Slower Grower Of Northern Lights

[Itskelseyyall]

Whattt upppp? Alright so I'm from Texas, and undergoing my very first top-secret grow. I've decided to give this growing thing a shot being as its damn near impossible to find any decent green around these parts and you're going to pay around $20 a gram for some dirt weed. Anyways I've read and researched a few weeks prior before going at it and still as you know, there is so much to learn. Any advice, Tips, Ect. Is welcomed and much appreciated. Besides being a newbie, I'm super blonde and common sense really isn't my forte so please dumb it down for me so I can understand your lingo.

So I bought The Northern Lights strain, from Nirvana Seed bank and I also got some Panama Medicine Man seeds from.... Wait for it..... Etsy, can you believe it? Anyways, my dumb ass didn't buy feminized so I can only hope and pray these dillies are ladies. They popped on July the 3rd and I have them planted in a regular potting soil from my local nursery. I bought one low in plant nutrients because I read somewhere that your plants won't need a lot of jargon in the soil at first... could be wrong didn't know for sure so I just tried to make the most educated choice that I could. I've gotten them under a 600LED watt light I bought off eBay, that's inside my 2x4 grow tent located in an extra bathroom upstairs. I don't have the little aluminum thing running through the tent or anything... and no carbon filter? I think that's what it's called. If we're being honest it took me like 4 hours just to put the thing together by myself and I know nothing about any type of hardware mess. So that being said, I got the plants, I got the plants in dirt, in a grow tent under a 600 watt Led with a light schedule of 18/6 . I water when I feel like the seedlings need it like every 3 days or so. I have no grow juice I'm feeding them I just talk to them and hope they feel my love....haha. I don't have any cool gadgets to determine the humidity and temp however I will say my light is not very hot it stays relatively cool in there.



I've noticed the plants haven't grown much and I just don't know what the hell I did. Pics below... I want your opinion!

 

[CamelBack]

You have your thread! Saw it in your recent posts via your profile btw, and hope you don't think I'm too nosy but you mention Texas a lot. It's a nice state, yea, but not nice for growers and cannabis users alike. That should culminate the first part of what I said earlier in the other thread, on keeping your grow secret.

 

[Itskelseyyall]

You have your thread! Saw it in your recent posts via your profile btw, and hope you don't think I'm too nosy but you mention Texas a lot. It's a nice state, yea, but not nice for growers and cannabis users alike. That should culminate the first part of what I said earlier in the other thread, on keeping your grow secret.

I guess I relate it to me not knowing much. I don't mean to say it as If I'm proud more in a way of a disadvantage for sure. I totally get what your saying though, and I see the importance to tone it down, sir! Thanks for helping me get to this point. What do I do now? Lol

 

[CamelBack]

Hey, I started off in this here forums proud of my own as well, and being on the other side of the legalization spectrum (yea, they shoot offenders here) I think I've learned enough to keep things secret.

First Order of Business
That stretchy plant, cover the long stem with more soil to prevent the seedling from falling on its measly weight.

Give us a schedule for watering and feeding. Mine is simple enough: feeding every other watering, and watering every time the growing medium feels dry to the first knuckle.
I don't really follow an intricate feeding schedule mumbo jumbo you often see in most threads on this forum, growing cannabis is more of listening to the plant and its needs rather than going about it with a routine. But to start off with your grow, you must have three essential form of nutrients for your cannabis plants, N-P-K, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium aka Potash; other micro-nutrients are only essential in treating deficiencies later on the plant's life (late flowering to be exact) as these occur naturally in the soil medium---more on that later.
For extra info: Nitrogen handles the leaf development, leaves that will help your plant grow bigger. Phosphorous aids root growth and more roots mean more fruits or flowers in this case (root space and pot sizes are a different issue). Potassium keeps the plant healthy and disease-free, and the cannabis plant eats potash reserves like a mutha when "finishing" to make the buds fat.

Next
Not all blondes are desolate of common sense. haha

 

[Itskelseyyall]

Hey, I started off in this here forums proud of my own as well, and being on the other side of the legalization spectrum (yea, they shoot offenders here) I think I've learned enough to keep things secret.

