My First Grow = LED Micro Grow

[stunzeed]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!! An LED grow!!!!!!!!!! Please keep this thread as updated as possible and post as many redundant pics you want.



Stunzeed..

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Did you ever add any cfls?

 

[audix2359]

I added 4, 26 watt daylight CFL's tonight at 6500K. This added 6400 lumens and some additional light spectrum. Temps are up about 4 degrees to 79F.

I also discovered that a few of the plants that I gave the BCAAs, etc to were looking really bad so I flushed them with about 20 oz of water with lemon juice. Not sure if they'll make it back and even if they do, this will set them back far enough that they'll probably be disposed of anyway.

 

[audix2359]

Alright, so things are not looking so good. I didn't snap any pics but most of my plants are burnt to a crisp, I suppose from the nutes I fed them. A lot of brown, curling leaves. So now I have stunted, burned seedlings.

I have a lot of seeds left so I'm seriously considering scrapping this round and starting over this weekend. If I do, I'll keep my bank of 8 LED's at the top and also use 9600 lumens of 6500K CFL lighting and run it 24/0 until I get past the seedling stage.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Just remember you usually don't give nutes until the plant is 30 days old or more.

 

[DankCloset]

Just remember you usually don't give nutes until the plant is 30 days old or more.

what my friend here is really trying to say, is that young plants dont need nutes because when its young its easiest to burn because the roots are still very fragile, there not established very much, and at this point, the plant is feeding more off glucose(photosynthesis) than nutrients in the soil.



Dc

p.s. i dont feed my plants until i see them showing sign's of depleted nutrients that were in the soil already.

 

[audix2359]

what my friend here is really trying to say, is that young plants dont need nutes because when its young its easiest to burn because the roots are still very fragile, there not established very much, and at this point, the plant is feeding more off glucose(photosynthesis) than nutrients in the soil.



Dc

p.s. i dont feed my plants until i see them showing sign's of depleted nutrients that were in the soil already.

Yep, I knew that going in but I fed them anyway. It sure looked like some sort of deficiency so I fed them, then posted. BBP suggested that it could be a Ph problem, which it more than likely was.

Next time around, I'll ask BEFORE i do.

I'll probably clean out the box this weekend and re-germ, etc. Like I said, I've got enough seeds to work with.

 

[DankCloset]

lol nothin teaches ya better than trial and error, thats true knowlage. keep it up, success is sure to come!!!

 

[audix2359]

I was a little surprised when I checked on my plants tonight. A few are actually pulling through and showing noticeable new, unburned growth. Even some of the plants that were burned badly are getting some new growth that looks good. I can really tell a difference since I added my CFL's - I now have 8000 lumen's worth of 6500K lighting to go along with my LED lighting (which has been reduced to make room for the CFL).

I'm also working on a 2nd Rubbermaid tub (also 45 gallon) that will run a 70W MH or HPS. I'll post up some pics in a few days but I'm starting to like it. I'm using HID security lights and the ballast will sit outside of the tub so this should reduce heat. I've also got an 8" fan at the very top for exhaust. If the temps are low, I may add some supplementary CFL lighting just to get my lumen's up, although I'm planning on running just 1 plant in there. I'll probably sprout a few in the next week and throw them in and see what happens.

Here are some pictures of the burn victims (and survivors).

On the picture with the plant and roots, that's a 15 day old Ice plant. The root(s) look really underdeveloped to me, anyone else?

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Good luck with the girls.

 

[audix2359]

So things are looking up for my plants after my attempted homicide. The difference is the CFL's in my opinion. I've added a few more and now have 9600 lumens of 6500K CFL's going (156 watts). Temps are running in the low 80's so I'm going to get another inline fan and put it on the top of the container to get some more hot air out.

I have not watered the plants in a week outside of spraying the leaves down a bit at night. The soil is pretty dry on the top but there is plenty of moisture left about 3" down so I'm holding off on the water. The plants don't seem like they need it either.

I've had to toss a few plants because they were stunted too badly to justify keeping. They also were not getting optimal light and I had the choice to add more light (and raise the temperature), let them continue to struggle in the relative shadows or toss them.

