1st "real" grow.. Advise from experienced ppl appreciated

[Sims da smoker (Qboro)]

i would go with a smart pot or the square pots instead of those air pots check them out there probably cheaper too ive seen what the smart pots can do

Ive seen the smart pots but they seem like any other pot to me, exceptvthey make it easier to transplant plants .. (if I'm talking about the right pot, the flexible rubber-looking pots??) are there any other benefits to smart pots besides that?? To be truthful the pots really are not that important to me, I only got them because they are cheap & I read good things about them.. But honestly, if not for the price ($4 for 1 gallon air-pot & $6 for 3 gallon air-pot I think) I would have bought my pots from the 99 cent store

 

[lighting]

forget about small pots get them big totes you can get them on sale cheap 15 to 50 gallon totes then watch your plants grow

also for your leaf issues your grow area is to dry
you need to remove them leafs ASAP from your grow area it works like a fungus and will contaminate other leafs
cheers
PS: them black spots will eventually get larger leafs will drop of prematurely and it will make it look like a phos def when infact its a disease

 

[berkman858]

Do u suggest a flush?? And how often & when should I be flushing my plant anyway?? I was thinking right before flower & about 1 1/2 weeks before harvest.

I am not sure about how often to flush your soil because I am in DWC. I think it's just when you have overfed them or something bad happened.

Also, the damage that is done will probably not get better but you should look to see if any more damage is occurring. If not, you have probably addressed the issue. I thought that when I stopped overfeeding my plants the leaves would look better, and some did, but the badly burnt ones never looked better so I trimmed them off when they were being overgrown by other leaves. It is hard to reverse severe damage and necrosis because the cells are actually dead.

 

[Sims da smoker (Qboro)]

Sorry I haven't been responding for the past few days.. My the web browser on my iPhone stopped working a few days ago.. It has actually just started working again.. But I'm sorry to yell y'all, I did some "ghetto black guy stuff".. Lol.. I spent all my $, and can't pay my phone bill now. Smh. (im actually in mcdonalds using their wifi) But anyway I will pay it when I get the $ in 3-4 days..

On another note.. My permanent grow room is now officially complete, set it up last night.. & plants have began the 12/12 light cycle today.. I know I should have waited until the white widow I topped fully recovered.. From the looks of it , it def has not.. But my rush for a harvest took over me & I simply didn't want to wait any longer to begin flower. (sorry Montana, should listen to u. But I need some bud).. Oh and my plants got their first experience under the high pressure sodium light.. They loved it!! Ever plants leaves stood straight up once placed under the hps... I have also seen many debates on riu about which lamp is hotter, mh or hps?? In my opinion hps is def hotter!! Anyway.. This is the moment I have been waiting for, wish me luck...

 

[montanachadly]

the smart pots arent rubber or plastic anything like that sims there made of a cloth material that lets your roots get lots of oxygen to the root system creating a healthier plant. In most pots the plants get rootbound you know spiraling up the side of the pot. With the smart pots when the roots reach the outter edges of the pots they are pruined so the root starts shooting off roots other directions therefore after vegging in them awhile they actually fill up the whole pot not just the outsides. There kinda like those air pots you have but not as messy.

 

[berkman858]

the smart pots arent rubber or plastic anything like that sims there made of a cloth material that lets your roots get lots of oxygen to the root system creating a healthier plant. In most pots the plants get rootbound you know spiraling up the side of the pot. With the smart pots when the roots reach the outter edges of the pots they are pruined so the root starts shooting off roots other directions therefore after vegging in them awhile they actually fill up the whole pot not just the outsides. There kinda like those air pots you have but not as messy.

I agree with montana, my growing partner is using those smart pots filled with hydroton in an ebb and flow system. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't work for soil.

