First Grow!

[virgingrower]

cheers sabo here are the other two

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

They all look good, give them a drink mate & they'll surely thank you for it!

 

[virgingrower]

i was going to wait untill just before lights off in about an hour as i've read you don't want to water them untill then . is there any thruth in that ? or doesn't it matter when you water them ? cheers

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Yeah, I read that also, should be about that time in the UK now, depending on your light schedule.

 

[virgingrower]

i will water them tonight and post updates tmorrow evening cheers for the advise checked out your journal too good work

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Thanks VG, appreciate that you stopped by on my grow journal.

 

[virgingrower]

hi guys just an update after the watering everything looks ok to me if anything the triplets look better
let me know what you guys think

 

[virgingrower]

just tested the soil ph and its dropped to 6.0 whats the best way to get it back up to 6.5 ? can i add ph up to the water before watering , will that bring it back up ? cheers

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Nah, they are still feeding from the bottom leaves and are getting all of their nutrients from them. If your PH fluctuates, you can buy some PH Up. You add it to the water and water as usual. You can get it almost anywhere.

 

[virgingrower]

cheers sabo once again i have some ph up and down here as i have a fish tank also , but i was worried about nothing the ph seems to be sorting itself out it has climbed to roughly 6.3 in two of the pots and the third seems to be 6.5 +/- .1 on them all here they are just now

temp ranges from 77-79f and humidity is 40-45% daytime

 

[DigitalNomad]

relax - don't overthink the PH - anywhere between 5.5 to 6.5 is fine.
Do watch the temp and plan for warm weather and larger plants. make sure you are exchanging the air.

Good luck!

DN

 

[DigitalNomad]

Water the plant usually after lights come on. Roots need air at night, so if you water too close to lights out - they will sofficate - this will be indicated by short droops of the leaves (they droop for about an hour or so after lights come back on).

DN

 

[virgingrower]

cheers DN its my first so constantly checking/correcting the temp and worried i'm doing the right thing i have a 5 inch extractor fan above and behind the light a 7 inch oscillating fan inside the grow tent and a 7 inch fan blowing in fresh air at one of the lower vents taking in fresh air at the bottom and venting at the top :-D

 

[DigitalNomad]

yea I remember the beginning days, all those room checks, staring at the plants, and waking in the middle of the night to check even. The good news is - once you dial in your room, its pretty much set until a very bad day of heat or cold outside.

Do you use fan speed controllers? For the inline fans, I dial in the exhaust based on the temperature in the room, the intake fan should slowly bring in new fresh air (replace the CO2 the plants ate during lights on). The fresh air should not 'shock' the plants or cause disturbances in the air pressure - plants feel that stuff. So no very cold or very warm air exchanges. Fan speed controllers fine tune this exchange, one for intake, one for exhaust.

I try to keep the room in a ten degree range - 67 to 77 for example. When I deviated from the ten degree range, that is when the plants get stressed. Lights out, 65 to 70 - lights on 75 to 80 (stay away from above 80!) etc.

The key is designing an environment that is stable and consistent.
You said the grow tent was in your bed room, close yourself inside the tent after lights out, and check for light leakage from your bedroom lights.

DN

 

[virgingrower]

i don't use fan speed controllers . i do however controll the airflow into the room. the room the grow tent is in (spare bedroom) i have the front window open and depends on which windows i open at the front and side of the house then get a nice steady flow of air in. the fan that is blowing fesh air into the growroom has a fan heater right by it on the inside of the grow room set to around 65f so its gently warming the air the fan also has a cool air mode which i use for the slightly warmer days even tho its rain rain and more rain at the moment ! would the controllers be worth looking at in your opinion ? cheers

 

[DigitalNomad]

the fan speed controller will give you the ability to dial down the fan if its noisy. I find that both fans run on low to medium, and then I have the reserve of turning it up on hotter days.

the temp and humidity will tell you if you need the fan controllers ; ) as the seasons change outside, monitor the change inside - you might lose the ability to use the window etc. They run about $19 USD each.

DN

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Hey VG, I think your window and fans will work just fine for your climate. I lived in Europe for 20 years, so I know that you don't have to deal with very high temps at all. The humidity in your climate is also no problem. Just keep the air circulation steady and they'll be just fine. As to watering, I have always watered at night an hour before lights out. I always did this with my Veggie garden also. I really don't know if it matters all that much. Have you decided on any odor control yet?

Cheers!

 

[virgingrower]

hey sabo i am in the house quite alot of the time i only ever go out on my mountain bike when my boy is in school so i think i will stick to the method i am using now as in my eyes its unnecessary expense as i'm not having problems, if its not broke dont fix it right . yes i have thought of odour controll i have carbon filters (from fish tank filter) which i am going to put over all the vent holes in the grow tent and have a 5 inch carbon filter also for the end of my extractor ducting. i watered them the other night just before lights out and they loved it so i'm going to stick to that . i do have a air pump from the fish tank which i am going to use to get some oxygen into the water from what i read on this site the girls will like it so i'm all for it. have any of you tried LST and had better results ? i fancy giving it a go on one of the girls here is my carbon filter

 

[DigitalNomad]

watch for more than PH if you are aquafarming. There are nitrates to consider.

LST, lollipopping, FIM are words you should read up on - as they are defo important tactics I use.

I would still discourage you from watering at lights out - read about root rot.

DN

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Yep, I agree, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Am currently using LST. Don't be afraid to try it, it keeps the plant low, provides greater light penetration and is supposed to increase yields. . You can really pull down on the plants, so don't be afraid to try it. I'd start when you get the 3rd set of nodes, but I've seen people here do it from the beginning.