Master Kush x Silver Haze 1st Grow - YAY!

[ConnieSewer]

First off let me say what a pleasure it is to speak to you guys, and read through all of this information and be a small part of the community.

And, many thanks to Zandor for everything he does to bring us so much information, I am an avid listener to the Grow Report - and I love the show.

So here's my grow log, I'd appreciate your help. I haven't really seen many grow logs that fully detail every step, so I thought I'd do that with mine, and let you guys see what I've done.

Size and location are problems for me. I ended up having to do a rubbermaid grow. I have been very careful to completely seal the containers to make them airtight (except for the ventillation), and completely light proof. I have achieved this by sealing the two rubbermaid containers together with a black bike tire innertube, which can easily be removed to maintain the plant. I installed 5 light sockets in the container: 3 on top, 2 on the sides. I used to be an electrician - so I have properly wired everything, installed breakers, surge protector, and covered all of the wiring with flame-retardant insulation, then covered that up with another rubbermaid container. I will post pics soon. It actually came out looking nice - like something you'd buy retail. I installed a ventillation system with a carbon filter on the exhaust. There is only one cord going to the system, so it is completely portable.

Also installed is a thermometer with hygrometer to maintain conditions. Currently it is at 80 degrees, 70% humidity.

I installed (3) 100 watt daylight CFL's in the top sockets for germination. Also, the inside of the container is lined with foil, dull side out. The three bulbs put out 1900 lumens each - for a total of nearly 6000 for the small space. Soon I will put in the side lights - another 2 daylight bulbs for vegetative, then replace those 2 with warm 42W CFL's for flowering.

I prepared a soil for germination: vermiculite, sphagnum moss, perlite, and a tiny TINY bit of dolemite lime. I prepared 3 small germination pots about 2 inches deep and 1 inch square. The seeds were planted 1/2" deep and the soil watered - and I'm just keeping it moist to the touch. The seeds are from a local bank, and feminized. I will be keeping my light blue, the soil more towards the alkaline side, and running an 18/6 schedule to further push them into being female.

I planted my beans yesterday. Now I wait.

I made my first mistake, though - the first time I watered my germination soil, I used tapwater. This shouldn't cause a problem with the chlorine, right guys? From now on I'm using Aquafina.

Oh - one last point, I am NOT using the bottom half of the rubbermaid container for germination right now - I'm just placing the top half with the lights directly onto a sheet of foil to get the lights down close and personal with the seedlings.

I will be going organic. I know, I know... the whole yield vs. taste thing... I just wanted to start with dirt, and I'm all into the whole "mother earth" stuff - so that's where I ended up.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

ConnieSewer Reviewed by ConnieSewer on 10-13-2006. Master Kush x Silver Haze 1st Grow - YAY! First off let me say what a pleasure it is to speak to you guys, and read through all of this information and be a small part of the community. And, many thanks to Zandor for everything he does to bring us so much information, I am an avid listener to the Grow Report - and I love the show. So here's my grow log, I'd appreciate your help. I haven't really seen many grow logs that fully detail every step, so I thought I'd do that with mine, and let you guys see what I've done. Size and Rating: 5

[peace plz]

Hey ConnieSewer!

Welcome and good luck with your grow! I just started my first grow too. I'm doing organic growing as well.

Something I might suggest is if you can possibly get to a Wal-Mart or a camping store, get an emergency blanket or two. They are made from mylar and work a ton better at reflecting the light around than foil. And I hear foil will give you hot spots on your plant and could burn them. The emergency blankets are about $2 each, so definitely should be a purchase you could make.

Anyways, keep up the good work. Looks like you did a lot of homework before you started! I will keep checking back with this thread to see your progress! Can't wait to see how she turns out!

[Weedhound]

Yes mylar is much better than foil by a long shot. PS My soil plants all got tapwater and did fine. Thought i read somewhere that a small bit of chlorine was actually beneficial for plants (don't ask me what a small amount is)

[peace plz]

I am using tap water, and I heard that if you let the tap water sit out in an open container for 24 hours, then the harmful agents in the tap water will evaporate. Try that if you want.

[ConnieSewer]

K guys - I will definitely go mylar. Thanks for the suggestions.

Yeah, I know about letting the water sit out - I'm gonna do that or Aquafina in the future, I just didn't know if I jacked up my beans by giving them a dose of chlorine for their first watering.

I'm excited to see how your grow goes too. I'll keep checking.

Okay guys, so here's my soil recipe for the entire grow. I will be adding nutrients throughout the grow, adjusting based on pH, veg/flower, other factors. This is just the base medium:

Sphagnum Moss
Peat Moss
Redwood Compost
Mushroom Compost
Fir Bark
Washed/Sterile Sand
Mycorrhizal Fungi
Worm Castings
Kelp Meal
Bat Guano
Feather Meal
Dolemite Lime
Volcanic Pumice

For a general purpose food I will use a 12/12/12 Sea Kelp fertilizer
which mixes in with the water every 2 weeks.

During veg I will use Blood Meal as my nitrogen booster.
During flowering I will use Bone Meal for my phosphate.

I will be adjusting pH using dolemite lime - keeping it around 7.5.

Man... this is getting expensive. I think I'm up to $225 now for one plant. Oh well, most of it is just a one-time expense, and most of the nutes will last me a LOOOONG time.

[peace plz]

Wow, that is getting pretty expensive. I went the Fox Farm Ocean Forest route for my soil. It was about $12 for a big bag of it. Then my lights were about $20 or so. I'm about to add a couple more CFLs here in the next couple weeks once my plant gets a little bit bigger and can handle all the light.

[Bodom Children Of]

would like to see pics as I use rubbermaids for growing as well....check my thread in my signature
Good Luck!:thumbsup:

[ConnieSewer]

I used a sterile embroidery needle to move a bit of soil aside on one of the germination pots. The seed is germinated and just about to pop thru the surface.


Problem:
I added one more CFL light, and my temp jumped to 92. Humidity is still at 80. Is this too hot? My soil is still moist.

[L3G10N]

yeah, you may need to lower those temps. I read that 75 degrees i think is ideal. My area stays at about 80.

[ConnieSewer]

Hmm... I may need to re-engineer my ventillation system then. I want to keep all the bulbs in there. I'm going to hit up the store and get me a blower motor and possibly look into ducting to move the hot air FAR away from the grow.