First Grow From Seed Indoors (drunkenmacgyver)

[herbmonger]

Hello THCFarmer! I've been lurking for some time now to say the least. I've finally managed to put something together.

Grow Space:

5x5x6.5 Grow Tent

Lighting:

1000w HPS
Dimmable Cali Ballast
"Super Large" UltraGROW reflector

Medium:

Roots Organic 707
EWC
Perlite

I am currently on Day 11. Harbored in the safety of my tent are 10 Dream Cookie Seedlings, 10 (or so) Green Crack bag seed (from some trim), 3 randoms for a friend's outdoor grow this year.. and one beloved Super Glue bag seed from my days as a bud tender.

I spent the first week or so of this grow frantically trying to lower the heat. (rearranging ducting, fans, moving tent closer to window, etc, etc..)

I've come to the decision that constant heat is not as detrimental as erratic heat spikes.

As far as Temp and Relative humidity goes..

Night time temps: 74-79F
Lights on temps: 83.1-85.1F
(sometimes when i wake up in the morning the temps can be as low as 74 with lights on but i presume that doesn't last too awfully long)

Humidity is constant at 35-40%
I realize that it would be higher ideally, but it is really a hassle to keep RH up in the tent. I've used a bucket of water with a towel hanging out, misted the walls, added large pots of moist soil under the light/scattered throughout the tent. Long story short, I'm sitting at 74-85F with 35-40% RH and the babies seem to be evening out.

As for all noobs or people who haven't had the opportunity to grow in a couple years; i did overwater/worry a time of two this go-around.

So far, I have 6 healthy Dream Cookie seedlings and 4 more slightly runted.
Everything else is trucking along just fine. Here's some pics!

Thank you to anyone who can chime in and give me some perspective/peace of mind.

Much love THCFarmers

 

[Ignignokt]

At least you are having fun, right?
Look fine, the big ones do. Sorry to hear about your lamp choice, that would seem alot of heat for that space. And probably too much light for that stage of growth. Think about how many BTU are created by the lamp ( waste heat and the excess far IR of that lamp ) and how much cooling is required to make the enviroment ok after. If low humidity is the issue for now, you need a cheap humidifier there. Wet towels and shit won't make it ok.

 

[MadWolf]

I think the 1000w is perfect for that tent size. Considering the ambient temp gets up to 79f with the lights off, I'd say 85f with the lights on, is pretty a good deal. If you stick the exhaust duct through a wall or window, you can create a little negative pressure, and it will suck the cool air into the room from other parts of the house. Plus, your in dirt, so at least you don't have to stress about water temps.
Play around with the PH a tiny little bit on your next feeding, and they might perk up, but they really don't look bad for day 11. It's just fine tuning, and hair splitting beyond this point.
What type/size fan and ducting? I take it that reflector is an air-cooled hood?

oh btw, I like the 100% perlite cups you got there!

 

[herbmonger]

Thanks for the honest replies @lgnignokt and @MadWolf! Greatly appreciated!

At least you are having fun, right?
Look fine, the big ones do. Sorry to hear about your lamp choice, that would seem alot of heat for that space. And probably too much light for that stage of growth. Think about how many BTU are created by the lamp ( waste heat and the excess far IR of that lamp ) and how much cooling is required to make the enviroment ok after. If low humidity is the issue for now, you need a cheap humidifier there. Wet towels and shit won't make it ok.

Yes luckily I am able to manage the temps with a little bit of work and attention to detail. I do have the ballast set at 75% brightness. I started them at 50% for the first week. Just noticed some were flimsy so I upped the lighting and it seemed to do the trick. In hindsight I would have added support and buried an additional 1/4" of the stems at the point where they began to droop so I could have more gradually upped the brightness. I will look into getting a humidifier asap. I presume that wind burn symptoms would be similar to symptoms of low RH. Thanks again for your input. Perspective is priceless.

I think the 1000w is perfect for that tent size. Considering the ambient temp gets up to 79f with the lights off, I'd say 85f with the lights on, is pretty a good deal. If you stick the exhaust duct through a wall or window, you can create a little negative pressure, and it will suck the cool air into the room from other parts of the house. Plus, your in dirt, so at least you don't have to stress about water temps.
Play around with the PH a tiny little bit on your next feeding, and they might perk up, but they really don't look bad for day 11. It's just fine tuning, and hair splitting beyond this point.
What type/size fan and ducting? I take it that reflector is an air-cooled hood?

oh btw, I like the 100% perlite cups you got there!

