Scroll down a bit if your main interest is the runoff feeding experiment. I'm sure it's been done before, but what the hell, I thought it'd be interesting anyway.
We join this grow in progress on Day 52... I intended to start this thread around Day 25. I wanted to get my new auto-feed and screen setups going before I began the thread. I got everything set up in time, as planned, but did not have time for much else, and with the holidays the delays stacked up, but here it is.
Day 52
Stuff:
Thoughts on first grow:
My very first grow I had four plants of four different strains. There was an early pH problem (I began by using indicator drops and only bought a meter after a week or so) which impacted the transport network strongly enough that I had localized issues (particular branches or colas being sickly despite the rest of the plant, even at the same node, being healthy) all the way until harvest. I now keep my
Each plant yielded between 40 and 100 grams dry. They had different nutrient needs, and the tent was not big enough to comfortably train them all horizontally so they got too tall even with topping and LST. In the end, everything was very crowded and I had to run a dehumidifier 24/7 for the last ~5 weeks due to out-of-control transpiration. To give you an idea, the only way I could get RH down to the 60s was to run the humidifier and run the exhaust fan high enough that the tent temperature would drop into the 60s as well. I also felt I was sacrificing yields per plant by having so much leaf overlap and competition for light.
Finally, I learned something that would only come from experience: The ideal height for my particular LED panel. Provided the plants are healthy, 14" is ideal from around the third week onward. It's a popular enough panel, true, but everyone seems to have a different opinion as to ideal distance. I only get lightburn at this height if the plants are not perfectly healthy and hydrated.
Nutrient thoughts:
When I run out of GH Micro, Gro, and Bloom, I will be switching over to Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro and Bloom. This has been the plan since late last grow. Foliage-Pro is just an easier way to get all the necessary micros, plus the other stuff needed for veg, and there is, despite my having 8 nutrients right now, no way for me to currently formulate a feed that has significantly (somewhere around 30-50%) more phosphorous than potassium. I will be sticking with most of the current supplements, though--believe it or not, I didn't just default to Armor Si or Floralicious Plus, but determined them to be ideal silicon and fulvic acid supplements for the money. CALiMAGic has the "wrong" ratio, but it's cheap, doesn't add too much nitrogen, and I can add more magnesium via epsom salts
As for RapidStart, I don't know what the hell is in it (surely it isn't JUST a source of nitrogen), but I suspect it's a weaker/partial version of Floralicious Plus (based on the smell) with a little N so it can be marketed as an early veg necessity. The SDS is worthless as it only lists what it has to--the nitrogen and phosphate sources. I don't know if I'll buy more, but it's relatively cheap considering little is prescribed.
The plan for the second grow:
I wish I'd written this when I began rather than when I'm approaching the finish line, but I'll lay out the plan in retrospect. I wanted two plants of the same variety plus a screen, and I wanted the plants autofed. This was to be an easy, low maintenance grow (and it has been). I ended up with three plants because I took a lonely, empty pot from my grandmother's old house (she's the family member who got very sick and died during my first run...) and germinated a seed for it in her honor. Was my grandma "cool" like that? Well, no... Not at all, really. I doubt she'd complain about anything done in her memory, though, and she certainly would not complain if I was the one doing it.
Runoff feed experiment:
What the hell does that mean? Well, only the 5 gallon pots are being auto-fed, and it's 8 times per day (at this stage). Once or twice a day, I manually switch on the pumps and feed till runoff. I then siphon off the runoff into the 1 gallon tribute plant.
The plant that has eaten solely runoff water has been healthy since Day 1. No pH issues or deficiencies, so while it is a dwarf for all sorts of reasons (it's in the corner of the tent; it's not eating often; it's not retaining moisture as well; no air pruning or system to ensure ideal transport), it is a perfectly healthy one that looks to be at the same stage of flowering as the other plants. I think that if I fed the 5 gallon pots less often, the runoff water might not resemble the nutrient solution quite as closely and I would see a poor result.
Beyond:
The next grow will begin immediately after this one. There will be ONE plant (almost certainly White Crack, the champion from my first grow) grown in a 2 gallon equivalent air-pot (the red-bottomed kind). This was going to be a 3 gallon smart-pot, but last time I was surprised to see they... did not clean up well. The roots from my original four plants tore up the walls pretty bad. I should be able to reuse an air-pot indefinitely, and because I am auto-feeding, I'm unlikely to experience much frustration with watering. Grow [HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG] should take me as close as possible to "real" hydroponics while still employing coco.
If I'm feeling good at the end of Grow [HASHTAG]#2[/HASHTAG], maybe I'll even create the next journal in the adult forum.
Invited are: @Damien50, @Dudeski , @Iriee Vibez, @KREATURE, @archie gemmill, @Seymourbud, and @nicojellic
These are only those who finished with me last time. Anyone is welcome, of course, and no one is obliged!
Tomorrow I'll post pics and try to get caught up to what will be Day 53.
We join this grow in progress on Day 52... I intended to start this thread around Day 25. I wanted to get my new auto-feed and screen setups going before I began the thread. I got everything set up in time, as planned, but did not have time for much else, and with the holidays the delays stacked up, but here it is.
