First grow update - first lst attempt

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
Other then the 30-35% perlite, I have seen where you have listed the other ingredients of your medium, this may be something to consider as well. I have heard a lot of positives of FFOF, but also a lot of good things about Roots organic as well. At this point I would let them dry out a bit and you may surprised with the growth. At this stage I'd honestly look more at 5-7 days between watering in my opinion, especially with the amount of water you have been giving them each time.

Also as far as the "knuckle test" goes, I know some swear by this, but there are two issues I see with this. 1) You mention doing 1 knuckle, when generally it's suppose to be 2 knuckles 2) I have know many people who have accidentally caused damage to the roots this way, and would advise the weight of your pot.

I thought I knew the weight of my pots and what they need to be down to before water, but I was actually recommend to take an extra pot and fill it with my same medium mix and leave it dry. This way you have something to compare more so as a reference point.
 

Af1022

Member
Might just be my eyes playing tricks on me but in your lst photo it appears that there is an additional small green growth on left side of pot, this should be something you look at. You mentioned that your runoff ph is 6.2 what is the ph of the water when you water the plant? I'd be shooting for a ph around 6.5 of the water you are feeding them to prevent lockout.

The soil does appear pretty compact, and runoff in a timely manner isn't always a sign of lose soil. The speed of which you water it, the moisture level in the soil, size of container, etc can all play contributing factors to this. Most first timers overwater, I have actually let my plants go a week or so at a time before having to water them, if your watering every couple of days at this stage in there life this could be a possible issue.

As far as cutting of the yellowing leaves, at this point the plants are pretty small, and as long as the leaves aren't actually dying, I wouldn't remove them at this point as it will add extra stress to the plant in my opinion.
Thank you for the detailed reply! Water ph between 6.5-6.7. Is there a sure fire way to determine if soil is compacted? I drench at a pretty decent clip and get runoff right away so that's lead me to believe there's breathing room but if there's a problem with it if I'd definitely like to correct it. I didn't notice the green. I'll check it out and pluck tonight.
 

Af1022

Member
Other then the 30-35% perlite, I have seen where you have listed the other ingredients of your medium, this may be something to consider as well. I have heard a lot of positives of FFOF, but also a lot of good things about Roots organic as well. At this point I would let them dry out a bit and you may surprised with the growth. At this stage I'd honestly look more at 5-7 days between watering in my opinion, especially with the amount of water you have been giving them each time.

Also as far as the "knuckle test" goes, I know some swear by this, but there are two issues I see with this. 1) You mention doing 1 knuckle, when generally it's suppose to be 2 knuckles 2) I have know many people who have accidentally caused damage to the roots this way, and would advise the weight of your pot.

I thought I knew the weight of my pots and what they need to be down to before water, but I was actually recommend to take an extra pot and fill it with my same medium mix and leave it dry. This way you have something to compare more so as a reference point.
This is what I do. Ran across someone advising the spare pot and it seemed most reliable. Weight is the #1 factor I've been relying on. I'll let them dry out for a good while before watering again though. I definitely did not make the best choice for soil before I started. 1 good thing about mistakes tho, they'll teach you what not to do lol.
 

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
You also mention using ff nutes in the original post, which products from their line are you using> I myself am using the standard trio and have found that they lack in Calcium and Magnesium. Depending on the water your using this may not be too big of an issue, as tap water usually as additives, but should be set out to dechlorinate for 48-72 hours before use. I have found a CalMag substitute to go well with the ff nutes.

Ph should be fine so lockout shouldn't be the issue, so at this point I'd personally give them a couple extra days between waterings and see if this helps. As new growers we tend to often "over love" our plants. However, these are all just opinions based on the information provided. Always keep in mind that you know your grow space, conditions, etc better then anyone else and the final decision comes down to you. Keep in mind these plants are very resilient.
 

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
This is what I do. Ran across someone advising the spare pot and it seemed most reliable. Weight is the #1 factor I've been relying on. I'll let them dry out for a good while before watering again though. I definitely did not make the best choice for soil before I started. 1 good thing about mistakes tho, they'll teach you what not to do lol.
As far as the soil goes, just chalk it up as a learning experience. I am a new grower as well but have a few people on here I have learned to trust there opinions based on their experience, and have done hours upon hours of research before starting my first grow. With that being said, I went into my first grown calling it my "Test Grow" because their is definitely a learning curve when it comes to growing, and I knew that it was going to take time to dial in my system. Still have issues, but learn more and more every day.
 

Af1022

Member
As far as the soil goes, just chalk it up as a learning experience. I am a new grower as well but have a few people on here I have learned to trust there opinions based on their experience, and have done hours upon hours of research before starting my first grow. With that being said, I went into my first grown calling it my "Test Grow" because their is definitely a learning curve when it comes to growing, and I knew that it was going to take time to dial in my system. Still have issues, but learn more and more every day.
Thats what I'm finding as well. I started with bag seed and a cheap setup to see whether I could keep them healthy or not. I've also been researching as much as I could and have found it very helpful to know what to look for. Just ordered some seeds from nirvana and am constructing a cab with a cfl hood for my next grow. I'm using the trio as well. Have only used grow big as of yet. I have advanced nutrients cal/mag ready In case it's needed.
 

