A Bit Late, But Finally Made It To The Battle. A Rookies Journal, Comment Please!

[dubwooze]

I've been talking all kinds of shit for years about how I'm going to grow some funk. After numerous inadequate homes and apartments, along with a lack of financial resources, I finally put it all together for a money stealth grow.

Down to business:

My setup consists of an 8x4x2.6 ft box. Weather stripping lines the door, blocking light from escaping. I like to refer to the box as the "Golgi Apparatus".



Lighting: 1000w HPS Sun System, purchased used, so no gangster cooling system.]



Ventilation: 465 CFM squirrel cage fan (pictured above, top corner), a 16 inch box fan, 7 inch intake fan and a desk fan for added circulation. The desk fan sucks, but will be useful once they grow bigger.



View attachment 1047791Homemade activated carbon filter, to keep the law away.

View attachment 1047794

The intake fan is connected directly to a window AC unit, and the exhaust is going outside, through three layers of activated carbon. The purple towel is used to absorb condensation from the AC. If you can't tell, the red curtain is covering the window.

View attachment 1047795
Now for the good shit. I'm growing 7 ladies (hopefully), 4 New York Power Diesel, and 3 Wonder Woman, both feminized, both from Nirvana (if you're in need, they're the place).

Fox Farm's Ocean Forest is my medium, and I'm using Age Old Organics Grow Nutes, along with General Organics Cal Mag. The Age Old Grow and Bloom, which I haven't started yet are great for the canny. They are loaded with micro-nutrients like boron, manganese, zinc and iron.

As far as the vitals are concerned, everything is great. The temperature fluctuates between 77-85 Fahrenheit, but on hot days (96+) it creep up to 88. I open the door a few times a day to let some fresh air in. The PH is extremely stable, varying from 6.8-7.1. The relative humidity is great on normal days (80-90 outdoors) it is around 45-52%, on hot days it gets up around 60%.

Within the next few days I'm going to add a few yeast and suger Co2 dispensers. Below are some pics of the plants. I'm in the process of handling a Magnesium deficiency on all my plants, and unfortunately I burned 3 with nitrogen, one of which had to be flushed, the other two see to be recovering well.

 

[dubwooze]

Please feel free to comment!

 

[kevin]

looks like a sweet setup. how old are your girls? ffof has enough nutrients in it to feed your plants for a month or better. anyway, welcome to RIU.

 

[dubwooze]

Thanks! Sorry, important detail I forgot to mention. I'm on day 25. I've slowed with the nutes, just Cal Mag until a day or two before flowering.

 

[dubwooze]

So, a bit of background information about my grow. My box is in my bedroom. I live on the first floor, not ground, but elevated floor, in an apartment building in one of the biggest cities in the country. It cost me about $800 to get the operation running. That includes the light, seeds and the box. So, I'm not spending myself into oblivion.

I purchased 10 seeds, Wonder Woman and NYPD from Nirvana, and received them in about 5-6 days. I placed them directly in the soil and they all sprouted in 4-5 days. The light is kept on 24/7 and I've noticed the benefits of the constant light cycle. Once I planted them, they've been growing like maniacs. For instance, I first measured them on day 17, and the were around the 3-4.5 inch range. I measured them yesterday, on 24 and they've nearly doubled in size, 6-9 inches.

I started feeding too early and I over-watered initially, but I've slowed my roll. I'm using distilled water, and use a moisture meter and the lift method to determine when to water. As far as feeding, I'm on a Cal Mag only regime, considering I burnt a few of the plants with nitrogen. Those that I burned will receive one more grow boost, probably in the initial flowering stages. The one's that I didn't burn will probably get a few more feeding, considering I don't plan on flowering for at least 10 more days.

I'm currently considering the SCROG method, but I may just let this play itself out before I attempt any advanced techniques. I also picking up some of Fox Farm's All purpose nutes, so I can introduce some Myco Fungi to the root system, along with a few Homemade Co2 dispensers.

ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS WELCOME AND APPRECIATED!

