What are common mistakes made by first time growers?

[fish4250]

Q. How often should you water?
Once a week or once every two week for soil and twice a day with a hydroponic flood and drain system.
*When top 2 inches of the soil dry out.* Occasionally provide periods of extra dry and wet soil.
*Allow 10% extra water to drain out of the bottom of the tray.* This will prevent toxic fertilizer build up.

QUOTE is from the 'how often should you water question in the following thread

What are common mistakes made by first time growers?


Only info for soil grows

Watering once every 7 - 14 days is absurd for soil grows unless you are pumping them full of nutes every watering. Under-watering is nearly just as dangerous as over watering cannabis plants and although they are very resilient and will take much abuse, they will not reward you for it.

Watering should be done when the top inch of the growing medium (soil) are dry to the touch, not bone dry as this is under-watering. What happens if you go past that? The growing medium becomes dehydrated which means that rather than accepting the moisture you are offering it neglects it and means that the first 25% you apply run across the top and down the sides, then out the bottom (The % you are meant to let run through) without even saying hello to the roots. What does water do? PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE!!! So why penetrate dry growing medium when you can just run down the sides of the pots?

This is ALL EASILY ELIMINATED BY :

-Water in regular intervals, once you understand your plants requirements, it takes a lot of over watering to get root rot and it's easy to solve by transplanting into dry growing medium after root trimming, however, it doesn't take much to waste time and money on nutes and water.

- Nutes should be only applied in a strict pattern to be useful and always to the plants needs. If this is kept to, plants never need to be flushed.

(I've seen a 16 year old asparagus mother that was more like a bush, living in a 2 litre plastic pot that had never been flushed but still supplied 100+ babies a month)

If for instance, you knew exactly (or approx) what nutes your plant needed, say in a month, then you could divide that by how many watering's you needed in that month.

So, hypothetically you came to the calculation that you need to water 8 times in a month. Then you portion your nutes to be applied 4 times in a monthly period, thus feeding every second watering meaning the frequent watering / feeding cuts out any flood or drought scenario and lowers plant stress since they like regularity. In the end it means that the watering with no feed acts as a mini wash eliminating salt build up and also helps the plant to use up any stored or built-up nutes. ultimately saving you money and time on expensive nutes.

And we all know time is money these days .

well said

 

[M.o.r.s.h.e.d]

Thanks man helped here


Guidance

 

[RandM999]

Mistakes I made as a new grower, and as I progressed to an intermediate grower:
-Sprouting too many seed varieties to comfortably fit my growing setup, without doing my homework on the strains. Ended up having to trash what would have been good plants do to lack of space.
-Buying cheap lamps as opposed to the good ones.
-not changing out my lamps every third grow, or at least once a year. I didn't know they get weaker over time.
-Not recognizing that overwatering causes root rot, and having no idea what to do about it.
-not taking seriously the importance of cleanliness in my grow and flower room. CLEAN IT UP, AND KEEP IT CLEAN! I ended up with a fungas that kept attacking new plants as they where introduced into the grow room simply because I wasn't keeping things as clean as they should be.
-not treating my plants imediately, and I mean RIGHT NOW, when spider mites or powder mildew first show. Waiting till tomorrow is not an option.

And the final no-no of all: DO NOT TELL ANYONE that you are growing, no matter how much you want to brag about your grow. You will be supprised at how many 'friends' you will suddenly have, all looking for free smoke.

just my 2 cents

 

[The MuffinMan]

and how would one go about finding exactly what their strain needs? im growing blue hash and blue widow.

 

[The303Stoner]

all plants need nutrients to grow, you seem to be growing indica dominant plants, they don't stretch much in bloom, and veg. with less nitrogen. So you can logically figure that your plants like less nitrogen. Indica plants seem to naturally build blooms ripen faster so phosphorus and potassium in larger amounts. they all like cal. mag. to. I hope this helps

 

[Weed Farmer]

Thanks for the advice! Wish I had stumbled upon this sooner. Already committed a few mistakes as a first time grower! Spending too much. Started with hydroponics off the bat. Some light nute burn at 1/2 strength solution. Watching every little detail counting the days till harvest.

Here are some other mistakes I would have made as a new farmer:
- Working Backwards: started my seeds before my growroom was ready. Setup the room before everything was properly installed. Worried about adding new products to my recipe before investing in a PH tester.
- Not properly verifying my PH for hydroponic system. PH is crucial to hydroponic systems and should be constantly monitored. No one had told me that at first...
- Spending too much time: I am finding myself spending way too much time doing simple things which may not even have to be done such as monitoring room temps and humidity several times a day, door open, door closed, etc. Monitoring PH, spraying carbonated water on the leaves, checking for insects, nutrient burn, etc. etc. etc.

If anyone has any other first time mistakes (especially about hydro) would be great!

