...•••°°°NUGS OF ASGARD°°°•••....Thor's first grow

[ThorGanjason]

Well, I guess its time to get started on my grow journal. I actually started out two weeks ago with a red Dixie cup, some miracle grow soil, a bag seed, and the source of all life-the sun. Since then I made a seed order and have spent about $500 procuring various pieces of equipment, not to mention countless hours doing research. I was having newbie problems initially with inconsistent photo periods and over watering, but since then I have gotten my environment dialed in so its at least consistent.

So here's what I'm working with. The space is 5'x30"x8':

I have a 400w metal halide bulb and ballast that I picked up at an electric supply store for about $105 (it was actually a ballast replacement that came with no fixture, so I had to wire it all up and make a hood. Its working out so far but I would like a better hood).

I also went ahead and picked up a hurricane 6" inline fan (rated at 435 cfm) since I had the money. I haven't been using the fan much, BC I mainly got it so I could attach a filter when it starts to smell. The house I'm staying at has no central heat/air, so heat was really a problem for me at first, with temps reaching the 90's (°f). I had the fan beside my bulb (without duct work) to try and keep it cool, but since then I've put an air conditioner in the window and temperature is no longer a problem.

I also have a couple small things; a timer, soil pH reader, digital temp/humidity display..

I'll get some more pics up later, I'm looking for ideas on how to run my ventilation.

And here's Larry the bag seed, my brave explorer scout plant that's going first so that I can learn, basically. I'm gonna use him to experiment with LST, topping, nutes, etc. So far he's taught me a lot about basically LEAVING THE PLANT ALONE as much as possible. He's about 2 or 3 weeks old, and has had his growth slowed by over watering in the beginning, and I'm pretty sure he got burned by the lights before I got my temperature under control.

 

[ThorGanjason]

That pic of Larry is a little old, I generally delete my pics after I post them and still had that one, but I'll get some newer ones. After Larry started several other bagseeds.

There is one plant per pot, except the butter dish on the left has 6 in it I think. I'm not gonna let them get big at all before I seperate them, but did this for the time being.

This passed Wednesday I got my seed order in the mail from attitudes: from Humboldt seed organization I got blue dream (a personal fave), sour diesel #2, og kush, and Bubba kush. I was totally pissed BC I would have ordered a train wreck but they were acting like they had some promotion going on and that I was gonna get it for free. Anyways, I also got a white widow seed (g-13 seeds) and the two freebie UFO's-- northern lights x skunk and critical super silver haze.

The 3 small organic cups in my pic are the 3 good seeds that I've started, white widow, Bubba kush, and the northern lights. I picked those 3 BC they should be easier for me to grow and learn on, and when that blue dream and that sour diesel comes up I want that shit to be beautiful lol.

I started out on miracle gro soil that was really mulchy and too acidic, but I've since then transplanted to a different soil. Let me go take a pic and I'll detail my soil in the next post.

 

[ThorGanjason]

So here's what I use to create my medium:

The first thing I do is take a window screen and sift out the miracle grow soil. In the very near future I'm gonna buy something else so that I don't have to go through this process, bit so far it has worked great for me. I take the sifted dirt, which basically as soft and fluffy as flour (almost) and use it as about 50% of my base. I then add about 50% of the hummus, which says to only use @ 10-25% but like I said I've been using it for two weeks now and its working really well, so I don't think its too hot. I then take the total volume of that soil, and add about 15-25% perlite (the hummus and super fluffy dirt hold water for days and days, so Ive found that closer to 25% works well for me).

I'm probably going to pick up a bag of fox farms ocean forest from the grow store, and have a system where I start my plants in what I'm using now, and transplant to the fox farms after they're big enough to handle the nutrients.

 

[ThorGanjason]

And finally, here are the only additives I have for my soil so far.

