My First Grow - Indoor - Soil - CFL - Bag Seed

[EightyFour]

Hello dear 420 mag members!

This is my very first ever grow, so bear with me coz I'm excited as u can understand

So I've been reading ALOT here, completed and in-progress journals, wanna thank some journal owners that inspired me and made me understand and learn lots of new things! I hope those ppl will tag along with me in this journal, dunno if they are still active here as I mostly read stuff from 2011 or so.

So about my grow...

Soil, indoor, bagseed, CFL, stealth grow.

I ordered online some of the stuff I understood that are a MUST, waiting for them to arrive in a week or two I hope:
Water pH digital meter, x30 glass, temp and RH meter.

For now I don't have a cabinet or a tent, I will probably buy a tent in the following week or so.
Its in my own house, in an unused room of my new house as I have no children to fill it

So I have a huge collection of seeds I gathered here and there, dunno about the phenotypes.
I germinated them at April 20th hoping for good karma for that!!
Tried germinating using 3 methods, the plate with paper towels worked best. Started with 20 seeds as I had no hope for them even to germinate, I'm pretty sure those seeds are about 1-2 years old.
Since they surprised me and germinated, I had to be fast and go to my local garden store and bought a soil, asked for a neutral soil but they only had one type with slow release of Nutes over 6 month period.

I know its not good but that's what I had.

So now I have 3 little veggies under lights, my light schedule is 20/4 and using a 24h timer to do so.

Currently I grow under 2 X 6500K CFL's, will buy more this week.
For now it's under those lights with some ghetto fixture I improvised using a rescue blanket, I hope that's cool, they seem to like it for now. They are about 1 week old.

That's it for now, will post a few pictures in a few moments I hope.

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

 

[LordofDanknis]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Lookin' good so far 84, here's wishing you a hefty harvest

 

[LordofDanknis]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Any stats on the soil you chose? Also, how many watts are your lights? :icon_cool

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Any stats on the soil you chose? Also, how many watts are your lights? :icon_cool

Lights: CFL 23W (100W) 1440 Lumins, 6500K
Soil: something local, bought a 25 Litre bag. it has some nutrients slow releasing, and coconut strings, among some other stuff.

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Question about water:

Since I have no clue about the water quality from my tap, and I wait for my water pH digital meter to arrive...
What I was doing so far is water with tap water after a 24h period of them standing.
I have at home a water purifier, it has uv light and a carbon filter, so I guess it's better to use from there right?
I will still let the water stand for 24h before watering.

Suggestions?

 

[ecdriver]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

high Eighty, nice to see new growers join the fun Community !!!
you are doing like i did ,i mean not to buy all at the same time, you don't need all the stuffs at the beginning.
you need to know what Ph and what background Ec your tap water is.
let sit the water for 24/48hours is the best thing to do even if the water is good, tap water always have Chlorine in it and it goes away easily when sit in open air.
well, all i read about what you plan to do seems very good to me, despite i'm not an expert at all.
i'm subbed and i wish you nice times and many friends on this wonderful website among us.
green vibes to your becoming garden M8

 

[PeytonManning]

I'm no soil grower, but I would think that when you get ready to transplant, mix in a good amount of perlite to aerate the soil. Stuff looks like it might turn to mud with a good watering. But other than that, looks like you're off to a good start

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

high Eighty, nice to see new growers join the fun Community !!!
you are doing like i did ,i mean not to buy all at the same time, you don't need all the stuffs at the beginning.
you need to know what Ph and what background Ec your tap water is.
let sit the water for 24/48hours is the best thing to do even if the water is good, tap water always have Chlorine in it and it goes away easily when sit in open air.
well, all i read about what you plan to do seems very good to me, despite i'm not an expert at all.
i'm subbed and i wish you nice times and many friends on this wonderful website among us.
green vibes to your becoming garden M8

Thank you ecdriver for the warm welcoming!
Indeed you understood my plan, I'm gonna buy stuff in correlation with my grow progress, just one or two steps ahead when needed, I grow for myself and my girlfriend, and let friends smoke a bowl with me with some good stuff - but I'm just thinking fast forward here I'm afraid lol.

Excuse me for my ignorance, what is Ec? I noticed it repeats a lot but I was more into understanding the basics of pH water and feed, is it ppm?

