1st Grow - 2x4 Tent - 125W T5 - Soil - Advice Very Welcome

[GFord]

Hey everyone,

I've been reading and soaking up info and you all seem so cool and helpful I thought I would add my first grow to the mix here. Per the template here are the critical infos:

Strain: Blackjack Feminized from Nirvana
Seedling stage
Indoor
Soil
2x4x5 Apollo tent
FFOF + Perelite. 75/25%
3 gallon or #3
2 foot 2 bulb T5 HO from Grow Bright
Temps running about 68-75
RH around 50
PH water between 6 and 7 according to my research
No pests yet
Been in seedling 7 days and watered once. No real schedule to watering. Just do it when they feel light.
No ferts so far.

I have a couple photos to put up but obviously they're just of seedlings. Gotta find the cable for my camera. Moved recently and still unpacking.

BBL.

 

[Stinky Snid]

No action here I see. I'll be first to say goodluck to you... Any updates on those pics? That's what were all. Waiting for, glad you decided to keep a journal. I look forward to seeing some little ladies soon.

KIG cheers

 

[GFord]

So... second attempt. I had the mechanical room (where the tent was) flood in a storm, along with part of the basement, so I had to tear the whole thing apart because of workmen in the house. It was a good learning experience. I learned that room is not a good location. LOL.

Anyway, set up in another room and here are some photos. Day 8 above ground and this little girl is doing pretty well. There's one with the light down to show the distance I've been using. I did start 2 seeds but one was a dud so I just decided to grow one and see how it goes. More to follow...

 

[Pat999]

That is a very sweet setup my man Welcome to the site and enjoy the grow! Keep the photos coming bru

 

[Stinky Snid]

Now were talking... Very nice setup Gford! I'll tell you what , with that space and light you'll regret no having more than one plant. Unless you grow a monster of course... But unused space is unused light which you are already paying for.. Just a thought. Too bad for the dud seed, do you have any more?

KiG

 

[GFord]

Thanks guys!

You have a point Snidrajsed. I could start another but it would be almost 10 days behind the first. I think for this one I'm going to top it maybe 3 times. Not sure if that's too ambitious for a 30 day veg, but that's sort of what I was thinking. Also, LST it 45 degrees or so to get more yield. If any of this sounds unreasonable I'd certainly like to know.

Next order of business is the transplant. I'm thinking day 14...? Third node is starting to pop so that sounds about right.

I had a question about water prep. I am using tap water after letting it sit at least 24 hours and noticed that if it sits for a couple days after I ph it the level will have risen. Is this normal? Is it detrimental to re-prep that same volume of water with ph down?

Thanks!

 

[Pat999]

Thanks guys!

You have a point Snidrajsed. I could start another but it would be almost 10 days behind the first. I think for this one I'm going to top it maybe 3 times. Not sure if that's too ambitious for a 30 day veg, but that's sort of what I was thinking. Also, LST it 45 degrees or so to get more yield. If any of this sounds unreasonable I'd certainly like to know.

Next order of business is the transplant. I'm thinking day 14...? Third node is starting to pop so that sounds about right.

I had a question about water prep. I am using tap water after letting it sit at least 24 hours and noticed that if it sits for a couple days after I ph it the level will have risen. Is this normal? Is it detrimental to re-prep that same volume of water with ph down?

Thanks!

Maybe try topping it about two times and see what happens? I am going to top my plant once and then train it from there. As for the transplant, funnily enough I did mine yesterday, when it was exactly 14 days old. I might have done it a bit early but there is sufficient roots for it to grow on As for the PH thing not too sure, hope somebody with more knowledge than me can answer that one for you

 

[Stinky Snid]

Let your plant tell you how many times it wants to be topped. When the time comes you'll know... When I have my water bucket w/circulation pump running it doesn't do much for Ph fluctuations. My water, even after 48h of circulation, is still around 7.5-8.0. I don't bother Ph'ing my water Buckets (other one is for aeration), because it's always changes as I add more fresh tap water. When I feed, I take water from my big buckets and put it in a slightly smaller bucket for mixing my nutrients. This is when I Ph. I do this because even if I ph the water beforehand, once I mix my nutes I'll have to Ph it again. No need to do it twice. Only Ph what's going in the plant. Makes sense? I may have just rambled my way around there, but I think I got what I wanted to say through. Haha

