Lil Neutrino's Bagseed CFL Poor Man's Grow 2009 - First Attempt

[Lil Neutrino]

I guess none of the more experienced growers are reading this...I'll post the pic in the "Problems" forum, might get a response there as there are a TON of journals being posted.

I upped my total wattage from 104W (4 X 26W) to 240W though, they should like that :) Still need to tidy up the wiring and stabilize the lights so they don't sway in the breeze from the fan.

[fuuji0019]

Kinda looks ph but hard to tell. Are they looking any better?

[Lil Neutrino]

As of this morning...no better, no worse (which I consider a good thing lol). Leaf edges are maybe curled up a bit more but I was running around 85F last night after doubling my wattage so that may be heat related, gotta work on that today.

It looks really nasty with the full res picture (2816 X 2012), it looks like something tore/melted/ate the top layer of the leaf kind of like when you peel the top layer of skin off your hand.

I cropped and resized it to show the damage up close and personal:


And link to the full size cropped pic:
leaf damage - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

[fuuji0019]

Hi Lil Neutrino

Kinda looks like a ph lockout, probably from you transplanting. If you've only spotted it on one leaf/area and the new growth is fine, im sure it'll be ok.

Just keep a track of the PH, and continue to just use water for a week

[Lil Neutrino]

Sounds like a plan...here's some pics I just took of the other problem I mentioned (possible boron deficiency? Or just a burn mark?). These are all on Freja, Ms. Robinson has some similar spots but not nearly as bad...although I'm sure if I go inspect her closely I'll change my mind lol.






Are the stems supposed to be half green/half purple (perfectly in half, top is purplish, bottom green) at this age? Probably just a newbie worrying too much but the more you know the more you grow!



And an updated pic of the damage I originally noticed:


EDIT: Posted more pics in the problem forum...Light green spots?

[luxx]

nice plants, love a bushy mj plant.

is that just one sheet of plywood ?

gl, im watching this one

[Lil Neutrino]

Thanks. Two sheets of 1/2" OSB (~$7-8/sheet), I screwed up on the door and forgot to trim an inch or so off to clear the floor so right now I have to kind of man-handle it open lol.

1.5 quarts of primer
1 tube of caulk
small box of 1 5/8" screws
4 2X2's (used the scraps to make some 6" legs that are underneath providing most of the support.
Some spring hinges on the inside and a couple latches to hold it closed.
1 roll of appropriately thick RUBBER weatherstrip (I've used foam before on other things and it eventually stays compacted and doesn't seal as well)

Still working on getting the door fully sealed though, I would have been better off having two opposing doors on the front but space constrictions dictated a single panel. The sides seal tight but the top and bottom have about a 1/16" gap, even screwed a few pieces of 2X2 across the length of the door as the OSB was slightly bowed outward but didn't completely fix it. I still have time though, not planning on flowering for a few more weeks...provided whatever is ailing them now does not devastate them.

[Lil Neutrino]

Zip-tied some of the wires in to place, still not done but it's getting the job done. Hard to tell what runs where but the wires from the PSU are all along the back wall. The wires to the lights run straight up to some eye hooks at the top with zip-ties keeping enough pressure on them so they don't slip (easy to adjust, just slide the zip-tie down to lighten the pressure, adjust wire length, slide tie back in to position), and then they go towards the back of the box where they are bundled together and then out the bottom through an intake port to the power strips/timer. Again, I'm not too concerned about them falling as the weight on the cable is far less than their tensile strength...only "real" concern is exceeding the minimum bend radius of the wire but since I'm not constantly making changes I think the chance of damaging the copper conductor is minimal at best.

No bud porn yet so I present to you cabinet porn! I have Freja on the far right, Ms. Robinson in the middle, and Lilly on the left. Lights are raised up higher for Freja and her on a box because I don't have a good mounting setup for the lights yet. They sway a bit in the breeze from the fan but not quite enough for them to collide, but I prefer to err a bit on the side of safety as I don't much care for cleaning up glass. In all truthfulness I think the lights moving around a bit may help more than anything as it will slightly vary the light impact around the plants, kind of like those light wheels or whatever they are that some people use. I think that the plugs for the light receptacles where they mate with the swivel tees that connect to the main "splitter" below the porcelain sockets are tight enough they won't fall out. I used electrical tape to secure them on Ms. Robinson's lights but am letting it ride on Freja's, I really don't see them slipping out. Maybe if I had 2-4 more lights I would be more concerned...as of now there are 2 26W on Lilly and 4 26W each on Freja and Ms. Robinson for a total of 260W (NOT 1000W incandescent equivalent even though the package says each is equal to a 100W incandescent...don't get these confused people! It's like comparing apples to oranges...you can't do it, just like you wouldn't say a 400W MH is equivalent to a 10,000W incandescent *pure guess on the wattage just to make my point*).



And decided to begin LST with Freja even though I had/have some concerns about a few of the leafs. I decided to train her so that the most damaged leaf is on the bottom where even if it does wind up falling off it would not be receiving much light anyway. Her stem was starting to get pretty stiff and woody so I figured if I didn't do it soon I could forget about it (whole point is to keep a shorter plant right?). Not that I'm too worried about height, I have a good 3' of grow room once you factor in the lights and pots...but I wanted to give it a shot and see.

