SSHZ does Irie Seeds "Orange Gasm" under 2 Gavita LED's- PART 2

I started growing in hydroponics, about 35 years ago. Later, I switched to promix as its very forgiving and you can rebound from any mistakes. Coco is a bitch to use until you figure it all out- I know more people having problems with coco right now, it’s just crazy. I was a director of operations for a large garden store company, and access to promix was easy. And cheap. It’s just my preference and nothing really more. Why fix it if it ain’t broken?

And Smokey, I’ll direct you back to my first gavita grow, with this orange gasm, over at thcharmer. It’s about 50x more detailed than this current grow, with loads of info by me and many others, it’s very long and detailed, but many people have told me it helped them become better growers and answered all their questions, start to finish. I’m happy to answer any questions, but I think you’d benefit by reading thru it all.

I did read through a couple of your other journals and also took some notes from them appreciate people like you sharing all of your years of experience helps ALOT !

SSHZ said:

I run the room at 80-82 degrees........ and no need for Low Stress Training

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Hey SSHZ. I think Nutty meant your Leaf Surface Temperature. I was commenting on a thread he posted the other day about ambient temps when using LED and Leaf Surface Temperatures. I was also under the impression that temps had to be around the 30 mark under LED as the IR is a lot less compared to HIDs but your testament to that not being so true as those plants are loving life and your results clearly show it too.

Not quite sure I can see it in your 4x8 picture but there's a chunking big fan blowing up. Is your extraction underneath this? I'm running 10 in a 5 x 10 grow tent atm but after seeing what you're doing with plant numbers in a 4x8, Im looking at at throwing another 8 in there and have 9 under each light. I may need a bigger dehumidifier to keep up with the transpiration though as my current 12L isn't keeping up. I assume you've got passive intakes - are these at the top of your room? I'm struggling with fan placement atm, I sometimes think I have too many blowing on them and should keep it simpler but don't want any micro climate spots where rot can creep in.

I would suggest you have a larger dehuidifier much more efficient to be running your dehu at lets say 60/70% and getting optimal results rather than running at 100% all of the time and struggling to clear the moisture in the room, could also maybe add a larger powered extraction fan.

Do you lollipop your plants ? If so having fans below the canopy can help distribute the air evenly in addition you could add some ducting below the canopy and break small holes in it with an extra intake fan.

I always place my fans at all levels, above the lights /canopy level and below the canopy just to assure air movement all around the grow space im sure SSHZ can answer anything i havent covered

My temp meter has a wire probe that hangs just at leaf level and when I say 80-82 degrees, that’s right at the leaves. So it’s not room temps, more like leaf temps- I’ll show pic later of it.

I have a big outdoor fan. Placing it in the center of the room to circulate air. I also have a 10 inch exhaust fan hooked to a Phresh filter. All new air come in thru the bottom of the door and spaces where the drywall meet at the corners. Negative air flow in the room, for sure. Passive air should enter low and exhaust high, as heat rises.

Here’s the probe at lights on…..hanging and doing it’s temp thing.

Changed my Phresh Filter........ after 8+ months, I think it was shot. Needed the wife's help, she wasn't pleased.

Tomorrow I'll go thru the room in the morning and pinch off any leaves blocking buds below. I'm seeing quite a few actually. I want maximum exposure of any buds forming below right now.

I've watered, 720ppm and still using the veg forumula til Monday- that will be 2 weeks into flowering. Then I'll switch to Pure Blend Pro 2-3-4 thru week 6.

I also plan on raising the lights a few inches......they seem pretty close. I'll need to measure.

This is inspiring to say the least!
May I ask when you normally top your plants? Do you normally top after a certain node?
I'm from the UK, so plant numbers is an issue! (9 max otherwise its a prison sentence) Do you think you could achieve similar results with fewer plants but a longer veg?

Led79 said:

This is inspiring to say the least!
May I ask when you normally top your plants? Do you normally top after a certain node?
I'm from the UK, so plant numbers is an issue! (9 max otherwise its a prison sentence) Do you think you could achieve similar results with fewer plants but a longer veg?

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UK too. Is it Really 9? Thought it was a post code lottery, some counties bust you for carrying an eighth. I always thought it was 4 plants. anyway, yes you could veg them much longer and scrog them and get more but longer time between harvests.

Led79 said:

This is inspiring to say the least!
May I ask when you normally top your plants? Do you normally top after a certain node?
I'm from the UK, so plant numbers is an issue! (9 max otherwise its a prison sentence) Do you think you could achieve similar results with fewer plants but a longer veg?

