Budhownd's Amazon Grow

[budhownd]

Hey gang.
Bud Tha Hownd is around with my very first grow ever.

This is the first time I'm posting pics so if it doesn't work, bear with me til I can get it right, huh?

Um, ok specifics about my lil amazons.

I planted about 17 seeds I germed from bagseed. So far, 7 of them have broken through the soil and are growing in 16 oz beer cups (ya know those, red/blue/clear plastic cups that ya drink beer from at house parties and concerts), I've lost maybe four or five, and I have 3 more seedlings that popped thru the soil just today after I used the soak/paper towel method of germinating them. The cups have holes drilled in them so that excess water drains thru and I have them sitting in another "catcher" cup with no holes.

I have a mix of plain unferted soil, perlite, bone meal(and blood meal in the three newest cups) and tap water. That's it. They were placed under a 400w HPS light on 7/24. The next morning I found them wilted and not doing well at all. So, I took them out from under the lights for the day, then placed them back under the lights that Monday night. They've been there ever since and seemed to be doing ok until I checked on them today and found one of the first set of leaves curled under on one plant. The rest seem ok.

Does that signal some sort of deficiency? Or overwatering? Light or heat problem?
I have two fans going right now until I can get more. I've figured out a way to get rid of some of the exhaust, but lack of funds prevents me from implementing the plan right now. The room stays between 80 & 91 degrees ( I know, I know.. too hot ) and the humidity stays between 40 and 50 %.

I think it may be time to raise them a bit because the stems appear to be a lil stretched, but I'm not sure since they are only a few weeks old.

Also, the second set of leaves on my tallest amazon appear to be lighter in color than the first set of leaves.

I'm gonna upload pics into the gallery cuz I dunno how to put them into the body of the text to illustrate the prollems I'm havin. Everyone, feel free to take a gander at em and shoot me any kind helpful hints you may have. Thanks in advance. Bud .

 

[littlesamsonite]

They are looking alright, don't start freaking out and changing stuff with every bump in the road. One of the biggest problems new growers have is themselves they try to fix to much just let it grow.
That heat might be a problem so as soon as you do have the funds you should fix that. Another thing that is concerning me is the bone/blood meal, at this point in their lives I don't think they need it.
I don't know how a 7/24 light cycle would work so I will just assume that is the same as 24/7

Good luck with the grow I will be watching this one

 

[budhownd]

My Bad

My Bad

Thanks littlesamsonite.

They look ok?? *whew* That's good to know.

Sorry for the misleading post.

The plants are under lights for 24/7. No dark period. I've seen posts where some folks go 18/6, but 24/7 is more convenient for me since I have to buy a 3 prong adapter for my light timer AND I have to figger out how tha dumb thing works.

They have been under those lights since, 7/24 or July 24th. So, they have been under lights for about 10 days.

I posted pics of my tallest, fastest growing plant as well as the curled leaf plant. I think my tallest is stretching a lil bit. Not sure, tho.

There isn't too much bone & blood meal in the soil. In fact the only plants with the blood and bone meal are the ones that have just popped from the shell. I dont have pics of them yet. I wanted to see how it would affect their growth compared to the ones with just bone meal. They were just seeds with taps roots 3 days ago. They now have pushed their way out of the soil.
I didn't find out until a couple days ago that bone and blood meal are considered to be ferts. They seem to be ok for the moment.

I'm figgering at least another week and a half before I even think about ferts.

K++ to all. Have a great night!

Bud Tha Hownd
Amazon Toker ... and noobie GROWER!!

 

[budhownd]

Update on the Lil Amazons

Update on the Lil Amazons

Well, the gals (I hope) are now 35 days old from the start of germ. and they are lookin good. Better than I expected at this point anyway.


I've made all sorts of newbie mistakes and yet, they are still here with me. I am here to attest to the fact that MJ is a very hardy plant.

I underestimated when they would need ferts and nutes. This resulted in a nasty case of N deficiency. Leaves turned yellow and they had some curling. They seem to have bounced back tho.

They've been transplanted once from their beer cups and I'm still trying to get a feeding schedule down. They don't seem to like to go an entire week between feedings.
I'm using Fox Farm's Grow Big along with a real watered down Super Thrive solution for their veg cycle and Fox Farm Big Bloom for flowering. The superthrive solution is used mainly as a foliar spray between feedings.


Their first feeding was last Friday ( 8/12/05) and by Thursday afternoon they looked hungry and grumpy, so I fed them last night. Even tho they were hungry at their first feeding I didn't weanna overdo it so I used slightly less than what is recommended on the bottle then I uped it a lil bit for the second feeding.
This morning I looked in on them and they'd all perked up nicely and looked to have added an inch or so in height. All of them. I'm still amazed by the rate of growth. I can go to work and come home to find very noticable new growth. The fan leaves are getting wider and fatter and the new growth at the top of the plant is vigorous. If there are new leaves that are still closed up in the morning, by that night they are open and fanned out soaking up the light. Those funny little growths I saw on the stems at the juncture of every node turned out to be new leaf sites! And they are popping up all over the plants.

