Jimmy's First Grow - 200W PLL Pod - BF's 8 Ball Kush

[The Jimmy]

Hello fellow growers!

I'm new to the forum, as well as to the cultivation of our beloved plant. After a great deal of time lurking as a guest, perusing the archive of threads, I have decided to join up and engage conversation in the hopes of learning first hand from experienced growers.

Unfortunately, I come here with an ailing plant. I had considered simply posting in the Problems, Pests, etc. subheading, but I felt that a more thorough background of the grow would be appropriate, and the progress could be continually updated herein. So without further ado, let's get into it.

Barney's Farm 8 Ball Kush
Cannabis Indica
Currently in Vegetative stage, 28 days since sprout of cotyledons above soil
Indoor grow
Soil, 75% FFOF, 25% Perlite, 2.5 gallon pot
200w PLL CFL 4000K
Temps average between 73-79*F
RH averages between 40-55%
PH of soil last tested at roughly 6.7
2/3 charge of Osmocote Plus added to top 1/3 of soil

The grow pod that I am using is adapted from a design posted by Infectualize on IC, credit to him.

I'll start with the background notes and images to get folks up to speed, and then I'll add a bit about what I speculate to be possible problems.

 

[The Jimmy]

Day 6 (from sprout), in solo cup, 50% FFOF, 50% Perlite

Day 10

Day 13

Plant was transplanted at Day 14, which I later determined to be too early for my particular case. More on that later.

Day 14

Day 15

Day 17

Day 20
Note that the white dust is diatomaceous earth that I was sloppy with. FYI.

 

[The Jimmy]

Here's where things start to get grisly...

Day 21

Day 25

Day 28

So here we stand. Clawing, necrotic spots, the whole nine yards. 6 months of pre-grow research and I still managed to bungle it pretty badly. I'm certain that overwatering has played into this, and I will post a detailed summary of my thoughts for consideration. Feel free to chime in whenever. Thanks folks! Back in a flash.

 

[thebudking]

Sub

 

[The Jimmy]

Thanks for the sub, budking.

In the interest of completing the background of this grow, below are a condensed version of grow notes that I have kept thus far. Hopefully it will give insight into any errors in my practice.


1 8BK seed was sprouted on paper towel, then subsequently transplanted into a solo cup with 50% FFOF, 50% Perlite, no additional nutrients. Soil was thoroughly watered, and a makeshift ziplock bag "humidity dome" was added.

The first 14 days the plant was growing under two 23w 6500K CFLs, due to a hiccup in receiving my PLL sockets.

Day 6- Plant was watered

Day 8- Plant watered

Day 14- Plant was transplanted to 2.5 gallon pot. 2 Tbsp of Osmocote Plus was mixed in to top 1/3 of soil mix, 75% FFOF, 25% Perlite. Troubling lack of root development, as the roots had not spread through the soil as much as I had hoped. 2 50w PLL fluorescent tubes wired into grow pod, small CFLs switched out. Soil thoroughly watered.

Day 19- Watered plant. Small number of fungus gnats present, first indicator of overwatering, other than the droopy looking plant. :rolleyes3

Day 21- Final lights installed, totalling 200w of PLL fluorescent tubes. Plant showing signs of stunted growth. I had initially suspected phosphorus deficiency. PH'd runoff at ~6.0. Decided to flush soil.....

It was at Day 23 that, after some continued research, I began to suspect that the plant had been experiencing deficiencies due to stunted root growth which was the result from overwatering. After considering that I had transplanted a plant that had not even filled out a solo cup with roots into a even larger pot, it became evident that 3 days was not enough time for the soil to dry out, as the plant was most likely not drawing very much water. I thus decided that I would wait until the soil was unmistakably dry before watering, in order to allow the roots to spread out.

Day 28- After returning from a three day absence, I thoroughly watered the soil, which was by now bone dry. That made the current period between waterings 7 days.

The plant is still showing signs of trouble. Along with the marks of overwatering, a possible nitrogen toxicity has become apparent. While the plant continues to slowly grow, it certainly has not been spritely since the transplanting.

To say the least, I'm perplexed. It's a hardy little thing, and despite its battle scars, it still doesn't seem to want to give up the ghost. So I'm at a loss. Do you folks think I can get this little darling in a better place?

 

[The Jimmy]

I should add that the necrotic spotting started to become apparent at Day 21.

