First Time Growing

[Mistarooni]

Aye...
Honestly, I'm not happy about it
As I'm highly suspicious of the claims it makes.
Now there will be some energy coming off this thing so you'll be able to use it.
But It's going to use 180watts to barely match the performance of some of the previously mentioned 100 &150w lights.
So the light will also be more expensive to run in the end

I saw on YT around 378par at 18" and 691par at 12" So you can use it to veg,
But that already made me think the efficiency is way less than touted and that the par maps they provide are a bit too high.
You can use it to flower if you train a very even canopy of buds and park the light right above it you could do something nice with it.
Also there's electronics & timer on it wonder how long those will last.
So good luck, I don't think it's the worst light you could have bought on Amazon as I do think it will be useable.
But you'll need to adapt the plant to make the most of it.


.

i completely forgot to reply to this and I'm so sorry because this one one of the biggest updates- I canceled the order for the light after reading into it more and I'm looking at different more rated and proven to be good ones, and that light probably would have been a pretty bad one I'm not even going to try to defend it- it looked like trash, and by the reviews and everything it said it did (which was wildly over exaggerated) it performed like trash too-

 

[Mistarooni]

guys I kinda need help, so I was planning for almost everything except the one thing I should've before I even started- I don't know what to do with male plants

how to effectively destroy them, and how to catch them before they pollinate the females, I know you can't tell until they get bigger but when should I start looking out for them, is there a specific time they might start showing signs as in the tiny balls or such?

I planted the seeds on the 25th last month so they've been growing for 15 days and I'll update when I find out how long they've been above ground.

is there a way I can separate my plants when the time comes? I may have some of the same lights I'm using right now so I might be able to find a way to add them to the set up or use them for later stage growing-

anyways thank you guys for everything and I'll update soon, happy growing

 

[SmokingWings]

- I don't know what to do with male plants

how to effectively destroy them, and how to catch them before they pollinate the females, I know you can't tell until they get bigger but when should I start looking out for them, is there a specific time they might start showing signs as in the tiny balls or such?

I planted the seeds on the 25th last month so they've been growing for 15 days and I'll update when I find out how long they've been above ground.

is there a way I can separate my plants when the time comes? I may have some of the same lights I'm using right now so I might be able to find a way to add them to the set up or use them for later stage growing-

A bunch of related questions but out of order so the best thing might be to to put them into an easier order to follow.

I planted the seeds on the 25th last month so they've been growing for 15 days

Figure that they germinated (sprouted) within 2 to 3 days which would be the 28th and today they would be 12 days. But l will call it two weeks old and the number of days is not a big concern so just go with weeks.

but when should I start looking out for them, is there a specific time they might start showing signs as in the tiny balls or such?

Sometime around 4 weeks to 6 weeks old, depending on how fast they are growing, the nodes will start to alternate. Allow time for this to continue for several more nodes worth of new growth and it will become very noticeable.

This alternating of the nodes is a sign that the plant is becoming sexually mature. You still have to watch this happen and check for male and female plants even if the seed seller said they were feminized. The science is not perfect and sometimes a male seed will be mixed in with the others.

At first the nodes will be almost directly opposite each other but each new node will start to a bit higher up than the previous. Plus they are not directly 180 degrees opposite either and instead will start to spiral. Anyway, once this growth pattern starts there is no going back. Even if the plant is sent though a re-vegatating stage it will always be sexually mature.

As this is happening take a bit of time when watering and otherwise looking at the plants to pay attention to the point on the nodes where any new stem is coming out and slowly work your way up that new stem looking for the balls in the point where leaf petioles (leaf stems) are growing out of the stem. At first there might be just one, two or three balls at a time. If you wait long enough there will start to be clumps of 6, 7 or more balls growing.

Some people get really excited, kinda like a chicken with its head cut off, when they see one or two start to form but it is not a reason to panic since it is not the end of the world. In other words, stay calm. You will have several days to as long as a week before they start to open up and sometimes another couple of days before they form pollen.

is there a way I can separate my plants when the time comes?

If the plants are all in their own individual pots then just take the planter pot and plant itself out of the group and out of the room or area. Put the male plant in another room or outside. There are several days, maybe a week to 10 days before the pollen starts. I feel it is a good idea to watch a few of the clumps of balls at least one time to get an idea of how they form and how the individual balls will start to open and change shape and often look like a clump of bananas.

If the grower is doing a ScrOG or net there is no point in putting all the plants under a net or screen until it is verified that each of them is a female. Put them under the screen to soon and then it can be a real chore trying to separate out and remove a male. Not to mention how much harder it will be to see the male flowers in with all the other female plants. Sex and verify that the plants going under a net or screen are indeed female.

