Phototron 2 Space Capsule: My Magical Grow Journey

[Guy Cavallero]

Re: First time grower & member

Okay guys, not sure if I've done something wrong but the first leaves are super wavy looking... and the leaf tips curl down. Any ideas? I haven't watered in about 24 hours now because of the overwatering yesterday and it looks like the stem and up on the leaf stems is turning a light brown...

Your plant is fine lol. Colours Good, no leaf curl in the edges, no burn whatsoever, can't be heat stress due to lighting. The humidity dome as suggested can't hurt as high humidity kinda goes hand in hand with early veg. Humidity should slowly lessen during flower. You're fine.....breathe.....lol.

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Your plant is fine lol. Colours Good, no leaf curl in the edges, no burn whatsoever, can't be heat stress due to lighting. The humidity dome as suggested can't hurt as high humidity kinda goes hand in hand with early veg. Humidity should slowly lessen during flower. You're fine.....breathe.....lol.

LMAO, that's what I needed to hear! Breathinnngggg now . I have an addiction to this plant because it's my first lol, I believe it when they say marijuana is a gateway plant!! Lol. I work in the IT world so I'm hoping to incorporate some "home automation" into my grow after the holidays. (For light and watering schedules, humidity and temp readings). Best to get a good concept on what the plant needs and if I'm doing okay before I start that project! Lol. Thank you again for all your knowledge

 

[Guy Cavallero]

Re: First time grower & member

Thanks for the quick diagnosis! I'll get the make-shift humidity dome on it tonight after work! . Other than it looking alittle funky it sure is growing faster than I thought it would lol. I also have had a fan blowing in from the top since since sprout, is this acceptable?

Air movement is key, it will definitely help to strengthen the stem of your plant. That being said, you could add some more soil so that only the top three quarters of an inch of the stem is poking out. That will also make the plant a lot more Stout as it grows. It will also make it easier if you decide to do some LST training in the future. How long do you plan on vegging your plant?

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Air movement is key, it will definitely help to strengthen the stem of your plant. That being said, you could add some more soil so that only the top three quarters of an inch of the stem is poking out. That will also make the plant a lot more Stout as it grows. It will also make it easier if you decide to do some LST training in the future. How long do you plan on vegging your plant?

Well they have been getting plenty of air movement and I plan to crank it up a tad higher as it gets bigger..little adjustments over time. I'll add some more soil this weekend, I also feel like the best method for me is to add soil as the plant gets bigger since I have atleast 6" of room to add soil until it fills up the bottom "bucket" of this capsule. (I probably should have started out with more but getting the bottom back into the phototron was a pain and it doesnt help that the plastic is getting older and starting to crack.) I plan on going by the "light schedule" thats plastered on the front of the phototron so that being said, I'll veg until day 45 when I switch to 12/12. Is it wise to start nutrients around day 20 or so? Seems like a good halfway point?

 

[Guy Cavallero]

Re: First time grower & member

Well they have been getting plenty of air movement and I plan to crank it up a tad higher as it gets bigger..little adjustments over time. I'll add some more soil this weekend, I also feel like the best method for me is to add soil as the plant gets bigger since I have atleast 6" of room to add soil until it fills up the bottom "bucket" of this capsule. (I probably should have started out with more but getting the bottom back into the phototron was a pain and it doesnt help that the plastic is getting older and starting to crack.) I plan on going by the "light schedule" thats plastered on the front of the phototron so that being said, I'll veg until day 45 when I switch to 12/12. Is it wise to start nutrients around day 20 or so? Seems like a good halfway point?

Day 20 works. That's when I usually start my feeding schedule. Until then , my plain water out of the wall is 150ppm. I've been mostly organic on my last grow but am switching back to inert Promix HP for my next set of girls so I can control things a bit better and it'll allow me to purchase all of my amendments to build my own soil in the New year.
I would suggest if you're not planning on repotting, to definitely add more soil next grow. Itll allow you to train her to spread out a bit better and allow the CFLs to penetrate better.
What do you know about the lighting?

You just want her moving in the breeze, not bouncing around. Her roots can actually loosen in dryer soil if she bounces around too much.

 

[dom2mac]

Re: First time grower & member

Hey just found your post and cant wait to see more. That phototron 2 contraption is very cool you plants seem to love the light but I am worried about how the blue light may limit your bug growth. Does it have a switch for flowering light or different bulbs?

