First Grow! TurboGarden

[Mr. Champ]

Here goes nothing. Interesting grow so far and a few difficult hurdles along the way. Please critique every possible aspect you see that could be improved. I have never seen these beautiful plants growing in person before this experience. Thanks for looking!

Here are the specs:
â?¢Ebb/flow Turbogarden by Botanicare. Seeds started in paper towels in a tupperware container. Seedings grow in rockwool cubes which are placed in hydroton filled pots once the roots show.
â?¢Strains: Mandala Satori, Flying Dutchmen Sativa Divas: Thai-Tanic, Swazi Safari, Fumar Con Dios, and Sagarmatha's gardeners choice.
â?¢Type of light? 125W CFL for seedlings. 400W Plantmax MH placed about 8-10" up. Stays on 24 hours a day!
�"Atmosphere" Conditions Temps run 65-75, Humidity a little low staying around 35-50%. I turn on a fan 3 times a day for about 30 minutes. Reservoir water feels too cold to the touch, on 2/10 I added a submersible heater to maintain 72°F.
â?¢Waterings: 25 gallon reservoir at ph 5.5-6.0 floods the tray for 15 minutes twice a day to start. After the 2nd week, increased to 3 times daily.
â?¢PH Range 5.5-6.0
â?¢Nutrients/Supplements New Earth Custom Grow and Body Builder (Silicone supplement) - both at 1/2 strength. Liquid Karma 1 tsp/gal. 25 drops Superthrive. I have some Cal-Mag+ to add during week 2+, and some Sweet I'm saving for flowering.
â?¢Musical Motivation: Bob Dylan, Canned Heat, John Prine, Willie Nelson & some Snoop!

I'll start the first pic with a terrible pic of some lovely seeds. These were the Sagarmatha Gardener's Choice from Dr. C.. These would give me the worst problems with germination. I really think they were old seeds, after my 2nd batch to be germinated later were much easier. I started 1 of the bigger seeds on 1/10 and another on 1/14.

Mr. Champ Reviewed by Mr. Champ on 02-12-2009. First Grow! TurboGarden Here goes nothing. Interesting grow so far and a few difficult hurdles along the way. Please critique every possible aspect you see that could be improved. I have never seen these beautiful plants growing in person before this experience. Thanks for looking! Here are the specs: â?¢Ebb/flow Turbogarden by Botanicare. Seeds started in paper towels in a tupperware container. Seedings grow in rockwool cubes which are placed in hydroton filled pots once the roots show. â?¢Strains: Mandala Rating: 5

[Mr. Champ]

I am keeping track of my days from the point they are dropped into wet paper towels. I know this is not standard, but it is the beginning of life in my eye.

The first pic is Day 9. I started a few tomato plants to share the garden, learn a little bit, and have something to satisfy the munchies. This seedling is one of the Sagarmatha's which I have called the Mute. You will see why soon.

The second pic is the Mute on Day 12.

[Mr. Champ]

Turbo Time! The first 2 pics shows the transplant of the Mute and tomatoes to the Turbogarden. In the res is 25 gallons RO water, 2 tsp/gal Custom Grow (7-9-5), 1/2 tsp/gal Body Builder (0-0-3 silicone), and 25 drops Superthrive.

The second pic is the 2nd Sagarmatha 11 days old, and of course a new pic of the Mute at Day 15.

[Mr. Champ]

Power Outage! Vicious ice storms hit us hard, and killed all power from 7pm on Jan. 27 till 7pm Feb. 1. The first day was complete darkness for my girls. Day 2-4 of no power I was able to run a generator for about 14 hours per day. On the morning of Day 5, I transferred all the plants to a small area where they could stay warm and have 24 hours under the big 125W CFL. Day 6 I took a few pics before the power came back on. They would make it back to the big lights on the next day.

This first pic shows the mighty Mute 22 days old. The next pic shows the lovely Sativa Divas (3 on right, 9 days old), Mandala Satoris (2 in middle, 9 days old), and the second Sagarmatha (1 on right, 18 days old). And of course, a new Habanero pepper plant in the back.

[Mr. Champ]

Back to the turbogarden. All of the seedlings were showing massive roots out of the rockwool, so I was able to transplant them all to the TurboGarden!

The first pic if the beautiful garden. The second is the Mute at 24 days old. The third is the Sagarmatha at 20 days, and the last shows a nice Sativa Diva at 11 days. This will be the grand total for my first grow: 2 Sagarmatha's, 3 Sativa Diva's, 2 Mandala Satori's, 2 tomatoes and 1 pepper.

[Mr. Champ]

I had to go out of town for about a week, so was not able to flush the system until today. It looked like some of the girls were suffering from either nute overdose or Mg deficiency. I flushed 1 oz/gal of Clearex thru each of the plants, and replaced the reservoir with 1.5 tsp/gal of the grow, 1/2 tsp/gal body builder, 25 drops superthrive, 1 tsp/gal Liquid Karma, and 1 tsp/gal CalMag+. I also added an aquarium heater to keep the water at 72°F (it was about 65° before), and a bubbler to keep the water mixed up and oxygenated. They seem to be improving well with the new growth coming out.

The first 2 pics show the Mute on day 30. I tried to get a close up so you could see how strange she is growing. Right past the cotyledons (which are still present and green), a new much larger stalk started growing out of the side. Strongest plant in the garden and I am praying she is the right sex. Can anyone tell any early signs of sex based on these pics?

The next pic is the Sagarmatha who was showing signs of nute problems, yellow and crusty tips. The 4th and 5th pic are of one of the Satori's and the worst Sativa Diva at day 17. They look much better today after the flush.

[Mr. Champ]

New growth is much better. I have a few leaves that are curling upwards on the edges... any ideas?

I want to take the whole garden to 12/12 flowering at the same time. Any suggestions on how big the smallest plant should be before doing this? I know I need to weed out the males, so they will have to be big enough to sex. Otherwise, any other tips for creating the best harvest?

Thanks for looking!

[Dutch Pimp]

New growth is much better. I have a few leaves that are curling upwards on the edges... any ideas?

That 400 watt MH is too close in my opinion. The UV rays from MH are very strong.

(if you put your bare hand under that light for 5 minutes...you will feel their pain)

[Mr. Champ]

Thanks.. So if I am reading that chart right.. 11.5 inches is perfect for these girls? Should I set that from the tallest plant (who isn't showing any problems)? And is that distance from the bulb or distance from the glass on the reflector? Sorry that seems obvious but I have to ask.

[Weedhound]

For month old plants in hydro......they're rather small. I'm not familiar with Turbogarden but I will look it up and see whats its about.

My first thought is that your dry hydroton should not be dry. It's usually a medium that is kept wet 24/7 because of it's light, airy, coco puff type texture. So my first guess would be that they need more waterings. I also wonder about ph (I ALWAYS wonder about ph)....is it changing from watering to watering? Does it start at one ph and then when drained back the ph has changed? Any of those things would hint to me of part of what might be going on.

What are your ppms? Have you been calibrating your meters and checking them? If not I would do so immediately to make sure you are getting accurate readings.

I also realize that you were gone, and had some power outages so that will play a role. I still think your kids are pretty small however......more specs (like day to day what the ppms and ph do) would be really helpful in discovering if you can grow these kids bigger and quicker.