Need Your Grow Questions Answered? Come On In!

[Grow Thread]

Bg - 24 plant perpetual 2 plants a week, 2 mothers. GO GO GO!

 

double it

 

2 mothers (numbered #1 and #2 in diagram below) and then:

 

days 1-8 new clone cutting being rooted #3

9-17 one plant in veg #4

18-27 one plant in veg #5

28-36 one plant in veg #6

37-45 one plant freshly moved to the flower room #7

46-54 one plant in the 2 week stretch #8

55-63 one plant just over 2 week stretch and blooming #9

64-72 one plant packing on weight #10

73-81 one plant finishing weight packing #11

82-90 one plant in flush #12

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dent58]

 

Somebody told me to flush my plants... I don't think its working...

I thank this pic is KICK donkey!!!

[dent58]

Morning! Room designing eh. Heres what I've narrowed down to, and most likely going to be #2, however if for some reason I don't go perpetual this would be it.

 

If I do go perpetual, which most likely I will I'm going to go with this design because it leaves me plenty of veg room to take on another patient or two and plenty of flower room as well, all within a 10x10 room.

and in 3d

veg room doorway

flower room doorway

HAY SORRY i hit the wrong butten i was gonna rey you (+) sorry .... hay what site you get the 3dD roon layouy?i wanna try and play!

[Grow Thread]

http://www.roomarranger.com/

 

[kgb69ss]

The room design is great! I have a very similar 6x9 setup running now that is on the trial run! I have a cabinet that is for getting three or four plants up to about 10" tall with 2'flourogro lights x3. Then they will go under the HPS 600w flower light. I Made provisions to create a veg room (4'x6') ajoining the flower room, with a 250-400w MH, and utilize the same carbon filter as the 600w hps. Heat has been a problem in the cabinet since it is not very well vented but its alright. Clones dont like it so warm though. I failed at three attempts to start clones because of it. I need to hang about 3 sheets of drywall and I'll be ready to move the cabinet so that it will be against the block wall of the basement in the corner. Once it is moved to the veg room, there will not be the concern of ti being blacked out like it is now and I could leave the door open even. BTW, I had the biggest surprise when I went to the mailbox yesterday, MY CARD CAME! WooHoo! 120 days of wondering when it would come is over! Now I am not so paranoid of having my operation running and possessing all of the necessary items to produce quality meds! Check'em out!

[Grow Thread]

MY CARD CAME! WooHoo! 120 days of wondering when it would come is over!

 

glad to hear about the card!!

 

congrats on the grow lookin' swell

[+Annnie]

Flushing.. can you give me the ins and outs pleasse.. And after flushing do you use just straight water?

[Grow Thread]

well, flushing IS straight water.

 

a flush during a cycle is usually 24-48 hours of straight clean water to help remove any salt/nute deposits and then its back to full nutes. some folks like to use a "kleener" at this time also but im not a fan.

the "final flush" is straight water for the last 3-10 days or so before harvest........... depending on how ya like it

[Grow Thread]

just wanna let everyone know that i am back from vacation. i tried to stay up with my p.m.'s as much as possible, but for those of you who ask more than a couple questions a day, i hope you understand

 

we didn't do much...... blah, blah, blah............. so its back to work

 

keepin' it green

[+Annnie]

Lol well im not sure how i like it.. I liked it the way the others did it before pretty well most times..I do thank you for your answer kind sir..

[Grow Thread]

in hydroponics, a 3-5 day final flush is pretty much normal. some folks who do not use 100% organic nutes prefer to extend the final flush to 7 days. i like the raw taste of cannabis and have found that a 10 day final flush is best suited for me. and after a 10 day flush, anyone who tells you they taste nutes is lying

[+Annnie]

I am in soiless mix.. same rules apply?

[Grow Thread]

most folks in soil "flood", and then water the plants with straight water for the last week or two. yes, basically it is the same thing. im sorry, i didnt realize you were in soil. the concept is the same though. you want to use clean water to flush all the nutrients and bad stuff out "flooding" in soil is just what it sounds like. flood the soil/roots until tons of clean water runs out the bottom

 

but............. for those doin' the hydro thing and want ideas.......... here's some random pics of a perfect gravity fed system for ya.

 

 

 

water temp a couple degrees too high...... i fixed it

 

 

the "rez".... or control bucket:

 

---------------------------

 

[Grow Thread]

a pvc frame can be lowered into place at 40" off the floor to tie plants to if necessary.

