Ep 004: 400+ Seeds Popped & Organic Raised Beds Built
· Episode 004 covers a massive multi-week update at the Home Grow TV farm in Colombia, beginning with a large-scale phenotype hunt of regular seeds from Shwale and Ridgeline Farms genetics, including male selection with collaborator Santi from Rosin Bogotá. The indoor CO2 grow room is completed: automated drip irrigation via Open Sprinkler tied into the Pulse dashboard is commissioned, CO2 is introduced for the first time in the channel's history, and the first transplants (Umami, Raw Genetics, and others) go into 2-gallon coco pots under AC Infinity Evo 10 LEDs. Eight massive organic raised beds are constructed in the greenhouse over five grueling days with a crew of seven, filled with trucked-in natural soil mixed with coco fiber and amendments, and planted with 400–500 plants spanning dozens of genetics. A surprise nutrient switch to an organic drip-compatible line is teased, and the CO2 room is shown thriving at day 3 of flower.
Topics
Male phenotype hunt of Shwale and Ridgeline regular seeds with Santi · CO2 system first-ever installation and commissioning in the grow room · Open Sprinkler automated drip irrigation tied into Pulse dashboard · Building eight organic raised beds and transplanting 400–500 plants into greenhouse · Organic nutrient line switch teased as mystery reveal for next episode · Germinating 400+ seeds across 15+ genetics for greenhouse season · Clone room heat and VPD crisis resolved with AC Infinity Terraform 7 and CloudForge T7 humidifier · AC Infinity Evo 10 LED setup, PPFD dialing, and first flower metrics · Soil mix recipe: trucked natural earth, coco fiber, mycorrhizae, and organic amendments · Dry-back irrigation strategy for coco media in automated drip system · Pheno hunt spreadsheet tracking and nutrient sensitivity notes · AC Infinity rewards program and $100 gift card giveaway announcement
Sections
Intro, Giveaway Winner, and Episode Overview
Dakota introduces the episode as a major milestone, previewing the CO2 launch, raised beds, and 400+ seed pop. The $100 AC Infinity gift card giveaway winner ('Stinky Pinky') is drawn randomly from Episode 003 comments using a comment picker tool.
Ridgeline & Shwale Pheno Hunt — Veg Update and Male Sexing
Dakota tours the outdoor/shaded pheno hunt area showing massive Ridgeline and Shwale regular seed plants. Sex has been determined for ~98% of plants. A clone room heat crisis is revealed — heat pads set too high plus the uninsulated roof raised dome VPD to 1.5 and killed all micro plug clones. Solution: AC Infinity Terraform 7 AC unit, Controller 69, and CloudForge T7 humidifier ordered.
New Seeds Popped — CO2 Room Testers
Umami series (901A, 905, 906, 910) and Raw Genetics genetics (Pink Paloma Zero, Zpie F2, Permanent Marker) are revealed as the first CO2 room testers, germinating in Canak Cans.
Male Pheno Hunt with Santi (Rosin Bogotá)
Santi arrives and conducts stem-rub and structural assessment of Shwale and Ridgeline males. Top males are identified and starred in the tracking spreadsheet. 90% of males are culled and sent to compost; 2–3 keepers per genetic line are retained.
Mr. Q Delivers 200 Clones — Propagation Room Upgrade
Mr. Q delivers 200 healthy rooted clones including Watermelon Emoji #22, Lal Bomba, and Black Hole. The Terraform 7 is shown working in the veg room. CloudForge T7 humidifier is unboxed, installed, and connected to Controller 69 and set to auto at 70% RH.
400+ Seeds Germinated — Greenhouse Season Pop
The largest seed germination run in channel history is initiated. Genetics include Trike Beast, Barf Breath, Anniversary Cake (Solfire), Chicken and Waffles (Humboldt), Battle Royale (Copycat), Milky Dreams, Greenhouse Seed Co strains (via Seedsman), Shadowborn Genetics, Walipini, Gorilla Runtz, and Guava Roo.
CO2 Room Irrigation System Build and Testing
Detailed walkthrough of the completed irrigation manifold including pump, RO filter (Ecojet 110), pressure gauge, disc filter, solenoids (Bucket Company), and union valves. Open Sprinkler is commissioned in 15 minutes and integrated with the Pulse dashboard. System tests confirm ~40 PSI maintained pressure and ~100 ml/min per dripper. Leaks are identified and fixed.
First CO2 Installation and CO2 Room Transplant Day
CO2 tank with regulator and controller is installed in the sealed grow room — the first CO2 Dakota has ever run. Coco pots (2-gallon) are pre-saturated at pH 5.5–5.8, EC 3.5 via drip to 2% runoff. Pink Paloma, Permanent Marker, and Umami testers are transplanted. Evo 10 LEDs set to setting 2 (~250 PPFD) 4 ft above canopy.
Nutrient Switch Teaser and Day 11 CO2 Room Update
Dakota announces a switch to a mystery organic nutrient line compatible with drip systems, teasing a brand reveal and giveaway next episode. Day 11 veg update shows explosive CO2-driven growth; first automated irrigation is confirmed working; dry-back strategy explained (30–35% VWC). Comparison made to non-CO2 Umami plants showing significantly smaller size. Canopy management (fan leaf strip instead of topping) is demonstrated.
