) So these plants are going to get bigger than I was planning, but again I'm not complaining... it just means that I've underestimated the power of the Solarstorm!Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Tue May 28, 2013 1:09 pm
I put these girls into flower a week ago. I've backed off a bit with the light due to what looked like heat stress curling the edge of the leaves but the leaves are now returning back to normal and looking good. There's some internodal stretching going on because I've moved the light farther away from the canopy just to let my plants recuperate. I probably should have put these girls into flowering a bit earlier (as everybody was telling me but I didn't listen... ) So these plants are going to get bigger than I was planning, but again I'm not complaining... it just means that I've underestimated the power of the Solarstorm!
) So these plants are going to get bigger than I was planning, but again I'm not complaining... it just means that I've underestimated the power of the Solarstorm!- Attachments
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Wed Jun 05, 2013 5:37 pm
Things are starting to look frosty!
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by SisterMaryElephant » Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:12 pm
Those look very healthy, what kind of ppm/ec are you running?
Disclaimer:
I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:20 pm
Thanks SME!
While my ec meter is rather cheap (and quite possibly inaccurate), it's showing a ppm of about 1500- 1400. I always use about half strength (or even less) than what the AN nutrient calculator suggests....
While my ec meter is rather cheap (and quite possibly inaccurate), it's showing a ppm of about 1500- 1400. I always use about half strength (or even less) than what the AN nutrient calculator suggests....
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:12 pm
Well I got lost in the Bermuda Triangle but luckily my camera caught the last two months or so of the grow so here are the photos:
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- a nice looking stem
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:22 pm
... and more
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- these plants are getting big and looking good thus far.
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- yummy!
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:49 pm
towards the end and the final couple of weeks with the UV bulb turned on. Looking hot!
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- looking delicious...
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- some nice looking nugs...
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- leaves started turning yellow in the last two weeks.
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- super frosty!
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:36 pm
My harvest on this one turned out a little weird but still very good. I ended up harvesting the plants in sections by cutting branches with colas nearest to the light. A lot of the branches started flopping over at the very end from the weight of the buds which resulted in a tangled looking mess (Scrog net would be handy for this) and a lot of the fan leaves were turning very yellow as the plants had already been flushed for some time by then... but the sugar leaves started turning a nice purple on some of the colas...
Anyway, I didn't get pics of week 9 and 10 cause it looked ugly but basically what I did was harvest my plants in sections and let the branches lower down get a little bit more light and then harvest those later on. In all harvesting lasted me about 2 weeks as I gradually trimmed the plants down and let the lower branches mature a little more along the way. So things took a little longer than expected but I didn't mind, especially with the size of my crop... and it looks as though I've gotten a decent yield out of these 4 plants so I'm pleased at the moment.
The last batch is curing now still but it looks like I have about 6 ounces give or take. I've already sampled some of the first buds I harvested and I must say it seems rather potent- my legs are tingling as I write this.
I'll finish up with my final thoughts and observations once it wears off.
Anyway, I didn't get pics of week 9 and 10 cause it looked ugly but basically what I did was harvest my plants in sections and let the branches lower down get a little bit more light and then harvest those later on. In all harvesting lasted me about 2 weeks as I gradually trimmed the plants down and let the lower branches mature a little more along the way. So things took a little longer than expected but I didn't mind, especially with the size of my crop... and it looks as though I've gotten a decent yield out of these 4 plants so I'm pleased at the moment.
The last batch is curing now still but it looks like I have about 6 ounces give or take. I've already sampled some of the first buds I harvested and I must say it seems rather potent- my legs are tingling as I write this.
I'll finish up with my final thoughts and observations once it wears off.
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- drying some branches... ignore the junk in the background.
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by SisterMaryElephant » Fri Aug 09, 2013 2:05 pm
It's a shame that you skipped so much, even if it wasn't pretty... 
If you get 6oz that's about .5g/w so you'll probably do better next time. If you start a new thread with a new journal we'll try to help, if you want...
If you get 6oz that's about .5g/w so you'll probably do better next time. If you start a new thread with a new journal we'll try to help, if you want...
Disclaimer:
I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
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Re: first all LED Grow w/ Solarstorm 400
by birdkid » Wed Aug 14, 2013 12:42 pm
Well I'm relatively new to growing and I certainly didn't do anything fancy for this journal, but I am pleased with both the amount and quality that I got from this harvest (~7 ounces of medicine that's more effective than most of the stuff available from the dispensaries in my state). And I'm fairly positive that I can do even better with the next grow. I already have a new crop of Blue Dream that I'm scrogging out... which means I'm definitely keeping the light. I guess I went into this having pretty low expectations for LED's but that has since changed. So far I'm happy with the Solarstorm, and being that heat, space/ venting, and power efficiency are a factor for me, I think I'll stick with LED for a while to really see what it can do.
Anyway, the main purpose for this journal was to see the results of a grow using only LED light from start to finish (with the exception of T5's for the first two weeks as clones). I know I didn't keep up with this journal as well as I should have but I hope this still gives other medical cannabis patients out there a little bit of an idea how this light performs... especially for those who need a good alternative to HID lighting like myself and have a small legal plant limit.
My final thoughts:
1.HPS still out performs in terms of flowering, but the Solarstorm does amazingly well in vegging and really decent in flowering. Honestly, I was impressed with what I saw growing! Such frosty trichomes!
2. Plants definitely need to be kept on the smaller side due to penetration issues with LED light (or at least with the 400 watt, maybe SS 800w is better?)
3. Doing some type of Sog or Scrog grow to get a flat and even canopy would be a good idea!
4. I harvested in phases over 2 weeks, letting the lower branches get just a wee bit more light and then harvesting those later on (again, back to the penetration thing). This worked fine for me and my small personal grow, but I can see how this might not be ideal for some where volume or time is an issue.
Bottom line is this light is efficient, puts out some heat but significantly less than HPS, works well in small spaces, excellent and vegging, and produces some potent medicine.
Cheers!
Anyway, the main purpose for this journal was to see the results of a grow using only LED light from start to finish (with the exception of T5's for the first two weeks as clones). I know I didn't keep up with this journal as well as I should have but I hope this still gives other medical cannabis patients out there a little bit of an idea how this light performs... especially for those who need a good alternative to HID lighting like myself and have a small legal plant limit.
My final thoughts:
1.HPS still out performs in terms of flowering, but the Solarstorm does amazingly well in vegging and really decent in flowering. Honestly, I was impressed with what I saw growing! Such frosty trichomes!
2. Plants definitely need to be kept on the smaller side due to penetration issues with LED light (or at least with the 400 watt, maybe SS 800w is better?)
3. Doing some type of Sog or Scrog grow to get a flat and even canopy would be a good idea!
4. I harvested in phases over 2 weeks, letting the lower branches get just a wee bit more light and then harvesting those later on (again, back to the penetration thing). This worked fine for me and my small personal grow, but I can see how this might not be ideal for some where volume or time is an issue.
Bottom line is this light is efficient, puts out some heat but significantly less than HPS, works well in small spaces, excellent and vegging, and produces some potent medicine.
Cheers!
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- It may not be "Hightimes" material but it's good enough for me!
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