Newb grow

[The Wild Eep]

Well I apologize if my posts offend you. I was under the impression that these boards were for the new grower as well as the experienced. I have done a ton of reading. In fact so much reading has sunk in that I am not completely comfortable with the material yet. As for every post explaining the way a thing should work theres 10 other contadictory or alterations. A bit of information overload. If my posts offend you then don't read them. This is posted in the journal section because this is my grow. Newb questions and all. hence the name of the diary. Please feel free to troll somewhere else.

Not trolling at all. You asked for no punches held. Your post location is basically what I have a problem with - you don't have a grow.

In regards to growing contradictions, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Every question you've asked has been answered and is readily available.

First you're wanting to do soil and FF, now you've moved on to a very complicated (relative) hydro setup and spending $500 on nutes. You see what I'm saying here man?

 

[Marick23]

Absolutely. As I read, somethings make better sense to me. In fact I've changed my mind about the nutrients. Once again the point of these boards is to help cultivate. Although there are plenty of people I could approach about growing. I would rather not let anyone I know, know that I grow. That leaves these boards. You said I want to be hand held. I have to say that that is an accurate assesment. Though I have some money to throw at this project its not an inexhaustable amount. If I can save some money here and there at not detriment to my ladies then great. I also have a family that I like to seeing everyday. Though I live in Ca. Thats no guarantee they won't mess with me. So yeah I want someone to hold my hand. Once again I apologize if that offends you but until I feel comfortable with my knowledge I will keep posting and I may change my 10 more time before now and thursday. Thats when I order everything. Am I mistaken that this is the wrong place to expect this level of help? I did make an assumption that it would be ok. If there a I AM A COMPLETE NOOB AND NEED TO BE HANDHELD THROUGH MY FIRST GROW thread? If so please point me to it and I will be sure to make all future questions in the appropriate forum. Thank you.

 

[The Wild Eep]

lol. Can't say I didn't try. Have a good one!

 

[Marick23]

All right moving this back to the diary as I now have something growing.. I will begin flowering tomorrow I have been flushing the girls for 24 hours tommorow morning I will give them their bloom nutes. Heres some pics of girls.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=2622&pictureid=34310
http://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=2622&pictureid=34311
http://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=2622&pictureid=34312
http://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=2622&pictureid=34313


Let me know what ya'll think...

3 space queen x chem dogg
3 G 13 x og Kush

 

[JamieShoes]

nice genetics... looking good, Marick :smile:


happy growing
j

 

[Marick23]

Thank J.S. not a scratch on what you have going on at your spot though. Man that is clean love the set up.

 

[swampy_nz]

Looking good Marick,green and healthy is all you can ask for.Are you going to do any training?even just pulling the top over at a 90 degree angle and tying will bush them up alot.

 

[Marick23]

Yeah i am still researching it though not as comfortable with it as I thought. I plan to scrog them.

 

[HeadyPete]

IMO I would slow way down and focus on basics.

Basic #1 - get clone to finish. Easier said then done.


Basic # 2 lighting. Your choice of 600 digi is a good one.

Basic # 3 Nutrients. - Cough ack....$500 for nutrients. Are you high? You need gro, bloom, molasses for cal and mag and other good stuff, and maybe an enhancer like Florolicious plus, Liquid Karma or TopMax. That's it. Less is more. PureBlend Pro, BioBizz, Earth Juice are all good choices. If you must buy AN (I know they have nice big ads), buy a gro and bloom like Iguana or Mother Earth Super Tea.

There, I just saved you like $400! Get a nice 400 MH for vegging but careful not to put it too close (24" should be a good start.)

Basic # 4 - good soil. Get some. Use it. Add 40% perlite to the mix.

Please do not waste your time and money on any hydro until you can grow a plant to a nice finish and dry it and cure it (no bud mold!) and smoke it. Once you have a round or two done, then you can upgrade.

Learn how to ph, learn how your plants respond to feeding and your care in general, then start tackling something like hydro or coco. Hydro is a whole nother level of technical knowledge and setup and both classic hydro and coco require specialized knowledge of nutrients and ph.

You need to build a lightproof enclosure (or get a bloom tent or box) to keep them in complete dark during lights out.

It begins..........

 

[HeadyPete]

well I see you are already into hydro...

You really need to have all your grow systems bought, setup and tested before starting plants. They will grow faster than you can believe....What happens when they outgrow that rig?

One more thing...that hps is the wrong color for seedlings clones and vegging plants. You need cool white or MH. They will stretch like hell under the orange.

 

[osecretgardeno]

hey Marick, I just want to chime in here.

First of all ... great start! It appears that most people finding your thread feel you will fail. Granted, you have dived (dove? diven? whatever) right into a hydro set-up which is ... risky / difficult, but if you think you can pull it off, then why the hell not. I always think, go big or go home. You read a lot and realized hydro is the best and you have made it work. So far, your clones look great.

I am sure you will hit a few bumps on the way, especially in the technical department. HeadyPete is right about the color spectrum, but I thought I had read you are using a 400 MH for veg, so I think you understand that. I wouldn't be surprised if you nute burn your girls at some point; Seedlings are a bitch; Cloning ain't a walk in the park; pH always loves messing with you in hydro; When to harvest; curing ... you get my point. Make your own mistakes, it's the best way to learn.

Perhaps people are so eager to warn you of failure because you are investing a lot of your money into this set-up. Most people say, grab so soil, a few bag seeds and some CFLs and give it a go. Things move way slower that way. But hey man, I respect your investment and if you are dedicated and sure this is what you want, then more power to you. I think you can do it.

