Just a little journal............

I hope no one minds me doing a little grow journal right from the begining this time :)

Well I've geminated sixteen sensi skunk #1 seeds, all have germinated and they have been potted and are now showing. In total this took four days.

I've put them in the growroom under a MH bulb that is running on a eigthteen and a half / five and half cycle.

Ok now it's the boring bit..........waiting :rolleyes:

My whole grow will consist of, germinating, potting, re -pottting to bigger pots, pinching when ready, inducing when ready, harvesting and drying when ready.
In addition water them each day and just check them each day...........................Thats it really.


I've added a few pics but there really isn't much to see :o
Oh I know the light should be closer I just lifted it up to take the pics ;)


Bye for now, love mand xxx :)

cant wait to see how this turns out best of luck mand

Awesome Mand! Look forward to seeing how the experts do it. I'm sure we can all learn a lot. Could you tell us what your soil is composed of? Are you just using tap water? Horse poop? Good luck and GOOD GROWING!!

I think you need to move the light even closer when you replace it.

They are already stretching.

MH cannot hold a candle to CFL for this stage of their life.

I can see the stretching. I would lower the bulb a bit more. With a good fan RIGHT ON the bulb, blowing UP, you can get the bulbs within 4 inches of the plants.

Assuming it isnt a 1000Watts and has a hood or reflector put on it.

Good luck beautiful lady :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HARDDON

I think you need to move the light even closer when you replace it.

They are already stretching.

MH cannot hold a candle to CFL for this stage of their life.

I can see the stretching. I would lower the bulb a bit more. With a good fan RIGHT ON the bulb, blowing UP, you can get the bulbs within 4 inches of the plants.

Assuming it isnt a 1000Watts and has a hood or reflector put on it.

Good luck beautiful lady :)

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I'd have to agree, i thought my seedlings where stretching.. they're only about half of what i see here.

when you repot them, make sure to bury them up to the first set of leaves.

hopefully you get the stretching under control
:o

look forward to seeing mand's babies grow.

Hello Thankyou all for you're replies :)

You're right Harddon they always stretch at the begining and I always have to put sticks in them for support, but they will right themselves as they grow.
I've noticed on the pics on this forum that most are very low down and have lot's of leaves on.
Usually by the time they get to the 4th or 5th node they will be able to suppport themselves ok, but I've moved the light closer to help matters.
It really isn't anything to worry about ;)
Thanks love :)

Marc :) , I only give them tap water and sometimes a pinch of Phostogen plant food in it.
The compost, well anything that rots down easily goes in that, dead plants and flowers out of the garden, kitchen scraps (vegatable peelings that type of stuff), grass cuttings from the lawn, horse poo is a must ;) ...........absolutely anything that I think will be ok.
Then I just dig it from the bottom and riddle it out very well, to get rid of big lumps and any bugs.

My biggest problem is going to be winter coming on, it does get quite cool in there sometimes, but it doesnt really effect the buds it just makes them grow slower. Also I've gone for a variety that I know grows quite well in winter.


Thanks guy's ....love mand xxx :)

Just a question seeing that you are into soil grows! do you ever have a problem with springtales! those soil critters that don't eat your roots but just eat rotting veg matter in your soil?

Hello Mellow Man :) .............To be honest love I'm not even sure what a "springtail" is :o
Anyway I never really have any major problems with bugs, I always give the compost a good riddling out, well I get one of my sons to help me, you see I have a thing about worms and I have to get someone to pick them out for me, affraid I can't even touch them with gloves on, eerrggghhh horrible things :eek:

You just watch this grow turn out to be a total disaster now I'm keeping a little journal about it :o , that'll be just my luck :rolleyes:


love mand xxx :)

We have faith in you Mand! You've no doubt successfully grown many more crops than a lot of people in this forum. I like your new pic!

Mand I have no doubt that this grow will exceed the first. Us girls have to stick together.....go get em honey!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Krippysmoker

Mand I have no doubt that this grow will exceed the first. Us girls have to stick together.....go get em honey!!!!

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Thankyou K :) ..................we'll see how they go ;) , mind you doing a journal type thing is asking for trouble, what if they all go and die on me :(


Eight days since staring germination ( I think :o ) they were holding themselves quite well but I deciced to support them with sticks just to be on the safe side ;) However all sixteen are looking in really good health.


love mand xxx :)

Mand, can you move your light down closer to your plants? If I am seeing properly I think your plants are stretching and thats because lack of light, if you move it down they should grow healthy green lush.