First Order of Business
That stretchy plant, cover the long stem with more soil to prevent the seedling from falling on its measly weight.

Give us a schedule for watering and feeding. Mine is simple enough: feeding every other watering, and watering every time the growing medium feels dry to the first knuckle.
I don't really follow an intricate feeding schedule mumbo jumbo you often see in most threads on this forum, growing cannabis is more of listening to the plant and its needs rather than going about it with a routine. But to start off with your grow, you must have three essential form of nutrients for your cannabis plants, N-P-K, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium aka Potash; other micro-nutrients are only essential in treating deficiencies later on the plant's life (late flowering to be exact) as these occur naturally in the soil medium---more on that later.
For extra info: Nitrogen handles the leaf development, leaves that will help your plant grow bigger. Phosphorous aids root growth and more roots mean more fruits or flowers in this case (root space and pot sizes are a different issue). Potassium keeps the plant healthy and disease-free, and the cannabis plant eats potash reserves like a mutha when "finishing" to make the buds fat.

Next
Not all blondes are desolate of common sense. haha

Geez your such a brain .. Okay, so I buried my little stretching plants stem. I don't have much of a watering schedule just kinda whenever they look dry but I guess I'm starting one today & i'll water every other.

I haven't "fed" them anything. Bad Mom right?
It's a little overwhelming deciding on a strain, now a fertilizer too? . What do you recommend? If I buy something today it won't get here for a few days I'm sure is there anything I can do in the mean time? I've read you certainly don't wanna give your plants miracle grow and that's the only thing I have lying around. I did however Google DIY nitrogen fertilizer and saw things like eggshells, and bananas were good. Could I just throw this on top or what?

The Very Appreciative,
Kelsey

 

[MustgVagabond]

Hey! There are a handful of us from Texas here. So you go "regular" seeds right? Not autos or feminized. Best if luck in your grow! There is lots of good info here, take some time and dig around for it. I'm not as brave as you to do my own grow journal.

 

[Itskelseyyall]

Hey! There are a handful of us from Texas here. So you go "regular" seeds right? Not autos or feminized. Best if luck in your grow! There is lots of good info here, take some time and dig around for it. I'm not as brave as you to do my own grow journal.

Hey there! Thanks so much! Hopefully I can figure these things out it's been pretty tricky so far. I don't know if you'd call it being brave, or desperate. Haha

 

[MustgVagabond]

Hey there! Thanks so much! Hopefully I can figure these things out it's been pretty tricky so far. I don't know if you'd call it being brave, or desperate. Haha

Nah! It a weed, it wants to grow. Just give it water and light, the rest you'll pick up from experience. I'm on my second grow right now, my first grow I didnt get a great yield but was a great learning experience. If your stressed about your grow, read some of the grow journals on here and see others learning opportunities. What I got the most out of was a neutrient guide, I'll see if I can post the link...Nutes - What To Use & How To Use Them - Tutorial.

 

[Autoflower420]

Remember less is best most newbies over water and over feed

 

[Itskelseyyall]

Remember less is best most newbies over water and over feed

Well why are my plants so small? They popped on July 3rd and there so little.

 

[MustgVagabond]

Well why are my plants so small? They popped on July 3rd and there so little.

How far away are your lights? What's the manufacturer recommend distance? I haven't grow a northern lights yet so I can speak to the growth rate of them, but my Purple Bud at the end of one week above soil is about the same height. When are you measuring time from? From seed crack, exposed tap, or from when she broke through the ground?

 

[CamelBack]

Well why are my plants so small? They popped on July 3rd and there so little.

Cannabis roots thrive on oxygen and leaving the medium wet all the time will deprive them of that oxygen. Y'know what I said earlier about more root equals more fruit, it goes the same for growth as well.

 

[Itskelseyyall]

Cannabis roots thrive on oxygen and leaving the medium wet all the time will deprive them of that oxygen. Y'know what I said earlier about more root equals more fruit, it goes the same for growth as well.

Are they small to you?

