First time grow question?

M

melkor33

Member
I have 2 white widow clones planted 2 days ago in a small stealth box. I am currently running 6 cfl's, 2 42 watt soft white's and 4 26 watt daylight's. I will add 2 more 42's for a total of 8 cfl's. I have a 4in. duct hooked into the ac line for air, and a small bath vent hooked to another 4in. duct for exhaust. I went through the ceiling in the closet into the attic for both ducts. I placed my fan in front of the incoming vent which has cheese cloth over the end to prevent dust and bugs from entering. I also installed a draft flap up in the attic portion of the incoming vent to prevent back drafts spreading through the house when the AC is off. Will also place carbon filter in outgoing vent next payday. I made a CO2 box as described on this site. I am using mylar since a buddy gave me some for free. I rotate the plants regularly and will probably end up using the LST method to increase the yield. I don't want to use the topping method for height control because I've heard the main cola will produce the most potent resin. I think I have all my bases covered with the set-up... Please make any suggestions for improvements if you have them, or criticism's if I'm being an idiot about anything...

My question lies in the soil.
I evenly mixed the following:
70%-Miracle Grow "Moisture Control"
10%-Perlite
10%-Coco
5%-Bat Guano
5%-Clay Pellets
General Hydroponics "Sub Culture" - Beneficial Bacteria

I found and read the article about the pros and cons of M.Grow soils. I should have started out with a soil-less mix I suppose. My mix seems to have a ph of just around 7.0. I added water with a ph of 5.0 to offset the soils ph. Oh, and my house has Culligan water softening. I read somewhere water softeners are bad for cannabis. I used vinegar to lower the ph and added the directed teaspoonful of newts. The soil now reads around 6.0 with my electric ph tester. The kind you poke down into the soil, also reads light and moisture.
My problem is that both girls have down curling fan leaves from top to bottom.
-The bottom fan leaves are a healthy looking green color but, have some tiny yellowing spots near the edges.
-And the upper fan leaves are a yellowy green color but, other than that look very healthy.

I also noticed some white looking spots scattered over both girls. Some of it comes off from wiping, some of it will come off from by blowing on the leaf. And one spot appears to resemble dried water with dust in it. From afar you can barely tell it's there, but once up close it's defintiely there. Is this all just dust or is it powder mildew?

Should I wait it out and flush at the next watering?
Should I flush immediately?
Should I transplant into new soil immediately?
Am I just being the typical new mom type?
Please help! Any suggestions on any aspect of grow will be much appreciated... :confused:

***Edit: Pictures Added***

***Edit: More info***
I've only watered once (immediately after planting) and I gave both a half gallon. The low temp is 70 and the high is about 83. Not positive on the humidity, but I have good ventilation. I designed the false front of the box (used to be an dresser until 5 days ago) to be able to be left cracked open at the top during light hours to lower temps if needed.
 

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Dr. Haze

Dr. Haze

Well-Known Member
dude its a mold or a fungus of some kind, i cant really say 4 sure tho .... a pic would be helpful go to the plant problems forum!
 
M

melkor33

Member
Thanks for the quick reply bro. I tried to do all my homework before posting, but I think I tried to take in too much info too quickly. Pretty much a total noob.
I will post pics as soon as the lights come back on in the morning. I was reading the plant problems and I sprayed with alkaline water, and then wiped off. I think it may actually be dust that came from my fan. The fan is about 2 years old and hadn't been used in probably a year or so. I forgot to clean the dust off at first and had to pull it out and clean with moist q-tips. I had misted the ladies with water after planting, I think that is what made the dust stick a little. But I'm going to try and do a better job of misting and wiping again in the morning, take pics and then post an update.
Do you think my ladies are suffering from over-fertilization? M.Grow, Bat Guano, Newts...
 
Haydoon

Haydoon

Well-Known Member
Maybe with the drooping leaves its too much water? Over fert would start to burn the lower fan leaf tips first? Pretty new myself but thats what I thought.
What is your humidity like and temp like.
 
Haydoon

Haydoon

Well-Known Member
Dont worry about the CO2, it will only work well if everything else is perfect too... Light, temp, humidity, air heaps of stuff need to be right to get good result from CO2.
But when you do get it right it, wow
 
M

melkor33

Member
I've only watered once (immediately after planting) and I gave both a half gallon. The low temp is 70 and the high is about 83. Not positive on the humidity, but I have good ventilation. I designed the false front of the box (used to be an dresser until 5 days ago) to be able to be left cracked open at the top during light hours to lower temps if needed.
 
tSunami13

tSunami13

Active Member
Relax a little. Just work on getting your watering ph where it needs to be. The set up looks like it should make some nice plants. What is done as far as soil deal with. The moisture control mg is the only bad part esp the mc factor. Just enjoy. Should be a while before they need nutes. Happy growing!
 
