highchome

Seeds dropped at around 21:00 today Medium: I'll be growing in coco/perlite using hortimix ferts. Grow space: 1x1x1.8m box lined with pandafilm Lights for flower: 240w quantum board purchased from @Light It Up I'm really looking forward to this and watching everyone's grows. Good luck everyone.

Seeds are here I've been awol on the forum for a while, looking forward to being more active and seeing how everyone's grows go

I just received 4* 3 Feminized seeds from @Totemicfrom the 420sa store. https://store.420sa.co.za/product/totemic-summer-2021-bundle/ Firstly R420 for 12 feminized seeds is fantastic but I was also really impressed by the packaging. Resealable bags, clearly labeled etc. Very very nice. Thanks @Totemicand 420SA

Hi @Marzcanna I'm interested to hear how you did that. I don't think its derailing this thread too much... but maybe best to start a new thread? After a quick google, it looks like the simplest way is with dry ice in a normal freezer. Did you do that or something else?

https://www.420sa.co.za/forum/95-cocopeat-or-cocoperlite-growing/

I'm not sure if that will be a problem for you, but at least you now know to watch for Ca/Mg deficiencies. If it really becomes a problem changing to a buffered mix is pretty easy. But perhaps you'll be lucky and it will work out for you As for the notes above about plain water every other day... That may be because of potential nutrient build up with that particular fert line, in which case it could be best to follow. But it could also just be because many people do it that way, in which case I'd suggest that you should not... Helpful right? As far as I understand it the argument for using the fertiliser every day is that plants absorb water via osmosis and they produce/control the amount of sugars in their roots to keep the correct balance so that water can be absorbed. If you are changing the EC every other day they are spending more time adjusting to that. I'll try find a link with more detail (and a better explanation tomorrow). But some people do alternate and are happy with the results. One of the great things about coco is that you can experiment quite easily, since if mess up you can just flush the coco and move on. E.g. you could use those ferts, and fertigate every day. If they show signs of nutrient burn/lockout then you can flush weekly and then every other day etc until its working for you. Anyway good luck, I'll be interested to see how it goes

I totally missed the signals

Hi @Orcanic, I also grow in coco + perlite and really like it as a grow medium. If you are new to coco+perlite then perhaps these tips that helped me are useful for you As long as you have reasonable drainage then you can not over water your plants. This is a really handy if you tend to over water (like I do :) ). However, as mentioned above, if you put amendments in coco+perlite then all bets are off regarding watering and pretty much everything else I'm saying here. I'd suggest only doing that if you know what you are doing. Personally I find it much easier to keep it simple Treat it as hydro, e.g. when setting your pH use the hydro pH target not the soil one. Its basically water held in suspension by the coco You probably want about 20% run off with each water. You can measure your run-off EC to see how different it is from the inflow. I water once a day in veg and aim for twice a day during flower. However once I have my automation setup I may do more than that. This should not increase the overall water usage, but rather aims to keep the medium moist all the time. Again checking your run-off EC lets you know when its too little. Again its not soil, so don't wait for it to dry before watering. Ideally it will never dry out Some people alternate pure water water and ferts. But I think its mostly considered better to always use ferts. The plants are able to absorb the nutrients better when the ph & salt concentrations etc are consistent. You should buffer your coco with cal-mag before planting, I also use cal-mag in the mix for each water. Also buffer if you reuse the coco for a another grow. You can get away with much smaller pots than you can with soil. Make sure whatever ferts or additives you use are bio available without needing microbes to break them down. As @Marzcannasaid, coco is intert, you don't get soil microbes that help break down ferts for the plants. So getting a hydro fert is the best option. (Some people do use organic etc, but again you need to know what you are doing then and really want the extra work) Hopefully that does not make it sound more complicated that it is... For me it seems like the simplest way to grow and I've had almost no issues with it. I hope that helps a bit.

@420SAjust to confirm, the entry ticket link will be emailed later on right? I just want to be sure its not been eaten by a spam filter somewhere. Thanks

I am in Cape Town, I'd appreciate that. thanks :) I've used Biogrow's Neudosan before and that was pretty effective. But I really like this option as it means I could treat during flowering if it was required.

