PeaceTurtle

So I am back to Yahooka, and some one mentioned that perhaps I should have a grow log. Why not

Hmmm I currently have four plants. Two were started in early September, and two were started on the 26th of Sept. They are in soil (some sort of miracle grow stuff, and I'm NOT loving it) Beginning of this week I potted them up a couple of sizes and added compost from my compost bin, bugs and all.

I have a space restriction. My cab size is about 2.5 feet wide, five feet tall, and 2 feet deep. That's it. The plan is to flower two at a time, hopefully I'll have a perpetual garden, were I produced enough to cover my needs until the next batch is ready. I have yet to accomplish this. I am having to use seeds, so it's taking time to develop the plants. I have stripped most of the main fan leaves, to allow more light to hit the cola sites. So of course it's slowing the overall growth of the plants.

I have been indulging in my love of bondage with the first two, they would stand a good two and a half to three feet high, but they are in fact less that a foot tall. I have been using clothes pins and musky fishing wire to tie them up, and as the branches approach the lights I tie that branch down the the sides of the pot. It's working, when the plants cover my biggest pot I'll be flipping them (after I've clipped branches for clones) I am hoping to develop alot of buds on the branches into lovely colas, I have about 15 potential colas on my bushiest one. So hopefully instead of popcorn we will get hard bud.

Lighting issues cause martial discord at my house. I have a lovely soni-grow 430 with HPS/MIH I don't remember which. BUT I CAN NOT USE IT. So I am growing right now with three CFL's 100 watts, and two LED strips that have three clusters per strip. I also have a squirell fan with a carbon can filter to control the smell (I now actually use it on my whole house, my kids have allergies, and I have asthma, it does wonders on air quality in the house as well)

Feeding, right now I'm using a balanced general purpose plant food, which I mix with water, and add black strap to it. They are growing well, and I'm hoping the compost will give them a kick as well. I can not afford the super food stuff, so it's basics for me. Whatever I can find at the department store is what I am forced to use.

I am not having luck with cloning thus far, hopefully someone can offer advice. I have been zooming around the net, and have yet to find a good definitive answer to my LED question, but hopefully someone out there will know. CAN I GROW DECENT BUD ON LED. I know the technology is rapidly advancing, so hopefully I will be able too.

That's it for today, please comments are encouraged, hey a girl likes to get a comment on her big....buds too. I am sweet talking my camera to take a few pics, hopefully I can get them up this evening when I can at last put my apron away.

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grow. It's that easy. Why is there always bloodshed on the road to change? Peace Gov

Pharm Girl

hehe

The latter, I can relate to!!

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It is a great journey —
but you must do the walking
and have the willingness to change
and make the leap into
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Become an inquisitive free thinking
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Fuck the Monkeys

serephinn2000

1st are you monitoring the ph levels 2x a day? whats the issue with the lighting? the cost of the bill or the fact the lights might be noticed? or fire safety?

PeaceTurtle

Hi there, checking in.

Unfortunately my camera is dead, and i have no idea how to use the hubby's so you are gonna have to take my word for the plants progress.

I flipped them Nov. 4/09. We are getting down to crunch time. They are doing beautiful. I was so surprised by this grow. Happily at that.

Since I started growing for myself i had been caught up in the "bigger is bigger" and bigger bigger is better or more, if you get what i mean. This time I was forced to go small. I did not use HPS or MHS. I used CFLs and 2 LED light strips. I have two plants in. One is primarily Indica, and I used bondage on her the most. I stripped her of most fan leaves, both primary and secondary prior to the flip. On top of that I nipped leaves that blocked buds as they developped. The Sativa really looks like a bush. Through manipulating the main steam, and tying her almost paralel to the pot I spun her the circumfrance of the pot a couple of times, and nipped all leaves off her as well.

I feed them with molasis and a bloom fert. (from Wal-mart) everytime I water, and I mist them wit molassis and water when I think about it. I vistit them when I can, but with a busy family i can go a couple of days without checking on them.

I AM SO PLEASED with them. I was expecting popcorn, and would be happy to have it. Hey free bud is still free bud. I think they will dry nicely and will keep me in my medicine until the next to that are waiting to flip are done.

Serephinn2000- I ihave a VERY paranoid husband. My little grow is triple ground, due to using CFL and LED's heat is minimal, and the fan is on low. Whole thing takes much less than 15 amps,(Did I get that right?) which is what that outlet is rated for. On top of this it is the only load on its own breaker. As too power use its minimal. Much less than a HPS or MHL. The computer system I'm running right now takes more. My family means the world to me, I would never put them at risk. If I had a reliable source for my means I probably wouldn't grow but with cannabis being lumped together with all the "nasties" that's not going to happen.

PH, what's that? lol I don't check it. I use new soil each grow and heave the soil into my veggie plot after I'm done. (Veggies are beauties from that garden.) I fill a couple of jugs with water, let them rest a day or two, and make molassis tea. They really seem to like it.

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grow. It's that easy. Why is there always bloodshed on the road to change? Peace Gov

farmergiles

Awesome, sounds like you have a few tricks up your sleeve to keep things in order and growing well.

Would you recommend the LEDs as supplemental lighting then?

Shame no pics but very interesting nonetheless.

Oh- about cloning- have you tried rockwool (like the insulation stuff)? Although it's horrid stuff to handle I found it much easier than soil for clones.

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Cultivate a stoic calmness

PeaceTurtle

Hi there farmergiles! No I have never seen the stuff. Another surprise, thank you for reminding me, is that all six little cuttings are now big plants. I tried a different approach to cloning, and it's so simple it's silly. It worked well for me, I bought a new bottle of rooting hormone (wal-mart) and new pots, and some potting soil. I used a pair of hair scissors and cut them on the diagnal, the I removed most of the leaves, lots and lots of them. Stuck them under my plant starter mini greenhouse thingie and sprayed them with the molassis and water tea. I didn't really keep track of them but in under two weeks I had little white roots popping out of the mini pots. I'm impressed. I'm starting to think its the molasis tea.

I LOVE LEDs. I don't think they are ready to use solo yet. I noticed that when I used the light bar by itself the plants were a little weak, but in combo with CFL's that I found at yes wal-mart, they are producing two lovely plants for me.

I am happy with my little mini grow, it's going so well that I forget about it at times. They are stinking to high heaven now. Thanks to the carbon filter, and the feebreeze timed release thingie it's keeping in check.

I checked under microscope today, they are about even cloudy and clear, so we are definetly getting there. Then it's harvest, and repott the next two and flip them. I'm going to tinker with the lighting. I'm thinking I have room to squeeze another LED strip or two with out blocking the airflow.

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grow. It's that easy. Why is there always bloodshed on the road to change? Peace Gov