First Timer

coleman0917 · Apr 30, 2020

Good day to you all on the Farm. I just started my first grow. I am using a 32x32x63 "Cool Grow" tent, w/ a 600w KingLed light. For soil I am using FF Ocean mixed with DTE Bat Guano 7-3-1. I haven't started adding Nutes aside from whats in the soil and guano. I have been using water Ph 6.48 mixed with some unsulfered molasses. Not much just, just giving it a little sugar, IDK. I am on wk 3 and my seedling is looking healthy, it's just not growing that fast. I think were I screwed the pooch was, I went right into a 5g cloth pot, instead of doing multiple re-pots. I have a Fem GDP, I hope that it will eventually take off in the pot and a Auto Gelato in a solo ATM I purchased my beans from I49. I have a few questions I would like to ask the veterans out there.

1. Is my light enough for the size tent I have? If not what should I replace it with?
2. When should I start giving it real Nutes?
3. I am trying to go totally organic. I have purchased some worm castings, bone meal and Alaska Fish fertilizer to make compost tea when the time is right.

Is there anything I can do differently or is it all just a waiting game right now? Both plants are healthy. I have included a photo of my girls. My temps are at 70f and Rh is around 58-70%, depending on how i open the vent holes in the tent.

I look forward to all the help and knowledge the Farm will bestow upon me.

cloudyhelads · Apr 30, 2020

Hey. A couple notes:
A 5gal pot of FFOF will get a smallish plant right through its life cycle and yield bud. You are right that you uppotted too soon and too big. It will be a challenge to keep your soil moisture where you want it. The pot is not going to dry out at all so go real easy on the water. The addition of the guano to the soil is going to make it pretty hot (nutrient rich) for such a little seedling. This is why you might be seeing some slow growth right now (it’ll come back). You should not have to feed until you start flower. That being said, when the plant is a foot or so high you might start light feedings. Burn will show on leaf tips. Try not to let it happen.
similarly, your light situation will give you something when you flower. Is it pulling 600w from the wall or is it rated as a 600w equivalent or replacement. I guess the latter but don’t know. You’ll get bud and it will be good depending on genetics and how careful you are.
anyway, light is related to canopy size not tent size. If you’re going to keep a compact canopy directly under the led, you’ll do fine. If you’re going toscreen it out and train it to fill a 4x4 tent, you will need more light.
hope this helps. Good luck on your grow.

jaguarlax · Apr 30, 2020

It could be that because you up-potted a bit too early, the root system is filling itself out again... You perhaps could upgrade that light if you can swing it financially, but it should be sufficent for seedlings at least. There are plenty of good threads on here about lighting solutions and even more people to share experience.. good luck

coleman0917 · Apr 30, 2020

cloudyhelads said:
Hey. A couple notes:
A 5gal pot of FFOF will get a smallish plant right through its life cycle and yield bud. You are right that you uppotted too soon and too big. It will be a challenge to keep your soil moisture where you want it. The pot is not going to dry out at all so go real easy on the water. The addition of the guano to the soil is going to make it pretty hot (nutrient rich) for such a little seedling. This is why you might be seeing some slow growth right now (it’ll come back). You should not have to feed until you start flower. That being said, when the plant is a foot or so high you might start light feedings. Burn will show on leaf tips. Try not to let it happen.
similarly, your light situation will give you something when you flower. Is it pulling 600w from the wall or is it rated as a 600w equivalent or replacement. I guess the latter but don’t know. You’ll get bud and it will be good depending on genetics and how careful you are.
anyway, light is related to canopy size not tent size. If you’re going to keep a compact canopy directly under the led, you’ll do fine. If you’re going toscreen it out and train it to fill a 4x4 tent, you will need more light.
hope this helps. Good luck on your grow.

I don't plan on filling the entire tent. I just wanted to give it a try while I had some extra time on my hands. I believe it is supposed to be equivalent to a 600w. I know for sure it most certainly isn't pulling 600w. What type of soil should I have gone with? 80% coco and 20% perlite? I do appreciate your response and will keep posting pics down the line of my progress.

coleman0917 · Apr 30, 2020

jaguarlax said:
It could be that because you up-potted a bit too early, the root system is filling itself out again... You perhaps could upgrade that light if you can swing it financially, but it should be sufficent for seedlings at least. There are plenty of good threads on here about lighting solutions and even more people to share experience.. good luck

Thank you for your imput and help.

cloudyhelads · May 1, 2020

coleman0917 said:
I don't plan on filling the entire tent. I just wanted to give it a try while I had some extra time on my hands. I believe it is supposed to be equivalent to a 600w. I know for sure it most certainly isn't pulling 600w. What type of soil should I have gone with? 80% coco and 20% perlite? I do appreciate your response and will keep posting pics down the line of my progress.

I think you’re doing great. Your soil is good. You’re going to be fine if you can keep watering in control. Don’t feed it till it’s a foot tall is my advise and next time cycle through a 1 gal with just FFOF before you go to the fabric 5gal with all the goodies. Best of luck.

coleman0917 · May 4, 2020

cloudyhelads said:
I think you’re doing great. Your soil is good. You’re going to be fine if you can keep watering in control. Don’t feed it till it’s a foot tall is my advise and next time cycle through a 1 gal with just FFOF before you go to the fabric 5gal with all the goodies. Best of luck.

