My First Grow Journal

[MidnightToker54]

This is my first grow journal - indoors, soil, natural sunlight. I started taking photos about a month into growing. If this first plant is a male, I have 9 other seedlings already started I can continue the journal with. :)

[MidnightToker54]

By the way - I know people will say "why don't you get a grow light" but this journal is intended for beginners who might not have the space/time/money for a closet setup. This is for people who may just have 1 or 2 plants next to a window or in their back porch and so everyone can see what to expect from a indoor plant under natural light.

It's kind of an experiment for me because I've never had success growing before. Either my cats ate the plants or they died from some other reason.

Also, could someone tell me why I only have 3 leaves so far. I thought 5 was the minumum and plants I've grown in the past had 5 leaves. One of the branches only has 2! Look at the picture on the right, and the big leaf on the right side - it's deformed and only has 2 leaves. And some of the other smaller leaves are deformed too - some don't have serrated edges.

[slowthestone]

Typically, a plant will develop the more classic fan leaf up around the 5th node on up. 3-5-7-9 is usually what can be found as the plant matures.

I've no real conclussion about leaf development yet. All I can theorize to date is that a plant makes what it needs as it needs it.

And then theres the roll of genetics. Not all plants are fit to go the distance while others can't be killed if ya pour gas on them and set'm on fire.

[MidnightToker54]

Thanks for the info - I was afraid that 3 leaves meant it was a male.

Even if it is a male, the seedlings are only about 2 weeks behind the older plant. I'm limiting myself to 3 plants for final growing because of space and a busy schedule. Eventually, I'll have to trim the plants or stunt their growth somehow because they only have a few feet to grow. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Each plant will have it's own little skylight so it's almost like an artificial growroom. Soon I'll be painting the area around the skylights white so they will be nice and bright even during the fall. There's ventilation coming from 3 directions and fresh air right under the plants.

Right now they're getting weak doses of MiracleGro for Tomatoes but I need to start giving them some real stuff soon. Could someone suggest a good veg nutrient for a soil/sunlight indoor plant?

[slowthestone]

http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/buyfox_consumer_map.html

[MidnightToker54]

Cool - There's a place right near my house to get it. Is that the best natural fertilizer?

As you can tell, I prefer to grow natural even if it takes longer.

[slowthestone]

I can't say if it's the best or not...but for sure it's a damn good line of nutrients that won't break a person's wallet in half.

Lotsa bang for the buck. Or as I like to say it...lotsa bud for the buck! :rasta:

[MidnightToker54]

OK, I'm back

I got a bottle of FoxFarm GrowBig. The garden center was even closer than I thought - only 5 minutes away. And the first thing I see when I walk in - FoxFarm liquid nutrients! And to make things even better, there's a cute chick who works there and she was very nice - something to look forward to when I go back. :thumbsup:

Is it ok to give my plant some GrowBig right away even though I gave it a spray of MracleGro this morning?

[MidnightToker54]

My plant seems to be slowing down a little - is that normal at this stage of vegetation? It was growing very fast the past week or so, but the past 2 days I haven't seen much change.

The plant looks healthy (see pictures).....soil is moist, cool, and a little spongy, good drainage, smells clean.....started on small doses of FoxFarm alternated with plain water.....sufficient natural light but not too hot, cool gentle ventilation breeze, and I mist the leaves lightly with plain spring water every few days - not too much because it's been very humid in my area lately.

I put the plant outside for a few hours today in direct sunlight with a nice breeze. I started way too late this season, so I want to get as much direct sunlight as possible.

Also, how long do I have to wait until I can sex her/him?

[MidnightToker54]

7th set of leaves and still only 3 on each set.....

[MidnightToker54]

I finally got the first set of 5 leaves, and I have little budsites (hopefully they're not seeds)

The budsites are growng very slowly though - do they grow faster as I reduce the light?

[MidnightToker54]

Also, I saw one small strand of web on my plant so I checked it for bugs. I saw a few tiny grey specks on the bottom of some leaves but I couldn't tell if they were bugs or not so I brushed them off. Do I need to take any precautions about that or do I just watch for them?

