Please assist me? Ugh

[MHippie]

I am. I'm on my second (and first outdoor). It *is* a pain in the ass but it's also fun.

I’m a dirt guy who has been growing for a LONG time. I use a combination of outside during the day to catch real sun and then lights at night for the vegging plants. Soil? God everyone makes this so freaking complicated. 25 some odd years ago none of these options were available but we cranked out frosty nugs on Mexican ground brown bullshit seeds we pulled out of our bags... or took a chance with Marc Emery’s craziness for seed stock.

Go to basics. There really is no heightened magic formula. It comes down to doing what is best for you in your growing situation. There’s a brand of potting soil called Baccto. It is usually carried by Ag co-ops for farmers, the old fashioned feed and seed guys for farming, etc. 9 bucks a bag and filled with composted goodness and perlite. Mix in 2 cups of perlite for every 5 gal grow bag. And that’s it.

Germ the seeds. When they pop then plop them into a small pot. Let them fill the pot with roots. Transplant into a 6 to 8 inch wide pot...same routine... fill the pot. By week 6 of veg you should be ready for the final transplant into a 5 gal grow bag. Let them sit for 2 weeks and develop an larger root system and then cut the lights.

Soil depletion should not be an issue until week 3 of flowering or so. Then comes cal mag and a weak bloom solution. Use boom boosters with caution and weakly. That soil will still have nutes in it. But your plants will tell you when you need more.

Ph on your water? Strive for 6. Your soil and nutes are going to add to it.

That’s it. Just pull off a simple basic grow. When the soil is dry, water it. Diary what you have done and your observations.

 

[MHippie]

I’m a dirt guy who has been growing for a LONG time. I use a combination of outside during the day to catch real sun and then lights at night for the vegging plants. Soil? God everyone makes this so freaking complicated. 25 some odd years ago none of these options were available but we cranked out frosty nugs on Mexican ground brown bullshit seeds we pulled out of our bags... or took a chance with Marc Emery’s craziness for seed stock.

Go to basics. There really is no heightened magic formula. It comes down to doing what is best for you in your growing situation. There’s a brand of potting soil called Baccto. It is usually carried by Ag co-ops for farmers, the old fashioned feed and seed guys for farming, etc. 9 bucks a bag and filled with composted goodness and perlite. Mix in 2 cups of perlite for every 5 gal grow bag. And that’s it.

Germ the seeds. When they pop then plop them into a small pot. Let them fill the pot with roots. Transplant into a 6 to 8 inch wide pot...same routine... fill the pot. By week 6 of veg you should be ready for the final transplant into a 5 gal grow bag. Let them sit for 2 weeks and develop an larger root system and then cut the lights.

Soil depletion should not be an issue until week 3 of flowering or so. Then comes cal mag and a weak bloom solution. Use boom boosters with caution and weakly. That soil will still have nutes in it. But your plants will tell you when you need more.

Ph on your water? Strive for 6. Your soil and nutes are going to add to it.

That’s it. Just pull off a simple basic grow. When the soil is dry, water it. Diary what you have done and your observations.

These are the simple lessons my wife has taught me for 23 years.

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

These are the simple lessons my wife has taught me for 23 years.

It sounds like you guys have a pretty amazing history.
I like simplicity.
How do you move your plants in and out twice a day workout damaging them?

 

[MHippie]

It sounds like you guys have a pretty amazing history.
I like simplicity.
How do you move your plants in and out twice a day workout damaging them?

Grow bags with handles :). This one is 4 ft+ but I braced it with a big ass bamboo skewer and padded bonsai wire right up the middle. It’s going into week 5 of flowering.

 

[LouieV]

So I’m on my first grow and made tons of mistakes too. If the end it seemed like I was just over complicating things. I used bagged potting mix from Home Depot and tap water. Once I stopped over watering them and got my heat and drainage under control things were great. I recently switched to 12/12, added a humidifier And a mini pro can.

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

Grow bags with handles :). This one is 4 ft+ but I braced it with a big ass bamboo skewer and padded bonsai wire right up the middle. It’s going into week 5 of flowering.

