Here we grow...

[TheRuiner]

Ok, I started an account of this grow under a fake username and then posted in it with this username speaking in the first person as the thread opener...damn it, blown cover, so I'll start again, as myself... Here is my first totally indoor grow from start to finish. Because I'm just getting the hang of doing things this way I am going to do this grow with minimal plants and cost... this is my trial run, so why not use the freebie seeds that came with the expensive WW? I'll save the WW for a season of two down the line when i have my head on straiter, makes sense no?
This is Two Thai Super Skunks, and a single PPP. The PPP can't quite get his head out of the dirt...
I'm reworking the exhaust system now making it more efficient, suggestions are welcome anytime.

 

[TheRuiner]

Temps are hot but I'm fighting them with a 8000btu A/C in the tent, vented out the ceiling, I want to run the light and the ac out the same hole but I need some ducting connectors first, after playing with it some more my max temp was 77 last night, not a warm night at all though so we'll see when the dead of summer is here and there things are 3 feet tall and under brand new a HPS. Light is a 400w switchable w a vented 6'' hood.

 

[TheRuiner]

Hung my additional ventilation blower (170cfm) this weekend but didn't connect it yet because the 4'' to 6'' flange didn't fit snuggly enough, I'm looking for some weather stripping to fill the gap then I'll connect it to the 6'' hood on my light. The carbon filter should be here tomorrow but I won't need that for another few weeks I hope...
The two TSS's are looking good despite being a tad lanky because I had the light to far away for there first few days of life. I'll correct that though when I transplant into the new pots in the next week or so. The PPP is hanging in there but still doesn't even have any leaves yet, the seed is just having a super hard time trying to get rooted, it's still alive though and looks a little closer to finally getting established every day. I think I might see it finaly pop open by the time I get home tonight. I'm waiting on her to get everything into the 5 gallon nursery pots. I bought some happy frog dirt from fox farms this weekend and some perilite to mix with it, what else should I mix with it for some mainly sativa plants that will be about 2-3 weeks old when transplanted? Be back with pictures in the next week.

 

[TheRuiner]

or Grow room reboot.
First off I moved the AC out of the tent alltogether, I was sick of being sick about loosing 1/4 of my floor space and besides I think this will do just as good if not better because I won't have to worry about scrubbing the air exhausting from out of the ac now. It might even end up being cooler in there, we'll see in the morning.
Secondly I added the 170cfm blower that the can filter will fit on, pictured hanging in the tent, I removed my 250cfm inline blower from the loop altogether. I will use this fella first opportunity I see fit, but right now even with the heat, I think this little 4" 170 real deal blower might be the bees knees.
And last but not least here are the ladies (we hope), their is another one in there that is still trying to come unstuck from the dirt. It's the only Fem'ed seed so lets hope I see her spout up and out here very soon. I can't believe she's held on this long, I hope the stress doesn't cause it to herm or go male on me. I'm hoping the stress will not bother it to much since it was so early on in life, and that this is just a sign that its a vigorous plant and will just be that much better because it has a will of thc.

 

[kronic1989]

Ive heard that the thai ss are very long flowering, not very good for beginners. They want to grow talllllll. Might be more less hassles pulling them out now. Do a little research on them and see if the time and size they get are worth the fruits.

 

[TheRuiner]

You know, I heard the same thing right after I got them up and running. These were some of the bonus seeds that came with an order so I'm not out anything if they don't work out. I feel committed at this point so I'm going to see them through, even though I did just start. I'm going to try and train them to grow how I want. I've got some room in this tent to play with... wish me luck, hopefully the smoke will at least be good! I'm looking for a mainly sativa type smoke and I'm pretty hopeful that with some patients by late Oct I'll have these picked. (I did the same thing in school, I picked the hardest thing and said, "well, if I can do that then all the rest will be cake." Maybe not the best mantra for a beginner, but I won't be getting discouraged and quitting like some... besides, I'm not really a beginner, I started this about 10 years ago (growing maybe 3 season outside), I've just never done it in a tent.
What do you think of the rest of the setup though? Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

 

[TheRuiner]

Time to switch things up a bit, last night I decided that PPP wasn't going to make it... it looked worse for the first time and not better, how i can get that over such a tiny thing poking from the dirt I can't really describe, I think there's about a 70/30 shot its a gonner though, I've been watching it very closely....
So to console myself I am germing 1 White Widow from Dejaman Seeds and one Skunk #1 from G13...
Here's some pics...
with the surprisingly larger than I expected or really thought I ordered can fan filter here, now I am not going to have to worry about 4-5 plants, two of witch are known for there particularly stinky natures...
Any mounting suggestions, thoughts, comments, prayers, criticism?

