From Conception to Completion

MidwestMike

Active Member
~ History ~

So I figured it would be high time to start my own journal. Most people start when they get the equipment and seeds then germination, veg, ect. But I figured why not start with the basic idea, perfect it, then move on to the realistic and actual design and conceptualization. So first I'll introduce myself, give a general time-line, then describe all the equipment, layout, ect. Hopefully pictures will start to come in around the first week of March and we will move on from there.

First, I know I am brand knew here-by name, but I've been floating around for about 8-10 months soaking up information, ideas, ect. So here is a brief run-down. The idea to grow was first thrown around by myself and a few friends as we sat around a camp fire and smoked. We, like many, had lavish ideas of pounds and pounds of pot but in reality we were young, dumb, and eager. So this was when I started to research the growing of it, and also realized I was 18 and had no place to grow.

Then I went off to College at a large State School - you thought I was going to tell you ehh? nah; for my own security of mind - and lived in the dorm. We would smoke every weekend, then it became every other day. Then I bough an 1/2 oz of straight Trainwreck and we went crazy. It became my life and then one weekend we decided to stop. We had about 10gs left and myself and a friend said we were going to smoke it in one night. We started on the 3hr drive home. By the time we got back we smoked around 12 bowls and 5 more through a vape. Then we went to a friends land and hit it hard. We were 4-5 grams down and we started getting paranoid and had trouble breathing. I heard God and threw all the stuff into the pond we were by. That was the end of it. Until here recently. Now I know people say you cannot get addicted to pot physically, but like all things, if you cannot handle it in moderation it will become a god.

Recently I started having really bad insomnia because I work midnights during the weekend and go to school full-time during the week days, needless to say, my sleep schedule was all kinds of messed up. I looked for medication and talked to doctors and they all recommended different types of medication, and all the side-effects were crazy, the biggest one I didn't want was dependency on these medication to sleep when they were not needed. So I went back and started researching the natural medication. And here is where we start my build.
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
~ The Business ~

Alright let's get down to the meat and potatoes of things. First off: This will be a Perpetual Organic Soil Vertical ScrOG. If you have not seen these types of grow this is where I got my inspiration: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/221652-jigfreshs-grow-2-vertical-scrog.html and here is where I got a lot of my other information to how ScrOG works as well as soil: https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/403097-ultimate-scrog-faq.html and https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/937-how-grow-marijuana.html.

Ok so that is where I got my information, and it all has helped me a ton. Now we get into the design/budgeting of this plan. I must confess I am a business major so everything here will be done with a business perspective behind it. If I can find a way I will draw this out and post it, but if not, just use your imagination. And once I get a camera this whole conception will be easier, but hang in there, this will be a 4 month grow-op before I get my first yield so patience is a virtue.

So I have a closet, no wait, I have two closets! What does this mean? Veg. Room AND Flower room. I swear, whoever designed my apartment had my idea in mind. The Veg room is a walk-in-closet and the space will be very needed.

Here will be the supplies:

Room:
2x 400 watt HPS in an air-cooled tube - $140+Shipping Ea.- http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Light-System-Cooled-Growing/dp/B003JJ1HJM
1x 400 watt MH Econ-Version - $105 + Shipping http://www.insidesun.com/26172982eb069ce92a65579b3ca97a16.item
1x 6" Inline Fan AND 1x 6" Carbon Filter - $170 + Shipping http://www.amazon.com/Hydropronic-Inline-Carbon-Filter-Control/dp/B002ZJNW3Q
12x 5 Gallon buckets - $4 ea.
18' of 3' tall chicken wire (Something close to that, I'll probably have to buy 25') - $15
2x 20" Box fans - $26 ea. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lasko-20-Weather-Shield-Performance-Box-Fan/9204066
25' 6" insulated pipe - $30 - http://compare.ebay.com/like/120510207158?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=212537892775&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=%3F*F%3F&GUID=0088b93012c0a479e74036e0ffa6cebc&itemid=120510207158&ff4=263602_304662
3 Small fans - $20 ea.
Mist construction supplies, ect. - Approx $50

