NewGrowerUSA
420 Member
Hi...7 1/2 weeks ago, I planted my first grow. I have learned alot since then. Here are some of the mistakes I made back then and have resently corrected: Poor lighting...I was using 48 inch flourescent shop lights; Poor soil....I used cheap WalMart soil that had NO perlite in it and resembled mulch; I was not checking the pH of my water. These seedlings grew slowly for the first 2-3 weeks of their lives and then just quit. They didn't all die, but they DID just quit doing anything for several weeks. I did some strenuous research and came up with a REAL grow plan...
Ten days ago, I made a mixture of potting soil and transplanted my plants into 8 inch pots: 3 parts FoxFarm Ocean Forest/2 parts FoxFarm HappyFrog/30% course Perlite (my local FoxFarm supplier said this is the way the "local growers" are mixing their soil with great success).
I also bought 42w 6500K and 23w 6500K twist bulbs and made my own grow lights, and began giving the plants 24/0 light. Then, I bought a pH tester/kit and began pHing their water to 6.0. It has vastly improved their stunted growth and they are growing well, compared to what they WERE doing...
I will ATTEMPT to post a BEFORE and AFTER pic of what the plants looked like just over a week ago at age 6 weeks, and what they look like now at 7 1/2 weeks.....
In this first BEFORE pic, this seedling is over a month old and obviously has problems.....You can see the poor mulchy-looking soil I WAS using....Won't make THAT mistake again.....
And in this second AFTER photo, you can see what those changes did just 10 days later....
Not what you would think a 7 1/2 week old plant would look like, but, hey, at least they are growing now......
I will buy more seeds in a few weeks and will see where they are at in growth by then to determine what to do next. Now I am wondering: Will they now be DWARFED/STUNTED in size when they begin to flower?
This particular strain (KC Brains Afghani) has a grow cycle of 8 - 14 weeks: Can I still go by that since they basically didn't grow for 2 - 3 weeks?
Any and all help is very much appreciated!
Ten days ago, I made a mixture of potting soil and transplanted my plants into 8 inch pots: 3 parts FoxFarm Ocean Forest/2 parts FoxFarm HappyFrog/30% course Perlite (my local FoxFarm supplier said this is the way the "local growers" are mixing their soil with great success).
I also bought 42w 6500K and 23w 6500K twist bulbs and made my own grow lights, and began giving the plants 24/0 light. Then, I bought a pH tester/kit and began pHing their water to 6.0. It has vastly improved their stunted growth and they are growing well, compared to what they WERE doing...
I will ATTEMPT to post a BEFORE and AFTER pic of what the plants looked like just over a week ago at age 6 weeks, and what they look like now at 7 1/2 weeks.....
In this first BEFORE pic, this seedling is over a month old and obviously has problems.....You can see the poor mulchy-looking soil I WAS using....Won't make THAT mistake again.....
And in this second AFTER photo, you can see what those changes did just 10 days later....
Not what you would think a 7 1/2 week old plant would look like, but, hey, at least they are growing now......
I will buy more seeds in a few weeks and will see where they are at in growth by then to determine what to do next. Now I am wondering: Will they now be DWARFED/STUNTED in size when they begin to flower?
This particular strain (KC Brains Afghani) has a grow cycle of 8 - 14 weeks: Can I still go by that since they basically didn't grow for 2 - 3 weeks?
Any and all help is very much appreciated!