I went with the Buddha grow formula, which is a 2.0-.25-1.5, which I guess is basically an 8-1-6 npk ratio. I wanted to pick up dynagro's grow formula but they didn't have it. I want to get as many nutes as I can for my plant, so I'm open to any suggestions. I also have Epsom salt that I plan on treating with, and was thinking of picking up some calcium nitrate to use during veg if there's a calcium deficiency. I've only had to adjust the pH once, and bring it up about a point after feeding.

I would also really like to get these filled with co2 and put them to good use. Hopefully I'll have a veg room and separate flower room and can use one for each.


I won't be able to get those going until I have my ventilation where I want it, tho.

 

[ambedexteras]

everything looks boss my friend, im sure youll have an awesome grow. whats parts you gonna mix that medium as i will probably use the perlite and organic soil also but ill prolly steer clear of the MG as ive heard conflicting reports about it. very nice strain selection man im actually smoking blue dream as i type this and i love it. i also wanna do Strawberry cough and apple jack (Jack H, and white Widow ) when i start my 6-8 plant 2-3 strains lil tent i just bought. but i will be tuned in to your grow man good luck.

 

[ThorGanjason]

everything looks boss my friend, im sure youll have an awesome grow. whats parts you gonna mix that medium as i will probably use the perlite and organic soil also but ill prolly steer clear of the MG as ive heard conflicting reports about it. very nice strain selection man im actually smoking blue dream as i type this and i love it. i also wanna do Strawberry cough and apple jack (Jack H, and white Widow ) when i start my 6-8 plant 2-3 strains lil tent i just bought. but i will be tuned in to your grow man good luck.

Awesome man, yeah I had some outdoor Jack herrer once and it was incredible. I actually almost ordered one of those seeds and hopefully will get one sometime.

Do you have a journal up yet? I'll def swing by and check it out. The more us growers stick together the better our shit turns out lol

 

[ThorGanjason]

By the way, about the miracle grow-- the Lind you want to stay away from is basically the kind that I have, it has the little "food balls" that pop open and release food for six months. The problem is you don't know when its going to feed and how much, but by sifting the dirt through a screen you can get all that stuff out.

A lot of people on here swear by miracle gro. I've seen some 100% miracle gro plants from guys on here and they look dank. I think those people don't just use the regular stuff tho; you can get like "African violet" and other specific types of miracle grow with different npk ratios. I think the African violet is like 7-7-7

 

[ambedexteras]

nice, and nah man i got a couple solo cup plant picture threads but i dont have anything indoor yet. i have 3 yrs of like semi-amatuer grows outdoors. meaning just seeds from my bags but ive had 2 pretty solid harvests my first yr was like 2 ozs from 3 plants 2nd yr like 4 ozs from 2 plants and 3rd yr i got about 14ozs off 3 plants as i mastered taking of the right leaves and topping and stuff but im getting my legal grow card for my state within the next 2 months . already bought my 5x5x84 inch tent, and prolly gonna do a 600WMH for veg 600WHPS for flower . so even though i know what im doing when it comes to the plant this will be my first indoor grow so im tryna study up on soils and nutes and stuff. but ill def keep u posted for when my nice strains are coming up. i have a 2ft random seed looks female tho growing outdoors lol but nothing crazy. i did plant a blue dream seed i found in my bag, been germing in moist soil in a solo cup with a plastic sandwhich bag over it for 2 days and no liftoff yet sadly but im keeping my fingers crossed lol. im not buying my guaranteed fem seeds until i get all my equip set up these are kinda test runs.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Sweet, yeah I definitely plan on learning about LST, supercropping, fimming, SOG or scrog or whatever-- basically anything that will help increase my yields.

Honestly tho, my main goal the first couple harvests is simple-quality quality quality, lol. I just hope I can get through it without screwing anything up.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Alright, quick update with some good news and some sad news.

