First Time Grower - Ethos Grandpa's Stash R2

[CheeseAndBees]

Hi All! I am a first time grower in NY and decided to start with 3 plants, all the same strain: Ethos Grandpa's Stash R2. I germinated my seeds using the paper towel method and a heat mat (popped in ~48 hours), then planted them in the grow medium on April 23rd, 20 days from this post. Here is some information about my set up:

-Set up located in 3 Season Sunroom, AC installed but no heat
-3x3 AC Infinity Tent, with inline filter/exhaust and two oscillating fans
-IONBOARD S33, Full Spectrum LED Grow Light 260W, Samsung LM301H
-Day Temps: 78-82deg / Night Temps: 68deg (Heater used inside tent at night since sunroom regularly drops below 55)
-Day RH: 65% / Night RH: 60% (Humidifier used inside tent since RH levels in sunroom are often <50%)
-Grow Medium is: 70% Canna Coco Coir (pre-buffered), 15% Perlite, 15% Earth Worm Castings
-Nutrient line is Canna Coco A & B and Canna CalMag Agent

I am starting this grow journal not only to document my first grow, but also with the hope that more experienced growers can give me some advice on what I may be doing wrong. All three plants have been growing, but slower than I expected. Additionally, I have been having issues with leaf bleaching since they sprouted.

A Few Days Before Planting:

-Mixed grow medium together and filled 1G grow bags
-Added 7ml Canna CalMag Agent to 2gallons of soft tap water and let sit for a day
-PH'd the 2 gallons of CalMag water Up/Down to 5.8, EC ~380uS
-Watered the empty grow medium to slight run off using the calmag mix, this was to ensure the coco was properly buffered (I purchased it pre-buffered but read somewhere you should buffer it yourself just in case)
-Night before planting, mixed the first very light feed -> 2G Soft tap water, 3ml Canna A and B, 1ml Canna CalMag
*Note: I always mix 2g of feed, but only use what I need*

Day 0, Planting:

-Checked PH of mix from night before, and PH'd down from 6.8 to 5.9, EC 410uS
-Watered Pots until moist throughout, but not saturated
-Planted each germinated seed about 1in deep
-Waited 6hrs before adding humidity domes
-Grow Light ~26 Inches away, 20% Strength, 18/6 cycle

Day 5 From Planting:

-Seedlings had first set of leaves coming in, but all are showing signs of bleaching
-I had noticed the seedlings were getting really leggy when they first sprouted (~day 3 from planting) and decreased the light height to 18 inches away, 40% strength as per the light manual's recommendation
-It was unclear to me at this point if I should be raising the light (because of the bleaching) or lowering the light (to prevent the seedlings from stretching even more)
-On day 6 I gave another feeding, a bit stronger this time -> 2G Soft tap water, 5ml Canna A and B, 2ml Canna CalMag, PH 5.9, EC 515uS
-Used a pipette to water the soil around the stem, followed by misting the plants using a spray bottle (realized later this may be a bad idea), and a normal watering can for the bulk of the medium
-On day 7 I lowered the light intensity to 30% since bleaching was still present

Day 12 From Planting:

-Plants on their second set of leaves, still showing varying levels of bleaching
-On day 9 another feeding was given using the same mix from Day 6, using the same method
-On Day 10 the light was raised from 18in to 20in, with intensity upped from 30% to 40%
-I was convinced that the bleaching was due to my misting/spraying during feeds, with the water droplets acting like magnifying glasses for the light. Or maybe the nutrients mix droplets were burning the new leaves.
-Also moved my humidifier output away from plants for the same reason as the misting. Water used in humidifier is soft tap water (EC ~140uS, PH ~7.8)
*Note that plant pictures are not necessarily in the same order as above or below*

Day 18 From Planting:

-Plants showing new growth but also still showing bleaching
-Day 14, another very light feeding was given -> 2G Soft tap water, 7ml Canna A and B, 2.5ml Canna CalMag, PH 5.9, EC ~850uS
-Used a pipette to water the soil around the stem, then regular watering pot for the bulk of the medium, no misting this time
-Day 14, light intensity was lowered to 30% and light height raised to 22inches
-Day 16, obtained a PAR meter, and measured PPFD to be 205µmol/m2/s for the 2 plants showing the least bleaching, and 240µmol/m2/s for the plant showing the most bleaching. This seemed like it was in the acceptable range for this stage of the plants' lives so I did not make any changes
-Since on day 18 the plants still showed bleaching, raised the lights to 27in, and moved them around so that they all read 205µmol/m2/s

