PsyCLown

@Cracks Ruderalis does not have a very high THC content, I believe it is less than 3%. I believe the CBD levels may be higher but not sure how high in terms of percentage, it would vary between strains and plants as well. Depending on what you want to achieve, I'd say get some seeds for a strain which is suited to that purpose. Autoflowers are typically a cross between ruderalis (somewhere in the lineage) and other plants which may be high in CBD or high in THC. Typically one would want to keep the autoflowering characteristics of the ruderalis and then try get the other characteristics of the plant its being bred with. Are you wanting to get high THC or high CBD? Is there a reason you want to go for an autoflowering plant?

Damn guys, those of you with high electricity prices - who is the provider? Eskom? City power? Also is it prepaid or postpaid? First step is R1.42 and 2nd is R1.63 and this is recently as you can see the billing period is September & October 2020.

R1k seems a bit high to me, unless your electricity rate is stupidly high. LED light = 260w draw, taking into account the less than 100% efficient LED driver 2x fans = 120w draw (60w each) Total power = 380W let's call it, however fans are likely more efficient than that and that is also if you run the light at 100% all of the time. I personally do not like doing it like this, dim it during germination and increase watts slowly as the plants get bigger and require more light. I know @Prom just runs it 100% and adjusts the height. Both ways work, dimming lights will help save power though. Average electricity price is around R1.64 let's call it, the tiers actually start at a lower rate but let's assume you are on a higher rate and round up to R1.7 per KWH. Light = 260w x 20 hours x 31 days = 161.2 KWH Fan = 120w x 24 hours x 31 days = 89.28KWH Total KWH a month = 250.48 x R1.70 = R425.82 If it takes 3 months from seed to harvest, even if we round up to R500 for electricity per month that comes to R1500 for 3 months. If you harvest 300g dry, that is R5/g in terms of cost of electricity on your dry bud. Obviously there are other costs to consider as well - medium, nutrients, seeds, sprays, equipment and most importantly your time and effort. Even if you do a photoperiod grow and it takes 5 months from seed to harvest and you manage to pull 300g it works out to 60g a month and meets your requirements. @Stinger96 I was looking into solar recently. It does not make sense to run your grow off the batteries, will cost far too much to run it entirely off the batteries if you have a decent sized grow. I was thinking a grid tied system could work well, however you'd then need to have lights on during the day to benefit from the solar providing power when the sun is out. When the sun goes down then it can draw power from Eskom or if the solar panels are not producing enough power the deficit can be drawn from Eskom. Even if it helps reduce your monthly electricity usage and offers some savings it can be worth it. For a house, typically one would require batteries though as during the day when the sun is out you are at work. So electricity usage at home is minimal, unless you are growing. At night is when you are home and no sun there, so gotta draw power from the batteries and then let the panels charge up the battery the next day once the sun is out again. What causes issues is the bigger appliances, such as the aircon, oven, microwave and geyser. At around 2KW or more each, your draw adds up very quickly and would require a massive inverter. One may not use all of these appliances at the same time, but it is not impossible. Heatwave in summer, boiling hot at 6PM so AC is on, you are in the kitchen busy cooking while the GF is taking a shower. So getting completely off the grid can be a costly experience or requires compromise. A system which works together with the Eskom mains is more ideal I feel and can help reduce electricity costs quite significantly. Just a pitty about the monthly connection fee as that effectively makes your first few units really expensive and it becomes cheaper as you use more - if you factor in that cost which is close to R500 a month. Bleh.

You need to check the trichomes as to when the plant is ready to harvest, a microscope or loupe is what you need. However as @SkunkPharm mentioned, it looks as if the plant is revegging, outdoor season right now is veg mode. So either take it indoors and force it back into flower or let it veg, get HUGE and then harvest next year.

Welcome @Cracks! Are you talking about autoflowers or pure Ruderalis? I am going to assume autoflowers as you likely want some thc. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners as any mistakes made can set the plant back and affect your yield. However its not particularly difficult, so after you've done a grow or two you should be more than capable of growing some autos without hiccups.

