Growing Diary

Sup everyone

I been reading and learnign on your wonderfull forum for quite a few month now
I have visited many forums to learn about cubboard growing but always ended up on rollitup So after many months or readign I finally got all the BITZ :O) one needs and made myself a nice Weed Growing cubboard. I took a lot of inspiration from your forum here so Thansk to all the HOW To;s

As I said I read almost everything there is to read for newbees and the more I read and take advice from growers the more confusing it can get . So many different ways and so many different methods ...well i think i realized many ways can be the right one so in the end its all up to the grower

My decisssions are made now , and to force myself ...I just planted 5 seeds ...more about that later

My plans !
I grow in BIO soil with as little as possible interference or additives ..
My cupboard is ready and running
Dimensions :
W: 100cm /3.28 ft
B: 65cm /2.13 ft
H: 190cm /6.23ft
I have 3 TL light up top for the seedlings
3 X 18 WATTS
1 X TL (colour 33) Is this Bad ! Colour for germination/seedlings and early grows (up to 10 days ??
2 X TL (colour 830)
On the bottom I have one 400Watts HPS lamp wired and ready .

Now as said after 6 - 10 days I plan to move them to the bottom under the 400W HPS light .
Ideas Guys ?? ..wrong? right ??)

Now back to my 5 seeds. Strain : pure NL
On pics you can see 2 are out already whilst the rest is still nowhere to be seen .
these all where planted in a Germination kits on the 27th march
They are under the TL lights since then 24hours a day !?
Ideas please !! ..am i doing this right .. I been told and read best to use 24 hours for the 1st 10 days ??

Now we can see 2 are out and about 5 cm (2 inch??) tall already ? They both came very early already on day 5 !

What I do ?
Do i leave em on top shelve under TL with the 3 seeds or move em out re-pot them (small cup of course )and move to the bottom under HPS ?

Many Many !Questions I am sure will arise so I plan to share all my experiences about my 1st season on rollitup and really ....I hope I get the expert help on here that I am sure I will need form time to time ..

Anyway My diary up to now

Day1 27/03/2009 Seeds planted in germination lit and moved under TL 24/7. Spray seeds regulary to keep the soil moist

Day2 28/03/2009 - Of course nothing happened but yet i spend a whiole looking at the soil Water spray regulary

Day5 31/03/2009 - 2 Seeds have sported after only 4 full days of TL light 24/7 . Plants will be numbered .Ergo 1 and 2 have been named today

Day7 02/04/2009 - Fianlly logged on and posted on rollitup.org . Number 1 and 2 are going strong . Both have reached about 5 cm . Both have one set of real leaves

theyd probably go nutz under that hps. jst not 2 close as 2 burn them.

Get a fan in there to blow on them to make them stronger and they look a little stretched.

mr.feelgood said:

Get a fan in there to blow on them to make them stronger and they look a little stretched.

Click to expand...

Stretched ??? MMMHH already ..
I think ..see pics they are too far away from tl tubes ?

So what about fan ...FAN on already ? I thought I leave em in the littel Grow box for 10 days ?
Well ..do i take the 2 plants and move em under HPS ?
With Fan on ...?? Any suggestions are welcome
I dont know :O((

Right !

I acted swiftly Indeed the Germination block on both was not enough anymore
After examination I have decided to quickly pot the 2 Seedlings ..

See pics
Pots are 6 cm and 10 cm deep . I think thats good nuff for the next 2 weeks , but will keep an eye on the roots

The other 3 un-poped seeds i have in a dish on top shelf
Temps are too high when cupboard is closed 37 plus degree cel.!!!!!
So i have to open the doors ..
propblem I have to cut tomorrow quickly some vent holes but havnt figured out how to use the 12 volt pc fans to pump air in and keep all light out ...
Which brings me to the next problem ...I have not got a perfect division in my cupboard meaning I cant have one side light and another dark ..
So now i have the 2 seedlings under HPS (about 60 cm away from bulb ) this means now I go now to GROWING cycle 16/8 So 18 hr Light 6 dark ...(or not ?) Anyway The Prolem wille the seeds ...they need still 24 hr tl light ...What to do ...lol....???

