First CFL grow...pics inside, advise please

[vapeman420]

Hello fellow stoners. This is my 1st cfl grow, well first grow period, and im in need of some advise, comments, or anything you think might help. The setup I will be using is a 2'x3'x4' box i constructed myself with 6, 26 watt 6500k cfls, and 2, 42 watt 2700k cfls. Ive read that a mix of both soft and daylight help the plant grow faster during veg. I only plan on growing 2 or 3 plants so I opted not to mount computer fans to the side and just used an oscilating fan i had around the house for time/money sake. I believe the draft from me opening the box a couple times a day will create enough air circulation. I'm on a pretty tight budget so i have to work with what i have but i think ive done pretty well for my 1st box construction. Will the soil i have pictured work alright? and how much perlite should i mix with it? I have around 8 seeds i pulled from a bag of shwag germinating now and a few of them look like they will bee ready to plant tommorow. How much water do I need to give them after i plant them? I plan on starting with a 24/0 cycle at first for max growth but have no clue as to when i should switch. Thats all I can think of now. Please leave comments, advise, anything! Thanks and toke on.

[vapeman420]

alright guys i planted the seeds that germinated and began my 24/0 light cycle. Also changed the light suspension because my other method didnt work out to well (electric tape melted). That being said, i believe my temp is a little too high. When i close the door, even with the fan running the temp is reaching 95 or so. As of now I am just leaving the door open with another fan blowing in, is this what i should be doing? Another question I had was the amount of water i need to be giving them. I watered it enough so the top was damp but not soaked and came back in a couple hours and it was very dry. Please comment. Thanks in advance

[VanGogh001]

So far I see two mistakes that are going to cause you problems.

1: If your keeping the door closed then i would suggest cutting some kind of hole in the box to allow air to vent out ward. Opening and closing the door gets tiring trust me on this.

2: When filling pots with grow medium always fill 1in. from the rim. Other wise thats a dead space where mold loves to grow.


---About watering-----

This goes for transplanting and first watering.

-Soak the soil untill some water drains out the bottom of the pot.
(if you are doing a flush your looking to put in 10% more H2O than the size of the pot)

As for a beginning watering schedule goes. Use your sense of touch, feel how heavy the pots are when they are thoroughly watered, then check them when their dry. Much lighter, yea? A combination of seeing how dry the top soil looks and how heavy the pots are is a good way to gauge when they need some drink. It's ok for the plants to dry out a bit before re-watering them, this takes some time to getting to know the plants schedule. But once you do you'll be like today they will need water, you just know it.

---------------

As far as light schedule goes follow this:

seedling: 20/4 (Thats 20 on 4 off)

veg: 18/6

Flower: 12/12

---------------

Your soil choice will work, although may not be the best. Next time if your going to have to use MG( no other available products) try peat moss mixed with pearlite.

As far as pearlite to soil ratio goes.....

- for every: 5 SOLOcups of grow medium
1 SOLOcup of pearlite.

If it doesn't seem to be enough pearlite throw in a couple handfulls till there is a nice pepper with some salt looking mixture in there.


Best of luck and happy growing.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anything i write about here is purely fictional, i am taking part in an on line Role Playing Game (RPG) about the cultivation of marijuana. In no way do i condone the cultivation, use, distribution, or consumption of the plant with genus "Cannabis" followed by species "Indica" or "Sativa" or any other breed or hybrid of said genus.

[vapeman420]

sweet man...thanks alot for the help. My temps were getting above 100 in that box so i cut 2 intake holes at the bottom and put a 120mm 73cfm fan blowing out at the top. This helped out quite a bit but my temps are still around 85-88 F. Any other advice? All 5 seedlings sprouted and are about .5'' tall now. When is the best time to switch to the 18/6 schedule? Batteries are dead in the camera so ill have to post pics later. Thanks again!

[VanGogh001]

No problem on the help man, thats what this place is for.

