Perpetual Joy

I think these bottom nugs are ready. Lotsa amber trichs.



this vanilla kush is about done...day 73. Doesn't look like a winning pheno...but the other ones coming up look better

dukeofprunes said:

The bottom nugs are certainly frostier. I do want to avoid doing this moving forward. I will be removing the fan leaves and topping less with the hope of getting better light penetration to the bottom buds. The chopped plant is taking up precious space that I'd rather use for a plant that is ready to flower, but I'm glad I did it on this plant.

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Thats exactly what I done on my very first grow, fim to much and had lots of small nugs....
I done exactly what you are planning on doing and I think you will have better results ...

Stevieh said:

Thats exactly what I done on my very first grow, fim to much and had lots of small nugs....
I done exactly what you are planning on doing and I think you will have better results ...

Click to expand...

good to know. thanks. I'm learning that there is a balance between pot size, amount of colas & yield. Always great to get some feedback!

I put the predator mites on the plants 4 days ago. i don't want to clean the grow space for a few days to give those mites a chance to eat the spider mites.

Mate I thought that was powder you was putting on ha ha it's other mites never new of this .......
Haven't had the problem yet so I will no what to do if I ever do, fingers crossed if works ....

hohoho! Been incredibly busy w the holidays! Hope everyone enjoyed.

Well, Santa was good to me...i got 10 3gallon smart pots and a Taotronics 240 W LED. Using it with the G8 240 LED for veg in a 4x2 tent. I'll wait and see how that goes.

I also purchased another 125 W cfl...and a wooden plank and added a veg area ABOVE my 4x2x5 veg tent. I hope to convert the 4x2x5 veg to a 2nd flower room and compare the LEDs to the 600 watt HPS in my 3x3 flower tent.

My harvests have improved somewhat...but let's do a little smoke report

Barney's Farm Vanilla Kush-- A-

3 out of 5 feminized beans made all the way to veg/flower/harvest...2 didnt pop

9 week flower time, took nutes well, sturdy. Frosty, dense buds and a decent yield.
Extremely potent bud. Still curing some of it, but even the buds I didn't cure have a nice, smooth flavor...though I don't taste vanilla. All three phenos were great. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT

Barney's Farm Pineapple Chunk... A

The best I've ever grown, hands down. Super potent. Nice hybrid. All 3 phenos were amazing. Mine went a few days past 9 weeks. Decent yielder, but just superb bud. Has more of a cheesy taste so far...but still curing. Stinky, funky, sticky awesomeness!!!

Super Silver Haze by Dinafem B+

Very nice sativa...and the longer flower time and stretch are the only issues I have. Potent, frosty, but 12 weeks for flower is a drawback. I prefer the AK48 with it's stout, frosty early flowering goodness for a sativa high. I will still grow this...I cloned it, but it is not on the same level as the BF strains.

Happy New Year...have fun and be safe!!!

Oh, and the predator mites didn't work. Bummer. I waited a week to see and the problem only got worse. I just rinsed the plants with water and removed what I could by hand with a damp sponge...and of course bleached the room and tents. Never saw any webs...I guess I'm going to just have to be very thorough w the cleaning and just manage it.

I bought another light...a taotronics 240 w led. a cheap one. using it in the veg tent...which will be a 2nd flower room once these girls get bigger. I figure that G8 240 led and the taotronics together will be strong enough to flower the 2x4.

I am also using smart pots...have to find pans to collect the runoff water...i was using plastic plates for the 3 gall plastic pots...the smart pots are too wide.

I installed a slab of wood on top of that tent...and will eventually use that space to veg...i have two 125 cfls up there. so far all looks good.

I'm all in w LED's...electric was too high and the heat issues were becoming annoying to say the least.

well, I've been experimenting....purchased one taotronics tt-GL14, 2 G8LED 240 watt and a Calif. Lightworks 200w (Full Cycle). I am have the CLW 200 and the TaoTronics in a 3x3 flower tent and the 2 GL14's in a 2x4 flower tent. I had a 600w HPS in the 3x3 and a 400 w HPS in the 2x4. Am I going to see a drastic reduction in yield?

I spent $400 for the CLW, $300 each for the G8LEDs and $200 for the taotronics. I hope it pays off.

Any thoughts?

Hope you get the temp issue sorted m8, you have been having a tough time of it ....

thanks...yes the heat issues are gone now since Im using the leds. I just hope the yield isn't horrible. we shall see

But what I about Lights? Im not too happy with the size of the buds so far, so I bought more LED's.

I have a California Lightworks 200W Full Cycle AND the G8 200w in the 3x3...and I just ordered ANOTHER CLW 200W Bloom Booster...all for a 3x3 space w 9 plants in 3 gallon smart pots,

In the shorter flower tent I have a TaoTronics 240 and another G8 200w...and 6 plants. Its a 2x4x5 tent

I plan on moving the plants from the shorter tent to the taller one once they stretch. Also, I'd prefer to give them more light in the final weeks so I have more lights in the taller tent. Though I may just add another CLW Bloom booster in 2x4 one as well.

