Guitarzan's - Soil - Autoflower Trainwreck - Indoor - First Timer

[Guitarzan91]

Hey everybody,

I have recently delved into growing, and although I have ten or so years of growing flowers and vegetables, I have finally decided to try my hand at growing my own cannabis. It seemed really daunting at first, most likely because I was so excited studying about growing techniques that I didn't give myself time to avoid information overload. Anyways, I would like to share with you my process so far, and I would be more than happy to have members of the forum provide commentary to aid me through this process.

As for basic setup:

Bucket Size - 3.5 gallon
Medium - 75% light soil 25% Perlite.
Lights - (1) 300 Watt MARS LED Light (130Watt I believe in actual output)
Nutrients - Miracle-Gro All-Puprpose/Miracle-Gro Ultra Bloom
Strain(s) - Trainwreck Auto
# of Plants: 1
Yield: TO BE DETERMINED

I acquired some feminized trainwreck auto-seeds, and because this is my first time, I decided to just grow a single plant at a time. I figure if I enjoy this, I will work up the plant amounts to something I can handle, or possibly even begin a few outdoors when the weather heats up.

My growbox is a converted shelf equipped with a MARS 300 Watt LED light (130Watt true light or something like that) and contains a thermostat, hydrometer, and three ventilation fans total within the box. A single fan is pulling air into the box, while the exhaust from my mars light, as well as another computer fan, are pulling air into my carbon filter to eventually contain the smells during flowering. The growbox itself is currently in my cool basement with a de-humidifier beside it to keep moisture down while regulating temperatures. The box is lined with mylar emergency blankets to make light more available.

As for the potting, I have an 11L pot comprised of 75% lightsoil and 25% perlite that was soaked for 24 hours prior to planting the seed directly into the growing medium. I then stuck a thermometer about a half inch into the growing medium until the temperature reached around 26C, and made a rookie mistake by covering the pot with a dome to keep humidity in. I know now that I took my chances by using the dome, but thankfully, my seed sprouted about a day ago.

I also chose not to adhere to the advice of using damp papertowel or rockwool because I can be pretty clumsy with my hands, so I wanted to just start right in the medium and avoid possible damage caused by transplant.

Currently my light is about 6 inches away from the plant, and the temperature is reading 25C with a RH of 55%. I also have a homemade CO2 generator piped towards my intake fan and the airflow currently seems pretty good. I sprinkled some very fine ash powder to the box prior to having my plant inside just to see how quickly it would make its way to the carbon filter, and it managed to do so within 30 seconds.

As for a growbox door, I am not too worried about light escaping, so the door is made from a thick tapestry rug almost the same size as the door which is itself lined with mylar and velcroed to the frame of the grow box making a tighter seal than I actually expected.

As far as watering and fertilizer goes, I am going to keep things as simple as possible, and if nutrients are needed, I am going to be adding them in extremely diluted amounts.

QUESTION: If I wanted to lower RH, could I place a bowl of desiccant or salt in my growbox?

Thanks in advance for any insight provided, and if you feel like I should make some changes, I would love to hear about it.

 

[Emilya Green]

Welcome to the forum Guitarzan91 and good luck in the grow. It sounds like you have done your homework and have put together a great setup. One thing I question at the moment is your choice of a soilless or hydro nutrient line... I am pretty sure that this is not going to be optimal in a mostly soil grow. Is this what the guy at the hydro store talked you into?

As far as the RH goes, I doubt desiccant packs will have any effect. I use a room air conditioner when the humidity gets high, but other than that, with the great airflow I have, I don't worry much about humidity.

Also, look around at some of the others using that 300w mars light... you may find that 6" is a bit too close to tender plants... that LED light is pretty strong stuff.

 

[Guitarzan91]

Thanks Emilya,

I'll be sure to check my light to ensure the poor sapling isn't being cooked. I assume it is going to start skyrocketing in height relatively soon, so maybe it is better that I have it a little further away than necessary. I currently moved my thermometer around and it can display the temperature for the topsoil as well as the ceiling of the grow box, so I am pretty confident my temperatures shouldn't give me too much trouble during the grow..

As far as the soils concerned, I am using The Answer all-purpose potting mix. It's mostly comprised of Canadian peatmoss, bark, perlite, minerals, etc.... Was this a bad choice for growing, and if so, how would you suggest I proceed with the grow/what should I use next time? I never really walked into a hydro store, I am just using what I had left in my bag after planting my annuals, but I'm sure they would talk me into something lol

I had to make some small edits to my original post in regards to which fertilizer/medium I am using, so my apologies if you saw the old stuff.

 

[Emilya Green]

Thanks Emilya,

I'll be sure to check my light to ensure the poor sapling isn't being cooked. I assume it is going to start skyrocketing in height relatively soon, so maybe it is better that I have it a little further away than necessary. I currently moved my thermometer around and it can display the temperature for the topsoil as well as the ceiling of the grow box, so I am pretty confident my temperatures shouldn't give me too much trouble during the grow..

