Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

[CrunchieGreen]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Looks good man, I'm currently around the same stage in my first grow but doing a hydro. Subbed

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Thanks everyone , just lightly misted them before the lights came back on at 9 , I run them 9 pm to 3 pm to try to avoid peak electricity hrs and to run when its cooler outside to try to help with temps. Man they are so beautiful i just want to hit my glass and stare at them lol
Also being a first time grower I can see how its easy to over water your plants , I had mentioned about how I used different methods when I first put the seedlings into soil but that left me with different levels of moisture in each group off plants which makes me watering on a schedule kind of tricky. I have read many methods to water plants from putting them on a schedule and feeling the weight of the pot and the finger method and let the plant tell you when it needs a drink and I constantly feel the pots to try and familiarize how they feel but for now I have been using the weight method to water them ass they feel light and try to catch them all up with each other by time there ready for bigger pots and I will plant them all the same way and hopefully I can keep them on a watering schedule.

 

[MaPilot]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Might want to look into buying a moisture meter. I got a couple for under 4 bucks. Will help with watering and ph.

 

[Antics]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I have a similar meter, the moisture setting is great to help you learn when to water by checking the needles position, and feeling the weight of the pot(s).

Their accuracy can vary between meters, but on my meter, I have found it's best to water when I hit the 3-4 range. That way the soil is really dried up, but there isn't any wilting of leaves. It's really easy, just lift your pots when you think it's time to water, and compare it to the results on the meter. After a while you'll get the hang of it, and won't need to use the meter any more.

Although they're not as accurate as digital meters, they're still helpful tools for new growers.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Ok.......thanks guys I will look into getting one soon .

 

[Grow jr]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Good work I will be watching and learning Thanks.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

thanks bro , its going to be a learning exp for us both man. Was rushing for work this am didn't get to check the plants a through as i wanted to but it just make for more amazement when i get off i love watching the growth over such short periods of time

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Here is a few pics today is day 3 from sprout , first few pics are my bigger 2 plants andthe following pics are th rest there are 8 total . The last two pics are my smaller 2 that I will more than likely be pulling out today to give to a friend and focus on the better six for now because of space reasons. Whats weird to me is my two biggest plants are in the heaviest cups which are two of the 4 I swore I had over watered when I first planted seedlings , make me wonder if I need to water the others until they feel the same

 

[Jimmy6000]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Your sprout's are looking very Happy Gutta.
I think the easiest way to check for when to water/feed is to go by the weight.
You want them to dry out a bit in between.Doing that will make the root's search for water/food.In my opinion.
Everyone has there preference tho.As Antics said,You'll get the hang of it.

 

[Antics]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

guttamane, I also had the same problem overwatering at first.

It seems to be impossible not to go look at our plants, I've tried it... I can't help it. I have to open the doors and sit with my girls.

Instead of watering, I have a daily routine where I slowly turn the pots. I look at the plants from above and from underneath. I spend the time I would normally be overwatering to look for pests, I look for signs of deficiencies, I look for nute burn, I check my soil to make sure I see no pests there. Now that I'm flowering, I go around the plant and I tuck fan leaves down, to let the bud sites get more light. I will usually go through and defoliate some fan leaves that are completely blocking bud sites and absolutely cannot be tucked under something. I keep as many leaves as possible (they also store food for the plant), but if I can't keep it, I remove it.

Just staring at your plants, looking at every detail, will speed things up for you if you have a day that you can't spend much time with them. I just spent about an hour with my girls. Now tomorrow, if I don't have time to sit there, I can still pop the doors open, give the pots a quick turn, and I'll notice if anything is different immediately.

And since you're on your first grow, using CFLs I'd suggest you play a little with LST to expose more branches to your lights, and possibly defoliation later on in the grow (Start slowly when cutting leaves). It'll give you a great feel for the plants, and you'll already have practiced 2 training techniques that are very commonly used by lots and lots of growers.

I'm growing using CFLs also, you're welcome to look at my current journal to get ideas if you'd like.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Thanks man yeah I hope they are happy , as far as watering I mist them twice a day depending on the the look of the soil and I try to even them out by weight they were put in soil on the 17th and I consider that a watering and I had watered them again the 19th and again today so every other day that seems a bit close for them to be in such an early stage but these have not been full saturation where there is run off from the drainage holes just a few mist until they all seem pretty even in weight. I think I am going to hold off until possibly Thursday and let them dry pretty good and just mist surface. I think they will be easier to judge weight in the pots there going into next. As far as me pulling the two smaller plants now for space reasons and reducing to 6 plants which is still to many , should I continue to tend to them or just go ahead and remove them now since I know its going to have to happen eventually and focus on the six for now in preparation to narrow down to my strongest 4 when its time to transplant from the solo cups ? Opinions please as you can see they are way behind and one looks to have some sort of deformity , I know that I need to its just hard to get rid of them even though I know there going to a good home LOL

 

[MaPilot]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Thanks man yeah I hope they are happy , as far as watering I mist them twice a day depending on the the look of the soil and I try to even them out by weight they were put in soil on the 17th and I consider that a watering and I had watered them again the 19th and again today so every other day that seems a bit close for them to be in such an early stage but these have not been full saturation where there is run off from the drainage holes just a few mist until they all seem pretty even in weight. I think I am going to hold off until possibly Thursday and let them dry pretty good and just mist surface. I think they will be easier to judge weight in the pots there going into next.