Hey Mand. Bet you wish people would stop telling you to move your lights down huh? All they have to do is read and see it's been beat to death already.

How many have you historically had end up being females from a planting of this size?

What watt MH?

And why the 18.5/5.5 light cycle? Never heard of that one before. Sure it works (as is evident by your past grows) but just wondered.

Have a good one!

Hello Sleek :) I know love, I'm affraid it always happens, it's just my way :o
but by the time they get to around the fifth node they'll be fine and standing on their own. I've just got a thing about putting the light to close, I'm affraid of frazzling them ;)


Marc :) ok love ....out of sixteen plants I would usually expect about nine or ten females.............usually ;)

As for he MH lighting, 400 watts, now I'm going to get kinda technical here :eek: :) ................I read in my little book when I first started growing that a 400 watt MH would provide 30,000 lumens which is enough to cover an area of up to 35sq feet, well my grow area is around 36sq feet, so thats close enough for me ;)

As for the 18.5/5.5 cycle, thats just me I thought I would give them a little bit longer light, sometimes I have run 19/5 before just out of intrest :)


love mand xxx :)

Helllo just a little update :)

Well they are about two weeks old now. To tell you the truth I only find the harvesting bit intresting, the watching them grow is a bit like watching paint dry :rolleyes:


Just a couple more pics of the progress :)


love mand xxx :)

We missed ya Mand! Plants are looking good.

Hiya Mand
I`m looking forward to following your grow. I`m currently around 3 weeks into my second ever attempt so i`m just a week or so ahead of you. I have 4 plants doing very nicely ( i`ll post a few pics soon but i always have to borrow a friends cam)
Unfortunately my 1st grow was a bit of a disaster as i fried 2 with my 400W hps and the other 2 turned out to be males but it was a great learning curve and the 4 plants i have now are a lot more healthy and bushy.
It will be interesting to compare and see if urs grow quicker and bigger and if so i can maybe get a few clues as to what i`m doing wrong - if anything
Unfortunately i`m not sure of the strain i`m growing
Anyway keep posting hun & good luck with them
They`re lookin cool
Digi xx

Hello Marc :)I've just had a few days at the seaside..............salt air, fish n chips and noisey seagulls to wake up too..........can't beat it love ;)



Hello Digi :) oh dear love, thats why I always rather keep the light away a little, frightened of frazzling the plants ;)
As it gets colder weather here mine will slow down on there rate of growing, it can get quite cool in my growroom during Winter, doesnt hurt the plants but it justs slows down there metabolism a little.
However at the moment the tempreture is fine and they are looking quite healthy, so it should give them a decent start ;)

Look forward to seeing you're pics Digi and good luck ;)


love mand xxx :)

Hey Mand I was just reading through your grow here and noticed this.

"I read in my little book when I first started growing that a 400 watt MH would provide 30,000 lumens which is enough to cover an area of up to 35sq feet, well my grow area is around 36sq feet, so thats close enough for me"

Most 'experts' suggest that the minimum you need for minimum growth is 2000 lumens per sq/ft. Better to have at least 5000/sq/ft. Best to have 7500/sq/ft. If you have 36 sq/ft of grow area (which would translate into an area 6 feet x 6 feet) you'd need, as a minimum 72,000 lumens, better to have 180,000 and best to have 270,000. You have about 833 lumens per sq/ft. FWIW

That said it looks like you've been fairly successful in your grows so this may not mean a thing. Just thought I'd comment on this.

Oh no Marc please not the technical stuff ;)

So I would need 72,000 lumens (whatever a lumen is ? :o )....That would be two 400 watt lamps in my little growroom :eek:
I'd need a pair of welders goggles just to look in there :)


Marc how am I going to get you over all this worrying lark :confused:

Honestly Marc just trust me ...it'll be fine ......promise ;)

love mand xxx :)

I'm not worrying Mand. Just flappin' my lips and you know how I love to do that. And not suggesting you change, just giving you some info that I've glommed on to in my reading.

A lumen is just a measure of light. How bright it is to a human. It's for humans to use as it really has no bearing on what matters to a plant.

