U)<now's 2016/2017 Indoor/Outdoor Glog

U)<now · Feb 19, 2017

Hey all, long update... I decided to get new bulbs and also hang the 6th fixture. My previous bulbs were 6500k T8 2580 lumen, at least 2 seasons old. For the new bulbs, I went with 6500k T8 2850 lumen XP models.

The color difference on the new bulbs vs the 2 season old bulbs is pretty crazy... see pic below. Yellowish looking ones are the old 6500k bulbs.

Most of my varieties are doing well. Pics below...

Fildalga Preto and Purple Viper Naga are getting some nice purple coloring...

My yearling BTR and Habanero are now moved into the grow box and starting to take off. I've been pinching buds as they put them out.

Also used some 3M command hooks and couple of the girlfriends hair ties to make a latch to hold the door closed or open.

I'm having some mangled growth/cream coloring/downward curling on a few though, mainly my Jalapeño, Borg 9 and a couple CPR. Anyone have any ideas?

Could it be a Nute issue already? Im only 3 weeks since dirt day. Or maybe too hot/humid? They are also still on the heat mat, which is set at 83F.

It stays about 81F at 35% to 40% humidity in the grow box. No fan yet, I tried to find one this weekend but none of the big box stores by me have them out yet, they said next week they should.

gunaka · Feb 20, 2017

How close do you put your plants under T8 light ?

U)<now · Feb 20, 2017

gunaka said:
How close do you put your plants under T8 light ?

About 2 inches

OCD Chilehead · Feb 20, 2017

I would get some air in there. It doesn't take much. Even a CPU fan is better than nothing. I don't think that's your problem. I have a few that do that every year. Don't know why. If it's only a very small percent of the rest of them, I wouldn't worry about it. If the majority or half of them were looking that way, I would figure something out. I would wait and see if 2nd or 3rd set of leaves turn out fine. I'm sure they will. I don't start feeding, and very lite, until they've got a good root system. You don't want to kill them. They look nice and healthy. A little air flow will sturdy them up.

Good luck.

U)<now · Feb 20, 2017

OCD Chilehead said:
I would get some air in there. It doesn't take much. Even a CPU fan is better than nothing. I don't think that's your problem. I have a few that do that every year. Don't know why. If it's only a very small percent of the rest of them, I wouldn't worry about it. If the majority or half of them were looking that way, I would figure something out. I would wait and see if 2nd or 3rd set of leaves turn out fine. I'm sure they will. I don't start feeding, and very lite, until they've got a good root system. You don't want to kill them. They look nice and healthy. A little air flow will sturdy them up.

Good luck.

Thanks, Chuck. I was thinking airflow also, since that grow box is sealed up pretty tight. I left the door cracked a couple inches last night to help a bit and also to help with temps, with new bulbs and 6 fixtures now, it got up to 88F at plant level yesterday in just a couple hours. I looked for some CPU fans at work last week and we didn't have any. I'll probably just order a small fan from amazon today.

stettoman · Feb 20, 2017

It's that Michigan air. You're too close to Wisconsin for them. They'll grow out of it, I'm too close to Wisconsin too, my plants took a bit to adjust, but I'm lookin' at some fine specimens now.

Don't wait for leaf curl before you raise those lights an inch or six...I learned the hard way.

U)<now · Feb 21, 2017

Fans came in. Ordered a couple USB cabinet cooling fans, they put out a nice mellow breeze. Hopefully they help a bit if airflow is my problem with the deformed and yellowish growth. I also raised the lights a few inches to 5 or 6 inches above plant tops now.

"1 gallon" pots came in today also.

I also set up a spare netcam I had, on my temp/humidity sensor so I can monitor temps while away, lol.

1 gal pots vs 18oz solo cup

Here's a couple pics of progress (Cells were drier in these pics, I watered after these pics were taken)

The growth problems are weird still... they all look a little lighter green than I think they should also, maybe I'm just being paranoid. I haven't tested pH yet for soil or water, but I think my water was at 6.5 or 7.5 last I checked. So I know that could be part of it.

Couple good Fildalga Preto...

Then another funky Fildalga Preto two cells over...

Messed up habanero, and then the others around it look fine to me...

Yellowish hab...

3 good looking CPR, then the one mangled one in the back left... (ignore two seedlings on left of pic)

Closer pic of the mangled CPR with one good next to it...

Jalapeño leaf curl seems to have improved, but they look a bit yellow to me, thoughts?

Maybe I'm just worried for no reason, I know you always get a few funky issues, but it seems to be affecting at least a couple of almost every variety now. I think I'll start simple and get a PH tester and test the water/soil and go from there.

U)<now · Feb 26, 2017

Well, time to start potting up. Probably should have started last week, especially with the jalapeños. Bought 6 cu ft of Pro-Mix Ultimate organic mix today. Some of the plants with funky growth have grown out of it, others haven't. Is what it is at this point. I need to get these potted up so I can start my last batch of seeds.

