My First Ever Grow (Advice more than Welcome)

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Originally Posted by soccergal

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.

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yeah im not sure what the hell is goin on. i just trashed my 2nd attepmt :(. woke up this morning (about an hour ago) looked at the pots in hopes of seeeing something...nothing. so i try to lightly push away the dirt to find the seeds and i look and NO SEEd??? what the heck happend to my seed??? no steem system no nothing. just dirt and perlite. so i dump one pot and spent 10 min looking for the seed andnothing. huh. is that what you meant by, ''Because the soil did that when watered, they ended up much deeper than I would have liked."

so far i have had 0 success. 0% germination rate. and is really bring me down :( who was it you talked to for help? i need there # :P cuz somthing is wrong and i can't determin or fix it

place your seeds bewteen two moist paper towels and leave them be for 3 days just make sure you keep them damp and not wet cover them in some clear wrap they will sprout in the towels then you place them 1-2" in the dirt

is the towl method better then the cup mythod? i would think there is a possablitly that your rott could get cought in the pors of the tissue and could damage the root.

so what is causing my seed to dissapear?

probly just bad seeds if it was bag seed its known to suck at times every seed i ever germed i just put right into the soil and added about 4oz of water every 4-5 days they popped the soil in 4 days and continued the water the same until they were on the 2nd set of leaves.

It's really not possible that it just dissapeared. You most likely just mistook it for dirt. By going deeper I mean that when I put my seeds in the soil the soil was BARELY covering it. I mean, I could almost see the seed, and then sprinkled some soil over top. But when I watered, it pushed the seed down deeper. You don't need to pack your soil, watering it will do that.

The cup method does work. Bag seed is kind of a gamble. You never know what your success rate is going to be. That said, one of my plants is from bag seed. And it's growing stronger than my other plant. So...you never know.

If you want, you can do the cup method, and then go to the paper towel method. This seems to work for most. I simply skipped it as it was suggested to me that by doing so I'd be less likely to mess up the root and as I'm a newb. the less fool proof, the better!!!

And also, are you using the same seeds as your previous attempts? Because if so, this may be an indication that your seeds are not mature. That doesn't mean that none of them will pop, it just means that not all will. I think that was the case with mine.

Everyone I've talked to is pretty much in this forum. Another good place to go is the chatroom. There are usually some very helpful people in there. That said, anything you could want to know about germination can be found here on the boards using the search function. Trust me!

Remember green seeds, or even plain tan are usually not mature enough. You want to give the seeds a little squish to make sure they don't crack. If they crack, they're no good. There is plenty more info like this out there. Hopefully you figure it out. Good Luck!

I always give my seeds wheather pot or tomato,cukes, whatever.. a 24 hour presoak with water from my fish tank...Then to the paper towels...with great success....

I've posted questions here and there, done massive amount of reading, and seen this thread a few times. My grow is similiar to yours soccer. I'm growing my 4 babies in a small cab, mylared, computer fan (but desk fan going also), with 6-26w cool whites, 8" pots, and a timer. I've also got 4-42w soft whites but did a bunch of research finally finding out GE soft whites are 2700-3000k. So I'll flower with them. I used the paper towel method germinating and all four I tried sprouted. Hence, I've got three pots going now and will transplant out of the one that has two plants in it after I can sex 'em, I plan to LST after the 4 or 5th node, cause the cab's only 32" tall. I'm gonna try to take some clones from the girls and evetually ScrOG 'em. I think mine sprouted about the same time as yours. Mine were about 1Sep. I almost did my 30-10-10 nute thing today, but I think I better wait another week or two. The babies are right up (1/2"-1") under the bulbs. I've read they can even touch and not to worry about it. I think I'll do the mollases for flowering fert thing. Sure sounds good. And proper curing is also important, apparently. So anyway, good luck. Happy growing. Just remember we are gonna make mistakes on a first grow, but the good people here will help, for sure

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Originally Posted by qdavid

So anyway, good luck. Happy growing. Just remember we are gonna make mistakes on a first grow, but the good people here will help, for sure

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Thanks! Yes, I'm sure there are going to be mistakes. Hopefully none too deadly. Your grow does sound a lot like mine. Except I've only got two plants going. I'm really hoping at least one is female. I know it's too early to tell sex,
but one of mine does already have what looks like pistils. So...hopefully that will end up being what they are. Only time will tell.

