MaggiesFarm - 1st Grow - Soil - Indoor/Outdoor - Nirvana Freebies - 2014

[MaggiesFarm]

Welcome to my first grow journal, all about my first real grow. 40 yrs ago I threw some bag seeds into my flower bed at college, but I guess that doesn't really count. This is a very low budget grow, having to prove to myself and my wife that I can grow decent meds for us before I invest more money. Here's hoping everything goes well enough to get to harvest.

Number of plants - I've got 2 going and have killed 3 other seeds.
What strain is it? - Unknown, 2 freebie seeds from Nirvana
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages? - I have no idea at this time
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? - Veg
If in Veg... For how long? - The seeds both broke through the soil on May 15.
Indoor or outdoor? - Right now they are indoor, but will finish outdoors
Soil or Hydro? - Soil, Fox Farms Ocean Forest and vermiculite, 80/20 mix
If soil... What size pot? - Right now, 1 liter Air Pots. They will finish in 5 gal Air Pots
Size of light? - While indoors they are under a 180 watt Intelligent-Gro UFO LED
Is it aircooled? - Yes, built-in fans
Temp of Room/cab? - 75F - 80F
RH of Room/cab? - 65%-70%
PH of media or res? - 6.5
Any Pests ? - I haven't seen any
How often are you watering? - As needed, normally once every 2 days
Type and strength of ferts used? - 1/4 strength Fox Farms Grow Big right now

And now to catch everyone up....
These were started by soaking 3 seeds in distilled water on May 9. They were all planted in small seed cups with a generic seed starter potting mix and placed under a 26watt CFL on May 12. On May 15, FTB-01 and FTB-02 (FTB=Freebie The Bean) pushed through the top of the soil and became seedlings. FTB-03 tipped over and was given life support.

May 17 FTB-01 and FTB-02 were looking good and I transplanted them to 1 liter AirPots full off my FFOF+vermiculite mix. I was forced to put them outdoors thanks to an unscheduled visit by some unfriendly in-laws. FTB-03 was officially declared dead.

May 26 - I was able to get my grow closet back and moved the seedlings back indoors and under a new LED light. FTB-01 was 2.0" tall and FTB-02 made it to 2.75".

June 4 - Started noticing what looked like nute burn on FTB-02. No nutes had been given yet. I did flush both plants with distilled water ph 6.5 and they looked a little better later in the day.

June 6 - At the suggestion of a few 420ers, I fed them with a very lite dose of Big Bloom. They did look a little happier.

June 7 - Following another suggestion, I increased the distance between the top of FTB-02 and the light from 10" to 22". It made sense because FTB-02 was not suffering from the burn that plagued FTB-02. Also, the angle of the fan was changed to not blow so directly on the plants.

June 8 - Here are the pics from this morning. FTB-01 measured in at 3.75" and FTB-02 is 5.00".

FTB-01 - That bottom leaf on the right makes me think she needs more N

FTB-02 - A little droopy and dull looking

FTB-02 - One more node and I'll be topping this one. It's almost time to transplant, too.

FTB-02 - Those burn spots do not look any worse than when they first appeared a few days ago.

FTB-01 - I like the node spacing

This didn't show up too well, but closet temp was 79 and RH was 70%

OK, I finally got this journal going. I hope I'm doing it right. Naturally, all advice and ideas are encouraged. I want to thank all of you for what I've already learned in the last couple months of hanging out here.

 

[KingJohnC]

Subscribed. I use a matchbox lined with about 320 sandpaper to shake the seeds in for a minute, it scrapes the sides of the seeds to aid in moisture penetrating the seeds shell.

After having germination issue with Jiffy peat moss pucks and soil I switched to Rapid Rooters and have had much higher germination rates. Rapid Rooters seem to provide the seed with the perfect amount of air and moisture. I soak my seeds in pH adjusted water for 30-36 hours or until i see tap roots. I cut the Rapid Rooter mat into individual squares then I soak the Rapid Rooter squares in pH adjusted water for 15 minutes before use. Then I place the seeds tap root down into the Rapid Rooter square then place them underneath a light with 18/6 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness. I do not use a humidity dome. I hand water with a syringe each day to keep the Rapid Rooter square moist. when I see roots emerge from the Rapid Rooter square I transplant to 5" pots in a mixture of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and mycorrhizae.

https://generalhydroponics.com Rapid Rooter

https://www.perfectgardens.com gh rapid rooter mat 98

 

[MaggiesFarm]

Thanks KJC and welcome to the journal. I'll give that method a try when I get ready to start my Bubblelicious autos. It's just weird that my first two seeds sprouted and have survived and the last 3 in a row sprouted but never broke through.

 

[ColoradoKid]

Do you have a cheap moisture meter? They run ~$10 and are a worthwhile investment. A lot of us rely on them. Good advice KJC.

 

[MaggiesFarm]

I'll pick up a moisture meter this week. I thought I had ordered one when I got my ph meter and TDS meter, but I guess I didn't.

 

[KingJohnC]

Thanks KJC and welcome to the journal. I'll give that method a try when I get ready to start my Bubblelicious autos. It's just weird that my first two seeds sprouted and have survived and the last 3 in a row sprouted but never broke through.