[MidnightToker54]

The other day, I left my seedlings on the table when I went out for 5 minutes. That was long enough for my cat to start chomping on them. Luckily, I got back before he killed any, but 5 of the 9 seedlings took damage and one of them was completely topped. It has been 2 days sincer then and all 9 seedlings are still alive but they're growing a lot slower because of the stress. I'll post pictures later.

My main plant is still doing well. It was leaning a bit, so I put 4 skewering sticks right next to the stem and I plan on wrapping it loosely with some soft twine. Is this a good method to support the plant?

Also, when I can force flowering to sex this plant???

[HARDDON]

If I am not mistaken, this is a 'window grow'?

I mean all sunlight and no lights????

If so, you dont need to force flower her at all. Its almost mid August and the daylight hours are now getting shorter. Rapidly.

She'll start on her own in the next 30 days, if she hasn't already.

Also, she is pretty small so don't feed her too much.

Keep up the great work.

[MidnightToker54]

Thanks Harddon - yes, it is a natural light grow. I had it outside for a couple of days to give it a jumpstart but it's getting bigger now so I don't want to risk it anymore (I share a backyard with other neighbors). But it still has it's own 2x2 area with a skylight (facing north, good direct light in the afternoon)

As for feeding, I've been using FoxFarm that Slowthestone recommended. I've been using it for almost 2 weeks now, but I didn't know it was too early for that. It hasn't seemed to hurt the plant and besides I've been using a weak mix of FoxFarm. What I do is spray it down with plain water, then FF mix, then more water so the nutes work down into the soil easier and they're diluted. Then once a week I skip the nute feeding to let it absorb everything. When should I increase the FF feeding?

Thanks for the info about the flowering - it has very tiny budsites which have not changed much in the past couple of weeks. I've tried to get good pictures of them but they come out blurry.

[HARDDON]

I don't use or know anything about FF products, so I couldn't say.

Based however upon the size, you probably don't want to feed much at all.

Wait until the flower hairs show up at the budsites...then you will have an idea as to timing and so forth. You will want a diff. food at that time and then they can use the nutrition.

IT wont be long now, let them grow, and nature's clock is winding down.

FLowering will start soon.

[MidnightToker54]

Yes, I'll be getting FF Big Bloom soon - if this one is a male, I'll use it for future plants. The stuff I'm using now is specifically for vegging.

[BlueBear]

Get some Super Thrive to use while those plants recover from the Kitty dance. Super Thrive helps plants to recover from stress amungst other things. Pretty cheap and found in most places. Mix 1/4 teas spoon per gallon. Only thing, if your plants have started to flower you don't really want to use it.
Adieu

[HARDDON]

1/4 tspn per gallon is pretty heavy dose...

And why do you say not to use in flower? I think it does its best work in flower. Is there something wrong with it for flower?

[MidnightToker54]

Is Super Thrive similar to FoxFarm Grow Big? Because that's what I have now, and I don't want to buy anything extra unless I really have to. I was planning on getting FoxFarm's flowering nutes since I already used that brand name and I figured they would go well together.

There seems to be some disagreement about Super Thrive so I'll wait and see what more people say about it.

[HARDDON]

No there is no disagreement about SuperThrive.

The shit works is the bottom line. I use in in veg, and I use it in flower and, quite frankly I am very very very happy with the results.

I think the stuff is just awesum.

Others do not.

I cannot help if they are non believers. BUt I know waaaay too many masters who use it to just stop. Besides, do you not like these results? Flower Day #41......and another 21 days to go.

By the time its over, the main kolas will weigh well over 100 grams. Not all becasue of SuperThrive of course...

But way too many great growers use it for me to knock it off jsut becuase some peeps say no...IMO

[MidnightToker54]

I'm willing to try anything, but I'll use the FoxFarm for this grow so I can finish it. I ended up with FoxFarm because I wanted something affordable and organic. This way I can learn from experience and not lose too much $$$ on it. My next grow might be closet, in hydroton, with good lighting - would SuperThrive be good for that?