Added the pics . The fan is a temp solution door can however be closed ...Temps are high If i dont open the door . On the pic you might be able to make out it was 97 degF after 2 hr closed door ...Leave door on top slightly open like the last pic then its 90 F in DIRECT LIGHT 60 cm under Light bulp . And now I added the fan there is very very slight movement on the plants ,just like adviced .lets make em strong from the start:O)

Tomorrow I have to visit the local diy store I need figure a intake/puttake system ...


So my Addition to ttodays diary entry :


Day7 02/04/2009 - Fianlly logged on and posted on rollitup.org . Number 1 and 2 are going strong . Both have reached about 5 cm . Both have one set of real leaves. After examining 1 and 2 I have decided to mve themto 6 X 10cm pots and move to bottom under 18hr light 6 hr dark . Growing cycle.

Well Day 8 has begun and unfortunately the other 3 seeds ar still nowhere to be seen
We ll just have to wait for it .

Plant 1 is now 7cm taLL and number 2 is 6 cm
Both look very happy under the HPS. Slight movement from the fan should help here

Temps is a problem for me as outined in my earlier posts ..
Top shelve today is 81 F and under the HPS its still some more

I try to find a solution for my venting issue today ..
Just how to keep light out and using PC fans to have air intake ...??mmmhhh
Anyway 2 more pics of Number 1 & 2 . They are loving it in the light

Well I have been busy trying to get the temps down

At the moment I Installed one passive air intake , 2 X 8cm PC fANS AND ONE BIG ASS Vent for exhaustion ..
The tube I fixed under the light to get soem heat out the box
Yet with all this i cannot manage to get the temps under 30 C /86F with the bottom dooor open . Closed , the cupboard runs over 90 !!!!!!!!!!

So what am i to do ?..More pc fans ???I need to have this eventually working with closed doors .....And NOT sounding like an airplane ...Its loud now with the top exhaust fan and both PC fans Full power on 12V(((



Day 9 - Plant 1 and 2 are deffinately taking roots ...
the vertical growth has stopped and for the last 2 days the leafs are getting bigger instead . Light is set to 16/8.
Havnt watered again. To combat heat I raised the light to 80 cm . I will wait 5 days at least before watering .lSo probably tomorrow but I will check the earth .The Other 3 seeds are still NOT comming out ..Very dissapointed ...Quality seeds ??Yeah right .

Day 10 - Plant 1 & 2 are developing the second pair of leave . 10 days and the rest 3 seeds are still not out ...
One does look though as it will .

Temps at 32 to 34 C (89 - 94 F) at Tops of plants if cupboard is closed .
open cupboard the temps are a steady 27 - 28 C (80 -82 F)


Still need to figure better cooling (cooltube DIY? whos got a bake A round?)
Anyway added another Fan 1 X 12 CM Pc fan .
Any ideas ?for cooling ? Please chime in


Pics show the airvents on the left side of the cupboard 1 X 8 cm PC Fan 1 X 12 CM pc fan . There is another 8cm intake fan on the front bottom right .
Also the extraction tube with inline vent can be seen . Maybe i get a dimmer on this ? 110m3 /per hour might be more then i need , but then why are y temps still high?

I fixed the tube so it sucks from under the light cap (?) seems to work best ..
Temp shows 27-28 C with open doors .

Welcome to RIU

:O)

Thanks Boneman Iam enjoying it :O)) Just ...i was expecting a bit more input form the experienced growers ..But it might come later ...OR (most unlikely ) iam doing everything right

Update
DAY 10 - Finally today I did water Number 1 and 2 that makes 6 days in between watering ..
Honestly i think i could of waited another day or 2 ...BUT as number 3 seed finally popped late yesterday I potted number 3 and gave all 3 water ..
I water untill i see a few drops comming out the bottom ..
Today I noticed a change in number 1 ...The second pair of leaves are there already but since this morning I think there is a 4 leaf developing ?? See close up pics of number 1

Day 12 - Plant 1 has been transplanted today
the roots could be seen going around at the bottom of the pot . Earth was kinda solid already
moved to 3 ltr pot. Plant 2 wll be moved Ithink tomorrow its a little bit behind number 1 . 3 of course is nowhere near ..
Bit dissapointed now becaus emy plants are so far appart ...with gremintion ??/

This has thrown me a bit as it seems now i am not runnignthe plaNTS IN SYNC

I cant germinate more because they would be too far behind now ?

