Adventures in hydro #3 - AAA or Air Atomized Aeroponics - for sure!

[anon32470837]

Yup, droplet size and over all flow rate (droplet density in the chamber) are the two main keys to fuzzy roots. Cant let them dry out and cant have them too wet.

On the clogging nozzles - Tell your mate to try Jacks 321 hydro formula. I bet his clog rate drops by 95% or more. ALL the other nutes Ive tried had organics in them that caused build ups in the rez, tubing, and nozzles. I have run E/F, NFT, Membrane Meniscus, LPA, HPA and now AAA.

I had build up issues in all those grows to one degree or another while I was running Fox Farm, then Mega Crop and then Advanced Nutes PH Perfect.

Now that Im running Jacks, the rez stays absolutely crystal clear, and there is zero build up anywhere in the system. If you read my earlier posts you also know that the Jacks is very PH stable, and so far has zero tendency to grow any bad crap like algae or bacteria.

I agree that LPA is closer to DWC than HPA or AAA. You have to have those small droplets in the proper environment for fuzzy roots to develop.

[anon32470837]

Day 90

Well, stuff keeps happening in my world so I have not started harvesting anything yet. Im going to have to do it soon though - the stupid solenoids have started leaking. Im now running through about 5 gallons a day just from the dripping.

Its amazing how much water you can loose from a slow drip. Each of the two nozzles is only dripping maybe one drop every one to two seconds or so, but that adds up over time.

Unfortunately, Im also feeling pretty bad with the darn stones, so I think I just going to top off the rez with PH’ed water until Im feeling better, then cut them down.

One chola is for sure ready. Its the largest one on the big girl. There is a second one on the same plant that also has some amber trichs. The rest of the babies still look like they need more time. Most of the white pistles are turning and receeding, but almost no amber and still quite a bit of clear trichs.

As soon as my pills kick in a little, Im going to start some seeds in paper towels for the next cycle. Im going to grow some of @Sebring high CBD seeds - Earth Lover. Ive been wanting to try a hi CBD/low THC strain to see how it works on pain.

Im really curious about this because all the more or less ‘scientific’ studies Ive read all report that THC is much better for pain control than CBD.

That of course is just the opposite of what you hear on the forums.

They also reported that smoking bud was more effective than edibles or tinctures - which is interesting. Terpines? Entourage effect?

[Howard.Crane]

Most of the people that I know using cannabis for chronic pain use both THC and CBD. The only people I know that use CBD only are people that wouldn’t use cannabis at all if there were not high CBD / low THC versions available.

I personally like a mixture of both, but tend to use high CBD varieties during the day when I can’t afford to be too buzzed (and I have a very low tolerance these days).

[DiggySoze]

I think anytime you thin the herd you lose something. Haven’t any knowledge to help guide you except that the roots contain Friedelin, and UV causes plants to produce compounds that protect it from the sun, regardless of cannabinoids.

[anon32470837]

Day 91

Im starting harvest finally!!!

I think Im gonna have a pretty good final weight. Ive cut down two of the main colas from the biggest baby, and my wet weight, after trimming, is 407 gms. Dry weight should be in the 100-110 gms based on my past grows. Probably closer to 110gms.

Its hard to judge, so this counts as a WAG, or Wild Ass Guess, but I think these two colas represent somewhere between 1/10th and 1/7th of the total weight. If thats correct, I will have somewhere between 700 and 1000 gms total dry weight…

If it turns out to be the low number, that works out to 700/91 = 7.7 gms / day dry yield. That number would be better than either of my last two HPA and LPA grows. My HPA grow had the best numbers Ive had so far and it was around 7.4 gms/day. The thing is that HPA grow was 5 months or 150 days, so this is looking far more efficient.

Thats also 700/3 = 233 gms per plant on average, which is pretty darn good for autos - IF - I actually end up with those weights.

Heck, even if I only end up with 500 gms dry, thats still far far better than I was expecting based on how things have gone on the grow. 500/91 = 5.5 gms/day which beats my soil grows by a good 25%.

So, all this extra time doesnt seem to have been totaly wasted.

Here are some pics.

This is before I started cutting. I only cut down the two left most colas in the front.

This is after the cut.

Over all after the cut.

a few bud shots.

The plastic tub weighs 114gms. Thats all the trimming I do. If its frosty, I keep it.

There were a bunch of these on the lower parts of the stem. I cut several open, and no sign of seeds. I looked all over, but didnt see any nanners or seed pods anywhere. That surprises me considering all the stress these babies have gone through. Of course, there may be some I Missed or a bunch still hidden down in the jungle.

I started 6 of the Earth Lover seeds and all popped. They are all in mini hempy buckets. I’ll pick the htree or four most vigorous ones to put in the system after I finish the harvest and re-work the nozzles.

I still need to wait and see the actual final numbers, but I am sold on growing autos vrs photo period plants as far as yield per day. Just imagine what the numbers COULD have been if I had not dried out the roots 4 times!

I am a sticky but happy auto grower

[anon32470837]

So the plan is to continue the harvest over the next few days. Im still not feeling well, so Im just going to cut the most advanced buds each day, then stick them in the freezer. No oven drying. After they have been in the freezer for a while, Im going to do a dry ice hash thing and see how that goes. I will probably save some to do my normal alcohol based green dragon thing. Or if I dont like how the dry ice is working out, I may do most of it with alcohol tincture.

I havent decided how Im going to process the hash yet, but its going to end up in capsules one way or another.

[Howard.Crane]

Those are some seriously chonky, frosty colas. Well done!

