NEW GROWER - MANY QUESTIONS!

[Sabina]

Hello everyone, I am a new grower and I am very excited to be among you!!! ;) I am not a smoker myself. To be honest the reason I want to grow is to get some money into the family.:D My goal is to get a small harvest but of good quality pot and sell it to a few friends. I am reading and following step by step Ryan Riley's e-book, "How to Grow Elite Marijuana". However I still have a lot of difficulties, and a lot of questions. I don't even know if it is considered a good book, so I am also open to any suggestions.

1) I have bought 10 seeds of THAI SKUNK. Germination was successful so I placed them in soil and close to the window but they never pop out. I don't know what was wrong, temperature, medium, nutrients??? Does anyone grow that strain and have some suggestions? Thank you! :)

2) I did not want to spoil more of my THAI SKUNK seeds so I went ahead and planted 3 of the free ones 4th of December (There were 20 FREE with the order). These were germinated really fast and they also did amazingly well once I placed them into the soil. However after one week the stem looked to weak to sustain the leaves and the plant was bending down. I put a chop stick to support the plant is this ok? Is that normal, do you know what I could be doing wrong? In the book it said that I have to bend the stems Forward-Backward-Left&Right every day to make the stem stronger and then add a fan so the airflow moves the plants. I did this, so what do you think went wrong?

4 Days old (8th of December)
296732

9 Days old (13th of December)
296733

3) One of my plants managed to be standing without the support of the chop stick but the leaves don't look very good to me. Do you know what could be causing this wilting? I noticed that all of my plants look a bit like that at night and become more alive in the day, again is that normal? The picture is from last night, the (15th of December).

296731

The following pictures are from today's morning (looking a little better) and also some general information:

296734

296735

296736

They are close to the window under natural sun light, room temperature varies from 23-26C but the thermometer in the window can show up to 31c. Humidity is 43-51%. I have them in soil and I feed them HESI TNT Complexe.I did not quite understand what strain are my FREE plants exactly, this is what the AmsterdamSeeds said
"The free seeds... We always try to create new better strains for our growers and improve the
quality of our existing seed strains basing on our customers comments. Those experiments produce 100% viable cannabis seeds but not always with
exact properties as planned. Genetics is not easy stuff to control. So we decided to hand out a pack of those little Frankensteins as a free
gift with purchase for all of you to try out. It's an indica sativa mix (not feminized) and can be used for indoor and
outdoor. Flowering time for indoor is about 9 weeks. The 20 free are randomly selected each day so that they are rotated for our
regular customers."

That's all for now! I am very sorry for my poor English and thank you so much for your time!!! ;)

[growhand420]

1. when you germinate and then place into soil make shure the root is down but don't bury it to deep just enough to were the seed is slightly out and lightly water
2.supporting the plant is good but being that young you could transplant up to the leafs probly be better
3. the leafs are down at night because there is no light for the leafs to stretch and capture but if the are drooping in mid day then check the soil to see if they need to be watered
4. I know you didn't have a fourth question but this is a suggestion
if you are using nutients this early you will burn them plants really don't need anything but water until 3 to 4 weeks and I suggest reading the cannabis grow bible

but I have a question of my own

!. what seed company did you go through 20 free seeds sounds like a dream

[Sabina]

what seed company did you go through 20 free seeds sounds like a dream

Hello and thank you very much for your answers! They will help a lot. The company is Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds. It was top recommendation in the book.
I have another question if you wouldn't mind.
I am almost finished with my growhouse and I want to move my plants there. Do you think they will accept the sudden change, especially the change from sunlight to the artificial light? My lamp is a MH 400W 5000K.
I really appreciate your help and your time! :D

[Shovelhandle]

Welcome Sabina,
Please read over the rules regarding posting links to businesses.

[Sabina]

Welcome Sabina,
Please read over the rules regarding posting links to businesses.

Thank you Shovenhandle. I am very sorry for that.

[Sabina]

Hello, everyone. I am building my 1st Growroom. It's in the attic the dimensions are approximately 3,5x3,5m and height is 2m Maximum. I have not installed a ventilation system yet and I have to cover the floor with something as well. So the construction is not over yet but please if you have any advice or comments or anything to add on what I might be doing wrong, before it's over, I would very much appreciate to hear you. Thank you for your time!

