AJGreenMT
New Member
Hi, new grower here, just experimenting in the basement in a low budget way and hoping for some support. I've been learning as I go, mainly by reading lots of great info from threads on here. I have been meaning to start a journal ever since my seeds first popped but haven't gotten to it until now. So, it won't be a real "start to finish" journal since my girls are already several weeks into flowering, but I do have some pics from earlier on if anyone is interested. I did quite a bit of LST, which was a bit random and improvised, but I think it was pretty effective since I seem to have a pretty good number of colas now that are in the same height range along the top. I'm hoping that by posting this I can get some good feedback from experienced growers about what I can do from this point forward to maximize the yield (short of upgrading lights- I know my light are on the weak end overall, but am not prepared to do much more than perhaps adding a couple more CFL bulbs at the moment), and in a few weeks I'll probably be grateful for some input on the exact best time to harvest. So, here are the details:
Strain: Tangerine Dream Autoflower x2
Medium: Soil, Fox Farms Ocean Forest
Pot Size: 3 gallons each
Grow Area: basement, in a giant plastic storage bin lined with mylar (well, it was giant when plants were small, now they are growing out of it)
Lights: 2ft 4 bulb T5 HO fixture (total 96 watts) 6400k + 2x 42 watt CFL bulbs 2700k
Light cycle: 20/4 since seed
Nutrients: Fox Farms soil trio, used very lightly thus far
(anything I haven't listed above is probably unknown/unmeasured, such as exact PH levels, temperature, etc. I know these things are important but well, I'm new at this and haven't gotten it all mastered yet).
Specific things I'm thinking/wondering about now:
-one plant seems to have stopped its vertical growth almost a full week before the other. It is shorter in stature but seems more advanced now in bud development. Lots of trichomes compared to the taller one that has very few. Is this sort of variation normal within the same strain sprouted at the same time? Should I expect the taller one to catch up in terms of redirecting its energy from stretching to bud and trichome development?
-the shorter/more resinous plant seems to be displaying some minor nutrient burn (yellow tips on newer growth) while the taller one shows almost no effect. They have both been fed and watered exactly alike, with very low nutrient doses- generally 1/4 the Fox Farms recommended dosage of Tiger Bloom. Could this be because the ocean forest soil is already so full of various nutrients? The last watering was just a pure water flush, and I'm not sure what to do going forward with feeding. Also not sure why each plant would be reacting differently to the same factors.
- I have read conflicting views about removing lower leaf growth during flowering. Especially with the relatively weak lights I've got, I know there is very little penetration to the lower areas, and some of the growth down there has no chance of getting much light. The leaves themselves near the bottom look generally healthy, but I can't imagine they are helping the plants much. It seems like they must just be sucking energy and resources for the plant to keep them alive. Just wondering if it would be more help or harm to remove some of the lower growth that is mostly in the dark.
Here are some current pics taken today, which is exactly 7 weeks since they sprouted:
Strain: Tangerine Dream Autoflower x2
Medium: Soil, Fox Farms Ocean Forest
Pot Size: 3 gallons each
Grow Area: basement, in a giant plastic storage bin lined with mylar (well, it was giant when plants were small, now they are growing out of it)
Lights: 2ft 4 bulb T5 HO fixture (total 96 watts) 6400k + 2x 42 watt CFL bulbs 2700k
Light cycle: 20/4 since seed
Nutrients: Fox Farms soil trio, used very lightly thus far
(anything I haven't listed above is probably unknown/unmeasured, such as exact PH levels, temperature, etc. I know these things are important but well, I'm new at this and haven't gotten it all mastered yet).
Specific things I'm thinking/wondering about now:
-one plant seems to have stopped its vertical growth almost a full week before the other. It is shorter in stature but seems more advanced now in bud development. Lots of trichomes compared to the taller one that has very few. Is this sort of variation normal within the same strain sprouted at the same time? Should I expect the taller one to catch up in terms of redirecting its energy from stretching to bud and trichome development?
-the shorter/more resinous plant seems to be displaying some minor nutrient burn (yellow tips on newer growth) while the taller one shows almost no effect. They have both been fed and watered exactly alike, with very low nutrient doses- generally 1/4 the Fox Farms recommended dosage of Tiger Bloom. Could this be because the ocean forest soil is already so full of various nutrients? The last watering was just a pure water flush, and I'm not sure what to do going forward with feeding. Also not sure why each plant would be reacting differently to the same factors.
- I have read conflicting views about removing lower leaf growth during flowering. Especially with the relatively weak lights I've got, I know there is very little penetration to the lower areas, and some of the growth down there has no chance of getting much light. The leaves themselves near the bottom look generally healthy, but I can't imagine they are helping the plants much. It seems like they must just be sucking energy and resources for the plant to keep them alive. Just wondering if it would be more help or harm to remove some of the lower growth that is mostly in the dark.
Here are some current pics taken today, which is exactly 7 weeks since they sprouted:
