Ill_Evan

Always cheaper to build than to buy. The prices are slowly coming down and prices from Shenzhen directly are also not terrible. But definitely build it yourself if you can, Mr. Manly Engineer man 

If you can hook up a potentiometer and a small watt display that'd also be tops. 

IR in my opinion is also a bit of a gimmick such as UVA. Again, a lot of people start throwing in all these wavelengths and lose focus on the environment. Those extra chips won't do anything for a fungus outbreak or a bad pH. It's all about the umol at the end of the day. 

For a standard 240W QB panel you're looking at a umol of roughly the below, just as reference. Remember we want about 700 umol max during peak flower. It sounds like your lux targets should be correct. I run my boards at 30cm from the canopy at all times from the point that the plant is bigger than 30cm itself. At max per 1.2m² during peak flower I'm running about 440W. At the moment that accommodates a max of 5 plants, and I am experimenting with running 4 or 5 at the moment with different veg times and training to see what is most efficient. 

Got some bud pics of the organic harvest. 

Radical Juice - Ripper Seeds

The colour speaks for itself. It looks dangerous, and slaps like a they/them. The smell is of grapefruit. Smoke is a bit harsh, a friend said it gets them right down the windpipe, but the aftertaste is great. Definitely has that bag appeal and I could imagine a grow club selling this at a premium because of the colour. It's also dense as fuck. 

Zombie Bride - Ripper Seeds

This is a personal favourite. I have been trying for long now to find a good wedding cake cultivar. The smell is of icing. She's not much of a looker, but my god is she a smooth and sweet smoke. This is the weed I always wanted for myself. Now that I have it, I do not look forward to getting a tolerance for it. Slightly more dense than the Radical Juice. 

I apologies, I got the kelvin colours backwards. I meant the opposite, 5000k for veg, 3000k for flower.

The principle though is the same, start with 5000k and then add the 3000k later in flower. You'll also be quite surprised at how little light is actually required for veg stage. For a 1.2mx1.2m tent I can easily veg with just 240W. 

I saw in the other thread you probably want to go a bit bigger than just a small tent, but it sounds like you know more than just a straight-up beginner so I think you'll have success with this. 

39 minutes ago, iGrowDagga said:

@420SAhow do I make this diary public for people without accounts? 

Damn I didn't even know you had to have an account to see diaries 

I'm not sure what the solution might be but we have had a real issue with bots and I believe this might have been one way to deter them. 

I'm sure @420SA will let us know what he rates. 

Sounds pretty on-point to me my dude. I wish I had known how big you wanted to go before answering in your other thread 

My only real pointers is that more often than not it is more important to focus on environmental factors for optimal growth than it is for how much LUX your are working with. LUX is cool but most people here will use umol when deciding on light power. The standard at the moment is to achieve 700 umol at max during flowering stage. Any more than that is useless as the plant can only physically make use of 700 umol without carbon dioxide injection into the room. 

Some growers will find that their plants stress when running lights at maximum or that the environment gets too hot and stunts the plant. This is why I say environment is more important than lighting. Yes you need good lighting, but it isn't the only important thing when growing cannabis. 

2 hours ago, koosjr said:

That said, the UVA LEDS are seriously expensive and I cannot find conclusive proof that it has any positive effect. However, it is easier to make provision for this in the circuit and leave out the components if one choose to.

Definitely right on there. UVA LEDS in my opinion are gimmicks. 3000k or 3500k full spectrum white light LEDs are all more than perfect to grow top tier bush. 

Interesting that you want to push 5000k during flowering. If you wanted to do that, I'd maybe suggest combining both the 3000k with the 5000k at the same time. Blue light helps keep the plant nice and short. The more red/yellow the light, the more susceptible you may be to over stretching. This will be strain specific though. The 5000k should in theory help push flowers more efficiently than the 3000k, but I still think you need some of the 3000k spectrum at the very least during pre-flower and then halfway through flower push just the 5000k. I'd personally be interested in the results.

Just for reference, I have done full grows with both just the 3000k and 3500k with the same strains and in all honesty, I haven't noticed much difference in quality but the plants growing with the 3500k did stretch more during growing. 

1 hour ago, Prom said:

Ever tried to put a tree into resin to conserve it?

With maybe some LED lighting along the branches inside the resin 

You can do it! 

Keep it small and simple at first. You can get about 100g per plant if done perfectly. Start with either a 0.8x0.8m tent and grow just one plant, use a 120W LED from Light It Up, organic soil such as Organics Matter, and some 250ml bottles of BioBizz Grow, FishMix and Bloom. These bottles will last you more than one grow. 

This is actually the exact setup I'm building for a friend who wants to get into growing. It is the least fuss method and I've personally grown some absolute fire with it. Half the time you're just watering with tap water, the other half you feed with the BioBizz. 

