it's more stuff to buy. I'm keen to build something though :blsmoke:

First grow - loads of errors, and loads of learning. Next time it will be so much better!
Click to expand...

I have always believed in K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) because I tend to overthink things. Plants naturally grow in dirt. I grow my plants in good dirt. Plants need light, I finally found the lights I like so that's done. It's a process in finding what works for you. ​
Growing in soil you water every 2-4 days depending on pot size. It is a lot less labor intensive. And as far as water volume, 2 gallons of water will soak a 5 gallon pot. If it takes that twice a day, DAMN!
 
olafthegreen

olafthegreen

Well-Known Member
H.A.F. said:
I have always believed in K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) because I tend to overthink things. Plants naturally grow in dirt. I grow my plants in good dirt. Plants need light, I finally found the lights I like so that's done. It's a process in finding what works for you. ​
Growing in soil you water every 2-4 days depending on pot size. It is a lot less labor intensive. And as far as water volume, 2 gallons of water will soak a 5 gallon pot. If it takes that twice a day, DAMN!
Click to expand...
To be honest Im torn completely with all this chemical junk and hyrdo and going proper organic in soil.

Once I have a stock for myself and quantity / speed is not an issue, it's where I will be going for sure.
 
H.A.F.

H.A.F.

Well-Known Member
olafthegreen said:
To be honest Im torn completely with all this chemical junk and hyrdo and going proper organic in soil.

Once I have a stock for myself and quantity / speed is not an issue, it's where I will be going for sure.
Click to expand...
Speed? Plants flower how they flower whether grown in water, coco, perlite, soil, whatever. No method will make a plant mature faster, whether it grows better or worse during the grow might be different, but they will take as long as they take regardless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top