My First Grow Ever [Log + Pics]

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Ok so I just got my seeds from Seed Boutique and let me say that from Amsterdam to California, they got there in 6 days. That's pretty good, so amen to them.

Next, I germinized the seeds in a little green house and 19/20 sprouted in 1 day.

Today is day three and this is what they look like so far.

They are under 2 T12's.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5492/img1164bz8.th.jpg (http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1164bz8.jpg)http://img211.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9841/img1163er4.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1163er4.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)
Feel free to give me any tips as I am a new grower.

I am growing Top 44 and Afghan x Morrocan.

[Shovelhandle]

sounds good. :smokin:

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Where should I go from this stage?

[cigarettes42]

just curious, are those bulbs new or old? cause one looks dark, and your sprouts kinda look stretched.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

They are both brand new but one doesnt light up all the way so im going to buy a new bulb holder thing this week. what could I do about the stretched sprouts?

[cigarettes42]

are those bulbs warm or cool spectrum? they look warm. if they are, get cool/daylight bulbs. cause stretching occurs when the plant doesnt get strong enough light and the plant stretches towards its light source. try putting the plants closer to the bright one

[xRedDUBdeRx]

They are 40 watts, 3400 lumens, kitchen and bath lights. not sure if they are warm or cool, but i believe they are cool.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Ok so I fixed the lights and everything is going much better now.

Total of 18 plants.

Day 4:

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4256/21ol3.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=21ol3.jpg)http://img89.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9574/22lj0.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=22lj0.jpg)http://img89.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)

[cigarettes42]

try to get that light maybe an inch or more closer without buring it.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Did that, the lights produce virtually no heat even when I touch the bulb. They are maybe 1/2-1 inch above now.

[greenatik]

Looks good so far.. but I gotta ask, what do you have in store for flowering? (lights/room/ventilation/medium/nutrients)

better to get thinkin on all of that before its too late :thumbsup:

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Im going with as best as I can get from lowes/home depot. A 20-20-20 food, i have a vent/exhaust in the box already and im hoping that the two t12's would be sufficient for the flowing stage. i might get a couple t5's to put on the sides of the box. most of these are probably males, i got 20 seeds so im hoping 4-5 are femmes, which could grow in the box that is 4x4x4.

[greenatik]

plan for at least 10 females though.. what if 15 turn fem? Are you just going to flower the fittest of the selection? 4 feet tall means youll be doing a sea of green, or some kind of height preventative maintenance (lst/fim/top/supercrop)

fluoros should do the trick, but the key is keeping the plants as close as possible. can't remember where I saw the info, but fluoros lose their intensity by the inch, a considerable amount too

also, i'm not too sure how well that 20-20-20 will work from veg to bloom. are u trying to avoid the hydro shop or just don't have one in your area?

[xRedDUBdeRx]

I will probably give some of the fems to friends if I have 8+ or just sell them for some quick cash to fund this project. we dont have a hydro shop, i just moved from vegas to the middle of nowhwere, california ^^. i have the t12's about 1/2-1 inch above right now.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Day 17.

Picture 1, 2 and 5 are Top 44.

3 and 4 and Afghan/Morroc.

Been a while since I updated but I went out of town for a weekend and all the plants in brown cups died, but the ones in the red dixie cups did not so I lost about 15 plants, but eh shit happens for a first time grower. Live and learn.

Plant 4 has been having some issues. It looks deformed and the leaves were turning brown. It seems to be getting better though and finally new leaves are forming. Any suggestions on why there is/was brown around the tips?

Thanks guys!

[XmaxxX]

dude how big are those buckets? think you transplanted too early eh?
burned sides curling up = means the lights are burning it
burned sides curling down = nute burn

correct me if im wrong but this is what Ive been told

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Yeah I thought I had over nuted, so should i just cut back and wait for them to get better?

