PotPie's First Grow - Quest for Indoor Gardening Nollij

[Harry Red]

Thanks Harry. I hear ya. I really don't want to re-veg either. I may have to put everyone in 2 gal pots and put them into 12/12. When they show pre-flowers I can just start tossing the males. I can put the remaining girls in 3-5 gal pots after I recover some closet space and keep them in flower. I don't want the crazy tall towers either.

That sounds like a plan. How tall are you planning on letting them get during the veg phase? I'd say let them grow to around 1/2 your desired final height then flip to 12/12 and wait for pre-flowers (if they haven't already shown themselves). Then move the ladies from the 2 gallon to the 5 gallon pots.

Maybe I'll top or LST to save a little space and still get a decent yield. I was hoping to save that for the next grow but it seems like it might be prudent this time.

LSTing will allow you to keep them in veg longer so they have more time to show sex. The downside is that you add stress, which is said to increase chances of having a higher % of males. Keeping N high during vegging is said to promote a higher % of females.

I'll bet that short bushy one is a female. Although, it may not be the best female in terms of taste, potency or yeild.



Harry

 

[fineas]

I think your babies look very healthy. Re-vegging puts you back a good deal of time for the plant to recover. You love your plants alot right now and you will be watching for the girlies. On this site there are some cool photos of boy/girl plants... also google boy or girl plants to see all the photos you can. When you first see the "nads" so to speak you will probably figure out quickly which it is when your own present.
Good luck! you may have a forest there. Oh yeah thanks for the photos of the light setup. This is so much more efficient than my creative but troublesome home made growing room. The HPS is great for flowering.. Still watching the lateral lighting area growth.. I think that help with the bushiness too. All those leaves just love the lights, More green leaves = more photosythesis = growth!

 

[PotPie]

Thanks you guys.

How tall are you planning on letting them get during the veg phase? I'd say let them grow to around 1/2 your desired final height then flip to 12/12 and wait for pre-flowers (if they haven't already shown themselves). Then move the ladies from the 2 gallon to the 5 gallon pots.

I'm thinking of letting them get to 18" the flip them over to 12/12. The tallest of the bunch is at 9" today. I think you've given me a very good idea about how to proceed.

I'll bet that short bushy one is a female. Although, it may not be the best female in terms of taste, potency or yeild.

I sure hope its a girl since it was my first baby.

Re-vegging puts you back a good deal of time for the plant to recover.

I agree. I'm really not known for my patience so I will probably skip this idea until I have some medicine in the cabinet.

Oh yeah thanks for the photos of the light setup.

You're welcome. I know I could have bought a good dedicated fixture with what I spent on all of the adapters, bulbs and reflectors. But I plan on growing for a while. I also know that a lot of this will come in handy for other things as well. I don't think I could have re-purposed a dedicated grow light for working on my car or whatever.

 

[PotPie]

Today the plants felt a little light so I decided to water them. They were transplanted into 1 gal. pots 3 weeks ago so I decided to start easing them into fertilizer by scratching in some worm casings.

While I was watering I noticed that 2 of the plants had damaged leaves. I assumed that I had somehow damaged them from rough handling or something. However, when I looked closer I realized that there were some ragged edges that looked like they had been chewed on. I remembered finding this bright green little stink bug 2 days ago. A little while later I found a second one. I killed both of them. I checked my grow when I was misting that morning and couldn't find any of them in the closet or see any damage. Today while I was watering I found one plant with moderate damage to several leaves and another plant with milder damage. I shot 2 pictures of the damage and found a picture on the interwebs of the bug I think did the munching.

I would like to know if the bug I found probably did the damage?
How to I prevent the little buggers.

I sprayed w/ Neem oil 6 days ago for gnats but I rinsed it off after 15 minutes per a suggestion I found here. Do you think neem oil will keep them at bay? The bottle, and advice I've found here, say I should only use it every 2-3 weeks.

If anybody can give me a little help on this I would appreciate it.

 

[Be Irie]

Were they acting stoned in any way when you caught them??? i have seen them before, just have no idea what they are or eat... they look like a leaf eater though...That sucker would have been hard to spot on a plant...

 

[PotPie]

Were they acting stoned in any way when you caught them???

lmao! Come to think of it, one of them was having a little trouble flying.

i have seen them before, just have no idea what they are or eat... they look like a leaf eater though...That sucker would have been hard to spot on a plant...