I'll tag you up and take a peak each day to see how things are going. Feel free to ask any questions, and perhaps I can answer or at least point you in the direction to answer.

Take care and stay safe,

-sg

 

[swampy_nz]

well,i think your doing fine.
im sure you will make a mistake or 2 along the way but as long as you don't totally screw up your grow you will be much better off for your next round.
As far as using a hps from start to finish,don't worry,many people do this with no problems,including myself.Check out my grow and you will see that not using a metalhalide has done my Jacks no harm at all.

 

[Bud_Monster]

Hey man, just wanted to drop in and say you got some balls
for setting up your first grow as a hydroponic system. I was thinking about it
couple of times and finally went for the easiest CFL+soil to see how things go.

Hopefully everything goes well and you`ll end up with some amazing smoke.
I`m def. gonna visit to see how things are going

 

[mOOndiCa]

i would have stuck 1 plant each in 1gl sq/buckets using female seeds and a good soiless mix like promix, than put the buckets in that standup shower under a 600hps..vent out using that batroom vent that im sure is there and you be up and running for a few hundred bucks instead of wasting 1-2k on setting up a huge room with little to know grow experience. i have been using hps for seed/veg/flower for 10 years with great results dont know why people use these cfl's and mh bulbs. to each his own goodluck

oh and they looking good so far

 

[Marick23]

Alright... Sorry folks first let me make an update.

Tonight will be there first night of flower. They have been vegging for 15 days.

Current Stats
Temp: 71%
RH :41%
Ppm : 600 (Flower nutes)
ph :6.2


Also to clear up any confusion.
Clones in rockcubes were moved into 4" rockwool cubes.
Rockwool into 3gal buckets of hydroton.
Ebb n Flow flood and drain, current watering schedule is 2x a day for 5 minutes.
Nutrients are bc boost, bc grow, mag/cal, and thrive alive for veg. BC boost, bc bloom, sugar daddy, and awesome blossom for flowering. Current volume is 100ml bc boost. 50 ml bc bloom, 25 ml sugardaddy, and 25 ml of awesome blossom. (ppm 600)
20 gallon reservoir with 2 airstones. I am using distilled water with a ph of 6.0.
I have an AC keeping the room nice and cool. I have a squirrel cage 465 cfm blowing air out. 6" inline duct fan air cooling the lights. and another inline fan bringing in fresh right on to the plant canopy. The ac blows right to the canopy. there is an stand fan available if needed for added air movement.. As of now I am getting more than enough air flow. Nice mild negative air preassure.

I am using a 600w digital balast. With a Ushio bulb and a Xtra sun air cooled hood.

 

[Marick23]

The nooblist

The nooblist

Ok the nooblist so far...

Small list of the noob mistakes I made

Don't cut wood in the same room as your clones... Sawdust never goes away.

Rockwool cubes have little black specks in them. THEY ARE NOT mite egg sacks. No matter how much avid you spray they aren't going away.

Don't walk away from an ebb n flow system after turning the pump on. You may forget and go grocery shopping. My girls were not happy when I came home.

Make sure that your ducting tape paper doesn't end up in your reservoir.

Even if your ph isn't going down far enough when putting drops in to lower ph never lose your patience and pour a good splash in. You may end up at the hydro store picking up some ph up.


Thats pretty much the list thus far. We are only a third of the way so there is still time.

Thanks for the support guys. Even the critical folks your ok too. Baby girls aren't dead yet so here we grow some more.

 

[HeadyPete]

rockwool is alkaline so for awhile it will raise the ph. It is spun from basalt rock and a good part of that rock is made up of calcium and magnesium. Lower your rez ph to compensate, but do it gradually over days. PH should be 5.7ish. You might also want to wear a dust mask when handling dry RW. The fibers float in the air and become lodged in your lungs, similar to asbestos.

May I suggest a nice digi timer for your pump?

Do you have a thermometer to monitor temps?

Good luck to you, I wish you the best and i give you respect for wanting to do things the proper way. You are on your way.

Oh yah how bout some pix of the progress?

 

[JamieShoes]

Even if your ph isn't going down far enough when putting drops in to lower ph never lose your patience and pour a good splash in. You may end up at the hydro store picking up some ph up.

pH up? surely you meant add more tap water to balance :wink:

looking forward to hearing and seeing more of this grow...


j

 

[Marick23]

pH up? surely you meant add more tap water to balance :wink:

looking forward to hearing and seeing more of this grow...


j

I didn't have enough volume in my res to mix in enough water. And the babies were loving the nute mix so I went and got some ph up...

Let me grab some albums one sec.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=2622
The top 5 were taken yesterday. more pics when I switch them tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8g0iASH1E8&feature=channel_page
This is the video of the room. Will take another one tonight as things have changed a bit.

 

[Marick23]

rockwool is alkaline so for awhile it will raise the ph. It is spun from basalt rock and a good part of that rock is made up of calcium and magnesium. Lower your rez ph to compensate, but do it gradually over days. PH should be 5.7ish. You might also want to wear a dust mask when handling dry RW. The fibers float in the air and become lodged in your lungs, similar to asbestos.

May I suggest a nice digi timer for your pump?

Do you have a thermometer to monitor temps?

Good luck to you, I wish you the best and i give you respect for wanting to do things the proper way. You are on your way.

Oh yah how bout some pix of the progress?

Hey HP yeah I have digi timers for just about everything I'm just not using them at the moment. I'm only watering twice a day at the moment. So I have been feeding them manually. That has to change tonight though.

I soaked the rockwool a 2 days in water that was ph'd to 5.5 before putting my girls in them.