First Grow…So Don’t Harsh my Stoke

So stoked I can’t feel the BT’s right now. I’m taking some advice I read in someone else’s journal and posting everything as it happens. That way I can cut down on the time my babies will suffer from my stupid, though well intentioned mistakes.

So here’s what I’m working with:

Closet space 26” x 30” x 6’

24” four bulb T5 high output floro. 2000 lumens per bulb, 8000 total (I think it runs at like 96w)

21.5” 250w air cooled HPS

Foxfarm ocean forest and light warrior, pearlite, pots, fans, etc.

I got four green crack clones in rockwool. Three were in the same piece of rockwool and roots were abundant. This became my first obstacle. After getting a few questions answered here by some forthcoming and knowledgeable individuals (thanks friends), I decided to get the rockwool real wet, slowly separate the clones, and put them in my soil mix, rockwool and all. That went smoothly I think, with only a few damaged roots. All four one gallon pots have a one inch layer of pearlite at the bottom for drainage, and a thin layer at the top to keep the soil from drying out too quickly under the constant fan and light (24hr). Plant #1 and 4 have just ocean forest and a little extra pearlite. I’ve heard some different things and decided to experiment with plants #2 and 3. They have something like one part light warrior to every three parts ocean forest, with some extra pearlite mixed in.

Here’s what the photo’s show:

My closet – the black silk sheet keeps light from leaking out my window and allows me to sleep. It’s suspended from various places to make it easy to move and to keep it from blocking the back of the oscillating fan from drawing air. There is another section to the closet that is of equal size except that it has a vertical dimension of something like ten feet. I might use both sections in the future but for now I’m keeping it here.
I have the last bits of the leaves about 2 inches away from the light. It’s a very cool light. A friend had the same one and when he left for a few days the plants grew right into the light without scorching them.

Plant #1 looks really good except for the discoloration of the leaves on top. I need help with trimming. Some people have photos with the ends of their leaves cut off. Do I need to do that? How do I know when and where to do it? And trimming whole branches when the node shows that it will sprout two more there and the present one is looking bad? Is there any good posts that show how to know stuff like that?

Plant #2 shows some of the same discoloration and a little wilting.

Plant #3 looks legit, but needs to catch up to the others.

Plant #4 looks to have grown tall and then something happened to make it wilt, with the whole trunk bending over. Should I prop anything up or trim anything. I’m not worried yet. I think they will perk up when they get over their turbulent childhoods. Most of the leaves are already taking a slight turn toward the light after only a few hours.

The venting that is showing is inside of the other section of the closet. It used to be just that janky platic tube running dryer heat to a hole in the wall. I replaced the housing in the wall and put that T-connector on. There’s a cap over one side of the T now, but when flowering time comes, that will change. An in-line fan will go there, then some ducting from that to the top hole in my HPS. Since it’s only a 250w and I’ll have the oscillating fan going I’m not preparing to utilize the intake on the light housing, just the exhaust. If I have extra ducting I might run it from a cool area on the floor to the intake port of the light housing.

That’s where I’m at. I’d appreciate any feedback that you beautiful people have to offer. Anything. Everyone’s probably thinking “My God! This guy is way too thorough!” Part of the reason is that I just love to write, and the other part is that I was frustrated by the lack of details in other journals.
“Insert clever quote here” -groputillor

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to continue this so I'm just using the "reply now" button.

So I'm on day two and some things look better but others look worse.

I posted pics.

The leaf in my hand curled up toward the light and then just spiraled around. (Plant #2) What's up with that?

And another picture shows how one leaf is curling down (Plant #1). #1 has only ocean forst and pearlite. #2 has a bit of foxfarm light warrior as well. Niether should be a problem, right?

I flipped the whole tray around so the fan blows on the other side. So plant #1 is now on the right with #2 next to it, etc.

I propped up the slumping plant a little with a paper clip, pictured (Plant #4). It was shading the one next to it, and an Ed Rosenthal book said it was a good idea.

Couple more things: I have an oscillating fan going lightly, but constantly at the plants. Good? And water...I'm pretty sure they're good for another 24 hours or so because the rockwool was real wet when I put it in there, and I got the soil a little wet as I put it in, too. I'm about to dig into the soil a bit with my finger to see if it's still wet. If it's not I'm afraid the roots won't want to come out of the comfort of the rockwool.