TOTAL = $810 + $40 in shipping = $850

Seeds:
5 Sativa + 1 Strong Indica - 11.34 ea. = $68.04 + 2 UFOs (Love Attitude) + 10.50 Shipping = $78.54

Soil:
I am trying to do this "Just add water method" described here, with some local variations. http://www.marijuanagrowing.eu/subcool-s-super-soil-recipe-t40253.html
Bat Guano (Mexican) - $8
Bat Guano (Jamaican) - $8
Soil Base - $30 (Site is down so I cannot get the exact brand)
Other ingredients - $50 (Epsom Salt, trace minerals, ect.)

TOTAL SOIL: $100 (rounded up)

TOTAL OVERALL: $850 + 78.54 + 100 = $1028.54

Now this is just a base total, it will probably be more than this but I want a budget to see the general picture and how to spread costs. I plan to do this in phases.

Budgeting Side of Phases:

Phase 1 (March 2nd-16th) : Grow medium - $100 and Seeds - 78.54 = Phase 1: $178.54
Phase 2/Germination (March 16th-March 30th) : 1 HPS Light, 4 Buckets, one box fan Phase 2: $182
Phase 3/ Veg Start (March 30th-April 13th) : Chicken Wire, Tubing, Misc supplies, Fans Phase 3: $166
Phase 4/ Veg Finish (April 13th-April 27th) : Incline Fan and Carbon Filter Phase 4: $185
Phase 5/ 2nd Veg Start/ 1st Flower Start (April 27th - May 11th) : MH Light and buckets - Phase 5: $137
Phase 6/ 2nd Veg Finish/ 1s Flower Mid (May 11th-May 25th) : HPS Light - Phase 6: $140

$40 Favorable Variance, due to shipping costs. Will be factored in when bought.

Electricity for Lights:

March: $14.04
April: $34.32
May: $56.5
June-End: Around $65.52 at 0.13/KWH

The electricity with the fans will add up to more but that length depends on how much they're needed.

And that is the end of the budgeting section. I know it seems tedious and may not have any point for you, but that's fine, it's more for myself.
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
~ Growing ~

Here's the plan when it comes to growing since I plan to have it be a perpetual grow. Sativa plants usually take 9-11 weeks to flower so it will skew the phases between the budget and the grow phases. Think of it like this, 3 separate grow areas: 2 Vertical Scrogs and a basic Scrog MH Veg. The two verticals will be in the large closet and the Veg will be in a smaller closet. Close to each other but no light can get through.

Phase 1: Germination A - (March 16th-March 23rd [Extra time will be used in Veg])
Phase 2a: Veg A - (March 23rd- April 20th)
Phase 2b: Germination B - (April 13th - April 20th)
NOTE: Once A Stops Vegging and moves to Flowering I will then proceed to move my Germination B to the Veg Area.
Phase 3a: Flower A - (April 20th - June 29th) Ten weeks flowering, will be adjusted as needed)
Phase 3b: Veg B (April 20th - May 18th)
Phase 3c: Germination C (May 11th - May 18th)
Phase 4a: Harvest A - (June 29th - July 6th)
Phase 4b: Flower B - (May 18th - July 20th)
Phase 4c: Veg C (May 18th - June 29th)
Phase 4d: Germination D (June 22nd-June 29th)

Confusing? Maybe. So I am going to try and clean it up and put it into different plants instead. The whole idea is to germinate a week before the plants before it gets done in Veg. Then Veg. for half the time of Flowering. So right when one set of plants get out another go in, thus creating a yield every 5 weeks or so. Ok here it is by plant group (Set).

