BC Northern Lights Producer Grow #2

big daddy cane said:

thanks alot,i also learned from u to cover the cubes with foil and to add extra airstones to my unit simple but effective thanks.medical dispensiries are on every corner here n sacramento so clones r plentiful which strain would u recommend?indica or sativa.also i read that u should top your plants what week n bloom should i do this in? thank u alot.

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I'd pick an indica for these boxes. You ideally want something short and bushy, not tall and lanky like a sativa. I've been growing Northern Lights and I am quite happy with the strain. I haven't tried topping yet. Just trying to master the basic process before experimenting.

Flowering Day 1

Plants are around 6" tall. Nutrient ppm is at 540 following the flowering week one schedule from BCNL. Running the box from 5pm to 5am.

now the fun begins...

Day 4 Flowering

Not much new to report. Nutrient ppm is 480, though they would probably like more. pH is 5.8

Looks great! I've had good success with Producers, cropping out 2 Lbs per harvest. The added air pump is a great idea. You should also add one more thing to your box to really help your roots.. Liquid H2O2. Get the 29% strength and add 35ml every 3 days. Your roots will be super white, and as they grow and somewhat "sag" under their nets and get all tangled among the other plants, it'll provide oxygen to the dead spots the airstones still miss a little bit.

The last photos where you had your res filled with water showing the roots under the pots -- you need to add 1" of water to that. You want water almost touching the bottom of the nets, but about 1/2" back from that. It'll help you get more roots out the sides of the nets rather than just from the bottom of them.

Other than that, good luck, stick with Indicas, and dont really bother topping the plants, the canopy will be super full already. You shouldnt have to do any leaf trimming either since you have the upgraded flouros under the plants.

researchkitty said:

You should also add one more thing to your box to really help your roots.. Liquid H2O2. Get the 29% strength and add 35ml every 3 days. Your roots will be super white, and as they grow and somewhat "sag" under their nets and get all tangled among the other plants, it'll provide oxygen to the dead spots the airstones still miss a little bit.

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Thanks for the thoughts. H202 would kill my beneficial bacteria unfortunately, so that is a product not in my arsenal.

researchkitty said:

The last photos where you had your res filled with water showing the roots under the pots -- you need to add 1" of water to that. You want water almost touching the bottom of the nets, but about 1/2" back from that. It'll help you get more roots out the sides of the nets rather than just from the bottom of them.

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Good thought. I have raised the water level since that last post, but I'll continue to keep an eye on that to see if bumping it up even more would help those roots stretch.

researchkitty said:

Other than that, good luck, stick with Indicas, and dont really bother topping the plants, the canopy will be super full already. You shouldnt have to do any leaf trimming either since you have the upgraded flouros under the plants.

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Indicas for sure. I'm torn about trimming though. On my last grow I added the t-5's on day 10 of flower. Granted, the plants in that grow were way bigger at that time, and the lights were added 10 days late. However, I still ended up with a ton of dead end branches and stringy, worthless popcorn buds. I am really considering trimming off at least those bottom branches to focus more growth on the top and to clear up some room in the box.

Thoughts anyone?

Day 7 Flowering

Everything is looking good. I've only seen about 3" of vertical growth in the past week. This is probably from the veg to flower transition. I'm debating trimming off the lower branches since my plants last time had tons of useless growth.

Day 10 Flowering

Plants are growing (2" in three days). I'm trying to tuck some of the bigger fan leaves under the smaller bud sites as much as possible to encourage growth of those sites. The nutrient ppm is around 600. The pH is 5.6.

Day 14 Flowering

Plants have grown 4-6 inches in the last four days. My tallest plant is 17 inches tall (hard to tell from picture). Nutrient ppm has fallen to around 500. pH has been around 5.3 and I've been struggling to keep it from falling further (I don't have pH up). I have a tank of co2, but I'm going to hold off for another week. The plants have already tripled in height since beginning flower and I have at least another week of stretch.

I am new to this site but eternally grateful for all of the info on these grow-boxes. I've been reading these grow0journals non-stop for a week now. I plan on ordering the producer in the next week and will try to keep my own journal or at least a good review of the box as I believe we are vital in helping others make very important and costly decisions that may dramatically impact their financial, medicinal, and legal future(both negatively and positively).

