I suck at growing

It's been a mix of different screw ups. I think one part of the problem is I continually try new things.
You might have hit the nail on the head...seems you have been changing so many variables with each grow you've lost the ability to identify what you do well. Maybe commit to one method and see if you can increase your yields using the same tools each time. :goodluck:
 
Just because some contributes to this community doesnt give them the right to belittle or chase other members away all because she thinks their giving bad advice. Everyone here contributes to this community and if we all had that attitude there would be no community.
I am attempting to chase no one away nor do I go out of my way to belittle members. If someone is doing something dumb, I will say so. If someone is doing something wrong, I will say so. This is compassion, not malice. Someone needs to stand firm and defend the new people from bad information. This ultra liberal idea that all people have equal and valid opinions is silly... sometimes people are wrong.
I do have more accessibility to computers throughout my day than most people have, and I do tend to jump into threads that are asking for help very early if I am available. Just because I am able to jump in early and give a quick analysis or even an explanation as to what is going on along with my recommendations as to how to proceed, does not make me a bully... it makes me fast and amazingly responsive. I work hard at this, and I think I spent 6 hours on the forum writing responses, just yesterday. Do the sheer amount of words that I write here per day make me a bully? Only to those who disagree with me and want others to see them as the expert who saved their garden.
If my level of activity makes someone so intimidated that they have to leave this forum, that is a shame... and it is not not my intent to make people feel that way. I feel no sorrow for someone who can't back up the science behind the advice they are trying to give, and who feels offended that I got there first, and gave my detailed opinion.
If any of you feel I have belittled yourself or someone else, please send your complaint to the moderators or send me a PM. Blocking me, attempting to go around me with PMs to the OP countermanding the advice I gave, or group attacks like this one against a hard working member who is only trying to save distressed grows and do good in the world, are not helpful actions in the least. If you all think that you are ever going to be able to drive me away with this nonsense... think again. I do not get my feelings hurt very easily, and I know what my true intent is, and until management disagrees with my forthright style, I will continue doing what I do.
 
I am attempting to chase no one away nor do I go out of my way to belittle members. If someone is doing something dumb, I will say so. If someone is doing something wrong, I will say so. This is compassion, not malice. Someone needs to stand firm and defend the new people from bad information. This ultra liberal idea that all people have equal and valid opinions is
I do have more accessibility to computers throughout my day than most people have, and I do tend to jump into threads that are asking for help very early if I am available. Just because I am able to jump in early and give a quick analysis or even an explanation as to what is going on along with my recommendations as to how to proceed, does not make me a bully... it makes me fast and amazingly responsive. I work hard at this, and I think I spent 6 hours on the forum writing responses, just yesterday. Do the sheer amount of words that I write here per day make me a bully? Only to those who disagree with me and want others to see them as the expert who saved their garden.
If my level of activity makes someone so intimidated that they have to leave this forum, that is a shame... and it is not not my intent to make people feel that way. I feel no sorrow for someone who can't back up the science behind the advice they are trying to give, and who feels offended that I got there first, and gave my detailed opinion.
If any of you feel I have belittled yourself or someone else, please send your complaint to the moderators or send me a PM. Blocking me, attempting to go around me with PMs to the OP countermanding the advice I gave, or group attacks like this one against a hard working member who is only trying to save distressed grows and do good in the world, are not helpful actions in the least. If you all think that you are ever going to be able to drive me away with this nonsense... think again. I do not get my feelings hurt very easily, and I know what my true intent is, and until management disagrees with my forthright style, I will continue doing what I do.
None of this is for my sake. Ive said my piece and said what MY problem is. I didnt even know that you got called out by other people I saw this thread and remembered a few other times you've been less than curtious and had to say something.
Im in no way threatened by you or any other grower here. If any of that was aimed at me then you really got the wrong person.
As I said if youve been pulled up before then maybe you should think about the way you come across. Its nothing to do with the volume of your posts or the information you put across (for the third time) its the way you do it.
Im not even gonna bother with any more of this cos its futile.
Peace out
 
lighting will always present a challenge for me since I have a very limited electrical setup. I'm on a 30 amp glass fuse for my entire household

There are TWO of us, LOL?! Have you ever been told, "Sure, I can write you a policy on that house - just as soon as you completely gut the electrical system and replace it with something younger than my grandfather," or the like? Ever impatiently watched the clock so that the second your grow space went to sleep... you could use your microwave oven that day without having to unplug the refrigerator and use a flashlight?

