First Grow From DB2600

[db2600]

Hey, I'm new here, and to the world of growing Marijuana, but I don't think my stay will be short.

I have no knowledge of botany what so ever, everything I've learned has come from this website (and I'm no where near finished reading) but, I'm excited to get started.


The seeds I'm using are crappy bag seeds. I germinated a bunch of them but I'll only be using the one farthest to the left, the only one that's hatched.

I'm only going to have one plant due to space, and I don't really want to be responsible for more than one plant my first time. Here's a picture of the closet floor I'll be growing in, along with what's currently set up.

Money isn't a huge issue for me but as I mentioned earlier, I'm brand new to this and know nothing, so suggestions are more appreciated than you know. I want to buy two more CFLs and some reflective hoods, but I've been rather busy, so I should be able to get to that either today or tomorrow. I'm also going to purchase a new door that can be modified for intake and exhaust fans. The soil I'm using is unfertilized top soil, and as far as nutrients and the like go, I have no idea what to use, as I have no understanding of them and I don't want to kill my plant before it's even born.


So, I have a hatched seed, a light, and a bucket. I'm going to go ahead and plant my seed and water it. I feel like I've given birth

 

[SanibelGreen]

Welcome to 420 my friend! Glad to have you and your grow! You were talking about hoods, do you want to go to hps? Since I am hydro I do not know as much as I want about soil yet but I hear the Fox Farm line is popular with the dirt guys. Were you wanting to go organic? Just some starting questions Again welcome to the boards we will all be here to help.+ reps

SG

 

[db2600]

Thanks SG! I appreciate the warm welcome

I want to keep with the CFLs mainly because I'm in a closet and I want to keep energy consumption low. My current plan of action is to build an adjustable lighting fixture with three bulbs. One on top, facing down directly over my plant, and one on either side. Here's an MSPaint description:

I plan to make parts A and C adjustable so I can focus more light on the sides/base of the plant if I wish. Obviously, pulleys so I can bring it up as the plant grows. Should I have a light on while I'm waiting for the plant to sprout?

I've researched growing hydroponicly and I'd like to try the hempy bucket method but as of right now I'm not able to. Can anyone suggest a good combination for nutes? As I said, the dirt isn't fertilized. I have 10-30-30 nutes for orchids, but I'd rather use something that isn't designed specifically for another plant.

 

[SanibelGreen]

Yes keep the light on during the germination time, the plant will crack and head for the warmth. My buddy Pres has a pretty good looking do it yourself CFL reflector that I would highly suggest making if you feel up to it. I would wait for a soil guy on the nutes but I am pretty sure an A,B, and C nute regiment like a standard General Hydroponics or Botanicare line will do ya for your first grow. Do you have any hydro shops around you?

Here is the link for the DIY Reflector:

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/diy-cfl-reflector-how-simple-cheap-effective.115884/][ DIY CFL Reflector]

SG

 

[db2600]

After reading more about nutes, I'm not so 'worried' or excited about going out to get them anymore, so I'll have a bit of time to look around for some nutes that I want.

As far as hydro shops go, there is one fairly close to me. Today I plan on stopping there and Lowes so I can pick up materials for that DIY Reflector. Awesome link, thank you very much. I plan on using the 6 light revision with two pc fans for ventilation.

After I get the light set up, I want to get a replacement door for my closet so I can cut holes and and fans and such for ventilation. I'm feeling good about this grow, and after reading various journals, I think I might add another pot/plant, though with a higher quality seed.

Here's a question I just thought of: Is it bad to combine light spectrums under one reflector? Pres has two 2700k bulbs next to four 6500k bulbs. Would the power of the four bulbs cancel out the spectrum of the other two?

 

[SanibelGreen]

during veg I would go with the smaller 2 bulbs being 2700k and the rest like you said 6500k, but for flower I would switch it up, 2700 is more red and what flowering is geared toward like and HPS bulb. So the 4 2700k and 2 smaller 6500k would be great. Dual spectrum is great for this reason you can get best of both worlds! Venting is a good idea, and have you given any thought to when they start budding and smeell very good but well bad to everyone else in the house lol. And about the nutes just go in there and say ya I am looking for a medium line easy 1-2-3 schedule nute system for soil sure they will point you in the right direction, and your soil was just straight potting soil? Do you have any perlite in there for draining? because that is important in soil. Let me know how it goes!

SG

 

[db2600]

I'll probably just get different sets of lights for veg/flowering then... Is flowering with CFLs a bad idea? Should I just save up for an HPS light?