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At 9 plants your already breaking the laws might aswell throw up some more ... but yeah topping and low stress training will help with yeilds and also a longer veg period if you know how to train your plants propperly to get an even canopy then remove anything on the bottom third of the plant and ensure light penetration reaches all bud sites , also defoliating at the right times will help with yeild if done correct

Wait untill 3rd node at least before topping and then let your plants recover and make sure they are healthy and thriving before topping again

I top one week before turning the lights back in flowering. I just top to the first node going downward, as the plants are rather short anyway and don't want to make them any shorter. lol

If everything is done correctly and healthy, about 4 oz per plant (or slightly over that) is my norm. If you veg for 2 months, and top numerous times, you should be able to blow that number away. My goal is 4 crops a year, so 4-5 week veg is all I ever do.

I'm about to water at lights on, I'll snap a pic......

Healthy, but leafy…….lol 2 weeks flowering tomorrow. I’m going to spread the room out a bit right now.

SSHZ said:

RIU tends to be more for novices, kids and bullshit.

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I think all forums have some form of toxic elements but lately RIU seems to have a lot of novice growers who finally learned how to bring in a successful harvest and instead of sharing info, they lie in wait, hoping for an opportunity to flex.

Its kinda funny...in a cringey sorta way because it mimics the behavior seen in adolescences as their frontal cortex develops.


BTW, I had no trouble finding your grows on the Farm but I think you have to be signed in for the links to work here.

Thanks for the replies guys..

The plants look so healthy!!

Sorry to derail.. just to clarify..in the UK it is illegal to grow ANY plants. Its just that if your caught with less than 9 you can get away (maybe) with personal use and no jail(maybe).You still get busted for cracking a single seed.

Joke country.

I just wanna grow enough for myself.

So, lets get up to speed........ Today (Monday) is 2 weeks in flowering. I will switch to Pure Blend Pro "Transition-Bloom" for fertilizer now until the end of week 6. I earlier reported it was 2-3-4 but it's actually 2-3-5. Their regular bloom has a "1" for Nitrogen, this is a "2"- double the amount, which I like. Pot like it's N, this will stop them from yellowing until the flush.

I continue to go in the room daily and pick off some leaves here and there........ anything blocking a bud site below is culled. Not a lot mind you, but still a handful from both side of the room. I also spread the plants a bit more, as I felt they were skrunched in there- this will allow the leaves to find their own light space.

I have a bunch of those yellow sticky gnat thingy's placed around the pots and walls- I haven't seen any activity. About now I usually apply a dressing of "Tanglefoot" insect barrier at the base of each plant stem, to catch anything crawling up from the soil. I'll get to it......


The lights are at 22 inches above the canopy...... the plants seem fine with that. PPM is being maintained between 720-725 and I'm watering every day and a half, but as the plants develop their buds, I'll end up watering daily. The dehumidifier is set at 60%, air is circulated and exhausted 24/7. Temps are at 80-82 degrees, nights it drops to around 76 degrees at it's lowest point in the night.

Can you show us a close up of the tanglefoot applied to the plant please

When I get to it, I'll put up a before and after pic....... it's nasty stuff, kind of like honey but never dries out. Sticky as shit, it's a friggin mess to deal with but still, it's very effective.

SSHZ said:

I started growing in hydroponics, about 35 years ago. Later, I switched to promix as its very forgiving and you can rebound from any mistakes. Coco is a bitch to use until you figure it all out- I know more people having problems with coco right now, it’s just crazy. I was a director of operations for a large garden store company, and access to promix was easy. And cheap. It’s just my preference and nothing really more. Why fix it if it ain’t broken?

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I have so much issues with Coco. I'm about to switch to Promix as well. Do u recommend just the HP or BX?

HP is better, as the perlite bits are larger and allow for better drainage. It's not available where I live so I buy the Bx, and just add more perlite. Buy the "white" bales too, which have myco's in it. The black bags do not. I think I pay around $40 a bale these days, but I remember a time when it was only $28. In the dead of winter, like in january, it's nearly impossible to find them and I end up ordering on Amazon for almost a $100 a bale delivered from somewhere out west. That's the only time I end up with the HP.

An after thought........ I get good results with both HP and Bx, I probably don't even notice the difference between the two while growing. Buy what's available and don't sweat it, either way. The white bags will give you slightly better root system and nutrient breakdown/uptake, because of the myco's. They are all just fine though. As with all mediums, zeroing in on the pH is the key.