My First Grow Ever. 400w Auto AK Roots 707 Technaflora

This is my first ever grow. I just received my beans, and I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. In fact, I may have actually pissed myself a little. ( Will check my diapers later. )

So lets get to it. The following is my set-up.

(1) Grow tent (32W x 20D x 64H)
(1) 400w Air cooled Hood
(1) 400w MH bulb 38K lumens
(1) 400w HPS bulb 55K lumens
(1) 2' T5 Flouro
(1) 4" exhaust fan
(1) 4" carbon filter
(4/5) 3" containers w/ water sauce pan thingies (to catch the water run-off)
(1) bag Roots Organic 707 soil
(1) Technaflora "starter kit" with BC Grow/Micro/Bloom - You guys call that 3-part?
(3) Auto AK
(2) Red Dwarf (Auto)



The following is my "game plan":

- Soak my pellets for a few hours in 3/4 cup water solution of 1ml Sugar Daddy + 1ml Root 66 + 0.5ml Thrive Alive B-1.

- Place beans in pellets, put humidity dome over pellets, place in sealed tent with no light under a heat mat until sprouts show.

- Turn on T5 to a 20/4 cycle for a few days

- When strong enough looking stems, transplant to final pot. And put under 400w MH for 14 - 20 days, keeping light 5-6 inches from tops, maintain 20/4 cycle

- After 4th week, change over to HPS and raise hood to 10-12 inches above tops, maintain 20/4 cycle

- I plan on doing a Feed - Water - Water cycle or whenever the plans look thirsty or malnourished. ( This is where you guys come into play & hopefully can help a noob. ) Just call me Pvt Noobenstein. Actually, second thought, don't.

Please let me know if my game plan looks off. I will be posting pics and updates as I go.

Enjoy!

P.S. - Sorry about the sideways pics, I blame my phone.

following............

whats happening see4?

looks like you are well prepared for a good start -

i'm new to this place but not new to growing - so please ask any questions if you have them.

easy easy easy on those nutes, and remember that baby mj plants do NOT need any nutes/food for at least the first 28 days....Thats my opinion anyway and certainly seems to be the opinion of many......
Just water for the first 28 days then let your plants tell you when they need something additional added....

QUOTE: "- When strong enough looking stems, transplant to final pot. And put under 400w MH for 14 - 20 days, keeping light 5-6 inches from tops, maintain 20/4 cycle"

I'd say that when ever you do decide to put them under your 400 watt HID, do not start off at 5-6 inches from the tops . . . that's way to close in my opinion when first starting..... I'd make your initial space between your plants tops and the HID buld at about 18 inches and see how they do after a few days......Good luck - you must be so damn excited!

peace

thanks 7Bells for the feedback -- you are quite right -- I need to take it easy on the nutes... I've been told to only water for the first 14 days, then start with 1/4 nutes and work my way up. Roots Organic 707 is a soilless mix, limited nutes from what I understand. And thanks for the advice on the light spacing, will definitely consider it.... though I'm a ways off until I need to worry about that!

Is this cause for concern? <-- Link

30 hours in peat cubes -- no change, do I need to practice patience?

hey hey -
id say no cause for concern yet - but do check to assure your not OVER heating them with that heat mat....
One of the best tools you can have on hand in an indoor garden is a hand held infrared thermometer...... You can buy these for around 20-25 USD and they work great to assure you have adequate germination temperatures - Not too hot - Not too cold.
Proper germination temperatures are key!

peace

Will over heating kill the bean? Or just prolong germination?

The ambient temperature in the tent was 78.6 F, The inside of the humidity dome was definitely warmer -- but I'm not sure by how much. I had the mat on all night, would that be a problem?

I am happy to report, 2 of the 5 have fully sprouted, the other 3 have cracked, so it looks like its going to be 100% germination!

I have turned on the T5 light and small fan, and have kept the heating mat on. I put the T5 and fan to a timer. Randomly on for a few hours, then off for 30 min, then on for an hour, off for 20 min, then on for 6 hours, then off. Just trying to best simulate what nature might provide.

Nice! I like your setup, you've got all the works see4. I assume you'll be handwatering in soil?

hey see4 hows your diapers lol

All seeds have sprouted!! 2 seem to be more aggressive than the others. Im keeping them under T5 lights, on/off at random intervals (like nature, sun & shade) - ambient temp is about 81 F

thats great news!

i'd recommend keeping that light ON though....not the random on/off your talking about.... most people recommend at least 18 hours of constant light - many people also just turn the light on and leave it on 24 hours a day for the initial growth stage or veg stage.

good luck - and congratulations on the birth of your new babies
you must be stoked

thanks 7Bells -- yea, you're right -- I switched over to 20/4 -- that is what I will keep the cycle for the rest of the life ( they are autos ).

One concern, one of the seedlings looks to be a little shy. Looks like its growing down, not up....



What should I do with the shy seedling?

haha sweetswisher! turned out I didn't pee, thank goodness!!

I'm as happy as a pig in shit! All 5 beans are sprouting and seem to be happy!!


Question: do they look healthy? The little baby leaves seem to be curling down...

They look happy to me

lookin good

They seem to be doing ok, Im giving them 20/4 light, the humidity dome is still placed over them, but for some reason the humidity is reading low, like 30%... might just be my environment..

Im excited! My first ever grow, I planted 5 beans, and all 5 sprouted and seem to be happy...

a w e s o m e (-).(-)

it will blow you away what those plants look like in another 2 weeks!

keep it green over there

I decided to transplant them from the humidity dome under T5 lights over to 2 gallon pots with Roots Organic 707 under 400w MH.

The roots were poking thru the bottom of the peat cubes.. I figured it was time to move.

The temp right now is at a relative 82F with good air flow, and I gave the plants a light watering.

I am still keeping these guys under a 20/4 light cycle. For now I am content.

sounds excellent - you must be stoked

how much distance do you have between your plants tops and the MH bulb? ~ I'd recommend 24 - 36 inches away until you get some leaves opened up and then you can start to minimize that distance and drop the lamp closer....

Like many others, I will never forget the level of excitement experienced during my first grow. . . . Such an awesome plant cannabis is indeed!

keep it green amigo