Did you top that? My soil is almost pure clay and hard as a rock. I used some worm casting when I planted them, but I had to mix in some promix to loosen it up. I was afraid the roots wouldn't be able to get through that density at a small state. Days started getting shorter on 6/22 because of the Solstice, so I imagine I'm that many weeks into flower. I honestly don't know though. I'm in an area where it's just become legal and I can't find much about growing outside in this climate. So, I honestly don't know how much more growing our flowering it will be before harvest.

By the way, love your sweet up and the torches. I did something similar.

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

So I’m on my first grow and made tons of mistakes too. If the end it seemed like I was just over complicating things. I used bagged potting mix from Home Depot and tap water. Once I stopped over watering them and got my heat and drainage under control things were great. I recently switched to 12/12, added a humidifier And a mini pro can.

I'm on my second now too. I can't afford ro at $1/ gallon, so I let tap sit to let the chlorine dissipate. I had a lot of the same problems too. Needed all this equipment that I didn't think I'd need. Things are going a ton better this time around. Still some things to work out though.

Your plants look great! What size tent is that? What strain? Hps? Led?

 

[MHippie]

Did you top that? My soil is almost pure clay and hard as a rock. I used some worm casting when I planted them, but I had to mix in some promix to loosen it up. I was afraid the roots wouldn't be able to get through that density at a small state. Days started getting shorter on 6/22 because of the Solstice, so I imagine I'm that many weeks into flower. I honestly don't know though. I'm in an area where it's just become legal and I can't find much about growing outside in this climate. So, I honestly don't know how much more growing our flowering it will be before harvest.

By the way, love your sweet up and the torches. I did something similar.

Did you top that? My soil is almost pure clay and hard as a rock. I used some worm casting when I planted them, but I had to mix in some promix to loosen it up. I was afraid the roots wouldn't be able to get through that density at a small state. Days started getting shorter on 6/22 because of the Solstice, so I imagine I'm that many weeks into flower. I honestly don't know though. I'm in an area where it's just become legal and I can't find much about growing outside in this climate. So, I honestly don't know how much more growing our flowering it will be before harvest.

By the way, love your sweet up and the torches. I did something similar.

:) Thanks. :) There is a 50 x 16 veggie garden behind our outside grow area. My wife and I love to garden lol!

Our soil is nothing but sand and clay. That's why I use normal potting mix for mine in the bags. The other reason is I grow them like they are inside. Strict light cycles for both phases for both. Everyone is always trying to duplicate the sun. I figured we may as well use the real deal when possible. But I've got an ancient flouro inside too for bad weather days and 6 hours of veg a day.

No that plant isnt topped. I wanted a big cola out of it. A lot of people rail against defoliation techniques but with LST they work for me. This is a clone off of that big plant. They can be done in a tiny form factor as well as huge lol :)

 

[LouieV]

I'm on my second now too. I can't afford ro at $1/ gallon, so I let tap sit to let the chlorine dissipate. I had a lot of the same problems too. Needed all this equipment that I didn't think I'd need. Things are going a ton better this time around. Still some things to work out though.

Your plants look great! What size tent is that? What strain? Hps? Led?

3 golden lemons seeds out of a bag. I started with a 400 W HPS for veg 18/6 and now I’m using a 400 W MH 12/12 for flower. The tent is 2 x 2 x 4 With a exhaust fan, one fan, a co2 can and a humidifier inside. I feed them tiger bloom every other watering.

 

[MHippie]

3 golden lemons seeds out of a bag. I started with a 400 W HPS for veg 18/6 and now I’m using a 400 W MH 12/12 for flower. The tent is 2 x 2 x 4 With a exhaust fan, one fan, a co2 can and a humidifier inside. I feed them tiger bloom every other watering.

You've got that reversed amigo. MH is for veg. HPS is for flowering. Humidifier and CO2 is great if you need it. Do you have any meters set up monitoring your environment?

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

:) Thanks. :) There is a 50 x 16 veggie garden behind our outside grow area. My wife and I love to garden lol!

