New to this...

[MaryJayne420]

Hey everyone - I won't waste your time with BS. I need to know how i'm doing. I'm running a DWC system and this is my first time and when I initially planted the Germinated seed in the rockwool the root grew up, out and down back into the rockwool - hence the stem seeming twisted.

I later joined some toothpicks and secured it in place onto the toothpicks once the plant seemed like it could not stand on its own, so by doing this it would assist it to stand upright (I was very gentle). Now it seems to be moving along nicely - but that's just to me. I have no green thumb whatsoever so i'm trying to do this as carefully and reading all the material I can find to assist me. Also I am attempting to determine the sex of this beauty, I have some great snapshots if anyone could help. I "THINK" it's a female.

I'm using Cutting Edge Micro, Grow, Bloom, Plant Amp, & Uncle Johns Blend for my nutrients.

First pic was taken on 12/27 and you can obviously tell that the root/stem was twisted and unstable. The last pics were taken on 1/5.

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6841-12-27-10-3.jpg

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6844-1-5-11-6.jpg

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6842-1-4-11-7.jpg

http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6843-1-5-11-7.jpg

[keylime]

It looks good to me.
When seeds are first popping out, they tend to stretch and grow so fast that they can't hold themselves up. All you have to do is make sure that the stem doesn't sit on the rockwool cube because that will/can rot the stem. When this happens to me, I just put something dry between the rockwool and the stem itself so that this will happen. What you did is a bit overkill, but still worked. You must have a steady hand, and must be lucky on top of that!

keylime

[MaryJayne420]

It looks good to me.
When seeds are first popping out, they tend to stretch and grow so fast that they can't hold themselves up. All you have to do is make sure that the stem doesn't sit on the rockwool cube because that will/can rot the stem. When this happens to me, I just put something dry between the rockwool and the stem itself so that this will happen. What you did is a bit overkill, but still worked. You must have a steady hand, and must be lucky on top of that!

keylime

ok, so that explains the dark brown part of the stem, so I did what I did just in time then. Cool, that's good to know! I wasn't sure if it would stand up by itself because of the way it grew in the beginning. I was very surprised that I did not shock it by doing what I did, but thanks for your input.

Anyone else's thoughts and comments would be very much appreciated!

[Horsemanrocks]

MJ420â?¦..Welcome to C.C

I think that the plant looks greatâ?¦.considering.

Likely one reason that the plant couldnâ??t support itself is that itâ??s literally swimming. Your third picture link shows the water level all the way to the top of the hydrotonâ?¦.you could back that off to below the rockwool cube and be doing just as well (even better later). You must have very good aeration for the plant to be doing as well as it is.

Secondly, equally amazing is with that list of nutrients that you havenâ??t overnuted that tender young thingâ?¦..you apparently know what youâ??re doing as the plant looks happy enough. Just a place to be cautious.

As far as sexâ?¦..you â??hope/wishâ?� itâ??s a femaleâ?¦..itâ??s way too early to tell. Take a look at the link in my signature, so that when the time comes youâ??ll know what to look for.

Sorry that I donâ??t have anything â??realâ?� for youâ?¦..just a few things to add to your field of knowledge.

I wish you the best of luckâ?¦.and again welcome!
HMR

[tinytoon]

When you can toss a couple tron balls on top of the RW before Algae starts growing

[MaryJayne420]

MJ420â?¦..Welcome to C.C

I think that the plant looks greatâ?¦.considering.

Likely one reason that the plant couldnâ??t support itself is that itâ??s literally swimming. Your third picture link shows the water level all the way to the top of the hydrotonâ?¦.you could back that off to below the rockwool cube and be doing just as well (even better later). You must have very good aeration for the plant to be doing as well as it is.

Secondly, equally amazing is with that list of nutrients that you havenâ??t overnuted that tender young thingâ?¦..you apparently know what youâ??re doing as the plant looks happy enough. Just a place to be cautious.

As far as sexâ?¦..you â??hope/wishâ?� itâ??s a femaleâ?¦..itâ??s way too early to tell. Take a look at the link in my signature, so that when the time comes youâ??ll know what to look for.

Sorry that I donâ??t have anything â??realâ?� for youâ?¦..just a few things to add to your field of knowledge.

I wish you the best of luckâ?¦.and again welcome!
HMR

Thanks for your input! I did cut the normal nutrient solution recommendations in half in the early seedling stages. 1 1/2 weeks later i up'd it to 75 percent and now i'm going to do it at the recommended dosage today. Hopefully soon we'll know the sex of this beauty and prepare for some sweet sweet bud in the later days.

Thanks Again!

[Horsemanrocks]

Walkin' on water,defying gravity....call it what you will....you've gotten away with breaking the rules so far....