[MidnightToker54]

I think the branches are expanding now, because the plant got taller and wider very quickly but the leaf growth has been slow.

I decided to sacrifice seedlings #6 and #8 because they were too damaged. And here's a picture of the likely suspect with before and after pictures of the seedlings. :o

[HARDDON]

Get the cat stoned.

[latewood]

1/4 tspn per gallon is pretty heavy dose...

And why do you say not to use in flower? I think it does its best work in flower. Is there something wrong with it for flower?
what up? bro...In answer to your question. there are some people that believe that you shouldn't use superthrive during flower. Personally, I use superthrive when I feel it is necessary, whether in flower or not.
It is a matter of opinion which no-one can solve...LOL

And H..Actually. I use 1/4 tsp a gallon in my nute solution...or, see below!
Might be strong, but I haven't been hurt by it. If that helps.

and 1-2 drops for a liter...mostly used for spritzing my seedlings and cuttings...to keep them moist and with B vites...

Midnighttoker...superthrive is a B vitamin with hormones...You don't use it as a fertilizer, but I do use it @ 1/4 tsp. per gallon in between nutrient feedings. In other words. I feed with nutes on Wednesday and water with ph'd ro water with superthrive in between...This has always worked fine for me, and it keeps you from overferting your babies.

finally, I totally agree with Harddon; at this point the plants are not that big, and do not need alot of nutrients. you don't really need alot of nutes until you have 4-5 true alternating nodes...then 1/2 strength nutes for a week or so to acclimate them to your nute regimen. Watch your plants...After awhile you will see what I am talking about. Goodluck.

[MidnightToker54]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll take it easy on the nutes for now - would a small dose once a week be good?

And what do you mean by "true" alternating nodes? I counted the nodes that have larger fan leaves on them - the 4th one has halfway developed leaves and the 5th one has a very young leaves that just started.

Some stats for future reference: I measured my plant today and it was just under 15 in. I estimate it's just about a month old now. On July 30th, when I started this log, it was about 7 inches tall. About 7.5 inches in 12 days. :D

I put the plant outside again so it had a few hours of sun. I'll do the same this weekend if the weather is not too extreme. Will hopefully promote a little more vegging before the end of summer.

[HARDDON]

Really I think you need to rethink your strategy...

To keep a plant healthy and vigorous...you need to control the environment...

Keeping her in /. taking her out, changing temps, altering lights etc... is a constant NO NO NO.

Develop the environment that is most favorable to your strain. Work on improving / maintaining that specific environment thru out the entire life of the plant.

Altering these things will only result in stagnation for this particular plant. It will not kill them, but, it will eventually play itself out at some point and you shall pay a price, albeit poor yeild, poor quality or both.

Remember, these are outdoor plants by inherent nature that have been altered genetically to be grown indoors as well.

Pick a path and work on sticking to it.

Create a compelling grow environment and stick to it and work on making it better each time.

Good luck.

[MidnightToker54]

OK, I'll keep it indoors. But if it's a female, will it be too small to produce good buds?

[HARDDON]

Friend, you can flower it anytime you want. The bigger the plant, the more it will produce.

If you flowered her right now, you would not like the end results.


Create your environment.

Lights....good air circulation....and a fan....and pH 7.0 water.

Let her alone.

Water her every few days and love her...and let her grow.

She should grow at a rate of 1/4 - 1/2" per day when she is happy and healthy. Try to obtain good veg growth rate first...then flower. INside.

She will produce as much as you allow her to.

[MidnightToker54]

Thanks for all the advice Harddon - I already know my next grow will be 10 times better because of everything I've learned here. And hopefully I'll get good results from this plant as well.

The only thing I haven't done is checked the PH - I'll have to go to the garden store and get something for that. Besides that, I have good ventilation/circulation and a constant regular light cycle (except for the 3 times I put it outside)

[MidnightToker54]

Weird things have been happening with my plant. Last night, after it was really dark out, the leaves were so droopy that the top of the plant was almost folded down on itself. I've seen it droopy at night before but not that much. It came back to normal this morning.