My First Grow Part Deux: The Second Grow - Bubbly Livers (Mephisto Illuminauto)
Coco Christohanukwanzaa Spectacular
Coco Christohanukwanzaa Spectacular
Day 52
Stuff:
- General Hydroponics Armor Si, CALiMAGic, Micro, RapidStart, Gro, Bloom, Liquid Kool Bloom, Floralicious Plus (AKA Essence of Dirty Diaper)
- Recycled coco + perlite
- Rapid Rooters
- VIPARSPECTRA 600w (actual draw 266w)
- Two 5 gallon fabric pots
- One 1 gallon plastic pot
- Insulated 6" exhaust fan controlled with variable transformer
- 6" carbon filter
- 32x32x64" tent
- 5 gallon buckets (one reservoir, one refill)
- Submersible pumps (one to feed, one to stir and aerate)
- Two clip fans
- One tower fan
- Humidifier
- Dehumidifier
- TDS and pH meters
Thoughts on first grow:
My very first grow I had four plants of four different strains. There was an early pH problem (I began by using indicator drops and only bought a meter after a week or so) which impacted the transport network strongly enough that I had localized issues (particular branches or colas being sickly despite the rest of the plant, even at the same node, being healthy) all the way until harvest. I now keep my
Each plant yielded between 40 and 100 grams dry. They had different nutrient needs, and the tent was not big enough to comfortably train them all horizontally so they got too tall even with topping and LST. In the end, everything was very crowded and I had to run a dehumidifier 24/7 for the last ~5 weeks due to out-of-control transpiration. To give you an idea, the only way I could get RH down to the 60s was to run the humidifier and run the exhaust fan high enough that the tent temperature would drop into the 60s as well. I also felt I was sacrificing yields per plant by having so much leaf overlap and competition for light.
Finally, I learned something that would only come from experience: The ideal height for my particular LED panel. Provided the plants are healthy, 14" is ideal from around the third week onward. It's a popular enough panel, true, but everyone seems to have a different opinion as to ideal distance. I only get lightburn at this height if the plants are not perfectly healthy and hydrated.
Nutrient thoughts:
When I run out of GH Micro, Gro, and Bloom, I will be switching over to Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro and Bloom. This has been the plan since late last grow. Foliage-Pro is just an easier way to get all the necessary micros, plus the other stuff needed for veg, and there is, despite my having 8 nutrients right now, no way for me to currently formulate a feed that has significantly (somewhere around 30-50%) more phosphorous than potassium. I will be sticking with most of the current supplements, though--believe it or not, I didn't just default to Armor Si or Floralicious Plus, but determined them to be ideal silicon and fulvic acid supplements for the money. CALiMAGic has the "wrong" ratio, but it's cheap, doesn't add too much nitrogen, and I can add more magnesium via epsom salts
As for RapidStart, I don't know what the hell is in it (surely it isn't JUST a source of nitrogen), but I suspect it's a weaker/partial version of Floralicious Plus (based on the smell) with a little N so it can be marketed as an early veg necessity. The SDS is worthless as it only lists what it has to--the nitrogen and phosphate sources. I don't know if I'll buy more, but it's relatively cheap considering little is prescribed.
The plan for the second grow:
I wish I'd written this when I began rather than when I'm approaching the finish line, but I'll lay out the plan in retrospect. I wanted two plants of the same variety plus a screen, and I wanted the plants autofed. This was to be an easy, low maintenance grow (and it has been). I ended up with three plants because I took a lonely, empty pot from my grandmother's old house (she's the family member who got very sick and died during my first run...) and germinated a seed for it in her honor. Was my grandma "cool" like that? Well, no... Not at all, really. I doubt she'd complain about anything done in her memory, though, and she certainly would not complain if I was the one doing it.
Runoff feed experiment:
What the hell does that mean? Well, only the 5 gallon pots are being auto-fed, and it's 8 times per day (at this stage). Once or twice a day, I manually switch on the pumps and feed till runoff. I then siphon off the runoff into the 1 gallon tribute plant.
The plant that has eaten solely runoff water has been healthy since Day 1. No pH issues or deficiencies, so while it is a dwarf for all sorts of reasons (it's in the corner of the tent; it's not eating often; it's not retaining moisture as well; no air pruning or system to ensure ideal transport), it is a perfectly healthy one that looks to be at the same stage of flowering as the other plants. I think that if I fed the 5 gallon pots less often, the runoff water might not resemble the nutrient solution quite as closely and I would see a poor result.
Beyond:
The next grow will begin immediately after this one. There will be ONE plant (almost certainly White Crack, the champion from my first grow) grown in a 2 gallon equivalent air-pot (the red-bottomed kind). This was going to be a 3 gallon smart-pot, but last time I was surprised to see they... did not clean up well. The roots from my original four plants tore up the walls pretty bad. I should be able to reuse an air-pot indefinitely, and because I am auto-feeding, I'm unlikely to experience much frustration with watering. Grow [HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG] should take me as close as possible to "real" hydroponics while still employing coco.
If I'm feeling good at the end of Grow [HASHTAG]#2[/HASHTAG], maybe I'll even create the next journal in the adult forum.
Invited are: @Damien50, @Dudeski , @Iriee Vibez, @KREATURE, @archie gemmill, @Seymourbud, and @nicojellic
These are only those who finished with me last time. Anyone is welcome, of course, and no one is obliged!
Tomorrow I'll post pics and try to get caught up to what will be Day 53.
Last edited:
yes things went wrong,it wernt perfect by any means.40-100g 1st time out the box for you,give yourself a pat on the back 
as you did more right than wrong,and when things went wrong you fixed them good 
do it for gran 