Day 20 From Planting:

-More growth in the last 2 days, but still significant bleaching on one of the plants
-On day 19, a full "light" feed (according to Canna's recommendation) was given to the plants -> 2G Soft tap water, 14ml Canna A and B, 4ml Canna CalMag, PH 5.8, EC 1120uS or 1.12mS
-Used a pipette to water the soil around the stem, then regular watering pot for the bulk of the medium. Probably the last time I use the pipette as the stems will soon be strong enough to survive normal watering
-On day 20, raised up lights to be 30in from canopy height and raised intensity to 40%, PPFD readings were 205µmol/m2/s, 215µmol/m2/s, and 228µmol/m2/s, with each plant getting more light based on how little bleaching it has

That is where I am so far in the grow. Seems like I have been battling this bleaching (and slight leaf curling) from the start and it is unclear to me if it is actually the light that is causing this. Another idea I had was Cal/Mag toxicity since I decided to buffer an already pre-buffered medium. Still also suspicious of my humidifier since it is constantly running to keep the tent at an acceptable RH level. Any suggestions/feedback are greatly appreciated. Will keep updating this diary as I move along!

-Cheese & Bees

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Day 22 From Planting:

-Significant growth (both height and width) in the last 2 days and bleaching seems to be getting better
-Possible reasons for improvement:
->Light adjustment made on day 20, though PPFD was kept pretty much the same so I don't think this is it
->Feed strength doubled on day 19 to meet the full recommended "light feed" schedule on Canna's website
-> RH target dropped to 58-60% on day 20, although I do not think this is it either
-I am starting to think that the feeds for the first 18 days since planting were too weak which led to nutrient deficiencies, giving the plants the bleached appearance
-For my next grow, I will start with the recommended full "light" feed amount since planting instead of slowly scaling up
-I plan on transplanting to 5G pots soon, but am waiting for my Great White Mycorrhizal Fungi to come in

-For documentation, here is the temp, RH, and VPD levels from the first 21 days since planting

-Cheese and Bees

 

[7munkee]

It took me a week to get my vpd straight. In veg I like to get between .8 and 1.3 with 1.0 being ideal. For the most part you got that under control. IMO, you were right about the feed. I started my seedlings in HP pro and feed them half strength FF Grow Big although after I identify the sex I will transplant to my No till SIP (Earthbox) to flower.

I have heard great things about Grandpas Stash. I have 3 teenage grandkids so I will have to try it someday.

 

[FloridaMike]

Welcome to the Farm!

I have 6 Grampas Stash beans
I'll be following along

 

[CheeseAndBees]

It took me a week to get my vpd straight. In veg I like to get between .8 and 1.3 with 1.0 being ideal. For the most part you got that under control. IMO, you were right about the feed. I started my seedlings in HP pro and feed them half strength FF Grow Big although after I identify the sex I will transplant to my No till SIP (Earthbox) to flower.

I have heard great things about Grandpas Stash. I have 3 teenage grandkids so I will have to try it someday.

Thanks for the tips! Good to know I am on the right track. Also, yes haha, you will definitely need to grow the authentic Grandpa's stash

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Welcome to the Farm!

I have 6 Grampas Stash beans
I'll be following along

Thank you! I'll be sure to keep posting as I move along

 

[Grownsince95]

Everything looks on point except the earth worm castings in the coco, that's a new one for me but at the level your using should cause zero issues.

I've also had many seedlings show odd coloration for the first few nodes and they usually grow out of it. Sometimes it looks more like a true varigation, sometimes patchy like yours. I always chalked it up to growing pains or just an adjustment period to the light. You did everything by the book to correct it and I suspect these ladies will grow up to be fine plants.

You're also on the right track as far as Ca Mg is concerned. They "compete" with each other along with K in the root zone and too much of any one will hinder the absorption of the others. If I remember correctly Canna A has a good amount of Ca already in it, more than GH micro actually. Although your plants are not showing classic Mg deficiency, Mg is the central atom in every chlorophyll molecule.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Everything looks on point except the earth worm castings in the coco, that's a new one for me but at the level your using should cause zero issues.

I've also had many seedlings show odd coloration for the first few nodes and they usually grow out of it. Sometimes it looks more like a true varigation, sometimes patchy like yours. I always chalked it up to growing pains or just an adjustment period to the light. You did everything by the book to correct it and I suspect these ladies will grow up to be fine plants.

