EmElla's First Grow, CFL, Bagseed, Fox Farms

[EmElla]

Okay, so I checked on the plants and they're doing pretty well. They're getting HUGE. I think they've grown like 2-3 inches in the last 3 days. Well all except number 5, the runt.

I'm going to give them the nutes tomorrow, it looks like all but one of them will have dried out enough. I checked the moisture levels today and the top three inches are bone dry with the underneath just a bit moist.

I've also been making sure to turn and rotate the plants on the table, because my lighting is weird I want to make sure all the plants have a good amount of time under certain lights. In addition to that I did order three more daylight lightbulbs and they should arrive in the next few days.

I'll probably post pictures tomorrow and then hopefully if the nutes go well I'll be able to start LST next week.

Thanks!

 

[langa78]

glad there growing well em sure when u put some nutes in they will take off even more.poor runt i have one too still has the seed shell on her but trying to reach for the light all the same perhaps ive got a backwards one?!

 

[EmElla]

glad there growing well em sure when u put some nutes in they will take off even more.poor runt i have one too still has the seed shell on her but trying to reach for the light all the same perhaps ive got a backwards one?!

I had one that had the seed shell on it for a good week, so hopefully it will sprout up in no time.

Good luck!

 

[langa78]

im sure she will shed it soon enough,hows everything coming on with your babies now?any problems or all going well?

 

[EmElla]

Okay, so last night I gave three of the plants their first dose of nutes.

Number 3, 5, and 6 were all dry enough to handle it, so I decided to go ahead and nute them, I'm going to give the others their dose later tonight.

I think it went okay, It's been less than 24 hours so I can't really tell anything, but I don't see any negative signs, but it could still be a bit early. I diluted 1/2 a tbsp of the Big Bloom and 1/2 tsp of the grow big into about 1.3 gallons of water. I made sure to give the plants a gooooood soaking.

Today they're looking good, but there hasn't really been any dramatic improvements. I know that sometimes nutes can make the leaves curl, and my plants aren't really curling, but they still look wilted like I hadn't given them any water yet... I hope they stay looking like this and it's not just a first step in nute burn...

I also got the new light bulbs I ordered today. Hopefully I'll be able to run to Home Depot later and pick up some more splitters to install them.

Anyway, not a whole lot else has happened. I did pinch the stem of number two and I'm going to start LST later tonight, but other than that nada.

Here are some pics I took about an hour ago.

The three that I gave nutes to:

Number 5

Number 3

Number 6

The rest:

Number 1 (Riker)

Number 2

Number 7

Number 8

Group shot! You can see the teensy Number 5, the runt.

Thanks!!

 

[langa78]

well im sure they will take off once they have time to get the nutes through them,i think every different strain can take more or less nutes so if you havent noticed any difference and you have no nute burn then maybe up it a little thats only what i would do but being a begginer probably wrong! they all look pretty healthy though,ahh bless the runt i think every house hold should have one lol

 

[EmElla]

well im sure they will take off once they have time to get the nutes through them,i think every different strain can take more or less nutes so if you havent noticed any difference and you have no nute burn then maybe up it a little thats only what i would do but being a begginer probably wrong! they all look pretty healthy though,ahh bless the runt i think every house hold should have one lol

Yep, I'm going to do my schedule as follows:

Water 1: 1/4 nutes
Water 2: Just water
If all is looking good:
Water 3: 1/4 nutes
Water 4: Water
Water 5: 1/2 nutes
Water 6: Water

I'm not sure how long I'm going to wait to flower, whenever they get to the point where they'll be too big if I wait longer, I suppose, so I'll be alternating like 5 and 6 until flower. If for some reason the nutes are too strong I'm going to either stop using them or post pone using them and make water number 3 just plain water.

Hee hee yes I agree every house should have a runt.

Thanks for reading and your comments!

 

[langa78]

sounds like a good regime you have there well thought out if you do start to have burn then flush them out with balanced ph water try and catch them early before the damage is done though,i have my brothers cheese here to and i think today it has shown signs of pre flower i took some pics not sure what to make of it without a micro scope though

 

[usul]

Your plants are looking great! I think it's a sure bet you won't have any problems with over-feeding given the schedule you've outlined. If it were me, I'd ramp up the nutes faster and use just plain water every third time (feed, feed, flush).

So, perhaps at the next watering you'd give 'em half strength nutes then no nutes at the following watering then full strength from there on out. Again, if it were me, I'd go half strength at the next watering then if they looked good I'd feed again (at the next watering) with full stregth and wait until the following watering to use just water.

Another thing to consider is adding a calcium and magnesium suppliment to every watering, including just the plain water. Might not be needed if you feed on most waterings but if you don't I think a cal/mag suppliment would be very helpful.

Just a few thoughts for you to consider. The final decision is up to you so don't blame me if you follow my advice and fry your plants - hahaha! Nute tollerance is very strain-specific so if you're feeling unsure maybe try an aggressive feeding regime on half the plants and go light on the others. It'd be a great way to learn.

