My First Ever Grow (Advice more than Welcome)

Alright guys...Here are some new pics.

The first is last night when I caught my skywalker in the act of breaking the soil. That's the best I could get. I'm having trouble deciding what setting my digital camera should be on to get the best pics.

The second is a close up of the above.

The third is my C99 X Neville's Haze on day two. The pics in my last post were it's first day.

The fourth is my skywalker now that it's up.

I'm finding it quite interesting to note the differences already. The C99's leaves are facing up whereas you can see that the skywalker has one leaf that goes towards the ground. They both look healthy, with slightly purpleish stems. What do you guys think? Same light, same soil and what not.

SoccerGal.......Im an Earth Juice lover in soil.....

In Foxfarm Ocean Forest soil.....I add at the first transplant 2:1 ratio of worm castings and perlite, 1 tablespoon of blood meal, 2 tablespoons of bone meal, 3 tablespoons greensand plus, and a touch of lime and seaweed meal (a tablespoon of each most times)......

Now the feedings from the beginning go like this ......altho' a lot of people think you can't burn with organic nutes and ferts....you can !!
....so I say this.....

I start the first feeding at Mild....using Grow, Bloom, Meta K and Microblast all at the MILD feeding dosage....but use it at 1/2 strength of mild.

I feed every watering so this is my method....it's basically smaller feedings every watering for 2 weeks.

Then I step up to MILD at full strength....2 weeks

.....I then step up to Normal, but the feedings are every other watering then.

I don't know the amount of feeding you make up or mix but I use gallon containers.
I mix the prescribe amount pH it and then pH a second gallon of aged water

....I then mix these equally 1/2 and 1/2 in another empty container. Which makes 2 gallons of pHed food for me......like I said ....it's my method and it works well.

It's a weed and will grow crazy like one....but treat it wisely

I'm trying to follow your feeding schedule...let me see if I have this right.

I had decided to use Foxfarm Ocean Forest Soil. I was going to do it as follows: 1/2 Foxfarm, 1/4 Vermiculite, 1/4 perilite. What do you think of doing that...and adding in the blood meal, bonemeal, dolomite lime? These are all things I know I have access to.

As for the feedings...Would this be a correct interpretation.

Week 1 - 3: No Nutes till 4 or 5th set of alternating nodes/transplant
Week 4: You said use the suggestions for mild, but at half strength. So that would be 1/4 tbsp of grow, 1/4 tbsp bloom, 1/4 tsp Meta K, and 1-2 tsp of the microblast (using as foilage spray). Or were you suggesting I make a mix of full strength mild...and also ph a gallon of aged water. Then put half and half in another container so that would yeild 1 gallon of the half strength mild mixture, and then add the remaining water to the 1/2 gallon of full strength mild mixture...therefore having 2 full gallons of half strength mix?

That seemed long winded huh? Just making sure I got it.

You do that every watering for 2 weeks.

Week 6: Switch to Mild at full strength still feeding every watering

Week 8: Switch to Normal but every other watering.

Ok...so you use the same mix all the way through. There is no change from vegetative stage to flowering? I'm curious about this. I know the Meta K is needed throughout the grow. But I was not aware that you were to continue to use the grow during bloom...or use the bloom during grow. Therefore...did I understand correctly that you use all THROUGHOUT the grow? It seems to me that that certaintly would be beneficial to the plant. So yes...Am I getting this right?


<~kinda out of it

Also...thanks so much for the input Rasta!!!!! :)

No comments on the fact that one of my seedlings looks like she's got her arms up in the air like "PRAISE JESUS!!" or the fact that my other one is obviously a lesbian cause she's got that leaf hanging down like she can't keep her tongue in her mouth? Anyone?

Should I be worried?

they look fiiiine

They're doing good growth wise. Not sure why only 2 of the 8 came up...but that's ok. I was only going to go ahead with 1 or 2...but was going to wait till they were old enough to sex. Now I have to just hope one or both are girls.

Not much more in the way of height, as I've kept my lights close, but the leaves are getting bigger. I'll post pics when there is a significant change. Oh and Organic Rasta, did I get it right?

Hey soccergal what kind of CFL's did you end up with? If you got
any of those 42 watt CFL's I recomended save those for flowering.
I just found out myself they are 2,700 which is warm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yabatab

Hey soccergal what kind of CFL's did you end up with? If you got
any of those 42 watt CFL's I recomended save those for flowering.
I just found out myself they are 2,700 which is warm.

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I've sort of got a mix. I have a 42 W bulb that is cool spectrum 6500K. I also have 3 27W cool spectrums at 6500K. I also have two 42W warm spectrum bulbs which I'm not using yet. But I may include one of them with my grow to even out the spectrum some.

You can find them at Walmart though...They say Daylight 100. Cool Daylight Color. Like in the picture! I like these bulbs. The bigger 42W Daylight bulb has a really nice shape to it. So yes, Walmart and Home Depot.

