First Grow - Advice Welcome

[Granz]

Hey! I thought it was better to post an ongoing thread then just start new ones.
Been reading here alot before I started with this grow, but always new things that worries me!

Growing in a closet litte more then 3x3 feet and very tall. It is already painted plain white so I guess mylar might not be needed? No ventilation outlets but im opening the door from time to time to let air out. And I guess my platinum lamp move some air? Going to buy computer fans and a carbon filter soon though!

Strain: Top-44
Indica: 85%
Plants: 5
Planted: 26-28th Oct

Soil: Been recommended a mix here in my country that is fairly expensive but not sure what type. First class regular soil maybe?

Pot size: 1 liter (0.26 galons)

Light: LED Advanced Platinum Series P300 (300w)

Temp in closet: Don't have a termostat just yet, but around 72-77f when light is on and 69-71f at dark I guess.

RH of closet: Same here, but regular in my country is around 80% this time of year. Not sure what that is inside. My ciggs that I mix with my weed dont keep its dry after roasted, it even gets a little moist left over night...

PH of Medium: My soilbag say 5.6-6.5ph. No nutrients used.

Pests: Hope not.

Watering: Watching for it to dry a little on top then water little. Maybe 1 time every 2-3 days.

Fertilizers: None yet.

Size: Little more then 3x3 feet and enough height


They have all now sprouted except 1. My first seed looks fine, but 2 others have their leaves hanging and 1 is yellow.


Hanging

Yellowish

Healthy?

 

[Stealthboat]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Time to check the ph of that mystery soil, figure out whats going on with it. Aim for a ph of 6.2 until you can tell us what's actually in it. Don't overwater too much, even if they are seedlings. Buy a meter to keep an eye on the temp/humidity. With 80% humidity the possibility of bugs and mold goes way up, try to keep it under 65%. Seedlings usually look kinda weird when they start off, fix these few issues first and see if they don't just fix themselves.

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Also watch those seedlings under the powerful Platinum LEDs. Have just started a grow myself under a P450 and quite a few growers experience initial problems with seedlings (curling, deformities, deficiencies) under LEDs. How far away from the girls is your light? Many people keep it 2-3 feet away in the early stages. For this reason I'm growing under CFLs for the first month or so, until the plants are robust enough to enjoy all that intense light. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[theengineer]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

I've got a Cotton Candy and a Lemon Kush 12/12'ing from seed, 12" under a P450, and they're loving it

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

I've got a Cotton Candy and a Lemon Kush 12/12'ing from seed, 12" under a P450, and they're loving it

That's great to hear, engineer. Were the lights at 12" as seedlings? I'll use the LEDs from scratch next time.

 

[theengineer]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

the were in the P450 tent before they'd popped, so the only light they've seen is it

 

[Granz]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

The lamp is about 18 inches away from the leaves, should be fine?

Just bought a termostat, and I was way off in my guess.. 82 fahrenheit and 38% rh. I guess the temp will go down when I buy a fan, but how will I raise humidity? Don't have that much cash to spend this month after carbon filter and room fan

 

[Garage Grower]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

38% is a little low, but I don't think it's HORRIBLE.... a simple way some of us use to raise RH is to put a small pot of water in the cabinet/closet and hang a towel or cheesecloth above the pot, with just the end of the towel sitting in the water. the towel acts as sort of a wick to suck up the water and then evaporate over the larger surface area of the towel. in my experience, you probably won't raise RH more than 5-10% this way. if you want to raise it higher the only sure way is to use a humidifier or vaporizer... you'll want the "cool mist" type. Depending on where you are and what stores are close, you can usually pick up a small one fairly cheaply.

Good luck

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Firstly, how are they looking today? Please post pics. Don't rush into anything. Here's my best guess.

I would raise the lights to 24" and watch for their response. More if necessary. It certainly can't do any harm. They are very young. It would be useful to raise that RH. You can do it for free temporarily with a bowl of water and/or a damp, clean cloth near the fan. Temp should ideally be 75-85. Certainly no higher. Don't let the humidity go over 65 at most. And don't be tempted to over-water. Wait 'til the pot is dry and light to lift.

And don't panic. Just give us some more pics if you can.

 

[Stealthboat]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

The lamp is about 18 inches away from the leaves, should be fine?

Just bought a termostat, and I was way off in my guess.. 82 fahrenheit and 38% rh. I guess the temp will go down when I buy a fan, but how will I raise humidity? Don't have that much cash to spend this month after carbon filter and room fan

82F is cutting it close, max temp should be 85, anything over that and the plants spend energy on cooling off instead of growing. I bought a cool mist humidifier from walmart for $43, also includes a 3 year warranty. If you go this route though the water needs to be refilled every 12 hours (for a 1.3 gallon humidifier). It would probably bring up your RH by at least 5%, maybe 10% since it is a closet. It will also bring down the temp a few degrees to the optimal 78F for veg growth.

