First Time Closet Grow

[KILLAGRAMS420]

Hello Everybody,

First of all...I just want to thank everyone for their input in all aspects of this website. I have been a constant reader of threads of all subjects for a couple of years now, and it has definitely expanded my knowledge to the point where NOW I'm ready for my first grow. And I'm SUPER excited to start my first thread because that means that I've started my first grow.

Here's the details:

Closet grow setup: 6'x2'x10' (tight space, but tall)
Strains: Hawaiian Gold, White Widow, Super Silver Haze (obviously these are three strains with different degrees of difficulty in terms of growing, but this is my first time and I figure I can learn a lot by working with the three strains at the same time)
Lighting: To Start - 3 CFL's (probably for first week/next 6-7 days)...Then - I have a 400watt sunburst conversion lamp so I'll start with a metal halide for the veg phase and then switch over to HPS for flowering
Soil: Miracle grow starting soil...then I haven't decided which soil to use when I transplant into larger 5 gallon pots

Here are a couple pics of my babies from early this morning...more pics to come very shortly from later this evening...

KILLAGRAMS420 Reviewed by KILLAGRAMS420 on 08-27-2010. First Time Closet Grow Hello Everybody, First of all...I just want to thank everyone for their input in all aspects of this website. I have been a constant reader of threads of all subjects for a couple of years now, and it has definitely expanded my knowledge to the point where NOW I'm ready for my first grow. And I'm SUPER excited to start my first thread because that means that I've started my first grow. Here's the details: Closet grow setup: 6'x2'x10' (tight space, but tall) Strains: Hawaiian Gold, Rating: 5

[KILLAGRAMS420]

Hey ya'll...

Here are a few more pics...I know they're blurry, but my brother took them with a pretty crappy camera...

I will take s'more shots tomorrow when I'm back home that will show the entire setup to give more of an idea of what I'm trying to do...

So far I'm pretty excited how much the little babies really grew in the first day...the lights are close for now...I haven't watered them for about 24 hours, and I probably won't water them again for another 14 hours because they got a lot of water when the seeds were in the ground and I was worried I'd over water my first time! What do you guys think about that? Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty confident right now!!!! These are 5 of my 10 babies right now...with the expectation that maybe 2 or 3 probably won't make it through (I don't know if that's pessimistic or optimistic)!

Take a look...again sorry about the blurry pics, better quality manana...:rastasmoke:

[KILLAGRAMS420]

Sup everyone...

No matter what, I will definitely be posting more pics almost daily...So please provide some feedback as we go along...or just keep checking in if you like...:rastasmoke:

So here's today's update...A bunch of much better pics today (I got a better camera so they shouldn't be blurry anymore, but it's always hard to take pictures so close of the plants with the lights right next to them!)...

As you see in the setup, I have three different rows of pots, each row has a different strain growing in it...so the back row is White Widow...the second row is Hawaiing Gold...and the front row is the glorious Super Silver Haze (my favorite strain in the whole world!!). Fortunately, the Widow and the HG are consistently growing at the same rate, all seven plants are approx. 1.5 inches tall right now (I'm not sure exactly if that's to fast and they're stretching or if that's OK for now????) and the lights are approx. 6 inches above the soil. I still got the 3 CFLs pumping for now. My plan is to basically switch over the the 400W MH in about 6-7 days...and maybe add 2 more CFLs in a day or 2...also...I definitely think I need to transfer to 5 gallon buckets ASAP so I can provide lots of room for tap root growth (and hopefully they all turn out females!)...also I need to transfer because the grow medium I started with is Miracle Grow...and I don't want that to be 'to hot' for the plants...I hope to get them in 5 gall buckets with either foxfarm soil, or an organic soil without any fertilizer......also as you see...I have my fan facing backwards because for now, if it was directly on the babies it would be to much wind, and with it facing the wall it still circulates air fairly well in the small closet...I will be buying a pH test and a thermometer for the room ASAP also...I think the temp might be a little cool in the room for now...I will hope that once I get the big 400w light getting rid of the heat will be the biggest prob...but for now I think the temp is manageable but cool...lastly...Watering...I just watered the plants for the first time in approx 30 hours...and I'm not to sure how often I want to water these guys...PLEASE GIVE ADVICE on watering!!! (Every day? 2 days? twice a day?...I really don't know what type of watering schedule I should go with...I'll look for other posts now on that subject!)

