All,

Although this is my second attempt at growing I really consider it my first true grow, as the seeds I attempted this with first had been sitting around for years and never truly sprouted as a seedling.

The strain of seed is from Joey Weed and it is called Sugar Blossom. For those of you unfamiliar with the strain here is the write up:

These are second generation seeds made from F1 original brother's Grimm stock. Sugar blossoms is an improvement on white widow. The brother's Grimm's legendary skill is put on display in this masterpiece. Here is what the catalogue says about Sugar Blossoms: Smokers of White Widow almost universally comment that they wish it tasted better. The Bros Grimm set out to solve this problem by creating Sugar Blossoms, a skunky, lemon-flavoured White Widow hybrid. Expect hardy, vigorous plants with an Indica-dominant growth profile. Short & branchy, Sugar Blossoms is a high yielding, fast flowering, resinous plant that produces dense, sugar-coated buds that has a great taste and a light lemon smell. This plant, like most Brothers Grimm offerings, is easy to work with, trims up very easily, and has a beautifully balanced high.

Indoor flowering 8 to 9 weeks

I think with the cost and the fact that I couldn't pick up any WW seeds at a reasonable price then this was a good selection for a new hydroponic grower.

I started out with 4 seeds in a shot glass at room temperature with RO water. I placed the shot glass in a cabinet for 24 hours. 3 popped a taproot one did not. I took the 3 which had popped and placed them between 2 wet napkins for about a day (in the dark) until the taproot was about 1/4 inch long. The 4th never popped a taproot so I tossed it.

The 3 that had popped the taproot went into rapid rooter grow plugs. The plugs had been immersed in RO water the day before and I drained them but left them damp. I them placed 4 T5 fluoro about 2-3 inches from the top of the plugs and within a day or two they began to sprout. Twice a day I would water the plugs with a sprayer until the surface looked damp enough, but not saturated with water. I used only RO water.

Within two weeks I had three sets of leaves (2 actually and then the cotyledon). The concensus of all my reading suggested this was the time to begin vegging in my hydro rig.

So I transplanted them into my hydro rig and this is where I made my first mistake. I used the chart on the back of my nutrient solution as a guide and thats all I used. I should have used a meter as well but at the time I did not have one and little did I know that meter manufacturers as well as nutrient manufacturers use differnt calibration scales to measure the strength of their nutrient solution. In any event my first week went fairly well. I kept my PPMs at right around 200 but my plants seemed to grow slow. My hydrostore guy said I needed to boost my PPMs to at least 600 otherwise I may as well not even be feeding my plants. SO I dumped more nutrints in the soloution and with the help of a few in this forum realized I may have been buring my plants, although It was only one plant and was caught quite early.

Since that point in time the things I have learned I believe are the most important for a newbie and must be stressed in order to begin a successful grow. I say "BEGIN" because I'm only in my 4th week if vegging and I still have other questions.

1) A meter is a necessity not a luxury. Period. I thought that I could get away with pool tests strips and use the chart on the back of nutrient solution bottle. Although a meter is a little pricey, it was well worth it so I could dial all my settings correctly. I calibrate my PH using a 2 point scale once a week now.

2) Use EC calculations and not PPMs. Although my meter calculates for PPM at a .5 conversion for EC, I've learned that the calibration and calculation measurements for differnt manufacturers vary and usually calculate on the lower side. This is also true for the nutrient solution vendors. I found a book with a scale that has Botanicare calculations on it as well as my Hanna meter calculations. I calibrate my EC once a week using the appropriate solution.

I am officially in my 4th week of vegging. Here is everything that is of importance:

1) PH stays between 5.6 and 6.2 and most of the time between 5.8 and 6.1.
2) My EC is .84 which translates to 420ppms using the .5 conversion. Which is also the same conversion in the chart
3) I use Botanicare Pro Grow and Liquid Karma.
4) I have an MH lamp and my schedule is 18 on and 6 off.

Here are my current pictures. These are with the lamp on and daytime growing.

P
piglet420 Reviewed by piglet420 on . My Second Grow All, Although this is my second attempt at growing I really consider it my first true grow, as the seeds I attempted this with first had been sitting around for years and never truly sprouted as a seedling. The strain of seed is from Joey Weed and it is called Sugar Blossom. For those of you unfamiliar with the strain here is the write up: These are second generation seeds made from F1 original brother's Grimm stock. Sugar blossoms is an improvement on white widow. The brother's Rating: 5