friedguy
Well-Known Member
My first grow was in the late 90s following a loosely followed soil recipe from 3LB on overgrow using coco coir and organic amendments. I grew in a 4x4x6 plywood box with no A/C in an upstairs apartment in the only bedroom in Long Beach, CA. I used a cheap magnetic ballast 400W HPS in a cool tube and quite a bit of supplemental CFLs (over 100 actual watts). Ventilation was using 4x computer fans that pulled from the box, through the cool tube and a DIY carbon filter and out the window. Fresh air was drawn in through the numerous holes in the bottom. I hand watered plain tap water daily. Somehow I was able to harvest a decent amount (or what I thought at the time) even though I did zero training, the temps were regularly over 90*F, I had poor circulation, my buds were literally touching the cool tube and bleaching and I had multiple light leaks. It definitely wasn't ideal, but it did the job and was ghetto cheap.
Since then I've grown with so many changes to the above style...
I've grown DWC, F&D, NFT, soil, coco...
I've grown with MH, LED, HPS, CFL, fluorescents, sunlight...
I've grown outdoors, in greenhouses, in bedrooms, in closets, in computer cases, in sealed grow rooms, in garages...
I've grown single plant grows and hundred plant grows...
I've supplemented co2, uv, ir...
I've played with light timings and phytochrome manipulation...
I've supercropped, megacropped, FIMmed, topped, LST, scrogged, sogged...
There's no way I can say I've done it all, because there are soooooooo many ways to grow herb, but I've definitely been around the block.
At first, all of this experimental growing was purely for my amusement... maybe it was a bit of an ego thing to say I did it this way and that way...
But the multiple discs throughout my spine that are out of whack scream at me every day and standing up straight after being bent over becomes harder and harder.
So over the last couple years I've been looking for a nice balance of the following grow criteria:
1. Quality - Taste, terps, high, no chems, no pesticides... I want to go as natural as possible.
2. Ease on the environment - It seems that each year I grow older, the more trees I want to hug. So no guanos, peat, etc.
3. Minimize the use of animal (by)products - Personal preference. I will be using ocean products (crab meal and fish bone meal for example) and EWC.
4. Ease on my body - To accomplish this I need to make sure that the container either doesn't move, or is light enough to move around, or is on casters. I also can't be lugging around water or sprayers. And I want to avoid bending down to do plant maintenance.
5. Ease on time - I have a family and don't want to spend 4+ hours a day tending to my ladies. I plan on 1/2 hour a day average max. Some exceptions will have to be made (harvest time for example).
6. Ease on wallet - I'm not strapped for cash by any means, but I don't want to have to buy new soil, lights, containers, etc after every grow. I've done that too many times. It adds up quickly.
So I've decided to use TLOS with little to no ingredients that negatively impact the environment and with no animal byproducts except for fish/shellfish/EWC.
Watering style will be a 27 gallon sip on top of another 27 gallon tote as a reservoir... about 2 feet tall at soil level. Water level will be controlled with an external container and a float valve connected to tap water. I may or may not aerate the reservoir... haven't decided yet. Grow style will be scrog under a 2.5'x2.5' screen, only pruning growth tips under the screen... not touching fan leaves. I'm hoping to clean the rez in between grows by using lacto for a week or so (this is new to me).
Grow conditions will be a single plant at a time in the 3'x3' portion of a split tent and mother/clones in the 1'x3' side of the tent. Each side will continually draw in air from the bottom and exhaust out the top. The tent will reside in an insulated climate controlled 7'x7' storage shed. The shed uses hybrid ventilation-- when outside conditions are right it uses the outside air, when the outside conditions are way off it seals itself, conditions the inside air and supplements co2. The shed will be in the shade to prevent radiant heat. I'm shooting for mid/upper 80s temps and 50% RH.
Lighting will be from 8x 2' samsung f-series strips @3000K and 3500K running around 220W and 2x 2' UVB fluorescents.
Here's my TLOS recipe and how I prepared it:
50% Coir - Thoroughly rinsed and buffered.
25% EWC
25% Perlite
8c/cuft biochar soaked in healthy freshwater pond for 2 months
1c/cuft basalt rock dust
1c/cuft glacial rock dust
1c/cuft gypsum
1c/cuft oyster shell flour
1c/cuft diatomaceous earth
.5c/cuft screened high quality yard soil
.5c/cuft kelp meal
.5c/cuft crab meal
.5c/cuft alfalfa meal
.25c/cuft malted barley powder
.25c/cuft insect frass
.125c/cuft fish bone meal
.125c/cuft neem seed meal
.125c/cuft karanja seed meal
.125c/cuft gro-kashi
.125c/cuft granular humic acid
.125c/cuft sul-po-mag
.125c/cuft epsom salt
.125c/cuft mosquito bits
The soil has been mixed well, topped with MBP and gro-kashi and watered with pond water to get a good mycelium mat. Then mixed again and has been sitting, covered in a large trash can for 2 months. Every week or so I wet it with some pond water and re-cover it. A few weeks before I plant anything I'll top again to get a good mat going once more.
