My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

[PirateBob]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

I think those LED lights are too close to the plants, even though it's not thermally hot the LED can still light burn a seedling. Best to pull it back a few feet for now.

 

[Skybound]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

I agree, LEDs are intense in their broad spectrum of light colors and most require a minimum distance between canopy and reflector in the 12"-18" or 20" range, not an LED guy so you'll have to research this more. Also, I am seeing symptoms of over watering, but in your system, you kinda need to keep them wet for the most part. How often are they watered? I assume your tri meter converts the EC to PPM at a 0.5 conversion ratio? If yes, I'd think the PPM is just a tad high, and if your seedlings are sativa dom, the symptoms on the leaves may worsen. A "possible remedy" is to add plain water to dilute the nutes down some. Also, ready yourself if the remedy you do find does not show results right away. I noticed a lot of purple in both, is that genetic or stress?

Those questions are mostly rhetorical, I just wanted to share my thoughts from what I'm seeing. There are many very good resources here on 420, especially in the "how to grow marijuana" forum. Learning to diagnose deficiencies, toxicities and lockouts is a bit intimidating, so just focus on trying to diagnose those spots on your leaves by spending some time typing a few descriptive words into the 42o search box like "rusty spots on seedling leaves" and the like and read through a few different archived threads as someone else probably already went through the same exact thing and found the culprit and remedied it.

 

[CronicHempHog]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

give it 24 inches

 

[HunterHunt]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

How do the roots look? They look kinda droopy and with the way that other one looks it could be possible root problems?

 

[timrey08]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Hello everyone,

Time for an update:

Upon advise, I raised the LED’s to approximately 13-14 inches from the canopy. Didn’t want to raise it too high because the cabinet is only 5 feet tall and I'm afraid the babies might be too tall for the flowering stage. Thanks for the tip PirateBob, Skybound & Chronic!

HunterNitro, the rooks look ok for baby#2. Baby#1 has less roots but they look ok to me. Pics below. Would appreciate feedback.

I cut the leaves with orange spots out of baby#1. Also topped baby#2 a couple of times. Trying to stunt the growth of babies 1&2 hoping that 3 & 4 can catch up. Transferred babies 3 & 4 from the supercloner above to the chamber below. Also, installed a water chiller since my water temp was always between 25-30C (78-93F). Now, its always within 15-20C (59-68F). Did not top baby#1 because she’s still under observation and babies 3 & 4 to be able catch up. Baby #2 looks really bushy and has exploded! Some stems are violet in color but from the looks of it, its genetics. Some leaves are also curling up. Almost all are a bit droopy. Not sure if anything is wrong with them. Babies 3 & 4 are steadily growing. Really hoping they catch up.

Changed water on the res last night. Still on the 18/6 light regimen and pH continuously rises to 6.1 to 6.3 every morning. I just add pH’d water to bring them back down. Im now doing 40-50% of the recommended nutes. I know this is a bit high but I need to add to get the 400++ PPM range. Added around 10ml of MagiCal since Im using RO water. Hope too these are correct. Also, started the foilar spray with the B-1 spray that's included when the lights went out today.

Again, thanks for the tips! Would appreciate any feedback.

Pics below!

Peace!

Baby#1

Baby#2

Baby 1 & 2

Roots of baby#1 & 2

Baby#3

Baby#4

Chiller

Top View

 

[CronicHempHog]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Beautiful roots man
were the pics taken just before lights out?

 

[timrey08]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Hi Chronic,

Thanks! Roots were taken around 10pm. Lights are out from 2pm to 6pm.

Hoping that growth continues well.

Thanks again!

 

[Skybound]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

When I see leaves that are discolored, I don't pluck them off because of all the work the plant had to do to pull the elements from the media to get them as far up as that sickly looking leaf. By leaving those sickly looking leaves on, you'd be allowing for the plant to prioritize the top of the canopy by ingesting all the needed elements from that/those sickly looking leaves which takes much less effort than to take those elements from the media. Plus also, there is the fact that we as growers do our best to give the plant exactly what it needs, but let's face it, we may be in error from time to time. Well the plant knows exactly what and how much is needed in which areas and it can even correct my mistakes by sacrificing a few older lower leaves and feeding off them. Especially for seedlings and early veg when the plant just wants to grow out as much as possible in preparations for the flowering season.

So I just remove the dead leaves that she has dropped. If I spot a leaf that I want to remove, I ask by giving the gentlest of tugs on the leaf stem. If the leaf pops off, this tells me the leaf was nearly fully consumed anyways. If the leaf does not pop off, then she is still eating from it.

 

[timrey08]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the info Skybound. Wont be cutting leaves from now on....

I'm on Day 21 since 18/6 light regimen and the girls (at least 2 of them) are exploding! Two of the plants are taking over and the 2 younger ones are drowning from the older ones' leaves. Not sure now if the 2 younger ones can catch up. Not sure what to do with them in case they don't. Still maintaining the PPM's above 400 and keeping the pH at 5.8-6.0 level. Added MagiCal too. Not using the top feed. Still foilar spraying before lights out everyday. Will be doing a res change in the next two days and will be setting up the trellis I built.


Here are some pics:


Top view:

Baby#1

Baby#2

Baby#3 - i think this girl is struggling

Baby#4 - struggled the past few days but looks a lot better now

I've been topping baby#1 only (3-4 times already) but i haven't touched baby#2 because it was growing weird (until the past few days) and haven't topped babies 3 & 4 because I'm hoping they can catch up. Am I on the right track?

This is all for now. Getting really excited. Advise is most welcome. Til the next update.

Thanks y'all.

Peace!

 

[Skybound]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Look at all that lettuce! Hell yeah you're doing good. As far as defol, don't lock yourself into never removing a leaf because there are many very successful growers that defol regularly, just gotta pick and choose when is the best time, and how much to take when ya do.

