T Dub’s Durban Poison Winter Garden

[T_Dub]

Tweaking a grow space or plants is what we're all about.

I'm loving this setup. Total control. Tech can make growing almost boring..lol

That’s very true….I could probably go 4 days now without needing to open the tent. The only work seems to be mixing up 1.3 gallons of nutrients per feeder since I add a lot of nutrients and supplements. As soon as I convert to ProMix and Jacks, it will only get easier. (Thanks again for the tip!)

I am intrigued by your SCROG screen solution too (GM Xmas Grow journal)…..might solve my challenge of finding a way to remove plants from the tent and SCROG screen to clean out the bottom feeder reservoirs. I believe that I have a few weeks to decide, but that looks like a very creative solution compared to a 2x4 stretch screen. I’m imagining three 15x15 screens for a 2x4 tent.

 

[greenmobster440]

That’s very true….I could probably go 4 days now without needing to open the tent. The only work seems to be mixing up 1.3 gallons of nutrients per feeder since I add a lot of nutrients and supplements. As soon as I convert to ProMix and Jacks, it will only get easier. (Thanks again for the tip!)

I am intrigued by your SCROG screen solution too (GM Xmas Grow journal)…..might solve my challenge of finding a way to remove plants from the tent and SCROG screen to clean out the bottom feeder reservoirs. I believe that I have a few weeks to decide, but that looks like a very creative solution compared to a 2x4 stretch screen. I’m imagining three 15x15 screens for a 2x4 tent.

Ya can go with any size your comfortable with. I use 20x21 screens. Gives a nice 2x2 space for the plant to fill and it's mobile. I can easily fit 4 in a 4x4 space.

They keep a canopy pretty laid out. I'm excited your considering giving it a try. I think you'll like it.

 

[T_Dub]

A peaceful Sunday in the garden….roughly three weeks since breaking the soil. This I’m slowly building my future plans for feeding and training them.




Rewired the tent and controller wires again because I didn’t like the messiness of my last attempt. I’m using an AC Infinity controller system but I don’t use their tent. Their tents do provide a nice way to route wires to the exterior of the tent cleanly and also allow you to mount a controller on the tent. I had to mount on a wall. Anyways, there is always a risk of messing something up, but so far the equipment is all back up and running. Against my better judgement, I’m reinstalling the UV/IR lights that stressed out my plants so badly last time (more wires!!). I will experiment in much smaller doses once the plants are more mature. The stretch from the infrared on my last grow was amazing! Picking out seeds from my feminized stressed out plant wasn’t as amazing. Ha.

Today I’m noticing more yellowing between the veins and it’s on more than one plant. Primarily on older growth.


My online research is saying it could be a magnesium problem which is ideally absorbed at a ph of 6-6.5 or a lack of nutrients. I currently feed with either straight RO water or I blend 2:1 with RO water. (I am aware that my chloramine-treated water has high PPMs yet low calcium and magnesium levels). I always add CalMag at 5ml per gallon and I ph my feed to 6.0. However, it appears that my reservoir ph has increased to 6.8 in two days? Perhaps I didn’t ph my feed properly…..mistakes happen. Likewise the ppm content has risen. I’m assuming this is all driven by evaporation from the reservoir.

So I’m topping off the reservoirs with slightly stronger solution (look hungry to me) and backing down the ph to 6.0.

I’m planning to revise my feeding schedule to follow the Lucas Full Strength formula plus CalMag shown in the chart below. I believe there’s a version for coco that I need to research. I was following the Nebula Haze plan. I’ll test the Lucas formula for coco on a small backup plant first to make sure it doesn’t fry them today since it consists of 24ml/g of Flora Series Nutes. (8 micro/16 bloom).



SCROG screens have been ordered. I’m planning to SCROG these using Greenmobster440’s method.

 

[T_Dub]

Feeding plan Update…”Lucas Formula” for coco is also called “Head’s Formula”. I believe I will use that for my Flora Series feeing schedule at 6ml micro, 9 ml Bloom, and 3ml CalMag every week. Before I feed all of the plants, I intend to feed this to one of the spare plants to make sure it doesn’t hurt them.

This was my Zkitzz plant that seeded and stretched by an amazing amount last year due to (I believe) excessive Infrared lighting. 56 inches tall at the time if this photo. I believe the infrared lights generated too much stretch. She also seeded herself.

I need to do more research on UV and IR lighting before I turn them on.

 

[KGB]

Feeding plan Update…”Lucas Formula” for coco is also called “Head’s Formula”. I believe I will use that for my Flora Series feeing schedule at 6ml micro, 9 ml Bloom, and 3ml CalMag every week. Before I feed all of the plants, I intend to feed this to one of the spare plants to make sure it doesn’t hurt them.

This was my Zkitzz plant that seeded and stretched by an amazing amount last year due to (I believe) excessive Infrared lighting. 56 inches tall at the time if this photo. I believe the infrared lights generated too much stretch. She also seeded herself.

