Micro Growing with Mr. Sparkle *2018*

[Mr.Sparkle]

I’m back so update time.

So @ReikoX ended up not playing it safe and just went for it lol, worked fine though, started at around 1.5ec or 750ppm like your running @horribleherk56 but looks like i could up the feed level. Started off with about mid range of what GreenLeafNutrients recommends, figured it was a good starting point.

Day 30 on the PC case. So other than the nutrient change doing well for the first bit, the plants took off and stretched more than i wanted. So plucked too much too quickly just cause i couldn’t pluck fans leaves gradually like normal. I figure the plant instead of just continuing unaffected as normal due to receiving relatively the same amount of light when the fan leaf removable counterbalances new leaf growth. That i caused the plants too also perceive what light they were getting as significantly less. Causing the plants to kick in the stem elongation processes more than normal as they perceived that they were getting less light than before.

So yeah they stretched heavy, tried cutting them back a day ago but still threw in an 1" plus in a day, so missed the boat on keeping them in check. Now this would definitely hamper things a bit for end yields, but for me this round it’s not a loss, as i was gonna be making selections on which plants i wanted to make seeds from. Coincidentally the one plant that i picked out as my #1 choice was also the plant that stretched the least and put on more bud and leaves respectively compared to the others. So i just culled the rest and kept that one which i would of kept anyways.

Oh and the reversed DD is dropping pollen now, i’ll be plucking ripe opened pollen sacs gradually and saving the pollen from them as it goes along.

The mini bucket, counted it up looking at around day 67 currently, obviously the mishaps slowing things down a little more so than going smooth. It looks pretty much done when looking at it outside of the container but still looks like it can go a few more days so i may let it go to a full 70days. I haven’t looked at the trichromes yet, but after so many plants you kinda know when things are pretty much done. So an update will happens when i chop it and i’ll get some nice side shots.

Day 17 for the 5gal bucket, looking good, they just ran out of res water so i need to fill it and will up the feed slightly. An issues has popped up with the arduino that needs to be ironed out eventually is i think my RTC which is a reused one from some previous setups is having a time keeping issue. It’s either due to it being faulty, or a potential discharge issue, or the time library im using for use with the attiny85 may have a quirk or two i don’t know about, or my code for it.

So issue is it keeps time after an upload and will keep that correct time till its plugged in from its own power source. Once i disconnect it from power again but this is only after a couple days or more of running it seems to loose its timing and runs on its own schedule which is still 18/6 just that the time of day that the switches occur are now different, and those switches don’t seem to correspond to the time the bucket is removed and put back on power. So i have to dive into it a bit deeper to see whats up. Just needs periodic uploads if the timing goes out.

Looking good otherwise, The DD at the bottom has purple undersides to the leaves thus why its pale in color in comparison. The two plants on the top left are lagging behind a bit, but genetics, less water, later start date, or whatever i don’t know specifically why or if a combination, but i’ll just keep moving along as is maybe some water tweaks once i investigate further.

Oh and just turned on the side lights

[Cocofan]

Very nice as always. Are you happier with the grow running multiple plants vs the single one?

I’m also very curious how your leaves stay so small. With my 1 gal coco pots, 45w led, my fan leaves can get the size of a small hand. Is running 500-1000ml pots the magic to this? Have you ever tried running more/less light or would more or less not matter due to the root size.

[Jellypowered]

His overall plant size is smaller due to him only using approx 500ml fabric pots. Smaller root system means a smaller plant overall.

[Mr.Sparkle]

My experience is root space dictates the plant size. As a plant can only grow as big as it root structure can support.

So because im running smaller pots “500ml or so” my plants will only be able to grow so big, if the same plants are grown in bigger pots they will be bigger. Leaf size roughly correlates but they also have their own limits on how small or big they can be. Saying that leaf size can be reduced if need/wanted with standard bonsai techniques. I do light fan plucking for space reasons and slowing growth when needed which effectively does also reduces leaf size but i’m not plucking for that specifically its just a side effect. That happens just due to root space limitation coupled to new growth just like how bonsai techniques are done to reduce leaf size over time.

