Nate_in_AK
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My first growing experience has been a bit of a mess.
Feminized auto-flower seeds from seedsman.
1 x Blackberry Kush
1 x Bubbagum
Germination in paper-towels went perfectly, and both sprouts were 'planted' into rockwool on Feb 11th. Both sprouts popped up from the rockwool on the 13th, but on the 14th the Bubbagum sprout was looking sad and wilty:
That problem was caused by over-soaked rockwool, but the little guy recovered well enough once I got it dried out a bit.
Feb. 16th they both looked much better:
The next few days were awesome!
Feb 23rd, still going strong:
Then came Saturday morning, February 29th!!!!
My Blackberry Kush looked like the Evil Jolly Green Giant farted on it, and pH was suddenly way up; the test kit showed green.
I learned two things that day:
By March 2nd the BBK had perked right up, but was showing some damage:
For the next week it was difficult for me to be patient, and I suspect I jumped the gun when I topped both plants on March 6th.
Looking back, I realize growth had been slowing down prior to the topping. Once I chopped them, growth damn near halted immediately., and while things didn't look terrible to me, something seemed wrong. Here they are on March 8th:
(Blackbeery Kush on the left, Bubbagum on the right)
Having a deficit of patience, I decided this looked like a deficit of nutrients. My first nutrient load was around 30% of the vendor recommended potency. It was about time to change the water, so I mixed the new load at 100%. This too, was probably a dumb rookie move.
On Monday I figured out what had really been wrong. My air pump was not making any bubbles. My poor babies were drowning. I corrected the issue and things have gotten better over the past few days, and here are current pictures:
Grow info:
Feminized auto-flower seeds from seedsman.
1 x Blackberry Kush
1 x Bubbagum
Germination in paper-towels went perfectly, and both sprouts were 'planted' into rockwool on Feb 11th. Both sprouts popped up from the rockwool on the 13th, but on the 14th the Bubbagum sprout was looking sad and wilty:
That problem was caused by over-soaked rockwool, but the little guy recovered well enough once I got it dried out a bit.
Feb. 16th they both looked much better:
The next few days were awesome!
Feb 23rd, still going strong:
Then came Saturday morning, February 29th!!!!
My Blackberry Kush looked like the Evil Jolly Green Giant farted on it, and pH was suddenly way up; the test kit showed green.
I learned two things that day:
- VPD is a thing and I should care about it.
- I need to keep a close eye on that pH!
By March 2nd the BBK had perked right up, but was showing some damage:
For the next week it was difficult for me to be patient, and I suspect I jumped the gun when I topped both plants on March 6th.
Looking back, I realize growth had been slowing down prior to the topping. Once I chopped them, growth damn near halted immediately., and while things didn't look terrible to me, something seemed wrong. Here they are on March 8th:
(Blackbeery Kush on the left, Bubbagum on the right)
Having a deficit of patience, I decided this looked like a deficit of nutrients. My first nutrient load was around 30% of the vendor recommended potency. It was about time to change the water, so I mixed the new load at 100%. This too, was probably a dumb rookie move.
On Monday I figured out what had really been wrong. My air pump was not making any bubbles. My poor babies were drowning. I corrected the issue and things have gotten better over the past few days, and here are current pictures:
Grow info:
- 4' wide, 2' deep, 5.5' high tent.
- DWC (no top drip)
- Delicious Alaskan tap water (really, it comes out of the faucet at 6.5pH and tastes great!)
- Phlizon 900W LED, at least 24" above plants
- Active Aqua 15L 4 port air pump - 2x stones per bucket
- Growth Science Nutrients Base + Solid Start
- pH tested daily with color drop kit
- EC/ppm on order
- AC Infinity fan controller w/ humidity and temp + charcoal filter
- One tent flap is about 1/2 open for air intake
- Water level approx 1" below bottom of pots.
- Roots slightly tan. No odor, no slime. I assume just nutrient staining.
- There is an ultrasonic humidifier running full time, as well as a small fan to keep air circulating. The fan is NOT blowing directly on the plants.
- I never spray the plants with anything.
- Target temp = 75F
- Target RH = 75%
Once I get the meter I'll be checking this regularly for sure. I was considering thinning out the nutrient mix, but am trying to keep myself from changing things haphazardly. I don't see anything that looks like nutrient burn...would I be rushing to start thinning the mix anyway?
