Infin8Loop's First Time Grow Times Two

[Infin8Loop]

Hello all, and welcome to my journal. Thoughts and feedback are welcome and appreciated.

Long time smoker, first time grower. After realizing that as much as I like smoking weed, I have never actually seen a growing plant, much less grown one myself, I decided it was time to rectify that situation and become a true cannabis cultivator. Before I jumped straight in I tried to do as much research as I could, so far, I have found a lot of different opinions, but everyone seems to agree that with some planning, thought and effort, it shouldn’t be rocket surgery. So I am diving in and seeing if I can make some buds grow.

I was having a hard time trying to decide between using soil and coco as a medium, and I like experiments so I thought, why not both?

I bought 4 clones, all photo-period. Two Blue Magoo, and two are Gorilla Glue #4.


One of each strain is planted in coco, and one of each is planted in soil.

I am growing outdoors, but moving them inside at night while it is still getting cold, and while they are in the smaller pots.

Soil Grow:

I transplanted the clones from the nursery containers to 1-gallon geo-pots, using a mix of 50% Fox farms Happy Frog, 30% Fox Farms Ocean Forest and 20% Roots Organic Original.

After a couple of weeks, I will replant in 20 gallon geo-pots using a mix of 70% Fox farms Ocean Forest and 30% Happy Frog.

I do not plan on using nutrients in the 1 gallon soil pots. But after transplanting to the larger pots I will probably begin using some. I have not decided exactly what yet, I am still researching.

Coco Grow:

First I hydrated and rinsed enough coco for 2 1 gallon geo pots.

I double buffered the coco in CalMag Plus (10 Ml /gallon) for 8 hours per buffer.

I am using General Hydroponics Flora Series and the first weeks scheduled nutrients are:

¼ tsp Micro, 1/8 tsp Gro, 1/8 tsp Bloom, 1tsp CalMag Plus / gallon pH’d to 6.0.

This ends up at roughly 400 ppm.

I am feeding this once daily, (so far about a ½ qt per pot per day) to about 20% runoff.

I have been hardening them to the sunlight under a shaded area I have, and adding in more time in the full sun each day, I am up to an hour and a half in the morning and evening now.

So far I am on day 4, and I still have 4 live plants, so… things could be worse!

 

[Infin8Loop]

I have also been reading a lot about the problems I can run into (maybe too much, I like to worry). I know yellowing on the tips of the leaves could be a lot of things, but how yellow are we talking about when you should worry, one of my plants has this on the very tips of a couple of its leaves.

 

[CO Finest]

In most cases yellow burnt tips are the first sign of a nute burn. It is a good way the plant says hey no more needs to be added above the amount your using or back off just a tinny bit.

 

[THC Onlyfans]

Ill check this one out!

Thats very very minor tip burn, nothing to worry about there. Lower nutes slightly and see how they respond

 

[Infin8Loop]

Quick update, I am keeping a daily grow journal by hand, but so far there hasn't been much to report here.

Soil Grow:
I resisted the urge to water the soil pots another day, they still have a bit more of a heft to them than they did when they were dry, and the soil still seems to have some moisture in there. Maybe tomorrow, but I said that last night too.

They seem to be doing well, I am 5 days in and have been tracking their growth for the last 4 days.
Hilda (GG#4) has grown 11/4 inches

Shelly (Blue Magoo) has grown 2 1/2 inches.




Coco Grow:
Still watering daily with the same week one mix, about a 1/2 qt per pot per day, getting around 20% runoff.

Lucy (GG#4) has put on about an inch and a half


Veronica (Blue Magoo) has grown about 2 1/2 inches



I showed a picture from yesterday of one of Veronica's leaves, where the very tip is turning yellow, something I am keeping an eye on, but not really sure yet what if anything to do, going to just stay the course and see how she responds for now.

I've still been working on the sun hardening, up to an hour and a half or so in the morning and again in the evening in the sun, and the rest of the day in the shade. At night they come into a heated storage area I have. It starts the night at around 70 and then cools off with the heat turned off. The nights are still dipping down low enough to leave frost on the ground outside so I think that's too cold for my girls.

So far I am having a lot of fun with this, I am actually surprised at how relaxing some of it can be.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Hello again, I'm a week in and I figured it was time for another progress report.

I realized after the first two nights that leaving the girls in my storage room with the lights off all night was probably not such a smart idea.

The good news is, the storage room I am using at night has lights in it already, a pair of 4 foot, fluorescent fixtures with a pair of 40w daylight 6500k bulbs in each.



The bad news is, quick math on a 18 -6 light schedule has me awake at times I'm not happy with, so...



in went a timer.

Things have been progressing well(?) with both grows.

Coco Grow:
Same old same old, still feeding roughly half a quart a day for each of the week one mix, but they are starting to need more. 2 days ago I did a kind of mini flush ( Just in case Veronica's yellow tips are a light nute burn?) by giving both girls a full quart, for like 50% runoff. they seemed to like it.



Soil Grow:
I finally needed to water the soil grow on Thursday, and then needed to water Shelly (Blue Magoo) again tonight



I'm pretty sure Hilda (GG#4) will need water tomorrow



I woke up today to an overcast and rainy day, so i did some rearranging and got the girls moved up closer to the lights.

