First time grow - PPP from Nirvana

[mayhem8324]

here's my current grow if ya wanna take a peek.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZezkbA_Pn4

 

[growone]

Thanks growone, I adjusted it so it was closer to 3 maybe 4 inches from the plant. However, while doing so i accidentally knocked a pot over and it all spilled out. What I noticed is that one of the plants has a terribly underdeveloped root system. I mean, there wasn't more than 3 inches in diameter of dirt around what clump stayed together. There was so few it seems, I think after 3 weeks it should have a much more developed root system. Any ideas?

yeah, that doesn't sound like a happy root system
MJ doesn't seem to like alkaline soils much, that likely didn't help
and like mayhem mentioned, the dark period encourages root growth
larger pot/new soil is your best shot, i use 2 gallon pots, they've treated me well
depends on your target size, i grow about an oz per plant, which is enough for me

 

[mayhem8324]

Also.. I've been using Brita filtered water, any reason I should not use it? I can't seem to find any of those RO dispensers anywhere around town which is highly annoying. [QUOTE/]

I use tap after it sits out for 24 hours to evaporate the chlorine. No issues. BUT, tap ph can vary depending on location, so even though your using a filter, keep an eye out for ph issues.

 

[Potseed McGee]

Hey guys very good points and thank you for your inputs!

I currently run 24/0 cycle, tonight I will switch it to on while i'm awake, and off while i'm not. My box is not light proof and I don't have a timer yet so that'll be what I can do.

I may just decide its worth it to put out for a tent and lights and whatever. Cost, while annoying, isn't necessarily a hindrance (yay tax refund!).

It is my eventual goal to have it fully contained anyway, tent, lights, carbon filter. so that i can at least grow worry free-ish.

I also have the $10 home depot ph meter, but being a man of numbers, more [accuracy] never hurts!

Hopefully I don't come out of the hydro store broke >.<

Thank you guys for your input, it is greatly appreciated!

Now if only I had some bud >.<

 

[glassblower3000]

nice grow...let me ask a question though,i noticed you said you have a fan directly on them,is the plant with the damaged leaves closest to the fan???I've always heard, don't put a fan directly on tender seedlings! you'll burn the leaves.

 

[Potseed McGee]

nice grow...let me ask a question though,i noticed you said you have a fan directly on them,is the plant with the damaged leaves closest to the fan???I've always heard, don't put a fan directly on tender seedlings! you'll burn the leaves.

Hmm. Very interesting. I wonder.. I'll adjust the fan so its not directly on the plants.

As a side note, I decided to put them under a blanket with lights off for the dark period, ill switch them back on when i go to bed.

 

[Potseed McGee]

March 23

So last night around 6pm to 1am I turned off the lights and covered the box with a blanket. There appears to be some good new growth for my plants. Also did a cursory check for little black fuckers, appears they are gone. Saw some specs on my PPP plant but they didn't respond to the garlic water so I'm hoping its just specs of dirt or something.. Will keep checking but otherwise the garlic water solution has proven highly effective!

I think the nap did my plants some good as this is the first jump in growth they've had since the problems started.

 

[Potseed McGee]

March 24

Today, 19 days ago my plants started germinating, 15 days ago they sprouted. There is new growth but considerably less than I've seen others get per day. For the age of my plants, they are rather undersized. I don't know what I can do to help them grow faster. As you can see, I only have four lights, I don't know if that is part of the reason why or not. Or maybe a lack of water? In one of the pictures you can see the soil is rather dry at the top (fingertip length down was dry too). Last night/yesterday my plants got to a high of 91F and a low of 66F, although i believe this is over a 24 hour period as no doubt the plants were in the 80s for most of the afternoon/night time.

What can I do to help my babies out? How can I help them grow as fast as they should?

 

[growone]

March 24

Today, 19 days ago my plants started germinating, 15 days ago they sprouted. There is new growth but considerably less than I've seen others get per day. For the age of my plants, they are rather undersized. I don't know what I can do to help them grow faster. As you can see, I only have four lights, I don't know if that is part of the reason why or not. Or maybe a lack of water? In one of the pictures you can see the soil is rather dry at the top (fingertip length down was dry too). Last night/yesterday my plants got to a high of 91F and a low of 66F, although i believe this is over a 24 hour period as no doubt the plants were in the 80s for most of the afternoon/night time.

What can I do to help my babies out? How can I help them grow as fast as they should?

plants that are recovering take a bit of time to get back to fast growing
if you can lower the temp a bit, that probably would help
when you hit 90 degrees, that's the danger zone
your new growth looks fairly good, and that's what you want to watch

 

[Potseed McGee]

plants that are recovering take a bit of time to get back to fast growing
if you can lower the temp a bit, that probably would help
when you hit 90 degrees, that's the danger zone
your new growth looks fairly good, and that's what you want to watch

Yeah, the box hit 91 mid day yesterday (when i close the box, i check every hour or so to see how it does), when i noticed i immediately opened the box and the temp dropped into the mid 80's. Humidity is pretty low too currently 27%, peaked at 48% and dropped lowest to 16%

Hopefully she rebounds soon, I think the lights out period has been good for her and probably the result for the increased growth.

I know now for next time to put seedlings in considerably less nutrient rich soil!

 

[Go Go Ganja!]

for 2 weeks growth ur plants look fine to me the third week is when they really take off. but that is just a newb talking.