Again thank you for your respibse. Its been 3 days and she seems to be progressing quite well ATM. She looks to be growing nicely.

coleman0917 · May 5, 2020

I've started to see these popping up. This may sound like a silly question to a seasoned farmer, but what are these? What is their purpose?

coleman0917 · May 5, 2020

coleman0917 said:
I don't plan on filling the entire tent. I just wanted to give it a try while I had some extra time on my hands. I believe it is supposed to be equivalent to a 600w. I know for sure it most certainly isn't pulling 600w. What type of soil should I have gone with? 80% coco and 20% perlite? I do appreciate your response and will keep posting pics down the line of my progress.

Thanks for the advise! I've been keeping a fan on when my light is running to circulate the air and regulate the Rh. Right now my temps are running at a steady 71-75deg w/ an Rh of 68-73. I make sure to feel up my pot daily, in order to feel how wet the pot is. I gauge my soil moisture that way, along with gently lifting ot up. Tbe guano. I didnt follow tbe directions on the box. I just sprinkled a heavy pinch around the plant initially. I have not added any since in almost 2wks. For water, i give the solo cup a literal shot of water 1x a week. The pot 1q weekly with a tsp of molasses. That is my regiment as of now. Im working on my node producing 7x real leaves. It seems to be working for the time being. Do you have any recommendations?

threatco · May 5, 2020

Hey. Looking good. I use the 1500w version of that light.

Here is your PPFD chart. For good buds, you want 600-900 ppfd. So you may want to go with a canopy 12-18 inches away during flowering. It's advertised as 120w power from the wall

cloudyhelads · May 6, 2020

You’re looking good and off to a great start. I’ve been on this site in the organic section for a year+ and have noticed that 99% of all the problems here are due to overwatering and over feeding. You’ve got a great start and your environment is looking good so far. My only advise is to not overdo anything. The “heft method” of watering you’re already on to. No need to measure your water just let them get lightish and water lightly.
If you do feel like adding something you might try a making Lactobasilica (sp?). Chris Trump on YouTube has the best tutorial. It’s made with rice water and milk and it works really well in my experience. I make a pint sized batch in a pickle jar and use it over the course of a couple weeks in my watering and then start another batch so there is a couple weeks lull while the new batch processes.
If you do add microorganisms, either the lab or mammoth p or recharge or something, a mulch would be something to consider. If you are going to mulch you might as well use malted barley from the brew store...then you can think of adding macroorganisms like red worms...and your down the rabbit hole... oh and read up about ipm and come up with a strategy to keep bugs away. That’s it! Good luck.
oh. One other thing, when you are reading these sites and gleaning advise, do not confuse this method withadvise on hydro/salt based methods. Never water to runoff (too wet). Never add calmag look further into soil optimized options. Don’t assume because it is in the organic soil category you’re getting advise about this technique.
hope this is helpful. Good luck.

Rafikas · May 6, 2020

Those plants will only need a couple tablespoons, maybe three, when they are as small as they are. Learn more about how to grow your plants at home from this blog https://www.arcannabis.ca/homegrown-growing-at-home-101/. I very much recommend it

coleman0917 · May 16, 2020

I am a cpl days into week 5. She is growing very bushy and still not gaining much in hight. I read that its good to keep the "nodes" compact. Here are a few pics of my progress. My larger plant, she just started to show pistils she is GDP btw. My plan is to keep her in veg 2x more weeks than switch to flower. Any suggestions would be great. TIA

threatco · May 16, 2020

looks very healthy. That may be just the kind of strain it is. Tight nodes is almost never a bad thing.

coleman0917 · May 16, 2020

Thanks for the reply. Do i just let it go or do some light pruning? This is my first grow. I know after i flip, its supposed to go through a stretch for roughly another 2x wks correct? I cant see anything in there its so compact.

BurnzYzBudZz · May 17, 2020

coleman0917 said:
Thanks for the reply. Do i just let it go or do some light pruning? This is my first grow. I know after i flip, its supposed to go through a stretch for roughly another 2x wks correct? I cant see anything in there its so compact.

I wouldn’t defoliate, too soon. If I were you I’d raise your lights a bit and allow the plant to stretch. That would help with bushiness. Also allows for good airflow in between the branches. Happy grows.
Burnz

Jimster · May 17, 2020

Compact plants tend to self shade a lot. If you can get it to stretch a little, it will open up the structure a little and allow more light to hit new growth points... which is where the buds grow from. The more light they get, the bigger they get. If they are shaded, they grow smaller buds. Be careful not to remove too many leaves, though... they are your plant's source of energy and removing too many will slow things down. There are always exceptions, but your plant is pretty small in size and needs to expand a little to get a decent yield. Plants stretch, but most don't stretch more than a few inches, maybe less if they are small. If you can train the plant and get it growing in a more horizontal orientation, you will get a lot more yield by keeping it lower and allowing the buds to grow straight up.

coleman0917 · May 19, 2020

BurnzYzBudZz said:
I wouldn’t defoliate, too soon. If I were you I’d raise your lights a bit and allow the plant to stretch. That would help with bushiness. Also allows for good airflow in between the branches. Happy grows.
Burnz

I took your advise and raised my light to the top of my tent and in 2 days she has deff stretched and opened up. Thank you.