Semi Ghetto grow - 2nd Times a Charm

Hello,

Decided to start a journal -
I have seen some pretty impressive grow rooms, but I have a feeling many do not start that way. They grow into it, Pun intended. So this is my journey down the road.


After my first grow was discovered and I had to dispose of the evidence <sigh> I learned a few things and one of them is to keep some notes:
The advice I did not follow last time was - Always Have a Grow Room Locked - Always Have a Grow Room Locked.


The strategy:

Grow a couple strains during the cold months in the attic (Using Soil - Nothing Fancy).
Germinate Three Seeds From Each strain with the intent of 1 male of each strain. This gives me a max of 6 plants and a min of 4
Keep 1 male from each to get some seeds from the bottom buds.

After 1 month of growth Top the plants to get 4 main colas and clone tops.
Figure out what ones are males and females - separate
While First plants are in flower Clone females for SOG and Guirella summer grow

Lets Get Started


AK48: ordered 11/24 Arrive 12/6
Urban Poison: Ordered 11/26
Blue Mystic: Ordered 11/26

12/6 3 AK48 Seeds are germinating in paper towels at 78 degrees.
Simple Setup In Bath Tub of an unheated space. While waiting for seeds set up a small heater to heat area to 78 degress.
Have seeds in a covered seed starter plastic green house. First time grow I noticed the paper towels would dry out quick and I had to add water. This time I am putting them in a high humidity area. NOTE: I do believe the trick to germinating seeds is a nice steady temperature.

For lights during Veg I will be using Florescent Tubes. I have collected them in preparation. I have T8's to T5's with a mix of Red Spectrum and Blue Spectrum Bulbs. I did snag a 600watt HPS that will have to be hung and vented. Also Beginning to think about Smell Removal.

Since this is a Semi Ghetto Grow I will be researching how to build stuff and pretty much a DIY project

12/10 - Update
The Urban Poison and Blue Mystic seeds arrived today. Starting them in the paper towel to germinate.

AK48's (Day 4)

Good luck, confiscious!

Very intrigued to see how the blue mystic turns out! Nirvana?

Update: 12/12

Shout Goes out to Nirvana - Reasonable Delivery Time and Seeds are Sprouting.
Note to Self - track the Seeds as they sprout regarding size (Diameter) of initial root and time to germinate, and the relevance to the final plant.

Blue Mystic (Nirvana) - Fat Seeds Jumped out of their shell in 12hrs All Identical - Fat Twisty Roots - Im predicting these are going to be a robust plant
12/14 Update - Seeds Germinated in 12hrs but then didn't come out of the soil for 3 days -

AK48 (Nirvana) 24 to 36 hours to sprout - AK #1 Fat Root First to sprout; AK #2 Medium Root Second To Sprout; AK #3 Last to sprout, Thin Root - Prediction - One Robust Plant - Lets see
12/14 Update - So Far this strain is living up to its name - Growing very fast.

Urban Poison (Nirvana) Has not sprouted. Seeds were kind of small - they have swelled with the dampness and I believe they will sprout by morning
12/14 Update - 4 days for seed germination - That was at 75 degress. Im thinking these seeds like it hotter

Method Used: Layered Paper Towel
Lessons Learned: Initially Drippy wet towel, that will dry in about 12hrs. If the environment doesn't dry the towel in 12 hrs make sure you don't drown the Girls, Squeeze the excess water out.

Lesson Learned: Heat Germinates Seeds - My Opinion is 72 to 78 degrees (Using this method I have not had a good looking seed not germinate)

My Set Up:
Very Simple: (2) 24 Watt T5 Floresecent - In the Blue Spectrum (Will Supplement in week 2 with a small 100 watt HPS
Heater: Before Seeds Arrived I measured the temperature in the tiny grow room (Well its a bath tub) until the heater would maintain 78 degrees. ( Turn the little knoby thing a little bit each hour untill you get it dialed in to 72 to 78 degrees. Remember I grow during the cold months in the east coast because I find it easier to add heat through lights etc, than to cool off a hot attic or outside space a.k.a. An external shower / bathtub.

Grow Medium: Any Name Brand Seed Starting Mix. NO Fertilizer - Leave them alone! A Seed with Water, Heat and after germination light will take care of it self easily for the first week,

Water: My Opinion get Bottled - don't take chances with your baby's with tap water etc... Go splurge on a couple bottles. In the long run, I run a dehumidifier and will use that water for the plants.

I will update again after everything Sprouts and in Week 2 (Looking forward, need to work on temperature control, and hang the 600 watt HPS - Oh yeah and smell control, hopefully the blue mystic is as advertised and doesn't need much, we will see....)

Snapped a quick photo of the AK48's I think they are taking off Nice. Just snapped this because the Temp has been higher than I planned (80 to 82 degrees) but they seem to like it. First Leaves standing straight out.