Haydoon

Haydoon

Well-Known Member
Yeah man!. Looking at the pics now and everything looks sweet. I think start them on say a quater dose of fert and build it up.
 
M

melkor33

Member
tSunami13 said:
Relax a little. Just work on getting your watering ph where it needs to be. The set up looks like it should make some nice plants. What is done as far as soil deal with. The moisture control mg is the only bad part esp the mc factor. Just enjoy. Should be a while before they need nutes. Happy growing!
Click to expand...
Thanks man... I actually saw this post after I had transplanted the first one (the runtish looking one) so I went ahead and transplanted the second one as well. I purchased an organic soilless mix from a local hydro shop. I watered with bottled water this time which is RO water with nothing added what-so-ever. Had to lower the ph of the water a tad, and ended up with runoff water from the soil with a ph of 5.8. I will keep altering the ph of the water until I stabilize soil ph at 6.2 or 6.3. I added a pinch of bat guano to lower half of the soil in the runt's pot only. A test of sorts. I put a teeny tiny pinch of the sub-culture in the transplant hole of the new soil on both of them. This is to lessen the shock of the transplant, and support healthy roots for the life of the plant. Then I poured a little water in the hole, to dissipate the powder into the soil of the transplant hole, just before planting the clones in their new home. The taller nicer looking lady got nothing but the sub-culture. I will not give any newts for 2 weeks, so 13 more days. And I think I will switch to organic newts, since I got the organic soilless mix.

It's been about 24 hours since transplant and the taller one looks about 60-70% healthier. And, the runt looks around 30-40% healthier. They both are a fluid green color. And, the down-curling has decreased a bunch on both. Instead of the entire leaf bending, now they are standing straight except for the last 1/4 of the length of the leaves.
 
M

melkor33

Member
Haydoon said:
Yeah man!. Looking at the pics now and everything looks sweet. I think start them on say a quater dose of fert and build it up.
Click to expand...
Thanks bro, but I think I will stick with my soilless mix and water for now.

Haydoon said:
If anything... more light. HPS is so much easier
Click to expand...
I was contemplating this, but I'm concerned with heat issues. I have to leave the false front door cracked all day, and keep the closet door open with another fan blowing towards the box, to keep temps @ 75f. When the ac cycles off at the set temp I have about half an hour befor the temp breaks 80f. So, I have to monitor constantly when the lights are on...
With heat in mind, what hps light would you recommend for a pathetic budget. My goal was $120 for all supplies and clones... I'm at $202.83 after yesterday's soil purchase...
 
M

melkor33

Member
My buddy came over to look at my plants. He immediately asked if I had misted the plants with tap water. I had and wiped off the excess moisture. He said the white powdery looking stuff that I though was possibly dust or powder mildew, is actually just dissolved solids left over from spraying with the tap water. My ladies looked alot better before the lights went out tonight. I will post new pics tomorrow. My brother got a new 12 megapixel camera today, so my pics will actually look good for a change... lol...
 
M

melkor33

Member
melkor33 said:
Here are some new pictures of my ladies. The tall one is looking very nice... I am going to go water now, 8ml for each lady.
Can anyone tell me what the best organic nutes are? Veg and flower...
Click to expand...
I meant 8 fl. oz. not ml... lol... bongsmilie

Man, my ladies are looking so much healthier since the transplant. i love growing!!!
:weed:
 
Rocky Top High

Rocky Top High

Well-Known Member
Hey man...I think your setup will work. Obviously, a HPS, even a 250 in that space will drive your temps through the roof. Even with a cooltube, you would need better air movement to help the temps. Bigger fans and a cooltube may possibly allow the use of a HPS but dealing with the temps would be a full time job.

If it were me, I would concentrate on getting your experience with actually growing more than I would adding something else (heat) to the mix but thats just me.

I would also fill the pots to the rim with soil mix the next time I repotted. It appears you have several inches that you could be using. Remember, more soil/soiless, the more roots...The more roots, more buds...more buds, the happier you are.

Have you already flipped to 12/12? If so, your yield will be pretty low. First off, using CFL's will hamper your yield so the more veg you can give'em the bigger yield you will have. WW is a good yielder but you need to give'em some veg time.

As far as nutes...when I first started I bought the Technaflora starters kit and just followed the directiuons. The kit has like 10 different products with it and only costs like 25.00. They are small sized but for your sized grow it would be perfect. I currently use Botainicare Pure Blend Pro Grow...Bloom...Cal-Mag and Liquid Karma. Mix in a lil moleasses and that about it. I use half the reccomended dose and my plants are very happy.

