PDA

View Full Version : First indoor closet grow/ questions / 18 plants! Lets hope for a turnout



ST0N3Rmike
08-08-2011, 06:22 PM
Yall can look back through my posts I started an attic grow once which got devastated due to an abnormally hot day. Since then i've moved out, got my own place and started another grow! It's climate controlled. In a large L shaped close in the bottom of the L. I have a total of 8 23 watt CFL's and 2 larger fls( I think around 34 watts).

RIght now they are planted in Miracle Grow seed starter, and doing wonderfully. I will be transplanting all of the plants into larger pots today. They are only about 6 days old but I have them on a 24 hr light schedule and they're doing wonderful.

What are the best nutrients to use? I know I don't need nutes right now, and I see a lot about Fox Farm on here. Where can I find it? Is fox farm for hydro grows only? When should I start feeding them?

I will post a picture from days 2-5 and take some more pics later today post transplants. I have the extra money and room to make this work, but not necessarily the wisdom! I have a 400w HPS on the way.

277855277856277857277858277854

Lawladash
08-08-2011, 10:14 PM
I haven't dealt with Fox Farm personally, however, I have heard good things about the line. I asked my hydro guy about the difference between Hydro ferts and soil ferts, I learned that Hydro ferts are more complete since there isn't any soil to help provide the good micros and what not. I don't know if any of this actually helps, however, thought I'd share the information that I have.

pushit
08-08-2011, 11:22 PM
You can find FF nutes on ebay or if you have a hydrostore in your area. I believe it says on the bottle whether its for soil or hydro. I cant remember and my lights are out so i cant go and check. As for when to use them, Its pretty much all up to you and your plants. If you buy MG soil chances are that itll have time released nutes already in it. Its on the bag. Im personally 16 days into flower and have not used any nutes. Im in FFOF and havent seen any deficiencies so far so ill go til i see some. Asking which nutes are better is kinda like asking if a ford or chevy is better. Its all on preference and youll get 100 different answers.

ST0N3Rmike
08-09-2011, 08:37 PM
277884277885277886

How does the setup look? With 18 plants, and about a 4x6 area, whats a safe height to grow them in vegetative before switching them into flowering?

ST0N3Rmike
08-14-2011, 02:51 PM
New Pictures! 14 Days in. From L to R, suspected sick plant, Biggest Plant, and a group shot of all the plants. ANy idea whats wrong with the first one?

278018278019278020

Purple Daddy
08-14-2011, 03:16 PM
Look at what is in the soil you're purchasing, if you need a LOT of soil you can use generic potting soil and add your own organic base such as guano, worm castings etc.

This year I took all the old soil I used in the spring, put it in a fire pit and burned it to sterilize the soil, I then mixed it in with new soil and added worm castings and a manure based compost.

ST0N3Rmike
08-17-2011, 02:00 AM
New Pictures! 16 days in, I hit them with a 50% 20-20-20 MG general purpose fertalizer yesterday. Is it too early to start LST'ing? I have LST'd one of the plants(the biggest one)

278073278074278075

SmokeMyPiece
08-17-2011, 02:34 AM
Good start Mike :thumbsup:

Lose the foil, you're walls are white.
Get them CFLs an inch away, maybe spread around if you can.

When from seed, just wait till they show a light green shade. then do a 1/2mix feed.
-As mentioned, starting with nute-less soil is recommended.
Fox Farm Trio is pretty much fool proof. You're first grow, dont get complicated.

Is it blocked off at all? or just open in the closet? dimensions?
-400W HPS will cover 10sqft.
You will also need to look into ventilation/air cooling the light.

Good Luck!

ST0N3Rmike
08-17-2011, 03:54 AM
I appreciate the input! The closet is in the shape of an upside down "L". I want to keep the grow limited to the back portion of the closet, or the bottom of the "L". I'd say the dimensions are either 3x8 or 3x7, note I can use more space if needed. I am going to get a 400w hps and supplement it with the CFLS. I'm using Miracle grow seed starter potting soil. It's a very light mix and from what I have read it has very little nutes in it. Unfortunately I kinda rushed into germinating the seeds so I didn't have time to order fox farm products(can't find em locally/dont know where to).

