1st Indoor Grow - 400w Lumatek - Soil - September 11th Memorial Bud

[BeemerBill]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

urmom looks like you are getting into it full speed ahead. Your girls are looking good. I will be watching

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Ok guys...we have a problem...well I guess I have a problem and I really need some help!!!
This should be week 2 and I should have some growth from my girls...
I do not have much and it looks like they are leaning towards dying...
Here are some terrible pictures...it was the best I could do. I will try to get some better ones with my good camera later today.

So I had the light at 12" and dimmed to 250w. I raised it up to 18" and kept it at 250. I only watered them twice since they popped. Last week and again, the other day. I have the small round leaves browning and dying in 2 cases. I am certain the rest of the round leaves will be dead with in 2 days as they are all browning right now. The roots are reaching through the bottoms of the pots so I may have some early nute burn as they enter the "hot" soil...it is a small possibility I guess. In case this is the issue, I placed a plastic shopping bag down and put the 6" pots on top of that...

I asked my brother if I should put them outside during the day to get some sun but he says it will probably introduce other stresses and will limit my diagnostic tools, I agree with that too. I also cut the humidifier off for 12 hrs a day in case the humidity change was too drastic. I had been around 45% RH and overnight went up to 58%. These little fellas and gals have all but stopped growing and I am at a loss...

Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

If you look at week 1 pics and week 2 pics, there is almost zero growth...the outdoor plants had a slow start as well but I don't remember them being this slow. Does anyone see anything that should alarm me?

 

[fish cake]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

your soil looks very wet.
how much perlite do you have in there?
also why do you have 3 in a pot? IMO that is going to be a problem later if they do live.
but my guess is to much water.
my last grow with a critical sensi star was a very slow start but after 3 weeks she took off and never looked back
End prattle
Oh the little starter leaves will die off as they are the early feeders for when she or they sprout that is normal

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

hi mate, first thing that comes to mind is over watering, i know you only watered twice but the pot your plants are in looks big so it will hold more water than you think and this will keep the soil moist and rot the roots, try and let it dry out so the top 2 inches are pretty much dry before you water, so instead of watering the soil you could mist the plants with a spray bottle but make sure you dont do this when the lights are on as it will burn the plants and kill them.

also moving them outside will cause problems, they wont be used to the sun and it will burn them, plus you will end up bringing bugs back into the house when you take them back inside.

try and make sure the roots are not in the hot soil, they dont need any nutes at this stage and could easily go 2 weeks without anything other than water, so let the soil dry out before you water again, at this stage the plants wont be using much water, as they have not grown much then this is either a sign their over or under watered, but i dont think their under watered, if it was a nute issue they would not of made it this far, if the soil was to hot they plants would of died a few days ago, so dont give them anything other that tap water, make sure the tap water has stood in the open in a jug for at least 24 hours so it removes and chlorine, this can cause problems so just leave some water in a jug over night and after 24 hours the chlorine will be out the water and it will be safe to use.

check your temps at plant level and make sure its not to hot, the pot will trap the heat so make sure this is not happening, also if you have a fan running make sure its not blowing on the plants at this stage, a fan will dry out the plants and kill them at this early age, but it would be a good idea to have a fan blowing over the top of the plants to remove any hot air that may be getting trapped, just make sure the fan is not blowing directly onto the plants and you will be ok.

one way of checking if the soil is dry is to fill the same size pot with the same grow medium, then you have a pot to comapre the weight, the pot with no plants in will be dry growing medium so you can check how heavy the pot is with the plants in and if its heavier then chances are they wont need watering, when the weight is about the same then give them a good watering, but at this stage they will need very little in the way of water so try not to over do it, i over watered mine when i started growing again and it stunted growth badly, you can poke your fingers into the soil a couple of inches then pull them out, if the compost/soil is stuck to you fingers then they dont need watering, but if you pull them out and their dry and dusty then water them.

also you have got 3 plants in the same pot, its going to be very hard to seperate them even at this stage and you will damage the roots and their is not much you can do to get round this, i would not try splitting them up till they are back in good health but they will need splitting up soon else the roots will be tangled and you wont seperate them without damaging the roots,

i had 2 clones in the same pot and after just 10 days i could not seperate them, when i did the roots where badly damaged and i had to put them back under humidity domes to keep them alive while the roots recovered.

give me a shout if you have any problems, hope the plants get back in health, these plants prefer dry soil, it needs to dry out between watering, you will know when its dry as the soil will shrink and come away from the edges of the pot, so you will see a gap between the soil and the pot due to the soil shrinking as it dries,

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Fishy, thanks...I don't think they are overwatered but I will start at that point.

Dr Paul, thanks for the help...I have the same seeds outdoor and try we're slow to start as well. I will hold off on watering and I will check the tent and make some changes based on the advice from you, fish and others in FAQ...

