greengordo
- Posts
- 17
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- 7
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2025
- Points
- 3
First grow FastBuds WW auto. Went w this bc I read it’s pretty hard to screw up even for a beginner. First lesson - it is in fact a weed and is hearty so be patient.
Grew 2 plants in a 33 gal tote (had it handy) layered w gravel and peat in bottom a dozen 1/2” holes in bottom. 1:1 ff happy frog to ocean forest. Used only dry fertilizer.
Maybe an ego thing. Back in the 70s and 80s the organic label meant something waaaaay different (yes first grow in my 50s - kind of an adolescent dream - man if weed was legal…
Lesson two: did not water heavily enough early. Was tentative bc I didn’t want to drown ‘em. In that much soil (germinated in the tote) I should have watered more aggressively early on. Second grow (FastBuds gorilla zkittlez - freebies) are in 5 gal totes and I started w a pint each every other day at the end of second week - prior that I was misting and gave a sip now and then.
Lesson three: stronger light earlier. I read someplace to start seedlings at 25% of my light (VIVOSUN 200se). And I did not increase the power until like week 3 - operator error. Second grow, for first 2 weeks under 100% of light but far away. Coming to third week, raised them on a shelf so they are 18” from light. Light is in flowering spectrum for first grow. Not ideal I guess, but I also don’t want to screw up the first grow. Limited space in a small makeshift closet I built in my basement…controlling for temp and air circulation, not measuring light intensity, humidity or ph. Limited $ to start.
Fourth lesson: feeding w dry fertilizer takes a lot of time to correct mistakes. Week 7.5 to 8.5 first grow watered only once and not fed bc my neighbor flaked on me when I was out of town. Temp also hit 95°F bc he didn’t vent it the way I showed him.
Came back to yellow wilty leaves. Watered once and fed w ff all purpose. Dx w potassium deficiency given yellowing pattern and spotting. Fed 2x w ff all purpose 6:4:5 (highest potassium feed I had) and 1x w ff fruit and flower 4:9:3 over 10 days, not heavy 3-6 tbsp - more toward present. Watering 1+ gal every day last 7 - 1 day off. Yellowing of old growth finally stopped at day 14 from high stress week. Kept pruning the leaves that would clearly not recover, no pruning necessary today. Some spotting on leaves, but nothing new.
So pics are at today at 63 days, approx 18 days of flowering. Not horrible considering beginner mistakes and huge stress right at beginning of flowering, but certainly considerably stunted. Larger plant about 27” - cola on only about 7”. Still a little slow stretch happening I think.
Questions for first grow:
How long left to harvest? I hope a few weeks still. Pics of buds look like trichomes are beginning to get milky. They only started “secreting” (?) about 10-12 days ago. I read letting them go to amber would be more body high and sedative effects - that’s what I want - PTSD.
Will buds fill in where they stretched in flower? Hoping they will or yield will be pretty low. First grow - I’m not unhappy given what I see even though I know it will be way better in the future. I’m a newb.
Second grow questions:
Will starting under flower spectrum at first really screw things up? Should I switch back to veg spectrum and raise it even though first grow is still in flower. Corollary question: how much difference do spectrum changes make through various stages? Should I invest in another smaller light for flowering? VT law is 2 seedlings, 2 veg, 2 flower.
Should I use the ff liquid stuff if problems arise and screw my organic ego? i suspect if I don’t leave my plants they won’t have the same issue - nutrient lock maybe though. I guess getting nutes back into soil quickly would be a good idea if I have to flush.
Investing in data collection: I will get a pH meter in next couple weeks. What is best way to measure pH of soil if not using soak method to measure run off?
My basement humidity seems ok given bud density. The smaller plant buds are not as dense, but I think it’s either genes or just lost out on nutes to larger plant. It is getting colder so the air will dry a bit. Do I need to worry about this at all?
I can dial in temp in my closet pretty well. Ambient temp in basement will be < 45°F in winter, confident I can keep ambient temp in closet 65-80°F - soil temp between 60-65°. Prob higher, but I think it will start to get expensive. I have a little 1500W space heater in 60” x 54” x 70” closet insulated w 1/2” foam board.
How much do I need to worry about measuring light intensity? Do I just trust my light bc VIVOSUN knows better than I do and keep light far enough away to avoid burning?
Anyway, advice for a newb…general, easy, cost-effective changes. Plan to continue to use dry feed as much as possible and stay ahead of issues.
I might nerd out on ideas to tweak soil to cannabis needs from the get go…like what raw ingredients, microbes, etc. can I use to condition my own soil. I will 100% dial stuff in as I get more experience, but I only want to pay attention to to a few things at a time as I go.
