First time grower, have some questions

[Aqua Man]

The light to humidity ratio is perplexing to me I don’t understand how just a little more light can lower the humidity like thst?

Its the temp change… humidity is relative to temp.

 

[Aqua Man]

How To Defoliate Cannabis Plants For Maximum Yields

So let me explain defoliation in a way that will allow you to know how and when to defoliate. This is basic and wont include crop steering methods. You need to get a good base understanding and practice first imo before going all ham on advanced techniques. Reasons for defoliation: 1. Airflow...

www.thcfarmer.com

VPD (vapor pressure deficit)

Ok i was gonna sit down and write out a whole article but i have been lazy so instead instead I'm going to copy paste because im lazy. This is not my work so let start. You may find this very long but its worth the read. Some may want to skip ahead. I have added here and there to what i feel is...

www.thcfarmer.com

Marijuana Watering, how media, pot size/shape and environment affect it

Ok lots of posts on how to water plants. So I thought I would put together a thread on how different factors contribute to different results that ppl see. This will be a long read based on my personal knowledge, opinions, research and others work to consolidate information for our members. I'm...

www.thcfarmer.com

you need to make sure you have good airflow through the plants, adequate air exchange and proper sensor placement

 

[elusiveshame]

How To Defoliate Cannabis Plants For Maximum Yields

So let me explain defoliation in a way that will allow you to know how and when to defoliate. This is basic and wont include crop steering methods. You need to get a good base understanding and practice first imo before going all ham on advanced techniques. Reasons for defoliation: 1. Airflow...

www.thcfarmer.com

VPD (vapor pressure deficit)

Ok i was gonna sit down and write out a whole article but i have been lazy so instead instead I'm going to copy paste because im lazy. This is not my work so let start. You may find this very long but its worth the read. Some may want to skip ahead. I have added here and there to what i feel is...

www.thcfarmer.com

Marijuana Watering, how media, pot size/shape and environment affect it

Ok lots of posts on how to water plants. So I thought I would put together a thread on how different factors contribute to different results that ppl see. This will be a long read based on my personal knowledge, opinions, research and others work to consolidate information for our members. I'm...

www.thcfarmer.com

you need to make sure you have good airflow through the plants, adequate air exchange and proper sensor placement

I’ve read the first already, but I’ll def read the other 2. Thanks duder!

 

[elusiveshame]

Pots were little light last night so I decided to water today. I’ve been watering in the tent, but that’s been getting more challenging, so while I can, I’ve been moving them onto my spare desk on a plastic lid to catch any run off.

While out, I adjusted the wires, and snipped a few fan leaves that were yellowing / crushed from the sides of the tent. What good are they if they aren’t absorbing light?

Today’s watering was just water + orca and no nutrients. Bottom left plant looks a bit weird because instead of clipping the top fan leaf, I’m training it down / away to uncover some bud sites below it.

The 2 on the right have pretty evened out canopies, so I’m hoping I can get the left plant to slow down the vertical growth to let the other 2 catch up.

I’m probably just going to toss the hermie tomorrow. I’ve been told I can remove the pollen sacks and the bud will be good, but I’m reading mixed opinions about it online.

Anyone have any pollen they wanna sell me?

 

[Aqua Man]

Is this coco?

 

[elusiveshame]

Is this coco?

Soil

 

[elusiveshame]

Saw an earwig / pincher bug resting in the hermied plant, so I took this as an opportunity to remove the plant from the tent and lay it out to pasture.

I do see them once in a while in my basement, so I can’t say I’m surprised to find one in my tent, but it did creep me out lol

I don’t see any others in there, but I’ll make sure to check carefully around the other plants throughout the day to make sure there aren’t others.

 

[sportyridr]

Saw an earwig / pincher bug resting in the hermied plant, so I took this as an opportunity to remove the plant from the tent and lay it out to pasture.

I do see them once in a while in my basement, so I can’t say I’m surprised to find one in my tent, but it did creep me out lol

I don’t see any others in there, but I’ll make sure to check carefully around the other plants throughout the day to make sure there aren’t others.

