K
krum
Guest
Since I've been asked a couple of times how I get my 16oz party cups so nice, so I've decided to make a TEK. I'm not sure if TEK is common nomenclature around here though. We used to use the word as a kind of 'beginning to end recipe', if you will.
Prior to becoming an AFN member, I was a long time shroomery-goer. If any of you out there in AFN land have ever been over to the shroomery then you may have been exposed to Damion's 50/50 coir tek at some point. I loved this tek because it broke a grow down to its simplest terms. Basically setting yourself up so your grow is pretty much set and forget.
Having a successful grow with fungi, meant a good understanding of sterile procedure and plenty of patience. I feel that along the same lines, to have a good MMJ grow, hinges on your grasp of the plant's lifecycle and some patience of course.
So here is what you need:
Auto Seed
Vermiculite
Perlite
a few assorted sterilite tubs (I prefer 6qt and the 28qt[23"x18"x5" or about that], there is also another that I use which was an old fruiting chamber, but not necessary)
a timer
2'x2' or 60cm/squared tent (optional of course but actually helps for temperature regulation and stealth)
a 6500k CFL
Veg Nutes
Flower Nutes
some party cups
Aluminum Tape
...and the baddest ass LED you can afford.
First off you start by drilling some holes in your party cups. About every 2cm. I think I use an 1/8" bit for this (about 4mm in diameter)
Next, go get some party cups with no holes, and pop a couple holes in just the bottom. These cups are to go around the outside of the ones you drilled holes all the way around. This way you can put a little tape on the outside of the outermost cup to block out light.
The reasoning behind using the additional cup for this will become more clear as you move from Seedling to Plant and eventually 'transplant' to the tent. All you have to do from here is mix about a 50/50 perlite/vermiculite. I've tried various ratios, they all work. Fill up however many cups per each plant you intend to grow, fill to about 2/3's of the cup with your Perlite/Verm mix. Ready your seeds, cups and get your 6qt sterilite tub. Put your cups inside the tub and give it a quarter gallon of water PH to 5.9. Put it under the CFL for 24 hours a day until you hit the 3rd internode.
Start using quarter strength nutes when you start seeing leaves of 3.
Give the 3rd internode a couple more days under the CFL and now its time to transfer to your tent. Setup your LED about 18"/45cm from the canopy. Prepare your 28qt sterilite by cutting holes in the top that will hold the party cups much like a cup holder in your car. Mix about 2 Gallons of Veg Solution at 33% strength and PH to 5.9. Pour your solution into the 28qt Tub and set your cups. If you would like to add bubble stones and a pump you can, I feel it helps keep a constant mix on the solution. At this point you can just 'unsheathe' your seedlings from the cup you covered in aluminum tape and drop it in your 28qt sterilite.
Here is what the finished product looks like:
Of course, cover whatever light passes throught to avoid burning your roots. Thats it pretty much it. Set your lights for 20 hours on and 4 off for the remainder of the grow.
Add single gallons of solution every 5 days or so just to keep it going. Check the PH right in the tub and add up/down as necessary.
Flush 7-10 days before harvest with PH 5.9 H2o
As mentioned before. This method was intended to keep an auto grow as simple as possible while maintaining stealth. That is why I don't get crazy with the nute regiment or checking the Solution. It might be important to note that you can go as high as 50% on the strength of the solution with most liquid hydro nutrients.
With this method you can:
Have a new harvest every 35 days if you have a 9 week seed, this is an optimistic estimate as most, I think, tend to like to let their autos go longer.
If you average 30g per plant, you can harvest 150 - 180 grams every 35 days.
Keep the ambient temperature of the surrounding room around the neighborhood of 75(F)/23(C) and your tent will pretty much stay 85(F)/29(C). No need for direct ventilation, just the portals on the tent should suffice.
All inside of a 2'x2' and 30grams out of each 16oz cup!
This should spell everything out pretty clearly. You could certainly scale this model down or up as its been done lots of ways. I've done months of studying on AFN, and although I don't have many posts or likes, I've been doing more than my share of reading and experimenting to find out which is the simplest most efficient way to grow in a small space without having to worry about temperature control or automation.