 

[Grow Thread]

that's this system, but with 4 totes instead of 12, and a combined rez/control bucket. very efficient set-up:

 

12 SITE BUBBLEBUCKET HYDRO SYSTEM

 

i have had a couple questions about linking a bunch of bubblebuckets together and then to a central reservoir. this makes your grow as easy as can be as all of your checking/filling is done through the rez instead of each bucket individually. also, when operating like this, the initial build is much less complicated than building a single bucket. i am a little short on pics at the moment, but i will add more as i build my new system soon.

 

PARTS LIST:

reservoir...... anything from a 10 gallon storage tote to a 55 gallon drum is fine, it just needs to be taller than a 5 gallon bucket.

13 five gallon buckets

160gph water pump

100' black vinyl tubing

14 air stones. i like the 6" dark blue kind.

100' aquarium air line

20-60 gallon aquarium air pump. dual outlet.

26 barbed coupler/connectors

26 rubber grommets

enough hydroton clay pebbles to fill (12) 5" net pots.

12 net pots. 5" is fine.

2 commercial 6 outlet air pumps. this is overkill on the air/bubbles, but i like bubbles you could just get the larger model pump and an extra splitter and feed all 12 buckets. i like having 2 separate air pumps because it makes moving things around much easier.

 

 

here is your basic design:

 

 

 

ok, looks complicated but don't freak out. it's really not.

 

lets start with the 12 buckets you will be growing in. (green circles above). each bucket will have 4 holes in it total. 2 in the lid, and 2 on the sides. for the lid, one hole should be centered and be 4 3/4" in diameter. this is for your net pot to sit in. the other hole in the lid is just a little 1/8" hole and i try to keep it close to the edge of the lid. a hole just big enough to pull the air line through. the 2 holes on the sides of the buckets should be 13/16". i put those 2 holes on opposite sides of the bucket and about an inch from the bottom. this is where your rubber grommets/couplers will be pushed through each bucket, and then we will be linking them all together using the 1/2" black vinyl tubing. (black lines above).

then we will drill that same 13/16" hole an inch from the bottom of the reservoir and connect them all together. the dual outlet (cheapie) air pump is for the reservoir. hook up 2 lines to the pump, with 2 air stones on the other end, and drop them in the rez. keeping the rez bubbling is a good thing. the "rez" in this application really isn't "reserving" anything, i am simply calling it a rez, and it is just really a bucket with no plants/roots and you can access the water easily to check levels/add nutes. you could also just use another 5 gallon bucket for the rez.

 

the grommets are pretty cool, just drill your hole, and push it through, you will know when it is seated properly. then take one of the 1/2" connectors and shove that through the grommet. as i said, i am a little short on pics right now, so lets just pretend this red coffee container is a 5 gallon bucket:

 

this is how you make the "entry set-up". here we have our 5 gallon bucket, rubber grommet, and barbed coupler.

 

 

after you have your 13/16" hole as seen above, push your rubber grommet through. you will know when it is seated properly.

 

 

then push the barbed connector through as well.

 

 

and finally, attach your black vinyl tubing. i usually use a zip-tie here also, just for safety.

 

 

ok, get all 12 buckets built, get the first bucket in the chain connected to the rez, and the last bucket in the daisy chain to your 13th bucket.... the "control bucket" (smaller blue circle above). really this bucket isn't controlling a dang thing, we will just call it that. this bucket does absolutely nothing but hold a pump to pump water into the top of the rez. this keeps a constant flow of water, and kills 2 birds with one stone. moving water = more oxygen, and this also keeps everything stirred up constantly.

 

get your 2 commercial air pumps set up and run a 1/8" aquarium air line from the air pump through the lid of each grow bucket, all the way to the bottom, and attach a 6" air stone.

 

 

 

 

 

ok......... looks like we have everything set up. lmao... yeah right. anyways, this system is gravity fed. once everything is connected and tightened up, its time to fill the system. as you can see, filling the rez will allow water to flow through all 12 grow buckets and then into the control bucket. from the control bucket, it gets pumped into the rez and the cycle continues. so anyways, keep filling with water until you reach a level about 1/4 inch below the net pots. then make a mark inside your rez. this is your optimal water level and should be maintained daily. so everyday it is as simple as opening the rez, checking your ph/ec/ppm.... whatever you check, and then backfilling with water/nutes anything that evaporated or the plants drank. this is SO MUCH EASIER than checking all 12 grow buckets individually. and much easier to maintain proper ph/nute levels in one central rez as opposed to each bucket individually.

