First ever grow /2x Fem Afghan Skunk /CFL /Comments welcome and most likely needed

[perspextoe]

Hello RIU,

So this is where I am going to document my grow which is still in its infancy, I started out a few weeks ago knowing absolutely nothing but have read, read and followed grows since
So for fellow newbies out there I hope we can learn together through my grow...

Strain; Afghan Skunk


Setup,

Area; 4'2" tall, 4'2" high, 3'6" deep
Interior Surface; Mylar
Lights; Per Plant 5x 30W 6400K & 1x 30W 2700K which would be 180W per plant.
Exhaust; 4" fan extracting through a carbon filter
Intake; passive 4" hole at present, but plan to add a pc fan to help.
Soil; Gold Label Special Mix
Air control; 2x 6" fans permanently on the babies and a 12" oscillating fan to spread the love

Nutes; None as yet, thinking organic
Light schedule planned; 20/4 --> 18/6 --> 16/8 --> 14/10 --> 12/12


I began on the 26th of Oct with germinating my 2 seeds with a paper towel method.



Ok, I had originally planted two seeds into Peat Pellets to germinate. They did sprout eventually but like 6 days later, so in the mean time I said I would use the paper towel method on another 2 seeds which was more successful than the pellets. This is why you may see 4 pellets in the propagator pics.


Little beauties sprouted

Gentle placement into pellets, root down ...

Slightly covered with some soil, Then given a good spray of PH 6.1 water, I am using PH 6.1 distilled water from my local shop


Into the propagator they go with a little bit of light, gave them 3x 30W 6400K & 1x 30W 2700K


So two days later and this is what I got two lovely ladies

4 days after sprouting (Oct 4th) I transplanted the girls into their final home and gave them a good soaking, 18L square bucket used.
This is going to be the day I call Day 1 of veg,

Veg, Day 4

Coming along nicely, I was worried that they might not like my soil as it said on the bag that it wasn't for seedlings,
However no major issues from my limited knowledge,

Veg, Day 7


The above pics are of the same plant, doh! ( Dunno what I was doing sitting in the grow for an hour that evening, pondering too much obviously )

Looking good I think, gorgeous little babies...

Veg, Day 12


On day 8 I added two of the mentioned 6" fans permanently blowing on the girls, there is a oscillating fan in shot as you can see also.

I needed to add these because I found the temps get to 87f one morning, these fans keep the temp at the girls about 7F less than the room. It also strengthen the girls up....



Above is still Day 12.I took the girls out this morning aswell for a little photoshoot and a drink....
One is definitely bushing up quicker than the other,
Looking nice and green i think, they really like a permanent fan from what I can see

They are still on 20/4, temp got down to 68F two nights ago, I'm thinking I might pop a little heater on a timer to reg the cold temp a bit.

I should also be thinking about food to give them very soon, wanna be organic and I see plenty of home recipes but I might leave that till the next grow,
can anyone suggest organic nutrients I can buy( I'm UK based)??

So now I am up to date I will keep this journal updating as often as possible, with some hi res fapping material hopefully.

Everyones suggestions whether critical or complimentary are welcome, I suspect even with a lot of reading I will hit pitfall's which is as much the learning exp., than getting everything right 1st time.

T'has been a pleasure so far, and I look forward to chatting with ye good ould souls over the grow anon.......

Much love

 

[bhandari1]

Hey man, I have the same seed as you growing right now (just a little further along than you)...anyway, I've had my temps hit 97f once or twice during veg and she didn't mind much, if at all. Also, my nights get down to 61f and she dosen't mind that either. I've read that this strain can show real good purple colors with lower temps when flowering!

 

[perspextoe]

nice one bhandari.... been following your grow aswell as I cannot see any previous Afghan Skunk grows, yours is looking great....

Yeah just popped my head into the room the morning, and temps were good last night , as I reduce the light i reckon i will need to add some heat.

Also this morning got my first whiff of what they are going to smell like... t'was nice...

 

[bhandari1]

Hehe, The smell just gets better and better...I accidentally brushed against one of the buds the other day while adjusting the lights, and it made the whole room smell great! It is very aromatic to say the least.

