MaxYields' First Grow - Warlock - Alien Dawg - Berry Garcia - CFL Closet Grow

[MaxYields]

Hey 420magazine, for the very few of you who have seen my posts on the forum before, you know that I have just recently returned to my home state of Colorado and have been super eager to start growing... and today I have started down that exciting path!!

So with great pleasure I welcome all of you beautiful people to my first grow journal!!

--WARLOCK--

-Hybrid, extremely Indica heavy.

-Currently Vegging;

-Started Vegging on November 9, 2014.​

--ALIEN DAWG--

-Hybrid, extremely Indica heavy.

-Currently Vegging;

-Started Vegging on November 9, 2014.​

--BERRY GARCIA--

-Hybrid, extremely Indica heavy.

-Purchasing on November 10, 2014;

-Starts Vegging on November 10, 2014.​

--GENERAL INFO--

-Indoor.

-Soil;

- (3/4) Royal Gold Mendo Mix.​

- (1/4) Black Gold Potting Soil.​

-Initially bought in RockWool.

-Transplanted to red solo cup.​

-Will transplant into 5 gallon pot when needed.​

-In my DIY hood I have;

-Seven 23W 6500k CFL light bulbs.​

-Two 23W 2700k CFL light bulbs.​

-One 26W 2700k CFL light bulb.​

-It is not air-cooled.​

-Temperatures / Humidities are currently unknown, buying Thermometer / Hygrometer this week.

-PH ain't no thang.

-Karma Clones are guaranteed pest and mold free, so I hope I don't have any.

-Currently watering when top of soil is dry, stop when it begins to drip into drip tray.

-Fertilizers are to be determined at this point in time.

-Both clones were topped immediately upon my return home, and then put straight under lights.



Here is a photo taken of the whole set up from outside of the door.

This is the light bulb socket I converted into an outlet, and my light timer which my lights are plugged into.

Here is a close up of both of the ladies, Warlock on the left Alien Dawg (misprint on the cup). I built that entire hood from scratch and wired all of the bulbs up myself. 10 bulbs and 16,100 lumens comin' out of that thing, it heats the closet to what seems like the perfect temperature (we will see once I invest in a Thermometer) and is extremely easy to adjust.

Here is a close up of the Warlock, topped and put under light about 30 minutes before this was taken.

And here is a picture of the Alien Dawg, also topped and put under light 30 minutes before this picture was taken. In the back you can see a small Box Fan that I am currently running until the babies are ready to be upgraded to my larger Osculating Fan.

Thats all I have for now, Berry Garcia coming soon! I will try and be good about updates, however between work, school and my girlfriend... posts might be sporadic. Feel free to ask any questions or give me ANY and ALL advice, this is my first grow and I am feeling extremely confident as I have down A LOT of research (haha), however I know there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

Also, the soil mixture I am using surprisingly (to me at least) covered about all of the amendments that I had planned on adding to it. I was planning on just letting the dry nutrients do their thing for this grow, however now I am now contemplating using liquid nutrients. I would like some input on this topic, and I would definitely be open to some nutrient combinations to help my ladies grow big and strong.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading/following this journal as much as I am going to enjoy keeping it.

Enjoy!

 

[MaxYields]

UPDATE #1

Hey 420magazine! If anyone is paying attention to my thread at this point, I figured I would post a small update before I head off to work this morning.

So the babies had their first full six hours of darkness (11:00p - 5:00a), they seemed to have taken it fine. The Warlock looks pretty much identical to what it looked like yesterday, however the Alien Dawg is acting a little odd. I am sure it is probably nothing, but the top two leaves on it dried up within the first 2 hours they were under the light (this was last night)... however the warlock remained unharmed. 6 hours of darkness didn't seem to do much in the way of repairs either.

Figured I would ask 420mag what they thought about the Alien Dawg. Once I saw the dried leaves I raised the Hood to about 5 inches above the plants, and then moved the Warlock closer to the light. So far no more harm done, hopefully it's the same way when I return!



Full picture from this morning. The Warlock is on the right, sitting on some light bulb boxes. You'll also notice that I added two lamps for added lumens/coverage. That brings the total of 23W 2700k light bulb to 4.

This is a close up of the Warlock this morning, looks good as far as I can tell.

This is a close up of the Alien Dawg this morning, notice the top leaves.

