JimmieJ's First Grow - Closet - Soil - Bag Seed - CFLs

[JimmieJ]

Hello all. This is my first journal so bear with me. I'm starting this with two healthy girls a couple weeks into flower, a couple unknowns in veg, one of which is sick, a clone of one of the girls that has rooted and is now growing, and a clone from the other girl that is not yet rooted. I also threw a seed in a small planter, and kept it out of the main lighting just for the heck of it. I put it under 12/12 last weekend and this morning I believe I am seeing signs of a male. It will be a pleasure to kill it and make room for another once it's confirmed male.

All are from bag seed so strains are unknown, but I know which plants came from which seeds and the quality of the smoke that the seeds came with.

Currently using two closets - one for veg set at 18/6 and the other for flower at 12/12.

When I started this, I hadn't even heard of 420 and knew nothing about growing, so didn't put much effort into it at first. So the girls are in planters that I dug out of the basement. Filled with soilless potting mix that had been used for houseplants. One is 12", the other about 10".

So far I've only used Miracle Gro 15-30-15 because that's what I had. It seems to be doing the trick but I'm open to suggestions.

Lighting: Veg closet has two 6500k 100w equivalent CFLs for a whopping 3200 lumens in a 1x1 ft space that used to be 1x2 ft. I had more but moved them to the flower closet as plants started going in there. All that's left in there are a sick unknown and the clones.
Flower closet has seven 2700k 100w equiv CFLs and two 6500k doubled up in brooder lamps, and one hanging from a socket for a total of 15450 lumens in a 2x2 ft space.

Circulation is a clip-on type fan that keeps the leaves moving. Temps stay between 68-83F depending whether the lights are on or off. Humidity is between 30-55% depending on whether I have to crack the closet door to lower temps.

So without further ado, here they are:
Chillin 1

Handy Dandy 1

Clones of Chillin 1 and Handy Dandy 1

Chillin 2 - Put under 12/12 last weekend to let it flower when it's ready

Handy Dandy 2 - Sickly, probably a nute problem

Neglected plant. His days are numbered once I confirm it's a "he"

Lighting (I recently added another CFL in the middle hanging from a socket

Flower area

Fan

That's about it. Looking forward to comments/questions/suggestions.

 

[STIHL LOGGER]

Heya JimmieJ, Welcome to the grow room bud! Ya got a nice little set up goin and the girls dont look too bad either! Handy Dandy 2 doesnt really look sick.. It looks like it was just starting to flower and now has reverted back to veg. Keep her at 18/6 for a few more weeks, she will fill out. It looks to have alot of healthy new inner growth.

p.s a lil +reps boost for choosing to make your new home.

 

[Smokeater]

Hello all. This is my first journal so bear with me. I'm starting this with two healthy girls a couple weeks into flower, a couple unknowns in veg, one of which is sick, a clone of one of the girls that has rooted and is now growing, and a clone from the other girl that is not yet rooted. I also threw a seed in a small planter, and kept it out of the main lighting just for the heck of it. I put it under 12/12 last weekend and this morning I believe I am seeing signs of a male. It will be a pleasure to kill it and make room for another once it's confirmed male.

All are from bag seed so strains are unknown, but I know which plants came from which seeds and the quality of the smoke that the seeds came with.

Currently using two closets - one for veg set at 18/6 and the other for flower at 12/12.

When I started this, I hadn't even heard of 420 and knew nothing about growing, so didn't put much effort into it at first. So the girls are in planters that I dug out of the basement. Filled with soilless potting mix that had been used for houseplants. One is 12", the other about 10".

So far I've only used Miracle Gro 15-30-15 because that's what I had. It seems to be doing the trick but I'm open to suggestions.