Not pictured is a 4 inch personal fan hanging about 4 feet above the plants aiming down. Additionally I have a 16" tower fan pumping air out of the closet and into the master bedroom. The attic access is in the closet, and I do have it open for ventilation.

One thing I am worried about is making sure I get the male plants out of their early! I know I am going to need help with determining the sex of the plants, I've researched it but I can't seem to find a good close up shot! I'm sure once I'm looking in person I'll be able to tell.

Edit: The pictures arent showing up in the last post!
278084278085278086

Purple Daddy
08-17-2011, 04:17 AM
The male plants won't show until they get much larger or the light cycle is changed. I have 10 plants on the side of my garage in an area about 12x6 and they take up the whole area.

SmokeMyPiece
08-17-2011, 06:16 PM
For light to be most effective, you want it to be bounced around, in an area that is optimal for the amount of Lumens you plan to use.
-Now, for optimal growth in flowering, you will need 5,000 lumens per sqft. This way, you can build the room to your light, or figure the Watts needed for your room.
-Your current setup is fine for Veg.

**Say you use the 3x8 area --> 3x8=24sqft x 5,000L = 120,000L
-Most400W= 50,000L
-Most600W= 90,000L
-Most1000W= 130,000L

-Or, just cut your space in half since you already have plans for the 400W.

And males will be easy to spot, youll have enough time to notice and pull before they drop pollen
278088

ST0N3Rmike
08-18-2011, 12:07 AM
Very helpful post smoke my piece! At what point should I be able to see those features? A few weeks into flowering? I am kind of hoping / counting on the fact that a portion of the plants will be males and I'll be able to cut down on the area needed for the grow and get by with one HPS. Idk, i can get two if needed. I just want some dank nugs:)

ST0N3Rmike
08-21-2011, 03:06 PM
Just an update for ya

278118

ST0N3Rmike
08-30-2011, 10:14 PM
Heres an update! And I do apologize for the lack there of inbetween! Were about a month into veg now and I think the plants are looking great. My roomate thinks a couple are blatantly males based on their "lengthiness and stemmyness" but I'll let you be the judge. In fact I do have a couple of questions.

What size pot should I transplant into? Do I need to transplant? What would happen if I kept the current pots? would yields be durastically reduced? I'm counting on atleast 7-8 good females.

This first picture features one of the plants that looks most likely to be a male. Its growing very "deformed" or atleast different compared to the others, and this first picture shows the suspected male plant(left) and hopeful female(right)
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/786/day29malevsfemale.jpg

The second picture here shows a picture of a plant I think got over watered. I was out of town for 5 days and my roomate was watering them. Only one plant has yellowing of the leaves and its the lower fan leaves; confirm this is over watering?
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1182/day29ish.jpg

ANd the last two final shots are group photos of the plants. Spot any "obvious males?"

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/6581/day29ishgroup.jpg

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/9267/day29ishgroup2.jpg

Im just mainly stuck in debate on the pot size. I know I need bigger pots but I dont know how much bigger I want the plants to get. Arent they already gonna get 3x bigger in flowering?

Bobthis
08-31-2011, 08:24 AM
Hey, I would def get some plastic, or something down, or your carpet will get ruined. Doesnt look like there is anything under your pots, and, spills happen. Even if they are showin sex, there is no way to tell in those pics. You would need really clear pics of the nodes. As far as the "stretch" being an indicator, you could have females stretched also, depends on distance to the lights, and lots of other things. Just be patient, and wait till you can see pistils or stamens. (hairs or balls) Most likely, all you will find first is males, as they seem to show about a week or 2, maybe more, sooner. I started with 26, and ended up with 9 males. But, I am outdoors, and lost some due to animals and weather. As far as the transplant, it looks like they are about ready. If you feel comfortable, slide one out of the pot and see what you see as far as roots. If they are wrappin around at the bottom pretty good, then its time. As far as pot size, it all depends on how big you are gonna grow em. They say a foot for every gallon pot size. I got some in 3.5 and 5 gallon buckets, and the bigger ones are about 4 ft tall. You will def want bigger pots before you go much farther. Before they start flowerin. They are lookin good, tho. Keep it up.