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
Thats what I'm finding as well. I started with bag seed and a cheap setup to see whether I could keep them healthy or not. I've also been researching as much as I could and have found it very helpful to know what to look for. Just ordered some seeds from nirvana and am constructing a cab with a cfl hood for my next grow. I'm using the trio as well. Have only used grow big as of yet. I have advanced nutrients cal/mag ready In case it's needed.
I am never fortunate to find any seeds in the bas I purchase, and have intentions of doing more runs so I jumped in pretty heavy. Running 600w HPS for flower, multiple T8's for veg, custom built cab, and dropped about 200$ alone on beans from Herbies. All together I'm pushing about 800-1000$ invested and I have seen some much less expensive grows by others that look better then mine by far. Again, just another learning experience, but I also have equipment that I can carry into future grows which is nice. So kinda a double edged sword.
 

Af1022

Member
I am never fortunate to find any seeds in the bas I purchase, and have intentions of doing more runs so I jumped in pretty heavy. Running 600w HPS for flower, multiple T8's for veg, custom built cab, and dropped about 200$ alone on beans from Herbies. All together I'm pushing about 800-1000$ invested and I have seen some much less expensive grows by others that look better then mine by far. Again, just another learning experience, but I also have equipment that I can carry into future grows which is nice. So kinda a double edged sword.
I was leaning very heavily on getting a 600w hps setup. But after doing research and coming up with a pyramid style hood that I can adjust lights on I decided to go cfl route. I like the idea of spreading the light evenly thought the canopy and adding side lighting to help smaller bud sites a bit as well as how close I can keep them to the plants. I may need to invest in a 600w hps setup and compare results.

Another question. Is it safe to transplant into larger pots with ffof soil after determining sex?
 

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
I was leaning very heavily on getting a 600w hps setup. But after doing research and coming up with a pyramid style hood that I can adjust lights on I decided to go cfl route. I like the idea of spreading the light evenly thought the canopy and adding side lighting to help smaller bud sites a bit as well as how close I can keep them to the plants. I may need to invest in a 600w hps setup and compare results.

Another question. Is it safe to transplant into larger pots with ffof soil after determining sex?
In 100% honesty, I haven't used fovea soil so I can't say for sure. However, its not usually recommended to transplant after the plants go into flower. With that being said their are a couple options that come to my mind. 1) You can do some research on cloning, take a clone from each plant(keeping track of which clone is from which plant) and putting your clones into an early flower. By doing this the clones will tell you the sex of their mother (or possibly father) plant. 2) Would be to switch the plants themselves to a 12/12 light cycle to start flower, checking them couple times daily for signs of sex. Throw out any males, and then switch back to your standard 18/6 light cycle. This will send your plants back into a vegetative state, where you can let them veg and recover from the stress, know there are only females left. Then when your ready, you put them back under 12/12 and let them go.

These are both things that unfortunately, I have researched and read a lot about, but have never tried first hand. Might be worth asking around RIU for a little further input on this, but have seen both ways done successfully.
 

budulyk

Well-Known Member
i think tnt makes a lot of good points here ive also read the pot of dry medium thing and i do tend to use this myself i think personally id do as he says regarding not transplanting when in flower with it just being bagseed too might aswell just repot them all flip em then u got 6 attempts at repotting incase u damage anything and 6 attempts to know the sexes great learning and save hassle if it needs to go in the bin then its all good still ive never liked the idea of flipping a plant then revegging just feel like its unneeded stress on the plant for ur own laziness of not wanting to repot it but thats just my oppinion i like to keep stress to as little as possible if i can i like the idea of cloning but ill be honest i feel its a bit above where im at right now
 

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
i think tnt makes a lot of good points here ive also read the pot of dry medium thing and i do tend to use this myself i think personally id do as he says regarding not transplanting when in flower with it just being bagseed too might aswell just repot them all flip em then u got 6 attempts at repotting incase u damage anything and 6 attempts to know the sexes great learning and save hassle if it needs to go in the bin then its all good still ive never liked the idea of flipping a plant then revegging just feel like its unneeded stress on the plant for ur own laziness of not wanting to repot it but thats just my oppinion i like to keep stress to as little as possible if i can i like the idea of cloning but ill be honest i feel its a bit above where im at right now
I haven't touched on cloning myself, as I don't feel I'm to that level. Some stress for a plant can actually be a good thing as long as you give it time to fully recover before heading into bloom. The positive to revegging your plant is that you don't waste any of the nice quality soil on plants your going to throw out in a week or less. However, even quality soil isn't overly expensive in the whole scheme of things.
 