The sad news, is that my plant was over stressed too much before I could get the air conditioning in there. It doesn't seem catastrophic, but two big leaves towards the bottom (first true node, I think. The ones right after the first node with the cotyledons and the first pointy leaves) aren't gonna be able to absorb light for the plant so I don't know much is gonna slow growth down tho.
View attachment 2682693View attachment 2682694

 

[ThorGanjason]

OK, been busy as shit lately with work but I wanted to get some pics up.


So, yesterday I had great news. My 3 good seeds (the rest are bag seed) came in the mail last Wednesday, and I started germinating right away. They all had tiny taproots first thing the next morning, so I went ahead and planted them even tho they had basically just barely cracked. Yesterday was their first day to come up out of the soil, except for the Bubba kush. Well, he popped up technically, but he hadn't ejected the seed casing but it pulled right off tonight and he got enough light to get a nice green color before they shut off.

So I guess yesterday is day one, well see how they do. I have plenty of bag seed growing that I basically just plan on using for experiments. I have one control plant that I'm only going to be giving straight water, no nutes. I'll probably only keep one good female out of them to keep inside and grow with my good strains, and the rest are going outside for practice with LST and in hopes of some monster plants this fall. I spent a few hours today with a Bush hog clearing out a space (that just so happens to be right beside of some pine trees. Dunno if its a myth that they provide stealth (I'm pretty sure it is BC I heard they give off the same "heat signature" as marijuana...that's a conversation for another day, I'm not gonna go there right now). But they provide good cover at least. I picked a spot that should get at least 8 hours of mid day light for the rest of the year (if the little trick I learned about figuring out the suns yearly pattern worked), and the soil is all clay so it looks like I'm gonna be investing in a metric shit ton of fox farms. They have this stuff other than the ocean forest at the grow store; hopefully its cheaper and I can try it out. I don't care if the outdoor ones are perfect, but I'm still gonna try my damdest to give them every advantage.

Wow, this thing is actually starting to feel like a journal, lol. There's still a lot going on I don't have time to talk about; my ventilation isn't done, Larry is droopy as shit BC he's been over watered by the roommate, I threw in a couple tomatoes plants outside and under my light in case I get that unwanted visit, and I'm sure other stuff too. But anyways, here's some close ups of THE GIRLS (since they are the only ones I know, or at least are supposed to be female). The northern lights was the tiniest seed, and it germinated the quickest, came up the fastest, and is doing the best out of all of them. I think the white widow dried out a little too much today (they are in these biodegradable cups, and so the soil dries out from the sides too and thus they dry out really quickly). But I guess water deprivation really is easier for them to recover from than over watering, BC about 30 minutes after I soaked down the widow she was getting her color back and standing better. The widow is the one I'm really looking forward to seeing finished. I'm gonna try the trick where in the last 2 weeks of flower, you cut the lights down to 8 hours to stress them, then give them 48 with no light and harvest. Its supposed to stress the plant just enough to really bring out those white trichomes and resin. God I hope I I don't fuck these up, lol. I haven't been researching near enoufh lately as busy as I've been. I need to find a nice book that can show me everything I need t o not be disappointed the first time around. I'm usually a fast learner, and I'm really hoping that's the case this time too.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Edit: actually, looking at those last three pictures the first two are from yesterday. But the last picture is the white widow. It has its cotyledons, but only 1 of the sharp leaves coming out of the top instead of two. Hopefully she fills out right, the leaf she has is already purple.

 

[ThorGanjason]

By the way guys, fell free to chime in with any info/advice you think might help me.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Well shit. The widow has the one-leaf thing, which I'm hearing could mean she's a dud. Hopefully she picks up; even if she grows at all I'm gonna try and keep her and clone her. At the very least, a clone would be a good experiment BC supposedly the one leaf thing means shitty genetics, so if a clone runs as bad as she does I'll know to just chuck it next time I get the 1 leaf.

 

[ThorGanjason]

I have got to stop over watering. Larry is drooping again, BC I gave him just a little splash today BC he had perked all the way back up.

