First time grower---losing my plant fast---please help!

[funnybunny219]

Okay here is the story with my plant. My boy friend decided he wanted to tackle this project, knowing I had no idea about the process of growing. He started out with a small self watering plant which was placed in a large box with a light, Hg Helical 26W lighting the plant through a cut out hole. It was then placed in an indoor closet. He started of with a 10hr of light and 14 hrs of dark schedule. After about a week...I became the one in chage of "his" little project. I made sure I stayed on a pretty consitant schedule and that the plant always had water. I watered with simple tap water and did nothing else. The plant slowly started to grow over the next few weeks. When he left and it became apparent that this was now "my" project, I started to do some reseaching since I had put forth a lot of time into the plant...seemed like a waste to just let it go.

The plant is very small compared to others I've seen pictures of, however it does seem to show all the same stages of growing. I've noticed in the last week or so that there are small, white like fibers that are growing out of the top of it and that there is a very strong, magnificant oder coming from the plant. At this point from my research I thought that it was past time for me to transplant. So I got some MG potting mix, filled a 5gl bucket up half way, then transplanted my plant. I wasn't sure how much water to give my plant so honestly I only gave about a cup or 2. I read to not water much for a few days after transplanting. I also attempted to increase the amount of light I was giving my plant, since I didn't want the lil guy growing to tall. This was all done yesturday.

Now, here is my problem...today my plant looks like it is dying! The leaves are turning a yellowish/brownish color. The strong oder is not so much there anymore. And the white fiber like things growing out of the top are a litte discolored as well. From my reading on here...I believe that my problem is with my soild, MG potting mix is apparently not a good thing I hear. Thinking it has burnt my plant :(

*How can I save my plant?
*Does this seem like the right issue that would be causing my problem?
*Where can I find phd filled water?
*What is the process of flushing? I understand the reasoning to flush and what it does for the plant, removing built up chemicals and salt, but I couldn't find anywhere that talked about the steps and the how to of flushing.
*Also is this a good light to use? At first I thought my light was too hot and burned the plant but thru reading I hear that these Hg Helical 26W are acually not that hot to the plant.
*Also how much water do I need to add to my plant at this point? I don't want to over/under water right after the transplant stage.
*Since I've had my plant on a 10/14 light schedule...should I change it or leave it the same? Don't want to upset my plant.

I'm really sorry that I have asked a lot of questions but I'm truely the definition of a blonde and I really have no idea what I'm doing...but I'm having fun at it so it would be great to learn! Thank you to anyone who gives me advise, whatever it is...IT IS REALLY APPRECIATE!

Also I have attached a few photos...I apoligize for the poor quality!

[CanGroIt]

WOW!!!!

Ok, the light cycle you have your plant on is forcing it to flower. That is why you see the pistils coming out of the top. You need to let the plant vegetate before flowering. Change your light cycle to 18 hours on 6 hours off. This should re-start the vegetative state. MG soil is loaded with nutes, depending on which bag you bought. I've never heard of water that is already Ph'd balanced for this specific plant. You need to correct the Ph yourself. If you have to use tap water, let it sit for at least 24hrs so the chlorine releases from the water. Flushing is simple - in your case, 5gal bucket will need 10-15gal of water introduced to the soil to properly flush. You are correct on the reasons why. If you want a plant that is going to produce buds bigger than the one you currently have, 26w of light is nowhere near enough!!!

Sounds like your "boy friend" wants you to do all the work so he can enjoy the fruit of your labor......just my opinion though.

If you are serious about learning how to successfully grow this plant, you need to read read read and when you are tired of reading read some more. Along with your research you will also need to invest on equipment.

BTW, that 5gal bucket you have it in is waaaaaay too big for that small of a plant. Looks like you have a lot of learning to do. You are on the right track by being here but YOU have got to do a LOT of research!!!!!!

Hope this helps you.

CanGroIt::::::

[Charbud]

Dont start vegging again. Its too far gone for that - id either finish her up and take a couple spliffs of do some mroe reading and start over again. You must adjust ph yourself, buy a digital ph pen of ebay and some ph up & ph down - very easy to use. Water it when the soils dry. Maybe buy a cannabis grow bible and properly learn the basics and start again, i think you'll have much better success

[funnybunny219]

Thanks very much for your reply! I went and got the same kind of light bulb but I got one that is 42wt so it says it produces around 2800watts. I hope this is correct! I've been doing a lot of reading...this forum is awsome! Wish I would have found it earlier. I was going to try to get some different type of soil and transplant again but I figured I'd just let this be a learning experience more than trying to save the plant. Can always plant new :) Got the bigger bulb and got water sitting out! Just curious though, is flushing a process of gradually watering the plant with no nutes or is it a process of adding a lot of water at one time to try to get the chemicals out?
Thanks again for the advice and taking the time to help me!
Oh and on a side note...the boy friend is gone so I'm the only one who get the benefits of my labor on this plant!

