BlueCollarBob- Bumbling Through My First Grow

[Zen_seeker]

We get those from June Bugs.
It's why I container garden instead of in the ground.
I can tell when they're in abundance or whatever makes them tasty because I'll go out and find little holes in my front yard where armadillos come in the night and dig them up to eat

I know where the grubs are because they get a circle of dead grass around them.

Armadillos are cool. They ship well?

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Been thinking about what @Bandit420 said about containers and grubs. I think I’m going to line the holes with weed barrier cloth and then add 1/2” hardware cloth to keep the moles out.



Put a hand-me-down makeshift digging bar to work. Pretty sure my grandad said it came off of a Model T, but that was a long time ago. It’s mushroomed on the end from being pounded into our rocky ass soil with a sledgehammer.

 

[steamroller]

The dog is posing like " yea I dug those holes and my master loves em~!"
Nice set up there~!

 

[BlueCollarBob]

The dog is posing like " yea I dug those holes and my master loves em~!"
Nice set up there~!

All that dog wants to do is play fetch and chase motorcycles. He's smiling at the thought of me picking up that stick and slinging it.

I threw some weed barrier down and started lining the first hole with hardware cloth, before darkness shut me down. I made use of an old trampoline fabric in the middle. I remember a SF Bay area guy do something similar with hardware cloth on YouTube. I think he increased the diameter of his holes to 10', though. He was growing large plants and said something like, "The bigger the roots - the bigger the plant."

I'm looking forward to getting the soil and plants in there. This was before starting to place the hardware cloth:

 

[BlueCollarBob]

So, a buddy whom works at a medical grow house just dropped by and offered me a light. Another one of their facilities had shipped their old lights to the location he works at when the bought new lights. It needs a new power cord and there's another cord cut that I assume went to a dimmer or idk what. I haven't researched it, yet. He said he could get me replacement parts if I found any diodes out or other problems.

Just curious if any of you have an idea whether or not it's worth messing with?

 

[Bandit420]

So, a buddy whom works at a medical grow house just dropped by and offered me a light. Another one of their facilities had shipped their old lights to the location he works at when the bought new lights. It needs a new power cord and there's another cord cut that I assume went to a dimmer or idk what. I haven't researched it, yet. He said he could get me replacement parts if I found any diodes out or other problems.

Just curious if any of you have an idea whether or not it's worth messing with?


View attachment 101946View attachment 101947View attachment 101948View attachment 101949

I believe you have a precursor to the tech many of us use today.
This company was short lived and what they started can be found in the brand Agromax today which isn't bad but isn't great either in regards to performance and quality.
At minimum I'd say you have a veg light that can cover a good size space at 4x4 maybe even as big as 5x5.
I'd bet it's color spectrum is around 4000 Kelvin and that's what makes it a veg light. You could flower with it but buds will very small, like thumb size colas, but also likely very frosty with all the blue spectrum in there. You want that spectrum at around 2000k-3000K to bring weight and size to the flowers.
If that 65K in the part number is spectrum then it's 100% veg only or finisher.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I’ll bet he had it backwards. He said he thought they were flower only, but also said that wasn’t his department.

 

[Observer]

I believe you have a precursor to the tech many of us use today.
This company was short lived and what they started can be found in the brand Agromax today which isn't bad but isn't great either in regards to performance and quality.
At minimum I'd say you have a veg light that can cover a good size space at 4x4 maybe even as big as 5x5.
I'd bet it's color spectrum is around 4000 Kelvin and that's what makes it a veg light. You could flower with it but buds will very small, like thumb size colas, but also likely very frosty with all the blue spectrum in there. You want that spectrum at around 2000k-3000K to bring weight and size to the flowers.
If that 65K in the part number is spectrum then it's 100% veg only or finisher.

You think I should switch my sf2000 "full spectrum 6500k" for a "full spec 4000k" going into flower?

About as much spectrum tuning i can do rn lol

 

[BlueCollarBob]

One day soon, there will be weed growing here. Just not today, lol.

 

[doublej]

One day soon, there will be weed growing here. Just not today, lol.

View attachment 101983View attachment 101984

Makes my back hurt just lookin at it...but I'll look at it if you do it....
Keep up the good work brother...

 

[Bandit420]

You think I should switch my sf2000 "full spectrum 6500k" for a "full spec 4000k" going into flower?

About as much spectrum tuning i can do rn lol

There's not much difference between 6500K and 4000K. They're both veg spectrums even though they may be advertised as "full spectrum".
Really anything above 3100K is gonna start losing weight and girth on the flowers when compared to something in the 2000-3100K range.

