First Timer Journo

[bax]

Hello

 

I'm a MMMP and this is my first grow.

I'm growing in dirt in a tent. I have MH for veg and some sun agro and HPS for bloom. I'm using an offbrand faucet brita/pur filtered water from tap.

 

Attached are some pictures right before I moved into the tent, along with transplanting into much bigger pots.

 

 

I have topped most of them, but I am very new to all of this. Is there anything else I should be doing to them? They are about four weeks old, from different seeds. None are showing pre-sex yet, its too small and most nubs end up being more leaflets.

 

Are there any computer or android phone apps you suggest for keeping track of the grow?

[wildman69]

Looking pretty nice for your first grow, what ever you are doing is working well!

[bax]

Thank you.

 

I have only been adding compost teas and urine once. The urine really stinks, adding it to the compost tea might be a less smelly way of using it.

 

I might try adding epsom salts for calcium + magneseum.

Does that still count as organic?

[GanjaWarrior]

Thank you.

 

I have only been adding compost teas and urine once. The urine really stinks, adding it to the compost tea might be a less smelly way of using it.

 

I might try adding epsom salts for calcium + magneseum.

Does that still count as organic?

 

not questioning your choices but maybe use the urine at a much lower concentration? Id also suggest you could prob just do with out it, there are likely better alternatives, with less of a smell. If cost is the issue, there are alternatives.... look into creating a small worm farm... they eat my veggie scraps and their castings are a great organic source of all kinds of goodies. coffee grounds.... the list is long. if you insist on using urine and its just for you...rock on, maybe just cut it a bit more. Other people might not consider the use of human urine as organic, just something to consider.

Gw

[bax]

Don't think I'll use urine much in the future.

I was wrong about it being an organic fertilizer.

Its safer to handle than harsh chemical fertilizers.

 

These plants are just for me.

 

Is there anything else I should include in this journal?

I'm going to be upset when I find out how many males show up.

[bax]

I forgot to vent my new tent. I didn't realize that its almost airtight if the vents are all closed. Now I understand how people get mold, mildew and other humidity problems.

 

I thought it was too humid in there. Took off the vent covers and turned the fan on to run continuously. I have the fan set to turn off and on every 30 minutes just to save electricity.

 

I'll need to invest in one of those thermometer/relative humidity monitors.

[GanjaWarrior]

I forgot to vent my new tent. I didn't realize that its almost airtight if the vents are all closed. Now I understand how people get mold, mildew and other humidity problems.

 

I thought it was too humid in there. Took off the vent covers and turned the fan on to run continuously. I have the fan set to turn off and on every 30 minutes just to save electricity.

 

I'll need to invest in one of those thermometer/relative humidity monitors.

 

yes environmental controls can be vital to the success of your grow. not sure the size of your fan...but if possible id run it all the time.... in my years of growing ive encountered mold two times indoors.... both times do to dif reasons my fans were shut off....maybe that wasn't the issue...but the same strains in the same room have never gotten moldy any other time. growing in a tent i believe you even more likely to run into that problem. when lights are off plants "sweat" lots of humidity can build up then....

 

 

things are looking great.... your asking good questions.... i know it seems a lot to learn...but it comes with time and it looks like your off to a better start than i was my first time.

[bax]

After transplant picture.

Upper right is a Mazar I started later.

Bottom left is a trifoliate (3 leaves per branch, only that one branch) mutant.

Bottom right is a whorled leaf mutant.

 

I've been low stress training them , moving the big branches apart for the little tops to get more light.

 

All of the double-pots do not have bottoms, to increase the amount of dirt accessible to the plant. Some(all?) of the plants are able to create roots on the stem until the first cotyledon leaves. After learning this, I started surrounding the stem with a cut open bottle/container filled with dirt and wired back shut. When transplanting, the roots that had grown off of the stem were amazing!!

 

I can seriously say that you should bury the stem in growing medium up to the first round leaves. Unfortunately, this information was not found in any grow books that I've read so far.

Edited November 9, 2012 by bax

[bax]

[bax]

Do I veg these until they show pre-sex then hit them with 12-12 ?

 

When I first started, I set the timer on my light incorrectly. I caught it in time, but always make sure to set your timers properly!

[jimmy]

I have never grown in a tent but good air exchange is a must..Get a small fan 6-8" and keep it on low..As for the sexing of the plants I have found it easier once they get into the early stage of flower..Your grow is looking good!!

