Photoperiod Bud's Shed - First Test Grow

[Bud Wiser UK]

Thanks guys, decided today was the day.
Fire her up..!!

It was starting to get a bit crowded in here ...

I topped two of them on Monday, 4 days ago ... FIM'd one on Weds, 2 days ago ... and another yesterday.
They looked healthy, so I decided it was time to get them used to the LEDs.

So what I've done .. I've placed the airpots upside down to raise the plants closer to the lights. 24" to be exact.
I'm only being lazy, when they get repotted into the correctly-oriented pots, they'll be at the same distance from the lights .. no need to adjust the lighting rig twice.
I've only turned the middle COB unit on so far, I'll gradually introduce them to more light when they're a bit more settled in.
Is this correct thinking?

My plan is to keep giving them 24-hour-light for a few more days to get used to the lights, re-pot into the airpots and leave for another few days before turning on the two side units at 50% capacity and dropping the light schedule to 18-6 for another few days. Then, in about a week's time, turn up all the lights to full and change to a 12-12 schedule, lowering the lighting rig accordingly.
Does this sound right? .. am I being a bit too cautious?

This then leaves me with these four to play with for a couple of months ...

These are more stretchy than the first four, obviously fighting for the light.

I'm thinking just above the second node on this lanky girl .. reckon she can take it?

Anyway, I'll be down the shed early tomorrow morning while I still have fingernails left..!
I'm an outdoor grower to date .. you can't turn the sun off and on, dim it or move your plants closer to it. It is what it is, when you can get it.
That takes a lot of the decision-making out of the equation.

 

[Bud Wiser UK]

Going back to the ventilation, I've been struggling to find a suitable programmable timer for the fans.
Looked at loads .. Amazon, Ebay, Argos, various electrical distributors, even got one from Screwfix that turned out to be crap.

I wanted one that could be programmed to turn on and off, for 3 minutes, once an hour for 12 hours, then once every 3 hours for the next 12.
Repeated daily.
Very hard to find .. most will only allow about 3 or 4 settings per day. Designed mainly for home-security.
(When they advertise a 20 function setting, that includes the 7 days of the week, reducing the no. of bloody settings to useless.)
Mechanical ones don't cut it .. minimum of 15 minutes on/off. I want air-exchange, not a wind-tunnel.

However, I found one ... thought I'd share it for the UK guys here.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p59127?table=no
Plug in timer with 24 on/off programmes. Repeats programmes daily. Perfect.
Grabbed one today.
That's my evening sorted then..!

 

[Yeatster]

Thanks guys, decided today was the day.
Fire her up..!!

It was starting to get a bit crowded in here ...

View attachment 682972

I topped two of them on Monday, 4 days ago ... FIM'd one on Weds, 2 days ago ... and another yesterday.
They looked healthy, so I decided it was time to get them used to the LEDs.

View attachment 682973
View attachment 682974

So what I've done .. I've placed the airpots upside down to raise the plants closer to the lights. 24" to be exact.
I'm only being lazy, when they get repotted into the correctly-oriented pots, they'll be at the same distance from the lights .. no need to adjust the lighting rig twice.
I've only turned the middle COB unit on so far, I'll gradually introduce them to more light when they're a bit more settled in.
Is this correct thinking?

My plan is to keep giving them 24-hour-light for a few more days to get used to the lights, re-pot into the airpots and leave for another few days before turning on the two side units at 50% capacity and dropping the light schedule to 18-6 for another few days. Then, in about a week's time, turn up all the lights to full and change to a 12-12 schedule, lowering the lighting rig accordingly.
Does this sound right? .. am I being a bit too cautious?

This then leaves me with these four to play with for a couple of months ...

View attachment 682979

These are more stretchy than the first four, obviously fighting for the light.

View attachment 682980

I'm thinking just above the second node on this lanky girl .. reckon she can take it?

