Northern Lights LED 4x4 Grow Tent

Day 30 - Vegetative Growth Stage

Pruned the plants last night - clearing out the bottom for better air circulation and in preparation for flowering in the screen. I also thinned them out a bit and then tied them back down, spreading the bud sites out best as I can. I should be switching over to 12/12 soon. The bud sites should stretch up through the screen and fill in nicely. I was able to get a picture of the stalk of one of the plants with a flash, so you can see how green and healthy they are.

Day 1 - Flowering

Switched the light over to 12/12 today. Gave the plants a watering with a nutrient solution of:

8 Gallons Water
240 ml Fox Farm Big Bloom
120 ml Fox Farm Grow Big
80 ml Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
40 ml Fox Farm Boomerang
120 ml Botanicare Sweet Raw
2.5 teaspoons Fox Farm Open Sesame

which is...

6 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Big Bloom
3 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Grow Big
2 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
1 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Boomerang
3 tsp/gallon Botanicare Sweet Raw
0.3125 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Open Sesame

This is very nice, detailed you got my subscription.

Thanks, newkidzontheblock!

I just added a co2 bag to my tent yesterday (pictures to come). Having some trouble getting my humidity down - it averages at around 60%, but peaks at about 68% for a tiny bit. This was great for vegetative growth, but is certain to cause problems once buds start to appear. Looking at dehumidifiers and trying to figure out what I need to keep the humidity at 40% without spending more than I need to or getting a machine that will be overkill. Open to suggestions guys!

Day 3 - Flowering

I included some pictures of how I hung my co2 bag - this might be useful for anyone having trouble finding a solution for how/where to hang theirs. I made holes in an amazon cardboard box that were just big enough to squeeze the rope through. I fed one single length of rope through all four holes. I wrapped duct tape around the box to keep the rope flat against the sides.

Day 4 - Flowering

I took the screen and plants out today to do (what I hope will be) the last of the lower pruning. I included a container level shot to show how much has been taken out. I noticed a few nutrient burn spots and some of the leaves curling downward - I guess I went a little overboard with the last feeding. The leaves curling down (or cupping down) would suggest the PH in the soil being too low. Coincidentally, the only time I have forgotten to adjust the PH of water was last feeding. I checked the runoff, and it had a PH of 6.7. Any thought on how I should handle this guys? Should I give the plants a good flush next watering? Will things work themselves out if I continue to adjust my PH to 6.5? Or should I take measures to raise the PH in my soil? I did not get a chance to check the soil PH before lights out.

I will be sure to lower the Fox Farm Open Sesame back to 0.25 tsp/gallon next time - I think between that and cutting out Fox Farm Grow Big (which I had planned to do anyway), it should do the trick.

Today I watered with a solution of:

8 gallons of water
720 ml of Fox Farm Big Bloom
160 ml of Botanicare Sweet Raw

which is...

6 tbsp/gallon of Fox Farm Big Bloom
4 tsp/gallon of Botanicare Sweet Raw

PH tested yesterday's runoff and got a reading of 6.5. I am ruling out PH as any part of the reason for some leaves cupping under. The cupping leaves are also a symptom of over fertilizing - and since I have a few nutrient burn spots, I think it is safe to say it was caused by over fertilizing. They are already showing signs of improvement and I anticipate the problem sorting itself out. I am still looking for a dehumidifier solution... I think I might be going with a 30 pint machine that runs on 420 watts - I will most likely need to use a timer in order not to use more electricity than need be - leaving the dehumidifier on in intervals while the light is on and leaving it on continuously while the light is off and the humidity climbs. Luckily, I have a couple extra timers laying around.

Day 6 - Flowering

Still working out humidity issues. Picked up a used 40 pint dehumidifier today. It appears to be in great shape. It was working great for 4-5 hours, but then I noticed the humidity start climbing up - while the light was ON! I pulled out the filter and it was quite dirty - this can cause poor air flow and minimize the effectiveness of the dehumidifier. I just washed it with hot water, dried it thoroughly and put it back in. Fingers crossed!

Day 7 - Flowering

Still fighting humidity problems. The dehumidifier seems to bring the humidity down effectively to 43-45 percent during lights off – but, while the light is on, it does not really go below 60 percent. Since I am keeping the window and door closed now, the temperature in the tent peaks at about 93-95 degrees. The plants are handling it with no signs of stress though. I think now that the room is sealed off and the temperature is a higher, they are making much better use of the CO2.

Today I gave the plants a watering of:

8 Gallons Water
120 ml Fox Farm Big Bloom
80 ml Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
40 ml Fox Farm Boomerang
2 tsp Fox Farm Open Sesame
160 ml Botanicare Sweet Raw

which is…

3 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Big Bloom
2 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
1 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Boomerang
0.25 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Open Sesame
4 tsp/gallon Botanicare Sweet Raw

I figured I would try out my camera's panorama option. It was hard to keep it steady, hence the distortion towards the right half of the picture. I was trying to capture the full canopy.