As far as the 3 in a pot thing, that is an old outdoor guerilla growing technique I used to use. Put 3 in every pot and you can bend th around to use the light best. I also have found that I keep 1/3 seedlings. 1 or 2 are males and 1 or 2 are weak and get cut. I never had any intention of splitting them up. I was going to transplant into the big pots next week, veg for another week and turn to 12/12 the 7th of October, giving me a full 10 weeks to flower them...not looking for a big yield, I have time limitations this season...holidays and visitors to the grow area limits my season so I have o be finished the week before Xmas.

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

So I took half of the advice. I transplanted individuals into 8-10oz cups and gave them a light water...they were on the verge of dry and after transplanting I thought they might like a drink.

For everyone shaking thier heads saying " I thought it was on over watering problem dummy!". I think I am good. I had decent-good root development and may have damaged some transplanting but the strong survive and maybe I'll get a nice strong mother to pull some clones from in a few weeks...wish me luck, photos next Saturday or earlier if we need them.

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

they will benefit from been seperate as they wont be fighting for root space, it is best to water a small amount like you did after transplanting as this gets the roots bedded in and keeps the soil in contact with the roots, smaller pots dry out quick and bigger ones take a lot longer, i have had seeds not sprout when i tried growing them strait in bigger pots, the compost mix was to damp and the pot to big to dry out in time, but as the plants get bigger they take in this water so watering is then needed.

let us know how it goes, if it is under watering then the plants will look better in a matter of an hour or 2, if its over watering then their wont be any change till the soil dries out, but now you have watered them just see how it goes and take it from their, but id say you have made the right choice in splitting them upm doing it now means it was easier to do, just depends how they react to the shock while they are suffering with what ever it is, i think you will notice a difference in a day or 2,

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Thanks Dr Paul...I really hope they start growing. I wanted them up a few inches already, I has planned on growing from seedling straight to 12/12 but this is putting me off another week...

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

So after the transplant into SMALLER pots...backwards right?!?
I checked on the little ones this morning and all if them look fine. In fact most look better thus morning than they did yesterday! So too much water mixed with roots fighting each other in a pot that was too big all mixed together to wreck havoc on my garden. It looks like all problems have been fixed and this little issue set me back a full week in my timeline. I'll see how they look in a week and go from there.

What should my next move be? Leave them in the cups for a week, let them redevelop root balls and then transplant to their final home or should they go into a transitional pot (back to 6" or 1 gal) before the final 4 gal?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[fish cake]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

well I love good news!
as far as advice goes you dont want to hear it LOL.
when you transplanted you might have wanted to give them their last home so you wouldnt have to shock them again by transplanting another time. but they are going to be fine.
keep up the fine work that you are doin.
I would go for the big pot next

 

[Grand Daddy Purp]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Go to your final pot next transplant to keep transplant shock down. It will give your baby plenty of space to let her legs grow. Just keep the watering light the first week or so and slowly start to increase the water as she begins to drink it up quicker. It is good to have a dry medium as it will allow your roots to spread as they search for water. I just chopped my girl today and you can see my root structure as I took a photo. Keep up the good work!

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Well guys I appreciate the advice (even though I only listen to 1/2 of it... . After talking with my (partially silent) partner we decided that letting them veg right out for a few months will pay off in the end. I currently have 9 seedlings in 8oz solo cups. Transplanting to their final home next is not feasible really. I only have a 2 x 4 tent and I'm not sure that I can do that. I do have a new plan however and would love to hear some advice on how to pull it all off.

I had originally planned on just jumping straight from seedling to flower to get some meds right away. I am starting to lean towards a long veg cycle in order to increase my yield for next year. I was told that allowing these to go into a full veg until Thanksgiving will allow me to sex them naturally (they should show around 4-6 weeks right?) and cull my males. I would also be able to put 3 into flower right then and there and leave 3 in veg in a window/closet with lights on a separate timer.

That means 3 girls go into flower at the beginning of December and the remaining girls (0-6 of the remaining 9 seedlings) stay in veg for the winter. These girls get cloned a few times and as soon as my December flower cycle is complete, (or I have enough space for some 1 gal grow bags with clones, put into flower the 1st week of January...)I would have some more clones to take their place and go straight in to flower again, giving me an additional harvest in March and another small one in April.

01 December, 3 plants are put on 12/12 which will finish 01 February (+/- 2 weeks)
01 January, 3-6 clones are put into flower and finish 01 March (")
01 February, remaining 3-6 clones are flowered and finish 01 April (")

That brings us to April and the mothers I have been cutting clones from and allowing to veg since September. They are placed back in the tent, they get super-cropped, given a major hair cut and are placed on 18/6 (until they are ready for the outside [light toughening etc]) and then I have a few large, mature mothers that are ready to grow into outdoor monsters. We expect about a pound each from the outdoor girls...hopefully I have 6 or so to put out, I can always veg some of the clones out too and keep cloning the mothers to keep the size down and increase my outdoor bumper crop...

