My Disappointing, even PATHETIC Grow!

[Kampbe1l]

yeah, you learn a lot from the first grow.

and I am still getting to know my soil mix. I now know that this soil mix doesn't require much, if any, nutrient until the plants are switched onto flowering light cycle.

I observe the following:

• Dark green leaves and foliage on MK9 (top right corner)
• Some leaves have burnt tips, indicating some nutrient burn on many plants
• Leaf tips turn down, at right angle, without signs of overwatering. On MK9 predominantly, and these 'claws' often seems random, affecting leaves here and there.

yup, nitrogen-toxicity is the suspect, where the plants growth stalled a little.

I'm presently watering so that there's 20% (i don't measure it, so it's a guess) run-off. No nutrients added, just adding some Cannazym and then this water/solution adjusted to around 6.1 to 6.3 pH. Effectively, i'm flushing the plants by letting significant run-off each watering.

All plants are responding well/better. their conditions improving to various degrees (as pictured). Sticking with just watering these plants, until their full recovery. I'm hoping these plants will 'outgrow' this soil mix, and be happier soon.

I re-read the packaging of the soil mix, which is a "blend of sphagnum moss peat, compost, worm castings, perlite and other organic ingredients.", and it listed the following:

Organic substance > 85%
pH - 6.0
EC - 1.2 mS/cm
Nitrogen (N) - 140 mg/l
Phosphate (P2O5) - 90 mg/l
Potassium (K2O) - 110 mg/l
Magnesium (Mg) - 40 mg/l

That's all the useful information/data, the rest of the wordings on the packaging is marketing claims. as i stated at the start, i'm still getting to know this soil mix as i grow.

allow at least another fortnight, and see where these plants are, then.

 

[Kampbe1l]

According to the TP-LINK smartplug, 218W drawn from the wall socket, 3.51 kWh daily consumption. The Past 30 days, total consumption was 90 kWh at a neat 3.0 kWh daily usage.

Viparspectra PAR450 was cranked up to its full vegetative phase with its B/R/W at 100/100/80 settings (running 18/6 on/off) for the last fortnight.

This kWh figure, the actual electricity consumption, is just about only half of the household electricity bill. Network charges, which accounts for half the bill, for the wires & poles is a national energy policy disaster - it is what it is. Anyway, paying at most 28 cents (AUD) a kWh - then its 84 cents daily expense to run these lights at the moment. 90 kWh for the past month, accounts for $25 of the electricity bill, without accounting for the other half of the bill which isn't based on electricity consumption.

gonna run it at this B/W/R 100/100/80 settings for another couple of weeks, then crank it to its full B/W/R @ 100/100/100 settings for its flowering phase. though the wattage consumption will go up, the number of hours will go down, when its flipped to 12/12 on/off cycle.

 

[Kampbe1l]

okay, these plants seem to be taking turns, in leading the pack. she is now the healthiest of the lot.

plenty offshoots growing in the last week, she seems ready to go off. as you can see, a little bit of suspected n-toxicity, but now growing out of this stress, it seems.

no nutrients, just plain watering (some Cannazym added, and its pH adjusted between 6.1 to 6.4). I'm doing a better job shaping this plant, than the others! trying not to go too crazy, topping and LST.

these plants have all changed their watering needs - shorter periods between watering now that they are growing larger. before watering every 5/6th day, now more like 3/4th day - though it has been relatively warmer recently, as well.

 

[Kampbe1l]

This MK9 is now the main concern of my first grow, each plant seems to be taking turns in getting sick.

She was watered on Friday morning, and 2 days later, i found her this morning with all her leaves drooping, stressed & dehydrated. Recently, her schedule has shorted from 4/5 days to 2/3 days between watering - in same environmental conditions. But i respond to what i see

MK9 has the classic symptom of nitrogen-toxicity, whereby the treatment is to water to get some run-off, and not to feed it any nutrients. Many of her dark green leaves has the classic 'claw', where its tips are bent 90 degrees downwards and her growth pace has slowed.