 

[Bonzi Lighthouse]

This is going to be fun, I'm in. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

 

[newb weed grower]

umm is ur baby yellowing a bit maybe u should use more nitrogen
i hear it help u may be in need of it
but ur doing tons better then mine at the moment how old is it
i wanna take ur pic and compair it to my own on that day ur will probly win im not as well set up

 

[newb weed grower]

i agree with bonzi i wanna watch ur grow to the finish
ill be mad the day u harvest after seeeing that baby grow so long lol
i wish the best for u and that really bad ass grow boz u got (golgi apparatus)
its awsome
uhh i got a 60 watt bulb and a fleurecentbulb on my baby ill take pics when its big enough

 

[dubwooze]

Alright, so the homemade Co2 dispensers have been added. I hope they work, if not I'll be baking some bread. I used a pretty simple method: mix two cups sugar with two cups warm, and mix a tablespoon of baking soda with two cups cold water, combine the mixture in a 2-liter (i'm using gallon jugs). Pour in a packet of yeast, shake vigorously and place in the grow room. Also, put a decent size hole in the lid of the bottle, or jug you use.




Newb Grower, I'm on the 25th day. Thanks for the tip, but some of those yellowing I burnt with Nitrogen, so I'm leaning more towards Magnesium.

 

[KingIV20]

So, a bit of background information about my grow. My box is in my bedroom. I live on the first floor, not ground, but elevated floor, in an apartment building in one of the biggest cities in the country. It cost me about $800 to get the operation running. That includes the light, seeds and the box. So, I'm not spending myself into oblivion.

I purchased 10 seeds, Wonder Woman and NYPD from Nirvana, and received them in about 5-6 days. I placed them directly in the soil and they all sprouted in 4-5 days. The light is kept on 24/7 and I've noticed the benefits of the constant light cycle. Once I planted them, they've been growing like maniacs. For instance, I first measured them on day 17, and the were around the 3-4.5 inch range. I measured them yesterday, on 24 and they've nearly doubled in size, 6-9 inches.

I started feeding too early and I over-watered initially, but I've slowed my roll. I'm using distilled water, and use a moisture meter and the lift method to determine when to water. As far as feeding, I'm on a Cal Mag only regime, considering I burnt a few of the plants with nitrogen. Those that I burned will receive one more grow boost, probably in the initial flowering stages. The one's that I didn't burn will probably get a few more feeding, considering I don't plan on flowering for at least 10 more days.

I'm currently considering the SCROG method, but I may just let this play itself out before I attempt any advanced techniques. I also picking up some of Fox Farm's All purpose nutes, so I can introduce some Myco Fungi to the root system, along with a few Homemade Co2 dispensers.

ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS WELCOME AND APPRECIATED!

Hey dude looking good. My only advise at the moment is if you want your plants to grow higher switch the light to 18/6. But you might not necessarily want them to get higher, and thats cool too. But the 6 hours of darkness tells the plant to grow up in search for light.
Keep it good man, and good luck on yer grow!

 

[dubwooze]

King, I checked out your grow, looks awesome. Anyway, thanks for your feedback. This is my first grow, so I don't want them to get to big. I want to flower before they reach 18 inches, so if they triple, they won't grow into the light. Thanks for the good luck, come back often and feel free to opine as much as you like.

 

[dubwooze]

These are few more pics of the setup. I wanted to show off my ghetto duct work.

 

[HistoryPuff]

Hey dude looking good. My only advise at the moment is if you want your plants to grow higher switch the light to 18/6. But you might not necessarily want them to get higher, and thats cool too. But the 6 hours of darkness tells the plant to grow up in search for light.
Keep it good man, and good luck on yer grow!

I was wondering, does a taller plant necessarily mean a better plant? Are there any differences in yields?

Anyways, I really dig the "Golgi Apparatus" haha. I definitely see a lot of potential for this grow, man. Those things are going to be monsters. Let's hope they're ladies! Good luck!

 

[dubwooze]

So, I've heard nothing about SCROG since I started researching, but I have no clue how to do it. I want to utilize the method, but I'm afraid to. Do I have to top the plants, or trim the undergrowth? I'm growing different strains that may not reach the same height, would that be a problem? Any help is appreciated. Please take a look at the setup and let me know how the method would or wouldn't help.
View attachment 1049250View attachment 1049251

Now just a quick question, since security has been bothering me since I envisioned the project. Odor control, what should I do? My box is in my bedroom, the exhaust routed outside, but my bedroom door, is next to my front door, where all my neighbors pass (we live in a multi-unit apartment building in a dense urban setting). My bedroom is 11 ft 9 inches x 12 ft 8 inches. I plan to have two box fans circulating the air, each with downy sheets on it's backside (old dorm room smoking trick). I have a carbon filter, but want another weapon on the war against odor. Should I use Odor Killer, placed in basins around the room?



