LED Grow Light Forum

According to their website, it's 14". I think the airflow is still good though, since in this setup, I've got quite a rush of cool air being drawn from the pipe at the bottom, up through the tent to the top (at least there is clearance in the corners between the tent and light). I will put a thermometer in to check the temp, but it seems to be ok so far.

The pictures are of day 1 of flowering. They are almost a foot high. Hoping I didn't jump the gun, but better too early than late in this case. Also I added a 5th plant to fill a small gap. It's the small little straggler clone in the upper right. Maybe it will yield 3 grams or so

DD

Flowering day 6--

SOG is going pretty well, although the sativa influence is apparent by how much stretch these babies are showing. They are now about 18" (from 10-11") tall. At least since they were flowered early, there isn't tooo much stem although there's more than I would like. Plenty of bud sites-- if you ask me I think the yield will improve this time, even with less wattage.

The other pics are of the Northern lights (headband in back) that I have in the 2x2 under 250w Hps. The highest tops are getting close to the lamp, about 6 in, so I bent them down by hand after this was taken, just so it was near breaking point but not snapping off. Temps here get up to 90 at the most, cooler in the sog tent.

DD

Are you keeping an eye on pH? The big fan leaves on the NL look a little spotty or it could just be a focus issue.

Hehe, I thought you might notice them SME. I believe the spots are from past encounters with spider mites. The spots are present in both tents. The mites don't seem to be active lately though maybe because the temps are so warm. Nary a mite or web have I been able to find, so I haven't had to resort to spray so far.
I don't think I usually have issues with ph in my recycled organic soil, but I guess there's a chance it could be on the acid side since I didn't add lime this round. Now If I can find my tester i'll take a reading .

Day 18 of Flowering

Spider mites seem to be liking the small tent more, in my 2x2 they haven't taken hold, perhaps due to the 90 degree temps. Its 84 in the SOG. Both tents seem to be doing alright , I didn't get pics of the 2x2 this time cuz my knees gave out after watering. I gave them molasses water last time but this time just back to regular old water. Spot-Sprayed neem on the mites. Buds are starting to form but the plant has still been climbing in height albeit more slowly. The highest bud is only a couple of inches from the light, but I've found this is ok with the 1 w diodes. I want to keep the light close for better canopy penetration.

DD

Day 25 flower

update for the Hps tent, my 2x2x4:

There is prevalent leaf curl on the Northern lights plant, but not as much on the smaller blue dream plant. The curl occurs along the length of the budstalks, not just near the lamp. maybe it's something this strain does in high heat? Am i Under watering perhaps? The temps usually top out around 90 F. Can't really do too much to help that except maybe turn up the a/c in the house. maybe this strain just looks funny? I dunno, but its interesting, and different from any other plant I've grown. Still can't locate my pH stick.

DD

Yeah, 90 is pretty warm and that does look like heat stress. What's the humidity look like? If the soil is very dry you can give them more to drink too. Also, your mite problem could be coming from your soil.

Day 29/34

The Blue Dream SOG really put on a lot of bud growth in the last few days, accompanied by some spider mite webs . I will spot spray avoiding buds when I water tonight. SME, you are right I think the mites def come from my soil. One of the drawbacks to organic, I suppose. But they don't seem to be holding the plants back too much so I have withheld the pyrethrin bomb that the hydro guy sold me, for use in an emergency. I have seen a reduction in mites over time with regular neem application, so that continues to be weapon of choice, it even has a pleasant nutty aroma. If you have a sharp eye you may catch the slight bleaching atop one of the larger buds, I lowered the plant several inches to compensate. I think I flowered these at just the right time this run. I'm looking forward to some better g/watt numbers here hopefully.

The 2x2 Hps tent is trucking along without any visible signs of a current spider mite population, perhaps due to the higher heat, which now peaks out around 86-88 in the cooler weather. I have been giving more water as the plants seem to drink it real fast now. Overall showing signs of improvement.

DD

Unfortunately, mites are very hard to get rid of permanently once they're established. You can bake your soil but that also kills off beneficials (which can then be re-established) and you can use various treatments like neem, pyrithium and azamax. Personally, I don't like the idea of smoking mite-feces and most dispensaries won't buy mite products.

I haven't had mites since I switched to hydro.

YMMV...

The mites haven't gotten so bad that my product is visibly affected, the mites are relegated to a few fan leaves, not much on the buds themselves, and once the bud is trimmed I doubt that there are many "feces" present on the product. Correct me if I'm wrong. That being said, I have from time to time detected a faint hint of neem oil when I vaporize, but its only when I turn up the heat for the last few hits. I don't think many people would notice, but I did. The flavor of the recent product is more clean and smooth compared with my earlier efforts that didn't have any mites. The over fertilization adversely affected the flavor more than the mites did. The one thing I didn't try yet is spinosad, the hydro store didn't have it, but its supposed to get rid of mites.

I don't really grow for dispensaries, as its mainly a personal use/ sell to friends type garden, so I guess it's not a huge concern anyway. Also, how could the dispensary know whether a product has been affected by mites without being told?