The only concern that I really have right now is the dark red/purple coloring on the stems of a couple of the plants. Not the main stem but a few of the leaf stems have it. It isn't too deep a color but it's enuff to make me wonder if it isn't some kind of nute deficiency. My first instinct is to 'do something' but for now I'll let them go and see what they tell me. Especially since I caint pinpoint what it is and I can't get a good enuff pic to post so that someone can possibly give an opinion.



I've posted some pics of the girls in my gallery. If you see anything that can be improved, let a sistah know. Thanks in advance.

Ya'll take care and be peace.

Bud tha Hownd

 

[Guest]

Hello sistah...how about a few tips from a fellow sistah? :wink:

I took a peek at your gallery. Can you tell me how big those pots are? I can't get a grip on how deep they are from the pics. They look like they'll be needing a repotting in a week or so. They're quite small for their age, but look healthy enough to me :smile: How long were you planning on vegging before putting them in flower?

The purple on the stems has two explanations. Some strains develop this coloration naturally, Blueberry for one. Part of their genetic make-up. That's the first explanation. The second is a nitrogen deficiency, which will cause the stems to purple. If let go without giving a nitrogen supplement, the leaves will eventually yellow and fall off.

Can you tell me what the NPK reading is on the label of your nutes? During veg they should be getting nitrogen rich nutes, meaning the N reading on your label should be the highest of the three numbers. If its not, you're probably needing a mild nitrogen supplement. Considering the fact you've been feeding her regularly, I tend to think its more a question of the plant's genetics rather than any kind of deficiency. But check your label, ok? Then we can take it from there :smile:

Edit: Just saw you say they're recovering from an N deficiency....the purple could be left over from that. Still be good to know what the reading on that Fox Farm Grow stuff is :wink: With the regular feedings the plant's been having I find it strange she had a nitrogen deficiency Also, careful with the nutes....too much is not a good thing...

What kind of pH levels are you running?

 

[budhownd]

Hello sistah...how about a few tips from a fellow sistah? :wink:

I took a peek at your gallery. Can you tell me how big those pots are? I can't get a grip on how deep they are from the pics. They look like they'll be needing a repotting in a week or so. They're quite small for their age, but look healthy enough to me :smile: How long were you planning on vegging before putting them in flower?

The purple on the stems has two explanations. Some strains develop this coloration naturally, Blueberry for one. Part of their genetic make-up. That's the first explanation. The second is a nitrogen deficiency, which will cause the stems to purple. If let go without giving a nitrogen supplement, the leaves will eventually yellow and fall off.

Can you tell me what the NPK reading is on the label of your nutes? During veg they should be getting nitrogen rich nutes, meaning the N reading on your label should be the highest of the three numbers. If its not, you're probably needing a mild nitrogen supplement. Considering the fact you've been feeding her regularly, I tend to think its more a question of the plant's genetics rather than any kind of deficiency. But check your label, ok? Then we can take it from there :smile:

Edit: Just saw you say they're recovering from an N deficiency....the purple could be left over from that. Still be good to know what the reading on that Fox Farm Grow stuff is :wink: With the regular feedings the plant's been having I find it strange she had a nitrogen deficiency Also, careful with the nutes....too much is not a good thing...

What kind of pH levels are you running?

Hi Indigo. I'm not feminised either. LoL.


Thanks for the help and the interest in my lil ones.

Let's see.

The pots are 6 in. pots from Home Depot. That's my newbie mistake # 2: Undertestimating how big their pots should be.

I started them out in regular 16 0z. plastic cups. The depth of which is about 6 inches. Unfortunately, that's the same depth of their new pots. The tag on the bottom of the pot says 6 inches. I assume that's the depth. So, their new homes are not any deeper then their old ones. The new pots are wider than the cups however. So, I tried to put them as far up toward the top of the pot as I could so they would have a little grow room.

I think the pots have something to do with their size ( I didn't know they were too small for their age) cuz they don't have any real room to stretch their roots.
I went out today and got some bigger pots. The sticker on the pots says they are 12 1/4 inches and they hold 17 quarts of soil which means that they are about 4 gallons if 4 quarts make one gallon. Please correct me if I'm wrong math isn't my strong suit. LoL.


I have no idea how long to veg them. I've read that a longer veg cycle makes a better yield or potency or something. I'm really not interested in all that this first time out. I just want to keep them alive and healthy from veg to harvest (if any of them are female).