Despite this stress, MK9 has grown some promising offshoots from its main stem. I am hoping soon that she 'grows out' of this suspected n-toxicity. I eased off training this plant's shape, while it continues to suffer the bout of n-toxicity, adding to her unruly appearance.

A couple of hours later....MK9 looks like she appreciated a drink.

 

[THCMonster]

This MK9 is now the main concern of my first grow, each plant seems to be taking turns in getting sick.

She was watered on Friday morning, and 2 days later, i found her this morning with all her leaves drooping, stressed & dehydrated. Recently, her schedule has shorted from 4/5 days to 2/3 days between watering - in same environmental conditions. But i respond to what i see

View attachment 945990


MK9 has the classic symptom of nitrogen-toxicity, whereby the treatment is to water to get some run-off, and not to feed it any nutrients. Many of her dark green leaves has the classic 'claw', where its tips are bent 90 degrees downwards and her growth pace has slowed.

View attachment 945991

Despite this stress, MK9 has grown some promising offshoots from its main stem. I am hoping soon that she 'grows out' of this suspected n-toxicity. I eased off training this plant's shape, while it continues to suffer the bout of n-toxicity, adding to her unruly appearance.

View attachment 945992

A couple of hours later....MK9 looks like she appreciated a drink.

Drooping a good sign believe it or not... Wilting on the other hand is not!

They look great! Just make sure you keep up on them, as they get more and more roots they are going to consume a lot of water regardless of temp and humidity!

Keep up the good work!

 

[Jimster]

This MK9 is now the main concern of my first grow, each plant seems to be taking turns in getting sick.

She was watered on Friday morning, and 2 days later, i found her this morning with all her leaves drooping, stressed & dehydrated. Recently, her schedule has shorted from 4/5 days to 2/3 days between watering - in same environmental conditions. But i respond to what i see

View attachment 945990


MK9 has the classic symptom of nitrogen-toxicity, whereby the treatment is to water to get some run-off, and not to feed it any nutrients. Many of her dark green leaves has the classic 'claw', where its tips are bent 90 degrees downwards and her growth pace has slowed.

View attachment 945991

Despite this stress, MK9 has grown some promising offshoots from its main stem. I am hoping soon that she 'grows out' of this suspected n-toxicity. I eased off training this plant's shape, while it continues to suffer the bout of n-toxicity, adding to her unruly appearance.

View attachment 945992

A couple of hours later....MK9 looks like she appreciated a drink.

Keeping things hydrated is pretty tricky. I know a lot of folks say that you need to let XXX dry out between waterings, others say you need to water XXX every 4 hours. The requirements for happy roots are water, nutrients, and Oxygen. Ph and stuff not included for this conversation. As long as the roots have those three, they will thrive and the plant will prosper. Too much water doesn't kill them directly, it deprives the roots of Oxygen. I strive to keep my growing medium moist but not soggy. I use Promix which holds water, but not to the degree that it causes root issues. I think the O2 at the root zone is most often overlooked.

 

[Kampbe1l]

Pots!!! Still figuring out what is suitable for my grow(s).

3-gallon (11 litre) pots are most suitable size for the 2' x 2' (60cm H x 60cm W) tent. Four 3-gallon pots fits neatly into this small tent. I can only fit three 5-gallon pots into the same tent. space is a premium in small grow tents, especially.