I'm no soil grower, but I would think that when you get ready to transplant, mix in a good amount of perlite to aerate the soil. Stuff looks like it might turn to mud with a good watering. But other than that, looks like you're off to a good start

Problem is I already got 2 of them in quite large pots, I dunno the exact capacity in liters but if I give u guys the measurements can you help me find out what's the exact number?
All I know is that the receipt said round pot 28 ( and it's not the price, or liters, coz my soil bag is 25L, and I filled 2 and got more for at least 2 of that size I think )
So.. I can't transplant and probably won't transplant them.

But I do have one still inside those white mini pots I got for free from the local gardening store, it's a tray so I just cut cubes off it, I'll add a picture of it maybe, but u know what I mean I guess haha.

And about the soil content, yeah I asked if he got something with perlite or vermiculite and he said no.
But I have a smaller pot to put the third one in it, I will try keeping it in the white sprouting container until I find some good soil or I will mix in about 20%(??) vermiculite .. Guess I really need to know my exact pot size huh?
Will remember that for next time I guess! Here's one more lesson I learn along the way...
Is it possible to add small amount of vermiculite to the soil without harming the root system ? I will definitely try to find some of the verm for the third pot.

Anyway that was long, hope I'm not digging in too much for details but I'm sometimes that kinda person, especially when on natural meds

 

[PeytonManning]

I believe ec is electrical conductivity, or the amount of minerals in your soil/nutes. I grow hempy style, so I've never used one or cared to really delve into that part. As for the vermiculite, I wouldn't add any. It will just hold water longer, make soil muddier and could affect your ph depending where it was mined from. Some dimensions of the pot size could be helpful, but I can't help with soil mixture ratio. Hopefully ecdriver shows up to explain it better

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Time for more pictures...

So for now i name them by these numbers until they build-up character
from the oldest sister to the teen slut i hope they will gimme some good head when they get older and perkier .

Plant #1 - Top Shoot

Plant #1 - Head Shot

Plant #2

Plant #3

My DIY Temporary Mylar Blanket "Tent":

"Open":

the babes from left to right: Plant #1, Plant #3 resting on Plant #2 pot

"Closed":

I think i just realized i gotta go buy the tent until the weekend or so, b'coz i gotta use a small vent, not just against high tempts and for stem strength, but pests - i saw one slow flying really small thing, i hope i don't see more of them really soon!!
Problem that i cant use any kind of fan is that it will make noise, think of a fan hitting a very fine tin foil, u get it i hope. so i might just go for the tent, thought about getting the GrowLab80 or 60 ? or something equivalent, in shape. i look for nice quality and not too expensive.
what do u guys think i need? i wanna be able to veg/flower at least 2 plants eventually, but not more than 4, and i still want some space to work with, for a good airflow and light exposure,.

Plant #1 is the very first one that sprouted and made me do the tent and all this, really proud of it, i think it looks good for a baby?

I noticed a small bleaching dot on Plant #2, but i guess that's just the primary leaves, not the true MJ ones, that got a "burn" dunno what to refer to it, hope its not something critic starting to develop, or anything related to pH... will see later i guess, will keep an eye on it for the younger growth to come.

Plant #3 is the one that made the biggest jump so far, it has passed #2 = her pot host. but you never know how they turn. wanna try keeping it in a small area for a bit longer, see what comes out of it later.

*So is it ok to use water from the water bar? just a reminder: it has UV light bulb and carbon filter (of course with 24-48 hours rest)
I Hate to fly blind with no gauges, i know how important pH is all along the grow, i just can't wait to test my water and know with what i'm gonna deal with later on. ordered it from the online auction bay, said it could take up to 2 weeks.

*And speaking of watering, they 2 that are in the bigger pots drink every 3-4 days for now. small one maybe every 2-3 days. i water it when its getting dry, i know how important wet-dry cycles are from the info i been reading here on lots of great journals.
i water by the lift-the-pot method and the looks of the top soil, sometimes i poke a finger in the soil to feel it.

*About the lights, for now its enough just the 2 CFL's i guess ?
i dunno why, but i didn't come across with a Y connector anywhere, tried my local H.D's and lights stores, why don't they sell them? wtf
i have a 3rd CFL that i just need to connect to the other two. might just go buy 2 more packs, thing is pretty cheap in my eyes: 3 x 6500K bulbs (see above for the wattage and lumins) for about 15$

Hope you like them pics for now, any reply, suggestions, comment or any kind of feedback is really important to me, i try to write my thoughts through the process for future reference.