What'dya think?

Gone for the day,
In more than one way

Soil is damp. Not watering. Peace.

groputillor said:

Soil is damp. Not watering. Peace.

Click to expand...

How is your humidity? You should be fine w/ FFOF & LW. I use straight FFOF w/ no probs. Try to keep humidity between 50-60%. Unless they are still rooting in which case you need 75-100%.

Crazy, I was just thinking when I came home and checked them that I should get a humidity/thermometer thing.

And I was gonna search for what the correct levels were right away.

Thanks friend, saved me some time. Journal looks like a good idea so far.

They were in half of a five inch cube of rockwool and had tons of roots showing when I put them in the soil.

Around 5pm I cut that piece that had curled into a spiral (I have no idea if I shoulda done that but I'm sure it couldn't hurt right?). Just now I noticed the leaf is curling and drying out at the tip again.

So ya, I'm thinking the air is too dry or something.

I'll get a hum/temp thing and update then.

For now I'm leaving the fan off and light higher (3-4in above tops). Good?

Dude, how do they make chocolate buds smell and taste that way?

I thought I wasn't supposed to be adding nutrients yet, but someone told me differently so I've been adding them since wednesday night.

All the new growth looks good but the older leaves near the top are worse.

Even on the healthiest looking one (#3) they have lost color on the very tips.

Other plants have leaves that are almost totally yellow.

Should I be trimming off the dead parts of the leaves so they don't waste the plant's energy?

I've heard you can do either. Leave them or trim them.

What's best?

I really need help in the trimming department if anyone has advice.

I'll post some recent photos later tonight.

Fuckin way cool.

You know how your distant relatives are always shocked at how much you've grown, and in your head you're like "ya that's cause you haven't seen me in ages you crazy old bag." Your parents never notice you growing cause they see you every day.

Earlier today in a question I posted in the noob section I wrote that I felt like they were growing sooo slow. Stupid. I just compared photos from the 17th and today. Suffice to say my stoke is back to heart attack level. The photos are posted below.

Important Points and Questions

I was using plain tap water at first, found out I needed nutes, and added botanicare pro grow.


On some pro advice, I added half of the instructed amount for vegetative growth, so half a tablespoon per gallon (I don't know my ppm stuff yet, help?).

Then tonight I found out the Ph of my water is off (thanks purp). I thought 6.8 was okay but I was told I need somewhere between 5 and 6.5 oops. But it doesn't seem to have slowed growth. I'll get some distilled water tomorrow and add slightly more nutes in this batch.

On advice from a friend who has the same light, I put it almost on top of the plants, like between .5" and 1.5".

I trimmed up a bunch of older fan leaves. Did I do okay? Should I do more? Are there any good posts on pruning? I already have a lot of shoots going now so I'm not sure if I should do it.

I was thinking of doing ScrOG. Is it okay to wait to put the screen up until I'm almost ready to flower? With everything tied to the chicken wire, about how much will I have to move the light (250w HPS) once I start? I wanna make sure I don't let them get to big in veg state. I know it will vary but any approximate figure will do.

Temp stays betweeen 74 and 80 (80 when theirs a bunch of stuff in the dryer). I kept them around 79 for 12 hours and that was the most I saw them grow.

Humidity is almost always perfect. I don't know why. Never seen it lower than 53 or higher than 60. It usually sits around 55%. I think you can see the thermo/hygrometer in one of the photos. Good place?

I'd like to get a makeshift cO2 device going soon as well. Nothin fancy.

I also posted a photo of some great diablo earwax and I forgot what the nug was. Also, a photo of a baby bird right after it hatched. The world's an amazing place

Peace, I'll be back soon. Probably a week, so there are some more good comparison photos.

"I fear rejection like dogs fear vacum cleaners"

Okay I went and bought what I thought was distilled water at the grocery store and the Ph is super low. 7.0 is like a red color on my test strips, and the "distilled" water with nutes mixed in turns them yellow. The water I bought was the only one there that had the word distilled on it. It's baby water or something. It's called "Nursery." Says it's "processed by steam distillation." This is obviously wrong. So where do I get distilled water. What else is it used for?