Maybe I should do a side-by-side the same

Side-by-side comparison grows are tough to manage, when your home's gross electrical capacity is only 30 amps. Especially if it's the original old two-(separate-)wire run stuff and the only guy left in the area who had was competent to work with it, repair it, and make connections to it (with his little century-old solder pot ;) ) died 15 years ago of old age - then you'll end up sweating bullets every time you consider going above 80% rated capacity (24 amps!), your load becomes unbalanced by a dozen watts, etc.

For "12-hour/day" gardens, though, you could run them on a flip-flop setup. But then you might never get to use a microwave (electric coffeepot, blender, television, et cetera).
 
There are TWO of us, LOL?! Have you ever been told, "Sure, I can write you a policy on that house - just as soon as you completely gut the electrical system and replace it with something younger than my grandfather," or the like? Ever impatiently watched the clock so that the second your grow space went to sleep... you could use your microwave oven that day without having to unplug the refrigerator and use a flashlight?



Side-by-side comparison grows are tough to manage, when your home's gross electrical capacity is only 30 amps. Especially if it's the original old two-(separate-)wire run stuff and the only guy left in the area who had was competent to work with it, repair it, and make connections to it (with his little century-old solder pot ;) ) died 15 years ago of old age - then you'll end up sweating bullets every time you consider going above 80% rated capacity (24 amps!), your load becomes unbalanced by a dozen watts, etc.

For "12-hour/day" gardens, though, you could run them on a flip-flop setup. But then you might never get to use a microwave (electric coffeepot, blender, television, et cetera).
Ha I know that feeling! but I gave up on microwaves, just use a gas oven for everything now. I shut prettttty much everything off to use my pressure cooker to make infused coconut oil last night. Summer is the worst, it's basically unlivable in here from the heat without AC so they take precedence over lights.

I was thinking by side-by-side in one tent, with 9 pots on a 3x3 grid. One row soil, one coco, and one hempy perlite.

But I don't know that I can do that this time around since my cuts I took for clones weren't very consistent size.
 
You might have hit the nail on the head...seems you have been changing so many variables with each grow you've lost the ability to identify what you do well. Maybe commit to one method and see if you can increase your yields using the same tools each time. :goodluck:
Yeah that's what I'm thinking but I'm not sure how to correct mistakes without changing too much at once.

So for example, I think this ATF cut is calcium needy so I amended the soil.

So that being so, should I still flip sooner so I can keep my lights closer?
 
You'll get better, just gotta practice. Practice, practice, practice. All the best ones out there at one point where nobodies. They all, we all started somewhere. Most, never had forums to vet ideas and methods. So, keep at it and consider yourself fortunate.
 
Yeah that's what I'm thinking but I'm not sure how to correct mistakes without changing too much at once. So for example, I think this ATF cut is calcium needy so I amended the soil. So that being so, should I still flip sooner so I can keep my lights closer?
I am not current on all your grows or challenges...but I have had plenty myself trying to figure what "works" for me.

My suggestion is to simplify to what you already like and know: strain, grow medium, light source. Commit to one grow doing multiple of the same strain and you will likely see ways to make it work better for you. If you didn't like the strain, switch it but not the rest of the setup. Same for the grow medium, same for lighting. Change one variable and it will be much easier to track the weak link in your particular chain.
 
Wow. That is exactly where I am. I can get more out of some plants while other drop me back to a 1.5 average. In the end my crop harvest averages right at 1.5 per plant no matter what I do.

