NBT: First Grow Bagseeds Outdoor

[NBT]

Hey everyone. My name is Reg and I’m new here. (First post) thought starting a journal would be a good place to start though I’m a bit late.. better late then never.

I’ve smoked a long time and always thought about growing but haven’t tried until now. The last 2 years I’ve had a garden and now since it’s legal in Canada, this year planted 3 seeds for giggles to “see what happens”. While I’ve watched these grow everyday I’ve occupied any free time with as much research as possible about lights, food, growing mediums, trimming, LST and the many other topics so I have a general idea of what to do. I still have lots to learn so any feedback or tips is greatly appreciated.

My current setup is 3 unknown sex seeds from bags of only good smoke I’ve had recently (the whole bags weren’t seedy, just a random seed)
Planted in 60% pro mix soil and 40% potting soil (same mix as my garden)
Approximately 4 gal buckets
The first two were planted at the same time and one was a fresh seed a week or two later so it’s smaller but I maybe have burned it with nutes a bit towards beginning so is also behind the others a bit from that too.
All three have been topped and nodes 1 and 2 taken though now they’re showing growth there again.
They’ve been in soil since about mid June as last frost was late here and I’m not setup with a greenhouse or light to seed early yet.

Guess my first question is, are these all ladies? Let me know if more pics are needed. I’ve checked several times and based on what I’ve read I think they are. If so, pure luck to pop 3 random seeds and get 3 females
Thanks!
Reg

P.s. Yes, I know.. that hose has got to go..

 

[NBT]

As a side note.. I’ve tossed around the idea of trying to get a Mars Hydro TS 1000 to flower with but not sure if that would be beneficial as opposed to leaving them outdoors to finish naturally since it’s not powerful enough for 3 plants in bloom IMO but not sure they’ll veg enough with the late start either.

Once this season is over the thought is to use that light to veg and start tomatoes next spring and upgrade to a MH TSW 2000. Thoughts?

 

[Canuckush]

Welcome fellow Canadian!

 

[NBT]

Thanks! Excited to be here and have already learned lots from everyone. Soaking in as much as I can

 

[Lerugged]

Welcome. Cool start to your journal. You will get all the info you could need from these fine growers here.

 

[NBT]

Hey guys

Here with a bit of an update but no pics today as didn’t have time. 3 days ago I took 2 minutes to retrim the first couple of nodes and then watered 2 days ago but I must have been in lala land as I over watered. The 2 smaller plants are still a bit droopy but the big girl bounced back already. Also, noticed on the big gal a few nice white hairs which I hope is confirmation she is indeed a girl and the medium guy I’m watching very closely as believe he might be a male. 3rd and smallest is still not showing signs like the others. I’ll post pics as soon as I can.

Thanks, Reg
Happy growing!

 

[NBT]

Well.. its official haha. Mars TS-1000 on its way. Just in time to extend veg since they did poorly on my deck outside. Hoping they'll love the new light! Should be here Tuesday or Wednesday (or maybe sooner with prime 2 day). I'll be building a 4 sided open top box for now since a tent is not in the budget but I have extra wood around. Will be lined with aluminum foil (shiny side down to help defuse the light). Might have time to post pics of the unknowns later. We'll see

Reg
Happy growing!

 

[NBT]

Hey all

Got a chance to take some pictures tonight. They’re coming along. Can’t wait to get them under the light!

These first 3 are UK1

The next 3 are UK2

The last 3 are UK3

A few leaves have suffered minor damage but minimal considering they’re outside 24/7. I haven’t noticed any real infestations or anything. Starting to look better from the over water too but today’s weather isn’t helping any. Once they’re a bit perkier, plan on trimming the lower nodes again. Hopefully they'll rebound much faster under the light. Also after some reading have decided to paint the box I’ll build flat white instead of tin foil as it reflects light well and seems like less work

Work all weekend but hopefully a new update once the light arrives early next week. Until next time..

Happy growing
Reg

 

[NBT]

Got a quick update this morning before I take off to work..

Have had an itchy trigger finger.. (knife hand?) The last couple days watching UK2 and last night I pulled the trigger. Seen what looked like more balls developing so bagged him before he decides to pop. Just carefully draped the bag over then sealed around base of plant and ripped him right out. He was holding on tight but didn't win. The bag is now sealed beside the "compost pile" (the pile of garden trimmings) to wither away.

And then there were two.

As a side note, the Mars light didn't qualify for the free 2 day shipping so it'll arrive Thursday or Friday instead. Kinda disappointing but hoping it'll still arrive earlier. Wasn't willing to add an extra $30 shipping. Oh well

Happy growing!
Reg

 

[NBT]

Hello again.

