PsyCLown

This passage speaks to me in multiple ways
Could be a very valuable R1 that.

Full of enthusiasm, but distracted along the way. Need something forgiving that can handle a day or 2 of neglect from time to time ideally.



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I'd personally want to veg them a bit longer to let them gain some height, it's all very flat at the moment and doesn't appear as if they're much higher than the soil.

Then I'd defoliate and then flip.

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So my thinking is, if you're paying a set price for the space then you need to maximize on the space to drop your cost per gram.

So regardless of the size of the space you'll be paying for, you want to fill it and use as much as possible.

This way if you get say 250g dry from an 80 x 80 tent the cost per gram will be higher than if you put a bigger tent in and yield say 1kg dry.

So starting with one of the smallest tents available, not the route I'd go for.

Due to the costs and hassle, I'd want to try bang out a grow and have that yield sustain me for a while - how much do you smoke a month on average? How long would 1.2kg dry last you?

The main expense is always the first grow due to the equipment required, after that the equipment has already been bought so further grows are far cheaper.

It's always easier if you can find a friend to go half / half with you so you're not out of pocket as much and you both score in the end.

I wouldn't be worried about load shedding, just something you gotta live with. If it starts try adjust your light cycles in such a way that the load shedding has minimal effect on the plants and you're still able to check on them during their light cycle etc.

Keep in mind, with equipment you can recoup some costs by selling it later on if you decide to stop or want to upgrade.

With growing vs buying bud, the savings come in monthly as you're not forking out for the bud anymore - perhaps it's going towards your grow now but the biggest difference is you'll be smoking quality indoor vs shit outdoor.

I'm spoilt. I don't remember what it's like to grind bud with seeds. All the bud I smoke hits hard, I actually got some outdoor from a friend, it was a small skinny bud. Smaller than a pinky. Had seeds and I had to smoke 3 bowls to get the same effect as my indoor. It was shit outdoor, good outdoor would be better obviously.

What is the main goal here? Save costs on buying bud? Or end up with a better quality smoke for similar money every month?

Edit: how is the person going to accurately charge you for the electricity you use?

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Welcome, looking pretty good indeed. 

Enjoy your stay in the forum

Was hoping for a date or time line. Sigh

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Mpk is probably not needed but it's cheap, so get a bit anyways. You can play around with it and see if it makes any difference.

You running ghe coco, not ghe tri pack stuff?

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The leaf in the last pic looks good.

The tips of the leaves look as if they are clawing a bit though, in some of your earlier pics the tips look burnt as well - a sign of too much nutes.

You could likely get away with less, save power.

So quite big pots, makes sense. They look a bit small if that was a 20L pot, haha.

That is an overkill amount of light so such a tent.

Are those fabric pots 20L? Have you flipped to flower yet?

Also what nutes are you feeding, if any?

Very awesome, even li-on batteries too. Sounds like a fantastic setup.

I wish I had lent your brother some money 2 years ago too. haha

Keep in mind that in order to get 24v, you will need at least 2x 12v batteries and the capacity will not be increased. So the capacity will remain the same as using 1x 12v battery with a 12v inverter.

8 hours ago, Teal Smith said:

@PsyCLown Thanks for clearing that up... So silver calcium batteries are Absorbed Glass Mat? or are AGM the standard type of Deep Cycle Lead Acid?

The PSW inverter I found today and plan on buying tomorrow is an older unit, 7 years, unused and still in original packaging. It seems the build quality is better than the more recent models and it's more cost-effective than the ones I can find in town around here too.... Can find on the web but time is of the essence here and can't wait as tomorrow is stage 2 loadshat. 
The owner of an auto-spares shop bought this inverter but never ended up using it so was sitting in it's original box in his office...  BUT now I'm thinking that it won't charge the silver calcium batteries properly as I'm not sure those were around 7 years ago...

Hope they have the correct charger sold separately, or just the plain old Lead Acid Deep Cycle Batteries for the old model inverter.... otherwise we are back to square one again (facepalm)

 

So keep in mind that the PSW inverter very well has some electrolytic capacitors inside, those will dry up with age even if not being used.

The typical lifespan is around 5 to 10 years, some last longer and some not as long... depends on the quality of the caps. So something to keep in mind. You could always open up the inverter and check and you could replace the caps for peace of mind if you are able to solder yourself. Not a difficult task but caps can get pricey quickly, especially if they are larger ones or more specialized ones, do not skimp on the quality of the caps either if you want to ensure it lasts.

http://www.challengebatteries.com.au/battery-faq/

Quote

What is a “Calcium” battery?

A Calcium battery is a still a lead acid battery; they are usually sealed maintenance free.  Calcium replaces antimony in the plates of the battery to give it some advantages including improved resistance to corrosion, no excessive gassing, less water usage and lower self discharge.  Silver is another additive used by some manufacturers, the addition of silver enables the battery to be more resilient to high temperatures.

Calcium batteries require a higher charge voltage than conventional batteries.  If used in a deep cycle situation it is advisable to use a charger designed for calcium batteries of has a calcium charging mode to get the maximum life out of the battery.

I feel its much of a muchness really with regards to ripen vs a bloom booster / mpk.

Best way with regards to flushing or not is to test it out yourself with the same strain / plant.
Flush one, don't flush the other. Then smoke and compare yourself.

The harshness comes from the chlorophyll I believe. Also with an outdoor grow you can't really flush, or even with soil indoors. Good luck getting rid of all the nutes in your garden soil or even in a 20L pot of soil. Ain't happening easily.
Different story in hydro.

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Sounds more or less right, something with an AC motor isn't meant to be run on a modified sine wave inverter, it will damage it.
If it runs off dc though, shouldn't be an issue as that modified ac sine wave will be converted to DC. So

Majority of electronics are run off dc.