 

[obliviconsent]

Your plants are looking very well taken care of. Keep up the good work. Go #5!

 

[langa78]

hi em hows the little ones getting on?im certainly seeing progress in mine now ive started giving them nutes now and can see such a difference will be putting some pics up on later...the runt finally decided to ditch the shell helmet and is now doing well far behind the rest but i have faith in her,my brothers has shown signs of pre flower and is confirmed to be female so all is going well

 

[EmElla]

Your plants are looking great! I think it's a sure bet you won't have any problems with over-feeding given the schedule you've outlined. If it were me, I'd ramp up the nutes faster and use just plain water every third time (feed, feed, flush).

So, perhaps at the next watering you'd give 'em half strength nutes then no nutes at the following watering then full strength from there on out. Again, if it were me, I'd go half strength at the next watering then if they looked good I'd feed again (at the next watering) with full stregth and wait until the following watering to use just water.

Another thing to consider is adding a calcium and magnesium suppliment to every watering, including just the plain water. Might not be needed if you feed on most waterings but if you don't I think a cal/mag suppliment would be very helpful.

Just a few thoughts for you to consider. The final decision is up to you so don't blame me if you follow my advice and fry your plants - hahaha! Nute tollerance is very strain-specific so if you're feeling unsure maybe try an aggressive feeding regime on half the plants and go light on the others. It'd be a great way to learn.

Thanks! This sounds like a good plan although I'm not sure how to get or give them calcium or magnesium.

I definitely have a couple of different strains, two are thriving really well, and the others are doing well if a little less firm (more droopy). So I dunno.

The plan is:

Water 2: (current) just water
Water 3: half strength
If all goes well:
Water 4: half strength
Water 5: Water

Although I think I may get lucky to go that far, the plants are growing like weeds (ha ha ha).

Your plants are looking very well taken care of. Keep up the good work. Go #5!

Thanks!!

hi em hows the little ones getting on?im certainly seeing progress in mine now ive started giving them nutes now and can see such a difference will be putting some pics up on later...the runt finally decided to ditch the shell helmet and is now doing well far behind the rest but i have faith in her,my brothers has shown signs of pre flower and is confirmed to be female so all is going well

Hey Langa, plants are going good, getting ready to post an update.

That's great to hear that your little babes and your bro's is doing well!

 

[EmElla]

Okay, so it's been a couple of days. I went ahead and purchased a moisture/light/ph meter. PH is good, upper end of 6. Light is too low. Moisture varies obvs.

It's been a few days since I gave them the nutes and they're doing well. I think it will be at least two days before I water.

Feeding schedule will be:

1: Just water
2: 1/2 strength nutes
If all goes well:
3: 1/2 stregth nutes
4: just water
5: 1/2 strength nutes

By this point I will probably need to go into flower, at least if they continue at the rate they're growing. I'll be lucky to make it 5 waters.

I also started LST. I only tied up four of the plants as you can see below. They're doing pretty good.

The tallest plant was around 8 inches tall before I tied it up. You can see for yourself, pics are below:

Thanks!!

 

[usul]

Your plants are looking good! You've got a nice grow going there fellow ganja farmer



Certainly no signs of nute burn. And you've got a good start on LST - been doing your homework for sure.



You've been vegging (18/6) for how long now - 5 or 6 weeks? If so I'd say, yes, time to switch to 12/12 flowering. The plants will stretch for 3 or 4 weeks and that will give you plenty of growth for further training. And you'll be able to get a read on sex in 7-10 days.

The fun is about to begin

 

[EmElla]

Your plants are looking good! You've got a nice grow going there fellow ganja farmer

Thanks!!

You've been vegging (18/6) for how long now - 5 or 6 weeks? If so I'd say, yes, time to switch to 12/12 flowering. The plants will stretch for 3 or 4 weeks and that will give you plenty of growth for further training. And you'll be able to get a read on sex in 7-10 days.

The fun is about to begin

Yep, I've been vegging for almost 6 weeks. I think I'm going to wait maybe one more week before I start in on flower. I'm thinking of cutting a couple of clones and I need to wait for the next paycheck in order to buy some of the supplies to keep those guys in veg and on a different light cycle.

I haven't done too much research on cutting clones, if I can cut clones while they're in flower then I'll just take the plants into flower, but until I'm sure (aka until I've done the research) I'm going to wait a bit longer.

Thanks for your great comments!!

 

[EmElla]

Okay so here's the update!

The plants are looking fantastic. They've all been watered and fed and all but the runt (Number 5) are tied up in LST.

I'm going to do some research and take some clones. I haven't done any research on clones yet, but I want to make sure I have some ready to go once the current plants are harvested.