I spose I'll let them get at least 12 inches tall before I think about flowering them ( right now the tallest is 9 in. the shortest is 6 in.). I want to make sure they are healthy, with no fert or nute problems, before going into flower. So, until I'm satisfied with that they'll stay veggin.
Since they are bagseed I don't really know if they are indica, sativa, or a hybrid. So, I dunno if they are gonna be tall and lanky or short and bushy. Although, one plant is really, really, bushy. Kinda squat, with alot more foliage than the rest. She's the only one like that. The rest of them are slimmer and more uniform in their appearance.


I've read about the purple stems and N deficiency. The Fox Farm Grow Big is 6-4-4. I've only used it twice and they perk up really nicely when I feed them. I don't wanna overdo it, but maybe they aren't gettng enuff N. For some reason I thought the Grow Big was 12-7-7. Hmmm...

Maybe that and their cramped quarters are the reasons for the purpling. The bottle recommends one tsp/gallon but I only used 3/4 tsp. for the first feeding because the water container is only 3.54 quarts. The second feeding I uped it to a full tsp. They seem to be doing fine. I have a little bit of clawing on on plant and a couple have yellow/green leaves. The yellow leaves are older leaves that turned that way, I guess, because I didn't realize that I needed to start feeding them. They never fell off and never recovered their green color, but they didn't die all the way either.
I just remembered that one plant did have nice green leaves and the very tips, just the points, of one of the leaves were yellow. I fed her a second time with the full tsp. of Grow Big in the 3.54 quarts of water and the yellow tips disappeared.


I've spotted some purpling on three of the five now, mostly on leaf stems but one has it along the main stalk and another has it very faintly in one really thin strip along the main stem.

Other than the purple color, they seem ok. There are new fan leaves on the top of all the plants and they keep sprouting more every other day or so. Plus, there are the new leaves growing at all of the nodes. The leaves are alos gettng bigger. They stated out sort of small but now all the plants have fan leaves that are as big as my palm. At first, I thought they were wilted but I took a closer look and realized they are bigger, heavier leaves.

I've read about using hydrogen peroxide to help aerate the soil and help the roots uptake more nutrients, but I don't wanna try it until I read a lil more about it and the effects it can have. I don't wanna do anything to burn then especially since there are now ferts in the soil.


I bought a Rapitest pH meter from Home Depot and everytime I stick it in the soil it initially goes all the way over to the 9 on the alkaline side, then slowly dips back over to the acidic side of the meter. It usually stops just a hair to the right of the 7. Even still, I'm thinking my pH may be a lil too high for them. I have some pH down concentrate that I'm planning on using during their next watering. which will probably be tomorrow night or Monday morning.
I'm using tap water right now that I let sit no less that 24 hours before I use it. The reading on the water right is right at 7. Whether it's straight from the tap or it's been sitting. I thought this was kind of weird, but I guess the water is just pH balanced since there aren't any kind of deposits built up on any of the faucets in the house.

Hmm..... I guess I should be testing the water when it has ferts and nutes in it too, huh? Ok, chalk that up to newbie mistake # 4. But don't ferts and/or nutes make the pH go down more than up?? *sigh*


Damn, I wrote a book, huh? I try to give all tha facts about the gals that I can, so that anyone with advice can have as many of the facts as possible. I've read alot of posts here and on other grow sites and while the grow gurus are all willing to give advice to us newbie blockheads, I always see one recurring theme... not enuff info. So, I'm piling all the info I can pull from my gray matter into this post.

Oh yea, one last thing. I know that, during flower, weed has a wide range of odors. However, I thought that you could only smell the odors DURING FLOWER. Everytime I open the closet door a pleasant, heavy, kind of musky green plant odor fills my nostrils. I know it's the plants because I can smell it when I put my face close to them ( I kiss them often. No, I'm not a plantophile!!) . The smelliest one is the lil short bushy plant. A couple of the others smell almost as strong as her and the other two have it faintly but I have to really inhale good to get a whiff. Is that just MJ doin her thing or are they respirating this smelly odor to let me know they need a plant tic tac or something???

Well, Indigo, that's the info on my grow so far. If ya need more info just let me know and I'll get it for ya. It's great to find another woman grower. I know there's a thread just for the ladies on this site, but what little exploring I did over there turned up posts about husbands and boyfriends and kids and recipies. Subjects that I don't have enuff knowledge, experience, or interest in to converse about. So, thanks for helpin a sistah out with whatever knowledge you feel like imparting.

Erybody take care, have a safe weekend, and just keep toking.. just keep toking... just keep tokingggg. << Dori's song from Finding Nemo. OK OK she didn't say toking but it sounds dumb to say 'just keep swimming', since I know folks aren't reading this post underwater


peace ya'll

Bud tha Hownd

 

[Guest]

Mornin' sistah...glad to hear you ain't feminized either

You have given me all the information I need to give you a hand so here we go.