You're also on the right track as far as Ca Mg is concerned. They "compete" with each other along with K in the root zone and too much of any one will hinder the absorption of the others. If I remember correctly Canna A has a good amount of Ca already in it, more than GH micro actually. Although your plants are not showing classic Mg deficiency, Mg is the central atom in every chlorophyll molecule.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for the feedback! The idea behind the earthworm castings was that the seedlings would have some level of nutrients available to them from the start while I slowly ramp up the feed strength, but honestly I don't think it helped much here. For my next run I think I will just mix 70% coco / 30% perlite, skip the re-buffering of the pre-buffered coco, and feed according to Canna's recommended feed strength from the very beginning. The extra perlite will probably also help with drainage. My current grow medium tends to stay pretty moist for ~4-5 days after watering to ~10% run off, which seems a bit long between feeds.

I am also thinking these girls will continue to improve, will keep you guys posted!

 

[Thatoneguyyouknow_]

I forgot about grampa's stash, that was one of my favorites for a bit back in kc at the dispos pre-pandemic. it reminded me of all that early 2000s norcal stuff that was coming out here back when i was way too young to be smoking drugs behind libraries. No crazy fruit smells, no crazy bag appeal traits, just dank weed that i reaaaally enjoyed smoking.


Ty kindly for the reminders y'all, you're in good hands though i have nothing else to add on your plants lol.


likely irrelevant: Coco and worm castings does like to drift acidic somewhat easily though, i guess i can add that. Clean coco likes to stay wherever its put PH wise, its usually pretty damn neutral unless your expanding reptile blocks or something, and ewc are fairly acidic, and theres sometimes a thing about them becoming more acidic as they continue to decompose iirc. but if drainage PH seems on point.... prob not an issue with that amount of ewc etc. they dont look quite totally thriving, but they dont look unhappy in photo, and Its so minor it may just be the color of your lights giving them a yellowy tint.

 

[7munkee]

I forgot about grampa's stash, that was one of my favorites for a bit back in kc at the dispos pre-pandemic. it reminded me of all that early 2000s norcal stuff that was coming out here back when i was way too young to be smoking drugs behind libraries. No crazy fruit smells, no crazy bag appeal traits, just dank weed that i reaaaally enjoyed smoking.


Ty kindly for the reminders y'all, you're in good hands though i have nothing else to add on your plants lol.


likely irrelevant: Coco and worm castings does like to drift acidic somewhat easily though, i guess i can add that. Clean coco likes to stay wherever its put PH wise, its usually pretty damn neutral unless your expanding reptile blocks or something, and ewc are fairly acidic, and theres sometimes a thing about them becoming more acidic as they continue to decompose iirc. but if drainage PH seems on point.... prob not an issue with that amount of ewc etc. they dont look quite totally thriving, but they dont look unhappy in photo, and Its so minor it may just be the color of your lights giving them a yellowy tint.

As a grandpa myself, My stash would be Skunk 1. I miss that stuff. My first time smoking it I got so stoned that I puked. This was like '81 or so.

 

[CheeseAndBees]

I forgot about grampa's stash, that was one of my favorites for a bit back in kc at the dispos pre-pandemic. it reminded me of all that early 2000s norcal stuff that was coming out here back when i was way too young to be smoking drugs behind libraries. No crazy fruit smells, no crazy bag appeal traits, just dank weed that i reaaaally enjoyed smoking.


Ty kindly for the reminders y'all, you're in good hands though i have nothing else to add on your plants lol.


likely irrelevant: Coco and worm castings does like to drift acidic somewhat easily though, i guess i can add that. Clean coco likes to stay wherever its put PH wise, its usually pretty damn neutral unless your expanding reptile blocks or something, and ewc are fairly acidic, and theres sometimes a thing about them becoming more acidic as they continue to decompose iirc. but if drainage PH seems on point.... prob not an issue with that amount of ewc etc. they dont look quite totally thriving, but they dont look unhappy in photo, and Its so minor it may just be the color of your lights giving them a yellowy tint.

That's actually one of the reasons I chose to grow Grandpa's stash for my first grow! Reminded me of the weed I would smoke growing up. Very nostalgic for me and I can't wait for flower.

I did not know that about worm castings so thank you for adding that! On my next run, I will do without them.