[Mickeydee]

^{I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think when you start from seed the plants need to be 12-16wks old before they should be flipped.}

[Bison]

Those look like they need some training, and what soil are you using? The runt in the upper right may not be worth continuing. With the others, poke holes in the lip of your pot and tie the tops down below your cut in the main stem. Flower as soon as you have a relatively even canopy.

 

Mickey, you need not wait 12-16 weeks to start flower unless you want monsters (like 6-8 ft trees). If you must wait that long for reasonably sized plants I would strongly urge you to revisit the amount of light you are using, the amount of ventilation and air circulation, as well as nute schedule. You are likely deficient in one or more (likely more) of those areas.

 

And don't use urine.

[wozerdozer]

 

 

Why the cut off pot on top of the lower right pot?

 

Thanks

Wozer

[bax]

The upper right one I started only a 12 days ago. Its newer than the rest of them. I wasnt sure what size tent, so I started two of them later.

 

The dirt is compost + perlite.

 

wozerdozer : The extra cut pot is for more dirt access. Roots can grow off of the stem up to the first set of embryonic leaves. Since I wanted the plant to get access to the most dirt possible , I planted it high and covered the stem vertically.

 

I forgot to tie the plants down. Thanks Bison. I tied them down and will snap a picture after they settle in.

[bax]

Moved the pots around, used paper clips to LST, gave them another compost tea made from water, compost and some unsulphered molasses. Now there is a lot of new growth in the middle of the plants.

 

Do they need any nutrients? I havent given them anything - just water and three compost teas. Not seeing any leaf problems, plants look healthy and green.

 

Posted in gallery:

http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/gallery/image/16091-new41/

[Bison]

They will need nutes pretty soon. I am very happy with the Botanicare Pure Blend Pro line of nutes if you are still shopping.

[bax]

After foliar spray:

 

[bax]

Make sure your plant is under enough growing medium.

These pictures explain how far up the stem roots will grow.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2012 by bax

[GanjaWarrior]

interesting.... you should do a side by side grow with two of the same plants one with that extra dirt and one with out it.... ive seen it done on bigger outdoor plants....just interested to see if that will improve your yield or not. happy turkey day

[bax]

GW: Well, that is a seed trick.

Its hard to compare different plants/yields from seed since they won't be the exact same genetics.

 

On clones, roots come from the inner membrane of the stem.

So the way to grow more roots on clones is to expose more of that membrane to the growth hormone/growing medium.

By using diagonal cuts, or a long split up the center of the clone stem, or by cutting off more of the stem 'skin'.

 

I have no idea whats best for clones + roots. The books mention different things. I'm quite new to all of this.

 

Grow news:

 

All of my plants are exhibiting maturity via alternating or staggered nodes.

Time to flower! I still need to buy flowering nutes.

 

On a sad note, I discovered a male.

My suspicions were aroused when this Mazar plant, which is said to be 100% indica , started out by looking like a sativa. I know plants have been known to switch characteristics so this alone wasn't enough evidence. Further attention was given when the plant exhibited a really beautiful phenotype. All of the tops were outgrowing the lower branches, thus not requiring any FIM or LST. Maybe I just got lucky?

 

Well, this picture is 100% proof of an early flowering male. I think.

Let me know if thats just some female preflower that looks like a male.

 

So what do I do with the male plant? I've heard it can make hash oil? Its not very sticky? Do I let it pollinate first before making oil from it? I may keep it seperate and save the pollen for breeding.

[Faygo]

cut it and toss it. it's not worth breeding any seeds unless it is from a good stock!

[bax]

Bad news: 4 males, 2 females.

 

My first clones. These are from a plant that later turned out to be male.

 

 

Roots from my male plants. Nice healthy roots.

 

Can someone tell me why to water less during flowering? I'm guessing it slows growth?

Should I remove all lower growth leaves?

Any other tips?

Edited December 5, 2012 by bax

[bax]

First week of flower:

 

2 Females, 2 400W HPS, one Sun Agro bulb.

 

Does not smell much unless you stick your nose into it.

[bax]

I looked under the skirt of my lady and she had some balls!

 

At least the other lady isnt showing any problems.

I plan to cut the balls off and hope the pollen does not hide in a flower and pollenate my other female.

It seems kind of stressed. There were 5 yellow fan leaves this week. I don't know if this was heat, light, nutes or bagseed genetics.

 

Do hermies grow larger buds or are they stunted?

Will it just get angry and throw more and more nanners at me and stop producing buds?

Guess I will find out.

 

This has been a very educating grow for me. I've learned a lot.

I started with bagseed in my first grow just to see what I would be dealing with.