 

[Potseed McGee]

for 2 weeks growth ur plants look fine to me the third week is when they really take off. but that is just a newb talking.

Thanks go go! I'm really excited to see them take off! I'm considering getting the $120 400w HPS kit from HTG and popping in a CHM light to see how they do.. oh decisions decisions

 

[growone]

Thanks go go! I'm really excited to see them take off! I'm considering getting the $120 400w HPS kit from HTG and popping in a CHM light to see how they do.. oh decisions decisions

that's top notch equipment, and would likely be a good investment
but this is going to create even larger heat issues, it's more watts
for small seedlings, cfl's are excellent, as plants get larger, then it gets tougher to cover properly with cfl's
if you can improve your ventilation, that will make the big difference, at least for the moment

 

[Potseed McGee]

that's top notch equipment, and would likely be a good investment
but this is going to create even larger heat issues, it's more watts
for small seedlings, cfl's are excellent, as plants get larger, then it gets tougher to cover properly with cfl's
if you can improve your ventilation, that will make the big difference, at least for the moment

I completely agree, my friend thinks I should wait until i roll out a batch but I disagree. Hypothetically speaking even if you spent upwards of $500 (which is easy to do with a grow tent, lights, misc. other crap), if you produce even just 1 oz, you've nearly got your money back! (or, at least thats my argument

Regarding heat, I think at times (during the night) I have a harder time keeping the box warm than cool. Right now the box is at 79F which I believe is around the ideal range, please correct me if I am wrong.

If i do get the lights, I'll be getting the tent too (also likely a good investment), but I don't think i'd put the light on my babies just yet. I hope the 4 CFLs i have going are going to be enough. It may be too early to tell but the PPP plant looks like its bushing up centrally, which i've seen from other growers using CFLs and the plant doesn't stretch out. I'm not sure how to combat this without spacing my CFLs farther apart (with the downside of losing light output). Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again to all for stopping by!

 

[growone]

I completely agree, my friend thinks I should wait until i roll out a batch but I disagree. Hypothetically speaking even if you spent upwards of $500 (which is easy to do with a grow tent, lights, misc. other crap), if you produce even just 1 oz, you've nearly got your money back! (or, at least thats my argument

Regarding heat, I think at times (during the night) I have a harder time keeping the box warm than cool. Right now the box is at 79F which I believe is around the ideal range, please correct me if I am wrong.

If i do get the lights, I'll be getting the tent too (also likely a good investment), but I don't think i'd put the light on my babies just yet. I hope the 4 CFLs i have going are going to be enough. It may be too early to tell but the PPP plant looks like its bushing up centrally, which i've seen from other growers using CFLs and the plant doesn't stretch out. I'm not sure how to combat this without spacing my CFLs farther apart (with the downside of losing light output). Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again to all for stopping by!

if you want to upgrade the whole deal, that's a good option as long as you buy good stuff
and it does sound like good stuff, so it's a cost issue
79 degrees is great, keep it there and results will follow
my PPP is quite squat too, looking more like an indica
it is a hybrid, so anything can pop out
but squat is seldom a problem, plant will stretch during flowering, squat is usually better than stretchy because stretchy needs more light

 

[Potseed McGee]

if you want to upgrade the whole deal, that's a good option as long as you buy good stuff
and it does sound like good stuff, so it's a cost issue
79 degrees is great, keep it there and results will follow
my PPP is quite squat too, looking more like an indica
it is a hybrid, so anything can pop out
but squat is seldom a problem, plant will stretch during flowering, squat is usually better than stretchy because stretchy needs more light

Thanks for your input growone, your experience is highly appreciated

 

[Potseed McGee]

So for the fun of it I put my PPP plant outside to enjoy the wonderful sun, and boy I think she liked it. Look how green she became!

 

[Potseed McGee]

March 25

Today, 20 days ago my babies met a damp paper towel in a dark cupboard (in hindsight, i think they were too cold and should have had some heat to keep them warm). I'm still a bit disappointed about their growth but I think that's more my fault than anything, i've hurt my babies! And to further the idea I'm a bad parent, one of the lights was directly touching one of my babies!! >.< At least it was the mystery and doesn't appear fatally wounded..

The PPP is, as expected, looking the best with the most new growth but is again bunched up, I think i'l put her outside to soak up some natural sunlight and let her spread out a bit. The other two, well, ones now burned and the other is slowly growing.

Is putting them outside a bad idea?

 

[growone]

i've never tried the outside/inside move, doesn't seemed to have hurt
do it gradual, maybe increase the time outside a bit each day
the cfl burn, well that's part of the learning, i've done that a few times, not a fatal problem
the PPP seems to be a good yielder, that's probably why it's so compact, more bud sites in a given space

 

[Potseed McGee]

I mainly put her outside to get some of that delicious sun energy, which I suspect is more beneficial than the CFLs I have currently, also for the fresh air which can't hurt.

She does seem to be a bushy little bastard but alas that's fine, as long as she grows up healthy and produces I'll be happy. I'm considering starting another batch of seedlings, hoping to have learned from my initial mistakes. It would be interesting to see how they developed if I could avoid burning them again.

Do you guys use any root promoting supplements? I suspect the weak root system I found previously probably isn't helping them to grow faster. Any thoughts?