I recently converted to using fabric pots, and have moved away from using the standard plastic pots. Though these 3-gallon fabric pots are very suitable for my setup (& tastes), I'm still exploring other pots or potting systems. in such exploration, i bought two of these square 18 L (4.75 gallons?) pot (with holes in its bottom) with its 24 Litre (6.3 gallons) container, rather impulsively. also, interested in using air-pots.

this purchase is more about what i have in mind for the future, rather than what's on my mind now. my thoughts are run-to-waste system, and that's where this 6 litres difference between its pot and container is an important feature.

impulsive buy in that with hindsight, its internal pot's dimension of 300 mm and its external container's dimension of 400 mm makes it tight to fit both my current and future plans. make it up as we go alone. yah, i contradicted myself saying earlier 3-gallon fabric pot is the most suitable size, then buying this plastic pot/container.

i had looked at DIY options at hardware stores, but none fits neatly into my plans or grow tent. i suppose i have to accept volume would mean a certain dimension.

also, my thoughts are floating towards an automated drip system - but again here, i run into the obstacle in the matter of its reservoir, something i'm mulling over. other thoughts are centering on the topic of growing in coco. there are plenty of thoughts, which needs to be sorted through.

one step at a time, including this purchase of 2 of these pots/containers.

 

[Kampbe1l]

putting aside my side projects, something in mind for future...back to MK10.

she has gone thru a rough time lately, suffering some n-toxicity where she lost some lower growth. she was thirsty today, a little droopy - and the pictures below are after MK10 soaked up the hot summer day today and soaked up her watering this morning.

water was prepared at 6.3 pH, after adding 2 mls of Cannazym per litre. watered about 800 mls, with 10+% run-off. no thoughts of adding any nutrients while it's in vegetative phase.

first few weeks (especially after changing to LED grow lights in mid-January), these plants responded well. then the last 2/3 weeks, all plants showed varying degree of suspected n-toxicity. I FEEL that these plants are on the mend after nursing 'em the last 2/3 weeks, and about to go off in its vegetative phase. but, let's wait-and-see, if my confidence here was justified.

this is what we 'newbies' go through - self-doubt and ups & down of confidence. again, persistence sticking with a plan seemed to have got me back on the right path - just water with some run-off.

as it was a little sick, i eased off manipulating MK10's shape, i didn't want to stress it anymore - now, its a little unruly. I was thinking of training another unruly MK9 plant to cover the middle area of MK10, when both are in the tent.

i no longer even try to predict how long before this-or-that - trying to focus what is at hand, just on filling up the grow tent's canopy with vegetative growth. instead of 'how long', it's more a matter of 'however long it takes'. i can see the inefficiencies of my first grow, where it has added to its timeframe, and these inefficiencies are areas which i'll improve over crops/grows. another test of patience, test of time.

 

[Kampbe1l]

reflections, just from 22nd December 2019 to around mid-January 2020 and here just focusing on 'the twins'.

22 December 2019

the plants were very sick, patients in ICU after drastic transplant and repot into new soil mix, hoping then for their resurrection. Unsuitable soil mix caused poor root development.

28 December 2019

patients seem to be recovering, though tragic and still in ICU.

New Year's Day 2020

'the twins' are much happier in their new soil mix!

15 January 2020

We, both 'the twins' and i, are happier in this new soil mix!

21 January 2020

Up until this point, the plants were placed under T5 fluorescent overnight, while placed outdoor balcony during daytime for natural sunlight. remember i'm from the land down under. the family is now under the LED grow lights.....

23 January 2020

okay....

it's good to reflect, a time-lapse of sort - i can see how i progressed. this reflection on 'the twins' to be continued another time, from late January onwards.

 

[Edinburgh]

So u put your seeds in the wrong medium, it happened to me, i use shit dirt for my houseplants, i was starting a grow ran short and on the last plant added shit dirt to 1 plant, that plant died, go out and buy some fox farm or whatever you normally use, you realized your mistake dont make it again is all, nobody on this site is perfect, not me, not u, not anybody, at some time or another we have all made mistakes, the thing to do is to stop putting yourself down, go out get some good medium, and do it right.

 

[Kampbe1l]

Woke up this morning, had a quick check, before going to work.

AND we, my plants and I, are much happier! A boost of positivity (that's not a word?), and i skipped to work, this morning.

