First Grow: Diary of a "Growing" Obsession

borbor

Well-Known Member
Got a quad of "magic merlin" really cheap only because the plant accidentally was seeded. seems like whoever was responsible for this took out all the seeds they could find, I only got about 10 out of it, almost all of them germinated, but only one of them sprouted. Since the sprout, I've been slowly improving my setup, while keeping a major budget in mind. At the start, I'd grown a few plants a few weeks into veg before, but hadn't done a whole lot of research. I began the project thinking "I just want to grow something easily between the ranges of bad and mediocre to cook with or make hash out of." After examining every single post on every message board and watching every single video on youtube I slowly began to think I may be capable of producing something I'll want to smoke, and hopefully learn a lot of growing techniques, it's just fascinating.

I don't normally trust strain names but I live in a big medical town in colorado and I know this dude has close ties to that scene.

When I started, I was using 2 100 watt full spectrum (5000k) clear incandescents and one of the "plant lights" with the blue coating (sorry, I just heard you all cringe!) years ago I had a plant that grew for a while under one of the "plant lights" so on that naive assumption I got another, as for the full spectrum bulbs, I wanted high wattage, and I thought full spectrum meant it would give continuous light all across the spectrum (such as 2700k, 2701k, 2702k and so on). It didn't take long for my research to lead me to CFLs as the cheapest way for a first time grower to get any good yield. slowly started adding CFLs, then started taking away the other bulbs in exchange for more CFLs, so by 10 days after sprouting it was all CFL with a decent color temperature. Now, it's 4 26 watt 6500k CFLs with 1600 lumens each, a 15 watt t8 6500k at 700 lumens, and a 23 watt 2700k with ??? lumens(don't wanna look it up)

I sprouted the seed in a jiffy pot (peat moss pellet). I think the reason so few sprouted might have been not enough heat and too much water, this one's definitely a fighter. Here's my next mistake: miracle grow soil. anybody that wasn't turned off by the lightbulbs, hope you stay past this too! luckily, I put some extra peat moss mixed in with the top of the soil, so it's not pure, unadulterated plant poison at least. Went out a couple of days ago, bought blood meal, bone meal, and perlite, and some organic miracle grow, but I'm not gonna use that soil, gonna go get some non time-release soil. any more suggestions for my soil mix when I transplant? Also so you all know, I bought that stuff but I'm not crazy enough to try to give it to the plant yet! I'd like a soil mixture that won't break the bank too much, though I know you have to pay for quality. I see blood/bone meal and perlite popping up everywhere as necessary to any mix. What else might there be that will give my plant the most benefit for the money?

moved the plant a few days ago into a south facing greenhouse room in my house so any cracks between the lights should get sun coming through them in the day. It's on 18/6, from 11 pm to 5 pm the lights are on (gotta make sure I'm awake when it's lights on/off, gonna invest in a timer soon haha).

The leaves on the very bottom (the round ones) have basically turned white. I think they've already served their purpose though. The leaves right above them (the first two serrated leaves) have been yellowing pretty badly for over a week. A little worried about that, I know the culprit must be marketed as a miracle, damn these false soil prophets. After some reading I think it ought to be able to live and overcome this adversity, though I guess you guys might know from the pictures better than I do. the camera doesn't seem to catch the color perfectly, but I think the most accurate pictures of these leaves are the third attachment and the second to last attachment. The leaves are a little droopy, it's been watered pretty recently.
the other leaves, well, I guess you guys can tell me! pretty small, I'd say the plants about 16 days old, showing me about two new "fingers" to its leaves every day when I wake up.

I'll try to give you guys daily pictures, since it seems hard to find day by day chronologies of cannabis on the internet rather than week by week, and I probably spend a combined 5 hours a day researching and watching this lil baby.

Also, a friend of my mom's said she'll bring us her entire collection of stems and bagseed from her neighbor who grows (FREE!!!), so my mom and I are planning a contest, She's gonna try and do it the way she grows all of her regular plants, and I'll grow it the way my research shows should work best. I'll try and document that one as well.