That's pretty much what I did. I didn't soak the pots until the 3rd week. Most new growers tend to overwater and I knew that going in, so I made a conscious decision not to over water! I wouldn't pull your two just yet, you never know what may happen. The runts may end up growing wild in the next week!

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Damn ok well its kinda late , I had put my runts outside last night with 3 other late sprouters so they haven't been killed just moved for space issues , It was nearing time for lights on so I pulled them to better situate the 6 , I am not sure what strain is growing but it appears that one of the plants was a tad bit stretchy so having 6 lets me better organize them in the lighting that I have also and lastly I seen on my digital thermometer that I had temps hit 85 last night which isn't good considering it was fairly cool last night . I am not too worried because the box is located in a large upstairs utility room where the evaporator coil is at and outside of that room is an basically unused loft in which the a/c vents are usually closed in anyways so worse case scenario I will disconnect one of the 6''flex ducts that lead to the unused room upstairs and use that 100cfm of air to condition the space around my box which will drawn in the intake and bring my temps down. Its weird because I already have a profound love for cannibus but I think its the growing that I am becoming addicted too , tending to my ladies (hopefully ) makes the work week go by for me and keeps my occupied when I cant work on my race car.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Yes Mapilot , I can now see it is very easy to over water them esp in these smaller cups where the weight is harder to judge simply because they are still so light to feel. I have been keeping track of the days I water them the soil looked fine this am before I left so i didn't mist them besides I was pinched for time and I had read that its not good to spray them then set them directly in the light as the water magnify the light and can stress them so I left them alone but I will mist them very very lightly until Thursday give them time to dry out a bit , also I have been using a tooth pick and gently squeezing the cups some to aerate the soil best that I can without harming the plant. I am trying to avoid getting one of those cheap moisture gauges and get a good natural feel for them I appear to be doing well so we will see if they show any signs of over or under watering. Kinda getting ahead of my self again I can't help it I am always thinking ahead but I have been thinking about the amount of plants I have again and the process of elimination that's being used since I am unsure of the sex and strains of each plant is going to cause me to have to do 2 transplants before there into there final home and I was concerned will that be to many and stress them out ?

 

[ashpac]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Everything is great, man. Just veg'em all for now, lst'em and top'em all. When they shows sex - leave 2 of your most strong and beautiful ladies, remove all other. Good harvest does not depend of plant quantity, but on grow quality and love you give'em. You could fully fill all your space with 1 plant as i did in my grow, it's easier to maintain and train, etc. Anyway, good luck with your grow, i'm subbed!

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

yeah man thanks , I wanted to keep the 6 for now or as long as I can til root growth forces me to use bigger pots , then I will down size too just 4 plants in 8-10'' pots the largest 4 that will fit my grow space that is approx 20 x 20 x 36 , and from there I was going to continue on with my strongest 2 plants. How early can I top these plants and begin with some LST ? Yes I have been doing my reading but I have seen some fairly young plants being lst and topped and It seems to go against what I have been reading

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I had saw that you started to lst your plant after day 5 and then topped it 6 days later , my plants sprouted Friday so I guess that makes them 3 days old today and I should be nearing time to some sort of space straining

 

[ashpac]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Yeah, i have started to lst my plant in few days after sprouting, done it very gently, made a little zigzag of it and this way have won few centimeters of height. Topped very soon too, after 2 pairs of nodes appeared under main cola. Instantly lst'd new branches, after nodes have grown a little. All 4 branches now are jut low over my pot as possible, whole plant is very low, i do not need height at all. Main thing with cfl's is to keep em as close as possible to plant, light penetration of cfl is very low and any cfl will lose it's potential and become useless at greater distances. I'm keeping my bulbs at 5cm over plant always, trying not to rise lamps, but train and defoliate, then train again my plant, to save space for stretching phase.
You could top and leave 1 pair of node, if you will grow 2 plants, i left 4 nodes (2 pairs) because i am growing only one plant and it must fill all square box. Main thing is to have well developed fan leaves and nodes formed. Cannabis is extremely strong plant and will survive almost anything, if right pH and nutes are maintained, and getting plenty of light. Even totally broken main stem can fully recover and become even stronger. Do not be afraid to experiment, always look how your plant feels, but do not make any sudden moves and overfeed em, better keep em a little hungry always, then they will eat everything you give em and thrive!

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Thanks man , yeah I honestly would like 2 topped plants If possible so we will see how this works out , I am going to start to train them as soon as I put them into bigger pots but I plan on topping them as soon as they are ready

 

[SBG]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Looks like a great start. I'll follow along, maybe pickup some tips that I can apply to my cabinet. I know that Armoire grow had heat problems I think he had that insulated mylar stuff,he ended up taking it out and painting it white and so did I, seemed to help a little.