Parnelli's White Widow

[parnelli]

Got one plant that sprouted from what I believe are white widow seeds. I've got it in the Aerogrow to get a little bigger b4 I transplant it into soil in a bucket. I had sprouted three seeds but only one of them dropped a root and popped a plant. Just this evening I put a few more old seeds into a container to soak until tomorrow afternoon and then I attempt to sprout them in a warm dark area in a wet paper towel.

I hope to get a grow tent and LED fixture b4 the transplant. Last grow I used a CFL and homemade grow tent and lamp fixture. The buds from that one were of excellent quality but were small. Got one once out of two plants. With improved lighting and more attention to soil ph I expect a bigger yield

 

[parnelli]

Got a second seed to pop and put it in my incubator (aerogarden) - now waiting for the stem to pop up. I noticed that my water has a ph of about 8 so I've collected rainwater (ph neutral) for future hydration.

 

[parnelli]

Went ahead and flushed the Aerogarden and put in the rainwater. Didn't have enough so I added some well water and lemon juice and got the ph to just below 7. Have to wait for the next rain and collect more.

 

[parnelli]

Collected more rainwater and it ph'd just below 7. The second seed popped and leaves are showing. For a seedling it is much greener than the white widow that is now about 3" tall. I added 4 ml aerogarden liquid fertilizer to the H2O. My plants will be on their own until after New Years but I will have someone check on them. In the aerogarden they are self sufficient for quite a while. Now have a small grow tent that a friend of a friend (FOF) gave to me. FOF is a pro grower and I learned a lot from my visit with him. Soon as I'm back I'll set up the tent with lamps, put the plants in soil, and start intense vegetative growth.

 

[parnelli]

Just got back home and the plants survived my absence. Got a 600 watt reflector LED, Vivosun 5 gallon fabric pots, earthworm castings, and potting soil while I was gone so by mid week I should have the plants out of the AG and transplanted. I'll post some pix and more on the planting mix in future posts.

 

[parnelli]

I've put together the grow tent and am ready to transplant as soon as the soil mix gets to room temp. I am using "New Plant Life" potting soil (20 lb.), 2 lb. of earthworm castings, 2 lbs. of cocopeat, and .5lb. vermiculite.

 

[snowbound]

Looking good. I am growing white widow right now myself.

 

[parnelli]

Got the soil to temp and transplanted what I hope are two girls (can't tell yet).

 

[parnelli]

Lookin' like the transplant from the Aerogrow went well.

 

[parnelli]

Checked on them this morning. Looks like the transplant is taking and they're starting to grow. Took a close-up pix of the bigger one in the fabric pot. It may be a little early but I am hoping this is a pistil.

 

[parnelli]

Looking OK today. The big bottom leaves are somewhat yellow and dried up. I thought it was a consequence of the transplant but I now suspect they might need some nutes. I'm going to use a diluted version (half strength) of Miracle-Gro for acid loving plants (30-10-10) that I have hanging around. I really didn't notice a bad taste or aroma in my previous grow using the Miracle-gro. Let's see what happens.

 

[nivek]

heya friend,,

i see no pistil in the pic,, soon tho perhaps,, look right at where the leaves meet the stem,, if female, teardrop shapes growing and pistils soon afterward,

lookin good friend,, karma sent

 

[parnelli]

Got concerned this AM with the bottom leaves yellowing on both plants (looked to be worsening). This is after I had fed them two days ago. So, I fed them again with a small amount of nutes. Changed the dilution to full strength (1/4 tsp granular nute to 1 qt H2O). I've also open the vents on the tent a little to enable greater air flow hopefully allowing more CO2 to get to the plants. This dropped the temp in the tent from 78 to about 73 when the lamp is on. The temp got below 68F when the lamp shut down at night when the heat in the house is off. I've got the light schedule at 18 hours for veg but now I changed the lights to go off for 6 hours when the heat is on in the house which I hope will keep the environment in the tent a little warmer. I'll give it a couple of days and post some pix.

 

[parnelli]

Ok: just checked temp with the lamp off and heat on in the house. The temp in the tent is 61.2F Seems a bit low to me. I had hoped it would at least be 68F. I'll have to get up early AM and check temp with LED's on and house temp at 60F. I may have to schedule a little heat in the tent.

 

[parnelli]

Early AM gave me a 60.2F temp reading. Looks like I'll have to get a little heater. I could try a 25 or 40 watt light bulb and mute the light with foil to keep the tent dark. I'll also have to figure out an automatic watering system soon. Anybody try those Blumat ceramic watering stakes?

 

[parnelli]

Still too cold in the basement for a 40 watt light heat source. Up'd it to 100 watts and will check temp in about an hour. These plants are about 5 weeks old and my experience tells me they are not growing very well in veg mode. I would have thought they'd be a little bigger by now. The LED is about 16 inches from the top of the plants so I would think they're getting enough light at the current 18 hour cycle. Checked soil ph with litmus paper and it is in the mid 6's. (I took a small soil sample; mixed it with 7.0 ph water; let it settle out; and took a reading). Here are some pix.

 

[parnelli]

Lights on and temp at 91.2F - lets see what happens

 

[parnelli]

They have seemed to have perked up. They are well watered and in a warmer ambient temp out of the cold basement. This should help. The Mrs. is being very supportive of my hobby and enabling me to move them to a more hospitable environment; at least until they start to get aromatic

 

[parnelli]

I got home on Tuesday and expected to see dry, wilted plants. Much to my surprise they were in fine shape. The soil was drying out but still moist below the surface. Had to raise the LED because the plants were getting up 12 inches from the lamp so they had grown a little. The bottom leaves have pretty much turned yellow and wilted away. Moved the lamp to 18 inches from the top of the plants and watered them well again. I also put in one of those glass watering bulbs just to ensure hydration while I'm away. Now using melted snow to water the plants; pH about 6.2. Temp in the tent with the lamp on is about 78F with a humidity of 38%. It's so cold that the heat's running a lot and drying out the air.

 

[420BudzFreak]

Hey there, I’ll come along for the ride. Humidity is a bugger for me in the winter as well. Very difficult to keep up. I have 2 humidifiers going in my tent at all times.