 

[Itskelseyyall]

How far away are your lights? What's the manufacturer recommend distance? I haven't grow a northern lights yet so I can speak to the growth rate of them, but my Purple Bud at the end of one week above soil is about the same height. When are you measuring time from? From seed crack, exposed tap, or from when she broke through the ground?

From the time I saw the the little fighter emerge from the soil!

 

[CamelBack]

Best course of action from here is to wait for your medium to dry a bit out. Give it a few days without watering and you'll immediately see the difference in growth.
As for the selection of nutrients, any NPK combination of nutrients from local garden shops will work. Organic nutrients are easier to apply and easier to manage for growing in the long run, chemical fertilizers in my experience speeds growth but removes the "essence" of the plant and is less forgiving than organics.
Putting biodegradable items on top of the soil like eggshells and chicken/cow dung is a method people call "No-till gardening" and is quite easy to do. But for now, at such an early stage, I wouldn't make a big problem out of nutrients just yet; but it is still up to your best judgement---what I said earlier, it's about listening to the plants needs.
I did do something before a few grows back that gave my plants an easy fix for nitrogen, but this one's risky mostly if you don't have a way of monitoring your medium and water's pH level. Use ground coffee beans, on third filtration (or third cup of coffee in my case), as the first two filters of ground coffee will be too acidic for the medium. pH is a different issue once more
Totally agree with Autoflower, less is best.
Finally, not everyone starts out the best "mom" for their babies.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

How far away are yer lights from the plants????


Also dirt looks pretty wet, don't water em too much

And yes the look small, but we need more info to understand why they are

 

[Itskelseyyall]

How far away are yer lights from the plants????


Also dirt looks pretty wet, don't water em too much

And yes the look small, but we need more info to understand why they are

Around 12-14 in. I started them outside I don't know if this has anything to do with it? I'll post pictures from this afternoon. I moved them all around to try to get them the best lighting and I buried my stem like camelback recommended.

 

[Itskelseyyall]

Best course of action from here is to wait for your medium to dry a bit out. Give it a few days without watering and you'll immediately see the difference in growth.
As for the selection of nutrients, any NPK combination of nutrients from local garden shops will work. Organic nutrients are easier to apply and easier to manage for growing in the long run, chemical fertilizers in my experience speeds growth but removes the "essence" of the plant and is less forgiving than organics.
Putting biodegradable items on top of the soil like eggshells and chicken/cow dung is a method people call "No-till gardening" and is quite easy to do. But for now, at such an early stage, I wouldn't make a big problem out of nutrients just yet; but it is still up to your best judgement---what I said earlier, it's about listening to the plants needs.
I did do something before a few grows back that gave my plants an easy fix for nitrogen, but this one's risky mostly if you don't have a way of monitoring your medium and water's pH level. Use ground coffee beans, on third filtration (or third cup of coffee in my case), as the first two filters of ground coffee will be too acidic for the medium. pH is a different issue once more
Totally agree with Autoflower, less is best.
Finally, not everyone starts out the best "mom" for their babies.

I've learned so much today! My brain is fried. It's pretty funny because I work in horticulture. Thanks for the help... don't leave me!

 

[CamelBack]

I've learned so much today! My brain is fried. It's pretty funny because I work in horticulture. Thanks for the help... don't leave me!

Hey I did say I'll guide you throughout the grow!
Don't forget the "Grow and help the world grow" adage haha
Right now I'm trying to figure out a way to upload this new photo I took for comparison's sake. That is if you'll allow me to post a photo in your journal?

 

[Cannibcody]

Geez your such a brain .. Okay, so I buried my little stretching plants stem. I don't have much of a watering schedule just kinda whenever they look dry but I guess I'm starting one today & i'll water every other.

I haven't "fed" them anything. Bad Mom right?
It's a little overwhelming deciding on a strain, now a fertilizer too? . What do you recommend? If I buy something today it won't get here for a few days I'm sure is there anything I can do in the mean time? I've read you certainly don't wanna give your plants miracle grow and that's the only thing I have lying around. I did however Google DIY nitrogen fertilizer and saw things like eggshells, and bananas were good. Could I just throw this on top or what?

The Very Appreciative,
Kelsey

I killed my first three "babies" by accident lol... it's a learning experience