My First Indoor Setup! Pointers?

[gardnguyahoy]

Alright! This is my very first indoor grow. Now, some people say that and have a ton of outdoor experience. Well i dont. Im a beginner, ive been reading watching learning for months straight now. I grew a couple plants outside recectly. Not the greatest turnout... buds turned out okay. But really just learning the basics at that point.

I finally got a decent enough of a setup going that i feel like sharing and hopefully getting some pointers from more experienced folks...so...

Here we go

I built a 8long5deepx7tall skeleton with 2x4. Lined it with panda film. Made a triple thick wall of panda film to split the rooms into a 3x5 and a 5x5 (roughly) for veg and flower, fixed all the light leaks.

My veg room is pretty dinky.. I got a two tube two foot t5. I wanted to start small and work my way up

Theres a small fan and an outdoor strength timer to run the light. Im planning on building a small table so i can grow three mother plants and also keep a table. Im planning on picking up a second two tube 2' t5

Not sure if i need too much going on in this room besides a second t5 and a table. Maybe a better fan. Or a small homemade co2 generator. Theres no intake or exhaust. Trying to think cost effective.

The flower room is setup a little better. I started with a 4'' intake fan on the floor of the room. Sucking air into the room.
It sucks air from a small space with an a/c.
On the ceiling i mounted a 4'' exhaust fan with about 6 feet of tubing leading outside

I have a split setup to the exhaust fan so i can suck out moisture from the room, as well as suck the heat from the light hood.

Hygrometer on the ceiling and in the middle of the room. Able to keep a nice enviorenment, finally dialed things in.

Got temp readings at the canopy, in the middle of the room and the ceiling. These readings are normal and stay about here all throughout the day. At night the a/c turns off just after the light. So temp rises to 75 76 humidity to 55 60. Back down to normal about 6 am when the lights come back on.

This is the first time i tried LST, Topping, super cropping, fiming. This was my experiment. I tried every technique and had good/informative results each time. What do you think, think they look okay?

The bottom left, or front left plant im experimenting with that "defoliation" technique. See if it really yields higher bud results from smaller bushier plants first hand. The four big plants are ghost og and chemdogg. All in organic potting soil mixed w/ perlite. The smaller plants in the middle are just new starts i threw in to veg with the big girls, toughen em up and give them a little head start. The middle plants are super lemon haze, pure kush, pineapple kush and northern lights. Which are all in coco.
Experimenting with different types of medium
Im doing my best to keep everything 100% organic, im a firm believer this plant is medicinal, this crop is for personal use so id like to only put natural things in my body.

Im going to flip in a week and post the progress here. Id really appreciate notes, good or bad whatever is cool with me, suggestions, tips for a beginner. Like i said i this is my first crop, certainly indoors. I never really grew bud before. Id like to grow that top shelf and id love it if you guys could help guide me there.

In case anybodys wondering im using a randomly picked out set of organic nutrients. Cal mag by General organics. Rock dust micro nutrient by sparetime supply. Bio bizz plant nutrient and veg growth formulas. And for flower i got some roots organic flower formula and a phosphourus only additive by them too

I recently learned about my feeding process which now consists of

1. Ph & ppm test water
2. Mix nutrients in
3. Ppm and ph test water and adjust to accomidate the stage of growth the girls your feeding are in
4. Water

I think i pretty much got the basics. Please any and all opinions and advice is appreciated. Id love to be able to grow a nice quality crop of meds. And i think i can with this setup. Thoughts?

 

[derkaderk]

I mean it looks like you Got it dialed...if your not getting good quality meds, then you may need to get some new genetics.

If you want to do organics, if would have to say go with soil. Look into Worm bins, teas, fermented extracts, microbes, cover crops, and soil mixing.

Korean natural farming is a cool method, lots to learn there....and a totally different paradigm.

 

[gardnguyahoy]

I mean it looks like you Got it dialed...if your not getting good quality meds, then you may need to get some new genetics.

If you want to do organics, if would have to say go with soil. Look into Worm bins, teas, fermented extracts, microbes, cover crops, and soil mixing.

Korean natural farming is a cool method, lots to learn there....and a totally different paradigm.

Thanks for the suggestions! I def want to dabble in organic teas and such. For now organic soil is great i just need to learn more about properly mixing a decent draining mix, my 5gals are holding on to way too much water.

Thanks for the positivity. This is actually my very first indoor run, so i havent churned out any meds yet, im really hoping for some good quality...

Ive invested too much time and money, i really want to STOP going to the dispensary!! Too fkn expensive... ive worked meticulously to make things good in there, pretty anxious to hear feedback on the setup so appreciate it man. Im prayin things go well ...wish me luck !

 

[gardnguyahoy]

If you want to do organics, if would have to say go with soil. Look into Worm bins, teas, fermented extracts, microbes, cover crops, and soil mixing.

Korean natural farming is a cool method, lots to learn there....and a totally different paradigm.

Is it expensive to get into all this? I mean, im just learning and im already feeling overwhelmed with what im "trying" at the moment. Seems like everytime someone suggests a new method im trying it.

Im super down, best to just google away and find what i can or could you suggest a thread/informative information supply?

 

[Wildill]

Your on the right track bro you got the basics down as get more harvest under your belt you figure out what works best for you. The best method is the KISS method which means Keep it Simple Stupid. What else are you wanting to know?