Later on there can be times when you will be looking at your true female plants with developing buds and you might see part of a male flower starting to show. Yes, starting to show right in the middle of the bud. These do not always form pollen but the potential is there. Surprising easy to miss these since what is showing is just a small part of he male flower. I feel that they are one of the reasons we see messages where someone is asking why their female plant is developing a seed here and there when there are no male plants. It is these little male flowers that usually do not form until the 6th, 7th, or 8th week after female flowering starts and can sometimes be just about impossible to see.

I may have some of the same lights I'm using right now so I might be able to find a way to add them to the set up or use them for later stage growing-

To be honest about it if you are a first time grower it is probably not a good idea to do this during your first couple of rodeos. Once the male plant starts to release pollen it can be all over the room. Even if the room the male is in is on the other side of the house and doors are closed it is possible to spread the pollen to your female plants.

Just take the plant out of the house and cut it off about 5 to 6 inches above the soil line. Toss it on the compost pile or into the woods or whatever and let nature decompose it. Leave the pot of soil alone and let it dry out for a couple of weeks. Pull the stem up and shake all the loose soil off so it can be used for the next grow.

Some people have kept their males plants for 8 or more weeks and have used them to make edibles or hash. I have not done that and I am not sure that this is a project worth doing, especially on the first grow or two.

Below are several photos of a cutting that I rooted which turned out to be a male clone. Luckily I was able to use the notes I took to go back through the other plants on the patio to find the mother plant that the cutting was taken from. That parent plant was running 10 days behind the clone and was just beginning to show male flowers.

Check the dates on the photos to get an idea of how long it takes the balls to form and then to mature and start to open.

Even though I waited for the balls to open for the photo opportunity I did not end up with seeds forming on the female plants on the patio. I had let male plants develop the balls and let them start to open before but this was the longest I had let it continue. It was a risk I was willing to take and not one I recommend unless the other person is ready and willing to accept the same risk.

And one random photo from just before I took the males off the patio and sent them to the composting trench in the garden.

 

[Mistarooni]

you are a savior, thank you so much

 

[Fenderbender]

It's been a while? The plants still going?

 

[Mistarooni]

the plants are growing amazingggg, they're starting their 4th and 5th set of leaves and they're really green, I'll post some pictures at noon- I'm not going to lie I kind of forgot to update as a lot of stuff has been going on at home but I'll start updating more frequently

 

[Mistarooni]

i meant to post pictures but I accidentally dropped my phone into the sink while getting water for the plants and it got destroyed.

now here are some photos of the plants:

there has also been one that hasn't been doing so well, I don't expect it to do well or survive at all but here's forest Gump:

 

[Mistarooni]

also, with a few google lens searches I've constantly gotten results of the strand "white widow" and maybe that's what I'm growing, but for now it's still a mystery. any help on how to recognize different strands?

 

[Fenderbender]

What's your watering habit?

There's no way to figure out what it is, with how it flowers and tastes and smells you could have a guess in what area it belongs, something skunky, something hazy, something kushy, something cheezy, maybe it's purple...

 

[Mistarooni]

for the cups every ¾ of the day, and for the bigger containers every 1½ days

 

[Mistarooni]

I'll post update photos soon as I transplanted 2 of them into bigger containers

 

[Azimuth]

What's your watering habit?

for the cups every ¾ of the day, and for the bigger containers every 1½ days

No Bueno. Watering on a schedule like this is an express ticket to RootRot Town, especially given your frequency.

If you want to do the wet/dry thing you need to let the container dry out to where it's surprisingly light when you pick it up and then thoroughly wet the medium again. The time period between waterings this way will shrink from maybe 5-7 days down to every day or every other day, and then it's time to uppot into a larger container.

Or, skip the learning curve altogether and come join us in #SIP Club where you'll get perfect watering every time since the plant waters itself.

 

[Mistarooni]

No Bueno. Watering on a schedule like this is an express ticket to RootRot Town, especially given your frequency.

If you want to do the wet/dry thing you need to let the container dry out to where it's surprisingly light when you pick it up and then thoroughly wet the medium again. The time period between waterings this way will shrink from maybe 5-7 days down to every day or every other day, and then it's time to uppot into a larger container.

Or, skip the learning curve altogether and come join us in #SIP Club where you'll get perfect watering every time since the plant waters itself.