I'm also going to be LSTing. I know I need to transplant mine, but I'm trying to wait till around week 3. By that time I think they'll be much stronger and I can start with the nutes. It is my understanding that you should wait until around week 3 to introduce the nutes.

I have also thought about cloning, but I really haven't looked into it too much. I will though at some point look at that information. Curing seems to be very important, and takes patience. That is something I definitly have.

Good luck to you!!!

i took 5 seeds from dr chronic. Put them in water till they cracked and a little root started. Then put them into RW cubes. Viola, 4 out of the 5 have sprouted in 3 days.

hey soccer, i started my grow pretty much the same time as you did, and i got to tell you, ur plants look very much upto shapes. Ur probably around day 10 or 11 and u had 5x the number leaves. looks good trust me, and thanks for the info on streching; so yeah i am definatly gonna be checking out this thread from time to time to see what my plants should be looking like.

Alright friends, I've got issues. Two leaves on each plant are discolored and seem to be passing on. I've read about first sets of leaves dying off, but thought it was the round leaves...not REAL leaves. Heres some pics. I'm not sure what the prob could be. Then again, maybe it's normal. HELP!

Other than that...they're a bit droopy cause they were just watered. Or at least that's what I think. Transplantation should be coming up soon. I said I'd wait till 3 weeks, but maybe I should do it sooner. They're at about the 2 week mark now. What do you think guys?

Attached on this post is the C99.

Skywalker will follow.

Skywalker

The bottom searated leaves wouldn't be yellowing and dying naturally this early...usually not for a couple months. It's some other factor. At this early stage I would say too much water? If I understand the thread, you are not giving them nutes yet....they are not stretching and they look full, so light is probably not an issue at this point.

To be honest I've only done outdoor grows, so I'm not familiar with the differences between the two growing styles, but plants are still plants.

I've been lurking this site for a few weeks, reading the threads, and learning from you and all the others here who have been so generous to document their experiences and help me as I plan my first indoor grow. All the parts & pieces for my room are in the mail and I should be up and running by next weekend. When it's closer to planting, I'll start a thread too (and not hijack yours!! haha, jk deepsix) :D

I hope your babies get better soon. Hopefully you'll get some better pointers from someone here who had already been through your dilema and knows exactly what the problem is.

Yeah Doco...from asking around and talking to Bobbong and Smokey it seems it's time to transplant. That and start up with the nutes. I was waiting till the 3 week mark...but hey...they need it earlier. Might be becoming root bound or dwarfed. So I'm gonna curb that NOW.

Yeah they are not stretching...I've been careful to keep the lights close. But it's been suggested that they are dwarfing. I'm not sure what that means. They are definitly growing...just not really upward. But then again, that's what I was going for....and why I've kept my lights so close.

So...who knows!?! Not me. All I can do is try what's been suggested and hope for the best.

As for you and your grow, good luck! I'm not sure what you can learn from me...but I'm bound to learn from my own mistakes so if you can learn from them too that's all the better. I think I have a decent grasp on lights and nutes and soil. But...that's about it. LOL.

As for hijacking...it's just one big party so go right ahead. Wouldn't want my buddy six to get lonely. HEHE. Joking SIX!

could be a lack of N but before you do that they need a repotting into a bigger pot like 7in they could be getting root bound id pick up ome 10-0-0 anyways just to have it so transplant them wait 2 days and feed them

maybe im wrong but Invision don't you want High N/K and during flowerin no more N/K and High P?

