2nd Grow Attempt (pre-discussion)

[StonyGeoff]

The time has come earlier than expected to start grow No. 2 but I'm going to take the bright side of this and apply all the grow knowledge I have aquired over the last 5 months in an attempt to make this 2nd grow faster, better, stronger, sweeter Let's rock, let's roll!

The plan:
- 2x rooted female clones
- grow-closet space 18"x22"x50"
- 164w CFL lighting rig, 8 CFLs in total
- half perlite, 1/4 potting mix, 1/4 worm castings (medium)
- fish emulsion for veg
- seaweed extract for bud

Too much worm castings? anyone?

I've got MG chems and HIGH strength "nu-life weight-plus potash" formula which I could use aswell, maybe not at every feeding. I'm thinking of a weekly bottom (tray) cycle feeding with rain water and only the organic ferts, with a treat of chems to boost at irregular intervals .. hmm that sounds bad already. Perhaps I should use the organic ferts with each feeding, AND the chems, only I'll use 1/4 strength chems so as not to throw off the nute balance too much. And so I'm sticking to a REGULAR feeding/watering rather than irregular messy cycles that don't do the plants any good what-so-ever lol

I'm half expecting someone to jump in here and say "Hey kid, make a decision! either pick organic or chems and stick with it, cos using both together won't be much better than just using 1 or the other" but hey I dunno, that's why I'm asking :-P

I'd basically like to use the SCROG method this time. Get the clones, stick them in on 18/6, supercrop them, give them time to recover, get them flowering! Unless I can put them straight on 12/12 from the get-go and top them and all that and go for bloom ferts straight away? I would've thought I'd have to feed them veg nutes and have them on 18/6 for the first couple of weeks, while I'm topping them, then I can switch nutes and adjust the light cycle after they've recovered and are back to growing :-)


Lighting rig, for those who haven't seen it

[StonyGeoff]

I've decided to go with organics for this grow. The only reason I wanted to use chems is because I've got them and I don't want them to go to waste LOL. I'll just hang on to them for later on when I might need them. No fancy stuff this time, I stressed out my first plant to the extreme and I don't want this to happen again. Simple is safe!

1. Get clones, chuck them in the closet on 18/6
2. Top them each twice, fill the screen
3. Switch to 12/12 when the screen is filled
4. Bottom feed weekly, seaweed extract + rainwater
5. Let nature take its course
6. Harvest, cure, smoke, get high
7. Report

I'm guessing I won't actually need any fish emulsion for this grow as I'm using worm castings in the medium and going to 12/12 after a few weeks so just the seaweed extract :-) So no nutes until I've filled the screen and it's time to flower.
And perhaps be a little more focused when it comes to harvest time, no matter if it's early or on time, do it right! Don't get too excited and lose concentration lol, you can ruin almost an entire harvest by doing that it's all fun & learning though

Yay, bring on the 2nd "all-organic" closet grow :-P

hmm, is seaweed extract and rain-water going to provide enough organic nutrients? along with the worm castings in the medium?

[StonyGeoff]

Ok after reading this Newbie's Guide to Organic Growing I'm going with shabangs suggested medium:
40% castings
30% perlite
30% vermiculite
And I'm going to shop around at local nurseries and hyrdo stores until I find some organic based nutes. Perferrable Earth Juice but if I can't get any I'll go with Fox Farms. It says if neither of these are available it's ok to substitute with a tea made from bat guano and worm castings. Where does one find bat guano around here? Lol. I've seen organic nutes at hydro stores that contain bat guano, but everything you see on the shelves at hydro stores all look the same! I have no idea what to go with lol. Dont want to take the salesmans advice cos he just wants to sell you something, and he may or may not be an expert when it comes to organic based growing.

I DO have a question about watering, always the trickiest thing to get right ey. I've read different things about watering, you should water from the top, from the bottom, depends on your setup, etc etc.. Arghhhhhhhh what's going on?!?! Ok I'm pretty certain that feeding from the tray is the way to go, it's easier for newbies to better control and monitor their feeding/watering cycle etc.
Not really any need to flush the medium when it's organics right? What's the deal with Earth Juice and Fox Farms? Are they totally 100% pure organics?

