First grow attempt- 4 Runtz Photos

[JKash]

Biggest mistake is over/under watering......

Get a feel for the weight of your plants.....

I'll stick my finger elsewhere thank you.....

The moisture meters? I bought one when I first started growing......used it maybe 3 times......get a feel for the weight of the plant........trust me.....

They look great.......keep doing what you're doing........

P.S. water sssllloooowwwwllllyyyy......that way, the media will get soaked......

What's that about watering slowly???

Sorry purfict I couldn't help myself with that one

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

They look good, especially for a first grow, training them will help bring out more bud sites. You have to remember that they are dealing with fungus gnats which attack your root zone, which is where your plants vitality comes from, they need some time to bounce back. As a new grower the biggest hurdle is getting the hang of watering your plants when they need it. There’s a very fine line between underwatering and overwatering, both of which can affect your plants ability to thrive. It’s hard to go on a forum and see people growing giant frosty nugs on every other post.Especially when your plants are are still young. Some of the people on here are new to gardening, and some of the people on here have years of experience and some are absolute professionals who have lots of time, knowledge and experience. But we’re all here for the same thing our plants. You have to be patient with these plants because trust me I have over loved quite a few plants and killed them. I think learning how to low stress train your plants is the best way to get familiar with them and you’ll be surprised at how they respond.

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

What's that about watering slowly???

Sorry purfict I couldn't help myself with that one

Is that your plants gasping for air or you

 

[Purfict]

They look good, especially for a first grow, training them will help bring out more bud sites. You have to remember that they are dealing with fungus gnats which attack your root zone, which is where your plants vitality comes from, they need some time to bounce back. As a new grower the biggest hurdle is getting the hang of watering your plants when they need it. There’s a very fine line between underwatering and overwatering, both of which can affect your plants ability to thrive. It’s hard to go on a forum and see people growing giant frosty nugs on every other post.Especially when your plants are are still young. Some of the people on here are new to gardening, and some of the people on here have years of experience and some are absolute professionals who have lots of time, knowledge and experience. But we’re all here for the same thing our plants. You have to be patient with these plants because trust me I have over loved quite a few plants and killed them. I think learning how to low stress train your plants is the best way to get familiar with them and you’ll be surprised at how they respond.

Yea, I already got a few changes I want to make before my next grow and i’m not even halfway through. I just hope to get a yield that will last me a few months for my next grow.

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

Yea, I already got a few changes I want to make before my next grow and i’m not even halfway through. I just hope to get a yield that will last me a few months for my next grow.

Once you start training your plants and you see the growth exploding, try to take some clones, it’s a valuable skill to have and can keep your grows a little more perpetual.

 

[Purfict]

Once you start training your plants and you see the growth exploding, try to take some clones, it’s a valuable skill to have and can keep your grows a little more perpetual.

I was hoping to take some clones but I feel they haven’t been 100%. Hopefully it will be after some training I can get some.

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

I was hoping to take some clones but I feel they haven’t been 100%. Hopefully it will be after some training I can get some.

Definitely, give it time and take pictures, notes and you’ll be able to look back one day and remember each grow and how your plants were all unique, I miss some of the plants I grew over the years and have others that I couldn’t wait to be done with.

 

[Bilber]

JKash.....yes....definitely.........you gotta know how much your plant can take.....

Marty.....you took the words out of my mouth.......clones......I love um......it's great to keep my plants trained.....but I don't follow rules......I train to fit my area.....clones are easy.......snip 45⁰, place in water, set in windowsill, wait for roots....

There's alot more involved, but......

Pur........you could flip and fill that tent pretty quickly....with a touch more training.......that's all a preference to each individual grower.....you could not train and probably fill the tent.......again, all preference......go with your gut while listening or reading, looking stuff up......clones.....I would suggest doing it.....it my save your plants genetics......you'll thank yourself later.....

 

[Purfict]

JKash.....yes....definitely.........you gotta know how much your plant can take.....

Marty.....you took the words out of my mouth.......clones......I love um......it's great to keep my plants trained.....but I don't follow rules......I train to fit my area.....clones are easy.......snip 45⁰, place in water, set in windowsill, wait for roots....

There's alot more involved, but......

Pur........you could flip and fill that tent pretty quickly....with a touch more training.......that's all a preference to each individual grower.....you could not train and probably fill the tent.......again, all preference......go with your gut while listening or reading, looking stuff up......clones.....I would suggest doing it.....it my save your plants genetics......you'll thank yourself later.....

I have training in mind, want a good amount of tops, scrog, and lollypopping. Just trying to find that balance of getting the tent full without overflowing.

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

I have training in mind, want a good amount of tops, scrog, and lollypopping. Just trying to find that balance of getting the tent full without overflowing.

