Personal DWC Medical Grow - 600's, Perpetual - Multi-Strain

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Here we go again.

I guess I'll do another Grow Journal for what I am currently toying around with. This is my personal medical grow which will be a pretty simple perpetual arrangement only flowering in sets of 2-3 plants per time on a 4-6 week rotation (to be determined) I will never have more than 12 plants at any given time only 6 of which will ever be maturing and this should give me roughly a decent little harvest every 4-6 weeks once it's completely going. I am hoping for a good enough yield to keep myself completely stocked up at all times without any dry spells plus have enough for cooking, concentrate and other experimentation so I am probably going to veg 4-6 weeks for each set as I'd like to have a decent yield per plant as making concentrates and such can turn an ounce into a few grams pretty quickly!


Brief Details

I have two grow areas, neither of which are very large - Veg tent is 2x4x5 feet or so and has a 600W Metal Halide running full blast 24/0, only 3 plants are currently vegging in there (AMS, Cluster Bomb, Supersonic Cristal Storm (auto), and I have a Critical Jack seedling in there as well but has light restrictions in place so it doesn't get nailed too hard. Temps currently 77 w/ ~35% Humidity although the seedling has a humidity dome contraption so it's very high there.

Flower room is roughly 8x8x7 and currently has 2 600W HPS with open wing reflectors, I may add more 600's but am unsure right now. For supplemental side lighting I have banks off T8 shoplights but also planning on adding a couple 4-8 lamp T5 fixtures at some point plus getting some UV10 Reptisun or similar tubes in there as well. There is a (very) small 6000BTU A/C window unit in there now which DOES keep the temps just below 80 even with 1200-1800W of HID going but it's pushing it. I have considered a 14,000 BTU dual hose unit as I think it's kind of annoying running a Window unit but they do great work if you build a box for them and extract the heat.

Everything is running in DWC Bubble Buckets with 4" round Airstones per bucket and a very simple aquarium pump (airpod) I am running straight Lucas Formula at this time and it's around 600-650ppm. Everything is pretty simple right now haven't even been interested in taking photos yet but have a couple. I have no plans of doing a SCROG or anything because it's kind of impossible to do it when I have to move my plants from a Veg tent that is tiny to another room through a very narrow door and training once in flower is also not exactly what I want to do.

They are being LST'd (at lest the Cluster Bomb so far) SSCS is auoto so I'm not touching it and AMS has been the slowest growing plant of the bunch, Not sure if it has any issues currently but it's around 5.8-6.0 PH but finally starting to pick up pace.


Crappy start to the journal, haven't really figured out how I want to approach it so i'll just wing it. Only have a couple pics atm.



This is 5 days of growth (between photos):



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DrGribble

Well-Known Member
A few updates.

Decent growth, just fimmed the smallest plant (A.M.S.) The plant in front w/ LST is Cluster Bomb and the one in back is Supersonic Cristal Storm (autoflower) so it's not getting touched. I know it's pretty boring right now, soon enough I'll have more than 4 plants going and some in maturation. I would like to grow these to give me (at least) 4oz each, was thinking of Vegging for 2-3 more weeks but could use some opinions on how long I should veg for. I honestly don't know what day they are on it took them forever to actually have the roots hit the reservoirs and start growing for real I don't really count any of the time prior. I am hoping to have 12-15 tops per plant at least but I would love to grow them bigger and have a higher yield just not sure how long yet.

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DrGribble

Well-Known Member
I have been on the fence about keeping a Grow Journal any longer which is why I haven't updated, got bored and wanted to update so here we go. Just a few photos, I am running 19/5 on the lights still (the flowering plant is an Auto) I am calling the amount of time in Veg roughly 1 month at this point for the largest LST plant on the left side (Cluster Bomb), AMS is the other LST plant next to it and was started at same time but roots hit the reservoir about a week later than the Cluster Bomb for whatever reason. I don't really start counting days until I have roots in the water.

Probably about 15 tops on the Cluster Bomb, haven't counted the AMS as I have been more lazy on the maintenance and training. Also have two very small growth shoots I cut off as clones not sure if they're going to root or not it's been a few days now and they're super droopy but not shriveled up dead so they must be rooting. I was not sure if using super runt cuttings would be ok but so far it's working.

That's about it, not much to say... two 600's a MH and HPS going right now, small Window A/C unit keeps it about 77 degrees near canopy (by the Auto anyway) otherwise pretty simple stuff here. Not sure how much longer I will need to veg the LST plants my hopeful goal is to get anywhere from 4 ounces on up from each plant, any input on how much longer I would need to veg to pull that off would be nice.

Just using General Hydro nutes, rough lucas formula plus additives/supplements when I see fit but I am pretty easy going on the entire process.







 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
wow, in 13 days that Auto blew up.