 

[acidbass]

They are looking good, really nice and bushy and short with all the nodes tight and close together, my second plants don't even look this good!

 

[perspextoe]

They are looking good, really nice and bushy and short with all the nodes tight and close together, my second plants don't even look this good!

Hey acidbass, nodes are really tight alright, I have about 4 of the 6 lights within an inch of the leaves which I am sure is helping.

 

[perspextoe]

Veg Day 14
*I am calling the larger of the 2 plants Afghan 1 and the smaller Afghan 2*

Had my first attempt at fimming the girls, have a look tell me what ye think,


Afghan 1 Fim'd

Afghan 2 Fim'd

Afghan 1 is 5" tall today,
Afghan 2 is 4" tall today,

I just measured from soil level up to the bottom of the carbon filter , I have 30 inches for growth. So would I be ok thinking of switching to flowering when they get to 10 or 12 inches high?

Temps around 80 all day, 68 during the 4 hours of no lights.



Because Afghan 1 has grown quicker, the bottom fan leaf has reached the pot and aint looking too happy about it.

Is there anything i Should do such as support the leaf up against the ledge of the pot?

Tomorrow I am going to go and buy some feed for the girls,

Also I wanna hook up a pc fan to bring more fresh air into the tent, reason as I have 12 30W CFL's currently and plan to add another 8 30W (4 more on each plant) so I will need the temp to get down further,

I also thinking of using 20x 26W 2700K's rather than 30W when I flower to reduce the temps a bit, is it worth it I wonder?

I plan my first bit of LST'n over the next few days also, an interesting few days await.....

 

[NaturalWorksOrganics]

Looking good man. Dont worry about your temps getting down to the mid 60's. As long as your humidity is in check everything will be fine.

 

[bhandari1]

Yea man, all looks good to me! Keeping your lights close is the best for CFL grows. Also, just let that lower leaf do its thing...those leaves will later be sucked dry of all their vital nutes, turn yellow, die, and be replaced by other fan leaves. So dont stress about it! Good luck with your LST.

 

[perspextoe]

Veg, Day 17

Hey there,

Plan was LST and water tonight so as I went to take the girls out of their room I noticed a little red spider mite crawling up my hand Fuck! Fuck!, as i lifted the other pot I saw this ladybird, which I believe is good as they are a pred to the mite?? Is that correct anyone?




So I have just watered the girls and have been having a quick read up on red spider mites, I have had a good look about the plants and haven't spotted any others but there surely isn't just one.

Apparently the fucks can really mess your plant so I'm glad I spotted one early.

From the quick scan of peoples suggestions on here misting your room and plant thoroughly every 5 days for a 3-4 cycle period or more with a pesticide or natural concoction.

I'd like to keep it organic so if anyone has any suggestions or been through similar please let me know.

Apart from this prob the girsl are looking real good i think, good growth where I fimmed them,

LST'n will happen in the next two three days, I think they are still smallish atm,

Have a browse of tonights pic, ill be dreaming of spider mites tonights...grrr

 

[perspextoe]

Veg, Day 18

Decided to LST Afghan 1 today, Afghan 2 is still too small i reckon

I drilled 12 holes around the perimeter of the pot, got my garden tie and cutters at the ready.

I applied the first tie to the base of the plant to support for tying the top in the opposite direction, I read to do this as it protect the roots.

Stem is really chunky


Bent her over


And continued around the plant


Back under lights,


First attempt at LST'n, I think it is ok,
The has definitely helped to light to penetrate further down... i'm interested how she will perk up

any advice appreciated everyone,

So I don't forget myself I switched to 18/6 last night, low temp was 61F, so would this be a temp that isnt too low for the girls yet would deter the red spider mites?
I have read they don't like high humidity and or colder temps, anyone got any advice.

Better get something ready to get rid of them.... just incase they multiply....



Nice...

 

[perspextoe]

Veg, Day 25


Ooph a full week since my last update,

I've been busy and no time to take pictures, the ladies had a good LST today and a bit of fimmimg

if there is anything ye guys can suggest to get the girls to the finish line happier please comment away…..

Before



I keep the light as close as poss.



