First grow /w bag seeds. (high-res pics)

Had researched and planned for a ebb-flow hydro grow, but for a few reasons that got put on hold. I got these seeds from a friend who's dealer said that they hermaphrodited on him. The weed was dank shit so I hope that gets reflected in my harvest. Not too dedicated to this, just kindda seeing what will happen, and maybe ill get some free bud out of it, who knows? On to the journal.

7/27
24h after germination
no real progress, one seed just barely cracked open.

7/28
48h after germination
Cha-ching! All 3 seeds ready to plant.
Planted in soil, under a 72W CFL for now
Don't have names yet so numbers will have to suffice for the time being.
Plant (1) - Red Cup, Orange Straw
Plant (2) - Red Cup, Red Straw
Plant (3) - Red, White, Blue Captain America Cup, Orange Straw

7/29
Sprouts!
Day 1 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/Z1Ki4 (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full resolution

7/30
Progress
Day 2 Gallery (fixed white balance)
http://imgur.com/a/1C4rg (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full resolution

7/31
Stretching quite a bit, moved them closer to the light.
Day 3 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/sCply (1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full resolution

Right now they are just on water with a 18/6 cycle. Will move to nutrients at a week old.
Any disadvantages to keeping them 24/7 until flowering?

Stay tuned for more/subscribe. Will try to update AT LEAST weekly if not more. All questions, comments, suggestions welcome. I don't really know what I'm doing

You should put holes in the bottoms of those cups if you haven't already. It would also help you out greatly to move that CFL closer to the plants, around 3-5", as long as it is comfortable for your hand, it's ok for the babies. That should help you out with the stretching.

24/0 is a great way to veg with CFL's, even HID's if it weren't for the greater operating costs of HID's. Where you are using CFL's I would definitely veg 24/0...Faster growth, less stretching, etc. You do mean 24/0 not 24/7, right?

Thanks for the replies, holes will be added before tomorrow, and yeah I meant 24/7 as 24 hours a day 7 days a week, so yeah, 24/0. Will deff switch to that asap.

24/0 just means 24 hours of light and 0 hours of darkness. I figured you meant 24/0 by saying 24/7, but they mean different things to a grower. Best of luck to you.

If you ever need any help contact me, I am more than willing to help.

8/1
Stretching quite a bit, since the first move closer was still not close enough. Moved them to a more permanent location with adjustable light height and took Mupphet.Man's advice and moved the lights closer still, added a 2nd bulb(different spectrum) as well and cut holes in the cups and went to 24/0 light cycle. The plants are kinda pulling a leaning Tower of Pisa because they were stretched and recently moved to their new location, they should straighten out by tomorrow.

Day 4 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/gH0nn (group -> 2 -> 1 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full resolution

One thing you can do with those young stems is gently bury them a ways. It helps if you could gently scarify the stem, so that it helps aid in root production along the stem. It's a delicate procedure, so don't go to Rambo on 'em. Red cup - red straw looks fine, but the other two would benefit from this. If you don't want to try to scar the stem, you can just gently bury them a ways. An inch or so wouldn't hurt. You can also use toothpicks or something along with twist ties to hold them up.

To clarify, only scar the stem where you plan on burying it, or like I said, you don't have to do this.

8/2
Late update, corrected for stretching. Light is now lower than in the group pic.

Day 5 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/x0bKX (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full res goodness

8/3
Day 6 no pics today
Second set of new leaves are comming in on the two stretcher plants, (1) and (3), and they seem to be taking well to the burrying and happy with the new light distance, and no longer stretching, at least for today.

Excellent. Now make sure to only water when they need it, this is tricky for a new grower... Only water when the containers are light, you should be developing a good sense of how the containers feel. You can also use your finger, just gently push your index finger into the substrate to your first knuckle or so, and if it is dry then water. Keep it up.

I would drain the excess water from the plate, as the substrate will continue to soak that up. Watering correctly is important, both for root development and even stretching. Wait to water until you see the top layer of soil dry out, or use a combination of the techniques I told you about. You're on your way!

8/4
Not much to report really. Thanks for all your help and input so far Mupphet.Man. Fan going in today(8/5 will throw up an update later tonight) to keep them cool.

Day 7 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/HxsO9 (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full res goodness


Old Day 6 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/dmaJ9 (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full res goodness

A few questions I'm having.
When should I move them to a larger container?
How large should it be?
When should I start giving them good/nutes?
What food/nutes should I use?

Right now I have some miracle grow(already had some laying around) but the jury seems to be split on whether or not its a good idea. Considering following the 1/4 teaspoon per gallon instructions that are given for the "feed at every watering" instructions.

8/5
Looking good

Day 8 Gallery Pics taken before I soaked up the water.
http://imgur.com/a/wK8it (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full res goodness

For soil miracle grow works fine, as long as you don't over-fertilize, that being said, it isn't necessary every watering...

What's the NPK of the MG? I've used all-purpose 20-20-20 for vegging, and MG Bloom for flowering without a hitch.

When using MG I found that by starting out at half strength for the first week, then moving onto full strength to be the best.
For example: (two weeks after germination) 1/2 strength MG, NEXT week full strength MG...etc, then to bloom: 1/2 strength first week, full strength all weeks up until a week before harvest (flush that week). Some people recommend flushing two weeks, others say don't flush at all, but I found with a week of flushing there is no bad taste. I also use molasses (1 tbs./gallon) every watering during flowering. To clarify, I only feed with MG once a week. Pick a day and stick to the schedule. There are "better" nutes you could use, but in reality MG has everything you need to grow.

Transplant them when you see roots have made it to the bottom of the pot and are becoming rootbound, since you have mostly clear containers it easy for you to see this. I would recommend 3 gallon or 5 gallon pots. My favorite "pots" to use are milk crates (7 gallons). Use anything from a trash bag with holes in the bottom to coffee filters to screen material to line them.

8/6
A little concerned with the lack of vertical growth, and how different slow/plant #(2) is moving. I moved the lights slightly further, and hopefully the new bigger pots soon will give the roots more room to stretch. Will put up pics of plant (3)'s roots in next update.


@Muppet.Man


Day 9 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/VZ1uN (group -> 1 -> 2 -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full res goodness

You could use that MG if you didn't want to buy any new fertilizer. For a first grow it wouldn't hurt a thing, as this is mostly a learning experience for now (I assume). As far as feeding instructions I am assuming that the 1tsp/gallon is for once a week feeding, regardless, that is what I would go for, 1tsp/gallon being your full strength dose, 1/2tsp/gallon being your half strength dose. Just go ahead and and use this all the way through, then next grow you can be a little more experimental. We'll keep it simple for now.

8/7
Moved the plants and made everything a bit more permanent. Larger containers, but only room for (1) and (3) so (2) will have to suffer at least for now. Went from 2->5 lights, with 2 more on the way. Fan has been up for a few days, not sure if I had mentioned that. Been watering it about the same amount because its still mostly just dirt, will start to gradually add more as time goes on, will start MG today(1/2tsp/gallon).




Day 10 Gallery
http://imgur.com/a/BRmh5 (Group -> (1>1 closeup) -> (2>2 closeup) -> 3)
Make sure to click the magnifying glass for full res goodness

Will update on Monday.

I wouldn't feed any Nutes for at least the first 2 weeks... during this time plants have all they need from Seed
Before next watering, you may want to add more soil to each pot so that it fills up a bit and covers some of that super stretched stem