LowRyder #2 - CFL - Grow Log

Thanks for dropping by. I've started germinating 4 LR2 seeds using a wet paper towel. After a couple days, they should be ready to put in the dirt. I intend on using this log to track my progress, so hopefully I'll have enough time to include day-to-day info.

When I get a little more time, I'll list my specs (Lights, Fans, etc...) and upload some pictures.

And don't worry, I'll be asking plenty of questions. So, if you're full of knowledge, consider me your friend. ;)

QUESTION
I'm using some soil that contains nutes. Would it be safe to put the soil in my peat pots, then leech it before actually putting the seeds in?

Thanks,
Chad

I personally wouldn't use soil with nutes for seeds/seedlings. I would use seedling/potting soil because seeds have enough nutes to sprout and soil with nutes in will probably be too much for seedlings that young. Potting soil isn't expensive, and it is worth investing in some.

You should put some pictures up man, everyone loves pictures and you will get a lot more people having a look!

Good luck! :thumbsup:

Loafyboy: Yeah, I still have time before they get planted. I'll take your suggestion on the potting soil. Thanks! As for the pictures, the beans are still germ'ing, so there's really nothing to post yet.

I forgot to say, in order to improve drainage you should mix some perlite in with the potting soil. Mix approx 30% perlite, 70% potting soil. This will help keep your roots healthy and aerated. :thumbsup:

Don't use anything with NUTES!

Go get Jiffy Seedling Mix. It's available at homedespot now that they have started stocking Spring related stuff...

Wait until you get to the veg stage 5th node and move to a nute-less soil mix (I use 30% top soil/30% MG ORGANIC Mix/ 40% Perlite).

You want to be able to control the nutes through watering.

I forgot to add:

GOOD LUCK!

First off, thanks LoafyBoy and JohnnyPants. I appreciate the tips!

Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything local that was not 'self-feeding'. I didn't see the info about 'homedespot' having Jiffy Seedling Mix until after I got them in the dirt, but I may get some later just to have some on-hand. My wife told me to go by Home Depot, but last time I went through there they had barely anything in the Gardening area. I guess it does make good sense that they'd start stocking it now. I just didn't think about it and, as I said before, I didn't check on here until after I planted them. I did, however, mix around 30% Perlite with the MG Organic Potting Soil.

First, my setup:

Two Fixtures containing 4 Light Sockets each. From those eight sockets, I've put in eight Y's, so each fixture is running 8 lights (I think I've spotted this same setup in a couple other grow logs on here). For a total of 16 CFL's. These are 6500K CFL's @ 26W (100W Incandecent Equiv.) I'll check the lumen's later and report back. If I don't, remind me...

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Ok, so here's what I've got going on right now. As you know, there's 4 LR2's in the dirt (All germed in paper towels for around 3 days). Two of the LR2's were around 1.5in long, the other two beans were curled up a little (and much shorter than the first two), so I think they'll be a little longer coming up for light. Hopefully we'll see them pop their heads up sooner than later.

Now, for the part I didn't mention in the title of this thread: I got some Mind Binder beans free with these LR2 seeds, so I popped two of them in the dirt and let them go on their own. The first MB popped the surface about a week ago. The other has just breached the surface this morning, but I planted it about one week after the first. It has already stood up to the light. Matter of fact, it's spreading it's initial leaves right this minute.

On another note, I picked up a Digital pH Pen and some pH Up & Down. My water is around 5.8pH out of the fosset (or is it faucet?). I up'd it to 6.8pH, hoping to keep it as optimal as possible without getting it too high. This way, in my thinking, I will help keep the self-feeding nutes from making the soil too acidid. Is that correct? I tested the runoff of the soil I'm using, with the 6.8pH water and it was 6.5pH (tested on the oldest MB).

Tomorrow, I'll get things looking nice and organized, then snap some pics.

I may read this tomorrow and wonder what the hell I was talking about on some of this, so correct me where I made an ass of myself. :thumbsup:

Next time...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chadsvb

On another note, I picked up a Digital pH Pen and some pH Up & Down. My water is around 5.8pH out of the fosset (or is it faucet?). I up'd it to 6.8pH, hoping to keep it as optimal as possible without getting it too high.

Next time...

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That pH straight from the faucet seems incredibly low, tap water is normally above 7.0 to help protect metal pipework from years of acid errosion. Did you buy any buffer solution to calibrate your pH meter? I would check that asap, because it seems very odd to me. If your meter is out of calibration you might have tap water of say 7.5 and you have upped it to say 8.5. I hope i'M wrong, but I would definately check it out!

Well, Loafyboy, let me tell you the story behind that one. First off, it's well water that's coming out of my faucet. I'm not sure if that's what you had in mind or not, but anyways. I got the pH Pen, which was supposed to be calibrated from the factory. It did, however, come with 7.01pH Buffer Solutions. Last night I tested my water and it came to 6.4pH :cool:, which can't be the case. Last time I tested my water, I used the cheap pool test kit with the vials and stuff. The pool test only goes as low as 6.3pH and my water was even lower than that, so I guessed the actual pH was around 5.8. That's when I decided to recalibrate the pH pen. The 7.01 Buffer Solutions was showing 8.0 on my Pen, so I dialed it back. All that info, just to tell you, I calibrated it last night.