Ok enough of my crazy non-sensical dribble for now, I'll be back later on, after medicine, gotta go see my girl and pick up an eighth ;-) peace out ya'll

[NoLogo]

damn stoney, looks like youre getting quite the plan together, as for bat guano, they sell it at the hardware stores here, so maybe check a hardware store or garden center. look forward to seeing your next grow

[StonyGeoff]

Good read :-) thank you Oceania. I cant get over how much great info this website contains, it's right there to be read and shared. I spend a lot of time in the OverGrow FAQs section, not even half-way through it all yet.
Ok so my watering schedule will be like this: water from the top for the first time and for each flushing if flushing is necessary, which I don't think it is until pre-harvest flushing. Not to gid rid of the taste of nutes in the buds cos it'll be organic, but so the plant uses up it's stores in the big fan leaves in the final week or two of maturity. Then bottom feed weekly with water & organic nutrient solution.

Cool logo, I'll have to do a little exploring when I get the chance during the week. Ty for the info!

[StonyGeoff]

I found a store that might stock Earth Juice about 15-20 mins from my place, so I'll be checking them out over the next week. Let's say I get the Earth Juice, as I'm planning to water the tray on a weekly schedule, I dunno let's say .5L per plant for now, should I be feeding them EJ weekly or can I do it every 2 weeks? So 1 week it's just plain water and on the off week it's EJ mix. Does it matter? Should I say, feed them weekly so that they're kept regular but only mix half strength nutrient solution? I was planning to start off as mild as I possibly could when I first get the clones, then gradually increase the dose of nutes as they grow larger. Sound ok? It does to me I hope I'm on the right track here..

Is there such a thing as "overplanning"? hahahaha

[StonyGeoff]

Ok so the clones are arriving tomorrow! I can't wait! Myself and a mate get to spend the day (half day) setting everything up and rewarding ourselves with a monsta session once all the work is done :-) I picked up some plant food today and some perlite, all systems go!

The food I bought is "Ozi Magic Gro Juice - Magic Bud Grow" which is an australian owned company so I dunno if it's available in other countries or not. The NPK rating is 2.5/.37/3.05 and it says on the bottle it's high organic, I don't think it's 100% organic unfortunately, which is really what I wanted, but ah well. It does contain seaweed extract, beeswax extract, humic and fulvic acid and plant extracts. Says over 80 different organic compounds, I hope it's good stuff!

The medium will be composed of a 50/50 blend of perlite and organic soil. The soil is being supplied by a mate, and according to him is composed mostly of worm castings, but also contains a bit of compost he's been working on for 2-3 years now. He assures me it's good stuff and I believe him!

I've only enough space for 2 ladies for this grow, which is fine. These clones are about 5-6" tall and rooted in rockwool cubes. I'm planning to basically get hold of say, 2x 2L square plastic containers (milk cartons or something), poke some holes in the bottom, load them up with the medium, chuck them ladies in, and give them each a nice watering from above with a half dose of Magic Bud Grow. From then on it's a weekly watering/feeding schedule from the tray below.

Should I stick with half-strength nutes for the entire grow? I'd like to, I've heard of plenty of people doing this and there's so many good reasons to feed your ladies this way. Nutes will last twice as long, less chance of nute burn etc.

Anyway tomorrow I'll jump back on here and start up a brand new grow journal for this one, with plenty of pics of us setting everything up and I'll go into detail about as many things as I can. Any suggestions or questions are most welcome :-)

Peace

[NoLogo]

the rockwool cubes will either be 1 inch square or more likely 4 inch square, which would just fit into your milk cartons. you may wanna think about a larger pot, i would say at least 4L for now. good luck!

[StonyGeoff]

Cheers for the tip NoLogo :-)

[GrowDaPot]

Remember the havest, in a large part, will be related to root mass and root health. So a larger pot is in order.

[StonyGeoff]

Totally man :-) Once the clones are settled in and supercropping is outta the way I'll chuck them into their larger square pots, which I'm still yet to find but I've got a few weeks to come up with some ideas. Or am I better off transplanting them BEFORE I supercrop them?

I've started up a grow journal which can be found here Stony's Super-Organic SCROG