First grow in ages

I'm moving this grow journal from the blog section to the discussion section, so I can keep posts in chronological order. Comments are welcome.

I haven't grown anything under lamps since the 90s, and my last outdoor grow was about 15 years ago. I had a 1kw MH in the early 90s, and had several successful grows over the years. I've only got a handful of grows total, and all of what I learned was pre-internet. I learned mostly from a single Mel Frank book, and through trial and error.

With a little bit of research, I ordered five feminized Grower's Choice Seeds - American Haze. They claim 24% THC content (we'll see), and it's a sativa. Seeds showed up in a few days, and I immediately got them in a glass of water. Put them in paper towels the next day. Two days later, all had sprouted. I grabbed a cheap bag of garden soil, and a small bag of perlite. Mixed it up, and planted all into Dixie cups. A couple days later, all were up.



I put them under my 1kw MH, and started doing research on soil mixes. After a couple false starts, I decided to go the easy (and expensive) route of using Fox Farms Ocean Forest. Problem was, I couldn't find it at a reasonable price. I did find 4 bags of it, and 5 bags of Fox Farms Happy Frog (which I read was too hot). It would have to do. Picked up a big bag of perlite, and mixed up a ratio of about 40% perlite to 60% soil. Got some 7gal fabric bags, then transplanted the sprouts into the bags. I like getting them into large pots soon so root growth is not inhibited.

Planted Oct 3
Week #1, Oct 8


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Week #2:
Everything seems to be going well. Dropped the light from 36" to 22". Light watering only - about a quart of rainwater when the soil is dry 2-3" down.

Oct 15


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Week #3:
Got my ventilation up and running, need to get a filter. These guys are starting to smell already. Topped the plants mid-week.
Oct 22
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Week #4
House is really starting to smell. Halloween is coming, and I want to give out candy. Need to figure something out.
Oct 29

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Week #5

Got my filter installed, and the smell is under control. Got my scrog net up, too. Things are moving along nicely. I started a little LST yesterday. They are drinking about a gallon of water every 3-4 days. No nutrients yet - they look nitrogen rich to me. Might not have to add anything until flowering. I am using a little silicon supplement to raise my water PH. Not sure it's necessary, and skipped it on the last watering. Ordered a cheap PH meter, and calibration solution. Right now I'm using rain water, which I'm not worried about. In the next few weeks I'll have to switch to well water (with an old RO filter), so need to keep tabs until I get used to it. I really should get a TDS meter to check the well water. The RO is 7 years old. I've never changed the filter because it still takes care of the bad taste. I think the well water taste is from manganese.
Nov 5

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Nov 6
Looks like I've got a problem showing on new growth. From pictures I've seen on the net, it looks like it might be magnesium deficiency (or maybe manganese). I was half expecting it due to using rain water, so I'll start using Cal-Mag (standard dose, 1tsp / gallon). This picture was taken two days after the first dose.

what is your runoff PH?

PH is 6.4 on runoff. Discoloration has stopped, but I'm seeing a bit of leaf twist on the tips of new growth. They seem to straiten out once they mature. I've been giving it a full dose of Cal-Mag with each watering. Gave them a half dose of maxi-bloom today for the first time. I'll probably flip to 13-11 sometime this week. Rain water is all gone, so I'm on well water now. I really need to get a TDS meter to see how well the RO filter is doing. It's really old.

Week 6, Nov 12

lookin great! ill be watching to see how this unfolds

Flipped today - 13/11. Also got a good TDS meter in the mail, and it turns out my 7 year old RO is still working like a charm. Unfiltered well water is 220 ppm. PH is 7.8 out of the faucet. I'm adding PH down to get it to about 6.5 after any nuets. Still not feeding anything, but a half dose of Calmag. Seeing a very little bit of yellowing on the lower leaves, so will start with a half dose of bloom on the next watering. Still running the MH. I'll swap it to an HPS bulb in 7 days. Want to stick with MH to minimize stretch. Plants are looking healthy, but have a blue-green look. The soil is still kicking ass, but might be nearing the end of what it can do. Very impressive what good dirt can do. I'm going to make my own on the nxt cycle. I'm too cheap to spend another $80 on dirt, plus I like DIY. I don't understand why people feed so early in the cycle. Marketing, I guess, along with human's nurturing desire. That blueish look, though? Really beautiful. Maybe the strain, or possibly the cool temps? Temps are running between 64F at night to 74F. Humidity is starting to rise - about 54%, although it's been raining. I have the option to run a dehumidifier. The blue, though - very pretty - pictures don't do them justice. I wish I had a better camera. I had to tweak this in photoshop, but this is close to the color. It feels so good to be growing again. Very therapeutic.

Nov 15, 42 days old, Flip 13/11

Showing first pistils a day after flip. Stretching a lot, too. I only want about 18" of stretch.

Plants are looking great. Good luck the rest of the way.

3-4 pound yield u think?

I'm thinking about 1.25 - 1.5 lb. I'm pretty sure I can do 2 to 2.5lbs, but I pushed flowering ahead of schedule. I've got no smoke! This is just the practice run, anyhow. Next time I'm running better quality.

deno said:

I'm thinking about 1.25 - 1.5 lb. I'm pretty sure I can do 2 to 2.5lbs, but I pushed flowering ahead of schedule. I've got no smoke! This is just the practice run, anyhow. Next time I'm running better quality.

