Catman's Closet - Bag Seed - LED Grow — First Grow - 2014

[Catman12]

Hey Thanks for stopping by!


Here's ZenCat:

And, Here's the stats so far:


What strain is it? Some old bag seed that was laying around my friend’s house (!)

Plant is in Veg stage but small and slow growing

Indoor or outdoor? Indoor in a spare room closet. Stealth from maintenance man, who never really comes around. Even if I need him.

Soil: Moved up to ProMix Ultimate potting soil since my trip to the Big City

Fertalizer: Fox Farm Grow Big liquid nutrients since my trip to the Big City

Light: Advanced LED DS100 - 100w (50) 3w High Output LEDs (single chip) size 2.5ft x 3ft coverage 2ft x 2.5ft

Have central air (and heat). Can be a benefit in the summer – probably will need a humidifier in winter?

One Dollar thermometer from WalMartz

No PH monitor for soil or water yet

No timer yet

Any Pests? Just me at the moment LOL

How often are you watering? I am trying to learn to water only when the pot feels light.

Also, I want to get an oscillating fan to keep the plant/future plants strong

I started lurking on 420 some time ago while doing research for my first grow. I’m growing for potential medical benefits. I say potential, because I haven’t used pot for at least 15 years! Now, I used to be a pretty “habitual” (heavy) user.

But then it started to get too expensive and I started to get paranoid off of it after all that time. Never ever had that problem until the 1990's. I think back then people didn’t know about how CBD regulates the THC in that regard and just went crazy on increasing the THC levels.

I wanted to test out what weed would do for me before this first grow, but I knew A) I probably couldn’t find what I want without some hassle/risk/expense and B) I’m gonna be drug tested going back to work pretty soon. Now, where I work only tests upon employment – never heard of anyone ever getting tested after hire.

I wanted to fail on bag seed (which I’m doing quite well at IMHO ) before I started to buy seeds. First paycheck I’m looking forward to buying a couple good types w/high CBD and/or a good THC to CBD ratio. I mainly want to make edibles, but, I know I gotta try smoking some of my own weed if I ever get to a completed grow! Seeing all these awesome buds on here is killing me!

That said – I’m not too sure I’m good at this journal type deal. And, my one little sprout is, indeed, little. He’s been through the mill in my hands, and it may not have been the best seed you could find either.

I had been using the blog area thinking I can keep track of my strategies (mistakes) while I learn, but it has become too unwieldy to use so I’m gonna merge the content on to here. Anyone who sees this and wants to give out pointers I’m grateful for them. I’ve been doing a lot of homework reading Journals on here – it’s awesome! I have forgotten everything I’ve read – but I keep at it!

 

[Catman12]

Edited Blog History of this Miserable Plant’s Grow:

7/16/14 - First Grow: Medical Cannabis Grow

I do NOT have high expectations on Medical Cannabis working for me. Just medium expectations.

Started this blog to document my first grow – big mistakes, what did and didn’t work, glorious triumphs – so that I can learn to develop quality medicine for myself.

I read everything I could and watched all the YouTube videos I could about Medical Cannabis and growing Cannabis. 420 Magazine was (is) the very best resource EVER and from you all I gained what I thought was enough knowledge to make a start. There’s so much information and inspiration on this place like no other site I’ve ever been to – that’s coming from a tech nerd (me) who is always looking into everything. Bless the wonderful Internets and 420 for the endless wealth of cannabis info anyone could ever want. I had no idea. Users Buckshot's Perpetual LED journal, Boss's Poor Man’s Grow, and SweetLeef's journals were but three great examples of information and inspiration for me.

My old pal in the Big City started me off with seeds he had laying around his house for a while. How long they had been laying around his house he did not know.

I put these seeds in a glass of water to jump-start germination. The next day 4 of the seeds plumped up a little and had sunk to the bottom of the glass and I plant those in plastic disposable cups (punched holes in the bottom) filled loosely with a soil mix. For the soil mix I went with what was available in my town (I live in BFE, or the arm pit of the universe – how I got here from the Big City is a long story). I purchased top-soil with peat moss, and organic potting soil with fertilizer. I didn’t want potting soil that contained fertilizer, but there is no such thing here in this town! I guess we’re too small for anything fancier than an under stocked Lowe's and a WallMartz.

I filled each cup as follows: Mix of potting soil and top soil in the bottom 2/3rds of the cup. Mixed it to try and reduce the nutrients in the potting soil. Filled the rest of the cups up with just the top soil so the seed won’t float away or sink too deep. One seed per cup covered loosely and watered.

