GrowingGirls' Mystery Seed Growing Adventure Journal - 2010

[GrowingGirls]

As the title says, I started with mystery seeds. They've been in flowering stage under 12/12 for about 1.5 weeks now (they vegged at 17/7 for about 2 months). I was able to sex them yesterday, and only had one boy out of four plants. So, now I have three tall flowering girls and a dozen clones, hooray!

My soil is nothing special; it's a mix of potting soil, garden dirt, and horse manure. I opted to keep these in soil even though I do have a little hydro experience from a few years back. This is what happens when your dealer uncharacteristically sells you a sack with a few seeds in it and you throw them in soil just for fun. I expected nothing!

The ladies, which I will be starting (yes, I should have done this ages ago) some LST on today, are under a 175w HPS. I also added a couple of homemade CFL fixtures yesterday. They get watered every other day or so with a bloom nutrient solution, although I was using just water until recently. The temp in that room stays around 80 thanks to the heater fan I've got in there. Humidity is around 50.

I made the airheaded mistake of putting my baby girl clones in clear cups. That'll be fixed soon. They are in the same soil as the big ladies, but with perlite added. I'm using 2 fluorescents (15w per tube) over each set of 6 clones. The temp/humidity in there was 75/75 last night. I'm going to check on that this morning and decide if I need humidity domes.

420magazine member dfw-guy has been helping me out with this elsewhere on the internet and suggested I start a grown journal here, so here I am!

There are more pics in my photo gallery, but here are a few:

Clone close-up:

Clone light rig:

Tray-o-clones:

Flowering room:

And here's the top of the first lady who showed her sex:

 

[Mr Blonde]

I'm in buddy. + reps for getting rollin!

 

[dfw-guy]

Nice journal :]

About your watering schedule. Cannabis likes wet/dry periods. Check out this short thread from the FAQ. Basically you should wait until your soil is dry before watering again. As you get to know your plants you'll be able to tell if the soil is dry by the weight difference. But until then a nice trick is to stick your finger 2" into the soil. If the soil is wet (sticks to your finger) you don't have to water.

Over watering is likely the most common mistake among growers. Depending on the size of your containers and the rate at which your plants absorb the water the time between waterings are quite unique. However most growers tend to water every 3-4 days. I remember that with my grow my girls needed to be watered every 4 days while in veg, every 3 days in early flowering, and every 2 days in the final weeks of their life. But my girls were only in 1.7gal pots. If you use a larger pot then you can go longer w/o watering.

 

[GrowingGirls]

I think I overestimated how often I water; it's more like every 3rd day. Still, I'm going to slow it down because even though the top of the soil is usually dry when I water, I know that dryness isn't extending 2" down.

The clones look good today...some wilted ever so slightly, but others are already looking up at the light, and all of them still look very healthy. Humidity is staying good in the room but I need to get the temp up a bit, and whatever I do to raise the temp (probably a small heater fan like what I use in the other room, but as far away from the plants as possible to start) will screw with the humidity, so I'm probably going to end up doming them.

Funny story about the dome thing. I picked up the shelving unit and fluorescent tubes via craigslist a couple weeks ago from someone who was giving them away when they were moving (yay for free stuff!) and had put everything out on the curb. The unit had a clear plastic zip-on cover that would be perfect for humidity; in fact I'm now sure that was its previous use. But I didn't know that would be helpful, so I didn't take the cover. I'm seriously slapping myself over that now.

 

[dfw-guy]

Ha. What you could do about the humidity for your clones seeing as how your keeping them in trays is have them sit in like a 1/4" of water. Just be sure to mist them at least once a day and you should be alright. If you keep the airflow low the humidity should stay high. Them looking up at the light is definitely a good sign. Anytime you need to raise the humidity just keep out an open container of water. Lowering the humidity is a different story. After 4-7 days the clones should have rooted and you can treat them like normal plants.

What are your temps for the big girls like? I would assume that those CFL's help them stay warm. And BTW when they start budding your going to want to keep their humidity below 50% to discourage mold.

