Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal: Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Cheesecake

New Member
Hello and :welcome: all, thanks for taking the time to look at my first journal and also my first grow ever. Reading other journals here has helped a lot, so hopefully this will help other newbie growers out there like myself. I'm open to any and all feedback. It is much appreciated!

I planted everything on June 14th. The 3 Bears OG sprouted on the 17th followed by the Blue Dream which sprouted on the 18th. I planted one seed each of Mephisto Genetics 3 Bears OG auto (70/30 indica, 18-24% THC, 75-110g yield) and one Humboldt Seed Organization Blue Dream auto (70/30 sativa, 13% THC, 1-3+ oz per plant yield) directly in 3 gallon fabric pots inside a Mars tent, size 70x70x160cm. I'm using around 2.5lbs kindsoil in each pot topped with coco loco. The light is one Mars II 400 which I have running 24hr for now, hanging 26" or so above the plants.

The current temps seems to hover around 80-85F with 40-50% RH. I've seen the temp rise to 90F recently at times. Hoping this isn't too high. I attached a 6" oscillating fan inside the tent today so we'll see how the temps adjust. For filtration I have a 4" Phresh carbon filter with a 4" Active Air inline fan attached. This unfortunately isn't in the tent yet due to some issues with attaching the fan and filter. It's been taken care of now. I just need to get the filter in the tent again at some point soon.

I haven't added any nutrients, only watering around the roots with 2oz distilled water for each plant at a time. I've been trying to only water when the root area feels dry up to an inch. The water is testing around 6.1-6.2 pH with 37ppm. Do these numbers seem fine? I'm not that confident in the pH tester I have. It is the Jellas pocket size PH meter. Should I continue watering like I have been for now or do I need to give them a good watering? Here are some day 1 images of the 3 Bears OG that sprouted on the 17th
sprout35.jpg

sprout210.jpg
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Yessss new life! Jumping On this one. I'm no expert but when I started my grow I watered it like that and it is great now! .
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Yessss new life! Jumping On this one. I'm no expert but when I started my grow I watered it like that and it is great now! .

Thanks Tylowb! I watered again today as they were feeling a bit dry. I'll be taking more pics of the setup later today:rollit:
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

So we're now on day 8! Not too much happening at the moment. I switched to a 18/6 light schedule to help with the temps. With the lights off they seem to be around 78F with 65% RH. The temp shoots up to 88F after the lights have been on for several hours and with the humidity lowering to 40% or so. Unfortunately lowering the AC doesn't help as much as I'd like with the hot temps. I've also been misting the tent a bit to raise the humidity closer to 60%. Still been having to water daily which I don't mind at all, kinda therapeutic actually haha. This usually happens after the lights come on with 2oz distilled water.

Here are a couple new pics of each plant. The first is the Blue Dream and the second is the 3 Bears OG. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! :thanks::rollit:

bd149.jpg

3b5.jpg
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Hey Chronik, sorry for getting here a bit late. Let me offer just a little input to you on the KindSoil grows. Just a couple real quick recommendations (and not saying what you have done or doing is wrong....just I would do it a little different).

First I would start my seeds in solo cups. I use a clear one and then put it inside a red one. I also cut a coupe holes in the clear cup so if I accidentally water to run off (which you shouldn't do with KindSoil)it has some place to go. The reason I use the solo cups instead of a big pot is......smaller containers are easier to deal with and water....and by using the clear solo cup I can look at the water as well as roots. What I do is put about an inch or so of kind soil on the bottom and then fill it up to about half an inch from the top with Fox Farms BushMaster Coco-Loco. The seed will feed off the micro nutrients in the coco loco as they mature a bit and then when the roots finally make it down to the Kindsoil, the inch will give them about two to three weeks worth of nutrition. Again its much easier to water a solo cup (wait for most of the water to be used or evaporated before you water again) than a 5 gallon pot. You want the roots to have to grow to find water. It builds a stronger healthier plant.

The next thing I would recommend is to just put your PPM meter away. You don't need it with KindSoil if you are growing correctly. All you need, and all I have done my entire grow is water with water pH'd down to 6.5 to 7.0 using EarthJuice pH down crystals (recommended by Phil at KindSoil). I don't water to runoff. I water til the bottom of my container, whatever size I am using, just shows the first sign of water reaching the bottom. DON'T OVER WATER! Let your pot become almost completely dry before watering again. I recommend you become familiar with the weight of your pot wet and dry so you know when its dry. I have learned to watch my plants and I can tell when the pot is dry (leaves start to droop a bit....but don't let them droop too much). You don't need to measure any PPM in runoff because you shouldn't be watering to runoff. The only thing you need to worry about is watering with water that is in the 6.5-7.0 pH range and use the EarthJuice crystals, not chemical pH down (that shit will kill the good stuff in the soil).

