First Time Grower: Mars Hydro SP3000, Gorilla Grow Tent, White Widow & Strawberry Cough

Dadbod

Well-Known Member
I am a first time grower and don’t have any hands-on practical knowledge; I’m reading K of Trichme Technologies and Ed Rosenthal, watching loads of YouTube and am now tapping into the forums. I’m not much of a writer so here is what has happened so far:

Ordered seeds from Crop King Seeds on Aug 8th, 2020 and the arrived Aug 12th; popped 3 white widow and 2 strawberry cough day of arrival. (10 Feminized Seeds; 5 White Widow, 5 Strawberry Cough; both Hybrids.)

Mars Hydro SP3000 was ordered off of Grow Lights Canada on Aug 10th and arrived Aug 17th. Holy shit it’s bright; here’s a newbie lesson... don’t look directly at the light... I was walking into walls for a minute or two

I’ll be growing inside my 2x4x7 Gorilla Grow Tent and I plan on going from seed to drying in the same space. Any advice or pro tips about this idea?

I followed Crop Kings germinating guideline and all 5 seeds germinated and grew 1/2 inch tap roots before being placed in Peat Pellets. I took the end of a pen and jabbed the butt end a 1/2 inch into the pre-soaked pellets (I used 6.2 balanced PH water left out to acclimate to room temp). I used sterilized tweezers to gently place the seeds tap root down and gently covered with soil.

Here’s some photos of what’s happened from supplies to how thing currently look after two days;
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I have an idea of the direction I’m headed but I am really open to direction/ constructive criticism, discussion etc...

My plan is to let theses girls stay in the peat pellets for another 10 days or so and then move them to 5x5 pots until they are ready for their final home in 3 gallon fabric pots. Using Happy Frog soil and Medi-One’s Nute Kit for their entire journey.

I am only at the beginning of what I hope to be a long relationship with growing weed; I’ve been puffing for 25 years, it’s about time I started learning the craft! Looking forward to being part of the community!
 

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Welcome to 420mag. Nice to have you here. Your grow setup looks outstanding for your first go around.
:passitleft:
 
:welcome: to :420:
As already said your setup is amazing I can not wait to see your ladies grow up, your reading will definitely help you out a lot
I am really happy with the setup and am so grateful that the online and local vendors were so reliable, helpful and approachable. Easier to get into than I could ever have imagined... what was I waiting for?
 
Quick Update Aug 20,2020.
I have been monitoring the seedlings pretty frequently and amazed at how quickly they grow! Four of the five had reddish stems at the beginning but that has all changed to green now and I can see the second set of true leaves coming up.

I had not watered the peat pods since the first day because the soil always felt damp.

Today, when I had a look at the seedlings I could see the roots protruding out from the fabric that encases the pod; I decided to plant them into their next pots the 5x5’s.
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I’m really concerned about over watering so in preparation I put the Happy Frog Potting Soil in the 5x5’s last week and watered them with 6.2PH’d water until the runoff also read 6.2; When I transplanted the seedlings into the pots the soil was moist without being waterlogged.
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Everything is back in the tent and looking really great. I’m thinking of waiting for a day or two to let the plants adjust before putting my Mars Hydro SP3000 Light in there; what is the consensus on this and how far should I put the light from the seedlings? It’s only been 5 days since they showed their tap roots and the seeds went into the peat pods; I feel like I’m rushing things or is this just newbie jitters? Am I on the right time line or am I moving too quickly?
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August 27, 2020- Progress Report

Regardless of how this crop turns out in the end, this first grow is the beginning of a life time journey and I’m hooked for life!

Seeds put in water: Aug 12, 2020

Seeds moved to paper towel: Aug 13th

Germinated: Aug 15th and put in Peat Pellets

Transplanted: Aug 21 to 5x5 Pots with Fox Farm Happy Frog which had been watered a few days prior

Light Switch: Aug 23rd switched out the Sunburst 2ft T5 light and put the Mars Hydro SP3000 light in.

Light Cycle: 18 hours on and 6 hours off

First watering: Aug 23rd- I had not watered them at all until Aug 23rd; they went into saturated Peat Pellets and then pre watered 5x5 pots which held them over until the 23rd. I used Green Planets Ocean Magic to help with root development and added a very low dosage; each plant received a 100ml of water mixed with OM

After Moving the SP3000 into the tent the heat spiked to 38•C (outside temp was 34•C); fortunately I am checking on the tent every few hours so I caught it early and avoided a die off! The simple fix was to dial back the light and remove the Meanwell Driver to outside the tent and turn on the in-line fan. This helped drop the temperature considerably but my blood pressure remained quite high for a day or two until it was clear everything would be okay!

