SD's First Grow - 600w HPS

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my first grow. I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions ya'll have. Soooo, here we go...


The space is a 9.5' x 6' x 7' corner in a basement.
I split this into a 3' x 6' seedling/clone/veg room and a 6.5' x 6' flower room.
Plastic is on the floor to help with spills and easy cleanup.
I wanted to sheetrock for a more finished look but since I'm not that handy and like the idea of being able to remove any grow evidence, I've decided to just wrap my frame in a heavy duty black plastic.
It was tough to get good interior shots of the space but you can see that I used panda film on the inside. I'll be using the space in the second picture for supply storage and it's also where I plan on keeping the ballast.

The whole framing and plastic "wrapping" was completed over 2 days. I still need to run a dedicated power source to the area. In the meantime an extension cord and surge protector will do. Moving forward...

Since this is my first time, I'm just using bagseed until I get the hang of things. After a successful grow, I'll get some quality beans. I'm using FF Ocean Forest soil and Big Bloom. I'll grab some Tiger Bloom in a few weeks. I'm not sure about Grow Big as I heard that's more for if you plan on vegging for more than 4 weeks.

I created a shelf/light table out of some extra plywood, 2x2's, and an old pool table light fixture. I have a 54w 6500k fluoro tube up top to start seeds and clones. The bottom has 6 26w 5000k daytime CFLs. I then wrapped the legs of the table in panda film to keep the light concentrated. The measurements of the table are 4' x 1' x 3'. I'll take more pictures of the setup later.

I've read alot about LST and wouldn't mind trying this technique on a few plants. I'm not looking for pounds, just a decent yield and experience. It's an amazing plant that brings amazing ppl together. Enjoy!!!

As promised, a more detailed pic of my veg setup. Sorry for the awkward angle but space is limited. A friend of mine gave me an old pool table light which worked perfectly for this setup after dismantling it. There are 6 26w daylight bulbs lighting the 4' x 1' x 3' space. I had some multi-tiered shelving units laying around and figured those would work great to keep plants at a proper distance from the light.


Speaking of the plants, I used the wet paper towel method to start germinating some seeds before I began constructing my grow space so that I could hit the ground running. When the space was done it was just a matter of throwing my babies under the light. So far, 4 have sprouted and have their first set of serrated leaves. I moved these to under the CFL's with a 18/6 schedule.


Questions/Concerns:
1) When can nutes begin?
2) The very first plant to pop still doesn't have its first set of leaves and the rest seemed to have them within a day of pushing through. Is the plant OK? Am I too impatient?

The seedlings that do have their serrated leaves are doing well. I fed them for the first time since they broke the soil with a 1/4 strength Big Bloom. I actually think I may have over watered because of the droopy leaves. I've heard mixed things as far as feeding: some say don't feed until week 3, others say they follow FF's feeding schedule to a 't' with no issues. I guess I'll see what happens to my babies in the next couple of days.

Here are some pics of them after feeding:

A quick update on the seedlings that are taking forever to sprout their first leaves:

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You can see them trying to get those leaves out (white tips on the left, shriveled leaf on the right). I figure I can use these plants to test nute solutions on and if they continue to grow, that's icing on the cake.

I like the set up! looking great!

Thanks sfsurfer! I know there's not alot to show right now since I only have babies. Once they get going, it should be good. Stay tuned.

with his being your first grow it looks like youre off to good start. you still havea some time till you can use nutes. they is still wittles

I wish I could set my basement up like yours and grow like 50 plants.

wally nutter said:

with his being your first grow it looks like youre off to good start. you still havea some time till you can use nutes. they is still wittles

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Thanks, I did alot of research and planning before I actually jumped in. I've already given a quarter strength Big Bloom solution to the babies and they seem to be doing ok, save for a little drooping from over watering (I believe).

OJ Da Juicyman said:

I wish I could set my basement up like yours and grow like 50 plants.

Click to expand...

Maybe in the future I'll be touching 50 plants per grow, but for now I'm just doing 5-7. I still have much to learn.

I'll be posting updated pics of the babes to show what they look like a couple of days after their first feeding.

