First time grow KC Brains Skunk #1 & White KC

Hi All

This is my first grow seems to be going alright. I did also have some NL during germination & propogation but they all failled to make it to seedlings. WIll have to do a dedicated NL grow with the rest of my seeds as I reckon I know where I made mistakes.

These seedlings are about two weeks old and as I say it seems to be going ok but a couple have started to droop a bit since being put in the larger rockwool cubes & te NFT tank.

They are under a 250W MH bulb by Solarburst which seems to give good light. I have backed the light off a bit as the temps were getting a bit high & I thought this might be whats causing the droop. The PH in the res is 5.7 - 5.8 although when I test the PH in the tray where the plants sit it is 6.2. Not sure about my tester pen tried calibrating it but not sure if I did it correctly as I bought the most of the kit secondhand with no instructions. SO I also test the PH using a liquid test kit and it shows a nice yello equal to 6.0 on the scale.

Is it possible the plants are adjusting to the new surroundings so to speak. The whole system is on 18/6 at the moment I even switch the air & water pump of with the light. However as said the plants have just been put intot he larger cubes so the roots won't yet be in the water so if this could be a problem later due to drowning in non moving water I'll adjust that but if I can get them used to 18 hours of moving water and 6 hours still I'll get to sleep easier than with the pumps running.

Thanks for all the tips on these forums and anymore are welcomed.
JH :rastasmoke:

http://scotlandrocks.co.uk/grn/1.jpg
http://scotlandrocks.co.uk/grn/2.jpg
http://scotlandrocks.co.uk/grn/3.jpg

P.S. I added the saucer of water today to try to increase the humidity.

you should get that light closer, thats why they are stretching soooooo much.

I just backed the light off. Actually the ones that are stretched happened when in the propogator in indirect light. This stopped after they were put under the MH bulb the shortest one broke throug to the surface while the light was a far away from the propogater as possible almost touching the shelf above. They haven\'t stretched much since.

However I did have the light closer about 2 foot above the tallest plant and the temp from the probe you can see on the mylar cover with the fan at max got to 85 - 90 with the door open. Thats why I backed it off last night and I was going to bring the bulb back closer in stages once the leaves started perking up a bit again..

word, sounds good. LoL, maybe you know best eh?

Nah certainly don't think I know best, just giving you the score but I can see why you thought the taller ones stretched after being put under the light. One thing I'm sorting is a proper nursery cloner for propogation using standard florescents as the heat from the MH is what killed one of the NL that actually popped through.

no no no, i only say that cuz they are your plants and you do know "best" i was just giving a suggestion, but with that new info, i said "i guess you know best" cuz you do and i didn't!!!

floros are the way to go for seedies.

No worries thanks for the comments. Hope you keep popping in and giving tips throughout the grow.

word. i'll try to keep up to date here. good luck

jack keep a close eye on your ph. It may well be rising in response to the stress of the heat or something. It is important to keep where the plants are down to the 5.8-6.0 level....along there. I just lost some brand new seedlings I put in my setup and feel I could have changed that if I had paid more attention to my ph's quick rising. It can be sign of tissue destruction....burn....etc...

Seedlings are frigging wimps at that age.

Welcome to my log Weedhound thanks for stopping by :thumbsup:

Just checked the PH level and in the tray its bang on 5.8 :)

As I'm trying to follow the no nutes till 5 sets of leaves checking the PH is about the most fussing I get to do on the seedlings along with panicking over the temps :( . Just keeping my fingers crossed as many as possible make it through to become decent plants.

If I get one female out of the lot I'll be satisfied, one from each strain I'll be happy & anymore will be a bonus. I'll take clones from them and set up a decent little clone / nursery for seedlings using the information in the FAQ's.

Good to hear. I'll check back later and see how it's going along w/dusto. :)

Alright Dusto & WH

Bit of an update as the beanlings are now 3 weeks. Not a bad bit of growth on them. They seemed to be suffering an N defficiency at the beginning of the week so I put 6ml of Formulex into the res of 12Litres water. Seemed to perk them up a bit so when I changed the res this week I started them on a low dose of the nutes I got with the kit. The Vita Link instructions were to first use 2 ml/ltr but I reduced that to 1ml/ltr of each part A & B. I have ordered some SuperThrive it should be here soon.

Seems to be enough green leaf now to handle the heat from the bulb so managed to bring the light down a lot closer. Did this by reducing the height by 4" / day. Seems to have stopped the stretching which occurred in the propogator.