Now, during this time I made my

FIRST BIG MISTAKE:

I made the decision to put some money into this first experimental grow by getting LED lighting set up in the closet since I’m committed to growing no matter how many mistakes I make or plants I kill. Now, choosing LED lighting is NOT the mistake. The mistake I made was: TRYING TO SAVE MONEY by purchasing a Diamond Series at a nice low price from some damn scammer who claims to be based in the US and riffs off of Advanced LED’s claims. When I see on the Fed Ex tracking site that the light shipped from China I understand what I've done. I'm an idiot who ordered a Chinese knock-off. I refused shipment and have to wait to get my money back before I buy from Advanced Lighting.

In the mean time I placed the cups on top the dryer as a heat source if needed [it was needed] and underneath my SAD [seasonal affective disorder] lamp without the UV diffuserin place: The lamp has 2 x 55 watt 4000 kelvin - 10,000 LUX CFL

One seed sprouted. One. Here we go. The sprout looked good and I moved it and the light to the spare room closet. Again, for warmth, I put a heating pad under the drip pan i have the sprout on.

I finally ordered 110w Diamond series from Advanced once I got my refund, and have been taking sprout outside in the mid-afternoon sun for a couple hours to get some real light, heat and air in the mean time.

Investing the money in this light for one sprout from unknown origins seem ridiculous, but I'm going to go through this first grow all the way (as long as this plant lasts!) before I invest in buying seeds. I wonder what my next mistake will be...

7/20/14

Had to go out of town for the weekend. Left my plant in the care of my roommate H. Hope all goes well. The new sprout still looked hearty when I left, with a thick stem - not too leggy and the first two true leaves looked robust. I don't have a delivery date for the new light yet . When I got back from out of town I found that the second pair of leaves had emerged, but the first leaves were drooping. Put the plant out in the sun while I put Mylar on the walls around the grow area.

7/22/14

I took this little guy out into the sun as soon as I got home from Jury duty, but it's a boiling 87 degrees here, so I don't want to leave him (Her? Fingers crossed) out too long. The leaves were a bit droopy and it looks like the emerging 2nd pair of leaves are stuck in the same spot. Slow growing. I hope the droop is just the lack of decent lighting, because my Diamond series LED has shipped and should be here tomorrow. If the lack of good light is not the reason for the drooping leaves and slow growth I'll have to take a look at driving to the Big City for better choices in soil I think

Oddly, I'm sort-of attached to this little guy I wonder if anyone else falls for their plants LOL - Seems like it from what I've read around here

7/23/14

My LED grow light is "out for delivery" and my sprout has caused drama this morning.

Leaves were still drooping and the soil in the cup didn't look so good. After examining this situation I realized that the meds I'm taking for my neuralgia may be preventing me from feeling the moisture content of the soil correctly. I decided I had probably under watered the sprout after all and went ahead and doused it.

Looked like the end for the little guy. The soil drained away from the sprout and it began swimming loose in the cup. I propped it back in the soil and went to ready a transplant for it. I used straight potting soil this time - no mixing - it's strait organic potting mix. The top-soil with peat moss I used to mix in with the potting soil was too dense. I am also using distilled water now, as our city's tap water is hard water.

Looked like he had a good root system started. We'll see if he survives the stress of the transplant.
Ironically, almost immediately after this transplant, The LED light arrived

So far I have to give props to Advanced LED. The packaging was top-notch and secure. The light seems well made (as if I'd know really) and they included a daisy chain connecter and hanger. They also included a two-sided sheet with recommendations on use and some grow tips.

Man that light is intense. Fans make sound but not too much at all. Temp stayed pretty even between 75 and 80, but it was a cool day today. I have central air and I'm going to need to experiment with this set-up on a hot day temp wise.

07-24-2014

Holding Pattern:

Plant is not dying from the stress of transplant and new light.

Plant is not recovering from the wilt nor is it growing

Waiting - Waiting - Waiting


07-26-2014

Well, looks like the sprout is in hospice. Not growing – Not dying. It’s sort of a light pea green color.

08-02-2014

Well - I couldn't throw out that sprout because it wouldn't die. It still wouldn't grow either. I left it on the table by the window and yesterday I saw it was leaning towards the sun. (???) So I figured he must really be alive and stuck him back under the LED. He got about6 hours in before lights out

08-03-14

I went to the Big City with my roommate while he went cell-phone shopping which was perfect timing for me. We went to one of the many garden centers and sure enough they had way, way better options - even foxfarm stuff.

This is one big thing I learned: this Small Town doesn't have any appropriate soil options, unless I make my own soil. That's not gonna happen. A lot of folks here live on farms or in big old houses, not me - I live in a condo, which is nice, but there is no room for extra stuff, particularly multiple plant needs.