I felt over the last week, things were turning around, recovering from suspected n-toxicity. I feel now these plants are entering into a new growth phase.

Only about half the tent's canopy filled. Hopefully, these plants will now power up and quickly fill the remaining portion of the grow tent.

 

[Kampbe1l]

MK9's condition is improving, still recovering from a bout of nitrogen-toxicity. Adding 2 mls of Cannazym to each litre of water, then adjusted to range between 6.1 to 6.5 pH, simple treatment for all the plants potted in this same soil mix.

Woke up yesterday morning to find MK drooping all her leaves, thirsty. Carried the 3-gallon fabric pot onto the small balcony to be watered, and left there to let it drain its run-off, while I prepared to get to work. Then just before closing the front door to go to work, placed MK9 back with her family, underneath the LED grow lights in the grow tent.

Photo - Before watering, thirsty MK9

I repeat by stating here that the task at hand is to manipulate the plant into shape, to fill more the tent's canopy. Again, waiting for this plant to grow taller, so that its offshoots and main tip can be further manipulated into shape. Growing is a constant test of patience, waiting for the plants to respond.

First, there was poor root development from growing in unsuitable potting mix, an issue rectified by transplanting and re-potting into a new soil mix. Then the plants got bouts of n-toxicity from this new soil mix, currently treated with plain watering. Recovery from this poor root development and n-toxicity delayed this grow by at least 4 weeks. These are areas, where subsequent grows would expect greater efficiency by cutting down on such delaying issues. The ultimate efficiency of a crop/grow is measured by the quality and quantity of its crop, in the time which it took to harvest.

Photo - MK9 about 20 minutes after her watering

The trade-off now is to flip early to get the harvest completed earlier, at its smaller yield. Clearing the tent of this first batch/crop, allows room for the second batch.

I'm allowing them to be in their vegetative growth phase longer, for their roots to fill more of their 3-gallon pots and for their vegetative growth to fill more the tent's canopy. I'm not at the point yet, when i am happy with the decision to flip the grow lights to its 12/12 on/off cycle.

This first grow is about trial & error of gaining hands-on experiences, constant test of patience including managing expectations.

 

[Kampbe1l]

yeah, there's always more to the story, let me introduce to you, RDM4, the sole survivor from my previous grow. i didn't mention about this other pathetic grow attempt, up until now. she is nowhere near what she could have been.

Despite her tragic appearance, i'm proud of this plant. RDM4 is the pioneer of the current crop, she was the guinea pig for my experiments. A Frankenstein monster she become and despite grown in adverse conditions and harsh treatments, including unsuitable potting mix, this plant provided many valuable lessons. Admittedly, many of these lessons were based on 'what-not-to-do'. She had lost all her lower growth due to this earlier traumas.

While all other plants in the current crops were transplanted and re-potted into new soil mix in late December, this RDM4 was left in the old unsuitable potting mix. when all other plants were nursed in the grow tent under artificial lighting, RDM4 was left in the corner of the living room, largely neglected, weekly watered or fed, absorbing whatever natural sunlight leaking into our apartment.

Modest me be, happy how she turned out! it's not about what she didn't become into, she ain't going to produce much quality buds. still, RDM4 is going to produce some harvest, an end-result, a bonus when i was going to abandon her late December.

Well, i say all that, what she could have been, huh. she is what she is, now - https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/odd-3-cotyledon-sets-of-3-leaves.104564/

She started to pre-flower in late December, so she has been in her flowering phase for this whole year, 9 weeks or so. again, it's not a matter about any timeframe, she is left to do her own sweet thing in her own sweet time, she needs more time to complete her harvest. i don't expect any significant amount of harvest, yet i am still hoping that she would fatten her buds out a little more to give her some more weight.

