Schwer's First Grow Evah! Planning, Prep and Grow

[Mothman]

Day 61 - Nearly 3 weeks into flower

Today I did a watering and maybe the last big defoliation... we shall see.

View attachment 1160241

I tried to focus on removing most of the large fan leaves up top that were blocking bud sites, and clearing away many of the lower-center leaves that were blocking air flow.

View attachment 1160238

I didn't go so far as to lollypop my plants, but I did continue to thin out the bottoms to maintain airflow.

View attachment 1160240

While I was defoliating I noticed some leaves that looked like this one here. They were all very very low on their respective plants. There weren't all that many of them but it would sure be nice to keep it that way. I'll start looking into what that could be, though I suppose it might just be the RO water cal/mag thing finally catching up to me.

View attachment 1160242

And last but not least here's a fly over video :)

View attachment 1160246

I compared your before and after defoliation pics, making a mental note in case I ever find myself in such a fortunate sitch.

 

[Mothman]

Oof, in that case you're going to be really bummed to hear that my grow has its own movie trailer

View attachment 1161444

This is the only thing that's made me laugh today! Thank you.

 

[Schwer]

Hey @Schwer, great info in your posts, and the photos are excellent! I have two questions: What's a lung room? And are you planning to have another grow over the winter months?

Thanks, man! A lung room is what growers call the room or space in which your tent resides. The idea being that its significantly easier to control, stabilize and maintain the larger environment that feeds your tent than it is to maintain the environment in the tent directly. Perhaps obviously, this assumes your tent is intaking air from the lung room, heh.

In my case that means my lung room has the dehumidifier, humidifier, and AC units. My tent just has lights and fans.

I compared your before and after defoliation pics, making a mental note in case I ever find myself in such a fortunate sitch.

Ack, no! Find someone more knowledgeable and experienced to emulate. I'm just over here flying by the seat of my pants expecting to wake up to a disaster every morning. My understanding of defoliation is very limited, and its one of those subjects I've found it difficult to find any clear and definitive info about. But hey, I see people using extreme solutions of all kinds and their grows usually end up looking great, so my plan has been to take a middle-of-the-road approach and hope for the best.

This is the only thing that's made me laugh today! Thank you.

Awesome! That just made me smile. Now we're even.

 

[ajgrows]

I'm just over here flying by the seat of my pants expecting to wake up to a disaster every morning.

Wait, now you're stealing MY process book!

 

[Lilolme]

Thanks, man! A lung room is what growers call the room or space in which your tent resides. The idea being that its significantly easier to control, stabilize and maintain the larger environment that feeds your tent than it is to maintain the environment in the tent directly. Perhaps obviously, this assumes your tent is intaking air from the lung room, heh.

In my case that means my lung room has the dehumidifier, humidifier, and AC units. My tent just has lights and fans.



Ack, no! Find someone more knowledgeable and experienced to emulate. I'm just over here flying by the seat of my pants expecting to wake up to a disaster every morning. My understanding of defoliation is very limited, and its one of those subjects I've found it difficult to find any clear and definitive info about. But hey, I see people using extreme solutions of all kinds and their grows usually end up looking great, so my plan has been to take a middle-of-the-road approach and hope for the best.



Awesome! That just made me smile. Now we're even.

Thanks, man! A lung room is what growers call the room or space in which your tent resides. The idea being that its significantly easier to control, stabilize and maintain the larger environment that feeds your tent than it is to maintain the environment in the tent directly. Perhaps obviously, this assumes your tent is intaking air from the lung room, heh.

In my case that means my lung room has the dehumidifier, humidifier, and AC units. My tent just has lights and fans.



Ack, no! Find someone more knowledgeable and experienced to emulate. I'm just over here flying by the seat of my pants expecting to wake up to a disaster every morning. My understanding of defoliation is very limited, and its one of those subjects I've found it difficult to find any clear and definitive info about. But hey, I see people using extreme solutions of all kinds and their grows usually end up looking great, so my plan has been to take a middle-of-the-road approach and hope for the best.