Or this, mounted by my bedroom door.


My goal with odor control is to contain the smell in the box, and if it does escape, it shouldn't get out of the bedroom. Thanks for the help, it's appreciated.

 

[HistoryPuff]

http://forum.grasscity.com/plant-training/48363-scrog-method.html
I'd read over the first post on that thread for a decent intro to Scrog. I don't know too much about it but soon I'm going to read up on SoG, LST, and Scrog for a good base knowledge.

Could you possibly show a larger picture of your window, and the outside of it? (I'm curious what your neighbors see) Since you said it's a multi unit I might be worried about people seeing the exhaust connected to your window. I forgot if you said this was the 2nd floor or something? Anyways, is the kinda-circular cardboard drum your carbon filter? You might wanna start a thread or read some stickys in the indoor growing section about odor control, simply because most people use the carbon filter I think and maybe unfamiliar with the other products you linked to in the pics. At least I have no exp with them. But until a few weeks into flower I don't think the smell will be noticeable to anyone.

 

[dubwooze]

History Puff, thanks for the link. Here a couple of pictures of the exterior of my window. I couldn't get a good angle on the interior, because there is a massive wooden box in the way.



The first pic is of a bit of the front door to the building, my window, and my neighbor's window. As I mentioned, I live on the first elevated floor.

In the second pic, you can clearly see the AC unit, and the plastic, white wing for fitting into the window. The wing on the right is broken, so I had to develop something to fill out the gap. The black piece you see is actually a piece of activated carbon filter. The lady who manages the property, who is really nice, and lives across the hall was outside when I first went to size it up, seeing if it was safe or not. Like I said, she's real nice, and a bit naive. I asked her what she thought of the window unit, and she said it looked good, not even considering to question the black "filler" piece.

As of now, I'm planning to redo the inside.

View attachment 1049786

This is what the back of exterior carbon filter looks like, but I've encountered a problem. The heat of the exhaust is too high, and it weakens the adhesive on the duct tape. So, I plan on picking up two 4 inch flanges, attaching them to a piece of wood that would fit in that gap, reconnecting the exterior filter and voila! That way, I could have a secure exhaust, and and outdoor intake if I ever needed one.

 

[newgrower21]

not bad for homemade

 

[HistoryPuff]

You know, if you ever wanted to make the "black" part look more normal on the outside you could just take that white broken board and spray paint it or wrap it with electrical tape, maybe if it matches it would cause less suspicion? Idunno, It definitely doesn't look like a carbon filter just because it's black, so I think you're pretty safe. Not sure if you're pic of the exhaust/carbon filter works.

 

[dubwooze]

So it is hot as fuck today! I've had raise my light a bit and keep the door open so temps don't exceed 88 degrees! I know those kind of temperatures aren't detrimental, but I'd like to keep the most optimal conditions possible.

Down to business. Over the past few days I noticed a plant droop a bit. Since I watered like a maniac at first, it was easy to diagnose.



However, after aerating the soil by forming deep holes along the side of the pot, and putting it right next to the fan, I was able to reverse some of the symptoms.



Overall my garden is looking great. Each plants is showing a few signs of a possible Mag deficiency, but I've been working to correct that. The plant I burned with nitrogen is looking good, aside from the yellow tips of the leaves, but I believe those characteristics will never leave, in spite of the overdose being cured.

Here is another pic of my girls, they're getting big and should be ready for flowering soon.



Two ladies of the Wonder Woman strain:
(the color is off on the first one due to the light)


Now for the NYPD!



So I'm thinking by this time next week, I'll be flowering. Each plants has grown almost two inches since Thursday. The under and side growth is really starting to fill out. These girls (hopefully) are going to be monsters.

 

[HistoryPuff]

So do you use nutes or just mag supplements? I think I got nute burn like twice when doing my closet grow, so for now I just plan on staying away from them. "Keep it simple, stupid." It works for me haha.