CptTripps' first grow journal.

[CptTripps]

Hey gang. I've been lurking in the Newbie forum for a month or two, and posting there for the last month as I started my grow. Figured this would be a better place to document my trials/tribulations, so here goes. (I'm dumping a month worth of progress in this first post, and then I'll do updates periodically.)

PLEASE COMMENT IF I'M DOING SOMETHING WRONG/RIGHT!
I'm a complete newbie at this, and I've got pretty thick skin, so call me out on my BS if you see it.

Jan 20th, I put two Diesel Auto seeds in a paper towel and out it on top of the hot water heater. It never gets really hot, but just warm, so I thought that would be a good dark place to keep them for a few days.

I then went on Amazon and bought a bunch of stuff, knowing damn-well that 50% of it was wrong, and that I'd be returning some things. But....I had to start somewhere.

Jan 22nd, I had 1cm taproots on the seeds. Time to get them into soil.

I'd read conflicting reports as to whether I should just throw in big pots or not. I decided to just go for it and see what happened. (My first grow, after all...I was bound to learn from my mistakes one way or another.)

I set up my Vivosun 3X3 tent, hung my KingLED 100w and set up my 5gal fabric pots with FoxFarms CocoLoco soil that I bought from a local hydroponics store. (It's only open 1 day a week...oddly.)

This was the pic on Jan 25th.



I left things alone for a few days, and low and behold...I had my first sprout on Jan 28th.



After 24h of reading here, I realized the mistake that I made with the KingLED light, and ordered a MarsHydro TSW-2000 for the tent. Big upgrade. I also hung the ductwork and carbon filter at this point. I felt like this was giving better coverage to the tent, and seeing that I was now an expert at growing, I decided to put two more pots in the tent. (This would be my first mistake.)



Again....after more reading here, I realized that I had the light too high up, so I dropped it down. My little girls were starting to do really well. (Or, so I thought.)




By Feb 2nd, things seemed to be going really well. Girls were really filling out. I had been told my the guy at the aforementioned store that GH notes were the easiest to use for a first-time grower like myself, so I bought them and used them. Instructions were easy enough to follow and with my trusty PH meter from Amazon, I was keeping the PH of my water to about 6.5.



I was able to keep my head out of the tent for 2 days, and when I checked in on them on Feb 5th, I was shocked at how much had happened in 48h. (I did shake the water off of the leaves after I took the pic.)



One girl was doing really well...the other not so much. I bailed on the other two pots, and I realized that managing 4 plants was going to be too much work for a first time grower, and I was going to limit the number of things I needed to worry about. Plant #2 It didn't appear to have grown at all in 2 days, and the leaves were curling. I figured this was them "unfurling" or something, so I didn't pay too much mind to it. I also realized it was getting too hot in there, so I bought a thermostat for the exhaust fan to help control that. Also added a humidifier, as it was down in the 20s most of the time.



Three days later, on Feb 8th, things were really starting to get crazy. It's like you can watch them grow in an hour of you have that kind of patience. (I do not) I try to limit myself to peeking in on them once a day when I wake up at about 4:30am.



Plant #1 was doing great, and #2 seemed to be coming out of the ground sideways. I later learned that I likely put the seed in the soil with the taproot facing up, so it twisted its self getting to the sun. I did some training on it by putting a stake (stick from the junky soil PH meter) in the ground, propping the stem up. Within a day, the plant was now pointing in the right direction, and I was back on track (or so I thought.)

 

[Just Be]

Aye aye, Cap'n! Some people say that the 'right way' is to have the tap root pointed upwards.
I'd have let it grow sideways since I'd eventually be LSTing it to make it grow that way.

 

[Superbad421]

Keep up the good work I'll watch along and see how you do..

 

[CptTripps]

By Feb 12th, I was seeing them start to get bigger every day. I was keeping to the GH recommenced nute schedule, and the plants were doing really well. Plant #1 (on the right) was still outperforming, but not my much. I was noticing the leaves were curling a bit, but I didn't know that wasn't normal (yet.) It was at this point that I fimmed them as well. Why not give it a shot?



The edges of the leaves were starting to get orange spots on them, and I found about 20 different things that could be, so I posted a pic of what I was dealing with in the Newbie area. It was pointed out (by @Powertech) that my curling leaves and short bushiness were a result of the sidewalls on the pots being a little too high, and I was giving them TOO much light. I turned down the light to about 75%.



So I got out my scissors and cut the pots down a bit. I also defoled a bit to get some more light through to the important parts of the plant. So this shot on Feb 15th had me feeling good about everything. The plants stoped curling, and they just seemed to liven up overall.



I also did a little LST so they could spread out a bit.



Plant #2 (on the left) was still being a runt, and looked a lot different than #1, so I just decided that it may be a wrong seed or something, and to continue growing it anyway.

By Feb 17th, they were filling out well. New growth all over the place. Score! The leaves were looking a little droopy, and when I picked up the pots, I noticed that they were way too light, so I watered at that point. (I may have skipped a watering by accident.)



But plant #2 was still looking all strange compared to #1. I'm just going to keep rolling with it and see if it comes around...