[funnybunny219]

Thanks for your advice! I was really lost on the whole ph thing...still kind of am but now I know where to start so thank you! When I stated this I knew literally NOTHING so you are right...a cannabis bible would most likely help me a lot for the next time. Thanks again!

[CanGroIt]

I think you mean that the 42w puts out 2800 lumens not watts. You are going to need a couple more though. That will get you started but just keep in mind that this plant will only produce based off of what you give it. Optimal lighting is equivalent to the sun so you want to try to get it as bright as you can without overheating your plant and grow space. Also the further the light is from your plant the more your plant will stretch for it. You don't want your plant to stretch too much. Get the lights as close as possible.

Flushing - If you gradually just give water, this is not the same as flushing. You want to rid nutrient buildup in your soil so you have to give two to three time the amount of water of the size of your container all at one time. Example: if you have a 2 liter pot and want to flush, get 4 to 6 liters of water and drench the pot. It's that simple......

When you have questions, just ask away...... Their are plenty of people here that can help......

CanGroIt::::::

[rattlingdags]

I just wanted to add a little something as I noticed on another thread funnybunny that the uses of the term flushing is causing some confusion. There's 2 different methods of flushing. One method is that which CanGroIt writes of and is typically used if necessary during the grow as a way of correcting issues and removing salts from the soil. You use a large amount of water (2-3 times the pot size) and water this all through slowly but all in the one watering - not over days.

Flushing is also spoken of as the period of time at the end of a grow (the last week or 2) when all feeding to the plant/s is stopped and just plain water is given - but given in the normal way and amount when the plant needs it. Some people though may continue with giving molasses or some other bloom booster. This is done again to remove nutrients from the soil, chemical residue (bad tastes and unhealthy) but now its also to continue nudging the plant into dying and putting all efforts into her buds.

I hope you will try and continue on with your little girl. You did get left with a somewhat inadequate set up and it will take time and money to correct but like you said it is good experience and a good prod to get into to learning more. This forum has everything you need to know to get started, and to go on with for that matter. The people here, combined with the stickies, grow logs etc etc are an amazing resource. We're very lucky.
These plants are so enjoyable to grow, quite additive, and the challenge to do it indoors - playing god in a very small way - keeps you on your toes.
All the best and a belated welcome :)

[funnybunny219]

Thank you for explaining that the flushing process was done all at once! That was my big confussion problem that I was having! I'm going today to get some ph up and ph down to try to flush my plant. Hopefully I can pull my plant back into life and thrieve :) Thanks again for your time and advice!

[funnybunny219]

Thanks for explaining the different types of flushing! I want to get a flush done quickly because I know all the nutes that are in the MG potting mix that I transplanted in are burning my plant and I really do want to try to save along with getting a learning experiece! I will try to get a flush done today. As for this site...yes it is awsome! I found a log of someone showing how and sharing all the details to making there in-a-closet grow box. This looked like something I could do with a little effort so thats also my goal today is to get out to some different stores to pick up the supply list!
Quick question, do you think I should try to transplant my plant back into the small self watering pot and use top soil this time? I don't want to upset my plant anymore that I already have but I'm also a little nervous about the set up I have going now. I have the 42w light that shines through a hole I cut out of the lid of the 5ga bucket and its really warm! Through my reading I found that I needed to have a fan venting the plant...which I do not so there is no oxygen flow in there. I just think my plant is too hot under that higher light buld. Thanks again for your time and advice!

[funnybunny219]

Just got my ph tester today. I tested the soil my plant is in and it read at about 8.6ph which is WAY over what I've read the target area is. I've had some water sitting out for about a day and a half now so I plan on flushing tonight! I hope I do this right! I could not find anywhere to get "Earth Juice Natural" which I read was a very good ph up and ph down. Does anyone know of a good product to buy that is found at a common store? I'm working with walmart, menards, home depot, lowes...those are pretty much it. If its something I need to order from online could you please let me know the website? Thanks!

[Stomper420]

It looks strong enough for anouther transplant so do it. Then take that top off your bucket and put your light 5 inches or so from the plant. 18/6 means 18 hrs lights on 6 hrs lites off, just like summer time. Set that up and she should/could go back into vegitive stage were she will grow much more. What you have there is a plant in flower thats 1 bud. After some time like a couple weeks youll notice new growth. Let her ride that way for a month or more because shes gotta reveg if she can. Ive done it so so can you. Get a small fan for air movement too. Good luck and let us know how she grows..


Peace!!!