....Putting the fan in was a good move. I tried that, and it didn't do enough for me, and budget is tight. However if you have your cabinet in a closet you can cut the bottom part of the door off to allow for extra ventilation. Then make a screen to cover the hole. Maybe build a frame with dark nylon stalking's stretched over it. The dark nylon frame would help diffuse light from entering the cabinet, and act as weak filter of some sorts. The larger hole would also allow more air to enter and exit the cabinet space.

I bet if you experimented with something like that you may find what your looking for.

-----
LIGHT SCHEDULE

-Switch to 18/6: When second or third set of leaves begin to develop.

(you will stay in this light schedule for a while.)
-----

ABOUT THE POTS

Are there drainage holes in the bottoms of your small pots/cups?

IF NOT: You should always cut or pierce multiple holes in your cups/ pots/ etc. for soil drainage and airflow.

(Mold likes to grow at the base of a sealed pot.){warm dark places}

Remember patience and observation are key.

Happy Growing.

(PS: If you organize your text like a text book it makes things easier to understand. just a thought)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any thing i write about here is purely fictional, i am taking part in an on line Role Playing Game (RPG) about the cultivation of marijuana. In no way do i condone the cultivation, use, distribution, or consumption of the plant with genus "Cannabis" followed by species "Indica" or "Sativa" or any other breed or hybrid of said genus.

[VanGogh001]

By the way you've built a nice size cabinet, cheers.

[vapeman420]

thanks alot for the input! I do have 2 holes on either side of each cup. Im using my webcam so the pics might not be too clear. All 5 seem to be doing well under the 24/0 light. They are almost 1 inch tall already.

As for the temp, Ive just been leaving the cabinet door open and the closet door shut and temps are staying around 78-80 F. I think that will be fine for them.

I have also been able to maintain a RH of around 45% by putting bowls of water in the cabinet. Is that in the right range?

Last question for ya. When should I repot them? I was thinking about just repoting them when i switch the the 18/6 light cycle.

Not at home right now but ill post some pics for ya as soon as i get home!

Thanks again vangoh

[Italiano715]

thanks alot for the input! I do have 2 holes on either side of each cup. Im using my webcam so the pics might not be too clear. All 5 seem to be doing well under the 24/0 light. They are almost 1 inch tall already.

As for the temp, Ive just been leaving the cabinet door open and the closet door shut and temps are staying around 78-80 F. I think that will be fine for them.

I have also been able to maintain a RH of around 45% by putting bowls of water in the cabinet. Is that in the right range?

Last question for ya. When should I repot them? I was thinking about just repoting them when i switch the the 18/6 light cycle.

Not at home right now but ill post some pics for ya as soon as i get home!

Thanks again vangoh

They should be OK in those cups for a couple of weeks. You can repot them though when your are ready. Just be sure not to mess up the root mass growing. Maybe you should just put the cup in the container your growing in with the medium already in it and just cut the cup in 1/2 instead of trying to slide the plant out of the cup.....Just my:twocents: though...:thumbsup: 45%-50% is perfect for your RH.

[vapeman420]

ok guys, so its day four of the 24/0 light cycle and my girls still seem to be doing ok. Sorry about the pic quality but I have to use the webcam on my laptop for the time being.

The one im holding up seems to be doing the best. It has the biggest leaves and thickest stem. One plant has shrivled up leaves with some brown spots on it.
Any advice as to what might be the problem?

The perlite in the cups is starting to turn goldish brown color, is that normal? I believe its just from the water.

Thanks again. You guys are a great help!

[VanGogh001]

Vapeman,

Props on organizing the text it helps a ton getting to the meat of the matter.


......Shriveling leaves with brown spots sounds like one of two things.

COULD BE: (A) heat stress
(B) lack of watering
(C) both

Resolution: Maintain adequate soil saturation following the "WATERING SCHEDULE" from previous post
.................................................. .................................................. ...
---About watering-----

This goes for transplanting and first watering.