As far as the soils concerned, I am using The Answer all-purpose potting mix. It's mostly comprised of Canadian peatmoss, bark, perlite, minerals, etc.... Was this a bad choice for growing, and if so, how would you suggest I proceed with the grow/what should I use next time? I never really walked into a hydro store, I am just using what I had left in my bag after planting my annuals, but I'm sure they would talk me into something lol

Thanks again

The potting soil sounds adequate and will most likely hold up during the time you will be using it. The problem however is pH. The floranova stuff is designed to work in hydro or non-soil mediums, and because of that, the nutrients are chelated to break out of their salt bonds and be released for the plants to use, at a more acidic level than you would want to use for soil. If you properly pHed your nutes for soil, some of the trace minerals would never then be released... and if you pH properly to break apart your nutrients, it will be too acidic for your roots in soil.

There are plenty of soil based nutrients out there that are designed to be used at 6.5 pH for soil, and everyone is going to have their own personal preferences. Pick a nutrient line, and use it as directed... these companies don't stay in business by selling junk... or at least most of them don't. Pick a brand, and then get all of their recommended products. Some are more simple than others, and some work better than others. Check out the reviews, and read the forums.

As far as a personal recommendation goes, I like Fox Farms. I found their nutrient line to work as advertised, and I was able to quickly master their system of 3 main nutrients and 3 solubles additives, and use it to produce great plants. Other growers will have other recommendations to give you, I am sure. I will also say at this point that after going this synthetic nutrient route for many years, I finally decided to go full organic, and to stop buying all this commercial stuff... but that is for another time. You are out to learn with your first plant, and that is commendable. This sort of careful experimentation, even with gardening experience, shows that you are going to learn fast.

 

[Guitarzan91]

Thanks Emilya,

I did indeed switch out the floranova for miracle-gro ultra bloom and miracle-gro all purpose growing nutrients that I had in my greenhouse. I know they get a bad reputation, but I do plan to flush the plant a little prior to harvesting before letting it dry out a little.

I do like to go organic when possible, so I will likely try what fox farms has to offer on the next grow if all goes well.

As far as ensuring I don't screw up my nutrient levels, I've already pre-mixed my nutrients with PH adjusted water to their recommended dosages via the supplier label for indoor plants. I then added said nutrient water to labelled 500ml water bottles in varying volume amounts before filling the remaining space with water to get the 1/8 strength, 1/4 strength.1/2 strength, and full strength nutrient mixes. The full strength and 1/2 strength will likely never get used, but are instead intended to be added to another bottle of pure water to get the solution strength I desire before being PH adjusted and poured. I felt this was the easiest way to keep me from forgetting nutrient levels/scorching the roots.

 

[Emilya Green]

lol, yep, you have a lot of plans. It is going to be fun watching to see what you adjust as you get further along with this. I also suspect that you may be overthinking things a bit, such as pH adjusting the water before adding nutes, a step that probably can be eliminated.

also, didn't mean to mislead you to believing that Fox Farms is organic... they make only one product that is organic, but every other product they make is decidedly un-organic and totally synthetic.

lastly, miracle grow, eh? Well, as long as you don't care what Monsanto puts in your smoke, it does grow stuff. And, who am I to talk, I use miracle grow soils all the time outside in the flower and vegetable gardens. Also, outside of the politics of it, the scientists are pretty good these days, and I will guarantee you that a nutrient line like FoxFarm that is specifically designed to grow cannabis, is going to work noticeably to grow juicy buds better than a general all purpose fertilizer designed to grow fruits, bright flowers and vegetables.

 

[Guitarzan91]

lol, yep, you have a lot of plans. It is going to be fun watching to see what you adjust as you get further along with this. I also suspect that you may be overthinking things a bit, such as pH adjusting the water before adding nutes, a step that probably can be eliminated.

also, didn't mean to mislead you to believing that Fox Farms is organic... they make only one product that is organic, but every other product they make is decidedly un-organic and totally synthetic.

lastly, miracle grow, eh? Well, as long as you don't care what Monsanto puts in your smoke, it does grow stuff. And, who am I to talk, I use miracle grow soils all the time outside in the flower and vegetable gardens. Also, outside of the politics of it, the scientists are pretty good these days, and I will guarantee you that a nutrient line like FoxFarm that is specifically designed to grow cannabis, is going to work noticeably to grow juicy buds better than a general all purpose fertilizer designed to grow fruits, bright flowers and vegetables.

Haha I certainly do believe I am overthinking things. I'm about a two hour drive from any gardening centres, so I wanted to be over-prepared as opposed to under-prepared. I now see how PH'ing the water before adding the fertilizers is a completely moot step, and overall, everything seems to be steady at about 6.3 in terms of PH regardless of the strength of the nutrients in each bottle. Northern BC water in small towns tend to be of pretty remarkable quality, straight from the mountain and whatnot.

No worries about the Fox Farms info. I wasn't aware that they provided nutrients specifically tailored for cannabis. Although I'm already using miracle-gro, I might as well try new things for my next plants purely for the sake of variation. I have five seeds in total, so it would be beneficial and intriguing for me to see the differences tailored nutrients can make.