Awesome! That just made me smile. Now we're even.

Actually one definitive piece of jargon is defoliation, which is the complete removal of all foliage, which we are not doin, we are thinning the foliage. One reason you will not find definite answers to many questions is there aren’t any. Every grow can be vastly different from any other and the controlling force is the grower and as we know individual results may vary, widely. Therefore many of the answers that are sought can only be answered by the experience of the grower. Its a journey full of perils to overcome in order reach anything even close to the destination. The real trick is never quit tryin, every time gets a little better, every failure contributes to your sucess

 

[Schwer]

That sounds like sage advise, and worded beautifully as well. Thank you, Gandalf.

And with regards to the "last" big defoliation foliage thinning I did the other day... well, I pulled nearly an equal number of leaves out this morning and I swear the plants still looks the same, lol. To be fair they were mostly small fan leaves from the inside-center of each plant to keep the air flowing on the underside of the canopy, as well some of the larger fan leaves up top that I felt like were still blocking too many bud sites.

 

[Goblinkiller]

Its a learning experience as people point out yes :) good going Schwer:)

 

[OlBallcoach]

,Cool grow & read
Va

 

[Schwer]

,Cool grow & read
Va

Thanks man!


So I've long known that the humidity sensor on my GC Master Controller was faulty or miscalibrated so I haven't been using it. Today I got around to installing the spare and then let them both settle to see the difference... lol

I suppose its a good thing I haven't been relying on that particular sensor.

 

[clinch]

damn! that's quite the difference. i've had good luck with vivosun's temp/hygrometer with the external sensor. matches up with my dehumidifier's readout as well as another hygrometer. might be that I just got lucky.

it also has the option to add two additional sensors if you want to check for hot spots or dead zones in the tent

 

[RealizedReal000]

Hi friends,

Now that home cultivation is legal in VA (come July 2021) I can start planning for my new favorite hobby. I mean okay, not gonna lie. I’ve been planning this for months but my wife didn’t want me to make any purchases until we knew for sure which way the wind was blowing, and now we do!

I’ll try to keep updating this thread as I go through planning, setup, deep existential crises, and of course the grow itself while adding as many details, photos and super deep thoughts as I can along the way. That should help me stay organized and maybe someday it can help another new grower get started … likely by learning from my horrible, horrible mistakes.

As I mentioned in my New-Member intro I’m currently in sponge-mode trying to learn everything I can in order to make my own bad decisions rather than rely on the charity of strangers and smart, attractive people such as yourselves. That said, I wouldn’t mind a push in a better direction if anyone sees me headed towards a cliff. You are my catchers in the rye, if you will. (Nice, now they’ll think I’m smart)

My Plan So Far: The 85,000 Foot View (that’s the cruising altitude record of an SR-71 Blackbird, btw, which is objectively the sexiest aircraft of all time)

Grow Space

I happen to have a spare room on the 2nd floor of my house that I plan to use as a growing space. I also happen to not have a guest room anymore. The house is on central air and I have a spare window unit I can toss up if temperature regulation ever becomes a problem. The only downside here is that the room is three flights of stairs from my garage where I’ll likely be mixing my soil, making teas, etc. I guess this could be considered a positive depending on how fat you think I am, but I suggest you keep your damn opinion to yourself.

Despite having an entire room to spare I still plan to use a tent. That seems like the better solution when it comes to clean up, keeping a clean space, light regulation, humidity, etc. Besides, the legal limit in VA will be four plants to a home and only two of those plants can be mature. All four of my plants will be on the same grow cycle, of course, but to comply with the law only two of my plants will be on a standard VA education and the other two will be forced to watch Rick and Morty during light hours. So which two will be immature? Look, I don’t want to start any fights here so please draw your own conclusions.