Thanks for stopping by and

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

More info on my soil:
it says the mixture consists of quality Kabol(did i get it right?) made by a German company called "Klasmann", Coconut threads, Airing materials, Nutrients and Fertilizers.

There's another bright side to the story, i discovered i have a hydro shop about 20 minutes drive from me, thought the closer is supposed to be at least 1 hour away. gotta visit there, buy the tent i need, clip-on fan or 2 (?), and pray that they have good nutes. i'll pay a visit to their website later and get back to you, hoping you will be able to help me choose from the stock they have there. that will probably be my next post.

And by the way i forgot to mention i have also bought a local made Nutrient bag when i bought the pots and soil, its a 20-20-20+Micro in dry form, to be mixed it water or scatter on top of soil.
friend of mine that grows outdoors uses it, and it was a small bag (1 kg net weight, but it said 3 kg on the front lol wtf) and kinda cheap so i said why not.
Reading its contents on the back those are the numbers, i translated the N parts from my language, i hope i got it right or close to, so u could understand and give me better advice:

Total N: 20% (Nitric N 6%, Amoniacal N 4%, Eurea 10%)
P: 20%
K: 20%

Micro-elements:
Fe 1000 ppm
Mn 500 ppm
Mo 70 ppm
Zn 150 ppm
Cu 110 ppm

it also says it is very concentrated and have to be precisely diluted into the solution, or might cause burning etc...

Recommended dose: 10 g (2 tea spoons) into 10 liter of water.
so i guess when time comes, and this product is the one i will be using unless i find something better at that hydro shop and not very expensive i hope so, the starting dosage will be 1/4 the recommended, means 2-2.5 grams into 10 Liter, guess ill go with the lower one as introduction. but it all depends on what the hydro shop have, the price, and what you will recommend me.

Ain't gonna use it for now unless u tell me otherwise, waiting to see some more nodes and some age to them before i introduce it to my babys, i know my soil is already nutes-rich (slow release 6 months period, which i did a light plain water wash to it about 2 days or so before i transplanted/sprouted #2 and #3 with it.
the gardening store also had other nutes for vegging, flowering and so on - liquid in long bottles, with NPK details but i didnt have much understanding in Nutes when i seen it, only know what NPK stands for but didn't know what i think i know today, and correct me if i'm wrong.

More N for vegging
More P & K for flower with low N ?

how do i know what is the ratio my babys will need further along the rode ? i don't have you guys special nutes for all stages yet. my babys don't have teeth yet, cant chew only suck water.
i dont feel like driving to the store taking pictures or notes and comeback here, i wanna come back there knowing what i need, and if any from what they have there.

I need a feeding plan, and i now so regret i have this soil, i sense trouble along the road, but i'm optimistic for now. if you tell me that the 20-20-20+Micro isn't too violent and may actually help all along the way if i pH it right, it might be fine for this grow i guess.


and i just realized i'm kinda talking to myself here, hope i see more good peeps join my grow.
i wanna learn so i could help others also, i regard myself as a fast learner, but only when things are interesting to me, or when i could benefit from it, how selfish am i.

this hobby is fascinating, one of my wet dreams is be a (legal) grower, why is my country so stupid? WHY?!
hope rules here will change soon though, there are medical weed companies here, but u gotta be REALLY ill to get it. some of it also goes trickling to the "black market", the smoke they give is pretty damn good, when i get other stuff lower grade im being such a snub about it.

i just cant wait to get some good strains and do em proper, its a learning curve.

c'ya soon

 

[EightyFour]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

May 9th Update:

went today to the nearby hydro-shop ...

Got myself a GrowLab80 and 2x CFL's 62W 7500K 3000~ Lumins
and some other stuff: a pH 7 buffer for when my digital pH meter arrives so i could calibrate it.
i also got for now a liquid pH test kit, i was amazed to discover my tap water pH is around 8 !!!!! i knew its going to be a problem
lucky me i got also a pH down solution, need some help on how to do it properly
went today to the local HD and bought a nice desk fan 8", put it on the floor of the tent.

plants #1 and #3 look great, plant #2 i dont have big hopes for it.

another problem is that one of the new 62W bulbs doesn't work, need to get to the hydro shop again just to replace it, 20 minutes drive.
i will probably buy 2 more bulbs and replace the non-working one, should i now buy 2 x 3500K instead of 2 more day light ?

here are some pictures, any suggestion/advice is welcome!

