1st Grow, Basic Questions

[Bones69]

I am actually using smart pots for the first time and my buddy who swears by them says that you will be watering more often so what I actually did is add a small amount of soil moist to my soil and seems to be working nicley.
As for CO2, I get the CO2 bags from exhaleC02bags.com. Works great and the bags last a long time! Got 2 grows out of my last bags.

 

[WickedTomboi]

The drooping might be caused by the light being to close, if possible raise it up. you should see the leaves start to reach up.

Do not add liquid CO2 to your water!!! DO NOT !!!! CO2 is for the leaves to absorb, and only during lights on. roots need oxygen.

Since you are using smart pots (cloth) your water will dry out more, this is ok...better than not drying out. you can check your pots by lifting them,
when mostly dry they will be lite... after watering they will be heavy.
And you have seedlings, so you don't want to water, as to get a run off. your roots have not spread out far enough to absorb all the water. that is why your tester is reading that way. it will be moist towards bottom..no roots there.

Your ph should be 6.2-6.5

In veg it is best to have a higher humidity than 30-40% if possible raise it some. around 60-70.

I wouldn't turn the soil any, after your seedling has grown some, you will get the really small capillary roots that spread out just below the surface.
if its drying out to quickly, its because of low humidity, strong light, and cloth pot. you can put on a top layer of mulch, that will help maintain surface moisture.

And the 400 watt light is more than enough for your tent size.

Omg thanks for the great advice! Today I'll raise the light, lower the pH some more and worry a bit less about overwatering lol. Oh and no worries on the CO2, I haven't added it was just curious. I'm gonna have to get another cool most humidifier today to increase humidity too.

Another question from out of left field: has anyone here ever used sugar/molasses in their nutrient mix?

Oh, and Vegetative stage....lights on 24 hours or better at 18/6?

 

[Bones69]

Yeah man I use hi-brix from earth juice and was gonna try black strap this current grow. Does it really sweeten things up? Not that I really noticed but the hi-brix is expensive so gonna try the blackstrap.

 

[WickedTomboi]

Yeah man I use hi-brix from earth juice and was gonna try black strap this current grow. Does it really sweeten things up? Not that I really noticed but the hi-brix is expensive so gonna try the blackstrap.

I dunno but I was reading Jorge Cervantes grow bible and here is what it said:
"Molasses, honey, and other sugars are said to increase soil microbials, enhance regrowth, and make the plant’s use of nitrogen more effective. Molasses will raise the energy level of the plant and acts as a mild natural fungicide. Molasses is the “secret ingredient” in many organic fertilizers."

 

[Bones69]

Dude point well made! What kind are you gonna use?

 

[WickedTomboi]

Dude point well made! What kind are you gonna use?

No idea yet lol, perhaps I'll research that as well but can't imagine going wrong with something organic. Just wondering how much to use. Further investigation into this topic will be had lol.

 

[cannapits]

IMO if this is your first grow work on the basics. when to water , ph , when to feed , just getting a feel for growing. gotta remember soil can be very forgiving but it takes on average 4-7 days to show you signs or react to what you have been doing. That throws a lot of new growers off. they feed and if they dont see results in 2 days they think nothing happened and try something different. then when the plant does show results you find out you over did things.

the 24/0 18/6 debate goes back as far as the chicken or the egg debate.. 25 years of growing I prefer 18/6 unless with clones. but ive seen others use 18/6 with clones and still root in normal time but thats besides the point..

Ive never noticed that big of a difference between those times and I like to keep things natural to nature when possible and 24/0 light isnt natural IMO. just my opinion.

Many use molasses in the beginning of flowering for carbs to stack weight on the buds. Ive always used it in a mix and made a tea with a airstone/pump and bucket..

my best advice is learn the basics of growing any plant. dont get so caught up on what any one person does sometimes. Jorge is entertaining but I wouldnt take everything he says as gospel lol. most basics he is a good reference I guess. after all my years Ive seen others run a system and I try it out and sometimes I learn something new. few times I wasted money , time etc finding out I was better off doing what I was doing before. its all a learning curve. trial and error. dont over think it and keep it simple.

 

[WickedTomboi]

good point on soil taking an average of 4-7 days to show signs of change/reaction if any, I was thinking of switching to 18/6 (I have been doing 24/0 so far), should I not switch is it the kind of thing best done from the beginning or not at all, and should try 18/6 in the next grow?

Yeah, I'm definitely not going with just one person's ideas cause what works for some might not work for others and there are lots of ways to do things for sure - just basically trying to find my own way ya know?

I've already begun the process of catching mistakes and learning from them while attempting to correct them.