Current Tent Pick: Gorilla Grow Tent 4x4

View attachment 1111161

Reasoning: Okay this seems a little pricey and that will probably end up being a trend, but the reviews seem solid and we all know that every extra dollar spent is a direct measure of quality received and happiness banked. There’s also the stability, durability, uh… light-tightability, the marketing where a bunch of guys are hanging on it and I’m a Winston main in Overwatch so do I really need to look any further? I might also go with the one foot extension for the added height if my ceiling fan is wiling to part with the space.


Current Grow Light Pick: Grower’s Choice ROI E-680

View attachment 1111164

Reasoning: Kinda pricey, so that’s good. By all accounts this is a great fit for a 4x4 and reviews are stellar. It has a “balanced spectrum” which sounds like a pretty awesome marketing term, a dimmer nob, and that Master Lighting controller looks pretty great if I ever decide to go that route waaaay down the road when I know I’m really into this (adding overly expensive controller to cart, and… done).


Current Vent Fan & Filter Pick: AC Infinity Cloudline T6 and AC Infinity 6” Carbon Filter

View attachment 1111165

Reasoning: Expensive? Check. Quiet? Check. This one keeps coming up as one of the top on lists when noise level is a factor, and just seems like a great fan over all. Is a 6 inch fan with 402 CFM overkill for a 4x4 with ~106 cubic feet and 4 plants? I haven’t the slightest idea, please stop asking, but I will be looking into this a little more before making any purchases. I’m also not sure if I’m going to want an intake fan or if I can get away with a filtered intake vent. I need to look more into that too.

That’s about as far as I’ve made it on general equipment possibilities. I think I have a piece of paper around here with model numbers for small fans, some PH meters, a lab coat, pocket protector, a wig to give me crazy science hair and other things I both absolutely need and absolutely do not need at the same time. That list is a paradox and may have folded itself into some kind of quantum singularly. Or maybe its on my messy desk somewhere. I suppose I’ll focus more on the incidentals when I get the other stuff nailed down.


What do I plan to grow?

Two years ago I grew the most amazing Fatalli peppers, but I think I’m going to try my hand at some of dat dere marijuana you kids are always raving about. I hear it can help with pain and I'm hoping it can also help with regrets.

My most recent plan that I’ve all but trashed (current shelf life for my plans stands at 30 minutes to an hour) was to grow some Strawberry Cough alongside some BlackBerry Kush. I’m kind of a Sativa guy and keep running across Strawberry Cough during my personal research (read: manic youtubing) and well, it just sounds lovely and I’d like to give it a try. My best buddy that isn't a dog fell in love with some Blackberry Kush on our last trip to Telluride, CO and I figured growing that for him would be a pretty solid gesture to prove I’m a better friend to him than he is to me. I could use a win here.

That said, the internet has taught me that Indicas might be a little easier for a total beginner such as myself. Then the internet taught me that Blackberry Kush, though an Indica, is considered “difficult” and that Strawberry Cough is considered “easy,” and that maybe I need to take a bunch of other considerations into account before making these decisions. In short, the internet did what it normally does and left me increasingly confused and sad the longer I dared to stare into the abyss.


Grow Medium

I know you’re probably thinking I want to go hydro because it has a larger up front cost, but in this singular case you would be wrong. I plan to grow in organic soil because it’s the most interesting to me at the moment and because regardless of the facts, or “irregardless” for all of you poor, dumb, iliterate bastards out there, I could really make use of the extra smug-factor when I gift my friends with bud and home-made edibles. “Oh by the way, its organic in case that’s a thing that matters to you.” Doesn’t that sound great?! Incidentally, the idea of creating a happy pot of soil for a happy plant is rather endearing, even if the ending of the story will inevitably parallel Old Yeller.

Oh, I imagine I'll be growing from seeds too since I'm kind of own my own here.


Soil Mix?

Don’t be cute. You know I have no clue what I'm doing and that I’m not particularly good with math. I’m totally going to plagiarize something that a lot of internet people think is solid and go from there. I am doing my due diligence and learning what I can though.