budulyk

Well-Known Member
i paid 10 pounds for mine good quality medium too my mates got 12 kush feminised in flower and showing to be lovely with no added nutes so seams pretty quality to me i only do 4 at a time 15 litre pots so 1 bag is just about perfect if its something im gonna smoke im saving myself 100s on buying weed so i might aswell spend my savings on basic needs and upgrades in my growing space and stuff in my general life i will try reveg one day but with it being my first grow im triyng to just learn what i can without overdoing it i do have a friend with around 10 grows under his belt as a backup too but ive impressed him by showing him stuff i learned here like the lucas theory ,how to spot issues this place saved me from overwatering big time i do use topping and lst and is so far showing great results on my plants im yet to update my journal with my most recent pics but there looking amazing so far i think cloning will be more when i spend 15 pounds or more per seed as i will want to keep my money rolling further :D
 

Af1022

Member
I haven't touched on cloning myself, as I don't feel I'm to that level. Some stress for a plant can actually be a good thing as long as you give it time to fully recover before heading into bloom. The positive to revegging your plant is that you don't waste any of the nice quality soil on plants your going to throw out in a week or less. However, even quality soil isn't overly expensive in the whole scheme of things.
Yea good soil is really the least expensive part It seems. I'm torn because I've read lots of posts that say transplanting after sexing is fine as long as the root ball isn't damaged. I've also read posts advising against it. So there's the rub lol. I feel cloning is a bit ahead of me still so I'd ruled that out. I'm not trying to veg these plants that long I'm not shooting for size so that's why I was hoping to transplant after sexing to get them into flower.
 

budulyk

Well-Known Member
ive seen this too but problem is it takes a good week or so to recover after the transplant so do u want to waste ur precious flowertime on recovery ? i wouldnt thats a week of flowers producing and if ur not going for too much size id see this as more important as first week or 2 of flowering they still growing bro heard they slow down after this
 

tntgreen13

Well-Known Member
I tried checking your journal but it won't let me see it. Says I'm not allowed, guessing its something to do with your settings.

Yea good soil is really the least expensive part It seems. I'm torn because I've read lots of posts that say transplanting after sexing is fine as long as the root ball isn't damaged. I've also read posts advising against it. So there's the rub lol. I feel cloning is a bit ahead of me still so I'd ruled that out. I'm not trying to veg these plants that long I'm not shooting for size so that's why I was hoping to transplant after sexing to get them into flower.
With that being said, if your willing to spend a little more on soil, I'd transplant them all into larger pots, give them a week or so after transplant to recover then flip them to veg. The way I look at it is I'd rather lose $20 on soil, rather then risk damaging the root ball. With my luck the ones I damage would be the only girls in the batch, so buying the extra soil to me is just a good insurance plan in this situation. Again thats just my two cents.

ive seen this too but problem is it takes a good week or so to recover after the transplant so do u want to waste ur precious flowertime on recovery ? i wouldnt thats a week of flowers producing and if ur not going for too much size id see this as more important as first week or 2 of flowering they still growing bro heard they slow down after this
This is very true, those first 2 weeks or so your plants will stretch, and whatever you do don't harvest prematurely as your buds will fatten up the most in the last couple weeks.
 

budulyk

Well-Known Member
I tried checking your journal but it won't let me see it. Says I'm not allowed, guessing its something to do with your settings.



With that being said, if your willing to spend a little more on soil, I'd transplant them all into larger pots, give them a week or so after transplant to recover then flip them to veg. The way I look at it is I'd rather lose $20 on soil, rather then risk damaging the root ball. With my luck the ones I damage would be the only girls in the batch, so buying the extra soil to me is just a good insurance plan in this situation. Again thats just my two cents.



This is very true, those first 2 weeks or so your plants will stretch, and whatever you do don't harvest prematurely as your buds will fatten up the most in the last couple weeks.
all about the trichomes baby !!!
 

budulyk

Well-Known Member
should be able to acess my journal now only got 1 post in few pics tho of 3 of my babys 4th is getting added tonight she was started later tho flowering them all together tho gonna let these 3 run over
 

Af1022

Member
I tried checking your journal but it won't let me see it. Says I'm not allowed, guessing its something to do with your settings.



With that being said, if your willing to spend a little more on soil, I'd transplant them all into larger pots, give them a week or so after transplant to recover then flip them to veg. The way I look at it is I'd rather lose $20 on soil, rather then risk damaging the root ball. With my luck the ones I damage would be the only girls in the batch, so buying the extra soil to me is just a good insurance plan in this situation. Again thats just my two cents.



This is very true, those first 2 weeks or so your plants will stretch, and whatever you do don't harvest prematurely as your buds will fatten up the most in the last couple weeks.
Definitely a lot to think about. If I don't here anything different about transplanting after sexing i will most likely go this route. Definitely not harvesting early lol I'm patient.
 

budulyk

Well-Known Member
it makes sense if u go to the newbies thread and ask does my plant still grow in its first 2 weeks of flower ull come back and thank us both im sure lol such a little cost and if they are males even all 6 u got some awesome soil for ur next plants as they not of ate all the nutes that quick after transplant
 
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