Today's pics: I noticed that there's this somewhat dark in nature, mottled looking spots on some of the leaves. Take a look-see (yes I just said look see, leave me be) and tell me what you think (or know) it is! and furthermore, what i should or shouldn't do about it!

P.S. the light is only that way for a quick, clear snapshot. Usually, I have the HPS bulb set at 2 ft. about the plants oh, and the little white dots ? perlite that blew around temporarily. lol

 

[Bannacis]

the splotches could be from over watering, and def change to 18/6 light regiment. your babies need some down time.
As cannapits said, the molasses is used in teas to feed the microbes in a living soil. some add at end of flowering, but I don't think that's a good idea.
Molasses has magnesium in it and you don't want that left in your plant. you don't want anything in your soil on final flush.
Keep it simple and just do the minimum until you get a few harvest under your belt, then adjust as you learn.

 

[WickedTomboi]

the splotches could be from over watering, and def change to 18/6 light regiment. your babies need some down time.
As cannapits said, the molasses is used in teas to feed the microbes in a living soil. some add at end of flowering, but I don't think that's a good idea.
Molasses has magnesium in it and you don't want that left in your plant. you don't want anything in your soil on final flush.
Keep it simple and just do the minimum until you get a few harvest under your belt, then adjust as you learn.

Okay, so I've figured out a way to lower the plants and lift the lights and now they are 3 ft. above the plants which seems to be already helping cause there's no more droop to the leaves they are pointing up. I did switch to the 18/6 regimen last night, first night - I figured fuck I need a break they need a break we all need a fucking break sometimes lol.
I definitely think the splotches were from overwatering. I've held off since then, waiting for the pots to get lighter as suggested. Definitely seeing improvements already, I imagine in the next couple days even moreso. Thank you everyone for the great input and advice.

 

[WickedTomboi]

Update: Changed to 18/6 light regimen. Managed to increase distance from plants to lights, so they're farther away. Installed inline fan in a top duct rather than a bottom one. Stopped watering for 2 days so far (clearly was overwatering, the pots are still pretty fuckin' heavy). Added another cool mist humidifier to increase humidity without upping temps (I believe climate issues could have been the main culprit here, with the heat of the lamp being so close and the low humidity?).

Have pretty much left the plants alone and working around them. There's only two and here's the pics I took this morning before the lights went on:
White Widow Seedling: first image is taken from underside of the plant.

Slightly younger OG Kush Seedling:

Two side by side:

Grow Space:

I need to get something reliable for pH testing. I think I've learned my lesson in regards to overwatering and having the light at a reasonable distance. Any other suggestions based on the images and what I've told you, feel free to let me know!

 

[Absurdity]

Looking good bro, keep up the great work!

 

[Bones69]

Just my opinion, 2 to 3 feet above your plants will increase stretching especially using an hps for veg. I use 600 watt mh for veg and keep it no higher then 18" above my canopy. I always use the back of hand test and sometimes the light is with in 12".
This keeps my plants short and stout. Then even when I flip I use mh for the 1st 2 weeks of flower then I switch to hps .
I think 3'-0" is pretty high. I think your issue is definitely associated with over watering
And pH monitoring is a must for a successful grow. With out proper pH levels in soil or hydro, your just throwing your $$$$ away on nutes.
Just my opinion.
Nice selection on plants! Never grew an og but my buddy just sent over a few beans for me so for my next grow.
Good luck

 

[WickedTomboi]

Just my opinion, 2 to 3 feet above your plants will increase stretching especially using an hps for veg. I use 600 watt mh for veg and keep it no higher then 18" above my canopy. I always use the back of hand test and sometimes the light is with in 12".
This keeps my plants short and stout. Then even when I flip I use mh for the 1st 2 weeks of flower then I switch to hps .
I think 3'-0" is pretty high. I think your issue is definitely associated with over watering
And pH monitoring is a must for a successful grow. With out proper pH levels in soil or hydro, your just throwing your $$$$ away on nutes.
Just my opinion.
Nice selection on plants! Never grew an og but my buddy just sent over a few beans for me so for my next grow.
Good luck

I'm slowly lowering the light back down again especially now that I officislly solved my humidity problem. Got some good pH test kits and pH is perfect so far. Had to be overwatering I suppose. I will say this - the OG is looking amazing and although planted after the white widow has clearly surpassed it bc I think, for whatever reason - the WW growth has been slowed or stunted.
I've begun 5 new WW seedlings to see and compare.
Taking plants pics tomorrow. Thanks again for advice!

 

[Bones69]

I have forced air heat and I tell ya it really suck!!! I am dealing with such dry heat that I wake with my lips all messed up and my skin real dry. But I went out last night and bought a whole home humidifier to attach to furnace so we will see in a couple of days how this works. Its a real pain to fill my small humidifier up twice a day! just another thing to do in the garden!

