LED Grow Light Forum

Hi SS880...I just finished reading your journal, nice details....I also grew a Pineapple Chunk from Barney's...it also started out weakly, but survived and did ok. I kept a gentle fan blowing on her, and that bulked up the stem. I also added a little top dressing to support the plant more. At the time, I thought I hadn't planted it deeply enough, but given it has also happened to you....hmmm, very interesting.

I have to agree with RKY about the light leakage. I am one of the people he referred to as getting whacked by it in my first grow. His advice is excellent to stay in the grow room for quite a while to examine for light leakage...you will be surprised as how bright the smallest light source can be.

And green light is NOT safe...I know SME has also mentioned that too. I recommend covering all small LED lights commonly found in heaters, humidifiers, extension cords, etc. I use thin cardboard and duct tape... and again, sit in the dark room and observe.

Continued best of luck!

ICB

Another 24 hours and still nothing is dead. Crushing it here baby.

Pineapple Chunks however still look like they may be damping off. #1 was quite dry this morning, but #2 was still quite damp. All of the others were dry and light as well, so I fed all of the plants except Pineapple Chunk #2.

Feeding was:
1 gallon water
Bio-Vega: 16ml
bio rhizotonic: 6ml
cal-mg: 1 tsp
pH: 6.0
TDS: 578

Here are some photos from this morning:
Pineapple Chunk #2 seems to be able to support herself at 45 degrees, so I raised her support a little more to get her more upright.

ItsCurtisBaby wrote:Hi SS880...I just finished reading your journal, nice details....I also grew a Pineapple Chunk from Barney's...it also started out weakly, but survived and did ok. I kept a gentle fan blowing on her, and that bulked up the stem. I also added a little top dressing to support the plant more. At the time, I thought I hadn't planted it deeply enough, but given it has also happened to you....hmmm, very interesting.

I have to agree with RKY about the light leakage. I am one of the people he referred to as getting whacked by it in my first grow. His advice is excellent to stay in the grow room for quite a while to examine for light leakage...you will be surprised as how bright the smallest light source can be.

And green light is NOT safe...I know SME has also mentioned that too. I recommend covering all small LED lights commonly found in heaters, humidifiers, extension cords, etc. I use thin cardboard and duct tape... and again, sit in the dark room and observe.

Continued best of luck!

ICB

Hi ICB, thanks for your stopping in and reading my journal! I appreciate your thoughts, especially on the Pineapple Chunk. It's great to hear from someone who's grown it before. I'm just now, after purchase and germination, reading some not-so-great things about growing this strain. I have also heard however, that the smoke is fantastic which is what sold me in the first place. So I will continue to try and figure these girls out! Did you find that the flower time was extremely long with your PC?

I will definitely be covering all my lights then. I do believe however that my CO2 monitor shuts entirely off at night, including the LEDs indicating PPM of CO2 in the grow space. Again, something I'll have to watch for!

Thanks for the tip on green light. That certainly helps me figure out if I should use my green LED headlights that I bought to use in the room if absolutely necessary.

Thanks again for the continued luck, stop by again anytime and let me know whats up!
MC

Hey MC,

I wouldn't run a green light during the entire dark period, but the green LED (not just a white bulb colored green) headlamp is good to have if you have an "oh shit" moment and you absolutely have to go into the tent during lights out.

ICB is correct: the cardboard with tape is better than just tape. Even the glow thru the layer of tape could be enough to mess you up. The cardboard makes sure it's totally blocked.

What day are those seedlings on?

rkymtnman wrote:Hey MC,

I wouldn't run a green light during the entire dark period, but the green LED (not just a white bulb colored green) headlamp is good to have if you have an "oh shit" moment and you absolutely have to go into the tent during lights out.

ICB is correct: the cardboard with tape is better than just tape. Even the glow thru the layer of tape could be enough to mess you up. The cardboard makes sure it's totally blocked.

What day are those seedlings on?

I so agree with you two on the lights. After seeing what happened to my Incredible Bulk I'm more than a little nervous about light stress!

All the seedlings are on day 15 after I planted them in rockwool, and 12-13 days after germination and emergence from the rockwool. As a side note, next grow - I'm planting seeds directly in the soil. This soil holds moisture well enough to germinate for sure, and I'm sure they'd have liked one less transplant.

Speaking of transplants, at what point would one consider transplanting from the 1gal containers to 10gal smart pots? I think it was GR8 that said not to leave them in there too long.