When I get back, this evening, I'll get some pics posted.

Next time...

Well, I got home and I can see all four LR2's breaking ground. Not enough to get them on camera, but you should be able to see them tomorrow (I'm hoping...).

First picture: Obviously, the front of the setup.
Second picture: A top-down view of the setup.
Third picture: The first MindBinder that I planted.
Fourth picture: A 4" fan to get that hot air out.

Other than that, nothing big happening today.

I just wanted to make a note of something real quick. As you see in the previous post, there's a nice little 4" fan for exhaust. I finally got me some 4" duct and ran it up above the lights. It seems to cool it off much better this way.

Also, I went to Home Depot and they did not have the Jiffy Seedling Starter Soil. Everything they had was "Feeds up to 3 months" crap... Really, there's nothing but that self-feeding soil around here! I'm just gonna have to order it online to have next time around.

how are those little compressed dirt pots i was wondering if they would be worth it. It seems like a cool idea, please let me know how it goes when you place them in the pot and how well they "decompose" or whatever.
-thanks
Reworg

Ok, the locals wanna try to tell me that there's no such thing as potting soil without nutes in it (self-feeding). So, I got outta town. Found a Lowe's instead of the co-op and home depot. Man, they had the motherload.

I picked up some Seedling Starter Soil and a Soil pH Probe.

Tell me this, would it be too late (or too risky) to repot these babies, slowly breaking away the dirt until I see roots. I would like to put them in this seedling soil, but I'm not sure if I've already went to far, to go back now... Suggestions are very much welcome!

I'll get some more pictures later on, it's nighttime right now (well, for the babies it is).

Oh, just a note to myself, I'm watering today.

I am no soil expert, but I would not try to remove the soil from the roots, I feel that would do more harm than good at this stage. I would see how they go in the current soil and use potting soil when you transplant to a larger pot.

I have not tried peat pots either, so don't know whether that will have an effect on the level of nutes

BTW, forgot to say, I like that light fitting, looks good. :thumbsup:

Ok, last night was very interesting. I think my plants are in shock. Possibly on their way out. That's right, we did a full transplant into new potting soil. There was mostly just the tap-root on all of them, with a few small shoots running off the main root. Either way, we were quick to get them into the new soil, but as you said Loafyboy, it may have been the wrong decision. I let them go in dry soil last night, then got up this morning and the oldest Mind Binder was completely yellow. So, this morning I watered them all with 6.8pH water, in hopes that they'll perk back up within a few days.

If not, I'll start over. With the new potting soil, I'm kind of anxious to start over anyways...

And, just in case Santa Claus is readint this, I want a 400W Switchable MH/HPS Lighting System with an air coolable hood!

They'll probably pick up is my bet. Hang on in there man! Oh, and move the lights well away for a few days while they recover. :thumbsup:

Well, here's an update. They're all still alive. That doesn't mean they are creating a jungle, that means I see signs of life. 3 of the 4 LR2's are looking like they're in good shape. The other, well, it looks like it needs some help with depression, but in another day or two I may see some new growth from it. So it stays! For now...

As for the two MindBinder plants, the first and biggest is still pretty yellow. It doesn't show signs of wilting or anything except for the over yellow color. The second of the MindBinder stretched a lot before I transplanted and for some reason it didn't get put deeper into the soil. So it's still tall.

So, the summary, 4 out of 6 ain't half bad.

I checked the moisture in the soil, it's still somewhat damp an inch or so down. I'm going to hold off watering them until Wednesday, if possible. A little feedback on that would be nice. I'm just not sure how to treat them since they are kind of shocked right now.

Also, with the yellowing MindBinder, would anyone say that it's safe to give it some nutes with it's water tomorrow? Again, I'm open to suggestions.

I just got home to check on them. The one LR2 that hasn't been doing good, still isn't doing good. No change, period. It looks exactly the same as it did when I first changed the soil. The other three LR2's seem to be doing good. The one MindBinder that was really yellow is now getting it's green back. The second MindBinder is just there. Before it's over, I already see two plants being removed. Those being the second MB and the non-responsive LR2. Time will tell.

No news is good news, so this is not good news. At this point, only 4 remain. So far, I've pulled two of the LR2's. One of them I was already planning to pull out, but the second one just crapped out. I'm letting the rouge MindBinder do it's thing, but it doesn't seem to be getting much better.

The two healthy LR2's are tiny, but green and growing, just slowly. The first MindBinder plant that was yellow, it is now fully green and growing well.

I got some Pure Afgan beans ordered, which is 100% Indica. Maybe I'll be able to upgrade to a 400w Switchable MH/HPS Cool Tube setup by the time I'm ready to plant them.

Until then, I'm going to keep going with what I've got. Previously, I was watering every other day because they seemed quite dry. But now I've decided to hold off an extra day. After their dark cycle today, they'll get some water. I last watered them Tuesday. Also, I've been giving the biggest MindBinder some nutes, which seems to have gotten it back right. I think I'll go with straight water for it tonight though.

