Garrett's First Grow!

[Garrett]

This will be my first official grow. Thinking about what to grow, I decided to use some strong beginner strains of 5 NL and 5 Early Bud for outdoors. I have used the cup of water technique for my seeds and got 100% germination (However 1 NL seed took longer to germinate and had to be planted today). After 4 days of waiting, 4 / 5 of Early Bud came up and 3 / 5 of NL came up as well. Iâ??m actually expecting the rest to come up also. I will be using 2 tubes of fluorescent grow lights to start them off before outdoors.

In both pictures, back row is Early Bud and NL is the front row. Sorry for bad camera, however my mom just picked up a brand new Cannon 12.1 mega pixes PowerShot SX200IS that I will learn how to use :)

[Garrett]

Update.

The plants are 5 days old and they already got some serious stretching. I hung the 2x 750 lumens fluorescent lights only couple inches away but they still went ahead and stretch pretty bad. First thing I did was head to Wal-Mart and got some lights (3x 1600 lumens fluorescent lights) I later put sticks in the ground with zip-ties to stabilize the plant.

I noticed some people just add more dirt up to the rim of the cup covering the stem and allowing the stem to grow roots?

Also how many lumens are suggested for a plant?

In picture #3, on the bottom left the seedlings starter leaf there seems to be covered by shells clear protecting coat. I tried gently to take it off but I couldnâ??t and didnâ??t want to force it.

Please give me feedback.

[bigtopsfinn]

First, congrats on your first grow! :thumbsup:

Second, you should aim for over 5,000 lumens per square foot, with 3,000 lumens per square foot being the minimum. But aim for 5,000 or more. For that many plants, I'd looks into an hps system, at least 400w, 600w probably the best, or a 1000w if you want to go all out. Just remember that these lights will put off a lot of heat, so you will end up spending as much money (if not more) on your ventilation system as you do for your lights. You can grow with just fluoro's and cfl's which will still give good results, but you will need a lot of them. http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/165377-monkeybones-pornstars-green.html <-- That's a good example of a successful cfl grow. Browse around the grow logs for more ideas about lighting and ventilation combinations.

Third, you should fill the cups up with more soil. The soil now looks a little low, and there could be stagnant air in the cup, which can cause a problem (some disease if I remember correctly). Yes, the stem will eventually grow roots out of the buried part. I think I see some perlite in your soil, but you could maybe mix in a little more from now on. The soil should be nice and airy, and drain well.

Finally, get a fan to blow over the tops. This will help keep temps down with the additional lighting, and also strengthen your stems, and reduce stretching. One of those big fans that swings back and forth is good, and you can use it throughout the grow.

Good luck and keep us updated :jointsmile:

[Garrett]

Update.

Well I made a grow box on Easter and got some more additional supplies. I now have 3x 1750 lumens and 1x 2000 lumens fluorescent lights which is now 7250 lumens. To help with airflow and heat, Iâ??m planning on adding some CPU fans soon.

As you can tell my grow box is a little cramped. I added some 6x NL, 5x Early Bud, and 5x Thai Skunk (got the Thai Skunk for free from Attitude). Iâ??m undecided if I want to make another grow box to spread out the plants or just to put them outside when they need to be transferred. I also added additional soil to the plants that were stretching.

The picture of the single plant is the one with a clear coating stuck to it from the shell. I think it will be okay and eventually outgrow it or make up for it.

[Garrett]

Update.

Most of my plants are starting to turn slightly yellow really fast (pics are couple days old), is this ph issue? Also I have two sick plants that I donâ??t know why they are having such a hard time. I have been using everything exactly the same with distilled water. Any suggestions?

[BigLeagueJew]

Not sure if it is a PH issue or not but an easy way to find out is go and get a PH tester. You can get a meter at home depot for 8 bucks that tests PH, Humidity and Light

[Dutch Pimp]

Your probably better off with tap water than distilled water..IMO. Distilled water contains no minerals...it's sterile....(I think?)

make sure you got good drainage...don't overwater..I use a hand sprayer to keep the top of the soil moist

Not all seeds are created equal...some just don't make it..only the strong survive

[bigtopsfinn]

I think you need CalMag with distilled (R/O?) water...

[syde00]

Update.

Most of my plants are starting to turn slightly yellow really fast (pics are couple days old), is this ph issue? Also I have two sick plants that I donâ??t know why they are having such a hard time. I have been using everything exactly the same with distilled water. Any suggestions?


what day are you on? going by your post dates and the last time you said what day it was, i;m thinking today is Day 18?

are they still in those little cups? if so, i;m guessing your plants are in serious need of a transplant into larger pots, they are probably very very root bound and starving a little for water & nutrients

[Garrett]

The bigger ones are on day 19 now and the smaller ones (to the left) are on day 11. You think its time to move them into bigger pots? Iâ??m going to start watering with tap water but donâ??t I need to let the tap water set in an open container for 24 hours?

[syde00]

The bigger ones are on day 19 now and the smaller ones (to the left) are on day 11. You think its time to move them into bigger pots? Iâ??m going to start watering with tap water but donâ??t I need to let the tap water set in an open container for 24 hours?

i do - but considering i;m the one that suggested it in the first place, maybe best for somebody else to give a second opinion lol!

as for the tap water - you don't *have* to let it sit 24 hours, the point of letting it sit for 24 hours is because any chlorine that *might* be in the water, will evaporte out of the water over 24 hours... this isn;t required (unless theres a crapload of chrlorine in your water) the other purpose of leaving the water out is that the cold tap water will have its temperature raised up to room temp so that when you water the plants there won;t be a sudden shock of coldness to them... again, that won;t hurt them badly or anything... but why hurt them at all when you don;t have to? :thumbsup:

personally, i use tap water that i let sit in jugs between waterings, and i just leave the jug either on-top of the cabinet, or inside the cabinet itself (i put it inside when the humidity gets really low as that just helps bring it up slightly)