Old man's first grow

[JohnMD]

Strain: Gorilla Glue 4
Soil: homemade potting mix = 2 parts top soil + 1 part composted cow manFure + 1 part sphagnum peat moss (it's what I've used in my containers for vege gardening for a few years)
Containers: 5 gallon bucket, 3.5 gallon fabric bag, 2 gallon plastic plant pot (I'm doing an experiment to see if there's any difference)
Equipment: Sunblaze 48" T5 fluorescent 8-bulb fixture. I started with 5 6500K blue bulbs + 3 3000K red bulbs in. I recently swapped all the fluorescent tubes out for 24W High Output T5 LED tube lights (5000K / 3500lm)
Light Cycle: 18/6
Fan: stationary, goes on and off with the light
Temps: 71ish (need to get this up some)
Humidifier: 60%
Tent: an old pop-up ice fishing shany 4'W x 5.5'L x 5.5'H with mylar taped to the sides and floor
Water: de-chlorinated tap water. I'm working on lowering the Ph with hydrochloric acid
Fertilizer: I'm using two different ferts:

• Happy Frog Organic Dry Tomato and Vegetable 5-7-3 + some Blood Meal 12-0-0. I put 12tsp of fert + 6tp of Blood Meal in 1 gallon of water and let it steep. This makes the nutrients more readily accessible, but it stinks to high heaven.
• Fox Farms liquid trio - Big Bloom, Grow Big, and Tiger Bloom. I'm trying to follow the schedule posted on Fox Farms' website but I overwatered/fertilized a couple weeks ago so I've scaled back. Even though the plants are 36 days old, I haven't moved onto week 2 of their schedule because I needed to flush and let the soil dry out.

I've been vlogging my experience and posting it to YouTube.
Week 1 -

Week 2 -

Week 3 -

Week 4 -

Week 5 -

 

[JohnMD]

Here's a picture of my set up. The plants on the left are fed the organic vegetable fertilizer. The ones on the right are given Fox Farms liquid fertilizer. The picture is from 10 days ago. The girls weren't looking so good.

This is my best plant (it's the one on the back left in the group photo above). I took this picture last night. (I take pictures every day just to compare growth and examine the plants)

This is what I believe to be bleaching caused by putting my LED lights too close*. I recently switched from all fluorescent bulbs, to half fluourescent/half LED last weekend, and then to all LEDs this past Thursday. I didn't adjust the height of the fixture, causing a little bleach burn. I've since raised the fixture to 23" above the canopy. I haven't seen any new spots on this plant, or any other.
* the reason I believe it be bleaching is because it only occured on 1 plant: the middle plant on the left. And since I've fed them the same diet and the same water, I don't think it's a nutrient deficiency, though I'm keeping a close eye on it.

 

[Leeroy48]

Hello there,

Looking nice my friend are these auto’s. also when did you start nutrients or have you started.

And a little tip. Little water is more water. Don’t over do it.

But all in all they look good my friend nice and green. Well done

God you

And you said your raised your light to 23 inches

 

[JohnMD]

Thanks Leroy.

I introduced fertilizer in Week 3 but overdid it. That was also when I transplanted into their forever homes. In Week 4, I let the plants dry out and didn't water for 6 days (I have a meter that reads moisture in the soil). All but one (the middle plant on the right) seems to have recovered, though the plants getting fed the organic garden fertilier are doing noticably better.

 

[Leeroy48]

Wow sounds like you know what your doing. I’ve only got a fraction off knowledge but plenty of people have.

Nice setup anyway. Try not to worry about minor things unless it’s effecting the whole plant. Some people say correcting a minor issue will lead to a serious problem.

I’m going to sit in the corner and watch.

Good luck fellow gardener

God loves you

 

[One drop]

Howdy we to the farm hope you enjoy your new found freedom. Best regards OD.

 

[JohnMD]

Day 38

 

[JohnMD]

The ones on the left are doing really well. The ones on the right are still quite pale, and 2 of them are lagging WAY behind. Obviously I messed something up with the Fox Farms trio. Or my soil is lacking something. My guess is nirogen.
I fertilized on Saturday. Then on Sunday I fed the plants on the right some Blood Meal (12-0-0).

Also, I made another mistake by trying to spread out the limbs using pieces of coat hanger. I wouldn't call it "training". I just wanted to spread out the canopy to give the lower leaves/nodes some light. Well, I torqued down too hard on one limb and snapped it off. (It's the middle plant on the left).

