New Grower DWC, Megacrop, Forgotten Cookies. COBS and QBs

[Frenjamin Banklin]

Been growing for a year and am going to try and journal a few Mephisto Forgotten Cookies. These will be my second Mephisto plants as I also have some Northern Cheese haze a few weeks ahead of the FC.

Medium
I grow in 8 gallon bubble buckets. I use current culture lids with 8” net pots. I start the seeds in peat pellets with a dash of GH rapid start added to the water they expand in. Seeds are geeked in water for 24hrs then into sandwich bag with wet paper towel on the heat mat. Once popped the are added to the pellets and allowed to grow till they pop out the bottom 2-3 days. Net pots are full of hydroton. I use an individual Danner AP4 pump the pulls 3.5 watts and pumps through 2 4” air stones in each bucket. The individual pumps are quieter and easily moved with each bucket. And have been through 4 grows and never needed more air in the buckets.


First post always gets boring but I promise lots of pictures soon, just want to set the stage. I’m a cowboy and have over each consecutive grow made things easier on myself testing theories of failure. Luckily for me I’ve had good luck. I am currently not doing any bucket changes on my bubblebuckets, I run them the whole way through ( unless shite completely hits the wall), I don’t measure my nutrients or keep a schedule of any kind. Just kinda look and listen to the girls. I began with a very nice Hanna EC meter that has been put away since second grow. I run the nutrients as light as possible and let the plant talk. I started pushing till tip burn but that just overloaded my DWC, so going the opposite route has been much better.



Nutrients on hand

Megacrop V1 ( still have 15 lbs)
GH cal/mg
Epsom
D-mannose(. Have no clue yet)
Hydroguard/ mammoth/ southern Ag bacteria. Whatever is closest
Aloe juice
Maxi bloom and Kool Bloom powders from GH.
Rapid start from GH

So I start my buckets with about 6 gallons of water to the bottom of the net pot. I add 1/2 cup of aloe juice, and one scoop of MC to the mix, probably close to 1g per gallon. And that’s it for the first two weeks. I add the bennies later in week three or four.


Lights, oh yeah I love my lights. COBS and QBs in two separate rooms. I run one room with the Rapid Led kit with 12 Cree cobs mixed between 3k and 4K spectrums. Currently running about 20w per square foot. I run them between 12-18 inches depending on stage. The cob room runs at 17/7 light schedule.

Second smaller room runs 4 QB 132s at the same wattage per foot but I am running the light schedule in this room at 16/8 and the QBs are all 4K. So you can see ism playing with wattages and scheduled to get the most good quality most efficiently.

I think that’s enough of the BS ground work. Now let’s see if this cowboy can grow some top shelf medicine.

FB

 

[Frenjamin Banklin]

All the plants were germed in the last week of March and thanks to the wonderful @mephisto brand I got 100% germ.
Here are the girls at week 2 and 3. They are all in the cob room with some older plants for the first 4 weeks. About week two I drop in a second scoop of MC per bucket, straight in no mixing. Add a fee ml of Cal/mg and check the PH. If all is good I leave them alone.

They all seem to have remained fairly close in structure and height so far. Have two that are noticeably faster and two that are slower and one right in the middle.

FB

 

[Frenjamin Banklin]

So About 3.5 weeks in and I move them around. Not that they needed it but the closet was getting a bit full to work and I needed to start training the FC.
Here is the one plant that was in between in size of all the others and she is left behind in the CoB room. Environment and schedule in here is going to be different so it’s not an exact comparison grow. Just trying to fail at a few more variable to see what happens.

And here are the four that got moved into the QB room the same day. All plants received a little LST and fan plucking when moved. They also got some more MC, and some epsom. This is also when I added a bit of bacteria and d- mannose to the mix, this time I had some Mammoth P left so they each got that. Environment I the QB room is a bit cooler than the cob room but I should get that sorted ASAP. Get down to low 60s lights off and that keeps the buckets chilly since lights of is 8 hours.

I only runth Hester lights on, when I’m home. But they all seemed pretty happy after a day.