Super happy to hear I'm not wrong about my temps as I'm not a total noob but I do get overly curious of my wherewithal. Funny enough I'm going to pick up a ph test kit as we speak! I noticed some bleaching of a couple cotyledons and even one of the runted, older Dream Cookies has yellow new growth. So.. that being said, before I do a weak Oyster Shell Flour/Sul Po Mag top dress, I know that I must know the ph. I will not use any chemical ph UP or ph DOWN because I have put great attention to detail and work so far into my food web.

I am using a 6-inch Can-Fan attached to the hood, inside the tent; going through ducting out the window to cool the air-cooled super large reflector. My exhaust is going through ducting (positioned at an angle just above the hood) to a 6-inch fan; out the window. I have been slowly tweaking it but I feel where I'm at now is the most consistent.

When I first starting testing the environment for Temps and RH it was much more easily manageable but I believe that was just the break-in period for the gigantic lamp that my buddy at the hydro store hooked me up with. Once again I will say I would have worked some T5's, CFL or MH into my veg reg. But hey, hindsight is 20/20 and I'm just doing one harvest before I move and use this tent for moms.



end rant. THANKS A BUNCH

 

[herbmonger]

Here is a series of photos from Day 12 of Dream Cookie and let's say Day 6 of Green Crack.

The first pic is the one that has led me to pick up a ph test kit and possible supplement with cal, sul, mag

The second pic is just some general twisting going on. Could be from low RH, (theres no direct win on plants only directly above them and directly below the light. Could even be from overwatering, but I've been letting the soil dry out thoroughly since yesterday and all day today.

The third photo shows small new growth with a random large leaf. I'm starting to believe the twisting ones could either be Blueberry dominant varieties/phenos or this could be a strain prone to mutating. (which I'm under the impression isn't ALWAYS a bad thing). I would not put it past being a noob to indoor seedling growth.

The fourth photo is featuring a little Green Crack on or around Day 6. Note the bleaching of the cotyledon.. Could be light burn, could be from planting seedlings in roots 707. But this is the only leave that looks like this in all of my tent.

The fifth and final photo is just an example of the plant feeding on itself I presume, but you can never be too sure.

I'm led to believe that these are all common issues that I can push past. I take pride in my effort to notice, identify and treat these issues before they become bigger problems.


If anyone is seeing something that I am not or has any other input please feel free.

one love and peace of mind to all of ya

 

[One drop]

Looking good I agree some good passive incoming air and keep some air space under your pots it will help to keep roots warmer with no water laying around them . I pot 1/2 gluts under my pots .

 

[herbmonger]

Looking good I agree some good passive incoming air and keep some air space under your pots it will help to keep roots warmer with no water laying around them . I pot 1/2 gluts under my pots .

Thank you @onedrop I appreciate the tip!

So I tested my aerated and tap water's PH and found that my water is too acidic (7.6) so I figure I will need to use my oyster shell flour. But to complement the calcium I'd like to use some Sul Po Mag with it. I've read that 1 tbsp per gallon, 1 part oyster:2 parts sul po mag.. but I don't remember if that was for water or soil..

I'm assuming a top dress is my only way to go so now I just need the proper calculations. I have 2-3 hrs before daytime and I will be searching.

Anybody with experience or perspective please feel free to chime in

 

[One drop]

Thank you @onedrop I appreciate the tip!

So I tested my aerated and tap water's PH and found that my water is too acidic (7.6) so I figure I will need to use my oyster shell flour. But to complement the calcium I'd like to use some Sul Po Mag with it. I've read that 1 tbsp per gallon, 1 part oyster:2 parts sul po mag.. but I don't remember if that was for water or soil..

I'm assuming a top dress is my only way to go so now I just need the proper calculations. I have 2-3 hrs before daytime and I will be searching.

Anybody with experience or perspective please feel free to chime in

To lower you ph use some white vinegar get you water right . Happy growing .

 

[herbmonger]

To lower you ph use some white vinegar get you water right . Happy growing .

Super simple! I had three types of vinegar to chose from in my kitchen on hand. Balsamic, red wine and apple cider w/honey. I added one tsp to approx one gallon and am now at 6.2. Will check again before watering shortly as I've heard it can somewhat unstable

 

[Grow4me]

Do you have holes in the bottom of the cups? I cut a few in each one. also, stir the soil on top and you can pull soil around the leggy stems. They look good. Happy growing!

 

[herbmonger]

Do you have holes in the bottom of the cups? I cut a few in each one. also, stir the soil on top and you can pull soil around the leggy stems. They look good. Happy growing!

I have 8 slits in some, and 4 corners cut out in others. All drains just fine. I'm avoiding bottled ph up and down because i am relying on my soil's food web to process certain dry amendments

 

[One drop]

I have 8 slits in some, and 4 corners cut out in others. All drains just fine. I'm avoiding bottled ph up and down because i am relying on my soil's food web to process certain dry amendments

To ph up use silica it's good for the plant structure and ability to handle heat stress if you get any .