Yeah I learned about low stress training by watching videos on YouTube, specifically the ones that Bill Ward puts out. I started out using fabric pots and pipe cleaners, eventually I switched from pipe cleaners to twist ties on a roll, because I was worried about the fibers from pipe cleaners coming off and getting stuck to my buds. There’s a lot of finesse involved with bending those branches over without snapping them, and you never want your ties too tight to the branch because they can restrict growth.

 

[Purfict]

Day 41:
Not much noticeable growth, but no noticeable damage spreading either. I moved my oscillating fan lower to hopefully anger the gnats more, and ordered more traps. I tried using a little baking soda per recommendation on a different thread. Also put up a new yellow sticky trap before bed last night and haven’t caught anything, so either the fan is making them made or their population is dying out. Either way I was looking into nematodes but wanted to do more research before buying them since some sources I found at a quick glance said certain nematodes can harm plants. What do you guys think?

 

[Bilber]

They look good....

Unfortunately, I read alot about fungus gnats......they can come prepackaged in soil......

But the drybacks will definitely help.....

Training.....lst or hst .....

You just have to find which one works for you in your grow......

I do all sorts of everything to help keep my plants small.....

Topping is the first recommendation that I would suggest......top the plant to make a clone......

 

[Purfict]

They look good....

Unfortunately, I read alot about fungus gnats......they can come prepackaged in soil......

But the drybacks will definitely help.....

Training.....lst or hst .....

You just have to find which one works for you in your grow......

I do all sorts of everything to help keep my plants small.....

Topping is the first recommendation that I would suggest......top the plant to make a clone......

I topped once on all but the one in the back right corner for two reasons, 1 it’s growing in a triangular shape, 2 because i’m not sure how to top it since nodes are growing differently.

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

I topped once on all but the one in the back right corner for two reasons, 1 it’s growing in a triangular shape, 2 because i’m not sure how to top it since nodes are growing differently.

Why not train a pair, and top and clone the other two learn both techniques, train the one with offset nodes and focus on getting the top of that plant almost as low as the top of your lowest strong branch. You can watch a few videos on YouTube to learn how to bend branches without snapping them, theres tons of videos out there. Be gentle and work slowly it’s helpful to work at eye level with your plants so you can keep an eye out for broken stocks and branches. Newer growth is always more pliable than older growth. Definitely watch a few videos to learn techniques.

 

[Purfict]

Day 42:
Noticable growth in the last 24 hours, can’t see any gnats so hoping the baking soda was enough to hold them back another few days. I got traps specifically for fungal gnats so hopefully that will hurt them too. Had to cut 4 leaves off of this plant because they were blocking new growth and the leaves were not healthy at all. What do you guys think? Hoping to switch to flower on sometime around day 55.

 

[Purfict]

Day 43:
No gnats on any of the sticky traps, hopefully meaning most died. Each plant that was topped is making progress. Feels like they’re ready to be watered, they’re all light in weight and my digital soil tester says all 4 pots are dry. What would you guys think of bottom feeding? I think that will really help with the gnats, but i’m not sure. What do you guys think?

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

Day 43:
No gnats on any of the sticky traps, hopefully meaning most died. Each plant that was topped is making progress. Feels like they’re ready to be watered, they’re all light in weight and my digital soil tester says all 4 pots are dry. What would you guys think of bottom feeding? I think that will really help with the gnats, but i’m not sure. What do you guys think?

Definitely not a bad idea, water from the bottom slowly

 

[Purfict]

Day 44:
Just woke up, gave them all a bottom watering. Is this how you guys would do it? I was skeptical at first and only used one as a test subject but it drank up more than half of the liter of water I have in a few minutes. From what I read I should stop after 15 minutes so I’ll just discard what they don’t suck up. Had to cut off some more leaves blocking new growth. Only caught 1 gnat in the last two days, here’s a pic of them. Do you think they’re looking happy? Topped 3/4, and those that I topped each worked. What do you guys think? Should I get rid of the leaves that look unhealthy or leave them unless they are blocking growth?

 

[Purfict]

They all only wanted around half a liter in 15 minutes, hopefully they’ll be ready for another watering in a reasonable time.

 

[Purfict]

Day 45:
Just got home, haven’t done anything to them since watering. Moved my light up about another 8 inches. It’s at 360W now and was about a foot above my tallest plant (only one not topped) so I took my co2 bag out to give me another foot of height in my tent. I would have to take it out anyways later, figured I would just be done with it since it most likely won’t make a noticeable difference. Some noticeable growth on 2/3 that were topped, one barely any. What do you guys think? Is the slight dropping enough to be concerned about or is that most likely the gnat damage. Haven’t caught or seen any in 3 days now, and the top of my medium is very dry. Trimmed a few more leaves off now that had a lot of damage AND was blocking new growth.