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Just flushed them with pure water. trying to solve the overnute problem. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[XmaxxX]

flush with pure tap water x2 more water then pot size( if pot 2 gallon flush with 4 gallon)
check Ph to make sure its ok
and wait for the experts to tell about the cutback thing.. im not sure if you should stop completly or just reduce the dosage.. wait for the experts to replay
but for now flush them good and leave them alone.. I guess thats all you can do

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Yeah I flushed them earlier with distilled water. Just checked the PH and it's sitting around 6.7 - 6.9 for all the plants. I'm not sure if it was burn from the bulbs so I'm just turning them off for 4 hours a day to give them a lil rest and they are growing even better and look more healthier. Thanks for your help max. I will post pics in a few more days.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Heres a picture after I flushed him. I heard that CD's work good for reflecting light. (I'm on a low budget, so can't buy many more lights =P)

Comments, concerns are appreciated.

Thanks guys. More updated to come.

The first picture is lookin good I think?

[bigworm1922]

How is that PH tester working? I got mine at Lowes for like $8 and it sucks. Looks like they are doing good. Looks like the pot they are in is to big so I am sure your roots are growing allot right now. Soo they will start growing up and getting bushy :thumbsup: cant wait to get my 44's going to.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

I did a "REAL" ph test with the pill things and water and the soil blah blah blah. It's within .1-.2 on every plant. I mostly use it for the water at the bottom of the bucket though =P

Yeah they are a bit too large but I was in a hurry and didnt want to spend the cash before I bought the buckets =P So I just transplanted them. As soon as they reach a foot I will begin flowering. =D

[xRedDUBdeRx]

My plant that looked retarted and mad at me is finally doing better. Got it's second level of leaves =D

I think I nuted it too early, so I flushed it and when I woke up this morning the yellow is going away and the leaves look more like, well leaves =D

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Just an update on my babies. Got me a magnifying glass and my best looking plant has its first flowers and I believe I saw a little white pistil coming out of the tip. Will wait a few days and take pics =]

I'm very excited~!

[4x4Turbo]

I really doubt you'll see a white pistol at that age while vegging LOL. I've made the same mistake on my first attempt. haha

[xRedDUBdeRx]

You sure? Top 44 veg really fast?

[4x4Turbo]

You sure? Top 44 veg really fast?

never thought about that! I guess its definitely possible. I need to get the fact out of my head that just because i'm growing bag seed doesn't mean everyone else is. haha

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Indeed. =P The afghan plants I deffinantly will not know until flowering for sure though.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

So my house got broken into on friday while I was out of town. Lucikly, my plants were not touched =D. I got that GOOD camo =P.

Anyways, they are getting HUGE. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen so no pictures at this time.

They have their third set of leaves coming in and are 4-6 inches tall each. =D

[xRedDUBdeRx]

well, still no camera but they are huge. The biggest plant is 8 inches tall and the smaller ones being 4-6 inches tall. The top 44 is growing ridiculously fast and im hoping the afghan plants can catch up a little bit because I want to start flowering in a week or so. Any advice on lighting for this? I really don't want to use t12's for flowering!

thanks.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Day 46 Total | Day 2 Flowering

Everything is looking good besides getting no light from my T12's to the bottom of the leaves. any suggestions?

i just need them to be fine until the weekend because I am going to buy the wires to setup my 6 CFL's.

Let me know what you guys think.

The first picture is my biggest one. It's my baby =D. The other four in picture 2 are doing decent. I'm ab out to get rid of the two on the right to a friend because they aren't caught up to the top 44. The last two pictures are just more pictures of the first plant.

Thanks!

Oh yeah, I finally got a new camera ;)

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Getting some weird red stuff on some of the leaves from the stem leading into the leaf. Looks like blood =S I have attached a picture and some updated pictures. I only have two left and I can confirm that the first plant is a female.

=D thanks guy.

[Pinkfloydfan1973]

I wouldn't doubt if the people that broke into your house found your plants and will be back for harvest... but, that's JMO. Hopefully that's not the case and you've remedied your security problem...

Keep up the good work...

[GoldenGraham84]

did i read you were looking for suggestion on CFLs for flowering? lemme know if you want ideas.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Yes. I just bought a 5 pack of the cool spectrum CFL's from target. They're GE 26 watts. I will use 5 for the two that I have left for some mASSIVE BUD MASS (hopefully).