Lighting: Veg closet has two 6500k 100w equivalent CFLs for a whopping 3200 lumens in a 1x1 ft space that used to be 1x2 ft. I had more but moved them to the flower closet as plants started going in there. All that's left in there are a sick unknown and the clones.
Flower closet has seven 2700k 100w equiv CFLs and two 6500k doubled up in brooder lamps, and one hanging from a socket for a total of 15450 lumens in a 2x2 ft space.

Circulation is a clip-on type fan that keeps the leaves moving. Temps stay between 68-83F depending whether the lights are on or off. Humidity is between 30-55% depending on whether I have to crack the closet door to lower temps.


That's about it. Looking forward to comments/questions/suggestions.

Looks like you have things going good and those plants look pretty good, I'm not a very good judge of things yet, But hopefully you will see more people here soon to REALLY help you with your grow. If you have your first plants in flower, I'd say you've done a LOT better than I did! I needed the help to get that far and you should be proud of your grow! Congratulations on your journal Jimmie! I'll make sure to watch your grow. I'm very interested in it!

Smokey

 

[JimmieJ]

Thanks Stihl - I was thinking of topping and letting it branch out. I thought the inner growth looked good also. Last week it turned yellow over a couple days so I thought it was the potting soil I used .12-.12-.12 so I flushed it with sump pump water (didn't have any tap water that had sat long enough to evap the chlorine) and gave it a shot of Miracle Gro. It seemed to stabilize after that.

 

[JimmieJ]

Looks like you have things going good and those plants look pretty good, I'm not a very good judge of things yet, But hopefully you will see more people here soon to REALLY help you with your grow. If you have your first plant (first pic) in flower, I'd say you've done a LOT better than I did! I needed the help to get that far and you should be proud of your grow! Congratulations on your journal Jimmie! I'll make sure to watch your grow. I'm very interested in it!

Smokey

I'll post some pics of the beginning and you'll wonder how I got this far. And believe me Smoke - I was following your journal the whole time so all the questions you had and all the help you got ARE why I got this far in the first place! I guess you could say I got the same help you did. Thanks Smoke!!!

 

[Smokeater]

I'll post some pics of the beginning and you'll wonder how I got this far. And believe me Smoke - I was following your journal the whole time so all the questions you had and all the help you got ARE why I got this far in the first place! I guess you could say I got the same help you did. Thanks Smoke!!!

I'm just glad my journal has helped someone other than me. The people are FANTASTIC! and I couldn't ask for better. I am so glad you benefited from it Jimmie! They LOVE pics, so keep 'em coming! I will be around also and help with the little I can. I know nutes aren't real big on my journal, so you must be doing things you figured out on your own. Be proud of yourself my friend!

 

[Dennise]

...

 

[Smokeater]

...

I'm right with you Dennise, Looking forward to reading more of JimmieJs journal!

 

[JimmieJ]

I'm just glad my journal has helped someone other than me. The people are FANTASTIC! and I couldn't ask for better. I am so glad you benefited from it Jimmie! They LOVE pics, so keep 'em coming! I will be around also and help with the little I can. I know nutes aren't real big on my journal, so you must be doing things you figured out on your own. Be proud of yourself my friend!

Since I didn't have the ideal soil mix that you did, I knew I'd need nutes. I know from vegetables and houseplants that less is more so I've been following the guidelines for feeding at every watering, only I've been feeding every other watering. I water the way you do, slowly but surely until water comes out of the bottom. I let it settle then dump the water in the tray back in. I use a moisture meter to know when they're thirsty.

The one with two probes supposedly measures pH but I haven't worried about that yet since they're healthy so far, and since you're not doing it. I like it for the light meter. I picked up the one with one probe because I misplaced the other one a few years ago. It was around $5 at the garden center and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to check water levels without touching the soil or lifting the pots.

 

[Smokeater]

Since I didn't have the ideal soil mix that you did, I knew I'd need nutes. I know from vegetables and houseplants that less is more so I've been following the guidelines for feeding at every watering, only I've been feeding every other watering. I water the way you do, slowly but surely until water comes out of the bottom. I let it settle then dump the water in the tray back in. I use a moisture meter to know when they're thirsty.

