Medicus420's 1st Grow - GHS Chemdog - Soil - CFL - DIY Grow Box - 2015

[Medicus420]

Dear Growers,
I am 'Medicus' a new user to growing our beloved plant, but an old user stalking and being fascinated by your grow journals. The time has finally come and I'm very exited to be part of your family. I hope we have a great journey together.

Without bothering you more with 'talking' heres some specifics of my grow box which I designed and made all by my self.

Strain: Chemdog by GreenHouseSeeds Amsterdam
Genetics: OG Kush x Sour Diesel Indica Plant
State: Veg
Life: 10 days old
Lights: Currently 8x23w 6400k Philips with Ceiling Reflectors + 4 more this weekend
Medium: Soil (Jiffy)
Pot: 3.5 Gallon
Wattage: 1300w or 108w/ft2 (Equivalent Wattage)
Vent: 2 exhaust fans with Carbon Scrubber and Passive Intake
Temp: 22-28 C Usually 25
RH: 40-60 Usually 52
pH: pH pen waiting to arrive
Pests: No
Watering: As needed
Nutes: GreenHouse Powder Feeding Short Flowering waiting to arrive
GrowBox Dimmensions: 4x3x2

Pics:
SketchUp Design

GrowBox

 

[Medicus420]

1st Week

 

[Medicus420]

2nd Week

 

[Medicus420]

Thank You in advance for your advice

Cheers and Respect,
Medicus

 

[Bapple]

Hey Medicus!

Add your journal link to your signature so people can find your grow easily, otherwise you're just a needle in a haystack.

Thanks for the invite , look forward to following through the season.

 

[Medicus420]

Hey Medicus!

Add your journal link to your signature so people can find your grow easily, otherwise you're just a needle in a haystack.

Thanks for the invite , look forward to following through the season.

Bapple thank you for the warm welcoming and advices.
I hope to be worth following and have a great time together

Cheers,
Medicus

 

[Dan Ultra]

Looking good Medicus!

Follow the video guide in my signature to learn how to add your journal to your signature. That way you are easy to find, like Bapple mentioned.

A few things I see that I can offer some advice on:

1. Don't go by "equivalent watts" that just means that the bulb draws the same power as it incandescant equivalent. True watts are the only thing that matters when growing. So 8x23w bulbs really equal out to 184w. Or 12x23w bulbs equal 276w. The ideal grow situation will have 100-150 watts per plant. with 4 plants going, you are a little low on light, so think about adding up lighting or changing bulbs to a higher wattage if possible.

2. Your soil doesn't look like it will drain very well, so be wary of over watering. Most mistakes are due to over watering, under watering, or over feeding.

3. It looks like you have some water droplets on the leaves. These droplets can act like a magnifier and burn the leaves. I know, cuz it happens to me all the time. lol. It's not a big deal, but should be avoided if possible. If you foliar feed or water, the best time is just before lights out.

I don't mean to be super critical brother. These are all very little things and your grow is looking really good. I really like your set up.

 

[Medicus420]

Thank you for showing interest Dan,
I did update my signature, but still no one is here maybe I should give it some more time...

1. I will add some more lights inside as I do have the bulbs(2x80w and 6x23w), I just thought it would be too much for starting the seedling.

2. I wanted to add Perlite but theres no perlite in my country ( I know it sounds silly but they dont even know what it is ), do you have any suggestions on how to improve the drainage of the soil (Jiffy 90l Bag)?

3. I did foliar watering as they looked a bit dry, while the soil was still moist... I'm still on 24/0 lightining as I have two more seeds sprouting and then I will slowly adapt to 18/6, or do you suggest continuing with 24/0?

I'm here to be super criticized, and will pay attention to the smallest details... I can't thank you enough for the advice as I am a first time grow (did a lot of research but still...). I'm glad you like my setup, do you think I need to add anything there?

Much Respect,
Medicus

Looking good Medicus!

Follow the video guide in my signature to learn how to add your journal to your signature. That way you are easy to find, like Bapple mentioned.

A few things I see that I can offer some advice on:

1. Don't go by "equivalent watts" that just means that the bulb draws the same power as it incandescant equivalent. True watts are the only thing that matters when growing. So 8x23w bulbs really equal out to 184w. Or 12x23w bulbs equal 276w. The ideal grow situation will have 100-150 watts per plant. with 4 plants going, you are a little low on light, so think about adding up lighting or changing bulbs to a higher wattage if possible.

2. Your soil doesn't look like it will drain very well, so be wary of over watering. Most mistakes are due to over watering, under watering, or over feeding.

3. It looks like you have some water droplets on the leaves. These droplets can act like a magnifier and burn the leaves. I know, cuz it happens to me all the time. lol. It's not a big deal, but should be avoided if possible. If you foliar feed or water, the best time is just before lights out.

I don't mean to be super critical brother. These are all very little things and your grow is looking really good. I really like your set up.

 

[Bapple]

Hi Medicus!

Re the journal, yes give it time - but also be active on other peoples journals, you don't have to be an expert to participate in conversations and that way people get to know you.

