EmElla's First Grow, CFL, Bagseed, Fox Farms

[EmElla]

Thanks for the great info guys.

I think I may be overwatering or not watering enough or something. I went to check on the ladies tonight and most of them were wilted. Only two were looking okay, number 1 & number 3. Actually number 3 looks fantastic, I hope she turns out to be a little lady. Yesterday I bought bamboo skewers so when I got home I tested out the soil and the bottom inch or two of each pot was still moist so I didn't water. When I checked tonight they were still moist at the bottom but the wilting threw me off so I just gave them a bit of water in case they did need it. Number 2 is really kind of worrying me because it was thriving the other day and now it's like super wilty. I'm posting pics below so you can see what I see.

I also have a concern regarding number 7. The new growth and stem strength is looking good, but some of the bottom leaves look worse with nute burn. I haven't added any nutes, but there was still a bit of the nasty mg perlite in the old soil when I replanted it. Are the bottom leaves just using up the nasty old nutes or are they continuously getting worse?

Here are the pics so you can see:

Number 1:

Wilty Number 2:

Thriving number 3:

Number 4 was the seed that didn't sprout.

Number 5:

Number 6:

Number 7 with the nute burn:

Wilty Number 8:

Thanks for any help!

 

[EmElla]

Okay, so I went and checked on the plants just a bit ago and they were looking a lot better. I think they were in need of water because the only thing I did last night was give them a bit of water and they perked right up. Today they are all looking better especially Number 2.

I think I'm going to give them their first dose of nutes tomorrow. I'm going to do 1/4 strength to start alternating every third watering. If all is successful after the third or fourth nute watering I'll increase to 1/2 strength and then go from there.

Should I give nutes to number 7 and 8? I think 7 is still recovering so I'll probably hold off, but 8 just looks a little wilted, no real nute issues...

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[usul]

Hmmm, well I was going to say the issues looked like over watering (watering too frequently) but if they're looking better then what do I know

Grow on!

 

[obliviconsent]

Even with the little bit of wilting your ladies are looking really good.

 

[EmElla]

Even with the little bit of wilting your ladies are looking really good.

Thanks! I just hope they can stay this good or better.

Hmmm, well I was going to say the issues looked like over watering (watering too frequently) but if they're looking better then what do I know

I was thinking I might be watering them too much, but I'm not sure. A friend of mine came over and saw the plants and she doesn't grow weed but she knows about gardening and she gave me some advice. I've been kind of unsure as to when and how much water to give them so I've been just giving them a little at a time every day or every other day. She suggested that I make sure to water them enough to have run off and then water them once they are pretty dry after that. Basically give them a thorough soaking every few days.

I know that's the advice I've been gettng from everyone here, but I think I was overthinking it and getting caught up in measuring the moisture levels. Because of this I decided to just give them a throrough soaking and wait two days before giving the small pots more water and at least three days before watering the big pots. The next watering will also be when I add the nutes.

Hopefully there won't be any negative effects from giving them a lot of water tonight. I'll just have to wait and see.

I'm also not sure when to replant the smaller pots into their three gallon buckets. Is there a rule or root/plant to bucket size ratio I should follow? If I look at the bottom of the smaller pots of the healthy plants I can see the roots through the holes, but they're not poking out or trying to reach for more water.

Eh well, I guess I'll figure it out, though any help is great.

Thanks for all the info once again!

 

[The Butcher]

you got great advice.Fallow what you've been doing. Over complicating things can take all the fun out of growing. Good Job!!

..P.S: its OK to go 3 days occasionally, canna like a drought here and there. Remember its called weed for a really good reason.

 

[EmElla]

you got great advice.Fallow what you've been doing. Over complicating things can take all the fun out of growing. Good Job!!

..P.S: its OK to go 3 days occasionally, canna like a drought here and there. Remember its called weed for a really good reason.

Okay, That makes me feel reassured. Thanks so much!

 

[The Butcher]

its funny the best growers don't even smoke canna. I always encourage growers to venture outside of canna for grow secrets.

 

[EmElla]

its funny the best growers don't even smoke canna. I always encourage growers to venture outside of canna for grow secrets.

Haha, oh she smokes it, she just doesn't grow it. She tried to grow it before the internet was a common thing but because she didn't know about how difficult it is to produce good smoke and her impatience to let it actually grow big enough she just didn't yield good results and gave up. She's helped me in the funds department with my grow, kinda like my financial backer, so it kinda works out, but I don't think she'll ever really try to grow it again. Eh well, I guess it's just not meant for some people.

 

[dfw-guy]

Cannabis likes wet/dry cycles. Water the plants until there is plenty of runoff, then leave them be until the soil drys. You can test if the soil is dry or not by sticking your finger about an inch into the soil. If your finger is wet, then they are not dry. You can also tell by the weight of the pot. As for the nutes, since your using wonderful FFOF you don't need to give your plants nutes until about 1 month after planting. After that you can start a nice nutrient regiment. Watch out though for PH fluctuation with FF, it is made to be acidic for longer shelf life. My PH messed up and it nearly cost me my crop. Buy some cheap PH test strips so you can test what your putting into the plants and what the runoff is. Also a small suggestion is to put in molasses in addition to your nutes. The sugar in molasses encourages microbial growth in the soil which in turn breaks down nutrients more readily for your plants to absorb. I find 2-4 Tbs per gallon of water to be good. Have fun :]

 

[usul]

Yes, this is all good advice. I know it's hard to understand at first, but overwatering has nothing to do with how much water you give the plant. Literally, you could pour three gallons of water through each bucket and not overwater. Watering "a little every day" is he classic definition of overwatering. Let 'em dry out between waterings - you'll be suprised how long they can go - definitely longer than 3 days for the big buckets, especially considering your somewhat cool and moist environment.