As for running multiple plants. I do so because i get more variety and i can run more plants for pheno or strain hunting purposes, yield ends up the same as you can only grow as much bud as your light source can give. Also running more plants but smaller i also get to reduce the overall size the plant wants to be which allows me to train/prune/adjust less than if i was running a bigger plant from a bigger pot that needs to be jammed into the same limited space.

[Mr.Sparkle]

Bogan / Day 32 Started to dust some pollen onto the other plant. I will continue over the next two weeks and i’ll be running this plant longer than i would for bud.

So because its so empty i threw 4 seeds into water today. One of each some being freebies from my last acquirement. The FastBuds freebie is their Girl Scout Cookies.

But something to note through my understanding of some older claims out there on other sites that i was/are on. The genetics in the FastBuds named GSC are no where related to actual GirlScoutCookies even with the auto breeding and back crossing needed for making an auto version. But that they were just jumping in on the “name” instead of being honest with what they have which they have been accused of before. So even if FastBuds genetics do produce nice reputable plants from what ive seen, that the dishonesty plus a marketing snaffu in reference to underage girls for this specific strain, has previously prevented me from placing an order to try out their other genetics. So getting one as a freebie i won’t say no as hopefully it will grow nice and produce a good plant even if not accurate to its name, so as to soften my initially biased opinion of them to potentially try some of their strains in the future. Dowside is its a freebie seed, which ive noticed are typically with most breeders just less mature seeds, or some of their old stock.

As for the “Bokit” Day 19, switched the feed to megacrop for fun, looking like the plants are enjoying it but may of made it a bit too strong, but we will see. That left plant “Stress Killer CBD” is growing fine, just very short like i’ve noticed with other hybrids grown by other growers that have that older lowryder genetic line in them for the auto cross.

Mini Bucket getting chopped tomorrow

[Mr.Sparkle]

Tried some of that TDDDxCM tonight as its now good to go It’s pretty decent effect wise but will have to try more though. The smell during late flowering has definitely stayed around, its stinkier and in a profile that i don’t normally go after but the mini bucket plant has a different profile so it will be interesting to smell and compare afterwards.

Also hit that estimated 10-12g weight i figured from my wet weight, it always falls in that range of 20-25% anyways, but i rarely weigh anymore and now just do it for you guys/gals and for my own comparison sake or gpw goals.

Also been playing with this YoCan Hive 2.0 over the last couple days, but dropped and broke the juice cartridge in the sink tonight as i was playing around with diy thc juice concentrations using just PG.

I wanted a really small wax pen for the mountains. I already have a YoCan Cerium on a eLeaf iStick Power Nano which is pretty small anyways but i wanted and still want a smaller option. The cerium and eleaf nano i initially picked up to give a mod box and atty a try for some homemade waxes that i had made for edibles from some less desirable excess bud i wasn’t gonna smoke.

Still haven’t made any edibles and ended up throwing out a lot of that wax as i have better stuff to consume, but it turns out i definitely enjoy the convenience factor of consuming waxes. I should throw some money towards a better wax atty though such as a newer Kiss Cart, Divine Tribe, or Sai.

Back to the hive the other reason i got it was to allowed me to try my hand at making and consuming some diy thc ejuice and trying out distillate/juice carts that are becoming prominent in say Colorado and or Cali. I will say the cotton wick system for the stock hive carts small intake holes and the inability for the hive to fit wider cartridges other branded better carts is a definite turn off. But i got it for its small wax capabilities first and its cheap $15 price to just try out. So far the distillate/juice carts with some sampling of some recent diy THC juice look promising for that super small discrete out and about use i’m looking for.

Now im looking into smaller distillate/juice specific setups like the Ccell Palm which needs bottom drawn carts like their own to work. Shipping though for me is $20 when say the palm plus a single cart is $30 by itself. So i’ve been looking into other cheaper options to play around with initially “dhgate, ebay, fasttech stuff”.