The one with two probes supposedly measures pH but I haven't worried about that yet since they're healthy so far, and since you're not doing it. I like it for the light meter. I picked up the one with one probe because I misplaced the other one a few years ago. It was around $5 at the garden center and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to check water levels without touching the soil or lifting the pots.

I still have to pick one up, I have some money put away and just have to go and buy it, My grow has been done on a REALLY tight budget since I'm disabled and don't have a lot of $$ coming in. But excellent that you have one! I believe it was Dennise (correct me if I'm wrong Dennise) that recommended I get one like that also. I am just waiting for a good day on my back to hit Home Depot and pick one up.

 

[arteekay]

I'm in for the ride, not much more experienced than our friend smokey, but always willing to offer up a solid "attaboy!" when needed.

 

[Smokeater]

I'm in for the ride, not much more experienced than our friend smokey, but always willing to offer up a solid "attaboy!" when needed.

I always love having Arteekay on my journal, He is truly a wonderfull person as well as a fun one!

 

[Smokeater]

You've got some great people showing up Jimmie, Every single one of them has helped me at some point. As time goes by, I'm sure you will see more popping their heads in. Starting a journal is fun and has some awesome benefits! I was hoping you would see it start out like yours has already, Keep the pic's coming, ALL the greats seem to love them! You're lucky to have started out with pics, It took me a while to get my pics up (a few pages in and your almost at a new page already if I'm counting right). Just remember, You will have "lulls" in the activity at times, Don't let that get you down! That's why they are so great, they love helping lots of people. I would do almost anything for all of them!

So happy for you!

Smokey

 

[JimmieJ]

I still have to pick one up, I have some money put away and just have to go and buy it, My grow has been done on a REALLY tight budget since I'm disabled and don't have a lot of $$ coming in. But excellent that you have one! I believe it was Dennise (correct me if I'm wrong Dennise) that recommended I get one like that also. I am just waiting for a good day on my back to hit Home Depot and pick one up.

I'm on a budget as well. The biggest expense so far has been the lighting, and I know that should be vastly improved, but with time. Another thing I would recommend to people watching their electric usage, the kill-a-watt meter. I've been trying to turn everything off when I'm not using things to balance out the increase in my electric bill and this little gem tells you how much a given item uses. I've had this for a while now, so I don't know how much they cost anymore, but I'm sure it will pay for itself if you just light your house with candles for a few months. (just kidding)

 

[JimmieJ]

You've got some great people showing up Jimmie, Every single one of them has helped me at some point. As time goes by, I'm sure you will see more popping their heads in. Starting a journal is fun and has some awesome benefits! I was hoping you would see it start out like yours has already, Keep the pic's coming, ALL the greats seem to love them! You're lucky to have started out with pics, It took me a while to get my pics up (a few pages in and your almost at a new page already if I'm counting right). Just remember, You will have "lulls" in the activity at times, Don't let that get you down! That's why they are so great, they love helping lots of people. I would do almost anything for all of them!

So happy for you!

Smokey

Thanks for your support, Smoke, it means a lot. I remember the issues you had at first. I knew that if I couldn't get figure it out, I could find the answer in your journal. Don't forget that I read your journal since day one (as a guest) because I started around the same time you did, I was just afraid to sign up. Which makes me wonder - are we all taking a chance with trouble by posting on here?

 

[Smokeater]

I'm on a budget as well. The biggest expense so far has been the lighting, and I know that should be vastly improved, but with time. Another thing I would recommend to people watching their electric usage, the kill-a-watt meter. I've been trying to turn everything off when I'm not using things to balance out the increase in my electric bill and this little gem tells you how much a given item uses. I've had this for a while now, so I don't know how much they cost anymore, but I'm sure it will pay for itself if you just light your house with candles for a few months. (just kidding)

Good idea, I have turned a bunch of stuff either off (if it doesn't affect my wife) or like my mini fridge I've had for years, It's at it's lowest setting. Just cool enough to cool down a can of pop (being disabled means not moving around every time you just need something small and don't want to ask for help constantly). I'm considering turning it off at night and see how that helps. I'm sure your gauge will help you figure out how much everything draws, PeeJay once told me that after the lights and everything are bought, it costs about $80.00 an oz., I haven't gotten that far yet, but he has never steered me wrong.