12/27 Day 17

Before Transplant


Trans Plant into Coffee Cans with holes in the bottom:
Left Three - AK48's - Seeds Hit Water on the 12/6
Middle Three - Urban Poison (Non White Strain, Sativia Dominant) Seeds Hit Water 12/10
Right Three - Blue Mystic (Hybrid Low Smell)

bought Myself a Xmas Presnt A florescent Light from LightWise D828 - It is a Nice light for Veg and Clone - Fits in a 2x2 Space. What makes it nice is There are four tubes on each side. Each set of four can be turned off or 2 on each side can be turned off. The bulbs are 24 Watts. Thats 248 watts total. In a 2x2 area this gives 62 watts per Sq foot. (That is Double what is needed, I'm targeting 30 watts per square foot) Another way to look at the light needed is Lumens per Square Foot - This works out to be 5000 Lumens per Square Foot (Target is 6k to 10k). Hence the problem with Florescent Tubes, They have to be kept very close to the plants because the light intensity diminishes. For this set up I will grow the plants to about 8 inches (After topping) and move them to the flower room with a 600 Watt HPS


Bought a Carbon Filter to be installed into the Flower Room - Damm The thing is Big. Trying to think of the best way to vent the HPS and draw air through the filter with one fan.

Lessons Learned:
These Plants Grow a long Tap Root - They would have done better with a Taller POT - a.k.a The infamous 16oz Solo Cup. I used it on my first grow but thought people were using them for cost. In reality they are the perfect Depth - You need about 4 inches for the tap root to go down for the first week or so of growth. When I transplanted these the roots were amazigly healthey but were already spinning around the inside

Hey man everything looks really good +rep for sure. im really interested in the Blue Mystic im thinking of this one for my first "real" go at growing. ill be checking this out to watch them finish up

Thanks for checking in. Its going pretty well up to this point. Will be topping in a week to find the girls

Day 21

Have Some pictures - BTW Is it possible to upload something that doesn't look like a small thumbnail? It's hard to see what is going on by these.
First up is a Potential Problem Child. It is an AK48 from Nirvanna that had an internode growth spurt and grew into the light. That explains the crispy leaf tips on top. But then the Bottom first leaf set turned Yellow. I don't think it is a water issue (but Im new to this) because the rest are doing good and Im carfull because I learned on my first grow how important it is not to drowned em. I added a high N nute, lets see what it looks like in three days. Any Advice?

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The Second is an Urban Poison from Nirvanna - One leaf edge Turned White. Never seen this before. Not sure what to Make of it:
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The Rest I think are doing Fine (The node spacing is nice and close and Leaf growth is good). The largest are the AK's Smallest is the Blue Mystic: (Tell Me what you think)

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And For those counting We did have one fatality - Heater was to Close and Cooked the Poor Girl For those checking into the Semi-Ghetto Grow - I was thinking some of the interest may be in the set-up I'll snap some pictures of the Outside Bathtub / Shower and How the attic grow room build is progressing

Hmm No Idea My pictures won't show up

Hey bro...Looks real nice. Ill sub if yea dont mind. I like a new grower. Hey, just a heads up on those coffee cans. Its a real bitch to get out for transplanting because of the ridges...Heads Up!

Rats on the coffee cans - I was thinking of that as I did it. My last grow I went right into 3 gallon pots and struggled with the bottom soil staying to wet. Of course I didn't remember this until I needed to transplant this time and I didn't have pots to put them into. Hence the coffee cans.. Thanks for the heads up - Maybe I will transplant a bit early into different pots.

Yea, I did the same thing as I drink hella coffee. But no amount is going to help you get those ladys out..Be careful and go slow. Hopefully you didnt pack the dirt in there. Happy New Year!

What would you do for your girls?

A short story
I am growing outside until I finish the Attic grow area. It is in a covered Shower / Tub Area. For the most part lights supply enough heat with a little extra from a heater. The problem is if something happens to the Power, it gets cold fast.

I have - like many do, a remote thermometer that I can keep an I on the temps in the grow area. This afternoon as I was working, I told my self - self, check the temps (They have been at a constant 78 so I hadn't been as diligent as I should).

I take a quick look 38 degrees


Im off - I run downstairs to check breaker... Its Good

Damn something is wrong outside or why the hell did someone unplug the extension cord, stupid people..... I have a choice, get dressed or run out. I run Out side in a short sleeve shirt shorts and slippers. These are my girls I must save them.

For those who don't live in the north. It is just shy of 20 degrees and we have about 20 inches of snow on the ground.

I check the outside extension - Its plugged in and good

There is a Ground Fault connection that I buried in a box because the extension wasn't long enough. Could it have tripped

I dig the box out of the snow, open its good. Dang it must be out in the plant area - Thats another 200 feet through the snow. Im off and running. Im expecting to find a small area of dead plants

I go in - I hear the fan running, Open the door the lights are on, What the hell? A sigh of relief everything is ok. The remote thermometer must of failed.... Frick a Frack !#$ Piece of #$@#

Oh wait there it is sitting on the comode, I forgot to put it back in with the plants during the last watering.....




Oh Well won't do that again. Im still cold

I grew up in Wisconsin. Now live in the sunny state of Ca. I do not miss the snow one bit..Just saying!