So i’ll probably pick up some good refillable carts, whether Ccell, Liberty V9’s, bubbleman trinity, or v2.1 710 carts to play around with but am currently hunting for some cheap small battery options.

[Mr.Sparkle]

Day 70 of the mini bucket, it made it, IT MADE IT hahaha.

Smallest “grow” ive done bit rough but its actually really sticky and smelly, should actually be a decent smoke.

On to the chop

[99PerCent]

That is one bucket of flowers all right.

Nice to see the results.

99%

[Mr.Sparkle]

Not bad looking, so quick run down on the mini bucket for those who haven’t been following along.

Its a grow space made from a old 1gal protein container. Lighting is cheap ebay led strip lighting which after resistor loss is only around 70% efficent, but used just under a total of 10w from the wall for fan, lights, and power adapter. Its only about 15" tall with the reservoir and fan included. Watering was done by a left over cotton cloth wick system using a 2Liter reservior pick up at a dollar store.

Actual cost of making it was probably less than $5-10 dollars, only thing i actually bough that i didn’t have lay around already was the reservoir at a $1.50.

Medium was coco, feed was Maxi Series gro and bloom. It was an auto plant and the genetics were a personal cross of a (ThinkDifferent x Dark Devil) crossed with a Cream Mandarine,

Went through a lot of issues with initial high salt build up due to excess evaporation of the soil, to rotting wicks to a diatom explosion in my reservoir causing high pH issues, to using way too big of a pot for the space and having to wrangle every thing in.

But it made it, and apart for those mishaps actually required very little involvement, this was all done for a laugh.

Anyways the bud is actually is pretty decent, ended up with about 39grams wet weight so i should get 7.5-10grams once dried. Also will be turning the trim into some fresh frozen qwet oil as the trimmings were covered in resin.

I’ll post a dry weight once it at cure range.

[Cocofan]

Very nice! How did the wick system go as far as timing with watering? Would you recommend it at all? I have had luck growing herbs in the kitchen with wicks, as they drink as needed. Yet our plant loves water deep in flowering no matter the size.

[Mr.Sparkle]

The wick system worked good apart from the initial rotting issue due to the diatom outbreak and not keeping a sterile res. As for recommendation, depending sure i do want to try a 5gal with wicks but tht all depends on how high my wicks can lift water.

Also an update for the :thread

“Bogan” Day 34. Have Started pollinating the other plant, would of liked it further along and bigger, but you work with what you have. I will be collecting some pollen as well, as im gonna hit the lower buds on the DD that’s in the bucket when its ready.
Also put in the new pots, those seeds i threw in water i forgot about for a day or so. They were all popping little tap roots today so i just transferred them straight to pots, i’ll just be watering with plain water for now and have one of the nozzles open to wet the bottom of the pots with the nute feed the other plants are getting, i’ll just periodically water with plain water to dilute things till the plants can handle full strength nutrients.

<img src="/uploads/default/original/3X/b/d/bda4f51c210e23256ce26a71b4cd42c7053e4029.jpg" width=“690” height=“388"”>

Bokit" Day 21 Did some light fan and lower node plucking to start shaping and focusing the plants growth. The DD is getting rather tall, espically compared to the very compact Stress Killer beside it, mind you the DD had a good 3-4day lead.

Just to show the roots of that TDDDxCM that i cut down about 10 days back, whole cylinder is roots like that.

[Mr.Sparkle]

“Bogan” Day 36
Yeah all the pistils have been pollinated you can tell. I’ll hit the plant again in about a week or so when more calyxes form but pollen will be flying around anyways so it will probably take care of its self.
The new plants should be popping up in the next couple of days.

“Bokit” Day 23
Have to do some “Z” bends and some training obviously as couple of plants are out of room. Will be doing that shortly after a puff.