First off, you might want to know your bagseed is an indica dom hybrid (you can tell from leaves and plant structure, indicas are usually short and squat with wider fingered leaves). The plant you say is different from the others, from the descirption, is a heavier indica pheno. They will not get very tall, most indicas don't, and they're smaller than normal a bit because they're stunted, and a bit because they don't seem to be mad stretchers...so that's good. Sativas and some sativa dom hybrids can get very large. Dealing with techniques for space issues is yet another chapter LOL

Every single problem you are having with your plants right now, including the fact that they're smaller than normal (though the bit of abuse they've had may have contributed :wink, is the size of the pots. They've gotten root bound, and have probably been root bound most of the time since they were very young. Those cups work well, but they fill up quick and you really need to be careful about transplanting when the plants need it, otherwise stunting is the result, especially if they get root bound when they're young.

You need to repot those babies now Bud, the pots are far too small. The plants use up the nutrients inside the soil very quickly because cannabis develops (and needs to be able to develop) quite a large root system. There'll be more roots than soil in there pretty soon and your plant will be needing constant feedings to compensate, very tricky for a new grower to correctly dial in. This is why your stems purple and your leaves yellow. Cannabis roots tend to grow downwards, so the taller the pots the better.

The amount of plant matter you see above the pots is about equal the amount of roots going on inside the pots. That is a good way to tell when they need re-potting. Just picture the plant upside down in the pot, if you feel it'd fill the pot, then chances are that the roots have done so and the plant needs more room and fresh soil.
Four quarts equal a gallon, you're correct...and you can transplant your babies into that pot and use it all the way through flower. Once you transplant, which should be now, back off on the nutes for a week or so. You'll see that your plants won't be needing them as they'll find all the nutes they need in the new soil. They should also take off growing with room for the roots to stretch, they'll be happy as hell :smile: So, repot, new soil, well aerated (perlite) no nutes, and IMO it wouldn't do them harm to have a shot of epsom salts too, very mild solution, 1/4tsp of Epsom to a gallon of water, melt the crystals in a bit of hot water, added to the water of the first watering.

Your Fox Farm nutes are fine for veg with 6-4-4. After repotting wait a week and then give them a shot at half strength. You want your plants to get to flower with sufficient nitrogen. Theywill feed on what they have stored in the leaves during flower, and the plant won't be receiving extra nitrogen from the nutes (which in flower should be P-K rich). If you give them too much nitrogen, they'll take too long to flower, if they don't get enough, most of the leaves will yellow and fall off in late flower and the plant may not perfrom to its best in bud production. Your last feeding of veg nutes to your plants should be within the first 10 days of switching 12/12, and should be mild, half strength or less depending on how often you've fed them. Knowing this, and knowing that your plants in new pots won't be needing such frequent feedings, you can more or less figure a feeding schedule for them :smile: I grow organic, and to me as far as nutes go, less is more...but I find myself feeding my plants roughly once every 10 days depending on strain, etc.

Claw is a sign of overfert...when you see it, flush your plants very well with pure pH corrected tapwater (very well means water equal to three times the volume of your pots) and don't feed for at least a week if not more.

You seem to be very conscious of your limits and thats good Too many people decide to experiment left and right before knowing how to grow correctly and make the most incredible messes. Leave the hydrogen peroxide for later :wink: I've been growing 5 years and I'd be pretty nervous about using it correctly myself :wink:

Ferts will lower the pH of water, which must always be checked after adding the nutes in. Be a good idea if you checked the pH of your runoff water, just stick the pen in the excess water coming out the bottom of the pots for your reading, right after watering. Your pH of 7 is a bit high, cannabis enjoys anything from 5.8 - 6.5/6.7. But check your runoff before adjusting pH. If you have acidic soil, your watering with a 7.0 water may be just fine, depends on the values of the runoff :wink:

Flowering - I always wait until my plants are sexually mature before putting into flower, meaning they present preflowers and alternate branching. Usually happens anywhere between 20 days and 40 days veg, depending on strain. You can flower at any time, but if you flower before you'll compromise yeild and size of buds. If that's not an issue for you this time round its no problem at all to flower when you wish.

You won't believe how some strains can kick up in veg. I've had some strains that have smelled stronger in veg than in flower. Some strains require very good odor control, and you need to keep an eye on those details when you do decide to grow out some "boutique" genetics. Some strains hardly smell at all, others will infest entire buildings...careful with the odor control :smile:

The ladies forum is mostly a place where the girls show their wares and generally talk about women's issues, sort of a place in this male dominated growers scene to get together and be girls . As far as growing goes, the lady growers on these boards get their info from the other forums :wink: At least I do. Major props to you for having undertaken this adventure on your own. Most ladies are introduced to growing through somebody else, boyfriend, husband, brother, etc. I also am "self-made", did and learned it all on my own, and damn proud!