FB

 

[Frenjamin Banklin]

And here we are at 4 weeks and up to real time when this thread was started. The four in the QB room have been there 5 days now and seem very happy. They are all spreading out nicely and enjoying the MC.
Here are the first two larger of the girls.

And here and the two smaller of the four in the QB room.

And hen the one lonely FC left behind in the COB room. Different angle but she is pretty similar in size now to the larger ones in the QB room.

I’m hoping to see if my 17/7 and 16/8 light schedules keep up with my previous grows that were done at 18/6, I was getting 2gpw with Fastbuds and DP, but I was also running at 25w per square foot. I felt like the lights were either to bright or close with the previous grows, or maybe the DLI was just a bit high which is what had me on the new regimen. I can say I am using less cal/mg so far without noticing problems. But at only week four it’s thought to tell.


Thanks to anyone that wants to add anything, good , bad or ugly.

I hope to learn something new on this grow.

And special thanks to
@Waira
I read every infirmary post that you helped with for 3 months before joining last year. Even though I never asked you a question you helped immensely
@archie gemmill
I have watched you with your relentless spirit help every new grower achieve everything they can.
@pop22
Cowboy with the cobs and MC, you and @Dabber have produced inspiration grows from day one.
@BigSm0 i know you are a busy man but what you have done with the lights and helping people around here made me emulate you FB GG grows with lower wattages. I watch the cobshop forum like religion. Keep up the good work.

There are a ton of others that I won’t bother with a tag( and if I tagged inappropriately then slap me) but many of the regulars here that keep this site a vast fountain of shared knowledge and good vibes thank you for everything


I hope I can contribute half that much.

FB

 

[pop22]

And here we are at 4 weeks and up to real time when this thread was started. The four in the QB room have been there 5 days now and seem very happy. They are all spreading out nicely and enjoying the MC.
Here are the first two larger of the girls.View attachment 1036106 View attachment 1036108 View attachment 1036109
And here and the two smaller of the four in the QB room.View attachment 1036110 View attachment 1036111 View attachment 1036112
And hen the one lonely FC left behind in the COB room. Different angle but she is pretty similar in size now to the larger ones in the QB room.

View attachment 1036113 View attachment 1036114
I’m hoping to see if my 17/7 and 16/8 light schedules keep up with my previous grows that were done at 18/6, I was getting 2gpw with Fastbuds and DP, but I was also running at 25w per square foot. I felt like the lights were either to bright or close with the previous grows, or maybe the DLI was just a bit high which is what had me on the new regimen. I can say I am using less cal/mg so far without noticing problems. But at only week four it’s thought to tell.


Thanks to anyone that wants to add anything, good , bad or ugly.

I hope to learn something new on this grow.

And special thanks to
@Waira
I read every infirmary post that you helped with for 3 months before joining last year. Even though I never asked you a question you helped immensely
@archie gemmill
I have watched you with your relentless spirit help every new grower achieve everything they can.
@pop22
Cowboy with the cobs and MC, you and @Dabber have produced inspiration grows from day one.
@BigSm0 i know you are a busy man but what you have done with the lights and helping people around here made me emulate you FB GG grows with lower wattages. I watch the cobshop forum like religion. Keep up the good work.

There are a ton of others that I won’t bother with a tag( and if I tagged inappropriately then slap me) but many of the regulars here that keep this site a vast fountain of shared knowledge and good vibes thank you for everything


I hope I can contribute half that much.