I just looked at my previous post and had not really given it much thought but that is the same plant from the upper back-left corner of my tent photos.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
No signs of problems or anything, but I decided to hit the whole area with the sulfur vaporizer today for 4 hours just for a little peace of mind. Probably do it a couple more times before those flowers on the auto develop much more since my last run in with powdery mildew drove me nuts and I just quit for a while. So glad I am not growing from clones this time so I know for sure if I get PM it's something to do with my methods or environment.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
It's been a couple days so here's a couple more pics, all those plants are still in veg and the auto is starting to flower pretty well now. Not sure how fast these Autos really are as I have never grown one, I am guessing 4-5 weeks and this thing should be ready. I honestly don't know exactly how long it's been going but I figure I can call it about week 4 or so.


Cluster Bomb, AMS, Critical Jack (small one) all still getting LST. They're about a month old since roots got out of the netpots... (Not the Jack, of course)




Supersonic Cristal Storm Auto (currently about 26" Tall) from what I have read, that's pretty good for an Auto?

 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
I am going to crack my El Alquamista seed soon too, I don't know what I am waiting for that's AK x NL... I hear it's great and it was one of the freebies I got. Maybe if will make up for my Chemdog and Church being no good, I was really looking forward to having those strains.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
I moved Supersonic Cristal Storm Auto back into the tent all by itself, switched out the MH for an HPS and will probably give it 24/0 until it's harvest time, it is just under too tall for my tent I cannot raise my hood up any more than I currently have it and the top of the plant is about 4 inches from the glass yet is cool to put my hand there so no worries as long as it stops growing immediately.

I got sick of waiting so I also switched the flower room to 12/12, hopefully these plants are vegged enough to get me around 4 ounces each, that was my goal to try for per plant anyway. I germinated the seeds (put them in rockwool and added water) exactly 50 days ago but did not start counting veg time for a solid 10-14 days after that (when roots hit reservoir more or less). I will continue training them during the stretch most likely and who knows maybe get some additional tops. I need to take 3-4 cuttings from each plant so waiting into the stretch a bit to get some heartier clones without needing to take any branches I don't want to lose.

I have no idea what I am going to do with the Critical Jack yet, I guess probably toss it back in the tent with the Auto.

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DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Today is Day 1 of 12/12 for Cluster Bomb and AMS

I have already been feeding Super Sonic Cristal Storm bloom nutrients and I only have a single 18 gallon tote I use to mix 15 gallons of nutes so flowering nutes have taken priority, I will either get another tote/airstones and mix two batches so I have a more vegetative mix but was also thinking of just hand mixing them as needed (pain in the ass)

Right now I am feeding with roughly 1200-1300ppm nutrient solution, PH around 5.9. This consists of: FloraMicro, Bloom, Veg (sparing amount), Floralicious Plus, FloraNectar, ProTekt, CaliMagic and Liquid KoolBloom. I will be introducing dry KoolBloom within a week or two and run for a couple weeks then start planning my pre-harvest flush. Like I said once before I am pretty relaxed about my nutes, dosing, etc and get it 'pretty close' to where I aim to but don't really over complicate anything and seem to do just fine as of now.

SSCS, Critical Jack, and a Cluster Bomb cutting (which I might just replace w/ a new one) are in the "Veg" tent although it's being lit by a 600W HPS and some supplemental 6500K Fluoros for the Jack/Clone.

Will get some pics later, I can already see the two plants in Flower Room started climbing slightly from yesterday.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Going to take some updated pics shortly, I keep getting paranoid that I might be getting signs of PM again (seems so unlikely though I have multiple fans going, decent humidity, high 70's but still saw a (few) random white specs here and there that look like tiny grains of gypsum or something. I can blow them or whipe them off easy but it's very very scarce and I even have a 'dusting' of it on the lids to my buckets. It's faint and inconsistent so it makes me wonder if it's some kind of other particle or dust, I see no reason it would grow on a non porous black plastic lid for example.

I have used a Sulfur Vaporizer a couple times too in past several weeks, I am hoping I'm simply paranoid and nothing more. I am going to setup my sulfur vaporizer on a timer to go off for 1-2 hours a day a few times a week until I start getting flower development then stop and hope for the best. My LST job is CRAZY dense and crowded plus the branching is very low and horizontal touching my bucket lid in a few random areas even so maybe that's my issue.