Day 9 - Flowering

Sprayed the plants down with Neem Oil yesterday right before lights out. Today, I gave the plants a watering of:

8 gallons water
480 ml Fox Farm Big Bloom
160 ml Botanicare Sweet Raw

which is...

4 tbsp/gallon Fox Farm Big Bloom
4 tsp/gallon Botanicare Sweet Raw

I also cut and removed all of the nylon ties training the plants and started training the plants by tucking them and guiding them under/along the screen. I am thinking of flushing the plants in 2-3 days with a solution of Sledgehammer, Big Bloom and molasses - before I start using Beastie Bloomz. These Fox Farm solubles are so strong, I figure flushing every 2 weeks couldn't hurt. Fox Farm's feeding schedule recommends every 3 weeks once you switch over to 12/12. What do you guys think? Sorry for the hazy quality to the pictures - not sure what happened.

... And another panorama!

The scrog is filling up nicely, you're doing great.

4 tbsp/gallon Fox Farm Big Bloom
4 tsp/gallon Botanicare Sweet Raw

Click to expand...

Lol, I still can't believe how much nutes the botanicare calls for, regardless the plants look like they
are loving it.

Thanks, ricky! I am sure it will fill in 100% before flowers start to show up. I am pretty happy with it. All the LST I did early on really paid off.

I assume you mean the Fox Farm products..? Yeah, when used on its own, they recommend 4 tbsp/gallon as "general feeding" for the Big Bloom. Funny enough, I use 6 tbsp/gallon usually haha. But, I thought I would experiment a little. I reduce the amounts drastically when I mix different nutrients together. Take a look at one of my previous main feedings. I am using a lot of the Fox Farm products. I get a great deal on them from my local hydro store and I am loving the results. Every other watering I only feed the plants Fox Farm Big Bloom and Botanicare Sweet Raw - both safe to use every watering.

After thinking a little more, I think I will give them one more feeding of:

3 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Big Bloom
2 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Big Bloom
1 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Boomerang
0.25 tsp/gallon Fox Farm Open Sesame
4 tsp/gallon Botanicare Sweet Raw

(with 10 gallons of water instead of the usual 8 gallons)

Then the next watering after this, I will do a flush.

Sweet Grow M8.

Looking very healthy indeed.

Many thanx for the share.

Peace and Great Grows

Asmallvoice

Thanks, asmallvoice! I try my best to include as much detail and pictures as I can. That's how I learn best, so I hope someone else will get something out of this. I feel like I have already learned a ton this grow.

Day 10 - Flowering

Soil dried out in a day! - and the temperature was actually a bit lower than usual, too. They must have been really thirsty. Either way, I plan on upping my regular waterings to 10 gallons instead of 8. Today, I decided I would give them a watering with a very low amount of Fox Farm Big Bloom and a mix of half strength Botanicare Sweet Raw and molasses - and a whole lot of water!

18 Gallons of Water
240 ml Fox Farm Big Bloom
160 ml Botanicare Sweet Raw
120 ml (0.5 cups) Wholesome Organic Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses

And another panorama! I think I am getting better at taking them.

Day 15 - Flowering

Had issues over the last few days - nutrient lockout and what I think was phosphorous toxicity caused by using the same nutrient concentration (which included Fox Farm Open Sesame - very high phosphorous soluble concentrate) being used without adequate water for the heat. The plant closest to the intake (which is also in a smaller container than the rest) was hit the hardest - which makes me even more certain of my diagnosis. In the canopy picture below, you can see the affected plant in the bottom left corner. I flushed the plants with Sledgehammer and they seem to be on the mend. I also took my intake fan out and put it feeding out my 2nd exhaust hole, leaving the bottom as a passive intake. This has helped a great deal with taming the heat.

Today, I gave the plants a half strength feeding - the same amounts/proportions as before, but with twice as much water. Today's feeding:

16 Gallons of Water
120 ml of Fox Farm Big Bloom
80 ml of Fox Farm Grow Big
80 ml of Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
40 ml of Fox Farm Boomerang
2 tsp of Fox Farm Beastie Bloomz
180 ml of Botanicare Sweet Raw

This is just a shot I thought I would throw up because I know there aren't many pictures up with normal lighting. This was taken two days ago - right after I sprayed the plants down with a new pest/powdery mildew spray I am trying for preventative measures. It is called "Green Clean." I did not purchase it from this website, but here is a link to the product if anyone is interested.

http://stores.indoorgrowsource.com/-strse-9199/Green-Clean-Spider-Mite/Detail.bok

Green Clean is all natural, 100% biodegradable, and can be sprayed up until harvest. Only need 0.5 oz per gallon of water for maintenance spraying - so an 8 oz bottle will get you 16 gallons. That's a whole lot of spray! You also do not have to add any soap to help keep it mixed with the water as you do with Neem Oil and other similar substances. The ingredients are:

55% - Non-polar alcohol Oils, Olive, Corn, and Soy
45% - Amino Acids
Other ingredients: Wetting Agent, Citric Acids