Mike's 2014 and 2015 Grow Log!

Hey Everyone!  Looks like its time for round 2!!!  Back this year with a better setup, still fine-tuning the hydroponic system as I go, turns out I took a few shortcuts last year that I'm gonna have to fix this year so I can get the thing up to par again!  Also, Started everything a little bit back, so we'll see how it goes this year!
 
Ok, First up, my 2013 Jalapeno still catching up from a slow start, putting out some beautiful pods!!!

 
My 2013 7 Pot, had quite a struggle last year, doesn't seem to be picking up very quick, still only got 1 pod last year.  Can't wait to see how it holds up this season! (Btw, I cut back a good bit of the leggy/dead/damaged growth from last year to try to focus its nutes on getting stronger... Pics later!)

 
First clone of my 2013 Golden Pothos, getting off to a great start!

 
Started a few new long term Adenium Obesum (Desert Rose) a little bit ago, so far so good (sorry for the blurry pic lol)!

 
Finally, this years new addition, some non-isolated Trinidad Moruga Scorpion! Cannot wait to get some pods on this one!  (I will be selling most of these around Austin, $5/plant (+shipping if mailed),  or I can ship them if anyone can tell me how to properly ship the plant to you w/o killing it! If interested, PM me for information, or keep an eye out on my feed for when I post them for sale!)

 
 

 

[Penny]

Good luck in 2014, and looking forward to reading your posts.

 

[Jeff H]

Looks good so far. How about some details on your dripper irrigation system.

 

[jedisushi06]

Holy perlite batman!

 

[PaulG]

Good luck with those Moruga Scorps, and
welcome to grow season 2014!

 

[GothicGrower122888]

Looks good so far. How about some details on your dripper irrigation system.

 
So far, its really just an auto-watering system in perlite/coir (33% perlite 66% coir in most of the buckets, 100% perlite in the 7 pot bucket as an experiment).  Feeds 2x daily for 30 min each cycle.  There are 4x- 5 gallon buckets currently attached to the system, I have plans for 2 more, but because of my water pressure problem (see below) I have not added those extra 2 lines to the supply yet.  
Here is a list of the issues I have yet to address:
1) I was attempting to make a flood/drain system, but I drilled the holes in the buckets incorrectly, and it was not at all water-tight.  I ended up putting the drain holes 1/2 " above the bottom of the bucket (accidentally forgot to add space for the 'flood' part  , not to mention I tapped the center of the 1/2" hole only 1 1/2" up from the bottom, leaving no room for the drain pipe assembly ).  When I went to install the drain pipe into the bucket, they would not turn into the proper "upside-down 'u' "position due to the lack of space between the drain hole and the bottom of the bucket. 
2)  I also failed to get a good drain pipe-to-bucket seal (bought the wrong size rubber grommets to seal the bucket drain hole to the drain pipe- apparently 1/2" grommets do not fit 1/2" pipe)
3)  The reservoir air pump died (4 lines-out, adjustable air flow.  Did not put the air pump above the water level, and it siphoned enough water to short out.  Also didn't know that would happen until after it happened ) so the reservoir is oxygen deprived and overrun with nute/oxygen-destroying algea
4) In an effort to salvage my system without flooding the house with water, I oriented the buckets so that the drain holes (I ended up leaving them open to simply drain water without any resistance or 'flood' cycle) would drain onto the depressed portion of the rubbermaid lid, and flow back into the res through the hole I drilled for the final return pipe- needless to say, light gets into the res like crazy, and I now know very well why i have to light-proof the res
5) did not account for re-filling or draining the reservoir, so now I have to disassemble the res in order to remove/replace the water- serious Pain in the arse
6) no heat exhaust/ reflective tent for the grow light, not to mention one of my friends 'accidentally' switched the ballast from MH mode to HPS mode with a MH bulb still in it, damaging the bulb and almost frying my ballast.  Still gotta replace that bulb, can't afford a new one yet...
7) forgot to buy a timer for the light, so I'm stuck to turning it on/off by hand every day (not a big deal but still not very good for consistent lighting)
8) I did not get a good seal on the water pump, so now half of my water pressure just feeds back into the res instead of the drip spikes.  
 
