Different questions about growing in Soil

[ripterr]

Ive grown outside a few times...Could use some tips on a few things for indoors..
(Im growing 10 plants in a very small spare bedroom)
Please answer any or all questions you can.Mucch appreciation. Sorry if any of these questions are stupid,I just want to make sure I do everything right.

1.Instead of building Air Filters can I just put a few fans in the room to promote stem strengthening/air circulation with the windows open (so fresh air can get in)? ( I am not THAT worried about the smell)...(It will be about 60-75 degrees outside during the day)
And part two of this question....When the lights are off at night can I turn the air filters off/shut the windows?

2.I heard just breathing by plants daily for a few hours a day in intervals provides enough co2 ? Any input on this?hell ill sleep in the room with em...

3.I orderedd feminized white widow seeds from Nirvana, and I recently heard nirvana's WW seeds have a high frequency of Hermies compared to other strains...How early will I see the signs of Hermie?If the plant suffers no stress can it even become a Hermie?

4.Does boiling regular tap water,letting it sit until room temp,make good water for bud?What about collecting rain water in buckets,if it sits outside for a day or two will it become contaminated?

5.With organic fertilizer is it best to put it on top of the soil and then water the plant,or mix the fert with the water and then water the plant?If so what is the best method of mixing it?

6.If you dont force a plant to show its sex when do they usually show what they are?And how long do you have to chop down the males/hermies before they pollinate the females?(white widow feminized )

7. Is using a bunch of CFLs during Veg stage and then switching to HPS/CFLs on the sides the best way to go? Or HPS all the way through?(will be "micro managing" the lights,keeping them at the perfect distance from plant for growth )

8.How important is it to yield/potency to transplant plants as they get bigger?I would prefer just going from the seedling in a red cup stage to the 5 gal. pot instead of having to transplant(I dont like messing with the plants like that)

9.When you do LST, what is the best method?Should you tie your plant down the left one day,and then switch is to the right the next day/week?Or leave it on one side?

10.When it is time to harvest,what is the best way to get all of the bud off without killing the plant,so you can try to regenerate the plant ?

11.I dont mind if my house stinks,but will 10 female white widows stink up my whole street without any odor control?Like how far does the smell really go? It is legal where I live to grow , but I still dont want people to know

 

[Brett2theMax]

Re: Different questions about growing in Soil...

Ive grown outside a few times...Could use some tips on a few things for indoors..
(Im growing 10 plants in a very small spare bedroom)
Please answer any or all questions you can.Mucch appreciation. Sorry if any of these questions are stupid,I just want to make sure I do everything right.

1.Instead of building Air Filters can I just put a few fans in the room to promote stem strengthening/air circulation with the windows open (so fresh air can get in)? ( I am not THAT worried about the smell)...(It will be about 60-75 degrees outside during the day)
And part two of this question....When the lights are off at night can I turn the air filters off/shut the windows?

I've grown without a filter for years, as long as you are in the right location you don't have to worry about smell. Also at the time I was only growing 4-6 plants at a given time in flower. $150 bucks on an IONIZER is a good investment to kill smell, mine works great now.

2.I heard just breathing by plants daily for a few hours a day in intervals provides enough co2 ? Any input on this?hell ill sleep in the room with em...

Spending time with your plants period will cause them to grow better, yes CO2 from breathing helps but the attention you pay to your plants will benefit you even more. Don't hang out with your plants to provide CO2, do it cuz you love em . CO2 is great for veg and early flower, this is when your plant grows the most. If you are going to be circulating fresh air like you said in #1 then you don't need to install CO2 if you are getting enough fresh in there.

3.I orderedd feminized white widow seeds from Nirvana, and I recently heard nirvana's WW seeds have a high frequency of Hermies compared to other strains...How early will I see the signs of Hermie?If the plant suffers no stress can it even become a Hermie?

If you keep them too long they hermi, I kept a WW till 84 days in flower and it hermied. Stress happens to the plant no matter what, especially it being your first grow even in the best environment a first time indoor grower will likely make mistakes (generally associated with watering cycles of the soil). With that said, I think the only thing you have to really worry about is light leeks which are probably 90% of the hermi issues most growers have.

4.Does boiling regular tap water,letting it sit until room temp,make good water for bud?What about collecting rain water in buckets,if it sits outside for a day or two will it become contaminated?

I've use snow for a while and the plants love it. If you collect rain water I would just cap it and make sure you use it within a week. Careful with rain water in buckets, can attract some insects that could contaminate your ladies. I suggest investing in a Reverse Osmosis filter, you can find them from any reef supply store online for about 140 bucks if you do some hunting. Using RO water eliminates the worry of PH and other harmful chemicals the put in our drinking water. I don't drink tapwater any more, just get a big enough reservoir and you can use it for yourself and your plants. I picked up a food-grade 55g drum for 8 bucks but I had to drive an hour to pick it up.

5.With organic fertilizer is it best to put it on top of the soil and then water the plant,or mix the fert with the water and then water the plant?If so what is the best method of mixing it?

What you are referring to is called Top Dressing the soil. You can do this, I do it with some things. It is a slower release of the nutrients into the soil where as if you mix, lets say bat guano, in with your water it is faster. You can put it in the water and shake it up, let it set for an hour or so then shake it again and water. I don't use more then 1 tbsp if I do this. There are other mixes out there called Compost Teas, lots of information out there so I'm not going to get to far into it here. Basically a compost tea is a mix of stuff, bat guano, kelp, molasses, and an almost endless list of other things you can put in. The ingredients are put into a nylon soc and thrown in a bucket of water where there is a large air-stone in to aerate the water. The mix is bubbled for 24 hours, during this time the beneficial bacteria and fungus spores have time to germinate and start multiplying. When you water with the mix all of this active life stimulates the soil, if you have ever heard the term "feeding the soil instead of feeding the plant"? This is why they say that. The way the cannabis plant feeds is through bene's breaking down the actual nutrients(NPK and all the secondary and micro's as well) when the fungus break down these elements they are the ones who feed the plant.

