PsyCLown

Congrats to all the winners, well done. A nice extra Xmas present coming your way. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

Not that I grow hydro, however I love the idea of having the res elevator off the ground. Should make it much easier to drop the res and change it or inspect the roots etc.

A quick update pic, need to do some defoliation. I pollinated the Inzane on Tuesday night, after hosing her down before putting her back in the tent she got a bit top heavy. I will need to get some steaks to support her. Tried to take a few more pictures but was struggling and was in a hurry so left it. EDIT: A quick update on how far along the plants are. Man Cookies #1: 41 days into flower (around 3 - 4 weeks left) Inzane in the Membrane: 34 days into flower (around 5 weeks left) Grape Diamonds: 30 days into flower (around 5 weeks left) Man Cookies #2: 16 days into flower (around 7 weeks left) I will not be flowering the Early Lemon Berry, these will most likely be going to @CreX and he can do a grow diary for them if he so desires. The Grape Diamonds will be pollinated within the next few days, the pollen sacs appear to be almost ready. The Man Cookies #2 will still be a while before she gets pollinated.

May be best if you look at starting your own thread as you seem to have quite a few questions Will be easier to get consistent feedback and suggestions from other members.

So I have 2x Secret Jardin tents. The first tent I purchased I chose it due to the size, I needed something which would fit in a specific space. The second one, I went with the option due to value for money - I felt it was the better option. The reason I went with Secret Jardin is because I did not want to fork out money on a tent only to be plagued by issues such as light leaks through the zip (very common) or pin sized holes in the material (GT Hydro tents) and I did not want to have issues with poorly built tents (had an incident where a friend has the poles in his cheaper tent which we thought was decent quality fold in and end up taking his entire tent down and majority of his grow with it - the joints on the metal corners appear to have been done poorly). Secret Jardin also have some nice accessories for some of their tents, although I know they are not the cheapest I really enjoy mine and find the way they have designed it to be excellent... hence why I purchased a 2nd Secret Jardin. As for space, when growing space is always an issue. So go as big as you are able to would be my advice. I have a 3rd cheap tent which is 80 x 80 x 160 which I use for drying and STS plants and 2 plants can comfortably fit inside there, at a push 4 plants. 100 x 100 would be better for 4 plants but it also depends how big your want the plants and how you train them etc. etc. To sum it up, go for a tent as large as you can comfortably fit inside your space and it is worth spending a bit more on a quality tent to avoid headaches and frustration in the future.

Nice! Although outdoors in the hot sun the coco may dry out really quickly and need to be watered more often. A bit of a mission but growth should be awesome.

I have never used epsom salts, I just got Cal Mag and used that. I added a pinch with every feed and never had issues. BioBizz works, it is easy to work. Not the cheapest but decent stuff. You don't really need a PH pen to use BioBizz. I preferred using Fish Mix over Grow for veg though and I went in heavy with the Bloom.

Nice! Impressive that they have already popped and have leaves out. What medium are you using? Looks like coco with some other stuff in there?

I was in your shoes a few months ago too. In terms of soil, Freedom Farms and Organics Matter are both popular and decent soils. I have used both and they are both great - keep in mind that soil may have bad batches at times. As for nutrients, for me I kinda just messed around a bit and tried to see how far I could push things and learn my limits that way. Over time you will get a feel for it, the nutrient guides can be of use as a rough guide line. There are ultimately 3 scenarios: You do not give nutes soon enough - the leaves on the plants will start to go yellow and growth will be a bit on the slow side You give too many nutes and the plants get nute burn - this will be noticed by looking at the plants leaves, the tips will go a lighter colour and growth may be slowed for a few days You give the plants enough nutes and they are happy, green and healthy Scenario number 1 is not an issue, you will notice it and if you are unsure create a thread on the forums and people can advise you. You can then give your plant nutes and it will recover, you would have learnt more and gained some experience and insight. Growing in good soil helps prevent this from happening. Scenario number 2 can happen, but unless you really fuck up and seriously give your plants waaaaaay too many nutes it will not die. You will be able to get the plant to recover from it without much difficulty. Scenario number 3 is what I am sure will happen. Depending on what nutes you plan on using, you may need an EC pen (for the GHE nutes I would recommend a PH pen). As a rough thumb suck guide, once the plants have their 2nd set of true leaves (serrated leaves) out, then you can start giving nutes if you'd like. Go for a lower EC of around 0.6 to 0.7 and the plants should handle it without much issue. As the plants get larger and if they are still in veg you can increase it up to 1.2 EC - I have never felt any need to go above this during veg. By this point the plants are already established and quite hardy and they can handle quite a bit. When you put the plants into flower, they are already big and established, start with an EC of 1.2 and you can increase it upto around an EC of 1.4, maybe 1.6 if you feel the need to but even at an EC of 1.6 it is perhaps on the higher side. When I mix my Haifa nutes I end up with an EC of 1.4 and sometimes I add the Freedom Farms Fire Juice just because I have it which pushes the EC upto 1.8 and plants handle it without any issues. You could certainly get away with less nutes, especially in soil and during veg. If you use the above as a rough guide, unlikely you will hurt your plants. Another thing to keep in mind is that some plants are happier with higher nutes than others so it may vary a bit between plants / strains.

That's quite a small plant, so not a bad thing that it has not started to flower yet. Although it does not sound like an issue which BnB would be responsible for as they are basically just re-sellers. Hopefully in time it will start to flower. I had a similar issue, purchased some Charlottes Angel Auto seeds, turns out they were not autoflowers. Hoping it is at least still Charlottes Angel, with the low THC I shouldn't really feel it when smoking it so that will be the test once I have harvested.