Our soil is nothing but sand and clay. That's why I use normal potting mix for mine in the bags. The other reason is I grow them like they are inside. Strict light cycles for both phases for both. Everyone is always trying to duplicate the sun. I figured we may as well use the real deal when possible. But I've got an ancient flouro inside too for bad weather days and 6 hours of veg a day.

No that plant isnt topped. I wanted a big cola out of it. A lot of people rail against defoliation techniques but with LST they work for me. This is a clone off of that big plant. They can be done in a tiny form factor as well as huge lol :)

I just created a garden this year too. I intended to grow as much as possible to donate to a local homeless shelter. Now with flu In canning first, then donating. Rather be safe than sorry.

I have some in the ground (that I'm trying out that mix of earth and putting soil and I have some in fabric pots with potting soil. This time I've been experiementing with some new "techniques" I guess as far as lst goes. I can't bring them in and out though. The bags have handles, but I'm always smashing the leaves. They're all doing so well our there though. We don't drop too 12 hours of sunlight until the middle of September though. That's not enough time to flower before it gets cold. I suppose I'll see what happens. I hope I don't lose them though.

I label my ww like that too, lol. I honestly don't know why, but I take small clones. I don't even know how to take a big one. I don't care though. Little by little I'm starting to get a system down. I have plants everywhere though, lol. Not easy to keep track of. Is love to see pics of you and your wife's plants!

 

[MHippie]

I just created a garden this year too. I intended to grow as much as possible to donate to a local homeless shelter. Now with flu In canning first, then donating. Rather be safe than sorry.

I have some in the ground (that I'm trying out that mix of earth and putting soil and I have some in fabric pots with potting soil. This time I've been experiementing with some new "techniques" I guess as far as lst goes. I can't bring them in and out though. The bags have handles, but I'm always smashing the leaves. They're all doing so well our there though. We don't drop too 12 hours of sunlight until the middle of September though. That's not enough time to flower before it gets cold. I suppose I'll see what happens. I hope I don't lose them though.

I label my ww like that too, lol. I honestly don't know why, but I take small clones. I don't even know how to take a big one. I don't care though. Little by little I'm starting to get a system down. I have plants everywhere though, lol. Not easy to keep track of. Is love to see pics of you and your wife's plants!

Small clones are the easiest :) Big ones, especially with semi-wooded stems can be a bit much to nurse, but I do it from time to time depending on what and why. What I really enjoyed today was seeing seeds on my big girl. I had a male come up with obvious purple traits from a mixed back of "idk wtf this is" and as close to a pure sativa as you will see. So I crossed it with that first WW plant as it had just started to flower. Low and behold I had a seedling pop up in the bag a couple of days ago. Today I took 4 mature seeds off that tree. Can't WAIT to see what the sprout does but it already has a dark purple stalk which is VERY encouraging. Who knows what it will be, but that's the fun sometimes!

It takes some and patience to get a routine down. Don't worry if your first grow bombs. The second one will be a bit more smooth. And the third even smoother still :) It's all about learning and doing. So there is really nothing that you can do "wrong" at this point. But I'd encourage you to hook into some shorter strains. One that you may be able to get a hold of is Pineapple Muffin by HSC. It's a predominant indica, grows to about 2 - 3 ft and is FAST. You could carry that one around in a 5 gal grow bag without any worries of smashing leaves.

 

[LouieV]

You've got that reversed amigo. MH is for veg. HPS is for flowering. Humidifier and CO2 is great if you need it. Do you have any meters set up monitoring your environment?

Oh shit good catch. The setup was given to me and was labeled that way.
THANK YOU
So I do track heat and humidity. My tent does tend to run a lil hot so I keep my humidity up. I have noticed my new leaves looking a lil yellowish and I my plays are hitting the light and burning.

 

[MHippie]

Oh shit good catch. The setup was given to me and was labeled that way.
THANK YOU
So I do track heat and humidity. My tent does tend to run a lil hot so I keep my humidity up. I have noticed my new leaves looking a lil yellowish and I my plays are hitting the light and burning.