I would probably supplement your lights with red LED rails. I haven't kept up with it but I remember a thread around here about red and far red being added...I'd look into that for options.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Makes my back hurt just lookin at it...but I'll look at it if you do it....
Keep up the good work brother...

Ha! The hard part is over. We have horribly rocky soil. A digging bar and pick are a must, for manual digging. Mixing the soil just takes time. The weather really slowed me down, last week. Back to the grind this week. So, I'll peck away at it in the evenings.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Right now I'm not tired. I'm TIRED!

Not really that tired. I think this damp and dreary weather just wears on you, after a bit. Nothing too exciting going on here, but I did clean up the Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG and I can share some horrible after dusk photos of the outdoor mess.

A fox (most likely) got a chicken, last night or this morning . Could have been a bobcat, coyote or dog. We had raccoons get into our ducks years ago. They just ate the heads and left the bodies where they killed them. Whatever this was left a trail of feathers around the pond and into the woods. She was a friendly one. The coop and run are predator proof. The coop has an automatic door, but I have to close the door to the run after they free range. I worked outside until dark, last night, and didn't even think to shut the door to the run. Either she didn't make it into the coop before the auto door closed (very rarely happens) or it was waiting on them when the door opened this morning. I need to get a game cam and try to see what's snooping around.

I was later than planned topping these and did that Thursday (4 days ago), I think. The one on the left is about 5" taller. After some defoliating and training, I sat the one on the right on top of a cake carrier to level them up.





If you look at the one on the right, you might notice some white powder. I wiped it off after taking the photo. I believe it was residue from a foliar misting of cal mag.

I still have a lot of work to do outside, but plants are in the ground for a full week, as of today. You can't tell much from these photos, but on the To Do List are:

• Clean up and finish applying landscaping cloth
• Decide whether to mulch or use gravel
• Set posts for trellising tomatoes
• Build stand for a couple of IBC totes (purchased material today)
• Get my first compost tea of the season brewing (maybe tomorrow, if it rains as much as they're calling for and I can't work on anything else after work)
• Finish planting veggies
• I'm thinking about sinking some 4X4 posts that I can use to attach screens for the plants to grow through. Plus, attach some cattle panel arches (maybe with a ridge pole) to make a couple of those mini high tunnel frames. Something that I can run some greenhouse plastic over for rain protection late in flower. Maybe even trellis from using yoyos similar to what @Bandit420 recently shared using in his grow room. Similar to the cucumber trellis arch below, but wider and with the cattle panel attached to some kind of top plate on top of 4X4 posts. Possibly, with a ridge pole. Tall enough to easily walk under when not covered with plastic sheeting.

Like I said, it's a mess:


I temporarily attached a power cord to the free veg light with wire nuts to see if it worked. It was much brighter than I was expecting. I guess the lens on the cell phone camera adjusts so that it doesn't appear bright. This was good, because it made it easy to see the diodes. I don't see any that aren't working. I'm going to hunt up a low voltage controller (WiFi would be sweet) or just a manual dimmer dial pot, if I don't find what I'm looking for cheapish. I may try to veg under this light or I could set it up for starting flowers and vegetables. Not sure what to do yet.

I guess it could be interesting to hang it and see what kind of readings I get using the Photone app. Not sure if I mentioned this, but that diffuser to use with the app finally came in. I should take some readings with the purchased diffuser the paper diffuser, for comparison. I don't know the weight or brightness of the paper one, though.

 

[Observer]

Right now I'm not tired. I'm TIRED!

Not really that tired. I think this damp and dreary weather just wears on you, after a bit. Nothing too exciting going on here, but I did clean up the Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG and I can share some horrible after dusk photos of the outdoor mess.

A fox (most likely) got a chicken, last night or this morning . Could have been a bobcat, coyote or dog. We had raccoons get into our ducks years ago. They just ate the heads and left the bodies where they killed them. Whatever this was left a trail of feathers around the pond and into the woods. She was a friendly one. The coop and run are predator proof. The coop has an automatic door, but I have to close the door to the run after they free range. I worked outside until dark, last night, and didn't even think to shut the door to the run. Either she didn't make it into the coop before the auto door closed (very rarely happens) or it was waiting on them when the door opened this morning. I need to get a game cam and try to see what's snooping around.

I was later than planned topping these and did that Thursday (4 days ago), I think. The one on the left is about 5" taller. After some defoliating and training, I sat the one on the right on top of a cake carrier to level them up.