Okay, that's where things currently stand. I have plenty of time to nail down decisions and figure out the rest as I have some extended vacations coming up in the next couple of months and probably won't actually be able to start the grow until pretty close to the actual legalized date. If the timing works out I hope to feel like a badass outlaw... if only for a fleeting moment. In the mean time I am ever so happy to accept any advice or mental health counseling you have to offer.

Peace!

Schwer

Right on dude. Lol

 

[Schwer]

damn! that's quite the difference. i've had good luck with vivosun's temp/hygrometer with the external sensor. matches up with my dehumidifier's readout as well as another hygrometer. might be that I just got lucky.

it also has the option to add two additional sensors if you want to check for hot spots or dead zones in the tent

That sounds like a nice setup, and its always nice when your equipment agrees! Fortunately I have enough sensors all over the place that I can ballpark it. That said, I will be ditching the GC sensor that's 15%+ above every other sensor.

 

[bejd2010]

This is the only thing that's made me laugh today! Thank you.

Ha Ha , That was awesome !!! Well played

 

[Schwer]

Ha Ha , That was awesome !!! Well played

Thank you, thank you. Please direct any casting opportunities to my agent... who is also me.

 

[Mothman]

Hi friends,

Now that home cultivation is legal in VA (come July 2021) I can start planning for my new favorite hobby. I mean okay, not gonna lie. I’ve been planning this for months but my wife didn’t want me to make any purchases until we knew for sure which way the wind was blowing, and now we do!

I’ll try to keep updating this thread as I go through planning, setup, deep existential crises, and of course the grow itself while adding as many details, photos and super deep thoughts as I can along the way. That should help me stay organized and maybe someday it can help another new grower get started … likely by learning from my horrible, horrible mistakes.

As I mentioned in my New-Member intro I’m currently in sponge-mode trying to learn everything I can in order to make my own bad decisions rather than rely on the charity of strangers and smart, attractive people such as yourselves. That said, I wouldn’t mind a push in a better direction if anyone sees me headed towards a cliff. You are my catchers in the rye, if you will. (Nice, now they’ll think I’m smart)

My Plan So Far: The 85,000 Foot View (that’s the cruising altitude record of an SR-71 Blackbird, btw, which is objectively the sexiest aircraft of all time)

Grow Space

I happen to have a spare room on the 2nd floor of my house that I plan to use as a growing space. I also happen to not have a guest room anymore. The house is on central air and I have a spare window unit I can toss up if temperature regulation ever becomes a problem. The only downside here is that the room is three flights of stairs from my garage where I’ll likely be mixing my soil, making teas, etc. I guess this could be considered a positive depending on how fat you think I am, but I suggest you keep your damn opinion to yourself.

Despite having an entire room to spare I still plan to use a tent. That seems like the better solution when it comes to clean up, keeping a clean space, light regulation, humidity, etc. Besides, the legal limit in VA will be four plants to a home and only two of those plants can be mature. All four of my plants will be on the same grow cycle, of course, but to comply with the law only two of my plants will be on a standard VA education and the other two will be forced to watch Rick and Morty during light hours. So which two will be immature? Look, I don’t want to start any fights here so please draw your own conclusions.


Current Tent Pick: Gorilla Grow Tent 4x4

View attachment 1111161

Reasoning: Okay this seems a little pricey and that will probably end up being a trend, but the reviews seem solid and we all know that every extra dollar spent is a direct measure of quality received and happiness banked. There’s also the stability, durability, uh… light-tightability, the marketing where a bunch of guys are hanging on it and I’m a Winston main in Overwatch so do I really need to look any further? I might also go with the one foot extension for the added height if my ceiling fan is wiling to part with the space.


Current Grow Light Pick: Grower’s Choice ROI E-680

View attachment 1111164

Reasoning: Kinda pricey, so that’s good. By all accounts this is a great fit for a 4x4 and reviews are stellar. It has a “balanced spectrum” which sounds like a pretty awesome marketing term, a dimmer nob, and that Master Lighting controller looks pretty great if I ever decide to go that route waaaay down the road when I know I’m really into this (adding overly expensive controller to cart, and… done).