Click to expand...

do urself a favor and clip off a sample and start drying it then. You are really gonna lose a huge chunk of the weight by harvesting early.

Lite said:

do urself a favor and clip off a sample and start drying it then. You are really gonna lose a huge chunk of the weight by harvesting early.

Click to expand...

Good advice. OP, just clip enough to keep you high.

I meant to say I shortened veg time. Gonna go the full duration on flowering. Instead of saying 'pushed flowering ahead of schedule' I probably should have said 'pushed the start of flowering ahead of schedule'. The initial plan was to cull these five plants to the best two. Two of the plants were definitely stronger than the others, both in aroma and growth rate. I decided to just keep them all so I wouldn't have to veg as long. I will absolutely flower them until they are ripe.

By the way, we were discussing micro nutrients in another thread where you recommended adding a supplement. Although I ordered a supplement, I completely forgot I had a sample of MegaCrop here, which has micro nutrients. I used it two days ago, and I swear they look better. Seems half the blue is gone. They are looking much more normal. I'll post pictures later today. I'm gonna finish the cycle with MegaCrop, maybe with a half dose of cal-mag.

I got a decent TDS meter, and took a closer look at my water. I've got an old RO filter, which is measuring at 90ppm (on the 700 scale). 90ppm is not bad for a 6yo membrane. Water still tastes fine, but it's definitely on its last leg. I ordered a replacement membrane. Unfiltered water is measuring 240ppm, and is manganese I think. Never had it tested, but I did a little sleuthing on the internet.

deno said:

I meant to say I shortened veg time. Gonna go the full duration on flowering. Instead of saying 'pushed flowering ahead of schedule' I probably should have said 'pushed the start of flowering ahead of schedule'. The initial plan was to cull these five plants to the best two. Two of the plants were definitely stronger than the others, both in aroma and growth rate. I decided to just keep them all so I wouldn't have to veg as long. I will absolutely flower them until they are ripe.. . . . . . . . .

Click to expand...

I see said the blind man. Please disregard my last post. Carry on.

Four days into the flip, and the plants are growing like crazy, stretching, with pistils at all the internodes. Canopy is up at least 4" this week, and the net is almost full. Lots of budding sites, and is fairly even. If they keep this up for long, I'm going to have to do some hard core LST. The scrog net is two tier, but I need room to grow after the stretch. Still running the MH under 13/11, but am a little worried they might need 12/12 due to being 80% Sativa. If they aren't in full bloom by next week, I'll drop it back to 12/12. Gonna switch to an HPS bulb on Tuesday. Not going to do any defoliaging until they are in full bloom, and then only a moderate amount. Temps are cooling, about 72 to 64. It's gonna get even cooler once winter sets in. The fan I've got is too strong, so I'm going to pick up two smaller ones. Humidity is rising, but still reasonable at 54%. Started running my dehumidifier to stay on top of it, and its dropped to 51%. I'm seeing some very minor yellowing of the lowest leaves, but its no surprise. These leaves are getting virtually no light, and I've been feeding very lightly. In fact, I'm a little surprised I'm not seeing more. I'll stay on top of it, though, feeding at 100% using MegaCrop. Watching PPM. It should nip any issues in the bud before they become bigger problems.


Nov 19, Week 7

llookin super healthy!

Dec 10, Week 10 - Day 11
Changed cycle to 11/13 to induce stronger flowering. Feeding full strength MegaCrop. I think I've been over watering somewhat, so am letting them dry out more. Using my circular light mover on the smallest circle possible. Removed the netting from the lower trellis, and installed the top trellis. Temps 74/64, RH 39-48%, light height 19".

Week 5 of flowering. Showing two phenotypes that are maturing at different rates. Pheno 1 has a lime green color and white pistils that have just started curling. Pheno 2 has a darker green color, with pistils that curled a week ago, and are beginning to brown. The lime green color (with slender leaves) matches the product description for pheno 1. I have two pheno 1, and three pheno 2 plants. Pheno 2 appears to be significantly ahead, and might finish short of the advertised 60-75 day flowering time.

Temps have been cool - 73/59 with 30-34% RH. I've made a few adjustments to bring those temps up a couple degrees. Water consumption is down, too, despite the low humidity. Pheno 2's pistols have are 90% brown, but I can see no amber trics. Plant fan leaves are fading a bit. Pistols are just beginning to pull in, with some swelling. Another week or two, I think.
Pheno 1's pistols are still 80% white with no leaf fading. They look like three weeks at least, which matches the product descriptions flowering time. They also match the 'lime green' description, so I think this is the actual American Haze pheno.
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Day 52 from flip, call it week 7 of flowering. Advertised flowering period is 60-75 days. By the looks of the pistil color, they are getting close. They've been 80-90% brown for a week, with pheno 2 leading the way by at least a week. I have seen no amber trichs, not even one. Trichs are 80-90% cloudy. I'm going to wait at least a week. Pheno 2 will be coming down first.
Temps are still cool and dry (70/60, 30% RH), with a large portion of the day spent in the 60s. Takes a few hours to get the temp up to 70. I don't want to spend money on heating the room, so will ride it out. Water consumption is down, from 1.5 gal/3 days to 1.5gal/5 days. Feeding full strength MC with 1/4 calmag. Not sure if I need the calmag, but added it as a precaution. Not going to try to strip chlorophyll with a flush or by stopping nutrients - I'll take care of that with the cure.