Josh's First Attempt at a Successful Indoor Grow

[josh223]

Hello guys. First I want to say thank you to everyone for sharing you knowledge and experience. Like many, I have been reading and learning from this site for some time before deciding to actually join. I feel like I have gained more insight over the last few months than I have gleaned over years from my previous research.

So I'm not new to this game, I've had many glorious outdoor seasons under my belt. In the past I haven't had an opportunity for the inside aspect until recently. That and living in Washington State where recreational use is now legal, I've decided to go for it.

Strain: Unknown/bag seed. These were found in a bag of very resinous hydo. From the quality, I was shocked to find any seeds. Maybe there was a hermi or had a breeding program. At any rate, I would say that they at at least 60% indica.

Veg or Flower: Currently 4-month old plants in Veg. They're nearly showing their sexes.

How long: In Veg for just over a month. I believe they were transplanted into the first pots on Dec. 2nd.

Soil or Hydo: I am going with soil. It's just name brand potting soil. Nothing special.

Mix: First put into Miracle Grow Seedling potting mix in 28 oz pots. At three weeks age they were transplanted into 3 gallon pots with Miracle grow Potting Soil With Moisture Control. I've read posts on here mentioning issues with Miracle Grow Soil (Fungus Knats, Mold, Nute Burn, etc). I have not noticed anything of the like. I've used it for years with no issues. I now live in a very rural area. This time of year it is very difficult attaining supplies from a brick and mortar shop. The closest hydro shop is about 100 miles away.

Lights: Currently they are under: four 26 W 6500 K CFL's, four 24" T5 "Aquarium/Plant" fluorescent tubes, and there is a 60 W incandescent in there for heat. My tent is in an unheated basement. I tried using one of those oil filled electric radiant heaters on low but kept tripping the breaker. At the moment that incandescent is my best option.

Air Cooled: No. I am finding difficulty even finding a small fan. All in due time.

Temp: The digi themo's high for the last 24 hours is 81 and the low is 80. I'm lights 24 hrs at the moment because 1: heat and 2: the timer I bought didn't have three pole receptacles. I'm not going to pull the ground prongs out of my power strips, just get a new timer when I really will need it. I'm wondering if this tempt is close to ideal...

PH: A meter hasn't been able to find it's way into the budget yet. Of the other growers I've read on here that have used Miracle Grow, they all PH'd right in the middle of ideal. So far so good.

Pests: None

Watering: Only when the top inch of soil is dry. I wait until right before they start drooping to ensure maximum root aeration. In the future I will make more accurate readings.

Nutes: They were started using the paper towel method. Once germinated they were moved into Miracle Grow Seed Starting Mix that lists nutes at: N 0.05%, Phosphate 0.05%, Potash 0.05%, Iron 0.10% with 0.01% of that being water soluble. The base is sphagnum moss and perlite.

When they were in this they were watered with room temp tap water that was oxygenated. They were watered as little as possible in hopes of developing a good root system. three days before transplanting them I started watering them with 1/4% 4-12-4 Mirical Grow Quickstart transplanting and anti-shock solution.

After moving to the 3 gallon pots they were though soaked in 50% of the solution. Next two waterings will be without nutes. In the future I plan on adding to not only the nutrients, but the entire set up. I just have to do it a little at a time.


The plants are in a 2'x4'x5' tent. Currently the plants are only taking up about a 18"x18" footprint. With my next paycheck I plan on buying a Advanced LED DIAMOND SERIES 200 watter. As I hinted to, this is a budget grow.

My rough plan is to sex these four plants. They were FIM'ed yesterday. Once sex is determined I will start a cloning operation. A new tent of the same size will be ordered. The new tent and the Advanced 200 Watt LED will go into the new tent for flowering and any females out of this batch will be mothers. Eventually I will get another Advanced 200 watter for the flowering chamber. I will, down the road buy a third for the veg chamber. Further down the road I will get a third tent of the same size and an additional pair of Advanced 200 watters.

While this is all going I will procure seeds of known genetics. I am really tempted in getting some Auto Northern Lights that I could start immediately. My goal is to have a perpetual harvest for my self and the Mrs. I wouldn't mind to also supplement my income a little. This may prove to be futile as Washington is supposed to tax the heck out of it. My brother, whom has a MBA, predicts that marijuana is going to be akin to making moonshine. So if I'm going to make any money in this venture I'm going to have to do it quickly before they start selling it in grocery stores with a tax stamp and the market crumbles.

I wish I had the resources of SteveHman. Hopefully things in my area pick up and things will be different this year.

Thanks to everyone willing to read this and offer CONSTRUCTVE criticism. I took a couple of pics. I'll see how they post.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Nice plant mate
im subbed

 

[josh223]

Here are all four. They are around 10" tall.

One already has a very strong smell. I've read that that could indicate a very potent female. I later read that it means a good male. I suppose we shale see soon.

Three of the four have signs of gonads forming. They are just to small at the moment to tell the sex with the naked eye.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Not sure if you are uploading your pictures correctly, I don't believe they are being processed through the database.