Woah, the larvae looks larger than the ladybug itself. Never knew that is what they looked like, pretty cool. So they too eat pests, not just the ladybugs?

I agree, unfortunately so. It will still be seen as taboo or bad by some and frowned upon for a while. Time will tell though.

My above calculations were based on a 50% discharge to help prolong battery life. I wouldn't want to drain a battery further than that. Generally the inverter will manage it though, the smart ones shouldn't drain past 50% I believe. Draining a battery past a certain point speeds up the deterioration of the battery and will therefore shorter the lifespan - as well as leaving it discharged. I know with the lithium batteries, leaving it fully charged also puts extra strain on it and will reduce the batteries lifespan... This is why electronic devices such as phones are never sold with fully charged batteries. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

Looks brilliant! If you haven't flipped then now is the time. I agree with CreX regarding the defol at week 3. Although if do a defol now too before flower and then once again in 3 weeks. Well , more of a schwartzing actually. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

I have a bit on a jar but don't really plan on storing it long term. Need to ensure the pollen does not get wet / there is no moisture. I use a glass jar. I'll probably get rid of the pollen soon as I won't need more with the seeds. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

Yeah, I assume the digital timers have a small battery inside which keeps it on and saves the settings if you unplug it / if its loses power for a bit. Regarding solar and batteries, the batteries are generally the bigger issue I think as they are not cheap and they have a limited lifespan. I always hear people talking about solar and companies too, the ones who sell you the equipment and try ensure you make a saving etc although I never hear them talk about the batteries and their lifespan and the fact that one has to replace them. On average batteries have a lifespan of 3 - 7 years, depending on the use and the type of battery. Let's work on 5 years as an average. A single 100AH 12v battery would allow you to draw upto 600W from it roughly before it wold need to be charged again. So if you are running 200W of lighting (actual draw from the wall) you would get at most 3 hours of use out of a single 600W battery. So to cover 18 hours without any charge / power would require 6x 100AH batteries. 200W for 18 hours is 3.6 KWH per day and 1 314KWH per year which equates to R2 102 per year at a rate of R1.60 per KWH. You'd be hard pressed to find a 100AH 12v battery for under R2500, around this price point they tend to be the flooded batteries which lean more towards the 3 year lifespan. So 6 batteries at R2500 = R15k 200W per day for a year = R2 102, for 5 years its R10k That excludes the solar panels and other equipment, although this does assume you want a system which can power your lights for a full 18 hours without any charge and mains power. I am no solar expert though. You could probably get away with fewer batteries too - although not sure how much charge one would get if you have over a week of rain and clouds like we did in Gauteng recently. Also the above is just a mere 200W being drawn. With the inefficiencies of the LED driver and the inverter you are probably looking at an actual output of 170W.

Which timers do you use? The analogue ones? I have the digital ones and they do not get affected by loadshedding / power cuts. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

So the pollen sacs popped on the one which was being sprayed with STS, pollen has been harvested and the mutant seedling is still busy growing.

Precisely, I calibrate my PH pen about once every 4 - 6 weeks and so far it has never been off by more than 0.1 I also use the storage solution and make sure to rinse off my PH pen and EC pen with tap water before storing it - I believe high EC water can cause damage to the probe over time so its good practice to rinse it. If I do notice my PH pen is far off from the calibration fluid then I will start monitoring it closely and look at buying a new one when the time is right. Futurama have the Guardian listed for R10k, a bit steep for monitoring PH, EC and temp as a home grower. For me at least.

Still feels a bit odd at times though, haha.

Well, one does not expect it to last forever really. I have a HM Digital PH meter and I love it! Not cheap like the Chinese one but not a couple of thousand like some others. As for the fans, you'll be surprised, I hooked up a 120mm PC fan into my 80 x 80 x 160 tent and it creates a negative pressure quickly, even if I leave one of thecable sockets open to allow airflow in. Have a few of those in there and it will work - at least until he can afford something better. I also have a single 120mm fan in my veg area which is far larger and it suffices. Although I do leave the door open for a bit when I get home but it works for sure. On a tight budget, I think it is the better option. Rather spend money on the more important things - such as lighting and a PH pen. The 400W HID setup from CreX sounds like a good idea, you are unlikely to get an decent LED light within the same price range - can always consider upgrading later on when you have some extra funds.

Both preferably. Nutrients, look at getting some Hortimix from Hydroponic as well as PH up and PH down.

You forgot a PH pen, although I feel he can get PH up / down and nutes for way less. For extraction, could even get creative and use 12v PC fans and power it with a 12v wall wart laying around the house. Although R500 for a grow light sounds too cheap.

OK, so you have a grow area - you may need to block out the light coming in from outside depending on how much light there is at night. You will still need the following: PH pen Extraction Grow lights Seeds Medium Nutrients Pots You do need to decide on your medium - as CreX said, Coco, Soil or Hydro? Hydro will require air pumps Coco & perlite is best with regular watering Soil can be a bit expensive for the good soils - such as the Freedom Farms and Organic Matters, normally R160 ro R180 for 30L of soil.

Well, I assume you have no grow equipment. How much do you smoke on average per month (grams)? May be a good idea to start with an outdoor grow, although time is running out so best to get some seeds and plant them! Are you able to grow outside? Do you have a garden with no lights shining at night and where there aren't any nosy people who may interfere? I am thinking start outdoors, the money you save as you no longer have to buy bud (once you have harvested, obviously) you can then put towards some indoor grow equipment.