By Feb 20, plant #1 had filled in all of what I cut out of it the week before. It's almost like it wants to grow leaves or something...



I was hoping to have something to harvest every month, so I started another two pots. This time with Bruce Banner. So I got two pots ready and started germinating seeds the way I did them before, as that worked for me.

Ducking my head back in the tent the next day (Feb 21st) I noticed that there were some areas that weren't getting any light, so I took the plants out of the tent for a haircut again.




And that leads us to this morning. (Feb 22nd)
Plants are all doing well, and the BB that I planted 2 days ago is already sprouting. So I'm a happy camper...for now.



Like I said in the first post, don't be shy. If I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to know about it.

Cheers, and I'll update it again in a few days when I have something to report.

 

[Superbad421]

I'm also growing Bruce Banner they are in week four of flower if you have any questions give me a shout..

 

[ChronicHydroo]

Looks great!!!

 

[CptTripps]

I'm also growing Bruce Banner they are in week four of flower if you have any questions give me a shout..

My BBs are JUST starting to peak their heads out of the dirt, so I'm a few months behind you. I ordered the "fast version"of BB just to see what all the hype was about. Planted two, in the hopes that one will make it and be good. My goal is to eventually have 4-5 plants going at once, all a month from each other and then I'd be able to harvest every month or so. Keep it perpetual with seeds and clones.

BB Plant 1 - Feb 23rd


I mentioned this in my "introductions" post, but I don't smoke. I'm growing for my fiancé, who has Crohn's disease and needs serious help with pain management. She got her "Medical Marijuana" card from the state a year ago, but the dispensaries here are selling at about $500oz so it's really expensive for as much as she's smoking. I've got $1,000 into this rig, so if I end up with 2oz I'm in the black! That's why I'm trying to grow it at home. (She also has no clue I'm doing any of this, so I have it all hidden in the house.)

 

[Just Be]

Ozone therapy and / or hyperbaric oxygen treatment is supposed to give good results for Crohn's. I'm not trying to dissuade you from growing for her. Just putting that out there because ozone treatment can easily be done at home and an ozone generator is a great thing for a cannabis cultivator to have on hand. https://www.maximumyield.com/ozone-an-indoor-garden-super-tool/2/1165

 

[CptTripps]

Ozone therapy and / or hyperbaric oxygen treatment is supposed to give good results for Crohn's. I'm not trying to dissuade you from growing for her. Just putting that out there because ozone treatment can easily be done at home and an ozone generator is a great thing for a cannabis cultivator to have on hand. https://www.maximumyield.com/ozone-an-indoor-garden-super-tool/2/1165

That's interesting. We've tried a dozen different medications, diet, exercise, herbs, meditation....literally everything. She's been battling for 20y and about 1y into the worst flare of her life. Weed was the only thing that seems to work for the pain aside from Percocet (which is now impossible to get.)

I started in this 3X3 tent, but am planning on building a bigger purpose-built space that's about 6X4 for the operation if this works out over the next few months. I'll then I'll be able to keep a few more plants going. Adding a small ozone generator to that room wouldn't be an issue at all once that happens. I don't know how I'd be able to put one of those in the house to cover everything though. Our house is about 7,000sq.

 

[Just Be]

I'm not all that familiar with the need to cover an entire house but you can run it in one room at a time, 20 mins an hour for as many hours as you'd need to. It will disinfect everything in the room but it's best to stay clear of those rooms while the ozone machine is running. Some units require a tank of oxygen to be hooked up to them but the one that I use (this one) just uses the ambient air and it works like a champ. To give you an idea of just how powerful ozone is, I've heard stories about people using ozone generators (with oxygen) inside of their house and it was so strong that it actually killed the mold and mildew that was growing on their vinyl siding. From my own experience with the A2Z Ozone Aqua 6, drinking a glass of ozonated water a day for a year cured me (and one of my brothers) of Lyme's disease so I'm confident that ozone therapy can rid her of Crohn's. Another example. Magic Johnson has had AIDS for god knows how long and he's outlived most AIDS patients that were diagnosed around the same time as he. The reason being is that he could afford to go to Europe and get ozone therapy. It's one of (if not THE) world of medicine's best kept secrets.

 

[CptTripps]

30d since the seeds sprouted, and I'm getting pistols on plant #1! This is exciting.



Nothing new out of plant #2 yet. She's still short and bushy. Although, she's gained a bunch of foliage since I gave her a haircut on Friday. Planted at the same time, but she sprouted about 4 days later, so I'm thinking she's just a week behind #1 right now. Definitely a smaller plant though, so I'm not expecting to get much yield out of her.



The one Bruce Banner is about 2" tall already, and the second one has just looked like a green dot in the soil for 2 days now. I may have lost her. I'll give it another week and see what happens. I'm just keeping a dome over them both right now, and the humidity inside the dome is keeping the soil moist. I'm just watering around the dome every 2 days, hoping to get the root structure to stretch out a little.



Another update in 2 days... Cheers!

 

[CptTripps]

I'm definitely coming into flower with the two Auto Diesels now. Lots of new growth on the branches, and pistols abound as of Feb 26th.