Speaking of puff’s and the discussion over in the thc ejuice thread and the home distillation thread “alcohol”, im heavily considering picking up the piece’s for a small thc distillate setup, been distilling alcohol for a decade might as well try my hand at thc distillates. Pretty sure i can make a small setup on the cheap, already have a few large vacuum pumps that i used for composite and lamination work but i may make a small dedicated pump with pressure control. We will see always something to build lol i love it.

[Mr.Sparkle]

In the cure range now for the mini bucket plant, actually went past it but used some boveda’s to bring it back to good range.

So 9.5grams from the mini bucket from 10w of inefficient lights and fan in 70days, was 24/7 though. Good for a fun little project, but will have to change things up in a do another one.

[Jellypowered]

Considering the size limitations and very little input, that’s phenomenal imo.

[99PerCent]

Nice turn from such a small space.

99

[MadScientist]

I think so too. Impressive!

[Mr.Sparkle]

Bogan Day 38/0
Been pollinating as groups of new pistils show, I’ll be maxing out this plant for sure. As for the seedlings 3 of the 4 popped so we will call this Day 0.

The one that didn’t was the KickAss Auto by Kannabia, This is the second seed that has failed out of the three pack i bought. I took a look and this one is also slightly immature like the last. The oust side of the seed can look mature but ou can tell because immature seeds as once they split they have a softer green wrapping to the seed embryo which in my experience hinders the ability for the root cap to split that layer when its starts to grow its tap root, apart from the underdeveloped embyro.
More mature seeds have a brown wrapping that’s more fragile that’s easier for the seedling to break and shed when the time comes.

So started up the last seed the other day, I’m definitely not confident in that it will grow. If it also fails i’ll give George over at the Vault a shout with a warning as to not possibly stock them as this batch isn’t good.

Need to start some other seeds though.

Bokit Day 25
It was just packed, way too dense. So i did a heavy pruning/defoliation most fan leaves got plucked and a bunch of lower nodes got snipped off, and some shoots were bent over. Just watch the recover in a couple days. Should make the canopy and plants stop fighting each other as much.

[Cocofan]

@Mr.Sparkle thank you for the help, this really explained a lot more in depth than the standard google search of all sorts of grow info. I have a question regarding your P.C. case heatsink mounting. How did you bolt this to the top of the case? Also did you prefer top or bottom Rez? I’m now looking into Arduino auto watering setup, and have it peiced together. The buckets great, but I would like the side access vs top mount as it’s easier to lst, view, ect.
https://overgrow.com/uploads/default/original/3X/a/9/a902d30438545afd8c915679436f9acaf3fbbb9b.jpg

[Mr.Sparkle]

Just some 7/32 socket cap screws “bolts” , This case specifically has a top removable section that exposes a ventilated top that you can mount fans too, in my cause i just used random holes the the venting on the top provided. Its all taped over and the outside cover is on anyways but yeah.

My other case i just epoxied it to the roof.

As for res’s depends more on your setup, top for gravity fed, bottom for pump. As if you do a top mounted pump setup without a valve inline or a breather hole for your feed line thats above water level you will drain your res.

But top mounted is easier to fill, bottom is better for pump and overflow feedback if needed.

[Mr.Sparkle]

Bogan Day 40/2
Moving along the back plant is full pollinated and building its seeds forsure, i’ll chop the pollen producing plant in a week or so.

The Kannabia - Kickass Auto seeds were all duds. The current and last one wasn’t popping its shell so i had to lightly crack it to help but i doubt it will grow, as they are just immature seeds. So i’m cautious to try their genetics again as that’s just shoddy, would say they only needed another week for these seeds to be good from my past experience. But what can you do.

Still need to start some other seeds still, maybe tonight.

Loaded lower buds “whole plant is the same” gonna have a few seeds

Bokit day 27
Recovering nicely from the plucking and pruning. Couple more days and it will be hard to tell i did anything.
Had to clip a lower node off one plant, through the shuffle and the plant moving on its own the one shoot ended up right in front of a side light, burn the heck out of the stem, even though alive wasn’t gonna finish that way.