My Hempy Top 44 CFL Grow Journal

fierybong · #1 04-28-2008, 06:23 PM

BIG EDIT: I would love for anyone with constructive and intelligent comments to post here!!! First grow, want to hear everything.

So, I have been waiting and waiting to start a log while making rookie mistakes on 2 bagseed plants... My current setup is pictured. My current lights are 2 23-watt 'daylight' CFL's and a 45-watt yellow 'household' monster.

For this grow I will be using the hempy bucket method with CFL's for the moms and I don't yet have whatever light I am going to use for flowering. Probably will use a 70 watt HPS light and a mix of blue and red 23-watt CFL's. I will probably need a varying array of mounting for these. I ordered 'the book' so we will see.

I haven't yet decided on what nuts I will use. I plan to use a 4:1 mix of perlite to vermiculite in the pots themselves. The clones will be raised in 8" pots and flowered 'early' via the sea-of-green method. Ideally harvesting every 2 weeks, however I don't think I want or am prepared for dozens upon dozens of plants so we shall see; I will probably start with a few clones and ramp up the numbers until I find something I am comfortable with.

I will be using the Hempy Buckets method, I still need perlite/vermiculite and nuts for that.

Today I filled up 5 sterile solo cups with miracle grow potting mix and germ'd my T44.

I washed my hands with dial, sterilized a tweazers and wet a paper towel with distilled water and wrung it gently until damp. I carefully placed the seeds into the center fold using the tweezers, folded the towel over with the seeds very loosely in the fold and put the towel into a large sealed plastic freezer bag and folded the bag to roughly fit the paper towel size. I wrapped the whole thing up in a black shirt and put it in my grow room where it is guaranteed to be at least room temperature if not a bit warmer in this unpredictable spummer weather. I quickly sealed the remaining 5 seeds back up and put them back in their place.

I am going to raise the seedlings in what eventually will be the flowering room for now as they will pretty quickly need to get out of the solo cups anyway. I will likely then 8" pot them until I can find the females and males and then the two moms will go into 5-gallon buckets. I don't think that for my purposes I will want more.

I will probably do 4 clones/2 weeks/8 clones/2 weeks/12 clones/2 weeks and see how that goes. I will probably then flower out the moms and start some AK-47 and WW if all goes well!

Happy fun time is now!

fierybong · #2 04-28-2008, 07:22 PM

Read a lot of info about how using MG potting soil with fertz screws up seedlings; fortunately I also have a bag of MG organic which I just used to refill the cups.

Edit: didn't feel a need to bump, no sprouts yet... will check in the morning.

Totally stoked... 3 sprouts this morning, planted and given a tiny bit of distilled... under the flouro tubes about 1in deep or less; hope the other 2 sprout.

fierybong · #3 04-30-2008, 07:53 PM

Today I built a new light platform, pics of that soon. Got 3 Y sockets and a bunch of 26w daylight CFL's which now hover over the solo cups. After the other insane rigs that I created, creating this light platform was bullshit easy. I strung up 2 grow lights before I knew what I was doing using /thread/ and no less than 50 knots... and the T and then H bar fight...

I did use clear solo cups, don't know if that makes a difference or I should wrap them in paper or something.

Another seed sprouted, that makes 4/5... hopefully lazy ass will show tomorrow. I don't really know how long until I need to give up on him. I also didn't plant them in any particular orientation, just kinda put a 3/4 inch hole in the cup rolled it in and covered it and gave a tiny bit of water... but I don't think it matters as long as the orientation isn't changed after the seed gets started.

Really have an op going now... I am having a lot of trouble finding a local source for perlite or vermiculite. I was told that vermiculite is no longer sold because it contains carcinogens but I don't think that is true. I may have to buy it online and pay the outrageous shipping costs... I also am going to need nutes very shortly so as I get paid I better get that order in. Everything is G2G for 5 potential moms except 2 more small buckets, soil medium and nutes. Funny how those 3 things are only like 1% of the work and materials required! God I have spent like 300 dollars at LEAST since this started; motivation I guess, if I get more than 2oz it'll be worth it

Ohhh I got my book today too! <3 garden

Pics when I have cute kids I promise... lets see if T44 lives up to the blazing tear ass outa hell growth they say it has.

Edit: added drainage holes to the bottom of the solo cups, 4 small holes each with a knife. The cups are on top of an inverted 5 gallon bucket that has a lip so I dont think i need to worry about a pan.

fierybong · #4 05-01-2008, 04:07 PM

All five have sprouted now. I came home and had left the space heater on 'high' in the room attached to the grow and it was like 87 degrees in here when I got in and immediately corrected the situation. It doesn't seem to have hurt my flowering plants and might just have kicked the seedling into gear; at 3am last night it had no root and today it had about a CM of root.