Much thanks for help! More pics to come soon!!!:rastasmoke:

[KILLAGRAMS420]

Hello...things are cruisin' along...ironically, I begin law school tomorrow while simultaneously beginning my first grow...exciting times...:rastasmoke:

So here are another 5 shots of the progress...the color of the pics is adjusted a little bit to adjust to the light, the color of the plants is a little bit bright, but basically consistent...
overall, the babies still seem to be doing just fine...I am extremely happy about the consistency of the progress of all of the seeds of the Hawaiin Gold (middle row of 4) and the White Widow (back row of 3)...all the plants seem to be approx. 2 inches tall...Unfortunately... the super silver haze (front row of 3) seems to have only 1 of the 3 sprouting...However, although the 1 that did sprout was lagging behind the HG and WW yesterday, now it seems to have caught up in terms of the main stem production (hopefully that says the same about the roots too!)...overall, I'm not to concerned over the last 2 seeds of SSH, and honestly I'm just happy that the one that is growing is so healthy...I also added a sheet of metal to reflect light along the back wall, and the front as well for more light from the CFLs...so overall...I'm very happy with my progress thus far...but I remain cautiously optimistic!

[KILLAGRAMS420]

Hey ya'll here are my day 5 shots.

I seem to have a little bit of stretching...especially in that one pic of the Super Silver Haze where the plant is stretching a lot and almost starting to get to heavy...any advice on what to do there? Otherwise...overall I think it seems to be moving along smoothly......the plants look pretty healthy and they seem to be happy at the moment...I'm keeping my fingers crossed and not overwatering...also plan on putting up the 400w MH on Friday!!!

:rastasmoke:

[StonedRichard]

Damn! started the same day as you and mine are not nearly as nice as yours! Good luck with the SSH maybe there just slow Please keep on inspiring me, cant wait to see them grow :thumbsup:

[KILLAGRAMS420]

thanks for following Richard...
So basically, my Super Silver Haze has gone from growing to slowly only 3 days ago....to now, it's stretched so much that the plant has actually tipped over on it's side! It hasn't been derooted by any means....it's just stretched so much that the leaves have become top-heavy...my solution is to use a paper clip attached to the side of the pot to hold it up, and I'm keeping the light as close as I can to the plant!...As I expected...this Super Silver Haze is HARD AS HECK to grow!!
:rastasmoke:

[bigtopsfinn]

Looks good so far :thumbsup:

I like to keep a good airflow going around the seedlings from the start, so that they sway a little bit. Helps strengthen the stems and avoid them from falling over. Of course, not too much to damage them.

Should be about time to start the wet/dry watering cycles. Make the roots grow out and look for water. Saturate the pots evenly with water and wait until they feel light again.

Next transplant you might want to bury them a little deeper than normal, the buried stems will eventually grow roots.

Happy growing :jointsmile:

[KILLAGRAMS420]

Should be about time to start the wet/dry watering cycles. Make the roots grow out and look for water. Saturate the pots evenly with water and wait until they feel light again.

What do you mean by the wet/dry watering cycle...right now I'm basically watering when the soil feels dry at an inch deep...basically I'm watering every 24-48 hours...getting closer to just watering daily tho

[bigtopsfinn]

What do you mean by the wet/dry watering cycle...right now I'm basically watering when the soil feels dry at an inch deep...basically I'm watering every 24-48 hours...getting closer to just watering daily tho

Wet/dry cycle just means that you don't keep the soil wet constantly. Instead water them so the soil is fully soaked, with a little run-off from the bottom, and wait until it's almost dry again. The wet/dry cycle helps prevent bud rot.

Dry an inch down might not be as good of an indicator as lifting the pots, because the bottom might still have plenty of water. When you lift the pots you can distinctly tell if the soil is still waterlogged or if it's ready for a watering.

How often you have to water depends a lot on your environment, but for me, when they start needing water daily I slip one out of the container to check the roots and see if they are ready for bigger containers.