I don’t know if it’s the light but holy shit the plants look great (at least to me; I’m new at this so “everything is awesome!”).

Here are some pics of the journey:

Mars Hydro SP3000: Fits the 2x4 perfectly and looks super :cool:
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Have to ensure proper PH:
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Here they are on Aug 27,2020:
Strawberry Cough #1
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Strawberry Cough #2
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White Widow #1
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White Widow #2
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White Widow #3
I
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The Strawberry Cough is starting very strong in comparison to the White Widow; but they both look good to me!

I’ve been really encouraged by the results and following along with K of Trichome Technologies book has helped a lot. After reading about humidity for seedlings was supposed to be 74% Relative Humidity (RH) I put my humidifier in the tent and got the humidity up to mid-70’s—within a few hours the plants had responded really well. The way i understood K’s principle for humidity was that the plants are absorbing more moisture through their leaves while their delicate roots develop; made sense to me so I applied the practice and enjoyed the results!

Thanks for stopping in to read the journal! I’ve been really encouraged by the community and the support offered by all the knowledgeable members!
 
:goodjob:

I’ve never been able to flower more than 2 plants in a 4x2 (without frustration )
can’t wait to see how this plays out :popcorn:
Are you planning a scrog?
 
:goodjob:

I’ve never been able to flower more than 2 plants in a 4x2 (without frustration )
can’t wait to see how this plays out :popcorn:
Are you planning a scrog?

oh oh! This is my first attempt so I guess we will both see how this plays out!:)
I am planning on topping them and keeping the bottom pretty manicured. Any and all advice is super welcome!
 
You are the one keeping them healthy but that light is a big part for sure, my ladies absolutely love mars LED's.
:passitleft:

Glad the extra RH helped I try hit 70 for seedlings also, 5 plants in there my only thought would be sorta flower early in a sog style. Flowering early will also help you keep the pot size down to fit them in there, at least you have lots of room to grow upwards :laugh:.
 
You are the one keeping them healthy but that light is a big part for sure, my ladies absolutely love mars LED's.
:passitleft:

Glad the extra RH helped I try hit 70 for seedlings also, 5 plants in there my only thought would be sorta flower early in a sog style. Flowering early will also help you keep the pot size down to fit them in there, at least you have lots of room to grow upwards :laugh:.
That’s great advice! I was planning on flipping to flower (depending on plants) when the girls are around 2ft-2.5ft high; does this make sense?
I am amazed by the Mars SP3000; I have no comparison points, and it is still early, but it seems to be doing the job really well!
 
That’s great advice! I was planning on flipping to flower (depending on plants) when the girls are around 2ft-2.5ft high; does this make sense?
I am amazed by the Mars SP3000; I have no comparison points, and it is still early, but it seems to be doing the job really well!
I have never tried so this is my guess but I feel letting the plant get that big will crowd the tent a little, with the crowding the light will not penetrate to the bottom. Because of this you may get the same results if you let them get 2 ft then flip as if you wait till they get close to their neighbor and then flip, for this reason I might flip as soon as one plant starts approaching the other which it will do after topping them.
 
I have never tried so this is my guess but I feel letting the plant get that big will crowd the tent a little, with the crowding the light will not penetrate to the bottom. Because of this you may get the same results if you let them get 2 ft then flip as if you wait till they get close to their neighbor and then flip, for this reason I might flip as soon as one plant starts approaching the other which it will do after topping them.
Good point about topping them and encroaching on its neighbour. I’ve just been reading BooWho2’s journal; she is also using a 4x2 tent and was struggling with space.
 
Good point about topping them and encroaching on its neighbour. I’ve just been reading BooWho2’s journal; she is also using a 4x2 tent and was struggling with space.
Ya I would put 2 plants in there but you already have em planted so now may as well try flower em all. How many plants does BooWho2 have?
 
Ya I would put 2 plants in there but you already have em planted so now may as well try flower em all. How many plants does BooWho2 have?
BooWho2 tried moving four plants from outside into her tent but reduced it to two; I’m trying to find out how to link her thread. BooWho2’s journal
 
Click that connect the dots symbol and copy paste that link
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Then in the text box click the chain link button to add the link to any text, you could also just paste the link directly it will do the trick
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