So that said, I've got the three 26/27 Watters at 1600 lumens a pop. And I've got the one 42W daylight cfl's wich I don't have the package but think is 2600 lumens. And I think I'm gonna add one of my warm spectrum 2700K 2600 lumen warm spectrum bulbs. Which will be a total of 10000 lumens in Veg. And I have a small area and am just gonna be growing two plants.

Some pics... First 2 are Ms. C99 x Nevilles haze. I believe I'll name her Hermione.

Last 3 are the Skywalker, believe I'll name her R23P0. Haha...

Yeah not really much reason to update...leafs are definitly getting bigger...and I'm happy to say they are not stretching.

I am taking this info from Organic Rasta that I found in a thread in Organic Growing.

It's a lot like what he told me before but more detailed. I'm putting it here as it's most likely what I'm going to be doing with mine, and good information is important to include in these things.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Organic Rasta

Lookin good there Redman.....

I grew from seed this go round so I fed using all of the Earth Juice products once I started feeding. The only one I don't use is the catalyst

I built up to a normal feeding from 1/4 the strength....sounds mild but it works from day 12 of the plants lifeand once the leaves are a dark healthy green I skip feedings with aged pHed water.

At the beginning of flowering I kept the Earth Juice Grow at the normal strength for 2 weeks and then backed off slowly once the stretch had calmed down enough to not make the plant use the N up too fast and early.

.....in flowering I also use the Grow at mild strength too, the Bloom at a teaspoon stronger than normal and the meta k at normal plus a teaspoon.
I don't forget the "K"; it's just as important in flowering.
The microblast I use has never gone past mild.
I also supplement with Jamaican Bat Guano.....a teaspoon sprinkled on the top of the soil and fingered into the top 2 inches.

Now for the end ....coming close to finishing.....three weeks before harvest I use aged h2o....pHed ofcourse and that's it......I let the plant do it's thing in 3 weeks and don't take any of the leaves off at all thru it's life. Those are the plant's solar panels.


In my opinion Earth Juice is a complete feeding regiment and should be used together and not just as one source during your feedings. Just my opinion.


stay green Bro
Jah Bless

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Just putting it here to keep record of what I'm gonna do.

Well my friends, I'm happy to say that my little girls are growing! It's been 5 days now and I believe I see a set of leaves growing. I took some pics for you all to see. This is a milestone, sort of like the first step.

Also, you'll notice one of the "baby leaves" is somewhat browned. I'm questioning if maybe I have too much light on them right now. But I don't know that that's possible. Only 3 of my lights are on them currently. So...I don't know what that's about.

Umm...no nutes yet, obviously. I'm watering every other, to every third day, basically going on the way the soil feels and their weight. I'm not exactly sure how much growth should be seen in a week...but here you have it. Oh, and also, one of them used to have a purple stem, but new stem growth is green. Interesting.

Pics are best quality I could get. ENJOY!

First two are the sky, last three are the C99 x Nevilles Haze.

Are you talking about the water leaf turning brown? They will
do that they die off after they have served their purpose.

Looks good for a week I cant wait to see them in a month.

:thumbsup:

word on that.
they looking healthy

finaly droped the 3 seeds into the soil. going for round 2. :P
so how long tell you saw a seedling pop out of the soil?
and after you waterd droped the seed in and then rewaterd... how long until you water agin? when the soil is dry?

I'm no authority on the issue, but I personally had light on mine so as soon as they sprouted they had light. And it only took...hmm...2 days I guess. I kept everything pretty moist. Probably more than I should have as some of my seeds rotted...but...these two seem to be doing very well!

I guess we all learn as we go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yabatab

Are you talking about the water leaf turning brown? They will
do that they die off after they have served their purpose.

Looks good for a week I cant wait to see them in a month.

:thumbsup:

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Yes, it is the water leaf I guess. I'm glad to know that's normal! Thank you very much for commenting.

I can't wait to see them in a month myself! Just from yesterday until today there has been growth, its awesome to see.

did you have lights on them when you put the seeds in teh soil? or did you keep them in teh dark tell they sprouted?

after you put the seeds in teh soil did you put the lights on them right away or wait tell they sprouted?

Quote:

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after you put the seeds in teh soil did you put the lights on them right away or wait tell they sprouted?

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I kept the light on them. It helped provide warmth, and also, if I wasn't here when they sprouted, I wanted to make sure they had immediate light. I have limited space as is, so the less stretching the better!

cool.
ok then from Day 1 in the soil how logn until you water agin?? did you wait until the soil was dry and immediatly water? or did you water ass soon as the pots were geting lighter so to keep moister in the soil?

oh and im using the same pots you have from the dollor stor (wasn't knocking themwas shocked to see some else using them too :P)

Yeah those pots aren't bad. I think it's a decent idea to start them off in the smaller pots so they can establish a strong rootball.

As for watering, I'm gonna say I probably end up doing it every other day or so. I go by the moisture of the soil. Same method as most...kinda poke the soil and if it's still moist give it a bit. But be careful not to let it dry out.

so i should probably water tommarow then huh? being that would be day 2 in the soil?