Hi Be. As near as I can tell they are green stink bugs. I posted this up on the pest forum as well and McBudz thought maybe the damage was from something bigger, like my dog. My first thought was they they were leaf eaters also. McBudz was saying he thought these stink bugs are usually sap suckers and not leaf eaters. I don't think I would have found them on the plants either. They were bright green just like the new undergrowth of my plants. I found both of them outside the closet but in the same room. The first one I heard rather than saw. He crash landed in some papers on my desk and was buzzing around trying to get right side up again.

I trimmed back the damaged leaves and made a close inspection of all the plants again. Ill keep checking closely for the next several days and keep the dog out of the room just in case.

 

[PotPie]

Week 4 Update

The ladies are now 4 weeks from germination. I added a little more light to the closet this weekend. There are now 10 CFLs under the 3 reflectors. I added 2 more 2700K - 23W lamps to the other end to hopefully even out my grow a little bit. Right now several of the plants are just shy of 12". The shortest is about 7" I am definitely starting to see some different phenotypes emerge. Some are bushy, some are a little wide but thin. Others are long legged and some have wrinkled leaves. I have been watering about every 6-7 days but I think the next watering will be before the weekend because the pots have already lightened up quite a bit. the soil near the top is still damp so I'm OK for now. I am staring to see the the gnats pick up again. I will spray them with neem oil again this weekend. The glue strips have only caught a few adults so far. I need to get my hands on some 2 or 3 gallon pots this weekend because I think they will be more than ready for a little extra leg room. So far, the only nutes I have added are the worm casings this past weekend but I think I will have to start them on some other organic nutes this week because I think the main stalk on the taller plants are not quite stiff enough.

Here's a couple of pics from this morning when I misted them.

I thought it would be interesting to look at the last 3 weeks growth side by side. I know it's a weed but I am still amazed at how quickly it grows.
These are week 2, week 3 and week 4 in order.

Thanks for looking. Feel free to pass along any comments or suggestions.

 

[notreallyhere]

nice plants! I love the week by week shots- sometimes I don't notice just how fast they grow when I'm in there for an hour a day...

 

[Sonzor]

Great Journal and thanks for the advise on my yellow leave problem. Learned so much great info.

 

[fineas]

PotPie!!
Hi man, your grow is coming along well. That nasty little crittier is most certainly a stinkbug. He is not nice and he will do damage to your plants. I havent seen one inside but they are outside and they eat up my potaotes squashes and other plants I have growing but they respond to the permetherins that will also kill other leaf eaters like catepillars (they love leaves) and the like.. I really think that is an organic pesticide too.
Here is an article I found about stink bugs. stink bug control, Stink Bug Control, STINK BUG CONTROL, stink bug control, Stink Bug Control, STINK BUG CONTROL, STINKBUG TREATMENT, stinkbug treatment, Stinkbug Treatment, stinkbug spray, Stinkbug Spray, STINKBUG SPRAY
Your plants to me dont look like they are suffering from any stress, the leaves are nice. lots of new growth and the eaten areas dont look buggy..
and the damage I see I dont think is bugs but it could be.. Capture all the bugs you can and put them out or do the dirty deed,, but I do not want critters on my babies...
But to me you got the green thumb...

 

[fineas]

funny how that link came out like that...
anyway good luck keep us posted.
Oh yeah I created 2 "chandeliers" like your design. I really like them alot and No I dont believe a few of those would cost more than a MH fixture, bulb, reflector,and ballast.. And the 6500K lights make it very bright for the growing room...
My ballast is tied up with the HPS... I originally bought the convertible but that wasnt the best idea... (so far the MH part was used once but the HPS is in use all the time) The "chandelier" is perfect for my needs.
thanks

 

[PotPie]

Thanks you guys. I appreciate it. Welcome sonzor & notreallyhere. I'm glad I was able to help sonzor. I hope it does the trick for you.

Oh yeah I created 2 "chandeliers" like your design. I really like them alot and No I dont believe a few of those would cost more than a MH fixture, bulb, reflector,and ballast.. And the 6500K lights make it very bright for the growing room...

Hey fineas, thanks for digging up the info on the dreaded stink bug. I'm going to spray with neem oil again this weekend for the gnats that are starting to come back. Hopefully that will discourage any stink bugs I missed. I have been keeping a pretty close eye on things and I'm hoping I've got it beat for now.

I gotta say that I am pretty satisfied with the chandelier so far. Like you said, the 6500k makes it nice and bright and the CFLs keep it nice and cool. Another benefit I hadn't paid attention to is that I can adjust each of them individually to the plants needs. I feel like it gives me a little more control than the MH would. Thanks again for your help.

