Where did you come from, where did you go?

[Laughing Grass]

Thought this would be a fun thread idea. Let's see where you started your cannabis growing journey and where you are today!

I've had a few incremental upgrades throughout the years. I started growing in 2018, right when cannabis weas legalized in Canada.

My first grow setup was a 3x3 Secret Jardin tent. I bought the best light I could afford at the time, a HLG 300, 240W LED light. Not knowing anything, I of course chose the most complicated way to grow... DWC. I didn't know anything about heat or humidity. Ran my environment way too cold and way too high humidity. I crammed four plants into that little tent, it was a great learning experience, but I never really got good results.

My first upgrade was to build my own grow cabinet. It was a pretty slick 6x3 cabinet, purpose built around DWC and scrogging. 'cause of course my grow style will never change. I added two more 240W DIY LEDs, before upgrading to two HLG 350R 330W lights. that worked well for me, but I eventually switched from DWC to coco and stopped scrogging. Since I was going to be a scrog grower forever I only made the cabinet 5' tall, once I stopped scrogging this became a massive limitation for me.

Finally landed where I am today. In a AC Infinity 5x5 tent. I'm growing in FloraFlex 2g pots with their bubbler system. When I first switched to coco was using Blumat TROPF gravity based automatic irrigation system. It was alright, but very inconsistent and I had several floods. I recently upgraded my lights AGAIN to AC Infinity EVO10 1000W bar light. I haven't completed a harvest with the new light so I can't really give a educated opinion on it, but so far I really like it!

So what about your garden. Where did you start and where are you today?

 

[Dboybudz]

Thought this would be a fun thread idea. Let's see where you started your cannabis growing journey and where you are today!

I've had a few incremental upgrades throughout the years. I started growing in 2018, right when cannabis weas legalized in Canada.

My first grow setup was a 3x3 Secret Jardin tent. I bought the best light I could afford at the time, a HLG 300, 240W LED light. Not knowing anything, I of course chose the most complicated way to grow... DWC. I didn't know anything about heat or humidity. Ran my environment way too cold and way too high humidity. I crammed four plants into that little tent, it was a great learning experience, but I never really got good results.

View attachment 14685

My first upgrade was to build my own grow cabinet. It was a pretty slick 6x3 cabinet, purpose built around DWC and scrogging. 'cause of course my grow style will never change. I added two more 240W DIY LEDs, before upgrading to two HLG 350R 330W lights. that worked well for me, but I eventually switched from DWC to coco and stopped scrogging. Since I was going to be a scrog grower forever I only made the cabinet 5' tall, once I stopped scrogging this became a massive limitation for me.

View attachment 14686

Finally landed where I am today. In a AC Infinity 5x5 tent. I'm growing in FloraFlex 2g pots with their bubbler system. When I first switched to coco was using Blumat TROPF gravity based automatic irrigation system. It was alright, but very inconsistent and I had several floods. I recently upgraded my lights AGAIN to AC Infinity EVO10 1000W bar light. I haven't completed a harvest with the new light so I can't really give a educated opinion on it, but so far I really like it!

View attachment 14687

So what about your garden. Where did you start and where are you today?

It definitely shows from then to now, flower you got turning out now is ridiculous in every way. I started in the woods trying when in highschool,and just keep learning every time something new. Little different when dependent on outdoor climate,cold,rain especially if not covered. Really need to build a hoop house or a nice greenhouse would be great. Learn so much from all you indoor growers and the help and love will never be forgotten ever!!

 

[Laughing Grass]

It definitely shows from then to now, flower you got turning out now is ridiculous in every way. I started in the woods trying when in highschool,and just keep learning every time something new. Little different when dependent on outdoor climate,cold,rain especially if not covered. Really need to build a hoop house or a nice greenhouse would be great. Learn so much from all you indoor growers and the help and love will never be forgotten ever!!

I'd love to try outdoors one day. I can't currently where I live but one day.

 

[Shane Karmann]

Now you got Cotton Eyed Joe on a loop in my brain. Thanks!