6.If you dont force a plant to show its sex when do they usually show what they are?And how long do you have to chop down the males/hermies before they pollinate the females?(white widow feminized )

If your seeds are feminized I wouldn't worry about sexing them. I would say sex shows about a month into veg though, you should be seeing preflowers by that time. So about 6-8 weeks or so from when the seed breaks through the soil.

7. Is using a bunch of CFLs during Veg stage and then switching to HPS/CFLs on the sides the best way to go? Or HPS all the way through?(will be "micro managing" the lights,keeping them at the perfect distance from plant for growth )

Use all your lights all the time I say. The plant will just grow better with the more light. I've vegged under HPS before with great results. You can buy a Ceramic Metal Halide bulb that will fire in a HPS ballast if its an older magnetic one that doesn't convert over with a switch. MH is better then HPS to veg under but HPS is fine if you don't feel like droppin cash.


8.How important is it to yield/potency to transplant plants as they get bigger?I would prefer just going from the seedling in a red cup stage to the 5 gal. pot instead of having to transplant(I dont like messing with the plants like that)

Transplanting creates a denser root ball, you fill a container with roots and move up to the next size rather then the roots going straight out to the sides of a large pot with empty space in the center. Transplanting isn't mandatory, you just end up with a more complex root system when you do it. The larger the root system the more the plant has to eat with. This method helps from becoming root bound too. Depending on how old you let your plants get before you flower, you may run into this issue.

9.When you do LST, what is the best method?Should you tie your plant down the left one day,and then switch is to the right the next day/week?Or leave it on one side?

I've LSTd clones as soon as I planted them. When you LST you train it to go one way, don't switch back and forth. Check out my current grow Guess Whose Back To see some LST in the works.

10.When it is time to harvest,what is the best way to get all of the bud off without killing the plant,so you can try to regenerate the plant ?

I wouldn't worry about regenerating the plant at this point. If you have space to designate one as a mother and start cloning that would be better. It takes about 6 months for the plant to revert back into its vegetative state from what I've heard. When to harvest is on you. Check the trichomes and harvest basted on that. I generally take my widow around 68 days of flower.

11.I dont mind if my house stinks,but will 10 female white widows stink up my whole street without any odor control?Like how far does the smell really go? It is legal where I live to grow , but I still dont want people to know

No you shouldn't have to worry about the smell from the widows. I knew a guy flowering 20 plants and exhausting unfiltered air outside and you could only smell it next to his house on that side. I always grew on the 2nd floor so the smell would go outside and up above everyones head, heat rises and when your room is 80 degrees in the winter no ones going to catch that although you have to be weary of heat waves coming out of your window lol

Hope all this helps you bro.

 

[ripterr]

Re: Different questions about growing in Soil...

Thanks for the help bro.Muchhhhh appreciated.

"If you keep them too long they hermi, I kept a WW till 84 days in flower and it hermied. Stress happens to the plant no matter what, especially it being your first grow even in the best environment a first time indoor grower will likely make mistakes (generally associated with watering cycles of the soil). With that said, I think the only thing you have to really worry about is light leeks which are probably 90% of the hermi issues most growers have."

Light leaks during flowering or Veg to? And how much light classifies as a Light leak?Like if I open the room and I can see some light down the hall but the room is dark will that fuck the plants up?

You use snow?Haha thats sick...I did read somewhere that the water you should give to your plants should be room temp ,otherwise you might shock the plant...but if its working for you...

 

[Brett2theMax]

Re: Different questions about growing in Soil...

I always melted the snow before I watered with it, the snow was at room temp when given to the plants. As for the light leaks I close myself in the room during the dark cycle and if you see light then its a leak and should be taken care of. It is more critical during flower, to be honest I don't know the effects of light leaks during the dark cycle of veg.

 

[ganjafairy]

Re: Different questions about growing in Soil...

Have question about hermies. How many times can you regenerate a plant without it becoming a hermie, as we took cutting when plant was in bud . let cutting root and it regenerated itself than when the natural light changed it went back to bud .Of course wide spred panick set in got plant to stop budding .But when it came time for said plant to bud it went hermie . What did I do wrong? HELP The Ganjafairy

 

[Giantsfan24]

Re: Different questions about growing in Soil...

I always melted the snow before I watered with it, the snow was at room temp when given to the plants. As for the light leaks I close myself in the room during the dark cycle and if you see light then its a leak and should be taken care of. It is more critical during flower, to be honest I don't know the effects of light leaks during the dark cycle of veg.

From what I've studied:

When the plant goes into it's dark cycle, it triggers to work on root development. When the lights are on, it switches to working on vegetative development.

According to what I've read, the 18/6 photoperiod is the best for all around plant health. There is a point of diminishing returns with regard to having lights on more than 18 hrs per day. The 18/6 cycle is supposed to be the best overall for great vegetative and root development.

So that said, the dark cycle during veg is important. Is it as important as the dark cycle in flowering?? Not sure. Healthy root development = better chance at healthier plants..IMO.

That's just what I've studied and it seems to make sense.