1st Grow...big or go home

[blackflag_demo]

ok, so i couldn't really tend to my girls over the weekend due to company. i watered them friday and didn't touch them until today. they look amazing and are growing so big. by far the most developed are the bubblegum and ASD in group 2 which is slightly weird because everything has been the same with all the plants. but either way the girls look amazing. today i also raised the T5 up about 3" to allow for more stretching and to get ready for a transplant into a bigger pot. their next home will be in a gal fabric pot and from there they will go into a 7 gal fabric pot when they are ready for bloom. i'm laying off the nutes for this week and will slowly introduce them next week. always open to advice.

 

[bro54209]

It's so fucking hilarious flashing back a few months when I was over analyzing them, you'll eventually learn to give them space, my recommendations are PLAIN or 6.5 ph water the first week and read the plant you will slowly get a feel for how much they need rather than dumping a tsp of grow when they look green already, learn to top multiple times dont fim mainline by lollipop lower third shit when you realize how tiny they bloom, I'm finding how more assertive about it now is making the growth more efficient by taking the useless stuff off and channeling auxins, also don't water by a schedule of human time, they all vary in needs 2-5 days rarely every 2 though- let the roots dry out enough to breathe while supplementing a foliar spray (light off) on non humid days- they drink through the leaves while letting the roots get oxygen, I see great results not over watering less nutes the better to start off, and check ph every so often instead of assuming deficiency

 

[Fishy Buds]

Hey long time reader and new poster on RIU. Looking forward to seeing how your first grow progresses especially with the LED and the ASD. Of course also gotta see how the bubblegum turns out... a classic. Looks like you have a decent setup and some knowledge with ya just gotta learn the practical applications now which you are doing. Like some have already said always be patient and don't worry too much about the minor things. Always remember apart from the most major of screw ups (and I mean pretty major) this is a plant that has survived a long time over the course of history and it will take a lot of abuse and still put off some good results with TLC.

Hoping your grow continues to progress well and I'll be watching and helping with any knowledge I can share. Out of curiosity you listed the nutes you are gonna be using but as you start to introduce the nutes what will you be using during veg?

 

[blackflag_demo]

It's so fucking hilarious flashing back a few months when I was over analyzing them, you'll eventually learn to give them space, my recommendations are PLAIN or 6.5 ph water the first week and read the plant you will slowly get a feel for how much they need rather than dumping a tsp of grow when they look green already, learn to top multiple times dont fim mainline by lollipop lower third shit when you realize how tiny they bloom, I'm finding how more assertive about it now is making the growth more efficient by taking the useless stuff off and channeling auxins, also don't water by a schedule of human time, they all vary in needs 2-5 days rarely every 2 though- let the roots dry out enough to breathe while supplementing a foliar spray (light off) on non humid days- they drink through the leaves while letting the roots get oxygen, I see great results not over watering less nutes the better to start off, and check ph every so often instead of assuming deficiency

taking a step back definitely helped the plants. i think at first spending all that money on the setup i was expecting to be more involved and to be honest i just need to be there to water them and thats it lol. i tried plain water but my water out of the facet is at 7.8 and although it wont kill them or severally hurt them they could reject nutes (so i'm told). so i pH it down to 6.5-6.8 it depends. you said top multiple times but dont fim...why would you suggest not fim'ing? i do plan on lollipopping...ive been looking into that. AUXINS!!! tell me more about that. i saw a form on it but i didnt save it and i lost it but the results were good. i would like to know more about auxins and channeling them. i will admit i thought i had to water every day and i nearly drown them...my poor babies lol the leaves started to point downward and started to look sad now i do it every other day or as needed. i usually wait till the top of the soil looks like all the moister is dried up, also how lite the cup feels. is foliar just mean spray on the leaves or is it a nute?

Hey long time reader and new poster on RIU. Looking forward to seeing how your first grow progresses especially with the LED and the ASD. Of course also gotta see how the bubblegum turns out... a classic. Looks like you have a decent setup and some knowledge with ya just gotta learn the practical applications now which you are doing. Like some have already said always be patient and don't worry too much about the minor things. Always remember apart from the most major of screw ups (and I mean pretty major) this is a plant that has survived a long time over the course of history and it will take a lot of abuse and still put off some good results with TLC.

