First Indoor Auto Grow GG4

DoBetterr · Jun 27, 2021

Whats up everyone!

This is my first indoor grow and due to time constraints of a move in the fall I went with Autos. Seeds were from Growers Choice, I went with GG4 and got 3 out of 3 to sprout for me. I moved them into Fox Farms Ocean Forest which I did not amend ( I know LOTS of nitrogen in there...) on 5/14 and have been creeping in the corners of the forum ever since to get tips and tricks along the way. The Ladies are fed roughly every other day, or as their pots dry out and I see separation from the soil to the sides of the pot. Currently I am feeding them:
- Armor Si 2 tsp per gallon
- CalMag 1 tsp per gallon
- Tiger Bloom 2.5 tsp per gallon
- Big Bloom 3 tsp per gallon
- Mammoth P .6 ML per gallon

1 of the girls was stunted due to having a 3 gallon pot for the first 4 weeks of life but she was moved to a 4G and is starting to catch up. The other 2 have given me really no issues so far besides the one getting so tall I had to introduce the Trellis net to keep her away from the lights. Anyhow here are some pictures, please let me know if you see anything I might be overlooking or room for improvement if you see it.

Tent is 36x36x72, Lights are set at 18/6, water is always PH'd to 6.0-6.5, I have RH at 55%, a fan is constantly blowing on them as well.

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

All that nitrogen and still your plants are light green? What's your pH?

DoBetterr · Jun 27, 2021

ComfortablyNumb said:
All that nitrogen and still your plants are light green? What's your pH?

I always PH between 6.0 and 6.5

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

DoBetterr said:
I always PH between 6.0 and 6.5

FF OF is not a hot soil. I know, lots of people think so. That's because they are not using it the right way. OF is more of an organic style soil. You don't feed regular plant food with it, you use Enzymes to convert the soil to plant food. That way they get what they need without overloading them.
If you us FF OF, then add this to it before planting:

Home - Real Growers Inc

Home Grown Made Easy A lot of people over-complicate things. We like to simplify them. We’re on a mission to grow the community and make growing accessible to more people since 2014. SHOP NOW Everything You Need To Grow Top Shelf Plants MICROBES Real Growers Recharge Natural Plant Growth...

www.realgrowers.com

Also, how and what are you watering?

DoBetterr · Jun 27, 2021

ComfortablyNumb said:
FF OF is not a hot soil. I know, lots of people think so. That's because they are not using it the right way. OF is more of an organic style soil. You don't feed regular plant food with it, you use Enzymes to convert the soil to plant food. That way they get what they need without overloading them.
If you us FF OF, then add this to it before planting:

Home - Real Growers Inc

Home Grown Made Easy A lot of people over-complicate things. We like to simplify them. We’re on a mission to grow the community and make growing accessible to more people since 2014. SHOP NOW Everything You Need To Grow Top Shelf Plants MICROBES Real Growers Recharge Natural Plant Growth...

www.realgrowers.com

Also, how and what are you watering?

I feed them usually every other day but I look for some separation from the dirt and the side of the pots and make sure the dirt itself is dry before actually watering, above the picture I go over what I feed them. I let the Armor Si sit for at least 10 minutes before adding the CalMag and that also sits for at least 10 minutes before I add the rest. I use a 1 gallon pump and spray water can that I took the spray nozzle off of so it just has a light water stream that I use until there is a good run off. I go through 2 gallons each feeding with this method. Armor Si and Mammoth P just became part of the feeding process last feed at the advice of my local indoor grower store.

The camera on my iPhone makes the plants look more light yellow / lime than they appear in person. The fan leaves are pretty dark green and the rest of the plant is definitely a lighter shade than that I have not seen anything alarming. What are some things I should be on the look out for?

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

Ok, so since you do not grow organically, you need to be careful how much you give them.
Make sure you always feed and water to runoff. Test the feed before you give it and test the runoff after. This will tell you how much they actually want to eat.
If your after number is higher, you have a buildup in the roots and that plant might need a flush.

DoBetterr · Jun 27, 2021

ComfortablyNumb said:
Ok, so since you do not grow organically, you need to be careful how much you give them.
Make sure you always feed and water to runoff. Test the feed before you give it and test the runoff after. This will tell you how much they actually want to eat.
If your after number is higher, you have a buildup in the roots and that plant might need a flush.

I need to get a PPM... I did not even think about potential lock out with adding things to my water, I assumed that since it was all natural it was just doing good for the plants and the runoff ensured I wasn't leaving too much in the soil. The Mammoth P should help to prevent that from happening though right? My understanding was that it has active microbials in it to help what's in the dirt turn into nutrients that the plant wants.

I also was under the impression everything I am using is organic. What is not so I can replace and use all organic next grow?

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

If you are going organic, then read this to start:

Watering for Soil Growers Only

Watering in Soil Watering plants gives many new growers anxiety issues. Because we want our plants to do the best they can, we over water and some even underwater. To help relieve the stress and confusion, this is sort of a step by step of what to do and look for when you grow in soil...

www.thcfarmer.com

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

Armor Si is not what I would call organic.
Did you amend your soil before planting with Recharge? https://www.realgrowers.com/

Organic = you add nothing but water.