 

[Granz]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

I will try the towel and water in a bowl trick, my RH is now 41%, so if that brings it up to 50% its ok? If not, ill buy a cool mist humidifier and cut down on other things
Temp is closer to 84 farhenheit now, so I have raised my lamp about 1 inch and will raise it more if needed...
Orderd a tower fan which should be real nice.. Dont take much space and blow air over a wide area. Do you know how much this will lower my temp? Don't want to have this big fan and a cold mist humidifier if my temp will lower to 67 farhenheit..?

My plants is looking good thought! There is one leaning to the left (maybe because lack of air flow?) and one seedling that have some scars on it.. Like eaten or burned?


Looking good?

Burned or bugs eating? Small scar on the leaf

Hanging a tiny bit.

First one that popped

Leaning to the left (lack of air push?)

The grow room

 

[Stealthboat]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

They probably need some air flow in there, I think that's why they look like that at the moment. Without air flow, the leaves suck up all the surrounding CO2. Air flow will move off the old stale air and resupply the CO2 surrounding the leaves. A fan and the humidifier wouldn't lower it by more than 10F, guaranteed. That humidifier also has a few settings so it can be adjusted. An oscillating fan a few inches above the plant canopy will increase the strength of the stems over time due to constant swaying/movement.

 

[Cannabelle]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Maybe it's my eye sight fading. It's difficult for me to discern color of various parts of your seedling with colored LEDs which makes it hard for me to diagnose what could be going on with the seedlings and root zone.

Seedlings don't require red spectrum light. Red spectrum is more for processing mature plant functions like flowering and fruiting. In nature, light in temperate regions receive more red spectrum toward autumn. Red spectra, cooler temps, and lengthier nights signal fruiting and cessation of chlorophyll production along with the release of ethylene gases. In closed system, build up of ethylene gas will naturally ripen fruit and turn leaves yellow. A CFL would be better for seedlings.

 

[Granz]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Cool! I've ordered a tower fan but it wont get here until late next week... Should I run and buy a regular cheap fan in my local store or do you think they manage to end of next week?

This LED lamp I have have 3 different modes. One for flower, one for veg, and both together for... flower also(?)
This one I have on now is on veg mode.
I don't know why its glowing red, but if you look directly at the lights you can see that there are many more "blue" and "white" colored leds that are on. Also some red yes.. Will I be better of with a CFL then?

Moved up the lamp 1 inch more again and its now at 82 fahrenheit instead of earlier 84. Should I move it up even more?
I can try take some photos with a regular light tonight before I turn of the lights and post them tomorrow! Should be better colored!

Also sorry for my not 100% good english, but I hope you all understand

 

[Stealthboat]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

If you can make sure it won't go above 82F then you will be fine. I would try to get some type of fan in there very soon, any size even. Can't help you with the LED's, I have no experience with them. Is your growing room ventilated, as in do you have an intake and outtake for the room?

 

[Granz]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Don't have any fan intake our outtake but im going to set that up. For now i've installed a deskfan and it works pretty nice to give the plants some strenght. I leave the door open about 3-4 inches so the room gets fresh air!

I wonder when it's time to move them into bigger pots? And what neutrients shall I use (recommendations?) and when?

Still around 45-50% RH and temp gone down to about 79 fahrenheit. The leaves seems dry though if I look close enought... Like its covered by a small amount of dust. And edges seem to curl slightly inwards on the edges, atleast on 2 plants.






This one sprouted 26th october (pictures taken 5th november)

Sprouted 28th october.

Looking stable for for about 9 days growing?

Fun fact is that all seeds i germinized with papar and water did sporut, but the last one I planted directly in the soils is yet to pop...

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Hi Granz. Looking good.

Sounds like you've got the temp / RH under control. You WILL need the fan out-take set up for full air exchange.

Re-potting: don't worry about that yet. My 3 girls are exactly the same age as yours and in little seedling pots. They won't need re-potting for a few weeks yet. Let them get a good root system established before moving them on.

Nutrients: DO NOT FEED THEM ANYTHING FOR THE FIRST 3 WEEKS AT LEAST! Common error. I made it and lost 6 seedlings. The cotyledons (seed leaves) have all that they need. When and if you do feed - and I would say be guided by the plant's needs, not a feeding schedule, different plants and strains react differently - remember:
- Water the soil first. Nutrients straight onto roots will burn them
- Only ever start with one-quarter strength at most
- Once a week (or every other watering) will be plenty

I find a weekly organic Kelp spray very efficacious. Its micro nutrients are absorbed by the underside of the leaves and help the plant take the macro nurients (Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium) from the soil.

