Avid Reader - First Time Grower - HELP please :)

Hey guys I just wanna start by paying homage to all the people that post politely on the threads of uninformed growers looking for help. Those of you that fall in that category embody exactly what Mary Jane stands for, which is unity. That being said, I could use some assistance, so I guess I'll give a lil backstory.

I've been reading RIU for information for months now, and intended to eventually partake in the art that is MJ cultivation, but once I had enough knowledge and resources (financially & spatially). Well the ganja gods had other plans in store for me apparently, because when I arrived at a local collective in Southern California last week, I was presented with a FREE healthy looking clone of Titans Haze, as well as very basic instructions on how to care for it.

While I've grasped the basics such as lighting cycles and NPK ratios (more N during Veg, more P & K during Flower), I'm still absurdly novice at everything involved. Any specifics on this Haze x Skunk princess you could offer up would be greatly appreciated.

My main question - How can I identify how old the clone was when I received it? It was about 10-12 inches tall with about 8 or 9 bladed fan leaves, all varying in size. (GONNA ADD PICS for help answering this one -- its my first post though so bare with me if I don't post it correctly the first time.)


I'll keep this thread going with updates & pics of the lil lady if you'd like. Thanks in advance for any help offered up guys.

Signed,
-- Smokey McBowls





(Smokey McBowls & everything in this post are fictional and intended for research and humor only.)

if the clone was well rooted then it was at least 3+ weeks old (safe guess)

Growing herb is not nearly as hard as people make it out to be.

give them.....

good soil
good light
maintain a decent PH (6.5-6.
dont water them daily, only when dry
maintain reasonable temps (between 65-85, 75 being most ideal)
maintain decent humidity (60% veg, 40% flower)

and your gtg, enviorment is the biggest thing in growing quality herbs man, get your enviorment situated and they will grow. dont fall into the nutrient hype, a simple veg and flower nutrient is all you need. check out General hydroponics flora nova, its like 15 bucks a bottle and you dont need alot. Depending on your soil quality you wont even need the veg formula as the soil should have more than enough to sustain the plant till your ready for flower.

keep it simple, dont look into it too much. its just a plant...no more no less. It thrives well in optimal conditions but its a reasonably hardy plant and will grow in less than optimal conditions but your growth rates and yeilds will suffer.

if you dont have one already and have the budget for one pick up a decent 600w light system, for 160 bucks on amazon you can get this

http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Electronic-Dimmable-Reflector-Hydroponic/dp/B00521B894/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366801986&sr=8-2&keywords=600w+apollo

decent lights, im using a 600w and a 1k watt right now for my grows. 3 year warranty on the ballast and 1 year warranty on the bulbs...cant beat it really. if you have a little extra cash and want to go and get a nice Hortilux bulb it wont hurt.

Peoples biggest problem when they start growing is they over do everything. they over water, over fertilize and add a bunch of shit to thier soil that the plant simply dosent need.

why? because they get caught up in these nutrient companies hype. these nute companies will offer you a 50 bottle regiment of crap for 500$ WOW!! amazing results for only 500$.......thats what they will say.....truth is you get your results from perfecting your enviormental conditions not from a nutrient bottle.

Thanks for the responses everyone. New question...

--when the time is right of course, Is it possible / advisable to take a clone from another clone, or should you only take clones from healthy mother plants?

Signed,
-- Smokey McBowls

RetiredMatthebrute said:

Peoples biggest problem when they start growing is they over do everything. they over water, over fertilize and add a bunch of shit to thier soil that the plant simply dosent need.

why? because they get caught up in these nutrient companies hype. these nute companies will offer you a 50 bottle regiment of crap for 500$ WOW!! amazing results for only 500$.......thats what they will say.....truth is you get your results from perfecting your enviormental conditions not from a nutrient bottle.

Click to expand...

Read this a few times. What type of soil is that?

I would wait until you have at least 5 internodes to clone.

Hey guys so I wanted to give an update on my little girl, as well as ask if the symptoms on this one bad leaf are ones that have been seen before.

Reminder - Received her as a clone on 4/18 so this makes day 14 since she's been in my care. (End of week 2, beginning of week 3)

She definitely went through a lil bit of shock when I transplanted her into the clay pot (hopefully thats what this one bad leaf is)

Some of the little white hairs are starting to turn brown already, dunno if thats a good thing or a bad thing.



My question is if the bad leaf pictured is a minor or major issue, and what you recommend doing about it. I've read some people say they pull dying leaves off, but I also heard Jorge Cervantes say not to do that until it's completely yellow or brown because there are precious sugars & minerals in the leaf that the plant can & will use if you don't take it off prematurely. I've read & heard so much I really dunno what the appropriate step is... so I've just left it alone until I could show you guys some pictures and get your advice.

Also, I've got a free sample of Veg+Bloom set to arrive tomorrow. Any experience with this product from HR? If yes any advice you can give is appreciated. Thanks in advance everyone.



Signed,
Smokey McBowls

my bad Gandalf, just noticed this. Its MG soil.

It looks good. Thats just an old leaf that had damage is my guess. That siol will have nutes for awhile. Kinda looks like it came from a flowering plant. Whats your light schedule?

