New Grower Northern Storm Auto DWC

[A-Train]

First of all, many, many thanks to ALL of you.

A-train, I pulled you in because I saw your thread on LST and am an admirer after checking out your stuff. Thanks For Checking In!

Boradan, What a nice surprise. Glad you stopped to read, and happier with the info. Thanks, Bro. That Chart Is Bad Ass!

Jingo, Was Thinking Exactly That, Put The Pellets On Top. Thanks!

Nobody Was Bullshitting When They Said AFN Has The Coolest, Most Helpful, and Friendly Members.

Seeds Are Germinating, Hope To See Sprouts Soon!

No problem brother. Thank you for the kind comments I'll be around if ya need me

Yeah you got lucky AFN really is the best there is brother

 

[KkB]

I just finished my first grow, and I used 2 x 600W Viparspectras and RDWC.
Started with 4 seeds. One didn't sprout and another turned out to be a Photo.
From the 2 remaining, the first yielded 130g dry (62%). (link to the journal is in my sig)
The second (a week later) is currently being harvested, but the buds are much denser, so I think its going to be a good bit bigger.
I used the full line of Remo Nutrients, Great White Myco, Atamai Ata-clean (when I remembered about it - 8 weeks into the grow I think) and a Silica Additive.
Here is a few things I learned on this grow:

1. Make sure to have pH up and pH down - I had one large issue when I ran out of pH down and had to go a week using vinegar and Lemon juice to try and control my pH - Vinegar and Lemon Juice last NO time in RDWC as a pH adjuster - I was adjusting 4 times a DAY (turns out my bottle of pH down was sub-standard - I was using 30ml++ per rez change to set the pH. With the replacement bottle I bought (same brand), I was using 2-3ml).
2. Get a GOOD pH pen (bluelab highly recommended) and EC meter. A cheap-ass pH meter will screw your grow in RDWC.
3. Write EVERYTHING down. Good notes recording pH, EC(ppm), Feed volumes used at rez changes (plus any you add due to deficiencies etc), LST, defoliation, rez topups etc etc. With this you can keep track of your EC /pH and know WHEN to decrease and increase feeds.
4. Alongside [HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG], use this chart:
   
   
   
   
5. Keep on top of the rez temperature. This will boost root growth and reduce the risk of Pythium.
6. Give a light dose of CalMag right from the start using LEDs. I had a calmag issue on one plant in the first 10 days.

Apart from one or two minor issues, I was really happy with the grow and had no issues with 'the complexity of DWC'.
I actually much prefer it over what I have read about soil/coco.

I just finished my first grow, and I used 2 x 600W Viparspectras and RDWC.
Started with 4 seeds. One didn't sprout and another turned out to be a Photo.
From the 2 remaining, the first yielded 130g dry (62%). (link to the journal is in my sig)
The second (a week later) is currently being harvested, but the buds are much denser, so I think its going to be a good bit bigger.
I used the full line of Remo Nutrients, Great White Myco, Atamai Ata-clean (when I remembered about it - 8 weeks into the grow I think) and a Silica Additive.
Here is a few things I learned on this grow:

1. Make sure to have pH up and pH down - I had one large issue when I ran out of pH down and had to go a week using vinegar and Lemon juice to try and control my pH - Vinegar and Lemon Juice last NO time in RDWC as a pH adjuster - I was adjusting 4 times a DAY (turns out my bottle of pH down was sub-standard - I was using 30ml++ per rez change to set the pH. With the replacement bottle I bought (same brand), I was using 2-3ml).
2. Get a GOOD pH pen (bluelab highly recommended) and EC meter. A cheap-ass pH meter will screw your grow in RDWC.
3. Write EVERYTHING down. Good notes recording pH, EC(ppm), Feed volumes used at rez changes (plus any you add due to deficiencies etc), LST, defoliation, rez topups etc etc. With this you can keep track of your EC /pH and know WHEN to decrease and increase feeds.
4. Alongside [HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG], use this chart:
   
   
   
   
5. Keep on top of the rez temperature. This will boost root growth and reduce the risk of Pythium.
6. Give a light dose of CalMag right from the start using LEDs. I had a calmag issue on one plant in the first 10 days.

Apart from one or two minor issues, I was really happy with the grow and had no issues with 'the complexity of DWC'.
I actually much prefer it over what I have read about soil/coco.

I shelled out for a blue lab, it hydrated over night to calibrate today. Need to get a EC device. Knew that it was an important component, but I guess I was assuming if the nutrient mix was on point, the EC would be good. We learned A LOT from the first DWC grow. One clone is barely hanging on in a cloner after chopping him off at the knees (the root root and the fungus and such). Shitty pH meters are a no go!

 

[Boradan]

First of all, many, many thanks to ALL of you.

A-train, I pulled you in because I saw your thread on LST and am an admirer after checking out your stuff. Thanks For Checking In!

Boradan, What a nice surprise. Glad you stopped to read, and happier with the info. Thanks, Bro. That Chart Is Bad Ass!

Jingo, Was Thinking Exactly That, Put The Pellets On Top. Thanks!

Nobody Was Bullshitting When They Said AFN Has The Coolest, Most Helpful, and Friendly Members.

Seeds Are Germinating, Hope To See Sprouts Soon!

Glad I could help.
Just paying forward the info/help I have received on this superb site.