I've been doing that since the 25th and very thankful for the comment, I'm planning on posting a couple update pictures tomorrow but for now im just admiring my plant childrennn and calling it a night

 

[Mistarooni]

i topped my main plant, and it's doing really well, I covered the open wound with some antifungal stuff I was recommended, and I'm keeping watch over it, I've also transplanted a bought plant into a new container, it's white widow, I'd say about 7-10 weeks old, and is doing really healthy. I killed a few more plants out of dis-interest and because they were either not growing as well as the others and they couldn't get the light as they were covered, the roots weren't growing, or they were to much for me to keep an interested high focus on so I gave them to a trusted grower.

I'll post some update pictures and label which ones are which along with some more information with each, including with what I've done with the soil and what ive found out about each plant. happy growing

I'll keep everyone updated, I'm not feeling the best but I'll try to post more often when I feel better, I got an annoying cold

 

[Mistarooni]

this is my main plant, I topped it Thursday and have been watching it almost all the time just to make sure the leaves aren't starting to yellow, the top isn't growing mold or fungus, and that the leaves aren't touching anything.
this was originally "Misty's baby" but now at this stage of the grow I care for it more than a child (which is way to much-)

this is the one I bought, it's strain is white widow, it's growing pattern is all over the place and it's going to be kinda interesting to try and to some low stress training and see if i can hopefully get a stronger plant, I have a fan running on low about 5 feet away from them but this ones still kinda thin

then there's this one, I transplanted it while making this post and yeah-- the roots are doing really well I seen, they reached the bottom of the old container but didn't start to get tangled yet, I almost got rid of this one but I gave it a chance, it's doing really well now, and I'm happy to report everything is going good



I added some miracle grow shake n feed to all the soil and made sure it was the recommended amount, have fun everyone, and happy growing

 

[Azimuth]

Looking good, @Mistarooni ! Nothing like the satisfaction that comes with a well grown plant.

 

[Mistarooni]

thank you, I honestly feel kinda proud, I don't know when to turn them to flowering but I'm thinking about keeping them in veg all winter and spring and then planting them outside once the days are hotter for max produce but I'm unsure if I can or should do it-

 

[Azimuth]

They'll be too big and root bound by then to give you good results. I veg my plants between 4 and 6 weeks. You're talking multiple months beyond that. What's your indoor setup?

 

[SmokingWings]

but I'm thinking about keeping them in veg all winter and spring and then planting them outside once the days are hotter for max produce but I'm unsure if I can or should do it-

Sure, you can do it.

It is easy to do but without practice it can become hard work and not just a small chore. While waiting for the right time to plant them outside you will have to figure out what your choices are so this is one possibility.

Pick one as the mother plant. The rest of them can be put into flowering when they are ready. It means keeping the mother separate where it can remain under full lights. Flower and harvest the rest. Then when the mother is large enough take a bunch of cuttings and start to get them to grow roots. If all the cuttings die without rooting try again from the same mother. Keep at it and by spring you can have several healthy plants to put outside. In the meantime the mother stays at a manageable size. Then plant the mother outside and most of the clones.

Grow the clones to a good size and pick one as the new mother and the rest can be put into flowering under lights. The mother stays under its own light. Take cuttings and root them and the process starts over.

then planting them outside once the days are hotter

It will be better to transplant them outside when the days are not only warm enough but more importantly when the days are long enough. A number of growers put their plants outside because the weather seems nice and forget that the amount of light is not enough and the plants starts to flower. But the days are slowly getting longer so the plant ends up going back into a vegetative stage. Kind of a waste of valuable time that could have been spent training the plant for maximum production of buds when autumn comes.

 

[Azimuth]

Sure, you can do it.

It is easy to do but without practice it can become hard work and not just a small chore. While waiting for the right time to plant them outside you will have to figure out what your choices are so this is one possibility.

Pick one as the mother plant. The rest of them can be put into flowering when they are ready. It means keeping the mother separate where it can remain under full lights. Flower and harvest the rest. Then when the mother is large enough take a bunch of cuttings and start to get them to grow roots. If all the cuttings die without rooting try again from the same mother. Keep at it and by spring you can have several healthy plants to put outside. In the meantime the mother stays at a manageable size. Then plant the mother outside and most of the clones.

Grow the clones to a good size and pick one as the new mother and the rest can be put into flowering under lights. The mother stays under its own light. Take cuttings and root them and the process starts over.


It will be better to transplant them outside when the days are not only warm enough but more importantly when the days are long enough. A number of growers put their plants outside because the weather seems nice and forget that the amount of light is not enough and the plants starts to flower. But the days are slowly getting longer so the plant ends up going back into a vegetative stage. Kind of a waste of valuable time that could have been spent training the plant for maximum production of buds when autumn comes.

Or that. ^^^