Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Autos

[Pennywise]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

I would just water like you have been for now. You can increase as they grow.

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Okay... Then maybe I'll leave the protac out and just use the kelp and molasses. I'll just keep doing the finger test down to an inch in the soil to determine whether they need water. I can also just use water and kelp liquid as a full year spray.
Since I cannot find any direct answers during my research and reading, any idea why the White Rhino is so stunted and seeming to fold in upon herself?

 

[Pennywise]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

You could add a small amount of protac, hopefully the White Rhino turns the corner soon and starts growing. They really are survivors.

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

No kidding there survivors, PW! Especially with an idiot like me controlling the grow. LOL

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Hi guys. Another question just occurred to me. The lights have been in the same position since we started. Right now they are approximately 20-22 inches above the top of the girls. Something inside tells me that I have been needing to adjust the height of the lights. They are now at their highest point they can go. Where did I mess up, if I did? Should I make an adjustment now? I know, I know that's two questions dot dot dot what can I say? Lol

 

[Pennywise]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Lol if you lower the lights just lower it a couple of inches and see how the girls like it. First sign of a problem raise it back up.

 

[OlderGrower]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

howdy howdy, sorry I have been absent for so long but I have been crazy busy between work and getting my summer grow set up.
As for your light question, here are a few facts you should be aware of. First off, if the plant looks leggy or another way to put this is, the distance between the nodes is far apart, then you have your light to high from the plant. The reason it gets leggy is because it is stretching to get into what it considers optimal light.
If the light is to close to the plant it runs the risk of burning the plant with to much light.
When you fin that sweet spot the branches will be relatively close together.
Now I have not personally grown with the light you are presently using, but I have grown with the same brand as yours just larger and more watts. I keep my lights at about 20 inches above my plants and get descent results, but since your light is a smaller version you might drop it down to around 14 inches and then watch it for a few days to see how the girls respond. Remember, they do not react immediately, it takes some time so be patient and lower the lights and give it at least 3 days to see how she responds to the stronger light. If after 3 days they do not show any signs of stress, drop the light down to 12 inches and give them 3 days. I do not think I would go any lower then say 10 inches but I am sure 12 to 14 will not be an issue and the girls with thank you for it. I run my T-5 fluorescents as close as 8 inches when I use them for vegging.

Hope Kelley is feeling better, stay well my friend.

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

I miss understood Kelley . I thought she said that the lights were at their highest point, when they are actually at their lowest already. We are going to put each one on their own milk crate and raise the lights accordingly so that we have about 14 inches above the top of the girls. Then we'll keep an eye on things. Like light burn, still stretching Etc. I have some pictures on my phone of them we took this morning that I will have up as soon as I can. When the lights come back on at 2 p.m. we will be doing a watering with kelp liquid and molasses solution.

OG... I think what you had lined out was what was on the back of my mind. And it was there because of conversations with you way back in the beginning. Thank you for reinforcing and bringing it to the front of my head again. I hope things are well with you and yours, and hope things slow down for you as quickly as possible. Thanks guys! Stay tuned for the pics...

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Trickle

Express

https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/504/medium/05-24-17_PX_Side_CU.jpg[/IMG[
Rhino
[IMG]https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/504/medium/05-24-17_RR_Top.jpg

Here they are. Kelley told me that they look good. Except, of course, the Rhino Rider. Don't know what the issue is with her... So I'm not going to do anything right now. I think we have turned the corner with the bug issues and the soil moisture issues. I am also told bear appear to be budding sites appearing in quite a few places. Stunted or not, they're trying.

 

[Pennywise]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Yes the treacle looks good for its size, i think you have this now.

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

If that's true, PW... Then it's thanks to all you guys. And, of course to my wife. The things I cannot do, I tell her what is needed, and it simply gets done. Thank you, honey! not you, PW... My wife, Kelley. LOL

 

[Old TimingMan]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Glad to hear that your pests are finding out you don't much care for their company!...no more cheesy poofs for them!

On your next grow, I would strongly recommend coco coir for your medium, its almost impossible to over water, its pest free, and the results are great.

If there is any drawback to it, it would be a strict nute schedule like hydro, but I think in the long run the final harvest and less worry about over water/over feed would be the way to go.

If I can figure out how to upload some pictures of my first in coco coir for Kelley to take a look at and compare, I will, my two in coco are about a week behind yours and just were transplanted into 5 gal smart pots Monday.

OTM

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

OT... This grow was a true learning experience for me. I did some research and reading on soil builds that are 100% organic. After that I actually found some soil that is truly ready made 4 girls like ours. It even has a marijuana leaf printed on the label. I am going to try and team that with some organic nutrients. According to the label of this soil that comes into cubic foot bags... It contains everything you need for an auto grow almost from start to finish. As close to a water only soil as you can get. Pairing that with nutrients for Blooming after they start to flower, I should have good results. At least plants that will actually row much bigger than these girls have. Coupling all of that with the proper light height, I think things will go a lot better. I did read some things on the Coco coir, but for now I think using the organic soils will be better for us. Hydroponics... Way over our heads at this point. Thanks for the suggestion, and you never know... You just might see a grow journal from us in the future using coco.