AGM batteries do have a slightly different floating voltage and it is best to have a charger which is built to charge an agm battery to ensure the life and quality of the battery is prolonged as much as possible.
You can do a. It of googling about agm batteries and charging them in general.

It's also why when you put a new battery in most newer cars, you need to register the battery as over time the car adjusts the way it charges the battery to compensate for the battery deteriorating. Without registering that it's a new battery it doesn't reset and the battery won't last as long.
AGM batteries are generally used in cars with stop / start, but not limited to those and some of the newer cars automatically detect that its a new battery though I believe.
Also not uncommon to see battery chargers which have a specific agm mode.

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8 hours ago, StonerZN said:

So... this idea... bear with me I may be a little goofed

What are the practicalities of growing in different mediums side by side?

Wouldn't the ultimate way to settle the growing medium debate be for a complete newb (in this case me) to attempt three styles side by side and see which turns out better?
1 Soil
1 coco
1 hydro

Could learn some valuable things and maybe help the next beginner along...

I've long been attracted to hydroponics so might be fun. Could be a bit cheaper than having to buy 4 auto pots or similar if I tried one first to see if I managed.

I imagine it may get a bit chaotic in there trying to keep track of everything going on... or would that be biting off more than I can chew

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So I wouldn't say any particular medium is the ultimate, it comes down to personal preference and what suits your needs best.

Someone may want an organic grow for whatever reason, you could use coco for that although soil would be a better medium as there would be stuff in the soil for the microbes to break down etc. Etc.

Coco and hydro can give you a lot more control over your grow as you fully control what goes in, soil has variables to it which are near impossible to control for a home grower.

Hydro, I'm of the opinion it's one of the cheaper ways to grow in terms of running costs although it does require slightly more initial equipment but barely. Soil and coco you're buying pots, hydro you're buying a tub and air pump. I have yet to try it out myself, although I believe it's a bit more hands on.

I personally prefer coco, suits me needs and wants well. I find it simple to use and any mistakes can easily and quickly be fixed.


Also if you'd like to try out all 3 methods in your first grow, then by all means go for it! You'll gain a fair bit of experience and you'll get assistance and support from members on the forum to help ensure your grow is a success overall and you can then decide from there which medium suits you best.

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Thanks guys. Sorry, I should have been more clear when I said Calmag. I was referring to the blue chart above as they're right next to each other and have very similar uptake from a PH standpoint. As per whatever the deficiency may be at the time, I would check the deficiency chart, then add minerals separately, as per your suggestions.

I was under the impression that my Atami grow medium and GHE nutes (Grow, Bloom and Ripen + flush at the end) had all the macro and micro nutes necessary for the entire grow... 

Good info though, on how to Cal & Mag. Cheers. @Prom thanks for the tip of adjusting N when using CalMag suppliment

@CreXI believe Atami has already added buffers and other necessary minerals & additives to their medium beforehand... (I'm using Atami High Poroosity Coco). Regardless, that ship has sailed for this grow because the seeds have already sprouted.

 

9 minutes ago, Q9550 said:

Have to agree with @CreX on this one. I actually saw this on a video I was watching last night on YouTube, was a timelapse of a grow seed to harvest and the guy points out that his plants sort of prepare for the dark cycle before the lights actually go off and start waking up before the lights turn on.

Pretty cool video, will try to find the link again...

I have seen this as well, although its odd considering it started before he reduced the lighting and continued after he reduced it.

Perhaps the plants adapted that quickly to the lighting change?

Welcome and enjoy your stay!

For anything you are unsure about, if you cannot find answers on the forum then create a thread and ask.  

@Dart07 how did things turn out for interest sake?

@Ill_Evan

2 minutes ago, CreX said:

I'll get the charts I use for the absorb rate for pH... The deficiency chart is the standard one online... I have learned to visually identify deficiencies so I don't have to use the chart so much. 

And your idea is sound... Some plants do like different pH... But even as an experienced grower, I still don't know which plants like different pH lol. 

So stick to basics for now... And when you have run the same plant for a few seasons... The exact same plant... Cuttings and stuff... Then you can play with pH and test things

I was just going to say, when you go to seed it becomes a lucky packet. Different phenotypes can have difference preferences.

So in order to be able to dial it in 100%, you need to be growing some cuttings to ensure you are growing the exact same plant.

I personally do not know of anyone who adjusts PH per plant though, that is a lot of effort and don't think the gain would be worth it in the end. As long as the plant is happy and not showing deficiencies, or excess of a certain nute then it shouldn't be a problem.

Maybe if you're on a mass scale like some guys in the states, with a warehouse of a single strain all grown from a cutting - perhaps then its worth it. For us with our 8 plant limit, I dont think so.

I feel as if your soil is the cause of the issues,  it may be worth while buying some soil which is more suited to growing cannabis.

Freedom farms is popular and easily available, your plants may take a knock with the transplant as I'd suggest you try and get a bit of the current soil off the roots (putting the plant in a bucket of water makes this a bit easier and I feel helps reduce damage to the roots. You won't ever get all the soil off without damaging the plant, but try get as much off as easily possible.

Give the plants a week or so to recover, monitor new growth and see how they are doing then. Once you get the plants dialed in, growth should be explosive as they're getting bigger and should be growing quicker now.

With coco I aim for between 5.9 and 6.2, this is with using GHE nutes. I have not yet experienced any issues.

I think @CreX also runs the same PH range as I do?

I have never considered Dinafem to be exceptional, about average at best - when compared to your run of the mill cheaper seeds, like the european stuff.

I also do not think they are as popular as some other brands, so perhaps the seeds are older?

Hmm, curious to see what others say. I have never ran more than 18 / 6 so not really sure. Never had such issues either.