LowenderMN's grow journal

[LowenderMN]

What’s up OGs!

I’ve been busy getting the tent and everything setup and somewhat dialed in for my 1st grow!

My apologies for what is likely going to be a large post.

Im running two 6 gal octopots using sunshine mix #4 advanced. Went with this because it was locally available near me for a reasonable price and recommended in the octopot manual. No ammendments or extra perlite. i hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass later…

popped a Zkittels and a chemdawg 4 cbd, both photos.

And comically… an aerogarden bounty elite… lol got impatient and popped a sour diesel auto freebie before I had all the gear together for my tent. More of a curiosity experiment.

Here is the gear:

• SF 2.3’ x 4.5’ x 6.5’ tent in my basement. I originally started in an ACI 2x4. light barely fit in there and was touching the sides of the tent when the exhaust kicked up and sucked the sides in. the extra height is great too. doesnt feel so packed with gear in there.

• SF g4500 light (this thing is a beast and will likely never run it at 100% in these tents). 18/6 opposite of the sun to help tame the wild temp and rh swings i was seeing running them with the sun.

• ACI 6" exhaust with filter, vented outside

• 2 x s6 cloudray fans. 1 just below the light 24/7, 1 lower on the opposite end 18/6 amd oscillating (per ACI to prolong fan life?)

• ACI 69 pro. Only controlling fans and exhaust at this point. Dimming wasn’t the best for the light, so I have that on a smart power strip so I could fine tune ppfd with the lights dimmer.

Officially have 2 seedlings now in the octos, and I think the auto in the aero is actually starting to flower. i think shes a little stunted, but its helping me learn about the growth stages and some mild lst. so i kind of know what to expect.

water ph has been around 5.9-6.

i already have some questions im hoping yall can help me out with.

octodomes
Im using the octodomes, and it seems to be working but i noticed some white fuzz on top of the soil a few days ago. im guessing this is mold or fungus? since i discovered this, ive been taking the domes off for an hour or 2 a day right after lights on to try and air things out a bit.

does this mean the humidity is too high under the domes? do i need to be worried about the fuzz and should take action to treat the top of the soil?

ive seen people say to keep the domes on until the plants are almost out growing them. And ive also seen people say they take the domes off once the first set of single finger leaves appear. any advice on when i should remove the domes?

watering
In the manual they say to maintain below the 1st line for around 2 weeks. i added a little straight water about a week ago back to just under the 1st line. havent checked the level yet today, but im guessing it is still around halfway under level one, maybe a little less.

as seedlings, should i be maintaining that water level daily? or let the res empty and then fill it back up to below level 1? i read somewhere else on OG to let the res go nearly dry to make the roots chase that water. but i think that was during early veg?

lung room and tent environment control

since im running in my basement, temps are naturally a little lower. ive been trying to target rh in order to control vpd. i dont have a heater for the tent (yet…). temps are between 69-74 throughout the day depending on how often the AC runs. like today, its hot as hell out side. so the AC has been running more than usual. ive been messing with different fan and exhaust speeds. vpd seems somewhat stable, but im not sure if im doing this right. Should i be using the circulation fans to control temps? or humidity? is the exhaust better at controlling temp? or humidity?

sorry for all the questions! just getting this grow started and want to give it the best chance i can for my first run!

trying to figure out how to post pics now!

[GrowingInThePines]

Great post! You covered it all

[insaneyanish]

@LowenderMN

trying to figure out how to post pics now!

The little up arrow. Took me a second too.

Best of luck on the grow man, sounds like quite a Setup.

[LowenderMN]

@insaneyanish ha nice, thank you!

i found it right after i submitted my post, then it was gone till the mods approved it… lol

getting some pics together now!

[LowenderMN]

@GrowingInThePines thanks! im sure i left out some info, but have been researching for months now. need to just get started, im a hands on kind of learner.

[LowenderMN]

Here is where I’m at so far!

Zkittels and Chemdog #4 both fully sprouted on 7/27
the sour d sprouted around 7/2 ish

7/30: zkz and cd4; first set of finger leaves

8/1:
zkittelz and CD4: 5 day old seedlings

the setup

Zkittelz

Chemdog #4 CBD

Sour Diesel Auto, the wrong way… lol

[LowenderMN]

8/3:
zkz and cd4 seedlings are a week old!
sour d im estimating around 4ish weeks

you can kind of see the white fuzzy stuff on the top of the soil in both pots. i did a verrrry light top dressing of dry soil to cover it up… hopefully thatll help. im not even sure if its anything bad yet.

zkittelz:

Chemdog 4 cbd

Sour d is surprisingly looking a lot better

attempted a little lst on the main stem of the sour d auto.

[Cbizzle]

Congrats on the grow! Excellent setup, watching along!

