My First Grow... Crystal

[keiser8]

Hello Everyone....

Well I just found this site, I wanted to share my first grow with everyone, and also maybe get some advice along the way... I have already sprouted the seeds, and they are in vegetative growth now. I have 2 good looking plants, and one that is not growing as fast. I had them in a growing tray, and then I moved them into a reservoir hydro system I purchased. I have a single 400 MH light, and I also have a HPS light for when I am ready to flower. I am also using the GH flora grow nutes... I have just been following the mixture instructions on the bottle for each stage of growth.. And finally I have been testing the PH, and it is always around 6.0.

There is a difference between the 2 bigger plants, where one has more leaves then the other. (less space between leaves) I am guessing one is male and one is female... The third is still small, and has not grown much in the last 2 weeks. I have had them in veg growth for 2 weeks now in the hydro system. I also changed the water yesterday, and when I took the plants out during the change, the leaves started to sag... Today they are perked up again though... in the attached pictures though, they are sagging... I put them in another room that was much colder, and I am guessing that is what caused them to sag... My 3rd or 4th lesson learned!

The pic quality could be better, but that is the best that I have right now... I am also leaving on a trip until Monday, and I may not be able to reply to any comments until then, but I would appreciate any advice anyone is willing to provide... I will also post some higher res pics on Monday if that helps...

Finally a quick question if anyone has experience with the GH flora grow system.... Is the recommended mixture good for plants? and if not, what should the mixture be? i.e. for veg I think it says micro - 2tsp/gallon grow-3tsp/gallon flower-1tsp/gallon.... If anyone can provide nutrient mixtures in tsp/gallon measurements, that would be great!

Thanks for any and all advice, and I look forward to sharing my grow, and experiences with everyone...

 

[keiser8]

Well I returned yesterday after being gone for 5 days, and the plants looked good. They grew quite a bit. I topped off the water with 1.5 gallons of tap water. I learned after I added it that I should have had P.H. balanced water added. The P.H. was off, and I just got done adjusting it back to 6.0 with GH PH up and PH down... I didn't realize how little you need to add to make a difference, and I had to go up and down a few times to get it right. Now the leaves are sagging a little again. From the changes I am guessing... I have attached some updated pics.... I plan to let them veg for 1 more week, then put them into flower...

 

[keiser8]

Well I decided to start transitioning to flowering today. After doing some research, I think my plants are ready for it. I have some ph correct water ready to go, and I will change out the water to plain water for 48 hrs, and then add the correct amount of nutes for the transition phase. (thanks to Videoman40 for the thread on hydro) My plants are 1 foot tall, and if they do double in size during flowering, I will be close to my limit in height unless I make some changes. From what I have seen it looks like they are ready to start flowering... I was also off on my timeline... it has been 21 days since I put them in the hydro system, but I had them in a growing tray for 2 weeks before that. So I am at day 35 of growing...

 

[cali-high]

nice plants what strain is it?

very nice looking leaves theyre kinda looking down they kinda look like they need water

 

[keiser8]

nice plants what strain is it?

very nice looking leaves theyre kinda looking down they kinda look like they need water

Thanks...

it is crystal:

DESCRIPTION :​

This marijuana plant is a White Widow variety crossed with Northern Light. Its buds are big and sticky. The Crystal marijuana plant has a unique, sweet aroma with a quick hitting high. Lots of THC crystals. Winner of the High Life cup 2005!

PLANT INFORMATION :​

Quantity : 10 seeds
Type : Indica - sativa mix
Climate : indoor
Yield : 300 gr/m2
Height : 70 cm​

Flowering period : 8 to 9 weeks
Harvest : end of September
Stoned or High : Stoney yet high - allround
THC level : strong 15% - 20%
Grow Difficulty : Moderate

Although I think one may be male, or another strain... In the pics above with the 2 plants one is darker green, and has more leaves... but they both have pistils at the branches, so I hope that means they are both female, and maybe a seed from a different strain was mixed in the bag... It would be nice to have a surprise plant!


The leaves were sagging because I had added 2 gallons of water that wasn't ph adjusted to my resivour... then it took me a while to get the PH adjusted properly back to 6.0. I don't think they liked that. Now I have 15 gallons on the side ready to go for the next change. They have perked back up again.. But the leaves are huge too! Although I have also been wondering if I am watering too much, or too little... My timer is set to turn on 15 min every 1.5 - 2 hrs.. 24/7... I was just reading that 15 min every 2 hrs during the day, and 15min every 4 hrs at night is good. Any suggestions on watering length? And should the times be changed during flowering?

thanks!

 

[keiser8]

Today I officially started flowering... After the lights went out last night I switched the time to 12/12 and put in the HPS for when they woke up today. I am still running plain water for 1 more day, and I will add transition nutes tomorrow for a week. I also found out I may need to go out of town again in 8 weeks from Sunday... The stats are 8-9 weeks of flowering.. I hope they mature and I can harvest before I have to leave! I hope I don't get stuck having to harvest too soon, or too late... I may need to do some research on what will be better when the time comes...

Also if anyone has any comments on the last plant if you can tell if it is male or female... I put a box around a pistile, but I don't know if you can see it too well. Or If there is a way to tell until after they flower for a few days... I'm still confused on these plants... I have 3 seeds that grew.. 1 is thick and bushy, 1 is small and bushy, and 1 has sparatic branching. (the last pic) which I thought would be a male... All 3 have pistiles coming out where the branches are attached, so I hope they are not all male!

 

[keiser8]

Today I added nutes for transitioning to Flower... I added:

26/26/26 tsp of Veg/Micro/Bloom to my 13 gal reservoir.

I have been following the recommended quantities on the bottle, and I have had great results so far... in a week I will change it to 13/26/39

 

[Soda Pop]

Looking great bro, they look a tad overwatered.