Thanks RKY!

MC, what you don't want is for them to become root bound. I would transplant from a 1 G when the plant reaches the 4 to 6 node stage. That is about when the roots of my plants were reaching the bottom of the container when I was growing in soil. I could have waited longer because some of the soil fell off the root ball and I know it damaged the roots of the plant, was slow to recover from the transplant.

GR

Thanks GR for the transplant tip. I'm sure as I get closer I'll be asking again if it's time yet... don't take offense I just have only done hydro before so transplant has been a non-issue.

Today after water and nutrients, I'm going to say that all of the seedlings look healthy and vibrant. For the most part. The two Pineapple Chunks are a little goofy looking now, but some of the most beautiful women in the world were goofy looking kids. I'm hoping they turn out similarly. Here they are:





The Incredible Bulk is really living up to her name. She has grown incredibly overnight and is now the 2nd biggest plant next to Money Maker #1. All of her new growth looks wonderful, and I think she forgives me for stressing her as an infant.



Money Maker #1 looks exceptional, as always, but her smaller sister is still showing slight yellowing at her tips.








Anyone's opinion on the leaf tip yellowing would be appreciated. I'm thinking not over-nutrients. Do I need to even be concerned with the amount of yellowing I'm seeing?

Thanks for stopping in!

MC

once you get nute burn, it doesn't go away. you just try to keep it from getting worse.

and some strains just don't do well in certain environments. keep a journal of what does and doesn't do well.

i'm close to 9000 ft and i've had some that don't do as well as others. and things just generally grow slower at higher elevations

Yes, you want zero light if possible and green or even IR (from nightvision cameras) can mess up your cycle and cause stress that can lead to hermaphroditism. If you HAVE to so in during dark a few seconds won't hurt anything.

I'm a little concerned about the seedling stem stretch; how far away from the light are you keeping those?

Again, I'm going to suggest you keep an eye on pH. For soil you want it about 6.5 and you want to check what goes in and what comes out.


Also make sure you're not watering too often, let them dry out a bit.

These might help for future reference too:
Plant Abuse Chart and Photos by Nietzsche
Nutrient Disorder Problem Solver by Jackerspackle

Before you go trying to correct for perceived nutrient problems you should make sure the basics (pH, temps, humidity, etc.) are good.

SisterMaryElephant wrote:Yes, you want zero light if possible and green or even IR (from nightvision cameras) can mess up your cycle and cause stress that can lead to hermaphroditism. If you HAVE to so in during dark a few seconds won't hurt anything.

I'm a little concerned about the seedling stem stretch; how far away from the light are you keeping those?

Again, I'm going to suggest you keep an eye on pH. For soil you want it about 6.5 and you want to check what goes in and what comes out.

Nutrient_Chart2.gif

Also make sure you're not watering too often, let them dry out a bit.

These might help for future reference too:
Plant Abuse Chart and Photos by Nietzsche
Nutrient Disorder Problem Solver by Jackerspackle

Before you go trying to correct for perceived nutrient problems you should make sure the basics (pH, temps, humidity, etc.) are good.

SME -

THANK YOU for the information! That's so relevant, and I wish I had seen the Hydro vs Soil pH chart before. Here I am, assuming optimal pH of 6.0 with soil...

So, from now on, I will be watering with solution/water pH adjusted to 6.5. I should also be checking the runoff every now and then to make sure it's close to 6.5 as well?

As far as letting the soil dry out, I am absolutely trying to do that. Every time I water any given plant, I've put my finger into the soil up to the 2nd knuckle to check for moisture. I also make sure they're light before I water. I believe those are the correct methods.

Temps have been 77-80 degrees
RH has been 40-45% (I've got 2 humidifiers in the tent now... still can't raise it any more)

So the rest of the environment seems okay, no?

Thank you again.
MC

SisterMaryElephant wrote:I'm a little concerned about the seedling stem stretch; how far away from the light are you keeping those?

That's a great question. I just lowered the light last night to 30" above the canopy. I didn't want to stress them too much with it too early. Does it need to go any closer? Temperature at the canopy has been around 80 F.

I have a follow-up question for you regarding the temperature, humidity and CO2. At what point can I begin to supplement with CO2? As soon as I can do that, I can close the tent, and let the heat raise to 90. That will also seal the humidity in the tent.

Really I'd like to do this as soon as possible so I can close the tent. Is it too early now?

Thanks in advance,
MC