Think I've answered everything...anything I missed give me a yell...in any case all you're basically needing is a good repotting to a proper pot and a minimum of Cannabis Basics 101 to follow through

ooh yeah, the pics...when you press the "Post Reply" button (not "Quick Reply"), you should see the thumbnails in your gallery directly under the window of the post you're writing. Just click on the thumbnail you want to insert in the post and it'll appear in the post as vB code, when you click submit the pic will become visible :

 

[Guest]

Forgot an item :smile:

After you repot your plants to the 4 gallons pots, you're going to have to keep an eye on your watering. I usually use an intermediate pot (2.5 gallons)before putting them in flower in 4 gallons.
Your plants will be small and your pots will be large. You need to make sure the soil dries out before watering. Best way to judge when the plants need water is to feel the weight of the pot.

When you've repotted, before watering, lift your pot up and get a feel of the weight. Then do it again after you've watered. You'll get a grip on how the pot feels when your plants need water this way, so use the lift method to judge...if the pot feels light, they're ready for watering, if it feels a bit heavy, wait a day and check again :wink:

You go girl!

Edit: I think the lady's forum moderator Ms. Grat3ful got a look at this thread, and decided to do something about getting some serious grow discussions going in the Women's Forum :smile: Here's a link to the thread she started, and I've linked from there to here so the new lady growers stopping in there can access threads like this and hopefully get some questions answered :smile:

 

[budhownd]

WHEW Finally Done

WHEW Finally Done

Hey Indigo.

I finally got the lil ones into their new homes. Damn those pots are heavy. LoL.

I've watered them well and have flushed the ones that had a lil bit of clawing. No ferts or nutes. I did add a lil bit of pH down to the water and they all have a pH between 6.5 and 6.9. None of them are 7 anymore. Hopefully that helps them out a bit.

I'm trying to do as much of an organic grow as I can. The Fox Farm Grow Big is listed as mostly organic and my flower fert ( FF Big Bloom) is 100% organic. Nuffin but worm castings and guano and some other stuff. The soil I'm using is plain unferted, nuffin added, potting soil. So any ferts and nutes they get have to come from me not the soil. I mixed in some perlite, blood meal, bone meal, and some saphgum ( sp?) peat moss.

Um, just how important is it that I have no light leaks? I do open the door to check on them and to ventilate the closet a bit. It gets a lil hot in there in spite of the oscillating fan and another smaller fan and I like to let em breeve a bit.
I read that light leaks can cause hermies. I don't wanna cause that but, I dont have the space to put any kind of exhaust system in there and although I'm in a house, I'm renting so I can't do any kind of cutting into walls or doors to make vent holes.

I would have no idea what pre flowers look like even if I saw them on the plant, so how would I know if they are sexually mature? Just go by the amout of time they've been in veg? I'm kinda nervous about letting them veg any longer than a couple more weeks cuz I won't have room for bigger pots if they need it.
I've seen all sorts of pics and stuff about what male and female plants should look like but pics are way different than seeing it in real life. Especially if you've never seen what you are supposed to be looking for.

Aiight, lemme get outta hea. I start classes at tha local community college tomorrow and I have to be up for work at 4:30 am. Geez, I'm gonna be tired by the time class starts. LoL.

I'll check in and let ya know how the lil amazons are doing tomorrow and add anything pertinent that I can think of.

YAY for us, bein self made wimmin growers! :friends:

Have a great day, Indigo. I'll holla at ya lata.

peace
Bud

 

[Guest]

Heya Bud, damn girl, you're burning the candle at both ends!

Yeah, I know the pots get heavy, especially after you water them

Good deal on the repotting and the pH...give 'em time a week and those babies will be growing their little hearts out, mark my words!

As far as your soil goes...soil, even if it isn't preferted, contains an incredible amount of neat stuff that your plants can and will use, so don't feel like you're starving them right now. You're not. The fact they were rootbound is what made them look so hungry to you all the time...they didn't have anything else to feed on in the soil and had to feed on what they had stored. You won't have to be giving them nutes so often from here on in. No nutes for at least 10 days....especially if you mixed blood and bone meal in with the soil. Blood is a potent source of nitrogen for them, bone contains micro-elements such as calcium, magnesium, carbon, etc.

Light leaks...now this could get tricky and we need to be imaginative :wink:

First off, you don't have to worry about keeping your closet sealed when the HPS is on. Lord knows there's enough light blasting in there that if anything, light leaks out and not in LOL! What you have to worry about is that your closet is well sealed and there are no light leaks when the light is off. Meaning that...if you have to keep temps down during the day, you can leave your closet doors ajar with no worries for your plants, but at night it must be closed, otherwise hermies are a serious probability. Since you are giving them light 24/7 in veg, this is not an issue. When you put them in flower though, you'll need to be sure to close the doors when the light goes off, and leave them closed until the light goes back on. You're going to have to figure out the best lights on and lights off times on the basis of your necessities. You need to be there when your lights come on to open the closet doors for air circulation, and be there to close them when the lights go off.