When I came to this site I wanted to find something like this, but couldn't. So I've made one for all of those who come after me who want or need a setup like this. Of course, feel free to post or PM me if you have any questions or comments.
-Krum
Prior to becoming an AFN member, I was a long time shroomery-goer. If any of you out there in AFN land have ever been over to the shroomery then you may have been exposed to Damion's 50/50 coir tek at some point. I loved this tek because it broke a grow down to its simplest terms. Basically setting yourself up so your grow is pretty much set and forget.
Having a successful grow with fungi, meant a good understanding of sterile procedure and plenty of patience. I feel that along the same lines, to have a good MMJ grow, hinges on your grasp of the plant's lifecycle and some patience of course.
So here is what you need:
Auto Seed
Vermiculite
Perlite
a few assorted sterilite tubs (I prefer 6qt and the 28qt[23"x18"x5" or about that], there is also another that I use which was an old fruiting chamber, but not necessary)
a timer
2'x2' or 60cm/squared tent (optional of course but actually helps for temperature regulation and stealth)
a 6500k CFL
Veg Nutes
Flower Nutes
some party cups
Aluminum Tape
...and the baddest ass LED you can afford.
First off you start by drilling some holes in your party cups. About every 2cm. I think I use an 1/8" bit for this (about 4mm in diameter)
Next, go get some party cups with no holes, and pop a couple holes in just the bottom. These cups are to go around the outside of the ones you drilled holes all the way around. This way you can put a little tape on the outside of the outermost cup to block out light.
The reasoning behind using the additional cup for this will become more clear as you move from Seedling to Plant and eventually 'transplant' to the tent. All you have to do from here is mix about a 50/50 perlite/vermiculite. I've tried various ratios, they all work. Fill up however many cups per each plant you intend to grow, fill to about 2/3's of the cup with your Perlite/Verm mix. Ready your seeds, cups and get your 6qt sterilite tub. Put your cups inside the tub and give it a quarter gallon of water PH to 5.9. Put it under the CFL for 24 hours a day until you hit the 3rd internode.
Start using quarter strength nutes when you start seeing leaves of 3.
Give the 3rd internode a couple more days under the CFL and now its time to transfer to your tent. Setup your LED about 18"/45cm from the canopy. Prepare your 28qt sterilite by cutting holes in the top that will hold the party cups much like a cup holder in your car. Mix about 2 Gallons of Veg Solution at 33% strength and PH to 5.9. Pour your solution into the 28qt Tub and set your cups. If you would like to add bubble stones and a pump you can, I feel it helps keep a constant mix on the solution. At this point you can just 'unsheathe' your seedlings from the cup you covered in aluminum tape and drop it in your 28qt sterilite.
Here is what the finished product looks like:
Of course, cover whatever light passes throught to avoid burning your roots. Thats it pretty much it. Set your lights for 20 hours on and 4 off for the remainder of the grow.
Add single gallons of solution every 5 days or so just to keep it going. Check the PH right in the tub and add up/down as necessary.
Flush 7-10 days before harvest with PH 5.9 H2o
As mentioned before. This method was intended to keep an auto grow as simple as possible while maintaining stealth. That is why I don't get crazy with the nute regiment or checking the Solution. It might be important to note that you can go as high as 50% on the strength of the solution with most liquid hydro nutrients.
With this method you can:
Have a new harvest every 35 days if you have a 9 week seed, this is an optimistic estimate as most, I think, tend to like to let their autos go longer.
If you average 30g per plant, you can harvest 150 - 180 grams every 35 days.
Keep the ambient temperature of the surrounding room around the neighborhood of 75(F)/23(C) and your tent will pretty much stay 85(F)/29(C). No need for direct ventilation, just the portals on the tent should suffice.
All inside of a 2'x2' and 30grams out of each 16oz cup!
This should spell everything out pretty clearly. You could certainly scale this model down or up as its been done lots of ways. I've done months of studying on AFN, and although I don't have many posts or likes, I've been doing more than my share of reading and experimenting to find out which is the simplest most efficient way to grow in a small space without having to worry about temperature control or automation.
When I came to this site I wanted to find something like this, but couldn't. So I've made one for all of those who come after me who want or need a setup like this. Of course, feel free to post or PM me if you have any questions or comments.
-Krum