296801 296802 296803

[tlranger]

Welcome, sit in anytime, that's a nice big attic area, ventilation will be important(temps) be ready, careful of snow melt on roof showing off location. Have fun

[Shovelhandle]

If you don't already have it, I think you may will active ventilation of the attic in general, especially for the summer months. Many houses have open eves and or vents located high on either end of the attic. You'll probably enjoy having a high output fan on a speed control to help with temperature control.

[Sabina]

Hi, thank you so much for the comments guys!


careful of snow melt on roof showing off location
I would never have thought of that ;) ;) ;)!!! Thanks!
About the ventilation, I'll get it the soonest possible, however heat is not an issue yet. Just a few more questions if it is no problem...

1) Do you think I could connect the ventilation to the chimney, from inside the attic? Is it going to work, I hope the air won't move downwards and back into the house! What do you think?

2) Should I use white PVC for the floor as well? I can find stronger stuff in black that is why I am asking.

THANK YOU!!!

[Sabina]

Hello once again, :D
I'm posting an update of my first grow and also a question, if you could be so kind to help. I've read that an upward curl on the leaves along with some yellowish spots could mean a Nitrogen deficiency. However the plant is a seedling and I was advised not to use fertilizers until Vegetation starts, what should I do and are these really signs of Nitrogen deficiency? Thank you for your time people! :D

Nitrogen Deficiency:
296969 296970 296971

UPDATE on Grow:
296972 296973

[d00g]

Hi Sabina. Here is a quote regarding Nitrogen deficiency:

Lower leaves first appear pale green. The leaves then yellow and die as the N travels to support new growth. Eventually the deficiency travels up the plant until only the new growth is green, leaving the lowest leaves to yellow and wither. Lower leaves die from the leaf tips inward.

That does not exactly appear to be like the symptoms shown in your pictures. I am not sure what the yellow dots might be on your plant. Is that the only plant with those symptoms?

[Sabina]

That does not exactly appear to be like the symptoms shown in your pictures. I am not sure what the yellow dots might be on your plant. Is that the only plant with those symptoms?

Hi and thanks for answering! :D Yes that is the only plant looking like that. It's weird because all my plants were identical. The seeds came out of the same bag, germinated in the same spot, planted in the same soil etc.. Also if you did not notice it's only the lower leaves (first two real leaves) that appear with yellow dots. The only other thing I could think of is oxygen, because I don't have a ventilation system yet. Could this be the symptoms of poor ventilation? I aerate the room 3 times daily manually. Thank you very much! :D :D :D

[tlranger]

1-the heat will rise, the chimney will even help it, keep all your runs going up hill. A fan to get it going.

2- white is better, if possible, black for black out.

[Sabina]

1-the heat will rise, the chimney will even help it, keep all your runs going up hill. A fan to get it going.
2- white is better, if possible, black for black out.

Thank you for the info tlranger! :D :D

[tlranger]

Fan running on plants 24-7, helps with all kinds of disease and pests, if I see spots, I worry about pests. Look under side of the leaf(might use some magnification, some suckers are small)

Your in veg, but start feeding real slow, may be 1/4 what they recommend. Till you see they like it. Don't want to burn them up.

[tlranger]

Also see your under natural light, plus your grow light, you need lots of light time to start. Maybe 18 hours straight.

[Sabina]

Hello tlranger and thank you so much for your time here. I'll go check under the leaves right away. I only had my plants under natural light in the beginning. Now they are under a 400W 5000K MH 24/7. However I am not sure, is one lamp enough for now or should I get another one? I have also heard that 24hrs makes no difference compared to 18hrs and so it is a waste of energy, is it true? Thanks!

[tlranger]

A much discussed subject around here, I go 24-7 many go 18. I go 24 because when I give them to others or go outside, they haven't decided when night time is. Example I bloom at night, when my power usage is at a minimum. Have friends that lights on during day, cause that easier for them.

[Sabina]

I checked the leaves, they are clean. Plus I clean the floor and walls with bleach once a week. Tools and equipment were also sterilized before entering the growroom. Thank you for all the info trlanger!