I need to do more research on UV and IR lighting before I turn them on.

View attachment 364879

Interesting use of the spare bathroom. Awesome

 

[T_Dub]

Interesting use of the spare bathroom. Awesome

Ha…my wife is a saint. I don’t really have a yard or sufficient outdoor privacy in this community to take the plants outside, so the basement bathroom is my flushing station and my only source of water. Fortunately no on ever sees the basement.

 

[Flower]

Feeding plan Update…”Lucas Formula” for coco is also called “Head’s Formula”. I believe I will use that for my Flora Series feeing schedule at 6ml micro, 9 ml Bloom, and 3ml CalMag every week. Before I feed all of the plants, I intend to feed this to one of the spare plants to make sure it doesn’t hurt them.

This was my Zkitzz plant that seeded and stretched by an amazing amount last year due to (I believe) excessive Infrared lighting. 56 inches tall at the time if this photo. I believe the infrared lights generated too much stretch. She also seeded herself.

I need to do more research on UV and IR lighting before I turn them on.

View attachment 364879

I was having a lot of bad herm issues a few months ago.
When I got my new light, I turned the IR feature on, and left it on.
After a little research, I found you are only supposed to leave it on for about 20 minutes a day.
I turned it off, and left it off.
Definitely helped reduce the herm issues once I did.

 

[greenmobster440]

I use straight tap water. It measures out about 130ppm and 7.2ph. I guess the promix buffers it well. I never ph water.

Them extra bathrooms make great drying rooms with that lil fart fan..lol.

 

[KGB]

If I experiment with grow bags I will be using a bottom water system like this one. Looks good

 

[T_Dub]

If I experiment with grow bags I will be using a bottom water system like this one. Looks good

They’re very simple and effective. The bottom feeders work great for me as long as I feed from the bottom and I use 5 gallon bags. I’m testing this out with a 3 gallon bag this time. One thing I’ve noticed is that the thicker grow bags (like the AC Infinity bags) seem to prevent roots from growing out of the bottom and growing into the wicks. Must be the tighter weave in the premium bags.

I am doing one flush around the time I flip to flower. I’ve noticed that I get a salt buildup in the root zone after several weeks and I see damaged leaves by the end of the grow if I don’t. One flush seems to be sufficient.

 

[T_Dub]

Today I noticed that my plants grew by an inch or more last night to 6-7 inches. I did add some infrared lighting this week to encourage a little stretch, but I can’t imagine it would make that much of a difference in a short period of time. It’s already a sativa dominant strain, so I want to control them as much as possible. I have been maintaining a stable VPD around 1.0 day and night.

I’m cycling the Mars Hydro IR and UV lighting for 3 minutes every 8 hours as a starting point. Very mild dose. I raised the LED by 2” to 16” above the canopy and adjusted the dimmer to target an increase in the Daily Light Interval from 25 to 30. I’m running the light for 20 hours per day.

My tent heater isn’t needed at this point during the day. I am still dimming the LED but it is now putting off sufficient heat to keep the tent at 80. It’s still programmed to maintain a minimum daytime temperature of 77 and minimum evening temperature of 73.

I used an Apple app to diagnose these discolored leaves. It blamed “ph fluctuations” for the leaf color between the veins. I adjusted the reservoir ph down from 6.8 to 6.0 yesterday. The discoloration isn’t getting any worse. I’ll keep watching it. I had already added 5ml/g of CalMag to my reservoir when I filled it, so I suspect it’s simply too high of a ph to absorb those nutrients. I have no idea how the reservoir ph could be so high since I could swear that it was 6.0 when I mixed it.


Now I’m waiting to top them and start SCROG training….and monitoring for any potential light stress at the new intensity.

 

[T_Dub]

I use straight tap water. It measures out about 130ppm and 7.2ph. I guess the promix buffers it well. I never ph water.

Them extra bathrooms make great drying rooms with that lil fart fan..lol.

Your water looks superior. My tap water is 9.5ph and 335ppm. City Water analysis shows low calcium despite high ppm, so I need CalMag too. It’s also treated with chloramines, so I have to treat the water (add more ppm) with aquarium chlorine remover before using. Thats one reason I use a mix of reverse osmosis water to reduce the average ppm.

Now you have me wondering about the idea nutrient ph for using ProMix. I know it’s 6.0 for coco.

 

[greenmobster440]

A copy n paste...

What is the pH of PRO-MIX® HP®? Using the Saturated Media Extraction test method (SME), PRO-MIX® HP® is formulated in a pH range of 5.2-6.2. Once the product is opened, crops planted and watered, limestone is activated and pH will reach 5.8-6.2 within 7-10 days.

I dunno man, it just works well for me. I don't dechlorinate and I can smell it..lol. Tap to garden. Don't seem to have any issues so I just keep rolling with it.