There is also method to the madness. If you start getting serious and want to expand, you can then use this setup as a veg tent to supply a bigger flower tent to start a perpetual grow. 

But for now the one plant method should do while you get used to growing. The hardest part is seeding/cloning but once you get past that part you're golden. 

Other issue might be also guaranteeing you are growing what you actually want to grow. Some members here grew what they thought were high CBD specific strains only to finally harvest and it turns out to be a standard THC strain. Make sure you get either a genuine clone of a high CBD strain or that the seeds you are getting are also genuine. I'm pretty sure a member can point you in the right direction in that regard. 

When you do start growing, start a grow diary here and we can all help you out. 

That's really sick dude!

ZxP harvest. 

9 hours ago, reapergrowerX10 said:

I recently came across an article about THCA carts and their legal status, and I wanted to get your thoughts on it. According to this post, THCA carts are considered federally illegal, but I've noticed them being sold at some stores near me, which left me quite puzzled.

 

I was wondering if any of you could shed some light on this topic. Is this information accurate? How are these stores able to sell THCA carts if they're federally illegal? Are there any loopholes or state-specific regulations that allow them to do so?

 

I'd appreciate any input you might have on this subject, as I'm trying to stay informed and make responsible choices when it comes to cannabis consumption.

Maybe ask on an American forum. We don't live in a federal government system, this is South Africa. We also don't have states, we have provinces. 

THCA is regulated the same way any other cannabis product is in South Africa. It is illegal to sell and trade*. (Real world results may vary.) 

It is legal in certain USA states because THCA is not a recognized compound according to the federal law on cannabis and this is why certain states in America may freely sell it. 

I have flipped the tent and trimmed the branches in preparation for the stretch and preflower phase. I have also put the pots into the autopot trays and have activated the reservoir. I feel there is little doubt now that the roots are well established, much more so than done previously. 

Canopy is also looking level. I've tried my best to LST the major branches to all be on the same level. Some plants have stretched more than others already, but I think I've managed to control the most of it. 

From the atrocious past run this is already looking much better. I was worried big tents were just cursed. 

Otherwise in another tent I already have some more ZxP on the way, looking scrumptious. I have the harvest date set for 11 May. Will take some trichome pics on the day. 

2 hours ago, LukeS said:

But financially, and other reasons, leaving for me is not really an option at the moment. So I have to try and make the best of a bad situation.

I wasted my 20's studying useless shit that will never get me out. I'm now dedicated to growing the almighty bush and that has sustained me for a few years now. I've considered maybe going to Thailand and growing bush there but the requirement is to have at least one national to be a 50% owner and sponsor for you and even then you're only allowed to stay in the country for only so many months at a time. 

3 minutes ago, Prom said:

Get yourself fluent in some programming languages and enter yourself in some freelance boards.

Time to get off Eskom!  

...if only. 

Think I've beaten the worst of the early blight. Here's hoping it doesn't make a comeback anytime soon. 

Just finished up some LST on the plants. I would like a flat canopy as much as possible. Some plants are showing more stretch than others so some additional attention will be required to keep everything gucci. 

I am still watering from the top for the meantime. I want no doubt that the roots are well established before switching to the reservoir and bottom feeding. At that point I will also activate the air pump for the airdomes in the pots. 

2 hours ago, DesignatedDave said:

Are you considering selling your autopots or are you just hypothetically saying?

Hypothetical. I think the system works but if I were to expand I am unsure of whether I would invest in more of them. I am becoming more and more simplistic in my train of thought; less is more kinda vibe. 

If the big tent with the autopots goes well again I'll setup some more autopots I have lying around in one of the smaller tents. I'll keep the tester tent/organic tent hand fed though due to the organic nutrients. 

Just now, DesignatedDave said:

@Ill_Evan - Have you seen the new autopot airbases so that you don't need to use the pebbles anymore - https://hydroponic.co.za/hydroponics/autopot-airbase-square/

Hey man. I did see them. I mix my medium using separate coco/perlite and add leca. I like to get about a 60/40 mix in general when using salt nutes. So seeing as I usually have a bunch of leftover leca I just use it up by stacking the first layer with the airdome. I then wash the first leca layer after harvest and use that in the next mix that I make.

In all honesty I've already spent a bunch on the autopots and would rather do without buying anymore stuff. If I had to sell the autopots in future I'd rather not have to try upsell the airbases as well without having to be convincing. 

And because mama didn't raise a quitter, I reset the big tent with the autopots for another round of ZxP as my redemption arc. 

800g+ babay let's go! 

This time I have all the plants at a similar height and stage of growth. I've also already started LST on any branches trying to take the lead. I am also going to water from the top a bit longer to allow the roots to truly establish before switching to the reservoir.