Id start to cut back on the water a tad you dont want your root
systems getting root rot. Once you cut back on the water the
root system will grow out cause the roots will be trying to find
new places they can access water. Just dont let them dry out.

Thanks Yabatab!

That's a good idea. I'm suprised at how fast one of the plants root system is growing. I can see the roots at the bottom already...but the other, I don't think it's doing to much. That may be part of the reason. Maybe I'll start going every 3 days.

So keeping the soil moist = ????

just to the water passes the seedling?
until the water comes out the drain holes??

For seedlings, I use a spray bottle and just keep the top inch of the soil moist. Once they have grown beyond the first set of little leaves, I start watering more, and gradually increase the amount I spritz for the first week, then start watering normally (e.g. infrequently) until water seeps from the bottom. That's what works for me.

awsome answer thx.

ok next question.

so basicly every day spray em?

The first couple or three days, I spritz lightly, but frequently, every four or six hours or so, so the soil gets neither too wet nor too dry. Those first few days are when the babies are their most vulnerable, so I give 'em a little extra care. ;)

k cool. i gave them a good soaking (tell water came out the holes) so im goin to leave for em alone for a couple days(as far as watering) and let the soil dry out a lil. then ill spray with water till it starts collecting then stop. sound good or should i adjust somthing?

That sounds good Six! Thanks so much for all the input Jamstigator!

Heres a little picture update of the ladies! (Hopefully) I've still had them on 24 hr. light. Aged water. I've taken Yabatab's advice and it seems to have worked because I can definitly see roots going on! YAY!

As you can see, my Skywalker, which sprouted AFTER the C99 has taken a lead. In the pics I posted on the 6th you could see a few little leaves beginning to grow, well now there are more. It has 8 and has more starting in the middle. My plants really haven't grown upward very much. I'm trying to limit the stretching, however I do wonder if I'm gonna need to let them stretch some to get alternating nodes, or if that will just happen on its own? Any thoughts on that?

Here are the pics! This is day 9th of growth.

These are the Skywalker, I'll post the C99 next.

Ok...C99!

Here she be!

So...how am I doing 9 days in?

Lookin' good so far! :thumbsup:
Do you have air movement over the plants? :confused:
It could strengthen those stems, they look a little weak. :stoned:

k couple questions.

is there such thing as to much perlite for soil mediums? cuz i water but when i let the cups rest the top layer of soil is almost 80% perlite. now im worried that the seeds and staying moist due to to much perlite. is this a possable problem?

also i use a 120 mm fan in a 2 30gal rubbermaids. my room is an avg 70degrees somteims cooler. now should i even use a fan? using about 200+w CFLs and i got the fan right on top of the box so im worried that im not even allowing the box to get warm enough? is it possble?

Sounds like a good idea. I don't currently have much going in the way of airflow, but plan to construct my intake out take here shortly. That should provide enough air movement.

No one wants weak stems!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiXFeEtDeEp

k couple questions.

is there such thing as to much perlite for soil mediums? cuz i water but when i let the cups rest the top layer of soil is almost 80% perlite. now im worried that the seeds and staying moist due to to much perlite. is this a possable problem?

also i use a 120 mm fan in a 2 30gal rubbermaids. my room is an avg 70degrees somteims cooler. now should i even use a fan? using about 200+w CFLs and i got the fan right on top of the box so im worried that im not even allowing the box to get warm enough? is it possble?

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It's great how this thread has turned into a Q & A for you.

As for their being too much perlite, I'm sure it's possible. I believe that you should probably have at most a 1:1 ratio. So, maybe half your medium should be perlite, but not 80%. I also already shared with you some of the different mixes you could try. Just go to like the second page of this thread and you'll see where we already had that conversation. Hope this helps!

first-sry didn't mean to hijack your thread :(

second-when i spoke about the 80% perlite. i mean just the top quarter inch of the top is mostly perlite. as if when i water it makes all the soil sink to the bottom and the seed is just surronded by perlite and no soil. at least thats what im worried about.

agin sorry

Thanks Omega!

Six, I had a problem with a few of mine like that. Because the soil did that when watered, they ended up much deeper than I would have liked them to be. Maybe this is why some people only put small amounts of perlite in the actual soil, but put a layer at the bottom. Hmmm...something to think about. Also, vermiculite retains moisture. Right? I know one is for drainage and one retains moisture but it's like...6 something a.m. I don't function at this hour. LOL. That said, I'd look into that. If you added some vermiculite then maybe you wouldn't have to worry so much about your seed not getting water. Just some thoughts.

As for hijacking my thread. We all need a hijacking once in awhile. Keeps us on our toes. Plus, try to answer your questions is beneficial to this whole learning process. Which is exactly what it is. I'd assume that whether you're new or old to this there are always new things to learn.

So yes...hijacker you are, but I don't mind! I kind of like that someone is keeping regular tabs on this thread, so hijack away, and hopefully I'll continue to see you on here.