You don't need to feed any nutrients if you use the KindSoil correctly. I have been growing my current grow for about 3.5 months and I have only added new Earth Worm Casting to kind of recharge the soil just a touch. I haven't had a single spot on any plant during the 3.5 month grow. Don't add any nutrients unless you see the plants doing something they shouldn't be doing (spots, discoloration, etc). I can't stress DON'T USE ANY NUTRIENTS enough. I really recommend you follow Phil's instructions to the T on your first grow. Experiment after you get comfy with the KindSoil. It really is the most low maintenance grow out there Chronik. Don't complicate it by doing things you don't need to do.

Ditch the distilled water. Use either bottled drinking water or pH'd tap water. I used bottled drinking water when they were small and in the solo cups because it didn't require a lot. I started pH'ing a gallon once I transplanted them into 1 gallon pots. Be careful on watering every day. Again, you want the roots to stretch and by watering with enough water to wet the soil and then having it dry out a lot, you force the plants roots to grow. Make them work for what they want. If you keep delivering the water to the roots that are already there, they have no reason to seek it out. (Does that make sense?)

Questions for you......What size is your tent and what kind of light are you using? Do you have a carbon filter and fan that is going that would be sucking new fresh air into the tent? If not, consider it for the odor as well as cooling down your tent. If you don't want a carbon filter, then get an intake fan to suck in the cool air. I am running two LED lights and with my AC on 75 my tent rarely ever gets over 79. You want to try and keep your temps in the upper 70s if you can, but lower 80's are ok.

For your humidity issue being too low.....hang a wet towel in your tent. You can also set a bowl of water in your tent as well if you don't have a humidifier. Low humidity won't kill you. I was running at 16-25% for my first month because it was winter and dry as hell. It just slows the growth down a bit, it won't hurt them. If you can get 55-65% in veg you will be doing great.

One other thing for future grows. The seedlings will benefit greatly from the 6 hours of dark. You will be amazed at what happens when the girls are sleeping. Don't run 24 hours of light, its not as beneficial as you might think and it costs 25% more power that you are paying for.

In Summary, don't overwater. Let it dry out almost completely before watering again. No nutrients. PH water to 6.5-7.0 or use bottled drinking water (generally around 7.0). These plants are incredibly resilient and don't need as much TLC as you think. Let the KindSoil do its thing brother.

One last question, you didn't plant directly into the KindSoil did you? Its generally too "hot" for seedlings to be able to take it.

Again, not trying to criticize, just offering up what I have learned growing in KindSoil. If there is anything you want me to go more in depth, just let me know brother. Will be glad to share my knowledge. KindSoil is your friend.....LOL....leave it alone. Let the coco growers use all the nutrients.
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Hey Chronik, sorry for getting here a bit late. Let me offer just a little input to you on the KindSoil grows. Just a couple real quick recommendations (and not saying what you have done or doing is wrong....just I would do it a little different).

First I would start my seeds in solo cups. I use a clear one and then put it inside a red one. I also cut a coupe holes in the clear cup so if I accidentally water to run off (which you shouldn't do with KindSoil)it has some place to go. The reason I use the solo cups instead of a big pot is......smaller containers are easier to deal with and water....and by using the clear solo cup I can look at the water as well as roots. What I do is put about an inch or so of kind soil on the bottom and then fill it up to about half an inch from the top with Fox Farms BushMaster Coco-Loco. The seed will feed off the micro nutrients in the coco loco as they mature a bit and then when the roots finally make it down to the Kindsoil, the inch will give them about two to three weeks worth of nutrition. Again its much easier to water a solo cup (wait for most of the water to be used or evaporated before you water again) than a 5 gallon pot. You want the roots to have to grow to find water. It builds a stronger healthier plant.