Rather than harping on what she might have been, this plant was always designated to be a pioneer and experiments' test specimen. on top of the lessons of 'what-not-to-do', she has provided hands-on experience, leading the pathway for future grows. one pathway is about future grows within this same apartment, over the warmer summer months, utilising the outdoor conditions. there are experiments remaining, including drying & curing process, to be conducted on this plant. of course, there is plenty of room for improvements in these future grows.

Yeah, it's overcast today, hard to photo to capture well...gotta work on my photographic skills, as well, later.

 

[Jimster]

MK9's condition is improving, still recovering from a bout of nitrogen-toxicity. Adding 2 mls of Cannazym to each litre of water, then adjusted to range between 6.1 to 6.5 pH, simple treatment for all the plants potted in this same soil mix.

Woke up yesterday morning to find MK drooping all her leaves, thirsty. Carried the 3-gallon fabric pot onto the small balcony to be watered, and left there to let it drain its run-off, while I prepared to get to work. Then just before closing the front door to go to work, placed MK9 back with her family, underneath the LED grow lights in the grow tent.

View attachment 947946
Photo - Before watering, thirsty MK9

I repeat by stating here that the task at hand is to manipulate the plant into shape, to fill more the tent's canopy. Again, waiting for this plant to grow taller, so that its offshoots and main tip can be further manipulated into shape. Growing is a constant test of patience, waiting for the plants to respond.

First, there was poor root development from growing in unsuitable potting mix, an issue rectified by transplanting and re-potting into a new soil mix. Then the plants got bouts of n-toxicity from this new soil mix, currently treated with plain watering. Recovery from this poor root development and n-toxicity delayed this grow by at least 4 weeks. These are areas, where subsequent grows would expect greater efficiency by cutting down on such delaying issues. The ultimate efficiency of a crop/grow is measured by the quality and quantity of its crop, in the time which it took to harvest.

View attachment 947947
Photo - MK9 about 20 minutes after her watering

The trade-off now is to flip early to get the harvest completed earlier, at its smaller yield. Clearing the tent of this first batch/crop, allows room for the second batch.

I'm allowing them to be in their vegetative growth phase longer, for their roots to fill more of their 3-gallon pots and for their vegetative growth to fill more the tent's canopy. I'm not at the point yet, when i am happy with the decision to flip the grow lights to its 12/12 on/off cycle.

This first grow is about trial & error of gaining hands-on experiences, constant test of patience including managing expectations.

You always pay for an education, in one way or another. The lessons you learned from the excess nutes and lousy soil are mistakes that you won't make again... a huge step forward, even though it cost you 4 weeks of delays. Once you get enough of these tweaks, growing will become 2nd nature and your style will be dialed in. I haven't needed to use any meters at all for decades as I stayed with my plan and as long as I don't change things, growing goes smoothly. I use Promix, but other types of grows would have a much greater need for measurements. At this point, I can pretty much look at them and tell whhat they need... or don't need. You never quit learning, though.

 

[Kampbe1l]

I typically have water prepared earlier (2 days ahead), some Cannazym and adjusted to around 6.5 pH. Just in case...

Woke up this morning, to find these 2 plants thirsty, drooping all their leaves. I carried these plants onto the balcony, and gave them about a litre each, after allowing the run-off to drain a little, these plants were placed back into the tent - then me off to work.

I do like hand-watering, as it allows me to be personal with each plant. Each hand-watering is an opportunity to monitor & observe the plant's growth.

Also, I note the weight of these fabric pots when I carry them to the balcony to water, and to carry the heavier pots back into the tent after its watering. I think that's a good tip for 'newbies'. I typically wait until the plants just start to droop all her leaves, to water 'em.

I think automated watering/feeding system wouldn't work with my current setup. Each plant is getting thirsty at slightly different times, though about the same frequency (period between watering). I gather you would have an automated feeding/watering system for a homogeneous garden (same variety/strain, same growth development stage, same pot size, same grow medium, etc).

Hand-watering is suited for soil grow. It's not a chore, though there is a regular routine, some discipline to hand-water.