Devil's in the details. It's all good. Look I got caught in a "stupid" last week. I was out of fresh soil and the compost stuff isn't quite ready so I grabbed a couple of bags of my normal stuff on my way home right? Nbd normal shit. I transplanted some Purple Mountain Majesty and Squirt by HSC seedlings into 5 inch pots with soil, gave them a small batch of rooting hormone mix stuff and called it a day. Next day? BURNED. I mean NUKED. Me. 20+ year grower. WTF?! So I IMMEDIATELY grab them, go to bigger pots, bust up all of the soil. Clear water but way not enough to be a flush. Next round of growth looks ok. Some burning continued. Next node? Better. They are growing out of it.

I'm like beating my face trying to figure how where I went wrong. So I went and read the bag just for shits and giggles. "All New! Now Includes starter and slow release fertilizers." WHAT. THE. FUCK. That's exactly why I used the brand I did. Like never again "did". It didn't have anything but compost, peat, and some perlite.

So even us guys who have been doing this for a minute fuck it up on the basics. So don't worry about mixing up MH and HPS.

There are a couple of things that you probably might want to look into.

1) F.I.M. techniques. Stands for Fuck I Missed. Basically you cut half of a growth shoot off. Causes bushing.
2) LST techniques. 4 to 6 main branches, 2 plants and you can fill a 4 x 2 tent if you do it right in conjunction with #3
3) Defoliation. There are some guys on here who will definitely NOT agree. But in a tent situation, I go for big bud.

Here's how it works. Basically once you have your LST down and create say a 4 branch plant. You'll have 3 - 4 main shoots grow straight up from each of the horizontal mains. So 12 to 16 main growth shoots including the tips of your 4 main branches. Everything else goes. Fan leaves... gone. Extra nodes... gone. The strategy is to get all of the shoots at the same height. No growth at the bottom. You're growing for mini colas only. I say mini because I've had 2 foot fat fucker colas come off of outdoor indica plants. 6 - 8 inches to me is a big ass nug or mini cola... not a cola. Anyway in a tent situation the light isn't going to get to the bottom of the plant anyway unless you have supplemental side lighting and it's a bigger pain in the ass than it's worth. So the light is hitting only what is budding. Height of the plant is significantly restricted and you don't have to worry about light burn. And you maximize your harvest in that small space. it's a little tricky at first, but will resolve the issues you are having.

I have another bonsai experiment going. I'm going to keep this white widow in bonsai pot for the duration just to see what happens at the end. Hoping for a 12 inch total plant with an almost solid cola. No LST, FIMing but there will be defoliation for sure because of the limited root structure. That's the extreme opposite of what I just described above and won't provide nearly the yield. But I'm not space limited and I live in a legal State. So fucking around with it can be fun :)

 

[MHippie]

I just created a garden this year too. I intended to grow as much as possible to donate to a local homeless shelter. Now with flu In canning first, then donating. Rather be safe than sorry.

I have some in the ground (that I'm trying out that mix of earth and putting soil and I have some in fabric pots with potting soil. This time I've been experiementing with some new "techniques" I guess as far as lst goes. I can't bring them in and out though. The bags have handles, but I'm always smashing the leaves. They're all doing so well our there though. We don't drop too 12 hours of sunlight until the middle of September though. That's not enough time to flower before it gets cold. I suppose I'll see what happens. I hope I don't lose them though.

I label my ww like that too, lol. I honestly don't know why, but I take small clones. I don't even know how to take a big one. I don't care though. Little by little I'm starting to get a system down. I have plants everywhere though, lol. Not easy to keep track of. Is love to see pics of you and your wife's plants!

Hey thought you might want to see this WW finishing up. I’m guessing I’ll start to see amber trichomes easily within the next 2 weeks. So the clear water feedings have begun...

 

[Mikelej14]

Devil's in the details. It's all good. Look I got caught in a "stupid" last week. I was out of fresh soil and the compost stuff isn't quite ready so I grabbed a couple of bags of my normal stuff on my way home right? Nbd normal shit. I transplanted some Purple Mountain Majesty and Squirt by HSC seedlings into 5 inch pots with soil, gave them a small batch of rooting hormone mix stuff and called it a day. Next day? BURNED. I mean NUKED. Me. 20+ year grower. WTF?! So I IMMEDIATELY grab them, go to bigger pots, bust up all of the soil. Clear water but way not enough to be a flush. Next round of growth looks ok. Some burning continued. Next node? Better. They are growing out of it.