There are plenty of good 3-part organic nutes developed specifically for cannabis plants out there (Grow / Bloom / Top) and will do the job. Look at the site sponsors here to start.

It's difficult to see the curling from your photos. Does the soil you've got them in have added nutrients? If so, we'll have to watch that.

Keep 'em green and keep us updated.

 

[Doozy]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

You're going to need to invest in some intake/extract fans soon. When those plants get bigger they'll need Co2 and to get it you need to exchange the air in there all the time.

 

[Granz]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Thanks for the great feedback Mr Teddy!
I've been looking for different kinds of methods, and right now I think this is the best:
Carbon filter that I will place high, inline fan pulling air from filter(grow room) and ducting the outflow out through a hole I have near the ceiling of my grow room. Been looking at about 175 CFM. Too much? 3x3 ft room size (high ceiling)

Don't have any intake hole to this room but I have about 1/2 inch between under my door and the floor.
I could try to make a wide intake thingy on the inside of my door using tape, a fan and other materials.

Have been looking on amazon for this stuff since I don't have it close where I live. Don't know if I can link it here? Don't want to do anything against the rules of sponsors and whatnot. But it's a combo of inline fan and a carbon filter @ 175 CFM, aluminium ducting, and clippers for Around $130.

All right, I'll wait with re-potting! But when it's done, how big will be enough for my 3x3 ft room? Been thinking about 3 gallons, but might be too little..?

Regarding nutrients, i'll wait with that too! Nice little guide you made for me to follow as well

Same with nutrients in my country though, been looking A LOT but hard to find... Came across this if it say anything..
BioThrive Grow (3-1-6) and BioThrive Bloom (2-3-4). And a bottle called Clonex Mist, which should contain only natural things like amino acids and minerals. But it has kelp like you mentioned, and it is made for clones/young roots.
Havn't bought anything yet, want to make sure I purchase the right stuff!


And back to the plants, more of them seem to be curling up on the edges of the leaves. Close to where the stem is. Its just a tiny bit but ill post pictures soon. Might be the PH level, need to get something to mesure that too

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Re: Seeking help for my first grow

Hey, Granz, no problem. Happy you found it useful. I'm pretty new to all this to but have had great help from the 420 community, so if I can spread the love (and knowledge) I'm happy to do so.

Sounds like you're in a similar position to me. I live in Greece, in the middle of green no-where with absolutely no access to fancy shops and cannabis-growing ready-made products. I get what I can (and what I'm allowed to import) from the internet and everything else I have to make for myself. (Have a look at my indoor grow for girls the same age as yours).

So let me try and answer your questions. Someone with more experience will be along sooner or later too, I'm sure.

Fan - well, you need to change the air in the room every minute or so. Here's the formula to work out the fan size you'll need:

Measure the length, width and height of your grow tent — this will give you the cubic area of the tent
then multiply this figure by 60 (the number of minutes in an hour) which is how many times you want the area exchanged in a hour
Here's an example:
If your grow room is 1.2 M x 1.2 M x 2M
so 1.2 x 1.2 x2= 2.8 cubic meters in total
2.8 X 60 =172.8 cubic meters an hour needed

My own fan vents 225 cubic metres per hour, which is plenty for my 120x120x200cm tent.

Like mine, your space is relatively small and you might get away, as I do, with passive air intake i.e. no intake fan needed. But remember you should black out that half inch gap - at night they'll need complete dark.

Pot size - well, the bigger the pot the bigger the root system. The bigger the root system, the bigger the plant. But be mindful of the limits of your space. And you have, what, 5 plants going? So you're not going to want them to get huge. I'm going to be using 12.5litre airpots eventually (about 3.5 US gallons), so I'm guessing you'll be good with your 3 gallon pots.

Nutes - you should be fine with those 2 biothrive products. But I wouldn't use a spray made for clones and rooting. If you can find some organic liquid kelp then that would be a useful 'nice to have'. Don't sweat it though. This is supposed to be fun.

Curling - do you know if your soil has added nutrients in it? And what are you watering them with? Tap water can be a problem in many areas - too hard. If possible use spring water or rainwater. I'm the wrong person to ask about pH. It is important of course, but I mix my own soil and I'm of the (small) school that doesn't measure pH - it's just another thing to worry about and as long as your soil is good and balanced it shouldn't be a problem. But that's just me.

OK - see if you can get some better pics of that curling for everyone to see. And shout with any more questions. I'm sure somebody else will be along with a more experienced pov.

Keep it up!