First Grow... seems to slow compared to other peoples grows.

[Black_Cloud]

Well as we can all i see this is my first grow.

It contains 2 menage a trois and 2 bagseed plants, Thats all i had left after security scare.

well these plants where sprouted roughly 63 days ago. and have been through tons of abuse.. They were growing in the sun for a few weeks id say maybe 6-7 which out of that time 3 weeks they were hiding in the shade with very minimal light.

within the last 2-3 weeks they have veen converted to an indoor grow under lots of cfl's no less then 6 at any given time.. i did a switch to 24/0 and they got a good boost of growth for a few days and eventually i overwatered them and some got root rot.

They were in some nasty stinky muddy stuff.. I moved them into bigger 3-5 gallon containers with fresh soil with lots of perlite to soak up all that crap.


i just got a 400 watt hps put in 3 days ago and trying to keep it on as much as i can..


I also have heat issues. since these puppies have been alive temps have ranged from 70-105

now i have cold air blowing on them with that 400watter..

the plants are only 10" tall at max but they all have around 7-9 nodes packed in real tight at the top...

just put them on an 18/6 schedule for now with the 6hours of darkness during the hotest hour of the day.

should i just throw them on 12/12 soon and hope for the best.. ill try to veg them for atleast 2-4 more days before i flower with a 400 watt hps.


btw these plants have been harased like no other.. heat, poisoning with miracle grow, messed up light schedule... im surprised there still alive.
ill try to get pics soon.

 

[vegasguy911]

why did you do all these bad things to your plants , ur talking about it like you know it was bad so im confused....i wouldnt just bud and hope for the best ull be lucky not to get a bunch of hermis out of all the stress u have put them through....i would clone what looks healthy and has the characteristics you want and then start over with them veg them under ur 400watt for 18-6 until desired height or shape and then put them on 12/12, as for the heat issues i have had some terrible heat problems as well but i finally resolved them thanks to good advice get a stanely blower to vent out the hot air from the 400watter that should be good enough. with a few cooling fans from radio shack bringing air in and a few to move air around inside assuming ur in a grow box then u should be golden, i dont want to seem like a know it all i only know this by ****ing up alot and people on this site helping me , or more effectivly saving my ass .lol

 

[vegasguy911]

what is ur space a grow box or a room either way the ambient air in the room must be cool no matter what if u have a box venting out is good but just venting the heat into a room is counterproductive so either out and away or keep and ac near, and remember nice airy soil..i suggest fox farm ocean forest mix best investment i have ever made for growing its a lot but the shit rocks.

 

[Guest]

Most people don't stress out their plants like you have been doing, establish a good growing area and get a simple routine going and you should see good growth. Get as much light and fresh-Co2 filled air to your plants as you can, also like Vegas suggested something like Fox Farm will give your plants a good starting medium that you need to add little to. Just start with 18/6, then to 12/12 when you want to. I find the less one ****s with things when they don't know what they are doing the better.

 

[Maj.PotHead]

Well as we can all i see this is my first grow.

It contains 2 menage a trois and 2 bagseed plants, Thats all i had left after security scare.

well these plants where sprouted roughly 63 days ago. and have been through tons of abuse.. They were growing in the sun for a few weeks id say maybe 6-7 which out of that time 3 weeks they were hiding in the shade with very minimal light.

within the last 2-3 weeks they have veen converted to an indoor grow under lots of cfl's no less then 6 at any given time.. i did a switch to 24/0 and they got a good boost of growth for a few days and eventually i overwatered them and some got root rot.

They were in some nasty stinky muddy stuff.. I moved them into bigger 3-5 gallon containers with fresh soil with lots of perlite to soak up all that crap.


i just got a 400 watt hps put in 3 days ago and trying to keep it on as much as i can..


I also have heat issues. since these puppies have been alive temps have ranged from 70-105

now i have cold air blowing on them with that 400watter..

the plants are only 10" tall at max but they all have around 7-9 nodes packed in real tight at the top...

just put them on an 18/6 schedule for now with the 6hours of darkness during the hotest hour of the day.

should i just throw them on 12/12 soon and hope for the best.. ill try to veg them for atleast 2-4 more days before i flower with a 400 watt hps.


btw these plants have been harased like no other.. heat, poisoning with miracle grow, messed up light schedule... im surprised there still alive.
ill try to get pics soon.

hello BC lets see if i can point ya in the proper direction heres the modded stanely blower fan thread this will cure your 400w hps heat issues if you have a air cooled hood or cooltube. for 25$ on parts you could make a cooltube for the 400w

stanely link http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=29341
the dyi cooltube just noticed pic are gone but the words and supply list still intact http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=505969

or if ya have an extra 100$ buy the cooltube from local hydro shop

unsure what your grow erea is closet spare room such but the idea is bring cool fresh air into bottom 1 side of grow erea and exhaust the heat into attick. i had a 400w in a wardrobe cab in my old house closet it was in a air cooled hood had remote ballast that wasnt in cab i used the stanely to vent the heat. you dont want to vent the exhaust heat into room that supplys fresh air or you'll be putting hot air back into the grow. next advise is fans have a few blowing 24 hrs a day different angels and directions keep the air moving.

