Alice's cheapo practice grow

So I'm not gonna do a journal because I want more of a discussion and to like ask questions and stuff as opposed to show off my mega awesome super high yield first grow . I'll do a journal for my third or fourth or something, once I'm sure of my ability to actually get a plant to flower, lol. In the meantime, correct me on anything that I should be doing better (keeping in mind my basic two-plant grow).

I'm not interested in yield right now at all. I'll be lucky to get this first run to flower, much less get anything worthwhile off of them. I know I'm gonna run into problems and that's cool. This grow's purpose is for me to learn as much as I can about the process, what looks normal, what doesn't, how to fix the problems I run into. Then next grow or the grow after I can worry about yield.

I'm using bagseed so I haven't invested anything in seeds. Right now my babies are in two baby food jars. I was going to use egg crates but I didn't want to risk them molding. So baby food jars it is. They sprouted earlier than I anticipated (24 hours) and so I had to jerry rig a setup. I read that they didn't need light until they had their first set of leaves out, so there's currently no dedicated light on them, they were sitting on the dining room table (so I would remember to check on them) underneath some cardboard (I also read they like dark). For now we just got some basic no fert soil from walmart or something (My lover bought soil without me, so I didn't get to pick it. )

We're going to be using CFL's, with Jungle Growth. I don't plan on micromanaging my nutes this go around because that is a LOT to keep track of on top of learning the basics, and I'll look into it when I'm more concerned with yeild. It's going to be going in my closet (which is bigger than most bedrooms, why this apartment has a closet so big is beyond me. But hey, thanks for the grow room!). I'm not sure if I'm going to just let it hang out in the closet or if I'm going to build it a home out of a massive cardboard box. I'm thinking the cardboard box might work out, I can stick holes in the top/sides for the lightbulbs to go through and if I need to I can cut out a square and put a small fan in it. Still not sure though. Will be talking to Other Half about it tonight.

PICTURES!

(Sorry the pictures are shit. I just have my phone camera. Not much to see, anyway. Though the one on the right looks like she's having difficulty getting out of her seedpod. :/)

I'm excited about my babyweeds.

Question, though, what should my light schedule be and when should it start? Should I start 12/12 once they get leaves or should I do just 24/7 until they mature more?

Thanks. <3

Shouldn't use a cardboard box, whats the point? just set up everything in your closet. Cardboard is too big of a fire hazard. especially if it's in a closet. have light on for 18 hours a day and 6 hours of darkness. When you want to bud switch to 12/12. Don't forget cannabis grows can grow 2-3 times the size when you start to bud. It would suck if those 2 bagseed were male. Recommend doing 2 more. Depending on how big you want them you should do 18/6 until they are 1/3 height of your closet then switch to 12/12. And once those have 2 sets of leaves you might want to transplant into something that has good drainage.

Yeah, we'll be getting pots for sure - there's no way I'd put a plant in something with no drain holes. That's just asking for trouble. SO RIGHT about the cardboard box. Fire hazard. Fire. Lights. DERP. It's been a long day. Yeah, if they're male I'm not worried, I'll have at least gotten to that point and I'll count it as a success. Once I'm reasonably sure of my competence I'm going to start the germinate the rest of my bagseed and see what happens.

Just spend a day or two reading about it. You are growing a plant like people grow plants in their garden. Get out of the mindset that its weed a drug you get high off and view it as plant while doing botany. I see you don't want to get into that much but you can do it well with little money (Speaking $300-$400). You see some people in here are living in places where growing can be a profitable hobby legally. In this case it has to be done an industry standard way. Youre not going for that so dont look for that information. You cannot just plant the thing, put up some lights and expect it to grow and if you're going to make some of the effort you may as well jut spend a couple of hours reading about it.

You have to understand that its plant and it will only grow certain habitats with deviations for some strains. You have to make your room mimic this environment the best you can. You don't need to be exact but you can take just a few hours and cover the bases of the basics.

Just an observations. Get those Kids out of the Pool. Glass Jars don't drain and it will be a bitch get them out, once they get rooted.
Not to mention roots will be exposed to light.
May, I suggest a couple Solo Cups with drain hole.

Just my 2 cents

Yeah, we don't have disposable cups because we're poor and it's cheaper to just do dishes, the jars were the best thing I had on hand. I could cut up some cardboard and make cubes, but then I'd be worried about mold. Though if they're not staying in there for long, would it matter? we're getting some cheap pots for them tomorrow, we'll buy a couple smaller ones too unless I can jerry rig something up tonight. I have a single old butter tub, but is it worth the possibility the roots might get tangled? And I've done more than a few hours of reading, but I need to do things with my hands in order for the information to sink in. I've been reading forum posts and websites and really just reading from everywhere - but it isn't worth the time it takes because i don't absorb information past a certain point. I've just got to do it and learn as I go. It might not be the best way, but it's how my brain works.