[tlranger]

Sounds like your working hard at this, and it will pay off.

Bottom leaves, these were there from the beginning(of course), but these saw natural light for a while then got moved to your light. I wonder if this could have had an effect, intensity can burn. Wondering if your window was nice diffused light which the babies did well under, moving under your MH may have stressed them. But your new growth looks good and is now acclimated to new environment.??? Quessing, but it's hard from a picture.

Dots still say bugs to me, your working hard to stay clean, but your dirt is still dirty, and its hard to sterilize your body and you can be a carrier. Have read here, that drier sheets on top of dirt can be a good preventative measure for soil born stuff. A piece of typing paper placed under plant, tap the leaf then hunt the paper for sign easier to see.

I might worry more about about chlorine than oxygen. Ventilation will be important, but your plants look good in the new growth. Watch the new growth for spread of problem.

[Sabina]

Thanks, I'm trying hard but I'm having a lot of beginners problems, so I really, really appreciate your help! I am changing the setup of my growroom as I am building it. This is how my grow looks like now.

The plants in the back are 21 days old and the ones in the front 15 days old.

297002 296996

The first from the left is the one with the yellow spots. The other one on the right the same age.

296997 296998

This one, left from the back row got heat burnt by accident, I hope it will catch up soon enough.

297003

And bellow some close ups and a question on something I heard by Jorge Cervantes and I wonder if the same is happening here? I've noticed that the points on the leaves are slightly curled inward, does that indicate too much heat. I am keeping the temperature at 23-25C. Thanks!

296999 297001

[tlranger]

I've noticed that the points on the leaves are slightly curled inward, does that indicate too much heat.

Think you right there, do you have thermometer with the minimum/maximum feature.

[Miss skunk]

Hi I'm a new grower my plants are 3week old just not shaw on how much light they need they have the four leaves at the top can any one help thanx297011

[Sabina]

Think you right there, do you have thermometer with the minimum/maximum feature.

Yes, I do. Maximum was 32 °C - Minimum 19 °C. But I believe the 32 is from the time I had them by the window. In the growroom the highest was 27 °C - lowest 19 °C but before I installed a heater. The heater now will run if the temperature falls under 23 °C. The problem with these heaters is that they dry the atmosphere too much, the humidity might drop to 35% with this thing running. And the fact that they consume 1000W!

[tlranger]

Right now it's a mute point, but during bud you don't want on heater flashing your budding plants at night.

[Taneesh]

I'm growing a plant for the first time .. it's been 1.5 months.. I'm from India. Sowed it in the starting of winters.. no frost but really cold now(4 ℃ to 20℃). The leaves have started yellowing and drying out from bottom up.

It was healthy just 10 days ago.
Don't know what happened!
HELP ME PLEASE!
Here are the photos.

297264297264297265

[tlranger]

Might be getting cold feet, looks like a small pot

[Sabina]

Hello once again, I am trying really hard but I'm getting so desperate here!
I have a few pictures bellow and I would really appreciate to hear some opinions.

Here is my grow as it is now.

297295

The yellow spots are still appearing, only on one plant though.
And I would also appreciate if you could tell me, is this bright yellow-green new growth normal? Thanks!

297296 297298

This is the big plant in the back. This plant was growing vigorously, but the last couple of days the leaves grew abnormally long and curled down.
They feel hard on the hand rather than the soft feel of healthy leaves, especially the new growth.
What do you think is her problem? Over fertilizing (Nitrogen) (I followed the manufacturer info). Over watering or the opposite?
I cannot measure the pH and I have been using tap water. Should I switch to distilled water? Do you think she needs a bigger pot?
There are so many suggestions on the Internet for plants looking like mine. Any opinions? I appreciate your help guys! Thanks you for your time!

297297

[tlranger]

Think I might concentrate on the good five.

[Sabina]

Hello, next week my plants are going to be 2 months from seeds so I think it's time to take some clones. I don't want more plants as it is right now but I want to put the clones on 12/12 to see their sex.

So..
1st Question: is if this kit will work?
It's a handmade hood, wood & reflective mylar. And 2 CFL 50W 6000K.

