BenHerbs Mango & Mazar-I-Sharif 380w CFL Grow

Hello everybody. I sort of stumbled into my first grow when I went to visit my favorite dispensary. They started selling plants, so I bought a clone (Mazar-I-Sharif), and 2 weeks later another (Mango). Here are the details and pictures that cover my first month.

HOUSING: I made the housing out of the Amazon boxes my goods came in, installed it into the closet using a packing tape, then layered the inside with 2mm Mylar.

LIGHTING: I started with a box full of small cfls while i waited for my 150 watt Hydro Farm cfl to come in. I soon after added 3 45 watt and 2 68 watt cfls. In all, it's a little over 380 watts right now. I'm thinking I can add more as needed...

VENTILATION: I added the oscillating fan to stir the air around. My biggest concern now is the ventalation at night when the closet doors are shut. Last night I cut a hole in the closet ceiling sheet rock hoping the hot air would rise out. I'm looking at getting a wall-to-wall fan installed to release the hot air exhaust. That seems like the best option at the moment. I found a wall-to-wall at Lowe's for around 60 bucks. The temp is anywhere from the low-mid 60's in the coolest part of the evening and can get up to the low 80's the warmest point of the day. I think I can regulate this a little better with the a fore mentioned fan.

Medium: I'm actually trying two types. I put the Mango in a 3 gallon pot of Sunny Girl Garden Mix I bought online for 30 bucks with shipping. Sunny Girl says that the 2 layer medium is completely self contained with no ph testing needed. According to videos I saw of the product, it's legit. For the Sharif, I went to the local garden center and bought the best quality organic top soil they had, organic chicken & cow compost manure, and perlite. I mixed them by eye about 60, 20, and 20% respectively. The 4 gallons of mixed soil had a nice consistency when I dropped contents of the 1/2 gal starter bucket in. A few days ago I ordered the tri-pack of Fox Farm ferts. I've been giving the Sherrif a 1/4 recommended dose of VF-11 a week.

Because it's my first grow and I'm learning as I go along, each plant has gone through a little more stress than they probably should have, but they seem to be stabilized and headed in the right direction. Now to introduce you to the little ladies:



This is my first, a Mazar-I-Sharif (Indica). I brought her home and started her on a 17/7 hour light cycle and within a few weeks, I noticed all the hairs. This issue gave me a reason to visit my dispensary. I left with some good knowledge, another plant, and good herb. The 'Plantman' told me that the Sharif had started flowering and to get her on a 24 hour light cycle. Baby clones think they're adults and cannot be treated like seedlings. Clones can flower when you put them on dark cycles. So here we are almost several weeks later and shes slowly starting to turn back to a healthy veg state.



This is my Mango (Indica). I bought her around the 15th of January. Since, she's been over trimmed, over ferted, and transplanted. Needless to say that these plants have shown much patience with my beginning ways, but it shows how virile these weeds really are!

Since I'm having so much fun doing this, I thought I'd make a time line that starts 1/1:


Day 1 (1/1/11): Who shot the Sharif? Ya, I'm a Marley fan just like you. Here's my scrawny Sharif on her first day home.

Day 9 (1/9): That's the inside of a Mylar balloon (not foil)!


Day 9 (1/9): Notice the hairs starting to form...


Day 12 (1/12): I believe I hooked up the 150 watt cfl around the 12th. At this point, I was beginning to think the hairs were a little unusual...


Day 15 (1/15): This is the day I went to the dispensary to ask advice about the Sharif. I came home with a Mango...


Day 15 (1/15): I trimmed the Sharrif's top 3 or 4 nodes and bottom 3 to leave a total of 4 or 5 main on the stem. I should have been logging the details from the start... The bottom clipping was a nice little prospect clone, but it's demise was due to my cloning inexperience. Since then, I've seen some really great homemade cloning tools online that were made from water and soda bottles. I figure I'll learn in time.


Day 15 (1/15): I trimmed the Mango up pretty good too. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have touched a pair of trimmers until a week or two into transplanting.


Day 19 (1/19): You can see all the new growth in less than a week on the Mango...


Day 19 (1/19): You can definitely see the beginning of flowering here. The Sharif is now 4 days into 24 hr re-veg.


Day 24 (1/24): A few changes here. Transplants were on the 20th (Mango) and the 22nd (Sharif). I also installed the 2mm Mylar and osculating fan on a few days ago. The Sharif is looking full and ready to go full bore into veg state for another couple weeks or so! If you're a beginner and have an affinity for Indica as I do, try out this strain. It's VERY hearty.