I have also set the pots on top of the trays instead of sitting directly in the trays for the duration of watering from the top. This gives me a way better indication of when runoff occurs which shows that the pot is watered enough and also doesn't let the bottom of the pot sit in excessive moisture. I find the pots dry a bit more consistently this way. 

I had a bit of a scare with some possible septoria or just early blight. I initially thought it were a deficiency but after some consulting amongst the Wizards of Bud it was singled out as a possible pathogen. I treated the plants with a systemic fungicide and so far all is alright again. 

Quite keen to get this tent bushy and into flower. 

So after that mess, I decided to go back to basics and do a few new strains in one tent (1.2x1.2) using fabric pots and Organics Matter Living Soil along with the bunch of BioBizz nutes I still have lying around and another tent (1.2x1.2) of ZxP with fabric pots, coco perlite and TA salt nutes. Hand watered throughout the grow. 

The new strains are Radical Juice and Zombie Bride, both by Ripper Seeds. 

They are well into flower and maybe have just a few more weeks left to finish up. I've made some cuttings of two of the new phenos for the immediate next run just based on how they grew and the terpenes they are promoting. I will select the next on how these smoke after cure. 

Immortal ZxP - 1.2x1.2 - coco/perlite - fabric pots - TA salt nutes

Classic, the standard. Too many fans to switch this one out. 

Radical Juice #1 - 1.2x1.2 - living soil - fabric pots - BioBizz nutes

The colours are amazing. Smells of earthy diesel. I wonder how the terpenes will be after cure.

Radical Juice #2 - 1.2x1.2 - living soil - fabric pots - BioBizz nutes

Bushy and a yielder. Will probably harvest a good amount from this plant. 

Zombie Bride #1 - 1.2x1.2 - living soil - fabric pots - BioBizz nutes

Nice bulbous buds. Keen to see the last push on this. Going to give this one another run. 

Zombie Bride #2 - 1.2x1.2 - living soil - fabric pots - BioBizz nutes

Slight light burn on the top corner. Moved it a away from the light as soon as I saw it. Otherwise good looking pheno.

Zombie Bride #3 - 1.2x1.2 - living soil - fabric pots - BioBizz nutes

The shortest of the plants, but damn the terpenes are amazing. Very sweet desert gelato terpenes. Decided to try give this one another run. 

To celebrate 420 this year I've decided to get nicely lit up and start another grow diary 

To stick to the pattern of my grow diaries over the years here on the forum, I begin yet again with an absolute shitshow. The first harvest of the year was a disaster and a hard lesson on attentiveness, consequences and the use of autopots. The big tent (2.4x1.2) netted about only 160g compared to the 827g I managed to rock last year. Right?  Bruh I know. 

The problem began early on. I had left the plants to the care of a friend that may have let the early veg plants suffer from underwatering and therefore also underfed. This caused some plants to stagnate behind which initially caused a lack of consistency in height when transferred over to the big tent and autopots. Some plants were able to settle and get nicely rooted in time for the switch over to the reservoir, some on the other hand, unbeknownst to me, did not develop sufficient roots to be able to feed effectively from the bottom of the autopots. Due to this, they were also unable to regulate themselves and suffered badly from the heat. The problem here is that after a while you can't water from the top anymore after switching to the reservoir system as it will first overflow the trays and secondly, once the top layer dries it begins to buildup salt, which if flushed through the pot could shock the plant. 

I eventually just culled half the plants as they were just so deficient the bud would have been awful. Might as well just smoke garden grass. Out of the 8 plants that went in, I had 2 that were jarred and cured at harvest. This result was also why I had decided to pull out of the last Cannabis Cup. I could never enter using bud I do not think is a representation of my capabilities. I've got a fire to bring it to the next one, if they will have me next year. 

Observe the ass-end of this grow: 

Damn dude, came out like peanut butter! 

On 4/3/2023 at 6:12 PM, nakes said:

Is running multiple 600w HPS ballast worth running or would it just hurt my pocket?

Definitely still guys running HPS, but it's not economical at all when you factor in the amount of power you need for a backup solution with loadshedding in mind. I know of some guys running a grow club that nearly went under recently because of all the above factors. Obviously also not easy to just switch to expensive LED equivalents when you are already fully invested in the HPS and are riding on the edge of what you are able to afford. 

Imagine having everything necessary to grow, but no power. This applies to all industry currently. 

If you are a Chad with a compound, a generator and infinite money, then I don't see why not keep the HPS specifically for flower. CMH, MH and HPS are all still great technologies for growing good bud. 

1 hour ago, CoolJ said:

Will be cool to meet some forum peeps.

Who will be attending?

Unfortunately had to pull out. Things did not go well the last few months.