First time grow, advice/feedback greatly appreciated!

[Ace Yonder]

Hey everybody! This is my first grow, and I am excited to show off my progress but before we get to the pics let me give a little background on what my setup is like (After all how can I ask for feedback if you don't know what I got going on). Like I said, this is my first time, but I did a bit of research (not too extensive but enough to cover the basics). The girl is an Agent Orange clone from a local dispensary, she looked the most vigorous of her sisters and since I only have room for one plant I wanted to make sure I got something that would be resilient enough to cope with a newbie like me and still have a chance at least a meager yield of relatively smoke-able bud. I know that Northern Lights (Another strain they had) is really more of a beginner recommendation but something inside me hates to do the recommended thing, too many years of wanting to go my own way. Anyways, to cut the rambling short (As I know it may be boring to many) I will try to sum everything up succinctly. Clone of Agent Orange, was about 6" when I got her, transplanted the next day into a 3 gallon soft pot filled with Fox Farms Ocean Forest mixed with a couple ounces granular mycorrhizae (And yes I have since discovered that FFOF on its own can cause a good deal of nute burn, next time I will pre mix it with Light Warrior to prevent it). These pics are of her the day of the transplant.

 

[Ace Yonder]

This is her a day or two later after her first watering. Right now I am staying away from nutes because the FFOF seems a little hot. Also had some issues with the tap water here, as I didn't realize that it comes out the tap with a ph of around 7.8 and almost 100ppm sodium (I live right near the ocean). After finding this out I down ph'd with a mild apple cider vinegar flush (ph of flush was 5.3ish, ph of runoff was 6.3ish) and since then I have been watering with distilled water with some added molasses to replace the trace minerals and feed the myco in the soil.

 

[Ace Yonder]

This is where she is at now. She is now under one 85w 6500K cfl, one 65w 5500k cfl, and one 65w 2500k cfl (All real watts, not equivalent). The last picture is of the grow box I made closed and in its place. As you can see I have some space constraints. I would love some feedback as to how she looks and any suggestions, she just got her first watering with a mild nutrient tea, and she seems to be responding nicely. She is now a little over 12" tall and she has calyx and pistils at pretty much every node. Should I switch the light cycle to 12/12 and start her flowering soon? The grow profile from TGA says she should be flowered less than 2 weeks after putting down solid roots but this is my first time and I don't know when her roots are solid so to speak, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Cascadian]

She has put down good roots at this point. Based on the size of your grow box I would switch to 12/12 soon. She will grow to 2-3 times her current size in flower.

You might want to dissolve some epsom salt in hot water (1/2 - 1 tsp/gal) to give her more magnesium, it looks like you have early magnesium deficiency.

CFLs can get hot and they have the potential to malfunction/break/overheat, think about using something other than a cardboard box. It is a fire hazard.

Good choices on soil, using mycorrhizae, and using some molasses. Good luck on your first grow

 

[MrkingT]

just a little tip try smooth out the reflective sheeting that can cause hot spots as it looks all fucked

Nice plant btw
(Keep It Simple)

 

[Ace Yonder]

Yeah I am going to build a plywood flower box and line it with either 2 mil mylar or b/w poly soon, just had to throw sumthin together with what I had lying around (A big box, a survival blanket, and a couple converted computer fans). I'm also in the process of converting a closet, as in the long run I will need a place with a bit more room for winter grows (During the summer I plan to grow outside as I have far more room). As for the temps, I don't know if its unique to these or if its because of the cold night time temps we've been having (down into the 20s sometimes) but even after 12+ hours of operation these cfls are cool enough to touch with the back of my hand (through glove soas not to transfer oil). I've had cfls that run hot before, but I am choosy now and I find they are pretty reliable as long as the power is only either on or off and not hooked even slightly to a dimmer. But it is a good thing to watch out for and I keep an eye on it (I am a bit of a homebody and 90% of the time the lights are on I'm there with them). And thanks for the tip on the epsom salt! I noticed the same yellowing patern on the fan leaves so I have a mineral feed prepared for her next watering (Micronized Azomite, Soluble Leonardite Humic Acid, Molasses, and Kelp Meal) can I add the epsom salt to that or would that be too much?