 

[TheRuiner]

. Hello there RIT, hope everyone had a good weekend, here's a little update on where things stand with my little project I've got going here.
The TSS's found a new home of their own in some new pots with about a 65/35 mix of FF Ocean Forest and Happy Frog with a layer of perilite at the bottom of the pot for drainage and a little extra thrown into the potting soil its self. These plant are supposed to grow very tall and lanky, very stretchy from what I read. They are heavily sativa in nature. These plants, though are young, have not shown those signs yet. They made an initial stretch because I had to light to high, but after fixing that in the first 24 hours they have done nothing but get bushier, note the pic of the growth on the two so far.
The PPP is probly dead, I have her in a little moss right now in case God decides to breath life back into her...
The Skunk#1 seed cracked and went into a little moss with some happy frog at the bottom along with a layer of perilite herself, lets hope she doesn't share the same fate as the PPP considering they are both G13 Femed seeds.
The White Widow hasn't budged yet, nothing. Lets hope it cracks before these TSS's do get much bigger so I can veg it for at least a month before I have to throw the TSS into flower. Plus, once it does crack, it's going to become the main attraction, this is after all a 14 time Cannabis Cup winning strain,... cross your fingers for me!

 

[TheRuiner]

Well, we live and learn don't we people? Seeds storage wasn't my top concern while I held on to the expensive seeds I ordered from attitude. I (for the majority of the time I had them) kept them on a shelf inside, nice and cool, not in direct sunlight, in a glass jar wrapped in the bubble wrap/plastic bags they come in. Then I moved. for about 6 months their new home was in a hot as hell garage on a shelf in the very back , in the drak... but still hot as hell. I'm not going to bash G13 because of the way I stored the seeds, but it makes me wonder.... both the fem'ed G13 seeds I tried to grow (freebies) PPP and Skunk#1, sprouted, grew a little taproot, then died before ever getting leaves.... bummer. Funny thing is the two TSS's that I kept right with them the whole time both sprouted and are doing fine.... i just hope they are gals. The only difference between the two was the medium, the two that died I tried to put in some rooting moss and the two TSS's went into MG seeds starting mix. Maybe that was the deciding factor, I'll tell you one thing, I won't be using that moss anymore after loosing the only two Fem'ed seeds I've ever owned in it. Maybe it was old too.... learning as I go....
So; here's what I did, much like the first loss I suffered with the PPP, it caused me to wave my fist in disgust and plant more damn it! The one White Widow seed still hasn't germed, I even dropped it into a shot glass full of water overnight and then back into the wet paper towel between two plates... nothing still as of now.... but maybe one of the other 4 I just added will!
I'm concerned because the WW's aren't going to be able to veg much, if at all, because these TSS's need to go into flower soon. They are monsters from what I read, so this will be done improperly for the WW's.... but I see people on here that have used HPS's from seed to flower that still got good results so I'm apprehensively hopeful... besides, if these seeds are going bad, then I might as well get something out of them while I can right? 5 WW seeds and 3 TSS's left... but in the freezer now; where they should've been from the beginning.
I think I'm going to put the WW's into some Happy Frog since I'm out of MG seed started, that is if any of them sprout. Cross your fingers for me people, advice is always welcome, feel free to post any comments or suggestions. Or just tell me why I'm a dumb ass.... I should be much better at this by the end of the year....

 

[TheRuiner]

Topped the second TSS this morning, above the 4th node, the other one was topped just below the 4th node, anxious to see what differences I get. One of the WW seeds has cracked... prepped some happy frog to put it in in the next 24 hours. I'm confident it will do better then my moss I used on the PPP and Skunk#1 that croaked. Still sad about those two but if even one of these WW's makes it and its a gal... I'll be just fine and dandy...

 

[TheRuiner]

One of the WW's is in the dirt but hasn't popped it's head out yet. I might even have one more that's cracking but it's really hard to tell it's so early on. I'm just going to have to grow the WW's under full HPS, no veg time at all, I'm ok with that though, I know better but I don't have a choice so I can live with it even though I now i'm hurting my final yield.
The TSS that's topped below the 4th node is getting bushier everyday and the other that was topped above the 4th node is growing it's first set of full blown 5 finger leaves out of the top right now. It's beautiful
I'm going to be switching the lights pretty soon, then this should really get crazy... I'll be back with pictures soon.

 

[TheRuiner]

The one in the tan pot was topped just above the 4th node as soon as the fifth node was big enough to get snips around and the other was topped just above the 3rd node.... interesting differences. No sign of the WW baby from the dirt, just plain bad luck with those fellas, they didn't keep well at all. Ohh well, when I come home tonight the HPS is going in the hood and the real insanity begins. I'm very happy with the growth though it has been slow going, I grew the one WW that did sprout last fall twice this size in as much time. Over the 3-4 months I'll have to wait for flower though I'm sure I'm going to see them grow x5 or maybe as much as x6.... geeez if both these are boys I'm going to be one unhappy camper.

