New to everything... seeking advice..1st grow attempt

[jwmsalisbury]

My friend gave me this sprouted little plant because of roommate complications so i have the task of keeping it alive in a bathroom until i can move into my new house in a couple weeks

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmr7ml4T9G1qk917vo1_r1_500.jpg

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmr7ml4T9G1qk917vo1_r2_500.jpg

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmr7ml4T9G1qk917vo1_r3_500.jpg

The little sprout made me happy and the next few days it grew but I noticed some little microscopic white worms/larve/bugs type things that were crawling about the soil. I looked around online and read somewhere to put a slice of potato on the soil to attract the bugs to distract them from screwing with the plant.

If anyone could tell me what they are and/or what to do about them?
(They were so small I couldnt even take pictures of them)

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmr7ujqUXV1qk917vo1_r1_500.jpg

I was watering the plant once a day, is that good?

I am in the process of moving so my good light set up is in my new house and this little baby is in my old one.
I currently just have the plant right up under this desk lamp with a 60 watt fluorescent bulb on a timer for a 20/4 schedule and I know its probably not enough but its the best I can do for now.

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmr7w2SfyS1qk917vo1_r1_500.jpg

I had the light too far away from the plant for a while and I think that it caused it to stretch out really tall and thin so I just poured more of the same soil mixture into the container to in effect shorten the length of the stem and put a plastic straw in the soil like a stake to support the plant. I also put this huge fan across the bathroom to make the stem stronger over time and to try and keep the heat down since I moved the light super close to the plant.

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmra1mX4FL1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmra37Z7ix1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmra3yvFiI1qk917vo1_500.jpg

Please let me know what I can do to improve and dont worry I am moving it into a legitimate room to grow in two more weeks its just someone gave me the sprouted cup so I need to make it survive till then.

[Shovelhandle]

sounds like you are on the right track with the light, fan and timer. Good Luck, it should be ok. No nutrients for a couple weeks though.

[jwmsalisbury]

How should I be watering? Is it bad that there is no way for the container to drain?

I'm looking at FloraMicro, FloraGrow, and FloraBloom for nutrients. Any thoughts?

[SmokeMyPiece]

Let it dry out a little before watering again. Poke holes or transplant the whole thing, drainage will make it easier to not overwater.

Swap out that bulb for a 23-26W CFL and youll notice decent growth.

[jwmsalisbury]

Let it dry out a little before watering again. Poke holes or transplant the whole thing, drainage will make it easier to not overwater.

Swap out that bulb for a 23-26W CFL and youll notice decent growth.


Thanks! I poked a bunch of holes in the bottom of the container and I will be going to go get a CFL bulb tonight.

I really appreciate all the help I am getting from these forums.

[WickedJack]

You can also get 55W 6400K CFL for around $9 each

[jwmsalisbury]

The highest I could find at the grocer store was this 23 watt, 1600 lumens CFL. What does it mean when the packaging says Day Light 5000K?
It looks so much brighter than before!

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmvcuuX8ch1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[jwmsalisbury]

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmynlpD37u1qk917vo1_500.jpg

The first set of leaves are getting twisted on their own and I was wondering what might have caused it.
Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[flipstyle]

You can also get 55W 6400K CFL for around $9 each

Where can this be had?

[omnibuddy]

The highest I could find at the grocer store was this 23 watt, 1600 lumens CFL. What does it mean when the packaging says Day Light 5000K?
It looks so much brighter than before!

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmvcuuX8ch1qk917vo1_500.jpg

There are different K readings for different lamps. Daylight is for Veg stage. Red color is 3000k to 2700k and is for flowering. The plants like certain kinds of light at different stages.

[painretreat]

:thumbsup:Did the potato trick work?? I don't think I have discoverd that one! Great little thing to pull out of your hat!

[jwmsalisbury]

Well the potato thing is not as effective as I thought/people told me. Unless I am using it wrong. The light just shrivels up the slice before any of the bugs get on it but I haven't seen the bugs in a long time so it must be doing something.

[omnibuddy]

Bugs suck, but they also breathe...

You could try this solution, it is free but you need some new soil.

Remove the plant and it's delicate small root structure from the contaminated soil. Place it in a glass bowl or cup so that the roots are submerged. Try to rinse off the roots in the glass bowl, be delicate. You don't need to get rid of all of the dirt. Just the dirt with bugs and eggs.

Take your pot and get rid of the contaminated soil. Wash the pot off with a brush. Add new soil that is not contaminated.

Take your sprout and put the entire canopy and roots under water for 2 minutes. This will suffocate any bugs you don't see. Hopefully it will wash off eggs you don't see as well. Personally I let the plant breathe for a while and repeated. I had mites that were hard to get rid of.

Now replant your sprout. Water with your normal water mix. Do not water log roots. I don't leave watering to guesswork. Pick up a soil moisture meter at a local garden supply. I got mine for $11 and it is worth it 10 times over.

Last note is that this will shock your sprout. Shock may set you back two or three days. Essentially it may stop growing. Taking care to protect the roots is key to reducing transplant shock.

Good luck!

