My 1st grow...need advice regarding my set-up and strain please

Noob2grwn

Noob2grwn

Well-Known Member
Hello, first-time grower here. Growing veterans, please advise me the best way to utilize my set-up.

Grow area: 2' deep 6' long 8' tall
Lights: 2 x P150 advanced platinum LED's
Strain: AK48 fem from mjseedscanada
medium: germed in FF Light Warrior ... will transplant into a 50/50 mix of FF Frog and Ocean (I intend to add about 1/3 perlite unless advised otherwise)
Nutes/water: FF soil nute trio...currently watering seedlings with ph'd spring water...will switch to aged/ph'd tap water when grown
containers: currently in 16oz plastic cups...have 5 gallon smart pots to transplant to

My progress/plan so far: My seeds just broke through this morning. My plan is to leave them in the cups for 1-2 more weeks with the LED 24" above them 18/6. I have 6 seeds planted and 5 of the 5 gallon smart pots ready to go. If all germ and make it, I plan on spacing all 5 pots in the grow closet.

My main questions: Does this set-up sound decent? With my space considerations and AK48 strain, how should I plan on pruning? Top and lollipop? Maybe Uncle Ben's topping method for 2 or 4 buds? Any advice/criticism from growing veterans would be GREATLY appreciated!
 
jimmyconway8

jimmyconway8

Member
so, obviously it's a closet grow. never heard of AK-48 (ak47?). since it's 2' deep i doubt you'll want to top them into bushes. you'll probably want to take five 3g pots (or the 5g smart pots if they fit), and let them grow to about 1-2 feet tall straight up, and then flower them. unless you want to get all bonzai crazy with your training methods, i suggest you just let them go straight up like christmas trees until you're ready to flip. don't worry so much about adding 'nutes'. Just add about 5-10 drops of calmag into every gallon of water you give them. We usually leave a little room at the top of the pot of the vegging plants for a bloom top-dressing with a light mix of manure/wormcastings/compost. I'd say if you were going to flower the plants from seed, you should grow them out for 6-8 weeks before flipping them (mainly because you have an 8 ft tall ceiling). You could even go longer probably.
 
Noob2grwn

Noob2grwn

Well-Known Member
Jimmy, ya they are AK48, not AK47. So would you advise any pruning at all? Or just let them do their thing the entire grow?

REFrog, too many due to space or lighting or inexperience? I was going with 5 plants because the smart pots came in a 5 pack and they all actually fit in my small space :) Also, I'm hoping for the best and expecting the worst...so if I kill 4 I will have 1 left! Should I go with 4 maybe?
 
O

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
sounds like a plan man,i'm with jimmy on everything ,but 5 i think is going to be to much once they start to spread ,but if you already have 5 beans ready, go for it ,never no if you are going to loose one ,if you don't you will have to make another spot for one .,
 
RockinDaGanja

RockinDaGanja

Well-Known Member
Isnt 24" pretty high for led lights? I know there just seedlings but You could probabley lower them a bit. I use MH/HPS so check with someone with more led experiance. :bigjoint:good luck
 
Noob2grwn

Noob2grwn

Well-Known Member
Rockin, the info on LED height that I've found is all over the place. I've read growers stating that they hang their LED's anywhere from 6" to 36". So I just called the manufacturer, and was told for this specific light (P150): seedlings (24-30"), veg (18-24") and flower (12-18") depending on strain reaction. Very fast and friendly customer support. He also said that some people do go lower and raise if they see bleaching, but some leave it low and deal with a couple spots of bleaching to drench the plant in light. Also he told me that I can utilize the flower toggle on the light a few weeks into veg and they will benefit from the added light.

Only 3 seeds have broken soil so far, so maybe I don't have to worry about the closet filling up too much.
 
RockinDaGanja

RockinDaGanja

Well-Known Member
Noob2grwn said:
Rockin, the info on LED height that I've found is all over the place. I've read growers stating that they hang their LED's anywhere from 6" to 36". So I just called the manufacturer, and was told for this specific light (P150): seedlings (24-30"), veg (18-24") and flower (12-18") depending on strain reaction. Very fast and friendly customer support. He also said that some people do go lower and raise if they see bleaching, but some leave it low and deal with a couple spots of bleaching to drench the plant in light. Also he told me that I can utilize the flower toggle on the light a few weeks into veg and they will benefit from the added light.

Only 3 seeds have broken soil so far, so maybe I don't have to worry about the closet filling up too much.
Click to expand...
Yes a little red spectrum never hurt during the last couple weeks of veg. Also the more air Flow you have going over your pplants the closer you can get that light (when they get a little bigger of course you don't want to scorch your babies. What kind of ventilation you got going?
 