That was your sign to get rid of the Hermie lol...I just lost all mine to a hermed plants 3 weeks in, pollenated everything...my fault thinking I was on cruise...so don't fool with em

Hate the lil earwig bastards, we had them bad outdoors last summer, came with the mulch...they were tough to get rid of

 

[elusiveshame]

That was your sign to get rid of the Hermie lol...I just lost all mine to a hermed plants 3 weeks in, pollenated everything...my fault thinking I was on cruise...so don't fool with em

Hate the lil earwig bastards, we had them bad outdoors last summer, came with the mulch...they were tough to get rid of

Lol yeah. At first I thought it was a slug, but then I got it stuck to some gorilla tape and saw what it was.

Unfortunately my basement does tend to get some little bugs like that. Once in a while it’s a cricket, sometimes it’s a pincher, but yeah. The hermie has gone to the compost pile.

It’s for the best regardless. I was running out of room, and the remaining 3 look happier with that extra space.

 

[elusiveshame]

Aside from hucking the hermie, I moved the carrot pot to the front of the tent to give more room to the middle plants.

It looked like 2 of the plants grew some additional roots near the top of the soil that were slightly exposed, so I took some lightly watered soil and gently placed it around the base. I’ll likely apply more right before the next watering as well.

Aside from that, nothing else was done today. I’ll be adjusting the wires tomorrow and possibly removing some of the inward facing fan leaves.

Tonight’s pics:

(Pic is upside down for some reason )

And a pic from the CannaCam:

Oh, all 3 plants are all showing female preflowers everywhere

 

[elusiveshame]

So after finding the earwig on the hermied plant, I decided to order some Sluggo Plus and use that on the remaining plants just as a precaution. I also ordered a green head light so I can go in the tent during the night time and see if any bugs are active as I'm not seeing any during the day. I suspect if there's at least 1, there's probably more and they could be living in the soil and I'd be none the wiser. I also ordered a loupe as well just to really inspect the leaves, and since I'll need it to determine when to harvest, why not get it now?

I might run to the hardware store in the morning and see if they have any Sluggo just so I can apply it sooner rather than later. They'll be more expensive than Amazon, but why give them bastards an additional night of munching?

 

[Kanashiihawk63]

Hey everyone!

So my dealer gave me a handful of seeds and I planted them in the first week of September in a "community" pot (8" diameter). There were 9 seeds and I got 5 good plants growing out of them (2 of them were incredibly tiny, and 1 of them just didn't want to survive), which is still more than I have room for in my tent. I don't know the strains (likely bag seeds my dealer acquired), but they seem to have indica leaves. Once they developed their first true leaves, I put them into their own small clay pots, and now that they've grown larger than those pots, I moved them into 5 gallon fabric pots as their final spot.

Since I have a handful of plants to experiment with, I wanted to top 2 plants, possibly LST one of them, LST a non-topped plant, and then let 1 grow naturally (I don't have room for all 5 in my tent, so one of them is being given to a friend).

Earlier this week, I decided to top 2 of the plants. Both were roughly the same size, each having their first true leaves, a set of 3 leaves, a set of 5 leaves, and a set of 7 leaves. The first plant I topped, and I know I missed. I cut too low. The second plant seems to have been done properly as it's growing 2 new stalks from the cut.

The first plant is bushing out fine, but the too low of a cut has a single growth of a new main stem coming out, and it's already being shaded by the growth by the cut. The plant looks healthy, but I suspect a very low yield from it now. No biggie - you can't always with learn without making mistakes.

The second plant is doing very well.

I was debating on doing some LST today, but I think I'm going to avoid it this grow. I have a trellis net that I'm going to use, so there's at least something to help spread the canopy. If it's highly recommended I do LST, please let me know.

So, my babies are now a month old from planting, and I'm trying to be prepared for the next stage of the grow. This brings me to my questions:

1.) When should I start trimming the plants? Now? Should only the bottom fan leaves be removed? The 4 nodes are just coming in now, so I'm not sure if it's too soon to start trimming, or if I should wait another week or 2.

2.) When should I be able to tell the gender? The true leaves popped out about 3 weeks ago. I'm assuming fairly soon, yeah?

3.) How to flip into flower mode? Right now I'm running 18/6 with the lights and I know I have to change to a 12/12 cycle. Do I just do this when I think the plants are at a proper height (I know to expect 2x the height growth during flower), or will the plants tell me when?

4.) Can you pollinate a single flower on a plant?

