My First Grow... Afgan x Mazar

[UntamedFox]

Hey guys and gals

Welcome to my journal! Over the next 3 months, I plan to grow and cultivate my "first" plant! "First" is in quotes because I started about a week ago, and accidentally burnt the leaves by leaving a light too close. Luckily the plant was only a week old, so I thought I'd start over and actually do a journal. Also, the seed I tried first was just a random seed from a bag of weed I bought. By having this journal, it'll be easier to get my plant's history and help answer the many questions I am bound to have. This is my grow room...

It is 2'x2'x3' tall. I know it's small, but it's the only option I have. There are three 17w T8 bulbs on three walls, the two side are sunlight and the back is a "grow light" i bought to send out specific wavelengths. I also have (currently) one CFL that puts out around 2700 lumens...

I am going to get another lamp identical to it soon. I have a small blue halogen light with a UV filter that was responsible for the burning of my last plant. It worked well when it was 5-6" away from the leaves, so I'll use it again to give the little plant plenty of light, staying at least half a foot away. I have read, in it's entirety a manual that I found... It is a great reference, but I will still need all of your help if I run into some problems. I have a meter that tells me sunlight levels, nutrient levels, hydration, and pH of soil. I am using fertilizer dissolved in distilled water with the ratio of 24-8-16. I have weakened it down to 1/4 concentration using additional distilled water. The soil I am using is a good mixture I found in the guide. It is primarily top soil. I have a temperature guide in the closet, it is normally around 90-95F in the closet with the door closed all day. I need to buy a small fan, and to get an opening. I have heard that so long as I open the door a few times a day, that's plenty of fresh air. I am gonna mourn the loss of my old plant, but here's to a new, much better quality plant! thanks in advance for all of your help! updates in a few days!

[Dr. 215]

Good start man, its an ongoing journey and we are all here to help you. First of all your lights. I'm not sure if you keep them the way they are not but that one CFL should be much much closer, around 2 inches away from the plant itself. No need to keep those side floros on RIGHT NOW the plant is too small and no lumens are hitting the plant because its so far away. That will help with you heat issues which is the next thing you need to address. Like you said, you need a fan. That will help your stem get stronger and help disperse heat. I would also suggest putting in at least an exhaust fan pulling air out. That way you don't need to open the door during the day. Also i would suggest keeping the grow room spotless which will keep down bugs and mold. Sounds like you've got a good soil mix keep up the good work and in 3 short months you'll be smoking your own.

[UntamedFox]

Thanks man, I'll get another CFL light and try to make it so that I can put it directly above the plant. I don't want to go within 6" tho, that's how I burned the first plant, here's a pic...

but it's actually worse than that now, both leaves are drooping badly. there is a stem-like thing coming from the middle of the stem, between the leaves. it's tip is brown, but green still seems to be growing.... we'll see if it recovers. I'm not using soil for the next 3 days anyways. I'll def get a fan and shut off the side lamps for now. are you sure they aren't really helping?

[Insider]

Hoi
Thats a nice box you got there, if you LST the plant and get it to fill out a bit youre gona have good use for those tubes later on. There is room enough for a big fat welltrained lady.

Wish you better luck with this one.

[UntamedFox]

What does LST mean?

Also, after rummaging around the forums looking for goodies of information, I realized that I have never heard of a good way of germinating?? Currently, I took two paper towel squares (Bounty), and together folded them into 1/4 the size. I then wet the towel down thoroughly with luke warm water. I put 3 seeds fairly spaced apart on one half of the towel and then folded the other half on top to make a "wet" sandwich of sorts. I then took this, wrapped it up in a plastic bag, and put in the dark closet. I plan on letting a root begin to grow, probably around 5mm or so, and then transplanting it with the root down into fresh soil. Is this a good method or not? they've been germinating for approx 24 hours. I have two of the Afgan x Mazar seeds with one bagweed seed.

ohhh yea, and here's the plant I killed. may we have a moment of silence for a lost soldier...

[Insider]

What does LST mean?

LST=low stress training, bending and tying the plant down to be bushier and to have more big buds rather than a huge one and a lot of small ones.
Did it on a couple my last grow, its very easy and gives good results.

I have never heard of a good way of germinating??

After reading a bunch of growlogs it seems like the way you proceeded is very commonly used. I never tried it though, i put mine in a glas of water until they crack open and i see the taproot, then i gently takem out and plant.

[UntamedFox]

Originally Posted by Insider

LST=low stress training, bending and tying the plant down to be bushier and to have more big buds rather than a huge one and a lot of small ones.
Did it on a couple my last grow, its very easy and gives good results.