I also like watering these plants on the balcony - as I lift the pots after its watering, to see if there is even run-off at the bottom of the pots.

 

[Kampbe1l]

Feeling some better vibes from the family. Noticeably, the tips are growing taller quicker, and their thirst has increased in frequency and volume in last 2 weeks.

Starting about a fortnight ago, i sensed the plants were overcoming their bouts of n-toxicity, where after being stagnant for 2+ weeks, they're now starting to some more promising signs over the last fortnight, hopefully now to power on to fill up my tent's canopy full of vegetative growth. Still a way to go, only half of the tent's canopy is filled with vegetative growth - time i factored in.

i also sensed that these plants, despite their actual age, just got past their juvenile phase.

Patience is paying off.

 

[Kampbe1l]

just pickies today., this post updating my first grow.

under its blue light, yes, not the best photographic conditions.

me drunk & happy, burp, oups!

tent's canopy is filling up!

check upon 'em, when i'm sober & myself, tomorrow morning, before work!

 

[Kampbe1l]

setting up another hobby.

i had gathered all the bits & pieces together, gradually over the last couple of months, decided i have enough hardware to setup today, just to get it running.

air-pump with its air stones, aquarium heater, substrate....hmmm, what else could i use it for? agh, used those 24 litre containers [https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/my-disappointing-even-pathetic-grow.108954/post-2373631] i bought for my grow to fill the aquarium, handy. got a test kit including to measure pH...

after a couple of days of running this setup empty as it is, time to get some quality genetics, get some fish!

of course, i approached setting up the fish tank like i did with this grow. little research first, before taking the plunge, starting first buying and gathering all the bits & pieces together including knowledge. and then got to the point of jumping in the deep end, setup first to start the project.

doing first a fish-less cycle, running just the filter and the air stone in my 80 litre aquarium overnight. the water temp is around 20c without running its heater. added its tap water conditioner. so, i might just test this water tomorrow - it should have zero PPM nitrate and ammonia, no, there's none such biological activities in tap water? anyway, new things to figure out, new things (fish) to kill.

hey, my air pump is LOUD! tend to it, later.

 

[Kampbe1l]

Why is it so NOISY, these air-pumps?

After running the air-pump for the fish-less cycle in setting up the aquarium yesterday, I've come to the quick conclusion simply that I cannot live with how LOUD the air-pump is.

View attachment 950514

Google is my friend, and she tells me the most probable cause of a noisy air pump is a worn diaphragm. Yeah, these pumps are straight out of its packaging, brand-new!

Other suggestions to quieten the air-pump included:

- clean air stones more often! - again, these air-stones are straight out of its packaging, brand-new.
- keep the air-pump on a higher surface than the aquarium water level! - not practical yet for my setup
- have the air-pump placed on a solid surface! - its on the kitchen benchtop.
- place something soft under your air-pump! - no difference placing the air-pump on a piece of foam

I bought this Fluval Q5 (?) air pump after reading reviews of how quiet it runs! Then I bought another brand air pump and its as LOUD as the Fluval!

So, I took apart the Fluval air-pump, removed its 4 screws on its bottom. There isn't much to an air-pump, huh. I couldn't see where the diaphragm might be hitting any other parts, when i ran the air-pump naked without its cover. I tightened the 2 small bolts holding the small motor. I packed some foam around the edges of the motor and diaphragm assemblies, before screwing its cover back on.

AND, now, it's q u i e t e r!

now, the air-pump doesn't annoy me in the dinning room next to the kitchen! maybe, i could further dampen its noise by placing the pump itself into foam. also, maybe i could pack it a little better with foam. still, much better now after this quick fix.

 

[Kampbe1l]

took the plants out of the tent, to clean the tent.

placed the plants along the window to soak whatever sunlight is offered today. it gives me an opportunity to have a closer inspection of these plants, over a cuppa tea.

they're doing okay.