Roto-Grow Journal

aficionado said:

You likey? Me too!

I might be persuaded to start another thread detailing this blend - its not exactly where I want it, but as you can see, I think I am getting very close. A couple more rounds...

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this is gonna sound ghetto ...

BUT THAT BLEND MUST BE STRAIGHT FIRE!!!!

lol. for real though , those buds looks PERFECT. Perfection is right around the corner my friend! ill be waiting on this thread ... ihave a feeling your gonna start an organic revolution.

Dro

WeSmkDro said:

this is gonna sound ghetto ...

BUT THAT BLEND MUST BE STRAIGHT FIRE!!!!

lol. for real though , those buds looks PERFECT. Perfection is right around the corner my friend! ill be waiting on this thread ... ihave a feeling your gonna start an organic revolution.

Dro

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He's holding the good from us lol

Thanks all! The soil blend I developed is what I was testing on that run - It is on its 4th iteration/version, and still needs a little more fine tuning. I run multiple growing experiments in parallel, but do not have the time to create threads for them all.

As for that sample - it also smells, tastes, and feels incredible. Very smooth, with an almost immediate cerebral affect (within about 2 minutes) and then progressing into a strong muscle relaxant and pain reliever which is what the doctor ordered and she did not fail to deliver. Definitely a one hit wonder for me. I am a lightweight, so that is not really saying much. It is really potent - maybe a little too strong.

That particular strain/soil/nutrient combo had a fantastic yield to time / cost ratio, so it is a great candidate for those who do not have a ton of money to spend on their medicine, but want something that will do the job - very well - and can last forever. That side bud, weighed in over a quarter of an oz, and if stored properly, can last quite awhile. There were 4 more just like it on the one plant, and the center cola, which was closer to 1/2 oz. by itself. I ended up by giving the rest of that batch away to fellow patients and now kicking myself in the ass for not taking more pics prior (had 3 more identical plants with a very similar output in terms of look, feel, trichome saturation and mass). The next batch should be even better with the slight changes I have made to the mix. Painfully slow process, but fun.


Anyhow, I digress onto this tangent for too long. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming of Roto-Wheel madness!

Estimating about 2-3 weeks until harvest if things progress along the current path. New pics/updates will be provided this weekend.

Wow this is totally excellent. Sub'd.

How much time a day do you spend with your lucky ladies?
Outside of nutes/bug-control/algae-control, are you performing any sort of physical maintenance with your plants?

i love this journal : D

history101 said:

Wow this is totally excellent. Sub'd.

How much time a day do you spend with your lucky ladies?
Outside of nutes/bug-control/algae-control, are you performing any sort of physical maintenance with your plants?

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Great question! I believe in automation, so I have devised little devices and creative ways to streamline the work involved. Outside the initial setup, I spend about 20 mins a night just looking things over, monitoring for anything out of the ordinary, testing water parameters (PPM, DO, temp, pH) and verifying RH, Co2 and ambient temps are within range. Once a week I do a complete water change, but that takes only about an hour - most of it pumping water out and then filling 100 gallons back in. Outside that, things take care of themselves.

I have only needed to take the trays out once the whole grow - yeah, all 24 trays. I pruned each plant of any fallen leaves, and gave it a once over with Azatrol for those damn mites. In successive runs, I will do a MUCH better job ensuring the clones are free from bugs before loading them into the Wheel. I always sterilize the entire grow area in between runs so that I start off with a clean slate for the next test. I am amazed on how hands off this really is when you have things set up right.

One of the nice features of the Wheel is that it is always moving, and gravity is your friend in removing dead leaf matter, etc. When the plant is suspended upside down with the fan blowing on it, most of the dead leaves literally fall into the flood tray on their own and I capture them in the reservoir in a filter sock so not to clog my pump.

Here is a collage of whats cooking. Enjoy! - damn tiny pics on RIU! Can't see crap.

We need to see a comparison of this existing set up and its yield, as compared to the yield of this new generation, 500watt, Hexagonal, LED that is claimed to be comparable to a 1500 HID.

Same plants, same nutes same everything, what would the results be?????

PM sent bro. S

Smuggler said:

Man would I like to see a comparison of your existing set up and the yield of it as compared to this new generation, 500watt, Hexagonal, LED that is claimed to be comparable to a 1500 HID.

Same plants, same nutes same everything, what would the results be????? S


View attachment 960583

View attachment 960584

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Now THAT is something to behold! I could easily retrofit that for the Wheel if the dimensions were to match up. It would decrease power consumption considerably and heat issues would become almost non-existent. This may be the upgrade that these type of roto-grows need to take a good design and make it even better.

whats your res temps aficionado? i wanna start an ebb n flow but i think my room is to hot is there anyway to prevent mold?

sickstoner said:

whats your res temps aficionado? i wanna start an ebb n flow but i think my room is to hot is there anyway to prevent mold?

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The temp is maintained by an aquarium heater submerged in the reservoir and set to 76 degrees. The size of the reservoir, the lower ambient temps of the grow room (80-85 degrees), and direct contact with a concrete floor with a deep foundation; help stabilize the temperature of the water mix. It does not fluctuate much outside the weekly water changes.