FB

 

[Waira]

Great looking harem in there FB! :drool: --- All have nice structure and are well poised for some stretchy action- .... Interesting, you're testing out some "alternative" light sched's,.. there's been a lot of debate about the best schedule, or if there even is one... there are so many other variables, many linked directly to each other, that can affect the outcomes,.. From a scientific angle, it's going to be difficult to draw solid conclusions mate, mainly because there is no control group to compare against, and all plants are not under identical env. conditions, nutrient regime, etc... (A good test model is a real PITA to design, trust me! ).... plus the inconsistencies that are inherent with each seed-born plant (clones would be required in fact, not possible practically for autos)... Then there's the sample size, the number of "test subjects",... to even draw some solid empirical conclusions, you have to have a decent sample size in order to make sure what you see is a true trend,... and there's more, but don't bore the shit outta you with all that! Point is, be careful of the anecdotal conclusions you reach brudda, but do take good note and watch this over time, grows, and see if you can make some sort of reliable call,... from what I gather, 18/6 is about the sweet spot for what i think you're driving at,... 20/4, 24/0, in most cases, will be showing rapidly diminishing returns,... I've not see any 16/8 (or less) full term grows, only what some outside auto's get under, at best 14/10-ish... and the wider, wilder environmental roller coaster conditions they are exposed too! I have been surprised at some results, apples to apples (same strain that is) I'd say it often the lower bud:leaf that's the downside,... A Canadian grower friend goes through this wild ride every season, weather is erratic at best up there! But to that end, lower light hours vs performance/yield/potency and all that, I can't offer much... but I do think the equations drops off just as rapidly at the lower light hours end as well,... I can all but guarantee the same strain, even from seed, will have inferior results at 14/10 vs. the same at 18/6....
I also think there's a limit to what the plants can really use effectively for light hours, and intensity... the axiom more is not necessarily better plays true in most situations.. Auto's can technically run 24/0, that's not in question, but is it worth it, and do all strains perform well under it is, and my conclusion is a general no.. So many things need to come together to make work, environmental, nutritional, lights, CO2, etc....... I base this on observations from here, in peep's threads and especially in Sick Bay, where some plants clearly are "overdriven" from the symptoms they show, often localized to the parts in closest proximity to the lights... Bad VPD, light/heat stress, breakdown of the photosynthetic machinery, odd mixed defc. symptoms... other side of the coin: I can say the biggest, most insane yielding plants I've seen came from hydro' Masters that ran 24/0 = - un'f'ing-believeable!.... there's a good thread or two on this in pop22's Mythbuster section, check it out!

And special thanks to
@Waira
I read every infirmary post that you helped with for 3 months before joining last year. Even though I never asked you a question you helped immensely
@archie gemmill
I have watched you with your relentless spirit help every new grower achieve everything they can.
@pop22
Cowboy with the cobs and MC, you and @Dabber have produced inspiration grows from day one.
@BigSm0 i know you are a busy man but what you have done with the lights and helping people around here made me emulate you FB GG grows with lower wattages. I watch the cobshop forum like religion. Keep up the good work

thank you for that FB, a fine lot you have cited there! ... all good peep's who I know step up to the plate for anybody who asks, and even many who don't,... .... I had great help when I first came here, including a couple of the original Admin. who mentored me and some mates through grows,.. one, JM, was the guy that got the hooks in me for staff and developing that penchant and knack for diagnostics-- -- I get worked like a circus pony here! ... paying it forward,...

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

2 neat set ups you allready put away the schedule and are reading the plants and nice looking plants they are to :smoking: 18/6,20/4,24/0 from first to last thats an increase of 25% i dont think my plants would be 25% bigger if i upped the lights to 24/0.light schedule confuzed me when i first started,so i run 19/5 just to be odd
a good grower will grow nice plants regardless of light schedule
i rarely test my ph and never need to adjust it.but i do feel a lot better for having a quality pen on standby
looking good,keep er lit.

 

[pop22]

I look forward to seeing your grow!

Been growing for a year and am going to try and journal a few Mephisto Forgotten Cookies. These will be my second Mephisto plants as I also have some Northern Cheese haze a few weeks ahead of the FC.

Medium
I grow in 8 gallon bubble buckets. I use current culture lids with 8” net pots. I start the seeds in peat pellets with a dash of GH rapid start added to the water they expand in. Seeds are geeked in water for 24hrs then into sandwich bag with wet paper towel on the heat mat. Once popped the are added to the pellets and allowed to grow till they pop out the bottom 2-3 days. Net pots are full of hydroton. I use an individual Danner AP4 pump the pulls 3.5 watts and pumps through 2 4” air stones in each bucket. The individual pumps are quieter and easily moved with each bucket. And have been through 4 grows and never needed more air in the buckets.