I'm like beating my face trying to figure how where I went wrong. So I went and read the bag just for shits and giggles. "All New! Now Includes starter and slow release fertilizers." WHAT. THE. FUCK. That's exactly why I used the brand I did. Like never again "did". It didn't have anything but compost, peat, and some perlite.

So even us guys who have been doing this for a minute fuck it up on the basics. So don't worry about mixing up MH and HPS.

There are a couple of things that you probably might want to look into.

1) F.I.M. techniques. Stands for Fuck I Missed. Basically you cut half of a growth shoot off. Causes bushing.
2) LST techniques. 4 to 6 main branches, 2 plants and you can fill a 4 x 2 tent if you do it right in conjunction with #3
3) Defoliation. There are some guys on here who will definitely NOT agree. But in a tent situation, I go for big bud.

Here's how it works. Basically once you have your LST down and create say a 4 branch plant. You'll have 3 - 4 main shoots grow straight up from each of the horizontal mains. So 12 to 16 main growth shoots including the tips of your 4 main branches. Everything else goes. Fan leaves... gone. Extra nodes... gone. The strategy is to get all of the shoots at the same height. No growth at the bottom. You're growing for mini colas only. I say mini because I've had 2 foot fat fucker colas come off of outdoor indica plants. 6 - 8 inches to me is a big ass nug or mini cola... not a cola. Anyway in a tent situation the light isn't going to get to the bottom of the plant anyway unless you have supplemental side lighting and it's a bigger pain in the ass than it's worth. So the light is hitting only what is budding. Height of the plant is significantly restricted and you don't have to worry about light burn. And you maximize your harvest in that small space. it's a little tricky at first, but will resolve the issues you are having.

I have another bonsai experiment going. I'm going to keep this white widow in bonsai pot for the duration just to see what happens at the end. Hoping for a 12 inch total plant with an almost solid cola. No LST, FIMing but there will be defoliation for sure because of the limited root structure. That's the extreme opposite of what I just described above and won't provide nearly the yield. But I'm not space limited and I live in a legal State. So fucking around with it can be fun :)

That is how I grow, short bushy bonsai style.
This round I have 4 autos about 8-12" tall each, FIM'd young 3rd node and LST under net. Filled about 2/3 of the tent which works perfect for me to have some space for fan and stuff.
From what I have seen, they say FIM on autos is bad, but I'm satisfied with how my are coming along, so I think timing is everything... So far so good.

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

Thanks so much for that!

me, too! my first batch fell over, just at a critical point, now onto the second batch without much harvest yet.

hang in there. one day soon, it'll fall into place. all this will come down to experience.

at least now, you've experimented and you know more about training!

crappy lighting didn't help.

thing is to pick yourself up, keep at it. we'll both be happy when we get a decent harvest.

I think I ended up with a couple of ounces but it was also dry. You had crappy lighting too? I had a freaking blurpke haahaa. I've split like 3 main streams in half from stuff dropping in them. I used pipe cleaners and tightened them back together. It worked. At least yours were headbutt enough to fall over. Lol

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

ilgm is way overpriced

I tried cheaper and got poo poo'd. Pacific Seed Bank is terrible. Terrible.

 

[ThatCrazyStonerChick]

Guys look!! I'm so proud of myself! That's like a shit load of bud sites, right?

 

[LouieV]

I'm on my second now too. I can't afford ro at $1/ gallon, so I let tap sit to let the chlorine dissipate. I had a lot of the same problems too. Needed all this equipment that I didn't think I'd need. Things are going a ton better this time around. Still some things to work out though.

Your plants look great! What size tent is that? What strain? Hps? Led?

So my tent is 2x2x4 golden lemons I switched my bulb and light schedule about two weeks ago. My plants are attacking my light and getting burnt. I’m not sure what to do.