Here is a link that should help you Photo Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos

Also, yes, I believe that early stinking can mean a male, they try to arouse their female counterparts early on. It's a matter of competition for them! Definitely keep an eye on the male flower formation, I typically get rid of them as fast as possible unless I'm going to try to collect, and store the pollen.

 

[greensmurf]

Hey josh welcome to the journal. Im totally new to growing myself. I am currently growing bag seed as well for my first grow.
I wanted to make sure I can properly care for the plants before I buy seeds and grow some white widow or white rhino.
Two of my favorite strands to date. Feel free to check out my grow.

 

[josh223]

Ha ha. Thanks Relaxed Leester.

Funny thing is that I did read that. I was trying to click on the re-sizing links and go for there. After an hour I read more and finally got them up.

greensmurf, thanks for the welcome. I like the taste of White Widow, but have a personal bias towards it from a grow perspective.

Circa 1997-ish I ventured to Vancouver Canada and personally bought seeds from Mark Emry in Hemp B.C. Four of us went and we all brought back White Widow seeds. I'm not sure if the strain just hadn't been established long enough back then, or if it were just use, but out of four different grows and multiple grow techniques, not a gram of Widow was ever harvested. I'm still bitter about that.

I think your idea of starting slow and learning from your mistakes is wise. The next seed I am buying is going to be Northern Lights because of it's vigor, yield, and potency. The low smell would also be a plus. I've got my mind made up that I'm going to try out some Northern Lights Autos. From all I can find, they have the highest yield without being a super auto. May as well get some pollen off of the strongest male I wind up with and do a little pollinating.

 

[josh223]

So, here's a quick update:

It's been pretty boring.

Temps vary from 70-80 F

RH is a pretty consistent 60%

I did purchase a cheap Ph meter. Looks like I am perfectly within the relm.

I've added four more CFL rated at 23 actual watts.

The plants are all doing well. I just wish that I had more/better lights. They will be coming as soon as my wallet allows.

I've also ordered femalized Delicious brand Northern Light Blue seeds from Herbies. (Northern Lights X Blueberry) I am also getting two free Sleestack X Skunk seeds. They will wait until I have proper odor control. One thing at a time.

I also have everything minus the pump for the aerocloner ala 420fied.

Here's some pics from last night.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Damn mate you let them get tall..
they'll stretch when they flower, when do you plant on flippin the lights?

 

[josh223]

They are stretching because of only using fluorescent plus one 100 watt incandescent (strictly for thermal input).

Over the weekend they will be introduced to Low Stress Training. The hopes with these four plants is establishing one mother plant. Two plants appear to be females, including El Stinko. If a male shows I may possibly harvest pollen for future use.

All the plants appear to be identical. This verifies my thinking that they came from an extremely dank bag I bought last June.

Anyways, I get paid every two weeks. With commuting over 100 miles a day, it is hard to stretch paychecks. I was hoping to have another tent and a 200 watt Advanced by now, in addition to the cloner. I'm going to have to wait three weeks before I can invest any more money into the system.

Once it's financially feasible, clones will be taken and rooted, transplanted into 2 liters for Hempy SOG. While that is going on I will be veging the mother and growing two Northern Light Blue mothers.

My goal is a perpetual SOG harvest, harvesting two-four plants every week. After that is established a whole world of possibilities would open up.

 

[Lester Freeman]

For sure, personally I would have started LST a while ago.

Just wondering, are the lights still 24/0 or did you switch to 12/12? Not sure how you found out the sexes otherwise. Also, what day are the plants on now?

I've got a couple plants growing in a space about the same size as yours that almost 20 days old under CFL's, they're not stretching at all. Stop by my first indoor experiment First Journal - Ghetto Closet Grow

 

[josh223]

I'm heading to your journal next.

The plants are still on 24 hr schedule. This is because it is 20 F. outside and they are living in a tent in my unheated basement. Old house, no insulation=cheap rent but expensive utilities.

If you grow a seed to around age 8 weeks or so (strain specific) both males and females will show sex identification by pre-flowers. Page #3 of "Marijuana Horticulture" Growers Bible, Jorge Cerventes

I've seen them before in different situations, have two females showing at the moment. In past experience males always showed first...It's still a tad early-day 48 since germination. So, above dirt, 46 days give or take.

I believe I have two possible factors contributing to stretch.

1. No enough light. The tent is 48" wide x 24" deep and 60" tall. 8 sq feet. The plants currently take up 20" x 20" including lateral branching. There are 4-24" fluorescent "aquarium/plant" tubes. I moved one onto the pots facing up hoping to tame this. 6-23 actual watt 6500 K. CFL's (100 watt incandescent "replacements"). 1-100 watt incandescent (Only for heat output. 73 F @ 7:15 P.M.). They are in three gallon pots.

Lets see. That works out to around 3 feet squared. 330 actual watt divided by 3 comes to 110 watts per foot. It's Saturday morning so my math may be off a smidge.