Here is a closer up look at the affected leaves on the Alien Dawg.

That's all for now! Thanks to anyone who is keeping an eye on this journal or anyone who has viewed/is moderately interested in it. This is an awesome community and I am so excited to finally be apart of it!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[homegrownFL]

I would dial down the lights a bit or move it up the leaves drying might be due to light burn. One thing I will say about Black Gold potting soil is that is has alot of mulch in it. The mulch tends to increase the ph an if you use black gold use the organic mix doesnt have mulch. Ph is a huge deal because too high or too low will lock outother nutrients showing deficiencies. Get some dolomite lime to amend your soil with keeps you soil ph balanced and adds necessary micro nutrients.

 

[MaxYields]

I would dial down the lights a bit or move it up the leaves drying might be due to light burn. One thing I will say about Black Gold potting soil is that is has alot of mulch in it. The mulch tends to increase the ph an if you use black gold use the organic mix doesnt have mulch. Ph is a huge deal because too high or too low will lock outother nutrients showing deficiencies. Get some dolomite lime to amend your soil with keeps you soil ph balanced and adds necessary micro nutrients.

Hey homegrownFL! Thanks so much for stopping by and your input!!

I figured that the light was too intense when the leaves started to do that, which is why I decided to move it up about 5 or 6 inches above the babies. The reason I had it so close is because I always read that CFLs should be 1-2 inches away from the plants... Is this information correct? Or does the amount of lights have an effect on how far above the plant hey should be?

Also, I was not around when the Black Gold was mixed in, I will have to ask my friend whom I got it from if it was the organic one. My guess is it is the Organic version, as I am always preaching all Organic medicine haha Otherwise it's off to my favorite grow store to buy some Dolomite Lime (one of the nutes I had planned on amending into my soul mix)!

 

[homegrownFL]

It depends on the strain but for CFL that is the general consensus although seedlings and clones are more sensitive. You never want any mulch in your soil for drainage its better to use perlite or vermaculite. Dolomite lime is a good additibe to control ph but a good tester is super important.

 

[MaxYields]

It depends on the strain but for CFL that is the general consensus although seedlings and clones are more sensitive. You never want any mulch in your soil for drainage its better to use perlite or vermaculite. Dolomite lime is a good additibe to control ph but a good tester is super important.

Yeah, I had read on 420mag before that mulch is no bueno for growing. I know the Mendo Mix that I used had Vermaculite in it, and also the other nutrients that I wanted. I did just find out that it was the Organic Black Gold, so there shouldn't be any mulch in my mix. Ill keep an eye on the lights and make sure the ladies aren't getting scorched.

Again, thanks a lot for all of the advice and help!

 

[mrrobert420]

Never grown or smoked Alien Dawg - Wish i had more help for you

Also im not a soil guy either.....

Wow im useless so far lol..............

I do agree with homegrownFL tips though - I would get rid of that mulch.
and moving the light a little will help with the stress till they ready for more.

Great looking set up - Im here to stay! - Good job

I like to Veg my plant under 24 hour light - IMO its just more energy to grow as they dont really need a dark period and veg takes so dang long........... but thats just an opinion

Great stuff - Good work!

 

[mrrobert420]

just realized you transplanted yesterday lol hence all the stress - yea pull lights away and get em in some new growing medium - cant wait to watch this one

 

[MaxYields]

just realized you transplanted yesterday lol hence all the stress - yea pull lights away and get em in some new growing medium - cant wait to watch this one

Yes sir! These are just babies! For now at least.... Muahahahah

Anyways, I did determine that the Black Gold that was added to the Mendo Mix (3/4 Mendo & 1/4 Black Gold) was Organic... So should I still change the growing medium, or does that mean there is no mulch in my mix?

I'll definitely keep the lights a little farther up until they get bigger as well.

Thanks so much for all of the advice and positive feedback! Makes me extremely happy and excited to do this!!

 

[homegrownFL]

If you check out my grow ive used a combination of black gold i just picked out the mulch. I had to amend with d lime to counter that soils natural acidity and of course get a Ph tester on amazon or a hydo store and test water before watering and runoff it will save you alot of troubles in the long run I had to learn the hard way. A little dose of superthrive helps my transplants. It also helps to,wait till the roots fill the container before transplanting. I had about 5 failed grows before i started posting here 2 failed because of shitty transplants. Hope that helps.