My somewhat steadily supplied friend (the person I get my smoke from) got caught on a drug test at work and so he's off the green. I hadn't been hitting him up for the smoke because I was looking for a job, thankfully I have one now (Yes!) so I can get back on the green wagon (I had been abstaining in case of a drug test.) But the reason I want to keep with the clones is because I've basically got to be my own supplier, so if I take some clones then I'll be sure to have some green when I run out of the current produce selection.

Geez that was a long story.

Anyway, here are some pics, I'll post more before I go into flower or if I take clones.

P.S. If you recognize any strains let me know!!

Number 1 (Riker):

Number 2:

Number 3 (Is this sativa??):

Number 5:

Number 6:

Number 7:

Number 8:

Group:

Thanks for reading!

 

[EmElla]

Okay, so the plants are doing well I think. I just gave them water with 1/2 strength nutes. Last night I spent a good long while pruning the babes. I hope I didn't prune too much, my gardener friend told me not to prune no more than 1/3 of any plant, and I probably came close to that with some of them. I only pruned the fan leaves, not the branches, just so the lower areas would get more light.

I thought that I would put them into flower last night, but I decided against it after pruning. I think maybe another few days or up to a week before they go into flower.

I ordered a packet of cloning gel, and I'm hoping that there will be enough gel to do at least one clone from each plant, with the possibility of two or three.

I've been debating whether or not to just take clones from all the plants and then once I sex the moms I can throw out any nasty boy clones. Or I can wait until flower when I know I'm cloning fems and take them back to veg. I'm thinking maybe I'll just wait and see when the cloning gel gets here and evaluate it at that point.

Anyway. There are some pics below. Take a look at some of the bottom pics for some problematic leaf pics. I'm not too worried as the overall plant looks okay, but you never know, these could be signs...

Any advice or comments are always appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[usul]

Hey Em, the plants are coming right along! I think you're doing fine though the plants look over-watered to me. I'm no expert on diagnosing plant problems but the issue in the last few pics might be a cal/mag deficiency. If that's what it is it could be that they're not getting enough cal/mag from the soil and nutes - FF nutes can be prone to this - consider adding a cal/mag suppliment. I use Cal/Mag+, 5ml/gal at every watering/feeding. Might also be nutrient lockout from the pH being too low. Consider pHing your nutes to 6.5.

Just a few thoughts - grow on!

 

[EmElla]

Hey Em, the plants are coming right along! I think you're doing fine though the plants look over-watered to me. I'm no expert on diagnosing plant problems but the issue in the last few pics might be a cal/mag deficiency. If that's what it is it could be that they're not getting enough cal/mag from the soil and nutes - FF nutes can be prone to this - consider adding a cal/mag suppliment. I use Cal/Mag+, 5ml/gal at every watering/feeding. Might also be nutrient lockout from the pH being too low. Consider pHing your nutes to 6.5.

Just a few thoughts - grow on!

Hmm, Okay, thanks! Is it just the same Cal/Mag that people take?

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[EmElla]

Okay so the plants have officially entered the Flower stage.

I was going to wait another few days, but Sunday morning I went to check the plants and the lights were off. Turns out the timer on my switch blew. And of course Saturday was like the only day in a month that I skipped going down to see the plants. So basically I'm not sure how long the plants went without light, but when I turned the lights back on I decided to go ahead and move them to flower.

They've been doing okay since. I pruned them and they're nearly almost as bushy as they were before they were pruned, another week and they'll be back to the same bushy consistency. I'm worried about the pruning though, I only found out a few minutes ago that you should NEVER prune fan leaves and I'm really worried about this. I've spent so much time and energy growing these babies that I want them to be amazing. :\

I went to Home Depot today and got another clamp light and some more lightbulbs. There are now 13 flowering bulbs on these plants. I also watered them today, all but two were in the red zone of my moisture meter, so they got a healthy dose of water + 1/2 strength FF Tiger Bloom nutes. Next Waters will be:

Water 1: Just water
Water 2: 1 tsp (1/2 strength) FF Tiger Bloom, 1 tbs (1/2 strength) FF Grow Big, 1/2 tsp (1/4 strength) FF Big Bloom
If all is well:
Water 3: 1 tsp (1/2 strength) FF Tiger Bloom, 1 tbs (1/2 strength) FF Grow Big, 1/2 tsp (1/4 strength) FF Big Bloom
Water 4: Just water
Water 5: Most likely just water, I'll probably start flushing here or on the next water, though I'm not sure exactly.

I got my cloning gel in the mail, so this weekend I'm going to cut me off some babies. I bought a big cake at the store and the plastic lid will be perfect for a humidity dome.

I'm going to post pics in the next few days, hopefully I will get a read on the sexes soon as well.

Do any of you know if there's any sort of badness that occurs when I don't determine the males right away? I'm pretty sure I know what to look for, but if I don't spot the males right away is this really bad? Like how soon do they become a danger to the girls?

Thanks for reading!