2. The plants have been in their new pots for about three weeks now. They did excellent through the first week of transplant. That was when this journal was started. I'm thinking that the roots may be hitting the new Miracle Grow potting soil now. May be a bit of over fertilization at the moment.

I keep the lights as close as possible to the tops. If you look close you can see some leaf burn. Still, in the last week they are growing 1 1/2-2" per day. If I had the second tent going I'd be taking clones by now and flowering the clones to establish sex and a dominant female. As it stands, this is all I can do at the moment.

Thank you so much for all your input. I'm going to check out your grow and then do some LST. Yeah, should have started that earlier. I just didn't expect them to be this tall yet.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Ah I see, thanks for all the clarification about your grow.
I'll be watching.

Small observation: The internodal lengths seem to be pretty distant from each other, or there are few of them. There is not much inner bushing. I'm not sure if this is indicative of not having enough light early on, kind of goes hand in hand with the stretch you had (since they were let go vertically). This could mean less bud-sites in the future. However, the converse of that could be a phenotype variation, considering the strain is unknown.

Might need to get that fan for air circulation soon - but not sure how that will effect temperatures for you.. Also looks like you topped them early on, so that helps out a bit.

All the Best

 

[josh223]

I've been looking for a fan from a brick and mortar store for a while now. No luck being in the dead of winter. I'm going to have to break down and buy online. Inside the tent I have two coolers sitting on the floor with a Mylar safety blanket on top. That's what the pots are sitting on. Getting them off of the floor has help-getting them off of the cold floor and higher in the tent. Two small fans, or at least one, would definitely be to my benefit.

I think my biggest issue at the moment is lack of sufficient light. That's why I'll be doing some training shortly. Most of the plants can yield six large clones at the moment. I want to get the tops down some so that the future clones won't be too stretchy.

Looking at my financial situation, I may have to stick to CFL's for a while. Just want to get things straightened out a bit quick because I will be germing those new seeds as soon as they arrive.

Cheers mate

 

[josh223]

Only thing of interest to report is that my seeds from Herbies just arrived.

I ordered three Northern Light Blue femalized seeds. They came with two regular SleesackxSkunk seeds. To my surprise, they also included a bonus Northern Light Blue seed. I am happy.

The seeds all appear to be of high quality. I have three of the Northern Light Blues germinating.

Inside the tent is pretty boring. I did some more topping and some LST-ing. I managed to kink on of the stems...perhaps it will Super Crop. Mr. Leester was absolutely correct. I should have started the LST-ing way sooner.

So, with the next paycheck I will purchase the pump for my home made aero cloner. Pay check after that (paid every two weeks) I will purchase another 2x4x5 tent and a 600 watt HID set up. I really wanted to go led but the funds just aren't there. Here's the light I think I will purchase.

Amazon: 600W Watt HPS MH Dimmable Digital E-Ballast + Air Cool Little Sun 6 Panel Reflector w/ 1 HPS Bulb & 1 MH and Accessories Hydroponic Grow Light Kit

It is pretty hard for my to justify the $1000 or so in LEDs that it would cost to light the same space.

I am planning on modeling my garden after 420fied. If you guys haven't looked through his journals you are truly missing out. Very nice work that man does. So, within the next month I shall be moving on to phase two-flowering clones. Can't hardly wait.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Very nice, I think if I were to order seeds I would order them from Herbies, they seem to have such a wide variety of selections and price ranges.

Your new set-up sounds stellar, even for me a 200$ investment is a lot, but thats because I'm an outdoor grower come seasons start.

Looking forward to your next picture update.

 

[josh223]

I spent about two months researching strains and seed banks. I have no complaints with Herbies. I will definitely buy from them again. Their prices are a lot cheaper than if you by direct from the original banks. I presume because they buy in bulk.

Yeah, $200 for me right now may as well be $2,000. Saying that I live from pay check to pay check would be a lie. I have not once had money last that long with this current job. I just look at all of this as an investment. It's not a stretch for my girl and I to smoke $200 worth every paycheck. Another tent-$90 Light-$200 Enough two liters to fill tent-around $25 in soda Pump for areo cloner-$25 $340 more and I will be up and running.

Later I will most likely switch to vermiculite/perlite media and Hempy SOG with Blue planet Nutrients. But that can be phased in gradually. I'm a dirt man. 99% of my experience is outdoors. I'd love to be able to grow outdoor again, but it would have to be on a small scale to avoid detection.

I'll put some pics up in a couple of days. I want to wait until I have the new seeds above dirt. I also need to do some rearranging in the tent. So, by this time Saturday you can expect to see something.

 

[josh223]

I'm home sick with no smoke. I decided to post some pics:

 

[josh223]

The discoloration on some of the leaves is from coming into contact with the lights. There has been days that they have grow over two inches in a day.

 

[Lester Freeman]

They could probably use a little defoliation, don't you think?

 

[greensmurf]

hey man how old are they? and how big?