I think I may try pinching (supercropping or whatever it's called here...every other plant I've ever grown it was simply called "pinching") with Ms. Robinson, not sure though. I may just let her grow naturally especially given that I think she's showing strong indica tendencies. Maybe I'll try it with Lilly, she's still lagging far behind the others but is beginning to show some better growth now that she's under her own pair of lights.

[DownOver]

You and I grow in a very similar way. I move my plants from indoors to outdoors when they are about ready to flower. As you have seen at the moment I had to bring them back inside. If you want to have a chat about your nutrient problem, I can help you do away with the chemicals altogether and go Organic. The plants take up there own nutrients as they require them and I find I dont get any of the yellowing of the leaves as the plant matures. Take care. It is an awesome grow and keep it up. There is nothing more satisfying than a smoke of your own girls!!

[luxx]

in what week did you start lsting?

[Lil Neutrino]

Originally Posted by DGMGH

You and I grow in a very similar way. I move my plants from indoors to outdoors when they are about ready to flower. As you have seen at the moment I had to bring them back inside.

I have recently decided to keep them indoors at all times now just to reduce the chance of picking up any pests but who knows, that may change again lol. Our weather here is very schizophrenic...it can be 26C one day and 15C the next, the lows right now at night still aren't even to 15C. Since I'm home a lot right now I was treating them to some natural light for maybe 30 minutes a day (didn't want to burn them due to A) high altitude and B) not being used to them natural lumens).

If you want to have a chat about your nutrient problem, I can help you do away with the chemicals altogether and go Organic. The plants take up there own nutrients as they require them and I find I dont get any of the yellowing of the leaves as the plant matures.

Actually I'm not using any chemicals...just FFOF's organic soil and distilled water. The only nutes I have in the closet is some Mexican bat guano (10-3-1) that I have not used yet. Have been looking in to the Fox Farms nutes that a lot of people seem to like a lot and do well with.

As for the nutrient problem I checked them just a short while ago and it has not become any worse than what I posted yesterday in my thread in the "Problems & Pests" forum. I think it was quite possibly just a simple matter of accidentally getting some water on the leaves causing some burn but I'm still keeping a close eye on 'em. Although any tips you wanna send my way would be appreciated! I'm not really experienced with feeding nutrients aside from a drop of Super Thrive here and there last year while I was growing some edible herbs and peppers. Little bit of fish emulsion but I have heard that it can be a bit smelly if used indoors lol.

Take care. It is an awesome grow and keep it up. There is nothing more satisfying than a smoke of your own girls!!

Thanks! I am looking forward to reaping my rewards although it's going to be a little while.

Originally Posted by luxx

in what week did you start lsting?

They germinated on the 19th of May and I just tied down the one plant late last night...so right at the beginning of week three. Her (think positive!) stem is beginning to take on a slightly woody appearance so I figured I better begin it soon. I think I did it "wrong" after looking closer at some other peoples', it looks like they also tie the base of the stem so that it doesn't simply just pull over and creates a sharper bend. Easy to fix though, might not even be necessary.

[DroJo]

Looking good.
Very detailed Journal
Good luck!!!

[Lil Neutrino]

Verbal update...LST'd Ms. Robinson today and pinched (topped, whatever) Lilly yesterday. Checked Lilly's run-off water pH and still holding steady at ~7, hope to have something more accurate very soon. Did some minor trimming with the LST'd plants to get rid of some of the leaves underneath that would not get any light or would have to do a 180 to grow up. Also trimmed one large fan leaf that was blocking light to many of the newer growth sites on the new "tops"...I tried to see if I could bend it out of the way instead but didn't look like any other position would work without blocking out other larger fan leafs so I chopped it.

Also trimmed the end of the one leaf that I had concerns about above, 24 hours later and the rest of the leaf looks fine.

Lilly is starting to yellow a bit towards the bottom and some other minor discoloration but until I get that pH meter I'm not jumping to any conclusions. She got a good soaking earlier today just before "lights out" but while she was soaking I forgot to put her back in the cab until 45 minutes after the lights turned off. Oh well...I think she'll be ok, still in veg on that 20/4 cycle. She's growing pretty slowly so I'm debating putting her in the original cabinet and flowering her just for poos and giggles but I'll wait until next Tuesday/Wednesday when they're all 28 days old. The other two are looking pretty good all things considered, I'd like to be patient and wait at least two more weeks before flowering them at five weeks old.

[fuuji0019]

Sounds like its gooing good.
Personaly i would do 18/6 - an easyier transition when going to 12/12. Yeah i agree with leaving till 5 weeks approx about 14-20"

Dont worry to much about a few leaves going yellow at the bottem - perfectly normal

[Lil Neutrino]

Yeah, most other plants I've grown the old growth yellows and dies as the plant gets bigger...sometimes from lack of sun and sometimes just from old age. She is looking better today and I'm now sure the yellowing is due to old leaves. She had a growth spurt overnight, must have liked her water. I'm about to take some pics, I'll post them in a short bit...

The few leaves I pruned yesterday I decided to quick dry them on the stove as a couple came from the mid/top part of the plant but were on the underside getting no light...surprisingly I think I got a mild buzz from them. Nothing to write home about but I wasn't sober either and I slept pretty good