Roto-Grow Journal

Hope some of this helps!

Click to expand...

Thanks very much appreciated. My mothers however are very Indica (Big buddha Cheese). I Have two great short stocky phenotypes with very tight inter-nodal spaces.

Maybe it's the lighting (I have them sitting close under 4 X 70 Watt cool blue fluorescent tubes) but I don't think they'll get to 4 foot. They are 3 months old and are just over a foot long (topped a month ago).

I also have a Dinafem Power Kush which I may use because of the height and potential for more clones. I will have to see.

My BBC:

Thanks.

Looks beautiful! You can always have multiple mothers too if you don't want them that big. Sometimes I wish my mothers would not grow so much. Pruning definitely helps.

WeSmkDro said:

affic , if i clone off of a month and a half seeded plant , and grow the clone to be a mother. will i see any defects down the line due to cutting it earlier than you suggested? will it not be fully mature? im still fairly new to growing and havent had any experience in this part of the adventure yet. thank you ! you are one of my gurus already : )

Click to expand...

I would not think you would see any defect per se - but you may be limiting your clone harvest potential by cutting too early. I typically would not recommend cloning a mother unless she is at least 2 mos old, but strain plays an important part here. Here is how I think of it:

Rather than focus on age or height or how many clones to take, it is better to examine the % of plant material you are removing in comparison to the total mass of the plant. Taking clones from a plant that represent a removal of, say 50% of total plant matter, is likely to be a problem. In contrast if you had a 10ft mother, and remove 150 clones, but that only represented 20% of the total plant matter, the plant could more easily recover from that. So it is all relative. The older the plant, typically the easier it is to grow more plant matter. A 4ft mother typically grows the same % change in mass of plant matter over a length of time, but that % change of mass can represent many more clone potential than say the same mother half its size growing over the same period of time. (assuming no deficiency in nutrients, etc.) Finding the sweet spot of where she is not too large, but not too small to fuel your clone needs is the key.

This weeks' pics are something to behold. I have never seen anything like it, but the FULL length of the FAN leaves are covered in trichomes. This is of course in addition to the actual bud itself. Very exciting updates coming soon. I will use the macro lens this time to give a better angle.

nice can't wait

affic , have you considered doing plasma lighting in there or its too much light for a roto?

WeSmkDro said:

affic , have you considered doing plasma lighting in there or its too much light for a roto?

Click to expand...

No, I have not. The Roto comes equipped with 1000w ballast and HPS bulbs/mogul sockets built in, so I am just using it as it was designed so far. I have seen the PAR charts and spectrum wavelengths for plasma - very impressive. It is a bit pricey given the science needed to sustain the plasma in a stable self contained state - but mimicking the sun is never easy.

aficionado said:

No, I have not. The Roto comes equipped with 1000w ballast and HPS bulbs/mogul sockets built in, so I am just using it as it was designed so far. I have seen the PAR charts and spectrum wavelengths for plasma - very impressive. It is a bit pricey given the science needed to sustain the plasma in a stable self contained state - but mimicking the sun is never easy.

Click to expand...

dude i cant tell you know a lot about your shit just by the way you write about things ... im pretty sure everyone can tell. Im really envious to be honest. I wish i knew that much. If i wana get a degree thatll further my involvement and education about growing plants and the science involved with botany. Should i just go the botany route? Is it even necessary? do you think i could learn enough by just staying submerged in Mary jane growing culture or should i get real and head back to school.

WeSmkDro said:

dude i cant tell you know a lot about your shit just by the way you write about things ... im pretty sure everyone can tell. Im really envious to be honest. I wish i knew that much. If i wana get a degree thatll further my involvement and education about growing plants and the science involved with botany. Should i just go the botany route? Is it even necessary? do you think i could learn enough by just staying submerged in Mary jane growing culture or should i get real and head back to school.

Click to expand...

I think we all have the aptitude to learn in whatever means that are available to us. Most of us work and have families, and are just getting by living the good life where we can. If heading back to school is not in your cards, grab a book, read a Wiki (many are free online), and just run with it - nothing can stop you from being educated. A basic understanding of plant lifecycles and simple principles are a great way to start - highly recommended and it will lead to other areas that you may find interesting (lighting, chemistry makeup, etc.). I am glad you are finding some of this information useful - always happy to share with a fellow patient.