 

[montanachadly]

im using them for soil there pretty popular in california i was watching some grows with 100 gallon smart pots on youtube they were all outdoors i was trying to talk my mom into getting a 1000 gallon smart pot instead of building a raised flower bed you can just fill up those huge pots there like 8 ft across and a few feet deep you probably grow 3 or 4 trees in that pot nice size plants you would atleast get a few pounds off each

 

[berkman858]

im using them for soil there pretty popular in california i was watching some grows with 100 gallon smart pots on youtube they were all outdoors i was trying to talk my mom into getting a 1000 gallon smart pot instead of building a raised flower bed you can just fill up those huge pots there like 8 ft across and a few feet deep you probably grow 3 or 4 trees in that pot nice size plants you would atleast get a few pounds off each

1000 gallon? Damn son, that's a fucking garden right there!

 

[wheels619]

1000 gallon? Damn son, that's a fucking garden right there!

yeah man big seasonal trees. lol.

 

[Sims da smoker (Qboro)]

Damn.. I see everybodys a believer in the smart pots.. I might give them a try next grow. Speaking of next grow... I've already started thinking about it. I kno I'm probably only half way through this grow (day 4 or 5 of flower) but when this 1 is over I don't wanna have to wait another 4-5 months for bud. So when do u guys who do perpetual harvest start new seeds or clones?? Also I don't really have the set up to do a perpetual harvest .. I have no other room to veg plants while I already am flowering 1 group. So I would have to veg seedlings or clones in the open (my bedroom or living room, possibly a closet) but either way the space where I veg would not be 100% light proof, are light leaks that important while in veg?? And if so , if light leaks are going to be a. Problem should I simply veg plants on a 24 hour light cycle?? Also I only have I additional light.. And unfortunately it's not an hid, it's a hydrofarm flourowing 125 watt cfl grow light.. Is it even logical to try and veg 3 possibly 4 plants under this?? I understand that this is not an intense light and plants will need a longer veg period than my mh. But will my plants look healthy under this light or will they stretch and become tall & skinny?? & if I am going to use this light, when should I start seedlings or clones?? This week , in two weeks?? I am now in week 1 of flower with my current plants

 

[berkman858]

I feel your pain on not wanting to wait months for your next harvest. That's why its good to have a friend. My growing partner and I have come up with this schedule so we can harvest every month:

Grow Room 1, Month 1, Day 1 - Start Clones
Grow Room 2, Month 1, Day 1 - Start flowering of previously vegged clones
Grow Room 3, Month 1, Day 1 - Halfway through flowering

It takes about 3 months to get up to speed but from then on we should be good for a monthly harvest.

Our Grow Rooms are just tents and he has two and I have one. His smaller one is for moms and clones and we plan on vegging the clones in there for about a month with CFLs. His bigger one and my tent are just going to be for flowering.

You really need 3 grow areas (or 1 small grow area and 1 really big grow area) to get a perpetual harvest.

As for light leaks during veg, I don't think its all that great but I don't think it will cause any damage either, but I could be wrong. I have just never heard of any issues with light leak during veg, it's always during flower.

 

[Sims da smoker (Qboro)]

I feel your pain on not wanting to wait months for your next harvest. That's why its good to have a friend. My growing partner and I have come up with this schedule so we can harvest every month:

Grow Room 1, Month 1, Day 1 - Start Clones
Grow Room 2, Month 1, Day 1 - Start flowering of previously vegged clones
Grow Room 3, Month 1, Day 1 - Halfway through flowering

It takes about 3 months to get up to speed but from then on we should be good for a monthly harvest.

Our Grow Rooms are just tents and he has two and I have one. His smaller one is for moms and clones and we plan on vegging the clones in there for about a month with CFLs. His bigger one and my tent are just going to be for flowering.

You really need 3 grow areas (or 1 small grow area and 1 really big grow area) to get a perpetual harvest.

As for light leaks during veg, I don't think its all that great but I don't think it will cause any damage either, but I could be wrong. I have just never heard of any issues with light leak during veg, it's always during flower.