Had to move the pictures to a Gallery thread:
http://boards.cannabis.com/cannabis-...ml#post1423419

JH

EDIT: Meant to add the front two & the middle left are the White KC from KC Brains the others are the Skunk #1 actually from Nirvana.

http://boards.cannabis.com/attachmen...g-dscf0009.jpg

Jack, can I ask what are your room temps and humidity level? also do you have something you can moniter the ppms with? You will want to know how much food your plants are getting....too little will lead to poor and slow growth and too much of course will burn them. A ppm meter is the only real way to to do that. During flowering you will definitely need it.

Like WH said, the PPM will be important and the temp does need to be regulated within a window. High temps can also promote that stretch. But they are looking better, i think they are growing a wee bit slow. See if you can't provide that info that WH asked Temp/humid.

Looking good thought. Have you dropped that light back down yet?

High room temps promote stretch? I didn't know that dusto. Do you happen to know why? Interesting.....

i dunno, but it's my experience WH. Maybe someone else can shed some light.

Alright WeedHound

Good to see you have time to be dragged away from your own Pot Porn Log :thumbsup:

The temps are still 77 - 79 during the day with the light on and the door open. The hours where the light is on and the door is shut is up to 88 at the external probe which lies on top of my tank cover or 79 - 82 at the actual thermometer on the shelf above. I got some two part additive product which you add to water & sugar to generate CO2 so when flowering comes along I thought I would try that out during the high temp periods of the day as most things I have read on CO2 advise to get the temps up to around 96.

The humidity is strange. I might sound stoned probably am :stoned: but I'm sure that changes even within the small area of the tray where the plants are growing depending on where I place the water dish. My photographs don't do the one on the rear right S1B much justice it looks pretty lush it's 5th set of leaves are about ready to spread & the 6th are just showing, while the bottom set have now developed into a branch with its first set of parralel matching leaves. Which is a bit of a contrast to the front row & I was putting this down to the different strain. But at the front the Humidity meter was at 40 and actually getting lower as it got hotter, I moved it to the back where the water dish used to be last night and the reading was 50 this morning. So I moved the water dish to the front this morning and during the day the humidity dropped to 40 at the back. But I would say the front to plants actually darkened up a bit so a few minutes ago when I checked the PH I moved the meter back to the front & I am going to check if the humidity has gone back up since it is now by the water dish again. Think I might need to add another water dish and maybe damp cloths to increase the humidity.

Not sure but I think the on middle left KC1 is suffering from being hat close to in front of the fan, but if I move it back to the front left then the nice S1B suffers as the breeze doesn't reach it.:(

Checked the roots when I changed the res the other day and they looked pretty good each one had many developed roots several inches out into the spreadr mat from their own rockwool block. The ones closest to the drain end are already growing towards the res tank and was wondering whether I should ease them back on to the tray or just let them grow into the res tank.

I have bought a TDS pen on e-bay last weekend so another week and it should arrive. Then I'll be asking how to use it.

JH

Sounds good....Both Markass and I have been having humidity issues these days. When I asked around I was told to try to keep my humidity level down to the 30's to avoid mold issues but my plants are in flowering and that may not be the same as for veg growth. I would doubt that you would want it above 45 rh however......dusto? Thoughts?

good job on the tds pen. Once you have all the bugs worked out you'll be getting some good wild growing going. :thumbsup:

umm, iin veg, i've seen reccomendations of 55%. There are some growing vidoes that say that. But in SD, i dont really have an issue, its drier that a suns ass here. But in flower, you do need to keep it down so as not to have that mold. I think that even with high RH, if you hav good air circ, you can avoid it as well.

Alright Dusto thanks for keeping an eye out. :thumbsup:

You both have me convinced to sort out decent extraction for the heat. I'll ave to make it wait 3 weeks though as the car is due its service & MOT. I have seen 100mm inline fans on ebay for £25 do you reckon that would cope. ALso some of the cab ideas around here have got me thinking. Rather than keep knocking holes ina closet I will need to repair at some point would it be better to get a large steel cabinet and mount the extraction on that. A bit like that aeroponic ready made kit in one of the other topics.

JH

A suns ass.....lol. :D

Missed that one dusto LOL :stoned:

I'll keep an eye on the RH although it seems to be quite dry unless I use extra water. Bit surprised as my area isn't traditionally hot and damp can be a problem. I'll make sure when I switch to the 12/12 with the HPS bulb to remove any extra water.

I guess its alright for the roots to grow into the res tank?

Sorry Jack, I meant to answer that and forgot....probably blazed, lol. If you can keep that from happening (ie not damage roots getting them out) I would if possible....eventually they'll start taking over and clogging things up. As they get into flowering certain parts of the root system will die off (normally) and that's where you will get into trouble.