CFL Cab Grow #1

 

[MaxYields]

If you check out my grow ive used a combination of black gold i just picked out the mulch. I had to amend with d lime to counter that soils natural acidity and of course get a Ph tester on amazon or a hydo store and test water before watering and runoff it will save you alot of troubles in the long run I had to learn the hard way. A little dose of superthrive helps my transplants. It also helps to,wait till the roots fill the container before transplanting. I had about 5 failed grows before i started posting here 2 failed because of shitty transplants. Hope that helps.

CFL Cab Grow #1

Thank you! That actually helps a lot. So here is what I've decided.... Once I get home I will;

1)Make sure there is no mulch in my soil.
1a)If there is no mulch, that's great.
1b)If there is mulch, I will pick it out.

2)Decide whether or not to get a different growing medium that doesn't have mulch in it.

3)Make sure the lights are an appropriate distance above the ladies as not to burn them.

 

[mrrobert420]

If you check out my grow ive used a combination of black gold i just picked out the mulch. I had to amend with d lime to counter that soils natural acidity and of course get a Ph tester on amazon or a hydo store and test water before watering and runoff it will save you alot of troubles in the long run I had to learn the hard way. A little dose of superthrive helps my transplants. It also helps to,wait till the roots fill the container before transplanting. I had about 5 failed grows before i started posting here 2 failed because of shitty transplants. Hope that helps.

CFL Cab Grow #1

Thanks Homegrown!

 

[Saylorr057]

Subbed good luck with the rest of your grow

 

[MaxYields]

--UPDATE #2--

Hey 420magazine! So I finally got home from work today, and I am anxious to get this update out because I need some advice. I bought these clones yesterday, transplanted them (rockwool and all obviously) into red solo cups filled with soil. At this point they both looks like the light has given them quite a beating today (even at 6 inches above them). So I moved the lights and hood 13 inches away from the plants. It does not seem exceedingly hot inside either and considering it was 19 degrees outside and probably 50 inside my house.. Im not to worried about that particular closet overheating.

I also inspected the soil that it was planted in and it seems that there is mulch mixed in... I was wondering if I should just add Dolomite Lime and try and keep the PH balanced, or move my babies to a new medium... I was thinking about some sort of Coco Coir grow, does anyone have any suggestions in that regard?

Anyways, thanks in advance for all of the help as usual! I am a little worried that I will lose my babies and thats just a waste of 40 bucks.

Here is the closet after I moved the light to 13 inches above them. I also took the Warlock off of her boxes as not to burn her anymore. I also added a empty Q-Tip container in the back with some water in the bottom to keep humidity up.. Dry as shit around here.

Here is the Warlock, she took the heaviest beating today with obvious Light Burn (I would assume). One of the reasons I removed the boxes underneath her.

And here is the poor little Alien Dawg, she doesn't feel or look any worse than yesterday so I am going to assume that she will begin to recover at this point.. Hopefully.

 

[MaxYields]

Subbed good luck with the rest of your grow

Thank you very much mcnasty!! I appreciate any support I get, on my way to check your grows out for some inspiration!

Thanks again for joining us!

 

[homegrownFL]

Get a thermomemter the ones that show humidity and temp are ten bucks you can find them anywere and some method to check Ph you can get litmus paper the Ph test drops or a digital tester before you invest anything to correct a problem because at this point we cant eliminate variables of what problems mights be. The newer growth doesnt appear to to show any problems. Patience is key so let her readjust.

 

[MaxYields]

Get a thermomemter the ones that show humidity and temp are ten bucks you can find them anywere and some method to check Ph you can get litmus paper the Ph test drops or a digital tester before you invest anything to correct a problem because at this point we cant eliminate variables of what problems mights be. The newer growth doesnt appear to to show any problems. Patience is key so let her readjust.

Alright, I am going to go pay a visit to the local grow store tomorrow! I will get a Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer, and some sort of Ph testing kit.

I turned the additional lights so they are facing the walls and reflecting upwards, as well as keeping the hood a comfy 12 inches above the plants. I think the container of water is helping with humidity which I hope the plants will have a noticeable response too. I also turned my fan at an upwards angle to circulate all of the air, rather than just blow cool air on my already dry leaves.

We will soon see what the problem is, or it will correct itself and I will soon forget.... lets hope it's the latter!