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for good advice. I really like this community so far, very supportive
Grew 2 plants in a 33 gal tote (had it handy) layered w gravel and peat in bottom a dozen 1/2” holes in bottom. 1:1 ff happy frog to ocean forest. Used only dry fertilizer.
Maybe an ego thing. Back in the 70s and 80s the organic label meant something waaaaay different (yes first grow in my 50s - kind of an adolescent dream - man if weed was legal…
Lesson two: did not water heavily enough early. Was tentative bc I didn’t want to drown ‘em. In that much soil (germinated in the tote) I should have watered more aggressively early on. Second grow (FastBuds gorilla zkittlez - freebies) are in 5 gal totes and I started w a pint each every other day at the end of second week - prior that I was misting and gave a sip now and then.
Lesson three: stronger light earlier. I read someplace to start seedlings at 25% of my light (VIVOSUN 200se). And I did not increase the power until like week 3 - operator error. Second grow, for first 2 weeks under 100% of light but far away. Coming to third week, raised them on a shelf so they are 18” from light. Light is in flowering spectrum for first grow. Not ideal I guess, but I also don’t want to screw up the first grow. Limited space in a small makeshift closet I built in my basement…controlling for temp and air circulation, not measuring light intensity, humidity or ph. Limited $ to start.
Fourth lesson: feeding w dry fertilizer takes a lot of time to correct mistakes. Week 7.5 to 8.5 first grow watered only once and not fed bc my neighbor flaked on me when I was out of town. Temp also hit 95°F bc he didn’t vent it the way I showed him.
Came back to yellow wilty leaves. Watered once and fed w ff all purpose. Dx w potassium deficiency given yellowing pattern and spotting. Fed 2x w ff all purpose 6:4:5 (highest potassium feed I had) and 1x w ff fruit and flower 4:9:3 over 10 days, not heavy 3-6 tbsp - more toward present. Watering 1+ gal every day last 7 - 1 day off. Yellowing of old growth finally stopped at day 14 from high stress week. Kept pruning the leaves that would clearly not recover, no pruning necessary today. Some spotting on leaves, but nothing new.
So pics are at today at 63 days, approx 18 days of flowering. Not horrible considering beginner mistakes and huge stress right at beginning of flowering, but certainly considerably stunted. Larger plant about 27” - cola on only about 7”. Still a little slow stretch happening I think.
Questions for first grow:
How long left to harvest? I hope a few weeks still. Pics of buds look like trichomes are beginning to get milky. They only started “secreting” (?) about 10-12 days ago. I read letting them go to amber would be more body high and sedative effects - that’s what I want - PTSD.
Will buds fill in where they stretched in flower? Hoping they will or yield will be pretty low. First grow - I’m not unhappy given what I see even though I know it will be way better in the future. I’m a newb.
Second grow questions:
Will starting under flower spectrum at first really screw things up? Should I switch back to veg spectrum and raise it even though first grow is still in flower. Corollary question: how much difference do spectrum changes make through various stages? Should I invest in another smaller light for flowering? VT law is 2 seedlings, 2 veg, 2 flower.
Should I use the ff liquid stuff if problems arise and screw my organic ego? i suspect if I don’t leave my plants they won’t have the same issue - nutrient lock maybe though. I guess getting nutes back into soil quickly would be a good idea if I have to flush.
Investing in data collection: I will get a pH meter in next couple weeks. What is best way to measure pH of soil if not using soak method to measure run off?
My basement humidity seems ok given bud density. The smaller plant buds are not as dense, but I think it’s either genes or just lost out on nutes to larger plant. It is getting colder so the air will dry a bit. Do I need to worry about this at all?
I can dial in temp in my closet pretty well. Ambient temp in basement will be < 45°F in winter, confident I can keep ambient temp in closet 65-80°F - soil temp between 60-65°. Prob higher, but I think it will start to get expensive. I have a little 1500W space heater in 60” x 54” x 70” closet insulated w 1/2” foam board.
How much do I need to worry about measuring light intensity? Do I just trust my light bc VIVOSUN knows better than I do and keep light far enough away to avoid burning?
Anyway, advice for a newb…general, easy, cost-effective changes. Plan to continue to use dry feed as much as possible and stay ahead of issues.
I might nerd out on ideas to tweak soil to cannabis needs from the get go…like what raw ingredients, microbes, etc. can I use to condition my own soil. I will 100% dial stuff in as I get more experience, but I only want to pay attention to to a few things at a time as I go.
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for good advice. I really like this community so far, very supportive