Growing ganja is not easy

[bigAl25]

Ok here is my deal, and since my wife bitches when I take photos on our camera for your review, I will not put up photos of my sick plants. I switched from the dreaded micrale grow regular potting soil to their organic rated 10-5-5. I purchased some Fox Farm big bloom to supplement the flowering stage. My previous grow of bag seed went fine in the hot miracle grow till harvest. I was watering my new strawberry bubba kush, bubblelicious,AK48, with water,molasses,and small amount of big bloom. Then I got mad at these little flying whatevers coming out of the soil, just a few, not a swarm. I then went to the garage and used some ortho vegatable/plant incecticide and dust. One time application and four of my young plants( out of six, 2 each/strain) started showing brown spots/squares on the leaves. I have now added some lime to correct a possible cal/mag deal, and flushed with plain water over this last week. I have one bubblelicious and strawberry bubba kush that look real good. I am at the end of week four of veg. I am hoping the 2 AK48s and one each of SBK and Bubblelicious can snap out of it. The top leaves do not have the brown spots, but their growth is slowed verses the two stronger plants. Could a 10-5-5 soil mix be too hot for new plants? I thought it would be much better than the old miracle grow. Did my addition of molasses and big bloom hurt the plants? Did my insect attach screw them up? Are there alternatives to Fox Farm grow big to use during veg, that are available at Lowe's or Home DePot? I'd like to stay organic through out my grow. I am using two 400 watt MHs. Veg for 8 weeks then flower with one 400 watt HPS and one 400 watt MH. Yes I did add 1/3 perlite to my soil mix. I do not want screw up my OGR SBK, or the bubblelicious. I also thought the AK48s were supposed to grow themselves, they are the runts of the plants. Many questions and without pictures the diagnosis may not be possible. This just makes me admire your good farmers even more when I see your frosty nug pics on here. Farming the herb is not easy. To make me feel better I cooked up a pot of chilli and put the allman brothers band on. Think I'll take both my sons on the Maker's Mark tour Saturday. Someday i want to tour OGRs operation the same way. Peace and Respect you hard working/successful farmers :sick0018:

 

[Lost]

Ok, you went from the fying pan into the fryer with your soil :) TOO HOT! You need to not give any nutes for 2 weeks and plain water the hell out of them. Make sure you get a goo amount of runnoff from each plant.

The brown spots, you got the pesticide on the plant. Anywhere it got, it burned the plant. No biggie, just don't do it again :)

 

[Lost]

Just to add, farming herb is not easy, its pretty damn hard actually to grow good herb. Some people have the "knack" but anyone can learn. You just need to be patient, plan ahead, and never do too much at once. You are learning ALOT right now. You plants will make it. Read lots of grow diaries here and you can avoid many mistakes.



BTW: The flying things in your soil is most likely Fungas Gnats, and they need to be eliminated. Goto the store and buy something called a "NO PEST STRIP". Hang it in your room and in a week let us know if you have any flers left :)

 

[ShivaSkunkPunk]

BA25 - You'll be fine my friend, do just what Lost list and it'll work itself out, I too used the miracle gro in my current 1st run (finishing up now) and have since switced to Fox Farm Ocean Forest with added perlite, although it appears the MG is ok as a cheap sub. it actually holds way to much water when I compare the two mediums, and that's exactly what is causing the fungus gnats, hell i wouldn't be surprised if the lil buggers aren't already in the soil mix, in the future spend the extra 10 bucks and go with the higher quality soiless mix, 1 thing i do is use about half the recommended dosage listed on any ferts and that always keeps you in the clear, peace Shiva

 

[bigAl25]

dear Lost and Shiva, you dudes (I assume) are the best. Thanks for the advice and a pest strip will be on the way as soon as I visit a Rural King. I will post some pics once I get these ladies into flower. Peace and Respect MON. Yes and I did pass on the more expensive Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil, but hell I found it 30 miles away last fall.

 

[altitudefarmer]

I used MG way back in the day, and could never get my grows dialed in. I'd stay as far away from the stuff as possible. If you're in the sticks, I'd highly recommend starting your own compost. There are many threads here that'll explain the proper way. It sounds like you just overfed your girls. Flush flush flush, then mild nutrients. Good luck!

 

[Venom818]

id ditch the miracle grow altogether and go with fox farm or roots organic soil.