 

[Doritos]

I like it and hope mine is gd like this too thanks

 

[Cascadian]

Right on, sounds like you have things under control. Glad to hear you will be building a solid box. I have only used kelp meal and molasses out of the supplements you mentioned so not sure how much magnesium might already be in the others. I don't think it would hurt anything to add a bit to the mix though. Another option is to use the epsom as a foliar spray, the plant will absorb it faster that way too. My plants also react really well when I give them some kelp in a foliar.

 

[fred flintstoned]

The kelp meal and molasses should be plenty on Mg. Adding epsom salts will probably push it to the other side of the spectrum, lockout. Not good.
Fred

 

[Yodaweed]

Nice plants man my first grow was with CFL lights and it yielded some nice nugs. I hope it works out for you

 

[Ace Yonder]

Awesome! Thank you all for the advice it really is so much appreciated!! Once I'm sure things are stable I'll switch her to 12/12 (Probably on new years since its easy date for me to remember) and I'll keep posting updates and pics as things progress. Thank you all so much again!

 

[NorthofEngland]

quotable quote number one......
"Also had some issues with the tap water here, as I didn't realize that it comes out the tap"

You didn't realize that tap water came out the tap....?

Smoke less, not more.

6" Cutting/Clone bought from a Dispensary......???
How much do they charge???

Over here in England it's all strictly illegal but black market clones/cuttings are usually about £10 to £15 ($15 to $22.50) each.

And, before you ask, we get our tap water out of the tap.

Almost 45% of UK houses now have plumbed in running water and indoor toilets.

 

[Ace Yonder]

Hahaha, well I said it comes out of the tap at a certain ph, maybe in England that isn't correct grammar but here in the states there's nothing wrong with my phrasing (As far as I can tell anyways, and I've read Strunk and White a couple of times). I only said out of the tap again to emphasize that it starts that ph, not raises to it after hours of sitting (To let chlorine evaporate etc, as ph in water can change with exposure to air). But to answer your question clones at my club cost $12, other clubs have younger clones for $8 or older ones for $30 (Supposedly the $30 are ready to flower but they didn't look it to me), but none of them looked as vigorous as the girl I picked. So yeah, she was $12, which would be around £7.30 I believe

 

[Ace Yonder]

Ok so I have a question I'm hoping someone can answer. Given that I have fairly limited space indoors, but quite a bit of space outdoors, would it be feasible to move her outside to finish flowering after a couple weeks? I started her indoors because I figured the short days wouldn't let her veg, but I would be willing to bet that even the 9ish hour long winter days would give her more light than the combined 220 real watts of cfl I have on her now. Anyone know if this is possible, and if so how it would affect the yield, positive or negative, or does she need 12 full hours of light in addition to 12 hours uninterrupted darkness? I live in the San Francisco bay area so its not like I'd be putting her out in a Minnesota winter or anything. With a 50% chance of the last frost coming before February 7th I figure the worst thing that can happen is she gets a little extra purple, right?

 

[Ace Yonder]

I just switched light cycle to 12/12 day before yesterday, today she got her first watering since the switch, just a mild fungi tea made from a little molasses, a 4-6-4 Organic fert with mycorrhizae, and a little kelp meal and azomite for trace minerals, and now her leaves are doing this. Is this normal and just part of the switch to flowering, or is this something I should be worried about? Everything else seems healthy, and she's grown a full inch (14" to 15") from this morning to now.

 

[Ace Yonder]

So it seems (to me) she has recovered nicely from whatever the twisting was. She is about 5 days into 12/12 light cycle, and her top leaves are hitting 17". How does she look development-wise? About right for 5 days into flower? I have no clue what to look for to tell if she is on schedule or not.