Is the house rented furnished? Meaning the closet isn't yours? Let me know so we can eventually discuss some ghetto venting alternatives :wink:

You don't have to wait until they're sexually mature to flower them....but most people do. Its very easy to pick out preflowers...its harder to be 100% sure of sex judging by preflowers...but we can get into that further on.

I had to borrow the pics below from 1tokeOverLine (thank you, its for a good cause!) to illustrate the preflowers...they are not mine :wink:

Preflowers form at the nodes, where you've just noticed those little new shoots growing along the stem. The preflowers will form between the shoots and the main stalk.

That's what they look like... for the record the top pic is almost certainly a male preflower, and the pic below is a 100% female preflower (note the pistils coming out of it, its on the left side of the stalk :wink. Preflowers start out looking like tiny cones poking out from the node, then as they mature they either become shaped like little balls (male preflowers) or they spit two white hairs out of the cone (female preflowers).
Believe me, your plants will not fill those pots enough to need yet another repotting...if they had been sativa dom and not stunted they could easily do so, but in this case I seriously doubt its going to happen. In any case, you can flower them whenever your little heart desires . Be a good idea like you said to give them some time to recover, they need to go into flower in the best possible conditions

Think we've about covered it... be checking back to see if ya need anything or if you have more questions :smile:

Hope you have a nice day...and get some rest for pete's sake!

 

[Guest]

Great thread

Great thread

Come on now, the guys all pitch in to help!

Your response to a thread will vary on where you post it, and normally we all post in our growing medium specific forums. Mine got buried in the design and equipment forums, because I started with a ghetto DIY thread for those of us that are on tight budgets, and just grew from that idea.

It should be in the Indoors - Soil forum.

Great pointers and help from Indigo! You go girls! If you get a chance to pop into chat some time give Jenna or nattynattygirl a shout - there are some female growers around doing a better job than some guys, IMO!

If I could be so bold as to offer a personal observation on the pot sizes we choose. I did a side by side comparison with "beer cups" and a large flower bed tub (25 gal), and sadly the beer cup sprouts suffered greatly. The strain that you grow will usually dictate the sizes for you, and I've observed that every time you transplant the poor plant has to take time off to recover from the ordeal. For my sativas this can be a considerable amount of added time waiting for those babies to finish, sometimes a month longer (I figure it takes a plant about a week or two to recover and return to the task of producing bud) after each transplant. For more views on this subject check out some of BOGs' threads and his observations and reasoning to use flower beds instead of pots. I consider my pots to be beds, they are 25 gal tubs. Once we have a healthy plant or two going in a big tub we never have to stress them with constant repotting. But, IMHO, the strain will or won't need the bigger pots depending on how the rootballs form - some strains need to get a little root bound, then transplanted to get that growth shoot that Indiga referred to.

This is just FYI - the more knowledge you have the easier it is to decide on a technique. Everyone has their own preferences and we use what works best for us.

Ok - that takes care of the pot thoughts, the other item I noticed is references to the NPK of a nute package. Those are manufacturers' claims and are merely percentages that they gaurantee of total package analysis. Most time we don't have to worry about them, the plants will tell us if somethings too strong (painful way to learn, but we all do it). To get the true ppm of those misleading labels if you need to know, check out http://www.overgrow.com/growfaq/59 but suffice it to say that we need to know the ppm and not the gauranteed molecular analysis. To do this, for N (Nitrogen) the molecular content converts to basically 1-1. For instance, I use a bloom nute of 10-52-10, or 10 ppm of N. The next element P (Phosphorus) converts at .4 - 1, or 20.8! (Far cry from 52!). And on to the last element K (Potassium) which converts at .8 - 1 or 8. So for a nute that says it has 10-52-10 it actually has 10-20.8-8 ppm of molecular content. Hopefully this will avert a catostrophy down the road, know what you are feeding your babies!

Jeez, I'm turning into a regular motor-mouth!

You're doing great and your babies love you for it. Looking forward to the smoke reports!

(Remember - when God created Man, She was only kidding!)

Great thread and great information Indigo! Where were you when I was a nOOb!

Oh - and all of this really isn't necessary to know (just adds to newbie confusion) until you get comfortable with your talents and tackle some of those boutique strains Indigo mentioned! Now THOSE growers get technical!

See ya in chat!
Here's some Neville's to try when yer ready! (5 weeks into flower-11 weeks old)

 

[Guest]

Hey 1toke, thanks for dropping by and for your input...as well as the pics :smile:

Where were you when I was a nOOb!

From the knowledge showing through in your post, when you were a noob, I probably didn't even know a plant could be grown indoors in a closet, :wink:

The grow-bed thing is interesting, but if you're limited to growing in a closet its not an option, unless you have no problems with having only one or two plants, one or two strains, and using female seeds to guarantee females. You can't get more than one 25 gallon tub into a closet :wink: I also am a bit too narrow minded to endorse growing more than one plant per pot...goes against everything I was ever taught, and though I've seen it done with success, they're usually grows of micro plants which are put into flower early and are never allowed to reach the size they would normally reach allowed to veg until sexually mature. Must be an excellent system for a perpetual harvest...but I don't like it My own plants never take more than a couple of days to recover from repotting But then again they're always repotted in veg...repotting in flower as you stated can and will prolong your flower period.

