My First Grow

[artsmoke35450]

Hey guys, decided to try growing for the first time now that i have a place where I can do it. Not trying to be really pro here but any criticism is more than welcome. This is my first try at growing really, these are 4 weeks in for the 3 in the middle and 5 days behind for the rest. The seeds came from my buddy who got them from another guy so what actual kind they are is a little beyond me. Some of the plants are shorter and some are longer but the height of the light has always been about the same.

I'm using 4 27 watt CFLs on an 18/6 schedule, I havent been using any fertilizer besides what came in the soil mix. Again take a look at the pics and any advice would be awesome.

overall setup

taller one

shorter one

my best one

I'll try to post pics bi-weekly to keep the status updated

 

[artsmoke35450]

Also I had a question about this particular plant

Ever since sprouting it has had this big floppy wide leaves while all of the others around it are thinner and longer. The leaves also are curling as can be seen. I'm afraid I'm over watering like most first timers do, I'm usually watering every other day as thats when the soil on top tends to look very dry. Any advice would be awesome

Pictures 1 and 2 (taller and shorter) are 19 days in as well as the droopy one above, the "best one" is 25 days in.

Also upon further research and some advice found on the forums, I've lowered my CFLs so they are just a few inches off the plants.

 

[Ms.Fox]

Good job on lowering the cfls. Do you have any air circulation on them? Genetics could play a role in why that one looks different. How much water do you give to them? I never douse the soil with plants that size. Check out the weight of the cup instead of what it looks like on the top. If the cup still has some weight to it you know it still has enough water. You should think about transplanting soon, too. Make sure your next containers are not clear. Roots hate light. ;-)

 

[artsmoke35450]

I'm picking up a small fan later today for circulation. As for the clear containers, I've wrapped them in paper for now to help block out the light. As for the watering, I use a spray bottle and sprits 6-7 times until theres a little bit of water pooling on the top and then I let it soak through, but I have been watering between once per day / day and a half. Transplanting is happening tomorrow.

As for the transplanting, should I move them in to something medium like ~ 2 gallons or something larger? I have 11 plants right now and all are doing fairly well.

 

[Ms.Fox]

2 gallons should be sufficient for now. My other suggestion would be to put them in organic soil instead of what you are using now. I can already see that this soil is going to give you problems. It looks like your plants have nute burn or a nute deficiency, because of the nutes that are already in the soil.

 

[artsmoke35450]

Ok now heres where you can tell that I'm new at this. Right now I started them in "Scotts Premium Potting Soil", when you say organic soil, is there a certain brand or type i should look for?

 

[Ms.Fox]

I'm using Scotts topsoil with perlite added to it. Scotts is owned by Miricle Grow, so you still have to look closely at the labels. If it says feeds up to 1 - 6 months, stay away! ;-) Do you have a hydro shop nearby? If you do, I'd run by there and pick up some Fox Farm soil. It's more expensive, but well worth it.

 

[artsmoke35450]

I found a local hydroshop nearby and I'm going to check it out after class, they do in fact sell foxfarm. I should be able to make a trip out there after class and do the transplants tonight, I'll post pics if that happens and all goes well

 

[artsmoke35450]

Just finished getting them all transplanted before their light cycle started, heres the new look with 1.7 gallon square pots and FoxFarm soil. I've also added an oscillating fan inside to keep a gentle breeze on them.

Setup is much cleaner now. I gave them just a bit, maybe a 1/4 cup of water at the base of the plant to help them settle in. From what I've heard you should water them every 2-3 days? Anywho, its looking good right now, thanks for the advice

 

[Ms.Fox]

Great job! I'm glad you found the fox farm soil! Good job on watering as well. I like to give mine straight water for the first couple days to let them settle in. What nutes are you using?

 

[artsmoke35450]

I dont have any planned right now, when i was talking to the guy in the hydro shop about the "tomatoes" i was going to grow he said the soil would have enough in it for the first month

 

[artsmoke35450]

Update: New soil is doing very well, all plants are growing rapidly

all of em

my favorite

 

[artsmoke35450]

i got em from a local hydroponics shop, they were a bit more expensive then the normal ones, 3.25 compared to 1.49, but its well worth it for the spacial purposes

 

[artsmoke35450]

its been another few days and they are doing beautifully. as you may notice i'm down from 11 to 10. All of the plants remaining have 2 or 3 sets of 5-star leaves, one of the plants in the back only had 2 sets of 3 star leaves and was showing very limited growth. Because I already have so many I just decided it was best to remove it. Heres a few pics of the setup and some closeups of how well they are doing.

setup

the "my favorite plant"

one of my new favorites. ever since being transplanted this plant has grown the most the fastest

its really amazing how fast they are going now, its getting fun to watch.

 

[artsmoke35450]

Yea the stretching happened before, since transplanting them, I have yet to raise the lights. The taller ones tend to bend towards the light so I rotate them when needed. I'm trying hold off raising the lights for as long as possible so that the taller ones even out. Since the transplant though the taller ones have not gotten much taller but have had massive leaf output at the top. i got some balsa wood sticks left over from an old project if i need to stake anything

And yea, the plastic pots were a bit much, but they've been totally worth it

 

[pan4gold49]

Your doing good plants look strong and healthy.

Keep it up.

Pan4

 

[UntamedFox]

doin a good job man, caught up with all the pix and details. you might want to pick up some more powerfull CFLs or get more lights soon. I have some 150w equivalents, love them.

 

[Cherma]

Yes they are looking healthier after transplanting them, in good clean new soils and a bigger house. FF Grow Big would complement the feeding in veg stages as well. Keeping it simple.

 

[artsmoke35450]

Another few days and they are doing beautifully,

overall setup, still havent had to raise the lights yet but some of them are getting pretty tall.

the "fav", the farthest progresed, very healthy and doing well

one of the the taller ones, they are growing very thick stalks because of the fan, but i might have to stake them, going to keep an eye on them. there are 4 of these tall ones, 3 midsized ones like my fav, and then 3 smaller ones

this is an update on the "different genetics" one that msfox was talking about. the plant is very healthy like the rest, it just has broader leaves.


all in all its still going pretty smooth, another few weeks and i should be able to tell the boys and the girls apart. looking forward to it

 

[Cherma]

Separting the boys from the girls will come soon enough for you. Then on to flowering cycles. Woo Hoo.