 

[Bones69]

How are you liking the fabric pots??? I am using them too. My first time using them and my plants seem to love them!!! I am using smart pots with handles and they do come in good use!

 

[WickedTomboi]

How are you liking the fabric pots??? I am using them too. My first time using them and my plants seem to love them!!! I am using smart pots with handles and they do come in good use!

Fabric pots are okay. On the other hand, it's not like I have anything to compare it to. I've grown flowers in regular pots before but not cannabis so I can't really say which one I like better. I thought the fabric pots would be good because of the breathability. I guess I'm getting used to the "feel" of when the plants are dry or watered enough. Trial and error taught me that lol.

The room that the tent is in gets very cold and dry. The 400 watt HPS bulb was fine getting the temp around 74-78F but I definitely needed to invest in a decent cool mist humidifier otherwise I'd never have gotten enough moisture in the air. I wasn't going to get a warm mist humidifier because the lights were already heating up the tent really damn well plus the tent is inside a storage shed too for extra protection/stealth.

Side note: I just bought another, separate ..taller grow tent to use for the flowering stage. I have an extra 400 watt ballast with HPS bulb and/or LED light. Anyone have any experience using LED lights during flowering?

 

[WickedTomboi]

I'm not entirely sure what was or is going on with that White Widow plant, but - I'm letting her do her thing and I'll see where it goes. Seems to be "stunted" to some degree, whereas the OG is growing like well...a weed. My girlfriend wants to grow her herbs inside the tent with the plants, she thinks maybe that would also help with odor? Anyone ever try going other little things like oregano, lavender, etc alongside their plants? I'm just paranoid it'll cause some kind of fucking parasite problem that I won't be able to figure out and then I'll be up the creek without a paddle.

 

[WickedTomboi]

So the grow tent I have my seedlings in and - for the length of their vegetative life I guess, is like 5' tall max. The square footage of the area is 15ft total. Like I said, I just bought another tent to put beside it for the flowering stage (this way I can have more room vertically for the plants, cause the new tent is taller and also - more room = more plants?). Also, I have 2 400 watt ballasts - I suppose I could use one for each tent, but I also got this LED light. Check out the pics, it hasn't arrived yet.

Another thing, most of this shit I'm getting from amazon.com (except the seeds). Should I be worried that I'm ordering this stuff online and having it sent to my house? I mean, there's no proof that I'm growing anything at all, much less weed but I suppose a person could put two and two together? ::shrugs:: just curious. Clearly people are buying it from amazon.com, cause it's for sale on there.

Anyway, here's pics of what I'm getting and/or already have:


The LED light I'd like to use for Flowering is:
Lvjing New Designed UFO 150w Led Plant Grow Light Lamp 150 Led Red + Blue for Hydroponic Plants Flowers Vegetables Greenhouse Hydro Lighting 85-265V (150w)
Question: will I need one of these for each plant? Could I use this supplementally along with the other 400 watt HPS?

The Grow Tent (for Flowering) is:
Apollo Horticulture 36"x36"x72" Mylar Hydroponic Grow Tent (3'x3'x6')

The Grow Tent (for Seedling/Vegetative is:
Xen-Lux Premium Indoor Hydroponic Plant Growing Room Tent - 4' x 2' x 5'

The lights I'm using for the Vegetative stage: (not using MH right now, using HPS but I have both bulbs)
Apollo Horticulture GLK400CT24E 400 Watt Grow Light Digital Dimmable HPS MH System for Plants Cool Tube Hood Set


The growing medium I chose to use is this soil: (mixed with Perlite)

I'm starting seedlings in solo cups and then moving them to Smart Pots: (at first I bought 2 gallon pots but now I have 3 gallon pots)


Perhaps all of this is a lot of information to take in, lol and perhaps I've already mentioned some of this in previous posts. Forgive me, it's really early in the morning I just got the first good nights sleep I've had in 7 years and well...wake and bake anyone?

Sidenote: anyone ever try hypnosis for anything? Pros/Cons? Thoughts? lol I'm serious though.....

P.S. just bought some Blueberry and Aurora Indica seeds, looking forward to that as well.

 

[ccWTF]

A lot of nice stuff there.
I wouldnt worry about amazon. Your UPS and USPS carriers can probably put 2 and 2 together. It would be so unethical for them to say anything to anyone. I wouldnt worry about them.
Receiving seeds in he mail... i get a little worried myself(Practically Smuggling). LOL

What you should worry about is low-lifes that will go through your garbage, especially in an apartment building. Be careful what you put int he garbage. packaging and trim and empty nutrient bottles.

Good Luck