Grasbauer's First Grow - Arjan's Haze #3 - Soil - 160W CFL

[grasbauer]

Continued from this thread in the problems section. Note that I'm a complete beginner. The grow is for personal recreational use only, and I have low thc tolerance, so yield is not an issue.

Seeds: 3x Arjan's Haze #3 (70% Sativa, 30% Indica, small sized) germinated on Dec 17th 2014. 2 more seeds didn't make it. One finally started to open when put into a glass of water but apparently drowned there. The other was planted again after being soaked, but then I got impatient, looked, and ripped off its root...

Equipment: 2x80W PL-L (T5HO CFLs) in Homebox XS (60x60x120cm), 160 m³/h duct blower running at 150V, 5W fan, currently 6l pots, Plagron Growmix / EC 1.2-1.6, Biobizz Bio-Grow fertilizer.

Day temps about 27°C , warmer at the plant's tops. Night above 19°. Humidity unknown, meter is on its way. Last watered yesterday.

After a rough start - see older images in the linked thread - the plants, now 3 weeks old, are growing fast. Parts of the newer leaves look a bit dried out and shriveled though. I have used the fertilizer 9 days ago, and one more time like 3 days ago. It takes 1-2 weeks to become active, which I didn't know at first. I might have used a bit much.

The plant in the back is a different phenotype than the other two ones and a lot larger, see the other thread for a size comparison from a different perspective.

Day 22


Closeup, see shriveled leaves.

 

[c526]

holy shit man,they look way better than before

it is too warm vs how dry it is,get the humidity up into the 65% range and they will straighten up

fine mist is ok for now,dont get crazy with it.I use carbonated water

 

[grasbauer]

I'm not here during the day and the duct fan dries it all out, even though I pour water into the base of the box (paper towels there) regularly when I'm here. Maybe I should try wet bath towels, they should hold more. Or pots with water?
It has been like this from the beginning though (even worse because the fan was running at 170V), I haven't seen that effect before. Also, only the leaves grown in the last few days are affected. The older ones are completely normal.

 

[grasbauer]

Nothing I did with spraying etc. helped. So I just flushed with tap water in case I did use too much fert, let's see what'll happen.
The largest plant has already reached the bottom of the pot with some of its roots.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Looking pretty good & well on track, i would be quite happy myself with growth like that.

You can place pots in a plant dish or saucer & water from the bottom, just fill dish to the top letting the soil soak the water up as a suggestion ?

The leafs cupping/curling with the edge of leafs pointing upwards might be a little heat stress which could be from the T5HO tubes/bulbs being to close to the plant tops ?

You might want to adjust your hanging distance slightly !

 

[grasbauer]

No dish will fit around these pots in that small box. And couldn't the roots rot if the pot is standing in water?
I had thought about the heat being the reason for the shriveled leaves, but I could rule that out, because at some spots, the older leaves were just as near to the lamp as the newer ones, and looked completely normal. These CFLs also stay fairly cool and I am nowhere near the minimum recommended distance.
At least it didn't get worse today, and there was more growth, so let's see.

 

[Dan Ultra]

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

In the short term standing pots in water is really not a problem.

It is just long term, like for many days & weeks constantly standing in water which may lead to root rot !

 

[grasbauer]

Good to know. Received some more equipment.. it is now nighttime in the box and humidity is 79% (to be expected as I watered shortly before the end of the "day"). Ph value of my tap water is 6,5.

 

[Dan Ultra]

Good to know. Received some more equipment.. it is now nighttime in the box and humidity is 79% (to be expected as I watered shortly before the end of the "day"). Ph value of my tap water is 6,5.

That some decent tap water. LOL. Mine is like 8.2

 

[c526]

That some decent tap water. LOL. Mine is like 8.2

8.5 and just short of 500ppm,works fine in hydro

 

[grasbauer]

The strange texture is still there, but growth is faster than ever.



I'm thinking about adding an early flowering Automaria II plant. It could be ready a month earlier than these ones. I have to move the pots out of that placement in line soon anyway, then a fourth plant would make better use of available space. On the other hand, what if that auto becomes a hermie and I'm not noticing it with my lack of experience, so it then "impregnates" the others? Is that an actual risk?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Good to know. Received some more equipment.. it is now nighttime in the box and humidity is 79% (to be expected as I watered shortly before the end of the "day"). Ph value of my tap water is 6,5.

Ye i got tap water around the same PH myself pretty cool ah

Mmm RH/humidity 79% during lights off could present a problem during flowering !

As it may cause bud rot ? this may depend on how dense the colas are or whether the strain grown is reasonable mold resistant, early signs of bud rot manifest during the last few weeks of flowering in general...



Mmm not sure about introducing an auto flowering strain to what is already grown ? could be a difference in growth rate/size of plants which might lead to a hanging height of bulb & total head room available ? just my 2 cents worth on that one... some thing worth thing about tho !

 

[grasbauer]

The main duct fan is switched off together with the lights. In the later flowering phase, I'll leave it running. That should keep humidity lower. It's now 36% day, ~55% night, 4 days after watering. Soil is still not quite dry.

It's getting more crowded in there. They get wider every day, but hardly gain in height. Still the strange texture on all new leaves.

Day 26

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Looking good with suitable growth, i would not worry to much about how tall the plant is as it will do its thing soon enough

 

[grasbauer]

Plants are doing their thing fine, it seems. Two and a half days later, it's all much more dense.

Question: how dry must the soil at the bottom of the pots be before I water again? It's been 5 days since the last watering, and there is still a bit of humidity to be felt there at least on one side (pots are not standing level, will try to do something about that). Most of the soil must be dry by now.
I noticed that air humidity without the lamp is in fact up to 80%, so I guess I should leave the main fan running at all times.

 

[grasbauer]

Progress below. Plants do have some slightly burnt looking leaves. Missing fert? Too much fert? We'll see once the next organic fert dosage becomes active in a week or so. This delay is making it real hard for a beginner!

RQS Diesel Auto in the little white pot. Germinated within 1 day and sprouted a day later, only 3 days old now and it is already almost 5 cm high. Supposedly one of the fastest strains. Let's see.

 

[grasbauer]

Day 36, looking a lot better now. Plants topped 2 days ago. Preflower pistils appeared. And distinct odor.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Looking good & all appears fine


You will get the hang of watering in due time it is more of learn by experience subject.

Mmm RH 80% yes it always best to run all fans 24/7, i'm afraid RH normally spikes during the lights off period for most of us !


Well i am not saying it is going to happen ? but in general RH 80% in mid to late flowering may cause bud rot ?

1. Some strains are more resistant to bud rot than others.

2. Big dense colas can be a bit of problem at times.


On a side note, in due time you may wish to think about running a dehumidifier during lights off period to help lower RH as a little tip for the furture

 

[grasbauer]

Ah, someone still watching this.
Since I started running the fan 24h, humidity stays below 60% with the lights off. The room has 50-55%.

To correct the last post, preflowers have been there for a while, bud sites started to appear. Is there a special term for them? I thought they only appeared in the flower phase, it got me a bit worried.

I plan to repot them once more (6l to round 8l) one final time before I flip to 12/12 by the end of next week, unless someone has a better idea.

Day 39