Greenhouse Raised Bed Build — Day 1 and 2
Soil materials arrive — one truck at ~$220, requiring many loads uphill. A crew of seven begins mixing natural earth with 300 kg coco per bed and amendments/mycorrhizae. After day 1.5 they are not yet halfway. Mr. Q brings Auto Kong #4 (Paradise Seeds) sample — 170g, 17% THC, 4% terpenes, white ash. Planting begins for Watermelon Emoji #22, Battle Royale, Shwale genetics, and Moito.
Greenhouse Raised Bed Build — Days 3–5, Bobcat, Final Plant
A Bobcat skid steer is brought in on day 3, cutting workload by over half. Rain interrupts work on days 4–5. One community bed is filled with the team's traditional home mix as an experiment. Final planting day completes all 8 beds. Shadowborn Genetics The Punch is added at the last minute, displacing Vintage Blueberry. HomeGrowTV merch store launch announced.
CO2 Room Day 3 Flower — Final Update
Automated systems confirmed working perfectly. Organic mystery nutrients running through drip with lush green growth. CO2 at ~1100 PPM; PPFD ~800 µmol at canopy centre on setting 7. Defoliation begins on lower canopy. Closing segment shows Cheetah Piss clones 'stacked' in greenhouse veg, grown with only rainwater and no nutrients, with zero pest or mould issues.
Notable quotes
Dakota: "This is potentially the most significant upload we've ever had at HomeGrow TV."
Opening line of the episode, setting up the CO2 room launch, massive bed build, and 400+ seed pop as landmark milestones → watch @ 0:04
Dakota: "Can't believe we haven't given them any nutrients yet — not a drop. This is just the soil mix to this point. They're absolutely huge."
Remarking on the Ridgeline genetics plants growing enormous on soil nutrition alone without any added liquid fertiliser → watch @ 4:16
Dakota: "Failure alert. We officially killed quite a few domes' worth of clones. Everything way overheated."
Announcing the discovery that new heat pads set too high combined with hot ambient temperatures had killed an entire batch of clones → watch @ 7:52
Dakota: "It's 35°C inside here — that's way too hot. No wonder everything's dying."
Reading the propagation room temperature with a heat gun after the clone death event → watch @ 10:20
Santi: "Seven is crazy — seven got much smell than the other in the back. It's smaller but it's bigger than the other two. Razor blades. Is it a coincidence that old males have that razor blade leaf going to rip through the hunt?"
Assessing male #7 during the Shwale pheno hunt; noting both stronger terpene expression and distinctive leaf morphology → watch @ 17:42
Dakota: "You're going right for smell, I see — stem rub. Exactly touching the stems looking for crazy smells."
Observing Santi's immediate pheno hunt technique upon arriving at the plants → watch @ 16:27
Mr. Q: "The number 22, the watermelon Emoji — lab Bomba from Compound Genetics, Black Hole as well from Square One Genetics. Our keepers are the keepers with a reason, and we're going to be seeing the results of why those are the winners."
Identifying the keeper clones he is most excited to run in the next batch, delivered to the farm as 200 rooted clones → watch @ 20:20
Dakota: "This is the first CO2 we've ever had literally since I started growing. I had my first plant go, it was 2010 era. Jorge Cervantes was the first one to talk about CO2 where I heard about it in the encyclopedia. 15 years later we have our first CO2."
Marking the historic milestone of commissioning CO2 for the first time after 15 years of growing → watch @ 41:11
Glossary terms from this episode
AC Infinity Evo 10 (LED) · Autoflower · Bobcat (Skid Steer Loader) · Canagerm / Canak Can (Germination Kit) · Clone / Cutting · CloudForge T7 Humidifier (AC Infinity) · CO2 Controller · CO2 Supplementation · Coco (Coco Coir) · Controller 69 (AC Infinity) · Defoliation / Fan Leaf Strip · Disc Filter · Drip Irrigation · Dry back · Dry-Back Triggered Irrigation (Automated) · EC (Electrical Conductivity) · Ecojet 110 · F2 (Second Filial Generation) · Float Valve · Flower Test · Grower's House Plug Trays (Pre-filled) · Heat Mat / Seedling Heat Pad · Internode Spacing / Stacking · Live Rosin · Living Soil / Organic Soil Mix · Male Phenotype Hunt · Micro Plug / Clone Plug · Mother Plant · Mycorrhizae (Mycer) · Nutrient Sensitivity
Products mentioned
Evo 10 LED · Controller 69 · Terraform 7 · CloudForge T7 Humidifier · VPD Gun / Infrared Thermometer with VPD · Heat Pads (Seedling Heat Mats) · Open Sprinkler Controller · Pulse Grow Management Dashboard · Ecojet 110 · Solenoid Valve · Canak Can (Germination Kit) · AC Infinity Clone Trays · Grower's House Pre-filled Clone Trays · AC Infinity Rewards Program / Cosmic Cargo Merchandise · $100 AC Infinity Gift Card (Giveaway) · Auto Kong #4 · Seedsman