I agree about getting them out of the jars, but if you can't, just make sure you only lightly wet the soil, like with a spray bottle, to discourage mold.

I always do 24 on until they are four or five nodes high, then top them, wait a few weeks and reduce to 12/12. At that age and according to your light usage, it will probably take 2 to 3 weeks to notice the flowering stage happening. Once flowering starts though, be prepared, the plants will likely triple in height!

Also, when you top, you get more than one cola (the big flower pod on top). It's really easy and 2-3 weeks of changing your lights you should start to see gender. Good luck to you!

P.S. don't feel bad about your set up, I've only been using two CFL's and one T5HO for all my growing for a year now takes forever, but it works!

aliceelite said:

Yeah, we don't have disposable cups because we're poor and it's cheaper to just do dishes, the jars were the best thing I had on hand. I could cut up some cardboard and make cubes, but then I'd be worried about mold. Though if they're not staying in there for long, would it matter? we're getting some cheap pots for them tomorrow, we'll buy a couple smaller ones too unless I can jerry rig something up tonight. I have a single old butter tub, but is it worth the possibility the roots might get tangled? And I've done more than a few hours of reading, but I need to do things with my hands in order for the information to sink in. I've been reading forum posts and websites and really just reading from everywhere - but it isn't worth the time it takes because i don't absorb information past a certain point. I've just got to do it and learn as I go. It might not be the best way, but it's how my brain works.

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butter tubs are great, but yes, if you put them together you won't be able to separate them later.

aliceelite said:

Yeah, we don't have disposable cups because we're poor and it's cheaper to just do dishes, the jars were the best thing I had on hand. I could cut up some cardboard and make cubes, but then I'd be worried about mold. Though if they're not staying in there for long, would it matter? we're getting some cheap pots for them tomorrow, we'll buy a couple smaller ones too unless I can jerry rig something up tonight. I have a single old butter tub, but is it worth the possibility the roots might get tangled? And I've done more than a few hours of reading, but I need to do things with my hands in order for the information to sink in. I've been reading forum posts and websites and really just reading from everywhere - but it isn't worth the time it takes because i don't absorb information past a certain point. I've just got to do it and learn as I go. It might not be the best way, but it's how my brain works.

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You can't afford $3 cups? You realise that soil and cfl bulbs are gonna cost you around $30 dollars?

You can't be penny cheap with growing. It won't end well.

good luck...

aliceelite said:

I need to do things with my hands in order for the information to sink in. I've been reading forum posts but it isn't worth the time it takes because i don't absorb information past a certain point.

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Are you autistic? It's ok if you are I'm just wondering that's all.
I've grown with 2 bulbs, it's possible.

If ur poor use the sun its free!

what flaming pie said. Going 'cheap' will cost you more money.

Cheap grows are not the end of the world, and like you said it's a learning experience. However ignoring the advice of skilled growers over a $0.10 dixie cup probably isn't the best way forward.

reuse a MacDonald paper coffee cup.....got to be at least one in every garbage can

or take a plastic bottle and cut the top off. then wrap something that will block the light around it like black trashbag and tape or tin foil or something
^^sup isk!!

2 liter pop bottles cut in half with drain holes work great for pots!

We need some type of awards for the stupidest threads.

This is one of the dumbest. If you cant afford 3 bucks, you simply cannot grow.

Stupid and a waste of time.

5 cents for a sods bottle ohhh!

No, I meant we don't have any at the moment, not that we were too cheap to buy any - we don't keep them on hand cause it's just not worth the expense. I could make a special trip for cups OR I could just get normal pots if I'm going to go out and make a trip. I don't drive, so I'm kind of at the mercy of my partner's job, which can be pretty unforgiving. My last seeds took forever to germinate - I only got one like 6 days after I started germinating, and then it damped off. I think soaking them this time (and using a cup instead of a plate) helped them germinate faster, but I was stupidly expecting to have more time.

I DO have a couple monster cans lying around. I could cut some drainage holes in those, they'd work and be easy to transplant, right?

I'm not autistic and I am actually a great reader, but not with practical things. I can read English theory and do great, but I can't read a textbook about, say, fixing a car, and then know what I'm doing. I have to watch someone fix a car before I really get it.

I haven't watered them yet, and they seem to be doing pretty well, they opened up a bit more today. I'm gonna tear apart some monster cans until we get pots (We would have today, but our car won't go more than 20mph. I think it's a coolant issue? I don't know.), and keep an eye on them.

My setup isn't cheap in the sense that I refuse to spend any money at all on it. it's cheap insofar as I'm not willing to spend several hundred dollars on optimal equipment for my first inexperienced grow, not knowing how to do it or what shit looks like. IMO, the simpler my setup is, the less likely I am to fuck something up.