Budless' Microgrow Show

[Budless]

Hi everybody! I think this may take over my other grow-log in the micro-grow forum. That forum doesn't get a lot of hits, so I'm posting it here. Also I would like to keep a long log of whichever grows I decide to do after this one. With that being said I present my first grow -

Up-to-date Grow Information
Strain - NRS Northern Light(s)
# of Plants - 1
Medium - Soil/Verm/Perlite mix
Lighting - 138 watt Soft White CFLs
Lighting cycle - 24/0
Nutes - None
Method - ScrOG(plan to)

Unfortunately bad luck has chalked it up to me having one plant insted of two as I had hoped. Out of the four seeds three germinated and two sprouted. One sprout never grew beyond it's fake leaves so I killed it. I hope this plant will be famale, if not guess it's back to trying again.

Here are some progressive pictures of my setup and the plant.

Here is the setup. Please don't chide me on the duct tape job. I used what I could and it works. I have covered all the bad spots in black duct tape then Gorilla tape for good seals. Use anything, but duct tape for your setups, I beg you.


Early shot


A day or two later


1/21/07


1/22/07

 

[Budless]

I think I may have encountered a problem. Look at the leaves at the top and bottom of the picture, they're starting to curl.

1/23/07

 

[The Budfather]

look like nute burn, whats the point of haiving a micro grow that looks like that i mean isnt the point of micro stealth?

 

[bluebublelove]

have you been watering with just tap water? your ph may be way high, if not that have you been feeding those plants? if so....stop giving them nutrients, they are way to small for that.....just a balanced ph water for at least the first 2-3 weeks....good luck....

 

[Budless]

To answer the Budfather - It fits in my closet and no-one is the wiser, but that's an upside to the micro part. Also it is a contained enviornment that could be moved if need be. I don't think the term microgrow is a synonym for stealth. Mico just means small, and a small grow is what I am doing.

Secondly I have checked my tap water pH and it has checked at around 6.2-6.4 regularly. Think my problem lies in overwatering. I haven't given the roots enough time to search for water and dig deep. So less watering is on this plant's diet for a little while.

 

[bluebublelove]

yeah....definately give them two or three days between waterings......

 

[ECUG]

Plants gernerally droop if the problem is overwatering. It looks like heat stress, and or nute burn. Im guessing its a heat issue. What is your temp at canopy level? Im glad to see your box up and growing. Keep us posted. Good luck.

 

[Budless]

Update!

I quit watering for two days and the growth that occurred during astounded me. I never knew being so lazy(not watering) paid off so well. I get rewarded for something I do not do. 8 )








I think nutrient burn is still an issue, but I think it will not be a problem as long as I properly space watering periods out.

Just noting - Pics were taken @ 13 days or so from sprout.

 

[ECUG]

Looks much better. It is so easy to over water very early on. I used to do it all the time. Now I base my watering by weight. When the pot is heavy hold off for a day or two. The plant will tell you if it needs water if you mess up the weight of the pot. Within one or two waterings you should have a pretty good system down though. Do you have a ph meter or tester yet?

 

[Budless]

I only have aquarium grade pH test strips. They aren't as accurate as I would like them to be, but they will work for now. I haven't checked my runoff yet, but I will when I can. My tap water sits at 6.2 - 6.5 most of the time. I let it sit out for a day before I use it to water the plants.

 

[ECUG]

The test strips work fine. I never worried about ph, but since I started to monitor and correct ph I have noticed a huge difference in the health of my plants. I also use tap water in a pinch. Just so you know most tap water does have floride in it, in case that is an issue to you. Im not sure what it does, but Im guessing its not good to smoke. Have you given any thought to what nutes you are going to be using?

 

[Budless]

Well as a fellow IC Mag member mentioned my plant is most likely doomed to failure in it's current state. I thought the water had a profound effect on the health of the plant, but it seems that was only a fluke or momentary. I checked my plant today and it was wilted and the secondary nodes were starting to dry out. The plant was also leaning to the side for reasons unknown to me. I watered the soil until a tiny bit of run off came out and left the plant to do its thing.

If this doesn't work I'm going to buy a soil with less or no nutes in it. The soil I'm currently using is "Expert Gardener's Perfect Mix" and it has low levels of nutes in it(0.10 - 0.8 - 0.8), but it seems every time I water the plant it suffers from nute burn or something like it. If these die I think I'll try my luck down some of my AK-48 seeds because I only have 2xNL seeds left.

 

[Guest]

Hey Budless - nice job saving your babies!!! I'd say your problem was overwatering or a poor draining soil mix like my babies here. I let the beercup go very dry so it feels really light before I water. When I water I do it until it runs out the bottom.

Hold off adding nutes until they grow a bit larger.

 

[SuperZero]

I

 

[Budless]

Quick update on Day 16 of my NL grow.

I have 5 shots. I'm slowly getting better at macro shots. You would think a 7.2 megapixel camera would make it easy, but apparently not.

Enjoy. Also I'll note the water has made a huge difference. The nodes at the bottom with the dying leaves are growing new healthy leaves at their base on the stem!

I topped it today too. I spread the very top leaves as far out as I could w/o damaging the plant and copped the small growth site in between them. I hope it works!

 

[Guest]

Wow Budless, you werent kidding about the watering. Its amazing what your plant did in 4 days.

Lookin spot on my friend!

 

[Budless]

Thanks Qbert!

I checked my plant today and I think my first attempt at topping worked. The developing leaves/nodes separated and look like they're headed upwards instead of outwards like normal nodes do!

W00t!

I also dropped two AK-48 seeds into beer cups just encase my NL dies some how. They germinated super fast and I can't wait till the pop. I know it may not be the best plan of action to have plants almost two weeks a apart in growth, but I think I can manage. Hell I might even try the AK-48 on 12/12 after a week or two of vegging!

I'm going to shoot for 3 or 4 weeks(perhaps 5) weeks for vegging my NL plant and about 2 or 3 for my AK-48's assuming they pop.

 

[Budless]

GROW ABORTED!

If this is not apparent to all growers, let it be known through my experience. Don't tell people you grow. Not even your friends. Those friends could easily turn on you, no matter how well you think you know them now. Everybody has that turning point. A long time friend fucked me over for something I had forgotten about and started sending me threats about this and that. Said "You don't fuck with someone when you have so much to lose." When I got that text I dismantled my grow box and got rid of everything. I still have my seeds, equipment and most of all the knowledge, but I will not be growing until it is safe again.

On a better note I will keep up with this site and keep learning in my down time. When I come back I will most likely build a grow cab out of a nice piece of wood furnature and opt for an HPS system with my CFL bulbs for veg and to complement the HPS lighting.

Until then, stay safe and keep quiet.

 

[ECUG]

Hey man, sorry to hear about your situation. The first rule of fight club.... even though it is so tempting man. When the dust settles, we will be waiting to hear from ya. In the mean time, rid your life of those people who are focused on the negative sides of things.

 

[highonthechroni]

Ba dluck dude