Greetings From Northern Ontario: Getting Ready For First Grow

[MackMurder]

@RetiredRN
Bro science works until it doesnt.

also I replied with " WITH ALL DO RESPECT" hence "NOT OFFENDED" just a different opinion.
I have 25+ plants growing. Some are unreachable. I cant lift every single plant everytime i want to water. My grow area is 4x4 and 8x8. Some plants dry out quicker than others.
The moisture probe allows a grower new and old to pinpoint to the centimeter where the moisture level is sitting. Which is important for living soil.
Living soil is not promix hp or coco where it can dry out. Living soil needs to be kept moist. If yoh let your pot dry out so it's super light and then water. Your living soil isn't do anything.
That's the science of it. Thats why a moisture meter is a great idea for a new grower.
When giving brand new growers advice it's important to use past experience and science to give them the best possible chance and the best possible outcome for their grow.

 

[RetiredRN]

@RetiredRN
Bro science works until it doesnt.

also I replied with " WITH ALL DO RESPECT" hence "NOT OFFENDED" just a different opinion.
I have 25+ plants growing. Some are unreachable. I cant lift every single plant everytime i want to water. My grow area is 4x4 and 8x8. Some plants dry out quicker than others.
The moisture probe allows a grower new and old to pinpoint to the centimeter where the moisture level is sitting. Which is important for living soil.
Living soil is not promix hp or coco where it can dry out. Living soil needs to be kept moist. If yoh let your pot dry out so it's super light and then water. Your living soil isn't do anything.
That's the science of it. Thats why a moisture meter is a great idea for a new grower

Got it! Thats alot of plants. I only have 4 so I understand now why it wouldn’t be practical for you. In the back of my mind I was also thinking about how new people tend to overwater as well. Hey, its all good. Were all here to learn from each other and smoke some good bud. Happy smoking to you my friend.

 

[MackMurder]

Got it! Thats alot of plants. I only have 4 so I understand now why it wouldn’t be practical for you. In the back of my mind I was also thinking about how new people tend to overwater as well. Hey, its all good. Were all here to learn from each other and smoke some good bud. Happy smoking to you my friend.

Ehh no worries brother we on same team.

 

[metcalfr]

Just so everyone knows I appreciate every single comment and bit of help from all of you. I have never found a forum with so much help offered. All of you are rock stars. Before I started researching 3 months ago I thought 'buy weed seed, put in soil, water and done. Lol. I was so wrong. I am continually learning from everyone. Some tips and tricks I will try on this grow and others I will do in the future. I will end up doing a log. I think I will try the absolute simplest route this time. I have many ideas thanks to all of you. I will definitely at a least be doing LST. Will continue to post pics as well. Thankyou thankyou thankyou.

 

[metcalfr]

Hello , 7.7 is not acidic it is alkaline , anything over 7 is alkaline and anything below 7 is acidic , ph up for acidic and ph down for alkaline , what is ppm of your water that is very important (parts per million ) tells you how parts of all the other chemicals in your water as a total , you need a ppm pen and a ph pen to determine what your water quality is .vitamin c doesn't work it only changes the ph for a short period of time then the ph starts to change again , i use a product called tnb naturals , these work great for organic soils , they have a ph down and up , they are a powder , totally dissolvable , you only need a tiny pinch to adjust your ph and they don't kill your soil microbes either , get them on azon , 1lb bag of each is plenty for a lot of grows , tap water has a lot of shit in it plants don't like mostly salt and calcium ,lead arsenic etc this is what is making up the ppm of your tap water i use r.o.water that has nothing in it and i build my water usually only having to add some calmag , spring water or rain water work good too .

I was a little ' too relaxed 'when posting and I screwed up acid and alkaline numbers lol.

 

[metcalfr]

All right. We are continuing along. Please let me know if any of this is incorrect. I have planted the seeds. They all sprouted in less than 48hrs. They have been lightly placed in the soil with root down of course. Less than half a finger nail deep. I currently have lights set to 12 inches on full. So just over 200 watts. Schedule 18 on 6 off. I gave each plant roughly 15 to 20 ml of water. Some directly on the seed going outwards. My humidity domes haven't showed up yet so I put some plastic wrap lightly over top for moisture. I will get rid of it.once they poke through the soil. My biggest concern is under or over watering at this point and of course light. Once again all comments are so much appreciated. Dunno if lights are at correct height etc. How often to water at this stage so they don't dry out or are drowning in water. Thankyou thankyou thankyou. Oh and I am waiting on my correct trays to come in tomorrow.

 

[MackMurder]

@metcalfr

-a clear plastic solo cup placed over the soil can alsonact as a humidity dome.
Too high humidity on baby seedlings can cause stretchy seedlings that fall over bend and die its happened to me before.

- your biggest concern is overwatering
Starting out young plants need a good wet dry cycle. It allows their roots to stretch looking for water.

-200 watts of true led power on full at 12" for
a seedling is too much light.

36" for germinating seedling
24" for veg
18" for flower

You personally wouldnt want to get 12" from your plant with that light because the PPFD coverage from your 3 plants in 5 gallon pots would fall off dramatically if u got that close
I keep my quantum boards, cobs and hids max 16" away. Qbs and cobs on full power of its a good light make your plants feed heavy.
When a plant feeds too heavy It can take in water it doesn't need and nutrients it doesn't which cab lead to issues.