9 days? Mine are 1/2 that. Good for you. I misted a couple times. Thought I burned 'em. But I guess not. I think it's a Ph problem. My well water's way too acid. Tested on meter 5.7. I'll just be putting sulfur in the water from now on I guess. Anyway, looking good so far.

yeah high N is the first number like 10-0-0 and then flower nutes like 10-50-10 right now she needs 10-0-0

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Originally Posted by qdavid

9 days? Mine are 1/2 that. Good for you. I misted a couple times. Thought I burned 'em. But I guess not. I think it's a Ph problem. My well water's way too acid. Tested on meter 5.7. I'll just be putting sulfur in the water from now on I guess. Anyway, looking good so far.

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Damn, I got that back-asswards........again Dolomite lime to raise, sulphur to lower. I'll get that shit right....eventually.

Allright guys, I picked up some Alaska fish emulsion and superthrive until my Earthjuice products arrive. And I'm transplanting today. So wish me luck!

i checked out the pictures, ur plants look ok. i am kinda suffering the same agony and tention as you. some of my plants definatly look a little droopy. i think its because were overwatering, or in my case couldbe because of the extreme heats my HPS puts out. But i compared mine to urs, theyre about the same timeline, and yes off course the whole nutes thing, i wanted to wait three weeks too, but F it they needs boost and they needs it now. good luck with ur transplanting, i am styll gonna wait another week. good luck keep us posted soccer.

So I believe that problem was averted. My plants have been transplanted and I have added some nutes. That said...this won't be the only transplant. Unfortunatley I've been working so much (training for a new position) that I haven't had the chance to get everything I want. At least my next pay check will be plenty good enough to do so.

I must say, my plants were rootbound, and I think that was a big part of the problem as well, they also had most likely used all of the nutrients in the soil. Therefore, I simply had to put them in bigger containers once again with Scotts soil, perlite. Not ideal...but better than letting them die until I get a day off. Worms Way is an hour away...so I need a day off to go. On here you'll see new pics which are OBVIOUSLY better.

Oh...also...one of them has started to grow leafs where the two dead leafs are. Should I take off those dead leafs?

Here is my shopping list for Worms Way:

1 - Alaska Fish Fertilizer
1 - Down to Earth Bloodmeal
1 - Down to Earth Steamed Bone Meal
1 - Whitney Farms Dolomite Lime
1 - Perlite
1 - Vermiculite
1 - Sand, Horticulture Grade
1 - Fox Farm Ocean Forest Organic Potting Soil
1 - Rapitest pH Test Kit, Soil
Worm castings?
1 - Earth Juice Meta-K
1 - Earth Juice Grow
1 - Earth Juice Bloom
1 - Earth Juice MicroBlast
Grow bags or pots

I forgot to attach the pics with that last post, so here they are! The first two are the Skywalker...next two the C99, and the last...a hornet that attacked me while taking these pics!!!!

Also...you can't see it anymore, but the dead leafs...should I pick them off?

ummm BUMP! Don't leave me hangin fellas!

''soccergal''Lookn good im pretty sure mine and your plants are around the same age maybe a couple days apart ,But never the less cool to compare mine to your's

BigBud it definitly looks like your plants are a bit larger than mine. I think mine are a little more compact though, which is what I'm going for. That said...I started LST today. So far so good! I waited until now because I wanted to make VERY sure that they had established a strong root system. I've actually just put ties on the C99 so far as the skywalker does not seem to need it yet.

How much do you expect to yeild per plant? I'm not sure really what my goal should be. I'm just enjoying the experience. Haven't killed them yet!

I'll put up pics of my LST attempt in the A.M. See what she looks like then.

I'm glad you posted! Now I have something to meassure my progress against.

Yes your's are way more compact than mine. But like twice a week i set my plants down far from the light to let the secondary growth stretch because i can tie the secondary growth down to let more under growth come out .

Im expecting close to 5 ounce's off from each plant because im also puting in a 150hps

Also some advice on LST anything that is blocking new growth tie it down such as fan leave's or even new under growth .

Ok, so I started the LSTing. The C99 has been LSTed for the past 4 days. It seems I have to retie quite frequently with it.