That is so interesting! I had no idea we could get that here. I see there is another option too https://livingseeds.co.za/IMP-Goggas?product_id=1312 video explanation there too (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUVfKIqGwIA). I'm going to try that if I have spider mites again. I think this is the one you are using FWIW (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLNbQuqebU)

I learned a lot last time, I'm in.

Hi, yes that seems to be what people suggest. Mine are pretty short (early flip) so I may not need to do them upside down, but same principal yes. I'm not 100% sure if that kills all the eggs too... It should at least help control things until flowering is done, and I suppose that I could do it for several days in a row to break the cycle.

Thanks! Yeah drowning the little bastards has a certain appeal too. I guess I'll give that a go instead.

Hi all, I've just spotted spider mites on my flowering plants (still in early flow) . I've used Biogrow Neudosan before in veg and it was very effective at getting rid of the mites. I seem to have picked them up again after a move, seems like from some outside plants and a me not having a proper intake filter (idiot!). They claim that Neudosan is safe to use "on crops up to the day of harvest". The active ingredient is potassium salt of fatty acids, and from everything I can see should be completely safe e.g. https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehipm/pdf_insect/insecticide actives/Potassium salt of fatty acids.pdf I could try drowning them for 10 minutes or so, but that is going to be a real pain. So unless anyone knows that I should avoid the Neudosan I'll go that route? Thanks

Thanks! Interesting, I was assuming it needed to be sealed for winter with Polyethylene, what % shadecloth do you use?

I'm considering building a small-ish greenhouse (mixed flowering plants & maybe some cannabis clones) but I'm not entirely sure where to start. Does anyone have any tips or advice they would like to share? Firstly I'm in the West Coast and the wind can be fairly intense at times. I can protect it to some extent by placing it near a wall but wind is something I definitely need to account for. Summers are hot, winters wet and cool. As for size I'd ideally like something at lest 2mx2m, possibly bigger depending on cost. Polyethylene seems to be the best bet as a covering material, but I'm not entirely sure. So any ideas about material, structure etc would be appreciated. Thanks.

@Wulf indeed :). However then its worth noting that the driver and LED used in this light is very well respected here on the forum and elsewhere. So if you are in a hurry you can assume that its a good product and only compare on price knowing its going to work well. (And for build quality and price... this is the best deal I've seen locally) Good luck

@Wulf I think there is quite a bit of info on the forum about LEDs, hopefully that can help a bit. What may help you here is to note that this light has "Samsung LM301B" LEDs and a "Meanwell XLG-240-H-AB" Driver. (The QB/Samsumg LEDs are very popular at the moment and I got them based on what people here have said). What is then unique to each provider is how its build, the heat sink, dimmer, power meter, hanging kits etc. The LM301B LEDs themselves are the same across the various providers, which means if you want to see how well they work for plants in general that is an easy way to do that (i.e. googling "samsumg quantum board" or "LM301B" etc). I hope that helps :)

I switched the light on full, my seared retinas can confirm that the light is working just fine :).

I've been away from the forum for a bit, so first post in a while . Hi everyone :) I just purchased a 240W Quantum Board from @Light It Up and I'm very exited to start using it. (Unfortunately I'm moving soon so I probably will have to wait two weeks before I actually can ) The experience with @Light It Up was excellent. They answered questions before I had purchases and were quick and friendly. The delivery was amazingly fast and everything was packed really nicely. Very impressive. Once I've moved and setup a grow area I'll start a grow diary. I can't wait to see how much difference using proper lights makes. I'm not sure how I'll know what to set the dimmer too. I'll take a look around and see if there is any info so long. Here are some pics Lights: Heat sink: Driver, dimmer and power meter display Mounting wire & Rope Ratchets Power meter with different dimmer settings (kak photos, sorry)

Hi, sorry late to the thread. I'm all out I'm afraid. The last ones I tried did not germinate that well anywa Looks like you may have sorted something out though, good luck :)

Useful, thanks! Although I can't seem to find any of these at and of the local stores at the moment.

Does anyone any have a guess for timelines on it being law?

Just saw this: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/sas-cannabis-law-is-heading-for-parliament-heres-what-a-previous-draft-allowed-2020-8 (1kg home, 40g to give away. 10 seedlings / 7 immature plants / 3 flowering) I've got no idea how reliable that is as an indicator though