 

[WestBlunts]

 

[RoadLizard]

Re: Noob with an intro and some pics. Couple questions too....

Thanks for the advice! Wish I had stumbled upon this sooner. Already committed a few mistakes as a first time grower! Spending too much. Started with hydroponics off the bat. Some light nute burn at 1/2 strength solution. Watching every little detail counting the days till harvest.

Here are some other mistakes I would have made as a new farmer:
- Working Backwards: started my seeds before my growroom was ready. Setup the room before everything was properly installed. Worried about adding new products to my recipe before investing in a PH tester.
- Not properly verifying my PH for hydroponic system. PH is crucial to hydroponic systems and should be constantly monitored. No one had told me that at first...
- Spending too much time: I am finding myself spending way too much time doing simple things which may not even have to be done such as monitoring room temps and humidity several times a day, door open, door closed, etc. Monitoring PH, spraying carbonated water on the leaves, checking for insects, nutrient burn, etc. etc. etc.

If anyone has any other first time mistakes (especially about hydro) would be great!

I'm doing soil with my first grow but I agree and have done a lot of what you say. Especially the part about constantly checking and fiddling. I always think I should have done this or that, checked this, monitored that, etc, etc. my poor seedlings are probably tired of me at this point. Here are a couple things I learned so far:

- placing CFL lights at the right distance before putting seedlings in grow box. I've been messing with that for days now.

- keeping seedlings moist without over saturating them.

- making sure everything is setup and ready to go before sprouting seeds. Cleanliness is also important and I have to remember to be extra clean.

 

[AlynShir]

Agree..........took 3 pages of notes

 

[s1ingblade]

Great to be able to go back to basics and relearn.

 

[Jfault20]

great read still in the research stage but this helps alot

 

[N0tmyrealname]

First time growers frequently:

Overwater their medium based plants. When you pot your plant, judge its weight dry by hefting. Then, water the plant thoroughly, until water runs through the drain holes. Heft it again. When your pot feels as nearly as light as it did dry, its time to water again.

Overfeed their plants. As MrSoul says, beginners rarely under do anything. When all else fails, follow the directions on the fertilizer bottle. [Editor's note: dont follow GH's instructions! Use @ 1/4 their recommended strength, or follow recipes in the FAQ]

Overanalyze their grow. A first grow is like a first born child: you pay attention to every little thing that happens. Further, you worry at the first sign something may be wrong. Pay attention to what happens in your grow, but do not try and find a remedy for every yellow leaf. Frequently, the remedy of flushing your medium causes more problems than it solves. Be responsive when things go wrong, but be conservative in your remedies.

Overspend on grow supplies. New growers frequently commit themselves to unrealistic and expensive first grows. It is much more efficient to learn to grow and then invest in high end equipment rather than the other way around. Most experienced growers don't have room for all of the grow paraphernalia they aren't using. As you will see throughout this FAQ: K-I-S-S.

Overpost. Try the search engine first. Chances are good that any question you can think of has been asked and answered before.

Talk about their grow. Don't tell anybody that does not have to know. How can you expect anybody else to keep a secret that you cannot.

1. Don't Overwater
Overwatering kills marijuana plants. Water once the top few inches of the soil dries out.

Hydroponics is harder to over-water than soil, due to the abundance of water roots.

2. Don't Tell People
Why? They will only be jealous. People love to feel important and that is why they will tell other people; because others will listen to them.
Keep it to yourself.

3. Touch/kill Germinating Seeds
It can take up to 10 days for a seed to sprout. The paper towel method is not recommended because you must handle the seeds when transferring them from the paper towel to your growing medium.

4. Grow seeds from seeded marijuana (hermaphrodite seeds)
Unless you are prepared for possible disappointments don't use "unknown" seeds. This is why people buy seeds from seedbanks.

Self-seeding MJ is produced from hermaphrodite plants or a very stunted and late flowering male the grower did not notice. Flowered hermi seeds will produce tall late flowering females coupled with early flowering males.

5. Don't Over-fertilize
Fertilize after first 2 spiked leaves appear.

Start with 25% of recommended label strengths and work your way up. If the leaves suddenly twist or fold under, Leach and Spray with pure water for several days!

Don't fertilize your plants every time you water! (Soil)
A common watering schedule is to fertilize at full strength, then water at half or quarter strength. This prevents excess salt buildup, leaf and root burn. In addition, don't water at full strength if the medium is too dry — root burn can occur.

As a precaution, leach the plants with lots of pure water every 2-4 weeks.

6. Don't Under-fertilize
Under-fertilizing is less common. If you prefer to give the plant 'just enough nutrients', use a organic soil mixture with blood meal and bone meal or some slow release fertilizer with micro nutrients.

7. Don't Start with Clones
Start with seeds. Bugs are a pain, as are plant diseases. Many growers are able to grow indoors without pest problems for years. Another grower's cuttings are almost guaranteed to have diseases &/or pests.