When they get some size to them, I will post you some pictures. :thumbsup:

Hey, give me some feedback on this: I can get a "regular" switchable mh/hps ballast or a "digital" ballast...? If 400w = 400w, how does a digital ballast save electricity? If you had the option, which would you get? I'm assuming the digital, but I just don't see how it saves... That's why I'm asking you! ;)

It's the bulb that would use 400 watts, the ballast also uses power (given off as heat) but digital ballasts use less power that magnetic ones, and therefore run cooler. Magnetic ballasts can also make a bit of noise due to the way they work, but digital ballasts are silent. If you are willing to pay the extra then the digital is the way to go anyday.

Thanks for the info Loafyboy. I been checkin in on your log. Good stuff you got going there. Also, I just wanted to say thanks for the feedback. It's definitely appreciated.

I gave them some water today. I really enjoy having this pH pen. It makes things a lot easier (and more accurate)! I've been having to raise the pH from 5.8 to 6.8 with some pH UP and they all seem happy.

I've been raising the lights slowly, trying to get a little bit of stretch out of them. So far, we're still looking at some babies, except for the one MindBinder. It's seems like it make start taking off soon though. We shall see.

I'm really just wanting some stretching from the LR2's.

Anyways, until next time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chadsvb

Thanks for the info Loafyboy. I been checkin in on your log..........

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He he, not much happening in my grow log at the moment, I'm still waiting for roots to appear on my clones, it's been 2 weeks now. I'll check on them in a short while, and hopefully I'll see some roots today!

When I said I wanted the LR2's to stretch a little, what I actually meant was this. They have two sets of leaves, not including the initial two leaves as seedlings. There is little to no gap between the two sets of leaves. So, I'm thinking the lights need to be farther away. I've been able to get the light within 2 inches and keep temps at 78F, so I thought that would be fine. But it seems that they'll be needing a little space from the light(???). Look, I'm all about suggestions, so if you've got one I'll take it.

Quick Update

Had to water them today. Gave the oldest MindBinder a little food to get it back to a good green. One of the LR2's had some heat issues while I was away. The second set of leaves curled upward. Hopefully it'll make it.

Honestly, it looks like I'm going to end up with just the one MindBinder. For some reason, I can't get the LR2's to do anything...

Time will tell (I'm being impatient).

Ok, so I guess I'm just not cut out for growing. I've lost another LR2, which leaves me with just one LR2 and two MindBinder.

The last LR2 hasn't shown much growth, so I don't have much hope for it. I guess the problems at the beginning of the grow have caught up with me.

I'm going to call it quits on this thread and hopefully my new beans will be here in a few weeks. I'll start fresh, with everything being correct from the start.

Thanks for the help.

My feelings on this are that things will start to pick up in terms of growth, you just have to give it time. The first time i started seeds under fluoros it felt like eternity before they started to develop. I didnt have the luxury of knowing what CFL's were at the time but the key is to be patient. Once you get your first female, hold on to her, and dont let her flower. Let her Vegg for at least a month, more like 2 months, and use her cuttings and start cloning. They will develop much quicker than seeds, and will be genetic replicas of their mother. I would also consider investing in a HID light. You'd be surprised at how cheap you can get a 150 HPS at. Visit. High Tech Garden Supply and take a look at their grow lights. They all come with reflectors and a remote ballast, everything you need to take your grow to the next level! good luck! and ill be checking back in on this to see how your doing. P.s. the only problem with MG potting soil is that it has bad draining and all it needs is some perlite. Trust me my first grow was outdoors that began indoors and all i had to use was MG and perlite and i had a wonderful first harvest.

I'm definitely getting me some HID lighting, but it's going to be a 400W Switchable MH/HPS. I just have to get the money together first...

As for how things are going, I still have the remaining 3. Two of which are the MindBinder, the other being LR2. I transplanted them a few days ago and they seem to be growing much much faster.

Quick question: If the Soil pH is 5.8, would it be safe to use water with a pH of 7.0 or even 7.2 to bring the soil pH up?

And as I said before, I don't plan on updating this log anymore. As soon as I get my new beans (on the way), new lighting (saving money), and a nice hydro setup (DIY Style), I'll get another log going. There's so much information on this site for DIY stuff, I honestly love this place.

Ok, another question: This was a soil grow. I honestly have become tired of dealing with soil because it's, 1) Messy to deal with inside (inside is the only option I have) and 2) Three gallon pots take up entirely too much space.

So, finally, the question: What are the cons of a hydro setup?

(I did no searching before I typed this, so feel free to call me lazy) :smokin:

I think you have enough lighting. yes. But you may be frying these plants before they ever had the chance to grow. Your problem seems humidity. You said you had to water them every day?? (Correct if wrong) I'm looking at early stage of the 6 plants growing. It seems to me that a few had not fully germinated all they way and they are being blasted with hot light. Now i'm not a scientist, and that's just my observation.

Although i am curious if that's why the LR2's all died.