Mold is not an issue if you are actively removing moisture in the form of relative humidity from the air so that the grow conditions are hostile to molds. Running continuous aeration of the reservoir water encourages water vapor to escape into the air, leading to higher humidity, and possibly mold. Part of my planning includes the active removal of water vapor from the air with a target RH of 40%. In this grow, in spite of the dense canopy, I have not observed any signs of mildew or mold colonies forming on the plants thus far.

aficionado said:

Preparation:
I have prepared the following nutrient solution for Week 3 -
650 ml of Aqua Flakes A
650 ml of Aqua Flakes B
110 ml of Root Excelurator
380 ml of MultiZen
40ml of Drip Clean

Ph: 5.7; DO - 9.1; Temp: 74 degrees

Light cycle - adjusted to 12/12 (4PM to 4 AM to coincide with night to help reduce power needed for temperature control)

Notes:
All plants are experiencing massive growth in terms of % change in mass. Some strains are quickly developing similar traits as their soil counterparts in terms of leaf patterns, vertical vs. horizontal growth, etc. I have noticed more compact leaf sets, with little vertical stretching so far. I believe this may be due to the light intensity and the relative distance from the light source. All plants are exhibiting signs of solid chlorophyll saturation, with notable new plant growth at the internodes. Expected dropping of the initial leaf pairs was noticed while the new sets took their place. No additional plant deaths this week. An unknown dark green organic material was noted developing at the base of the cubes - possible algae? I will observe for now as it does not seem to be affecting the plants.

Upon further examination under the microscope I have noted a limited spider mite infestation on the Blue Dream clones. Must have come from the mothers, but not definite. I have applied 1/6 oz of Azatrol per 32 oz RO water to all plants via foilar spray to control the infestation with the lights shut off to avoid leaf burn. I will check next week on new samples to verify control. No notable leaf stress or damage for any strain. Noted a substantially larger main stem on all plants as compared to their soil counterparts, assuming this is due to the distance to the light source and the intensity. All plants appear to be very healthy with no signs of necrosis or nutrient deficiency.

I am adding approximately 2grams of Organic Ph down to the reservoir on a daily basis to keep the Ph within parameters. This seems to be consistent regardless of the light cycle. I will need to install a Ph/temperature controller to the reservoir attached to a premix of organic acid and heating rod to ensure volatility of Ph/temp is minimized.

Pictures added below. (all caught up on the journal, so I will update in 'real time' going forward)

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holy shit... thats all i can say.


holy shit.

i feel like moses seeing israel after 40 years in this desert.....

More pics/updates later tonight. Enjoy the holiday weekend and stay safe amigos!

what size res chiller are you useing 1/4hp ?

New pics - Enjoy!

I decided to take one of the plants and harvest it a little early. I vigorously trimmed it to see how she finishes up over the next week or so. I got a little carried away and clipped off a top - damn!.

This sample was a smaller version of Grand Daddy Purple, which compared to some other strains in this run, did not do so well in terms of pure mass and overall aesthetic appeal. She smelled super sweet, and very sticky and the purple can be noticed on a couple top buds, but definitely a bit early. The small piece that was dropped, fell onto the trimming and was like glue. Took me more time to remove the clippings from the scissors and from the freshly cut bud than to actually cut it.

Trichomes were mostly clear with some milky under the microscope (approx 80/20).

Enjoy the before and after! I also took some closeups of the piece that I accidentally cut off and the 'trimmings' that were left. The trimmings look great - high potential for kief.

I will post new pics when she dries.

amazing!
what are the dimensions of your wheel garden?
how many plants/watts?
what are you expecting yield wise?

Notes:
Week 9 - beginning of Week 7 in flowering (May 21 - May 27) notes

Preparation:
I have prepared the following nutrient solution for Week 9 -
750 ml of Aqua Flakes A
750 ml of Aqua Flakes B
350 ml Bud Xl
225 ml of H2O2 (29% strength)
40ml of Drip Clean
4 sachets Shooting Powder

Ph: 6.1; DO: 9.1; Temp: 74 degrees; RH: 50%; PPM: 1010

Light cycle - 12/12, water cycle 1.2hrs, every 12 hours (-1 hour shift from light cycle)

Notes:
Leaf discoloration and dropping of larger fan leaves continued this week with notable remnants observed in the reservoir. Pistil discoloration continued on most of the top colas, most notable in buds with direct exposure to the light source. Buds continued to mature rapidly with notable new calyx development occurring at existing bud sites, where new calyx development continued after initial identifiable bud formation subsided. Likely due to the addition of the Shooting Powder hormone.

pH levels were much more difficult to maintain this week, and I have opted to shut off the aeration pumps post initial reservoir load. The added O2 is reacting with the nutrients and creating a neutral mix (6.9 - 7.1), well beyond the comfort threshold. Logically, this is due to the Shooting Powder hormone mix given it is the only change from the previous week. After deactivating the aeration pumps, pH stabilized.

Strain dependent, coloration of the buds situated at the top colas continued with more pronounced lavender hues. This reaction is photosynthetic and will likley require direct exposure to the light source, which given the density of the canopy, may not be achievable without radical alteration to the plants. Still undecided whether the benefits of coloration outweigh the scientific needs to observe. Multiple harvests (top, mid, lower) is possible, but at substantial work load and possible issues with drying. Decision pending.

Avg height - 13"
Avg width - 10"

Spider mite infestation continues to be a problem with notable damage to some of the fan leaves and some webbing observed along some of the top colas. No other treatments will be applied give the proximity to the harvest window. Risk exists that the pace of infestation will overtake the rate of maturation before harvest.

Observation under microscope confirm healthy elongation of the trichome cuticle and engorged disc cell walls, with numerous samples taken from multiple strain types. Coloration remains predominately clear with increasing levels of opaque (approx 80%/20%).

HAMandCHEEZ4life said:

amazing!
what are the dimensions of your wheel garden?
how many plants/watts?
what are you expecting yield wise?

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Welcome aboard! Those questions have been asked and answered already in this thread. In the interests reducing redundant information, I would ask that you review the content of the post and if you have any subsequent questions that have not been addressed, I would be more than happy to respond.

sorry. i was gonna read through this thread tonight. didn't have time earlier. i'm interested in the rotogrow.