my modded stanely pull's through a 4 inch carbone scrubber then a cooltube with a 1k hps inside and up into attick. my temps with no ac in closet gets 90 my daytime outside temps get above 100. oops almost forgot i run my flower erea at night 12/12 is 6pm-6am and my closet door stays closed draws air from under door. the stanely is rated at around 250 cfm 1 have a 465 cfm fan i'm gonna hook up in the next few days hopefully drop my temps some.

i veg with cfl's but run them 6am-12am midnight

watering i grow in soil so when and how much to water
what i do is place the plant in bathtub or sink i add any ferts to be used then adjust my water PH to 6.5.
i'll water a plant gently not flooding it untill it starts to drain out bottom, i leave it move onto next plant so on sor forth. when all is watered i'll go outside smoke a cig allow the plants the throughly drain. now after oh 10-15 min's i'll go lift the container this is your plants approx full watered weight. every day lift the container you'll notice the container get lighter as time passes. when it feels light i like approx 20-25% weight left then i water again. i never let them fully dry

 

[Levitikuz]

when it feels light i like approx 20-25% weight left then i water again. i never let them fully dry

Im not saying your way is wrong or my way is right or better but i think you should let ur plants medium if grown in soil dry completly out until the plant flags to give water...i have grown both ways and i have seen better results with letting it dry all the way out before watering again. I some strains will produce such compact buds you will not want ur soil damp in the last 2 weeks of bud or you will risk mold growth in the buds....just another way to grow i suppose...

later

 

[Guest]

That is a question experienced growers will have different opinions on for sure.Many let the medium go dry until the leaves wilt,its been my experience if they wilt a second too long when rehydrated you lose some lower fans.In the same vein as some wait until defeciency in nutes to feed,some wait until a moisture defeciency to water.Its best to try to figure that out for yourself when you gain experience,I'd say I water around 80% dry,at the very first sign of dehydration but well before wilting.

 

[vegasguy911]

Im not saying your way is wrong or my way is right or better but i think you should let ur plants medium if grown in soil dry completly out until the plant flags to give water...i have grown both ways and i have seen better results with letting it dry all the way out before watering again. I some strains will produce such compact buds you will not want ur soil damp in the last 2 weeks of bud or you will risk mold growth in the buds....just another way to grow i suppose...

later

im going to have to agree with levi, i would never let the soil stay constantly damp because it is more likely to mold, also i dont wait until they wilt either, i simply stick my finger in the soil until i see how dry it is and if its dry and the pot is not heavy then i water but until u fix ur ventilation i would definatly let them dry all the way out before watering with no good air flow ur even more likely to get mold or root rot again for that matter. thats just my 2cents though

 

[Guest]

I've found learning the saturated and dehydrated weights of the different containers you use to be the best way to know when to water and also if you've achieved saturation at watering time,runoff doesn't necessarily mean a thorughly saturated medium

 

[Black_Cloud]

Wow some great replies guys... Yeah i only tried to help my plants but my want to rush in to them only hurt them... the 4 that survived are .. well still alive.. 1 bagseed seems to be doing fine just not growing fast... the rest are small and look ok except for one that is a little yellow.

I have an AC with ducting hooked up to it that blows cold air right into the bottom of my chamber which is ... um let me see "atleast" 3 feet wide... by 4 feet deep and over 6.5 feet tall..

i modded the ballast from an econo light into a metal tool box that is set up abover the grow chamber on a shelf.

i have a large fan cooling of the ballast and a small fan blowing the cold air from the AC around..

Below the 400 watt light i have a peice of glass sheet to sheild some heat away and lets the cold air flowe underneath..

ontop of the chamber i have a 5" fan that just vents out the air into the rest of the room..


i want to make a cool tube for that 400 watter as it seems to get warm and i want to make a proper exhaust to suck hot air outside and not back into the room.


The plants are now on 18/6 and im hoping to see some growth or else i will just switch to 12/12

Does it usually take a while for the Change to HPS to kick in? If so i can leave it on for a few more days..


just running a 500 watt AC and a 400 watt light continuously adds up in electricity.

well since the addition of the AC duct blowing in constantly and not turning it off at all... temps have been down to 70-85 degrees. Outside weather this week is anywhere from 80-105 if u can see what im dealing with. humidty was at 40-48% when i checked it


It seems i have been overwatering so im backing off and just adding miniscule amounts of water because the top layer of soil drys of fast while the stuff underneath stays moist.