[Tripl3fastaction]

Sounds like you are off to a great start! Minnesota I assume?

I can’t offer you any advice on octopots, but -

@LowenderMN

Should i be using the circulation fans to control temps? or humidity? is the exhaust better at controlling temp? or humidity?

Your circulation fans won’t offer you much in the way of humidity or temperature control, that’ll have to come via your exhaust fans and heaters and dehumidifiers (I also grow in a cold basement). Good luck!

[DannylovesCannabis]

Congrats on the grow brother! Looking good and clean!

[LowenderMN]

@Cbizzle , @DannylovesCannabis :

Thanks! Been waiting a long time to be able to grow. I’m pumped!

@Tripl3fastaction

Thanks! And yep! did the name give it away?

Gotcha. Small heater for the tent is definitely on my radar for when the cold weather starts to move in.

[GrouchyOldMan]

@LowenderMN

Small heater for the tent is definitely on my radar for when the cold weather starts to move in

Greetings @LowenderMN,
Nice setup, I think you’ll learn to love the Octo system.

Be very cautious if you choose to use one of those small electric heaters as they are a serious fire hazard, especially of they overload your electric circuit.

If you can afford it, the oil-filled radiator type electrical heaters are a better solution. They are safer and also way more energy efficient.

Also be sure to get some insulation under the octos so the cold floor doesn’t suck the heat out of your reservoirs.

Enjoying your excitement,
-Grouchy

[Floyd]

I grow in 6 gallon Octos and I prefer to grow my seedlings in soil filled solo cups for a while before transplanting to Octopots. No need for plastic domes on Octos then.

[Cbizzle]

@GrouchyOldMan

oil-filled radiator type electrical heaters are a better solution

Also check out chicken coop panel heaters. I rock something similar. Also, seedling heat mat, plus screw in lizard tank ceramic bulbs on reflectors work well because you can hang them in the tent near the pots. Recommend this on an inkbird or maybe with those ACI plugs on your controller.

[Cybersmib]

@LowenderMN

. No ammendments or extra perlite. i hope t

I went cheap on the perlite early on. Soil turned into a large dirt clod resulting in plants dwarfing (no root ball). Now I might use more perlite than necessary but plants roots fill grow container and plants love. In my experience, when I go cheap/lazy I pay for it the back end

Welcome and good growing

[Floyd]

@LowenderMN

No ammendments or extra perlite. i hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass later…

I use Promix HP which is about 30% perlite out of the bag with no amendments or adding more perlite. I believe Sunshine mix #4 is similar. Nutrients and water are drawn up from the reservoir.
Works well for me.

[ReikoX]

Don’t worry about the white fuzz, it’s just bacteria and fungus doing their thing in the soil. Keep airing them out, the plants do need fresh air about once a day now.

I highly suggest you check out @Jetdro’s octopot grows. He has a well documented and successful feed schedule for them.

[HeartOfDankness]

Looking good, fellow Minnesotan! I don’t try to do much environment control TBH. It’s currently 82 ambient temp in my basement. Upstairs we just have window units. I have a decent little dehumidifier running in my basement in general to keep it from getting too damp. Also keeps undesirable bugs at bay I think. Anyway, now that we’re legal I’m planning to pretty much grow continuously, which will mean some sort of supplemental heat come winter. We have one little baseboard down here which does okay, but I might look into the electric oil heater somebody else mentioned. Last time I grew in the winter (2+ years ago), I just used a giant heat mat with temp controller - it was not up to the task lol.

[BarefootAndBlazed]

I tried the Octodomes but didn’t care for them. Like @Floyd I start seeds in Solo cups before moving into Octopots. I will move rooted cuts from my EZclone directly into an Octopot though - no need for a dome.

[LowenderMN]

Thanks so much all for the great insight! I’ll look for a small oil radiator based heater, seems like the least risky option. And I think I’ll get some 2in foam board insulation and then cut it down to size to put under the octos. Loving the extra head room in the SF tent.

@HeartOfDankness MN represent! Ha

Alright, update time!

8/6/23:

Both octos are 2 weeks out from seed hitting the soil. I think they’re coming along nicely, no roots in the res yet that I can see. Removed the domes as the next set of 3 finger leaves have grown. Want to get them under a little fan action.

Topped.off water in all 3, 5.9 ph. Added 8ml of feed (tps one) to 4 gals of water (2ml/gal)

Had my first lst ‘oops’ and snapped the main step higher up on the plant… bent back together and taped it up. Hopefully it’ll recover. It is an auto. Have heard they dont recover so well when they are close to flower.

Have read about hydroguard and picked up a bottle just in case I need it. Should I be adding some now to prevent res issues or wait until there is an issue?