 

[TheRuiner]

Went into flower as planned but did it that next morning instead of that night. Also reworked the ac exhaust into the tent again, this time using a piece of roofing tile that's made to run pipe out of the roof it seems to be working pretty good. I also replaced the ducting with some insulated duct and used waterproof tape this time, (the condensation was getting the cardboard box and duck tape wet) I'm also going to swap out the rest of the ducting with the insulated type perhaps, we'll see.
This new HPS bulb from Hortilux is much bigger then the last 400watt HPS I bought, I see why these are revered so much. Bigger, and hotter! the plants are about 7 inches from the light and that's going to have to change, temps got up to 86 on the first day using this new bulb. I'm running my light at night so that will help with temps but this thing is still hot as hell. I will re-pot this weekend into the final sized pots (5 gallon) because after running this light one night the plants medium got dried out and they started to lean over a tad, no big deal, gave them a drink of PH'ed water with FF Grow in it.... I got a hold of the feeding chart today so I will start to feed them correctly now. I should be using the FF BigBloom and TigerBloom right now. I'm going to mix it at half strength tonight and feed them - then stick to the every other feeding schedule like the chart says. Still no sign of the WW seed that went into the dirt, what a total disappointment, none of the other 4 have cracked either, one might even be growing mold. total crap. ohh well, the thai super skunks look to be the true maiden voyage here.
more to come...

 

[TheRuiner]

before and after: the new digs

I went with strait OF soil from FF with about 5-6 cups of large perilite (and a nice layer on the bottom) 5 gallon pots, i then watered 1/2 gallon a piece with 590ppm Big BLoom (1/2 tbsp) and Tiger Bloom (1tsp). Looking good, now just show me some gender...

 

[TheRuiner]

Week 4 Day 5's growth. 5th day of flower. Growth is a beautifully lush green and there is a just a hint of a tangy musk if you get your nose close to the ladies.(hope)
major differences in the way the two were topped, though both still have not totally sativa'ed out on me yet I expect it soon... they both aren't very lanky yet. watered last night half gallon a piece RO water ph'ed to 6.4
Is that enough? should I be giving these plants a gallon a piece, or is a half gallon, nuted or not enough for two plants both in 5 gallon pots? I've water-fed once and watered one time since transplanting 5 days ago.
How does growth look so far to everyone else?

 

[Ghostriding666]

hey, hows it going. i've just been checking your photos out. i'd like to give you my opinion but as i'm only on my first grow myself i'm still learning and finding my feet a little. i'm 4 weeks into flowering my little ladies and looking at your photos i'd say all looks good at the minute, they look similar to what mine were like at that age and now theyre thrieving so just keep a close eye on them and keep doing what your doing mate! God Speed

 

[TheRuiner]

hey, hows it going. i've just been checking your photos out. i'd like to give you my opinion but as i'm only on my first grow myself i'm still learning and finding my feet a little. i'm 4 weeks into flowering my little ladies and looking at your photos i'd say all looks good at the minute, they look similar to what mine were like at that age and now theyre thrieving so just keep a close eye on them and keep doing what your doing mate! God Speed

Thanks Ghost, I'm glad to hear that you think they look good for the age/range I should be in right now, just starting flower. Everyone has to start somewhere don't we?
I hope yours turn out as beautiful and potent as you hopped! Rock on!!

 

[TheRuiner]

I spoke too soon, these gals are stretching just for the fun of it every few hours. Getting bushier and getting taller as you can see, I'm very happy about the secondary growth that's coming on, it's all very healthy looking so far, this dirt is taking forever to dry out now that I've changed pots. I'm probably not going to have to water/feed them again until tomorrow night, then they are getting a good dose of tiger bloom, bloom, and a little grow for good measure, I see it goes back into the cycle after bud begins anyway.
I get the new supplements next week, so I'll have to give it a little cha-ching right away and then move on from there.
Comments, suggestions?

 

[TheRuiner]

Watered/fed with 1050ppm's. 1 gallon a piece. almost 1/2 tsp of molasses, 1 tsp of grow and tiger bloom, and 1/2 tbls of Big Bloom. (in each gallon, 1 gallon per plant used) Saturated them good too, lots of run off i collected and used to water other yard plants...
Lets see what that does in a few days time.

 

[TheRuiner]

Tried a little experiment with a new toy. Here's were we stand. Haven't touched since last update. I filled the water bottles about 3/5 full and dug in the spikes, cringing when I heard a hundred little sounds of small strings popping. This was the morning after my last update and the bottles still have a decent amount in them, showing to me how well they worked. These plant shouldn't have hardly drank a thing from these bottles, and they haven't. Top of the dirt is looking dry for the most part too... Good news... The rest of the team is up to bat. Lets play ball...

Watered with half gallon apiece 313 ppms of RO water touched up with about 1/4 tsp of open sesame... and I think we might have a girl here, what do you think?