-Soak the soil untill some water drains out the bottom of the pot.
(if you are doing a flush your looking to put in 10% more H2O than the size of the pot)

As for a beginning watering schedule goes. Use your sense of touch, feel how heavy the pots are when they are thoroughly watered, then check them when their dry. Much lighter, yea? A combination of seeing how dry the top soil looks and how heavy the pots are is a good way to gauge when they need some drink. It's ok for the plants to dry out a bit before re-watering them, this takes some time to getting to know the plants schedule. But once you do you'll be like today they will need water, you just know it.
.................................................. .................................................. ...

Due to the size of the Beginning pots size, watering will be more frequent, every 1.5-2 days. The watering cycle will lengthen as your plants graduate to larger pots with more grow medium.

{Pearlite turning BROWN}
In your situation this is caused by the water and soil.

Later on this could mean salt build up. (Nothing to worry about now.)

[vapeman420]

ok guys. day 5 and my babies have already made so much improvement.

I decided to just remove the one that was looking really bad because I only intend on growing one or two plants after I sex them anyways and it was using light that could be focused on the better plants.

For the most part all of my plants have started growing their 2nd set of leaves and are showing no signs of weakness.

Even though the temp. is staying around 80 they seem to be doing fine. My RH has been down to around 37% for the past couple of days and I cant seem to get it up since im leaving the cabinet open and my closet is fairly large.

Thanks for all the help Vangoh. It is much appreciated!!! Ill post some pics whenever there is a significant difference since I have to use my webcam and you cant see detail. Take care

[vapeman420]

ok guys. Day 9 since sprout and Im down to three plants. 2 of them were growing very slowly and the leaves began to shrivel so i decided to uproot them and see how the roots looked because my humidity is kind of low(+/- 34%).

The roots on the plants seemed to be doing well so I guess it was nute burn or something from my soil?

2 out of the 3 are doing very well, the best being the first plant pictured and the worst is the last pictured. It is kind of hard to see whats going on with the 3rd plant bc im using my webcam but the leaves are 1st set of leaves are curling under and its not growing nearly as fast as the other two.

When do you think I should repot them and how big should the next pots be? The plant in the 1st picture is getting pretty big, the overhead picture doesnt do it much justice.

Thanks guys!

[VanGogh001]

hey vape,

Good to see your check back often. Lets get right down to the heart of this beast.

---------------
ABOUT TRANSPLANTING

-You want to transplant when your plant has outgrown the pot it is growing in.
(So you ask: When has it out grown the pot??)

Answer: When the white roots have reached the bottom of the pot and have filled out the growing medium. The first transplant will probably happen with in the first two week from first set of true leaves.
----------------

TIME FOR TRANSPLANT

When you are ready for transplant follow these guidelines:

Gather these items:
1) Grow medium (soil/ peat/ etc.)
2) Pearlite
3) H2O
4) Measuring cup
5) Soil additives (Bloodmeal [N], Worm Casings, etc.] {this is your call}
6) Gloves
7) Larger pots (at least double the size of the first pot)


-If your plants have a significant root ball and ready to transplant you want to let them dry out a bit. To the point where the plant will need to be watered. Doing this will allow the soil and root ball to stick together, making transplanting less shocking to the plant.

++Be sure the bottom of your new pots have enough drainage holes for water runoff.++

THE PROCESS:
(It is best to transplant at the beginning of the light cycle)

-Take your mixed medium of soil/additives/pearlite and fill bottom of new pot about 1/3 of the way.

-Place same size container into new pot, back fill around with medium.
-Remove cup/container.
-Remove plant from old cup/container/pot and place into hole of new pot.
-Back fill around the transplant.
-Fill soil one inch from the rim of the pot.!!!!!
-Feel the weight of the pot, this is what it feels like when it is completely dry.
-Water generously! Till some water drains out the bottom.
-Feel weight again, this is what the pot feels like completely watered.
-Adjust light height. Place back into growing area.

Happy growing!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any thing i write about here is purely fictional, i am taking part in an on line Role Playing Game (RPG) about the cultivation of marijuana. In no way do i condone the cultivation, use, distribution, or consumption of the plant with genus "Cannabis" followed by species "Indica" or "Sativa" or any other breed or hybrid of said genus. I support abbortions, stemcell research, the death penality, and an actual democracy not just the feeling of a democracy.