DoBetterr · Jun 27, 2021

ComfortablyNumb said:
Armor Si is not what I would call organic.
Did you amend your soil before planting with Recharge? https://www.realgrowers.com/

Organic = you add nothing but water.

Armor SI is definitely not, and after further inspection the only 2 things that have organic certifications are the Big Bloom and Mammoth P.

I did not amend my dirt before planting, that was a lesson learned for next time. I was told coco is good to amend with, what would you suggest?

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

No, not coco. Coco is not an amendment, its a medium, just like soil is a medium. You can mix them, but you are cutting out what your plants need.
They can't eat coco and the coco eats magnesium which can lead to shortages.

And do not water to runoff in organic. You're wasting food.

RECHARGE is your pre=planting amendment.

Home - Real Growers Inc

Home Grown Made Easy A lot of people over-complicate things. We like to simplify them. We’re on a mission to grow the community and make growing accessible to more people since 2014. SHOP NOW Everything You Need To Grow Top Shelf Plants MICROBES Real Growers Recharge Natural Plant Growth...

www.realgrowers.com

DoBetterr · Jun 27, 2021

Very nice thank you for the advice I will pick some recharge for the next grow.

ComfortablyNumb · Jun 27, 2021

DoBetterr said:
Very nice thank you for the advice I will pick some recharge for the next grow.

For the rest of this grow you need someone with more non-organic experience.
@Aqua Man
and
@DreamwalkerJ

Either of those guys can get thru this one.

DreamwalkerJ · Jun 27, 2021

Ok so first of all im noticing tip burn. What these guys say is right, youre using organic soil but then feeding synthetic nutrients. Organic soil is more like a time release for nutes. Everything they need should be there, just add water. But since you didnt ammend, its definitely going to need PK so its good your adding the others but it looks like they are getting slightly too much phosphorus, unless you KNOW that tip burn is old. Also in soil, you should be giving plain water every 3rd feeding or so, so they can use up any leftover in the soil. Also, im not sure, it may have been taken right after you fed them but your leaves are looking a little puffy in one of the pics, if this is normal, then since your RH and temps are good, youre watering too often. Fill a pot with dry soil and compare that to the weight of your plants, they should weigh almost the same before you water them again. In fact, they might actually enjoy it if you let them dry out a little in between feedings. What size are the pots and how much do you feed at a time?

DoBetterr · Jun 28, 2021

DreamwalkerJ said:
Ok so first of all im noticing tip burn. What these guys say is right, youre using organic soil but then feeding synthetic nutrients. Organic soil is more like a time release for nutes. Everything they need should be there, just add water. But since you didnt ammend, its definitely going to need PK so its good your adding the others but it looks like they are getting slightly too much phosphorus, unless you KNOW that tip burn is old. Also in soil, you should be giving plain water every 3rd feeding or so, so they can use up any leftover in the soil. Also, im not sure, it may have been taken right after you fed them but your leaves are looking a little puffy in one of the pics, if this is normal, then since your RH and temps are good, youre watering too often. Fill a pot with dry soil and compare that to the weight of your plants, they should weigh almost the same before you water them again. In fact, they might actually enjoy it if you let them dry out a little in between feedings. What size are the pots and how much do you feed at a time?

The burnt tips I first noticed right before they went into flowering, it hasn't grown at all so I just let it go as I am not sure what I am giving too much of, also I know the light was getting too close to the plants before I brought out the old trellis net. I was not aware that I should be feeding just PH'd water every 3rd time so thank you for that. As far as the puffy leaves I have not really noticed it other than on the very new leaves as they are growing. I am going to follow your suggestion and not feed them for another day to see how they react. I have not been letting the leaves get droopy, just waiting for the dirt to dry out.

The pots are all 4 gallon and I feed them 2 gallons total for all three, the biggest plant gets slightly more due to size and the small girl gets a smaller portion of water as well. All of the plants are fed until some runoff.

DreamwalkerJ · Jun 28, 2021

DoBetterr said:
The burnt tips I first noticed right before they went into flowering, it hasn't grown at all so I just let it go as I am not sure what I am giving too much of, also I know the light was getting too close to the plants before I brought out the old trellis net. I was not aware that I should be feeding just PH'd water every 3rd time so thank you for that. As far as the puffy leaves I have not really noticed it other than on the very new leaves as they are growing. I am going to follow your suggestion and not feed them for another day to see how they react. I have not been letting the leaves get droopy, just waiting for the dirt to dry out.

The pots are all 4 gallon and I feed them 2 gallons total for all three, the biggest plant gets slightly more due to size and the small girl gets a smaller portion of water as well. All of the plants are fed until some runoff.

That all sounds about right. Even if they do start to get a LITTLE droopy from being thirsty, sometimes they like it. If the genetics are good, then a little stress will strengthen her and push her a little bit, but only a little and once in a while. The last thing you want to do is stunt them when you were trying to make them grow.

First Indoor Auto Grow GG4

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