Nutes are a funny thing. You can ask 10 different people what they rec and you will get 10 different answers. The best advice I can give is to KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!!

With a good soil I have found your plants don't need all the extra foo foo nutes that claim to do this and that. For starters, find a proven method and start there. Once you learn your plants you will know what they want when they want it.

Don't sweat the small stuff and just give'em what they want with and extra helping of love and they will reward you like nothing you have ever experienced. Good luck and let me know if I can help.
 
M

melkor33

Member
Hey thanks man. I really appreciate it... Yeah, I agree that any heat additions would be a deal-breaker... I am running 15/9 right now, for stealth reasons. Is 15 hours of light a day enough for WW? If not, I will make the necessary adjustments. Since I have to leave the front cracked when the lights are on, I have serious light leak issues coming from the closet. I get paid on Sat. and will have to address the leakage. Oh and, how long does she like to veg?

On Saturday, I am going to buy a portable ac unit and make a ghetto duct adapter out of chicken wire and aluminum foil. I will attach the ghetto adapter to the incoming vent that is currently hooked into the house ac system. I think this will solve my light leak problems, since I won't have to leave it cracked open anymore.

I also bought a new thermometer which measures humidity as well as temp. I currently have about 55% humidity. What range does WW like? I am looking at port. ac's with a de-humidifier combo option. What would you do?

I put the clones directly into 2 gl. pots. I'm getting the feeling that was a mistake. Should I repot into bigger pot's at some point? My box is only 3 feet tall. With that in mind, would you still repot? Or would you just fill in the existing ones with soil to the brim?

Sorry for having so many questions... But, after 2 days of watching the symptoms like a hawk, I have a text book case of K deficiency. I currently have "Fox Farms Big Grow" which is 6-4-4, with all the other nutrients cannabis needs in it too. Should I do a foliar feeding, and half dose of nutes in small watering? I will be able to take pics in the morning and will post... Again, thank for all your help!
 
Rocky Top High

Rocky Top High

Well-Known Member
I veg my WW @ 18 on 6 off and they do very well. If it were me, I would try to veg for at least 18 hours a day. As long as they are in veg, a few light leaks won't hurt. It's the 12/12 that you MUST have all light leaks taken care of.

The portable AC should help. I have seen mixed reviews on these so do your homework and find the one that best suits your needs. I use a window unit and it really works great. One of the best investments I have made for my grow.

As far as FF Grow big is concerned, I would think it would be just fine to use it at half dose. The WW is a very strong plant that can take just about anything you throw at it. I would offer a suggestion...don't try to throw a bunch of different solutions at a "possible" defeciency. Just give her a lil taste of nutes and keep a eye on how she responds. It will usually take about 7-10 days before you see improvement so just be patient. I also would like to see pics of the def. From my experience, WW usually doesn't show a need for K until about week 4-5 of 12/12. That doesn't mean you don't have K issues just give her a small dose and lets look at the pics.

I meant to suggest that you get some clones of these girls before you flip them to 12/12. WW clones very easy but they seem to do better if you take the clones during veg instead of flower. Either way will work it just stresses the plant if you let her hormones go from veg to flower and back to veg. It's not a deal killer but if you can keep it from happening your plants will be happier.

I keep my girls between 40 and 60% humidity during veg and then in my flower cab, the humidity drops to between 25-35%. That seems to work just fine.

Your 2 gal pots should be OK for your first run. I use 3.5 gallon pots but I also have a bigger area. Thos 2 gal for your area will work good just fill'em up with soil and you should be good to go.

Hope this helps you out some and let me know if I can help. Good luck.
 
M

melkor33

Member
Ok, I upped changed my timer for 18 hours on. Should I veg them for 2-3 more weeks, or more like a month? I have been checking out some window ac's also.

What method should I use for adding more soil? I ask this, because only adding soil would bury part of the plant.

Here are some pics of what I was talking about. The first 3 are of the taller, normal looking one.
The rest of the pics are of the runt. You can see in the pics that there are 2 main stems protruding out of the soil. This is how I got this clone, they were the last 2 ww's. Anyhow, the top of the smaller stem was obviously broken, and is now kind of black. Is that anything to worry about, and is it possible to remedy?
On both girls you can see the down curling fan leaves, and the lower leaves have the yellowing spots on the edges that are starting to brown. Also on the top of both plants, where the new growth sprouts every night, the new leaves look kind of shriveled for a day or 2 until they grow a bit.
 

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