Giving it a Try: White Widow in a Box

[akasa]

Ha! It was a success! The transplant has taken, and under the new lights there was significant growth overnight.

So much for trying to out-think wisdom with an engineering degree. Lowered the lights a bit more because these bulbs aren't hot at all. Going to make a reflector to go over them tonight.

 

[Growheart]

Okay, a lot of work today.
Repotted the plants. Was much tenser than I anticipated because the roots hadn't quite reached the point of binding the soil together, so it sort of fell apart as I flipped it. I don't think I broke anything significant, and it's been a few hours since then and they haven't wilted, so I'm assuming the important stuff is still connected down there.

They are now in their final pots. Should be enough room for them. Used the topsoil, but made sure to soak it and press it down to get rid of air pockets and lumps. Looks pretty smooth to me.

Went to the store and found four 26 watt GE daylight CFLs. With three tees I made a little array. I can raise and rotate it as they get bigger. Not sure if it's ideal, but I've got so many little lightbulb parts it's like legos. What I need is a big reflector to hang just above all of the bulbs.

I got some "Miracle-Gro Liquid All Purpose Houseplant Food." Seemed to be the most basic thing at home depot. It's 8-7-6. Will this do for vegetative feeding? And I'm probably not going to go get some fancy-pants special stuff, because it's home depot or walmart for me. I'll start with 1/4 strength after I see them get established in their new homes.

The thing on the right side is a fan/heater set on just fan. Works pretty well, because I can feel the air flowing out my ducted outlet on the upper left. Also I got a timer; I'll probably go 18/6 in another week.

Thanks everyone.

Miracle grow... well you will get a lot of opinion on here about using it, never tried personally, but there are entire threads debating its use... All in all its not going to be as good as most other nutes, but if its all you got, its better than nothing.

Good to see you solved temp problems, and have a fan. that will help strength.

As for the transplant... IMO it was too early. Plants that have more transplants, after their roots have fully occupied the current container, tend to grow much better than when they are not fully developed, and then thrown in a huge container. The roots will have to stretch to seek the sides / bottom and will not gain as much mass as a result. Though it will be easier for your first time not having to transplant as much...

Good luck!

Ha! It was a success! The transplant has taken, and under the new lights there was significant growth overnight.

So much for trying to out-think wisdom with an engineering degree. Lowered the lights a bit more because these bulbs aren't hot at all. Going to make a reflector to go over them tonight.

BTW an engineering degree does not necessarily give you wisdom... a life time of experiences and forming your own opinions does... Sure it can't hurt with growing, but the people here who have first hand experiences know this stuff inside and out! Don't try and reinvent the wheel.

 

[MadMardo]

looking forward to your next set of pics..

 

[akasa]

looking forward to your next set of pics..

Your wish is my command. Procrastination is a grow and a DSLR. I made a foil disk to go over the lights for a little reflection. Hopefully I'll find some mylar at walmart soon.

They don't look remotely similar, do they? Strange. I love how you can see the little hairs on the leaves, the "proto-trichomes." This is two weeks old.

Annie:

Marge:

Setup:

 

[MadMardo]

They look much happier

 

[Growheart]

Def looking much happier and healthier

 

[akasa]

Okay, so these plants are staying pretty tiny. I'm growing impatient with their lack of size...seems like other grows are much faster. So, lessons learned:

• Use quality potting soil. Topsoil is too dense. It holds water strangely and can crack as it dries. Maybe this is holding them back?
• Blue lights. Lack of blue could be doing it too.
• Transplant later. The shock might be holding them back.

So much for that. On to pictures. I switched to 18/6 today and when I checked on them I realized that I hadn't watered in too long. Annie is a bit dried out. Looks like some of her leaves were crispified. Hope the roots are okay. I'm losing hope that she's gonna stay female, if she ever was. Was checking daily because I wanted to notice the growth, but if I had checked earlier I could have mitigated damage. Hrm. Marge looks okay. Watered today, and they're back in the box.

If she doesn't pull through I'll start another with the recommendations in mind. Might even catch up with Marge.

Annie:

Marge (like an inch tall):

 

[MadMardo]

My girls were very slow starting too.. I started to get discouraged but the 3rd or mid 3rd they took off. just keep them happy and things will start to happen.

I mixed my soil with seed starting soil to give it a looser feel. Maybe an idea for next time.

Also make sure your temp isnt too high. It should be sitting around 75 degrees

I also gave my leaves a spray at least once a day just to keep the early heat stress off

Im not sure what the brown is on Annie but if your using nuts.. stop. otherwise im not sure.

 

[Growheart]

I mixed my soil with seed starting soil to give it a looser feel. Maybe an idea for next time.

Also make sure your temp isnt too high. It should be sitting around 75 degrees

I also gave my leaves a spray at least once a day just to keep the early heat stress off

Im not sure what the brown is on Annie but if your using nuts.. stop. otherwise im not sure.

