1st grow and need feedback

Noob here. First ever grow. I’ve read so much over the last 2 months that my head is spinning. I would like you seasoned growers to take a look at what I’ve got so far and answer three questions:

1. Do these look normal for 9 days after the sprouts broke ground?

Two of them are showing a yellow main vein running down the center of the largest leaves.

2. What could cause this?

All three are showing signs of larger leaves curling upwards at the edges. I read “heat stress” and moved the lights from 1” to 4” above the plants.

3. What other things could cause this? ** I know now I shouldn’t have added any nutes but the amount was sooo light!

Growing details:
Strains: 2 White Widow and 1 unknown
Soil is 50% 3 year old MG potting soil and 50% Jiffy starter soil (52% peat, 48% vermiculite)
** This mixture tests at 7.0 pH and low in all three macro nutrients
Lights are 6 x 26watt CFL 6500K (9,600 lumens) 18/6 light cycle
Room is 16 cu. ft. with 4 sq. ft. of floor, vented with pusher, puller and internal circulation fans, thermostat controlled
Temperature is 79 degrees F, average
Watering is as follows; All water is RO or distilled and pH balanced to 6.5-7.0, when germinating I used a 1/3 strength MG Bloom Booster to wet the soil, I’ve been watering every 3 days due to the speed at which the soil drains and dries out. That’s 3 waterings including this morning. Ist watering=straight water, 2nd watering=20% MG(24-8-16), 3rd watering (today)=water+Epsom salts(1 tsp. per gal.)
CO2 injection timed when venting fans are off and lights are on to maintain 1300-1500ppm

Thank you all in advance for your 2 cents!!!

If your using RO or distilled you may need a calcium/magnesium supplement

sorry didnt look at pics, they look fine, just wet the roots twice a day

KerryChadderton said:

Noob here. First ever grow. I’ve read so much over the last 2 months that my head is spinning. I would like you seasoned growers to take a look at what I’ve got so far and answer three questions:

1. Do these look normal for 9 days after the sprouts broke ground?

Two of them are showing a yellow main vein running down the center of the largest leaves.

2. What could cause this?

All three are showing signs of larger leaves curling upwards at the edges. I read “heat stress” and moved the lights from 1” to 4” above the plants.

3. What other things could cause this? ** I know now I shouldn’t have added any nutes but the amount was sooo light!

Growing details:
Strains: 2 White Widow and 1 unknown
Soil is 50% 3 year old MG potting soil and 50% Jiffy starter soil (52% peat, 48% vermiculite)
** This mixture tests at 7.0 pH and low in all three macro nutrients
Lights are 6 x 26watt CFL 6500K (9,600 lumens) 18/6 light cycle
Room is 16 cu. ft. with 4 sq. ft. of floor, vented with pusher, puller and internal circulation fans, thermostat controlled
Temperature is 79 degrees F, average
Watering is as follows; All water is RO or distilled and pH balanced to 6.5-7.0, when germinating I used a 1/3 strength MG Bloom Booster to wet the soil, I’ve been watering every 3 days due to the speed at which the soil drains and dries out. That’s 3 waterings including this morning. Ist watering=straight water, 2nd watering=20% MG(24-8-16), 3rd watering (today)=water+Epsom salts(1 tsp. per gal.)
CO2 injection timed when venting fans are off and lights are on to maintain 1300-1500ppm

Thank you all in advance for your 2 cents!!!

Click to expand...

Well, I've only done a couple MJ grows; been growing everything else for 25 years, tho. So, here's what I see...

Not too sure about the vein issue; I can't see it. Plants look good in the photos. The upcurl could have been heat. Flouro tubes run cool, but cfl's are def too hot for 1" away; 4" should be good.

The reason you're having to water so often is the Jiffy starter -- that stuff drains way too fast. I sprung some morning glory beans in it (a tough ass plant) and they all dried to death; I couldn't keep up with it. It's a good idea to cut pre-ferted soil like you did, but try the MG seed starter as a cut next time. It's a much better texture.

How did you test your nutrients? The color tabs? Those things are way off, if so. For this early growth, a pre-ferted MG soil cut in half will support them easy for a couple weeks without any feeding, maybe 3-4 wks. Cheap nutrient testing gear is a waste of time and money. If you really need to know, send a sample to your local agricultural extension. They usually run a full battery of tests for 15-20 bucks. But then what do you do with that info? So, your soil has 53 mg/kg of Phos...

The 24-8-16 is the ideal ratio (any multiple of 3-1-2) all the way thru the first 4 weeks of flowering until height growth tops off. Switch to bloom food at that point, not at 12/12.

I don't think cfl's provide enough light power for the plants to take advantage of the CO2; there has to be an excess of light first...

All in all, looks good so far! Good luck.