 

[laddyd]

I retired back in 2020 which was also when they made recreational pot legal. I jumped the gun a little bit. I ordered seeds from Pacific. I snagged a couple of 24" boxes from work along with a couple spray cans of white primer. My light was a blurple from Amazon. I started with autoflower seeds in 3 gallon pots. I had read that it was a good idea to start them in the same pots they finish in. I used miracle grow potting soil and then some miracle grow flower food. I got some pretty decent marijuana.
I bought an actual tent, an AC 3 x 3. I bought a decent light, a viparspectra XS 1500.
Next I moved on to making my own soil from Bugbees recipe. I had seen an article about SIP pots. I made some 5 gallon SIP pots. I got one good grow from that and one that needed rescuing with store bought soil. The store bought soil I used after perusing grows from people like Shane, well actually mainly Shane, was ta da, pro-mix.
I was happy running SIP pots with pro-mix and had some decent grows.
The last couple of times I tried SOG with small pots and have had good results but it is time consuming. Bottom watering has been working well. I just flood the trays with a gallon of water or plant food and they soak it up.
They should never have sold me regular seeds by the way. Thanks NASC you have ruined my life. And Bob, you helped.
Now I have more seeds than I will ever be able to plant. But I'm trying.
Next will be a less aggressive SOG grow. maybe 8 slightly bushier plants instead of 18. I have some dancing lime crosses and hopefully some Polar Gelato I'd like to grow.

 

[Starecase]

I'd love to try outdoors one day. I can't currently where I live but one day.

I will gladly rent you some deck space ...

 

[DarkWeb]

Realy....that is pretty accurate

 

[Starecase]

Oh oh ... Starecase has been typing.

"In the beginning, there was darkness and ... " Wait ... let's skip ahead a few years. Like the early autumn of 1999. That was when a buddy gave me a bag of SHAKE and in the bottom of that bag were two seeds. That's the real beginning.

"How hard can this be" thought I. I planted those beans outside. They sprouted. I just let them do their thing. Water only. No nutes. The big grow light grew them out more than anything I did to help them along. Then in mid August, I wondered "why does this one plant have all those yellow things and the other one doesn't?" That's how I found out about canna-dudes. You can probably deduce that I harvested a very pregnant female.

Off I went to Cannabis.com (The Grow Dolls of The New Millenia) to read up and get schooled by C.C veterans like "SanClem". I have a couple thousand seeds now so I should probably grow these.

From the backyard garden armed with all the knowledge needed from C.C, I progressed to a sliver of our basement where a friend built me a wee grow room. I practiced what I had learned from C.C - germinating, VEG and FLOWER cycles, cloning, growing in perpetuity, HID vs fluorescents, nutes on the cheap. I pulled ~ 9oz. each time from 6 plants under a bunch of fluoro tubes. I developed a following too - 8 folks asking me for a weekly quarter. This went on until my daughter entered her teen years and found some nosy neerdowells in high school - about 2006 or 2007. She started inviting them over after school and I had no choice ... boom boom, out go the lights!

After a few months of more darkness, the little grow room was dismantled and returned as some toy storage. It was also the time when I found out how much a small burr on aluminum studs can take a big bite out of you. And the lights stayed off until we went legal in 2018.

In 2018, I bought all the stuff - tent, fans, filters - and some Amazon noob lights not knowing what I know now. Two Viparspectra V600F and two Viparspectra DS600 (dimmable) Reflectors. Within 6 months, each DS600 started to show their warts. The dimmer knobs weren't dimming anymore. The V600's started to show a shitload of dust collecting in the exhaust fans up top. Yuck! It was time to pivot to better lighting.

Enter HLG's XL320 QB288 RSpec. That 3' long heat sink with three QB288 RSpec boards for flowering. No noise or dust collecting in an electric motor. Way better than those Reflectors - but not still as "warm" as I hoped. Then I met the Timber 2VL. 2 Bridgelux Vero 29 COB's. 3000K colour temps. BINGO! I bought 2 and only use 1 now. With the life span estimated to be 12 years, and 9 more years left on the one I am using I should be good for flowering lights for the foreseeable future.

Since I didn't need the HLG flower light anymore, the three RSpec boards were swapped out for three QB288 BSpec boards. My 3500K flower light just turned into my 4100K VEG light.

Yields of yore - 9 oz. for 6 plants - has increased with the upgraded tech. I am pulling 5.5 - 6 oz. per plant. And my consumption from those early days of two or three Mexipipes each night has blossomed into a minimum of 1/8 oz. daily.

Speaking of which ... it's a little past 5:20 and I have a joint already rolled and it wants to be smoked. Joining my Central Time stoners today.