I ended up with a bag of Promix Ultimate soil and a small bottle of foxfarm liquid nutes for my next grow. The liquid nutes made me the happiest. I could not find any liquid form of nutrients here. Small bottle fits on a kitchen shelf.

When I got back with the good the sprout that refused to die got his second transplant into a bigger pot with new new soil. I Watered with just a bit of the fertilizer and set him up a little higher, closer to the LED.

08-05-14

I learned that I am an over waterer. At first I figured that this was due to my meds for the neuralgia. Can't feel wet or dry too well. But, looking back over my plant career, I have never had any luck with plants and I hover anxiously and water hoping they won't die (which kills them LOL!) So I’ve learned to go with how heavy the pot feels for now.

Also, soil drainage is more important that I thought.
I have been following a couple journals of some pretty relaxed and optimistic dudes here and I have also learned I am approaching this whole endeavor from a pessimistic angle. I'd like to change that too. We'll see.

Also, I think I’m leaning towards an auto-flowering grow. I have limited space and hope to get "up to" running about 3 plants at a time, so I don't feel I have a lot of room to risk male plants and screwing up a flowering process at this time.

This sprout may be it for a while. My search for bag seed from the Big City has not panned out. Looks like I'm going to have to wait for a "first paycheck" scenario and do more practicing on seeds I actually buy. This little trooper hasn't recovered his green color yet, still sort-of a pea-green, but his leaves aren't drooping any more. We'll see how they look after today. I don't have any hopes that this will turn out to be a female - that's why I call this little sprout a him. But he's helped me learn, and I'll keep at helping him grow as long as I can.

End of Blog History - On to the Present Journal.

 

[Catman12]

Hey 420 land!

I've been spending most of my time reading journals and spending some time in the forums. Love watching the evolving journals. There are so many different ways to grow and so much awesome success!

This little bud here has been growing a lot better, and doesn't look pea green anymore. But man he looks miniature to me. Like a Bonsai plant (?) from what I can tell looking at the tons of pictures available here this guy is small.

Bad camera - he's not that light of green. Really a good regular shade. I'm gonna work on getting the grow area straightened out better. Once I'm back to work and getting paychecks again, and motivated by additional seeds, I'm going to get the gear I'm missing (ph meter, timer, fan).

If I feel successful enough with all of this I'm going to get another LED for the other side of the closet. My roommate agreed to taking the doors of the closet for air circulation if need be - but we'd need a lock for the door. Mainly for my peace of mind I think.

 

[Catman12]

ONE MORE THING

The Diamond 100w series LED might look small. And it IS small. But it is EXTRAORDINARILY bright!! My cat is very interested in my new project, much like a kid. If any of you have an LED set up think of your pets! My eyes get wonky just tending to the plant for a couple of minutes - Another reason to keep the doors shut!

 

[Catman12]

Well things are looking better today. Or am I not supposed to say that?

3 shots

Moved him down a bit. His top now at about 17" from the light. It's closer than the recommendations, but he didn't seem to recover until I moved him way up from the 24" I had him at before. Probably due to my over watering - got the soil dried out nicely and he perked up. Temp in there is at 80. Hi end, but it's the main heat of the day right about now - about to flip on the AC and it will get down to 75 in there - I have a bowl over the AC vent in that room so while it stays less humid, it doesn't get too cold.

Now if I can just wait until the right time to water him. Or, maybe it's a her?

 

[Obi Wan]

Subbed. Nice detailed start so far. Looks like it may have been a little stunted from the early over-watering but appears to be turning right around. Kudos for sorting our the watering frequency


/Obi

 

[BuckSwope]

Good luck with the grow. I'm a first timer myself using an LED from TopLED so I'll try to help you with my limited knowledge. One though...never stop learning. Keep reading as much as possible.

 

[Catman12]

Subbed. Nice detailed start so far. Looks like it may have been a little stunted from the early over-watering but appears to be turning right around. Kudos for sorting our the watering frequency


/Obi

Thanks Obi!

I may have a brown-ish thumb, but I truly believe your quote and so am motivated to develop my tolerance to cannabis - thus filling my body to normal levels - and continue maintenance so will continue to grow until I get the hang of it! (reading doesn't always translate into ability directly LOL)

I saw you named your plants, and I have seen others have done so as well. I am convinced my little one is male so maybe I will name him Hazel. There have been many men named Hazel I assure you, and if it is indeed female then the name will continue to be suitable

Will look at your journals more thoroughly - I did a quick look-see and you seem incredibly organized!!

 

[Catman12]

Thanks for stopping by BuckSwope and thanks for you offer to help! I know I'll always need help, but I'll also give as much as I can too! It's great reading all the journals and forums posts on here and you're right, that is one of the best pieces of advice!