Thanks again for the advice, you're awesome.

 

[HunterHunt]

Subbed for your grow! To answer your question about light height with CFL's. In the seedling stage you want to run them one around 6-8 inches because you dont want the seedling to stretch. If it starts stretching u can bring it closer. In your clone stage you do not need the CFL's close. The leaf "tacoing" upwards is a sign of heat stress and you having the CFL's to close. It seems you have raised you lights and the clones should recover as long as they are not damaged to much. Once you are in the flowering stage you can bring the CFL's as close as possible without burning them. You do not need your other clone up on boxes that close to the lights. You only need the intense light for bud production once in flowering. Those leaves are already dead so they will only die off. Keep an eye on the new growth as thats all that matter at this point.

Those clones will outgrow those cups pretty fast in my experience. Keep an eye on it and watch for roots coming through the holes that should be in the bottom of the cup for drainage.


Get a Electronic pH tester. Much better and easier than the strips and is the first investment you should get. And they are only around $10 or cheaper online. You must buy some Calibration solution for it also if you do get one. The calibration solution is only $7 online free shipping.

On the soil. You should purchase some good soil for your medium if you are wanting to do a soil grow. I use Fox Farms Ocean forest and Fox Farms Happy from mixed with Perlite and one tablespoon of Domlite lime per gallon of mixture. I would at least get a 3-5 gallon container or fabric pot. I use smart pots.

If you get a good soil mixture you will not have to worry about nutes or anything until flower. I water with plain tap water(natural pH 6.5) all the way until i start flowering with my soil mixture.

Good luck and ill check in! This is a wonderful community and we are here to help!

 

[mrrobert420]

Subbed for your grow! To answer your question about light height with CFL's. In the seedling stage you want to run them one around 6-8 inches because you dont want the seedling to stretch. If it starts stretching u can bring it closer. In your clone stage you do not need the CFL's close. The leaf "tacoing" upwards is a sign of heat stress and you having the CFL's to close. It seems you have raised you lights and the clones should recover as long as they are not damaged to much. Once you are in the flowering stage you can bring the CFL's as close as possible without burning them. You do not need your other clone up on boxes that close to the lights. You only need the intense light for bud production once in flowering. Those leaves are already dead so they will only die off. Keep an eye on the new growth as thats all that matter at this point.

Those clones will outgrow those cups pretty fast in my experience. Keep an eye on it and watch for roots coming through the holes that should be in the bottom of the cup for drainage.


Get a Electronic pH tester. Much better and easier than the strips and is the first investment you should get. And they are only around $10 or cheaper online. You must buy some Calibration solution for it also if you do get one. The calibration solution is only $7 online free shipping.

On the soil. You should purchase some good soil for your medium if you are wanting to do a soil grow. I use Fox Farms Ocean forest and Fox Farms Happy from mixed with Perlite and one tablespoon of Domlite lime per gallon of mixture. I would at least get a 3-5 gallon container or fabric pot. I use smart pots.

If you get a good soil mixture you will not have to worry about nutes or anything until flower. I water with plain tap water(natural pH 6.5) all the way until i start flowering with my soil mixture.

Good luck and ill check in! This is a wonderful community and we are here to help!

GREAT advice - Pretty much what i was thinking i just dont like to step on toes when its not my area of expertise.

Hunter is giving you FANTASTIC Grade A tips!

 

[MaxYields]

Hey 420magazine!!

Gonna give a quick text update while I have the time before my Architeture class!

First of all, thank you to everyone for all of your input and help, especially HunterNitro for that awesome wall of knowledge!

So I braved the 19 degree wind and snow this morning and walked to Ace Hardware and got some more swag for my grow room! I got 2 Thermometers a Hygrometer and a Digital Ph Probe. I have the Digital Thermometer at plant level, under the lights, and I have the Thermometer/Hygrometer hanging above the light. I still have to get calibration fluid for my Ph tester however, that will happen soon.

I am going to follow Hunter's advice and invest in the FoxFarm Organic line of Potting Soil and Liquid Nutrients. I will definitely use a mix of Ocean Forest, Happy Frog, Perlite, and Dolomite Lime in the 5 gal. pots I have already purchased.

Can anyone attest to FoxFarm Organic Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom in Bud production?

Thanks again for all of the info! Will post picture updates when there is something interesting to see.