Biodyne is a microbe inoculant, the bottle should state what dosage to use. You'd only need to use it e very few weeks to help build microbes in your medium.

Both Mars Hydro and Mammoth are good brands, I'd say go for the cheaper one or whichever is in stock. In a 1.2m x 1.2m tent I'd say you could comfortably fit 9 plants inside with space remaining, 12 if you cram them all in. This is based on a 20L pot size. Although a bigger tent, is a more expensive tent. Also a bigger tent requires more light which further increases the price. If 6 plants is your limits, I feel a 1.2m x 1.2m tent would be a waste of money and for a Mars Hydro 1.2 x 1.2 it is over R3k

You could get away without an inline fan, make use of a different type of fan - like a regular extraction fan, provided it can move enough air. However what do you plan on doing in terms of light leaks? Ducting can be bendable, it has a metal wire which helps it retain its shape but you could possibly bend it a bit to get it to fit. With an inline fan you could bend the ducting to help prevent light from outside reaching inside the tent. I recall another member doing this.

1.2 x 1.2 will be good, however you could go a bit smaller if you wanted to. 1m x 1m or even 1.2m x 0.6m could work for you and ensure you can meet your 4 to 6 plant goal... Cheaper too in terms of tent size. Lights I would recommend LED, I personally prefer Quantum Boards but nothing wrong with LED strips either if you want to DIY. Extractor fan, you could get away with a 4" however a 6" with a speed control would be more ideal and quieter - I have heard good things about the Prima Klima fans and pricing is decent. They have a model which has 2 speed settings which is what I would recommend. Do you need a carbon filter? Is smell going to be an issue where you will be growing or can it stink up the place without any issues? The clip on fans do not seem to last based on my experience, they are also a bit pricey. I find the box fans or even a desk top oscillating fan works well. Get creative when hanging it, cable ties and/or rope ratchets work well to hang it inside a tent. Soil, coco, hydro - your choice end of the day. Rough pricing breakdown as follows: Tent: R2500 (Mars Hydro or similar brand, from Hydroponics) Light: R4250 (240W LED) Extraction fan: R1400 Carbon Filter: R770 (if needed) Oscillating fan: R199 Timer & Rope Ratchets: R500 Total cost so far, approx R9 619 You will need ducting for the extraction fan too which will bring you up to the R10k mark. You will have extra money if no carbon filter is required.

I love this! Will make it much easier for everyone to find the type of companies / places they are looking for, 420 related of course.

Welcome to the forum @Light It Up @Prom majority of LED lights do not have Infra Red. None of my QBs have IR diodes on them and I have not had any issues. I have some boards with 660nm diodes but I cannot notice any difference between the plants grown under the QBs with 660nm diodes and the QBs with just the plain 3000k diodes... Although I know this is 660nm and not IR. What difference have you noticed with the IR? What benefits does it have over QBs without IR?

Not sure, I have never used it and do not know of anyone who has used it either.

That one is also female from what I can see. As for putting the plant outside, it wont flower now... But you can if you want to. Otherwise top or train it.

Bit of a tricky one, I have sprayed Pyrol in flower before and then I bud wash come harvest time. Pyrol works wonders for getting rid of thrips. Alternatively, although its a lengthy process and may not be ideal not ... maybe for future reference though, you get a fungus which will grow on pests and kill them. That can be used during flower without issues I believe, it is called Beauveria bassiana and Argo Organics sell it under the name Bio-Insek. A few other places sell it as well.

@CoolJ expanding foam is an easy way to fill the gaps between the roof and the wall.

Welcome! Do you have a grow going or are you just starting out?

It needs to be dry, but do NOT dry it in the same tent as the mold before you thoroughly clean and sanitize that tent. Get some bleach and wipe it down fully and ensure anything which may have mold spores on it gets cleaned properly too.

