Mthrofdragons - 1st Ever Grow - Bag Seed T5

[mthrofdragons]

Hi everyone. So after many weeks of lurking I've decided to bite the bullet and start a grow journal.

I came into about 80 seeds 5-6 years ago that were in a bottle left in an old rental. No clue what they are, etc. on July 8 I sowed 12 seeds directly into happy frog seedling starter. By July 15 I had 6 sprouts. On July 14 I repotted seedlings into 4" pots and placed them in my homemade grow cabinet (I have next to no budget for this) and placed them under a 2' 6 bulb T5 fluorescent grow light.

Due to size and time constraints I switched from 18/6 to 12/12 on August 15 after 36 hours of total darkness. By august 28 I had 3 males and three females. I ditched the males and one female with a plan to only keep one strong female.

I started with FF grow big and then switched over to Big bloom when flowering started.

So. Many questions. Although the color, and leaf shape look the same, these two gals have a different grow pattern. The one on the left has many dense small leaves growing at the stem which are covering the many buds that are there, underneath. I'm wondering if it is a different strain, or just that the buds are growing due to a lack of light. They do smell a little different from each other.

I have added a 60w cfl I had on hand but really don't have the funds for more light. I'm thing there's just not enough light to grow both these girls properly. Also the grow cabinet is 3' tall, 2 1/2' wide, and 2' deep. They're currently sitting on a removable shelf that when gone, will only add an additional 5 more inches in height.

If I had to lose one, which one should it be (sad, sad face)? Should I try to SCROG the remaining one? Is it too late? I am currently about 25 days into flower.

I've learned so much here and am loving this new hobby. These girls smell AMAZING! Any and all advice feedback is greatly and graciously appreciated.

I'm new so be gentle. : )

Mother of Dragons.

Sorry for the sideways images. Working on figuring it out. : )

 

[mthrofdragons]

Bueller? Anyone?

 

[J189RFC]

Hey bud!

Check out this useful thread for posting pictures. The orientation question is answered at the bottom.

As for your questions. If you found a big ol' bag/jar of seeds likely someone was either experimenting or had themselves a hemp crop at one point. Or they had an unfortunate male experience in the woods Either way the likely hood of them being pure landrace style genetics (Ie pure, single strain genetics) are unlikely. There is also a chance that it's hemp.

Dont cut any of em! You are so close to being done that there is no point. There is room in there, the light needs to go somewhere, and they look quite good. I would be growing 4-6-8 plants that size in there myself and using all that room. You have more than enough light for now and when your ready youll have this stuff down pat!

Good luck and lookin good!

 

[mthrofdragons]

Thanks J189RFC! I really appreciate the feedback.

Hemp? Oh no! I've scoured the interwebs and from what I learned, hemp is a sativa strain and these look more indica to my virgin eyes.

Any suggestions on whether I should attempt at a SCROG at this stage? Is is too late? Would it stress them? They both appear to be growing up, rather than bushing out, if that makes sense. I'm not so concerned with yield, just want to provide the best environment for success for the girls. My T5 light fixture is looking smaller every day.

Also, anyone with any suggestions/feedback regarding the dense leaves near the stalks covering the buds on the second plant? The nodes (?) at the stalks on both plants are covered with buds. I'm concerned they're not getting enough light. My instinct is to pinch them off, but I'm sure that's not the right thing to do, so I've done nothing. But they're just hiding in there, away from the light.


As an aside, I had no idea how much I would enjoy growing these two. I so look forward to my morning ritual of making my espresso, feeding the pooch, and checking on and admiring the girls. I just sit there admiring every thing about them. Every day they are a little different. They are so healthy and vibrant and smell so good. I know it probably sounds super corny but they truly give me so much pleasure and happiness! : )

I figure I'm still a good 6-8 weeks out before they're done. I'll get the image rotation figured out and try to post images later today. They look different, bigger than they did yesterday.

Again, any and all feedback/advice is humbly and greatly appreciated. I've learned so much here already!

Thanks and have a fabulous day everyone!

Mother of Dragons

 

[J189RFC]

I was just offering suggestions as to where the seed jar may have come from. But still, lookin good! It's a little late for scrog or training, but you can try on your next one!

 

[mthrofdragons]

Thanks again. I guess I'll just leave them be for now. They seem to be doing well but I'd still love some feedback regarding the dense growth on the stems covering the buds. I'm just guessing it's due to a lack of light? Or just that the plant is a different strain.

 

[mthrofdragons]

Good morning everyone!

So here are the girls today after watering yesterday with FF Big Bloom. They seem very happy and healthy, 26 days into flower. I'm considering adding molasses. What do you think? Any other nutes you would add? I'm kinda less is more at this point cause this is my first grown and I don't want to kill them!

I'm still concerned about running out of vertical space so if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. Can I gently begin to bend the tops down with string/pipe cleaner? Apparently I should have constructed a scrog in veg state. Oh well. Next time. : )

Perusing posts last night, I came upon some folks who practice removing fan leaves at this stage. Anyone else have experience/opinions about that? I'm considering trying it on one of the girls. Also, anyone have any suggestion/opinions about the girl on the right who's stem is so densely covered with small leaves? There's buds under there, in the dark. What's up with that?!