Hoping your grow continues to progress well and I'll be watching and helping with any knowledge I can share. Out of curiosity you listed the nutes you are gonna be using but as you start to introduce the nutes what will you be using during veg?

i'm really excited to try a LED grow. my mentor has been running HPS so hes interested to see how a LED light performs, and to see if it is any good or comparable to HPS. the ASD smells good but i have to admit that the bubblegum smells amazing yo. i think that will end up being my favorite plus the bubblegum has been out growing all of the other plants. ok so the nutes that i am using some of them are intended to use during veg. i have a feeding schedule that was given to me by my local grow shop and its setup for all of fox farm products. i started off giving nutes and it was a mistake on top of that i was probably giving them entirely to much. i've heard less is more and i'm starting to realize that the more and more i'm watching my girls grow . what will happen is i'll probably start giving them nutes in a week or 2 but minimal nutes. the only nute that was highly recommended (in fact my mentor said it was the only nute i really needed) and i'm going to use is Rock Resignator. i also have a compost tea i really want to use. i can give you a list of the ones that are recommended during the veg if you want.

thanks for your input guys. i love the advice, it keeps me thinking and pushing to learn more. hope the results are as exciting.

 

[Fishy Buds]

taking a step back definitely helped the plants. i think at first spending all that money on the setup i was expecting to be more involved and to be honest i just need to be there to water them and thats it lol. i tried plain water but my water out of the facet is at 7.8 and although it wont kill them or severally hurt them they could reject nutes (so i'm told). so i pH it down to 6.5-6.8 it depends. you said top multiple times but dont fim...why would you suggest not fim'ing? i do plan on lollipopping...ive been looking into that. AUXINS!!! tell me more about that. i saw a form on it but i didnt save it and i lost it but the results were good. i would like to know more about auxins and channeling them. i will admit i thought i had to water every day and i nearly drown them...my poor babies lol the leaves started to point downward and started to look sad now i do it every other day or as needed. i usually wait till the top of the soil looks like all the moister is dried up, also how lite the cup feels. is foliar just mean spray on the leaves or is it a nute?



i'm really excited to try a LED grow. my mentor has been running HPS so hes interested to see how a LED light performs, and to see if it is any good or comparable to HPS. the ASD smells good but i have to admit that the bubblegum smells amazing yo. i think that will end up being my favorite plus the bubblegum has been out growing all of the other plants. ok so the nutes that i am using some of them are intended to use during veg. i have a feeding schedule that was given to me by my local grow shop and its setup for all of fox farm products. i started off giving nutes and it was a mistake on top of that i was probably giving them entirely to much. i've heard less is more and i'm starting to realize that the more and more i'm watching my girls grow . what will happen is i'll probably start giving them nutes in a week or 2 but minimal nutes. the only nute that was highly recommended (in fact my mentor said it was the only nute i really needed) and i'm going to use is Rock Resignator. i also have a compost tea i really want to use. i can give you a list of the ones that are recommended during the veg if you want.

thanks for your input guys. i love the advice, it keeps me thinking and pushing to learn more. hope the results are as exciting.

Cool deal. Yeah it is best to take it easy on the nutes when they are that young especially cause your soil may have had some nutritional value to it already. And when I do soil the weight of the pot is one of the best indicators early on until the container they are in is too big to lift! At that point I use a moisture meter.

Foliar is a spray with a weaker solution of nutrients, or pest sprays, or to get rid of/prevent any diseases (think powdery mildew). There are many sprays you can use but take it easy with them they are not even necessary. A lot of the time they are used to give the plants a boost or to supplement a nutrient that is found deficient as it is absorbed quickly through the stomata of the leaves. Since you are using compost tea I would do that as a straight foliar spray as this will protect the leaves and stems (the phyllosphere) on your plants giving beneficial bacterial and fungi colonies so other pathogens are less likely to get a foothold. Just buy a surfactant (also called a wetting agent) which will break the water tension and allow it to adhere to the plant better.