First post always gets boring but I promise lots of pictures soon, just want to set the stage. I’m a cowboy and have over each consecutive grow made things easier on myself testing theories of failure. Luckily for me I’ve had good luck. I am currently not doing any bucket changes on my bubblebuckets, I run them the whole way through ( unless shite completely hits the wall), I don’t measure my nutrients or keep a schedule of any kind. Just kinda look and listen to the girls. I began with a very nice Hanna EC meter that has been put away since second grow. I run the nutrients as light as possible and let the plant talk. I started pushing till tip burn but that just overloaded my DWC, so going the opposite route has been much better.



Nutrients on hand

Megacrop V1 ( still have 15 lbs)
GH cal/mg
Epsom
D-mannose(. Have no clue yet)
Hydroguard/ mammoth/ southern Ag bacteria. Whatever is closest
Aloe juice
Maxi bloom and Kool Bloom powders from GH.
Rapid start from GH

So I start my buckets with about 6 gallons of water to the bottom of the net pot. I add 1/2 cup of aloe juice, and one scoop of MC to the mix, probably close to 1g per gallon. And that’s it for the first two weeks. I add the bennies later in week three or four.


Lights, oh yeah I love my lights. COBS and QBs in two separate rooms. I run one room with the Rapid Led kit with 12 Cree cobs mixed between 3k and 4K spectrums. Currently running about 20w per square foot. I run them between 12-18 inches depending on stage. The cob room runs at 17/7 light schedule.

Second smaller room runs 4 QB 132s at the same wattage per foot but I am running the light schedule in this room at 16/8 and the QBs are all 4K. So you can see ism playing with wattages and scheduled to get the most good quality most efficiently.

I think that’s enough of the BS ground work. Now let’s see if this cowboy can grow some top shelf medicine.

FB

 

[Wian]

Following along!

 

[BigSm0]

And here we are at 4 weeks and up to real time when this thread was started. The four in the QB room have been there 5 days now and seem very happy. They are all spreading out nicely and enjoying the MC.
Here are the first two larger of the girls.View attachment 1036106 View attachment 1036108 View attachment 1036109
And here and the two smaller of the four in the QB room.View attachment 1036110 View attachment 1036111 View attachment 1036112
And hen the one lonely FC left behind in the COB room. Different angle but she is pretty similar in size now to the larger ones in the QB room.

View attachment 1036113 View attachment 1036114
I’m hoping to see if my 17/7 and 16/8 light schedules keep up with my previous grows that were done at 18/6, I was getting 2gpw with Fastbuds and DP, but I was also running at 25w per square foot. I felt like the lights were either to bright or close with the previous grows, or maybe the DLI was just a bit high which is what had me on the new regimen. I can say I am using less cal/mg so far without noticing problems. But at only week four it’s thought to tell.


Thanks to anyone that wants to add anything, good , bad or ugly.

I hope to learn something new on this grow.

And special thanks to
@Waira
I read every infirmary post that you helped with for 3 months before joining last year. Even though I never asked you a question you helped immensely
@archie gemmill
I have watched you with your relentless spirit help every new grower achieve everything they can.
@pop22
Cowboy with the cobs and MC, you and @Dabber have produced inspiration grows from day one.
@BigSm0 i know you are a busy man but what you have done with the lights and helping people around here made me emulate you FB GG grows with lower wattages. I watch the cobshop forum like religion. Keep up the good work.

There are a ton of others that I won’t bother with a tag( and if I tagged inappropriately then slap me) but many of the regulars here that keep this site a vast fountain of shared knowledge and good vibes thank you for everything


I hope I can contribute half that much.

FB

I only do it because I know it helps people and they alone is more than enough for me to continue. Scroll back to afn in 2016 and look at it now. In 2016 I was cursed out for schilling over priced untested lighting. Before I sold anything mind you. Afn is the proof that the theory and technology works.