I'll be sure to provide the odd photo every week and let you know if I run into any problems.

I'm confident I will get this plant from seed to smoke, but it certainly doesn't hurt being guided to ensure the best of my plant for this grow and future grows.

Thanks again for all the insight and help so far.

 

[Emilya Green]

Sounds good, and I will look forward to your updates.

I would also like to invite you to read the insights that people add to their signature lines. I write quite a bit, so I have had to point my readers to a collection of most of my stuff, but there is one in particular that I would like to direct you to... my How to Properly Water piece. There are distinct differences in how a weed responds in a container and what it needs to happen, as compared to growing normal vegetables and fruits. Weeds in veg need a very definite and pronounced wet/dry cycle in order to thrive, and some other backyard gardening techniques need to be adjusted as well when you are dealing with a plant as voracious and aggressive as a weed. I invite you to study every quote that I have posted in my very precious signature space too, and figure out what jewel of information caused me to think it important to place there. Lastly, because we are talking about nutes, please read and think about the very last lines in my signature... I am not a big fan of nutes, especially on young weeds.

And then, when you are done looking through my stuff... there are many more like me, even better than me, all giving advice in the same way. Read, read and read some more... and then carefully experiment to verify what you think you learned. With practice, you too will become a great gardener of weeds, but be warned... if it were all that easy, more people would be doing it. Good luck! Many are here to help if/when you need it.

 

[Guitarzan91]

Sounds good, and I will look forward to your updates.

I would also like to invite you to read the insights that people add to their signature lines. I write quite a bit, so I have had to point my readers to a collection of most of my stuff, but there is one in particular that I would like to direct you to... my How to Properly Water piece. There are distinct differences in how a weed responds in a container and what it needs to happen, as compared to growing normal vegetables and fruits. Weeds in veg need a very definite and pronounced wet/dry cycle in order to thrive, and some other backyard gardening techniques need to be adjusted as well when you are dealing with a plant as voracious and aggressive as a weed. I invite you to study every quote that I have posted in my very precious signature space too, and figure out what jewel of information caused me to think it important to place there. Lastly, because we are talking about nutes, please read and think about the very last lines in my signature... I am not a big fan of nutes, especially on young weeds.

And then, when you are done looking through my stuff... there are many more like me, even better than me, all giving advice in the same way. Read, read and read some more... and then carefully experiment to verify what you think you learned. With practice, you too will become a great gardener of weeds, but be warned... if it were all that easy, more people would be doing it. Good luck! Many are here to help if/when you need it.

Thanks for all the help thus far.

I read your watering technique guide, and I have to say, I agree completely with your method of patience above everything else.

As for breathing with the plants, I usually try to play guitar and sing in front of some of them while having a pipe. In elementary school we did a little class project on the effects of silence, talking, and singing in terms of CO2 production and plant growth, and the results were exactly what is suspected. It was a little lesson that always stuck with me in terms of growing, and it doesn't bother me in the least when my neighbour's see me talking to my bleeding hearts (they've started doing so as well for their stubborn flowers).

I feel that the added bonus from your technique is that I can form a bond with the plant that will no doubt increase my respect for growing, as well as increase the likelihood of me spotting problems early on through careful observation that only comes from nurturing.

As always, have yourself a great day.

 

[Guitarzan91]

Hey Emilya,

Here's the plant at 2.5 weeks or so. The leaves are looking a little yellow, and the new leaves emerging have sort of a purple/brown hue on them. After some researching, I don't believe this is a nutrient problem, but was most likely due to a either a little overwater and/or having my MARS 300 light too close to the plant possibly. For the watering, I didn't really bother watering the first week because I did the 24 hour pre-soak, and checked the soil quite regularly every couple of days or so for moisture loss. When I do water, it is usually between 400ml-1000ml every couple days depending how dry the soil feels. As for the light, it is currently about 12 inches from the plant, and emits about 25C worth of heat below.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hey Emilya,

Here's the plant at 2.5 weeks or so. The leaves are looking a little yellow, and the new leaves emerging have sort of a purple/brown hue on them. After some researching, I don't believe this is a nutrient problem, but was most likely due to a either a little overwater and/or having my MARS 300 light too close to the plant possibly. For the watering, I didn't really bother watering the first week because I did the 24 hour pre-soak, and checked the soil quite regularly every couple of days or so for moisture loss. When I do water, it is usually between 400ml-1000ml every couple days depending how dry the soil feels. As for the light, it is currently about 12 inches from the plant, and emits about 25C worth of heat below.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

so, 2.5 weeks ago? how does she look today? The picture looked like a plant that had been burned by the light. LED lights can burn simply due to the intensity of the tuned light, it doesnt need to be physically hot. i do hope you got that sorted out. As far as watering goes, water to saturation each time and then wait for the plant to use it all. How much you water should have nothing to do with your feelings about the dryness of the soil... water until the soil shows you it cant hold any more... keep your feelings out of it.

 

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.