Gorilla Girl, San Fernando Lemon Kush & Crystal Candy - No-Till Grow - 6th Sweet Seeds Grow Diary Competition

[Michael Luchóg]

Fine start to the grow ,and nice pictures too . A bit of crushed garlic and neem definitely takes the gnats down ,for a while anyway . All the best .

[InTheSystem]

@Nervous - Thanks for sharing this information mate! I am a big fan of Masanobu Fukuoka... The One Straw Revolution is a solid one on my book shelf so I am familiar with some of the approaches that maybe used in Korean farming? I will be honest, I am against feeding my plants compost teas. I believe it's best to propagate in the soil like true no-till, it is also why I don't use molasses. The only time I use a compost tea is to charge my biochar as I don't have a month for it to sit in the compost ever (must be more organised with battle plans! ha)... If I was just doing an organic grow and I would for sure be doing compost teas and looking for ways to diversify them more. I do use botanical teas via kelp/neem/alfalfa though, particularly on my first cycle. In reference to the FPJ I am getting into tonics and tinctures at the moment for irrigation and foliars. I have seen no-till guys on Instagram killing it with fermented tinctures. IMO's is a new one for me, will give that a search - love learning... Bigup! 

Totally agree with the cover crop. I have been looking into plants that like the shade like Echinacea for example... If you (or anyone) has any companion plant suggestions what do grow in the shade happily - I would be most interested in suggestions.

@Michael Luchóg - Thanks for checking in mate and for the kind words, appreciated. Garlic can also be a great deterrent yes! I have actually grown bulbs of it in my outdoor grows among the Cannabis trees  If you don't want to play host to beneficial bugs a great one is chrysanthemum - it is very high in pyrethrin which is used in pesticide products. 

Edited January 15, 2020 by InTheSystem

[InTheSystem]

Just a minor update as today has been a good day… My Highlight 220w LED board arrived! This LED is a little beast to be honest and extremely bright! I own 3 other models of LED lights all from DiyLedUK so am accustomed to bright LED's, but this seems very bright even dimmed to 30w! For those that don’t know - the Highlight is a true full spectrum LED light with diodes including 400-800nm, far red and UVA spectrums. The light will replace 315w CMH or a 400w HPS but I actually intend to add another for flower but will probably have to order it next week judging on how quick Adam seems to sell them!  

 

 

A big thanks to @diyleduk once again – they actually sent me the light kit completely plug and play fully assembled and EU plug ready.… I am shit at putting notes for the alternative plug and did not select the assembly option – I am lucky Adam knows me now and has my back! Besides the punch it packs for a small unit - I quite like how it has a dimmer knob to turn rather then shoving a screwdriver into the driver.. I will use this diary as opportunity to test the light and do a review also. Here is the light straight out of the box on the table:




I will do another update when I get the soil mix done most likely on Friday and I will grab a shot of the actual light on as it looks pretty cool with the different spectrum's..... EDIT: Couldn't resist, looks so cool. Lights on shot (had to use the lcd on the camera at an angle to take the pic or I would be half blind ):




Cheers 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by InTheSystem
added picture of the Highlight with the lights on

[ROCKSTEADY6]

Mate just popping in to say hi and wish you luck with this one. New light looks good and set up is really interesting. By the way your photos are really good - are these from a proper camera? 

[InTheSystem]

@ROCKSTEADY6 - Hello mate! Thanks for popping in and for the good vibes, I appreciate it! The light seems like a winner. I do love the spectrum on my 420w Atreum's though, don't seem so orange as Scopes or even the Highlight gives off in dominance - but these highlights seem to be the brightest, it's nuts. The photos are taken with an entry level Nikon D3500 DSLR with standard lens. Whole kit is like 350 euro new but it is truly a great camera for starting out once you learn a little about aperture, shutter speed and ISO which govern the exposure, depth of field etc of the shot. I got the camera based on @tokenroll's advice. @Smokebelch and @jadenugs have both been very helpful about plant shots in particular. Got to love UK420 - I could barely work a compact camera before and it has been really useful in other areas of life beyond growing so I am grateful  

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by InTheSystem

[Amo]

Cool update abt the new light, an looks like it’s still a white light coming from it, which is a good thing...

