Journal White Widow Feminized - Hydroponic

[rothschild]

This is my second attempt at growing. My first attempt was a disaster using Northern Lights Auto. Six plants yielded approximately one ounce in total. On my second attempt, I am using a growbox which is approximately 9 inches deep, 14 inches wide, and 30 inches tall. It has a one gallon deep water reservoir with spaces for 6 plants. It has hanging lights, three compact florescent, 14 w/6500k. Also, I have two 24 inch 24w/6400k. Hanging vertically close to the back.

Planted 6 White Widow Fem seeds on October 23, 2015. Below are photos of day 14 from seed. I have used distilled water, keeping the pH between 5.5 and 6. No nutrients the first week. As of today, five have grown to approximately 2" to 2.5". I am now using nutrients that I believe will be better than the ones I used in my first grow.

I have several questions. Because of the limited space in the growbox, am I better off growing 4 instead of 6? When do you start low stress training on the plants? At what age? I would love to hear from anybody that has grown White Widow Fem hydroponically. Any, and all suggestions having to do with any part of the process from growing to curing would be appreciated. I will try to keep this journal updated at least once weekly.

If you see anything wrong with my plants or my set-up, please let me know. Thanx.

 

[G00ch]

what are your expectations for yield in such a small space? I thought i was in a small space with a 5x5x7 tent. What nutes did you ue before, and what nutes are you using now?

 

[rothschild]

I really don't know exactly what kind of yield to expect. I am using a Dealzer cash crop 4.0. On my 1st grow of Northern Lights Auto, I used the nutrients that came with the unit. This time I am using "Humboldt's Counties Own" nutrients. This 2nd grow of White Widow fem is growing much faster than the NLA. The Hydro dealer where I bought the unit advertises 5+ lbs per year of dried plant material. I would be delighted with 1/2 that amount.
What I need to know is how to maximize the most buds out of this limited space. Is there anything you can recommend to that end? Tips about how to lst and prune (when and how much) etc., etc.
thanx

 

[Mello136]

Start LST around the time the plant is about 8 in tall from soil and prune the lower buds a week before flowering cycle. I suggest do 3 plants in that space and add a SCROG net. I'm not getting into topping but you should research it to know when to start. I've seen people do the 2nd set of true leaves but others swear on only doing it when the plant has matured some. How is your temp and humidity? You should seal up those rockwool cubes and the lights should be tad closer.

 

[G00ch]

cant offer help with lst i will say that you need to calculate correctly because once in flowering the plant will double+1/2 so 10 inches would push 25 inches at finish. I would think that system would be better for clones rather then seeds, not that you cant use seeds but clones are tiny and already have nodes

 

[DankWolf907]

Start LST around the time the plant is about 8 in tall from soil and prune the lower buds a week before flowering cycle. I suggest do 3 plants in that space and add a SCROG net. I'm not getting into topping but you should research it to know when to start. I've seen people do the 2nd set of true leaves but others swear on only doing it when the plant has matured some. How is your temp and humidity? You should seal up those rockwool cubes and the lights should be tad closer.

Ive been reading, that most plants mature at/around the 5th node, which i believe if the lights are kept low, the plant should be near 8inches from soil at this point.
I would top it here, trip atleast the first set of leaves off at node 1, then repot and bury it up to just under the second node.
This should help keep the plant at a lower starting point. Give it a week to recover and then lst the top nodes branches down.

Super small grow area, im certainly following to see the results

Edit: ps,.. From what i read, topping once mature is mostly intended if you plan to keep/clone. If you top before the plant has matured your clone will be missing some valuable traits (in theory, again, from what ive read)

 

[G00ch]

well you are the second person i have heard using these dealzer boxes the first guy had the pc box, plant grew too big. I recommended he get a dwarf strain. I am subbed in best of luck

 

[tiestick]

Sorry to be blunt but... lol before you start pushing look for a good envirnment.. I would loook at the containers of rockwool they look huge with loads of airspace an light ... roots dont like light i believe.. but what do i know peppers and orchids are more my cup of tea..

But if we want different reults we should try diffferent methods.. Ohh I dont believe in hydro or GMO Soil is being perfected for billions of years...

 

[G00ch]

I think you should have some hydroton covering it, i thought it was starter plugs lol. I wish i could grow in dirt but logic dictates my world and nothing organic is logical consistently. Plus why not create ideal conditions if you can

 

[rothschild]

 

[Mello136]

Looking good bro, keep it up. It might be me but the roots on the far left plant seem a bit dark. Keep an eye on that.