SkunkDunks said:

Thanks, I did alot of research and planning before I actually jumped in. I've already given a quarter strength Big Bloom solution to the babies and they seem to be doing ok, save for a little drooping from over watering (I believe).



Maybe in the future I'll be touching 50 plants per grow, but for now I'm just doing 5-7. I still have much to learn.

I'll be posting updated pics of the babes to show what they look like a couple of days after their first feeding.

Click to expand...

hey ,man the grow looks to be off to a good start. as far as nutes well you shouldnt need any in veg if using FFOF soil cuz it has nutes in it, also Big bloom is for flowering plants.
i would not follow the FF feed chart, some plants like different amount of nutes, i would start at low doses and work your way up and just feed them as they need. i dont know why the leaves ar droopy, could be over watering, or the big bloom that was added. were they like that before they had the BB? another thing is you should test the ph of your water if your not doing so already.
im subbed

Thanks for the tip mcpurple. I didn't realize how pH affects nute uptake. I've been using bottled spring water (can't think of the brand right now). I'll grab a meter the next chance I get.

I just took some pics of the babies. It's been 3 days since their first feeding.









I'm hoping the droopy leaves are because I got enthusiastic about feeding the kids (over watering). They all sprouted around 10/19, so they're about a week old now.

These all broke ground within the last 4 days (oldest -> youngest):



I'm going to let the soil dry out completely before the next watering. I read that allowing the soil to dry completely forces the roots to grow to find water. Strong roots = strong plant.

im pretty sure bottled water has neutral ph cuz it is drinking water. and i wold just be giving the plants plain water from here on out for awhile

I'm sub'd.

I would definitely wait a week before giving them nutes. Just my .02 though.

Here's the weekly update:






They are all 1 week old. I'm not sure if this is normal growth since I don't have anything else to compare them to, but they all seem healthy so I'm not too concerned about that. I did notice a little single brown spot on one leaf. Also, the first plant pictured is still drooping even though its been a week since it's been water/fed. The other plants drooped for a bit, but perked back up.



These three are all just a couple of days old. I'm not sure if you can see, but the middle one is growing all crazy. I've attributed all of the plants that are growing weird to old/decrepit seeds. If this is the case, I see the importance in getting quality beans.



Last but not least is the runt of the bunch. Check those retarded leaves. It's a fighter so I'll let it grow and see what comes of it. I'm not keeping too many details on this one as it's an experimental plant.

Temps are 75-80 during lights on and 70-75 during lights off. Humidity is between 55-65%. I have an old dog dish filled with water sitting with my plants to keep the humidity right.

Right now they sit about 1" under the CFL's and as you can see, they're packing leaves right on top of each other. Is this a good thing, or should I move them away to maybe 2" to allow them to stretch a little?

they are looking good, do you check you ph at all? it could be wh some of them have weird leafs, or it could be bad genetics of bashed up beans like you said

I'm thinking a weird seed, too.

Ilike your syle dude...

I watered the babies with some tap water I left out and now the leaves have begun to curl and droop. I'm grabbing a pH tester/meter sometime today when I get a chance. I'm hoping this isn't anything too serious. I also wondered if it's because I'm using ancient bagseed. In any case, I want it fixed.

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As usual, here's the update on the 3 smaller ones that are just behind the above by a couple of days. I'm going to keep these under their humidity 'covers' longer than the previous 4 and see if it makes a difference.



I'm also going to pick up some FF Grow Big today to start their veg nutes. Last but not least, we can't forget the retard:



Check that leaf growth

from what i have learned so far in my first grow, dont use tap water. It has chlorine in it and will eff you up. If you are going to use tap water you need to put some in a container and let it sit outside for 24hrs so the chlorine can evaporate.
I used bottled water for the first 2.5 weeks of my grow, just make sure it is mineral enriched and you should be good.
Good luck!

I was using Nestle Purelife but then ran out which is why I resorted to the tap. I read somewhere that Pure Life's pH is just under 7. I left my tap water out for 2 days before using it but even so, I don't think I'm going to be using tap water again.