 

[derkaderk]

I would say just keep it simple. Read up on techniques and methods you come across...then as you feel comfortable, start to implement the ideas you think suit you best, or have an interest in.

 

[derkaderk]

@Wildill beat me to it, lol.

 

[gardnguyahoy]

Your on the right track bro you got the basics down as get more harvest under your belt you figure out what works best for you. The best method is the KISS method which means Keep it Simple Stupid. What else are you wanting to know?

Thanks man, i more or less want to know if i need to make improvements on my room, or if im forgetting something.

Keeping it simple!! Simple soil, simple feeding schedule. Spending time and paying attention to the plants, givin em love. That being said, Experimentation is the name of the game on this one. Learning as much as i can, making small changes here and there. But overall trying to make life stable for these girls. When changes are made i try my best to make them subtle..

I Just flushed and did a slurry test on my dirt (not sure if that works but i gave it a shot) i think my ph is too high its in the 8 range, any suggestions on wether or not the slurry test works, and if it does, a natural way to decrease ph?

 

[derkaderk]

You could add some wood chips, peat moss, leaf mold, Pine needles...here is a link, but beware of aluminum sulfate....fast acting, but can become toxic just as fast.

http://m.wikihow.com/Lower-Soil-pH

 

[gardnguyahoy]

Alright, i changed some things around, i moved my vegging plants under an l.e.d. temporarily until i get my veg table built and a second t5. They were in the hps room temporarily, but im about to flip and i needed them to get used to a different enviorenment.

The girls gained some girth and bounced back from the bending and breaking i did. Heres a lighter to size

I moved things around cause im trying really hard to even the canopy, i dont want to cut anything cause i want to flip soon, i dont want the girls to go through anymore stress then they have to. So, i moved the smallest plant directly under the light, turned all the plants around so the tallest nodes were the furthest from the light...

Anyone think i should use a scrog screen thing to help me out to even the canopy? Or what should i do?

 

[gardnguyahoy]

You could add some wood chips, peat moss, leaf mold, Pine needles...here is a link, but beware of aluminum sulfate....fast acting, but can become toxic just as fast.

http://m.wikihow.com/Lower-Soil-pH

So, the slurry test IS accurate? thanks for the links, appreciated

 

[derkaderk]

The slurry is accurate to a point....it's more about what you are using to measure the ph. Do you have a good ph pen?

 

[gardnguyahoy]

I

The slurry is accurate to a point....it's more about what you are using to measure the ph. Do you have a good ph pen?

I don't, i use a solution test by mad farmer right now

 

[Wildill]

I

I don't, i use a solution test by mad farmer right now

I would recommend doing a scrog it will fill in your space and increase your yeild.

 

[gardnguyahoy]

You could add some wood chips, peat moss, leaf mold, Pine needles...here is a link, but beware of aluminum sulfate....fast acting, but can become toxic just as fast.

http://m.wikihow.com/Lower-Soil-pH

What if i added my nutrients at too low of a ph. Would this balance things out or will i just hurt the plants?

 

[derkaderk]

What if i added my nutrients at too low of a ph. Would this balance things out or will i just hurt the plants?

It depends on what you mean....if your ph is already low, adding acidic elements will only make matters worse. If your ph is low, you need to add opposite elements, dolomite, wood ash, oyster shell meal....these will raise the ph.

 

[gardnguyahoy]

It depends on what you mean....if your ph is already low, adding acidic elements will only make matters worse. If your ph is low, you need to add opposite elements, dolomite, wood ash, oyster shell meal....these will raise the ph.

I was saying before.... my ph is too high. Around 8. If i added my next round of nutrients at too low of a ph. Say around 5. Would it even things out? Or would i just hurt my plants

 

[derkaderk]

Gotcha....the short answer is no, that won't work. Lowering the ph of the nutrient soulution does just that...once in the medium, the soil components and microbiology are what will buffer (change) the ph....but only if the proper elements are present.

In your case if the soil is too alkaline you would need to add something acidic in the form of an amendment to help lower the ph of the medium itself....lowering ph of the nutrient solution will cause the medium to start adjusting the solution towards an alkaline anyway...you'll have minimal time where the medium is actually in the range it needs to be before it shifts back to alkaline and lockout.

Used coffee grounds are acidic and packs a good nitrogen punch to the plants....you can top dress and water in.

 

[gardnguyahoy]

Gotcha....the short answer is no, that won't work. Lowering the ph of the nutrient soulution does just that...once in the medium, the soil components and microbiology are what will buffer (change) the ph....but only if the proper elements are present.

In your case if the soil is too alkaline you would need to add something acidic in the form of an amendment to help lower the ph of the medium itself....lowering ph of the nutrient solution will cause the medium to start adjusting the solution towards an alkaline anyway...you'll have minimal time where the medium is actually in the range it needs to be before it shifts back to alkaline and lockout.

Used coffee grounds are acidic and packs a good nitrogen punch to the plants....you can top dress and water in.

Thanks so much for your insight. So i gotta start drinkin coffee!

The soil i use has bark in it. (i didnt know it was bad when i started!) that tends to lean acidic... Its throughout the soil. Thats a lot of coffee grounds... Dunno where im gonna find all that haha. Is there maybe something like dolomite that would work. (I forget if that lowers or raises it)

 

[gardnguyahoy]

I only ask cause i feel like it would be easier to track down a large amount of dolomite than a bag of used coffee grounds.

Is dolomite organic?