Northern Grow Lights Photon 180 Citizen 1825 90 CRI

Evil-Mobo said:

Skip the R/O, just bubble your tap for 24 hrs before use. R/O is a lot of waste and drives up expenses. if you really go organic (no till) R/O is pointless as you don't PH anymore the plants do the work your job is to maintain the soil.

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That makes sense. Thank you. My tap water is pretty good anyway, < 100 PPM, and it tastes great. So yep, I'll skip the RO.

Aruanda said:

I'm more excited about planning out the next grow and my soil than I am about having fresh flowers to consume. To say, growing is very rewarding and enjoyable. Having my own cultivated plants with whom I've gotten to know and take care of for a change, instead of just buying flowers with no known origin, has also been a blessing.

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Couldn't agree more. Its a great hobby to have. Im constantly surprised how enjoyable and satisfying the whole process has been. I've always had hobbies but an injury a while ago put a stop to most of them. Its been a blessing to me too.

Yodaweed said:

Ouch , that's gonna effect yield a bit, you figured the issue out?

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I think I've managed to identify some N deficiency, though it could have been they were using less into flowering, but they seemed to yellow very quickly. So another thing I think that was going on was a Mag deficiency about mid flower. A bit earlier on and throughout the flowering I also think there was some Cal deficiency, which would make sense due to the LEDs. Late into flowering there has been some P deficiency as well. Some of these issues I think stem from a possible lock out but also a lack of nutrients in the soil perhaps, as well as the size of the pots. I had used some coconut water and I think one SST this grow. From a few things I've read about the growth stimulators (cytokinins) putting the plant's metabolism into high gear, I began to suspect that not having a well amended soil or not putting more emphasis on the topdressings as well as possibly size of pot, allowed them to become hungry and deficient. Albeit, I used the BioBizz products, they may not have been providing the plants adequately with a heightened metabolism. I guess these are my hypotheses from observation and reading... It's been a good learning experience. Wish yield was a bit higher but gardening is cool cause it plays off the principle of learning from failures well. How to keep refining and experimenting, see what works and what doesn't. The literature is good but learning from the big book of Nature through direct observation is best.

bri77 said:

Couldn't agree more. Its a great hobby to have. Im constantly surprised how enjoyable and satisfying the whole process has been. I've always had hobbies but an injury a while ago put a stop to most of them. Its been a blessing to me too.

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Sorry to hear of your injury. Hope you've been able to find adequate treatment with this healing herb or some holistic approach. Gardening hobby for the win! Lol. Those blumats look great, will probably serve you well with whatever you're dealing with.

Aruanda said:

I think I've managed to identify some N deficiency, though it could have been they were using less into flowering, but they seemed to yellow very quickly. So another thing I think that was going on was a Mag deficiency about mid flower. A bit earlier on and throughout the flowering I also think there was some Cal deficiency, which would make sense due to the LEDs. Late into flowering there has been some P deficiency as well. Some of these issues I think stem from a possible lock out but also a lack of nutrients in the soil perhaps, as well as the size of the pots. I had used some coconut water and I think one SST this grow. From a few things I've read about the growth stimulators (cytokinins) putting the plant's metabolism into high gear, I began to suspect that not having a well amended soil or not putting more emphasis on the topdressings as well as possibly size of pot, allowed them to become hungry and deficient. Albeit, I used the BioBizz products, they may not have been providing the plants adequately with a heightened metabolism. I guess these are my hypotheses from observation and reading... It's been a good learning experience. Wish yield was a bit higher but gardening is cool cause it plays off the principle of learning from failures well. How to keep refining and experimenting, see what works and what doesn't. The literature is good but learning from the big book of Nature through direct observation is best.

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Nice, never used biobizz nutrients but i have heard good things, wish you good luck.

Thanks @Yodaweed !

I think my next big question is whether to wet trim or dry trim, lol. I've heard its better to dry trim, that seems to be the consensus, if wanting to get a better dry with more flavors coming out. I think I can keep the tent at about 72ºF (22.2ºC), probably more like 75ºF (23.8ºC). I can try and keep the RH between 55%-60%

Aruanda said:

Thanks @Yodaweed !

I think my next big question is whether to wet trim or dry trim, lol. I've heard its better to dry trim, that seems to be the consensus, if wanting to get a better dry with more flavors coming out. I think I can keep the tent at about 72ºF (22.2ºC), probably more like 75ºF (23.8ºC). I can try and keep the RH between 55%-60%

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Yea it's easier to trim wet but dries out faster so less flavor unless you can slow down the process with good RH in the room you dry in. I prefer wet trimming but often dry trim.

bri77 said:

Let us know what your roots are like when you harvest.

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Hey Bri, so I upended the pots to store the soil in a tote today. From what I could observe is that the root ball was pretty extensive in growth, holding the soil firmly together as it appears to have grown into all areas of the pot, including the upper 1/3rd. The roots don't appear unhealthy, a whitish, slightly yellowed color. But I would say that a majority of the roots are fine strands, maybe a 1/3rd is a bit thicker (~1cm). I guess the best thing I can find is transplant photos or videos showing big thick and white roots to compare to, so I'd say maybe smaller than they could be?

I dont think fine roots are a problem, but the fact that they're white or close to it sounds like they were very healthy, mine were mostly dark brown.

So flowers are already in jars but still burping for extended hours to dry a bit slower. About to place Boveda packs in them. Terpene aromas are starting to become a bit more pronounced.

I think throughout the mid to later parts of flowering I made a few hypotheses about the deficiencies and issues these plants had. I think I'm still processing certain aspects and will probably only summarize those hypotheses one final time in my personal grow log only. And that's all I have to say about that...

Flowers seem a bit underdeveloped in that the calyxes didn't get a chance to fully develop and engulf the pistil hairs, and overall they just look a bit lacking. However, what biomass they have accumulated is fairly dense and the trichome production seems good (they're definitely frosty). The underdeveloped flowers could have been from not going another week or so and from the deficiencies observed.
It's been a good learning experience and I yielded a nice little harvest of medicinal flowers from it.
There is a lot I've since learned and always more to be learned and I look forward to applying this knowledge and work towards perfecting this skill of cultivation. I thought back on why I created this thread and in part it was to demonstrate the Photon 180 lights I used. But with the way my first cycle turned out I think there is much to be shown still with these lights. The things I'd like to improve upon and dial in in the coming year include: a completely amended soil (following a revised Coots mix); a diverse cover crop mix; topping and LST for better and even canopy spread; the use of larger smart pots (5 or 7gal.) and making sure they don't dry out. Beyond this, I have begun amending my worm bin and modifying some practices for higher quality EWC. There are other nuanced aspects and procedures as well, but I'm not going into detail here...

What I think I shall do is either keep this thread or start a new one with a similar title and post intermittently, veg and flower photos through future cycles. This would keep with my intentions for this thread. I'll probably start a general 2017 thread to get into details in the organics section.


Special thanks to everyone who contributed constructively here on this thread or bothered to read any of it.