I sure hope that the full strength nutes that you're referring to is from a seedling chart. Some of the manufacturers list ratings that aren't always practical. Myself, I'd let it grow some before upping nutes.

One of us is going to learn a lesson....keep pictures and results posted....I sure hope that the lesson isn't fatal.

I'm on your side...go MJ go! go MJ go! Who knows some day we may get to be friends!

HMR

[MadSativa]

that is the first time I have ever seen a seedling staked like that, but wow it worked and it is healthy, you got my attention, cant wait to see it looks like your doing good so far,

also it is not very nesccesary but you can also transplant that little cube into a bigger cube, it might help, no just with balcing once it gets bigger, but with helping those roots realy get massive in the begening, its standard prcatice, usualy the little clone cubes go into a 3x3 block and veg for a while then when the roots come out then they go into the bucket.

YouTube - sublbc's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/sublbc#p/u/49/_u9iq4sPtSM)

heres a vid with a cute girl and SubLBC doing just that.

[MaryJayne420]

Well i did it... I changed the water, making sure it's the correct PH balance. I did full strength this time, as the instructions on the bottle says. My schedule is lights on @ 6pm and lights off at 10am. I did the solution change at 6pm exactly and I checked today and WOW. I can tell a drastic change just overnight! I knew I should have taken a picture last night so you can all see, but the leaves filled out and the smaller/newer leaves grew even more than they were last night! When I pulled that basket out of the 5 gallon bucket you all should have seen my expression, LOL. That root was huge! (more long than thick). I think next time, after harvest, i'm going to change my setup to a clear 5 gallon bucket so I can constantly watch the water level. This black bucket makes it difficult to keep track of the water level, that's why you brought it to my attention that the plant seems to be literally swimming. I try to keep the water level just 1/4 of an inch below the rockwool cube.

I'm glad I gradually stepped up the nutes as I did, I don't think things would have gone so well if I didn't. I'll take some pictures tonight and post them so you all can see what i'm talking about.

Thanks everyone for your input/feedback, it is GREATLY appreciated.

MJ420

[tinytoon]

The root zone MUST be in a light proof area, hence the black bucket. You can get a clear bucket if you want but your gonna have to paint it black or light proof some other way. :wtf:

Don't get to excited yet ........ wait till ya get a Bud growing :jointsmile:

[MaryJayne420]

The root zone MUST be in a light proof area, hence the black bucket. You can get a clear bucket if you want but your gonna have to paint it black or light proof some other way. :wtf:

Don't get to excited yet ........ wait till ya get a Bud growing :jointsmile:

Thanks Tiny, I didn't know that at all! So i'll just keep the same setup that I have then, it seems to be working for me. Furthermore, I have taken more pics as promised. You'll notice that there is more of a vegatative bloom to it and it's reaching up to the light that is just 3 inches above it (from what I read, this is good to keep it from getting too stretched out). Before then, it was just branching straight out. The first pic is an example of my beauty 4 days ago and the picture below that is today - which again is a DRASTIC difference from yesterday when I changed the water/nutes. ALSO - where the stem was brown from it getting close to rotting, because it was sitting on constant moisture on the rockwool. It has almost successfully shed and it's a bright healthy green stem underneath!

The below photos are in order:

1. Taken on 1/4 - http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6842-1-4-11-7.jpg

2. Taken on 1/8 - http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6866-1-8-11-2.jpg

2. Taken on 1/8 - http://boards.cannabis.com/members/maryjayne420-albums-new-hydro-gro-picture6868-1-8-11-4.jpg

I would imagine in the next 3 weeks or so (just guessing here), i'll need to have my flowering lights ready. What am I supposed to look for on the plant to know when to go into 12/12 flowering?

As always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

MJ420 :thumbsup:

[tinytoon]

When to flower is pretty much up to you. Key point is allow for double the height you have when you flower. If you start 12/12 when your plant is 12" tall then should be aprox 24" when done. I would think the concern atm would be to strengthen that stem to be to support the plant. Place a small fan to create a GENTLE breeze, just enough to wiggle plant, that will make stem stronger. What kind of lights are you using??

[MaryJayne420]

When to flower is pretty much up to you. Key point is allow for double the height you have when you flower. If you start 12/12 when your plant is 12" tall then should be aprox 24" when done. I would think the concern atm would be to strengthen that stem to be to support the plant. Place a small fan to create a GENTLE breeze, just enough to wiggle plant, that will make stem stronger. What kind of lights are you using??

Currently i'm using 2 Florescent fixtures: Sunleaves T5 2' Strip Light. They are 120v / 26w 6500k.

http://www.sunleaves.com/senddoc.asp?id={0B29EC71-4FB1-427C-B997-1029C3E93A84}

I have them suspended vertically above, and stretched across my setup horizontally. I have them spaced out from each other to ensure that I try to distribute the light equally.