The picture is from Saturday.

 

[JohnMD]

5 days later.
Plants on the left continue to outgrow the ones are the right. The plant on the back has some major discoloring on the leaves, too. I've done some more topping and a little pruning of stems that are growing up from the bottom through the middle of the plant.
It's been 52 days now. If I grow weed again, it'll be from clones. Doing it from seed in my basement just doesn't seem ideal like the ideal environment.

 

[JohnMD]

Day 67.

I have abandoned the Fox Farms liquid fertilizer trio. I was getting some horrible results and I can only assume it's because my medium (soil) or Ph. Whatever the case, the plants were severly underdeveloped compared to the Happy Frog organic vegetable fertilizer + Blood meal for feeding and Ph adjusted water plus Worm Casting Tea on alternate watering days. I still think these plants are way behind some of the plants I've seen on videos I've seen of plants of similar age. Oh well, it is what it is at this point. I'm just glad they're still alive. lol

One thing that is abundantly clear to me.....the size of the growing vessel makes a difference. The plant in the far back left is way fuller and bigger than the other two plants on the left. It's grown in a 5 gallon bucket while the other two are in a 3gal fabric bag, and a 2 gallon plastic planter pot. If I do this again, I'll do all 5 gallon or bigger pots.

 

[buddhaBudman]

Here's a picture of my set up.

Looks good. What's interesting is that you don't pot up at all and just put them right in their final homes. This looks like it worked fine for you. I've always potted up.

The plants on the left are fed the organic vegetable fertilizer.

Also interesting that in this case it looks like organic for the win?

 

[buddhaBudman]

If I do this again, I'll do all 5 gallon or bigger pots.

Ya I remember it being said that the visual portion of a plant or tree above the soil, as a general rule the root structure is like a mirror of the visual plant flipped on the horizontal, so that the vertical height of the plant is the depth of the root structure under the soil. So a larger vessel with more room for the roots is always going to equate to a larger plant. I would add some plants roots spread out more horizontally. I think in the case of Cannabis and perhaps other heavy flowering plants, they go deep. Perhaps to support their flowers structurally. And likely b/c the demands nutrient / water - wise are high for these plants on account of the heavy and expensive (biologically) "fruit" they produce, thus they require a deep robust root structure to power that growth.

 

[JohnMD]

Day 90

I've kicked over to the flowering stage with 12/12 light schedule. Things have been pretty uneventful, other than the smell in the house lol. My son thinks the smell is affecting his snakes appetite - it hasn't eaten in months, though that's not super unusual I guess.

I rigged up a vent system with a fan and duct work to a small basement window.

 

[One drop]

Looking good great to see the air gap under your pots one of my important parts to the grow warmer dryer roots aids in plant health. Od .

 

[BabyFarmer]

Looking good great to see the air gap under your pots one of my important parts to the grow warmer dryer roots aids in plant health. Od .

Know where I might read more about air gap?

 

[One drop]

Know where I might read more about air gap?

No sorry it’s just something I bang on about to new growers who keep there pots on tent floor have a butcher hook @Dr.B he has made a fantastic idea for this very problem check him out , I’m a horticulturist and have been taught to do this very important part of plant health , never leave your ladies in there run off will not help with your drainage check the Doc out . Regards Od

 

[Dr.B]

No sorry it’s just something I bang on about to new growers who keep there pots on tent floor have a butcher hook @Dr.B he has made a fantastic idea for this very problem check him out , I’m a horticulturist and have been taught to do this very important part of plant health , never leave your ladies in there run off will not help with your drainage check the Doc out . Regards Od

Milk crate aeration/drip tray

Super simple, sturdy, self spacing if using more than 1... You basically cut the bottom two inches and most of one side wall off of a milk crate however you please. I use a hacksaw and side cutters. A bit of a sand on the rough edges and drill a bunch of holes for airflow... Done Easy, cheap...

www.thcfarmer.com

 

[BabyFarmer]

Milk crate aeration/drip tray

Super simple, sturdy, self spacing if using more than 1... You basically cut the bottom two inches and most of one side wall off of a milk crate however you please. I use a hacksaw and side cutters. A bit of a sand on the rough edges and drill a bunch of holes for airflow... Done Easy, cheap...

www.thcfarmer.com

Much appreciated!

 

[Dr.B]

Much appreciated!

No sweat! I hope it helps!

 

[One drop]

No sweat! I hope it helps!

Oh it will .