Yea.. I know a friend would be great.. But where I live is def not Cali!! & it is rare to come across growers. My 1 friend that I do have that grows, grows outdoors. So not only do I have to deal with the risks of bringing in the bugs from outdoors into my grow room but there are also other issues. His seedlings & the clones I gave him are in his yard in a pretty dormant condition. The weather hasn't been that great. My clones are doing better than his seedlings, but neither are really growing. So my idea of getting clones from his seeds in order to keep some sort of perpetual harvest is starting to look bleak.

 

[Sims da smoker (Qboro)]

Another question.. I have been feeding with fox farm this entire grow.. Now I've recently been very irresponsible with my $, & I just recently caught up on unpaid bills so money is pretty tight for me right now.. I was wondering if I could substitute the fox farm tiger bloom with Jamaican bat guano that is high in phospherous (I can borrow some from my friend). & I kno.. Tiger bloom is only like $20, but my $ is really fuked up right now.. If this is not a good idea , somebody let me know & I guess I will have to sacrifice to get the tiger bloom.. But if it won't make a big difference I would def like to save the $.

 

[berkman858]

Yea.. I know a friend would be great.. But where I live is def not Cali!! & it is rare to come across growers. My 1 friend that I do have that grows, grows outdoors. So not only do I have to deal with the risks of bringing in the bugs from outdoors into my grow room but there are also other issues. His seedlings & the clones I gave him are in his yard in a pretty dormant condition. The weather hasn't been that great. My clones are doing better than his seedlings, but neither are really growing. So my idea of getting clones from his seeds in order to keep some sort of perpetual harvest is starting to look bleak.

Get more friends!! At least friends that grow. I know that is easier said than done but you can probably convince one of your pot smoking buddies to save some money and learn a new skill. You just have to present it to them correctly.

 

[wheels619]

Get more friends!! At least friends that grow. I know that is easier said than done but you can probably convince one of your pot smoking buddies to save some money and learn a new skill. You just have to present it to them correctly.

pretty much i started growing with about 300 bucks worth of equipment and that was including the light and ballast. cost me 50 bucks to make a flood and drain table from homedepot and about 50 bucks on nutes and about 200 bucks for a light. a fan i had laying around the house and i was in business. the light could have been cheaper if i went online but i was a newb and didnt have r.i.u. yet. also craigslist is a cheap place to find good equipment in ur area for cheap. also look at amazon and ebay but ask a few of us on here before u actually make an ebay purchase cus most peeps on ebay give out shitty info in the product descritions.

 

[montanachadly]

careful with the craigslist stuff my bud got a ballast there worked for a week then died on him. The thing is to maximize your possible space i start all my plants out in a 55 gallon rubbermaid tote under cfls i can fit eight to ten plants in there until they get about ten inches tall by this time they have six or seven sets of branches there little compact fuckers cause i can get the cfls so close. Then i move them to my two by two t5s thats ten bulb set up it doesnt get hot so these are perfect for small closets to veg. I usually have anywere from ten to fourteen plants in flower and harvest anywere from every three weeks to a month you just gotta get them going to do the perpetual have them in all diffrerent stages of flower its easy to get ahead of yourself and tough at first to get down the feel for the perpetual until your fairly confident and know the strain your growing that makes it easier.

 

[wheels619]

careful with the craigslist stuff my bud got a ballast there worked for a week then died on him. The thing is to maximize your possible space i start all my plants out in a 55 gallon rubbermaid tote under cfls i can fit eight to ten plants in there until they get about ten inches tall by this time they have six or seven sets of branches there little compact fuckers cause i can get the cfls so close. Then i move them to my two by two t5s thats ten bulb set up it doesnt get hot so these are perfect for small closets to veg. I usually have anywere from ten to fourteen plants in flower and harvest anywere from every three weeks to a month you just gotta get them going to do the perpetual have them in all diffrerent stages of flower its easy to get ahead of yourself and tough at first to get down the feel for the perpetual until your fairly confident and know the strain your growing that makes it easier.

yeah but magnetic ballasts are easy to fix. the main thing that dies on them r the igniter which are cheap and easy to replace. i used a few craigslist ballasts as emergency supplies but would never use them for day to day use anymore. plus im afraid im gonna burn my fuckin house down with used ballasts. besides the ballasts everything else should be legit. oh and bulbs. but u can buy a new digital ballast kit with a winged hood and both bulbs for about 160 bucks on ebay with timers. amazon is pretty cheap too. better deals than ebay for individual equipment. ballasts are actually pretty decent too. but if ur looking for a nice cheap grow used is the way to go just set the ballast up on a cinder block. lol. cuz why would u want to spend a shit ton of money on equipment if ur not sure u can do it? most people quit after the first or second harvest.

