after being disappointed by two dirt grows because of being ill-equipped, I decided to wait to grow until I had all the right equipment. I also decided that because i was going to wait, i'd do it right, and go hydro, because I want to see real progress. so, after reading everything i could find on the internet twice, i've got the supplies, got a clone and i'm starting a grow!
currently, i have 1 plant, chillin in a rumplebucket, under 1 40w 5500k CFL which seems to be plenty of light at the moment. i'll be putting it under a 170w MH in a week or two.
my water is RO 5.6Ph 310ppm on a dilute lucas formula and 70-73 degrees
thank you rumpleforeskin for the great how to on the bubble buckets, you've made many people happy with how very simple you laid it out for us.
sooo.. after all this prep i did, the guy i got my clone from room got spidermites. (i should have seen this coming, after all he owns a lawn service) but, i'm only startin' with one, so i wiped the leaves real well with soap and water, and i got some of schults spray. I couldn't find neem oil, but this says it deals with spidermites and it says its ok to use on edible plants the day of harvest, so i'll be trying this first.
i've had this clone for 6 days now, and already i've got roots pouring from my mesh pot. i'm amazed at the root progress in only a couple hour's time. as for the new growth, the first three days brought two new sets of leaves, so I FIMed it, and had a pause in foliage growth, but i see it starting again. theres some damage on the older leaves from those pesky critters, but the new growth is lookin good.
thats all i can remember for now, so here's some pics of the first couple days. the bottom picture i trimmed the lower fan leaves because i dont think they were doing much.