 

[KGB]

A copy n paste...

What is the pH of PRO-MIX® HP®? Using the Saturated Media Extraction test method (SME), PRO-MIX® HP® is formulated in a pH range of 5.2-6.2. Once the product is opened, crops planted and watered, limestone is activated and pH will reach 5.8-6.2 within 7-10 days.

I dunno man, it just works well for me. I don't dechlorinate and I can smell it..lol. Tap to garden. Don't seem to have any issues so I just keep rolling with it.

That’s interesting. I use compressed organic ProMix in the yellow bag. Then I add the stuff they add including 2 full cups of fast acting lime and mycorrhizae and quite a bit of silica.

What you are using isn’t available here

 

[MariJan]

A copy n paste...

What is the pH of PRO-MIX® HP®? Using the Saturated Media Extraction test method (SME), PRO-MIX® HP® is formulated in a pH range of 5.2-6.2. Once the product is opened, crops planted and watered, limestone is activated and pH will reach 5.8-6.2 within 7-10 days.

I dunno man, it just works well for me. I don't dechlorinate and I can smell it..lol. Tap to garden. Don't seem to have any issues so I just keep rolling with it.

But you use Jacks

 

[T_Dub]

Tried my hand at making salve last night while HAF after reading a post by MaryJan. Or was that two nights ago? I smoked too much Godfather OG to finish my work (actually put me on the floor at one point), but I screwed up several components. Today I had to re-melt it in the double boiler with extra wax (I didn’t use enough) and I was able to add the lemon oil. The good news is that I was able to get the lemon oil and 4oz containers delivered for repackaging.



For my future reference, here is the recipe I should follow when I use this up except I like the addition of 2 T of menthol crystals. I now have black castor oil ready for my next batch. I don’t recommend cutting the recipe short on wax either…it’s an oily mess if you do.

Post in thread 'Making Canna Salve'
https://www.marijuanapassion.com/threads/making-canna-salve.83162/post-1377036

Thanks @MariJan for the inspiration! Hard to believe I handled my last bad back episode without any salve.

 

[MariJan]

Tried my hand at making salve last night while HAF after reading a post by MaryJan. Or was that two nights ago? I smoked too much Godfather OG to finish my work (actually put me on the floor at one point), but I screwed up several components. Today I had to re-melt it in the double boiler with extra wax (I didn’t use enough) and I was able to add the lemon oil. The good news is that I was able to get the lemon oil and 4oz containers delivered for repackaging.

View attachment 364990

For my future reference, here is the recipe I should follow when I use this up except I like the addition of 2 T of menthol crystals. I now have black castor oil ready for my next batch. I don’t recommend cutting the recipe short on wax either…it’s an oily mess if you do.

Post in thread 'Making Canna Salve'
https://www.marijuanapassion.com/threads/making-canna-salve.83162/post-1377036

Thanks @MariJan for the inspiration! Hard to believe I handled my last bad back episode without any salve.

Look like mine does

 

[KGB]

I am considering making a salve with dried roots like they used to make 2000 years ago. I have some awesome dried roots

 

[MariJan]

I am considering making a salve with dried roots like they used to make 2000 years ago. I have some awesome dried roots

Couldn’t hut to try. A lot of ancient ways are still great.

 

[T_Dub]

The plants grew another inch last night to 9” tall. If my tracking is correct, that’s 4” in one week. I topped them above the fifth node yesterday. Now i’m waiting for my garden screen to arrive today so I can prepare the 12x12 training scrog screens. Since I’m growing three in a 2x4 tent, I might be using those to finish the grow too. I was planning to cut some 15x15 screens too since I’ll have a roll of material to use.

I lift and rotate the plants to prevent roots from attaching to the wicks. I haven’t checked the bottoms for roots yet.



Still some minor leaf discoloration that I believe happened due to ph fluctuations. The reservoir was as high as 6.8, so this could be the result a variety of nutrients unable to be absorbed, I fixed the ph as soon as I noticed it, They have new feed in the reservoir now using Heads Formula (6ml Flora Micro and 9ml Bloom per gallon) plus CalMag and adjusted to a 6.0 ph. I used reverse osmosis water. Now I’m observing to see if it spreads.



My reservoir ph is climbing constantly and the ppm is also climbing. Having easy access to the nutrient reservoir with this Vivosun self watering model is proving to be an advantage over the original AC Infinity model. They’re both solid choices but this is much easier to test and adjust. Holds 1.3 gallons. I am adjusting daily.


Reservoir access panels proved useful for vacuuming out the old solution too without having to remove the plants

VPD is relatively steady this last week at .97. I have the heater set to maintain a minimum temperature of 77 during the day and 73 at night. The exhaust fan vents whenever the VPD falls out of range. (.9-1.3). I don’t think the heater is needed during the day now with the heat coming off the LED, but it’s helpful at night.