With me it is usually my fault. I have trouble getting everything near perfect all the way through the grow. Problems here and there always pop up. Problems at the wrong time can really affect production.

The fact that I can get a ounce out of almost anything makes me thing I am not far off. Mostly it is because of a big assed light. Enough lumens to produce big buds helps a lot. I need to feed my plants more also. My minimalist views on growing has a lot to do with what I am getting back.

For now I am just trying to do everything at the right time. With no mistakes and a heavier feeding program I think I can get that average up to 2 oz or more per plant.

Also all my strains are grow for quality and not quantity that is always going to affect production.
 
How about clearing the deck and starting out new? Get a 4x2x5 tent, a 600 watt adjustable led light, 6- 1 gal pots, 2- 5 gal smart pots. Your medium? Starting a new, try a quality soil. Pop 6-8 seeds in solo cups. Two weeks later, pick best 6, transplant to 1 gal pots. Veg 4 weeks. Using LST, topping, etc. Sex, then transplant best two. Flip and flower til done. You’ll get 8 Oz. min. Or, do 8 1 gal pots and sog.
 
How about clearing the deck and starting out new? Get a 4x2x5 tent, a 600 watt adjustable led light, 6- 1 gal pots, 2- 5 gal smart pots. Your medium? Starting a new, try a quality soil. Pop 6-8 seeds in solo cups. Two weeks later, pick best 6, transplant to 1 gal pots. Veg 4 weeks. Using LST, topping, etc. Sex, then transplant best two. Flip and flower til done. You’ll get 8 Oz. min. Or, do 8 1 gal pots and sog.

I cannot recommend 5' tall tents for anything but a SCROG.
You lose about a foot from the bottom for your containers.
You lose at least 10" for your filter.
You lose at least 6" for your light.
You lose at least a foot for the canopy to light space.

You have only 1' 8" (20" or 50cm) left for your plants to grow in. You can claim about a foot back by omitting the filter, or mounting it outside the tent, and using shallower containers, but it's still crowded. I've done three grows in a 2' x 4' x 5' tent. It's now folded up in the basement waiting for use as a veg tent. I'm now growing in a 2' x 4' x 7'-8' Gorilla clone set up 7' tall. Ahhh! finally my plants have room to stretch out a little.
 
I'm getting worse too, and I lost interest.:oops:
When I started with autos I had monster plants, 2-4zips per plant...
Now, not so much. o_O
I too have tried to many things, and I'm going to simplify.
Go back to the way I used to do it, maybe it will help.

That being said, I'm smoking on Bloody Skunk auto.
It is soooo tasty. I had 2 jars from that plant, and its airy buds.
Sometimes it's quality not quantity. ;)


That hash you made looks tasty! :drool:


1722507
 
I cannot recommend 5' tall tents for anything but a SCROG.
You lose about a foot from the bottom for your containers.
You lose at least 10" for your filter.
You lose at least 6" for your light.
You lose at least a foot for the canopy to light space.

You have only 1' 8" (20" or 50cm) left for your plants to grow in. You can claim about a foot back by omitting the filter, or mounting it outside the tent, and using shallower containers, but it's still crowded. I've done three grows in a 2' x 4' x 5' tent. It's now folded up in the basement waiting for use as a veg tent. I'm now growing in a 2' x 4' x 7'-8' Gorilla clone set up 7' tall. Ahhh! finally my plants have room to stretch out a little.
Thank you for that info. I do have to scrog, and it was a struggle with Jack! The height is what I need.
 
Wow. That is exactly where I am. I can get more out of some plants while other drop me back to a 1.5 average. In the end my crop harvest averages right at 1.5 per plant no matter what I do.

With me it is usually my fault. I have trouble getting everything near perfect all the way through the grow. Problems here and there always pop up. Problems at the wrong time can really affect production.

The fact that I can get a ounce out of almost anything makes me thing I am not far off. Mostly it is because of a big assed light. Enough lumens to produce big buds helps a lot. I need to feed my plants more also. My minimalist views on growing has a lot to do with what I am getting back.