As far as waiting for the little ones to catch up, don't worry so much in that respect as you as the grower need to identify dominant characteristics that you seek from your plants. Natural selection has always been the name of the game and it will continue to be so long after we're all gone. Not saying to immediately discard weaker phenos, but rather take notes of what you like about the plant so you can focus your energy on that phenotype when taking clones. My garden is full of weaker phenos, but I will grow them all out and make my selections based upon space in the flower room and my ability to provide for a lesser plant. If I have the space, I'll be able to have a "loser's bracket" of sorts, but at the moment, it's all about real estate.

Perhaps you can do some topping that would benefit you in 2 ways. The plant that is topped will then produce more flowering sites, but at the moment you top it, it then can no longer block light to other plants giving them a chance to catch up. Other tricks are tying branches out of the way, tucking leaves behind one another, cutting fingers off leaves to decrease spread and I've even seen a journal where the grower put thin rubber bands on the leaves, or a group of them to allow better penetration. There are plenty of low and high stress techniques you can do to open up the canopy some for better penetration.

 

[SweetLeef]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Looking great TimRay!

Sky's got you, that's awesome. He's truly knowledgable, and a hell of a grower. Stick with him and you shan't go wrong

 

[CronicHempHog]

re: My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk

Moving right along

 

[timrey08]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the tips and the moral support! Much appreciated guys!

Time for an update:

I think the girls are growing well! Been maintaining the PPM's around 500 everyday and pH around 5.8 - 6.0. They seem to be very hungry because I have to add a couple of glasses of nuted water every morning. Also, I installed a net trellis approx 11inches from the top of the res. I used garden twill and made a net approx 3 inches apart from each other. Babies 1 & 2 have hit the net. Babies 3 & 4 are looking healthier and i think had a growth spurt but is still approx 6 inches away from the net. Will be tucking leaves of babies 1 & 2 in the next few days hoping babies 3 & 4 can continue catching up. Im on the 28th day of the 18/6 regimen and I'm planning to switch to flowering light regimen of 12/12 soon. The cabinet is only 5 feet tall and with the shelf, I only have around 1 foot and a half before they hit the lights and the exhaust fan. What do you guys think? Too early?

As always, advise is much appreciated.

Pics below. Thanks again!!

Peace!


Top View

Side View

Baby#1

Baby#3

Baby#4

Roots

 

[CronicHempHog]

roots look Great

 

[Sharky88]

Lookin good TimRey. Roots look awesome and I really like the SCROG net you built. Was thinking about making one similar but I'm not sure I want to take up the few inches of room on the sides of the cabinet.

 

[KingJohnC]

You want to continue to train the tops through your ScroG screen to maintain an even canopy.

 

[timrey08]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the tips and comments! Much appreciated!

Time for an update:

The past few days have been very good! Babies 3 & 4 has finally caught up with her sisters and now all ladies have touched the net trellis. I've been tucking in leaves from babies 1 & 2 since they touched the net trellis first. Been maintaining the PPM around 600 and pH approx 5.8-6.0. Every morning, I add nuted water to increase the PPM. These babies eat a lot!! Its my 38th day (5 1/2 weeks) of the 18/6 light regimen and since I do not have enough height to work with, and all the ladies have touched the net, I've decided to turn the lights off for the next 2 days and start the flowering stage after. Before I shut down the lights, I changed the res water and increased PPM levels to around 800. I'm also using approx 50% of the recommended formula. Also started cleaning the lower parts of the ladies by removing the dead leaves. Thinking of doing more cutting of small leaves under the net when the flowering stage starts.

I am really not sure what to do next. The ladies are exploding and I don't think I have enough height for the flowering stage. Height now is 12-13 inches and leaves are being tucked in under the net to maintain the even canopy (as advised). I have another 15-20 inches max left on the cabinet and I'm sure the flowers (if lucky!) will touch the lights and exhaust fans. Is this ok? Since I added my own trellis, can I still use the net that came with the package to further tie the ladies down or control their growth during flowering stage?

Again, thanks to everyone for the advise and support. Hope it's ok Im asking for more.

Pics below. Peace!


Top View

Side View

Tied down the stems with garden twine to keep the inside the net trellis. Is this ok?

 

[Skybound]

The net trellis (as you will soon find out) is meant to separate the growing colas to allow better distribution of light and air exchange, and even some instances will hold buds up to a small degree. Bunching your branches together will lead you into problems of poor air circulation and likely moldy buds. During flower, the plants grow a lot and swell which creates a lot more surface area to perspire, so budnles of buds will create a stagnant damp environment. It's great to try and even the canopy under the net while you can, but you will soon see that your will needs to bend a lot to allow the miracle to occur.

Regarding your feed chart, does it provide for a transition feed from veg to bloom?

 

[timrey08]

Thanks for the info Skybound!

Will be taking out the twine as soon as the branches and leaves grow a bit more. I did this because the branches were growing sidewards and out of the trellis space. Sort of training them to grow upwards and when the branches hit to the net, I'll be taking the twine out. Hopefully, the branches stay on the net and eventually grow towards the light.

Regarding the feed chart, there is a transition feed (or pre-flowering) to flower which I followed but only on the last res change. Do I need to use that formula for a couple of res changes or can i proceed to the flowering formula?

Thanks again for the info!

 

[Skybound]

GH's transition schedule also is for 1 week. Ideally, I'd be able to get them right into flower, but I have a monster still in veg, still on transition feed for about 5-6 weeks now and she's doing pretty good, so I now know transition feed can be used for a long time, but your setup is different. The reason I asked was to find out if there was a smooth transition or was it just a fast switch which would just add time for the plant(s) to adjust. The transition helps smooth this out.