I would also say 3+ , and totally agree with [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]mattthebrute... Dont over think, over water, its not rocket science. These plant's are in fact "weeds" and grow in really shitty conditions honestly. If i can do it, any retard can. lol

have fun!
[/FONT]

before you start adjusting ph and humidity here's what: go through some grows. People I find experts on this in RIU do not even bother to check their humidity and ph, they just pour tap water on soil in 20% of RH room through both veg and flower and have amazing results. This is a weed. It's just a plant. You should read a book like Mel Frank - Marijuana Grower's Insider's Guide. It was published on 1993 but seriously it has everything you need to know. Only then you should read a lot in forums, due to a lot of hypes floating around. Like e.g. veg food and bloom food. You need to listen to the plant, not to companies that advertise their stuff. If you would keep grow food of NPK 3-1-2 and increase it's dosage once you see bottom leaves start paling, also some cal-mag additive and seaweed for micro elements, you could go through all the grow without any bloom food.
Oh and by the way, that clay pot looks like it's too small for your plant, I would say get something 3 times bigger and burry few inches of your stem.Also I am wondering why you have4 pistils already? Do you grow inside or outside? what hour schedule? If you want to take clones, you need to make sure that your mother is vegging, not flowering.

Light Schedule = 20/4 right now.

Since its a clone from a possibly flowering mother... how will I know the right time to switch the light schedule. Is it just when I'm satisfied with the current size??

I've read that you switch from Veg to Flower with the understanding that your plant (when finished) will be 3x the size it was at the end of Veg. (Is this ...True/False/or depends on the strain?)

Signed,
Smokey McBowls

Thnx Simi.

I got her when the bottom was in a rockwell cube & then I put her in the clay pot. Not looking for her to be enormous or maximum size (simply for convenience & privacy) ....but with that being said I've been considering transplanting her to a bigger pot to let the roots REALLY stretch out.

Questions :
----Would going from rockwell cube > clay pot > larger pot cause unnecessary stress to the plant?
----(If no) What medium should I make the largest pot??? (Right now she's in the clay pot with straight MG. Would you suggest adding some perlite, vermiculite, coco, etc... to the large pot for the transplant OR should I fill it with all soil since thats what she's in now)

(just some info)....when I got her she was a surprise & all I had was the clay pot & MG to put her in. I would have chosen a different medium if given ample time to prepare for her arrival.


Thnx for the help!

Signed,
Smokey McBowls

I am not familiar with US soil trademarks, it depends on what MG has by percentage in it already. you should make sure your water drains well. Your aim is to keep soil airy, moist with good draining specs. Follow your common sense. If you're still on veg, do not worry about the stress. This is a time when you are growing root ball. Better prepare for the stretch in those two weeks and then flip it to flower. When transplanting, try to take all as one mass, better do it when soil is moist but not wet, so it would not fall apart or stick to the pot. take your time do it gently with caution and you will not cause any stress at all. If bottom leaves are yellowing, increase nutes. Do not try to pull the leaves against its will, gently try to pull, when ready you will be able to take away with a gentle touch, otherwise let the plant suck energy leftovers from those fan leaves.
After you have your pot settled(I would go for 3-5gal pot) enjoy seeing it stretch for 3-4 weeks. will it stretch 2 or 3 or 4 times depends on your strain, light, nutes, root mass. difficult to predict. Have some Nitrogen dominating nutes like 3-1-2 of NPK ready, but do not overdo. Giving a plant more, will not make it produce more.

Hey guys! So yesterday marked the 3rd week I've been taking care of my first ever girl. (Got her as a clone & today is day 22 since she's been mine)

She's started seriously stretching out, basically doubled in foliage since the day I potted her.

That meant it was inevitably time to transplant her to a larger home. Decided to throw in some perlite to make sure this new pot drained well & the roots were able to breathe.

Also, received my free sample of Veg+Bloom from HR, & so far she seems to love it. No nute burn or anything. Lets hope it stays that way.

The NPK ratio is 15-10-27. It'd be amazing if they really did create one solid nute for both Veg & Flower.

Gonna throw up some pics so you can all see, & I was just curious...

***When do you think I should switch this one from Veg to Flower??*** (Again this is my first plant ever, so any advice no matter how elementary will be super helpful)


....ps I accidentally damaged a few of the roots during the transplant process. Maybe 10% of them. I hear this particular strain (Titan's Haze) is rather hardy for noobs like me... Do you think she'll be okay and just repair whatever root damage it suffered, or should I go the extra mile to make sure the roots are assisted in recovery with something like SuperThrive, Liquid Karma, etc....???

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Signed,
Smokey McBowls

So I went to check on the girl after feeling like she was doing exceptionally well after the transplant, only to see that she indeed IS having a brand new problem .......

I could really use your help in diagnosing whether this is a nute problem, or from the root damage during transplant (or none of the above)....

Adding pics, but incase some of them are too blurry:
-the leaf looked like it had been literally burnt
-parts were browning
-small portion was blackening
-a tiny bit was even grey & blew off quite easily when I misted the plant with water.

Again any help at all, no matter how basic, would be of the utmost helpfulness right now. Thanks in advance!

Signed,
Smokey McBowls

Nice plant man ...you have really made her nice and healthy ...great work for you first ever grow ....good luck mate....

That brown leaf you had ??? did it grow into your light??? has i did this to one of mine last week i let it touch the florescent light Ive got down the side's and it sent the leaf brown like that....and to be honest there not even hot to touch ....oh well good luck and i shall keep an eye out for ya post's....