Really nice grow. subbed.

New closeups - Enjoy!

(standard weekly pics will follow)

dude ... wtf did you sprinkle stuff on your buds and leaves and stuff ... how the hell did you get that much resin!?

No sprinkling - just a massive amount of trichomes. Those are pics from at least 3-4 different plants. I am seeing this on nearly every plant and strain. Note how the entire top fan leaves are covered completely.

Crazy stuff, eh? I will try to get closer on some new pics with the macro lens. I really need to take them into some white light so you don't get the amber HPS in the background.

Oh, notice the "ghosts" that are well beneath the canopy (the lime green buds) on a couple of those shots? They also are covered in trichomes, even though they are not getting much light. -

Ok back to work now. I will post the notes and some new wider angle shots later today.

what is it that is making the resin production so out of control? if you dont mind me asking ...

Those pictures are not normal. you could get those published in high times ... lol.

More closeups - Enjoy!

More pics - Enjoy!

WeSmkDro said:

what is it that is making the resin production so out of control? if you dont mind me asking ...

Those pictures are not normal. you could get those published in high times ... lol.

Click to expand...

This entire thread is a detailed accounting of how to reproduce these results. Its all there - probably more detail than most grow journals, and likely more information than you care to read. I just wish I could post bigger pictures here. I have a full sensor digital camera (photography is another hobby of mine) and the detail of these shots are remarkable when you open the files at their native resolution (4400 x 3300 pixels native resolution versus the 800x600 up-loadable on RIU). I can print full size posters of these things that are 5ft x 4ft in full detail - hmmm new art gallery?

I have been following this Journal for the last couple of weeks and I am sooo amazed and appreciative of all the information you have provided. Thank you for all your diligent work on this wonderful journal.

I do have a couple of questions (sorry if someone has already asked them):
1 What is the total weight (dry) that you're getting out of the Roto-Gro?
2 How much weight are you getting per Strain (average per plant)?
3 You said that you used a Roto-Gro capable of growing 320 plants; is there any reason you chose to add 216 plants over 320?
4 If you were to do the Journal again would you add 320 plants to the Roto-Gro?

Thank you again for this wonderful gift that you have bestowed on us!

SanFranDad said:

I have been following this Journal for the last couple of weeks and I am sooo amazed and appreciative of all the information you have provided. Thank you for all your diligent work on this wonderful journal.

I do have a couple of questions (sorry if someone has already asked them):
1 What is the total weight (dry) that you're getting out of the Roto-Gro?
2 How much weight are you getting per Strain (average per plant)?
3 You said that you used a Roto-Gro capable of growing 320 plants; is there any reason you chose to add 216 plants over 320?
4 If you were to do the Journal again would you add 320 plants to the Roto-Gro?

Thank you again for this wonderful gift that you have bestowed on us!

Click to expand...

Welcome aboard - glad to see you are getting something out of this.

1) I do not have any idea on dry weight. This is my first time running this. In fact, this is my first hydro grow altogether.
2) Same as above
3) Great question! In order to fully max it out, I will need to drop down to 3"x3"x2.5" grow cubes (from the 4"x4"x2.5" I use now). This represents a reduction from 40 cubic inches of root grow space down to 22.5 cubic inches. A net reduction of nearly half. In my experience, the key to success is healthy roots. Roots that have enough surface area to support the plants needs throughout its life cycle. For this initial test, I opted for the larger cubes and have been pleased with the results. From the pictures, you can see heavy root mass even in the 4" cubes, so I am thinking this was a good decision. With subsequent runs, I might try the smaller cubes to see how they fare.
4) I have many things I would do differently now that I have some hands on experience. I have been compiling my list and will post an after action review post at the end detailing all of these (this is the final gem of info I will part with). To answer your question, it would be strain dependent as to whether I would attempt higher quantities. Some strains are substantially larger than others in this grow, with an upwards of 3-4x mass. If your goals are maximum yield, I would opt for smaller qtys of the larger strain. If the strain is relatively small (Grand Daddy Purple, Purple Kush, etc.) then it will likely be a good candidate to completely fill the system.