This past grow i grew my legal 4 using dwc, but, i am curious about growing the system for acmpr and have a few questions:
1)if i switch from a 600w hps digital ballast, will switching to mars hydro ts 3000 x 4
2)switching from DWC with no reservoir to a reservoir system.
3)switching from DWC to fogponics
4)switching to vertical growing technique.
I saw a setup that surrounded some hid bulbs, seemed interesting but wouldn’t work as good with leds, was thinking of inverting the layout and surrounding perimeter with led panels.
So the questions are:
1)are there transducers that create 40-50 micron range particulates as opposed to smaller which many fogponics systems seem to operate (ie dry air problem from small particulate size)
2)will the bud density be influenced much by switch to led?
Hey Stealth, getting your papers and expanding beyond Recreational 4 can be a bit of a step but not a leap if some planning and thought is put forth.
Firstly how many plants is your new license going to cover?
How much area do you have to grow in?
Does your budget fit your demands?
Firstly no need to switch anything, if the ballast and light combo are still working continue to use these in your expanded system, heck change nothing and continue to grow your Rec 4 as you have and look to expand for your licensed grow as you can do both.
I run a Mars TS3000 (500w draw) in 4x4 tent, it will easily handle a 5x5 all the way from seedling to consumption despite some negative PR generated here on OG before my time, it’s quite powerful and relatively cheap cost (for good LEDs). 4 of these units would easily light a 20x20 area in flower so depending on the area you look to set up you may need more or less than that.
Bud density has many factors of which having adequate lighting is one but not the biggest factor. Genetics, environment and feed regimes dictate density IME. Having the right light spectrum and intensity will help provide the foundations for the plant to thrive but does not guarantee that it does so. Too much light and buds will foxtail, too much or too little heat/feed/water/humidity and even light and the plant won’t make it to flower. Having multiple strains and phenos running highlights this, some will do well others won’t all within the same environment - including light.
I cannot speak to fogponics tech however there is a lot of resources here on OG about the subject.
Also i’m about to harvest a plant that’s sharing a bin with some that need a few weeks.
Curious if during the 2 day dark period if i should even bother trying to preserve the root structure, couldn’t i just chop it at the mainstem and immerse it in a water filled bucket for a day or two in the dark?
I chopped 1 plant about a week ago since it got squeezed out and wasn’t going to produce much. Reexamining the remnants in the dwc doesnt appear to be dead and should be ok for a bit (watching it jusr incase root rot sets in, if that happens then i’ll just h2o2 the dwc and let it finish out).
Chopping before lights on after 12 hours of no light is typical, some do the 2 days dark, ice water shock etc etc but again not critical. Chop and pull her out just before the others wake up, hang her whole somewhere dark but within a controlled environment is a typical drying method.
Honestly the best thing to do is setup a grow diary, post some pics and have folks chime in on any diagnosis stuff, but hope this helps
Edit: Don’t leave your plants to hang somewhere completely dark with stagnant air and no way to controll humidity- this will rot your crop
Interesting how the measurements are 2.5d for lighting, that must compactify with vertical farming techniques. I did notice some foxtailing in my current setup but it oddly happened in the middle of my plant on a few branches and did not occur with the main colas. I threw together my dwc somewhat half hazardly, but it’s still nicer than my last setup which relied on dirt. The climate out here is much more stable than my first successful closet grow.
I’ve decided that autos are a great addition to the technique, good to avoid fall rains with that always ruin ppl’s outdoor crops, plus indoors in winter is less worry of heat for 20/4 from start to finish. I do prefer the non autos still, was thinking good for spring and also good to veg outdoors till august, then shift indoors to be flowered.
Ideally i would like to house the fogponics apparatus in a greenhouse and have the sun supply a portion of the lighting.
Based on the digging i have done, mastering such a setup is the first task, and then i really have to look into rewiring the leds with each led type wired in different channels to gain additional lighting control.
Certainly having a bit of room to play is going to result in good things. I do not at present have any idea how efficiently i managed the dwc but it’s a marked improvement over soil. I’m guessing i have just under 2 weeks left on this grapefruit haze?
Well your plants look healthy, I would be expecting a bit to a lot more fade/autmning with only 2 weeks to chop personally. There are still a lot of white pistils, mature (red) pistils are still extended out of the calyx, not receding so I would say at least 2-3 more weeks and would consider starting to flush personally.
I will revise my answer above: things are working for your Rec 4 keep it that way. As you expand consider your available footprint, budget, power needs/availability and you will find what you are looking for from DIY LED build threads, reviews of specific supporting systems for all forms of active and passive hydro, soilless substrates, water only living organic soil, HVAC, Lighting, Filtration, Nutrition… and everything in between is ALL here on OG
Oh that lack of fading might have something to do with feeding. 1500 ppm (general hydroponics late flower schedule + microbial mass + overdrive). I was thinking of flush in about 2 days. Had a few issues with the ph pen going wonky, i always seem to notice by using tap water ph as a control measurement. It’ll be nice to have a ph pen as backup but i think i’d rather pickup something that continuously measures a reservoir, any thoughts on the drift/recalibration frequency?
Recalibrate every month for the Bluelabs and pretty much every other pH meter I am aware of. Do not use cheap meters. You will regret it. I started to keep my Bluelab pH meter next to my DWC res when i am not using it so I can leave the probe in the res. I found this to be the best way to keep the probe in good condition.
Just flushed my GH, curious if there’s anything simple i can add to the water aside from ph balance? Seen this “flawless finish” stuff but i am skeptical of it. Either way, 2 days from now i am pulling the blueberry and then just waiting it out for the GH which I suspect is going to be 2 weeks from now.
Some prep for harvest, one plant is gone, smaller blueberry that got squeezed into the corner
There’s a bit of amber on the 3 remaining grapefruit haze, but needs a few more days to be ready.
Been about a day and a half of drying, i weighed everything, 156 grams. I’m going to estimate about 3oz’s still based on what i am seeing once dried and cured. Not bad for the bin’s runt
Choppy time.
4 plants final results:
3050 grams wet.
1/4lb already dried and curing.
Calculations give a range of:
862 to 1050 grams dried.
Total lighting wattage is 950w.
Space was only 1/2 occupied. I feel like i wouldn’t double the output by filling it in but perhaps 75% extra considering half the coverage of the 600w hps was wasted. I know for a fact i can do much better than this, but not bad at all for a half hazard trial run of random strains i have no familiarity with.
I would imagine there’ll be a difference between autoflower and photoperiod yeild since the next run will be only photoperiods.
I’m planning on doing a scrog style and use lst to optomize the entire space this go around and see if i can get a chunk over the 1w/1g mark.