 

[Smokeater]

Thanks for your support, Smoke, it means a lot. I remember the issues you had at first. I knew that if I couldn't get figure it out, I could find the answer in your journal. Don't forget that I read your journal since day one (as a guest) because I started around the same time you did, I was just afraid to sign up. Which makes me wonder - are we all taking a chance with trouble by posting on here?

That's why you want to keep your info as private as much as possible. I have given my info out to 3 people only and that was after I knew them for a while and got my wife to agree (we do everything as a team) to it also. But to an extent there is a risk to it. But the way I look at it, people like myself and yourself with a couple of plants for personal use "probably" won't draw a lot of attention from people in law enforcement. I am growing just enough for myself to get off narcotics (which will end up killing me in the long run) because the medical stuff is EXPENSIVE! I am hoping to save a little on my copay's or maybe go up or (hopefully) just break even. But I always try to be discreet about stuff so as to not draw attention to myself. The only thing that might is the size of my journal, there is so many people helping me it could look as if I'm growing large amounts when in actuality all I have is a total of 7 plants and I'm shooting for a factory line type of operation so I have just enough for myself and my wife's problems. I just noticed, were on page 2 of your journal already. Anyways, I blabbed on long enough for you to get the point.

 

[JimmieJ]

Good idea, I have turned a bunch of stuff either off (if it doesn't affect my wife) or like my mini fridge I've had for years, It's at it's lowest setting. Just cool enough to cool down a can of pop (being disabled means not moving around every time you just need something small and don't want to ask for help constantly). I'm considering turning it off at night and see how that helps. I'm sure your gauge will help you figure out how much everything draws, PeeJay once told me that after the lights and everything are bought, it costs about $80.00 an oz., I haven't gotten that far yet, but he has never steered me wrong.

Could you maybe plug it into your timer so it's off during lights out, then back on during the day when you're up? That probably wouldn't even be noticeable, but I bet it would help with the electric bill!
80 an oz - I could definitely handle that!

 

[JimmieJ]

That's why you want to keep your info as private as much as possible. I have given my info out to 3 people only and that was after I knew them for a while and got my wife to agree (we do everything as a team) to it also. But to an extent there is a risk to it. But the way I look at it, people like myself and yourself with a couple of plants for personal use "probably" won't draw a lot of attention from people in law enforcement. I am growing just enough for myself to get off narcotics (which will end up killing me in the long run) because the medical stuff is EXPENSIVE! I am hoping to save a little on my copay's or maybe go up or (hopefully) just break even. But I always try to be discreet about stuff so as to not draw attention to myself. The only thing that might is the size of my journal, there is so many people helping me it could look as if I'm growing large amounts when in actuality all I have is a total of 7 plants and I'm shooting for a factory line type of operation so I have just enough for myself and my wife's problems. I just noticed, were on page 2 of your journal already. Anyways, I blabbed on long enough for you to get the point.

I intend to be fully discreet. The biggest thing anyone will even notice when they're here is the obnoxious glade plug-in that I haven't used in the past. I guess everything carries a risk. I understand your reasoning behind why you're doing it and it's sound. There's no reason this forbidden plant should be forbidden in the first place but that's a topic for another thread.

Blab on, Smoke. I've been enjoying your babbling for a couple months now.

 

[JimmieJ]

Ok, I'm pretty sure this is my first boy. Can someone confirm this for me? I'd like for him to never see the light of day (or CFL) again if it's a he.