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Eastwind (a Noob) Rolls The Dice On His First

Hello Members, I am rolling this over from the Introduction page....since things are taking off, I might as well document the journey. I was lucky to get hold of a little bag of Northern Lights seeds...from plants grown for seed production. I have a grow...
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Eastwind (a Noob) Rolls The Dice On His First

by Eastwind · Started
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Eastwind

Eastwind

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Hello Members,
I am rolling this over from the Introduction page....since things are taking off, I might as well document the journey. I was lucky to get hold of a little bag of Northern Lights seeds...from plants grown for seed production. I have a grow space of 2x2x6 in a utility closet for the breaker panel. I am going to be reading and learning as I go alone, but before last week had almost no knowledge. My plan is to germinate seeds, covered plate style, on top of my computer for a little heat (its working like crazy, almost every seed from the first batch). Till I get more understanding of my room set-up, I'm going with 4 23w CFLs, 1,600L at 6,500K.
I may add another 4 of those (using socket base, outlet adapters on power strips). For now I have utility clip on reflectors, single socket, so I can easily adjust the height from the plants. A small fan to keep the stems dancing lightly. In the room its 56RH at 73F. I have another 6 23w soft white CFLs, 1,600L, 2,700K for later during flowering. I am looking at an LED set up on ebay...A UFO 600w, full spectrum, hang clips ($118.) or a 1,000w for $146. This will mount above and in the center...and be added to the CFLs in use. I am using a windshield reflector for now, till I get a new coat of flat, bright white on the walls in there. Later on I have clip-on fans to move air at the top of the space.....My soil Ph is between 6.5 & 7.0. I am using distilled water for now...no water for a week after planting the seeds, right. For nutes I ordered DG, Grow, Bloom & Pro-Tekt....other stuff on hand: Bat Guano fert, SuperThrive, seedling potting mix, & vermiculite. The first three seed went into a container with potting mix that had been outside for a while, so leaves, pine needles and other compost are in with it. Some say I should get the FoxFarm Trio also....Anyway, enough hot wind...here is the germination tray.
 

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The pics in post #2 show my temp set-up to support the first few seeds that popped. The clip on reflectors and pwr strip CFLs will provide 18/6 cycle light till I get the room right. The last pic in #2 shows a clip on fan to an overhead gas pipe. A second fan is to be added further down the pipe, pulling the hot air from the top of the room to a window, hidden from view behind a wall ( I am pointing to the area in the next to last pic in this post). The fresh air inlet will be a duct thru the bottom of the access doorway. The last pic show the actual closet thru the doorway. The next pics show some of my other seedling pots. Because it is my first time, I tried a few Jiffy-Pots to see if it helped to skip a transplant stage and go right to a bigger pot....do they work or hold the roots back some?
 

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If you'd like to see a similar sized grow space for ideas or possible inspiration. My thread is in my signature. It is the place.

my tent is 2x2x6. Upper chamber is 2x2x5. Lower is 2x2x1.

I could give you ideas. But my thread is much more detailed and full of relevant info that could give you an idea of what you could expect.
 
If you'd like to see a similar sized grow space for ideas or possible inspiration. My thread is in my signature. It is the place.

my tent is 2x2x6. Upper chamber is 2x2x5. Lower is 2x2x1.

I could give you ideas. But my thread is much more detailed and full of relevant info that could give you an idea of what you could expect.

Thanks fellow farmer. Education is welcomed...I will give your thread a read. Its been a baptism of fire here today, as sitting the germ plate on the computer did the trick....seeds are all popped and ready for soil tomorrow.
 
Today was crazy. Besides changing the set-up of the room and improving the lighting, I had to transplant two small plants, about 1 week old, that were in the same pot (won't do that again) so the roots would not grow together. Now have 6 23w, 1,600L, 6,500K CFLs....6 solo cups in a pan. All but 2 seeds have popped...the rest are in the soil.
 

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Since I last posted on Friday, another 7 plants are above ground. The separation of two plants in one pot went well, as both survived and now have there own homes. I now have 12 between 1" and 3", with another 6 just breaking the soil line. They seem to like my soil mixture...which is nothing special ( I don't have any MJ soil from the west coast)....just MG Organic, 60%, from the local garden store, Seedling Started Mix, 30%, Vermiculite & sand, 10%. I have stopped using distilled water and have gone back to regular tap water with a drop of Superthrive. Pictured below you see my expanding grow closet. 11 23w (or 253w total) , 17,600L at 6,500K. I am still thinking of using a drop/adjustable LED in the center, as they grow. My budget won't allow the high ones. On my radar, it's between Mar's Hydro, Bestva UFO and Viparspectra...the 300 to 600w models. If anyone has used any of these Co's, in addition to CFLs....I'd love to hear about it or read your grow link. Till next time....cheers.
 