Been a while since I’ve made it on and to update since I’ve been working 50 to 60 hours a week for the last 3 weeks now and wife has been sick for the last week but have been busy behind the scenes keeping the girls happy. The light took a week longer then expected but arrived yesterday. Got it all setup in the shed with both girls and a couple tomato plants for a couple days to see how they like it vs the 3/5th day of direct sunlight my deck gets. Of course the girls got the prime real estate in the middle lol.

The girls found their new home about 4 pm yesterday and with the light cycle ending at 10pm and starting at 4am, the bigger of the two has already gone from 23.5” to 25” (failed to measure shorter one as was in a hurry) and both seem perkier. I’m not too sure how much longer I’ll let them veg yet but probably not too long as the pots are rather small. Have been meaning to measure exact but est. under 2 gallon. Minimal pruning has been done as I’m not limited on space with just 2 plants and 7’ of headroom to play with IMO. Have only removed a couple leaves in the way of bud sites on lower and a couple leaves that the caterpillars ate. I believe they are almost gone also. I found a couple and plucked them and haven’t noticed much more damage. I’ll find the last guy eventually. Contemplated spraying with garlic water as a natural pesticide but can’t find out if that’s safe for the girls. Anyone know about that?

A bit on the shed (grow room now). I got the kit from Mars Hydro and the timer is on an 18/6. I’ve measured and taped a 3’ square directly under the light. The light is currently 20” above the tallest girl and is hung from the ceiling with a hook using the included mounting hardware but have been thinking about changing it as the light is not stable position wise from one string. To keep movement to a minimum I ran the power cord off another hook to keep the light from spinning. I don’t have a fan yet but that’s next on the to buy list along with some better nutes for flower time. The temperature and humidity peaked at 80% humidity and 80f. Pretty lucky here as this was a fairly warm day for us (near the Atlantic Ocean). Last check it’s still at 80f and 60% humidity. Overnight temps dropped to 60f last night. Once I figure out how to use this gadget better and reset the high and low daily, I’ll have a better idea of what to expect and how to compensate. The next projects will be to get the area partially enclosed to help reflect light and something on the floor to catch runoff as the big girl will need a watering tomorrow.

On a different note... the male I axed a while ago is... still growing like a bad weed? Man these things aren’t easy to kill haha. He’s in a clear garbage bag knotted closed in the darkest corner by a fence and house. Pulled straight out of the pot with minimal roots left. The side of him that was face down is brown as expected but the top side continued to grow and is still a great shade of green. Also, he’s confirmed his identity as a male and is full of balls, some of which have opened. Glad he’s quarantined haha. I’ll try to get some pics up of both him and the girls new home later or tomorrow.

Let me know if anyone has any recommendations or questions about the setup. I’d be happy to answer!

As always, happy growing!
Reg

 

[NBT]

Hey everyone

Finally a day off after 41 hours of work the last 3 days. So a long overdue update with pictures! I came in this morning to admire the girls and noticed some white hairs. Guess I waited a bit too long to get the light and they might have started to flip. Will be moving the tomatoes out today as I’ve gotten to see how they fair under the new light too like intended. This is to prepare for flipping to a 12/12 after taking care of the natural light from windows. I trimmed a few leaves earlier but had to run out so about to finish the trimming up. I’ll adjust the light height and duration tonight after lights out.

Side note if anyone is wondering.. tomatoes love this Mars light. They’re growing better than the 7 outside. One note though. The light is adjusted in height for the girls which puts the light 12” above the tomatoes which is too close even though they are producing fruit as the top leaves are curling. But I digress haha

UK1 is currently 26” tall and UK2 is 22.5”. Both have several white hairs showing. Overcast today so it’s not very warm in here even though the light has been on since 4am. It was about 15c this morning and almost 20c this afternoon. I also had a chance to measure pot size as I emptied the old males pot today it’s 1.5 gal so definitely need larger for next run.

Top view. UK1 left, UK2 right

Side view. UK1 left, UK2 right

UK1 close up

UK2 close up

So as mentioned prior, the light did arrive. In perfect condition and working order even though the outer large box was quite damaged. The inside Mars box was fine and light sides not dented. I’ve included a picture of it hanging but please don’t mind the mess. This was my woodworking space prior haha

I’ve also got a large thing I still need to bring out which is painted white already and will help reflect light. It’s just large and awkward so dreading it haha.