I jimmy rigged myself a cO2 device that I read about in a random post somewhere. It consists of a 1 gallon jug filled with 6 cups of sugar and mixed with water (shake well). When the sugar was totally dissolved I added a "little bit" of active yeast (shake well). Poked pin holes in the top and replaced it. Now I have to wait a couple days for the yeast to start growing (shaking it all the time). Once it does I just shake it up to activate the cO2 or whatever and put it in the closet with the door shut. Does anyone think that will be dangerous? Do I really need to go spend the money on a cO2 level detector, because I don't want to?

What nutes r u using if any?

Oh crap, okay so before I answer that question...and really I shoulda said it before the thing about the cO2:

I had posted a question about my Ph/distillled water dillemas in another section and had some good suggestions (drunk can't spell) which I will try and you can check out by searching posts by me but anyway....what it basically says is I checked my brita filter water and its like right in that 5.9 - 6.2 range so I used that for now.

And they are EATING

POT SOLDIER 420 said:

What nutes r u using if any?

Click to expand...

I messed up at fisrt and used nothing but tap water.

But it was only once.

I have had some good help and was quickly corrected.

Now I'm using botanicare pro grow.

I don't know my ppm stuff yet (help?) but on the same friend's advice I put half of the prescribed one tablespoon per gallon of water...so half a tablespoon of nutes per gallon (of brita water).

They ate it up. I feel like the soil's getting dry so quick with the constant fan.

My worry now - and I hope you can help with this - is that I have been told to check the Ph of the runoff....but I have no runoff.

Should I?

Everything I read tells me not to over water; get the soil wet, but not muddy.

I do just that.

If I don't have water running off into my tray when I feed the girls, is that bad?

I mean, I have never done this before, but I think they are growing pretty good, right?

Check the last posted pictures that show dates from about a week apart.

Just wanted to say fuck yeah real quick, and post the photos so you know why.

I read and ask a lot about this shit and I know Mary J. grows quick, but damn.

I guess I should update some facts, too.

My cO2 contraption is nearly ready, though some of my more snobby friends (who can afford a tank and expensive regulator) have turned their nose up at the idea.

I still have faith.

I put a gallon of hot hot hot water out last night with the top off and I've been stirring it up and stuff.

But I just checked it's Ph and its around 6.8 boooooo.

So I'll probably stick with the brita filter (6.2 or so) till I upgrade to that spot free rinse gun...good idea. [check my post "distilled water" in the noob section I think]

I had been so scared of overwatering that I had been letting my soil get to dry.

It wasn't till someone told me to check the runoff in my tray that I realized my mistake.

I don't think it was much of a problem since I was still getting a lot of growth.

So anyway, I watered slowly till I saw a tad of runoff and tested it. I think it was somewhere in the 6.2-6.5 range.

Probably a little high but not too bad.

I'm posting links to a couple different products I'm thinking of ordering. One is a Ph meter and the other is a PPM stick. I randomly found them in a search engine. They are cheaper than any others I've seen and they ship for free I think. Does anyone see a problem with these or can you recommend better (and not too expensive) ones.

http://www.gainexpress.com/product_info.php?products_id=255&osCsid=n7dg3pmr2b4e7jd5490s7il7j7

http://www.gainexpress.com/product_info.php?products_id=608&osCsid=n7dg3pmr2b4e7jd5490s7il7j7

groputillor said:

So anyway, I watered slowly till I saw a tad of runoff and tested it. I think it was somewhere in the 6.2-6.5 range.

Probably a little high but not too bad.

Click to expand...

Its actually a tad low, 6.8 is almost ideal, if your getting good growth you will be fine there , but certainly dont go any lower. Its not gonna be a huge problem in soil unless it really gets outta hand one way or the other, meaning way too low or too high. And there is a little error in testing runoff, it gives you a general idea where your at, and like I said, in soil you should be ok. If you see an obvious problem or a nasty flux you may wanna add some lime. I use Organic Traditions dolomite lime about 12 dollars for a bag, it lasts a long time as you dont use that much.

