Unknown Strain - Low Budget CFL - First Grow

[ROCGrown]

Okay so as this is my first journal entry ever it's going to be a little messy. I had some bud and found some seeds in it and have been thinking of growing for the past couple weeks (on and off for more like a year) and finally figured I'd give it a go. I wasn't aware of the strain at the time of buying so I'm interested in seeing how it grows. Also I'm hoping that there was a mistake while growing the bud I bought because I really don't want my first grow to be all hermies Guess we'll see when they grow bigger.

Equipment

Space
4x5 Closet

Lighting
2 - 10.5 round aluminum reflectors
4 - 6k 23W (100W Eq.) CFL's (two per reflector with adapter)
4 - 2.7k 23W (100W Eq.) CFL's (Not in use but I bought them for the flowering stage)

Climate control
Small space heater (w/ swivel function for cross breeze)

Medium
Miracle Grow "Seed starting potting soil" in wax paper cups
Coco on standby for transplanting up

Nutrients
Canna Coco A
Canna Coco B
Canna Coco Rhizotonic
Canna Coco Cannazym

Water
Regular tap water (Unknown PPM as of now)

Also note that I'm going to continue to purchase more equipment throughout the grow. I just bought what I thought I absolutely needed or would definitely use later on.

 

[ROCGrown]

Okay so I germinated 3 seeds I found in my bud in just regular tap water. The first one popped within a day but the other 2 were a little slower. I decided to do the wet paper towel (still with just tap water) in a tupperware container as the next step. A full day in that and the other two cracked with one showing it's tail. I put them each in their own small cup of seed starting soil. I just picked up all the listed nutrients last night and researched that it's benefital to spray the top of the soil with Rhizo. I diluted it 1mL to ~250mL. The 1st one just popped through the medium this morning. I'm eager to see today's progress later in the day! Also if anyone could point me in the direction of the proper equipment that'd be great. I'm still researching right now but I'm not sure what else is needed.

Thanks in advance and happy growing!!

 

[FunkySkunk]

Hey ROC!! Good luck with your bagseed, hope they turn out to be healthy girls!!
One bit of advice from one newbie Coco grower to another... make sure you PH adjust your coco using PH up or PH down, and preferably with a cheap digital PH pen. This is vital because tap water is usually way too high PH for coco, and will lock out certain nutrients.

Ph range of 5.7 to 6.2 has worked best for me....

 

[DesertStoner9]

Good luck! I'll be joining this ride. I grow with CFLs also. Currently on my first and I guess second grow too!

 

[ROCGrown]

@FunkySkunk I'll go out and get those as soon as possible. I'm going to invest in an R.O. system eventually but PH up/down sounds perfect for now .

 

[ROCGrown]

@DesertStoner9 Glad you could grab a seat! Hopefully it'll be a good grow. Good luck with your grows though!

 

[ROCGrown]

Okay so just a quick update with pictures. I haven't gotten. Around to researching the proper nutrients for seedlings (if any) so I've been being safe with just tap water. I'm making a trip today to get pH up and down and a tester for the coco step. I'm pretty happy with the developments so far .

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[DesertStoner9]

With that soil no need for nutrients for a while and no need to soak them too much. Just enough to water their short roots is enough.

 

[ROCGrown]

@DESERT When do I know that the plants need nutrients? Or do I stick to an estimated number of days?

Also a bad news update as of this morning. I left my plants Un attended while answering the door and the wonderful cat I have decided to nibble on the seedlings . I suppose I need better pest control haha. Better that they were only a couple days old rather than a couple weeks. I just planted a few more seeds in straight coco. Just to be safe with any male to female ratios there's around 7. I now have the closet on lock down. Im maintaining a positive attitude because this just gives me a little more knowledge than I had before. More updates to follow

 

[DesertStoner9]

Sad to hear about the seedlings! At least it was now rather than later.

I'm still on my first two grows so I'm learning with you too bud. In case I'm wrong please someone correct me.

Ive only been growing in straight coco and coco doesn't have any nutrients so I water for the first week with PH'd water (between 5.5 and 6.5) which is lower than soil and 1 TSP of CalMag per gallon. After about a week or so once I begin seeing the first true leaves I begin feeding light dosage of nutrients. I'm using the GH trio but a quarter of any nutrients is a good start and upping it slowly as it grows should do the trick. Remember, less is more!

With the soil you were using, it already comes with nutrients so you wouldn't want to add more until a couple of weeks later or you'd get nute burn but with coco you're good to start by the second week.

Good luck!

 

[ROCGrown]

Okay so no true nutes until the 2nd week in coco? Also, this is a stupid question, how do you water your plants? I've been hand watering from the top but have looked into an ebb and flow setup

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[DesertStoner9]

That's what I've read and in my two plants so far it's worked great.

I pour water to a 1-cup measuring cup and hand water like that. A small tip while using coco, I recommend those clay balls you can get at a gardening store or Petco (used for lizard habitats) to use as a layer on the bottom of the pot for better drain and a layer on top to minimize the coco moving around and making holes where you pour. It gets annoying real quick haha.

No such thing as a stupid question buddy. That's what this community is for, to ask, share and learn from each other.

 

[DesertStoner9]

I base my watering schedule according to this. Hope it helps.

 

[ROCGrown]

I was actually looking into almost a fiber mesh of coco for the bottom but if I can use clay balls for the top and bottom then I'm definitely sold on that. Thanks for the great info

 

[ROCGrown]

Okay so after almost a month of being busy here is the update so far. Plants are thriving in my opinion. Fed the first nutrients last week and have fresh RO water in the as of two days ago. I just topped them today and now I'm waiting to see where they go from here. I have also added a third ballast with a warm CFL and kept the other 4 cool CFLs to better match the UV spectrum I think. Anyways here's a couple pictures.

 

[DesertStoner9]

Glad to have you back. Plants look great.

 

[ROCGrown]

Okay so I topped them last time and I think I see the two tops coming up. I don't know if I could top them too early so I'm just waiting to see what happens. Other than that they look really good. Fed them nutes today Canna: A, B, Rhizo, and Cannazym per their grow chart.

 

[DesertStoner9]

Should be alright to top there I think. How they lookin?

 

[ROCGrown]

Here is an update from a few days ago

I'm getting ready to transplant in a few into 2 gallon smart pots

 

[DesertStoner9]

How'd the transplant go?