Virgin Colorado Medical Grower

[Gundark]

Hey there. Been lurking around the boards reading for a while but haven't posted much. I have quite a bit of experience growing up around landscaping, gardening, and my mother collected african violets as a hobby and my chores included their care. I also keep a healthy dose of house plants around my own home now (I previously boasted over 50 in my living room alone). However I am already finding that my general knowledge and experience with plants isn't quite as easily translated into my attempt here. So, without further introduction, here's my setup:

Strain: Mystery (3 Clones from a friend of a friend of a friend). Just sure they are female and thats about it.

Stage: Flowering began 12/02/09

Location: Indoor, large coat closet, vented to garage.

Medium: Fox Farm Ocean Forest Organic Soil

Nutrients: Age Old Bloom (was on Age Old Grow and Age old Kelp as a folier during veg)

Light: 400w HPS

Cooling: Just put in 424 CFM Inline fan vented system to the room. So I finally feel like it is fully operational (but not yet complete). Also added standing room fan for general circulation

Humidity: 33%

Other Details: See problem description below:

Problem Summary:
Leaves curling down like claws. Larger leaves have just tips curled down. Younger leaves are much more curled.

Problem Details/History:

I ordered the main equipment that I would need to get the clones started in Veg. I figured by the time I really needed anything else, I could have it ordered so I setup my lights, got some nutrients and got started.

About this time, and fortunately for me, but unfortunately for the plants I find out that my wife is pregnant. I also get assigned some extra work at the office and next thing you know I am 3 weeks later with nothing else ordered, and I am getting ready to go into flowering.

I also have now made the mistake of thinking that as soon as everything is setup right, thats when I'll start my grow journal, thats when I'll really keep track of what I am doing, and thats when everything will be great.

So I order most of the stuff I need, including a digital PH meter, vent system, and a couple other things. Unfortunately the PH meter has a bad bag of calibration fluid (there was a spider in it) so I had to go find some (during this busy work and life schedule). One thing leads to another and now, here I am finally ready to get started, much later than is good for the plants.

I don't think I have any serious trouble, yet. I think I just overwatered and perhaps overfed the plants for a couple weeks. I'll post a pictures here in a little bit.

I setup a large fan in the room yesterday and the plant that is closest to it has much more dry soil than the other 2 plants. I think I'll rotate them in the room and water the dry one, testing PH of that one as well (my first really accurate reading since all this started).

 

[Gundark]

Pic of the "Claw" leaves:

 

[Screwnuts33]

How is your PH?

 

[RageMonkey]

Yuck soil. That droopiness stuff is most likely due to overwatering and/or poor aeration of the soil. If it was heat, they'd turn yellow. If it were soil pH problems, they would turn yellow and die from the bototm up. If it was nute burn, they would get brown spots which would turn necrotic and then the leave would look like swiss cheese.

Some people do really well in soil, but man I hate soil. Soil is awful to grow in. It's not sterile, tends to have bugs, fungus, or other crap growing in it. it's needs to be mixed with perlite for aeration. The most common problem with soil is over watering. In addition, soil tends to have alot of chemicals or fertilizers that you'll need to flush at the end of the grow.

My advice is to ditch the soil and startover with a 5 gallon bucket, deep water culture setup. Grab some Sensi A/B grow and Sensi A/B bloom.

 

[Gundark]

Well I was going to test the pH tonight when I watered them but i dropped my new digital pH meter right in the water. So, I still dont know, ugh. I'll try and follow up with that detail as soon as possible.

 

[Gundark]

Thanks for the replies guys. Tomorrow is payday so I am ordering another pH monitor.

I also waited a couple extra days this time to water and feed the plants until I was really sure they needed it. I just watered them last night (Dec 13th) really well and made sure to remove all the runoff (i sure wish my pH monitor wasnt dead so I could test it all).

Anyway, I know that isnt much of an update, but they do look a little better today. I'll try to follow up with more details as they become available.

 

[Lilstinky420]

Yuck soil.-My advice is to ditch the soil and startover with a 5 gallon bucket, deep water culture setup. Grab some Sensi A/B grow and Sensi A/B bloom.

Hehe, I do not think we have to get this drastic . I doubt very much the problem is your soil, I have seen and done 1 grow myself with just Fox Farm all the way through and it turned out fine. Fox farm is expensive stuff and already has perlite and vermiculite mixed into it, so it's world's more fluffy/light than say miracle grow where they toss in twigs and insect larvae instead to air it out. I'm using FF 60% / Perlite 40% and it's growing just as fast or faster than any DWC setup, though I do not expect as big of buds because im going the organic route.

Did you ever figure out what the problem was?

 

[Retired One]

though I do not expect as big of buds because im going the organic route.