8. Don't Provide A Bad Environment
Always provide air circulation and fresh air even during the night cycle. All the air indoors should be replaced every 5-10 minutes.
Humidity between 30-70% temp aim for around 75-85' Even seedlings need a gentle fan to strengthen the stems.

9. Don't Harvest Too Early
25% of the weight will form in the last 2 weeks. Begin flushing with 100% pH'd water when the pistil are 25% brown. Harvest when the plants have totally stopped growing and the white pistils are at least 50-75% brown.

*NOTE: Outdoors if security is a factor make your own call on when to sacrifice the fields. Also take buds continuously in case of thieves.

Common questions:
Q. Can marijuana grow in a northern climate?
Marijuana plants can grow anywhere corn can grow. All it needs is three growing months - seed to harvest. 2 if started indoors!

Q. Why do I have to buy seeds? Why can't I use my own that I picked from my own stash?
Most people desire, and want to be guaranteed, certain characteristics in their mature female plants. The seeds from any weed will all grow into something different. This is unprofitable and inefficient. As opposed to knowing the single set of requirements for your entire crop, you must provide a different set of requirements for each of your plants.

Q. What is better for a new grower - hydroponics or soil?
I believe the all around "better", more convenient setup is soil. Hydro makes plants grow faster, but won't make your buds more potent than soil. Hydro should be attempted after you have a few successful soil crops under your belt.

If you are starting from seed and growing for personal, soil is the practical growing medium. If the crop is started with clones and is commercial, a hydroponics setup is more practical.

Q. Why are my seedlings stretching?
Low light conditions. They also need a gentle wind. Plants will also stretch when subjected to conditions of high humidity.

Q. What kind of lights should I use?
Cheap 4 ft. cool white fluorescent tubes : for germination/seedlings

400 watt Metal halide/HPS : for personal home growers
1000 watt Metal halide/HPS : for some personal growers and commercial growers.
*Use at least 40 watts per sq. foot of grow space.

Q. How far should the lights be from the plants?

Fluorescent: tips of leaves almost touching bulbs
400 watt halide : two feet away from seedlings and one foot away from grown plants
1000 watt halide: four feet away from seedlings and two feet away from grown plants

Q. How often should you water?
Once a week or once every two week for soil and twice a day with a hydroponic flood and drain system.
*When top 2 inches of the soil dry out.* Occasionally provide periods of extra dry and wet soil.
*Allow 10% extra water to drain out of the bottom of the tray.* This will prevent toxic fertilizer build up.

Q. How long do your seeds last? What's the best way to keep them?
Seeds can last over 5 years if kept cool and dry. They may last up to 10 years if sealed and frozen, but fewer will germinate.

Authors: Bush_Grower and Bongaloid

Thanks SmokeyMP

 

[HappyHazmat88]

Biggest mistake a new grower can make?...


Hmmm this one is easy.

The biggest mistake a new grower can make is OVER WATERING. This is the most common cause of new gardens experiencing droopping, discoloration, growth issues, fungus gnats, etc. And I get it..... Trust me.... When I was wet behind the ears I would constantly be in the grow space.... "Checking" this and "checking" that and always had my hands on something..... Especially the watering bottle. .... Look at soil and think the top is dry and water.... Not thinking about how gravity works and watering as soon as the top of the soil looks dry. This proved to cause most my issue.

The way I figured to remedy my watering is to physically lift the pots onto a scale and check the weights full dry and then again after full saturation. After a while doing this you'll get a feel for weight and be able to just tell by move by the pots around.... So if it's light water, if it's heavy then wait.

I know this only applies to smaller soil grows but everyone has to start somewhere. And I also know this doesn't work in hydro systems and/or anything that works like hydro such as coco grows.....also doesn't work with massive sized pots as unless your the hulk your not lifting a 20g pot with a tree in it to see if the pot is heavy.....cuz the answer is yes.... Dry or wet .


Ok enough of my mini rant.....

PSA. Be patient don't over water .

 

[Mystical Flower]

Don't kill your plant with too much love and attention, it needs you less than you think...Leave it alone as much as you can until you gain skills..

I used to make a note in my grow journal.... NO PEEKING--- Leave it alone for 3 days..... My plants didnt miss me at all and got nice and healthy without me...

Real life scenario to explain this a bit better, when I started, I watered my seedlings daily until they were nearly dead. Now, with some skill, I know that seedlings need very little water, just a capful every couple of days.... I was killing my seedlings with too much love and water....

 

[Phytoplankton]

Thanks SmokeyMP

Smokey's been gone a long time, this is a 17 year old post! (Been there done that, got the t-shirt)

 

[CaptainLucky]

I always recommend new growers that use soil to read @Emilya Green’s thread on how to water. Also until you get a feel for lifting that you use a bathroom scale. Happy growing. CL