My first grow

Tatan said:

I had the same question, cause my plants in veg are only a few days older than yours. My goal is to get my plants to look like the plant Mammath has in his grow room:

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/159334-stealth-cabinet-grow-bagseed-test.html


He posted on my grow journal about how to get them like that. Basically if you top them when they are around 3 inches talland then you have to get the branches to fan out. Take a look ... I think you will like

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That is definately an attactive method...something to consider when I get back in town.

Being away from the girls is hard ...but my sitter has been updating me daily, and things are apparently going well.

At least I'll have a lot to look forward too when I get home! I'll be sure to post some pics when I get back too!

The condition of the plants is varied, with extremes at both ends of the spectrum (unfortunately). I think I burned the big one.

I was a little overzealous with the nutes during their last feeding before I left. I wanted to leave my sitter with the least amount of work possible while watching them, so I gave them a good feeding and went on my way.

Many have turned a very dark green color: surely a sign of too much Nitrogen. The majority still look good, just a little dark. My pride and joy up to this point, however, was not so lucky. Most/all of the large fan leaves had moderate to severe browning and dessication. Figuring these leaves were not going to recover, I snipped them off as close to the stem as I could. Some were salvageable, but I decided increasing light to the undergrowth was more important than keeping the partially decayed leaves anyway.

Here's a few pics. The sitter watered this morning before I got in, so they are drooping, but I think they'll perk up. You can see the dark green in the background, but they don't look too bad.

In the front you can see my mangled beauty. Being my first grow, I'm treating this as a learning experience. The best way I can learn is to just do it and see what happens. The top is still going strong...maybe too strong...maybe I should top or fim it...

Also note in this picture the two plants in the round pot on the left--they were so small when I left they have really taken off! Here's another close up...


Here's a close up of of the pruned plant...stem is getting nice and thick, so I'm thinking it can come back strong


Here are a couple shots of the removed leaves...sorry I didn't have any while they were still attached to the plant




My next major project is to determine sex and upcan the females to the larger pots. That will be coming about sooner than later, so stay tuned...

Was all the damage caused by the excess nitrogen, or did some plants get too close to the light as well ?

Well the ones that didnt get damaged are looking really nice.

Next comes the sexing... to me thats the most exciting part, hope you get a lot of females

I raised the lights before I left, and they are still a good distance from them, so I don't think that was it. I'm fairly certain I burned it with nutrients. They've been flushed with water so they'll get a little break before they're next feeding (at slightly reduced concentration).

The plants look pretty good today. Not a whole lot has changed.

Here are the two babies...hardly babies anymore though!


Here are the other girls, coming along fine. I watered a couple today.


Here's the other three...


And finally a close-up of the under growth of the new largest plant...its the one on the right in the above picture


As I said, some were watered today with a 1/4 teaspoon grow big and 1 tablespoon big bloom to 1 liter distilled water. The last one was included in that watering.

I've made the decision to switch my lighting to 12/12 to induce flowering. I want to get them into bigger pots, but first I need to weed out the males, as I have enough room for 8 plants at the current moment. This is subject to change, however, if I have more than 8 females--I will not abandon a single girl due to lack of space. I may potentially move the operation to my closet, but that would require a serious undertaking to fit out the new space.

Either way, sexing has to happen, and I'm thinking of beginning tonight at 5pm...

Hey Jerry, plants look awesome. I wouldn't disagree with flowering today. They will be plenty big. I would have thought you would get preflowers by now. Should be soon. I think the droopy plant is suffering from something other than overnute. Nutes won't cause a droop like that. My guess is overwatering. It can also cause necrotic spots but the leaf damage in your pics is a bit old to tell exactly the cause. But it should recover just fine. Only other thing I would recommend is to separate the two plants in the same pot ASAP. I imagine the roots are already tangled together pretty well. It might be too late. But that's definitely something you want to avoid in the future. Plants like their own personal root space. You run the risk of them choking each other out.

mared juwan said:

Hey Jerry, plants look awesome. I wouldn't disagree with flowering today. They will be plenty big. I would have thought you would get preflowers by now. Should be soon. I think the droopy plant is suffering from something other than overnute. Nutes won't cause a droop like that. My guess is overwatering. It can also cause necrotic spots but the leaf damage in your pics is a bit old to tell exactly the cause. But it should recover just fine. Only other thing I would recommend is to separate the two plants in the same pot ASAP. I imagine the roots are already tangled together pretty well. It might be too late. But that's definitely something you want to avoid in the future. Plants like their own personal root space. You run the risk of them choking each other out.

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Thanks for your input mared. Regarding the droop, I'm pretty sure it is a watering-related issue and not nutrients. Some of the leaves have a deep deep green that I think resulted from lots of nitrogen, but not too much to do real damage.

As for flowering, I'm glad you think its a good time. I am a little unsure how much additional growth the plant will undergo during flower, but figure it to be about 2-3x the current size when all is said and done.

I can't yet discern if any of these are preflowers, but maybe you can?