Bobthis
08-31-2011, 08:31 AM
Sorry, I ended up with 9 females, not males...... Stoned moment!

ST0N3Rmike
09-12-2011, 01:49 PM
Whats wrong with these guys? THe one on the right looks like overwatering, I've just never trimmed those off... but the one on the left im not sure about. The outer edges of the lower leaves are yellowing, not just tips, and I have another plant with "lightening" edges more towards the top of the plant.
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2591/sick2.jpg

Topped plant - topped two additional plants but they're still getting there.
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/4307/topped.jpg

And now for the group shots! Everybody smile!
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/2804/groupshotweek6.jpg

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/1664/groupshot2week6.jpg

ST0N3Rmike
09-24-2011, 08:58 PM
Group shot on 20th(ish) before I moved them around in my closet.
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3226/sep20.jpg


This is 11/18 plants seen below
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4494/sep202.jpg

This is one of the better looking plants
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5940/sep203.jpg


One of four topped plants
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5962/sep204.jpg

Another big one, tallest plant up to my belly button probably 3-3.5 feet. sorry its kinda blurry
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4391/sep205.jpg


NOW for a couple of thoughts and questions
I can tell the plants are starting to get kinda root bound. Im going through hard times financially and between 18 pots and hte soil, and added lights Im looking at 2-3 Hundred atleast.... That being said, what would happen if I left them in the current pots? They are 1 maybe 2 gallon pots at most, and two are slightly larger. Is it a bad idea to flip a root bound plant into flowering?

Assuming I have 8 females out of 18 plants, what do you think an approximate bud harvest will be with 3-4 foot plants

washmedical
09-24-2011, 11:07 PM
i cant believe you're growing with 6 cfls. impressive

Bobthis
09-24-2011, 11:39 PM
I got 8 girls and a lil tiny short one. All are about same size as yours now. Yours should grow a good bit after you flip em. I got mine in 5 gallon buckets, outdoors, and I think you would def want bigger pots. Ill let you know what mine bring. Should be choppin in a few weeks or so. Good luck.

ST0N3Rmike
09-26-2011, 01:00 AM
What would happen if I didn't have bigger pots though?? would they still bud? Im fine with the size of the plants i have 18 of them!:p

@washmedical: I have a total of 10 ; 6 are on the strand 4 are in reflector hoods pointed down. Plan on either adding alot more cfls or an hps for flowering.

Also, I just flipped into flowering tonight. Was going 24 on to 12/12 so I should know in a week tops the sex's although I have a pretty good idea.

Bobthis
09-26-2011, 02:08 AM
Even if your not worrid about size, I got a few in 3.5 gallon buckets, and I can see a big difference between those and the ones in the 5 gallons. Buds are bigger, fuller and better looking. Also, plants just look better. After this go, I would personally never go with anything smaller than 5's. But thats me. Im also outside, so space doesnt limit me. I was just lettin you know that mine would def be happier in 5's. And even if your not worried about size, the fact remains that they are gonna have a growth spurt now that they are flipped. And if yhet are alredy that big, in my opinion, I would have def gone to a bigger pot for final before flipping. You know what they say. A gallon for every foot tall. 4 to 5 fotters in 1 to 2 gallon pots doesnt seem to be enough. Can it be done? Sure. The bigger the pot, the more roots. More roots means healthier plant and better buds. Good luck to ya man. Keep the updates commin.