 

[herbmonger]

To ph up use silica it's good for the plant structure and ability to handle heat stress if you get any .

That's very handy info. I could probably use aloe juice to ph up if need be. The apple cider vinegar w/honey for ph down seems to only last like 5 minutes

 

[One drop]

That's very handy info. I could probably use aloe juice to ph up if need be. The apple cider vinegar w/honey for ph down seems to only last like 5 minutes

Yes white vinegar is the way to go I mix fresh every feed I have a endless supply of clean 6.5 ph Moutain stream water I mix silica in first then the nutes if any then vinegar to set ph right if needed but silica first is best way to get the mix working right .

 

[herbmonger]

Yes white vinegar is the way to go I mix fresh every feed I have a endless supply of clean 6.5 ph Moutain stream water I mix silica in first then the nutes if any then vinegar to set ph right if needed but silica first is best way to get the mix working right .

Nice! That sounds like a solid regimen. I just ordered some Earth Juice ph down. Seems affordable, easy to manage and will last me a long time. I have seen other growers succeeding with their compost teas with earth juice added so I've come to believe that I will not harm my beneficial microbes/bacteria. If and when I try some bottled nutrients/supplements I will definitely start with a reliable silica source such as aloe vera goop from some homegrown plants.

On hand I have some goodies I plan to use soon. Those would be:

Coconut Water (phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and other trace elements + growth hormones)
-for light feeding before top dressing begins
Aloe Juice mixed with Coconut Water (all the above + silica, other various elements and hormones)
-for recovery from repeated topping
Lavender Tea (I don't remember to be honest but I know it will come in handy when I begin fermenting and possibly even for my IPM in the future)
-part of a boost reg for bloom/transition that I am still researching/planning to experiment with when the time is right
Chamomile Tea (potassium, phosphorus, iron, lime)
-same as above
Dried Nettle leaves (nitrogen, potassium, iron, copper, sodium, sulfur, formic acid, ammonia, carbonic acid)
-same as two above

Don't worry I do not plan to go overboard on any of these!

 

[One drop]

Nice! That sounds like a solid regimen. I just ordered some Earth Juice ph down. Seems affordable, easy to manage and will last me a long time. I have seen other growers succeeding with their compost teas with earth juice added so I've come to believe that I will not harm my beneficial microbes/bacteria. If and when I try some bottled nutrients/supplements I will definitely start with a reliable silica source such as aloe vera goop from some homegrown plants.

On hand I have some goodies I plan to use soon. Those would be:

Coconut Water (phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and other trace elements + growth hormones)
-for light feeding before top dressing begins
Aloe Juice mixed with Coconut Water (all the above + silica, other various elements and hormones)
-for recovery from repeated topping
Lavender Tea (I don't remember to be honest but I know it will come in handy when I begin fermenting and possibly even for my IPM in the future)
-part of a boost reg for bloom/transition that I am still researching/planning to experiment with when the time is right
Chamomile Tea (potassium, phosphorus, iron, lime)
-same as above
Dried Nettle leaves (nitrogen, potassium, iron, copper, sodium, sulfur, formic acid, ammonia, carbonic acid)
-same as two above

Don't worry I do not plan to go overboard on any of these!

Yes a little goes a long way , I use urine , milk and my wormtea I make up it works indoors as well as out but this run I'm only using amended soil mix , PH'ed water , canna boost , PK 13/14 & liquid lead . Good luck keep us up to date with your progress regards OD .

 

[Leew421]

If this is a first grow it's important not to do too much. Keep it real simple till the light flip. Good soil can sustain plants for a long time. Adding supplements like azos is good, microbials are great in veg. You want to keep it simple so you can tune your method. I messed up a lot to get here today. Plants will respond very well. My akorn mom has never got a full does of nutrients and looks huge and full and just like a mom should.

 

[herbmonger]

^^^ respect @Leew421

 

[herbmonger]

Hello again to a mindful community.. Everything is going well so far. We're at Day 15 and seeing a lot of new growth as well as recovery. Maybe not as much as I'd like but that's okay. Here are some visual updates! Thanks for looking

Never mind the goofy titles I've assigned to my pics haha Also I couldn't find the pic, as I am in a hurry; but the ones in the perlite cups are doing well.

We're approaching the 3rd node already in the 6 successful seedlings. I can't believe it, just the other day I was watering them like 3 times a day and now here I am watering every 40-48 hours and seeing new growth every time I open the window for a peep.

Thanks!

 

[herbmonger]

I'd really like that little Super Glue seedling two pics up to start shooting up!