 

[fred flintstoned]

Looks very healthy. You may want to bump up the feed a bit, maybe 10 - 15%. The purple stems on the fans are an indication of P deficiency. It could also be a genetic trait, although that's somewhat rare. Doesn't look too serious yet.They get real hungry during initial stretch and still consume a lot N for another week or two. I usually stick with max veg feed with the addition of a PK booster till the start of week 4.
Fred

 

[Ace Yonder]

Looks very healthy. You may want to bump up the feed a bit, maybe 10 - 15%. The purple stems on the fans are an indication of P deficiency. It could also be a genetic trait, although that's somewhat rare. Doesn't look too serious yet.They get real hungry during initial stretch and still consume a lot N for another week or two. I usually stick with max veg feed with the addition of a PK booster till the start of week 4.
Fred

Thanks for the advice!! I will step up her feeding at the next watering, I just gave her a partial-nute watering today with a slight step up from last time. I am pretty sure that purple stems are genetic with Agent Orange, I don't have a heater running at night so the temps drop to around the mid 50s-60s, and I know that AO gets very purple/maroon during cold nights, but I've heard its nothing to worry about cuz AO tolerates it well. I have however noticed that the tips of her roots that are sticking through the pot have a slightly fuzzy look to them, is it DEFINITELY mold or could it be the micro fine hairs that the roots use to uptake water? There is no mold or mildew anywhere else on her so I'm not really sure I need to do anything about it either way unless it spreads. Anyways thank you for the reply!!

 

[ProfessorChaos420]

She has put down good roots at this point. Based on the size of your grow box I would switch to 12/12 soon. She will grow to 2-3 times her current size in flower.

You might want to dissolve some epsom salt in hot water (1/2 - 1 tsp/gal) to give her more magnesium, it looks like you have early magnesium deficiency.

CFLs can get hot and they have the potential to malfunction/break/overheat, think about using something other than a cardboard box. It is a fire hazard.

Good choices on soil, using mycorrhizae, and using some molasses. Good luck on your first grow

Absolutely spot on advice!
I also saw a bit of magnesium deficiency in the color of the early pics. Foliar feed(spray tops and bottoms of leaves) a teaspoon of epsom salt to a gallon of water, if you haven't already.
Stop using tap water. Go down to your local grocer, and get you some distilled water.(It's usually no more than a dollar a gallon.) It's Ph is always dead on.
FoxFarm OF is decent soil. I prefer Roots Organics, but have used FoxFarm before, and did well with it.
Once your plants start swelling with nice bud sites, you should start them on THIS and THIS.
Good luck.

 

[Ace Yonder]

Absolutely spot on advice!
I also saw a bit of magnesium deficiency in the color of the early pics. Foliar feed(spray tops and bottoms of leaves) a teaspoon of epsom salt to a gallon of water, if you haven't already.
Stop using tap water. Go down to your local grocer, and get you some distilled water.(It's usually no more than a dollar a gallon.) It's Ph is always dead on.
FoxFarm OF is decent soil. I prefer Roots Organics, but have used FoxFarm before, and did well with it.
Once your plants start swelling with nice bud sites, you should start them on THIS and THIS.
Good luck.

As I said, I switched from tap to a 50/50 mix of distilled and spring water about a week ago and she has loved the change. I haven't seen any spreading of the yellowing to any new growth and it looks like she's starting to develop bud sites at a fairly staggering rate, so I think I've gotten the deficiencies under control, I am pretty sure it was all from nute lockout caused by the high levels of sodium in the tap water that I used for her first two waterings. As for BB and TB I have heard great things about them, as well as a lot of AN products, but I am a hippy at heart and I'm keeping her fully organic (Except for a little superthrive to help with transplant stress etc., but as for food I am only feeding her organics). I am planning on mainly using bacterial/fungal compost teas to feed her because I have all the ingredients and it makes the most sense to me botany-wise.