Set A:

  1. Germinate from March 16th - March 23rd
  2. Veg from March 23rd - April 20th
  3. Flower from April 20th - June 29th
  4. Harvest from June 29th-July 6th
Set B:

  1. Germinate from April 13th-April 20th
  2. Veg from April 20th - May 18th
  3. Flower from May 18th - July 20th
  4. Harvest from July 20th-27th
Set C:

  1. Clone from May 11th - May 18th
  2. Veg from May 18th - June 29th
  3. Flower from June 29th - September 7th
  4. Harvest from September 7th - September 14th

Yes I know in reality all these schedules will be futile and if something goes wrong then everything will shift accordingly. Yet with businesses of all types you must enter it with a plan and that is what I am laying out here. Now we must proceed to the actual set-up. Look for pictures around March 2nd-5th. I know people aim for .5g/watt but on the first couple grow I expect around .1-.2/ watt just because of inexperience. This would come up with 40g-80g/Set. Hopefully I can get up to .3-.5/watt and then float from there with about 120g-200g.


 

MidwestMike

Active Member
~ The Build/Op ~

Here's the plan with the build. The Germination and Veg will be one in the same but I separated them for logistics in the last section. The Veg room will be fairly simplistic, the first two sets will use HPS lights to Veg (I know it's not the best but it will do fine until the MH comes in) directly above the seedlings. The Seeds will start in small cups then transplanted directly into the 5 gal buckets once they start the "Veg" cycle. In the top 50% or so will be basic soil, and the bottom will be "Super Soil" found in Subcool's Recipe. That way once the plant reaches a level where it needs all the delicious Nutes it will be there. I will adjust and add Nutes according to the sign the plant gives me.

The Veg room will be the most complicated area because of the dual vertical grows. But the width of the cages will be 30". This is so that the light is 12" from the center structure of the plant and an extra 6" for the light itself. This means the wire will be 94.2" long and 36" tall for a area of 3391.2" squared. Or 23.55' squared. Each light will be connected to a 6" pipe and the two pipes will be brought together at a V and then the 500 CFM fan will suck the two through toward a Carbon filter, and thus out. At the bottom of each will also be one of the 20" fans, which I did not put in the design because I forgot.

Design.jpg

So with all of that said and done, does anyone have thoughts, questions, concerns, or quandaries?
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
I started a little early, but I got the seeds ordered today. This is what I will be growing:
1x Jack Herer
1x Super Lemon Haze
1x Sterling Haze
1x Royal Flush
1x Raspberry Cough
1x Blue Venom
1x UFO #1 Powerkush
1x UFO #2 Diesel
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
I move into the place in less than a week and just got the lights (Sun Blaze 22) and Rockwool for the seedlings and later for the clones, along with a humidity dome.
Light - 84.99
Dome - 8.98
Rockwool - 9.99

Total - 111.76 after tax.

I will be going back to the hydro store to get soil/nutes next Monday.
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
Just a few updates:
3/6 - Found 5 Fem Ak-48's and 5 Fem Northern Lights from Nirvana. I was pleasantly surprised by this and threw them in a cup of water. From the tap.
3/7 - After a 12 hr soak I put them in the middle of a dense fold of toilet paper and sprinkled water over it.
3/8 - Went to the store and bought all the stuff I need for soil: 2 bags of Ocean Forrest, one bag of Light Warrior, cubic foot of Perlite, Geohumus, Dolpomite, Jamaican Bat Guano, Mexican Bat Guano, 30lb Worm Castings, Happy Frog Steamed Bone Meal, 8 5 Gallon Root Pots, 8 12" plastic saucers, CloneX, Superthrive, liquid seaweed, liquid fish emulsion. Total: $280
3/8 - Mixed a bag of OF, LW, 1/2 cuft Perlite, 15LBS of Worm Castings in a 50Gallon garbage bag. Took 18 plastic cups of it for the seedlings.
3/8 - The rest of the mix was combined with all the other sub-ingredients. The only thing I didn't use all of was the Dolomite, Seaweed, and Fish.
3/8 - Filled the smart pots and put them where my final grow space will be.
3/8 - Mixed one drop of Superthrive and one drop of CloneX into 1L of Distilled water and lightly sprayed the seeds.
3/9 - 12hrs after spraying the seeds all of the AK's popped and 3 of the NL. Put the AKs into soil and under a light, and am letting the NL root get a little longer.
3/9 - Had 4 of the NL shoot a root. The last one I just threw away.
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
3/10 I had the first plant come out of the soil. Ak-47. I've never really heard of anyone having seeds sprout in less than 24 hours but I won't complain..