The Growlab 80:

Group Photo:

Plants #1 in the soil & Plant #3 still in the small cup, will soon transplant it to a pot:

Plant #2 - Looking sad

 

[LordofDanknis]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

I'm diggin' the tent, 84!

I'm glad you got that PH meter, 8 is certainly too high, but be careful as to not add too much PH up/down especially this early on.
Even if the PH is perfect, too much PH up/down can cause your PPM to skyrocket, and it seems to go overlooked by many new growers. Also, drastic changes in PH can do more harm than good sometimes (like from 9.0-5.8 in an hour). If possible, it's best to ease your PH into the correct range over a couple of days.

"More N for vegging, More P & K for flower with low N?
How do i know what is the ratio my babies will need further along the ride?"

Yes, exactly. More N for VEG and more P and K for flowering. Since you have that slow release soil, it's going to be difficult to know exactly how much of each to use, but if you do your homework and resist the temptation to overfeed, you will end up just fine. The plant will tell you when she's hungry, and just a little feed (like "1/4th recommended dose"-KingJohn) even early on will prevent that from happening and will increase vigor and overall yield.

 

[KingJohnC]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Subscribed. There is a Nutes - What To Use & How To Use Them - Tutorial that may help you correctly fertilize your plants. I recommend when your plants are 4-5 inches tall and have 5 nodes of growth when the cotyledon and first set of leaves begin to yellow you start with a low dosage of nutrients and gradually over several waterings increase the dosage. You may want to call your local grow store and see if they can get you Pro-Mix HP, vermiculite and mycorrhizae so that when you transplant you may use a better soil. You will also need to supplement calcium and magnesium for what your fertilizer is lacking.

Nutes - What To Use & How To Use Them - Tutorial


I use peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and mycorrhizae for my plants. I would mix your soiless mixture in a ratio of 60% peat moss, 20% perlite and 20% vermiculite. If you can get Pro-Mix HP you would only need to add vermiculite and mycorrhizae.

https://www.pthorticulture.com pro-mix hp growing medium

I use General Hydroponics Flora series 3 part nutrients that can be mixed for all stages of vegetative growth and flowering. General Hydroponics Flora series can be used with hydroponic, soil and soiless mediums.

https://generalhydroponics.com nutrients flora series

https://www.horticulturesource.com general hydroponics gh flora series performance pack


For soil insects I use diatomaceous earth on top of the soil as a barrier, it cuts them as they move through it. I bought my diatomaceous earth from an animal feed store, do not use the type meant for pool filters. Mosquito dunks can also be used as a soil drench for fungus gnats. Sierra Natural Sciences also makes a soil drench called SNS-203 for fungus gnats and other soil insects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous earth

https://www.homedepot.com Mosquito Dunks 6 Pack

https://sierranaturalscience.com natural pesticides sns-203

 

[G-daddy]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

High ya 84
You have a good start and some helpful fellow growers. I am subbed.

 

[LordofDanknis]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Speak of the devil. Lol. That's a lot of great, specific info KingJohn.

 

[Free bud]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

I like your tent. I'm getting ready to buy one as well. My first grow is now at week 2 of flower. I started with bag seed and got 2 sprouts. When they were in veg. I would notice a few small black flying bugs once in a while. The other day I discovered that I have one male and a female. While removing the male I noticed a lot more flying bugs! They seemed to be attracted to my soil which is potting soil from HD. I was told to avoid big box store soil in the future because it comes pre-loaded with bugs, eggs etc... I used Azamax and drenched my soil with it. It seems to have knocked the bugs down. I just wanted to mention this because of the similarities in your grow and mine. Keep an eye on those bugs. They lay eggs in the soil and when they hatch the young feed on your roots Not Good! I'm sure someone with more knowledge can add how that can damage your plants. Good luck!

 

[KingJohnC]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Waiting for update with photographs

 

[CMoney]

Re: My first grow! Indoor/Soil/CFL/Bagseed

Subbed up and excited to see how your grow goes. Best of luck!!!