Its hard for me to regulate the thermostat on the AC due to it being in warm air while all the cold air is blown through piping into a separate chamber so it never wants to take a break cuz it thinks its always warm.

I have 2 sides of the chamber well insulated but i still need to finish the top the door which is bigger then a normal door and the other side.

Thats Stanly blower seems nice.


For my next grow, if i can afford it i would like to work on the following:
-Completely sealed off grow cab
-Better cooling
-Add a new exhaust
-better soil or growing medium
-faster growing weed!
ideas:
-possibly a bubbler
-vertical scrog with 400 watt hps hanging vertically in the middle with about 4-6 plants and a cool tube shooting straight up

If i think of anything else i will list it... As for pics, i will try to get some tomorrow to see how sad my grow is.

Winter will be great because temps drop down to anywhere around 40-75 if its nice and that HPS will keep the plants plenty warm. So all in all i plan on having a decent grow going by winter

 

[damianveraserna]

if yu got de ac-in at botton (65 f.)
meybe got to much cold for the roots.
try the ac-in at light level

 

[Black_Cloud]

it only goes down to 65 or such rarely. And they have only had cold air for a few days so that cant be the reason.

 

[vegasguy911]

sounds like the spots getting better, ur using a space very similar to mine in size, now i know you have a 400watter but if its hurting ur bill to much i would suggest going the way i went with a 250w in your space...if u do a scrog then it could potentially yield the same amount in the small space and it will be much easier to cool, and i think your temps would be just about perfect. the electric would go down and so would temps (win win). The switch to 18-6 with the sodium was a good move, dont be in such a rush though if you give them time to recover they could produce for you. keep the light sched the same for a bit they'll bouce back if you take your time and get it right, you sound like your on the right track and going through a lot of the basic new shit, youll get it. go to barnes and noble or whatever book store you have around and get Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible
by: Jorge Cervantes,
that book covers everything, and keep posting here all the knowledgeable vets on here really help, thanks to them my scrog is now kicking ass, before my indoor grows were mediocre at best....good luck

 

[Black_Cloud]

Bad news just keeps coming around the corner... This will probably be my last indoor grow before i move to another house. Anyways i managed to get pictures of how tiny my plants still are... this is after day 2 of 12/12






They seem a pretty yellow in that picture im hoping its just from not watering them in a few days and not a nute deficiency?

Its been about 3 days since i took those pics and the plants have shot up a little bit more and look considerably greener... My temps are becoming and issue again.. outside temps are reaching 100-109 with humidty of 40+


Security is becoming an issue and i may have to turn them into outdoor plants somewhere if i cant finish the 12/12


will going from 12/12 back to veg hurt them at all or stunt growth?

i feel im doing better on the water being that i used to water all 3 containers almost a gallon of water about every other day... now i just put a little over 1 cup of water per container every 2-4 days when needed.

 

[Blackvelvet]

When you water, you want runoff. It should pour out the bottom. Then, you let the pots get really dry but don't let the plants wilt/look dog eared for best growth.

You should feed weakly with every watering. Looks like the plants are starving. This could also be due to bad ph...

At least get some ph test strips from the aquarium section of a petstore. Water/fert well till runoff. Wait 30 minutes. Apply some distilled water to the pot surface. You want 1 ounce or so of runoff out the bottom. Catch this on a plate or saucer. Test this ph.

You can also use the test strips to adjust the ph of your fert water after adding all the salts. With perlite, bark, peatmoss, vermiculite, etc...as your soil mix, you want your fert water ph to be about 6.



.

 

[Black_Cloud]

i have ph test strips... what is the best to feed with? i have some miracle grow fert for tomatoes but i heard that was really bad? Is there any cheap stuff out there i can use that i can get from HD, Lowes or target?

 

[Guest]

i have ph test strips... what is the best to feed with? i have some miracle grow fert for tomatoes but i heard that was really bad? Is there any cheap stuff out there i can use that i can get from HD, Lowes or target?

There has to be somebody here that may be able to point you in the right direction, but when I stopped getting my garden supplies at HD, Lowes or target, and started shopping at the local hydro-indoor growing store,,, the difference is substantial - and worth several time the extra cost.

I still get great big bags of Pearlite at home depot, but the difference in ease of growing and final product, Fox Farms soil and ferts are worth their weight in gold. (As in golden buds).

On the other hand, a friend of mine built a great lil DWC hydro set up with stuff from Lowes and H-D - and his growth rates are noticabley better.

I never had any luck with test strips. I can't tell the difference between 6.0 and 6.5 - and the plants sure can. And that's the water going in - testing runoff is wayy worse. Look on ebay there are some steals on diggy Ph test meters. Your plants will luv you for it.





My first gow looked more like yours,,,

it gets better and easier




honestly!