I have read that 78 - 80 F is ideal for seedlings growth - 75 is fine im sure, but 78 is that money spot. Spraying / misting them is a good idea to keep the heat down as well as keep dust / particles from blocking any photosynthesis, as well as to keep the humidity up which I do all the time - my seedling room sits at 30% RH without any water added to room.

Good advice on the soil mix and I think its good for seedlings to have really fine ground soil to keep the tender roots in constant moisture.

If your worried about over watering the babies, you can add just a teaspoon or two directly to the seedlings stem area to keep moisture up, its pretty critical to not let them dry out during the fragile seedilng stage.

The brown looks like it was starting to dry out, or like MadMardo said, nute burn. They don't usually need any nutes until the 2nd-3rd week, if you do make sure it's very diluted like 1/4 strength.

 

[akasa]

I haven't added any nutes so far, and there is none in the soil, and I've been using distilled water, so I can definitely pin it on dehydration. They are at two and a half weeks anyway, so I could start feeding, but I'm holding off until I can get temps under control.

I bought a thermometer, and I found I was at like 87. Still way too high. I think it's because I had the air output through a baffle that reached the middle of the box, so the hot air near the top was never pushed out. I removed the baffles, and took out two of the bulbs. Should keep the temp down. I'll get a spritzer to help keep temps down as well.

I got some mylar from walmart and covered the walls and reflector in it. Should help with both temp and lighting.

Thanks for the advice all.

They are sleeping now, but I'll get pics later to see if annie has perked up any.

 

[akasa]

All right, quick update. Girls are looking good. Added the mylar, and temps are down to the low 80s, which I'm content with. Indicas are from India, and it's damn hot there, so they'll be fine. Gave them a sprinkle of 1/4 strength nutes in water. Amounted to less than a single drop of concentrate between the two, so it should be no problem.

Expecting a growth spurt soon!

Marge:

Annie:

 

[akasa]

It's time for another thrilling update of PLANTS IN A BOX!!

Wherein, every three days, I bring you pictures of very small plants. There have been a full three weeks since first appearance!

And, without further adieu, here they are:

Annie:

Marge:

The dead parts seem to be holding back some growth on annie (causing the leaves to bend to the side) so I'll probably snip them off.

Neither has gained any height in the last week and a half. Strange, right? I'm expecting this next level of growth to have some vertical stem, or these are going to be some tiny little plants, with each level killing off the lower level from lack of light. That's already happening, and I'm a bit concerned.

Should I raise the lights to try to force them to stretch a bit? Need some advice.

 

[akasa]

Moved the lights up to about 3 inches. Should induce some stretch. MadMardo is kicking my ass!

 

[MadMardo]

Every new pic we can see new growth. It may be slow but they do take off once the roots have expanded... its all about rooting for the first 2 weeks.

 

[akasa]

Every new pic we can see new growth. It may be slow but they do take off once the roots have expanded... its all about rooting for the first 2 weeks.

Yeah, I suppose I probably put them in root growth overdrive by transplanting them so early, and into a relatively large pot. They do seem to be increasing in rate slightly.

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[akasa]

All right, they're gaining height and looking good. Raising the lights was the right choice. I'm now of the opinion that there was a mixup with the seeds, because there is no way these are the same breed. Whatever, it's all cannabis, and it looks like I've got an indica dominant and a sativa dominant to work with.

Annie's got a nice purple trait:

And Marge is filling in nicely. Needs to get bigger to catch up.

 

[Growheart]

Looking much better - not sure if that 'purple trait' will last much longer than fresh leaves, a few of my BC's had that and the leaves turned all green once growing big.

+reps for a nice recovery!

 

[akasa]

I know it's only been two days, rather than the proscribed 3, but they are looking really good, so here's one of Annie from the side. Of course this picture makes her look way bigger than she really is, but it's nice nevertheless. They both have nice solid stems, thanks to the fan.

The box has been constant at 78 degrees, which feels just right. I switched back to 24/0 lights, because 18/6 doesn't really make sense at this point. So that's 1/3 more light per day. 50% MG nutes with waterings every few days. I'm hoping to be able to top them in another week, then switch to 12/12 another 10 days after that.

 

[MadMardo]

looking great mate

 

[akasa]

Woo making big progress. They are now pretty much tiny plants, no longer big seedlings. Bumped up the nutes a bit; going to be on nute burn watch. Will flush well if anything looks bad. Watered today with an entire quart between the two.

I always get this white crust on the top of the soil. No idea what it is. Maybe fungus? Some sites say it's alkaline from the water, but the water tested at pH 6.6, which should be fine. Let me know your problem solving suggestions.

Otherwise, here they are:
Annie:

Marge:

I plan on staying in 24/0 for at least another week or two. Don't have a huge amount of space, but maybe I can add another box and maybe another foot of height if needed.

They are four and a half weeks old. Looking pretty good. Hopefully I'll get at least one female. Probably won't top or fim or do anything fancy this time. Well, I might lst, but I've got time to decide.