I also got a cheap water PH test kit today. Water is somewhere between 6.2 and 6.8, if I had to guess, it's around 6.5 which is what I remember it being when I tested it a few years ago.

Fresh growth on the Borg 9's looks much better.

That one hab and Fildalga are still growing funky, but whatever, I have more, so I'm not worried.

Time to kick it up a notch!! :fire:

Blitz527 · Feb 26, 2017

That is one sweet set up man. Approximately what did it cost you to build it? Im working with a dual bulb t5 (5k bulbs) set up for coral but its working out pretty well and a plywood frame with 72 solo style cups.
p.s. Plants look great. nevermind the funky ones. who knows, maybe they will turn out just fine.

U)<now · Feb 26, 2017

Blitz527 said:
That is one sweet set up man. Approximately what did it cost you to build it? Im working with a dual bulb t5 (5k bulbs) set up for coral but its working out pretty well and a plywood frame with 72 solo style cups.
p.s. Plants look great. nevermind the funky ones. who knows, maybe they will turn out just fine.

Thanks Blitz! If you scroll back a few posts, I have the total cost and "how to" for the 5 fixture version of the stand posted. I think stand was around $80 in materials. With lights and electronics it comes to just over $300 for everthing.

It's working great! I actually have to leave the door cracked open about 5 inches to keep it at 80F air temp. If I close it, it gets 90F+ in there. I'll probably add a couple vents in it for next season and get 2 more of the fans I have, one for intake and one for exhaust.

OCD Chilehead · Feb 26, 2017

Very nice plants Troy. Their going like the new shoes.

U)<now · Feb 26, 2017

Root systems are looking nice too!

U)<now · Feb 27, 2017

Got the jalapeños potted up and my two survivors from last year. That's all for tonight. Space is getting tight!!! Going to have to give the giveaway plants to their new homes soon, probably in the next day or two.

Diafond · Feb 27, 2017

U)<now said:
That one hab and Fildalga are still growing funky, but whatever, I have more, so I'm not worried.

That hab reminds me of the Mutant Candlelight. Maybe you've got mixed up seeds, or a cross...

U)<now · Feb 27, 2017

Diafond said:
That hab reminds me of the Mutant Candlelight. Maybe you've got mixed up seeds, or a cross...

Interesting, I didn't know the candlelight mutant was a thing. I'll have to grow this out now and see what happens. It seems to be growing at the same pace as others, just with the deformed leaves. I think it's a little fuzzier/more hairy than the others also.

It's supposed to be a regular ol' orange hab. Seeds for those came from burpee.

U)<now · Feb 28, 2017

My other order arrived today! I'll get these all in the dirt tonight.

U)<now · Mar 3, 2017

Hey all,

Well, I called it off for germination of existing sowed seeds. It's been over 30 days now. I did have one more Reaper pop at 24 days, but that was it.

Finally potted up all 164 plants. 162 seedlings of 288 germinated. Most varieties that did germ were around 60% to 100% germ rate, but I had that batch of over 100 seeds with 0%.

I am most definitely out of room and I still have 3 more trays to start for the new batch of seeds as well as other vegetables. So my Saturday plans are to pick my keepers and give away some to friends and family, and maybe try to sell a few of the rarer ones on local Facebook pages.

Found out I can fit 8 trays with 15 solo cups per tray in my grow box, for 120 plants total. But again, I only plan on keeping around 60. I think when I used smaller great value or some other brand cup, I could fit 18 per tray, but the solo cups have square bottoms and are 18oz cups so I'd rather the extra size for each plant.

Extra orange Habs, including the mutant Hab on the far right, which I will be keeping and growing out for myself. It's growing at the same pace as the rest, just has the long skinny leaves.

Few more...

I didn't get a pic, but my Reapers seem to be more sensitive to light than other varieties, as far as turning purple. A few are pretty purple and that's with my lights being about 6 inches from the plant canopy. Anyone else notice anything similar with Reapers?

That's all for now. I'll post another update this weekend with my keepers and new batch of seeds sowed.

Thanks for checking in! :fire:

U)<now · Mar 4, 2017

I sowed the rest of the seeds I had on hand tonight. Tomorrow I'll be picking my keepers. I have about 40 plants now that I can't fit in the tent anymore.

Datil · Mar 4, 2017

Nice setup, plants look fine.
Some minor glitches are normal... Sometimes you can shock/stunt them during transplant despite the attentions.
Also in the same conditions some plants get just healthier and stronger by genetics, that's why i usually plant a few for each variety and then keep only the best looking / fastest growing.

Good luck

Datil

OCD Chilehead · Mar 4, 2017

Great update Troy. I'll be potting up next week. Some plants get the purple effect some don't. They will out grow that in time.

Thanks for sharing bud.