First Grow! CincoDeMeyer's First Run

CincoDeMeyer

New Member
Today i'd like to start my very first grow log, as my seedlings are one week old today and looking healthy! Ill be posting pics along the way, but mostly asking for tips, help, and any advice that will make my harvest more beneficial. First ill tell of my set up and plans, then ill start the story.

So i have plans to build my own LED light, and i'm just waiting on pieces and parts to come in the mail. It is supposed to be 240 watts, but for now i only have enough to buy the LED's and 2 of the 4 needed power supplies, and i figure 120 watts of high power LED will do well for the two plants i want to grow, then somewhere down the road ill add two more power supplies and have my 240 watt up and running! For now, the seeds I have started are in my home made stealth PC grow box, just to start. There's plenty of ventilation, and has 3, 14 watt 5000k CFL's. I know its not a lot but just to start some seeds for now, its enough and they aren't stretching to get the light they need. Once they are older and have grown enough, and I have finished my LED, and my much larger cabinet which will hold it.

I got some bag-seed, and was pretty sure they were sour diesel, but to be honest i have no clue. I germinated 8 of them, one day in the water cup, then 3 more days of wet paper towel. i wanted to stop at 2, but my friend told me one more day would be good for the roots since they looked a little short. so i pulled one and started it, then started the 5 others that opened up the day after. He was right. I didn't think so until today, but the one i pulled early seemed to have burned up under the CFL's, while two others have prospered and are looking good. This is where my thinking comes in, that these seeds aren't sour diesel. One of the two babies is shorter, with much thicker leaves, while the other seems to be getting taller much quicker, and have much thinner leaves. Which automatically makes me think one is Indica dominant, while the other may be Sativa dominant. Maybe its too early to tell, but that's just my thinking put into words.

picture from day 2:
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2 days from they first poked their heads out. the two tallest are the ones still going strong today.

pictures from day 3 after transplant:
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from what you can see the photo on the far left is the tall skinny one, the middle photo is the shorter, thicker one, and the far one is the one I declared dead today.

pictures from day 6:
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once again the far left is the tall and skinny, the middle is the short and fat, and i didn't bother taking a picture of that little struggler, but you can also somewhat see my setup in the far right photo.

pictures from day 7:
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Same order, but now i labeled the cups 1 and 2. 1 being the shorter, thick one, and 2 being the taller skinny one. as you can see i also got rid of the dead one, and put the survivors on some plastic to get them raised up a little bit.

Right now they're on an 18/6 light schedule, and I've been watering them with a big gallon jug of crystal geyser with 1/2 tsp of grow big from fox farm. actually now that I'm typing it it seems logical that maybe plant number three got burned by the nutes, being that it was so small, but it was growing so slow i don't mind not having it. anyways, they seem to be growing well, you can also kind of see my LST bar in the box, its kind of just and open area for stringing branches down. these will be moved to my larger cabinet, once it is outifitted with my DIY LED system and some inner mylar insulation, new locks, etc. I also almost have the hydroponics system set up in there for DWC, all i need now is a water pump, and its ready to grow. im excited to hear what some of you think, mainly about the differences between the two plants and maybe some insight on things i should plan/prepare for. thanks.

by the way if you couldn't tell, im kind of a DIY to death kind of guy.
 

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
Get those CFLs closer if you can without burning. They look a little stretchy to me but it is hard to get a good perspective. Also, make surer you have air ciruclting on them to make the stems strong.

Too young for nutes! Stop giving them to the plants for a while. Figure out a different water supply. No point wasting money on gallons of water or causing all those bottles to be made (sorry, environmentalist here)

Drill some holes in the top rim of the pots for LST. Not sure how the bar would work but if you used it, you will lose the ability to rotate and move the the plants.

What are you using for soil. It looks like it needs more perlite in it.

They look healthy, don't get me wrong. Just offering some insights.

Good luck!
 

CincoDeMeyer

New Member
Thanks and honestly I'm transplanting them into hydroton and growing them in DWC hydroponics so I'm not really worried about soil. It's plenty good for now. I'll hold off on the nutes for now. It was a really low amount for a gallon, so I might just keep it at 1/2 tsp per gallon for now cause I don't want to strip them of nutes when they're responding well. Thanks for the help, and yes, I'm getting a brita filter today, and I always re use my bottles when they're large enough. So no worries. Thanks for the response.
 

CincoDeMeyer

New Member
Here to tell you that I can't believe how awesome everyone here at RIU is. Everyone here is so helpful and so many of you make it so easy for me to learn how to grow better. Anyways ill get on with my update but i wanted you all to know how you guys are the shit. So this is the end of day 10! here's some pics, since i know the "pics or it didn't happen" rule.
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They're looking pretty, and my LED lights should be set up in the next 10-14 days (waiting on shipping), so I think i'm going to have to substitute until then because they should be transplanted soon IMO. I'm really dying to get them in their DWC hydroponics, really get them going and do as little damage to the roots as possible, so i plan to get some more CFL's until the LED's are done. any feedback would be good. Also i was wondering what you guys thought on making any plans to top these plants. My grow space is 3 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and 5 feet tall, but can be adjusted to be 6 feet tall. ill post pictures of my cabinet as soon as i get my insulated mylar in and on the walls. Stay high!:leaf:
 

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
I'd get 4 23w CFL 6500k (bright daylight). Try to find a way to get them sideways and keep them close to the cups. If they turn to the light like pic 2, rotate the plant to make it turn the other way.

They will also be fine to stay in the cups a while longer.

Make sure you have air blowing on them, lightly but noticeable. In a small cab it can work to have it blow against one of the walls/sides and from there it hits the plants not so strong. It will strengthen the stem.

Looking good!
 

CincoDeMeyer

New Member
Thank you! There have been fans on it like you said, on them but just noticeable and it really has helped them stand up strong. And I did rotate it as I put it back in after the picture, I also tried to center them under the lights so that they won't bend over. And as for lights I have two 120 watt plant lights, they aren't cfl's but I figured one on each plant would do the trick. They're bright daylight bulbs so I think they will suffice. I'm going out of town today but hopefully tomorrow I can update you on my locker and get it ready to grow. Later.
 

CincoDeMeyer

New Member
Alright guys so technically, since its past 12, these babies are 13 days old, but that's irrelevant because I'm doing my day 12 update. Why day 12? why so damn random? well today was transplant day! So these little guys are out of soil for good now! into their hydroton and into their new environment. It's DWC and i dont know if I'm repeating myself but i got it going pretty damn well. I'll upload the pics and continue after, so here they are:
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they're looking strong! and the first up-close picture shows a leaf wilting, well actually i moved the fan for the pic and it just kept dragging it down, so really these girls ( I hope to god i get a girl if not two) are happy as can be! I learned from the transplant today that the roots are growing well, and are indeed flourishing! I just hope to god that the transplant went well, and they don't die out on me. For now no nutes, as i want to let them just go for it without throwing more at them to handle, and as for everything else i just need to get an exhaust system going, tidy up the cords and lay some mylar on the walls. LED's are still in the mail but that won't stop me! some more minor details to come but really, we're sitting pretty. me and my buddy are planning to go halves on an A/C unit to keep our plants cool. If any of you know of any good brands for about a hundred bucks? I need one that pulls air from a duct, and it needs to be window size. Also i noticed some people get kinda butthurt when people grow illegally so I'd like to inform everyone that i am compliant with California Prop 215. Anyways, stay high as always RIU!:joint:

P.S. for my next grow, i think I'm gunna order some berry bomb seeds! (in the pic below) Feminized or no? opinions please!
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