 

i am sure there will be hundreds of questions and i am sorry. i dont have my system set up so i cant take pics for a real step-by-step DIY tutorial, but the basics are here for now, i will be updating this in a couple weeks when i build my system so check back then. until then......... ask away and i will do my best to explain the cloudy points of it.

[Grow Thread]

there are 4 "growable" totes and the 5th tote is the "control". 7 plants total. 3 of the totes have 2 plants and one tote has a plant to itself.

 

thats a 1000wHPS lamp.

 

when the pvc drops, it creates a 5ft. x 5ft. square and everything fits inside that.

[groundswell71]

i have inserted links in the table of contents. just click on which one you wish to view and it will take you to that page.

 

 

PAGE 8: THE LUCAS FORMULA FOR HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS / LIGHT PENETRATION CHART

PAGE 9: SCROG (SCREEN OF GREEN) GROWING

PAGE 11: CLONING FOR/WITH THE BUBBLEBUCKET

PAGE 13: COMPLETE 12 PLANT BUBBLETOTE SYSTEM DESIGN/SET-UP / GENERAL ORGANICS FEED CHART

PAGE 16: BUBBLEBUCKET CUT-AWAY PICTURE. A GREAT LOOK INSIDE

PAGE 18: TWO PLANT "ON A BUDGET" BUBBLETOTE FOR LESS THAN $30 / 12 PLANT PERPETUAL LAYOUT

PAGE 20: THE REAL DEAL ON USING FOX FARMS OCEAN FOREST GROW MIX

PAGE 21: DETERMINING PLANT SEX

PAGE 24: 12 PLANT PERPETUAL LAYOUT WITH 2 MOTHER PLANTS

PAGE 25: LOW BUDGET METHOD OF SEALING A DOORWAY

PAGE 29: FIMMING / TOPPING / AIR LAYERING (AIR CLONING)

PAGE 32: HARVEST AND CURE PROCESS

PAGE 36: AVAILABLE NUTRIENTS @ PH CHART

PAGE 37: FOX FARMS HYDRO FEED CHART

PAGE 39: LOW BUDGET CLONING

PAGE 41: DECRYPTING EC/TDS METERS

PAGE 44: THE FINDINGS OF LUCAS

 

 

 

it can be hard for a new grower to find help. a lot of the "old school" growers are either too busy with their own grows, or too timid to share their experiences. some people just don't want to see others succeed. whatever the case may be, i have tried to make this a one-stop place for a newer grower to find all kinds of great info. if you are an MMJ patient, and you want to grow your own meds, YOU WILL. we will be sure of it.

 

if you don't see it, don't be afraid to ask. and with that................

 

 

 

 

LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING

Lighting Necessary For Cannabis Cultivation

Metal Halide (MH) or High Pressure Sodium (HPS) are the lamps needed to get for growing your medicine.

 

Metal halide light is in the blue spectrum and is best for vegetative (beginning) growth. Metal Halide light is closer to the natural light of the summertime sun. high pressure sodium is in the red end of the spectrum and is best for flowering (later) growth. HPS light mimics the sun in the fall/winter months.

 

You can use:

 

1) either MH or HPS light through both stages of growth (ok/good).

2) run a MH light through the veg phase of growth followed by HPS light through flowering (preferred).

 

compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) are often used for clones/seedlings and are very energy efficient.

 

If you can afford a lighting system made for horticultural purposes with a good reflector and ballast, get it. It will last longer, allow the light to cover a larger area (more plants), and increase the amount of light individual plants get.

 

You can also find digital switchable ballasts. These dual systems can run both mh and hps lamps. You might want to consider one of these, if you haven't already bought your lighting source. If you can't afford better, a high-bay or low-bay type light out of a warehouse will work fine. I have used one.

 

 

Seeds Or Clones

If you know someone who grows, ask them for a few clones. If you don't have access to clones you will have to get seeds. If you don't already have some, you can ask your friends to save you seeds out of any good meds that they may come across.

 

The better the cannabis that the seeds come from is, the better your crop will be. If the meds the seeds came from were no good, your crop will probably not be any better.

 

If you need seeds, you can get some online. there are a couple threads on this site dedicated to cannabis beans. i will personally vouch for The Attitude Seedbank: Attitude Seeds

 

 

Germinate The Marijuana Seeds

Follow the directions located here to germinate your beans. After the seeds have germinated and the root is about a quarter of an inch long, place the seed, root down, on your grow cube or media.

