MrHowardMarks' experienced grower journal.

Finally got up the panda poly, pics of the growroom.

the last two are outside the growroom, flash on/off.

Here's the plants.

The little one close up is one of the Silver Mangos, looks like it might be a good cross, it's not stretching like the Somango, and has the squatty look of the pearl, the leaves look more like the somango than the pearl... I'm excited to see how it flowers, and what it tastes like.

I'll be setting up an area somewhere to flower the Super Skunk male, I'm just going to use a few CFLs, it'll be easiest, considering I'm not too worried about production just trying to harvest some pollen.

Nice post. I like it. I have a question how do you run your six 6 hundreds? Are they tied into two curcuits or what. Are you running 220 or 120? Come on plug me in....

did i do it right?






if i did right, how does the FIM help me, compared to just topping? <---That's if you don't mind me asking and you taking the time to answer.

I run 120. Three 15 amp breakers. It's easier because I've moved from 4 different houses, and everything 120. If you have the option to run 220, I'd definately suggest it. I run two ballasts per 15 amp breaker, I could run on 2 but it would be pushing the max amperage.

I think I will run my lights the way you do, like the 6 on a dice. Have you thought about employing light movers to cover more area? Lets say I can run 220 can I run all six 600 on one breaker?

FatSalad said:

I think I will run my lights the way you do, like the 6 on a dice. Have you thought about employing light movers to cover more area? Lets say I can run 220 can I run all six 600 on one breaker?

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Why would you want to run 6 lights on one Breaker? Oh I know, so that if one goes out they all will, and you haven't had a fire at your house in years? You are asking someone that recommends sticking your hand in your pocket so you can work on lives circuits instead of turning off the power about circuits?. (He is right about that by the way) It would be possible to do, it would be more expensive to do, it would require wire that costs a lot nowdays. It would cost less to install a subpanel and run 110 from there to the lights. 220 recepatacles, etc. would not be the way to go in the US. VV

For 6 lights I'd run two 220 lines, with 20 amp recepticles, that would be plenty, one line isn't enough.


VV-Are you suggesting that I recommend working on live wires?

No, I don't, the whole only use on hand, is incase you happen to have a live feed, turn off the power before working.

And running 220 lines will save you money in the long run.

Short Term Memory Loss said:

if i did right, how does the FIM help me, compared to just topping? <---That's if you don't mind me asking and you taking the time to answer.

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A little bit higher of a cut next time, leave the very bottom to the fan leaves intact, and just cut the tip in half of the growing top cluster, the pic with the scissors in line shows where the best cut is made.

I haven't done extensive research on the subject, but from what I've been told, their are hormones packed in the new growth on the top of the plant, with topping, you cut them off, and they are lost. With a properly placed FIM cut, they are saved and transfer to other parts of the plant.

MrHowardMarks said:

For 6 lights I'd run two 220 lines, with 20 amp recepticles, that would be plenty, one line isn't enough.


VV-Are you suggesting that I recommend working on live wires?

No, I don't, the whole only use on hand, is incase you happen to have a live feed, turn off the power before working.

And running 220 lines will save you money in the long run.

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I am glad you cleared that up. I believe the difference in costs for the receptacles and wire will be more than any saving on electric you would get in the US. The advantage of Using 220 fixtures is the quality of the fixture imo. For practical purposes I will probably make a 'Control Panel' similar to the one Al B posted. Run long cords to the light, all of the ballast together. I'm still working on it. VV

Actually, the shorter the wire from the ballast to the light the better, the wire that comes with the ballast is the max length it can be. It's 15 feet for my digital ballasts. Anything longer will have too much resistance and cut down on efficiency. Of course the initial cost of running 220 is higher, heavier gauge wire with the current price of copper is expensive, plus the recepticals are more expensive. If you plan on growing there for a couple years or more it's will eventually give you your return in energy savings. Plus running 220 is more efficient, safer, and will be trouble free.

Of course you'll have to decide on running 220 before you purchase your ballasts... If you're doing a lot of lights, like 8 or more, 220 is definately worth looking into.

MrHowardMarks said:

A little bit higher of a cut next time......

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thank you for response! Yeah, i looked it up and read about hormones. I guess the the two side shoots grow straight up as opposed to v formation from topping? I read that sometimes you can get 8 cola's. this will be something that i will want to practice. again, thank you for response.

MrHowardMarks said:

Here are detailed pics of my cloneing.

first I spray the clone dome down with hydrogen peroxide.

I stab the rapid rooters with the scissors coated in rootech, and keep rootech on the scissors while cutting.

I cut below where I wan't the final cut, immediately put it in water to finish the second cut, at a 45 degree angle, dip in root gel, and gently put it in the plug.

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So what do you use to put your clones in? Is that just a clump of peat?

No, they're called Rapid Rooters, they're starter plugs.

In the first pic, it's the big slab of brown. It says, "98 rootstarters, Rapid Rooter" on the label. They are partially cut into cubes, it's 20 bucks for the 98, or you can buy the plugs (they're a bit larger) and cost 15 bucks for 50. (More expensive)

Reading the post from VV made me think of the switchplates I made for a serious grow I had, it might be of good use on this forum.

They're relatively inexpensive and easy to make;

You can run two hoods and two lights from one ballast on a 12/12 cycle, with a simple flip of a switch. BUT it has to be done manually. This isn't possible for a lot of people, flipping a switch on time every 12 hours means you can't leave the growroom for very long.

Think anyone would be interested??

ns grow room you got there .. like the way your using the poly wrap as room dividers,creative , taking advantage of every inch. gd pro setup.
i bought jiffy plugs , they seem to be alright . i hope i do as well as you do on cloning. i bought everything possible to make it happen, now as long as i dont fck it up,lol.

Yeah, I don't really know why, but I had problems at first, after a while I had no trouble at all and got near 100% on hundreds of cuttings.

I think the biggest part would really be, and I forgot to mention earlier

HAVE VERY SHARP SCISSORS
You can get debris off and sharpen your scissors by cutting aluminum foil.

BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR CUT
Don't cut like you're in kindergarden, cut with authority, quick and firm 45 degrees, right under a node, cut the leaves off the nodes.

BE EFFICIENT
Be ready, have everything laid out and in arms reach, I managed to take clones and pictures at the same time, because everything was right in front of me.

i'll find out how well or how bad i did, two g13 HP clones done bit the dust,lol. the rest seem to be standing well, all the B.moonshine look as if thier gonna thrive well, we'll see, thanx for takin time out to explain., .. on google video , you would not believe the teachings of growing, cloning , ..theres one video on how to clone a plant thats 4 weex into flowering,lol.