KerryChadderton said:

Noob here. First ever grow. I’ve read so much over the last 2 months that my head is spinning. I would like you seasoned growers to take a look at what I’ve got so far and answer three questions:

1. Do these look normal for 9 days after the sprouts broke ground?

Two of them are showing a yellow main vein running down the center of the largest leaves.

2. What could cause this?

All three are showing signs of larger leaves curling upwards at the edges. I read “heat stress” and moved the lights from 1” to 4” above the plants.

3. What other things could cause this? ** I know now I shouldn’t have added any nutes but the amount was sooo light!

Growing details:
Strains: 2 White Widow and 1 unknown
Soil is 50% 3 year old MG potting soil and 50% Jiffy starter soil (52% peat, 48% vermiculite)
** This mixture tests at 7.0 pH and low in all three macro nutrients
Lights are 6 x 26watt CFL 6500K (9,600 lumens) 18/6 light cycle
Room is 16 cu. ft. with 4 sq. ft. of floor, vented with pusher, puller and internal circulation fans, thermostat controlled
Temperature is 79 degrees F, average
Watering is as follows; All water is RO or distilled and pH balanced to 6.5-7.0, when germinating I used a 1/3 strength MG Bloom Booster to wet the soil, I’ve been watering every 3 days due to the speed at which the soil drains and dries out. That’s 3 waterings including this morning. Ist watering=straight water, 2nd watering=20% MG(24-8-16), 3rd watering (today)=water+Epsom salts(1 tsp. per gal.)
CO2 injection timed when venting fans are off and lights are on to maintain 1300-1500ppm

Thank you all in advance for your 2 cents!!!

Click to expand...

No worries eh? Those plants look GREAT! You're doing great!
I think your soil may be staying wetter than you think though. The curling is a sign of that or too much nutrient in the soil. I'd bet the soil is staying wet. I also think using Miracle gro of any sort is a waste of money, kind of a high non organic salt content any way you look at it... Go organic with your soils and nutes eh?. Earth juice isn't much more $ than miracleNo Just less $ spent on marketing. Cut out the fertilizer for now eh? no epsom salts either. Those sprouting plants 'KNOW' exactly what to do if YOU don't screw them up with a little of this and a little of that and keeping their 'root zone' too wet all the time.
The seed it's self has more than enough food to get well started. The soils you're using (mediocre as they are) have enough nutrient in them for at least a month or two worth of growth WITHOUT ANYTHING EXTRA! Also you can hold off on the CO2 injection for a while too. Let the sprouts get some branches and full sets of leaves before you try to 'Pump them up'.
Basic watering is as follows: Water the soil thoroughly when you do water. THEN....wait until the 'Root Zone" has dried half way out before watering again.
Get a good moisture meter to help determine when that is.
Just drying the surface or drying the whole pot out half way isn't quite the idea. You want air to get to the roots as often as water does. By drying the root zone out half way you prevent root crown rot, root rot and keep more air around the roots as well. This drying pattern of watering also ties in with how well the plant will flower later. Drying roots are a sign to a plant the time to flower and make seeds is coming. Constantly wet roots discourage root growth, flowering and invite fungus and molds. A plant with constantly wet roots will essentially think 'hey there's plenty of water so there's no pressing need to form flowers and in turn seeds to survive a drought, regardless that all the other components of flowering are in place i.e. nutes and 12 hr light pattern... You get wispy buds and not many of them. When in doubt Dry them out!
If you want another way to tell if your watering pattern is good try this...water the plants well, then wait and watch them carefully...DO NOT water them again until you see signs of a slight wilt coming on. Note how many days it took to start to wilt and subtract one day and you've got your correct frequency of watering...This frequency will change as plants grow bigger and suck the water faster.
Similarly, again, any fertilizer at this early stage can be too much, Just let them do their thing and make sure you're not watering too frequently. Hope this helps in some way. Happy Gardening! GrowIT!

Looks perfect to me dude! If only i started as flawlessly! Once they grow their next set of leaves, they will take off!

That’s excellent! You guys should be therapists….well maybe a couple of you are!

BeefSupreme: Thanks for the encouragement!

KingInDaCloset: Keep it simple? Intellectually I know you’re right. It’s hard when you’re an engineer and you get excited about a project. We engineers always want to touch and tweak every little detail to perfection. I like your watering “formula”! Because of this soil mix I’ve got it will be easy to let them dry a bit between waterings. I will heed your advice, calm down and enjoy the process more. Promise!

Kriegs: You’re spot on! I used that color tablet kit. It is way off. Since then I’ve just been using a lab-quality kit to test the water pH in and run off pH out. I’ll keep it simple and stick to that. Now as for the soil and watering, you’re right again. That mix of mine holds water less than 72 hours. I watered yesterday morning, then came to work and posted this thread. 11 hours after watering the plants had exploded by 1/3 and the yellow veins are almost completely back to green. I’m so relieved! The good news is that it is predictable, and according to my notes the watering and results are almost identical from day one.

kyle215: Thank you! Whew!