4a.) Can you pollinate an auto flower?

In regards to question 4 - I'd like to eventually be 100% self sufficient in harvesting not only flower, but seeds as well. I know with my current plants, it's likely that I'm not going to get some top quality stuff, but I figure it's a learning process, so why not start with what I have? Can I harvest the pollen sacks from a male plant, then pollinate a single bud to get seeds? I don't want to pollinate an entire plant, so I'm looking for best options. I don't have the room, or setup for clones (kids in the house, so I have very limited space on where I can grow, and we're heading into the super cold season now, so outside grow isn't happening for a few months). Would it be better to just get some of the weed spray off amazon (marketed for weed, but it's just a mix of colloidal silver in a spray bottle) and spray a branch of a feminized plant instead of mucking around with an unknown strain male?

5.) I've ready auto's should be on a 18/6 or 20/4 or 24/0 light schedule. Is this from veg state onward, or can the germination/sapling stage use 12/12 just fine? I ask because I'd like to ideally start cycling plants in and out of the tent as one group is finishing up, and I have photoperiods in there now, but when I get ready to harvest them (likely mid January I think), I'd like to have some auto's already hitting the veg phase ready to go.

Thanks!

Hi! Even though I am not a brand spanking "new" grower (I am a Grandma) I am kind of new to the "New Ways" of all the high tech lighting and stuff. (Makes ALL of it much easier for ALL indoor gardeners!) ONTO your questions. First, I see you are a "Kyle Kushman" Fan. Me too, everything I have learned over the last 8 years has been from him. He is Now with Homegrown Cannabis Co. (as a consultant/breeder etc) and he posts a crap-ton of videos on both Homegrown Cannabis site as well as on YouTube > https://homegrowncannabisco.com/gro...-grow-marijuana/how-to-grow-cannabis-indoors/
I learned and did his "Kushman Chiropractics" and his trimming style etc. If you like his as a teacher, my biggest "take away" is choose who works BEST for you... OK, onto your questions.

1) I DO Topping and FIMming on plants when they are between 4-6 weeks (If I am going to on that plant). I grow MAINLY indicas and Indica Doms.
2) YES, you certainly CAN pollinate one branch only (on EITHER autoflowers or Photoperiod). There are sprays for that. Just spray the ONE branch and the plant will self pollinate itself (or you can help with a soft Q-Tip). Many AUTOFLOWERS will sometimes "Hermie" (Hermaphrodite) on themselves if stressed. I have NOT seen this in a few years, so genetics MUST be better on the Autos. But, watch them. They sometimes can pop up some seeds on you! Save them and use them for any experimentation (OR...Feed the local birds, they will love you forever!)
3) I do not ever use trellis. I just don't. I use SOG (Sea of Green) I am a SOIL grower in pots no larger ever than 5 gallons (Usually 2-3 gallon fabric pots) since I grow INDOORS it makes it very easy for a 60 year old grandma to move her plants around in my tent or turn them to get the best light etc.
4) Gender reveals. The more "grows" you do, the more strains you grow, the better you get at spotting it! Males TEND to "develop first" they FOOL you, little "whisker and then a ball sack thingy and a flower. Boom. Male. Be CAUTIOUS with male cannabis pollen!!!! It can go everywhere if it POOFS (releases it's pollen)... And you can ruin and entire tents harvest. (And possibly future harvests!) so, be cautious with MALES plants. No reason to fear them IF you are breeding. I started learning seed breeding after I had at least a few good 5-10 grows under my belt and I felt really good about taking care of my cannabis plants and any problems (without feeling I had to run to Dr. Google).

Last but not least...EVERYONE has an opinion. Do what works for YOU. Being "New to the game" is fun and exciting! You haven't developed any "bad habits" so can experiment with a variety of styles and such. Some old growers we can be stuck in our ways. However I have never had anyone complain about my small, potent craft-medicinal grows. So, I go by REAL world comments.
Best of luck and always keep on growing with a LIGHT heart, that is the ZEN of it!
Warmly,
Jackie~
PS: The attached photo was a G13 (Seeds) I got from Homegrown Cannabis Co, that had a rare "throwback gene" to a chocolate Thai. Really striking purples! Enjoy your growing adventure!