I still need:
Nutrients
2 more buckets
Another timer
Perlite/vermiculite

I think I am good on lights/bulbs as when the plants that I am growing now are done the whole space is getting rearranged and that is only about 4-5 weeks away.

I don't know my timeframes. I need to get a handle on:

How long before I go from 24 hours of light to 18 for the new plants?
How long in the solo cups? (transplanting to 10")
How long in 10" until I can force branches for sex?
How long in 5 gallon bucket until the 2 chosen moms are ready to give up 2-3 clones each for production? (from the numbers I hear others getting, I might only need one mom... I am thinking that five sounds like the best number of clones to be flowering in my space at any given time... though I will probably do 2 and just flower the extra out if I dont have the space)
How long will the clones have to veg before they are ready to be flowered?
How long will their flowering take?

I invite anyone with comments or answers to post here (or PM me if you prefer)

Drying should be 7 days if I remember correctly... curing as desired.

You can view current pics of the op as the third post here: Out with the old...

fierybong · #5 05-02-2008, 05:07 PM

Found Perlite and vermiculite today! This source should be reliable if I need more.

LIGHTS done up right... Added 2x40 watt ruddy CFL's for a total flowering capacity of 3x40 watt red and 1x23 watt blue (all lights hooded as shown) and added 2 more 23 watt daylight for veg, for a total of 6x23 watt blue.

Flower Room: 7800 lumens red, 1600 blue
Veg Room: 9600 lumens blue

All lights on bars and within 1"-3" depending on their heat level. One of my plants got scorched a few times but I think I have a handle on that problem or more ideas if I don't.

All I need to do is buy nutrients and one timer of any type and I am G2G for my plans as laid out for this grow! Been reading my book a lot and I think I have a good idea on how long things should take and what to benchmark against.

One of the seeds somehow got buried like 2 inches down and didn't sprout. It has a slightly larger dirty taproot, I very gently dug it up and reburied it about 1/4 inch deep and watered it with about 2 tbsp of distilled.

I also found a source for R/O water but it has 'minerals added for taste' and I don't know how badly that would impact things for the 'dro buckets.

PICS OF CUTE T44 KIDS after the jump

I nudged the seed pod off the top which was pinching the leaves of the one in front and sat and watched for like 20 minutes while it unfolded, was really cool to see it finishing being born like that.

fierybong · #6 05-02-2008, 07:42 PM

All those lights are making it hot in there... A/C in the room lets it stay alright with the door open but its got to be 80 in there with the door shut...

raised the lights about an inch after doing some more reading up... I figure at this stage it wont hurt and I dont want to risk any damage whatsoever.

Also for this reason since it is always so dry in here I gave them another 2 to 3 sprayer squirts each from my small round bottle sprayer. I water almost exclusively with the sprayer and distilled. For the record my other plants are on a 1/4 of recommended MG dose after a heavy top wetting with the sprayer every time I water them on monday mornings and thursday nights.

Azgrow · #7 05-02-2008, 07:56 PM

looking good...peace az

fierybong · #8 05-02-2008, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azgrow

looking good...peace az

Thanks AZ! Just ordered my nutrients... GH bloom/micro - one silly timer and we are ready for launch!

Adjusting the seedlings as they need it, trying to find the best range it's somewhere between 1-1.5 inches.

Labeled cups ABCDE, E is the one that hasn't shown.

fierybong · #9 05-04-2008, 11:31 PM

5/05

Can see the tiny, ever so tiny new leaves forming down inside the plant getting ready to come out... everything is keen so far. Temp is between 67-76 out here in the room, closet maybe a tad bit nearer to 70-75. Been giving tablespoons of water from a squirt bottle, just gave them maybe 3 tbsps each. Afraid that in the dryness of the fans and warm of the closet the roots will get hurt. Getting readier to give up on #5 but we will see!

Nutrients should arrive soon... need to go over how to mix them, there is some odd method to using just GH micro/bloom for hempy buckets.

Azgrow · #10 05-04-2008, 11:33 PM

its for all hydro applications an its called the lucas formula
5mlmicro 10ml bloom for veg make sure to MIX mirco FIRST an use r/o water
8mlmicro 16ml bloom for flower same as veg micro first r/o water...an this is per gallen...
peace az