Sorry I hijacked your thread. Me bad.

Hi Mand, good luck with ya grow :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mand

I'd need a pair of welders goggles just to look in there

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hehehe

Thankyou Chonged, thats very nice of you :)


Right as for you Marc yes it's very bad of you to hijack my thread..............................bet you didn't know I can be assertive did you ;)


Only kidding love :) I've dug the book out and just looking in it, it's called..............."A guide to growing Marijuana in cool climates" and it's written by someone called Don Irving.

It says that a 400 watt MH lamp gives 30,000 lumens light output enough to cover 35 sq ft.
Also an 400 watt HPS lamp produces 50,000 lumens and will cover 50 sq ft.


Marc love what are you doing to me here, you're sending me all kinda technical :) ........much more of this and I'll be talking about the red and blue end of the light spectrum..................it's ok I've still got the book open ;)


love mand xxx :)

ahhhhhhhhh Mand !! I never thought i`d see you goin all technical on us!! :D
Thought it was just us `` Boys with our Toys`` that did that!!
hehehe

P.S. Ive got a good pair of sunglasses next to my growspace!! :cool:
Might upgrade to welding goggles when i stick them into flower!!! :D

Hello Digi :) I blame that Marc Benson chap, I think he's trying to convert me to become all techie ;)
Not to worry Digi, I can only get technical when I have a book in front of me :)

I've got all the light in the growroom I can handle to be honest, I went outside last night and it looked like ET had landed in my shed. I forgot to put the blanket back in place and all the light was shinning around the edges of the door :eek:


love mand xxx :)

Hello :) I just thought I would add the next "event" that took place today ;)

They are just about Three weeks old now and just been re-potted.

Now it just a case of waiting till they are ready for pinching and inducing...................I would like to say it's exciting stuff, but it isn't really ;) Now if I was talking about shopping then I would be a little excited :o


love mand xxx :)

:) Hey, Mand...I have a couple of days and saw your journal... :cool:
Look forward to watching you grow more efficiently, from all this free advice...
getting techi, did you say, you already converted and don't know it...

On a different note, I want to bring the ol' lady across the pond, this winter
maybe to Amsterdam, but I got to thinking :eek: :eek: what if we could hook-up with Mand in England first :p ...What do you think?... :)

Mand....did u use any rooting powder stuff when u re-potted ?

Hello Latewood :) Me getting techie, "perish the thought love" :eek: .....................Well maybe just a tiny bit ;)


Yes if you can call in on you're way to Amsterdam, To use an expression I never ever say that would be "cool" :) ...........Keep me up to date with you're plans ;)
Mind you Amstedam in Winter, pack you're woolies it can get quite chilly. Then again you can soon get to the stage were you don't notice ;)



Hello Chonged :) No love I don't use anything like that. I just ease them out of the little pot and just put them in a hole aready made in the compost and just pack them in the bigger pots.
I was told to be quick re-potting them as roots don't like exposure to light.

I think that rooting powder might be used on cuttings, but I've never taken cuttings so I don't know for sure.



love mand xxx :)

Hi Mand , thought I would come over and post your thread for a change :eek: . How ya doin?

I know that I found a long time ago (particularly outdoors, but may somewhat apply to indoors too)that when re-potting or transplanting that making sure the plant is facing the same direction after as it was before, the direction it faced the sun(light) :cool: should be the way it faces after transplanting. Call it an old wise tale if you like but it has always worked well for me. Maybe it helps the plant keep from being disoriented :confused: .

food for thought
Bill :D

Lookin really good Mand. Good Luck with your grow :D

Hello Bill :) Old wives tales or not love , it's always worth a try ;)

I'm doing fine Bill. and you can post on my thread anytime you want love......................I get a bit mardy if I don't get many replies ;) :)


Keno :) to be honest love I'm actually quite pleased with there progress, I don't usually say that ..............Thanks keno :)


love mand xxx :)

I know it's only a few days since the last ones, but I can't resist a couple of todays pics ...............