[ReikoX]

@anon32470837

I havent decided how Im going to process the hash yet, but its going to end up in capsules one way or another

I would just decarb it and put it in the capsules. No need to add extra steps IMO.

[anon32470837]

@Howard.Crane

Those are some seriously chonky, frosty colas. Well done!

I am really amazed at the yield so far. I was expecting to yield some where around 100 gms per plant based on what @ReikoX said these babies would do. I was secretly hoping the aero would let me do a little better. This amount of yield is a total surprise.

I wish I could take credit for it, but we all know I dont have any kind of green thumb!

Im now wondering if any auto could be “tricked” into larger harvest by stressing the crap out of them and forcing them to go longer than normal? I figure its either that, or the AA aero that did it. Probably in combination with some genetic trait that allowed these particular ones to grow bigger?

There is no way to know for sure without major testing, and Im not up for that

I think I am going to take the lazy route, and just claim that the AA aero is some kind of mysterious, magical growing method (that no one but me understands) that achieves unbelievably miraculous results with no effort at all. Of course, only members of the secrete club are allowed to join in… after an extended and expensive initiation period… you will get some cool party hats though…dont worry, I dont require anyone to bow down and kiss my feet when entering my royal growing chambers…a simple genuflection, and your first born will suffice… hahahahaha

[ReikoX]

I think it’s the amount of root space in your AA system that let them get so big. I’ve noticed with some autos that when the tap root hits bedrock, they vertical growth just stops.

[Howard.Crane]

I ran a couple autos last summer that didn’t have anywhere near that kind of chunkiness. Amazing smells and colors, but yield was what I’d consider average. I’d say you did way the hell better than I did.

If you think there’s still some unrealized potential with your setup now, just imagine how much you’ll be pulling later

[anon32470837]

@ReikoX

I would just decarb it and put it in the capsules. No need to add extra steps IMO.

How would you do it?

Im worried about precise dosing trying to accurately measure out a few micro grams of fine powdery hash into individual capsules. I was planning to add the hash to coconut oil, then heat that oil on the stove top at 220 or so for 40-50 minutes to de-carb. Then add the oil to capsules. I would do some testing first to see how potent the oil is.

The tincture would require a way to decarb the hash first though, and Im not sure of a good way to do that - on parchment paper in the oven? Or would it stick to the paper too badly?

This is all new territory for me.

[ReikoX]

You can decarb hash the same way you do bud. 250°F for 40 minutes wrapped in foil should do it.

Of suppose pure hash in a 00 capsule might be pretty strong, so you may be better off just adding it to coconut oil.

[anon32470837]

@ReikoX

I think it’s the amount of root space in your AA system that let them get so big. I’ve noticed with some autos that when the tap root hits bedrock, they vertical growth just stops.

Very interesting idea. I think that is a strong possibility. In my case, the roots have more than 2 ft of vertical space to grow down into, and then they can spread wide. Not many people grow indoors in a 50+ gallon pot. That may well be the key factor.

@Howard.Crane

If you think there’s still some unrealized potential with your setup now, just imagine how much you’ll be pulling later

I know! I have wild dreams about what would happen if I had a “clean” grow with no screw ups. We will see how it goes…

[anon32470837]

@ReikoX

Of suppose pure hash in a 00 capsule might be pretty strong, so you may be better off just adding it to coconut oil.

I think Im going to do the coconut oil thing just for the extra control over dosing.

Any wild ideas on THC content on these babies?

[ReikoX]

No, but smoke reports came back a stoney night time weed.

[anon32470837]

@ReikoX

No, but smoke reports came back a stoney night time weed.

Thats good. I was wanting something that would kill pain and put me to sleep

[anon32470837]

Day 93 More harvest

I cut two more of the colas on the big girl. Total wet weight 253 gms, so these two were significantly smaller than the first two. These were not the two main ones though, so thats expected.

Dry weight should be in the 68 gm range, so this portion of this one auto is now up to around 180 gms dry Im guessing. It looks to me like there is at least that much still on the other branches of this one girl.

It occurs to me that dragging out the harvest like this increases my total days, so in the end, my gm/day yield may be less than I calculated above - unless the total yield is larger than I guessed - which it may be.

I removed the scrog screen before starting.

After todays cut.

The seedlings are starting to pop. It looks like 4 of them are really eager.

Ok, ok, this is sort of sneeky, not so subtle bragging, but Im gonna do it anyway

[anon32470837]

Day 94 harvest continues…

I cut 556 gms wet today, so maybe another 145 or so dry weight. Still a lot to go, but most of the rest needs some more time - which is fine with me. Harvesting in small steps is a lot easier when you feel like crap anyway.

This is what is still left on the vine…

Im putting as much of this as I can fit in the freezer, which will be maybe the equivalent to 150-200 gms of dry bud. Then, after turkey day, I will see if I can find some dry ice and give that a go. The rest of it is sitting out to dry some. I have no idea if that will help or hurt anything, but I dont have room to freeze it all, so Im stuck.

I am tempted to try pressing some of it, but I think you need heated plates for than and I dont have a good way to heat the plates. I’ll have to look into that some.

The seedlings are doing ok. I screwed up and fed them nutes water from my rez at EC 1.2, so they popped up super dark green. Ive since gone back to tap water. All but one look to be ok. That one is strange and I will probably cull it for sure.

[DatDamDog]

Im just wondering. Is 250°F for 40 minutes good for any size haul? Im not going to be growing any soda can size colas like @anon32470837 but I’m desperate to learn the “RSO” method and make oil for myself. I’m reading more and more about rso and I’m really wanting to try it as soon as possible.