To be honest, this year I'm gonna try to replace all of the first-attempt buckets with new, correctly built flood/drain buckets, replacing the Rubbermaid reservoir with something a bit sturdier and easier to fill/drain (the sides bow like CRAZY when its full), light-proofing the res, installing a proper drain system as well as a new air pump (still got the stones and air lines, just need a new pump), getting the light on a timer, replacing the MH bulb with one that is not damaged, and enclosing the entire thing in a reflective tent to help get that light down below the leaf canopy, not to mention make the whole system look more visually appealing than it currently is lol.  
 
Generally, I keep my nute solution at 6.2-6.5 PH, and approx.  2100-2500 PPM.  The water is plain tap, unprocessed (i know, shame on me...), with an initial concentration of 375 PPM out-of-tap (Austin city water is HORRIBLE).  Im also thinking of switching to either distilled water or letting my tap water sit uncovered for a couple days to evap off the extra chemicals before putting it in the res.  Thoughts/advice??  
 
Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looking good.

 

[GothicGrower122888]

To the person who rated my blog as a 1 star, please, If your gonna take the time to vote a 1 star on my grow log, please leave a comment as to why so I can improve my blog, or don't rate my blog because your not helping anything.  I have not trashed your blog, so please stop trashing mine.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

I just voted it a 5.  
 
A) to offset the vote of 1
 
B) anyone who takes the time to post their grow on here gets a 5!!!  
 
Much appreciated as we all learn from each other!!!

 

[PaulG]

Wow Mike, you've been on a steep learning curve with your hydro set-up!
 
Good on ya for tackling that one!
 
Don't worry about the stars, bro.  I didn't even notice them
until I was on the forum for a season and a half!  The most
important thing is the comments and advice folk leave on 
your glog.  Otherwise, I agree with Jeff.  Taking the time to
create one of these things deserves a five.  Now I have to
figure out how to vote!
 
edit:  Oh cool, I just discovered all you have to do is click
the star!  Maybe the one who put one star is dyslexic  
and hit the star on the wrong end!
 
edit 2:  You just received my first vote  

 

[GothicGrower122888]

PaulG, Thank you!  Nice to see some positive-minded people again lol!  Trust me, everything I do is on a steep learning curve (hope I never get 'bit'  for trying to learn to quickly lol), Im a firm believer in the old idea that the best time to learn is now, because you might need that knowledge tomorrow!  Always been the 'prepared' boyscout at heart, and adding science to gardening fits my style perfectly!  Still trying to figure out where I draw 'the line', as I have also recently started looking into herbalism, to add to my gardening experience!    Unfortunately, money (ugh) is always too tight for me to afford half the things I need to finish my projects, so I try to tackle them in chunks.  I think this year one of my first resolutions will be to finish this bad boy into a proper hydro and watch the pods flourish!

PS- Best of luck to everyone during the 2014 growing season!

 

[PaulG]

You've got the right idea there, Mike!

 

[GothicGrower122888]

Quick update, not much different yet.  I removed all but 5 or so Moruga's, as they were starting to get too big to leave that close together, next Im going to get them into nice little planter pots.  Also, I gutted a computer power supply (except for the fan), and used the fan, shell, and some extra mesh screen I had laying around to make a USB powered low temp dehydrator, and here are the results of my first trial batch!
Before:

 
And After:

 
Thinking about making a larger, more professional looking one with several layers of screens and an adjustable temp heater/probe/digital thermometer built in... We'll see what happens, keep an eye out for it later, if I get around to doing it!

 

[Penny]

Even dried, those things look wicked!!

 

[Jeff H]

Pretty cool little dehydrator.

 

[GothicGrower122888]

Been quite a minute from my last post, thought I would give an update!!! I miss you guys!
7 pot - Year 2, 2015 (from last night!)  doing some MAJOR pod porn!!!

 

 
Also my Jal just about exploded with peppers!  Funny thing it just keeps pushing out more flowers!  Keep picking the extras off to try to push the already there ones to ripen well, but im ready to let this batch finish up ripening so I can prep for the next batch!
 

 

 
BTW you guys are awesome, I could have never gotten this far without your help!!!  Speaking of help... got any advice for organic pest control for spider mites???  Been having some annoyances with my thyme and ESP catnip falling prey to spider mites!