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Day 20 works. That's when I usually start my feeding schedule. Until then , my plain water out of the wall is 150ppm. I've been mostly organic on my last grow but am switching back to inert Promix HP for my next set of girls so I can control things a bit better and it'll allow me to purchase all of my amendments to build my own soil in the New year.
I would suggest if you're not planning on repotting, to definitely add more soil next grow. Itll allow you to train her to spread out a bit better and allow the CFLs to penetrate better.
What do you know about the lighting?

You just want her moving in the breeze, not bouncing around. Her roots can actually loosen in dryer soil if she bounces around too much.

That's awesome! So how long have you been a grower? You a smoker too?

Yeah I don't think I'm gunna re pot, I was hoping to just add more soil as needed.

When I got the capsule it included...

2- Sylvania 34w t 12 u bulbs

VChoice 19w 2700k 1600 lumens

Philips 10.5w 5000k 800 lumens

Ecosmart 5.5w 2700k 574 lumens

2- Reptile 75w red bulb

1- Reptile 75w "blue" bulb I'm thinking.. (burnt out) ... I was only able to see "med labs and 75w", quick Google search pulled up some reptile bulbs.

I am currently using the 1600 lumen one and the 2 t12 bulbs.

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Hey just found your post and cant wait to see more. That phototron 2 contraption is very cool you plants seem to love the light but I am worried about how the blue light may limit your bug growth. Does it have a switch for flowering light or different bulbs?

No switch but I got a few different bulbs with this rig, including these red "reptile bulbs"... that's what I'm calling them for right now anyways lol

 

[dom2mac]

Yeah those look like IR bulbs you would use in a terrarium. For flowering I would suggest 2700k cfl's you can get them anywhere and are usually labeled warm or soft white if money is an issue or even a small powerful led made specifically for flowering off amazon. For 1 sqft you want to have as close to 9200 lumens (this is what the sun outputs) of focused light as possible so if you use cfl's you will want to use a bunch of them to get a good harvest.

I am pretty new at this myself though so maybe others can chime in.

 

[missgreenbud]

Yeah those look like IR bulbs you would use in a terrarium. For flowering I would suggest 2700k cfl's you can get them anywhere and are usually labeled warm or soft white if money is an issue or even a small powerful led made specifically for flowering off amazon. For 1 sqft you want to have as close to 9200 lumens (this is what the sun outputs) of focused light as possible so if you use cfl's you will want to use a bunch of them to get a good harvest.

I am pretty new at this myself though so maybe others can chime in.

I will probably end up getting some better lights, grow box, ect. In the future but for now I thought I would use this, for the most part, "stock" phototron and it's recommend lighting, bulbs, schedule, ect. I can't wait until I have the extra 500$ or so laying around to throw in an actual grow room! Thank you for all the great advice dom2mac!

 

[missgreenbud]

Day 11 now, had a long weekend so I thought I'd update with pics.. less water and lifted the lights up some. Still trying to get a handle on the watering until I can get away to pick up some perlite. I can see some future plastic surgery for the old Phototron to get some drainage going lol. Thanks for everyones input and help so far! I wouldnt be tackling this grow without this forum. And I must add this thing is growing daily! Lol

 

[Guy Cavallero]

Re: First time grower & member

Looks like she's buried her a little deeper, her stem is amazing for so young. Her node spacing looks great too so you're lighting seems to be doing everything right. Congratulations, she looks fantastic. Definitely do not lax on the drainage holes though..... That could make a great grow into a bad grow really quickly.

 

[dom2mac]

Day 11 now, had a long weekend so I thought I'd update with pics.. less water and lifted the lights up some. Still trying to get a handle on the watering until I can get away to pick up some perlite. I can see some future plastic surgery for the old Phototron to get some drainage going lol. Thanks for everyones input and help so far! I wouldnt be tackling this grow without this forum. And I must add this thing is growing daily! Lol ����

Thats why I switched to coco coir hempy buckets, you cant over water and I tend to hover over my plants on my days off. I just spent an hour staring, adjusting lights and dreaming off the fun times we will have after harvest Your grow is doing awesome.

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Looks like she's buried her a little deeper, her stem is amazing for so young. Her node spacing looks great too so you're lighting seems to be doing everything right. Congratulations, she looks fantastic. Definitely do not lax on the drainage holes though..... That could make a great grow into a bad grow really quickly.

Guy, I can't thank you enough for helping me out on this first grow. It's comforting knowing I can get real answers from experienced growers like yourself! I took your advice on adding soil right away, soon as I did that it seemed like she snapped into rapid grow mode or something lmao. I think I'll keep adding soil alittle at a time until I'm about an inch or so from the top of the "bucket". Thank you for all the compliments, I'm excited to see this plant through all phases of it's life! .