Bigbux said:

I am new to this site but eternally grateful for all of the info on these grow-boxes. I've been reading these grow0journals non-stop for a week now. I plan on ordering the producer in the next week and will try to keep my own journal or at least a good review of the box as I believe we are vital in helping others make very important and costly decisions that may dramatically impact their financial, medicinal, and legal future(both negatively and positively).

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Thanks for reading up and commenting. The biggest negative of these boxes is the upfront cost. However, if you have money to invest, what you will be getting is a blend of one of the stealthiest and efficient grow boxes on the market. I really messed up my first grow and it still grossed me 35% of my initial investment. I will come out ahead on my second grow.

Yeah I read your first journal and am looking forward to see what happens this time. I'm about to order the Producer. Do you have any advice or suggestions for how to get the best deal when I order? I live in Michigan and they want to charge me $375 for shipping. I'm paying 3,500 for the box with 2 cycles of Silver nutrient pack but i think I'm goin to ask for a year's worth. The guy sounded like he was going to throw in some extras. Did you get a discount or freebies? They gotta do something for me spending that kind of yim. Also, they say it will arrive in 5 business days. Is this accurate? And, is it wise to get sent to your house(or apartment in this case)? And, can you track it so you know exactly what day it's coming? My apartment is usually around 70 to 74 degrees That should be good, right? And finally, is the smell going to have to be masked at an apartment? Even though its legal for me to grow in Mich(medical card), I still don't want to offend or alert up-tight neighbors. I REALLY appreciate your input and sorry for so many questions!!

My limit is 12 plants. Csn I train them to take up the wholebox so as to not lose any yield?

bigbux man you can order a 12 site lid for the res that would solve you 12 limit.look neater aswell

Day 17 Flowering

I selectively trimmed some whispy looking lower branches last night that I didn't think would produce good bud. Even still, the chopping didn't slow down the virtical growth at nearly 1.25 inches a day. I've got about 12 inches until hitting the glass at the top. Today is the first day I noticed the first sign of significant flower development. On my last grow, I noticed this on day 16. Trying to keep pH between 5.6 and 5.8. Nutrient ppm is just over 1000. They are really liking the increase in nutes.

Bigbux,

I doubt you are going to get a ton of freebees, but they will work with you on some smaller stuff. They might throw in some nutes or something along those lines. 5 days transit sounds about right. $375 is about as good as it's going to get shipping something that size internationally. I don't think there would be much issue shipping directly to your house unless you want to avoid any questions from your neighbors. If you can pick it up and personally deliver it to your house, you might save some money and be more discreet. With 12 plants, you will probably lose yield compared to having 18, however you will make up some yield with the extra space.

Lookin good man!! I'm just about to trim some of my ladies down as well but have no idea what i'm doing. Can't wait to see those things bud out!

stillcantroll said:

Lookin good man!! I'm just about to trim some of my ladies down as well but have no idea what i'm doing. Can't wait to see those things bud out!

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I really was not a confident trimmer either, but I definitely examined each branch before chopping. Some of my lowest branches were able to find some light and the bud sites look worthy enough to keep around.

Day 20 Flowering

Plants are continuing to grow at a phenominal rate of almost exactly 1 inch per day. Flowers are really taking shape as you can see in the pictures. My tallest plant is about 26" tall and has about 7" of clearance before hitting the top. I'm not too worried about the couple tall girls as I can bend them out of harms way if need be. I still have not introduced co2 as I do not need these things getting out of control, height wise. I think most of the bud sites that I left will produce something substantial. There are a couple sites that I'm still iffy about. My smallest plant doesn't really have any other branches besides her main cola that looks like it will yield much, but I'm afraid of stripping every branch off her for fear of shock. Chime in if anyone has thoughts on that.

Day 23 Flowering

I wish I could make these girls stop growing. I switched to 12/12 when they were 5.5 inches tall. Now they are nearing five times that height and still growing well over an inch a day. Who the hell ever said they only double or triple growth from veg to flower?! My nutrient ppm is around 1150 currently on week four flowering cycle. Buds are beginning to look nice.