The next thing I would recommend is to just put your PPM meter away. You don't need it with KindSoil if you are growing correctly. All you need, and all I have done my entire grow is water with water pH'd down to 6.5 to 7.0 using EarthJuice pH down crystals (recommended by Phil at KindSoil). I don't water to runoff. I water til the bottom of my container, whatever size I am using, just shows the first sign of water reaching the bottom. DON'T OVER WATER! Let your pot become almost completely dry before watering again. I recommend you become familiar with the weight of your pot wet and dry so you know when its dry. I have learned to watch my plants and I can tell when the pot is dry (leaves start to droop a bit....but don't let them droop too much). You don't need to measure any PPM in runoff because you shouldn't be watering to runoff. The only thing you need to worry about is watering with water that is in the 6.5-7.0 pH range and use the EarthJuice crystals, not chemical pH down (that shit will kill the good stuff in the soil).

You don't need to feed any nutrients if you use the KindSoil correctly. I have been growing my current grow for about 3.5 months and I have only added new Earth Worm Casting to kind of recharge the soil just a touch. I haven't had a single spot on any plant during the 3.5 month grow. Don't add any nutrients unless you see the plants doing something they shouldn't be doing (spots, discoloration, etc). I can't stress DON'T USE ANY NUTRIENTS enough. I really recommend you follow Phil's instructions to the T on your first grow. Experiment after you get comfy with the KindSoil. It really is the most low maintenance grow out there Chronik. Don't complicate it by doing things you don't need to do.

Ditch the distilled water. Use either bottled drinking water or pH'd tap water. I used bottled drinking water when they were small and in the solo cups because it didn't require a lot. I started pH'ing a gallon once I transplanted them into 1 gallon pots. Be careful on watering every day. Again, you want the roots to stretch and by watering with enough water to wet the soil and then having it dry out a lot, you force the plants roots to grow. Make them work for what they want. If you keep delivering the water to the roots that are already there, they have no reason to seek it out. (Does that make sense?)

Questions for you......What size is your tent and what kind of light are you using? Do you have a carbon filter and fan that is going that would be sucking new fresh air into the tent? If not, consider it for the odor as well as cooling down your tent. If you don't want a carbon filter, then get an intake fan to suck in the cool air. I am running two LED lights and with my AC on 75 my tent rarely ever gets over 79. You want to try and keep your temps in the upper 70s if you can, but lower 80's are ok.

For your humidity issue being too low.....hang a wet towel in your tent. You can also set a bowl of water in your tent as well if you don't have a humidifier. Low humidity won't kill you. I was running at 16-25% for my first month because it was winter and dry as hell. It just slows the growth down a bit, it won't hurt them. If you can get 55-65% in veg you will be doing great.

One other thing for future grows. The seedlings will benefit greatly from the 6 hours of dark. You will be amazed at what happens when the girls are sleeping. Don't run 24 hours of light, its not as beneficial as you might think and it costs 25% more power that you are paying for.

In Summary, don't overwater. Let it dry out almost completely before watering again. No nutrients. PH water to 6.5-7.0 or use bottled drinking water (generally around 7.0). These plants are incredibly resilient and don't need as much TLC as you think. Let the KindSoil do its thing brother.

One last question, you didn't plant directly into the KindSoil did you? Its generally too "hot" for seedlings to be able to take it.

Again, not trying to criticize, just offering up what I have learned growing in KindSoil. If there is anything you want me to go more in depth, just let me know brother. Will be glad to share my knowledge. KindSoil is your friend.....LOL....leave it alone. Let the coco growers use all the nutrients.

Thank you Van, this really helps! You cleared up a lot of confusion I was having.

I was originally going to use solo cups at first, but since I am doing auto seeds I read how I should just plant directly in the 3 gal pots so that I wouldn't have to transplant later on and risk hurting the plant. This being my first grow I was concerned about the transplanting part from what I was reading. For photos I would definitely use solo cups, and it sounds like I should use this method even for autos. I'll feel much more comfortable doing that next grow. I can see how the watering would be a lot easier and better for the seedlings.

I put away the PPM meter for now. Glad I know not to use this! My readings might be off, but the bottled water I have reads 5.5 pH and my distilled water is 6.1-6.2ish. My tap reads 8.0 which is why I went with the distilled since the pH is closer to 6.5. If my distilled is in 6.2 range should I still use the Earth Juice crystals Natural Up to raise the pH or still ditch the distilled? I most definitely have not added any nutrients. Only water! I'm going to cut back on watering like you said though and let it really dry out first. The way you explained it makes complete sense. As far as watering goes, should I water each plant that method now, or are they still too young for that much water right now? The method of watering til the bottom of the pot shows the first sign of water reaching the bottom.