Here are some pics. I realize the plants are small but that's okay for now. I think they were really stunted by the LED light and by me burning them but I think they're making a nice recovery. I'm going to stick to a 12/12 lighting scheme until the end with these. I'm in the process of putting together another 45 gallon tub complete with a 70 watt MH security lamp that will use some additional CFL's to veg and a 150 watt HPS lamp for flower. I'll do that grow right but I'll still look to harvest a little smoke from this one, even if it's just a few grams that'll be more than I have at the present.

Pic #1: One of my Big Bud plants. The Big Bud's have reacted the worst to the nutes; definitely not the hardiest of strains it seems.

Pic #2: Ice plant. This one has bounced back well and has finally started to grow.

Pic #3: Magic Bud. These plants were simply not growing with the LED light. With the CFL's, they've actually started to grow very well, probably at a faster pace then the others.

Pic #4: White Widow (1). Definitely got burned but it's bouncing back well.

Pic #5: White Widow (2). A little more stunted then my other Widow but it's also kicking out new growth pretty fast now.

 

[audix2359]

:woohoo::woohoo:

As I was checking my plants last night, I noticed that one of them was a GIRL!!!

It's a Speed Queen plant, supposed to be a fast finisher so that's great news. This was 20 days after breaking soil. A lot of the other plants are deciding (I think), I just can't tell what decision they're going to make.

Pics below are of the Speed Queen preflowers.

 

[audix2359]

So I'm up to 3 confirmed females. My Speed Queen was the first to show and she's also now growing some nice white hairs on top. The day after I noticed female pre-flowers on the Speed Queen, my only Magic Bud plant also sprung some. And this morning, my smaller White Widow plant had some long hairs growing!

So now I've got 1 additional White Widow and an Ice plant that are uncofirmed but they all look like the others did before they went female.

All said, I've kept 5 plants as the rest were stunted, burned, etc from either the LED's under 12/12, my early nutes or something else. Out of the 5 I have 3 girls so far, so I'm pretty excited.

I'll get some pics up in the next day or so.

 

[audix2359]

Also, I'll be throwing a 70 watt HPS light in place of the top mounted LED's as soon as the other 2 plants positivly ID themselves.

 

[md.apothecary]

out of curiousity, where are you getting your 70w HPS and what is the lumens output?

 

[DankCloset]

lol no offense, but them ladies are ugly, although there very strong if they pulled through, r u flowering? or did that stress em out to the point of showing you sex? at least u dont have to start over


Dc

 

[md.apothecary]

haha they could turn hermie from the stress! :rofl:

 

[audix2359]

I got my lamp at e-conolight. It puts out 6400 lumens. I actually bought it for another tub I'm building but when I got it I realized it was not powerful enough for that one. So instead of sending it back, I dropped it into this one, in favor of the LED's. I've still got my CFL lights going as well (the 6500K's) and will be switching those out with 2700K CFL's as soon as the rest of the plants are sexed.

Dank - yea, they're ugly alright and I did my best to kill them. Aside from me buring them and the LED's not promoting growth, their life has been pretty cush. I can't imagine them turning hermie from what I've done - I've definitely seen plants go through worse and come out fine. We'll see...

Here are some updated pics. I think I might have a problem with one of my White Widow plants, she seems a little yellow compared to the rest. Any thoughts? I posted a pic up in the sick plants forum to try to get some advice there as well.

Pic 1: Ice plant. Sex undetermined.
Pic 2: Speed Queen, getting down to work.
Pic 3: One of my Widows, looks yellowish to me.

Edit: Buy the way, I only have 5 plants left. I threw out the rest that were not growing a few days ago.

 

[akirahz]

yellowish some what, looks kinda lime green- well its not very droopy looking, a little more then the rest, maybe a little too much water? ya got a PH tester? whats the PH on the WW? nitrogen deficiency?

 

[md.apothecary]

I am going to try and get pictures tomorrow if possible of my LED setup and plants. The LED's are definitely working for VEG growth, however, I purchased them in hopes for flowering. They are still growing veg even under 12/12 so I am going to be adding supplimental colors soon to hope to engage flowering. They're fairly stretchy, so I think that LED's are good for veg for sure.

You shouldn't have had such a problem with them... IMO.