600W Multi-Strain Soil Adventure

Hello all, I've got a little project underway that I've finally gotten around to posting about. I've used this site to learn a lot, so I feel obligated to give back a little. This is my first time growing and I'm not much when it comes to journaling about things, so bear with me. I set up the grow in a closet and threw some Mylar on the walls. Let's talk about the components:

EQUIPMENT

• 600w MH (veg) and HPS (flowering) with hood and digital ballast
• 4 x 26w CFLS
• 10 x 3 gallon "smart pots"
• PRO MIX soil medium (can't remember if I used BX or HP, HP I think...)
• Fox Farms Ocean Forest
• House & Garden Soil A & B
• Botanicare Liquid Karma
• Atami Bloombastic
• Fans
• Tap water

PLANTS
(all fem. seeds except bagseeds purchased from The Single Seed Centre)

• Nirvana Master Kush
• Nirvana AK-48
• Nirvana Blue Mystic
• Nirvana White Widow
• Barney's Farm Violator Kush
• Barney's Farm Master Kush
• Barney's Farm Pineapple Chunk
• Barney's Farm LSD
• T.H. Seeds Sage 'n' Sour
• (Bagseed) Purple Mango
• (Bagseed) Random

(SnS was one of the free seeds given with my order; the other, Burmese Kush, did not sprout)

I germinated and planted the seeds around May 1st. They started in peat pellets which supposedly protected them from nutrient burn, then grew into small peat pots filled with Ocean Forest. Luckily for me, all the seeds, including the bagseeds, sprouted into females.

They were grown for about two weeks on a 24/0 regimen under the four 26w CFLs, then moved under the 600w MH with the same regimen and transplanted to Pro Mix in pots. At the beginning of June I began using the House & Garden nutrients supplemented by the Liquid Karma, feeding/watering them once a week each Friday.

By around June 15th, they had filled out a nice canopy and I switched to 12/12 under the 600w HPS bulb. I continued to feed and water only on Friday but switched the supplement to Bloombastic.

If my estimate is correct they have been flowering for about 2 weeks. I'm not sure which day they actually started to flower. Today I bent and pinched a number of the taller plants so my canopy could be more even and added 2 of the 26w CFLs as supplements on the sides.

I will now try to post some pictures. So, questions, comments, advice? Any kind of constructive criticism is more than welcome. I'm also willing to post more pictures; just let me know what you want to see.

Hows the ventilation?Looks good im sub'd keep up with the pics.

For ventilation I have a small oscillating fan on the bottom 12", and I had a nice wall mount oscillating fan, but it broke its mounting and I haven't fixed it yet. The room outside the closet is well ventilated with central air conditioning.

I'd like to get a carbon filter soon, which would be useful for odor control and ventilating the light. Is the DIY filter I saw earlier on these forums effective? I'd rather not spend over $200 on something I will only use for about a month.

Thanks. I'll post some more pics later.

Damn dude- Nice setup! Is that a super-crop I see? Well done for a first grow

Thanks dsmoke1. Yes it is, today I pinched some stems to make the canopy more even. I threw a little tape on the ones that seemed to be bending over too much.

Hey, folks. Sorry for not updating the journal. I'm just lazy and spend too much time enthralled by my plants. Anyway, we're at the end of week 5 of the flowering cycle now, and things are starting to look pretty good. New additions to the setup are an EcoPlus carbon filter that runs around 465cfm (excessive, I know, but it gives me peace of mind and the opportunity to add a second 600W), and a Phresh carbon filter that can handle up to 550cfm. I also remounted the EcoPlus fan that had fallen, this time securing it properly. As you can see some of the more sativa dominant plants have grown close to the light, so I did my best to put the indicas directly underneath the bulb. I also added some supplemental CFLs (23W I believe) to extend the light to cover all the plants well. This is what I get for trying to grow 10 large plants. So here are some pictures for your bud-viewing pleasure.

In order, we have the whole setup as seen from outside the door, the fan I mounted, the large AK-48 cola, White Widow, SAGE 'n' Sour, the random bagseed, Blue Mystic, the carbon filter, Violator Kush, and Pineapple Chunk. I'm happy to take more pictures of a certain plant if anyone speaks up.

Pineapple Chunk so far has the most amazing smell; that of sweet, sweet fruit. As you can see the sativa-dominant LSD on the right has been the most problematic, outgrowing the HPS, so it's being covered by a supplemental CFL.

The indicas are all looking like they will be done in the next few weeks, with LSD looking like it might take the longest to finally mature.