What you will need: a plate and a bowl -- paper towels -- marijuana seeds -- clean water

 

The plate will have to have a flat center area and the bowl will have to fit in that center area of the plate.

 

Make sure your plate and bowl are clean to minimize any chance of contamination. wet the paper towels then squeeze until it does not drip water.

 

Take the 1 or 2 sheets of paper towel and carefully fold them till they fit into the bottom of the plate. Turn the bowl upside down and place it over the plate, the paper towel should not stick out around the outside of the bowl.

 

When the paper towels reach room temperature, remove the bowl and place the seeds on top of the damp paper towel then cover them with the bowl again (some people also like to put another damp layer of paper towel over the top of the seeds). The plate and bowl should be dark enough to block sunlight or kept in a dark area or covered to block sunlight and stored in an area that is clean and warm.

 

Check daily and add small quantities of water when needed to keep the paper towel moist. Tap water contains chlorine and other elements that are not seed friendly. If you only have access to tap water, allow it to age uncovered for at least 24 hours. Better still, use reverse osmosis water. This is also true if you germinate seeds on oasis cubes, rockwool, soil, or media other than paper towels.

 

 

When the seeds sprout, and the white shoot emerges about a quarter inch, transplant (root down) into your hydroponic garden or soil. Treat very gently, don't touch or break the root tip.

 

Some seeds take up to 12 days to germinate, but most will germinate within 24 to 72 hours. Be patient, give your valuable seeds a chance to sprout before tossing them out.

 

Do NOT use bleach or mix bleach with the water!!

Never, never let the paper towel dry out!!

 

 

Temperature And Marijuana Seed Germination

An average temperature of about 70-80 degrees F will be fine for germinating most seeds. on top of the refrigerator works great for me.

 

Vegetative Marijuana Growth

The first phase of marijuana growth is called the vegetative phase.

 

If you plan on using the mh or hps right away, start with the light about 20 inches or more above the top of the plant and lower the light an inch or so daily until you think the height is right. Too close and the plants will dry and turn brown. Too far and the plants grow too tall as they stretch to get closer to their light source.

 

You can also start the vegetative phase with a fluorescent light turned on for 18 to 24 hours a day for the first one or two weeks or longer. compact fluorescent or T5 lights give off little heat compared to MH and use much less energy and therefore many growers use them during the first week or two. this also minimizes possible plant stress from too much heat/light in its early/fragile stage.

 

3 to 5 inches is ideal, but you might have to raise the light a bit higher so all the plants get some light, depending on your setup. the rule of thumb is, "as close as you can get the light without burning them". Mix your hydroponic nutrient solution to 50% of the normal recommended strength for the first week of growth regardless of lighting. if growing in soil, the plant will have enough nutrients with just water alone for the first week or two.

 

During the vegetative stage keep the light on 16 to 24 hours a day minimum. The longer it is on, the faster the plants will grow, but the higher you electricity bill will be.

 

Marijuana Flowering

Flowering is the phase of marijuana growth that produces the most THC. Once flowering begins, the plants will go through what is known as the "2 week stretch". during this couple weeks the plant may double or even triple in height. after this couple weeks, the height will taper off as the plant energy is used in the flowering production itself.

 

You can start flowering when the plants are a minimum of about 6 inches high and have at least 4 sets of leaves. This will take 2 weeks to a month depending on your grow methods. When you want to start flowering, cut the light back to 12 hours on and 12 hours off every day. "most" growers will wait until the plants have reached 1.5-2ft. or taller before beginning the flower phase.

 

The height of the plant will continue to increase for about two to four weeks after flowering has been started, after that all the plants energy will be used for flower production.

 

The flowering cycle lasts about two months, sometimes a little longer, depending on the type of seed. So the total length of time to raise a crop should be 3 to 4 months.

 

During flowering the dark period must be perfectly dark. No room light, sun light, or any other light should reach the plant in the 12 hours of darkness that the plant must get everyday. The strongest light that should reach the plant during flowering would equal that of moonlight.

 

Stronger light than this will delay flowering, and if it continues there is a chance that the plant will not flower, but stay in the vegetative phase.

 

You will know the plants are flowering when you see what look like little white hairs developing at bud sites. They should be visible after about two weeks of the flowering light cycle. These will eventually be the red hairs that you see on good bud that you have probably smoked in the past or are smoking now.