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Today is one week after the first seeds popped. I have 14 plants above ground. They are still stretching for light, even though I added another 4 bulbs (totaling 230W, 6,500K, 16,000L). The room is 72F at 56RH, with 2 fans going. Two of the Jiffy Pots produced runts that seem to have stalled after breaking ground. All in all, very happy with how its going...as this was just a first time practice run. Shown below are a tray of fast growers, a tray of slow girls, and a crop to show the runts. Cheers till next time.
 

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After being away a day, thinks are moving along nicely. I am watering via spray bottle, by looking at each plant/pot. Due to the two fans and all the light the top of the soil in each pot is drying fast ( evaporating ), so I stick my finger in the soil and go a bit deeper. I have been doing a lite spraying of tap water around the edges of each pot...for the roots to grow for it. It's been 2x per day...letting it get dry before more is sprayed. I do get some spray on the leaves so the H2O gets absorbed there also. In the pics below you will see a shot of my oldest plant, which was transplanted from a two plants in one pot situation. Its first leaves show some brown on the tips...probably a bit to much Superthrive in distilled water at the time of the transplant...but since then its back to plane tap and the new leaves since then look good. The stretching has slowed down after adding more light (CFLs), but I have decided on a Mars Reflector 96 LED ( shown below) to be added to the center of the grow area. A 2x2x5 area. A few more pics of what the girls look like now, and a pic of two new girls...tall and thin from looking for light. I did have two that were not looking good a day ago, fall over and shrivel up...I had placed more soil in their pots to help support the stems, but it didn't work..I should try and figure what I did wrong.
 

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Sunday, 8-21-16. The only thing I have changed is that now that they are growing and the fans are running, I am watering 2x during each day. Judging by weight of the cups and feel to my finger tip...going down about 1 1/2"s. Out of the original 16, I have 13 healthy plants..between 1 to 2 weeks old. I used baggies over the tops of the containers to propagate...and it seems the one that I left the covers on longer...grew more of the way I wanted them to grow...squat and wide..and at a faster rate than the uncovered plants. Pictured below are two pics, two days apart....to show how fast they are growing.
 

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8-25-16...Hello again. There have been some changes to the room. My CFLs total wattage is now 345w at 23,400L...mostly 6,500K with 4 at 2,700K. I added a fan at the top of the closet to vent toward a nearby window. Temps are 73F at 56RH. 2 fans blowing on the plants, sitting in solo cups
in trays to catch the runoff. The Mars light is here but not installed yet. Mylar roll arrived and I started to install it. Pic #1 shows before and #2 after the Mylar,and with a new overhead CFL and a second tray on the right, to hold the solo cups. #3 & 4 the fans and 5... the plants.
 

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8-29-16 - All plants are coming along, strong & healthy. Watering by feel and water meter ( multiple reads per pot ) ... so after the pot has dried out and feels light. Just water for the runts, pour till it runs thru to the tray. I have started the older plants on a mixture of Superthrive...1.5 drops per 16oz of water, with 1/2 of a 1/5 tsp of Pro-Tekt mixed together. Three of the plants getting this drink have been going on the back porch for 3-4 hrs of sun each time. The pictures below show how the growth has taken off. Pic #1 from 8-20-16, pic 2 8-24, and pic 3 from 8-29...the other two pics are of the girls sunbathing.
 

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8-30-16....I don't know if the way I set the CFLs up is making a difference, by letting more light get to the sides of my plants, but I thought I would post a couple of pics to show more experienced members. I have CFLs over the plants ( with reflectors ) and I have a number of CFLs as side fill lighting...to get light up and under the leafs. Looking at pictures of other grow diaries, at 3 weeks of growth, these seem to be coming in thick at the stems and grow points. Can anyone tell by looking if its the lights that are doing this?
 

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8-30-16 Also today, as some of the sunbathing plants are getting big, I thought I would take a shot at my first Topping and start of LST. Pictured below are top views of two of the topped plants and after that pics of the start of LST with clips and large pipe-cleaners. I am starting will just a little bend and tomorrow I will pull the top over a bit more..as the plant adjusts to the new position.
 

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8-30-16....I don't know if the way I set the CFLs up is making a difference, by letting more light get to the sides of my plants, but I thought I would post a couple of pics to show more experienced members. I have CFLs over the plants ( with reflectors ) and I have a number of CFLs as side fill lighting...to get light up and under the leafs. Looking at pictures of other grow diaries, at 3 weeks of growth, these seem to be coming in thick at the stems and grow points. Can anyone tell by looking if its the lights that are doing this?
My understanding is that you want your light coming from the top of the leaves. Side lighting is good as long as its mainly hitting the tops of the leaves.
 
8-31-16 - I am post again today because I just cant believe all the new growth at the nodes from Topping and LST from starting 2 days ago. Pic 1. I topped another one today. 2. a side view of all the new growth by the stem. 3. Three plants getting some sun after a re-set of their LST. 4 & 5 The pen is pointing to new growth that I'm hoping will become colas.
 

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