 

[Sean Tom]

Damn.. I see everybodys a believer in the smart pots.. I might give them a try next grow. Speaking of next grow... I've already started thinking about it. I kno I'm probably only half way through this grow (day 4 or 5 of flower) but when this 1 is over I don't wanna have to wait another 4-5 months for bud. So when do u guys who do perpetual harvest start new seeds or clones?? Also I don't really have the set up to do a perpetual harvest .. I have no other room to veg plants while I already am flowering 1 group. So I would have to veg seedlings or clones in the open (my bedroom or living room, possibly a closet) but either way the space where I veg would not be 100% light proof, are light leaks that important while in veg?? And if so , if light leaks are going to be a. Problem should I simply veg plants on a 24 hour light cycle?? Also I only have I additional light.. And unfortunately it's not an hid, it's a hydrofarm flourowing 125 watt cfl grow light.. Is it even logical to try and veg 3 possibly 4 plants under this?? I understand that this is not an intense light and plants will need a longer veg period than my mh. But will my plants look healthy under this light or will they stretch and become tall & skinny?? & if I am going to use this light, when should I start seedlings or clones?? This week , in two weeks?? I am now in week 1 of flower with my current plants

In my opinion you should get some mylar. (reflective material) and some cardboard. what i do, because I only have one tent, is i cut the cardboard into strips, think of them as four walls, and line the mylar on the cardboard,. tape it on to it. and then when you have your plants vegging put the mylar walls up and it will reflect the shit out of the little light that is there. Dont keep raising the CFL on them because they will continue to stretch towards it. CFL's are not too hot and can keep pretty close to plants. I am currently flowering with 400 hps, and vegging at the same time with a reflector hood bought from home depot and a typical household CFL. now here is the trick, i only do this while its lights out for the flowering ladies. when its lights on i throw the vegging plants back in the tent. and repeat. I am getting good growth. i started 12 seeds, not knowing which will be males/females, a week after i began flowering the current grow. i figure from germination to seedling to vegging to showing signs of flower should be between 4 and 6 weeks. so if my flowering ladies will take 8 to 10 weeks and i start seeds 1 week into their flower, in say 5 weeks (when new seeds ready to begin flower) my flowering ladies will be at 6 weeks flowering beginning the 7th.(so 3-4 weeks left till harvest) so I will throw the ready to flower seeds in to flower with the almost done ladies. lets say they take 4 more weeks, that means by time they finish my newly flowering seeds will be starting their 5th week of flower. So essentially after you harvest you will be harvesting again in 4-6 weeks.(month month and a half between harvests) keep in mind this is just my timeline. you can use the timings but start seeding sooner to decrease time between harvests. i would start the seedlings NOW. I hope this helps. it actually helped me by writing it all down. +rep for being innovative grower

 

[Sean Tom]

also look at amazon and ebay but ask a few of us on here before u actually make an ebay purchase cus most peeps on ebay give out shitty info in the product descritions.[/QUOTE]

aint that the truth

 

[Sims da smoker (Qboro)]

Get more friends!! At least friends that grow. I know that is easier said than done but you can probably convince one of your pot smoking buddies to save some money and learn a new skill. You just have to present it to them correctly.

Yea.. I'm working on it, I already got one friend to order.& I have another friend that is going to order today, he's just waiting until I come back to the neighborhood to help him out with the ordering since it's his first time.. So I'm working on it.. I'm going to turn my hood to the emerald triangle!!! Lol, I'm going to shut up before the cops start to investigate y there's so much good weed on the east coast all of the sudden lol