my grow

[username09]

well i guess i'll go ahead and start my diary here. my plants are in their 3rd week of veg. tomorrow they'll be repotted and should get more light as well. i've got 3cu ft of fox farms ocean forest soil, a gallon of ff grow big, and a gallon of big bloom for flowering.

i'm not sure of my strain. just got some seeds from a friend and decided to try growing a lb. i've got about 20 plants. once i see which are males, they'll be tossed.

right now i don't have sufficient lighting. only 160 watts on 2 4' strips. the bulbs are the plant/ reptile bulbs from lowes. i should be adding more light tomorrow. gonna try and add about 300-600 watts of cfl's.

i've got 10 7 qt pots and the rest will be 2 liters. i'm hoping at least 10 of the plants will be female. if so they'll be transplanted into the 7 qt pots instead of the 2 liters.

here's a few pics of everything so far
http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2058.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/0109091604.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/0109091327a.jpg

i'll post more pics tomorrow when i get done with everything. any comments, questions, or suggestions are welcome.

 

[greenthumbdanny]

Right on man. Looks like your off and startin. Maybe some of them seeds could be the holy grail. lol. Ya never know.

 

[DNDGrower]

nice job. I will be watching

 

[username09]

Right on man. Looks like your off and startin. Maybe some of them seeds could be the holy grail. lol. Ya never know.

lol. let's hope. i figured i'd start off with some lower grade seeds and let this grow be my learning experience then after i've learned more about what i'm doing i'll order some better strains.

 

[Pyro G.]

Good luck in ur grow U09, those babies already look pretty good. I'll be here 4 da long haul. Peace bro, keep it GREEN

 

[stone69]

I'm learning too! Good luck Man...

 

[username09]

today was the day. got my plants repotted, added 720 watts/ 78000 lumens, and hung some space blanket in hopes of alittle reflection.

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000136.jpg
here's the soil and nutes i'll be using

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000137.jpg
i used alittle packing peanuts as filler for the bottom mostly because i wasn't sure if i had enough soil for everything.

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000135.jpg
here's the soil. hopefully it'll be as good as everyone says it is.

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000140.jpg
got a few done

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000139.jpg
few more

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000138.jpg
done repotting

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000134.jpg
it was definitely time for bigger pots

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000133.jpg
here's the whole setup

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000132.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000131.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000128.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000129.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/F0000130.jpg

so now i've got 880 watts of light. i'm sure i'll have to check them every few days to make sure they arent hitting the light. i'm hoping they start growing alittle faster now. they don't seem to need the nutes yet. only one of the plants cotyledons were turning alittle yellow. after i repotted them i watered them. i'm sure that'll be fine since they've got better soil now.

i noticed the cfl's put off more heat than the flourecents. in a way i think that's good because the nite temps here are getting into the 20's and there is no insulation in the grow area. i still want to get a thermometer to see what the temp is.

the 2 liter bottles are all i have for now. i may repot again into a storage tote and put 4 plants into 1 tote. would that be a problem? when the males show themselves they'll be cut and i'll probably try repotting the females if i do plant multiple plants in 1 tote. the only thing i'd be worried about is the roots tangling.

well, as always, questions, comments, and advice is welcome.

 

[username09]

tomorrow (21st) the plants will be 4 weeks old. half way through veg. today was the first day i've added nutes. only about 1.5 teaspoons of ff grow big to a gallon of water. they've grown quite a bit since i've repotted them. they seem to be doing well. some of the leaves are alittle dry it seems. i think it's because of the cold nite temp fluctuations we've had in the past week or so. it'll be 20degrees one nite and 65 the next. with no insulation in the grow area i know it gets cold in there. the cfl's put off heat but, i know it doesnt provide that much. if these cold temps keep up i'll add a heater on a timer for the nites. anyway, i'm really excited to see how the nutes effect the plants in the next week. here's some pics i took today.


http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2147.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2148.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2149.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2150.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2151.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2154.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2155.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2156.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2157.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2158.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2159.jpg

let me know what you think

 

[jansjukebox]

I must say that those are some really nice looking plants. There are a few potential problems that I see. You stated using packing peanuts i the bottom of your pots. That won't pose a problem right now, but when the palnts get large and start gaining root mass they weill grow to the bottom of the pots. The packing peanuts won't be able to hope proper nutes for your babies and will most likely pose a problem. I just suggest that when they get a little larger, just repot them. But don't wait to long because those roots will grow real fast..right into the bottom. Also, If you do replant into a tote, you really should only palnt one plant to a pot. The roots will eventually grow into each other and fight for nutrients. Remember that a plant will double to triple in size when you put them into flowering so keep that in mind while veging if space is an issue for you. Especially since you don't know what strand you might have. Those Sativas can get really tall and lanky. Anyway, looking goos so far. Hope any of this helps. I'll be watching them!!