Also, just to let you guys know the plan, when it's time to flower I'm thinking either get a bunch bunch bunch more 2700k CFLs or going with an HPS.


edit:I also took a few pictures with my cell phone camera throughout the last few weeks, I can upload them if anybody's interested, they're probably not too great as far as quality though.

Edit#2:for anybody interested, the seeds were germinated in a plate between two wet squares of paper towels, covered the top with saran wrap, then with foil, then put it on a heating pad for about 36 hours. excellent method IMO, I just messed up planting the seeds.
 

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borbor

Well-Known Member
these were taken about seven hours after the last pictures, so after one more hour of light and 6 hours of darkness, so there's not very much noticeable change, but hopefully I can take photos every time the lights go on or off and develop a diary showing growth at very close time intervals, especially entertaining for impatient first timers like myself :mrgreen:

I know it's also a great excuse for a thread bump, hopefully it doesn't get very annoying, at the first request from a mod or admin I'll stop.

How does it look? pray for a female!
 

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borbor

Well-Known Member
just a few hours after putting it back under the light and the leaves at the top are spreading, revealing more new leaves, here's a pic:


(sorry if this gets obnoxious, I figure it's a good way for me to keep as detailed a journal as possible and make the type of journal I would like to be using as a guideline)
 

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borbor

Well-Known Member
the leaves on top are showing more spreading/growth and the smallest pairs of fingers on the two "true leaves" that have shown themselves are showing more development, about 8 hours after the last photo-
 

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HighLife4Me

Well-Known Member
Looking Good, and yes i have an obsession also lol. My pot plants have me mesmerized :D. Sounds like a good setup for veg. For flower deff mostly 2700k or hps. I have been using 7 26watt 2700k's only 12/12 from seed. Check it!
IMG_0909.jpg

Its an old pic have to take some new ones..still growing about 1.5" each day.


NE ways keep up the good work and keep us posted :D
 

cannaboy

Well-Known Member
Looking Good, and yes i have an obsession also lol. My pot plants have me mesmerized :D. Sounds like a good setup for veg. For flower deff mostly 2700k or hps. I have been using 7 26watt 2700k's only 12/12 from seed. Check it!
View attachment 1620868

Its an old pic have to take some new ones..still growing about 1.5" each day.


NE ways keep up the good work and keep us posted :D
Your girl is bushy. I have a 12/12 from seed also ( vegged 7 days) so kinda like a 12/12 from seedling lol
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
went to my local hydro shop today to look at higher wattage CFLs, how does a 125 watt 6400k CFL with a ballast and reflector sound for about $80? They seemed more helpful this time around definitely, I liked this employee much more.
haven't bought the 125 watt yet, thought I'd put it on the table here and see what you guys thought. I could use the 125 watt along with my current bulbs right? and I'd be able to buy a bulb for it closer to 2700k when the time is right for about 40? (the 6400k bulb is about 40).

If my vegetative stage isn't as efficient due to using lower wattage CFLs while using the higher wattage CFLs or HPS lights in flowering, how will that affect the buds? will the plant be short and have few places for bud to grow due to the less productive vegetative stage bud grow more bud on those places because of the better light in flowering? could the buds weigh too much for the small plant and bring the branches down?
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
To anybody who hasn't grown yet and is doing their research first-the plant grows quickly, don't worry. Go in as patiently as you can and the less you expect from it, and the more you put in to it, the more it will surprise you!
 

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borbor

Well-Known Member
I decided to leave 8 hours between this set and the last, the last was one hour before lights out, this was taken one hour after the lights came back on. I am thinking of adding another 2700k bulb just because of how much the 6500ks outweighs the one 2700k bulb right now. I included a couple of pics of the light setup so you guys can get an idea of the whole thing. some of the lights are closer and more numerous so the plant tends to lean to that side, I rotate the plant to keep it mostly centered. One of the lights is off in the photos, only so I could take a decent picture. The yellowing on the bottom two leaves doesn't look like it's advancing and might actually be improving!

edit, when I take the pictures, I'm usually crouching directly where that yellow sideways light with no cage is.
 