Must be seriously bright, as my quantum’s are unreal, star’s in eyes each time I’m idiot enough to look at them...  

Enjoy ur new light dude, it does look great...

 

[InTheSystem]

@Amo - Cheers mate, I know your running LED's and keen to run UVA so I will try to do that review and compare it to other lights around.. I do have the quantum 65w, Scope 150w and Atreum 420w to compare it against - As I say the Highlight seems the brightest but at least to the eye, it does seem more orange compared to anything else though to be honest (or I am colour blind now thinking I could glance at it on 30w.. I dare think what the 220w is like to look at but it lights my study like a Christmas tree!). 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by InTheSystem

[jadenugs]

Cracking diary so far dude

Interesting about the Biochar having the opposite effect if not charged properly.

 

14 hours ago, InTheSystem said:

Fukuoka

 

Good job there's no one called oka on these boards

[InTheSystem]

9 hours ago, jadenugs said:

Cracking diary so far dude

Interesting about the Biochar having the opposite effect if not charged properly.

 

 

Good job there's no one called oka on these boards

Yes mate it's a vital step. Never buy biochar which they say is charged and forget this step still if you do find yourself using it... I highly recommend it in any soil mix - a small rock of it has the surface area of a football field to give you an idea and it's where the microbes will primarily live. It can store and release nutrients for a long time, especially with rock dust present. Grow shops will potentially hate me I think with this diary by the end of it haha!


Bit slow this morning so just got that joke!  


 

Edited January 16, 2020 by InTheSystem

[Smokebelch]

@InTheSystemYou are off to a cracking start with this diary and it has the potential to be a prize winner dude. 
 

Its great to see you getting to grips with the camera, I am loving those seeding photos back there with the shallow DOF.

 

Keep up the good work and good luck dude

Edited January 16, 2020 by Smokebelch

[Sweet Seeds -Jaypp]

Hi fella!

Welcome to the 6th Sweet Seeds® Grow Diary Competition, your are doing a fantastic work. I hope you enjoy the grow
Best of luck!
jaypp

[InTheSystem]

@Smokebelch - Yo Dude! Thanks for the kind words... Current Sweets Seeds champ approval?! Niice  It's a shame you will not be participating this year mate, but I know you have a lot of projects going on filling your time. I will be honest - I had to look up what DOF was ha! But yeah man I have been playing around with Aperture Priority mode and getting some really cool results lately. I find it hard to zoom or get that close though to the seedlings without losing focus (kind of does in those shots actually to be fair). I must get around to ordering these 'extension tubes' - both Toke and I believe Jadenugs advised me on to get around the need for a macro lens and some better close ups.


@Sweet Seeds -Jaypp - Greetings mate! I think this is the first we have communicated - so firstly, thanks for having me in the competition and for the kind words! I am super excited to grow these out now and also spreading the 'no-till' love! I hope you enjoy the diary.   

[vince noir rock n roll star]

sooo ...you not interested in the wooden spoon then ?  ...good to see a no til entry ..ill give you this tip ..and i doubt you will need it cos you look proper clued up on this ..

if you get a problem with yer plants ..bung a chamomile plant near them ..

 

all the best chap 

[InTheSystem]

@vince noir rock n roll star - the wooden spoon would still be desirable... Glad to see your another no-till supporter. I have been converting everything I grow into no-till now from outdoor to indoor. 

That is an exceptional point with chamomile and I do have some packs of them shall be companion planting hopefully tomorrow if time permits! Chamomile is probably one of the best actually - for the people who don't know - it can capture and accumulate calcium, potassium and sulphur breaking down in the soil and bio-available... Who doesn't love a good cuppa tea also?!

[vince noir rock n roll star]

chamomile only works for one season ..if left til next season youll have very poor growth and flowering ..as it reaps back what it sowed .