Documenting my first grow - hop on board

[bloodeye]

I saw someone else doing this sort of thing so figure for my first grow it would be a great idea.
I will likely make other posts but I'll keep coming back to this one to document and update as my first grow progresses.

Set-up is spider farmer Spider 3x3x5 SF-1000
Got the controller as well currently set to 80f which drops a bit at lights off to match the room at around 70f. Humidity is hovering around the 65% mark as I currently have the controller set to 70%.

Growing medium soil miracle gro potting mix which I guess will be the first and last time I use this. Mycorrhizal in the soil and a bed when seeding.

So far:

Planted 2 seeds directly into each of the rear pots. Watered. Covered with the plastic take away tubs. 6 days later and nothing from either of these. I probably shouldn't have but today I went searching (because of the below paragraph) and I found one seed doing absolutely nothing, so threw that away. And one with a root that had gone around the seed, so I put that one back to see what happens.

4 days ago I decided to do a third one. I wet a tissue, put the seed on it, folded the tissue, gave a gentle pat, put inside a plastic bag and placed inside a drawer. The next day some 36 hours later I checked and she was going for it. Asked on here. Advised to plant so I did, take away tub over the spot and well, 4+1/2 days after she first touched water.... As the photo. She's over an inch tall!

By the way currently using autos and have the light at half power, 2+1/2ft above running for 20hours a day.


Few questions. This is all very overwhelming. Watering. How should I be watering the one that's going for it? At what point is it recommended to start nutrients? Any recommendations for nutrients to be using?
I've got some rqs easy grow tablets

 

[Cannaburg]

Do not feed for 30 to 45 days... your soil should have nutes to supply a small seedling... I use promix or bontanicare mp4 soil... I won't feed for 30 to 45 days.... as you are new to growing I recommend picking this up with a bottle of calmag... follow feeding schedule at 50% of what they say to use....

FoxFarm Dirty Dozen Starter Kit (2/Cs) https://a.co/d/88YGw4R

 

[bloodeye]

Do not feed for 30 to 45 days... your soil should have nutes to supply a small seedling... I use promix or bontanicare mp4 soil... I won't feed for 30 to 45 days.... as you are new to growing I recommend picking this up with a bottle of calmag... follow feeding schedule at 50% of what they say to use....

FoxFarm Dirty Dozen Starter Kit (2/Cs) https://a.co/d/88YGw4R

Do not feed for 30 to 45 days... your soil should have nutes to supply a small seedling

Thanks for the advice dude. I'd actually ordered some biobizz yesterday which comes today but I'll hold off on any feed for the time being.

I guess with taking onboard what you've said, by day 30 I suspect she'll have quite a number of leaves so a case of watching and monitoring and letting her tell me when she needs a feed?

 

[Cannaburg]

Thanks for the advice dude. I'd actually ordered some biobizz yesterday which comes today but I'll hold off on any feed for the time being.

I guess with taking onboard what you've said, by day 30 I suspect she'll have quite a number of leaves so a case of watching and monitoring and letting her tell me when she needs a feed?

If using biobizz... that's a little different...I know other people are using it... I am not really familiar with using it... might want to get a little advice using that stuff from someone who knows more about it....

I look for my plant to turn a little light green as to when I would start feeding nutes

 

[Kernowbis]

Thanks for the advice dude. I'd actually ordered some biobizz yesterday which comes today but I'll hold off on any feed for the time being.

I guess with taking onboard what you've said, by day 30 I suspect she'll have quite a number of leaves so a case of watching and monitoring and letting her tell me when she needs a feed?

I use biobizz, less is more with auto's, i use biobizz light mix so i start feeding at day 14 with a 1/10 dilution of fish mix, at 3 weeks i use 1/4 dilution of fish mix, i also supplement with epsom salts for magnesium and currently making a home made calcium nute (egg shells in vinegar). my auto's are from sweetseeds so i only have a total grow time of around 9 weeks, i use fish mix up until around the 2nd week of flower. I'm currently in the process of testing the bloom to see if i can just use bloom without the grow (normally i'd switch to grow/bloom mix for the rest of flower.) I stopped using there calmag as a couple grows i ran into calcium problem and it just didn't get fixed. You may not even need any calmag to start off with depending on if your water is hard or soft where you live. what bottles of biobizz did you order?

 

[bloodeye]

Thanks for your reply.

I brought bio grow and bio bloom. I haven't used any yet as they seem to be very happy without currently.

I was thinking around day 30 but would see how the plants are getting on and I planned to be very sparing with the feeds as well.

What would the signs be that there's a magnesium issue going on and how serious could it be?

 

[Kernowbis]

Thanks for your reply.

I brought bio grow and bio bloom. I haven't used any yet as they seem to be very happy without currently.