 

[bro54209]

taking a step back definitely helped the plants. i think at first spending all that money on the setup i was expecting to be more involved and to be honest i just need to be there to water them and thats it lol. i tried plain water but my water out of the facet is at 7.8 and although it wont kill them or severally hurt them they could reject nutes (so i'm told). so i pH it down to 6.5-6.8 it depends. you said top multiple times but dont fim...why would you suggest not fim'ing? i do plan on lollipopping...ive been looking into that. AUXINS!!! tell me more about that. i saw a form on it but i didnt save it and i lost it but the results were good. i would like to know more about auxins and channeling them. i will admit i thought i had to water every day and i nearly drown them...my poor babies lol the leaves started to point downward and started to look sad now i do it every other day or as needed. i usually wait till the top of the soil looks like all the moister is dried up, also how lite the cup feels. is foliar just mean spray on the leaves or is it a nute?



i'm really excited to try a LED grow. my mentor has been running HPS so hes interested to see how a LED light performs, and to see if it is any good or comparable to HPS. the ASD smells good but i have to admit that the bubblegum smells amazing yo. i think that will end up being my favorite plus the bubblegum has been out growing all of the other plants. ok so the nutes that i am using some of them are intended to use during veg. i have a feeding schedule that was given to me by my local grow shop and its setup for all of fox farm products. i started off giving nutes and it was a mistake on top of that i was probably giving them entirely to much. i've heard less is more and i'm starting to realize that the more and more i'm watching my girls grow . what will happen is i'll probably start giving them nutes in a week or 2 but minimal nutes. the only nute that was highly recommended (in fact my mentor said it was the only nute i really needed) and i'm going to use is Rock Resignator. i also have a compost tea i really want to use. i can give you a list of the ones that are recommended during the veg if you want.

thanks for your input guys. i love the advice, it keeps me thinking and pushing to learn more. hope the results are as exciting.

I was being silly fiming n topping all over the place and made irregular patterns, symmetry with branches, and with the grow schedule your gut tops the schedule I think it's fun of how you get a feel for how much they need, listen to the plants!

 

[blackflag_demo]

Cool deal. Yeah it is best to take it easy on the nutes when they are that young especially cause your soil may have had some nutritional value to it already. And when I do soil the weight of the pot is one of the best indicators early on until the container they are in is too big to lift! At that point I use a moisture meter.

Foliar is a spray with a weaker solution of nutrients, or pest sprays, or to get rid of/prevent any diseases (think powdery mildew). There are many sprays you can use but take it easy with them they are not even necessary. A lot of the time they are used to give the plants a boost or to supplement a nutrient that is found deficient as it is absorbed quickly through the stomata of the leaves. Since you are using compost tea I would do that as a straight foliar spray as this will protect the leaves and stems (the phyllosphere) on your plants giving beneficial bacterial and fungi colonies so other pathogens are less likely to get a foothold. Just buy a surfactant (also called a wetting agent) which will break the water tension and allow it to adhere to the plant better.

yeah they sit in fox farm right now and i think thats what was so crushing to the plants early on. i was giving them more nutes then they needed but at the same time they were getting nutes from the soil also. in a weird way i'm glad i screwed up and burned them. you know having something new and taking care of it you don't know if your doing to much or not enough. yeah, well after the incident i was able to step back and see things that i was concerned with are not that big of a deal.

as far as sprays i just spray with regular water and water them with regular water. would you recommend mixing the tea with the water i spray on? and if i do that would i also mix the tea with the nute and other stuff that go into the soil?

 

[blackflag_demo]

so today i went and checked on my babies. and this is what i have so far. the tallest plants are about 3" and these are also the strongest smelling plants. on a side note i want to bury my face in the plant and smell it all the time, i let my gf smell it and she loved it. the test group will be put on nutes this week and through week 4, they will be fed nute mixture every other week and regular water on the off week. also i only mixed half the recommended nutes, instead of the full amount.

early on if you read the full form i screwed up and burned a few plants, but the test group didnt get burned because i believe they had root lock and was not taking anything in. they also did not grow at all for the next week. so they are just now playing catch up, but they are still farther behind then the other plants. again this is my test group and i experiment with these 2 (ASD, special kush). so for now i'm gong to go bi-weekly on the nutes and see how they react to that. also i'm thinking staying a little more all natural with the other plants and just using the Rock Resignator during bloom but we'll see.

i'm always open to advice and hope everyone is enjoying the grow.

 

[Fishy Buds]

yeah they sit in fox farm right now and i think thats what was so crushing to the plants early on. i was giving them more nutes then they needed but at the same time they were getting nutes from the soil also. in a weird way i'm glad i screwed up and burned them. you know having something new and taking care of it you don't know if your doing to much or not enough. yeah, well after the incident i was able to step back and see things that i was concerned with are not that big of a deal.

as far as sprays i just spray with regular water and water them with regular water. would you recommend mixing the tea with the water i spray on? and if i do that would i also mix the tea with the nute and other stuff that go into the soil?