Hi Mand
They lookin cool :D
Very Healthy!!
If i had to criticise at all i`d say they`re still lookin a tad Stretchy though. Do you have any fans blowin on them? I`m sure u could get ur light a bit closer if u had a fan or 2 blowing the heat of ur bulb.( yer i know people have sed before on this thread that they`re stretchin)!!!
Also i can`t see any reflective material at all. Have u thought about maybe gettin a few meters of Mylar on ur walls -- it`s quite cheap really and u`ll waste far less of ur light!! :)
Sorry i`m not tryin to pull ur grow at all cos they`re lookin good and i`m enjoyin watchin them. ( Christ i`m no expert that`s 4 sure)!!!!!
But i do think u could Bush them up just a little.
Keep postin them pics mand - good luck with the fem/male ratio
Digi xx

Your grow looks awesome Mand. I'm humbled.

kepp up the good work mand, its good sein people grow there own, and when they start bloomin its a great site.
peace.
ps what do u mean pinchin??

Hello Digi :) Honestly love these are quite bushy for me. I have put the light a little closer than usual, altough it's not something I really worry about.
I always put the sticks in as a little precaution because I have in the past have had a few fall over before they got strong enough to support themselves, but this lot does seem much better in that respect :)

Hmmm no fan I'm affraid Digi, if it gets to warm I just open the growroom door a little :o
Hopefully this will be the last grow in this room, I was going to move them to a slightly bigger room and had my son paint it all out white for me but there is no power supply to it...............well there is but it doesn't want to work.
Hopefully I'll have that fixed for the next crop ;)

Marc love :) I do very little, they grow themselves, when you grow you're next ones, just try to let nature do it............they'll be ok, I promise :)



Thankyou Red :) .....Pinching is simply just pinching the very top new growth off between the finger nails ;)
I do this about 5 days before inducing flowering, it then makes the plant grow with two main stems instead of one, and I've found it does increase my yield quite a bit :)
You just have to be carefull not to pinch were the new stems are going to grow from, I think that it is not recomended that you pinch untill there is at least five nodes on the plant ;)
I've grown with out pinching as well but the yeild was not as good, so now I always pinch ;)


Thankyou guys.................love mand xxx :)

Yeah well - lol - could take off on the "...now I always pinch" line but - nah - lol -

Seriously tho M. Maybe you oughta put up a thread with pics and just a basic guideline; a do's 'n don't's.

Some of us here aren't necessarily looking for kilo's of difference, we sometimes forget.

hello mand :-) very nice pix you have there....i done a nice grow journal on here not long ago and am about to be posting some info on a new one.....i think your plants look great....and for the streching all i can say is hey if your gonna grow indoors it happens if you dont invest in high priced lights...i think they look great :-) looks very healthy but i do highly suggest a fan...it will help to make your stem real nice and thick....to more so give it an outdoor feel as if the wind is giving a breeze ...and this too will help with your plants falling over b.c it will make them stronger...;) i have a fan on mine 24-7 blowing on a medium speed halfway pointed at the plants and 400 w light b.c it gives a nice breeze to the plants so they get great airflow and dance all day while the grow room stays nice and cool while the air too is hitting the bulb keeping it cool....depending on how hot ur bulb gets u maybe be able to do what i do and thats to keep my grow room and the blub cool so you may move the light closer to the tops of your babys...hope this has helped and id love to see some new pix :D keep us posted ........
PPP

Hello Rezinator :) I'm a very gentle pincher love, I don't even leave a mark ;) :)

I'll try and do a few pics when I pinch them but I'm affraid I'm not confident enough to do a whole "do's and dont's thread" plus I get it wrong to often :o



Hello PPP :) Thanks for you're reply love :) I'm seriously thinking about the possible use of a fan for next years grow.
Yes I always wellcome advice on trying to improve the crop, I'm a very basic grower and as long as it doesn't involve too much expense or time I'm always willing to try different things .........nice to hear from you PPP :)



I have just pulled one of the plants outside to try and take a pic in more natural light, however it's a really dull day here today, looks like it's going to rain actually. Anyway I took one out from the front as they are all about the same size, so it didn't really matter which one it was ;)


love mand xxx :)

Look good Mand , perhaps your being modest about your growing ability? may be basic method and technique but perhaps doing things a bit more back to the basics would be worth considering for alot of us here. Therefore a little guidance for the do's and don'ts of growing basics, like Rezinator suggested, is not a bad suggestion :p . Could save many new and even some not so new growers some time , money and/or headaches. If your limited on free time, wouldn't want to put you on the spot. If so then just take it as vote of confidence. :D

Peace
Bill