OG Kush Grow - 4 in a 4x4

10/28 Updates

OG Kush - are recovering nicely, @lime73 --- top-dressing some Flower Girl and adding epsom salt to my tap water ( 1tsp / gal ).
Up-potting, some mag & a little feed really helped!
Manifolding / Quadlining - I did this last grow, and it worked great. Not sure if OG doesn't like it, or I REALLY need to get rid of the plastic pots.
I'm not touching them yet, still looking a bit delicate and yellow lower foliage. Probably start training the upper branches sideways in a day or two so the lowers catch up.

Strawberry Kush - are THRIVING. They seem to love LST and have been easy to manipulate so far.
I've been bending & hooking the main stalk and large fans to maintain a 10 degree upward angle (thanks for the tips RIU! )
---However, I'm waiting until I have a very safe hooking area (wow is this sounding more wrong every word...), 2-3 nodes between hooks (still bad)
---Some stalks are making smooth upward arcs, some are stair-stepping. Branches are still a bit short for training - soon.
---I'm really liking LST so far. Plans are to remove downward branches & continue across the pot before topping.

Little Girl - is going to her new home soon, hopefully today because...
I got busy and haven't picked up soil yet - I need to up-pot the last 4.

Group Shot - Still a lot of yellow on the OG. The SK are growing fast. Tent will be sorted out soon.
Intake fan - it got HOT here for a few days and I was having trouble maintaining temps, 86f high. Humidity has been ok, 55-60%.
With the fan (pulling from the outside) it's 79f - not bad! Now humidity is 36%, still decent.


Upskirt of a Strawberry Kush LST. This one is stair-stepping. I tie it down, and it goes vertical 3 hours later.


Overhead - lots of little branches exposed to the light. They're still a tad short for training.


Comparison shot - SK in front, OG in back


OG still has yellow lower foliage and pink petioles; but the upper foliage is starting to look lush.

Looking a bit greener now!

11/01 - 33 Days of Veg

Mornin' RIU!

OG Kush - Recovering nicely, still a little sad, yellow & thin, but looking a little better everyday. Watered last night.
Started some light LST - bringing the upper branches down & the bottom branches up so they're all on the same level.
Watered 36 oz of tap with epsom salt @ 1 tsp per gal.

Strawberry Kush - Looking good.
I rigged an LST guide rod out of bamboo skewers & zip ties - makes tying the main stalk A LOT easier.
Training "lower" branches towards the back of the plants - other branches need a little more time before training.
The plan is to train the branches accross the pot, then top them and train everything sideways until flip.

**** This kind of LST strikes me as very similar to a mainline - one central, horizontal stalk for all branches to grow from.

Edit - my 4" Vivosun fan was get louder and louder - going to fail soon.
So, I installed a AC Infinity T6 - MUCH quieter.
@JoeBlow5823 - Thanks for the advice on Vortex fans - if I wasn't desperate, I'd have returned the AC for a Vortex.
We'll see how it works out...

Edit 2 - The "extra" seedling finally went to my Aunt along with a few buds & some seeds - THAT is one of my favorite things growing weed; gifting someone else the way that I was gifted into this.

11/03 - Small updates - Fungus Gnats.........

I saw a couple gnats in the tent a couple days ago - by last night it was a full infestation in two pots.
Googled around a bit, looked at my (lack of) budget - and covered the 4 affected pots 1+ inch deep in perlite.
Letting soil dry out till the girls beg a bit.
Circulation fans directed to affected pots - trying to make my uninvited guests uncomfortable as possible.
Population seems massively reduced this morning, checking again at lights on.

New fan dropped my temps 8-11f, depending on light cycle. Hopefully my grow budget doesn't include another inline fan anytime soon - probably my least favorite piece of equipment in my tent.