View attachment 103152
View attachment 103154
View attachment 103153

If you look at the one on the right, you might notice some white powder. I wiped it off after taking the photo. I believe it was residue from a foliar misting of cal mag.

I still have a lot of work to do outside, but plants are in the ground for a full week, as of today. You can't tell much from these photos, but on the To Do List are:

• Clean up and finish applying landscaping cloth
• Decide whether to mulch or use gravel
• Set posts for trellising tomatoes
• Build stand for a couple of IBC totes (purchased material today)
• Get my first compost tea of the season brewing (maybe tomorrow, if it rains as much as they're calling for and I can't work on anything else after work)
• Finish planting veggies
• I'm thinking about sinking some 4X4 posts that I can use to attach screens for the plants to grow through. Plus, attach some cattle panel arches (maybe with a ridge pole) to make a couple of those mini high tunnel frames. Something that I can run some greenhouse plastic over for rain protection late in flower. Maybe even trellis from using yoyos similar to what @Bandit420 recently shared using in his grow room. Similar to the cucumber trellis arch below, but wider and with the cattle panel attached to some kind of top plate on top of 4X4 posts. Possibly, with a ridge pole. Tall enough to easily walk under when not covered with plastic sheeting.

Like I said, it's a mess:View attachment 103163
View attachment 103164

I temporarily attached a power cord to the free veg light with wire nuts to see if it worked. It was much brighter than I was expecting. I guess the lens on the cell phone camera adjusts so that it doesn't appear bright. This was good, because it made it easy to see the diodes. I don't see any that aren't working. I'm going to hunt up a low voltage controller (WiFi would be sweet) or just a manual dimmer dial pot, if I don't find what I'm looking for cheapish. I may try to veg under this light or I could set it up for starting flowers and vegetables. Not sure what to do yet.

I guess it could be interesting to hang it and see what kind of readings I get using the Photone app. Not sure if I mentioned this, but that diffuser to use with the app finally came in. I should take some readings with the purchased diffuser the paper diffuser, for comparison. I don't know the weight or brightness of the paper one, though.

Hell yea, it's all coming together.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I forgot to include some light readings I recorded using the Photone app, last night. I have a 400W metal halide bulb in for veg and will switch to 400W HPS for flowering. Measurements were taken centered on the tent and even with the top of the canopy. The readings seem to show plenty of room to increase light intensity, but I have a lot to learn about lighting. Here's what the app with diffuser gave me:

	Reading	Recommended (maybe?) Week 5 of Veg
PPFD	328	400-600 µmol/m²/s
DLI (18/6)	22.1	45 mol/m²/d (upper limit sans supplemental CO²)
LUX	20,700 lux	50,000 lux (upper limit)
CCT	5300K	6400K ideal for veg. Touch more blue?

I've seen Photone's DLI chart referenced on here, before. Does anybody have any other light intensity charts that you recommend and can share? Or, general ranges you recommend?



PS- On Migro's website, I came across this brief review of this light that adds 640nm red diodes. The review linked to this study from last June that suggests balancing the reds between 640nm and 60nm may increase dry weight yields (volume and density of the buds) and terpenoid concentrations. I've only skimmed it, so far. I don't know if they detail how significant the increased yields and terpenes were during this study. May or not pan out with future studies the researchers acknowledge is needed. Just caught my eye and shared, in case you haven't seen it, yet..

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Neighbor sent this to me from this morning. Looks like a chicken eater, to me.

View attachment chicken lips.mp4

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Everything needs a lot of work. Just sharing a few photos.

Tomato trellis set up I'm trying out, this year. I think I'm going to like this. The totes on the side are for a near future project. I've purchased the materials to build a sturdy stand. Then to figure if that little bit of elevation will suffice for some drip irrigation or will I need to run a pump.


The outdoor plants need some attention. I'll be doing some pruning and training some evening this week. I also need to finish with the landscaping cloth and come up with some mulch:


Little water snake out by the garden, this evening:


Just cellphone pics of some blooms from a "wildflower" packet I scattered last year:


Flamingo Lily:


Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG. Right before taking this photo, I had tried to spread bud sites to open up the short and compact one on the right. They both need some clean up. I also need to study up on flipping to flower and on scrogging (I do not have my act together ). Both are drinking a lot of water and will get some compost tea on Tuesday, I think:


Just for fun, one of my youngest daughter's frogs:



I used PEX to put together a 5 gallon compost tea brewer with an air pump and ingredients for my dad to use on his vegetable garden. He seemed interested in the idea of it and we set up and got his first brew percolating:

Hope all the dads here had a nice Father's Day! Happy growing ya'll...