IS THIS ENOUGH LIGHT? IS IT OVERKILL?

I shopped around for lights...have 3 different brands but I think I'll stick w CLW for now. I really like that the leds are 5 watt. I've read that they penetrate the canopy much better.

Any thoughts?

I think that with the LED's, you should aerate you soil a bit more to feed more often. I think it would probably offset the heat difference of the lights a bit. Try to keep the plants nice and squat to help with the small ( minute?) loss of penetration you might get from using the LED's. It seems like you are on the right track. Subbed.

Thanks for the response! What do you mean aerate the soil? I water the plants by just picking up the pot and going by weight. I no longer have heat issues, though I did when I was using HIDs. I actually feed less often under the leds as compared to the HIDs.

It's been trial and error...some adjustments...I like the genetics...trying to dial it in.

Another thing that takes some trial and error is how close to keep the plants from the leds without stressing the plants. I'm constantly adjusting.

When I was using my 600w hps to flower, I was in 3 gallon smart pots filled with Roots 707 soil mixed with about 20 percent hydroton. I would have to water every other day in full bloom. When I switched to my LED panel, I would have to water once a week. The temp in my room dropped about five degree on average, but I had to aerate my soil more as to feed more often. I upped the hydroton in my soil to 30 percent and added about 20 percent course perlite. It made the soil more aerated and friable. When the panel took a shit and I switched back to the sicks hundo, I would have to feed twice a day. Feed once, water once. That sucked with a full time job, wife,etc. It is a fine balance. Just see what works for you.

some pics

Hey Duke. From what I can see for the soil your using, it looks like it's pretty dense and rich in organic matter. If you add a little perlite, which you can get at most grow shops or even Home De Pot, it will probly help with how fast they grow and how often you feed. Vermiculite works well and you can buy it at the depot, but it's like 20 bucks for a cubic foot in a bag where I live. The plants look good under the LED. Pretty dense canopy. Thanks for the pics. I'll post some of my closet grow if it's cool with you?

thanks for the feedback. I actually did buy some perlite..and I'm using smart pots.

made some clones, too. to conserve space in the closet, I replaced the bulb in the ceiling w a cfl, placed a sturdy piece of cardboard on top of my 3x3x6.5 flower tent. they seem happy enough.

yes, the canopy is pretty dense. I do remove a majority of the fan leaves after 30 days of flower. hopefully, those 5w LEDs are good at penetrating it. I'm also thinking about going hyrdo to increase yield, get rid of the bugs...but I'm just now getting this system dialed in. Plus, with the tiers, top n bottom, i don't want any leaks dripping on the lights, fans and power strips. Ugh. I was looking at waterfarm and bubble boy standalones...but if the water goes over 68 degrees, you have problems....

i still have spider mites...and the only solution is to clean each plant once a week, thoroughly clean the grow spaces, spray tents w doctor doom when te the plants are removed...and spray the vegging plants w azamax periodically. Ugh. they come back once a month.

another challenge is ensuring the leds are at the proper distance from the canopy. I'm at between 14 and 20 inches...some strains are a touch taller...

it's perpetual joy, but I'm also striving for perpetual improvement

always great to harvest a plant. looks like a little less than an ounce, but really chunky buds. This is Aurora Indica and the first plant to be harvested after switching to LEDs. I'm happy

My last update...and what I've learned since I started this post:

1 Thanks to all those who chipped in with their advice--I'm using that uncle ben cropping technique...and those girls are about to be flowered!!! I am also using perlite and keeping the soil aerated...and the growth rate seems to have increased. Awesome tips!!! The smart pots are also much better than the plastic pots.

2. The LED's are really great. They were a bit expensive, but so far my electric went from @$425/mo t0 $325 despite adding another flowering tent. The CLW lamps are really sweet and penetrate the canopy better than the HIDs did. The cheap chinese lights are ok...but those 5W CLW LEDs are really terrific. I haven't seen a reduction in yield going from a 600w HPS to 2 CLW 200W and the Taotronics. I think any advice would be spend a few bucks for good gear and aim for a little overkill with the LEDs. It worked for me.

3. I have a smoke report pot in here, but I'd like to briefly say I like all of the strains I have and will be just cloning for a while. Barney's Vanilla Kush and Pineapple Chunk are both really good, as is Nirvana's AK48 & Aurora Indica. Easy to grow, frosty, chunky loveliness! The Faraona from Kannabia really surprised me. Early finisher, hearty plant. Looks absolutely beautiful and great smoke. The Dinafem Super Silver is outstanding. A far-out spacy, trippy high that almost makes you dizzy. Glad I saved it.

Moderator, please place this in the completed journals...and thanks to all for your help and positive energy!!!