-if your QB is too close the The plants can bleach easily. When it bleeches it loses its green colour. When a leafs not green. It doesn't create photosynthesis from those leaves. Which hurts your end yeilds.

Oh and all lights including spider farmer has usually been tested by the manufacturer and come with PPFD maps and hanging distances recomended by the manufactuter

 

[metcalfr]

Thanks so much. For whatever reason my instructions only had heights and not the percentage. Will change now.

 

[metcalfr]

Will pick up some plastic cups on the way home from nights.

 

[MackMurder]

@metcalfr
It's gonna be a bit harder to figure out how much to water in a 5 gallon pot starting from seed but not impossible.

Underwatered is MUCH preferred because the plants will just droop a bit. Which you can then give water and within an hour or two they will perk right back up.

Overwatering can cause stunted growth, mutations, burnt leafs tips and slow root growth, root rot (pythium) etc....

These are my guys below. I transplanted them from a peat plug into a solo cup of coco about 5 or 6 days ago.
I drenched the entire solo cup with a tiny amount of 1-1-1 kelp fert. and have not watered since. Their still a bit wet. It's easier to monitor in solo cups when their young but again alot of people plant seeds in their final pots.
It'll just be a bit touch and go.

 

[metcalfr]

I also sprayed a bit of water in the pots away from where I planted to bump up the humidity a bit.

 

[metcalfr]

I made due with what I had laying around to try to keep in the moisture. 12hr after planting my soil had become dry quite quickly. I sprized the earth where the seed was and sprayed down the soil around it.

 

[metcalfr]

How long should I continue to try to keep the moisture in?

 

[Tommboy1973]

You may want to read Emilya’s posts on watering. She’s the guru on watering in pots and I’ve found her tutorials very helpful. I have the link for “How to water a seedling in its final container” in my signature.

 

[metcalfr]

You may want to read Emilya’s posts on watering. She’s the guru on watering in pots and I’ve found her tutorials very helpful. I have the link for “How to water a seedling in its final container” in my signature.

Thank you very much

 

[metcalfr]

Day 6. I am trying to follow Emilya's post. I I was just spritzing a few times a day. When I got up this a.m. pretty much bone dry on top. Temps approx 76F. Humidity 50 percent with a cheap humidifier running on full blast. This time I used my water sprayer and lightly misted the entire top layer to the outsides of the pots to try to increase humidity. I watered light in the center at the plant and did a little heavier towards the outside. Ph 6.5 for water. These are pics before and after watering. Cheers everyone. Hope I am doing everything right to give my girls the best chance for a good life until I end it and creamate them in my vaporizer.

 

[metcalfr]

I was able to bump humidity up to 60 percent doing this

 

[RPRL]

Hi everyone. I am a newb when it comes to growing marijuana. I have been lurking in several forums and have been following Mr. Canucks grow on youtube. I think I am just about ready to start. I thought I would do a quick write up as to my plans and if anyone has any input I would more than welcome it. I picked up a 2x4x6 spider farmer grow tent with the SF2000 LED grow light. It also came with ducting, filter, fan, four fabric 5 gallon pots and digital thermometer with moisture reader. I will also be purchasing a couple of smaller fans. I picked up a water ph tester with ph up and down to keep my water supply at around 6.5. I have pest traps so that I will know if I have any pests. I have vitamin C for de-chlorination of my water supply. I picked up a small pressurized water sprayer. I have a dehumidifier and heater if needed. I plan on installing GFCI receptacles for my power supply. I also picked up a soil reader for moisture content. I will try growing northern lights X big bud auto fem seeds. I am unsure how many I should try growing. I was thinking of 3-4 in case something happens to one of them. My plan is to use all organic. I am looking at using Gaia green living soil blend 1-0-0 with Gaia green worm castings, Gaia green 4-4-4 and Gaia green bloom 2-8-4. I plan on doing 2 top dressings during the grow period so that all I need to do is water, defoliate and train. My final plan is after my first grow I will reuse the soil for planting lettuce, peppers and cucumbers. I will then put the soil outside for flower beds and start fresh with new soil etc for the next grow. I would love any and all comments, criticism etc. Thanks everyone for your time. Cheers.

Good Luck.

 

[metcalfr]

Day 7. Alice, Athena and Agnes. Yes I named the plants. Easier for me to tell who is who. Alice was the first to pop out followed by Athena. Agnes took 3 days more to come out of the ground. I realized today her helmet was stuck and gave it a bit if water and took it off with tweezers. The area where the helmet was stuck has some slight browning on the sides just below the leaves. I am hoping she isn't damaged. I also noticed her stem appears thicker. I also moved her pot today in the center of the lights. Would these plants now be considered a seedling? Is it time to move the lights and possibly the power? At present the SF2000 is at 30 percent. I think it is at 2.5 or 3 ft. I don't remember. Cheers everyone.

 

[Katalin]

Will pick up some plastic cups on the way home from nights.

Haha - I have the exact same fan going on.