As for separating the two plants in the same pot...both my round pots have two plants in them. The first happened inadvertently--the second was more an attempt to conserve space. I'm going to wait and see what happens regarding sex, and then make some sort of decision to separate or something.

I have a question though regarding switching to 12-12...how soon should I change the 6500k lights for the 2700k? Immediately? I'm also going to rig up my 150w hps sometime, though that one may happen a little farther down the line.

I'm going to turn off the lights at 6pm tonight. They normally wake up at 4am, but I'm going to switch that to 6am tomorrow morning.

More input is always appreciated!

From the pictures, you dont have any preflowers yet...
Yes, you should switch to the warm lights as soon as you switch to 12/12.

Plants are looking really nice... looks like you are set.

Yea, if you use the CFLs switch to the 2700K right away. I would try to get the HPS going as soon as you can though. A lot of light early in flower will help keep stretching to a minimum. The less stretching, the more compact the plant and less spread out the budsites will be. You want the budsites as close together as possible because when the buds grow into each other and combine is when you really get fat nuggets. As far as the sexing it looks like you might be just beginning to develop something there. Keep an eye on the spot that I have circled below. If the little lump there sprouts some white hairs than you've got a female.

mared juwan said:

Yea, if you use the CFLs switch to the 2700K right away. I would try to get the HPS going as soon as you can though. A lot of light early in flower will help keep stretching to a minimum. The less stretching, the more compact the plant and less spread out the budsites will be. You want the budsites as close together as possible because when the buds grow into each other and combine is when you really get fat nuggets. As far as the sexing it looks like you might be just beginning to develop something there. Keep an eye on the spot that I have circled below. If the little lump there sprouts some white hairs than you've got a female.

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I will certainly switch out the cfl's for their first day then. And I'll work on getting the hps up and running in the next couple days.

I have a question about timing the lights for the transition. I've been reading about giving a 24-hour dark period immediately before switching to 12/12, and think this is a good idea to speed up sexing. I want to keep their "morning" at the same time, so I will leave the lights on and all night (normal bedtime is 10pm, morning 4am) giving them 8 extra hours of daylight, then give 26 hours darkness from 4am Tuesday to 6am Wedensday. The lights will come on Wednesday morning at 6am, and go off at 6pm. This way they aren't coming on at night and going off during the day. I'm choosing 6am/pm because it is more convenient than 4am/pm.

An alternative would be to give it 36 hours of darkness (6pm today until 6am Wednesday) and begin 12-12 at 6am Wednesday.

I've read some people give 24/0 light for one week, then go 24 hours dark before 12/12, so I figure a few extra hours of light before some extended darkness shouldn't do any harm, right?

So I don't know. I was going to shut them off at 6pm tonight and start at 6am tomorrow and begin 12/12, but now I've read all this and don't know what to do!

Tatan said:

From the pictures, you dont have any preflowers yet...
Yes, you should switch to the warm lights as soon as you switch to 12/12.

Plants are looking really nice... looks like you are set.

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Thanks Tatan; I didn't see any preflowers either, but what do I know?

You're girls are looking pretty good yourself! That bagseed beauty of yours is huge! And your little ones are coming along nicely as well. Keep up the good work and pics!

Jerry Garcia said:

I will certainly switch out the cfl's for their first day then. And I'll work on getting the hps up and running in the next couple days.

I have a question about timing the lights for the transition. I've been reading about giving a 24-hour dark period immediately before switching to 12/12, and think this is a good idea to speed up sexing. I want to keep their "morning" at the same time, so I will leave the lights on and all night (normal bedtime is 10pm, morning 4am) giving them 8 extra hours of daylight, then give 26 hours darkness from 4am Tuesday to 6am Wedensday. The lights will come on Wednesday morning at 6am, and go off at 6pm. This way they aren't coming on at night and going off during the day. I'm choosing 6am/pm because it is more convenient than 4am/pm.

An alternative would be to give it 36 hours of darkness (6pm today until 6am Wednesday) and begin 12-12 at 6am Wednesday.

I've read some people give 24/0 light for one week, then go 24 hours dark before 12/12, so I figure a few extra hours of light before some extended darkness shouldn't do any harm, right?

So I don't know. I was going to shut them off at 6pm tonight and start at 6am tomorrow and begin 12/12, but now I've read all this and don't know what to do!

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I don't know about any of that. I've never been tempted to try any of those methods. 24 hr veg light straight to 12/12 works just fine for me. From what I have heard monkeying around with the light early in flower will increase chance for hermies. Especially of concern with feminized seeds. I especially don't understand what a 24 hr light period would do. Flower is supposed to be the imitation of autumn. Autumn does not begin with a period of 24 hour light after many days of less light. Daylight time decreases as autumn draws near. I would think nature does it best. IDK maybe I'm old school LOL.

Most of what I've read indicated changing the light schedule while already in flower can increase the chance of hermies, but doing so before initiating that stage of development seems to be ok... I've been going 18/6, and the only reason I would give it 24 hours light is to give it 24 hours dark the next day before before starting 12/12 and still keep my morning in the am and evening in the pm.