Also you might want to add a bit more description to your signature. Instead of Grow Journal perhaps something like 'Medicus 420 does Chemdog Indoors.'

Keep smiling

 

[Dan Ultra]

Shouldn't be too much for seedlings with those lights. Just keep them about 6-10" away until they have their first sets of leaves. Then you can get them withing 2-3" of the tops. Also, if the are the curly CFL lights, they emit most of their lumens on the sides, not the tops (image below). m not sure how you have them in the housings.

As far as lighting schedule goes, I am not a fan of 24/0. I believe the plant needs to rest in order to maintain good growth. When the lights are on, the plant is actively photosynthesizing and storing the product (glucose) in its cells. It isn't until the plant stops photosynthesizing (dark period) that the plant can access the glucose and apply it for new growth. Basically, on 24/0 you might not have a lot of vegetative growth, but as soon as you switch to flower it will explode. Lighting schedules with a dark period will have a more progressive growth and will typically not stretch as much when switched to flower.

Not sure what you have access to in your country for soil. Coco coir is used to increae drainage in soil. Perlite and Vermiculite I think are the most common for soil grows. Maybe a garden shop or a nursery can assist you? Just tell them the soil in you vegetable garden stays muddy and you need to increase the drainage.

Like I said though, these are relatively small things for now.

 

[Medicus420]

Bapple and Ultradan thank you very much for your interest, I was ready to give up this thread as i wasn't getting any feedback, but I will updated just for you too and hope will be together till the end of my growth

Its been almost 3 weeks since I last updated so I will post some more pics of girls now they've become really beautiful I think... Let me know what you think and criticize me

Note: The one on the left has been defoliated, and the one on the right 'beast' is LST'd

Here's some images I had on me as I cannot leave them in my phone for security reasons... but i promise i will update the post with detailed pics of girls

Salute,
Medicus

 

[Bapple]

Hey Medicus!

Thought we'd lost you! They look lush and healthy - all that Chemdog goodness to look forward to

I don't keep any photos anywhere either so I understand. I upload them to here and delete them from everything, I travel a lot and don't want stupid mistakes......

 

[Medicus420]

Some updates tonight as I promised...

A. The beast had a very little nute burn last week, so I flushed her and gave her a week to dry... So watered today with half strength nutes and some foilar feed which they seem to live very much.

B. The defolieted one on the left also is showing very good singns of growth and the undergrowth it's almost as high as the top, as I'm aiming for an even canopy...

Tell me what you guys think

 

[Dan Ultra]

do you foliar feed with lights on? I am not a big believer in foliar applications, as the plant receives plenty of what it needs from the root system, and spraying the leaves opens up the door to other issues. Foliar spraying with the lights on can severely burn the leaves and should only be done at lights out. Also, I believe the under side of the leaf is where the plant intakes moisture and nutrients, not the tops.

 

[Medicus420]

do you foliar feed with lights on? I am not a big believer in foliar applications, as the plant receives plenty of what it needs from the root system, and spraying the leaves opens up the door to other issues. Foliar spraying with the lights on can severely burn the leaves and should only be done at lights out. Also, I believe the under side of the leaf is where the plant intakes moisture and nutrients, not the tops.

No, I took your advice from last time (this was just to take the pics) , I foilar feed them and leave for about 10 mins and they seem to absorb all of that as I'm still on 24/0 regime, I was afraid to change to 18/6 after 1 month of 24/0 i thought maybe they will start flowering or hermine... ,
Can I still change to 18/6 as I think that would give me some stretch too (which I think I need some now)

They generally look very healthy to me (with how much I know) but I am a bit worried if something could have stunt them as on the last two days I see very little growth on the 'side tops' if i can call them they are still 'unopened', but maybe its just that I am very concerned with everything, ...

Could it be the temps as the last 10 days the temps have been 28-30C, I'm doing everything to get it down but I cant, anyway I will build and AC this weekend maybe that will help

Also I think it's the time for some vertical growth, how do I do that raise the lights or just stop adjusting the LST cabels?

Sorry for all the question

Salute,
Medicus

 

[Medicus420]

And here is a nutrient technical info... Tell me if I need to buy any additional nutrients to add to, I also have a bottle of cal/mag but now sure when to use it...

Thank You,
Medicus

 

[Dan Ultra]

Yes, you can drop your lighting down without the risk of hermie or sending to flower. Give the plants some dark will help with vertical growth, as that is when the plant primarily used created sugars to promote new growth

 

[Bapple]

I would drop the light regimen to 18/6, as UltraDan says they need some down time.....

 

[Medicus420]

I just started the 18/6 was quite a hassle to configure the timer although I'm usually very good with technology but I made it...

Today while adjusting the LST wires I accidentally snapped one of her tops , and then added a wire for support on opposite direction, will she be back or should I consider toping her again?

 

[Medicus420]

I would drop the light regimen to 18/6, as UltraDan says they need some down time.....

I just did , but will that hurt the plant that I already hurt a bit ? Or she will recover during night also...?