As far as transplanting goes, I'd do it as soon as possible - within the next week for sure.

 

[EmElla]

Cannabis likes wet/dry cycles. Water the plants until there is plenty of runoff, then leave them be until the soil drys.

As for the nutes, since your using wonderful FFOF you don't need to give your plants nutes until about 1 month after planting. After that you can start a nice nutrient regiment.

Good information, I get the whole/wet dry thing now. I watered them and let them dry out and they thrived and then when I added more water they seemed to get a little worse which boggled my mind a bit.

As for nutes I'm actually going to start them about 3-5 days before their month birthday. So that's good.

Thanks for the info and input!

I know it's hard to understand at first, but overwatering has nothing to do with how much water you give the plant. Literally, you could pour three gallons of water through each bucket and not overwater. Watering "a little every day" is he classic definition of overwatering.

As far as transplanting goes, I'd do it as soon as possible - within the next week for sure.

OH! Okay, I totally get it now. See I thought overwater was the amount of water, not the frequency. *is dumb* Thanks for that huge clue. LOL

I think I'll transplant the bigger ones, Number 1 & 3, later this week, maybe give the smaller ones another week in the mid sized pots though.

Thanks for the great info!!

 

[EmElla]

Checked on the plants this morning and they're all doing great. They have gotten slightly bigger and the stems and leaves seem to be healthier.

I'm going to repot all of the smaller-bucket plants tomorrow, so hopefully they will grow more in a few days.

My initial plan was to start with the nutes for the next watering, but they are growing so fast I thought it might be better to get them into the new 3-gall buckets.

I'll probably post pics after they're replanted. Wish me luck! ;D

 

[EmElla]

Okay, so last night I repotted all of the plants that were in the mid size buckets. I think they're doing well, at least they're all looking pretty good!

I gave them a thorough watering afterwords and I'm going to wait a few days to let them dry out before I FINALLY give them some nutes.

It took me a lot longer than I thought to replant and it went pretty okay. There were two plants that I had some trouble with, number five especially. The root ball of Number five and the dirt crumbled despite being moist. I think a bunch of the roots snapped off of the base of number five, thankfully the big main root seemed in tact. I really hope that Five stays alive. There weren't really any signs of trauma when I checked today, though, but then again you never know.

Other than that I didn't really have any issues. I'm going to go soon and get another couple of light splitters to hook up a couple more bulbs. Only problem is, I don't have any more 6500k bulbs. All the ones I have are the flowering kind. I might have to order a couple but that's getting a bit expensive...

Ah well, I'll figure it out.

Anyway, here are the pics of the replanted babes from last night.

Note: The plants aren't as wilted today, I had waited a couple of days without watering them before I replanted, thus the wiltyness.

 

[EmElla]

Okay, so the plants are looking great. It's been two days since their transplant and they are all looking healthy and happy.

Number 8 is still droopy, it's been that way for over two weeks so I'm not sure why, maybe this will improve with the nutes, but for now it looks healthy except for the droopyness.

I was worried yesterday because they were all still droopy even though they've had plenty of water, as an experiment I turned the fan on a lower setting ang voila healthy, happy plants. By changing the settings the lights have gotten hotter making the temp around 76-79 degrees, but the humidity is down to around 50%. I'm not sure if the plants being better is due to the lessened amount of air or from the fact that they are just drying out, but again as long as they're healthy I don't care.

I'm going to wait at least two more days before I add nutes, I tested the moisture and the bottom 1/3 - 1/2 of the planters are still moist so I'll let them dry out a bit.

They're growing so fast! If they stay at this growth rate I'll start LST next week and then starting to flower around the end of the month.

I'm going to order another couple of lightbulbs today, hopefully they will arrive in the next week, the last time I ordered them they arrived pretty fast, so that will help with the growth.

Oh it's so exciting! Thanks!!

 

[The Butcher]

Just remember to wing them onto the nutes, start off using 1/4 stregnth then work them up slowly. That way you dont burn them. Just a thought.

 

[EmElla]

Just remember to wing them onto the nutes, start off using 1/4 stregnth then work them up slowly. That way you dont burn them. Just a thought.

That's my current plan. I'll increase to 1/2 strength after a few times if I think they can take it.

 

[The Butcher]

I can't wait to see the final product. Sounds like you got it all under control. Well done

 

[langa78]

hi em just checking your grow out and look like there doing well keep up the good work im a couple of weeks behind u with 2 inch sprouts bless them so i will be looking in to see how things are going

 

[EmElla]

I can't wait to see the final product. Sounds like you got it all under control. Well done

Thanks! I hope they will turn out as well as I hope.

hi em just checking your grow out and look like there doing well keep up the good work im a couple of weeks behind u with 2 inch sprouts bless them so i will be looking in to see how things are going

Aww, congrats on starting your grow. It was so exciting when they were little bitsy babies, I hope your having as much fun as I am. Good luck on your grow!