OG - I'm hoping not, but I think the early problems and my choice to quad-line will greatly reduce yield. Learned a lot about growing a new strains.
I thought OG would be much more Indica, but the internodes on the OG are about 3x longer than the SK.
The upper branches are going nuts, about 12" from the soil, so I super-cropped them to be more or less even with the second set of branches.
Lowest branches were propped up the center of the stalks to bring them up to canopy level - some might be removed.
Super-cropping was easier than I thought it would be, and my plants responded well, but it's definitely a delicate operation being rough on them.

SK - Still thriving - If they were vertical they'd be about a 12-14in tall. Very tightly spaced internodes, thick stalks.
Plan on these is still to train the main stalk to the other side of the pot, then top it and train branches horizontally.
LST - Installed bamboo guide rods on 3 of 4 SK (the 4th doesn't need it yet - next adjustment).
Pulling select leaves seems to enable me to twist the stalk and maximize light exposure, but I still removed a couple downward facing branches.
I've been keeping my leaves as long as possible - I figure they're food stores for my girls - but I don't treat them very nice lol.
Overall the SK are much more bushy - planning to keep fan leaves as long as they don't create shade on growth-sites.

Pics - Group shot - the OGs are finally in gear, the SKs are lovin' life.

OG - finally looking better and filling out.

OG from above - I really think Quad-line was a bad call on these.

SK - Stalk shot - nice rows of branches growing - the bottom branches are being trained back towards the camera already. Other branches will be trained to the sides as they get longer.

SK - Upskirt shot with guide rod and ties. Maybe grow them a little taller before bending them over next time...

11/04-05 PEST CONTROL - Fungus Gnats

Applied a Citric Acid / Soap solution to the floor of the tent and walls to 12" (below pot rim).
Most of the population had migrated from the two infested pots to the floor (perlite?), so the wipe down was very effective.
Expecting a couple more floor wipes as the last generations cycle.

Drying the soil out has been effective and educational - I still overwater, but the larger fabric pots buffer me a little bit. But the result this time is fungus gnats.

You might find this interesting.

11/09 - Pest Control Success

Lockedin said:

11/04-05 PEST CONTROL - Fungus Gnats

Click to expand...

It took five days, but they're gone; and without using anything toxic!
Measures used (PPE worn where applicable):

Direct Fan Blast to DRY out my pots - let half the plants get droopy before watering.
--- Remember to feel weight instead of relying on a 3-day schedule; they'll drink more soon enough.

Citric Acid / Soap solution - Cut all fans and removed plants from the tent. Sprayed and wiped down the floor and walls to 1' up.
--- The citric acid is a non-toxic short acting contact killer.
--- The soap coats wings, legs, and sometimes spiracles (insect respiration), rendering them flightless. They get wiped up in the next...
--- Wait a few minutes - I timed off 30 minutes - get an estimate of how bad the infestation is (bad) and wipe up the bodies.
--- Repeat 1 day prior to watering as maintenance.

Diatomaceous Earth - was applied immediately following watering.
Another non-toxic, but WEAR A RESPIRATOR & PPE, it's an extremely fine powder and you don't want it in your lungs.
It's supposed to be less effective when wet, but I've found that when damp (immediately after watering), it forms a crust on the surface that cuts insects to pieces - like fungus gnats trying to leave the soil.

Perlite - not sure if this worked, but I hope I can recycle the perlite....
Put a layer on top of the affected pots. It DID seem to have some effect.

IMHO - none of these will work on their own - but in concert they were really effective.

11/12 - FLIP TO 12/12

OG - Easy to manipulate to a pretty flat canopy. Super-cropping and attaching to bamboo stands has been effective; planning to continue LST until pistils show. Also did some aggressive pruning - I'd say I came short of defoliation, but still opened and cleaned up the plants well.

SK - LST seems REALLY effective; but I think I started way too early - I'll let the plants grow until the first bend is a few inches up.
Made bamboo skewer training tools to train the branches to the outside as they grow long enough.
I removed the large fans - most of them were looking crappy anyway. Really revealing the plant's structure - excited to continue training

Realized that I'm going to need to raise the SK plants before putting down the net.
These two methods together are a PITA - brought it on myself.
Pictures were taken after pruning the OG, but before the SK. Hopefully they're good for a while.