 

[thebudking]

when you water, only water the area around the plant where you estimate the roots to be. go light with the water since you have the pearlite in there, that holds alot of water. it will take time to recover since it is so small. i am thinking maybe a 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of water is all you will need, the roots are shallow and will not be extended past the canopy of leaves at this size. hang in there, ph your water to 6.5 and it should pull out of it. the necrotic spots are on old leaves so there is no fixing them now, just watch for browning on new growth, that could be a magnesium problem. to tell the truth I am not a soil guy and NEVER recomend soil for a first time grower. I get the whole organic thing and i am not knocking it, when you have experience or someone there to help you in person, it can be great....but i personaly feel pure coco with a good base nutrient, some cal mag, a root enzyme and a PK booster is much simpler, true a little more work and a bit more cost but the results speak for themselves. this is my current test grow compairing 2 differant nutrient companies grown in strait coco.

that cola is over a foot long......and that is the smaller plant!!

 

[The Jimmy]

Hey budking,

Thanks for the advice. I suppose the uncertainty of waiting to see how it does is the hardest part.

BTW, that's one nice cola!

 

[The Jimmy]

Quick update:

Reduced watering and started watering with a dose of hydrogen peroxide. I weigh the pros and the cons of using peroxide and decided a shot of oxygen was going to do the plant better than whatever microbes that would be killed. Seems to be working, the plant looks decent apart from its small size.

Topped the plant on Day 33

Secondary shoots are coming in.

Day 36

Plan on training the two tops out during the next two weeks.

 

[Jimbory]

looking good! I guess you know it by now, but I will still say as it is very important. water only when the soil feels dry going in over an inch, and when the pot feels much lighter then after a watering.

Seems to be recovering nicely, considering that shoots are coming out rather quickly after the topping!
Subbed, I hope to see you get her fully recovered!

 

[Whitty08]

Good choice on the hydrogen peroxide. Nice oxygen boost to the soil, but it will also help with the gnat problem as well. She looks to have recovered nicely. As a seedling it's very easy to overwater, but once she's laid her roots, there's a reason why it's called weed. I will have to agree with you on the fact that you took her from the Solo Cup too quickly. One thing I've slowly learned about this hobby is patience is going to be your best friend. Subbed! Looking forward to seeing her blossom! Good luck

 

[The Jimmy]

looking good! I guess you know it by now, but I will still say as it is very important. water only when the soil feels dry going in over an inch, and when the pot feels much lighter then after a watering.

Seems to be recovering nicely, considering that shoots are coming out rather quickly after the topping!
Subbed, I hope to see you get her fully recovered!

Good choice on the hydrogen peroxide. Nice oxygen boost to the soil, but it will also help with the gnat problem as well. She looks to have recovered nicely. As a seedling it's very easy to overwater, but once she's laid her roots, there's a reason why it's called weed. I will have to agree with you on the fact that you took her from the Solo Cup too quickly. One thing I've slowly learned about this hobby is patience is going to be your best friend. Subbed! Looking forward to seeing her blossom! Good luck

Thanks for all the input! It certainly has been a fast learning curve. It took me a minute to realize that despite all the suggested time frames regarding the different stages of growth you really have to just pay attention to the plant. Duh!

Thanks again!

 

[The Jimmy]

Update

Began some LST on the two tops. Coming along okay.
Day 43

Day 46

Meanwhile...

 

[The Jimmy]

Been a minute since I last updated this...

Day 47

Put it into 36 hrs darkness to begin flower.

1F

4F

I reread through the Osmoscote thread and had the idea to do a bit of a flush since I thought the plant looked like it had a bit more nitrogen than it really needed. Ended up overwatering it again...:icon_roll

No big deal though, spotted my error and let her dry out. A conservative watering schedule seems to be the course of order for the rest of this grow.

Eagerly awaiting flowers!

 

[The Jimmy]

She's a lady, and she's gonna let it all hang out!

12F

 

[Whitty08]

She's looking good. She's got a few pistils already. Now the fun part begins watching her build her flowers.

 

[The Jimmy]

Small update, since it's been a while.

17F

21F

Dealing with a bit of magnesium deficiency, fed the plant a small dose of epsom salts. We'll see how that helps...

Close ups to come...

 

[The Jimmy]

Hard keeping up with this lately...

Still truckin' along. Dealing with a spat of magnesium deficiency, which I suspect was caused by an excess of calcium from my tap water, along with the stunted root system. Switched to filtered rainwater and have been adding in a bit of epsom salts every third watering. I actually foliar fed some epsom salts about a week and a half ago, but I was reluctant to continue for fear of mold and mildew. That being said, the plant seems to be doing ok. It was scavenging its lower fan leaves pretty quickly, but that's slowed down.

25F

26F

30F

 

[The Jimmy]

We still in this...

45F

49F

Trichs are about 50% Cloudy

 

[Whitty08]

She's looking really good. Flower development is coming together nicely!