 

[KkB]

I do have a reliable TDS meter and obviously the total dissolved salts/solids directly correlate with electrical conduity. I trust my tap, but it generally starts at pH 7.3 at 140 ppm, so as far as city water supply systems go, ours is primarily why my dang property taxes are outrageous. But it tastes great will require little tweaking. Thinking of going 60/40 distilled in the DWC res to dilute that original 140 ppm as it comes from the tap, but the coco plants will just get regular water pHed to optimum levels for nutrient availability to the plant. Still need to call the water folks and ask which chlorinating agent they use. Thinking it is chlorine, not chloramine since there is never a green hue to the water in a glass in good light when freshly poured. Heard that was a way to tell...

When do all of you guys wait to start feeding? Thinking water till the two week Mark before introducing them to 1/4 strength feed.

Do I need a root accelerator for the seedling stage when they pop?

 

[jingo]

When do all of you guys wait to start feeding? Thinking water till the two week Mark before introducing them to 1/4 strength feed.

Do I need a root accelerator for the seedling stage when they pop?

I would go ahead and feed right from the beginning in both Coco and deep water culture. The way I do it in Coco is I pre-charge my Coco with nutrients of about the same strength as the Coco plugs rapid rooters that General Hydroponics puts out. Some people say you don't need nutrients right away and they don't feed until the caudal dines turn yellow, but I found some strains start so fast that you will be nutrient deficient if you don't pre-charge your Coco.

Deep water culture you want nutrients to be down there splashing up against the pebbles at the bottom so your roots have something to go for it definitely has to be feed.

I used a root accelerator, rapid start I think it was, when I was doing deep water culture and it made a big difference. I found with Coco all I needed to do was add a little bit more perlite and I can get the same rapid start for way less money. So I don't use root accelerators anymore. I don't even use a whole bunch of fancy bloom or Bud builders.

 

[KkB]

Well, three sprouts of 5 Northern Storm auto seeds have come up, all of which needed help removing the seed husk. The other Two have the white worm, but no activity beyond that. I dropped three more beans today to have enough plants to grow, but of the three that popped, one is healthy and the other two have had a very slow start. Leaves and stem are still very pale, barely open. Emailed the distributor today. We'll see what they say. I followed @Ronin germination instructions. Tent is good to go, everything is ready but the damn sprouts!

 

[KkB]

msnl really outdid themselves with the customer service. Dave from customer service emailed this morning with some informational links and also a promo code to replace the Northern Lights seeds on my next order. So that's 10 total freebies because I ordered the buy one get one deal! Awesome response in a short amount of time. Customer Service doesn't get much better than that! One day soon, this grow journal is going to get interesting.... Until then, Cheers everyone!

 

[KkB]

Update:
4 Northern Storm autos (msnl) and 3 Critical Purple autos (Growers Choice) are in the tent!
3 NS in coco blend,
1 NS in separate bubbleponics bucket.
1 CP in coco blend,
2 CP in RDWC.
Due to Shitty germ rates with the msnl NS seeds, 1 started a few days after the first three, Critical Purps dropped a day after that.

3 start dates, two strains, three soiless methods-- I got big balls. Nah, I would have chosen one to start with... It's my buddy who carries his nuts in a wheelbarrow.

Dont Forget-- Got two tomato plants along for the ride in the DWC. Practiced germination with Marigolds just before this grow and it turns out, they are great companion plants as they repel aphids and some other bug that escapes me at the moment. Might put a few in the tent... It's big enough right now. Hopefully these plants fill it up!

Check out the pics! Or Not. Figured I Should Post Some Photos at Some Point In This Journal.

https://www.autoflower.org/media/img_20180304_171006.14181/

 

[Shinramen]

Update:
4 Northern Storm autos (msnl) and 3 Critical Purple autos (Growers Choice) are in the tent!
3 NS in coco blend,
1 NS in separate bubbleponics bucket.
1 CP in coco blend,
2 CP in RDWC.
Due to Shitty germ rates with the msnl NS seeds, 1 started a few days after the first three, Critical Purps dropped a day after that.

3 start dates, two strains, three soiless methods-- I got big balls. Nah, I would have chosen one to start with... It's my buddy who carries his nuts in a wheelbarrow.

Dont Forget-- Got two tomato plants along for the ride in the DWC. Practiced germination with Marigolds just before this grow and it turns out, they are great companion plants as they repel aphids and some other bug that escapes me at the moment. Might put a few in the tent... It's big enough right now. Hopefully these plants fill it up!

Check out the pics! Or Not. Figured I Should Post Some Photos at Some Point In This Journal.

https://www.autoflower.org/media/img_20180304_171006.14181/

Dammm nice set up you got there my dudes. Shit I wish I had space so I can get a bigger tent to grow in... sucks to have a 3x3 only can fit like 3 plants in there. How's ur plants doing anyways from GCS? Do you have any close up pics at what they are at right now??

 

[KkB]

Dammm nice set up you got there my dudes. Shit I wish I had space so I can get a bigger tent to grow in... sucks to have a 3x3 only can fit like 3 plants in there. How's ur plants doing anyways from GCS? Do you have any close up pics at what they are at right now??

Here are a few pics from just now. Yellow Tags are GCS Critical Purple Auto fems and the others are Msnl Northern Storm Auto fems. Im color blind, so those NS tags are purple or blue, but I know they aint yellow! Three black buckets on right are tomato plants with green tags. Swapped the DWC system that was in there for smart pots for the CPs and bubbleponics buckets for the two tomato plants. Just easier, will come back to the RDWC system with photos later.

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