ANYway...more to come ...

Day 13 - 09/09/2009
Plant 2 has been transplanted & watered 3 ltr pot. It was on the early sight .Better early then late!


Day 15 - 11/09/2009 . Watered plant 3 ...Still in 10 cm cup ...not big enough to be moved yet .
Plants in general look good .Temps still arond 30 deg cel with closed door
Humidity I cannot get above 40% with all known tricks ...
Maybe need a humidifier?

Day 17 - 13/09/2009 - Finally today after installing all these extra Pc fans I have a steady 27 deg cel in the grow cupboard:O)))) Humidity is still too low for my liking
Will have to get a humidifier ...I want much higher Humidity when in growing phase ..
Anyway some more pics
Plant 3 has some odd leave development going. For the rest ....I hope its not too windy now for the littel plants

Firstly an ADDITION TO DAY 17
Late Afternoon Moved plant 1 and 2 to 7 LTR Buckets . Watered and repotted!



Day 19 - 15/04/2009 - Today I will move plant 3 to 7 ltr bucket and water plant 3 . This means all 3 are now properly growing in 7 ltr buckets . Next time I will skip one size so only repott to 3ltr and then 7 ltr .

Now time for :O)

CHEERS

My fellow dopeheads...
I am reporting on my attempts now for 2 weeks yet noone seems to take any interest ?Noone ' pushes' helpfull advice my way ??
I read of course everything there is to read and bookmarked all the good stuff on the forum to read up on but some live help and advice would be more then welcome ..
I hope I will get some input from you guys soner or later ...Just hope by then I havnt made a massive mistake and its too late . So Dudes ...Let me please have some input on my progress ..???
Am i doing it all right hence no replies in my thread ?I doubt that very much ...so.... Hey !!dont make me all paranoid ))

Your pots seem a tad on the dry side, make sure when you water until it starts to come through the holes in the bottom of your containers. Also when you lift them they should feel somewhat heavy.

Stoneded said:

Your pots seem a tad on the dry side, make sure when you water until it starts to come through the holes in the bottom of your containers. Also when you lift them they should feel somewhat heavy.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip ..
I think its deciving becasue the last pics have been taken before watering ...
I repot then water .
In veg state I been told to NOT OVERWATER ..always wait till topsoil is kinda dry . 4 -6 days .


Number 2 indeed looks spindly ..No idea why ..becase they all get the same treatment
Soon i hit 20 days veg and I will start with VERY VERY small doses of nutrition ...(nitrogen or /and seaweed )

Anyway ...Some new pics ...Comments ?

they can grow pretty nicley in those 7 litre pots depends on your height restrictions and what not you can possibly goto a 10 ltr


as for that wirey stuff on plant 2 those are just leaves

Snott said:

they can grow pretty nicley in those 7 litre pots depends on your height restrictions and what not you can possibly goto a 10 ltr


as for that wirey stuff on plant 2 those are just leaves

Click to expand...

Thats what I am thinking ..well guessing ..what aboutmy height ? when to flower ? Anyway
max height i can hang the light is 165cm or 64.96 inch
Then of course the min 40 cm to bulb leaves me with 125cm or 49.21inch .

Well so far so good ..
All seems to be going well ...

Day 22 - 18/04/2009 - Watered all 3 today with fertilizer @1/3 recomended dose . 20ml /6ltr.

Day 24 - 20/04/2009 - All going strong .Plant 2 is a bit spindly (always has been) . plant 3 late but doing really well

Plant1&2 : in Veg 20 days . Plant 3 : In Veg 14 days