297905 297906 297907

2nd Question: I have a RW tray with dome and a handmade cloner as described here (http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/142258-clone-log-cloning-pics-using-master-kush-mom-4.html). Which one would you recommend?

3rd Question: Is it possible to move this thread to Grow Log since I won't be leaving you for some time?

That's an update on my grow, thanks to all of you guys.

297908

[nampra]

Heater should be propane via a vent .Plants get heat plus co2. Remember ventilation, circulation and humidity. I build a room in a room once you have full control. Oh and going from floursant to natural is OK just the timing has to be right if your running 12/12 then go outside in April they will get shocked and wonder where there light length went and if your running blue spectrum don't put them out in spring;)

[tlranger]

After taking your cuttings, let them root well under long diffused light, before you sex them. Doing this to sex the originals?

If so watch for males in originals all the time anyway, any stress not just light cycle can make them pop.

[Sabina]

Hi tlranger, yes I want to sex the 6 originals. I want them to stay in veg for another month then flower them. I am also thinking of keeping the clones, and if I liked the mom, grow them to a mother as well. Speaking of this, if you have the slightest idea about their strain let me know! Thanks!

[OMB]

Really nice job on that hood! Looks great. Strain? Looks Indica to me, but are they all the same? That front one...

[tlranger]

Just thinking out loud here, take cuttings - 10days to 2weeks to root, a week of veg, the originals may be more ready to flower, and if you have the clones marked, you would have your genetic copies and know which are your ladies ready to become new mothers month after that.

[Sabina]

Really nice job on that hood! Looks great. Strain? Looks Indica to me, but are they all the same?

Thank you, so if I understand, you think the kit will work! No they are not the same strain, they are random free seeds. The company said that each year they replace all their stock with new and they randomly select 20 old seeds and give them for free.


That front one...

I don't know what you mean, some of my plants still show signs of stress. I have realized it was due to the Fertilizer and tap water. I used HESI TNT for Veg but the dosage was too strong and as for water I use only RO.


Just thinking out loud here, take cuttings - 10days to 2weeks to root, a week of veg, the originals may be more ready to flower, and if you have the clones marked, you would have your genetic copies and know which are your ladies ready to become new mothers month after that.

If I understand, are you suggesting that I put the originals into flower right after I take cuttings? This will be my first attempt so I am not so sure I will succeed. So which cloning method would you suggest I am so confused... There are people claiming that even the good old method (cut - place in a glass of water) will work. Thank you guys, your help is really appreciated!

[tlranger]

What lm thinking, something to think about. No silver bullets more of a quess.

Light looks great, we'll see how it functions.

Looks like the three bigger plants, sex unknown, veg state. What maybe 12" tall, would be good prospects. If you were to take the four bottom branches of each one to clone, you would be saving to genetics of each. Label each, 1, 2, 3 And label clones form same plant the same(I use markers made from plastic milk jug and perminate maker) all from 1 will be 1, all from 2 will be 2, and all from 3 labeled 3.
Leaving these mothers or males in veg state, while you try to root your cuttings( take ten to 14 days). During that time the mothers still veging should grow maybe an inch a day, making them two foot tall at the end of this time. If one turns male on you, you can toss all of that same group. If your not successful cloning this first run, you can try a second with these still veging plants.
At this point your mothers(hopefully at least two) will be about 24" tall, booming at this point(doubling in size) should finish at about a 4' plant. Any that turn male can be dealt with as a group. As the smaller ones approach the one foot mark, treat the same with corresponding new numbers to keep track.
This should give you several potential mothers even if not all survive. When the known females mature you can pick your favorite using what variables you choose. Potency, morphology, cloneability, might be considered.
At this point you should be ready to take off and expand with your choosen ones to the size of grow you wish.

This will take a veging - cloning area, and a bloom to finish area, two not connected by light(each with different light cycles).

Several good threads on cloning, hope I or others can answer questions you might have, I personally like floral foam, wet four times a day, sharp razor blade for clean cuts, and rooting hormones, dome to diffuse light and hold some humidity.

[Shovelhandle]

What happened, I got turned around on this thread....never mind (can't delete here)

[Sabina]

Thank you for the info ranger! I'll do the cloning shortly and post pictures.