I'm getting attached to these beauties, afghan1/ right afghan2/left, afghan 1 is slightly bigger...
….

I filmed today also, fim'd about 4 of the upper buds on each, I didn't like doing it hurting them'n'all but hey ho.. (i think that will be my last fim of them anyways)



As for LST'n I actually like it coz your allowing more light to penetrate, making the plant happier,

fan leaves should really know better…

Today I paid attention to get the flower sites as level as possible, hoping to get an even canopy… lets see

Afghan 2 LST



Afghan 1 lst'd



I added another 60Watts (2x30W 6400) today

So now I've got 14 x 30 watts , so 420w in total, 210W per plant….

Ive got 12 x 6400 & 2 x 2700



I tried to split the 2 pots with a row of 6 30W, can only help i guess….,



I need to add another 6 30watts, or I hope to at least temps permitting,

I wanna change the setting on my extractor fan to a higher setting which is 160 giligantic cubic metres or whatever ya call that formula…. before adding more lights, can only help…..

I went 16/8 on day 23, so i don't forget…..but i will see how quickly these girls grow and switch when i feel i might risk it being too tall…..

plan is to switch in 12 days time to flowering…. that would make it day 37 right… anyone any advice on that….??

Oh and temps….. again so I can keep a record….


I haven't seen any further mites, nor have i seen a lady bug/bird .. maybe they were doing a tom and jerry sketch…

Tonight for the first time I am gonna leave the extractor fan and carbon filter working 24/7 as the stink is blasting outing in my bedroom at lights out the past few nights, or is it my paranoia...

leaving the fan on 24/7 is the norm i'd imagine??


good times i think, I'm loving this experience, I'm thankful I found ye guys in this community… REsPect…. Nice!!!!

 

[Spicy8305]

great looking grow

 

[zdm]

wow. that soil must be like the best shit ever. day twelve? day seventeen! what?! those plants grew super fast.

 

[perspextoe]

great looking grow

Thanks man, no hitches so far…

 

[perspextoe]

wow. that soil must be like the best shit ever. day twelve? day seventeen! what?! those plants grew super fast.

Getting bushy for sure, hehe…..

the soil is gold label special mix, haven't fed the girls anything else yet….. i plan to in the next week….

 

[perspextoe]

Veg, Day 27

How are things everyone, just a quick update tonight. Not many pics as my camera just went dead and I need to find my charger….

Order this tube heater the other day in anticipation for the colder days ahead

View attachment 2876704

I hadn't been keeping the carbon filter running during lights off until a couple of days ago, however the aroma was becoming too noticeable I decided to run it 24/7

The tube has seemed to keep the temp above 60 which I believe to be good,

Now if anyone can throw some advice my way about noticing this evening some leaves appearing a lighter colour, see below...

View attachment 2876706View attachment 2876707

Might this fading of colour have to do with them wanting some nutrients?

I went to pick up some last week from the hydro store but left my wallet behind, the guy did explain that a combination of the mixture in the gold label and the 18L of soil in each pot that there would be enough goodness for the girls for 4-5 weeks.

So at Day 27 would this be the first signs? If so I had better pick some up nutrients tomoz.

Obviously if anyone thinks the fading is caused by something else please let me know….. noob here….. unknown territory for me…..

 

[cflmini4fun]

Couldn't tell ya man. Just wanted to say ive been following and it all looks great so far. I hope to start my first grow around thanksgiving. Keep us updated and good luck, but your at the end of week 4 and I'm guessing the plants will start talking to ya in a day or two of deficiencies, so I'd go ahead with the nutes.

 

[bhandari1]

Yea, she probably needs some nutes now (mostly nitrogen is my guess)...I think the 4th week is when I first gave my girl some nutes...I use nutes very sparingly, with 1/4 the suggested amount on the first feeding. throw up some more pics when you can! PEACE

 

[William85]

I AM TRYING A CFL GROW NEXT WEEK. 1 250w cfl for veg due to previous issues with heat then will switch to a 400 hps for flower, growing 4 cheese little beauties. hoping they do all right. using a 1mtre squared tent 170cms high. heard a ph of 5.4 is correct. that right?? any tips of you serial cfl growers......cheers.