I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed with the size of the plants. They're both on the small side. Could just be genetics. I'm going to clone off of the bigger one, as it was a pretty good grower for me.

BB #1 is doing his thing (pictured), but #2 hasn't sprouted past the "green dot" pic I posted 2 days ago. I think I may have a dud here, Thoughts?



Headed out of town on business for a few days, so I'll be able to keep my head out of the tent for a while. Looking forward to seeing what happened this weekend while I was gone. I gave everyone a good watering with nutes, and I'm off!

 

[CptTripps]

Away for 2d and boy, what a difference. The girls are stretching like crazy. Auto Diesel #2, which had been the runt its whole life, has now just about out-stretching #1. #1 is still thirstier though. I guess it may have a better root structure? I came home from a business trip and #1 was all sad and saggy, and #2 was doing great. I watered both last night, and this morning everyone was happy and perky.

The "green dot" seed above was shriveled up and bone dry, so I'm going to start over on Bruce Banner #2 today. #1 is doing great and growing nicely as I expected. Easily 3X the size it was when I left Wednesday morning.

I'm going to try my hand at cloning one of the Auto Diesels this weekend. My first attempt, so I'll try 3-4 in the hopes that one makes it. Gotta go on Amazon today and get some supplies for that.

 

[ronintank]

I will follow along. Keep at it. They will grow like weeds soon.

 

[CptTripps]

BB#1 - Mar 1



I started a new BB #2 in a paper towel yesterday. Guess it's good that the other BB didn't work out. I'm now planning to get to where I've got 4 plants in Veg and 6 in Flower at all times, so I'm going to start a new plant about every 2-3 weeks for a while.

Making plans for a 4X8 next to this 4X4. The autos I have in here should be out of here in about 6-8 weeks, leaving me enough room for everything. Perpetual harvest every month SHOULD work out here, or close to it anyway...

 

[CptTripps]

Big girls are really stretching out now, and starting to add buds faster than expected. Although, after watching 100h of YouTube videos from other growers, they all say the same thing, and I should have expected this.

The BB is coming along really nicely. I took the dome off today, as the leaves were touching the edges of it. The second BB started germinating the other day sprouted a tap root (finally) so I'm planning on planting that in another day or two when it gets to 2cm.

I gave the big girls a good haircut the other day, and they've both rebounded nicely. They seem to put on a few inches every day when I peek in the tent. I thought I went a little too severe on them with defol, but it appears they liked it and the light is able to penetrate better. I'm only hoping for about 85g total from the two Diesel Autos, so anything more than that and I'm happy.

I've stopped using the humidifier now. It's hovering around 40% in the tent, and I have read that's close to ideal for flower growth. I don't want to over-do it.

Mar 3rd pic

 

[CptTripps]

My Diesel Autos are doing great. Starting to really pack on buds. They're stubby little guys, but I'm sure it's because I messed something up early on. Both are only about 16" tall.



BB#2 is doing her thing, being a little seedling...



BB #1 (started 10d earlier) is being a jerk though. She won't rise up out of the dirt. Coming out of the ground sideways. Should I add some training wire to try to get her to stand up straight, or just leave her alone like this?



Thoughts?



In other news, I'm getting ready for a much bigger grow area. I've been using this 3X3 tent, and had it hidden away behind the furnace. It did well and all, but I needed a way to lock it all away. The hot water heater went out a few weeks ago, and I had to scramble to move the tent before the repairman came to install a new one. Not a great situation. Plus, I want to have 2 plants started every 2 weeks so I can harvest 2 plants every 2 weeks. (I'm only growing Autos) So I built a 11X14 room with a lock on the door, away from all the mechanicals of the basement. I have a 4X8 tent that'll go in, and then I'll use the 3X3 I have now for drying when I get to that point. I'll do a thread on that in the "design" section later this week after I get everything all set up.

Here's the existing setup. Pretty stealthy, if you ask me, but out in the open to eyes if you walk around the back of the furnace.

 

[Poobzilla]

She looks pretty fine to me but i know nothing. If you feel she is falling over you could prop up with some chopsticks or something.
Are your BB's autos aswell?(Edit: NVM seen another thread where you siad they were auto) Was looking at maybe getting some for a future grow but photos.

 

[CptTripps]

BIG upgrade in my grow room today. Made a thread about it here:

Building my 4X8 Auto-grow tent/room

Hey, gang. Thought about putting this on my grow journal, but decided a thread here made more sense. I started growing only about 2 months ago, in an attempt to get a constant supply of cheaper medicine for my Fiancé, who suffers from Crohn’s disease. I started out like everyone else these...

rollitup.org

The girls are all doing well, settled into their new home. I'm guessing it'll take a day for them to adjust. The light in the tent is much higher in the flowering area, so I'm hoping the Auto Diesels stretch out/up a little more.



BB #1 is still coming out wonky-ass-sideways, so I'm string to train her a little. Going to take some chopsticks down there, and see if I can get her to stand up straight.

 

[Just Be]

A lot of folks train their plants to go in the direction that yours is going naturally. Why bother to stand her up straight?