I was thinking around day 30 but would see how the plants are getting on and I planned to be very sparing with the feeds as well.

What would the signs be that there's a magnesium issue going on and how serious could it be?

Anytime! grow and bloom are a good choice, just avoid there dosage chart online as its not for auto's and far to much! you may want to have some calmag on hand just in case, you can find plenty of pictures online of deficient plants, e.g mag you'll see the leaves lighten with dark green veining, calcium dark brown circles, rust like features, wouldn't worry to much about that right now. Thats a good plan, just keep an eye on them, they will show you when there hungry. Would love to see a weekly picture of your grow to see how your getting on and enjoy the process of learning! P.S remember biobizz are organic nutes so if you do get calmag, prob best to grab the biobizz one too!

 

[bloodeye]

Thanks again very much. I've just ordered some biobizz cal mag.

I was thinking something like a 1/4 or 1/5 of the recommended feed every few day as dictated and go from there.

What will be the signs the plant is hungry?
How quickly will they react to a feed?
How long is too long between feeds?

Sorry to bombard you.

So, 9 days later:

My little experiment but might get a big pot herself. Vertigo auto

This one might not make it. Been like this 3 days . The leaves don't seem to be coming out so the vertigo might get a transplant

Creme brulee. I think she's doing well after a slow start.

I'm loving this one. Bigbud by seedstockers. Started last and has ran out in front. 3 nodes right? Waiting for the 5th to start some lst

 

[Kernowbis]

Thanks again very much. I've just ordered some biobizz cal mag.

I was thinking something like a 1/4 or 1/5 of the recommended feed every few day as dictated and go from there.

What will be the signs the plant is hungry?
How quickly will they react to a feed?
How long is too long between feeds?

Sorry to bombard you.

So, 9 days later:

My little experiment but might get a big pot herself. Vertigo auto
View attachment 2087390
This one might not make it. Been like this 3 days . The leaves don't seem to be coming out so the vertigo might get a transplant
View attachment 2087391
Creme brulee. I think she's doing well after a slow start.
View attachment 2087392
I'm loving this one. Bigbud by seedstockers. Started last and has ran out in front. 3 nodes right? Waiting for the 5th to start some lst
View attachment 2087393View attachment 2087394

I could talk about these plants for days, no bombarding here :P

yeah that sounds like a good idea, just go slow and steady. Always good to experiment, thats how you learn, what works and what doesn't :) plants are look healthy apart from that little sprog xD thats the problem with auto's, even with the same strains, some are just unstable.

What will be the signs the plant is hungry?
may get a little drooping in the leaf, a little light in colour, just remember not to drown them
How quickly will they react to a feed?
its organic nutes so they may take a little while to become usable by the plant as the microbes need to break it down, but its not long.
How long is too long between feeds?
no set time, just see how the plants react and see how moist the medium is, but i'd water with biobizz every feed

 

[bloodeye]

I could talk about these plants for days, no bombarding here :P

yeah that sounds like a good idea, just go slow and steady. Always good to experiment, thats how you learn, what works and what doesn't :) plants are look healthy apart from that little sprog xD thats the problem with auto's, even with the same strains, some are just unstable.

What will be the signs the plant is hungry?
may get a little drooping in the leaf, a little light in colour, just remember not to drown them
How quickly will they react to a feed?
its organic nutes so they may take a little while to become usable by the plant as the microbes need to break it down, but its not long.
How long is too long between feeds?
no set time, just see how the plants react and see how moist the medium is, but i'd water with biobizz every feed

An update on the grow 2 weeks later.

So the peanut butter didn't change at all so the vertigo got a transplant and I went with Coco coir for her big pot as this is an experimental grow so learning a lot on this one.

Learning about nutrient feed and I've burnt her a bit but cut down her dose to around a 1/5th and she's doing well now.

The crème brulee has started to take off and a few days I think from some LST.

The big bud, started last, ran out in front and shows no signs of slowing down. She's getting a feed now as well and seems to be loving life.

Lights have gone up to 75% and all plants seem to have responded well. Will go to 100% when the vertigo really starts to take off in veg stage.

Decided I can't wait for my next grow, 2 or 3 cookies gelato autos (see how this current grow turns out) and going Coco coir for the medium.

Got myself a Apera AP60 pH,ec, TDS pen and I have no idea what to do with it. The numbers can't be right going by what others say.

Cond 3.40mS
TDS 2.45
Sal 1.72

 

[bloodeye]

@lenhug you back on the farm me ol' China? Hope you had a good Christmas.

Look forward to some updates on your grow

 

[lenhug]

Hey man, I am back! Great Christmas thanks, so good to see all the family and friends. Hope you had a good 'un to. Just getting over the bloody jetlag now but the sunshine certainly helps!

