Time to start up my 2018 Micro Grow Journal.
Background
I’m Mr. Sparkle, been growing off and on for coming up a decade now :astonished. Started when a friend asked me to look after some bagseeds he started in his window before a move to a new house. Made a light for them and have been growing ever since.
One feat or obscurity that i think is interesting is that i have only ever consumed that which i have either grown or been given, i have never bought.
Another oddity is unlike most growers i have consistently gone smaller in time not bigger. I started off in some what large 4x8 custom built cabinets running T8 floros, then closets, then smaller purpose built cabinets. Eventually working my way through a lot of spaces to where i am today which is the smallest ive been. I only grow for my own consumption and goals breeding, and progression.
Needless to say that makes me an odd duck in this world. This hobby is all fun whether building a space, growing, or consuming the end product.
Grow Style
Im a micro grower, with most of my spaces being under 1sqft now. I grow micro sea of green style and train and prune when necessary. Currently i grow in coco coir with synthetic nutrients (maxi series) for ease, if homemade fabric pots. But i’ve done pretty much everything but pure hydro and all have their points, and bonus’s.
As of the last year i have been growing only Autoflowers as they have shown their worth to me. I use to run photo-periods only with separate veg chambers, mothers, and clones. Now its just Auto seeds, i will still run some photo periods if they interest, but i am on an auto fix for now.
Goal
To progress my own skill an knowledge, share what i can, and keep open eyes and mind to new ideas.
Setups
First is my only remaining PC case and it is called “Bogan”. Its a Corsair 330R that runs at around 65watts. Its lit up currently with 4 Bridgelux Vero18 running at 350mA each mounted to CPU heatsinks.
Edit: now its running 4x14w dismantled Philips Screw in led light bulbs, two 2700k and two 5000k, mounted to the same style heatsinks as Vero’s were on, it now runs at around 48-52w total depending on how you measure it
It is arduino controlled, which takes care of lights, fan speeds if i want, temp and humidity display, and automatic watering using a conductive soil sensor and small micro water pump, with some manual controls. This allows me to go up to two weeks without intervention. Also its ventilated by a 120mm noctua fan pulling through a custom made carbon filter that magnetically attaches, and a 40mm fan for inside air circulation.
It is consistently going through upgrades or changes and i have rebuilt it more than a couple times.
My running format for it is 8x500ml fabric pots at max, and can yield close to 1gram/watt in it if doing a yield run, but im typically running different seeds or breeding.
This is Bucket 2.0, its a 5gal/19Liter bucket, my first bucket i ran 3 cycles in it before i scraped it and started this.
Still under construction but It is lit up by 36 watts of dismantled Philips Led screw in light bulbs, using two 2700k and two 5000k bulbs. They are mounted to old GPU heat sinks and mounted in the lid . Edit: I also added an extra 13w of light on the side using the same lights for the lid. Difference is i am running only one ballast in parallel per two cobs, thus dropping the current in half which increasing led efficiency. It is also arduino controlled, but more basic with just light control, and soon too be built automatic watering system with a 2gal reservoir “smaller bucket”. It is ventilated by one 92mm Noctua fan and will be running a carbon filter when done.
The mini bucket, this is purely for fun and a laugh. Its an old 1gal protein container that is lit up by two types of cheap amazon 2835 led strip lighting. It is ventilated by a 40mm fan with 2/3rds of the exhaust blocked because it is too powerful , and is wick watered from a 1.9L dollar store container. It runs just under 10 watts and cost around $5 to make. Only thing i need to do for it is find some better wicks for it that wont rot.
I recently finished up everything i had going in all my spaces and started work on refreshes, upgrades, and new builds, thus is why the lack of plants at the moment.