Current Vent Fan & Filter Pick: AC Infinity Cloudline T6 and AC Infinity 6” Carbon Filter

View attachment 1111165

Reasoning: Expensive? Check. Quiet? Check. This one keeps coming up as one of the top on lists when noise level is a factor, and just seems like a great fan over all. Is a 6 inch fan with 402 CFM overkill for a 4x4 with ~106 cubic feet and 4 plants? I haven’t the slightest idea, please stop asking, but I will be looking into this a little more before making any purchases. I’m also not sure if I’m going to want an intake fan or if I can get away with a filtered intake vent. I need to look more into that too.

That’s about as far as I’ve made it on general equipment possibilities. I think I have a piece of paper around here with model numbers for small fans, some PH meters, a lab coat, pocket protector, a wig to give me crazy science hair and other things I both absolutely need and absolutely do not need at the same time. That list is a paradox and may have folded itself into some kind of quantum singularly. Or maybe its on my messy desk somewhere. I suppose I’ll focus more on the incidentals when I get the other stuff nailed down.


What do I plan to grow?

Two years ago I grew the most amazing Fatalli peppers, but I think I’m going to try my hand at some of dat dere marijuana you kids are always raving about. I hear it can help with pain and I'm hoping it can also help with regrets.

My most recent plan that I’ve all but trashed (current shelf life for my plans stands at 30 minutes to an hour) was to grow some Strawberry Cough alongside some BlackBerry Kush. I’m kind of a Sativa guy and keep running across Strawberry Cough during my personal research (read: manic youtubing) and well, it just sounds lovely and I’d like to give it a try. My best buddy that isn't a dog fell in love with some Blackberry Kush on our last trip to Telluride, CO and I figured growing that for him would be a pretty solid gesture to prove I’m a better friend to him than he is to me. I could use a win here.

That said, the internet has taught me that Indicas might be a little easier for a total beginner such as myself. Then the internet taught me that Blackberry Kush, though an Indica, is considered “difficult” and that Strawberry Cough is considered “easy,” and that maybe I need to take a bunch of other considerations into account before making these decisions. In short, the internet did what it normally does and left me increasingly confused and sad the longer I dared to stare into the abyss.


Grow Medium

I know you’re probably thinking I want to go hydro because it has a larger up front cost, but in this singular case you would be wrong. I plan to grow in organic soil because it’s the most interesting to me at the moment and because regardless of the facts, or “irregardless” for all of you poor, dumb, iliterate bastards out there, I could really make use of the extra smug-factor when I gift my friends with bud and home-made edibles. “Oh by the way, its organic in case that’s a thing that matters to you.” Doesn’t that sound great?! Incidentally, the idea of creating a happy pot of soil for a happy plant is rather endearing, even if the ending of the story will inevitably parallel Old Yeller.

Oh, I imagine I'll be growing from seeds too since I'm kind of own my own here.


Soil Mix?

Don’t be cute. You know I have no clue what I'm doing and that I’m not particularly good with math. I’m totally going to plagiarize something that a lot of internet people think is solid and go from there. I am doing my due diligence and learning what I can though.

Okay, that's where things currently stand. I have plenty of time to nail down decisions and figure out the rest as I have some extended vacations coming up in the next couple of months and probably won't actually be able to start the grow until pretty close to the actual legalized date. If the timing works out I hope to feel like a badass outlaw... if only for a fleeting moment. In the mean time I am ever so happy to accept any advice or mental health counseling you have to offer.

Peace!

Schwer

My Plan So Far: The 85,000 Foot View (that’s the cruising altitude record of an SR-71 Blackbird, btw, which is objectively the sexiest aircraft of all time)

You. Ain’t. Wrong. Bruh.