One thing I have already decided, between wanting to be able to continue experimenting with grows throughout the winter, and not wanting to be fully dependent on the occasionally flaky Oregon sun I am going to be investing in a grow tent and light (probably led). I am doing research on these, but if you have suggestions, or suggested reading, feel free to drop a line here. as usual thanks for checking out my little corner of the weed web.

 

[Canuckush]

I'll sub in, I'd like to see how this comparison goes between the 2 mediums.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Quick check in this morning.
They seem to be happy with the new light schedule.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Hello again.
I have a question for the pros. One of my plants started having these tiny... dots? Specks? Things? on two of the leaves. They are either white-ish, super light yellow, or just... thinner. If that makes any sense.

Other than the dots, she seems to be in good health. Here are some pictures of what I am so poorly trying to describe.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Hi again, 16 days in, and things still seem to be going well. I showed those pictures to a guy who has been helping me at a local grow shop and he thought it was potentially mites, but some sort of critter anyway, so I am trying a regimen of "Flying Skull Nuke 'em" spraying them every 3 days for 2 weeks.

Other than that, everything seems to be going well, the 2 plants in the coco are definitely doing a bit better than their soil counterparts, and the 2 Blue Magoo plants are putting on a lot more height and leaves than the Gorilla Glue.



Coco Grow:
I just started the week 3 nutrient schedule (1/2 tsp Micro,1/2 tsp Gro, 1/4 tsp Bloom, 1 tsp CaliMagic)
I am currently aiming at 5.8 - 6 pH and around 450 ppm.

Last week when I adjusted to the second week formula, I gave them a couple of days with a lot higher ppm (600+). and they did not seem too happy. I don't know if it was just too much, or too soon but either way I backed off and they seem happier. I am slowly increasing now to see how they respond.

Veronica (Blue Magoo) has gone from 8 to 15.5 inches tall and seems to be filling out well:


Lucy (Gorilla Glue #4) has gone from 9.5 to 13 inches, and has added some leaves, but definitely not the same way as her coco roommate:



In just the last day or so, both of the coco plants have started growing roots out of the bottom/sides of the 1 gallon geo pots. I am going to be replanting them in 20 gallon geo pots soon(ish?) which is one of the next decisions I have to make. When to make that switch. I am wanting them to have a nice established root ball, and it is my understanding that the roots start going down, and when they reach the bottom of the fabric pot they air prune and start filling out sideways.



Soil Grow:

Definitely an easier project here than the coco grow. no need to measure out stuff and check pH's. just water every 3 days or so (interval is getting shorter) and keep them in the sun. There seems to be a difference in the size and growth of the soil vs. coco so far though, so the extra effort may be worth it. I suppose the real test is in the yield though, right?

Shelly (Blue Magoo) has gone from 9.25 to 15.5 inches tall, and is filling out almost as well as her coco cousin.



Hilda (Gorilla Glue #4 and my personal favorite, she has a lot of personality) started out at 8.5 and has put on a whopping 3 inches to top out at 11.5 inches. She is filling out around the middle though:



Thanks for stopping by, and as usual any feedback and/or comments are appreciated.

 

[Canuckush]

Looking good, if you have a jewelers loop you can get a better look at those spots, I've never seen mites myself so I can't help you with that, keep on growing!

 

[Infin8Loop]

Hello again, I have another batch of spots to ask about. These all showed up pretty swiftly. They are really only on one plant a and on a couple of leaves. Some low, a couple more towards the middle of the plant.

I'm thinking maybe I just splashed some water with nutes in it on them and it got burned. But was hoping for other opinions as well.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Additionally, it was time to up pot the girls, so the coco set went into 20 gallon geo pots, and the soil grow is now in 30 gallon pots.

Both grows had good root growth, but the coco was already coming through the fabric pot, and clearly more established in both strains.

COCO:




SOIL:




Hopefully everyone is happy is their new homes. Fingers crossed for minimal transplant shock.

 

[Infin8Loop]

After about 12 hours in their new pots (including 6 hours of dark and most of the rest under the flourescent lights) the soil grow still seems healthy, and the 2 plants in the coco grew about an inch or inch and a half.

SOIL:
Still seems healthy.


COCO:
Growing like actual weeds.

 

[Infin8Loop]

For anyone following along, interested in the comparison between the Coco and the Soil. I am 3 weeks in now, and the Coco plants are doing much better. Here are some side by side shots:
Coco on the left in all shots.

GG#4





Blue Magoo:

 

[Canuckush]

Looking good, those coco plants benefit from the daily oxygen drawn down to the roots and a quicker nutrients uptake, that's a couple of reasons why I prefer coco over soil, and no pests in the medium.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Yeah, it's definitely more work for the coco though. I have 5 Berry white seeds that I'm going to try after this, over the winter in a 4x4x8 tent with a 600 watt hid using top feed dwc. Just to compare that as well.

 

[Canuckush]

Yeah, it's definitely more work for the coco though. I have 5 Berry white seeds that I'm going to try after this, over the winter in a 4x4x8 tent with a 600 watt hid using top feed dwc. Just to compare that as well.

Sounds good, idk how 5 buckets will do in a 4x4, it may get tight.
I've only tried dwc once, I may try again with an auto.

 

[Infin8Loop]

Copy, I have 5 seeds total, not feminized, so I'm only planning on having 2 in the dwc long term.

 

[Canuckush]

Copy, I have 5 seeds total, not feminized, so I'm only planning on having 2 in the dwc long term.

Are you going to make regular seeds if you get a male and collect its pollen?