 

[GNick55]

Hi! Even though I am not a brand spanking "new" grower (I am a Grandma) I am kind of new to the "New Ways" of all the high tech lighting and stuff. (Makes ALL of it much easier for ALL indoor gardeners!) ONTO your questions. First, I see you are a "Kyle Kushman" Fan. Me too, everything I have learned over the last 8 years has been from him. He is Now with Homegrown Cannabis Co. (as a consultant/breeder etc) and he posts a crap-ton of videos on both Homegrown Cannabis site as well as on YouTube > https://homegrowncannabisco.com/gro...-grow-marijuana/how-to-grow-cannabis-indoors/
I learned and did his "Kushman Chiropractics" and his trimming style etc. If you like his as a teacher, my biggest "take away" is choose who works BEST for you... OK, onto your questions.

1) I DO Topping and FIMming on plants when they are between 4-6 weeks (If I am going to on that plant). I grow MAINLY indicas and Indica Doms.
2) YES, you certainly CAN pollinate one branch only (on EITHER autoflowers or Photoperiod). There are sprays for that. Just spray the ONE branch and the plant will self pollinate itself (or you can help with a soft Q-Tip). Many AUTOFLOWERS will sometimes "Hermie" (Hermaphrodite) on themselves if stressed. I have NOT seen this in a few years, so genetics MUST be better on the Autos. But, watch them. They sometimes can pop up some seeds on you! Save them and use them for any experimentation (OR...Feed the local birds, they will love you forever!)
3) I do not ever use trellis. I just don't. I use SOG (Sea of Green) I am a SOIL grower in pots no larger ever than 5 gallons (Usually 2-3 gallon fabric pots) since I grow INDOORS it makes it very easy for a 60 year old grandma to move her plants around in my tent or turn them to get the best light etc.
4) Gender reveals. The more "grows" you do, the more strains you grow, the better you get at spotting it! Males TEND to "develop first" they FOOL you, little "whisker and then a ball sack thingy and a flower. Boom. Male. Be CAUTIOUS with male cannabis pollen!!!! It can go everywhere if it POOFS (releases it's pollen)... And you can ruin and entire tents harvest. (And possibly future harvests!) so, be cautious with MALES plants. No reason to fear them IF you are breeding. I started learning seed breeding after I had at least a few good 5-10 grows under my belt and I felt really good about taking care of my cannabis plants and any problems (without feeling I had to run to Dr. Google).

Last but not least...EVERYONE has an opinion. Do what works for YOU. Being "New to the game" is fun and exciting! You haven't developed any "bad habits" so can experiment with a variety of styles and such. Some old growers we can be stuck in our ways. However I have never had anyone complain about my small, potent craft-medicinal grows. So, I go by REAL world comments.
Best of luck and always keep on growing with a LIGHT heart, that is the ZEN of it!
Warmly,
Jackie~
PS: The attached photo was a G13 (Seeds) I got from Homegrown Cannabis Co, that had a rare "throwback gene" to a chocolate Thai. Really striking purples! Enjoy your growing adventure!

mmm a few things kinda off but pollen will only survive 3-5 days in the tent if a male pops.,
put your bags on sturdy saucers the same size with golf balls than you can spin the bags easily.,
like this..

 

[elusiveshame]

Hi! Even though I am not a brand spanking "new" grower (I am a Grandma) I am kind of new to the "New Ways" of all the high tech lighting and stuff. (Makes ALL of it much easier for ALL indoor gardeners!) ONTO your questions. First, I see you are a "Kyle Kushman" Fan. Me too, everything I have learned over the last 8 years has been from him. He is Now with Homegrown Cannabis Co. (as a consultant/breeder etc) and he posts a crap-ton of videos on both Homegrown Cannabis site as well as on YouTube > https://homegrowncannabisco.com/gro...-grow-marijuana/how-to-grow-cannabis-indoors/
I learned and did his "Kushman Chiropractics" and his trimming style etc. If you like his as a teacher, my biggest "take away" is choose who works BEST for you... OK, onto your questions.