Just need to find something on how to wire them? lol. :hippy:

Pinky - I just have good camo and when it's flowering, I won't be leaving =P

[GoldenGraham84]

ok well i'd turn around and go buy some warmer bulbs. i'm guessing those ones you have now are between 5000 and 6500. get some 2700. as far as setup goes, use a vanity fixture wired to a grounded power cord. heres a pic of mine.

[TurboALLWD]

Hey again, on a new name thanks to the admins not giving me a hand. Sorry to hear you're place got robbed. Do you mind telling how they got in? I'm ready to booby trap the living hell out of my house incase of a break in. Any ideas? I'm thinking of some sort of way to dispense sulfuric acid, most likely out of a motion detecting deodorizer. :) watcha think?


Edit: goldengraham is right, I didn't notice what you planned on doing with those cool whites until GG said something. I've used 42w 2700k warm whites from wallmart @ $8ea.

Coolwhite=veg
warmwhite=flower

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Golden - The box doesn't even say the light spectrum, ugh. kills me! I like the setup. Now one quick questions for ya, when I got the CFL's up how far away from the plants should they be? Like I know they won't be within 2-3 inches liek Fluoros but I kinda need to know =P

Turbo - Roomate left the garage unlocked and they opened the garage and kicked the door in. I just got a gun to protect myself ;) Sulfuric acid? Eh, weird. =P jk. And thanks both of you for the tips on the lights.

Cheers,
Jay

[GoldenGraham84]

the base of the bulb may list the spectrum. depending on your plants genetics, i'd say 4-6 inches away. do the old hand test. take the back of your hand and hold it at the distance from the lights you want to have your plants at. if, after 30 seconds, your hand is still comfortable (warm, not hot), your plants will do fine at that distance. good luck to ya.

[TurboALLWD]

yeah, sulfuric acid, haha. AKA aquarium PH down. Got the idea after noticing three blotches the size of a dollar bill on my chest and stomach. Note to self: chemical burns suck, be very careful with sulfuric acid. lol

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Eh, I don't even know what the heck I got. General Electric PC: 73864. 26 watt, 1,700 lumens each, self balasted and says:
HELICAL 26W
120VAC 60Hz 370mA
FLE26HT3/2/XL/SW

So I know that they are soft white, anyc hance they would work or do I HAVE to get a different, warmer bulb?

[GoldenGraham84]

oh they'll work. just won't get as dense of buds as with a 2700 bulb. so no you don't have to get a new set.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Ok good. Well I figure 5 would be mroe than enough for 2 plants. Well maybe I'll buy one more to have 3 lights on each?

[GoldenGraham84]

well there's an equation that goes like this....

5000 lumens per square foot = optimal growth

with three bulbs on each, you're not quite at that level . also keep in mind that lumens diminish rapidly with distance. so if you have 4800 lumens 6" away from your plant, its getting about 2400 lumens. i'd get more bulbs. or maybe finish this grow out and see if that satisfies your need. for an example, with 12 CFLs on one plant grown to about 18" before harvest, i got just over a 1/2 oz.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Only a half an oz and it was 18''? Wtf? I knew I should of gotten a HID but not good exhaust =\.

[GoldenGraham84]

thats dry weight. really dry weight. wet weight was about 1.5oz. if i'd done it correctly, i could've had about 3/4oz. i actually was rather happy with it. just growing out a strain cloned from a friend. soon i'll be starting my StrOG (stream of green) log. well, its started already, but i need to put the first clone in when shes big enough. but yes, as you said, HID is the best lighting option. if you want volume with CFLs, this jdsoil guy on here has a CFL ScrOG in flower right now, and its fucking impressive. if you're cool with a longer veg time, thats one way to max out light use.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Flowering starting tonight. Never officially started it. moving them into a new box with 2 70 watt HPS and 8 CFL's so i think it should be a nice 60 days of flowering for my last two top 44's =D

let me know what you guys think. they've been under 18/6 lighting since my last post.

[xRedDUBdeRx]

Put my babies in the new box for flowering. About to start germing 12 white widow seeds =D

heres pic, day 3 flowering. mostly for new box. 8 2800k lum CFL's and adding two 70 watt HPS today. also put a heater in there to stabalize the temps since the box is in a non insulated garage. also have a moisturizer in there now to stimulate better humidity percentages.