I am just a little impatient for my homegrown meds. My local medicine guy (3 hrs away) just proclaimed a seller's market and told me my medicine is now at $400 an ounce. Non-negotiable. It sucks to be in an area that has zero dispensaries and a limited private caretaker market. I am forced to grow my own (which I prefer anyway) and also forced (not at gun-point) to pay outrageous prices for my medicine. It makes me take an increasing amount of my narcotic medications instead of the natural medicine. The pharmaceuticals are $12 a month compared to $400. And if I am only using all natural meds, I use about 3/4 oz a month. I am looking forward to making some kief and edibles from my harvest to help too.

Unfortunately, the high price of meds means I save all of it for my water device and none for the oven due to price...

 

[fish cake]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

well thats one of the main reasons we grow, is to not have to pay the man for what ever he has or charges, and you know what and how your stash is
your schedual sound good tho. and yes if you let the plant mature they will show preflowers. so your good with that too.
so the way I see it sounds like a plan.

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Thanks for the validation Fishy...I think I need another light so I can gather my veg plants around it and just rotate them everyday for max light usage. I can then flower at will in the tent... basically as the space opens up, I can add a few new clones/mother plant to the tent...

I think I will stick to the plan now and hope for the best. Of course it all depends on how many girls I get out of the seedlings I have right now. I am planning on getting some real genetics for the spring as well. Any suggestions? Strains, seed banks, breeders etc? I know that 420 has sponsored partners/advertisers that they recommend...I'll poke around on the forums to see what I can see but some advice/suggestions from tried and true strains/breeders/seed banks would be appreciated...I was turned towards Buy feminized marijuana seeds and cannabis seeds from Amsterdam - high quality marijuana seeds (cannabis seeds) as a reliable purveyor...they have an old favorite, WW, that I was thinking about getting. 10 seeds (feminized) for $60 USD...sounds pretty cheap to me...any thoughts on this?

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Fishy, DR Paul and Tactical nukes...thanks for sticking by the last few days/week to help out. Things are looking much better in the grow now. I still am having a browning of the leaves on a few of them but most (over 1/2) look better everyday and I am optimistic for the future.

So that I don't get too full of pictures (at least seedlings!) I will only be taking pictures and posting them at the beginning of each grow week (Saturdays for me). So Saturday we will have new pictures and on October 1st I will be placing the 3 worst seedlings into flower by removing them from the tent every morning at 0800 (8:00 am) and putting them back in at 2000 (8:00 pm for you civilian folks). I will be putting them into a medium sized cardboard box in another dark closet for extra light integrity. My hope is that I get 1 of the 3 to be a female and can have some indoor medicine by Christmas to supplement the outdoor stuff that looks like it will be ready by Halloween...maybe an extra week or two after...

That would leave me with 6 more seedlings to veg until Thanksgiving and then decide who to flower and who to make into a mother for the summer...

Thanks for stopping by, please leave comments and thoughts/advice...any extra knowledge is appreciated...

 

[a4sheckler]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

lookin good man.. for me if you dnt get atleast 2 ounces per plant i know i went wrong somewhere lol

 

[Grand Daddy Purp]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Sounds like a plan.

 

[urmom]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

So after a quick stop by the hydro store, I have some new stuff for the tent. I got a bag of FF Ocean Forest and some 1 gal grow bags and 3, 3 gal smart pot grow bags for flowering. The 1 gal's are for transplanting the seedlings into next week sometime with a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of the FF OF and the soil that I "grew" with the Alaska 5-1-1 and the guano 0-15-0 for the last month. I figured that the older soil had plenty of stuff happening in it and should feed the plants for the next few months. I will do the transplanting and post some pictures tomorrow. The 3 gals will get 3 of the seedlings tomorrow and will begin 12/12 next week when the rest get transplanted. Hopefully this gives me 1-2 girls (of the 3 seedlings) to flower and finish before Christmas and leaves me with 6 seedlings to sex, pick a mother from and flower the remaining girls starting half of them the first week of November and the rest (minus our spring/summer mother) starting the first week of December. That way I should have a decent harvest every month starting in December. I expect 1-2 oz per plant from the first October couple, 2-3 oz from the November set and 4-5 from the December set. The mother has the potential to give me medicine for the rest of 2013! I will clone her and the December set the first 2 weeks of November and should get another 2 oz per clone when I put them into flower the first week of January. Thus setting me up, like I said for all of 2013.

Pictures tomorrow...

 

[Grand Daddy Purp]

Re: 1st Indoor Grow, 400w Lumatek, Soil, September 11th Memorial Bud

Nice siggy urmom.... Looks familiar... Good plans for the grow.