I left my camera at home so I will probably throw up picks at the end of the month or with a phone if the plants get a little bigger.
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
Alright, nothing like bringing a dead post back. Anyways. The plants have been doing well, a few spots here and there. Right now I am waiting on my 2 400watters and they should get here Tuesday. I deviated from the plan a bit. In stead of going for a 2 Vert system I am converting it to a single 2 Light vert system. This will save some on supplies to build it and I kinda want to see a 8 foot wall of bud. I've heard the AK and NL won't get that tall but that just leaves more room for my Jack and Lemon to do work. I will keep the best 6 of NL and AK and then the other two pots will be for the JH and SLH. Anyways I finally have the ability to take some photos. So here are the first of hopefully many.

The first picture is where my vert tube will go, the pots are already there and soil mix in them so it will have time to cool off a bit.

The rest are a general overview of the plants. The Northern is closest and AK is on the back side. Then the small plants, the closest is Jack Herer, and the one in the back is Super Lemon Haze.
2011-03-26 17.33.55.jpg2011-03-26 17.34.05.jpg2011-03-26 17.34.27.jpg2011-03-26 17.34.46.jpg2011-03-26 17.34.37.jpgKoala.jpg2011-03-26 17.34.27.jpg
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
Here's the general set-up. I got my lights less than a week ago, and one came broke :( so I am sending it back and getting another one. Here in a week I will get my paycheck and everything should be finalized, as long as I can get the light by then. I am currently in the process of panda-filming everything. Totals so far:

Soil - $280
Lights - $310
Environment - $250
*Fan/CF - $200

*Still need to get, planning on getting it first week of flowering.

I will also need to get two more Inline fans - $60 and a door - $20

I am planning on having the cool tube set-up to be completely self contained, bringing fresh air in and taking it directly back out with two 250cf/m inline fans. Then I will have another 250 cf/m fan blowing in fresh air as well.

The tallest is about 12" and the smallest is the Jack Herer and is about 6". The JH is showing some crazy indica Phenoms though. Here are the picks:

The first is Ak, second is SLH, third is a general overview, and the fourth is Ak on the left, NL on the right.

2011-04-04 15.44.45.jpg
2011-04-04 15.44.53.jpg2011-04-04 15.44.35.jpg2011-04-04 15.45.08.jpg
 

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MidwestMike

Active Member
Just an update for anyone that might be interested in it. The plants are doing very well, the Northerns are about 18" tall, the Aks are around 12" and the shortest is about 9". My SLH is 10" and Jack is about 8". I'm trying to decide whether to actually ScrOG them or to let them go and try some topping and LSTing, just to experiment. If I do this I can keep all my plants, if I ScrOG then I have to get rid of the smallest AK to make room so I can access the inside of the screen. Let me know if anyone is reading this or has any thoughts. Here are the pics:

1) Overview of everything 2) Jack 3) NL 4) AK 5) NL 6) SLH 7) Smallest AK

2011-04-10 19.28.07.jpg2011-04-10 19.28.37.jpg2011-04-10 19.28.49.jpg2011-04-10 19.28.16.jpg2011-04-10 19.28.43.jpg2011-04-10 19.28.30.jpg2011-04-10 19.28.21.jpg
 

MidwestMike

Active Member
Yeah man, that's Jigfresh's he was the inspiration behind the grow, but if I ScrOG then I do have to get rid of one, if I just let them grow I don't. I asked him which produced better results
 
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