Hey guys....first off i just wanted to say ive been lurking/reading a lot over the past few months and i cant tell you how helpful this site has been for a noob like me. Truly a great resource and what appears to be a really helpful community. I'd love some constructive criticism so if you got some, lets hear it!
Im just getting into growing and decided to start with a somewhat small CFL grow with some bagseed for my first time just to get my feet wet. Im just buying things as i need them and tbh I'm not expecting a huge yield for my first time (but hoping of course!). Also trying to save money where possible and splurging where it seems like a good idea.
I started out with MG stuff and only a few plants took off right away (most notably, the one ive named "The Beast). Some died. Some stayed in a permanent state of infancy. I had to choose while survived and which got thrown out so I picked out the best looking and transplanted them into my current soil mix which youll see below. Now theyre doing much better. Im no expert but If I were to give one bit of advise to someone starting Id tell them to get their hands on some real soil. I know some guys like MG but for me it just didnt work out well and im lucky I germ'd like 30 seeds lol.
Here's a basic rundown of my current setup:
- 70"L x 18"W x 36"H enclosed grow space. Theres enough floor space to comfortably fit 6 pots (I believe theyre 2 gallon pots, maybe 3, cant remember (stoner brain). Floor drain right next to it.
- 3 sets of 4, 23W CFLs. 3 5000k and 1 2700k bulbs per cord. Going to basically do the exact opposite with the bulbs for flowering (3 2700k and 1 5000k per cord)
- 8" Fan
-Timer I got off ebay. Hope it works well. Saw some youtube vids with the same one and people were saying it worked great so hopefully it does.
-Fox Farm trio of nutes. Just got them yesterday so Im probably going to start with some real light feedings soon (im thinking 1/4 strength) just to see how they like it.
- Soil mix. Its something along the lines of 2 part ProMix, 2 part non fertilized potting soil, 1 part vermiculite (probably a little less). Bought perlite but realized it was the MG crap with time release in it. Tossed it. Next time I'm going to do something similar with my mix except add some perlite and put an inch or two of stone at the bottom of the pot for better drainage. Im currently only needing to water only about once a week but the plants dont look dehydrated at all and I know youre supposed to let it get pretty dry before rewatering so the roots can breathe. Id definitely like to see a little more drainage though. I can tell the soil mix is something im going to be playing around with a lot for future grows.
-Clone tray, dome, rockwool, gel
-Topping and LST'ing
-24/0 light schedule. Thinking of going 18/6 for a week or so in between maybe...
Theyre all currently vegging in about week 4 and Ive got 6 plants in the big pots, another 4 weaklings that im trying to nurse back to health in smaller pots. I cant believe how much the better soil helped. They do seem a little small to me, unknown strain so who really knows but im sure the crappy MG soil i started with had something to do with that. Most of them look pretty good now though with the exception of some burnt leaves from the lights touching them. Plants that were super small for their age (like 2 nodes 4" tall at 3 weeks) have doubled in the past week or so. Cant wait to get the FF nutes all up in those girls.........
............and guys. Heres where i need a little direction. Like i said, Im growing bagseed. So males will have to be weeded out somewhere along the line. But i also want to get a cloning system up and running so this is only a one time thing. Sometime in the near future Im going to divide my grow space up into 3 areas, veg, flower, clone. Im not really a fan of the idea of flowering them all and revegging after removing the males. I think Id rather do the clone flowering technique but this is one of those things i'd like some help on bc im not quite sure what the best way would be for my situation. I dont think i have the room to wait for preflowers to show but i might if i LST the shit out of them. And i heard you shouldnt clone when the plants are already in flower?
Here's some pics of the gals (and most likely some guys
) Its cramped in there with the extra little ones but once I get them all weeded out and down to a few good females i should be good. Other than the few burns i had on the plants (gotta keep a better eye on those lights) I havent noticed anything abnormal. Dont have the timer set up yet, going to just test it out and wait til flower to get it in there bc Im going to need a couple outlet splitters to make it work.
Also, what would be the best way to start with my FF trio of nutes? I have their feeding schedule but Im already almost at week 5 should I just start from the beginning of the schedule at like 1/4 strength and go with it or should i try to wean them into week 4/5 of the schedule?
Any feedback is much appreciated! And please help me out with some ideas on how to figure out which are males and females in the most efficient manner bc thats the big thing thats stressin me right now lol. Thanks guys!
Plants 1 and 2. #2 is "the beast" and by far my strongest plant. The mug and cellophane are just a practice clone i took yesterday. All the plants in the small pots in the foreground are the ones that Im trying to nurse back to good health.
