Stan's First Soil Sour Diesel Grow! 2017

[Stansama]

Hello members and guests! My name is Stan, I'm a new grower and member here and decided it would be fun to document my first grow as I've enjoyed reading other journals. I was born and raised in Maine, and have been using marijuana for about 14 years for recreational and self medicated use to help with depression, anxiety and pain. I hope to learn more with each grow and take advice along the way so that I can pass on my learned knowledge down the road. So here we go!

Strain: Sour Diesel from 420
60/40 sativa/indica hybrid
THC 18%
Currently in veg phase, 20 days since planting
50/20/30 soil mix with happy frog, ocean forest, and perlite respectively
Started in solo cups, transplanted to 1 gal smart pots and changed soil mixture to 50/20 ocean forest/happy frog
Growing indoor with a 4x4x6.5 apollo tent
Sprouted with 6-23w cfl, then 600w iPower mh/hps in an air cooled hood with a 18/6 cycle
Temps ~ 70/80f lights off/on
Humidity 40-60%
Watering every 3 days

So on 5/6 I started two seeds in water, planted 25 hours later in my soil mix and placed in the tent. I decided to start with 50% happy frog to keep seeds from stressing in the ocean forest, which from what I've read appears to be a hotter soil. Lights on at 6pm, temps at 78. I misted every morning at 7 before leaving for work and again when I got home right before lights on at 6. Three days after planting I had little babies poking out!

And here's where they sat under 6-23w cfls. Also a picture of first leaves! They look so small in this huge tent!

I continued misting every morning and evening for a few days, then on 5/14 gave them their first watering. Tap water tested at 6.4 ph using an oakton ph2. Runoff tested at 6.7 ph. Temperatures stayed mostly around 78/80 with lights on and 70-72 with lights off. Maine temps vary a lot this time of year (always really) so I have had a few fluctuations but nothing crazy. I watered again after 3 days, on 5/17. Watering right before or at lights on.

I was a little nervous about these first leaves being kind of wonky, but read that's not abnormal for the first set. Subsequent sets seem to be fine so far.

On 5/21 I decided to transplant into 1 gal smart pots. So I watered the day before and got my soil ready, switched to 50/20 ocean forest/happy frog still with 30% perlite and watered the soil as well. Here are a couple pics of transplanting and their new homes.

I'm not sure if I should have waited longer to transplant? The soil crumbled easily in my hands and the root ball was not very tight, but they were circling the bottom of the cups. They seemed very happy in their new homes, growth slowed for a couple days but they picked up again. I watered right after transplanting to bed them in. The soil was pretty dry after two days but I had read to let them really dry after transplanting so I waited until day three to give them water. I may water every two days now, the smart pots seem to dry quickly. I also switched over to the 600w mh light after watering. Started at 3' and been lowering about 4" every day.

I went with the iPower kit for this first grow to keep things inexpensive and see how the process goes. Boy that exhaust fan is loud and moves some air! I have it pulling through a carbon filter, pushing through the hood and outt a nearby window. Plants seem happy as far as a new grower can tell. If anyone has comments, advice, or whatever feel free to chime in! Will keep updating as things progress. I'll likely start thinking about LST soon as I've read the sour diesel can be a very tall plant and I will obviously have height restrictions. I'm super excited to continue watching these grow!!

 

[EastCoastGhost]

I will pull up a chair if you don't mind, im wanting to grow sour diesel also in the near future, best of luck to you.✌

 

[EastCoastGhost]

I see in one of your pics when you transplanted and the dirt fell apart on you, i always let them get a little more root bound in the solo cups so it will stay together better and you have less chance of stressing your plant, they also seem to take off and grow alot faster after transplant. ✌

 

[Stansama]

A couple more recent pictures from yesterday:

 

[bignugz420]

A couple more recent pictures from yesterday:

Look great, couple small suggestions, make sure your fabric pots can drain, and not sit in. Water, also most air cooled MH are 24 to 30" from canopy, also I would throw some more beans down unless you plan on vegging for a while if you have that much light use it brother this is my current veg room

now that's packed tight a bunch go outside soon just giving a little​ more growth

 

[Stansama]

Welcome Tom! I figured after I got into the middle of it that I could have waited a bit longer. Next time I will wait. Glad they seem happy, growth had slowed for a couple days but they picked up again. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Stansama]

Thank you and welcome bignugz! I have the pots sitting up on a wire mesh tub flipped upside down with a plastic tub beneath to catch runoff. I'll take a better pic when I'm home later. I do feel a little silly having just two plants in there, but I didn't want to get overwhelmed with too many at once especially if I ran into issues and accidentally killed them all haha. After this grow and gaining more experience I will definitely be filling it up!

 

[bignugz420]

Ok well I am subbed feel free to check out my perpetual harvest, just click my username and the thread is my new DWC afghan and flower mother's

 

[bignugz420]

And sorry this is my current veg room

 

[Stansama]

Here's a better picture of the wire tub they are sitting on currently to let water drain through.

And here's two more pictures of the lovely ladies. Seems like they've grown so much since my last pic which was taken Friday!

I'm wondering if they are responding to water a day earlier or getting settled into their new homes. I may try watering again today (2 days since last watering) and see how they respond.