~sp

 

[keiser8]

Looking great bro, they look a tad overwatered.

~sp

Thanks sp... I cut back even more on the watering today, and I will see what difference that makes. Now I have it set to water 15 min every 3 hrs. and every 4 at night. I was also thinking that the leaves are sagging a bit because they are sooooo big! They are huge!

 

[keiser8]

Yesterday I reduced the watering even more, and today the tips of my leaves were curling... The plants were also only about 10 inches from the 400 W HPS light I have.

So I moved the light to about 15 in from the tops, and I put them back to water 15 min every 2 hours...

Temp is 81 Degrees F, humidity is 43%, and water PH is 6.0

Does anyone have any other ideas why the tips would curl?? Or suggestions on something else I can try?

thanks!

 

[BluBerry]

Maybe try cutting the amount of water being fed instead of the times. And I thought that when flowering you were supposed to use nutrients with the middle number higher such as 15-30-15 not all equal or mixed around. But other than that they look good. Make them go a little longer without water & make them want it.

 

[keiser8]

Thanks Blu...

I will try to cut the water for a little while, and see what happens...

I also noticed last night that the water has a mildew or moldy smell to it... Is that normal for Hydro?? I didn't notice it before, but the HPS has raised the temp in the room a bit, so it could be from that... I plan to change out the tank on Thursday, and clean it good... then I will add nutes to bloom...

And for the numbers on the nutes:

The numbers are listed as quantities of Grow/Micro/Bloom (these are General Hydros Flora nutes)

per the bottle it suggests 2/2/2 tsp/gallon for Transition, and 1/2/3 tsp/gallon for Bloom... I have also read that for bloom people don't use any grow, just micro and bloom so 0/2/3 But I have been following the instructions for each stage from GH, and I have had great results so far... this is my first concern...

Currently I have 26/26/26... (13 gal x 2 tsp each)

 

[keiser8]

Well today I added an airstone to my tank. I purchased an air pump, and stone from Petsmart... Actually I got 3 stones, but I only put one in for now.. I think that my water was getting stale in the heat, and I read that the stones can help keep it fresh, and oxygenated.. so I will see if it helps... The plants look good, except the tips are still curling a bit... it could also be from the heat... I need to get a bigger fan too... But here are some updated pics.. I plan to change the nutes out tomorrow, and put them on full bloom nutes... They have been in transition for a week now...

Updated photos attached....

Any Comments, or suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

 

[keiser8]

Today I changed out the water in my tank, and cleaned it out good. Then I added GH nutes for flowering... I added 13 tsp of Veg, 26 tsp of Micro, and 36 tsp of Bloom... (to a 13 gallon tank) I plan to leave it like that until I need to do a nute change if needed..

I was also wondering if anyone can advise on adding any other nutes with the General Hydro flora nutes to assist in the blooming.. I have been in flower now for 1 week and 3 days...

thanks!

 

[keiser8]

Well it has been a little while since my last update, and a lot has happened....

After adding the airstone to my tank, the plants took off... They grew so fast, in one day they almost touched the bulb and the top leaves got burnt a little... Hopefully no damage... I had to hang the light from the ceiling, and adjust the room to accommodate them... But it is official!! I have 2 huge females... And I had 1 male that I removed today.... I just hope I did it in time... I didn't notice it was male until today, and I had a fan blowing right on it.... Hopefully it was not mature enough to have had pollen.. I'm crossing my fingers... I don't know how I didn't see it earlier... But it is my first grow, so now I will know for the next one what to look for early.... And if I get seeds, they should be good for future grows....

I also added some Epson salts to my tank during the last nute change which was yesterday... I put in 2 1/2 tsp into a 13 gal tank.... I have been replacing almost 1 gallon of water a day too....

That is about it.... I am really looking forward to watching these buds develop!! Unfortunatly I have to go out of town, so they will be alone for a few days...

here are some updated pics too!!

 

[keiser8]

Well today was a bad day.....


I moved my plants out of my closet into the middle of the bedroom they were in because they totaly out grew the closet... Well one of my girls fell over, and the stem split down the middle on 2 sides at a bend in the stem... So I bandaged the stem at the split with padding, tape, and some rope for support...

Other then that they are doing great... I picked up some kool bloom today, and added that to my tank... I added 8 tsp. for now. I will change out nutes probably one more time in 2 weeks, then water until I harvest...

Here are some updated pics on the bandage, and some buds...

The plants are huge!! They were 12" when I started flowering, and now they are 6 feet tall!!

 

[hondaturbo]

the one that broke should be find, they repair themselves quite well and quite fast. just keep it taped and supported. good luck

 

[keiser8]

the one that broke should be find, they repair themselves quite well and quite fast. just keep it taped and supported. good luck

Well she is doing good! Looks like it will be ok... I was worried at first... I thought I was going to lose 1/2 my plant! I will keep it taped and supported well...

 

[keiser8]

Well I had a little bit of a PH problem today.. at least I noticed it today... I topped off my tank with PH balanced water... then I checked the PH in the tank and it was < 4.0 So I had to add a bit of PH up to get it back to 6.0.

I noticed a difference in the leaves.. (they were cruled a bit, and some a little yellow..) but I thought it was because of the accident, and new environment. So hopefully with the ph adjusted they will be better...

I will get some updated pics soon... I need to get my camera back...

 

[keiser8]

Today I did one more nute change...

I also started adding Kool Bloom at the last change, and I increased the quantity today to 16 tsp.. I used 8 last time...

So I added 13 tsp of Micro, 39 tsp of Bloom, 16 tsp Kool Bloom, and 3 tsp of Epsom salts...

I Think I will go 1 more week with nutes, then change to straight water until they are done...


Updated pics attached...