 

[username09]

jansjukebox thanks for the info. i think i may order some grow bags and repot into those. i think they'll be best for my area. when i got the black pots pictured i didn't measure anything out. i just wanted pots big enough for root growth and i was going to use them just for the fems but, instead i ended up using them when i repotted last week. i'll order some bags from htg supply this week.

i didn't think about them doubling in size either. i completely looked over that. i think i may change to 12/12 in their 6th week instead of 8th like originally planned.

jansjukebox, again, i thank you for that post.

 

[jansjukebox]

what light are you going to be using for flowering? the same CFL's? If I were you , I'd think about moving up flowering to more like week 5. Honestly what I have done before is sex all my plants while still in the smaller pots then transplanted them into the bigger ones as soon as I sexed them. Now I just do Fem seeds mostly and clones so I always know how many plants I'm going to have in the end. Ain't HTG suppy the shibit? I love that place!!

 

[username09]

i just ordered 20 2 gallon grow bags for the plants. i'll repot the plants as soon as the bags come in.

i want to get a 400w hps light for flowering. if i stay with the cfl's what advice can you give me for flowering? i was going to switch to the 2500k(or is it 3500k?), or the more orange spectrum bulbs for flowering. i see if i stay with them you recommend longer vegging. please let me know what to do if i stay with the cfl's.

after this grow i'm going to order some better seeds and clone the fems. i may end up cloning these fems incase it's decent bud. if not i can always order seeds. i'd really like to yield a pound off of this grow. that's my goal. if not oh well. i just really enjoy growing and learning and can't wait to get a larger grow area so i can experiment w/ different strains.

 

[jansjukebox]

I recomend the 400w my self. HTG has a nice one that is a HPS ballast and you can buy a MH conversion bulb to fit right into the same ballast. The issue you will have is heat. If you have good ventilation and only grow in the cooler months, then East Coast growing works good in the winter months for keeping the heat down. Also you need more space between the lights and the plants if you use HID lights unless your setup is air cooled..then the plants can go all the way to the glass basically..lol But for the watage you are using with the CFL, you would get much better results from a HID. I built myself a little chamber that I flower in with my 400w HPS and keep a little veg area with clf for seedlings and clones. I take the summer off so I don't need airconditioning and I make enough to keep myself all summer long till the first winter harvest which is usually in late Nov. Talk about thanks giving!! First things first, get your first grow under your belt. You'll learn with each one after. I am not a master grower, but I aspire to be one...lol If you do decide to stick with the CFL's. here is a good page to read

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml#flu

I started with bag seed and mirical grow. Now I grow with Fox Farm nutes and good genetics

 

[jansjukebox]

by the way, a lb is unrelistic..especially with CFL and in that space.

 

[username09]

looks like i'll have to find a tube lite that i can run some ducting and a fan to. hmmm...i'll have to save a few weeks for this one.

 

[username09]

little update, i ordered 20 2 gallon grow bags that should be in by monday and also ordered a 400w grow light w/ switchable ballast. i'm going to either order a pyrex bake a round and make my own cool tube or order a cool tube, whichever my money allows. after that i've gotta find an inline fan and make a carbon scrubber and by some ducting materials and i should be set. can anyone recommend an inline fan from lowe's or home depot. i'd rather be able to pick it up than have to order it and wait for it to come in. thanks.

 

[GDS StonerBoy]

Hmm have you ever added water to packing peanuts before? Its not a pretty sight! Maybe it was just the ones i had but when water touches them they dissolve into a goo!

 

[username09]

i know which packaging peanuts you're talking about. these are different. the plants will be repotted this week and i won't be using them again. i just used them as filler. i've got enough soil to go around tho...i think anyway.

 

[username09]

well tomorrow the plants will be 5 weeks old. i fed and repotted them in grow bags today and this will be their final home.

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2160.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2161.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2162.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2163.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2164.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2165.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2166.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2168.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2169.jpg

http://i5.invalid.com/albums/y180/unr8ed01/CIMG2171.jpg

the pots took up alotta room and i needed to repot the plants in the bottles. hopefully these grow bags will work ok. we will see.

 

[jansjukebox]

Looking good there user..As for the in-line, I wasn't able to find anything at the home stores to meet my needs..I just went with a can fan combo and filter from HTG. Then again, HTG isn't all that far from where I live so I prefer to visit the store in person and pick up my stuff and save on the shipping deal...lol