1) I DO Topping and FIMming on plants when they are between 4-6 weeks (If I am going to on that plant). I grow MAINLY indicas and Indica Doms.
2) YES, you certainly CAN pollinate one branch only (on EITHER autoflowers or Photoperiod). There are sprays for that. Just spray the ONE branch and the plant will self pollinate itself (or you can help with a soft Q-Tip). Many AUTOFLOWERS will sometimes "Hermie" (Hermaphrodite) on themselves if stressed. I have NOT seen this in a few years, so genetics MUST be better on the Autos. But, watch them. They sometimes can pop up some seeds on you! Save them and use them for any experimentation (OR...Feed the local birds, they will love you forever!)
3) I do not ever use trellis. I just don't. I use SOG (Sea of Green) I am a SOIL grower in pots no larger ever than 5 gallons (Usually 2-3 gallon fabric pots) since I grow INDOORS it makes it very easy for a 60 year old grandma to move her plants around in my tent or turn them to get the best light etc.
4) Gender reveals. The more "grows" you do, the more strains you grow, the better you get at spotting it! Males TEND to "develop first" they FOOL you, little "whisker and then a ball sack thingy and a flower. Boom. Male. Be CAUTIOUS with male cannabis pollen!!!! It can go everywhere if it POOFS (releases it's pollen)... And you can ruin and entire tents harvest. (And possibly future harvests!) so, be cautious with MALES plants. No reason to fear them IF you are breeding. I started learning seed breeding after I had at least a few good 5-10 grows under my belt and I felt really good about taking care of my cannabis plants and any problems (without feeling I had to run to Dr. Google).

Last but not least...EVERYONE has an opinion. Do what works for YOU. Being "New to the game" is fun and exciting! You haven't developed any "bad habits" so can experiment with a variety of styles and such. Some old growers we can be stuck in our ways. However I have never had anyone complain about my small, potent craft-medicinal grows. So, I go by REAL world comments.
Best of luck and always keep on growing with a LIGHT heart, that is the ZEN of it!
Warmly,
Jackie~
PS: The attached photo was a G13 (Seeds) I got from Homegrown Cannabis Co, that had a rare "throwback gene" to a chocolate Thai. Really striking purples! Enjoy your growing adventure!

Thanks for sharing :)

as for the pollen going everywhere - I honestly wouldn’t mind that if I knew the genetics behind it (I’m looking to keep creating seeds every other grow or every 3 grows) as I’m trying to become self reliant on seeds, unless I’m looking for a new strain to grow.

mmm a few things kinda off but pollen will only survive 3-5 days in the tent if a male pops.,
put your bags on sturdy saucers the same size with golf balls than you can spin the bags easily.,
like this..View attachment 1295222

That’s interesting about the pollen. I’ve read on so many places that if it’s released in the tent, then it’ll keep pollinating future grows until you sterilize the environment.

I also love that setup with the fabric pots!

I purchased some pollen and seeds off a member here last night, so I’ll be able to get some practice with pollinating one branch on a plant within the next month or so.

 

[Kanashiihawk63]

Thanks for sharing :)

as for the pollen going everywhere - I honestly wouldn’t mind that if I knew the genetics behind it (I’m looking to keep creating seeds every other grow or every 3 grows) as I’m trying to become self reliant on seeds, unless I’m looking for a new strain to grow.



That’s interesting about the pollen. I’ve read on so many places that if it’s released in the tent, then it’ll keep pollinating future grows until you sterilize the environment.

I also love that setup with the fabric pots!

I purchased some pollen and seeds off a member here last night, so I’ll be able to get some practice with pollinating one branch on a plant within the next month or so.

FABRIC pots, oh my gosh..Best thing ever I have used for soil grows. I used to use the plastic pots and my roots would spin around and become root bound. Once I switched to fabric my yields got bigger, plants looked healthier AND best of all, it helped "dry out the root zone" between waterings! My set up looks pretty much like @GNick55 's. (I have several sized grow tents I use in my basement and have a Propagation tent/ Vegatative-Grow tent and then my large flowering tent. (I grow for 3 patients. Myself, my adult son and another Veteran.) So I am really "specific" about a nice "clean grow for all of our medicines! Peace and happy grows!

