GGOGZin’s Grow Log, A Perpetual Journey

[GGOGZin]

Yes, I think so. There's a lot more to growing than most people realize when they first start out.

For future thought ... if you want to grow small plants and you know for the time-being your lighting is your limiting factor ... consider growing auto-flowers from seed. Those are much better suited for small space and lower light situations. If you're in a legal area that allows home grows, you should be able to find seeds locally ... or order them online. There's several threads on here about seed banks and the experiences they have had with them.

Are these both photoperiod? Was having trouble telling to be honest but was leaning that way as opposed to autos

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Are these both photoperiod? Was having trouble telling to be honest but was leaning that way as opposed to autos

Clones are always photo-period plants. The nature of an autoflower makes them less than ideal for cloning purposes.

Photos are all I grow inside. I do have a dozen auto-flowers out in the greenhouse. I'm in a northern climate where only a handful of photoperiod plants will fully finish before our wet falls wreck havoc on our grows. This grow is the first time I have ever run autos. The nice thing is I will be starting another dozen indoors soon and those will be ready to move outside about the time the others are finishing. I'll get 24 plants through my greenhouse in one summer.

Then back to photos indoors for my fall/winter run

 

[GGOGZin]

Clones are always photo-period plants. The nature of an autoflower makes them less than ideal for cloning purposes.

Photos are all I grow inside. I do have a dozen auto-flowers out in the greenhouse. I'm in a northern climate where only a handful of photoperiod plants will fully finish before our wet falls wreck havoc on our grows. This grow is the first time I have ever run autos. The nice thing is I will be starting another dozen indoors soon and those will be ready to move outside about the time the others are finishing. I'll get 24 plants through my greenhouse in one summer.

Then back to photos indoors for my fall/winter run

That makes a lot of sense, thank you for the clarification on that I feel enlightened as fk lol.

Have just put one of those ultrasonic humidifiers in the room to raise humidity. What is the idea %? Will update with pics in an hour or so

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

That makes a lot of sense, thank you for the clarification on that I feel enlightened as fk lol.

Have just put one of those ultrasonic humidifiers in the room to raise humidity. What is the idea %? Will update with pics in an hour or so

What you're wanting to do is keep your tent vpd under 1.0 to allow those clones a bit of time to build up their root structure. You'll know that's happening when the plant is growing again. VPD looks at both temperature and humidity. If you're in the upper 60's to low 70's humidity and temperatures about 80F ... your vpd would be around 1.0. You can look this up on vpd charts.

Once you're in flower, you'll lower your humidity. If there's any amount of flower density, low humidity is preferred. It gives much less chance of mold/fungal issues.

 

[GGOGZin]

What you're wanting to do is keep your tent vpd under 1.0 to allow those clones a bit of time to build up their root structure. You'll know that's happening when the plant is growing again. VPD looks at both temperature and humidity. If you're in the upper 60's to low 70's humidity and temperatures about 80F ... your vpd would be around 1.0. You can look this up on vpd charts.

Once you're in flower, you'll lower your humidity. If there's any amount of flower density, low humidity is preferred. It gives much less chance of mold/fungal issues.

What do I need to look out for in terms of wpm? This is my main concern with the humidity

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

What do I need to look out for in terms of wpm? This is my main concern with the humidity

Air movement is probably the best way to avoid wpm. There's 2 types of air movement and if you're in a tent, you need both.

Ventilation ... moving new air in and old air out. Oscillating or other fans keeping the plants dancing in a breeze. You need both.

WPM indoors is usually brought in from outside. For example, wpm infected plants of any type outside in the garden and handling inside plants without washing up. That would be the most common way it happens in my experience. You could be infected from spores within your grow area but that's less common. Allowing your grow area to get below 72F during dark hours begins to put your plants into an environment where wpm is far more likely to occur.

It's much easier to avoid it with good grow room practices and prevention than it is to try to get rid of it.

 

[GGOGZin]

Air movement is probably the best way to avoid wpm. There's 2 types of air movement and if you're in a tent, you need both.

Ventilation ... moving new air in and old air out. Oscillating or other fans keeping the plants dancing in a breeze. You need both.