After reading a bunch of growlogs it seems like the way you proceeded is very commonly used. I never tried it though, i put mine in a glas of water until they crack open and i see the taproot, then i gently takem out and plant.

cool, all three seeds have split open, but i'm gonna wait for the roots to get about 5mm long before I plant them in soil. i gotta go to walmart today to get another CFL, pot, and some more soil. I'm basically just using a pre-made topsoil blend with vermaculite and some other stuff. i think the seeds will be ready for planting in 24-48 hours time :)

So I just went out and got some stuff, here's a picture of the grow closet now, ready for seedlings. The bendy lamp is new, and has a new CFL identical to the other. The seedlings will be growing in the styrofoam cups i punched 4 small holes (3 @ bottom of sides, 1 center of bottom) in. I don't want the soil to be too wet and cause the roots to stunt. I want the roots to stretch out a bit eventually.

[MagicCannabus]

I'm eager to see how those "Grow Light" T8s do for you!

Oh, I just added 30% coco coir to my mix. I'm very excited! I will let you know how that goes. You can find the stuff at Petco or Petsmart. It's "Zoo Med" brand "Eco Earth". It's a tiny-looking brick that expands enormously when wet. I'm so excited to finally be growing with coir.

Even if it takes 100 tries I hope you stick with it man. Going to these sorts of boards and asking all the questions and reading all the posts you can find is a good tactic, and it'll definitely pay off for you in the long run. When you get some tiny little bushy plants in there, they're gonna enjoy lots of light even if the fixtures may not all look like fancy grow lamps. Ghetto is not to be under rated!

[UntamedFox]

Originally Posted by MagicCannabus

I'm eager to see how those "Grow Light" T8s do for you!...
Ghetto is not to be under rated!

Thanks man, that is hilarious! I know my set up is cheap, but i think it'll work great too later todayI am gonna check the seeds and transfer them to their marked cups, if they're ready. from there i'll give plenty of water and light. I was thinking about going 19/5 instead of 18/6, i had heard that that can improve growth by making it seem like it's earlier in the summer. I'm assuming that we do the whole light switch thing because we're trying to fool the plant about what time of year it is.

edit: just checked the progress of the germinating seeds, the bagweed is ready and has be transplanted. The two AxM, as I will refer to them from now on, have cracked seeds, but the root pushing out from the seed is only 1-3mm long. I'll wait till tonight, or tomorrow to transplant those. This makes total sense cuz I started germinating the bagweed seed ~8-10hrs before the AxM seeds

[Frog]

I've never though about calculating watts per Cubic foot.
anybody?

Never give up !!!

[UntamedFox]

Originally Posted by *********

I've never though about calculating watts per Cubic foot.
anybody?

Never give up !!!

See... I would think it's not about wattage per sq foot, it's about lumens per sq foot. cuz CFLs use almost no wattage compared to halogens, but put out more light. the same with HIDs and HPS systems. it's more about lumens, right? cuz i got 2700x2 CFLs on now, the fluorescents are off to keep closet cool. i can't find a cheap, small fan. anybody help? looking to spend less than $20.

[Frog]

True but for beginners,
it's easier to tell them watts per sqft
But get the highest lumen bulbs/tubes available
One of the reasons I've never used Ag/Grow type floro tubes.
The regular ones have more lumens and are cheaper.

cheap fan? Try the Dollar Store

[UntamedFox]

good idea with the dollar store, haha. yea, i noticed that about the grow floro tubes. i got one in the back of the closet instead of the normal, daylight ones. those are on the sides. the back light doesn't give nearly as much light, but apperently it's concentrated in the correct wavelengths, so it can't hurt. or at least that's what i say to myself to make me feel better about buying it! i can't wait for these things, but i learned hard last time that impatience can cost u big. so i'm just gonna be content, happy, high, and patient. i'll post pics of the seedlings once they get up, day or two. i'll update when i get the other seeds planted tonight or tomorrow.

[Insider]

Lookin forward to see your growroom and plants develop, bet you gonna do good this time, consider me subscribed :)

[UntamedFox]

Okay, just transferred the two AxM seeds to cups. they had opened from seedlings and i figured that's good enough. i put them under a centimeter's worth of soil, if less and lightly tapped the cup down to get the seeds in place. next update will include pictures of the seedlings growth. probably monday-wed next week, we'll see.

also, i just realized that with the new big bendy lamp CFL. i won't really need the blue lamp that killed my last plant :) no worries

Ohh yea, lol, i got a tattoo today. showin off my heritage.