As far as your nute explanation goes, I made a mental note to consult with you on nutes for my next grow

Major props to you 1toke, sativas are not the easiest plants to grow indoors in soil...they take such a long time it takes a skilled gardener to keep them healthy. I've grown out more than one landrace myself and know what a challenge it can be!

This is just FYI - the more knowledge you have the easier it is to decide on a technique. Everyone has their own preferences and we use what works best for us.

And those are sainted words! Budhownd, you're going to see that many people have many ways of doing the same thing... especially those who grow in soil. Soil allows more room for developing a personal style. People read up and gather info on the boards and then elaborate it to fit their own gardens, situations and necessities. In soil growing there are a few things carved in stone, the rest is free for improvisation :smile: Hydro growing is alot different, much more technical, you have little leeway for mistakes and things have set values. I much prefer soil growing and soil grown weed

Have a nice day!

 

[Guest]

Hey Budhownd! Looks like you have got yourself some A+ help 'round here...

Just for comparison, thought I'd show a pic of what ya don't want... a MALE!... this is probably a little futher along than when you want to catch them.. This one is being flowered on purpose...
MALE MALE

MALE

Good Luck and I can't wait to see your results!!

Ms.G

oh and... we always transplant right before they go into flower.... Never really asked why, just though that is the way it was suppose to be..

 

[Guest]

That's quite a stud ya got there Ms G...has more balls than most men I know, that's fer damn sure LMAO!

we always transplant right before they go into flower.... Never really asked why, just though that is the way it was suppose to be..

exactly Ms. G, that's the way its supposed to be :smile: and here's your why 1. you don't want to stress your plants in flower so as not to encourage hermies and 2. If you repot them more than a week or so into flower you'll be adding some time to the expected finish date.

Some people with very little space sometimes need to sex plants not yet showing developed preflowers before repotting ( for the same reasons as above, to have them in their final pots all the way through flower). So they flip 'em 12/12 and sex them, then repot. Can be done with little to no necessary recovery period for the plant, if you have a delicate hand at repotting ...fortunately I seem to.

 

[Guest]

I know what cha mean there Indigo...

Thanks for letting me know that... :smile: Excellant reasons...

? and upon thinking about it I guess cause our soil has our most of our food/nutes in it, they get hungry, or root bound and we transplant during veg sometimes too... ? if needed....

 

[Guest]

and upon thinking about it I guess cause our soil has our most of our food/nutes in it, they get hungry, or root bound and we transplant during veg sometimes too... ? if needed....

Yes we do Ms. G, very right about that...and the problems Budhownd has had until now are all due to the fact that she didn't know how to tell her plants needed repotting. All of the deficiencies and stuff she experienced at such an early stage are usually what is seen only in late veg (before repotting) and in mid to late flower, when the plant has consumed all the available nutrients in the soil and starts feeding on what it has stocked in the leaves. She was having to deal with issues that took me more than a few grows to learn how to deal with well, and IMO all things considered the lady has a shitload of potential in marijuana gardening. . I think she's going to have pretty smooth sailing from here on in!

I personally use three sizes of pots. I germ in peat pellets, then transfer those to 1 quart pots for the first 10 days - 2 weeks (depending on the strain), then repot to 2.5 gallon pots until they show preflowers around 30 - 36 days, and repot one last time to 4 gallons before putting them into flower...if necessary, further in flower I double pot them if I see roots poking out the bottom :smile:

 

[Guest]

Do you recomend that when they have become extremely root bound loosing some of the roots before putting it into the new pot? Of course carefully, as not to damage too much... reason I ask is, that is what we do if one has been waiting an extra long time to be transplanted and moved into flower.

 

[Guest]

Yes ma'am . Sometimes they form such an incredibly ingrown root mass that it helps 'em along to loosen it up some. Kind of shocks the plant into discovering she has more leg room. Will add a week to 10 days on your estimated flower period, but then again when they're that compacted it'd take 'em a week anyway to start rooting to the new soil. Like you, I wouldn't do it myself until the last repotting , as I do the intermediate repot when the plants are only two weeks old, and its not good for them to get too rootbound that early, plus your roots are still too new and fragile. Also wouldn't recommend it to somebody with less than a couple of grows under their belt...I think with experience you acquire a feel for your plants' capacities and limitations that allows you to be able to judge how much is just right, and how much is abuse. You and H3ad for sure have that feel...it shows

 

[dubmantx]

Wow you girls like to write a hell of a lot more than i like to read! But I did browse over it all and it sounds like your on a good start. Sounds pretty simmilar to my setup actually. Im in a closet (for flowering) using pretty much organic stuff. Sounds like you picked up more than enough nutrients to get you through a few grows!
I didnt see what kind of light you were using but I read you had a concern about light leaks. Well i have HPS lights so I just keep the closet door cracked while they are on and shut the door when they are off. I also keep a fan in there to keep the air moving. Not enough light gets in through the door to bother them when they are sleeping. I try to keep the lights in my room off during lights out time just in case.
All I can say about the organics is that a little goes a long way and the nutrients tend to stay arround quite a while. Ive never had overfertilizing issues with organics so hopefully you wont either!
Best of luck!