And you're correct, I have no perlite. I'm thinking about just starting over because I came across a few nicer seeds and I'm just not satisfied with how I'm currently set up. I'm wondering if I should just hold off on growing for a little while, so I can keep reading and learning a bit...

 

[SanibelGreen]

I'll probably just get different sets of lights for veg/flowering then... Is flowering with CFLs a bad idea? Should I just save up for an HPS light?

And you're correct, I have no perlite. I'm thinking about just starting over because I came across a few nicer seeds and I'm just not satisfied with how I'm currently set up. I'm wondering if I should just hold off on growing for a little while, so I can keep reading and learning a bit...

Nah man, really thing is just diving in, learning as you go, first time for everything. Right now however I would remix soil with some perlite and get some good drainage going. Flowering with CFL's has proven itself all over with good yields. Building that reflector would be a good step for you for sure! just making the soil good so it has some good run off would be good, and are there holes in the bottom of the bucket for excess water?

SG

 

[db2600]

You've given me confidence, haha, thanks

I definitely plan on making up that reflector, without a doubt. I was even thinking about making two just in case I decide to start up a second plant. I'm going to Lowes today to get some perlite and vermiculite for good measure, and yeah, I have three sharpie sized holes on the bottom. I'll also be stopping at the store today to look at and hopefully pick up nutes too. Can I use the same nutes that I'm using for this, for hydro? I'm really considering the hempy method for a dank seed I have.



Edit: I've been to the store, and I picked up Vermiculite, Perlite, and Jack's Classic All Purpose 20-20-20 and Bloom Booster. Due to lack of funds, I'll be buying and assembling the reflector hood this Wednesday.

 

[SanibelGreen]

You've given me confidence, haha, thanks

I definitely plan on making up that reflector, without a doubt. I was even thinking about making two just in case I decide to start up a second plant. I'm going to Lowes today to get some perlite and vermiculite for good measure, and yeah, I have three sharpie sized holes on the bottom. I'll also be stopping at the store today to look at and hopefully pick up nutes too. Can I use the same nutes that I'm using for this, for hydro? I'm really considering the hempy method for a dank seed I have.

Ya buckets really arent that hard it seems, never done soil but I learned on hydro so I dunno up to you!

SG

 

[db2600]

Well thanks a lot for the help, I really appreciate it a lot, as you've been the only one to reply. +rep!

I probably won't be doing much updating because it'll probably be a while before anything changes. Again, thanks for your help SG!

 

[SanibelGreen]

Well thanks a lot for the help, I really appreciate it a lot, as you've been the only one to reply. +rep!

I probably won't be doing much updating because it'll probably be a while before anything changes. Again, thanks for your help SG!

No probs man lmk if there is anything else you need.

SG

 

[db2600]

So here's my latest update.

I'm pretty sure I have some kind of disorder. Or maybe I'm just overly excited about what I'm getting into, because I've always loved Mary more than most everything else. She's been there for me throughout.

In any case, the cup on the left is straight top soil, no nutes. I mildly fertilized the bucket that my first plant is in. The cup on the right is a mix of perlite and soil, also mildly fert'd. The taproot on the seed in the cup of perlite/soil/mild fert almost tripled in size over night. I'm way too excited about this.. haha.

 

[SanibelGreen]

So here's my latest update.

I'm pretty sure I have some kind of disorder. Or maybe I'm just overly excited about what I'm getting into, because I've always loved Mary more than most everything else. She's been there for me throughout.

In any case, the cup on the left is straight top soil, no nutes. I mildly fertilized the bucket that my first plant is in. The cup on the right is a mix of perlite and soil, also mildly fert'd. The taproot on the seed in the cup of perlite/soil/mild fert almost tripled in size over night. I'm way too excited about this.. haha.

It gets addicting believe me!

SG

 

[db2600]

Aha!

This is the seed with the perlite/soil/mild nuteage. And I planted it a few days after my bucket. I think that one isn't going to do so well. But on a high note, I have the pictured sprout, along with another one that just broke the soil seemingly not too long ago.

At this point I'm not sure as to whether or not I should switch to an 18/6 lighting schedule for veg growth or not. So I'm going to read. (But just incase anyone has anything to say, I figured I'd throw that out there... )

None the less, I'm incredibly happy right now. Although it might be the Purple Kush I just smoked. I've never actually seen purple marijuana until tonight.

 

[SanibelGreen]

Aha!

This is the seed with the perlite/soil/mild nuteage. And I planted it a few days after my bucket. I think that one isn't going to do so well. But on a high note, I have the pictured sprout, along with another one that just broke the soil seemingly not too long ago.