I'd say get a single QB288 which will give you 120W of power. You can't go wrong with such a light and later on can add extra Quantum boards if need be. How soon do you need to get this light?

I agree with this, especially if one has more than a single tent. However depending on where the tent is, this may not be a suitable solution - such as if its in a large open area. In which case you may need to make a plan to sacrifice space in the tent. With all of that being said, a dehumidifier might be nice but very seldom is it really needed. I'd rather keep my temps lower during flower in summer heatwaves than keep my RH low... if I had to pick.

Never knew this, this is good to know. Boveda have been easier to find anyways.

So most people like to use the bending of the stem to tell how far it is with regards to being dry. This is a decent guideline but I have jarred bud where the larger stems did not snap. I also use the RH inside the drying area (I used a tent) as a gauge. I compare the RH inside the tent to the RH outside the tent and I have a PC fan blowing air from inside the tent out to ensure there is air flow and its not just stale. As the bud dries, it will release moisture and increase the RH inside the tent - as it dries up there wont be as much moisture being released and this will lead to the RH inside the tent ending up very close or the same as the RH outside the tent. This can be used as a guide to further assist in telling how much water the bud has gotten rid of. With time and experience, you will get better at telling when its ready to be put into jars. Lots of factors to consider - a big, dense bud will not dry out as quickly as a big, airy bud or as a small dense bud for example. So drying times may differ between plants, even if they are harvested at the same time. I have never used Integra packs, I assume they're pretty much the same as a Boveda. If so, then as the pack dries out it will turn from liquid into a crystaline like powder (at least this is what it feels like). Maybe get a Boveda pack to compare.

Seems @CreX has already give you all the info but that is not nutes and appears to be some type of mold. The plants are not like a storage tank where they keep the nutes just like that, I have harvested plants without ever doing any flush and never had that happen. It is not nutes. It is also not PM... PM looks very different and usually starts on the leaves. Doing a budwash before drying can help as it may get rid of spores already on the plant as well as other shit too. You always need to and want to hang the plants up to dry and lose majority of their moisture before you put it into the jars. Best is to use a hygrometer to monitor the RH once in the jars and ensure the Integra / Boveda maintains the RH in the correct region, if it is too high then you can "burp" the jars by leaving them open for a while and then closing them again and then monitoring the RH - if its still too high then you continue this process until enough moisture has been released that the Integra / Boveda is able to maintain the correct RH. As for the Integra 62% being lower, it could be your hygrometer is not that accurate or perhaps the lid on your car does not seal properly.

Mars Hydro, Mammoth, Secret Jardin, Bud Box I have heard good things about the above tents. Although I have personally had a Secret Jardin Hydro Shoot tent split at the seams when trying to get it over the poles. The Secret Jardin Dark Street tent I had never had such issues. Also I see @felix2000 says his Mammoth has light leaking through the zips. So there are always exceptions and instances where things are faulty or an issue may occur.

This is interesting, have you reached out to the place you purchased it from? A Mammoth should not leak light at all. I know someone who has 2 Mammoth tents and neither leak any light. He got rid of his previous tents due to light leaks and the zips failing.

Futureponic, for some reason I seem to recall these being a similar design to the Magic Garden tents sold by Green Thumb Hydroponics. Not sure on the quality of them (Futureponic), just seen pictures online. However if the quality is the same as the Magic Garden tents, well... there are better quality tents out there for sure. Just because it looks the same, does not mean the quality is the same however it is not uncommon for suppliers in China to manufacture the same product and just put a different logo on it depending on who they sell it to. Is it an online purchase? Is there anyway you could physically see the tent before you purchase? Ideally check for light leaks as well although this is best done with a light inside the tent and having the tent in a dark room. Light leaks are a concern when it comes to tents, the quality of the tent is also important as you want it to last a long time. You do not want the zip to give in, or the stitching in the seams to come loose or even worse the polls or corner connectors to break leading to possible damages of your plants and even equipment. There have been situations where all of the above has happened to various friends of mine.