 

[Tony Urban]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

OT... This grow was a true learning experience for me. I did some research and reading on soil builds that are 100% organic. After that I actually found some soil that is truly ready made 4 girls like ours. It even has a marijuana leaf printed on the label. I am going to try and team that with some organic nutrients. According to the label of this soil that comes into cubic foot bags... It contains everything you need for an auto grow almost from start to finish. As close to a water only soil as you can get. Pairing that with nutrients for Blooming after they start to flower, I should have good results. At least plants that will actually row much bigger than these girls have. Coupling all of that with the proper light height, I think things will go a lot better. I did read some things on the Coco coir, but for now I think using the organic soils will be better for us. Hydroponics... Way over our heads at this point. Thanks for the suggestion, and you never know... You just might see a grow journal from us in the future using coco.

I did the same thing and read up on soil. Currently have bags of components in my basement to build a no-till living organic soil...just waiting on a few more items. Building in natural pest management to the soil to avoid the pest issues. It just seems more natural and more forgiving. A personal choice after looking at all the amazing ways to grow lol, all seem like they would be fun and provide good results

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Unfortunately, living in a duplex, doesn't give us much room to store anything. That is why I'm so excited to find that particular bag of soil. Reading the label, well having it read to me anyway... It contains all the components you need. I'm sure it will need more when blooming starts, so I will have organic nutrients to feed them when that becomes necessary. Obviously, even though put together carefully, before mixture I used is not very acceptable if you are blind. It would probably work just fine if you could keep a close eye on the plants.

 

[Old TimingMan]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

OT... This grow was a true learning experience for me. I did some research and reading on soil builds that are 100% organic. After that I actually found some soil that is truly ready made 4 girls like ours. It even has a marijuana leaf printed on the label. I am going to try and team that with some organic nutrients. According to the label of this soil that comes into cubic foot bags... It contains everything you need for an auto grow almost from start to finish. As close to a water only soil as you can get. Pairing that with nutrients for Blooming after they start to flower, I should have good results. At least plants that will actually row much bigger than these girls have. Coupling all of that with the proper light height, I think things will go a lot better. I did read some things on the Coco coir, but for now I think using the organic soils will be better for us. Hydroponics... Way over our heads at this point. Thanks for the suggestion, and you never know... You just might see a grow journal from us in the future using coco.

Here are the two in the Coco coir so Kelly can compare, they will be 1 month old on Memorial day since the popped up out of the rooters and 5 weeks since I soaked the seeds.

Purple Kush

White Widow

I didn't expect all 6 seeds to pop or all seedlings to make it since I haven't done this for 35 years and my RDWC I made was only for 4 plants so I figured as long as my nutes were for hydro I went with the coco...I mix up a 5 gal bucket according to the Skunk Labs chart and water daily, sometimes I water to slight run-off and sometime I water less in the morning and before lights out to keep them confused!

Mixing the nutes is a pain and takes a little time but now that I have more time on my hands its no big deal and I like the idea that you can't over water them.

I hope the new soil you will be trying works good for you, the plants look like they are recovering and adjusting the light down will help them fill in. Keep them Green!
OTM

 

[Pennywise]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Grandpa do not be afraid of coco, its actually very forgiving.

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

OT... thank you for taking the time to post those pictures, and tell us a little about the grow you have going on. That was quite interesting, and doesn't sound too bad. It sounds like your girls are doing well, and I am thrilled for you that they are.
PW...it's not so much that we are afraid of Coco, although a little trepidation does exist. It's just that we are more set up right now to use soil, and as you know, funds are difficult to come by at this time. I have done a little reading on it, and I must admit that it does sound interesting. But I feel that for us to effectively switch over, or even try Coco, it will take much more money than we have available right now. Besides, I am just as clueless about it as I was about bullying at all back in my first thread. I'll just have to learn more about what I will need that I don't have now, and look at the final costs for what we will need. The cost for the new soil and nutrient setup will be less than $50 above what we already have. We can afford that... I'm not trying to argue or put you off, just looking at the present realities. I would be more than willing to learn as much as I could about it, I am spending time on that particular forum and reading and also checking online. We'll see...

 

[Eyes4grandpa]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

Meanwhile...back in the tent.

I now realize that by putting the lava rocks in the soil was a HUGE mistake. While trying to get good drainage, I overdid it and should have just stuck with the coarse sand. I am thinking that they kept the routes from developing well, resulting in the stunted little girls. I won't make that mistake again! We will also check the new bag of soil when we open it for the little nasties. I know that we will never be able to see the eggs, so I am searching for a way two be able to kill any that may be present before we pot up the soil.
Another big mistake that we made was leaving the light way too high above them. The results of the stretching shows in the last set of pics I posted. We may not get much out of these little ones, but we learned a lot. Enough so that I believe the next grow will be much better and much more productive. All we can do with this one now is try to maximize what we can get out of them, and then start the new one as soon as we can.

I would also like to privately talk to someone about any issues with elevation. By that I mean where we live. We live in a Big Valley now, and are seriously considering doing a move up to the 5000 Plus Foot level in the Sierra Nevada mountains. If anyone has the time, I would appreciate it. Thanks again for continuing to follow this less than successful grow. God bless, everyone exclamation point

 

[Old TimingMan]

Re: Grandpa's 1st Grow - Soil - Tent - 300W LED - Blue Mystic & Northern Lights XL Au

I would also like to privately talk to someone about any issues with elevation. By that I mean where we live. We live in a Big Valley now, and are seriously considering doing a move up to the 5000 Plus Foot level in the Sierra Nevada mountains. If anyone has the time, I would appreciate it. Thanks again for continuing to follow this less than successful grow. God bless, everyone exclamation point

I can't help you with advice on higher altitude grows but when I drive through the mountains everything is lush & green, whats not to like about the clean fresh air and pure water!