Noob2grwn

Noob2grwn

Well-Known Member
I've got a tiny fan blowing on the seedlings right now. The closet is completely open (no door and will slap on a panda film curtain when in veg, but still allow airflow), and I have ac/heat in the room. I'm not overly worried about ventilation, but (if successful) I am still deciding how to tackle the future smell...especially because I would be eliminating it from an entire room. If I completely seal the room, then I will bring in ventilation and filter.
 
hydroMD

hydroMD

Well-Known Member
Noob2grwn said:
Hello, first-time grower here. Growing veterans, please advise me the best way to utilize my set-up.

Grow area: 2' deep 6' long 8' tall
Lights: 2 x P150 advanced platinum LED's
Strain: AK48 fem from mjseedscanada
medium: germed in FF Light Warrior ... will transplant into a 50/50 mix of FF Frog and Ocean (I intend to add about 1/3 perlite unless advised otherwise)
Nutes/water: FF soil nute trio...currently watering seedlings with ph'd spring water...will switch to aged/ph'd tap water when grown
containers: currently in 16oz plastic cups...have 5 gallon smart pots to transplant to

My progress/plan so far: My seeds just broke through this morning. My plan is to leave them in the cups for 1-2 more weeks with the LED 24" above them 18/6. I have 6 seeds planted and 5 of the 5 gallon smart pots ready to go. If all germ and make it, I plan on spacing all 5 pots in the grow closet.

My main questions: Does this set-up sound decent? With my space considerations and AK48 strain, how should I plan on pruning? Top and lollipop? Maybe Uncle Ben's topping method for 2 or 4 buds? Any advice/criticism from growing veterans would be GREATLY appreciated!
Click to expand...

Fill all your pots. Top everything and trim all your suckers below the split. Top your 2 mains 2 weeks before flip and take off any suckers that are deep below the canopy. By taking the suckers you'll limit how bushy your girls are and should be able to get a good canopy of tops. Keep em slider so you dont crowd anything out.

Just do it and learn from your mistakes!!
 
Noob2grwn

Noob2grwn

Well-Known Member
Dr. Pecker, I'll change my name when I'm no longer a noob. I'm a firm believer in the 10 years or 10k hours of experience before most trades are mastered, so I've got plenty of plants to burn up one way or another before I need a name change. Maybe apprentice2grwn in a year or two?

Hydro, so should I wait until I have 5-6 nodes, top the main, then top the two mains that come up 2 weeks pre-flower? Just making sure I've got it right.
 
Dr.Pecker

Dr.Pecker

Well-Known Member
Noob2grwn said:
I've got a tiny fan blowing on the seedlings right now. The closet is completely open (no door and will slap on a panda film curtain when in veg, but still allow airflow), and I have ac/heat in the room. I'm not overly worried about ventilation, but (if successful) I am still deciding how to tackle the future smell...especially because I would be eliminating it from an entire room. If I completely seal the room, then I will bring in ventilation and filter.
Click to expand...
upload_2015-1-30_17-29-52.jpeg upload_2015-1-30_17-30-31.jpegnot good to put an ionizer in the same room as the plants though. But they do work
 
Noob2grwn

Noob2grwn

Well-Known Member
All three seedlings seem to be doing great. LED still at 24" and they look a little stretchy to me, but I think maybe I just look at too many different strains/grows. They slowed their upward growth and stalks are thickening a little, so I think I'm good. I've been watering almost daily, but only 24-36ml each watering (I mix my own ejuice so I have a syringe with blunt tip) and I keep one of the cups with a seed that didn't germ in it next to my seedlings so I can compare and feel by weight when they are drying out rather than guess or finger-bang them.

Dr. P, do you recommend any specific ionizer? Or should I just dig through Amazon reviews for a good one?
 
Dr.Pecker

Dr.Pecker

Well-Known Member
I have that exact one in the picture ionic pro, it saved me from getting busted back in the day. ten years old still works. Always look at all the reviews I spent 100$ on an orick and didn't read the reviews the damn thing don't work at all. Like I said don't put it in the grow room you want it just outside of it. the more space you have around it the better if you set it close to a wall it doesn't seem to work as good.
 
JimmyIndica

JimmyIndica

Well-Known Member
drop em down to 16 inches when u flower and 24 is good for veg reds will cause em to stretch and if u don't have spectrum control then they will stretch because your runnin full cycle spectrum heavy in reds following?
 
Dr.Pecker

Dr.Pecker

Well-Known Member
Noob2grwn said:
Dr. P, what do you think about this unit: http://www.amazon.com/New-Comfort-Purifier-Remover-Ionizer/dp/B00FQS78Z6/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
It has absolutely stellar reviews and is a ozone generator + ionizer. It has two dials to control settings for ozone and ionizer, so I can keep the ionizer on all the time and hit up the ozone for a few hours when I'm not home. It won't be in my grow room, but near it.
Click to expand...
Never seen that one before. Keep looking at the reviews I mean google the hell out of it first.
 
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