I agree. I think the major advantage of the Rapid Rooters is that they hold the optimum amount of air and water. I can also easily see what is happening with the seeds when they are in the Rapid Rooters.

 

[MauiWauiGuy]

Good Morning MaggiesFarm,

Your one girl appears to be under or over watered. That is the droopy part I believe. As for the moisture meter, CK is spot on and everyone should have one.
Your dirt, does it already have nutes in it? I have been using Rootz original and has enough nutes in it to do the entire veg. I know this from experience as I tried to feed my girls after the 2nd week and they got burnt. I use NO nutes the entire vegging period and my girls are happy as clams. Just my 2 cents.

I have subbed and will be watching.

Have a great grow
Maui

 

[MaggiesFarm]

Welcome MWG and thanks for your input! I would not be surprised if one or both are overwatered. I had been very careful about doing that until the "burn" showed up on the larger plant last week. Today is the 3rd day after increasing the distance from the LED lights. I've got no plans to water tonight when the lights come on in almost 6hrs. I'm going to let them dry out another couple of days unless they are showing me they are thirsty.

I'm using Fox Farms Ocean Forest which I thought would have enough nutes in it to get me at least 6 weeks of veg. I'll stick with giving them dechlorinated tap water or spring water with a little cal-mag added.

Maybe some pics later tonight if I notice any changes.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Im in. I love nirvanas gear run that my self topnotch stuff.

 

[MaggiesFarm]

Thanks for stopping in Dusty. I checked out your journal and things are looking good in there!

 

[NOCO Farmer]

I'm in looking forward to see this grow over the next couple of months.

 

[MaggiesFarm]

Welcome NOCO! Your grow looks fantastic.

 

[Renegade69]

Sub'd and PM answered.

Nirvana...need I say more...LOL. I only get mine from them. Fast service and 10 freebies with every order.

My AG journal is finished so I'll tag along for the ride. Good luck....

Obtw.... the droopy leaves....by the looks of your pods it might be too much water. Good plan to let her dry out just a bit.

 

[MaggiesFarm]

Happy you made it, Renegade!

Quick report this morning. My plants are responding to me leaving them alone. Most of the droopiness is gone and no new bad spots have appeared on the leaves. I plan to top FTB-02 after the next watering, probably Friday.

Has anyone heard of mixing human hair in with the soil, as a N source? From what I read, it's a great N supplier but breaks down rather slowly. A friend came by last night and said he had something for me. He owes me $150 so I thought "great!". He presents me with a bag of hair and told me to use it as fertilizer. I guess I'll throw it in the compost pile.

 

[MauiWauiGuy]

MaggieSFarm,

Glad your girls are responding. My current grow has taught me that a dry - wet cycle has made my girls very happy. I have no set watering schedule. I wait until my meter runs right down to just about dry, then I water. I water enough to get run off out of a 10 gal pot (typically 1 1/2 gals per plant)

Some new pics would be great.

Thanks for sharing
Maui

 

[MaggiesFarm]

I didn't have time to get pics this morning, but I will definitely get more this afternoon.

 

[Renegade69]

Happy you made it, Renegade!

Quick report this morning. My plants are responding to me leaving them alone. Most of the droopiness is gone and no new bad spots have appeared on the leaves. I plan to top FTB-02 after the next watering, probably Friday.

Has anyone heard of mixing human hair in with the soil, as a N source? From what I read, it's a great N supplier but breaks down rather slowly. A friend came by last night and said he had something for me. He owes me $150 so I thought "great!". He presents me with a bag of hair and told me to use it as fertilizer. I guess I'll throw it in the compost pile.

Never, ever heard of human hair. Don't use it till you get more confirmation.

Just my opinion...

And glad to hear that the plant is doing better. Was it the water?? Soil is funny that way. Not sure why because hydro has a constant water source on the roots and they sit in water...go figure...LOL.

 

[MauiWauiGuy]

I just did a quick Google search and don't find much info other than 1 post from another site. I think I would be very wary about using human hair. If you need more Nitrogen, I would use something that was made for cannabis to raise the N level.

Just my 2 cents.

Maui

 

[MaggiesFarm]

Never, ever heard of human hair. Don't use it till you get more confirmation.

Just my opinion...

And glad to hear that the plant is doing better. Was it the water?? Soil is funny that way. Not sure why because hydro has a constant water source on the roots and they sit in water...go figure...LOL.

I think it was first too close to the light, which caused me to react and overwater. I'll take pics when I get home later.

I just did a quick Google search and don't find much info other than 1 post from another site. I think I would be very wary about using human hair. If you need more Nitrogen, I would use something that was made for cannabis to raise the N level.

Just my 2 cents.

Maui

I had some time and found some generic organic farming sites that said it was a great source of N, but it doesn't offer any immediate benefits. They suggest working it into the soil when preparing the garden for next planting season. Also said it makes a good mulch. The real negative could be getting some chemically treated hair that could do harm to the plants. Since this guy used to have blue hair, I don't think I'll be using it as a soil additive.

 

[shadowman]

Hey MaggiesFarm, Thanks for the invite, I'm subbed and along for the ride.