I wish a moderator here could move this thread to LOGS! I think I will keep this alive as a diary for a very long time! ;) ;) ;)

[Sabina]

Done and took some pictures,
if you see something wrong throw a comment, thanks!

1) Soaked Rock wool cubes in Reverse Osmosis Water to neutrilize pH overnight.

297936


2) Prepared my tools, cleaned everything with pure alcohol.

Tools: Scissors, razor, cutting board, spray bottle, perlite,
glass of water, rooting gel, RW Cubes, Propagator tray & dome

297938


3) Took 3 cuttings, from lowest branches
and placed them in water right away.

297939


4) Removed the lower nodes.

297940 297941


5) Cut big leaves in half.

297942

[Sabina]

6) Scraped the stem lightly.

297943


7) Cut again with razor at a 45° angle.

297944


8) Dipped in CLONEX (Rooting Gel)

297945


9) Put in RW cube and place on tray.

297946


10) Threw some perlite on the tray.

297949


11) I repeated the whole thing, marked my clones
and placed them on the propagator.

297947


12) I misted them, placed the heater close to them and covered with dome.
Temperature is 23°C and Humidity 85% (can't get it higher!)
Light is 2 CFLs 50W 6000K on 24hrs.

297948

I've done pretty much what most people recommend on books & tapes. I know there are different techniques but they are not so common. Maybe they only work under very particular circumstances, or you have to be a pro grower. Anyway, I would like to hear different opinions on things I might have done wrong. Thanks for your time guys!

[crystaliscious]

Looks like you got it! Mist em if they need it, otherwise leave em alone til you see little roots!!!' Beautiful pictorial- pat yourself on the back!

[tlranger]

Looking very nice

[tlranger]

The ones you took cuttings from should really take off now!

[Sabina]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll keep you updated.

[tlranger]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll keep you updated.

It's allot easier when you you ask good questions, keep it up, and I think several of you have found avitar' s that attract attention. Have heard the finger print discussion here before, might be aware. To bad your hands don't quite match up!!

[Sabina]

Thanks for the tip ranger. Well Nancy Botwin is very attractive can't help it!
Man I'm very cautious about this, to the point of paranoia... but never thought that cops will do so much digging for 6 plants.
Anyway my fingers are not in any database yet, here they don't use that in IDs anymore so I think I'm cool.
Thanks for that! See you soon.

[tlranger]

Good attitude on all counts, especially Nancy. Caution is never bad.

[Sabina]

Sorry what do you mean exactly? I'm sorry I don't understand very well, my English is not so good.

[tlranger]

It is good to be cautious, paranoia is probably not good for your health exactly, but it may keep you out of trouble. Security issues are not discussed here much but I have found it is always some thing that should be thought about.

The authorities have allot of resources at their disposal, many they don't want us to even know about, it just pays to be careful. AND THE AUTHORITIES are probably the least of your worries, snakes must get close before they can bite you.

No problem here on the English, spent last summer on a crew that consisted of several Italians, none spoke English(Americanized) at least my version very well, made me repeat until they understood. I think it was a good thing, made me think about what I was saying.

Nancy is a babe!!! Very hot!! Very nice looking.

[Sabina]

Thanks for that, some things you have to be native to understand!

Now, what else should I be worried, if not of the authorities? I know outside you can have thieves but inside... I guess family is still an issue. I certainly don't want them to know anything. That's why I can only visit my plants when family is either out or asleep. I also take care not to tell anyone, best friend or gf, not yet anyway. One month left... will know if it was worth the risk! Thanks!

[tlranger]

Always worry about the authorities, good luck with keeping the family in the dark, smell may become an issue. The extreme example I know of, a bunker grow, the guy was very careful. Kids being kids had found out suspected something. During moment of excitement, or just trying to impress someone, one let it slip. Game over.

My strategy has been, honesty with the family. But they need to be aware of the extreme risk, they are part of the eguation. But tell them what could happen if their not on board.

Friends get tough, when you bring out the stash. Never bring out much, have your story ready and stay with it. This part of growing is tough, when you do something well you want to share or brag. It's kinda a lonely game.