Not really a need to foliar with plain water as this only increases humidity and the chance for disease (powdery mildew to name a major one) without any benefit except for maybe some of the ions in your tap water... folair feeding (feeding a key word) is generally only done with nutrients or for other reasons (bugs, disease, preventative means, etc.) I would spray the compost tea straight on the plants or diluted slightly (maybe 2/3 compost tea to 1/3 water) but I spray mine straight undiluted and the plants love it. I would also mix the tea with the water and nutes for your regular feedings. You will be adding a ton of beneficial microbes to enhance your root zone and increase the root growth and nutrient uptake as well as protect the rhizosphere (root zone). It will also provide some micro nutrients.

With soil I would normally do nutes, water water, nutes, (depending maybe nutes and water alternating) and adjust depending on what the plants are telling me (if they want more or not). Don't judge it by weeks but more so waterings.

so for now i'm gong to go bi-weekly on the nutes and see how they react to that. also i'm thinking staying a little more all natural with the other plants and just using the Rock Resignator during bloom but we'll see.

Once you reach bloom if you vegged for a decent length of time your soil will be exhausted and you will need nutrients. I'm not familiar with Rock Resignator but from the looks of it, its a supplement primarily for P and K (this is all I got from an online brief description) so you will need some base nutrients to get a good yield to supply complete nutrition to your plants.

 

[blackflag_demo]

ok @Fishy Buds so you recommend compost tea diluted or not to be sprayed as a folair spray and mixed in with the nutes? i'm not trying to sound like a broken record or anything but just making sure i got this. i've heard (through RIU forms) that you should mix organic with synthetic, being that the tea is organic won't this raise issues? i have mixed it into the nutes of the project group and i'm going to watch them over the next feeding or 2. next using the tea as a folair spray will it affect the taste or smell at all?
would you recommend a good base for the rock resignator also? are would any base work...i guess i could just look it up i'm sure they have something that ties in to their product.

as for the progress i'm planning on transplanting them monday and start topping them. they are getting a little to big for the solo cups. the leaves are sticking out a inch or more on all sides. the girls growth has also significantly started to slow down...i'm thinking they are starting to get root bound and need to expand more, or need more room. but they are sitting at about 6 nodes and are starting to look and smell amazing. each time i see them i forget how strong they are. as soon as i transplant them they'll end up going under the LED light so the fun will begin. also looking forward to the cloning and lollipopping stages to.

 

[blackflag_demo]

question real quick...and this really comes down to growers preference but after the sour diesel and bubblegum what would be the next best strain to grow. good yield, solid high, grow time, and dense buds. obviously each grower has their own preference but there are strains out there that get more attentions then others. one i hear about alot is girl scout cookies and AK-47 things like that but what would be your preference.

on a side note photoshoot happens tomorrow so pumped about that.

 

[Fishy Buds]

ok @Fishy Buds so you recommend compost tea diluted or not to be sprayed as a folair spray and mixed in with the nutes? i've heard (through RIU forms) that you should mix organic with synthetic, being that the tea is organic won't this raise issues? i have mixed it into the nutes of the project group and i'm going to watch them over the next feeding or 2. next using the tea as a folair spray will it affect the taste or smell at all?
would you recommend a good base for the rock resignator also? are would any base work...i guess i could just look it up i'm sure they have something that ties in to their product.

as for the progress i'm planning on transplanting them monday and start topping them. they are getting a little to big for the solo cups. the leaves are sticking out a inch or more on all sides. the girls growth has also significantly started to slow down...i'm thinking they are starting to get root bound and need to expand more, or need more room. but they are sitting at about 6 nodes and are starting to look and smell amazing. each time i see them i forget how strong they are. as soon as i transplant them they'll end up going under the LED light so the fun will begin. also looking forward to the cloning and lollipopping stages to.

I personally foliar without diluting but I guess this brings about the question as to how you make your tea? Or do you buy premade tea? I definitely put mine int he reservoir with whatever else in in there synthetic or organic doesn't matter I am simply using it for the beneficial organisms for the root zone. Only foliar until about the 2nd or 3rd week of flower depending on how quickly the flowers start to form I only foliar the first two weeks. So with that in mind no, it won't affect taste or smell.

Yeah definitely transplant if they are already at 6 nodes.