Nutrients

Plant foods are measured in an N-P-K format.

 

N is Nitrogen

P is Phosphorus

K is Potassium

 

A very simple and easy to use nutrient formula is located on page 8 of this thread. The Lucas Formula. there are also many threads on this site dedicated to the various nutrients/schedules available.

 

An all purpose hydroponic nutrient solution with secondary elements like calcium, sulphur and magnesium and trace elements boron, copper, molybdenum, zinc, iron, and manganese will get you through all stages of growth.

 

But depending on the stage of growth, you can adjust different nutrient levels needed at different times to optimize growth.

Do not over fertilize your plants. Too much fertilizer will kill your plants. If you under fertilize, plants will take longer to grow but will not die. Follow the mixing instructions on your nutrient package, if you aren't sure, use less rather than more.

 

Change the nutrient solution every 2 weeks to be safe (hydroponics). That is, discard the old solution and clean out the reservoir, pumps, and other equipment that is used with HOT WATER. You only need to clean the cups and tubing the plants are in before you start a new crop.

 

 

Growing Hydroponics Marijuana Introduction

I personally prefer growing hydroponically in a "deep water culture" (DWC) method also known simply as "bubbles". This may appear difficult at first, but if you dedicate yourself to reading the next 20 pages of this thread you will have no hesitations at all.

 

Expect to pay between $500 - $1500+ for a good ballast, reflector, lamps, hydroponic setup and everything else you will need to raise your crop hydroponically. You can spend more or less than that, but $700-800 is probably an average initial setup price for a personal garden (5 to 12 plants). Once you get things set up you can continue to raise new crops with your set up and only have to spend money on nutrients, bulbs, and other minor maintenance.

 

After a few crops (you will make mistakes at the beginning), your product will be better (if the seeds you used were good) than anything that you would normally buy, at a fraction of the cost.

 

 

 

 

thank you thank you...

[kgb69ss]

I like this forum! So cool to be able to come here and learn stuff! I got a question. My White Widow, Himalayan Gold, and Super Silver Haze plants are 5 wks into flower mode. I am wondering if I should feed everytime I water. I gave them a shot of Humboldt's Big Up powder yesterday, since it says to apply w/ 3 wks left. I am using Advanced Nutrients Sensi Bloom about twice or three X a week, but water every other day, sometimes a little everyday if they seem dry. I dont want to over do it, but I want the most bang for my buck! BTW I use Fox Farms OF medium.

 

Does Nitrogen make the final product more harsh? Someone told me that a long time ago. Just curious because none of my flowering nutes have any nitrogen in them. ?????

[Grow Thread]

thank you thank you...

 

you are so very welcome

 

 

I like this forum! So cool to be able to come here and learn stuff! I got a question. My White Widow, Himalayan Gold, and Super Silver Haze plants are 5 wks into flower mode. I am wondering if I should feed everytime I water. I gave them a shot of Humboldt's Big Up powder yesterday, since it says to apply w/ 3 wks left. I am using Advanced Nutrients Sensi Bloom about twice or three X a week, but water every other day, sometimes a little everyday if they seem dry. I dont want to over do it, but I want the most bang for my buck! BTW I use Fox Farms OF medium.

 

Does Nitrogen make the final product more harsh? Someone told me that a long time ago. Just curious because none of my flowering nutes have any nitrogen in them. ?????

 

most folks in soil feed every other watering or every 3rd one. and plants use less nitrogen during flowering and therefore you may notice that many feeding schedules call for very little or no nitrogen in the late stages.

[Grow Thread]

I like this forum!

 

me too.

[Grow Thread]

GREAT pics of a fresh mag deficiency in the moby/haze strain:

 

 

 

[Grow Thread]

that will start in the older leaves as opposed to a calcium def. which will normally start in the younger ones

[TajMahal]

Good Info, Thanks BG.

[Grow Thread]

np taj. thats a weird one sometimes.

 

a lot of folks see this and automatically add cal/mag.

 

well, this can begin lockout if you add calcium when its not needed. my normal program has plenty of cal in it. i know from growing this strain through a few cycles that a mag deficiency will show up between the 2nd and 4th week of flower. when/if it does, i know to add mag ONLY for a couple weeks.

[boroboro]

What would you use to add Magnesium specifically?  Epsom salts?  How much?  Just checking -- if I remember right I've seen a recommendation to add 1/4 tsp per gallon, but that might have been for coco and not a DWC set-up.