 

[PotPie]

Week 5 of Veg

Sorry it's been a while since I updated. The last week has been very busy. I've been out in the garage building my grow cabinet because I think I need to put the ladies into flower soon. I'll start another thread on the grow cab construction soon.

I started giving nutes last week. I decided to go with Pure Blend Pro Gro and Liquid Karma from Botanicare. The ladies really took off after the first feeding. I let them get just a little too dry before the next watering so they are looking a little wilted in the pictures below. They snapped back quite nicely though.

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that something was eating my plants. At the time I thought it was a leaf eating insect. I have since found out that it was my dog. She was sneaking into the closet when I wasn't looking and having a snack. She got a couple of the plants this weekend but I think they will recover alright as the damage wasn't too severe.

Right now the tallest plant is at 19" and the shortest is about 12". Strangely, the plant that is 2 weeks older than the rest is now the shortest. She is very bushy though and I'm hoping for the best. That plant's seed was from a different bag that I got from a friend so I know even less about it than the rest.

I think I may top some of the taller plants to buy myself a little time to finish the cabinet and hopefully help out with my yields a little. I'm still pondering this and I'm open to suggestions.

Here's a couple of pics from week 5.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Doctor Dread]

Lookin great PotPie!!

The Pure Blend line from Botanicare work really well, those were the first nutes I ever used. The liquid Karma is also a great additive. I made the switch to FF nutes, but I still use Liquid Karma... Theres just something about that black juice....

I think they will respond well to the food. They are gonna be huge once you flower them...

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

That's Hilarious about your dog! At least you didn't have to follow it around with a bag like Cheech & Chong in Up in Smoke... (man... this is some good shit... )

Plants are looking great, nice big fan leaves! I think you are ready to flower any time you choose since they will double in size at least during flowering. +rep

 

[Ms.Fox]

^ 100% agreed. Nice job! + rep!

 

[L8tNightSkunk]

Looking real good i can see alot of yield potential! Good job keep up the good work

 

[PotPie]

Lookin great PotPie!!

The Pure Blend line from Botanicare work really well, those were the first nutes I ever used. The liquid Karma is also a great additive. I made the switch to FF nutes, but I still use Liquid Karma... Theres just something about that black juice....

I think they will respond well to the food. They are gonna be huge once you flower them...

Thanks Dr. I'm hoping they'll be huge too. I've been really happy with the nutes so far. I'm lucky to have found a good hydro store near me and the guy there recommended them highly.

That's Hilarious about your dog! At least you didn't have to follow it around with a bag like Cheech & Chong in Up in Smoke... (man... this is some good shit... )

lol! "Is this Maui Wowie?" No man, I think it's Labrador." I love that movie

Plants are looking great, nice big fan leaves! I think you are ready to flower any time you choose since they will double in size at least during flowering. +rep

I need to bust a move this weekend and get my cabinet a little closer to finished. I'm itching to get them into flower.

^ 100% agreed. Nice job! + rep!

Hi and Welcome Ms. Fox! Thanks for looking over my shoulder. I enjoyed reading your bagseed and COB grows. Congrats on the bump to Grow Support. You're always giving everyone great advice. I hope we see another grow from you when you settle into your new digs. BTW, loved the old avatar, . Sorry, I felt like I had to say that or the guys might drum me out of here. I promise it won't happen again.

Thanks all three of you for the reps. I really appreciate it.

 

[McBudz]

^ hehe sorry Ms.Fox if I started something

Looking good bud. did you have that chat with your dog yet?

Plants look good. Little on the droopy side but not sure of its a problem. Just be careful and dont water too much. Let soil dry out mostly (not desert dry, but dry) then water/feed. Might be because you just sprayed em down too.

Keep up the good thorough work and you'll be well rewarded.

 

[PotPie]

^ hehe sorry Ms.Fox if I started something

Looking good bud. did you have that chat with your dog yet?

Plants look good. Little on the droopy side but not sure of its a problem. Just be careful and dont water too much. Let soil dry out mostly (not desert dry, but dry) then water/feed. Might be because you just sprayed em down too.

Keep up the good thorough work and you'll be well rewarded.

Hey McBudz, welcome. I keep talking to her but she hasn't quite gotten it through her head yet. She will though, it just takes time. lol

I think the droop was me letting them get a little too dry. They sprang back and then some by the next morning. I've had to raise the light almost every day.

Thanks for the great call on the dog being the culprit. +reps 'cause you didn't even know I had a dog.