WPM indoors is usually brought in from outside. For example, wpm infected plants of any type outside in the garden and handling inside plants without washing up. That would be the most common way it happens in my experience. You could be infected from spores within your grow area but that's less common. Allowing your grow area to get below 72F during dark hours begins to put your plants into an environment where wpm is far more likely to occur.

It's much easier to avoid it with good grow room practices and prevention than it is to try to get rid of it.

I’ll work on the room a little more today and try to update here within the week. RH was at 68 when I last checked

 

[Itscheese94]

Just hear learning of grandpa to help my father with pm awesome info dude

 

[GGOGZin]

I’ll work on the room a little more today and try to update here within the week. RH was at 68 when I last checked

Got the room sitting at a consistent 68RH at 79.8°F now, hope this will be sufficient. Had to move the humidifier outside the room near my intake fan as it was at 99% RH for a brief moment before I caught it.

Will update with any changes. Thank you for your help!

 

[GGOGZin]

Just hear learning of grandpa to help my father with pm awesome info dude

He seems to be a well of useful information! Big thanks to MIGrampaUSA!

 

[Zachary2023]

Congratulations on starting your first grow! It's great that you're seeking advice and trying to learn as much as possible. Here are some pointers that may help you as you move forward:

Monitor your plants closely: Keep a close eye on your plants and look for any signs of stress or nutrient deficiencies. This will allow you to address any issues before they become more serious.

Be mindful of your watering: Overwatering is a common mistake for beginner growers. Make sure you're only watering when the soil is dry to the touch and avoid getting water on the leaves to prevent water stains and potential mold growth.

Use high-quality nutrients: While you're on a low budget, using high-quality nutrients can greatly benefit the health and yield of your plants. Consider investing in a good nutrient line that provides the necessary nutrients for your plants.

Adjust your lighting schedule: For vegetative growth, a 20-hour light and 4-hour dark schedule is good. However, when your plants start to flower, you may want to switch to a 12-hour light and 12-hour dark schedule to encourage bud development.

Consider training your plants: Training your plants, such as topping or using LST (low-stress training), can help promote even canopy growth and maximize yield.

Remember, growing cannabis is a learning process and it takes time and patience to get it right. Don't be discouraged by mistakes or setbacks, but use them as opportunities to learn and improve. Good luck with your grow!

 

[GGOGZin]

Congratulations on starting your first grow! It's great that you're seeking advice and trying to learn as much as possible. Here are some pointers that may help you as you move forward:

Monitor your plants closely: Keep a close eye on your plants and look for any signs of stress or nutrient deficiencies. This will allow you to address any issues before they become more serious.

Be mindful of your watering: Overwatering is a common mistake for beginner growers. Make sure you're only watering when the soil is dry to the touch and avoid getting water on the leaves to prevent water stains and potential mold growth.

Use high-quality nutrients: While you're on a low budget, using high-quality nutrients can greatly benefit the health and yield of your plants. Consider investing in a good nutrient line that provides the necessary nutrients for your plants.

Adjust your lighting schedule: For vegetative growth, a 20-hour light and 4-hour dark schedule is good. However, when your plants start to flower, you may want to switch to a 12-hour light and 12-hour dark schedule to encourage bud development.

Consider training your plants: Training your plants, such as topping or using LST (low-stress training), can help promote even canopy growth and maximize yield.

Remember, growing cannabis is a learning process and it takes time and patience to get it right. Don't be discouraged by mistakes or setbacks, but use them as opportunities to learn and improve. Good luck with your grow!

Thank you Zachary, really appreciate the effort you put into your reply and the positive attitude! I want to learn as much as I can to give my plants what they need to thrive. I’m going to try to respond in the order of your tips.

Could you give a little detail of what to look for as signs of stress/ deficiencies?

I try to only water once the top 1 inch of the soil is dry, is this adequate or am I overwatering?

I have gotten myself the fox farm trio and calmag. Do you have any pointers on how to dose? The table is a little confusing so I have been trying to keep it on the low end just to be safe

I have read up on the light changes and will try to change the schedule once the plants are a little bigger and bushier, all going according to plan.