Day 24 (1/24): Here's the Mango today, 2 days after transplant. She was in a bit of shock (you can se the crippled looking leaves it sprouted a few days ago), but is recovering nicely. I've noticed that the Mango is a more delicate strain than the Mazar-I-Sharif. I guess that makes sense since the Sharif's native habitat is the hot and cold climate Afghanistan.

That's all I have for now....

Sorry about the above timeline. I was timed out of the editing feature... HEre are some pics of the girls humble beginnings and a few current ones.

I'll try again...

Clones are exact replica's of their "mothers" Which are already mature plants. ;)

Even a seedling will start to flower once she or he is sexually mature. However all those flowers are merely "Pre" flowers, and not the full swing flowering that will create buds. That majic happens around 12/12 :pimp: (note, those flowers are still sexually mature, so if you have a male like I did (on purpose),... he can and will pollenate your veging girls! :o )

Preflowers are simply a sign that the plant is ready to start to try and reproduce, you don't HAVE to put the plant into 12/12 just because it's showing flowers.


Your girls are looking pretty good! :greenthumb: :weedpoke:

Thanks Can. I took a look at your first grow and it looks awesome. I'm envious:stoned: I love the pic with the chair next to it. I'll sit and stare at my plants and my wife mocks me for it. (As I lift my bowl) Cheers:jointsmile:!

I'll toast to that! :S2:

My wife thinks I'm nuts for watching the girls like I do, but I swear I can see em growing!!!!!! :stoned:

That first grow log blew gonads. :mad: My 2nd one went MUCH better! http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...-shot-2-a.html :rastasmoke:

And things have only improved from there! ;)

I'm lookin forward to seeing what you do with these girls from here,.... you've already got a good start! :hippy:

My boss called and gave me the day off today, so I decided to take a few pics to update my grow journal:D

On a side note, I realize I love growing marijuana for multiple reasons:
1.) Pot is awesome.
2.) Pot growing is cathartic. Almost as much as smoking it!
3.) (This is the kicker) If I can get 3 ounces from these two plants, that's going to save me over a thousand bucks on dispensary costs! I've grown a vegetable garden for over a decade, and this by far has a chance to be the most financially lucrative garden ever!

Ok, I'll get off my soap box now... After reading Canniwhatsis ScrOG journal, then doing some more research, I decided to go the direction of training my Mango to spread out as to let in more light for the undergrowth of the plant. Because I don't have a lot of room for a screen, I thought I'd train with clothespins for now. It seems to have worked! By weighing down the main branches with pins (the clothespins are actually very light), there's been a lot of new growth that's now getting light and wanting to branch out. Just over night, leaves that hadn't been getting any light are now reaching for the stars! Thanks Can, I owe this effort to your grow log:thumbsup:

As for the Sharif, my Fox Farms Trio pack just arrived in the mail. 3 days ago I had given her some watered down VF-11 (1/4 strength). I think I'm going to give her straight water today or tomorrow, and wait for the next watering to give her the nutes. As for the mango, she's self contained in her Sunny Girl potting soil, so she should be good with little medium care for the long haul.

If anyone has anything to add, I'd be mighty appreciative:hippy: Here's the latest:

i'm growing a Mazar Sharif as well, but its crossed with an LA confidental..

i'm in my 4th week of 12/12/ but am in almost 2.5 week of flower.

cant wait to see.

i've had Mango before.. good stuff! hope you grow goes well

that one pic.. did you top it? or is that 2 plants in one pot??

Hey Zubey. If you've got any pics of your girl, I'd love to see them:jointsmile:. It's interesting how each strain grows differently. The Sharif seems to be more of a compact type of plant, not bushy and spread out like the Mango.

I can see why you thought the mango was two plants. When I bought her, she was spread out into a 3 prong shape (you can see the baby photos above). Once pinned down, she just spread over the whole side of the pot! I'm going to have to try and get her to spread back over the other side somehow. Probably have to use string or twist ties as she gets bigger...

Here's a shot of her rear end that shows exactly what I'm talking about:D:

So I've been having a few issues related to ventilation and something I'm not quite sure of. My hands are tied with the ventilation. It's in the closet of my bedroom and the doors need to be shut. I'm thinking of building a cabinet that is a lot more customizable than a shared bedroom closet. The other issue is one with the health of the Mango. The new growth is lime green with green in the creases, curling/twisting, and has all but stopped growing. The bottom growth is still getting fuller along with the stock. The weird thing is that this soil is supposed to be self contained... It may be a lack of zinc because of nute lockout according to what I've read, but that's a guess. I haven't been able to test my ph because my ph stick's misplaced. I ordered ph up/down with test kit that should be here soon. The new clones were homeless, so I took them in. They're something called 'Lavendar' and is a Sativa/Indica blend according to the dispensary I got them from. Well, any advice would be welcome.