I hacked a vipar spectra 1200 to make the light I'm running now it is now 480w.of cob led in a 4x4 tent

horribleherk said:

I hacked a vipar spectra 1200 to make the light I'm running now it is now 480w.of cob led in a 4x4 tent View attachment 4742885

Click to expand...

Frosty!

Details & pics?

I have to admit that I really like the light for what it is - my only real change would be additional white diodes.

Really dig your avatar!

Lockedin said:

Frosty!

Details & pics?

I have to admit that I really like the light for what it is - my only real change would be additional white diodes.

Really dig your avatar!

Click to expand...

I used luminus cobs & meanwell drivers for a total of 480 w. of cob led at the time I had 3x3 tents & ran one grow in a 3x3 but the next round I bought a 4x4 so far it's working good

I have a journal here called 3-thirteen in the house not started under my username as I was having computer problems when I started it but everything I've been doing lately is there

I ran the vipar spectra 1200 as did my growmie in a 4x4 tent he had 2 of them in 4x4 tents people tend to bad mouth them & I did end up hacking mine but let me take a second here & reflect back this is not a bad light it works quite well in a 4x4 pulls about 520w. at the wall & generates a bit of heat but gets the job done don't hesitate to run it & make sure you're getting the most out of it before replacing or modifying it it might be better than you think I still keep one for a spare

horribleherk said:

I ran the vipar spectra 1200 as did my growmie in a 4x4 tent he had 2 of them in 4x4 tents people tend to bad mouth them & I did end up hacking mine but let me take a second here & reflect back this is not a bad light it works quite well in a 4x4 pulls about 520w. at the wall & generates a bit of heat but gets the job done don't hesitate to run it & make sure you're getting the most out of it before replacing or modifying it it might be better than you think I still keep one for a spare

Click to expand...

Last grow, the Vipar had the largest, densest plants under it.

Vipar are dumping them right now in favor of the xs & the p series lights, I'm considering another one - or three:

The VA-1200 draws 265w at the wall with both dimmers at 100% & doesn't create as much heat as the multiple sinks & fans would indicate.
4 of them would put me just above 1000w (overkill) - I'd be able to take more advantage of the dimmers & spectrum adjustment.

Lockedin said:

Last grow, the Vipar had the largest, densest plants under it.

Vipar are dumping them right now in favor of the xs & the p series lights, I'm considering another one - or three:

The VA-1200 draws 265w at the wall with both dimmers at 100% & doesn't create as much heat as the multiple sinks & fans would indicate.
4 of them would put me just above 1000w (overkill) - I'd be able to take more advantage of the dimmers & spectrum adjustment.

Click to expand...

The one I hacked was an older model with no dimmers or switches actual power draw of 520w.

horribleherk said:

The one I hacked was an older model with no dimmers or switches actual power draw of 520w.

Click to expand...

Nice - I've been looking up your build; I have an old burple I nicknamed "Blinky" after its last grow. I think I know what to do with it now...

Lockedin said:

Nice - I've been looking up your build; I have an old burple I nicknamed "Blinky" after its last grow. I think I know what to do with it now...

Click to expand...

I was intimidated by diy & still am a little but got a lot figured out by hacking I kept my build cost under $225 for 480w. of cob led

11/30 Update

OG Kush
Canopy is a bit confused.
Growing nicely in stretch.
Pistils forming - I love this part!

Strawberry Kush
Sick plant (lower left in group shot) removed from the tent - finishing her on the patio.
The other 3 are looking really nice - although a bit small.
REALLY liking LST --- plant structure is really starting to be revealed.

Pics below:

lime73 said:

They look hungry ... feed us

Click to expand...

Yes they deffo need more N, great apart from that

Scratch that comment, didn't realise there was a page 2 ! Looking lovely