 

[illvibes]

Hi Rothschild! I have a few tips/questions for you!

- Are you aerating the water using an air-pump and air-stone? Hydro DWC systems necessitate this, since a lack of aeration can lead to root-rot and poor yields.

- What is your reservoir temperature? Try to stay between 65-75 degrees F, anything above 80 degrees greatly reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen your water can hold. Too little dissolved oxygen = root rot and poor yields. Extra aeration is beneficial at high res temps.

- Fill the remaining space around the peat-moss with expanded clay. This will keep light from penetrating into your bucket and help to disperse humidity. Too much light reaching roots = root issues.

- The darkening of your roots in your most recent photos is a sign of early root-rot. Think about my above suggestions to help reign this problem in before it becomes an issue! You can always add beneficial mixes like Hydroguard, which will help control the rot and even reverse it.

- Check out my grow for examples! I am growing in a tiny tiny space in a DWC like you, and I've just gone through the processes of topping and LSTing. I topped at the fifth set of serrated leaves, and began LST about two days afterwards.

Hopefully this helps! I'm subbed, eager to see how it turns out.

 

[rothschild]

Added on 11-12-2015. Day 20 from seed. Roots are approximately 1 foot long, plants are very green, and seem to be doing well. Much better than my first grow. I am contiuing to use nutrients from humbolt counties own, using their feeding schedule. Since my water reserviour is only one gallon, I have also added 1/8 teaspoon of calcium/magenese.

The height of the plants are still only 2" to 2 1/2". But are now developing several sets of leaves. (This is only my estimation, as I am not an experienced grower). If anyone has any suggestions, or comments, please let me know.

I was told by a friend, that I should probably put a scrog approximately 8" above the top of my reservoir, as I only have a total of 30" in height in which to grow. I have decided (because of my disastrous first grow, with 6 plants), to only allow 3 plants to grow giving them more space for each plant. I am going to try to use metal shelving from a closet for the scrog. Does anyone know of an easier way?

 

[illvibes]

For the net, try making it out of pvc piping. Cheap and adjustable, here's my friend's example:

I think the net from the hydro store would definitely be better than the string tied to string. I did it the same way you did the first 3 grows and I got very frustrated with the string sliding around. So this is the frame I made, it has no legs yet because I am waiting to see the size of the pot and the plant I will be using with it. Once I got my measurements I'll just cut some pipe for the legs, drill the holes for the string and it's done. Like I said around 7$ at home depot for something that hydroponic stores and websites sell for 30-40$
Two 1/2 pvc pipes cut to your size and four 3 way corner pieces.

 

[rothschild]

11/14/15. I am still learning how to post pictures, updates and comments on this site. The pictures in my journal are not in the right sequence, after the first 3. I really appreciate all comments and suggestions, as you all have been doing, I will take more pictures and post an update later this week. Thanx.

rothschild

 

[rothschild]

11-20-15

Day 28 from planting seed. Four weeks old today. The pictures below were taken today. This is only my 2nd grow and I am trying to learn as much as I can. My first grow was a disaster. Out of 6 plants, approx. 1 oz. in total.

I am really amazed at how good this second grow looks so far. I have now instead of 6 plants (as I did in my first grow), I only have 3. I kept the best 3 out of the 5 that germinated. My seeds came from Crop King Seed Company. They were extremely courteous, and very prompt and discreet shipping.

The three white widow plants after 28 days are starting to look like ferns. They are only about 4" in height, but very bushy. They are so bushy (I cannot find my magnifying glass), that I cannot tell how many branches there actually are.

I am using continuing to use HUMBOLDT COUNTIES OWN, nutrients as per direction and distilled water with a pH of 5.7 (average). My light cycle is still on 24/7.

One of my questions is, when I start early bloom, next week, what should I change my light cycle to?

I plan on building a scrog to sit approx. 8" above my one gallon reservoir. My grow box is very small. I only have approx. 24" to 26" from the reservoir to the top of my lights when they pulled up high. Is this the right height to place the scrog?

I need any and all competent advice to help me make it through this growth with better results than my first one.

I have not had any brown spots whatsoever, the roots are now averaging 15". My time to research how to grow is limited. So, anyone that can help me, please do, as it will be most appreciated. I hope to be able to pay it forward. Thanks, Rothschild.

 

[rothschild]

 

[DankWolf907]

Cant help much with advise. Just stoppin through..

Look like fern? I was thinking more like heads of cabbage, holy goat balls!

 

[rothschild]

 

[rothschild]

11-24-15 Update. Plants are still looking good to me. 32nd day from seed. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.