My 600w mh is currently at 26" from tops, dropping another 4" today to see how they like it. Does not feel too warm under my hand at that distance.

 

[Stansama]

Ok well I am subbed feel free to check out my perpetual harvest, just click my username and the thread is my new DWC afghan and flower mother's

I'll definitely check it out, thanks bignugz!

 

[Stansama]

Just a quick update, snapped a couple pics this morning before heading out. I did end up watering after two days, plants seemed to enjoy so I'm likely watering again tonight if soil feels dry enough. Had to angle my fan until a little more as they were getting pushed around a lot after growing up into the wind more.

Looks like they are working on their first 7 leaf sets! I'm always amazed at the changes when I open the tent door.

I'd like to start thinking about LST and likely topping. Am looking at using a tie down method with pipe cleaners and safety pins to attach to the smart pots. For those that do both, is it best to top first and wait before starting LST or other way around? I hear most top once the fifth node appears. Does this count the first set of single leaves? (Not the small teardrops) any advice appreciated!

 

[Stansama]

Quick update with some pictures, decided to try topping one plant and fimming the other. One was slightly taller so I topped that one thinking the fimmed one would catch up a little. Cut right at lights on then watered as normal. Here's some pics pre and post cut:

I hope the cuts were ok, I was nervous taking the knife to them but read a lot and looked at a bunch of photos to get the right idea. Top cut made at a 45 degree angle, fim cut made through 75-80% of new growth.

 

[Stansama]

I feel like a bad parent. Haven't checked on the plants much as I've been busy, nearly forgot to water last night and was a couple hours late. Plants were dropping a bit. Snapped a couple pics this morning before heading out, glad to see growth after making top and fim cuts earlier in the week.

Was not glad to see these spots had appeared on a couple lower leaves of each plant. Any ideas? Will try to do some research today to see what may be causing these to appear:

Many thanks to anyone that can give this nervous parent some reassurance! I'm hoping to get laughed at because it's completely normal

Edit: should have added that temps have been running around 80-82 lights on, 70-73 lights off, humidity between 30-50%. Watering every two-three days. 8" oscillating fan on floor running 24/7 and exhaust fan also on 24/7. No nutrients added, just tap water with ph of 6.4-6.5. I do have fox farms nutrients but am waiting until 3 weeks after transplant to start using them at 1/4 strength. Last transplant was 5/21 so I'm looking at 6/11 to start nutes unless I transplant again before that. Have not checked roots in 1gal smart pots, think they could be getting big enough to transplant again? Last time I feared I was too early so I haven't even thought about it again.

 

[Stansama]

From other posts I've seen it appears I could have gotten a little water on the leaves which caused these marks, hoping that is the only issue. I will check when I get home later on the underside of the leaves to rule out any sort of pests. Others have commented on ph issues being a culprit, but I think my readings are in line? Haven't checked runoff the last couple wateringa so I will do that tomorrow when I water again to make sure I'm still within acceptable ranges.
Picked up some safety pins and pipe cleaners the other day, excited to start slowly bending them over to get more light to the lower parts. May try to do that tonight will update with some pictures later on!

 

[Stansama]

Well when I got home last night I checked with my magnifier for pests and did not see anything moving around. One of the leafs that had light green spots showed one spot that was more brown in color. Second pic shows slight curling of leaf tips that I didn't notice before.

I watered again because the soil felt very dry and the pots were light. Plants were still a little bit drooping. Ph 6.5 and runoff was 7.3. I checked through my notes and didn't realize I had never checked runoff after transplanting to the 1gal smart pots. Should I water next with lower ph? Should I give a good flush? I've been giving them about 3.5 cups of water each time and runoff has been about 1.5 cups for both combined.

I also started LST by anchoring the base and pulling them over a little bit. I will adjust slowly every day (tightened a little this morning after seeing they had already straightened a bit) and eventually try to work around the pot in a circular fashion.

Any advice on how to move forward greatly appreciated. May try watering daily if soil continues to feel dry and see how they respond. Will try to lower ph slightly and see how runoff comes out unless I hear otherwise. Happy growing!

 

[Nicholas Flamel]

Nice healthy plants stan. Your lst looks good too. Your plan to drop the ph a little should work fine. I used the fabric pots before and found that its easier to water by filling up a little tub and setting the pots down inside and letting them soak it up rather then trying to water them from the top like you would do with normal pots. Keep up the good work, your doing a great job.

 

[Stansama]

Thank you Nicholas for the kind words and reassurance. Interesting watering method, would I use the same amount I have been as to produce a little run off? So 3-4 cups worth for each plant?

 

[Stansama]

Spots have a very copper tone today. Only present on the 3rd node fan leaves of both plants, both sets equally affected.

They are growing otherwise. Topped plant faster than the fimmed.

 

[Nicholas Flamel]

Thank you Nicholas for the kind words and reassurance. Interesting watering method, would I use the same amount I have been as to produce a little run off? So 3-4 cups worth for each plant?

Well when i water i usually soak them down good. Give them as much as they will soak up in 10-15 minutes then wait until they are very dry and light before the next feeding. Always worked well for me but everyone must find what works best for them. From the looks of your plants they like what you been doing so if it aint broke...... Concerning the spots on the leaves I wouldnt worry about it unless it starts spreading to other areas, odds are you just got a few drops on the leaves thats all.