 

[GrowingGirls]

The CFLs brought the temp in the bloom room up to 90, so I turned the heater/fan combo to the "fan" setting so it was just blowing out unheated air. That brought it back down to 80. Then I realized I had another fan I could use for that room, freeing up the heater fan for the clones. So, I just put a different fan with the big girls and put the little heater fan in with the babies. I'm going to give them a couple hours and see where the temps stabilize in both rooms, and since I know the heater is going to dry out the clone room, I'm going to just try putting an open bucket of water in the room as you suggested. In fact, I should do that right now.

I did a bunch of reading on LST today, but instead of having a definite plan I am going to depend more on my gardener's intuition and go down there tonight with some string and just do what seems right.

Since this grow op is happening in a humid basement, I already have a big-ass dehumidifier I can use when needed. And it will be needed; it's over 60% in the big room right now. Running a dehumidifier in the main basement area has proven in the past to have an effect in the closed-off rooms too, so that should work.

I also propped up the clones trays so they are a couple inches closer to the light. They're still at least 4 inches away, though.

Hey, here's one question I haven't found the answer to around here yet...how often should I water the clones? Same as the big ones (let them dry out some), or should I keep the soil continuously moist for now? I'm misting the leaves several times per day...pretty much any time I have a reason to go into the basement.

 

[GrowingGirls]

Testing to make sure my signature works. Ignore me.

 

[GrowingGirls]

Well, last night was exciting. I screwed up and tried to LST some thirsty ladies, and one of them ended up with two bends in her stalk. I splinted her immediately with materials I already had at arm's reach, and then fixed it up with some tape after a little research.

So, the wounded lady is going to have to rest and recuperate, but I will re-attempt LST on the other two soon. I undid all my ties after the incident, because I realized my method wasn't that great. I have a better plan now!

Everyone in the bloom room is looking kind of droopy; I'm going to research what's up with that this afternoon and act accordingly. I am still trying to regulate the temp in there; I thought I had it perfect yesterday, but it has cooled down too much. I think the solution is going to be a couple more homemade CFL fixtures; I'm sure they'd love more light.

The clones look about the same as yesterday. I'm going to buy a tiny fan heater for that room today, because the small one I was using that was previously in the bloom room (but made it too hot even on the lowest setting) is overpowering.

So...I have a few issues, but I'm going to work them out ASAP and I am still happy with how all my plants are doing. Although I'm going to look up what I need to know, any suggestions are of course appreciated.

A few new pics (more in my gallery):

Drooping:

Repairs:

The itty bitty pretty girls:

 

[SanibelGreen]

I like the clone area! Simple and effective is always the best

SG

 

[GrowingGirls]

I've determined the drooping is most likely due to a bit of overwatering (easily fixed!), and possibly stress from my first attempt at LST last night. I also decided they were healthy enough to start messing with them again. Here are a few pics of my LST efforts. I did not use any guides for this; I just did what made sense to me.

Now I'm REALLY going to leave them alone for a day.

 

[dfw-guy]

Nice LST, I'm glad you got that worked out without too much harm. Yes your right about the drooping, it's likely due to over watering. The clones' soil shouldn't be drying since your misting them, but if the top soil starts to dry then just moisten it back up, but don't flood em. You'd probably just need half a dozen table spoons of water in each to keep em happy. Just give your girls a couple days to get over the stress of LST and the watering and I'm sure they'll be looking like stars.

That's great to hear that you already have a dehumidifier. They're expensive and a lot of people just don't have the cash to drop on one. You should have a worry free crop when they start budding :]

 

[GrownManHollr]

Hey GrowingGirls!

Those are some lanky ladies you've got there! Nice job mending up after that LST accident. You obviously have medical training. I'm sure she'll carry on just fine.

Best of luck as you move ahead with your flowering. Will stay tuned.

 

[GrowingGirls]

Thanks guys...I am pretty proud of the work I did on the damaged girl, but I'd be prouder if I hadn't screwed up in the first place. I've been learning tons, and I'm enjoying this soil grow much more than my hydro grows I did a few years ago. Last night I was looking at what I call "future grow porn"...that is, pics and tutorials on techniques I can't wait to try.