KiG cheers

 

[GFord]

Let your plant tell you how many times it wants to be topped. When the time comes you'll know... When I have my water bucket w/circulation pump running it doesn't do much for Ph fluctuations. My water, even after 48h of circulation, is still around 7.5-8.0. I don't bother Ph'ing my water Buckets (other one is for aeration), because it's always changes as I add more fresh tap water. When I feed, I take water from my big buckets and put it in a slightly smaller bucket for mixing my nutrients. This is when I Ph. I do this because even if I ph the water beforehand, once I mix my nutes I'll have to Ph it again. No need to do it twice. Only Ph what's going in the plant. Makes sense? I may have just rambled my way around there, but I think I got what I wanted to say through. Haha

KiG cheers

Just mix what I expect to go in the plant at that time? Gotcha. And of course I will wait to see how it's growing to gauge whether to top or not. Just see how it goes. Patience! Pretty sure I'm not over-watering, so I got that going for me.

Thanks again for the tips!

 

[GFord]

Day 14 - Transplant

No problems since last week. She is still quite happy and drank the whole cup dry in barely over a day so I knew that it was time. I probably could've done it yesterday but it's no biggie. I put her in a #3 with the FFOF/Perlite mix (pre-soaked), then watered it through to draining one more time before going back to the tent. First topping should be in the next few days.

Pre-transplant

Roots

New Home

 

[dirt mcgert]

Looking good

 

[GFord]

Looking good

Thank you. She was looking pretty sad a few hours after transplant but she's perked back up this morning.

 

[Stinky Snid]

Nice root ball. She's going to excel once she gets to that new soil between her toes. Great looking seedling,

KiG cheers

 

[Pat999]

Plant is looking awesome sir, reminds me of my own one a bit I wanna touch it....

 

[dirt mcgert]

How's your grow coming along?

 

[Pat999]

How's your grow coming along?

He forgot about us...but we, will never forget, about him!!

 

[GFord]

Thanx for checking in, guys. I'm trying to keep the updates to once per week, and on Mon. or Tues.

Day 21

Nothing really new here except for lots of growth. At least it seems like a lot to me. Watering today. That's 7 full days since the last watering, which was the transplant. Again, that's in FFOF/Perlite 75/25 in a #3.

Topped it yesterday morning. Didn't get all fancy about it and just clipped it off with thumbnail. You can see the cut in the top-down photo.

To the photos!

Top-down

Undergrowth

Height

Have a good one!

 

[dirt mcgert]

 

[GFord]

Day 28

Good growth over the last 7 days. No bugs or blight. Watered yesterday with tap water adjusted to pH 6.5.

So... in the research I did I came to the conclusion, wrongly I am now hearing, that I could do a good soil grow without supplements. Well, I guess I expected to do it without re-potting as well.

I guess I'm looking for confirmation that I should be supplementing with my soil grow. Over at Fox Farm there's a feeding schedule for using both their supplement line and the Ocean Forest soil, which I'm using. I guess the question is if I really do need to be supplementing at this point or if I should wait until I see some kind of deficiency, or even just to wait until flower or some other answer? Hoping for some guidance from more experienced people.

The photos! She's very happy. Leaves always standing up and great color all around. Don't really know how long to veg either. Seem to see a lot of stuff that says "30 days" but she seems sort of small to switch to flower day after tomorrow. I was thinking maybe another 10 days. Opinions?

Tops

Branching

More new growth.

 

[dirt mcgert]

Looking good I just let my girls veg until I feel there big enough. I don't really keep track of days they have been in veg. The ocean forest is normally good for about 3-4 weeks on its own and then requires supplements for feeding. If you have the time and space I would veg another 30 days before you flip imo.