 

[blackflag_demo]

hey guys missed a few days...i was caught up with other things. also i didnt get the pics up like i had planned, but i'm fixing that now.

so alil about last week: the girls grew and grew until they became root bound and then they stopped growing and the leaves started to point down. they kinda looked sad and wanting to spread. the first picture is pre-trans and the second picture is the roots. i've been giving them nothing but water, except the project girls (3rd pic). i fed them nutes and water mixed prior to the transplant. after all the girls received their last feeding on fri then i cut them off and let them dry out, to get ready for transplant.

today i transplanted them into the 1 gal fabric pots and watered them again with regular water. after this watering the project girls will continue back onto the nutes mix with water. over the next few watering i'm going to watch the difference in growth in the project girls to the growth with the other groups. also after the transplant the girls got new homes and fresh soil, they were then placed under the LED. i will be watching and keeping track of the growth under the LED.

i hope you enjoy the pics and if you have any advice or comments let me know. the last pics are after transplant. next step from here is to start looking towards cloning...this week or later today i will be looking to top and fim the plants.

 

[blackflag_demo]

as of right now the girls have responded well to the transplant. and look amazing if i do say so myself. they smell delicious. there is one girl that is looking sad, its a ASD from group 2. her leaves are pointing down and shes looking sad. right now she isnt showing any signs of other issues. i've watered her and gave the same love but she seems stressed about the transplant. i'll keep watching her over the next few days to see if she bounces back. if you have any suggestions on how to help her then please help

if your wondering about the watering then i'll say that i waited until they were dry transplanted them and gave them a little bit of water. i didn't water them a crazy amount...but i gave them just enough to keep the soil damp. the ASD 2 was droopy before the transplant...i assumed that the plant was sad because it was root bound. in the pictures i posted then you can see how full the roots were. also i fim'd groups 1&2 (i missed on the bubblegum and ended up topping it lol), i also topped the project group. i left group 3 alone, because i wanted to watch the growing process without topping/fim'ing right now. eventually i'll top them or fim but for now i'm watching.

thanks again for watching my grow and if you have any idea about whats going on with my baby let me know.

 

[astronautrob]

IMO you're letting them get root bound and that is going to cause you problems. You should of transferred those girls out of solo cups awhile back, and since they were so developed probably should of just went to a 3 gallon. They're going to outgrow those 1 gallons very quickly. I didn't read the whole thread so I don't know how long you actually vegged them in those cups but it was def too long. I'd let them establish in the 1 gal but I'd transplant up again sooner rather than later. Foliar with a couple teaspoons of aloe water can help with shock from transplant

 

[blackflag_demo]

IMO you're letting them get root bound and that is going to cause you problems. You should of transferred those girls out of solo cups awhile back, and since they were so developed probably should of just went to a 3 gallon. They're going to outgrow those 1 gallons very quickly. I didn't read the whole thread so I don't know how long you actually vegged them in those cups but it was def too long. I'd let them establish in the 1 gal but I'd transplant up again sooner rather than later. Foliar with a couple teaspoons of aloe water can help with shock from transplant

well that could very well be the problem. i had them in the solo cups for about 2 weeks. i've probably done twice as many transplants as other people have just because i started them off wrong though. i have them in fabric pots and the guy at the store said with fabric pots i should be able to just drop them into the larger pots and the roots will grow through the fabric. i dont know how true that is, i haven't heard anyone mention it before so i don't know. i'll give the aloe water a shot though. than you for your help.

 

[astronautrob]

fabric pots and the guy at the store said with fabric pots i should be able to just drop them into the larger pots and the roots will grow through the fabric.

You mean like a smart pot right? Idk man I've never heard of the roots being able to grow thru, maybe so, but personally I'd still transplant normally idk that's just me though

i'll give the aloe water a shot though.

Yea it's really cheap on amazon for some aloe water, great to have around and lasts forever

 

[blackflag_demo]

no not like smart pots...its pots that are made of fabric, like a wool or recycled fabric. you cant really see them in the pics because of the LED but those are fabric pots and supposedly you're supposed to be able to drop those into a larger pot and the roots will grow right through. i guess i'm going to have to read up on those.

 

[astronautrob]

Yea, I mean, smart pots are made out of similar material I believe but I know what you're talking about. Be that as it may, I'd still either transplant normally or at least cut the bottoms off of the smaller pots before putting them in to the bigger ones, but again just imo. I wouldn't want to make the roots work any harder than they had to

 

[astronautrob]

http://rollitup.org/t/fabric-pots.909346/#post-12601324

was looking at this post yesterday, probably could find a better one with more responses though