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback and have a fabulous day!

 

[mthrofdragons]

Hi everyone! I don't mean to beat a dead horse here but can anyone give me advice on how to deal with the potential lack of vertical space in my growbox with these two girls?

I am day 26 into flower. I think they are done stretching but have no idea how much bigger they'll get. Removing the shelf they're sitting on will give me about 5 additional inches. The plant on the right is smaller but the one on the left is just a couple inches below the light. I fear by tomorrow she'll be hitting it. Too late to Scrog? I don't really have any other options in terms of more space/bigger box.

Help, please?

Thanks so much,

Mother of Dragons

 

[shuffledemon]

I wouldn't fret about your space problems. Under CFLs they won't grow much more. If they come in contact with the light what are your options? I suppose you could train it away with a steak. May have to. Some folks have gotten pretty creative here with that sort of thing. Necessity is the mother of invention!

If you do take out that shelf for an additional 5 inches - you want to ensure your plants aren't _that_ far from the light. With CFLs, as I am sure you know, the plants can get real close. Make sure they are 1-1.5 inches away max. They won't stretch as hard this way.

Make sense?

They are looking great!

 

[shuffledemon]

Fan leaf removal is almost a religious question around here.

For me I only try to remove the pain-in-the-bud ones. You know - the one's covering bud sites. Even then if they are big and beautiful I will tie or tuck them away first before pruning entirely. It's a judgement call but this farmer says "only as much as you need".

You need a bit - some of your leaves are completely covering bud sites.

 

[mthrofdragons]

Thanks so much shufledmon! I'm actually growing under a T5, I try to keep them within a couple of inches from the light. I just added a clamp-on cfl I had around for extra light.

I guess I'll just get creative. The stalks are pretty strong but I'll just figure something out.

Any idea why the plant on the right has such dense small leaves close to the stem. There are buds under there!

Thanks so much!

 

[mthrofdragons]

Fan leaf removal is almost a religious question around here.

For me I only try to remove the pain-in-the-bud ones. You know - the one's covering bud sites. Even then if they are big and beautiful I will tie or tuck them away first before pruning entirely. It's a judgement call but this farmer says "only as much as you need".

You need a bit - some of your leaves are completely covering bud sites.

So, could you kindly be more specific? I know it's difficult to advise looking at the images, but I'm mostly concerned about the plant on the right. Thanks!

 

[shuffledemon]

Any idea why the plant on the right has such dense small leaves close to the stem. There are buds under there!

Thanks so much!

You are very welcome! I responded first, but there will be many more folks here to help in time.

No idea why the plant on the right is bushed out. It's kinda cool. If you can clean it up a bit you may find it produces nicely. Less branch but just as many bud nodes is a good thing! Less nutrition for the rest of the plant means more to your buds. Individual seed genetics could easily explain the difference you are seeing. With clones - not as much, but with seeds - you bet.

I'd get that lone CFL bulb closer to be more effective. Perhaps put the plants right next to each other with the CFL bulb between them? Hang on, let me show you how I have my middle bulb positioned in my closet. It's a different config, but you will get the sort of spacing I use, etc. Perhaps it is helpful. Stand by.

 

[mthrofdragons]

This is what's making me a little stressed. Part of me just wants to give that baby a serious haircut!

 

[shuffledemon]

Yeah - I would cut some of that hair. That's gnarly. Just go slow.

Here is my light layout. CFL's are fun!

 

[mthrofdragons]

Yeah - I would cut some of that hair. That's gnarly. Just go slow.

Here is my light layout. CFL's are fun!

Yea, that's what my gut's telling me. I'll be careful. Thanks for the input, it's really appreciated!

: )

 

[mthrofdragons]

That looks efficient-I could probably scrounge up more light but I've got fire paranoia! They seem pretty happy under the T5, but it's just not penetrating to the lower parts of the plants.

I'm super happy so far-1st grow-I don't have huge expectations. I'm just hoping for a small crop for personal use. It's incredibly fun and satisfying watching them grow. I'm kinda in love with them. ; )

 

[mthrofdragons]

Oh...and I actually do get that bulb pretty close and in between the plants. The fixture is a little clip on, and I move it aside when I'm playing Paparazzi! ; )

 

[mthrofdragons]

Well I'm 5 weeks into flower and like the newbie I am, I broke the rules, snipped a little bud off of the bottom of my big girl. Spent about 45 minutes cooking dinner and popped her into the oven set at about 170F. checked her every 10 minutes and took her out just as I finished cooking. Ate my wonderful dinner and then stuck the pre-mature, oven-dried not-even-close-to-being-ready bud in my little pipe and smoked it. Tasted like crap. I am stupid freaking so high. Can't wait to let them mature, finish them properly, and really enjoy.

So happy.

 

[Garage Grower]

lol. well at least you now know they aren't hemp