While there may be some truth to reduced yields when going an organic route in hydro, there is no truth to decreased yield in soil. When growing completely organic, you need to be able to tell what the plant is telling you by sight, if you aren't able to do that then you may in fact drop some yield, but a skilled grower can equal any chemical grow...with alot better taste and no chemical residue left over to smoke.

With respect to the pictured plants, leaves drooping down is almost always one of three things...to much heat, to much water or PH issues...or any combination of the three. Check your runoff and try to keep it in the 6.3-6.8 range. My best estimate on this would be ph problems, due to the inability to check the ph of your water/nute mix.

Good luck with your grow Brother...and remember this...you'll make mistakes, learn from them and each grow will be better than the last.

 

[aphoric]

Check out my current CO grow with FFOF in my signature, looks like we have a lot of similarities with our grows.

 

[Zodiakgrower7]

Stinky and Southernweed could not be more correct, disregard what Ragemonkey said. You are fine in soil, they just need a little tweak, best of luck on your grow Gundark.

 

[Velodrone]

Well, here is my two cents. Soil is the way to go. I Love how forgiving soil can be. Don't get me wrong, you can still have big problems but they tend to be more exaggerated with other methods than with soil. Listen to your plants! They will let you know. I live in Colorado as well. We have had some very cold DRY weather as of late. I had to water my girls every other day these last two weeks. Just a thought! Anyways, i know that you will do just fine with an online community like the one that 420 has here.

 

[Lilstinky420]

a skilled grower can equal any chemical grow...with alot better taste and no chemical residue left over to smoke

I don't know completely about that, it's like saying steroids vs legal methods of gaining muscle. While gauno tea is extrodinary stuff, even better than general hydroponics nutes by a long shot, some of the stuff they have out there is amazing. While most of the bud size I think comes from the light strength by experience, bud booster sprays really work great. The taste part I would have to agree with you on, I have never gotten a crop to flush without a little bit of taste left over, but many people will fight you for hours on the subject.

 

[Retired One]

I don't know completely about that, it's like saying steroids vs legal methods of gaining muscle. While gauno tea is extrodinary stuff, even better than general hydroponics nutes by a long shot, some of the stuff they have out there is amazing. While most of the bud size I think comes from the light strength by experience, bud booster sprays really work great. The taste part I would have to agree with you on, I have never gotten a crop to flush without a little bit of taste left over, but many people will fight you for hours on the subject.

You more or less made my point for me, Brother. The size of your yield is determined by a number of things...the most decisive of these is light. When the plants are well nourished, the final determining factor in your yield is all about light. I am a huge proponent of guano/casting teas, but these are rapid release feeding techniques, only suitable if you are willing to feed the plants every other day, as I'm now doing in my current journal. Primarily, these are used to "load " a particular nute...either to boost production or head off a deficiency, or as a base for your regular nutes to be mixed into. My big concern with the chemical nutes is the synthetic growth hormones and auxins, known carcinogens, who's long term affects are still not completely understood. And there are numerous "bud booster" type OMRI certified additives that you can get, assured that there are no synthetics at all. I've used chemical nutes myself. When I grew outdoors, it's all I used, but having seen results on both sides, I am sure that an organic program willl perform equal to any chemical nute program in soil. Taste we seem to agree on right down the middle.

 

[Gundark]

I live in Colorado as well. We have had some very cold DRY weather as of late. I had to water my girls every other day these last two weeks. Just a thought!

Wow, that seems like a lot of water to me (admittedly I am pretty new at this though). My soil tends to be rather moist still after just 2 days. Maybe your location or airflow has something to do with it, but I think I overwatered mine watering about every 4 days. Anyway, it caught my eye, so I thought I would ask about it.

I didnt have too much else to add beyond what I have already put down, here are just a couple other small thoughts that I had.

1) After a lot of reading, I think I may have just overwatered, and possibly left my lights too close for a few days.

2) I ordered a new waterproof pH meter yesterday, so hopefully I can get on top of the pH measurements sooner rather than later.

I'll let you guys know more as I have it. Thanks again all!

 

[MountainHigh]

Fellow colorado grower and I have the same watering problems you do, I only water every 4 days and am 21 days into 12/12, it is suppose to take off before now I think and start drinking more.

I have one of mine in the FFOF mix with about 30% perlite added and it takes the same to dry as my much more compact problematic soil, wonder if it is our climate somehow or both complete noobies

Smoke a little more and worry a little less is my plan and take no emergency actions and make this my learning grow and make my next one better.

 

[Velodrone]

How much are you watering when you water. The relative humidity in NOCO has shot up the last few days. So instead of 1gal every other day I have dropped it to 1gal every two days! What type of water are you using? Distilled, Reverse Osmosis, tap... All of these require some sort of treatment. Weather its the addition of more nutes or letting the chlorine evaporate adjusting ph blah bla blah! Looking forward to the pics!

 

[RageMonkey]

You only need to water it like every 7 -9 days in the beginning and then maybe twice as oftern in flowering. The plant needs to be watered when the soil surface feels dry to the touch.