 

[Thatoneguyyouknow_]

That's actually one of the reasons I chose to grow Grandpa's stash for my first grow! Reminded me of the weed I would smoke growing up. Very nostalgic for me and I can't wait for flower.

I did not know that about worm castings so thank you for adding that! On my next run, I will do without them.

Don't quote me on that completely I don't use worm castings a lot. But If you use too much worm castings you can create a cascading lockout situation kind of thing once a good bit of decomposition is going with extra salts or minerals are introduced. I'm pretty sure I recall decomposition over time being a factor in its acidity and stuff.

But like I said that's probably irrelevant information to you right now, but it is good to know most likely.

My stoned ass also missed some stuff and I made that comment while being quite a bit behind

You do have some light chlorotic stuff going on, bit of some kind of variegation maybe, but im way too baked in edibles to get deeper into the thread right now, which is a realization sinking in quickly. Keystrokes be your ally there tonight not me.

Don't mind me

 

[FloridaMike]

Only thing I'll add is to be careful of too much feeding at first.
They actually have all they need for their first two weeks stored
in their cotyledon leaves. Feeding to soon can actually stunt (or
kill) them by burning their sensitive little tap root.

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Don't quote me on that completely I don't use worm castings a lot. But If you use too much worm castings you can create a cascading lockout situation kind of thing once a good bit of decomposition is going with extra salts or minerals are introduced. I'm pretty sure I recall decomposition over time being a factor in its acidity and stuff.

But like I said that's probably irrelevant information to you right now, but it is good to know most likely.

My stoned ass also missed some stuff and I made that comment while being quite a bit behind

You do have some light chlorotic stuff going on, bit of some kind of variegation maybe, but im way too baked in edibles to get deeper into the thread right now, which is a realization sinking in quickly. Keystrokes be your ally there tonight not me.

Don't mind me

Loooool, it's all good my friend! I appreciate the input regardless

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Only thing I'll add is to be careful of too much feeding at first.
They actually have all they need for their first two weeks stored
in their cotyledon leaves. Feeding to soon can actually stunt (or
kill) them by burning their sensitive little tap root.

This is what I was scared of at the start of this run! I think I was a bit too conservative this time around (first feed was only 1/4 strength of Canna's recommendation for seedlings), so next time I will do something a bit closer to what they recommend while still being careful not to overdo it.

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Day 26 From Planting:

-Healthy amount of growth in the last 4 days, but noticing some leaf edge curling on new growth
-On day 24, leftover mix from day 19 was fed to the plants -> 2G Soft tap water, 14ml Canna A and B, 4ml Canna CalMag
-The PH was checked again to make sure it did not drift out of range, was at 5.9, EC was not checked again since nothing was added
-One thing I noticed during the last two feeds is that the leaves on my plants droop the day after feeding. They are just now (day 26 afternoon) starting to perk back up again. I am including some pictures I took today from the side where you can see that they are not fully perked up yet

Top down view: Some leaf edge curling on new growth

Side View: Slight droop

-Potential Reasons for leaf edge curling:

-Plants have grown taller and I have not changed the light height so PPFD readings have slowly increased to ~225-230µmol/m2/s
-Temps were crazy high these last few days and my AC was not working well so the tent temp spiked a few times
-I have been setting my relative humidity target to 58-60% for the last week or so, meaning my VPD went really high during temp spikes
-Now that the plants are taller, my lower oscillating fan is blowing directly (but gently) on the plants as it moves across the tent

-I do not think the lights are the culprits as I think 225-230µmol/m2/s is conservative for this stage in plant life
-I think the leaf edge curling is a result of the increased temp + decreased humidity leading to high VPD
-Here are my temp, RH, and VPD levels for the last few days (not including today), showing that I have been out of the ideal VPD range about half the time likely leading to the curling

-I am going to change my relative humidity target to ~60-62% and make sure temps stay <=80deg to ensure I am within the ideal VPD range more often
-It is possible the oscillating fan is the culprit too, especially since the middle plant (which is getting hit the most) is showing the most curling. If I do not see improvement with the bump in humidity, I will raise that fan so that it does not directly hit the canopy
-Possible reasons for drooping post feed:

-Temporary oxygen deprivation from overwatering during feed
-Plants have outgrown 1G pots

-I think temporary oxygen deprivation is likely the cause. In the future, I will not use 15% worm castings in my grow medium, and instead double my perlite content to ensure proper aeration
-The fact that the medium stays moist for 5+ days never really sat right with me as others have reported needing to water every 2-3 days
-I have been watering to what I believe is 15-20% run off. However, it is possible I need to dial this back.
-I do not think the plants are big enough to have outgrown their 1G pots, but to be safe, I am planning to transplant to 5G pots tomorrow

Overall I am really proud of these girls! They are making lots of progress and I cannot wait to see growth explode in their new 5G pots!

