Hypo Hippy's first indoor grow

[Hypo Hippy]

Started with six seeds from Nirvana....three White Widows and three question mark seeds in soil. Five of the six seeds germinated..two WW and all three question marks. Started with Fl's and broke down and bought a combo 400 watt HID outfit with MH and HPS. Less than one day under the MH my high dollar digital ballast went out. Hats off to HTG supply for making it right, but right now under the Fl's again. Couple of the plants look a little wilty, but just hit them today with Half-strength Grow Big and a drop of SuperThrive and hoping for the best. Anybody have problems with their digital ballasts going out on them? I will post some pics when I figure out how.

 

[Hypo Hippy]

Alright guys. I am not smoking, but cannot figure out how to attach photos. Any help would be appreciated for a 66 yo semi-computer literate dude. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[physiologia]

Photo Gallery Guide: How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos


Click on the green text above and read the page. That should help. PM me if you would like more instructions.

 

[3lions]

You are having too many journals amigo. I would start to ensure you are posting in just one of them then get admind to remove the others.

 

[Hypo Hippy]

your right 3lions,i'm trying to get the hang of doing this right,i appoligize to all,ill either quit or get it right.thanks

 

[3lions]

Nooo dont quit..

I just mean keep posting in just this one if possible. if people post on the other ones send them the link to this page. In fact if you go to the signature bit in your profiel page and point it to your selected journal , like I have below will be good.

It will just make it easier for us all to tag along and see you in action etc.



As Physiologia pointed out for photos, try his link

 

[Aprentice]

your right 3lions,i'm trying to get the hang of doing this right,i appoligize to all,ill either quit or get it right.thanks

Never quit.

Sup hypo hippy no worries bro.

I'm sending my personal 420 ninja to help you, she picked me up dusted me off
and put this newbie back on the good foot in this sweet place we call 420 mag.

Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to.

And.

 

[3lions]

Are they just baby seedlings? You don't really want to be adding nutes (nutrients) at that stage mi amigo.

If you want a giggle take a look at my seedlings

 

[Hypo Hippy]

Question for all you experts.

What is y'alls recommendation on topping? I have five plants growing in a 4x8 closet and am torn between....1) leaving em alone 2)LST 3)Supercropping 4)topping. In the past (for the limited outdoor grows I have done, I always topped the plants, but I was operating without any guidance from a forum such as this. We have always had great results, but don't want to rush in and do something rash.

Thanks for the advice in advance.
__________________

 

[Hypo Hippy]

Finally figured out how to put photos into this thread....using a Mac seriously makes it harder (at least that is my excuse). Here are a couple of shots of the girls (hopefully) at day 24. Growing in 3 gal pots, Monrovia soil mixed with 25% perlite (FF equivalent for those of us that don't live near a FF distributer) and being fed with FF Growbig mixed at 50% and top-dressed with red worm castings. Also using one drop of Superthrive per gallon.

White Widow--named Lucille

Question Mark plant...freebie from Nirvana, but looks like some skunk variant...certainly smells skunky. Does it look like a skunk to you guys? It is real short relative to the widows. Named Daisy.

 

[Jbleez]

it stinks already? damn.

 

[MountainHigh]

See, told you I would make it by .

I really don't know bro with 5 plants under a 400watt, maybe top or FIM, I am thinking to fit them all in the best light zone (3 x 3 for 400?), you will need pretty skinny plants I am thinking. You could customize for your space too.

I figure you will have a center pot and 4 surrounding ones. Maybe take the healthiest plant and give that one a small LST to encourage maybe 8 -10 tops (then release the LST) and make that your center plant. Might need a pedestal for it to keep canopy level or slightly below the others.

Then shape the others with maybe 4-6 cola's (using LSTing, or topping and supercropping but only one method at a time until plant recovers) shaped in a V (with 3 poles per plant) to make 4 "Corner" shaped plants.

You will let the corner plants be taller than the center plant so you can let them come up around the light from the sides (keep them tied back so they can't get into the light). This should let you grow the most big cola's for the light you have. If done right this will look like a bowl of buds, not a flat canopy. The light radiated from a bulb comes out like a ball...shape your canopy that way for ideal conditions. The ideal reflector for this setup would be a parabolic, but not sure how well they vent though.

I ramble a lot bro when I get high, I am sure there are other good ways too. That is just probably what I would do.

brother.

(Oh, I am thinking maybe a bit of light bleaching/burning on those babies, but not sure bro, maybe message grow support to come look, they will know. Those dudes are smart and am pretty sure they will have no problem stopping by, they are both really good guys! )

 

[Hypo Hippy]

Thanks MH....just trying to figure out the best approach. Not doing anything yet, just thinking about it. Just took some more photos (with one of the grow closet). See what y'all think.

Lucille...White Widow

Daisy...some type of skunk (she stinks already)

Gladys...question plant from free seeds (got some chlorosis prob from stem break)

Broomhilda...white widow, looking a little peaked and chlorotic cause she got bent over badly during transplanting

Closet setup with 400W MH light and mylar on the walls

 

[TorturedSoul]

Re: Question for all you experts.