A few of my clones aren't looking so great this morning. I'm going to post for help in the appropriate forum since I haven't been able to search out the answer, but here are some pics of the problems in case anyone wants to throw some advice out in this thread.

The clone room was at a temp of 85 this morning, which I think is good, but the humidity was down to 55 and I've got to get that up! I might go to the grow-and-brew store for some domes today because I can't find anything around the house for a DIY job. In the meantime, I've put several open containers of water in the room.

Also, they really seemed too dry this morning, so I gave them just a tiny bit of water. I filled a cup identical to those the clones are planted in, and used that one cup of water for all 12 clones...so each one got a little over an ounce.

Problem #1, weak and wilty:

Problem #2, yellowing w/ brown/black patches (dying, am I right?):

 

[myxedup]

cut the bigger leaves off trim the others at the tips, get them covered with a dome stop misting them, move lites close and leave them alone no water for awhile, they are weeds they will take alot of abuse, wait and hope they recover if not try again, do more research and start again if they dont survive, dont throw in the towel we need more growers in the world and its a great legal hobby now,hope that helps.

 

[myxedup]

I forgot to ask if the clones had roots before they where put into soil or are they rooting in soil ? they look as though they are trying to root they may have to much moisture and need to sit in the open air for a hour every day a couple times a day small fan ocilating for strenght and fresh air, not sure some times they wilt from to much water and they wilt with not enough, you wil figure it out and then you will happy.

 

[GrowingGirls]

Thanks Myxedup!

They went in there rootless, straight from the moms after a good clean cut and a dip in water and rooting powder.

I think that maybe the plants are too moist even though the room is too dry...too much misting. I have a small heater/fan combo in the room to circulate air and keep the temp up. I'm going to dome them today. If they all die, I'll try again!

 

[myxedup]

Thanks Myxedup!

They went in there rootless, straight from the moms after a good clean cut and a dip in water and rooting powder.

I think that maybe the plants are too moist even though the room is too dry...too much misting. I have a small heater/fan combo in the room to circulate air and keep the temp up. I'm going to dome them today. If they all die, I'll try again!

Thats awesome i use to clone that way it works just as good dont know why i do different now but i do, yep your on the rite track i never mist clones it never works well for me, let them dry out and search for water the strong will survive. good luck and dont stop growing you will get it figured out and its so sweet when you get a nice garden you will see its zen for sure.

 

[GrowingGirls]

I'm getting close to having my temp and RH regulated in both rooms, finally. The bloom bloom room was at 70/70 first thing this morning when the lights came on, but I've got the temp almost up to 75 and the RH down to 55. The clones are domed and at about 80/85 right now. Hooray.

Dome:

More new lights in the bloom bloom room:

The "broken" plant is a superstar! Her leaves may be drooping still, but I counted about 30 flowering spots today. It's blowing my mind. Here are a few decent quick phone shots:

 

[myxedup]

how are the little ones today? if you have humidity buiding up on the inside of dome, crack it open a couple times a day, your babies should start to root 7-10 days a few leaves will turn yellow this is normal and a good sign , hope they pull thru good luck and i will check back later, thanks

 

[GrowingGirls]

The little ones look mostly okay, but I can't get the humidity much higher than 80. Some look like they've got a good chance of making it, and some don't.

And the big girls, well...I'm embarrassed to say that I had another LST accident today. I was being so careful! Since I have some more space to work with in that room, before my next grow I am going to knock out some shelves and change the orientation of the ballast so that I can get to the back end of the room and work on plants from that side too instead of having to reach through or pull the pots out from under the light. But yeah, a different plant was damaged this time. It was only one bend, unlike the other plant with two, but it's a bad one and I might lose the whole top foot or so. I patched it up but it doesn't look good. I did everything I could and now all I can do is keep working on the environment and hope she mends.

But, the one I fucked up the other day looks fabulous, and the one undamaged plant is doing well.

Oh, and I did lose one clone. It got knocked over when I was putting the dome back on yesterday. I could have tried to put it back together, but I decided to sacrifice it for the sake of being able to examine it and see if I could learn anything. All I learned was that it didn't have any roots yet, which was not surprising.