 

[Schwer]

Day 67 - ~3 weeks into Flower

I have to remind myself to make those headers every now and then because this is the only place I'm tracking everything. I'll be better about that next time and keep a notebook in my grow room.

Anyway, I watered first thing this morning and as expected the soil was less hydrophoic and the whole process went a lot smoother. All that Tetris work is really paying off too. I can easily water four of the plants from one position and the other two in the back are easy to reach from their perspective sides. Even doing the EWC top dress next week should be a breeze this time around.

I raised my lights by 10 clicks today because I'm still seeing evidence of light burn on the leaf tips. I thought the plants were done growing but the bastards may have been trying to sneak a few more inches on me.

I know burnt tips can be a sign of nute-burn but I'm still leaning towards light-burn because its only happening on the top leaves. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on it either way.

 

[Lilolme]

Day 67 - ~3 weeks into Flower

I have to remind myself to make those headers every now and then because this is the only place I'm tracking everything. I'll be better about that next time and keep a notebook in my grow room.

Anyway, I watered first thing this morning and as expected the soil was less hydrophoic and the whole process went a lot smoother. All that Tetris work is really paying off too. I can easily water four of the plants from one position and the other two in the back are easy to reach from their perspective sides. Even doing the EWC top dress next week should be a breeze this time around.

I raised my lights by 10 clicks today because I'm still seeing evidence of light burn on the leaf tips. I thought the plants were done growing but the bastards may have been trying to sneak a few more inches on me.

I know burnt tips can be a sign of nute-burn but I'm still leaning towards light-burn because its only happening on the top leaves. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on it either way.

View attachment 1162293

Did you back off of the nitrogen you should this is the time to and up the P and K, your decision to forego cal/mag hopefully won’t hinder things. A little tip burn is one thing but watch for the leaf tips to turn up or down I see them pointing ever so slightly, also called tip curl and a possible indication of nitrogen toxicity, not tryin to freak you out but watch em

 

[GalaxysEdge]

Day 67 - ~3 weeks into Flower

I have to remind myself to make those headers every now and then because this is the only place I'm tracking everything. I'll be better about that next time and keep a notebook in my grow room.

Anyway, I watered first thing this morning and as expected the soil was less hydrophoic and the whole process went a lot smoother. All that Tetris work is really paying off too. I can easily water four of the plants from one position and the other two in the back are easy to reach from their perspective sides. Even doing the EWC top dress next week should be a breeze this time around.

I raised my lights by 10 clicks today because I'm still seeing evidence of light burn on the leaf tips. I thought the plants were done growing but the bastards may have been trying to sneak a few more inches on me.

I know burnt tips can be a sign of nute-burn but I'm still leaning towards light-burn because its only happening on the top leaves. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on it either way.

View attachment 1162293

Its all over man. Ruined. Caput. Finito. Throw them all out. ;)

Looks amazing as always my friend! Love learning from your updates!

 

[Schwer]

Did you back off of the nitrogen you should this is the time to and up the P and K, your decision to forego cal/mag hopefully won’t hinder things. A little tip burn is one thing but watch for the leaf tips to turn up or down I see them pointing ever so slightly, also called tip curl and a possible indication of nitrogen toxicity, not tryin to freak you out but watch em

I have pretty just followed this Stoneington feed chart to the letter, although with reduced amounts for the Fish Bone Meal and the Stoneington's Plant Food because I'm in 3 gal pots rather than 5.

Regarding the cal/mag, the only reason I didn't find an organic calcium source to go with my mag sulfate is because right at the time we were discussing it I was adding the first top dressing of Fish Bone Meal which is also a calcium source. I'm doing that at the start of weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7 per the guide at ~1/5-1/6 cup per pot. I didn't want to overdo it on the cal by adding it to the water at the same time when I still wasn't actually seeing evidence of a cal deficiency. The FBM does include nitrogen though, so all of these horrible things you've mentioned are still a possibility.

 

[Schwer]

Its all over man. Ruined. Caput. Finito. Throw them all out. ;)

Gasoline and match at the ready...