[Sabina]

Sorry about your friend. I've heard similar stories here & keep my mouth shut. I wish I could be frank with my family but they would not take it. I hate hiding something from them but you know, if it goes bad, they're safer not knowing. Attic is out of reach, brothers are too young and parents too old to jump and lift themselves.

About the smell, how worst will it get during flower? It's a room within a room is it possible to pass 2 walls? I don't think they ever smelled weed in their life, but yes it might get them suspicious. Thanks!

[tlranger]

Your brothers must not be walking yet? Good pot has a very strong smell!!

[Chromophore]

Sabina I am finding out right now just how powerful the smell is. My grow rooms are "rooms within room" in a far corner of my basement. They are nearly airtight, and I exhaust the inside air through a rather large carbon filter. During veg I hardly noticed anything, but I'm now in my 9th week of flowering, and the filter no longer can remove it all. My basement smells heavy and sweet, not exactly what you would think of as "weed", but definitely funky. I'm now noticing it about half way down the stairs to the basement. It's taking over! And just wait till it's all out of the grow room and hanging to dry! Lucky for me, my grow is legal, but if it wasn't I'd be very concerned.

[Sabina]

Hi ranger and Chromo, thanks for your input! Brothers can walk but the attic door is on the ceiling out of reach no stairs or windows... and they're too busy playing PS or whatever. About the smell, it's a very stressful issue, believe me. Do you think I might get a better chance being in an attic vs basement? I'm thinking air (smell too) is moving up and not down so maybe I won't be having so much in the house. What do you think? Thanks guys.

Oh almost forgot... Having my first gnats, last week it was 1 or 2, now it's about 5-10 of them. Every time I spray or water they start flying around and I try to kill as many as possible. I was thinking of a homemade trap, (water+hand soap), and similar stuff I read, do you think I should go for something stronger? Thanks!

[tlranger]

Those little brothers will be like mice, you cannot keep them out of anywhere. :rastabanna:

Gnats coming from soil, watch you roots, Weez uses dryer sheets to cover, sounds reasonable to me. I use the yellow sticky trap for the flyers

[Chromophore]

Sabina I grow in the basement and the smell reached a little up the stairway but seems to have stopped there. It probably depends on airflow patterns in your house, which to some extent will be determined by the degree of temperature inversion between upper and lower. If I had an attic that was useable I would probably put it there, though in my climate the heat would be a problem. Using a couple of good quality carbon filters would probably do it. I know many people swear by ozone generators, but I personally have no experience with them. When I re-design my rooms I am going to beef up my smell control.

Fungus gnats aren't really a probelem unless their population gets out of control. Seeing them indicates wet soil, so make sure you have good drainage and aren't watering when the soil is still wet. The larvae love wet soil. Get yourself a good quality soil moisture meter (cheap ones are very inaccurate) until you start to get an intuitive feel for when it's time to water. I use the pot-lift method, but it took a while before I got it down. Two simple treatments for gnats are blue or yellow sticky cards, which you can get through Amazon or any greenhouse/grow retailer. Just pin them near the soil horizon and those damn gnats fly right into them and become glued to their fate. Also layering sand or gravel on top of the soil makes it hard for the emerging adults to free themselves. Proper watering is the real key though.

[Sabina]

Hi guys, I looked into dryer sheets and unfortunately they are not anywhere in the market. Seems like it never was a popular product in my country. Instead I made a trap as follows: 3 parts apple cider vinegar, 1 part water, few drops of dish soap (lemon aroma), poured the mix in a jar and drilled a couple of holes on the lid. Got 4 of them!

I use that method for watering too. I know I'm not experienced so I have a similar pot close, without a plant and watered. So I compare the two. Sometimes I stick a finger and feel the humidity. I will get the moisture meter anyway, thanks! I think I'll get the glue tapes, too! About the sand, I should find sterile sand, don't know where I could get that around here though. Thank you very much ranger and chromo!

Still no roots on my clones, it's 7th day. I opened the dome yesterday about 1 inch. Some clones have yellow leaves now. Will keep you updated, thanks for your interest! Have a nice day!

[tlranger]

How about checking on line? Your clones can be using stored energy to get started, it's not over till the fat lady sings.