Glad you figured out how to post pictures. Makes it easier to follow along and for people to help you with any problems that may arise.

What is y'alls recommendation on topping? {...} In the past (for the limited outdoor grows I have done, I always topped the plants

Topping a plant encourages it to branch out - but removes forever not only the portion of the plant that you cut off, but also any potential growth that would have come from that portion. Training a plant so that its top is lower than the rest of the plant also encourages branching (the auxins that govern such behavior are redistributed) with NO loss of plant material.

It would seem to be a no-brainer to me. But consider this: I have tried it both ways and what I've found is that there are a few plants that just don't seem to branch well. Picture growing such a plant. If you've tried to get it to branch via training and it just won't produce (productive) branches, well, you've still got the entire plant. If you top it and it doesn't produce (productive) branches, then you're left with a plant that still won't branch - and one that has lost the top of its main(/only) cola.

I can understand topping outdoor plants - I still don't recommend it - because a grower might only visit the grow site a few times. But with an indoor grow, you generally have access to it on a daily basis and can easily train it. In fact, most indoor growers will take any excuse to visit their grows (including "I think the plants are lonely" ).

BtW, what is the pH of the nutrient solution that you are feeding your plants? And what is the pH of their runoff?

You DO have a pH meter, right? If not, I posted my recommendations in Kriz's "Stealth Grow" journal.

Thank you for running a journal, and good luck with your grow!

 

[Hypo Hippy]

Hey TS...thanks for all the advice and tips. Yeah, I have man of the same thoughts concerning topping, but wanted to talk to you experts here who have "been there, done that." BTW the pH has been consistently running 6.8-7.0, both in the plants and in the runoff. When we transplanted the plants into the 3 gal pots we somehow bumped into two of them and bent them over (I think with the mylar) and those are the only two plants that look puny....both have some chlorosis and you can see where the callus has formed on the main stem, with radial roots running out of the bent area.

Do you recommend LST or just letting the plant grow naturally? Also, when is the best time to clone your plant? Still a little early for the girls, but just wondering. Once again, thanks all for visiting and any/all comments or advice.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Hey TS{...}you experts

I'm no expert, lol. I learn something new every day. On a good day I learn it before noon and can coast the rest of the day.

But seriously, take much of what I say to mean "in my experience..." and not as any kind of carven-in-stone fact. Like I said, I learn something every day - and occasionally, what I learn is that I was wrong about something.

BTW the pH has been consistently running 6.8-7.0, both in the plants and in the runoff.

From a hydro point of view, that would be high - but you're growing in soil. Afraid I've already taken my night meds (pills, unfortunately) and am feeling dumber and more disconnected every second. I know soil range is generally higher but can't rember right now the sweet spot for dirt.

Matter of fact, turned furnace up to 62 for a bit for a shot of heat before going to bed for the night and it was a while before I figured out that that funky smell was raw gas because the pilot had gone out and the burner was on not lit (I had to work on it to get it to stop going out 2 minutes after lighting it every time - which mostly amounted to beating the sh*t out of it with a hammer - and now once in a while it still goes out but the safety don't work right).

No, I don't leave it lit when I'm asleep or not here. I'm homicidal, not suicidal.

And rambling. Apologies. Waiting on the place to air out lol.

Do you recommend LST or just letting the plant grow naturally? Also, when is the best time to clone your plant? Still a little early for the girls, but just wondering. Once again, thanks all for visiting and any/all comments or advice.

Never liked the idea of just letting them go but then I grew mainly sativas and I didn't have 24' high ceilings (or 25,000-watt lights). Most every plant can benefit from some kind of training. The goal is to get as much of the plant as close to the light as possible, right? Part of that is moving things around so that part of the plant isn't blocking another part of the plant (or another plant). Think of the leaves as little solar panels with on-board energy storage - cause that's what they are. You wouldn't buy $10k worth of solar panels and them stack them all in one pile on your roof.

I'll try again tomorrow when I can think. Have a great night.

 

[Hypo Hippy]

T.S.
Thanks for all the tidbits. I welcome each and every pointer....you know what they say about opinions. Anyhow, yeah be careful with those pilot lights...you can seriously f yourself up with a gas furnace. We live down south and have heat pumps, but when it gets cold (like it is right now) the cold LAUGHS at a heat pump. Nevertheless, I probably will train them horizontally in some form or fashion just haven't decided which on. What is FIM? I saw references to that but don't know what it is. Anyhow, have a good night.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Almost made it to bed and Mom calls. "I can't remember if it's ok to take this pill before bedtime, can you internet it for me?"

FIM? "Fook, I missed!" No, really.

I'm at the cottony-head stage, but put it in this site's search box and you'll get like 187 results. Here's some, oldest first:
How to do fiming technik?
What is the FIM pruning technique?
FIMing...
What is the FIM technique?

 

[Hypo Hippy]

Thanks....sweet dreams. I will look it up tomorrow. Got a little Crown Royal in me so we are both operating in an impaired status.

 

[Tiger Balm]

just checking in - re Low Stress Training, dahcwon has a grow journal where he researched the subject and found a good graphic.
And i did LST, too, with some good pictures, if i may say so.