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borbor

Well-Known Member
a little over 9 hours later, here's some more pics. almost right after I took the last set I gave the plant a good sized watering. I haven't been able to use any special or treated water, and haven't always had the time and foresight to run water to let sit for a day. This water was sitting for some time, though it may or may not have been 24 hours.

Notice the spreading of the 2nd and 3rd fingers of the two leaves on top compared to yesterday!
 

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olylifter420

Well-Known Member
How big is your grow area? You dont want it getting too hot! I would buy it, sound good to me, with ballast and reflector right? I like cfls's as a supplemental light source only. Im blessed with some really good sun light where I live.

Are you going to use nutes?
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I already have some bone meal and blood meal, gonna be doing waiting of course though, and picking up some more stuff too. The grow area is pretty enormous, with an overhead fan about 15 feet above the plant and two open skylights above the fan, heat doesn't seem to be an issue, though I think the way the room is set up, there just aren't enough hours in the day, I have to make the sun supplemental if anything.

And yeah, it'll come with a ballast and reflector, all I need to give it is electricity. gotta make about 30 more bucks before I'm comfortable with buying it though. If I buy it I think I'll eventually buy a 2700k bulb for it too, instead of HPS for flower

I think there are some pics here and there in the thread of the grow area as well
 

PoorDad

Active Member
Hey there!! I'm in the Denver area. We should swap some nugs when this is over. Saw you were living up in Northern part of the state.

Lookin good man!! Nice and green with plenty of light to get the job done.

'scribed
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
Definitely!

Took some photos just now, really seemed to boom overnight. I wish I'd written down the day this sprouted on, but I think Wednesday should mark three weeks.

Anybody have any advice on when I should look at topping this? Also hoping I can transplant pretty soon too, just to get it into better soil, but I've read that the roots need to begin wrapping around the outside of the soil in the pot before transplant?
 

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borbor

Well-Known Member
does that mean she's a girl?

I've heard some experienced growers might be able to tell this early
 

Zkack25

Well-Known Member
not to BUD in lol but i dont think you should get that 125watt with reflector for 80 bucks. Check out my started threads, i have a pic of a CFL that i got at Lowes for 17 bucks, its 65 watts=300 watts self-ballast. though it doesnt have a reflector, you can get one for less then 10 bucks at lowes, saving you a grand total of 50% holler ar a baller! and the lights are where they keep the neon signs, not where they keep the smaller bulbs right where you walk in(assuming that all Lowes are the same layout lol)
 

cannaboy

Well-Known Member
does that mean she's a girl?

I've heard some experienced growers might be able to tell this early
I call all the growers plants ladies (positive thinking) Can't tell sex until the preflowers show up. She is ready for topping if you want to do that. Repotting is not necessary at this point she looks like she has more than enough room to grow for couple more weeks in her current pot. But if you have better soil to put her in then by all means repot her. Just my take on it. She lookin nice though..reminds me of the girl I have currently.
 

borbor

Well-Known Member
excellent, thank you! I call her a girl too, the day I know she is I'mma go get one of those "it's a girl" banners they use for baby showers and stuff to decorate the grow room =)
been thinking it'd be ready for topping soon, though I'm a little afraid of going from grower to butcher, I think maybe tomorrow morning or the day after...
I'll leave the baby in this pot for at least another week, then check around again I guess

EDIT:
Ohhh zkack I didn't even see your post haha, thanks man I'll go try and do that, I'm not even too concerned with the reflector.
 

cannaboy

Well-Known Member
excellent, thank you! I call her a girl too, the day I know she is I'mma go get one of those "it's a girl" banners they use for baby showers and stuff to decorate the grow room =)
been thinking it'd be ready for topping soon, though I'm a little afraid of going from grower to butcher, I think maybe tomorrow morning or the day after...
I'll leave the baby in this pot for at least another week, then check around again I guess
sounds solid
 
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