Plants 3 and 4. Little bit on burning from the lights touching here.
Plants 5 and 6.
Im just getting into growing and decided to start with a somewhat small CFL grow with some bagseed for my first time just to get my feet wet. Im just buying things as i need them and tbh I'm not expecting a huge yield for my first time (but hoping of course!). Also trying to save money where possible and splurging where it seems like a good idea.
I started out with MG stuff and only a few plants took off right away (most notably, the one ive named "The Beast). Some died. Some stayed in a permanent state of infancy. I had to choose while survived and which got thrown out so I picked out the best looking and transplanted them into my current soil mix which youll see below. Now theyre doing much better. Im no expert but If I were to give one bit of advise to someone starting Id tell them to get their hands on some real soil. I know some guys like MG but for me it just didnt work out well and im lucky I germ'd like 30 seeds lol.
Here's a basic rundown of my current setup:
- 70"L x 18"W x 36"H enclosed grow space. Theres enough floor space to comfortably fit 6 pots (I believe theyre 2 gallon pots, maybe 3, cant remember (stoner brain). Floor drain right next to it.
- 3 sets of 4, 23W CFLs. 3 5000k and 1 2700k bulbs per cord. Going to basically do the exact opposite with the bulbs for flowering (3 2700k and 1 5000k per cord)
- 8" Fan
-Timer I got off ebay. Hope it works well. Saw some youtube vids with the same one and people were saying it worked great so hopefully it does.
-Fox Farm trio of nutes. Just got them yesterday so Im probably going to start with some real light feedings soon (im thinking 1/4 strength) just to see how they like it.
- Soil mix. Its something along the lines of 2 part ProMix, 2 part non fertilized potting soil, 1 part vermiculite (probably a little less). Bought perlite but realized it was the MG crap with time release in it. Tossed it. Next time I'm going to do something similar with my mix except add some perlite and put an inch or two of stone at the bottom of the pot for better drainage. Im currently only needing to water only about once a week but the plants dont look dehydrated at all and I know youre supposed to let it get pretty dry before rewatering so the roots can breathe. Id definitely like to see a little more drainage though. I can tell the soil mix is something im going to be playing around with a lot for future grows.
-Clone tray, dome, rockwool, gel
-Topping and LST'ing
-24/0 light schedule. Thinking of going 18/6 for a week or so in between maybe...
Theyre all currently vegging in about week 4 and Ive got 6 plants in the big pots, another 4 weaklings that im trying to nurse back to health in smaller pots. I cant believe how much the better soil helped. They do seem a little small to me, unknown strain so who really knows but im sure the crappy MG soil i started with had something to do with that. Most of them look pretty good now though with the exception of some burnt leaves from the lights touching them. Plants that were super small for their age (like 2 nodes 4" tall at 3 weeks) have doubled in the past week or so. Cant wait to get the FF nutes all up in those girls.........
............and guys. Heres where i need a little direction. Like i said, Im growing bagseed. So males will have to be weeded out somewhere along the line. But i also want to get a cloning system up and running so this is only a one time thing. Sometime in the near future Im going to divide my grow space up into 3 areas, veg, flower, clone. Im not really a fan of the idea of flowering them all and revegging after removing the males. I think Id rather do the clone flowering technique but this is one of those things i'd like some help on bc im not quite sure what the best way would be for my situation. I dont think i have the room to wait for preflowers to show but i might if i LST the shit out of them. And i heard you shouldnt clone when the plants are already in flower?
Here's some pics of the gals (and most likely some guys
) Its cramped in there with the extra little ones but once I get them all weeded out and down to a few good females i should be good. Other than the few burns i had on the plants (gotta keep a better eye on those lights) I havent noticed anything abnormal. Dont have the timer set up yet, going to just test it out and wait til flower to get it in there bc Im going to need a couple outlet splitters to make it work.Also, what would be the best way to start with my FF trio of nutes? I have their feeding schedule but Im already almost at week 5 should I just start from the beginning of the schedule at like 1/4 strength and go with it or should i try to wean them into week 4/5 of the schedule?
Any feedback is much appreciated! And please help me out with some ideas on how to figure out which are males and females in the most efficient manner bc thats the big thing thats stressin me right now lol. Thanks guys!
Plants 1 and 2. #2 is "the beast" and by far my strongest plant. The mug and cellophane are just a practice clone i took yesterday. All the plants in the small pots in the foreground are the ones that Im trying to nurse back to good health.
Plants 3 and 4. Little bit on burning from the lights touching here.
Plants 5 and 6.
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