[omnibuddy]

Once a day is probably too much water. Even in that little pot; though smaller pots dry out faster. The soil does not need to be "wet", it can even be dry on top. Poke your finger down an inch or two in the soil. Is it damp there? If so you don't need more water. Keep it under 24 hours of light. Especially if your light is causing stretching.

[jwmsalisbury]

Ok I decided that the soil the plant was in was crapp so I bought some of these hydroton rocks and moved the plant into a plastic pot with them. First I put the entire soil piece into water to release the roots and once I got rid of all the soil i placed it in the plastic pot with the clay rocks. What should be the new watering schedule now that there is not soil to retain the water? I heard 3 times a day for about 10 mins but I wanted to check in with you guys.

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ln1dobH7lX1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[jwmsalisbury]

Since moving the plant the tips of the leaves are kind of crispy and burnt, but I hope its just the shock of transplanting. Also the smaller round leaves are looking close to dead :(

Why is the second part of the stem a dark purple color instead of green?

More pics
sorry i need to get a higher resolution camera, this just inst quite cutting it.

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ln3p778ExT1qk917vo1_500.jpg


http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ln3p85l8Vm1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[Douglas1]

you took away her food :P the dirt is what was full of nutrients.. the clay balls are just clay balls.. now you need to (QUICKLY) get some nutrients in there for her. if you have the money, spring for some decent hydroponic veg nutes. if you don't, and you need nutes soon.. which you do, run to your hardware store and pick up some fish emulsion.. at this stage use probably a quarter of the reccomended serving..

beware, it stinks........

veg hydro nutes are the way to go..

[WickedJack]

Where can this be had?

Depends I guess where you live but I get mine from the Hydroponics shop..

[jwmsalisbury]

I see some new growth I have been trying to water the plant for 10 mins at a time, 3 times a day.
Just about 8 more days until I move into a better home.

[jwmsalisbury]

Here is the label on the nutrients I am using for now and some more pics of the plant (I got a better camera finally)

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lndfggLKrr1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lndfkdgf9g1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lndflzeZSQ1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lndfnloZPO1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lndfp3zNqQ1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[jwmsalisbury]

Just some more pictures of the progress...

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lno97x977L1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lno99sQ3zq1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[Bobthis]

Looks good man. Good luck. Im new too, so interested in how other first timers are doin.

[jwmsalisbury]

JULY 4TH Pics

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnw5mwAk7T1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnw5ob6OAR1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[jwmsalisbury]

Are these just more leaves growing out? or early signs of male or female?

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lny1v4r54L1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[Bobthis]

Looks like new growth shoots to me. How old is your plant?

[WickedJack]

Yah when you have what looks like more then 1 leaf coming off the main stalk like that in 1 place I think it turns into a branch..

[jwmsalisbury]

more pics!!!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo77hdU8Yy1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo77iegLmv1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo828pJwDo1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[WickedJack]

Sexy..!!

[jwmsalisbury]

Should i be transplanting this to a bigger pot?

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_loavtmfEqv1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lob0d5gAkS1qk917vo1_500.jpg

Thanks for the help

[WickedJack]

Yep its time you dont want those roots exposed like that

Lookin good..!!

[Bobthis]

Looks damn good man. Cant wait to see how it turns out. Really excited for you.

[jwmsalisbury]

Thanks! I will transplant it as soon as I can, which size pot should I move this into?

Im really hoping this is gonna be a female!

[jwmsalisbury]

Its been a month and 10 days since germination.

Can someone tell me if this is signs of a female plant? or just more normal growth?

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lodu89NIs51qk917vo1_500.jpg

Thanks!!! I was thinking of moving this into a 3gal plastic pot but I'm kind of worried about damaging the roots while trying to transplant.

Any advice would be awesome!

[jwmsalisbury]

Well i transplated it yesterday the best way i could think to and the root ball was really compact and a little bigger than a softball. Is that about Normal??

[jwmsalisbury]

I'm thinking about forcing it to flower because I don't want it to get too much bigger than it already is.

Any suggestions?

[Treez81]

It's female. I usually wait for the nodes to start alternating but she is showing sex so go ahead and throw her to flower. She will probably triple in size. It's fun and amazing to watch.

[Treez81]

BTW u have really surprised me. I thought for sure when u switched to hydroton that u would kill her but actually u have adapted and done great.

[jwmsalisbury]

July 23rd pics

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_losyooB1at1qk917vo1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_losyjaF9qW1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[jwmsalisbury]

The plant has grown so much in the past week since I switched the lights to 12/12.

On the nodes there is this jelly looking stuff?? I'm not sure what that is.
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp6i38FovU1qk917vo1_500.jpg

[jwmsalisbury]

This is my basic set up with the water pump and reservoir right under the plant.
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpm1htRZ4p1qk917vo1_500.jpg


These are the nutrients I am using.
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpm1inPMAo1qk917vo1_500.jpg


Is this a good reading for temperature and humidity?
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpm1kvcZij1qk917vo1_500.jpg


The beginnings of bud formation!!
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpm1m8khcn1qk917vo1_500.jpg


I can't believe its growing so big and so fast!
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpm1ng4R1P1qk917vo1_500.jpg?

[jwmsalisbury]

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgi1peLML1qk917vo1_500.jpg

278267


UPDATEE

[pushit]

Man you have came a long way. Great job!