For now I am just trying to do everything at the right time. With no mistakes and a heavier feeding program I think I can get that average up to 2 oz or more per plant.

Also all my strains are grow for quality and not quantity that is always going to affect production.
I try to stay minimal too. A lot of people talk about feeding 800-1000ppm in flower but I only ever mix my nutrients to about 300-500. I often wonder if I am just not feeding enough, but then I try to feed more and burn them. I try to focus on quality over quantity too, so I have been trying to avoid burning.


I am not current on all your grows or challenges...but I have had plenty myself trying to figure what "works" for me.

My suggestion is to simplify to what you already like and know: strain, grow medium, light source. Commit to one grow doing multiple of the same strain and you will likely see ways to make it work better for you. If you didn't like the strain, switch it but not the rest of the setup. Same for the grow medium, same for lighting. Change one variable and it will be much easier to track the weak link in your particular chain.

Seems like it makes sense. It's just really hard to decide which problems to address. I have always sucked at making decisions between A or B, so I think I have just been trying to get away with doing both A and B, and maybe even a C and D.

So I am basically now deliberating between these changes...

  1. Use the re-amended recycled Happy Frog whixh I believe will do better
  2. Flip sooner so I can get higher light intensity on shorter plants
My gut is telling me that light is more important than the medium.

I'm getting worse too, and I lost interest.:oops:
When I started with autos I had monster plants, 2-4zips per plant...
Now, not so much. o_O
I too have tried to many things, and I'm going to simplify.
Go back to the way I used to do it, maybe it will help.

That being said, I'm smoking on Bloody Skunk auto.
It is soooo tasty. I had 2 jars from that plant, and its airy buds.
Sometimes it's quality not quantity. ;)


That hash you made looks tasty! :drool:

Thanks! Yeah it's really kicking my butt right now. It's the best medicine I have for my nausea, so I try not to use it too much for anything but that, and medicate everything else with my flowers to keep my tolerance lower. Trying to get to a point where I don't have to worry about running out.

I basically went back to my old ways the last cycle too. I finally got an 8+ oz harvest for the first time and I am actually really happy with the outcome, but it realized I was still only getting the same average per plant and thought about how much better or would be if I could get 2 per plant with 9 plants. Well obviously twice as good, but maybe I wouldn't have to worry about running out.
 
I have ran into the same problems with burning when I try and feed more. That was a long time ago and I haven't tried since. I may be able to do it better now. We will see. everything is going good so far.

I think timing is the key. We all know strains feed different. I think every strain has a time when it can be fed a lot. Lots of food when they can handle it can help production. It is the when and the what you can feed them that could make the difference.

I am headed into another crop that is doing great. If I can only keep from screwing up for another 6 weeks I think I will be good LMAO.
 
I struggled on this path as well. Still do. My biggest problem was in comparing my grow to others. It's hard, you hop on here or Instagram different forum whatever and see all the amazing looking plants and start judging your own. The grass is always greener on the other side.

I wanted to add co2 and change lights and nutes and mediums and just about everything else I could think of. But I can't afford to do that so I just continued with what I have.

The biggest difference I made in how happy I am with my plants is I stopped comparing them to other folks'. I don't weigh my harvests anymore. I don't care about it, different strains last longer work better whatever so for me it's about growing enough to last us till the next harvest not about growing 2lbs or 6lbs. It's splitting hairs but the change in mindset actually helped me a lot. My plants may not be any better but I'm happier with them.

I haven't seen anything to suggest you actually suck at growing. I mean your plants survive to harvest you can't be that bad right?

If you still think you need to do more.
My priority list that I've pieced together is
Environment
Light
Water
Nutes

A plant needs big lights and lots of food (co2 and nutes not necessarily high EC)to grow big. But without an environment and supply of water to support that it goes nowhere. It's all about finding a balance that works for you and your garden. :thumb:
 
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