 

[budhownd]

Hi, Indigo, 1 toke, Ms.Grat3ful, and dubmantx.

Wow, I have all sorts of cool folks here in my lil Amazon garden. Even Ms.Grat3ful popped in to say 'Hi' and impart knowledge. I wanna tell you all how much I appreciate it. The help I'm getting is invaluble.

Thanks for the cool pics of the male plants. I totally needed to see 'em. I'm much more confident now than I was before that I'll be able to spot a lil guy if one pops up.

I'm SO glad to hear I can open the door to the closet once the lights have come on, while the lil ones are in flower. I read heat stress can cause hermies too. I can seal the closet very well to keep light out so that shouldn't be too big a thing.

Um, 1 toke, you were absolutely correct when you said that all tha stuff you explained in your post would "just add to newbie confusion". LoL. Actually, I got a lil of it. The one tub to grow in sounds interesting, but like Indigo said, the space in my closet just can't accommodate something like that. At least not with my skill level. I've already made the mistake of planting more than one to a pot and the results were almost disasterous.

I haven't seen any preflowers on any of them yet, but they are sprouting lots of new leaves. The fan leaves are now bigger than my hand and smaller leaves that look like they may be potential bud sites ( but what do I know? LoL) are popping up all over.

I'm gonna try to get pics of them as soon as I can. All decked out in their new pots and erything. Still no ferts or nutes given to them. I stuck a finger down in all the pots and the soil feels dry already in two of them, but I'm gonna give it another day or so cuz the pots aren't quite light enuff when I lift them. Geez, they are gulping down the water.

They are still smelly welly, even the lilest one has gotten into the act. I was down on all fours trying to spot any kinda pre flowering and happened to have my face stuck right in the lilest one's personal space and got a snootful of that wonderful musky aroma. I was surprised cuz she's tha smallest one but shez kickin out major odor.

Fortunately, I have the lower half of the house to myself, while my housemate and her daughter occupy the upper half, so odor control isn't really THAT big of an issue. Otherwise, I'd be answering all sorts of questions by now. Especially, since, I have the closet door opened when I'm home and about halfway down the hall to the closet I can smell them.


dubmantx- I'm using a 400w HPS light in 12 sq. ft. of growing space.

I never thot about getting rid of some of the root mass during repotting. The roots were all over the place when I repotted this last time. One plant even had roots growing thru the holes in the bottom of the pot. I just figured .. it's a plant. It isn't gonna grow THAT fast. Boy, was I wrong.



"She was having to deal with issues that took me more than a few grows to learn how to deal with well, and IMO all things considered the lady has a shitload of potential in marijuana gardening."

Aw, shucks. Thanks for the compliment, Indigo, it means alot coming from someone who has as much knowledge and experience as you. And don't count yerself out here. If it wasn't for you letting me know how bad I was screwing up, my lil warriors probably wouldn't even be here any more.

Hmmm.. lady?? LoL. It's been awhile since I've been called that.

Geez, I feel like I'm forgetting to say something but I can't figure out what. So, I'm gonna leave you fine folks with heartfelt good wishes for you and all yer present and future grows. I'm bout ta go hit tha sack ... not the weed sack. Ok Ok, tha weed sack too. LMAO. Got a lab class tomorrow nite then I'm off for the rest of the weekend for a bit of R&R wit a gang of crazy wimmin folks.

Um, I'm gonna be gone overnight, but just 1 nite. I don't think the daughter is staying here in the house ( but I'm not positive. She'z able to be home alone of she wants to be) and my housemate is gonna be gone this weekend too.
Ya'll think it would be ok to leave the lil ones in the closet closed up from Saturday mornin ( bout 10 am) til Sunday afternoon ( bout 3 or 4 at tha latest)? The fans will be going, but if I leave tha door cracked and tha yung'un comes downstairs (using the laundry room would be the only reason) she'll be able to see the light and hear the fans going. I'd rather keep the door closed, just in case she comes down. It won't do any harm for them to be enclosed for ruffly a day will it?

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.

Ya'll have a GREAT evening and a wonderful Thursday. Thanks for all the help.

peace

Bud Tha Hownd
__________________

"Whether it's growing or burning, I'll sniff it out."