 

[wonderinalice]

hey ba...i use the fox farm ocean forest also....and it does hold a lot of water...I mix mine almost half and half with perlite....and when the plants are about a month along....i have to water every day. I would ditch the miracle grow also....i use alaskan organics from lowes....it's cheap....the morbloom i really like it.... it's liquid....they also have nutes for veg...it comes in powder form...it mixes with water well if you sprinkle on top of the water slow....(but it will clump up if your not carefull)...it says you can use with a sprayer...but i water by hand...I also use MOAB it's not organic...but it's very strong and I only use twice in there life....once 2 weeks in flower...once two weeks before harvest(right before i start flushing)...I would like to stay all organic....but i can't deny the added weight from the MOAB ...and it's only 1 TABLESPOON per 5 gallons of water.....Hope it helps...

 

[Malachi]

Growing weed is easy, but growing dank definetly takes some skills

 

[bicycle racer]

i would say growing herb is easy growing great herb much more tricky.

 

[strainman]

perhaps introduce some beneficial bacteria to your soil like great white and those little fuckers will be gone for good!

 

[supasticky]

Hey bro for your gnats you can use beer. They fly into it and get stuck and die. Just fill a plastic container up a little with some beer and they love it. You'll see an improvement hella fast. Just put it in the middle of all your plants or close to all of them. Try it. It's like a secret weapon lol

-Supa

 

[Lost]

i would say growing herb is easy growing great herb much more tricky.

A wise man indeed. Lots of people grow mids... Not everyone can grow top shelf :)

 

[SmokeyPipes]

those little bugs come with the soil,used to use the same soil, was constantly buying those sticky fly catchers at home depot,it's cheap but really isn't worth it,I'd look for a better alternative organic soil

 

[kushpheen]

There isn't a soil, fertilizer or pesticide I would EVER use that is found in the aisles of home depot, walmart or target. I know these places are much more convenient and not everyone has a nearby hydro store, but all the time and hard work it takes to grow great herb is wasted when you choose to use these 2nd rate products. I once used a 'miracle gro like' product in a NFT system, I might as well of just set my plants on fire, they were dead within minutes. From that point on, I only use products that are specifically tailored to growing herb. For soil, I would try the Roots organics potting soil, or Fox Farms ocean forest. Both of these companies also make great fertilizers. I would recommend getting some azamax to treat your bug problems, its OMRI listed and kils/prevents a wide range of insects, all without harming your plants. Growing great herb requires patience, knowledge and experience. You can find 2 outta 3 here :character0050:

 

[supasticky]

Any soil with peat in it will come with fungus gnat larvae. The best thing to do is go coco or make your own soil without peat. You could get nematodes and put them in your soil at the beginning and it would kill a lot of the larvae, but it wont stop them. So yah, beer and nematodes will do the trick lol but you will never really stop gnats in your room. Luckily the actual gnats cause almost no damage to your plant so you don't really have to worry. The larvae do though and that's what you want to kill.

-Supa

 

[yezmar420]

Growing weed is easy, but growing dank definetly takes some skills

i would say growing herb is easy growing great herb much more tricky.

Words of wisdom...anybody can grow some good green, getting some super kill dank...that's an art.

I'd just flush the plants for a couple weeks and ditch the MG, they really don't need that much nutes and the only thing you lose by doing this is yield, depending what you are up to that could be good or bad...get some Earth Juice and read up on the thread BayArea posted...the stuff is cheap and good.

 

[bigAl25]

The beer has been placed among the plants. I used the infamous Bud Lite lime that has been in my refrigerator since Thanksgiving. If I want a lime in my beer, it's a real lime, and it's a Corona. I'm not high on fake lime. I'm am also off to Lowes to find the Alaskan organics fert for later in flower. 5 of my six plants have recovered from the flushing. Soil is forgiving. One AK48 is still a runt. I'd hate to plant another seed and have one plant 4 weeks behind the other 5, but time will tell this week. Again thanks for all the great advice. The strawberry bubba kush, bubblelicious, and one AK 48 live!!!!!!

 

[bigAl25]

Gotta love Amazon.com I broke down and ordered the Fox farm trio of nutes for veg and flower. I was motivated when I read OGraskal's nute recipe for his plants. I am assuming the Strawberry Bubba kush will love this just as they do for OGraskal. The Ak48s and bubblelicious should also like them. The beer does work on those little bitching knats. I had to refresh my cup of beer today. 5 of 6 plants recoverd from my errors and I have one real runt of an AK48, but I will keep it going. Week 5 of veg. thanks for the advice dudes.

 

[Lost]

Sometimes the runts are the best smokes imo. I have had 2 runts in the past year and both were really nice.