More questions to come as she grows I'm sure! Lol. As far as right now, I'm just sitting back, sticking to the routine I've been using, and watching her grow! (Oh, and massive amounts of picture gazing and research! lol )

 

[missgreenbud]

Thats why I switched to coco coir hempy buckets, you cant over water and I tend to hover over my plants on my days off. I just spent an hour staring, adjusting lights and dreaming off the fun times we will have after harvest Your grow is doing awesome.

Yeah I'm hoping to be able to try out a few different growing procedures after this one. It's exciting, that's for sure! Lol.

I tend to do the same thing on the weekends. lol I catch myself sitting in a closet for over an hour sometimes! I know patience is key but man, I can't wait until harvest time either lol.

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Autoflower420]

Re: First time grower & member

Thanks for the reply! . Yeah I had never heard of a Phototron at all until I laid my eyes on it and thought I just had to have it lol. I'm liking how small and compact it is since I'm growing in roughly a 4x8 closet. You were right about the growing abnormalities, we are on day 5 now and I think it's looking pretty healthy for my first grow! I think I'm babying it too much though as this evening the leaves are drooping down on the tips (This Phototron has no holes or anything for drainage and I have been giving it alittle water everyday since it sprouted...) Do you have any recommendations?

My current setup:
2 - 40w t12 cool white u bulbs
1 - 1200 lumens cfl (about 2 inches away from top of plant)
Circular fan above grow box pointing downwards
Soil is local all purpose planting soil
Water alittle everyday (changing that now)
24/0 light schedule
Used a couple tablespoons of miracle grow when I presoaked the soil but no nutrients since then.

Temps around 69-72
Humidity unknown

Remember less is best most new growers over water try to wait between waterings

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Remember less is best most new growers over water try to wait between waterings

Yep I had that issue AS SOON as I started this grow! Lol but thanks to you guys it was easily corrected!

 

[missgreenbud]

Looking healthy and thought I'd snap another pic of my "space capsule" setup for you guys!

Also.. would you guys advise starting a grow journal or is it fine to continue my growing journey on this post?

 

[Guy Cavallero]

Re: First time grower & member

Looking healthy and thought I'd snap another pic of my "space capsule" setup for you guys!

Also.. would you guys advise starting a grow journal or is it fine to continue my growing journey on this post?

Yeah that thing is crazy space age awesome lol. The plants love it in there......I mean look at her......definite indica.....That aerial is perfect lol. Are you topping? Looks like your getting close to that time...oh and day 11 from what? If it's from when she emerged, she's growing like crazy. This is my crown Royal at day 20 from emerge day.....same size as yours. I just fed my girls for the 1st time tonight and they seemed to grow right before my eyes lol.

If you want to change the name on this journal to include or more reflect the nature of your grow, I can contact admin and ask them to aid in you editing the name.....up to you?

 

[missgreenbud]

Re: First time grower & member

Yeah that thing is crazy space age awesome lol. The plants love it in there......I mean look at her......definite indica.....That aerial is perfect lol. Are you topping? Looks like your getting close to that time...oh and day 11 from what? If it's from when she emerged, she's growing like crazy. This is my crown Royal at day 20 from emerge day.....same size as yours. I just fed my girls for the 1st time tonight and they seemed to grow right before my eyes lol.

If you want to change the name on this journal to include or more reflect the nature of your grow, I can contact admin and ask them to aid in you editing the name.....up to you?

Yeah I was thinking the same thing as soon as I seen those first super wide leaves lol. I actually just read your comment, research the topping procedure one more time so it was fresh in my head and went away, making my first CUT! Lol, it's alittle slanted, I'm sure that's no big deal but damn was I nervous! Haha. Day 11 from when she sprouted. Put the seed in a cup of water on 12/3, had root by 12/5 so she went into soil. 12/8 was the first time I seen my little baby come to life! Lol. So yea 11 days since emerge . I swear I think it's the soil I'm using... time will tell, I have another seed I'm thinking about planting in different soil and actually starting it in a cup instead of the space capsule.

I'm so ready to start feeding this thing, I can only imagine how quick she will grow with alittle boost!

Yeah I'd you could contact an admin for me and help with the name change? Something like.. missgreenbuds first indoor grow aka "space capsule op" . Or something like that, not sure how long it can be? Lol.

Pics of topping 12/20 @ 10:55pm