First grow in a decade.

So, at the time of planting my germinated seed, I didn't have access to what I typically used (which was/is Fox Farms) for either my marijuana or garden seedlings to plant in. I took a run over to my local garden supply and they had the following:



I had used something similiar in the past for the "getting going" part of the grow. Had no problems. This bag; while it really does expand 5x, came recommended but honestly, I don't think it has what is needed to support any plant growth. My first seedling was looking yellowish. I thought it was the LED lamp and I needed to get used to the lighting. NOPE.
Under normal light it was turning yellow. Probablyu lacked nitrogen. The second seedling was starting the same. I re-potted in Fox Farms soil that arrived via mail. The first seedling is nice, lush and deep green. The second seedling will probably take a day or two to come around.
Runt is being carefully transplanted tonight.

Below is seedling 2 just after transplant.



Its too bad about the soil. Maybe it was a fluke batch. I really did like how compact it was; great for storing until I want to use for next seedlings (whatever they may be). Alas, even my garden plants are a tinge of yellow...

/Lesson Learned.

My kit that @SNEAKYp had recommended arrived.
I will be using three for obvious reasons and three outdoors on my grapevines (that should be a real test since grapes suck up so much water).
I'll post more about the irrigation as results (good or bad) come in...

I wasn't paying attention too closely to my lamps height and was cooking a few plants.
As well, because I had the plants on a 2x4' table, when the blower would turn on, it would suck the air out so quickly the tent almost formed a vacuum seal around the tabletop. This was causing part of my problems with humidity (still not great, but you will see why in pics it is much better). My blower was "set" for the whole tent. When it kicked on, it was servicing basically half the tent when the seal created around the table. My tent was not "balanced".
I had to fab a few extra support poles to combat the concave the tent experiences when the blower vents (the table was holding back the tent walls mostly).



Along with the upright in the rear (there is one for the front of the tent as well), a couple side support poles were installed. I kept the ends jagged (so to speak) on the ends so I could remove the upright easily (especially the front) when needed and there was enough bite not to jostle free. The side poles are somewhat the same but held in place with heavy duty rigging tape.



Buttoning it back up...

Pic of the girls.
Check out "runt" in the lower right... Still with us.
I am going to transplant the two more mature plants in a couple days to 5 gallon grow bags.




Trying to keep my garden plants in the tent until the weather settles a bit in my area (lows overnight are still pretty cold). Real Estate will be at a premium in the tent and once the irrigation goes in for the girls, I know it will feel like a real chore watering the garden plants as needed until they are outside (I have an exceptional ability to rationalize procrastination.

This plant was acting odd for the past few days and has been hard to keep the soil moist. Admittedly it started out too close to the LED's so growth is a bit stunted and a few leaves basically got nute burn as a result. I got rid of those leaves (very low on the plant) and re-potted into the plants final destination after some trimming (7 gallon bag).



More to come tomorrow. This one is going into a bag as well so I can start using my Blumat system.



And then there is Runt. She's still fighting along..

#2 made its way into a final re-potted home. Leaving runt.
I'm just going to veg until runt catches up more.
I can't see that hurting after starting these plants way to close to the LED. They need to stretch a little bit...

As an aside; I welcome posts from others on this journal.
Its worked out well in the past for both myself and others; hoping it will again as my grow (and LED learning) proceeds..

Does anyone know about the fan(s) located in the amazon link below?


I am looking for recommendations. I have 2 clip on 6 inch fans and they are doing alright; but they were a scramble buy. Now I am looking for a reliable oscillating fan. Suggestions??

The plants responded well after transplanting and working on the lamp height over the canopy. Even Runt is getting into the game now (I'll probably transplant this weekend and be done with re-homing.
My garden plants are also coming along very well; they will make their way outdoors in a couple weeks. We are having overnight cold snaps this week (nothing out of the ordinary for my region, but still, swings from 71 degree highs to a 34 degree low is a little harsh for my salsa and herb gardens. My below ground growth goes out in the next week or so; but it has nothing to do with this tent; I am now just rambling....so onto some rusty grower eye candy...

White Widow:


#2


Annnnnnnd....
Runt


/Don't ask me, their names just kinda fell into play.

Today was my pseudo Friday.
So after a "cat nap" with my buddy,


it was time to work on my water problems since most of the supplies for water prep arrived via mail.
My problem was outlined previous, but a recap. My RO isn't keeping my water's PH at 7.0. My tap water is fit for humans, not so much for plants (8.5-9.0). Believe it or not, a brita water filter pitcher results in water that is approx 7.5 and easier to manage. It is just a pain t try and get water half a gallon at a time. So, onto my solution. Two 5 gallon containers and brita filters. The filters last for approx 60 gallons and will do what I need; get rid of the nasty's in the water, reduce the PH (I will also use PH down trying for 6.5-7.0 ph) a bit and give me 5 gallons of manageable growing water for the irrigation tanks that will be set up next week (once more supplies from blumat arrive).

So, here we go...first project of the evening:

Two 5 gallon seal-able containers. Once for treating the tap water, one for storage until use.

My original idea was to mount the filter on the bottom of the container treating the water since both stack very well. Well, that didn't work out due to a lip that makes the containers stackable. The filter just will not sit flat; so, I took a look at the lid:

Seems like it would be a good fit... I cut out the center enough for the filter:



It assembles just fine. The lip on the filter sits on the inner edge of the hole I cut. Weight of the water will keep the seal. If not, I'll hot glue a seem onto the filter; that can come off easy later.



Everything fits well and its a tidier solution that is not wasting a bucket by cutting a hole in the bottom:



To fill the feed water container, I'll use an RV filter to pre-screen out nasty's and make less work on the brita filter (The RV filter just connects to a hose run from my tap) also making it far easier to fill up 5 gallons with a "stage 1" of filtered water:



All told, this small project for the tent cost about 50 bucks and will get me all the way through the grow. Amazon sold the filters in 3 packs.
If it works out as well as I am hoping, I will be front running some filters to have on hand since they have a long shelf life if not opened.

As always, input is always appreciated. There will be more pictures of the water solution as a whole next week.