I was also to my local supply store today for the first time and asked about mega crop as I can only find big $100 bags that ship to Canada and that’s more than I can spend right now. They don’t carry it but carry Gaia and might be able to get it in. Also, he mentioned a store about an hour away that might stock it and his boss going there this week so he is going to check and bring me a bag if there is. *fingers crossed* as it would be better then what I’ve been using.

Almost forgot! I mentioned that male.. since I flipped the bag the other day he’s looking a bit more grim. But here’s some pics of how resilient he’s been over there.

Anyways, have some work ahead of me so until next time.. happy growing!

 

[Carcass]

Your UK's are looking great,NBT!
2 out of three were female-that's great-my luck was 3 out of three were males-that'll put a dent in a grow!

but please don’t mind the mess. This was my woodworking space prior haha

If you consider that a mess,you sure wouldn't want to see my shop....

 

[NBT]

Thanks carcass! I'm running a small budget too. There are so many things I want to improve on but must be patient. You're right, was definitely lucky. I'm considering a clone but not sure yet as outside light cycles are getting shorter and need to flip these soon. They do look great but I have a concern as something is still eating them but I can't figure out what. I don't think it's caterpillars like last time at they were taking out whole or half leaves per day. Just small holes in quite a few leaves. I seen a couple small flies but no other signs. Could they be doing this?

 

[Carcass]

No,it wouldn't be the flies doing it...leafhoppers or small grasshoppers maybe?
My experience with caterpillars has been that they eat from the edges in ,so they're probably not doing it.
Although leafhoppers usually leave large white "dots" as opposed to holes...
Could you post up a pic of the damage? maybe we can get some knowledgeable eyes on it for you.

 

[NBT]

No,it wouldn't be the flies doing it...leafhoppers or small grasshoppers maybe?
My experience with caterpillars has been that they eat from the edges in ,so they're probably not doing it.
Although leafhoppers usually leave large white "dots" as opposed to holes...
Could you post up a pic of the damage? maybe we can get some knowledgeable eyes on it for you.

Would definitely appreciate that. I did notice 1 white spot on a leaf. Didn't think anything of it. A couple brown spots, and a few small holes here and there. The caterpillars definitely do a good job on leaves. I found them and removed them and haven't noticed that eating pattern again. I'll get pics up asap. If necessary I'd like to get them treated before I flip so the buds aren't affected by the treatment

 

[NBT]

Got some pics of some different things I’m seeing. Here they are. And I guess upon further examination might still have caterpillars but I can’t find them. I’ve looked at the under sides numerous times.

 

[Carcass]

The white specks look like spidermite damage- neem oil spray should fix that,but you've got to keep after it-getting rid of them before full flower would be ideal-you don't want neem on the buds-it stinks a bit (at least I think it does). Neem will also kill many other munchers,so it's good to have in your "arsenal"
And it does look like caterpillars are munching on your leaves-Safer brand caterpillar killer will take them out pretty quickly.(although the neem might do that,I'm not sure)
Also look for caterpillars at the growth tips-that's where I found mine-mash the ones you see,but also spray for the ones you won't see.
Maybe @InTheShed or @MrSauga could take a peek to see what they think?

 

[NBT]

The white specks look like spidermite damage- neem oil spray should fix that,but you've got to keep after it-getting rid of them before full flower would be ideal-you don't want neem on the buds-it stinks a bit (at least I think it does). Neem will also kill many other munchers,so it's good to have in your "arsenal"
And it does look like caterpillars are munching on your leaves-Safer brand caterpillar killer will take them out pretty quickly.(although the neem might do that,I'm not sure)
Also look for caterpillars at the growth tips-that's where I found mine-mash the ones you see,but also spray for the ones you won't see.

Alright. I'll check the local stores for neem tomorrow. I'll see if I can find the other stuff too. I've read online a natural solution was garlic water with powder or minced then strained. High acid kills them. Would that be a safe for the girls? Or perhaps change the taste?

 

[Carcass]

Garlic might work,you've got plenty of time to try it before taste becomes an issue.
A 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water,with a few drops of mild dish soap(wetting agent) added will also kill lots of things-best to spray in the shade or at lights out .
Actually,anything you spray on them should be done at lights out,to be on the safe side.

 

[NBT]

Garlic might work,you've got plenty of time to try it before taste becomes an issue.
A 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water,with a few drops of mild dish soap(wetting agent) added will also kill lots of things-best to spray in the shade or at lights out .
Actually,anything you spray on them should be done at lights out,to be on the safe side.

Good to know. I probably would've made that mistake haha. I'll find the ratio it recommended again and give it a shot and hunt for neem tomorrow. One last quick question. When I reduce the light duration, should it come off on time or off time or split the difference? Does it matter any?