Maybe I'll just start 12/12 at 6am tomorrow and let things happen as they happen...

IDK, I hesitate to give advice on anything I haven't tried myself so maybe you should give it a shot. What works for me might not work for you. I actually run my lights the exact opposite. On at 6pm, off at 6am. A little more efficient with heating and cooling costs.

Ya know, I was thinking about doing that, as the days will start getting hotter and hotter and it would be easier to keep temps down if running the lights at night. The problem I have is that the space is connected to my bathroom, which I need to access at various points during the day (and less so at night), so it would be harder keeping light out during the day while they sleep.

But this is my first grow, so its all just experimentation and discovering what works for me and my situation. I'll keep it the way I've got it now, and if heat becomes a problem again I'll consider switching for the next round!

Yea I have a 400 watt and a 600 watt and keeping the room cool can be a chore. But I also barely need to use the heat in the winter. You might consider getting a green colored light bulb for your bathroom. They have green CFLs at Walmart that are plenty bright. Green light doesn't disturb the plants' photoperiod. Might be weird taking a shit in a green room though LOL.

any word on the sex? im def interested in seeing your progress, im a couple weeks ahead of you, and can tell that you are taking all the right steps. please keep us informed and keep up w the pics. If you were interested this is my baby girl.

Also, you gonna convert to hps? i was thinking about doing the same, but ive only got one plant so am not sure if its worth throwing down 200 bucks

I would tend to agree with Mared here. From what Ive read, there is no benefit to going 24 hours straight dark. This is so since the plant accumulates a certain chemical during dark hours. If the time of the dark period is longer than the threshold for that particular plant, the plant will switch to flower mode after a few days. This threshold varies between species, so most people go for 12/12 since 12 hours dark works for them all.
What Ive been doing is 24 hours light in veg to make them grow faster and then straight into 12/12.
Also yeah... I like the idea of foing the 6 pm - 6am dark period. This will help a lot if you think you might have temperature problems in the summer.
Anyway, I´m on my first grow as well, so I´m doing the same as you.. just seeing what works best and try to learn for futures grows

hey Jerry and Titan . i am starting my first as well. 2 seeds of blue cheese from buddha seeds. and cannadential from dna (reg) and 2 of k-train from green house. i will keep you updated and look forward to seeing what u guyshave!! stay blessed!!

mared juwan said:

But I also barely need to use the heat in the winter. You might consider getting a green colored light bulb for your bathroom. Might be weird taking a shit in a green room though LOL.

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Just bought a 25watt incandescent party bulb--not cfl (Lowes didn't have a green cfl, and I'll only need a little light for a few minutes at a time). Should be a big help.

Blazer500 said:

any word on the sex? im def interested in seeing your progress, im a couple weeks ahead of you, and can tell that you are taking all the right steps. please keep us informed and keep up w the pics. If you were interested this is my baby girl.

Also, you gonna convert to hps? i was thinking about doing the same, but ive only got one plant so am not sure if its worth throwing down 200 bucks

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No word on sex yet...see my post from earlier today and feel free to make predictions! Will be starting 24 hours darkness in the morning, then right in to 12/12, so I'm thinking I'll know in the next few days.

You're plant is looking good. How many lights do you have it under? Just the one? The more the merrier as they say, so adding one or two will help immensely.

Regarding switching to hps, HID lamps like hps will give much better results during flower than strictly using fluoros, though soft white 2700k fluoros can be effective. I have no personal experience to back that statement (yet), but that is the impression I've gotten from scouring the message boards.

For flower I will be using a 150watt hps (16,000 lumens) with balast included in fixture--this was $85 at my local hydro store, so I'm sure you can find one cheaper. They also make 70watt hps which is probably less expensive still. You don't need a 400 or 600watt hps for one plant, so you shouldn't have to spend $200.

In addition, I will be using 11 23watt 2700k cfls (1600 lumens each; 17,600 total), 2 65watt 2700 cfls (3900 lumens each; 7800 total), 2 2' 24watt t5 ho 2700k (2000 lumens each; 4000 total). This will give me a total lumen output of 45,400 including the hps. Plus, I have a 26watt 10.0 UVB reptile light to be used for a short period every day. So there is a lot of light to make these little girls grow big and stinky!

Tatan said:

I would tend to agree with Mared here. From what Ive read, there is no benefit to going 24 hours straight dark.

Anyway, I´m on my first grow as well, so I´m doing the same as you.. just seeing what works best and try to learn for futures grows

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I've read lots of testimonials claiming support for both methods. I got the impression it will not cause any real harm to the plant, so I'm going to go 24 hours dark then 12/12. For my next grow, I'll likely be using clones I know are female, so I won't care about revealing sex early. Either way, I'll learn something, and hopefully it will myself or others on their future endeavors!

Thanks for all the input, and I'll be keeping up with the pics for sure!