Jeeeeeez I gotta stop doing that I can only wonder how much growth of theirs I've stunted by over watering.

On a lighter note, I have high hopes for my one leafed white widow. She's twice as tall as the other two seeds, passing up the northern lights. It might just be her getting leggy, but as long as she grows at all I can take a clone (with the right amount of leaves) from a good branch and keep from having to order another seed of the same strain. I love white widow, if I have to I will. I've been wanting a blueberry anyways.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Been a minute since I I journaled, so a few quick updates

Larry was up and down with being under watered/ over watered. I've gotten him on a more consistent watering schedule instead of just looking for signs before watering. His growth has been slow and steady, but he looks like a healthy plant. We'll see how he does.

The northern lights is doing awesome, the Bubba kush is growing steadily, and the white widow never grew a second leaf opposite of her first one, but she's working on her next node and I can see two leafs forming, so hopefully ages normal from here on out. She's gotten a lot taller than the other two, since she hasn't had to put as much effort Intl foliar development. I'm sure it'll help early on like now, but soon not having the other leaf will probably slow down her sugar and starch production, so the other two might pass her up. We'll see, they all seem to be working on the next node at the she time.

Also, already noticing a difference between one of my expirements and the controls. I have seedlings that were all started at the same time, and the ones that were given a small dose of nutes are really passing up the other ones. They consistently have waaaay more foliar development, and the distance between their nodes is larger. (I'm also noticing that the first plant I grew did not have properly seperated nodes. The cotyledon leaves were at the same height as the second set of leaves, even tho the plant is 3 weeks old). I'll post some pics here in a sec of the differences between my control plants.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Oh, by the way-- I have 25 new seeds that I started germinating yesterday from a friend who's been growing for years. He said they were some of his best strains, I guess we'll get to test them out. Out of the 25, about 15 have already germinated but half of those were barely cracked so I'm gonna give them another day. But 7 of them had decent taproots so I went ahead and started those. Trying something different, where I'm putting an inch of perlite in the bottom of the cup to help drainage and also transplanting when it comes time.

A lot of these seeds are going outside as soon as they can. What do you think is too early to take a plant outside?

 

[ThorGanjason]

So here are some pics from one of my experiments that I was talking about.

Here's a picture of The four that have been given nutrients (just one feeding of Buddha grow formula). Notice how the second set of leaves already have all 3 fingers. There's also more of a gap between the cotyledons and the first leaves on these little guys, then there is on my 3 1/2 week old plant, Larry. He had his growth stunted really badly in the beginning, which might be the reason for the smaller spacing in between the nodes of his main trunk


And here are the other 3 plants that were started the same time as these seven. These three plants haven't been fed, were only given water.


One plant is smaller than the other six, but out of the other two in this picture, one is just barely starting on its next set of leaves, and one Has its next set, but not the full 3 fingers of that leave yet. Another thing to mention is that the 3 in this picture are in larger pots than the first 4; their growth could also have something to do with watering schedule (the smaller pots dry up faster) or also with the fact that since the other pots are in a bigger pot, they might be working more on root development to fill the pot out. If that's the case tho, then I should notice the 3 catch up with the four that are getting nutes.

Definitely noticing a huge difference tho, in only a couple of days. I know everyone is going to jump on here and say "I'm giving my plants way too many nutrients, they are too young, etc. etc..". I do realize this. The point of me starting out so early with nutes on those 4 particular plants is to try and experience their threshold for nutes. After my seeds are done germinating, I'll have 40 plants exactly, most of them seedlings. I plan on setting up experiments for as many of them as possible. Out of the 40, only 3 of them are good seeds that I bought online, I'm still saving all of my sativas until I at least have one successful harvest, and I know I won't screw them up. But out of the other 37, I'm gonna see how many of them are female and most will probably go outside. I might take all the males to one spot and use them for stress training practice.

 

[ThorGanjason]

Whoops, double post.