 

[elusiveshame]

FABRIC pots, oh my gosh..Best thing ever I have used for soil grows. I used to use the plastic pots and my roots would spin around and become root bound. Once I switched to fabric my yields got bigger, plants looked healthier AND best of all, it helped "dry out the root zone" between waterings! My set up looks pretty much like @GNick55 's. (I have several sized grow tents I use in my basement and have a Propagation tent/ Vegatative-Grow tent and then my large flowering tent. (I grow for 3 patients. Myself, my adult son and another Veteran.) So I am really "specific" about a nice "clean grow for all of our medicines! Peace and happy grows!

Yeah, I have a few other plastic and ceramic pots that I've been using for other things, and I like the fabric ones a lot better. I'm only growing for myself (though I will share with friends), so I'm looking to get about 1-1.5lbs every 4-5 months. I'm not sure if that's possible with my current setup, so I may end up getting another tent next fall. I'll also try my hand at a plant or 2 outdoors/in my greenhouse starting in the spring as well.

 

[elusiveshame]

Progress pic:

Tightened up the straps, did a little defoliating, and added some lightly damp soil around the base of them to protect any new roots that appeared.

I didn’t see any earwigs today, though I suppose they could be in the soil. Local shops only had chemical pesticides, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the Sluggo Plus.

I’ll be moving the carrots outdoor / to the greenhouse and then inside at night (not back in the tent) as I want to make more room for these lovely ladies.

There were a few smaller bud sites on the top plant, but I left them as I opened up the center a bit more and they might have a good chance to sprout upward over the next week. If they remain small when I flip, I’ll use those as the pollination vectors.

The plants are all about 14” now. I’m intending on flipping on November 1st, so depending on height, I’ll start lowering the light time starting Thursday by an hour each day, and that’ll put them at 12/12 on Halloween. Maybe I’ll do a full 24 hour dark period on Halloween.

I snagged some hooks today to attach over my tent to hang curtains over it in case of any light leaks from the Velcro covered windows.

 

[Kanashiihawk63]

If you live where there are any Praying Mantis' outside, grab one and let it live in your Grow tent. Seriousloy. We had one in ours we let live in there a couple of months and she grabbed a few bluebottle flies! :) But, inside you can only use so much "pest controllers" (Like Ladybugs or Praying Mantis' inside). Looks really nice! Well done!

 

[elusiveshame]

If you live where there are any Praying Mantis' outside, grab one and let it live in your Grow tent. Seriousloy. We had one in ours we let live in there a couple of months and she grabbed a few bluebottle flies! :) But, inside you can only use so much "pest controllers" (Like Ladybugs or Praying Mantis' inside). Looks really nice! Well done!

I’m up in New England, so there’s plenty of mantises around here. They skeeve me tf out tho

I got the Sluggo, but I haven’t applied it yet. I haven’t seen any signs of any more earwigs, and I don’t want to use something over 1 sighting.

That said, I am seeing a few pin holes on some leaves (one hole on maybe 5 or 6 fingers of different leaves). I’m not seeing any aphids, and I’m not seeing anything crawling under the leaves with and without a loupe (though I am having some trouble adjusting to using a loupe, so I intend on checking in the morning after I’ve had a chance to rest my eyes). It could be bugs, it could just be the way the fingers are growing. There’s no discoloration around any of the holes, so I’m not sure.

The only adjustments I made today was I removed the carrots and tossed them in my greenhouse since we’re going to be in the 60’s all week.

Here’s today’s pic:

They’re standing at 15” each now. At the rate they’re growing, I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it til next week to flip.

I also put up some curtains around the enclosure the tent sits under so I can drape them over the Velcro panels for the view ports to ensure no light leakage.

 

[elusiveshame]

Just did a feeding and light defoliation to open up more light in the middle, removed any new growth on the lower branches from the last trimming, and tightened up some wires. I also snipped the tiny bud sites that didn’t show much growth in the last week.

Some leaves look a little droopy, but the pots were pretty light before watering, so I’m not too worried.

I also inspected some more leaves on the plants and still no sign of bugs. So that’s good.

For the feeding, each plant took about a gallon each. I used 2 gallons split amongst the 3 with full doses of the fox farm nutrients and orca, and 1 gallon of just ph balanced water, no orca or nutrients added.

Here’s a pic of them right after feeding:

Overall, they’re all looking healthy.

Average height is now about 12.5” with the tightening of the wires. Probably won’t need to adjust them too much more, plus the stalks are getting pretty thick, so I don’t want to risk damage.