Happy growing, stop back again, and maybe post a link to your grow journal if you've started one!

 

[Mike Wright]

Coming along nicely

 

[Catman12]

Thanks Pantagruel! We'll see what happens next!

 

[BarnacleBill]

Subbed. This looks like fun.

 

[Catman12]

Subbed. This looks like fun.

Welcome BarnacleBill!

I'm trying to have fun, hope this ride is fun for you too...

 

[Buckshot]

Well, it looks good so far...

 

[Catman12]

Well, it looks good so far...

Thanks Buckshot!

 

[Pittbull72]

Your off to a great start already! Looked over watered at first but looks all sorted out now. The most important thing now is obtaining a way to measure your Ph. Especially when you start adding nutes, your Ph will really start to fluctuate. Making sure you maintain proper levels will ensure that your plant is able to use all of the nutes you give her. Even a cheap Ph test kit for aquariums will give you an idea of where your Ph sits. Hope to see you give autoflowers a try in the future

 

[Catman12]

A Good Morning to You All in 420 Land!


I woke up to a, what I consider to be, a decent surprise from Hazel: He finally looks like a regular Marijuana plant. I put him by the window to get better pics out of this old camera

He's still at 17" under the LED. I noticed a slight wilt by lights out last night, and he still looked like a Bonsai plant to me.

But, this morning I was greeted with significant growth in his leaves, not just new leaves forming.

The pot felt lighter, but the soil still seems damp to the touch. WHY do I feel the urge to water him.......

Must not water. Must not water. Must not water.

Walk away Catman



I have to say that I knew for sure Hazel would never make it this far. Especially during hospice. If he hadn't turned towards the light in my window I would never have given him a new home in a bigger pot with new soil. He's a fighter!

 

[Catman12]

Your off to a great start already! Looked over watered at first but looks all sorted out now. The most important thing now is obtaining a way to measure your Ph. Especially when you start adding nutes, your Ph will really start to fluctuate. Making sure you maintain proper levels will ensure that your plant is able to use all of the nutes you give her. Even a cheap Ph test kit for aquariums will give you an idea of where your Ph sits. Hope to see you give autoflowers a try in the future

Oh Hey Pittbull72 Thanks for stopping by and Thanks a lot for your post, it's really helpful. I sort-of knew by reading that my next step should be a Ph meter of some sort, but your straight forward post really made all of it more clear for me.

Also thanks for the thumbs up on autoflowers! I get way too deep into seed "seed shopping" and have WAY too many bookmarked. Any and all recommendations are welcomed!!

 

[Catman12]

The pot felt lighter, but the soil still seems damp to the touch. WHY do I feel the urge to water him.......

Must not water. Must not water. Must not water.

Walk away Catman

I think I need to mention here that I have read in many places that, since the LED runs way cooler, the need to water is less frequent than with other types of lighting. I keep forgetting that when I'm reading through other growers info.

 

[Catman12]

Update - Last night before lights out I checked in on Hazel and he was very droopy. I stuck my finger as far down into his soil as I could and it was definitely dry. Props to me for letting him dry out instead of over watering.



I watered from a cup until run off with a mix containing 3/4 gallon of distilled water and 1/2 teaspoon FF nutes.

This morning he was perked up great. He is gaining strength, but not gaining height too much for the time that's past since sprouting I don't think (?)

I lowered him so that he is now 20 in from the LED light. I'm thinking he'll have to stretch now more towards the light. Maybe I'll get a small fan to run next to him to promote strength. Doesn't need a fan to cool off that's for sure! The LED runs nice and cool - maintains 75 to 80 in Hazel's closet.

I'm pretty sure he's an indica in some form. Darker green with wider leaves. He may be just a short bushy type. Right now Hazel is working on pushing out his 4th node. My plan is to top him after that.

I'm not sure when I'm going to start 12/12. I want a nice thick growth since he was so sickly for so long. Plus, I just don't want to know sex just yet. Luck and trauma has me thinking Hazel is a He. If on 12/12 he's a she then I have a lot more thought I need to put into next steps.

If Hazel really is a he then I'll keep him in veg til he's got plenty of leaves and harvest them for edibles. That would be a very interesting project (?!)

Today, Monday, the HR lady from work is supposed to call to set up a time to complete paperwork, background check, and drug testing. They want me back ASAP, but HR lady has been on vacation. I don't know about going back, it will be money - we all need that - but my pharmaceuticals are still messing with me some, and this work can be sort-of depressing. Oh well - waiting on Hazel to gift me.

First pay it's on to Autoflower seeds. If ANYONE has a recommendation on seed companies that are trustworthy delivering to the US - PLEASE provide feedback!!



So far I'm looking into Herbies and seedsman.