My tent size is 2.2x2.2x5.2ft and the light is one Mars II 400, compares to 250 watts. I have it hanging about 26" from the plants. For filtration I have a 4" Phresh filter and Active Air inline fan that I have not set up yet. My plan was to hang both at the top of the tent to pull hot air through the Phresh filter and then out the tent through ducting. Your temps sound perfect, that's what I am aiming for but it's tough! I'm getting there though. Just a while ago I opened the 2 x 6" circular ventilation holes at the top of the tent..I know I should have done this much sooner. I'm going to hang the wet towel today to help with raising humidity. I know you said low humidity won't kill me but what about high heat, around 85F or above?

I'm no longer running 24 hours of light. I'm now on an 18/6 light schedule which seems to be a lot better. I did not plant the seeds directly in the kindsoil. The kindsoil is on the bottom half of the pots with Fox Farm Coco Loco on top. Please let me know if you have any other questions about the set up or whatnot. And no worries man, I don't take anything you're saying as criticism. The knowledge you've shared is very much appreciated!:thanks:
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Ah ok Auto's.....I always forget about those....so good call on going straight into the pot. (see what happens when I respond late and a bit on the medicated side LOL)

My tap water is 9.2 and I prefer using the tap water pH'd down. There are micro nutrients in tap water that you won't get in distilled or even RO water. For me (since I am using more than 5 gallons per watering cycle) I fill up a 5 gallon bucket and pH the entire bucket to the 6.5-7.0 range. Then I let it sit in the bucket for several hours so any chlorine that might be in there has a chance to evaporate. I find it easier to mix one batch than mix 5 individual gallons.

For you, with autos in a big pot, I would water with more water, but I wouldn't do the whole pot. I would go out in a circle around your girl about 4-5 inches around her. It will force her to root out to the side (making her stronger and more stable as she gets taller) as well as deeper down. As she gets bigger, keep expanding that watering circle until you are doing the whole pot. Don't worry about watering until the bottom of the pot is showing water. You know your roots aren't that deep yet. Work your way to that since you have your Kindsoil on the bottom. If you grow photos in the future, one thing I would consider is two transplants. First one would be from the solo cups into a pot about a gallon or so. Then the next one would be from the 1 gallon or equivalent into your 5 or 7 gallon pot. Works really well and much easier to water that way. I have found out that with 5 gallon smart pots, it takes me just over a gallon of water per pot.

Once you get your carbon filter and fan working, your temps should be very manageable. I have that same size tent and fan/filter for my breeding tent and my temps stay in the 75-80 range with a 600w Mars LED in there. My big grow tent has a 6" fan/filter and with the two lights it stays 75-80 degrees as well.

The heat won't kill the plants. It increases the chance for stress but it won't kill them. Keep in mind these things grow in tropical environment. I think sometimes people are far too protective over their plants. We forget what these things endure in nature. Our goal is to try to give them the best condition to grow in so they can produce the maximum and best medicine. These things have survived thousands of years in tropical and in regions around the Himalayan mountains (colder weather). A few degrees either way won't kill them. What you really want to try to do is keep it so the temp range isn't too drastic. In other words, don't have them sleeping in 50 degree weather with the lights off and then have the tent shoot up to 95 degrees in the peak time. If you are running 70-85 you should be fine.

One thing to caution you on with your autos in the small tent is you will have to be cautious of allowing them to grow real tall. Really keep on them with the LST training. Avoid topping since they are autos, but tie the branches down and spread them out to keep em low. You don't want your buds way up near the lights. You can super crop your autos if I am not mistaken. If you want to look at a good journal for newbies on autos, I recommend checking out FlowerNose. She grew her first two ever grows with autos and had some really good LST info in there. She also grows in a short cabinet so height is an issue for her as well which is part of the reason I recommend her to you.

Again, any questions you have, please feel free to ask. I will help any way I can and if I can't help, I will find someone who can.
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

My tap is saying 8.0, so I went ahead and ordered the Earth Juice Natural Down crystals. I'm going to start watering with the tap pH treated to the 6.5-7.0 range. Now I don't have to worry about buying so much distilled water! Like you said, I am starting to water more, roughly 4oz 4-5 inches starting outwards in a circle. I'm also going to start weighing the pots when they're watered vs dry and start watering judging from that.