[rattlingdags]

funnybunny if your in MG soil then flushing may well not have the effect of lessening your nute overload. If I've understood what I've read on these type of soils then pre-fertilized soil work on a time release system that is activated through watering. TANKJR here on the forum is one of the few who can consistantly make MG soil work for him. Maybe he'll spot your thread here and help out.
Perhaps its also worth considering a very careful, gentle transplant into a much smaller pot and soil without so much added feeding. Fox Farms seems to be a popular brand over there, and if the soil doesn't already have it added 20% or so of perlite mixed in will help with drainage. A smaller pot will make it easier for you to water correctly and not end up with a soggy stagnant mess of soil and rotten roots.
You'll definately need fresh air coming in there, old air needs to come out and a small fan to circulate air and ruffle her leaves just a little. She'll like her temperature to be in the region of 75 degF and not too much cooler than that when the lights are off.
Sufficient lighting is also important and there's quite alot of options available for you to choose from. There's a whole section on the forum dedicated to lighting and how its done. You need to be aware that a plants lighting needs change when you go from the growing phase to the flowering phase (not only switching the lights off to 12/12). Plants need a bulb that not only is a decent wattage but the correct kelvin rating (this is the colour temperature of the bulb) and you should see this on the packaging. For the grow phase a kelvin number of 6500 is good and for flowering look for a number in the region of 2700k.

[funnybunny219]

I retested my ph level after lushing and your right, it didn't have much of an effect. The level was stil at around 8.4. I got some Earl May top soil yesturday and a smaller pot. I think my next step today is going to try to transplant. I'm a little nervous because I'm going to try to knock off as much of the MG soil that I can. My plant does seem to be doing a tiny pit better, it anything not any worse lol. The set up that I currently have does not allow me to option to place a fan anywhere for ventilation though. I do have a small floor fan in the closet I could turn on, however the set up that I'm going back to, getting rid of the 5gl bucket, is just a box with a whole cut out of the top for the light to sit. I did read a thread on how to build a grow box, I've got most of the supplies for this already. Just need to get a few more today. Building this grow box is my goal for this coming weekend. There is going to be a fan on the top blowing air up and out, then at the botton I have 2 90 degrees pvc elbows I'm attaching so that air can be pulled in from this way to get ventilation. Thank you so much for your advice! Slowly but surely I think I'm getting on the right track to being able to make sucessful grows! I appreciate everyone's time!

[funnybunny219]

Got my plant transplanted again. This time I placed it back into the smaller original box I had and put it into a more sensible size pot. I put it in some Earl May top soil. I didn't want to rob my plant of all of it nutes so I it made a mix of about 80% top soil and about 20% of the MG potting soil I had it in. The top soil I'm alittle worried about because it looked like mud, a hard clay liek mud but I guess being as it is a weed, weeds grow wild in that kind of environment so hope all goes well. I did get a ph tester but I am completely lost on how to work it. No matter where I stick it, even in the top soil and ground outside, it says it had a ph reading of about 8.4+ ...I may have to return this and get a different style of tester. If anyone knows anything about the rapitest digital plus ph meter or how it works, please let me know! Thanks!

[funnybunny219]

Welp my lil plant is dead...turned on the light several hrs ago...went in to take a quick peek and the light had fallen inward squishing my plant, and the bulb burned it up :( :( :( super sad about that one lol...of all the work I've put in and all the problems she tried to over cover...leave it to the light falling in to do her in lol...wow...

[CanGroIt]

That sucks! Are you still going to try again?

[rattlingdags]

Oh what a shame, that a real buggar for you. What a way for her to go although many a plant has lost life and limb through a lighting mishap. But at least if your wanting to try again you'll know how to get started better and with all the info here you'll find it far less a upward hill climb.

[funnybunny219]

Yes I do what to try again! I have gathered almost everything I need to make a new grow box, where the light won't fall in lol...and yes I do know a lot more about the "how tos" for a much more sucessful grow next time. I think this time I'm going to start with some reg seeds just because I'm sure I still have a LOT more to learn. Then when I get a good grow system down I want to order some nug seeds. Thanks for all the advice given!! I really appreicate it and your time! I feel a lot more comfortable and confident starting this next plant...which will actually be MY plant from start to finish this time!

[CanGroIt]

Good on ya! Glad to hear you're not giving up!

Nug seeds? Do you mean feminized? Also if you are going to use "regular seeds", be sure to germinate more than one. Would hate to find out that your first successful plant turns out to be a male, then you would have to start all over again......

Good luck!!!!

CanGroIt::::::

[funnybunny219]

I'm not 100% sure what that means. I'm assuming that the seeds form the better cannabis plants would yield the same strain. So buying seeds from those better strains would grow better smoke than seeds from the regs strain. I have some seeds soaking in water in the dark. Told I was suppose to wait until they start to sprout than plant them. I think this is the germination process. Thanks for the good luck!

[Stomper420]

Good luck girl. Go start a log and Im sure more then I will step up and walk yea through it. Hope to see yea in the grow log!!!

Have a great day, its not a total loss...peace