Purplekrunchie said:

Its actually a tad low, 6.8 is almost ideal, if your getting good growth you will be fine there , but certainly dont go any lower. Its not gonna be a huge problem in soil unless it really gets outta hand one way or the other, meaning way too low or too high. And there is a little error in testing runoff, it gives you a general idea where your at, and like I said, in soil you should be ok. If you see an obvious problem or a nasty flux you may wanna add some lime. I use Organic Traditions dolomite lime about 12 dollars for a bag, it lasts a long time as you dont use that much.

Click to expand...

So my water should be 5-6.5 but my runoff should be 7.0? Well then I'll probably use a mix of the brita filter and straight tap water. The Brita water gave me a really low Ph runoff today.

I don't think my janky cO2 device isn't really working, so I'm trying a different one.

I like it better cause I can actually see it working.

I poured a bunch of baking soda in the bottom of a tuperware, filled an old shampoo bottle with vinegar and poked a hole near the top, and laid it on top of the tuperware so it drips the vinegar into the baking soda.

If you ever made those ziploc bag bombs with baking soda and vinegar as a kid, it's the same principle.

Simple and cheap.

I know it's janky and it runs out quick, but it's also easily refilable.

Things are going suprisingly smooth for my first grow. Even my most skeptical grow friend marveled at how easy I've had it. I know I still have a ways to go, but I feel very lucky to have started so strong; with such minimal headache.

I got a cool new fan that fits just right so I can leave the closet closed at night and not worry about airflow and such.

Also, I think both of my McGuyver CO2 devices are working.

The one in the gallon jug is in the back.

After i shake it I can feel the air coming out for at least a few minutes after.

I forgot to keep checking.

You can see the other one in the front. It takes some tweaking, but I got it to keep dripping for a half hour.

With a bigger setup I could get it to go for at least two hours.

Door's shut, dryer's creating heat. Is it doing anything?

If I'm gonna do it all grow, it's probably worth it to buy the tank and regulator, huh? Anyone know of cheap ones?

Last thing. Found a couple Pinapple Express (Medicinal) seeds in a bag, so - since I'm allowed to grow two more - they're getting germy right now :]:]:]

Peace zzzz

My roommate took some photos of the process.

I followed a post on transplanting that was in the FAQ, very helpful area.

The photos tell the story.

I'm also posting some update photos of growth. There are tons of new shoots so I didn't know what to take pictures of.

I'm posting one that shows a new top trying to stretch over the original one on my plant that grows kinda sideways, and another that shows a tall new growth out of a bottom branch near the main stem. Some of the new growth on top has curled or turned away from the light a little. I think it was the heat stress a couple days ago though, right?

Questions
I've been training them by hand, but I'm gonna start some heavier LST. I'm gonna pull down the main stem so the top section lays parallel with the ground and use loose rubberbands with paperclip hooks to hold it to the side of the pot. Good idea/bad idea? They're right around 10" and very sturdy.

I'm also going to top one of the taller plants to even it out. I've been reading a lot and I'm not sure if I like the idea because of the recovery time. I've heard you can get just as much growth from good LST, without having to wait for plants to recover. But Ima try it and see how it goes. Maybe I should look into SOG?

I'm still struggling with Ph. How can I safely raise the Ph of my water? I havn't done a soil test but my runoff is way low. I've bought two different kinds of distilled water and neither has had a good Ph.

How should I protect my plants from light during the dark periods of flower? I was planning on using the black silk sheet that you can see in my first post I think. I have nails for it to hang from inside the closet. Is that good enough? It's just barely light permeable.

I know I won't get answers to most - or any - of these questions on here, but it reminds me of what I need to ask.

damn looks good!

bi carb and vinegar helped so much after my 1st grow i went out and brought reg, solenoid and computer controller. i would not have yielded no where near what i did without it. HIGHLY recommended if u can be fuct! well worth it. i did it once a day using a coke bottle with a hose coming out of lid, i put the hose behind my fan. then put bi carb soda around a teaspoon in coke bottle then pour about 200ml of vinegar in QUICKLY do lid up, the reaction creates co2 gasses. these gases fill the bottle and force the gas through the pipe to my fan where its blown around he room. did that 2 or 3 times once a day and after a week i could fully notice. what was funny was All my mates were doing it after that!
good luck with the grow looks like it should be good, come check out mine its im my sig at the bottom. i started growing years ago with 1 400 w hps and a few pots of perlite and bagseed from that i now have what i got. & still more to come.