Hi Guys

Weekly update time still can't add images direct to the log so the have again been uploaded to the gallery

http://boards.cannabis.com/cannabis-...ml#post1435385

Think I have found KC1 problem it was bent a bit as a wimpy weedling when being put into the tank and covered with the mylar. Looks as though this has caused a problem Will let it keep going until I can sex the plants for now.

http://boards.cannabis.com/attachmen...g-dscf0001.jpg

The Skunk #1 seems a lot more bushy plant overall & they are looking like smal shrubs.

http://boards.cannabis.com/attachmen...g-dscf0005.jpg

Overall they still seem to me to be doing not to bad. Haven't received my TDS pen yet :mad:
If it doesn't arrive by Monday it will be a PayPal claim & I'll get another.

When will these be ready to take cuttings and whats the score in doing so?

Was tinking about vegging untill either the end of May or utill they are 12" tall. Although they are beginning to elbow each other for room & on your log Weedhound you mention your going to stop growing large plants. Any ideas on when I should start flowering them after I get the TDS pen.

JH

Spoke to soon the TDS pen & Pocket microscope arrived in the post just after hitting the submit button. :)

Now for the big question what level should the reading be kept to?

JH

That skunk looks GREAT! Can't quite tell what I'm seeing in the photo of the stem of the other plant. What kind of problem are you having? The size of the plant compared to the other one or....?

Cheers WH. Yes the KC1 just ooks like the runt of the White KC strain but the stem looks like it is pinched.

I just changed the res and added full strength nutes. The PPM readin is 679 what is the range I should be aiming to keep it in?

JH

Exactly how old are they and what nutes are you using? Are you using tap water or RO or...?? With mine I generally start them pretty young on about 200ppm (first set of leaves) but I use ro water so some part of the number is CalMag. I try to raise the number 100ppm a week but watch the plants as they are all a little different and things like heat etc...may affect absorption of the nutes somewhat.....they may drink more water than usual blah blah.
Usually they are at about 700-800 when I change to bloom nutes which I generally do when they are about five weeks old (from seed) :)

The plants are now 4 weeks from seed & they have been in the NFT system for 2.5 weeks. I put 15 litres of distilled water into the resevoir when it gets changed.

The nutes I'm using are Vita Link Part A & B. Last week which was the first full week of nutes I had the nutes just over a third strength, then added 3ml of Superthrive when it arrived. The instructions on the nutes are to use 3ml of each A & B per ltr so this week I added 40ml of each, 3 ml of Superthrive & also 20ml of Cannazyme which is meant to help with nute uptake and cleaning of dead root material. The nutes instructions also say to use the two part mix for the first 2 weeks of flowering & then to use the Vita Link Buddy which also came with the kit.

I also have Formulex which I think is a single mix alternative to the two part Vita Link nutes.

Changing to flowering 5 weeks fro seed sounds pretty good to me. :thumbsup: do you wait for pre flowering to show or just change to a 12/12 cycle from your own experience. If the plants are at a reasonable size for vegging then I might switch to flowering cycle myself at the end of next week. :rasta:

I'm not familiar with those nutes so can't really help you with that one. I personally don't wait for preflowers.....my first grow I aimed to but quit after about 6 weeks.....ended up with plants getting WAY too big so didn't do that again. Sizewise it's just too much of a hassle. By not waiting it takes a little longer for them to show sex; maybe day 12 instead of day 7 for instance but it works for me. :)

Yea I haven't seen those nutes mentioned on here before just happened to be the ones that came with the kit I bought. Will just have to see how they go and if need be change when I have to buy nutes to one which is used by folks here.

Think I will change to the HPS light and flower cycle next Friday that will be them at 5 weeks and from what Ive read on your log about size issues it would probably best suit my system to not have them to big.

Have you managed to try any of that plant you harvested yet?

Yes we tried some last night....my hubby thinks its the bees knees...I quite like it but can't say its the best thing I ever had. It does have a nice smooth flavor that we both like too. :thumbsup: It very may well be because of the early harvest that we aren't getting the full effect....lots of trichs but the second layer of them is all clear. .....that's why I'm letting the rest get as crusty as possible . :stoned:

Lucky hubby not only can the missus bake some lovely brownies & cakes, but you can also grow the ingredients. :thumbsup:

Sounds like the plant is still a better buzz than the eurorocky available here, although I also prefer an indica couchy stone when I'm chillin. :stoned:

I'm just hoping I get some decent buds out of my plants so I can cure them properly like the imported buds I get fom my friend down south & like I used to get in the eighties over in NA instead of the wet stringy buds of average homegrown that folk around where I live try to palm of as buds which are heavy in resin.