Do you have a source of good information with regards to lst or topping? I’ve read briefly about them but feel like I’m out of my depth with that. I don’t know where to cut/tie down yet.

 

[Tyrant]

This is my first time growing and am looking for any advice I can get and try to learn from. It’s hard to research with so many different opinions coming from so many people, I need the community.

I’ve started with 2 clones, one is Banana OG and the other is Original Glue. Looking for pointers as I go forward. This is a very low budget grow as I have limited space and money, and am growing in a closet. please be kind in your words/advice as I am truly trying.

There are water stains on the leaves of the Banana OG from having a little bit of excess nutrients in my watering can, but I’ve learned from my mistake and won’t be spraying the leaves at all any more.

Thank you to anyone who has any advice.
Pics:

I’m using a 6400k 100w LED and 4x 1ft T5 LED strips each at around 10w

Fox Farms Ocean Forest

Trying to only water once every 4-5 days

nutrients mixed in every other watering

20HR Light 4 Dark

Not a pro here but looks like you may have nute burn a bit. The yellow edges starting at the bottom of plant. Using ocean forest soil you shouldn't need to use nutes for a while yet. Just my opinion.

 

[ArtfulCodger]

For a first time grower, your biggest risks are over-watering, over-feeding, and over-lighting.

Ocean Forest is a "hot" soil, meaning it carries a substantial nutrient charge out of the bag. Your plants are small relative to the size of the pots they're in, so there's already a ton of nutrients available for them. If I were you, I wouldn't be feeding for at least a month, maybe more. If the lowers start to yellow, feed. (You can gauge soil nutrient content with a ppm/EC reading of your runoff water, but that's a little more advanced.) In terms of watering, when I run Ocean Forest or Happy Frog, I water to 10% runoff when the pots are light. Again, with small plants in big pots, the risk of over-watering is high. (Over-watering is watering too often.) With lights, you want your leaves to be flat and level. If they're curling, twisting, taco-ing, canoe-ing, or if you see a lot of yellow between the veins, you're probably over-lit. If the plants are praying an hour before lights-out, they're ready for more light.

Just one guy's take. Hope that helps.

 

[Mikedin]

Welcome to the farm! I see you’re already getting some good advice, the farm is a great place to learn, tons of resources and great people,

Agreed with above posts with needing a bigger light eventually but use what you have for now for sure! Are you in a legal state that you can move them outside eventually or are you planning to finish out indoors all the time?

 

[Mikedin]

Don’t need anything spectacular in a small space I’ve ran these blurples to excellent harvests, they have upgraded versions now but aroun$150-$200 could get you plenty of light for that space, even if you went with a new viparspectra 1500pro. While I do like the blurples be careful if you go that way they do run much warmer than traditional LED’s but are cost effective for budget setups for sure, I have 2 spares on the shelf in case my main lights have issues

 

[Mikedin]

There’s some people running that 1500 pro on the farm you could get some on hand experience reviews from, but $140 with a $40 coupon… that’s a deal for a small space light I almost wanna pick one up myself lol

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Got the room sitting at a consistent 68RH at 79.8°F now, hope this will be sufficient. Had to move the humidifier outside the room near my intake fan as it was at 99% RH for a brief moment before I caught it.

Will update with any changes. Thank you for your help!

You're close and if that's your best effort, then that's pretty good. Now your plants are in an environment they should be able to thrive in.

Again, the higher humidity is only for young plants. You'll want to drop it back down gradually once you're plants are flowering.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

There’s some people running that 1500 pro on the farm you could get some on hand experience reviews from, but $140 with a $40 coupon… that’s a deal for a small space light I almost wanna pick one up myself lol

The Viparspectra 1500 pro would be outstanding for small space gardening. One of the guys on here says its sufficient up to about 80cm x 80cm/32" x 32" footprint. It's worth considering especially with a $40 coupon!

 

[GGOGZin]

Not a pro here but looks like you may have nute burn a bit. The yellow edges starting at the bottom of plant. Using ocean forest soil you shouldn't need to use nutes for a while yet. Just my opinion.

These are both clones and the yellow leaves were there when I got them, haven’t had a problem with any of the new growth at all but I will keep that in mind, less is more I hear!