ST0N3Rmike
10-02-2011, 09:53 PM
Some updates for you all. The seeds were from amazing buds, not sure of the exact line but I know it was "headies". Not sure if they were from a hermie plant or what. Shipped here from cali normally seedless but one batch had some seeds so I saved em. At this point a good 14 or 15 of the 18 plants are showing female pistols! In fact, every plant is showing atleast one female pistol. I'm worried I might have hermies but who knows. Do hermie plants produce hermie seeds?

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/659/flower52.jpg

Flowering, Day 4 or 5 not sure ive been baked :p

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/8866/flower53.jpg

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9185/flower5.jpg

SmokeMyPiece
10-03-2011, 01:09 AM
Whoa these are gonna big some big plants man!
-Nice growth, and healthy green, lookin good.

Wheres that 400W HPS?
-CFLS are fine for Veg, but the flowering will suffer a lot if you plan to 12/12 with the current lights..

*yes herms produce herms.

ST0N3Rmike
10-03-2011, 11:52 PM
I dont have it as of now :| five days into flowering and pistols are showing on ALL plants!!!! I gave them a detailed inspection and as of now there are now male preflowers. There certainly are some plants doing better than others, a few(no more than 3) are only showing a few sets of pistols. Most of them are covered at all the nodes!

I am not certain it was a hermie plant to be honest, I guess I have no way of knowing since I didn't grow it. It was jsut a batch with seeds....as long as I get nugs ill be happy and at this rate there coming!

I thought at this point they'd be suffering with the light setup but their doing wonderful. If it makes it any better the CFLs i am using are fairly high powered @ 300-500w(equivalent(25-68w actual))

What would happen if I just used CFL's for flowering? (goes to look up some cfl grows:p)

ST0N3Rmike
10-09-2011, 10:22 PM
About 11-12 days into flowering and they are looking great!!! All 18 are confirmed FEMALE baby!!!! Pistols everywhere!!!

Group Shot
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5527/flower112.jpg

Group Shot 2
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/151/flower11.jpg

Close up of one of the biggest plants/tops (Is this a bud forming?)
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/2593/flower11closeup.jpg

Another close up
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3070/flower11closeup2.jpg

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1626/flower11top.jpg

Lit Up
10-09-2011, 11:37 PM
Did you plan on transplanting? Just seen your pots look rather small. It would probably benefit you.

ST0N3Rmike
10-24-2011, 10:05 PM
Alright guys its been a while! The plants have certainly huskied up a bit Nug wise! No pollen sacks... Im still baffled because it was bag seed. So far I have managed to transplant 6/18 plants into bigger pots. The ones I have transplanted are clearly growing faster and the Nugs are bigger. I will take some more pictures in a few days. These pictures were takin within the last few days, but only 3 plants had been transplanted during the time of the shoot. All the plants are looking good.


One of the bigger plants(transplanted)
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2655/flower256.jpg

In this picture he two plants on the right have been transplanted. The plant farthest right has also been topped and looking awesome. As of now all three of the plants shown are transplanted into bigger pots
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5650/flower252.jpg

Another Nug Shot
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/3418/flower254.jpg

Group Shot :)
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7631/flower255group.jpg

As of today we have some varying browning on the leaves I think its over fertilization. Im gonna flush and cut back

Lit Up
10-25-2011, 02:50 AM
How is your your air circulation? Could be the cause for some of that browning. Humidity?

ST0N3Rmike
10-26-2011, 01:15 PM
During the light hours the closet door stays open. There is a 16 inch fan blowing out of the closet during the light on hours and at night there is no "ventilation" I do keep the fans running in the closet at night, but theres no exhaust or intake. The Second fan is a 4 or 5 inch fan in the rear of the closet. Note the big fan isnt blowing directly on the plants, but away from them towards the closet door. Immediately left to the closet is the bathroom where I leave the exhaust fan running 24/7. I also leave the bedroom windows cracked. Never got a ... barometer? or whatever meter you use to read humidity but that could definitely be it. But its not happening on all hte plants which is a stumble:|