Anyway, I'll be down the shed early tomorrow morning while I still have fingernails left..!
I'm an outdoor grower to date .. you can't turn the sun off and on, dim it or move your plants closer to it. It is what it is, when you can get it.
That takes a lot of the decision-making out of the equation.

Your plan is very sound, imo. I don't foresee a single flaw. Very impressed, thus far .

 

[Bud Wiser UK]

Your plan is very sound, imo. I don't foresee a single flaw. Very impressed, thus far .

Oh thanks @Yeatster ... it's like having kids.
First one, you're a nervous wreck.
After the third, they can fend for themselves..!

Edit: I don't have three by the way, I closed down after two. My finances don't stretch that far..! I've run out of women, too.

 

[Bud Wiser UK]

Well, 48 hours later, and my plants are still alive! I haven't murdered them just yet.

Yesterday, I spotted the leaves were drooping .. a bit too enthusiastic with the daily watering methinks. I was giving them a jug a day because that was what they were consuming, however I was a day ahead of the plant, so the roots were getting oxygen-starved. Getting used to frequency v. amount is another difference to the outdoor grow I'm having to consider. So I left them for 18 hours or so, let them catch up. Worked.

So today, I spent the best part in my nice warm cozy shed ... I'm loving this.

This year, my focus is on 'roots'. Last year it was 'humidity' .. only because in the UK we get a lot of bud-rot, and there's nothing more soul-destroying than losing half your 4-ounce grow to it.

So, roots, I have some nice ones to show you ..

Very pleased with these .. repotting was a breeze.
How poetic?

This is what RootGrow (Myco Fungi) looks like in the packet .. a mixture of sand and other shit.
Although packaged as a 'bulb' starter', the contents also include vermiculite and seaweed meal as a source of natural auxins to stimulate root development, and humates as a source of organic acids for soil microorganisms.

Sounded good to me.
A couple of hours later .. the AirPot Batmix BBC Beauties are all brothelled-up and getting ready to spread 'em..!

The ones at the back have both been topped. The ones at the front have been FIM'd. The ones on the right have been treated with the fungi. The ones on the left haven't. Can't I have a badge yet? .. I want one with a Bunsen burner and a flask on it please, or a clipboard.

The remaining four got a major hacking .. repotted and chopped. Take that.

The one on the bottom left wasn't ready for the second node just yet, so I took her on the third, left an extra couple of fan leaves there to help her recover.

Right, that's all your getting until I get a badge, ok?
It's called a badge-hanger ...

 

[Bud Wiser UK]

Oooh, I just noticed, I got badges.
If you don't ask, you don't get.
However, I got a 'Fat Kitty' and a Bush-flashing badge. Hmmm.

Not quite sure how to take that ...
I have an ex-girlfriend who definitely deserves a Fat Bush Kitty-flashing badge tho' ...

Edit: I don't get this. Why do you have more badges at the top of the page than the bottom, eh? Sinister.

 

[Dudeski]

Oooh, I just noticed, I got badges.
If you don't ask, you don't get.
However, I got a 'Fat Kitty' and a Bush-flashing badge. Hmmm.

Not quite sure how to take that ...
I have an ex-girlfriend who definitely deserves a Fat Bush Kitty-flashing badge tho' ...

Edit: I don't get this. Why do you have more badges at the top of the page than the bottom, eh? Sinister.

The pages have a bug. First post on page is the badges of the last poster. Very first page of thread badges belongs to the staff member over this section of the forum.

 

[G.Leave]

Looking excellent my friend!! Rock n' roll buddy!

 

[Bud Wiser UK]

The pages have a bug. First post on page is the badges of the last poster. Very first page of thread badges belongs to the staff member over this section of the forum.

Huh? Thanks for that explanation @Dudeski ... clear as mud..!!

 

[Dudeski]

Huh? Thanks for that explanation @Dudeski ... clear as mud..!!

Im still confused about it too!