Some good news is I've managed to maintain better temps. With the lights on the temp seems to peak at 84F which is much lower than before. I have all the mesh vents open. Opening the additional small vents at the top really helped. With the lights off its around 77F/50-60%RH. Fortunately I've never noticed any drastic changes in the temps during the day/night. I'm hoping I don't have to use the carbon filter/fan for this grow, but if I need to I will.

I'm a little worried about the plants getting too big for the tent and doing LST for the first time. I'm definitely going to check out FlowerNose's journal. The Mephisto 3 Bears OG description says she is a small plant (50-80cm/2.6ft) and that she'd benefit greatly from leaf tucking. The Blue Dream Auto from Humboldt Seeds says she is tall. I can't find specific height information for indoor grows, but for outdoor it says she can grow from 3-5 ft. I guess we'll find out! I'm going to try and get better pictures later this week.

Thanks again for the help brother!:rollit:
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Good call on picking up the crystals. You will find them really easy to use when you find out the correct amount to use (takes a little big....if you have one of those small digital scales that goes real light, you might be able to measure it out.

Glad to hear the temps have dropped a bit. Once you get your fan and filter hung and working you will find the temps are easy to manage.

Size you will just have to manage with training and super cropping. And no worries on the advice. I am glad to be able to help brother!
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Good call on picking up the crystals. You will find them really easy to use when you find out the correct amount to use (takes a little big....if you have one of those small digital scales that goes real light, you might be able to measure it out.

Glad to hear the temps have dropped a bit. Once you get your fan and filter hung and working you will find the temps are easy to manage.

Size you will just have to manage with training and super cropping. And no worries on the advice. I am glad to be able to help brother!

I got the crystals in hand now and will start using the tap method going forward! I'm sure the plants will love the change. How long do you generally let your mixture sit before watering? Cheers friend:passitleft:

Oh wow, your growing some blue dream as well! Can't wait to compare our nugs!

Hell yea, Blue Dream is still a favorite of mine so I can't wait to see what this girl can do! We have a similar tent set up as well I believe. How many days is your Blue Dream girl? My girls will be 2 weeks old on Friday..so definitely going to try and have new up pics by then. Thanks for checking out the journal man!
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Well, it depends on how much of a rush I am in. If I was smart, I would get the amount I am going to pH down in the morning and let the chlorine (if there is any) dissipate over a few hours. Then put the crystals in, stir them up, test the pH and then use it. Now often times I don't have time so I do it all in a matter of 20 minutes (5 gallons). I honestly don't know if it really matters.

Now if you really want to make them happy......get a bucket and collect rain water and use that. They love that shit!!
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Oh by the way, I am not sure the exact measurement for a gallon but it really doesn't take much. Maybe 1/100th of a teaspoon per gallon.....it's certainly not much. I can do it by eye now and be within the 6.5-7.0 range.
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Awwww....look at those young girls!! Looking good brother!! Almost time to start training them.
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Awwww....look at those young girls!! Looking good brother!! Almost time to start training them.
Thanks brother, its been amazing watching them grow. I knew they grew fast, but wow..watching them first hand it something else!

We are on day 16 now, so not too much happening at the moment. The soil is starting to stay moist for longer periods now as I'm down to only having to water every 3rd or 4th day it seems. I'm pretty happy about that!

I'm definitely going to start researching more how to best train these girls. I was trying to upload more pics but was having some issues on the site. I'll try uploading again tomorrow.
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Stay away from topping or fimming with your autos. You can super crop, tie them down (generally what I see most auto growers do), ponytail, and a few other LST type techniques. You will continue to be amazed at how fast they grow up.
 
re: Cheesecake's Indoor LED Soil Grow Journal - Auto Blue Dream & 3 Bears OG

Here are the pics I was trying to upload a couple days ago. The girls are 15 days old here I believe! The first one is 3 Bears, and the second two are of the Blue Dream.

3b11.jpg

bd423.jpg

bd515.jpg


Two 3 gallon smart pots
Medium - Kindsoil and Coco Loco
Lights - (1) Mars II 400
Nutrients - Water and Earth Juice crystals to lower tap water pH to 6.5-7.0.
Strain(s) - Humboldt Seeds Auto Blue Dream and Mephisto Genetics 3 Bears OG
# of Plants: 2

Currently watering every 3 days or so. The temps are staying under 82F with 45-50% RH, lights off around 77F.
 
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