StickyGreens
- 14
- 3
Hello, fellow growers. Sorry I’m advance for the long post. I’m new to cannabis cultivation having one grow under my belt to date since Virginia fully legalized it last July 1st. I learned a lot during the process including some things I definitely won’t repeat this time. The most obvious being how I start my seeds. So for my first grow I germinated the seeds in little peat pots and transferred them to 7 gallon pots. I put the seeds right into the soil about ¼” deep, moistened it and covered it with clear wrap. The pots were then placed in a bay window and after about 2 days, pop, the first one came up. The second and third came up on day 3 and 4. The last one, that I thought was a dud, finally decided to come up a full 7 days after planting. This method was suggested by a friend who discovered has been growing for at least 10 years. Just think you know somebody right? The germination was fine. The mistake came in when it was time to transfer my girls to the 7 gallon pots that would be their homes. I read somewhere that I could place the seedling, peat pots and all, into the larger pots. I didn’t find out until harvest that this was a big mistake that probably cost me in yield and quality. Yes I was able to grow them to harvest but they never looked like they were thriving. Turns out the roots never penetrated the sides of the little starter peat pots. I did get little tap roots out the bottom but I was not impressed with them.
Now for a little more background on the grow. We’re allowed 4 plants per household in VA so I went for it. I got the seeds from the friend I mentioned above. I had 2 White Widows and 2 Deelites, both autoflowers. I started germinating July 3. This was an outdoor grow except for the couple weeks I kept them in the house. I harvested October 6 and got about an ounce wet per plant. That’s pretty good considering how I stunted them. A couple other mistakes; I totally missed feeding during the veg stage altogether because they were so small I was afraid of burning them. Before I knew it pistols were forming. I did sparingly feed them Neptune’s Harvest 2-3-1 as suggested by my buddy all the way up until I started flushing them. Like I said, after knowing a little more about the process I’m amazed that I got what I did. It does speak to the resilience of these plants that my ham-fisted first attempt didn’t kill them all.
For the next grow, also outdoors, I’ll be trying my hand at three strains. Again they’re all autos. I purchased the seeds from Homegrown Cannabis Co. I forgot to mention that the batch from my buddy came from ILGM. The strains are Blueberry Gusto (indica), Pineapple (sativa) and I got a couple free Deelites with the order. I figure I’ll plant one of these since I have some familiarity with growing that strain from my first grow. I plan to start toward the middle to end of March this time to try and squeeze in 2 grows this year. I’ve purchased a small greenhouse so that I can keep them out of the weather when needed and maybe help with pests and humidity. I threw a couple big buds away the last grow because the trichomes were full of tiny bugs. As I said before I live in VA, more specifically the Shenandoah Valley. The weather could be anywhere from temperate to down right subtropical.
All that being said (sorry if I’m rambling) I’m hoping to maximize my yield and quality for my location. Any and all ideas, suggestions, tips and advice are welcome and appreciated. Anybody here live in the same zone? I have a bag of Fox Farm Ocean Forest that I bought last year. It’s dated 6/21. Is it still viable as far as nutes or should I assume I’ll need to start feeding after the first week or two? Is the Fox Farm trio of fertilizers good for autos? These are just a few of the questions I have. Thanks again for reading if you made it this far. I’m looking forward to the responses.
Now for a little more background on the grow. We’re allowed 4 plants per household in VA so I went for it. I got the seeds from the friend I mentioned above. I had 2 White Widows and 2 Deelites, both autoflowers. I started germinating July 3. This was an outdoor grow except for the couple weeks I kept them in the house. I harvested October 6 and got about an ounce wet per plant. That’s pretty good considering how I stunted them. A couple other mistakes; I totally missed feeding during the veg stage altogether because they were so small I was afraid of burning them. Before I knew it pistols were forming. I did sparingly feed them Neptune’s Harvest 2-3-1 as suggested by my buddy all the way up until I started flushing them. Like I said, after knowing a little more about the process I’m amazed that I got what I did. It does speak to the resilience of these plants that my ham-fisted first attempt didn’t kill them all.
For the next grow, also outdoors, I’ll be trying my hand at three strains. Again they’re all autos. I purchased the seeds from Homegrown Cannabis Co. I forgot to mention that the batch from my buddy came from ILGM. The strains are Blueberry Gusto (indica), Pineapple (sativa) and I got a couple free Deelites with the order. I figure I’ll plant one of these since I have some familiarity with growing that strain from my first grow. I plan to start toward the middle to end of March this time to try and squeeze in 2 grows this year. I’ve purchased a small greenhouse so that I can keep them out of the weather when needed and maybe help with pests and humidity. I threw a couple big buds away the last grow because the trichomes were full of tiny bugs. As I said before I live in VA, more specifically the Shenandoah Valley. The weather could be anywhere from temperate to down right subtropical.
All that being said (sorry if I’m rambling) I’m hoping to maximize my yield and quality for my location. Any and all ideas, suggestions, tips and advice are welcome and appreciated. Anybody here live in the same zone? I have a bag of Fox Farm Ocean Forest that I bought last year. It’s dated 6/21. Is it still viable as far as nutes or should I assume I’ll need to start feeding after the first week or two? Is the Fox Farm trio of fertilizers good for autos? These are just a few of the questions I have. Thanks again for reading if you made it this far. I’m looking forward to the responses.