Had a rethink about my cycle timing when I got up today. Checked the plants and they have grown from 7 - 8" on Friday to 10 - 11" this morning. Going to set the timers & change the bulb tonight so tomorrow the plants should wake up to 12/12. Can I still take cuttings if I do this or should I leave the system on Veg until I take the cuttings. Would liked to have waited until sex showed before taking the cutting but no big issue if I can't & I'll just throw the ones which are taken from males which are identified later.

Jack you are venturing into something I know nothing about....cloning. Never tried it (so far) and never even seen a true clone in real life. Yes, I'm very stunted, I'm sorry, lol.

The difference in ganja are amazing aren't they? So many different strains, types etc. That's part of what makes it so much fun....trying all the different things. :jointsmile:

Ps the other main thing in growing your own is having FRESH weed available. Having always bought before (and of course you don't know how old what you bought is) the first time I smoked some fresh grown quality weed I was completely blown away. You will be too. ;)

lol can't imagine how much of a midget I am if your growing experience is stunted. :S2:

Ive done a bit of reading so far on it pretty sure I got the process down with the rooting gel the propogator, wilt preventer & making the cut under water. From what I have read I should be able to take cuttings from all of the plants in one go setting them into a cup of water for each plant & then sit at the table making the diagonal cut & puting them into the rockwool medium. SOme bits I have read say you can take cuttings during flowering others say the plants needs a period of vegging to recover. Having to think about it a bit sooner than expected as the plants seem o be stretching a bit over the last two days fighting for the light. I'll leave it tonight & get the cuttings done tomorrow maybe someone with experience of cloning will chime in recomen whether to hold of flowering.

Ive bought all my stash for the last 28 years ( Ok I own up to being one of the oldies around :jointsmile: ) although it has been in a few countries & some have definitely been better than others. Nice to get a change & I think I will be giving a big thumbs up to fresh buds of my own if all goes right. As I get more grows under my belt there is defnitely some sativa's I want to grow for the trip down memory lane. Over here is pretty sh*te for commercial smokables really. You get this eurorocky which is 20% real hash, 20% some sh*t they couldn't sell last week, 40 % henna wax & 20 % plastic shopping bags to hold the rebind together. The herb market depends on location & main source of supply some folk I know only sell commercial quality nice & cured buds, but could be pretty old really others even frieds I know who grow have a tendency to get bit by the greed bug and sell wet buds. But thats not as bad as some prats who actually steam it over the kettle. Another benfit of growning is getting totally out of the commercial dealer scene.

The only two things I know about clones are that they like humidity and they like warm temps. That's it. Fini....;)

I believe i may have tried some of the plastic bag and henna wax weed you mention. Our suppliers around here .....when you can get anything....are pretty much the mexican brick elephant stomped on stuff thats full of crushed seeds etc. The thing is I know there are tons of secret growers just like me that are doing the same thing I'm doing. We need to UNITE!! :thumbsup:

Besides having weed when I need it..which may be part of the dealer issue really....getting away from the whole dealer thing in general is HUGE to me. The worrying, the waiting, the wondering,the paranoia, the rip offs blah blah blah all completely suck and I don't miss it at all. ;)

PS....shhhh you arent the only oldie hobbling around here.... :D

when it comes to something being easy i take that road cause i have no patience for mixing this and that and so on.

so i found water cloning, there is nothing expensive required, nothing to mix or add, simply take a cutting and place the stalk in water and thats it.

i will admit its a slow ass method taking 3 weeks before a clone has roots but i found if you add a aquarium air pump to provide oxygen to the stalk the roots come in much faster at about 10-14 days.

try both ways if you have the 10 bucks to spare for a air pump and stone and see what you like better.

LOL Good to hear WH :jointsmile:

Hi Invision thanks for the info, the process taking time is no problem in fact the longer it takes is better for me as I would need to set up another veg area. Can you tell me if its alright to do it to plants in the first week of being put into the flower cycle?

Well went for it today on the cuttings. Used the root gel & meium method as thats the one I have done the most reading on. Left the plants in 18/6 veg cycle & will change it now on Friday again give them a chance to recver from any stress.

Like the sound of the Co-op WH, I'm going to help a friend set-up if I'm successful with these clones & this grow the plan is that we should be rotating harvests.

Jack do us some clone photos when you can.....:)