Also, the newest set of top leaves seemed to have stopped growing since yesterday morning or the day before. They look thinner than the other sets of leaves that came in before it.

And the tiny leaves at the node branches have started to come in more since last night. I hope my plant isn't flowering prematurely because I put it outside and stressed it. If so, it will hopefully be female and I'll at least get a few small buds off it.

Besides that, the plant seems real healthy. I'll post pictures tomorrow after it develops a little more.

[MidnightToker54]

The plant is back to normal now. I took a couple days off from the fertilizer and just gave it a little bit today.

On the very top of the plant, it almost looks like flowering instead of leaves but it's hard to tell right now. Instead of the 2 tiny leaves that usually come out first, there's a small bunch coming up that look like the new budsite leaves. I finally got a clear picture of them, which was taken yesterday. (see middle photo)

[JiGGabOo]

if u keep moving the plants around and changing light times, ur plants can go hermie. i think u need to read and learn alot more

[MidnightToker54]

if u keep moving the plants around and changing light times, ur plants can go hermie. i think u need to read and learn alot moreThat's what Harddon said too. I don't put my plants outside anymore and the only time I move them is to take pictures. They get pretty much the same light every day (which is not much)

[MidnightToker54]

Plant is looking good, but I have a problem. The space its in is 2x2x2 and the plant will be touching the glass in a few days. First question is, what will this do to the plant â?? stunt itâ??s growth? Lower the yield? Prevent flowering?

Should I transplant it into a slightly smaller pot before it realizes how much room it has to grow? The one it's in now is about a 2 gallon size.

It still has plenty of space to fill out on the sides, itâ??s just the top Iâ??m worried about. If itâ??s female, I donâ??t want to lower the yield.

[delta9thc06]

Well u could top it if u dont want it getting out of hand, also a pot should be 1 gallon for every foot of growth. Hope this helps, good luck.

[MidnightToker54]

Thanks Delta - I'm hesitant to top it because it just reached maturity and it's such a small plant to begin with.

I just got a reflector setup, but I have to wait 2 more weeks to get a bulb and ballast. So I might let it fill out that space and then gradually introduce it to HPS 12/12 over a few days.

I'm still not sure about the sex but my friend said it's female and I think so too. I'll take a look tomorrow and see if there's any changes. Like I said before, the top looks like it has hairs coming out and I think I see hairs on the lower nodes too. But there's also things that look like clusters of balls. But the balls are not hanging or drooping down, they're standing straight up next to the hairs and budleaves. I should be able to get a clear picture soon - they're still hard to see, even close up.

[MidnightToker54]

HELP! What is this? :confused: :stoned:

[MidnightToker54]

anybody know if it's male or female?

[boss30349]

That plant looks like a MALE to me.:(

[boss30349]

Originally Posted by MidnightToker54
grow medium: Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil ($30)
vegetation nutrients: FoxFarm GrowBig ($14)
flowering nutrients: FoxFarm BigBloom ($10)
reflective material: Sunleaves 1 mil Mylar ($15)
timer: Digital timer Strip ($20)
air/soil thermometer/humidity: Sunleaves Digital Hygro Thermometer ($25)
PH control: General Hydroponics PH Control Kit ($15)
PH meter: Sunleaves 3-way Moisture/Light/PH Meter ($10)
PH calibration/cleaner: Bluelab PH Probe Cleaning Kit/Calibration ($25)
reflector lens: Sunleaves Sunspot Lens ($20)

This is only to give me a starting point to work from - the store I go to has their own website and I got all the products and prices from there. But it may change depending on what they have in stock. And I might add other things like supplemental fertilizers after I learn more about them.
Could you please tell me the website you used for the list above. That looks like a pretty decent list for that price range. I'm in a stage right now, where I'm trying to find out what exactly do I need to buy to get started.