 

[doublej]

Everything needs a lot of work. Just sharing a few photos.

Tomato trellis set up I'm trying out, this year. I think I'm going to like this. The totes on the side are for a near future project. I've purchased the materials to build a sturdy stand. Then to figure if that little bit of elevation will suffice for some drip irrigation or will I need to run a pump.
View attachment 105606

The outdoor plants need some attention. I'll be doing some pruning and training some evening this week. I also need to finish with the landscaping cloth and come up with some mulch:
View attachment 105607

Little water snake out by the garden, this evening:
View attachment 105608

Just cellphone pics of some blooms from a "wildflower" packet I scattered last year:
View attachment 105609

Flamingo Lily:
View attachment 105610

Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG. Right before taking this photo, I had tried to spread bud sites to open up the short and compact one on the right. They both need some clean up. I also need to study up on flipping to flower and on scrogging (I do not have my act together ). Both are drinking a lot of water and will get some compost tea on Tuesday, I think:
View attachment 105611

Just for fun, one of my youngest daughter's frogs:
View attachment 105612


I used PEX to put together a 5 gallon compost tea brewer with an air pump and ingredients for my dad to use on his vegetable garden. He seemed interested in the idea of it and we set up and got his first brew percolating:

Hope all the dads here had a nice Father's Day! Happy growing ya'll...

Nice work buddy, gonna be cool to watch your guys gardens grow up this summer. I didn't get time for it this year...

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Nice work buddy, gonna be cool to watch your guys gardens grow up this summer. I didn't get time for it this year...

I didn't get stuff done in time to be happy with it. I already have an eye on next year. I was pretty hard on these plants, but learned a lot about lighting and watering during the seedling stage. I've also done a pretty butch job of topping and trimming them. Just saying I have learned enough to know things aren't ideal. I'll work on those things and I'm sure I'll learn a whole bunch of new stuff to add to the list of things to improve on for the following year.

The soil is definitely an area of focus for me. I want to learn what all I need to do to cultivate healthy living soil through the coming seasons and have it in prime condition for 2026. My wife caught me watching some random permaculture videos and let me know she draws the line at collecting urine in a jug to speed composting . No worries, My composting is fast enough for our use. I don't need the Nitrogen, that bad.

Also, I want to get a good trellis/support system set up and rain protection for late flower. Auto-watering... F_uck! I have a long list and that's just outdoors, doh!
I'm enjoying following your big tent grow and I'm definitely interested in seeing what you do in the greenhouse and/or outdoors.

 

[doublej]

I didn't get stuff done in time to be happy with it. I already have an eye on next year. I was pretty hard on these plants, but learned a lot about lighting and watering during the seedling stage. I've also done a pretty butch job of topping and trimming them. Just saying I have learned enough to know things aren't ideal. I'll work on those things and I'm sure I'll learn a whole bunch of new stuff to add to the list of things to improve on for the following year.

Best thing I ever did bro when I got started, I had a hand written note book. Something about writing shit down when done, help my pea brain remember later...to help improve...

The soil is definitely an area of focus for me. I want to learn what all I need to do to cultivate healthy living soil through the coming seasons and have it in prime condition for 2026. My wife caught me watching some random permaculture videos and let me know she draws the line at collecting urine in a jug to speed composting . No worries, My composting is fast enough for our use. I don't need the Nitrogen, that bad.

Also, I want to get a good trellis/support system set up and rain protection for late flower. Auto-watering... F_uck! I have a long list and that's just outdoors, doh!
I'm enjoying following your big tent grow and I'm definitely interested in seeing what you do in the greenhouse and/or outdoors.

The lists get longer with the days...guy gets going one way...then he's gadda go the other...fk....

Yeah that big tent... update coming...

 

[steamroller]

Your outdoor set up looks real nice.
Good job with the LST clips also.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Your outdoor set up looks real nice.
Good job with the LST clips also.

I won’t say how many limbs have been split trying to learn how to use those clips . One plant lost an entire bud site after its second topping. I go through stretches of patiently observation interrupted by moments of “let’s try this” chaos.

Had another big storm system move through here today. Time to head home and see what new surprises await

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I think I added a little too much water to the brewer, last night

Picked up some take out on the way home from work. My wife thinks it’s weird, but I like these salads with tuna salad and cottage cheese: