*New Grower* 450w experimental grow! Pls help!

[kbirtch]

Hi guys,

New poster here (long time lurker), looking for some tips, advice, and opinions on my current and first time 450w indoor soil grow.

The setup:
I used stuff leftover from my previous low / zero budget grows, none of which amounted to much more than a couple males / stressed hermies due to my own needs / having to abandon a grow midway. SAD STORY I KNOW. But this time I'm back strong, and I have plenty of time to donate to these girls. I'm really on a zero dollar budget, so I'm always looking for ways to improve my current setup that wont break the bank. I can come up with a few hundred dollars if I absolutely have to. Otherwise DIY is the name of my game, and I dont suspect I will have too much problems, but thats why you fine people are all here. =)

- my miniature bathroom, primered white
- 6x clones of an outdoor strain for testing
- 450w HPS bulb with custom shroud (coffee tin)
- ?? CFM exhaust fan + ducting
- medium is 80% potting soil, 10% vermiculite, 10% perlite
- temps kept 27 degrees C (+/- 2deg)
- rH kept 55% (+/- 5%)

The strain:
All i know about this strain, is that it is primarily outdoor and appears to be an Indica. (please correct if wrong)

The progress:
When i got these babies approx 7 days ago, they looked a little under-nurtured, and have since begin to really pick up under my lighting conditions. One is showing signs of some type of stress, (perhaps overwatering) which you gents will help me decipher later, the rest are in excellent condition and growing 1-2cm per day.

My specific questions:
1) I've begin LST to hold down my biggest girl, who was really taking off faster than the others. Do you think this bend is at too steep of an angle? (ive read the topping & training guide a couple times, but i need some experienced eyes here.

in this second image you can make out the actual bend in question a bit easier

here is one shot of the only sick plant (tell me what you see)

and for reference here is the group of them, looking pretty healthy

Keep in mind these are all 3rd week veg cycle clones, how do they look to you?

Any ideas? Problems that you see? Specific advice about my LST?

Anything you have is appreciated,
Thanks in advance, will update soon~

 

[nephrosis]

First!! its nice to see someone as new as me (lurker status) and come out

Its lookin good right now but what kinda soil are you using?

what are all the lighting your using? it looks like, from what i can tell, your doing 18 on/6 off...

the babys look healthy, but i was wondering if you could give me more details? what kinda potting soil, how often do you water? hows the airflow inside, is it humid enough?

From my look on it your doing pretty good for a first timer im a first timer too but iv been lurking since 2007 hahahhaha Check out my signature and you can see what im doing with my grow...

I like your setup!!! i cant wait to see these bad boys

 

[TonyGreenHand]

What nephrosis said bro we need more info to help your grow, grow, you know?

 

[zerppa]

luv the secend pic

 

[nephrosis]

What nephrosis said bro we need more info to help your grow, grow, you know?

OMG so legit but true lol pics help too but hook it up with the details

 

[kbirtch]

Its lookin good right now but what kinda soil are you using?

what are all the lighting your using? it looks like, from what i can tell, your doing 18 on/6 off...

the babys look healthy, but i was wondering if you could give me more details? what kinda potting soil, how often do you water? hows the airflow inside, is it humid enough?

1) soil is a generic brand potting soil thats been mixed with 10% vermiculite and 10% perlite
2) lighting conditions are 23/1 atm, under a 450 HPS bulb
3) airflow inside is actually quite good, and i'm able to control the temps and relative humidity +/- 5 degrees C and +/- 5% rH, respectively. these are kept 27deg, and 55% rH.

hope this helps, and thanks for the responses so far =0

here are some more updated pics as well, showing my progress with a couple different types of low stress training coming along nicely

here is a top shot showing all the outside plants using the 'tape method' low stress training, and the center plant using the 'pinch and squish method'

here is a closer shot of the fresh growth along the bent meristems, coming along nicely =)

will keep updated~

 

[nephrosis]

From what im seeing, it looks like you need more mycorrhizae.... Little bacteria that promoted root growth.

That looks like the only thing that your missing, and iv never done 23/1 but i have done 24/0 and from what im seeing with your plants compared to mine, that maybe 23/1 isnt as good? because it takes 1-2 hours for the plant to go into complete dark period...... You might of light stressed your plants to male? but at the same time idk.

Try 24/0 and see if they like that more? and if they do, every day just lower your light hour by 2 till the end of the week and ur at 12/12, that is when ur about to flower.

they look alright, you might need to check out some better potting soil. Like what im using, Ednas best potting soil... check it

 

[SomeOldGuy]

My specific questions:
1) I've begin LST to hold down my biggest girl, who was really taking off faster than the others. Do you think this bend is at too steep of an angle? (ive read the topping & training guide a couple times, but i need some experienced eyes here.
~

high man, i'd guess it is a bit more than is comfortable for the plant.

...think of the stems as if they are straws because that's kinda what they are so if you pinch it so tight you couldn't take a sip, neither can your plants.

...worst case scenario is the part above the bend dies and you end up topping that plant instead of LSTing it.

...here is a post of mine from a different thread with a couple of links i think you should take a long hard look at, ...as a new grower these threads might change your world.

peace, SOG

high man, if i were you i'd be seriously considering coco hempy-buckets, they will give you the ease of soil and the growth of hydro as it is of course a passive hydro system.

i personally have grown in both soil and DWC's and i have found coco hempy's to be the easiest style to grow in, it is very forgiving.

here is a link to hempy's updated coco thread and don't be put off by his lack of language skills, read what he writes and you'll see how simple a concept it is.

Coco, hempy style.

...i'd also recommend you take a look at the K.I.S.S. thread as it is a great feeding regimen made better by it's simplicity.

[URL="https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=191645"]*The K.I.S.S. Method* [/URL]by Ioni Botani

peace, SOG

btw, i recommend this method only partly because it is so easy to manage, ...i also recommend it because my plants love it and the growth i have witnessed is VERY similar to that of my DWC's.

 

[kbirtch]

thanks for the help so far - taking all things said into consideration.

for now a brief update;

 

[nephrosis]

lookin good

 

[SunnyD420]

Its lookin good... I am ending my first grow in the next two weeks and I wish my plants looked as good as yours... This first one was hard for me but I believe its the best experience I could get.

 

[charliemurphy]

I would like to say that it is most probably a PH problem. The leaf curl at the tip would suggest so, do you currently test you water/ use RO water? Also test your runoff, if its particularly high or low it may be that your soil PH is off.