At this point I'm not sure as to whether or not I should switch to an 18/6 lighting schedule for veg growth or not. So I'm going to read. (But just incase anyone has anything to say, I figured I'd throw that out there... )

None the less, I'm incredibly happy right now. Although it might be the Purple Kush I just smoked. I've never actually seen purple marijuana until tonight.

Grats man! Keep it on 24/0 see some nice growth soon

SG

 

[LED-Freak]

I had to jump on board. I really like your enthusiastic approach to all of this! Your on the right track. I done soil and hydro and soil less. I switch all the time because there is no single one I like better than the other.

That being said I have to ask you a few details I didnt see in your previous post. Do you have any means to test the pH of your water? There is nothing more important than having correct pH. You could be doing everything right, using top of the line products and have the best equipment but if you dont have correct pH your not going to grow much of anything.

In order to test your pH you have to have something to test it with. There are several cheap ways in doing so. If you have ability to order offline I recommend these:

This is a simple cheap method. I started on it 5 years ago. It works but is very tedious which isnt necessarily a bad thing when your new to growing. I helps you learn the ropes and understand things better.
GENERAL HYDROPONICS pH TEST KIT = TUBE + REAGENT + CARD - eBay

OR this is another simple yet still relatively cheap method. This will be much more accurate then the manual test solution and much quicker to obtain results.

Milwaukee PH 600 Digital pH Meter/Tester, 0-14, New - eBay

Despite what ever method you choose to buy you will need a means to adjust the pH once you figured out its range. For that I recommend this. There of course are several other options to adjust your pH but this right here is very effective. Just a few drops will lower or higher the pH in an entire gallon of H2O.
GENERAL-HYDROPONICS-PH-UP-DOWN-CONTROL-ADJUSTER-8-OZ

All these products can be add at your local hydroponic store but 9 times out of 10 you will end up paying a significant amount more. So if you can wait three to four days it will show up on your door step, you wont have to go anywhere to get it.

As to your new little sprouted seedling, it looks real good so far. You can keep it in the dixie cup for about 7-10 days before you will need to transplant her.

Once you do make the same mix you did for the dixie and you will be dialed in. When you pull her out you will be able to see her root system. A white spider web of roots is a good thing. Youll be pretty surprised when you transplant just how many roots there will be. It is fun stuff! Once you start youll never stop!! Good luck and keep us posted man

 

[db2600]

So, here's what's new. I'm down from one bucket and four dixie cups (I planted two more), to now just two dixie cups. One dixie cup contains the seedling I posted previously. Here's how I found (hopefully) her, this morning:

And here's the sprout, also taken this morning:

Now here they both are as of two hours ago:

Both plants are leaning due to the fact that I only have one CFL directly in the middle of the two of them. That will change tomorrow as soon as I get out of work.

LED-FREAK! Good to see you, thank you for joining in on my adventure. Those links are all f'n wonderful, and more than likely I'll be buying those supplies, as I have none my self and I have yet to even bother looking for them (though I did plan to start tomorrow..! )

To my understanding, I shouldn't water them until the soil has dried up a bit more...

...but I really want to water them.

Ah, I can't wait for tomorrow. Thanks for the compliments guys.

 

[db2600]

So Thursday I went out and bought two lamp cords, weather resistant light sockets, two Y light sockets, and a temp/humidity monitor, along with four more 2700k 23 watt CFLs. I want to get stronger lights but I couldn't find any in Home Depot at 2700k, so I decided I'd wait until next week and I'd go to a specialty lighting shop.

I assembled the lights yesterday, and this is how my plants are as of twenty minutes ago.
Plant 2:

Plant 1:

As you can see in this pic, the temp/rh monitor is reading 42% and 84F. I haven't really figured out a great way to control these yet, but as of now I have my air conditioner going at 60F with a fan on my plants in my closet with the door open and the monitor is currently reading 46% @ 77F. Should I go for a higher humidity level?

These pictures were taken with a cellphone, which is why the quality isn't so great btw.

I assume what happened here is stretch due to the fact that I only had one light on them for the 3 days they had been sprouted.

Remedy:

Here's something else I noticed about one of the plants, can anyone tell me what this is and what I can do to counter?

As of now the only real water they've received has come in the form of random sprinkles. I've been hesitant to actually water them because everything I've read has said not to.

I think what I plan to do is buy some 3 gallon pots/buckets and transplant them to those in about 4-6 days, then water with 1/4 strength 20-20-20.

Any advice/suggestions fully appreciated.

 

[SanibelGreen]

Looking good man, 2700k is more for flower than veg however dual spectrum is nice I guess, I would let them get some roots in those dixies and keep turning them so the face into the light but at the same time make sure the light is not to close to the seedling, on your way man looking good

SG