I've just defoliated and watered the plants this morning and took a load of pics so will update the grow thread now. Suffice to say...monstrous growth, like jack and the beanstalk style...lol!?

 

[bloodeye]

Hey man, I am back! Great Christmas thanks, so good to see all the family and friends. Hope you had a good 'un to. Just getting over the bloody jetlag now but the sunshine certainly helps!

I've just defoliated and watered the plants this morning and took a load of pics so will update the grow thread now. Suffice to say...monstrous growth, like jack and the beanstalk style...lol!?

Good to hear mate!
Nice to hear the weather is better there. Soaking here the past 2/3 days now.

I'll keep an eye out on your thread but I just had to scroll up and check the days between photos. The previous was wednesday, this one is now! 3 days almost feels like double the plants. Training is going well though and I think I'm getting the hang of this.

 

[lenhug]

They look great and like you I think I'm also getting the idea/hang of the training.

Look forward to seeing more of the grow.

 

[bloodeye]

A week later and there has been an explosion of growth going on!
Which has highlighted some issues with the size of the tent.

The crème brulee (rear right) started to flower when she was about 8 inches tall I don't mind, she's my favourite. Beside a little bit of nute burn early on she seems to be taking everything in her stride and loving life. She's naturally nice and airy.
I did snap half a bud off by accident trying to do things in this tent, (more on that later) but hopefully it won't affect her too much.

The big bud (rear left) is a beast. She's done really well but causing herself problems with the thickness. Some lower leaves have fallen off or I've taken them off as they appear to be dying, I guess from no light at all? But I did a bit more training on her to open her up a bit. I think she's starting to flower as well?

The vertigo is some distance behind these two I think, annoyingly. I'd have preferred to harvest close together but that might be going out the window now. She's happy though I think and taking to the training well. Yesterday I pulled the other side branch down as it was starting to shoot upwards.

Onto issues.
On the vertigo a leaf does the below. It's probably up against the tent when the door is shut but if that's not the cause, any thoughts?

I feel like humidity is still an issue to control. Should I be worry at around 60%?
It's high in the photo but I turned off the lung room heater today to see what happens, it's normally around 24 in the lung room 25 in the tent. Do I need a small dehumidifier for inside the tent as my big one in the lung room isn't dealing with the humidity in the tent.

A few more questions:
I'm only growing for myself to smoke. I smoke a little over a quarter a week so say around an ounce + 1/4 a month.. I'm looking to keep a constant supply and don't want ounces left over by the next harvest.
So, do I need a bigger tent? I'm happy with autos and just brought some F1 hybrids from rqs. So next is them or the cookies gelato (my favourite over the counter smoke). Is my tent a 1 plant tent? Do I need more than one plant a time with my needs?

 

[Captspaulding]

60% is fine for veg, you’ll want to get that in the 40-50% range for flower. Looking good homie!

 

[bloodeye]

60% is fine for veg, you’ll want to get that in the 40-50% range for flower. Looking good homie!

Should I get a little dehumidifier for inside the tent or do the plants kick out less moisture at flower?
I am trying my damned hardest to get it as low as I can and 60 seems to be the limit.

 

[Captspaulding]

Should I get a little dehumidifier for inside the tent or do the plants kick out less moisture at flower?
I am trying my damned hardest to get it as low as I can and 60 seems to be the limit.

It’ll always be a bit more humid for a couple days after feed. Through the saturated root zone and transpiration water content In the air def goes up. In a tent, I would always run a dehumidifier in my lung room and increase the ventilation on the tent. More airflow at a higher rate, and a dehumidifier in the lung room.

 

[bloodeye]

10 days later and still more explosive growth. My little creme brulee took a battering, more on that in a bit. The big bud continues to look strong and healthy and the vertigo is one tall skinny lady.

So the crème brulee had the carbon filter fall on her. Was raising the light and, I'd taped the carbon to the in line and it fell on one side of the plant. Snapped a stem nearly clean off, too the point it's like a string attached still. But coincidentally I'd read a post the day of the capt suggesting to someone else to use cable ties. I did this and I've no idea how this branch has survived but it has and it looks strong!

I love this little plant. She tiny and cute and the buds are looking nice.
Any rough ideas on how long till harvest?

I've been following a thread about purple stems and thought mine were starting to go a bit that way so I've upped the biobizz bloom as it's got more, is it phosphorus I'm after? So yeah, jumped to the mid point of the feed schedule for flower to see if this helps. They look healthy anyway though, I think

 

[Bilber]

Make sure you keep an eye on the broken plant......

That much stress can make a plant herm.....not saying it will, but keep an eye on it....

Looks like you're plant is 3 or 4 weeks in flower.....

Quite a few to go.......looks great overall...
.

Keep doing what you're doing......