Today I put the first two ties on the skywalker, but I'm somewhat unsure of where to go from here. Any advice you guys may have I'd really appreciate.

I have read much about LSTing...and yet putting theory into practice is proving to be a little bit more complicated. I don't want to over LST, and yet...I'm not sure which parts of the plant should be tied down. Help!

Here are some pics!

Oh and they'll be transplanted to their permanent homes this coming weekend. FINALLY!!!! I think they'll really like the new grow bags. They've grown a tremendous amount since placed in these new "pots." I guess they really were getting root bound before.

Pic 1: My anchor tie. As you can see this is also by the very first set of leaves, which died. Also...whats going on in the middle there? I see new growth, but also those little hair like things??

Pic 2: This is the first day of LST for the C99, which was about 3-4 days ago

Pic 3: C99 today...seems to be responding ok to the LST

Pic 4: Skywalker day 1, not sure what else on it to tie down...?

Pic 5: Top view of Skywalker

bump

Just a little update. Everything is going very well. I've continued to LST and I went ahead and topped one of them.

I think I'm going to top one and let the other one be, but LST both. This way I can see the benefits to both.

They both have very distinct odors. One smells kind of citrusy while the other smells skunky.

I'll update with some pics most likely on Wednesday.

I didn't get too much input on my last couple posts, so I'm starting to feel a little neglected by the community, where oh where is the love? :confused:

you really shouldnt have topped while in the middle of LST way too much stress better keep an eye on her closely the LST to me is a better training method

Yes, I had a lot of different advice on that issue, which is why I topped one only. I did it early in veg to give her plenty of time to recover. Hopefully it doesn't bite me in the ass!

when should i tie it down still dont understand fully but im still lookin on how to, also how far away should my light be to make it stop streching to make it look like this?

wow. those plants look really good. im pretty jealous. im usin a lot of the same stuff as you but yours look way better. what temps and humidity are you keepin yours at? keep it up dude.

CJBHM52 I'll be honest with you, I really don't know my temps, or my humidity. I do keep a bowl of water in my growbox to add humidity. And I just make sure that the bulbs aren't too close to the plants and that the fan is going.

I haven't posted pics in awhile as after I topped it took awhile to see a big different...however now it is significantly visible that the undergrowth has continued...and I'm happy to say I now have two tops!!! YAY! I'm posting pics on Wednesday...for real this time.

Well it's been awhile since I updated. I haven't posted pictures in quite some time. I went through a really rough patch with these plants...they were dying and drooping.

I'm happy to say the revival has begun!!!

The Skywalker is looking excellent, and though the C99 is still droopy...it's also doing a lot better.

I'm not sure why she's droopy...as I am doing the exact same things with both plant, but we'll see what happens.

The Sky showed sex today. This is good I think as they're still in Veg. So at least one out of two is female. HOORAY!

Here are some pics.


Pic 1: My Sky showing her stuff. That's female correct?

Pic 2 and 3: Pics of the Skywalker

Pic 4 and 5: Droopy C99

bump...

I'm getting discouraged by the lack of response on here.

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Originally Posted by soccergal

CJBHM52 I'll be honest with you, I really don't know my temps, or my humidity. I do keep a bowl of water in my growbox to add humidity. And I just make sure that the bulbs aren't too close to the plants and that the fan is going.

I haven't posted pics in awhile as after I topped it took awhile to see a big different...however now it is significantly visible that the undergrowth has continued...and I'm happy to say I now have two tops!!! YAY! I'm posting pics on Wednesday...for real this time.

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You try to add humidity to your plants? I think you should be doing the opposite.

How far down does that plastic lookin bag lining stuff go?

How often do you let your plants get dam near bone dry?

Get a cheap min / max / humidty temp meter 15$ maybe.


Dont stress the ferts, dont give them to much attention, let them dry out every time before you water, keep your room around 74 degrees and 40% humidity just ball park #s!

A link to the my first grow, started it 9/20/2006

http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=87006