I want this to work right and am willing to make changes before I fully implement this plan.
Comments?
Questions?
Since then I've grown with so many changes to the above style...
I've grown DWC, F&D, NFT, soil, coco...
I've grown with MH, LED, HPS, CFL, fluorescents, sunlight...
I've grown outdoors, in greenhouses, in bedrooms, in closets, in computer cases, in sealed grow rooms, in garages...
I've grown single plant grows and hundred plant grows...
I've supplemented co2, uv, ir...
I've played with light timings and phytochrome manipulation...
I've supercropped, megacropped, FIMmed, topped, LST, scrogged, sogged...
There's no way I can say I've done it all, because there are soooooooo many ways to grow herb, but I've definitely been around the block.
At first, all of this experimental growing was purely for my amusement... maybe it was a bit of an ego thing to say I did it this way and that way...
But the multiple discs throughout my spine that are out of whack scream at me every day and standing up straight after being bent over becomes harder and harder.
So over the last couple years I've been looking for a nice balance of the following grow criteria:
1. Quality - Taste, terps, high, no chems, no pesticides... I want to go as natural as possible.
2. Ease on the environment - It seems that each year I grow older, the more trees I want to hug. So no guanos, peat, etc.
3. Minimize the use of animal (by)products - Personal preference. I will be using ocean products (crab meal and fish bone meal for example) and EWC.
4. Ease on my body - To accomplish this I need to make sure that the container either doesn't move, or is light enough to move around, or is on casters. I also can't be lugging around water or sprayers. And I want to avoid bending down to do plant maintenance.
5. Ease on time - I have a family and don't want to spend 4+ hours a day tending to my ladies. I plan on 1/2 hour a day average max. Some exceptions will have to be made (harvest time for example).
6. Ease on wallet - I'm not strapped for cash by any means, but I don't want to have to buy new soil, lights, containers, etc after every grow. I've done that too many times. It adds up quickly.
So I've decided to use TLOS with little to no ingredients that negatively impact the environment and with no animal byproducts except for fish/shellfish/EWC.
Watering style will be a 27 gallon sip on top of another 27 gallon tote as a reservoir... about 2 feet tall at soil level. Water level will be controlled with an external container and a float valve connected to tap water. I may or may not aerate the reservoir... haven't decided yet. Grow style will be scrog under a 2.5'x2.5' screen, only pruning growth tips under the screen... not touching fan leaves. I'm hoping to clean the rez in between grows by using lacto for a week or so (this is new to me).
Grow conditions will be a single plant at a time in the 3'x3' portion of a split tent and mother/clones in the 1'x3' side of the tent. Each side will continually draw in air from the bottom and exhaust out the top. The tent will reside in an insulated climate controlled 7'x7' storage shed. The shed uses hybrid ventilation-- when outside conditions are right it uses the outside air, when the outside conditions are way off it seals itself, conditions the inside air and supplements co2. The shed will be in the shade to prevent radiant heat. I'm shooting for mid/upper 80s temps and 50% RH.
Lighting will be from 8x 2' samsung f-series strips @3000K and 3500K running around 220W and 2x 2' UVB fluorescents.
Here's my TLOS recipe and how I prepared it:
50% Coir - Thoroughly rinsed and buffered.
25% EWC
25% Perlite
8c/cuft biochar soaked in healthy freshwater pond for 2 months
1c/cuft basalt rock dust
1c/cuft glacial rock dust
1c/cuft gypsum
1c/cuft oyster shell flour
1c/cuft diatomaceous earth
.5c/cuft screened high quality yard soil
.5c/cuft kelp meal
.5c/cuft crab meal
.5c/cuft alfalfa meal
.25c/cuft malted barley powder
.25c/cuft insect frass
.125c/cuft fish bone meal
.125c/cuft neem seed meal
.125c/cuft karanja seed meal
.125c/cuft gro-kashi
.125c/cuft granular humic acid
.125c/cuft sul-po-mag
.125c/cuft epsom salt
.125c/cuft mosquito bits
The soil has been mixed well, topped with MBP and gro-kashi and watered with pond water to get a good mycelium mat. Then mixed again and has been sitting, covered in a large trash can for 2 months. Every week or so I wet it with some pond water and re-cover it. A few weeks before I plant anything I'll top again to get a good mat going once more.
I want this to work right and am willing to make changes before I fully implement this plan.
Comments?
Questions?