-Cheese & Bees

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Day 33 From Planting:

-On day 27 plants were transplanted into 5G pots where a light feed was given (no run off), feed mix was -> 3G soft tap water, 21.5ml Canna A, 21ml Canna B, 6ml Canna Calmag agent. PH was 5.9 and EC was ~1140uS
-The plant on the front right was the first plant I have ever transplanted, and unfortunately had its rootball fall apart during the transplant. (I felt so bad!!) The other two transplants went great due to my gained experience. Unfortunately, the front right plant has been recovering slower than the other two plants because of this
- All plants had great white mycorrhizae sprinkled on their rootball during transplant
-On day 30, the front right plant's grow medium was dry (1 full day sooner than the others), and so I used leftover mix from day 26 (ensuring PH was still 5.9) to give another light feed (no runoff)
-On day 31, the other two plants received a light feed
-All plants showed droopiness for about 4-5 days post transplant while they recovered, new growth was present but slow
-The two plants that maintained their rootball intact during transplant are now fully recovered (day 6 post transplant) with the one that did not still needing more time for recovery
-I am also noticing that the lower leaves are a lighter color on the plant where the rootball fell apart
-I am considering topping the two plants that are now fully recovered as soon as tomorrow, but holding off on the one that is still in recovery
-PPFD levels have been between 225-240μmol/m²/s for all plants, will bump this up as soon as everyone is fully recovered. My next feed will also be slightly stronger strength now that we are in mid veg

Proud of my girls for staying strong even when my inexperience starts to show! Excited to start training.

-Cheese & Bees

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Day 42 From Planting:
-Been a while since I last posted and these girls are thriving!
-Plant on the front left was topped about a week ago and started LST yesterday
-Other two plants were topped ~3 days ago, no LST at all yet aside from tying down the two massive top fan leaves on the back plant (were blocking the entire lower canopy)
-Last few feedings have been using the following mix -> 3G soft tap water, 26ml Canna A & B, 6ml Canna Calmag, pH 5.8, EC 1355uS
-Have not watered until runoff in these new big pots yet as I was waiting for the root system to develop but I plan to tomorrow
-Plan to start LST on the other two plants in a couple of days, will also try bumping up the light intensity soon as PPFD levels have only been ~265μmol/m²/s for all plants

-Cheese & Bees

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Day 47 From Planting:

-Girls exploded in growth! Was gone on vacation for ~2 days and humidity in the tent got well above target (~70%) but I guess the plants enjoyed it haha, or at least did not mind much
-I watered to ~10-20% runoff on day 43, mix was -> 4G soft tap water, 36ml Canna A & B, 8ml Canna Calmag, pH 5.8, EC ~1300uS
-Runoff EC was measured for each plant (front left ~2500uS, front right ~2400uS, and back plant ~1700uS)
-Worth noting that some of the new growth showed very small holes in 4-5 leaves. I searched the whole tent for bugs but only found one small beetle-like bug on a new leaf, assuming I do not find anything else tomorrow I will be flipping to flower
-Today I started LST on the front right and back plants and continued training on the front left, since it is my first grow I am keeping training minimal

*left is before applying LST, right image is after*

Very excited to flip these girls tomorrow! Ready for the stretch.

-Cheese & Bees

 

[CheeseAndBees]

Day 49 From Planting:

-Thought I would post one final veg photo before I flip these girls to 12/12 tomorrow! Flip was delayed 2 days in order to check for bugs or new holes in leaves. Thankfully, I did not see anything at all!
-Mixed nutrients tonight same as last week-> 4G soft tap water, 36ml Canna A & B, 8ml Canna Calmag, will pH and measure EC tomorrow before feed
-Light intensity is at ~300μmol/m²/s for each plant, with the intensity set half way. This is low for late veg / early flower and so I plan to gradually increase it to ~500 μmol/m²/s over the next 2 weeks
-This photo is right after repositioning tie downs on all plants, and leaf tucking on the back plant

Wish me luck in flower!

-Cheese & Bees