My first grow in a phototron was a white widow in soil:

RageMonkey's Phototron - White Widow

I made the mistake of overwatering it a few times. Also used miracle grow which definitely impacted the flavor. The amount of problems I had with that grow were rediculous.

My second grow was a NL or NL x BB cross int he same phototron with a homemade DWC setup.

RageMonkey's Phototron & homeade bubbler experiment Northern Lights

Compare those two journals. The only problem I had with the DWC was a pH issue int he beginning due to a faulty pH pen. In the end my yield was like 5 - 6 times larger (1 lbs 6 oz wet) using DWC and it didn't cause a harsh cough when I smoked it. The white widow stuff from soil was a real choker. Really understandable since I almost killed that plant about 20 times.

After doing DWC, I don't think I'd ever try soil again. With soil, you need some real skill to get through the whole process and ultimately the taste comes down to the products you use and how well you execute a flush.

 

[MountainHigh]

You only need to water it like every 7 -9 days in the beginning and then maybe twice as oftern in flowering. The plant needs to be watered when the soil surface feels dry to the touch.

My first grow in a phototron was a white widow in soil:

RageMonkey's Phototron - White Widow

I made the mistake of overwatering it a few times. Also used miracle grow which definitely impacted the flavor. The amount of problems I had with that grow were rediculous.

My second grow was a NL or NL x BB cross int he same phototron with a homemade DWC setup.

RageMonkey's Phototron & homeade bubbler experiment Northern Lights

Compare those two journals. The only problem I had with the DWC was a pH issue int he beginning due to a faulty pH pen. In the end my yield was like 5 - 6 times larger (1 lbs 6 oz wet) using DWC and it didn't cause a harsh cough when I smoked it. The white widow stuff from soil was a real choker. Really understandable since I almost killed that plant about 20 times.

After doing DWC, I don't think I'd ever try soil again. With soil, you need some real skill to get through the whole process and ultimately the taste comes down to the products you use and how well you execute a flush.

Ever since seeing so many absolutely fast and great grows with DWC, I really want to go that way, but can't until my soil supplies are gone......and I get some MONEY

I bit the bullet on mine though tonight and flushed them heavily until my runoff tested about 6.5, then I hit them with 1/2 str general nute blend to see if I can clear up my nitrogen deficiency, I really aerated the soil and drain the plants really well before I put them in for their "late morning sun".

Edit - major bullet for me, my babies when wet are more than I can happily lift with my back and leg like they are and I did them all (damn I keep proving how stupid I am to myself) - 2hrs at my best pace, but I couldn't stand watching the clorosis and be ok with it anymore.

And I am gonna adopt the wait till my babies get a bit of droop from needing water for the rest of the grow before I water/feed again. Not sure why they Nitrogen locked but I am guessing it was soil ph.

Not sure if your babies would benefit from a good bath and light feeding or not. Seen that problem during my reading (leaf curl like that) under either overferting and are forcing something to be locked out or from ph problems. Vaguely remember seeing overwatering as a potential cause from mild root rot or something like that.

Good luck, hope you get your babies back to full health soon!

 

[RageMonkey]

And I am gonna adopt the wait till my babies get a bit of droop from needing water for the rest of the grow before I water/feed again. Not sure why they Nitrogen locked but I am guessing it was soil ph.

Leaves droop when overwatered and point up when they need water.

Once pH is fixed it takes a week for the plant to recover. Don't expect it to bounce back immediately.

When you save up some cash, get yourself a indoor grow setup. Since you have mobility issues, I'd recommend a 4' CFL fixture with 8 T5 bulbs and a DIY DWC setup. That light would be sufficient to grow 4 - 6 plants to a decent size in a 4' x 3' space. These lights are all over ebay for like $200 - 250. I wouldn't recomend HID MH/HPS lighting becausing it's going to be heavier and harder for you to work with. Also it's a bit more of a fire hazard.

DWC setups can be made out of:

1 x 5 gallon black bucket: $6
1 x 6" net pot lid: $5
1 x top fin round air stone (petsmart): $6
1 x 5' silicone air tubing: 25' for $6
1 x tube of bathroom silicone (home depot): $4
1 x airpump: $10 - $25
1 x bag of hydroton: 10 liters is like $12
1 x ph pen: $20

silicone the airstone to the botton inside of the bucket and cut a notch for tubing int he top rim and you are good to go. a $20 airpump would be sufficient for 4 - 6 buckets with appropriate tubing connectors. Each setup uses about 2 cups of hydroton.

I'd say, that would make the bare essentials for a quality DWC setup you could easily manage. This kind of thing is great for a spare bathroom, etc. IT would also fit niceling into a 3 x 4 or 4 x 4 tent or grow box if you wanted to contain and lock it.

 

[The Butcher]

How did this grow turn out?
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