Will take some photos soon, will try and get some closeups too showing some of my random spotting and so on to maybe identify some deficiencies or other issues, maybe I have some pests... PM seems so unlikely as I have been careful but who knows. I was considering Eagle 20 before the first week of Flower but the more I read into it the more I think it's just not worth the potential concerns.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Any idea what the issues the leaves are showing could be? Deficiency or Burn? The shots with the leaves looking like they're turning a little bit white around the edges (faint) are AMS, not sure if I have pests or just need to iron out my nutrients a little bit. Initially I had some large 'splashes' of discoloration I thought were from spilling (splashing a little) on top of a plant when I was feeding but it's more than just a couple leaves. Plant's seem to be growing at a good rate though, appear to be fine in that respect.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Since my leaves look like crap I have decided to flush each of my buckets (mature plants) so 3 of them, I drained them completely and hung up the lids so the roots could air out for about 10 minutes then filled them back up about 3 gallons of tap water w/ 25ml of Florakleen and have had them running in that for an hour or so. I may dump that and put nutes back in within a few hours or let it go over night. I don't honestly know how long I should leave it in the bubblers, any thoughts? (as if anyone is reading this, haha)
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Day 6 12/12 (AMS/Cluster Bomb)... Day "40" of SuperSonic Cristal Storm Auto (no idea, really, about 50+ days from germination)

SSCS Auto has about a 2" stalk and is getting pretty tree like (although small scale) and the other two are starting to widen up a bit, AMS is lagging a solid week or two behind Cluster Bomb as it took forever for it's roots to hit the reservoir. I don't think much else has attributed to the difference in size between them. I will be taking some clones pretty soon, waiting for the weak little branches to get a bit more robust during the stretch. I am trying to avoid taking any semi-prominent cuttings I want the little ones that will never amount to anything.









I just did a real quick count of tops (skipped a bunch, I am sure) but counted at minimum about 25 tops on the Cluster Bomb, there's plenty of smaller stuff hidden below some of those big fan leaves as well still I think. Anyone want to take a guess at what I might harvest off of that plant considering it's only day 6 of flower. Would be nice to hit around a QP from it but honestly I'll be happy with any decent amount of quality smoke after that last grow and the PM...
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
I am definitely glad I cleaned out my reservoir, buckets, and mixed up new nutes... the plants really seem to be loving it and growth is going quite well again. They appear to be way happier than they were a couple days ago (obviously the flip to 12/12 on two of the plants is enhancing that feeling I am sure) but I do think everything is doing better including the Auto that was already in flower beforehand. Might take some new pics in a little while.

What do I have to do for some participation in this Journal... I'm guessing it's because I don't have any thick colorful buds forming yet that no one is interested. That's kind of how it went with my last grow on here though took weeks for anyone to join in.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
I have one concern with the grow journals, I don't understand why Journal Entries and a Grow Journal thread are separate things... people either see one or the other, I WAY prefer to update a thread than mess around with the blogging on the site since they are not linked together (seems really stupid, no offense, love this site) but I decided to journal a post yesterday and someone responded to it (estimated 1.5oz on the left plant and 3oz on the right plant) but that doesn't show up in this thread at all... sucks.

I think I'll just not Journal any more posts, I don't see the point... I thought THIS was my Grow Journal. :D
 

stoneslacker

Well-Known Member
Do you use a cal/mag supplement? Burning usually starts on the tips so I don't think it's overnuting. I hate to diagnose anything cause it would be an uninformed guess. Flushing them is a good start though. Your new growth seems fine tho, I would just monitor them close. Looking nice and full tho. Subbd.

Edit: I think journal entries tend to get responses as they show up on some peoples start page. I seen your most recent photo post there b4 coming here. Judging by those pics, if you can maintain a nice even canopy like that I would say at least 2 on the small one and close to 4 on the large, estimating on the low end. With your lighting you will probably do better than that.
 

DrGribble

Well-Known Member
Do you use a cal/mag supplement? Burning usually starts on the tips so I don't think it's overnuting. I hate to diagnose anything cause it would be an uninformed guess. Flushing them is a good start though. Your new growth seems fine tho, I would just monitor them close. Looking nice and full tho. Subbd.

Edit: I think journal entries tend to get responses as they show up on some peoples start page. I seen your most recent photo post there b4 coming here. Judging by those pics, if you can maintain a nice even canopy like that I would say at least 2 on the small one and close to 4 on the large, estimating on the low end. With your lighting you will probably do better than that.
Hey nice to see you pop in! :)

I think it probably was something to do with not cleaning out my buckets and reservoir I take my nutes from, since doing that the other day it (seems) that all of the plants are responding well and seem to be coming out with healthier new growth. I do use a CalMag supplement and think that could very well be what a good amount of the problem was, I wonder if I was just experiencing nutrient lockout prior to flushing my buckets/roots since everything kind of picked up again. Hopefully that's all it was, I just took 8 cuttings today 4 from each of the two plants so I can keep this perpetual thing going.

Also think I might get that El Alquamista seed I have going as well, sounds like a nice strain.


I might go take a few pictures in a couple minutes, not sure how much of a difference there will be in photos but in person I can totally see a lot going on.
 
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