First attempt at a grow

[Shaman]

Hello,
First off, I just want to say how grateful I am to this community. Even though I have barely posted anything yet, I have learned so much by reading through grow journals and tutorials and everything else on here. Thank you.

Now, I could probably use some help. I started growing about a month ago from some bag seed. Then about 2 or 3 weeks later I started growing some better seeds (California Orange Bud, from Nirvana). I have 4 healthy plants of the orange bud, and one that isn't looking so great (it barely sprouted). The two from bag seed are looking great and are getting rather big.

My set up is in a closet, probably about 6x4 (I haven't measured it) and the ceiling is about 10 feet high. I have one 400w mh bulb with a reflector. The plants all started in jiffy pots and once big enough switched over to pots that are about 16 inches around on the top. I'm using a basic soil with some perlite and worm castings added in. I've given them very little fertilizers (I have given them a small amount of a cloning/rooting solution every few days to promote root growth and I have a flowering solution for when they are ready). I have a fan blowing on them to strengthen the leaves and to try to cool down the room. I have a carbon air scrubber being shipped to me to take care of the smell, as well as an air cooler (not an air condition, this one is by Sunpentown, you can find it on Amazon or on Ebay, it looks like a pretty cost effective solution to heat). I'm also going to try to get some mylar to cover the walls and floors (where is the best place to get that? Does Home Depot sell it? or Kmart?)

One question that I have is what I should do about the two sets of plants (I have two plants that are a few weeks older than the others). Will they be ok to wait until the others are ready for flowering? Unfortunately I don't have another room that I can put them in to start flowering, I only have one room to grow in.

Also, could you take a look at the pictures of the bigger plants and tell me if it's possible to tell the sex yet? That's something I'm still confused about.



This is a pic of the whole grow room:

This is one of the little guys, from the cali orange bud seed

[mister2]

First off, it sounds like you have done your homework.

secondly you can get mylar online easily - prob even on ebay

Third you can put the plants in to flower before they're ready and force them to flower, so don't worry about them being different ages

And last but not least, I cant see any signs of sexing yet dewd.

Good luck with your grow

[Shaman]

I wanted to ask one more thing...do you have any idea on the strain of the bigger plants? Is it possible to tell if they are more indica or sativa dominant?

Thanks again for all your help!

[mister2]

dont think anyone will be able to tell this early. basically i think that sativa (head high) leaves are thin and long, and Indica (couch lock/body high) leaves are short and fat. dunno if i'm right, but i think so

[ISTANDALONE]

+ rep for actually doing research before you start. looking nice so far dude!

[enorty]

yeah you cant really tell if its sativa or indica yet, but like as he said indica has long thin leaves usually a light green color too, indica has short fat leave normally a darker green color. You will be able to tell what you've got when they are done dont worry

[Shaman]

Thanks guys for the help. I'll try to update every few days with more pictures...and probably more questions, ha. I'm loving growing though. Sometimes I sit down in front of the plants and just watch them grow because it's such a beautiful thing.

[Shaman]

Here's an odd question. The water that is draining out of the pots (there is a little tray that attaches to the pots I have for any additional water) is yellow. What is the reason that the water turns yellow? And am I right to assume that if water is coming out the bottom (only a little bit) that I am watering them too much?

Thanks!

[keelo]

I'm not sure about yelloy water as I've never had much drainage from any of my soil grows.. just remember, stick your finger in the soil, if its moist a 1-2" down, don't water.. wait until it isnt and maybe even then another day.. mj doesnt like flooded areas have fun with it

[Shaman]

Hey guys,
Wanted to see if you could help me diagnose this problem. These yellow spots on the leaves started showing up a few days ago. I can't figure out if it's fert burn or light burn. Any ideas?

[toastybiz]

What's your pH?

[Shaman]

I know that I should, but I don't have a pH meter. Are they actually useful? I've already spent hundreds on my grow setup and cannot really afford to spend a whole lot more.

[Shaman]

No ideas on what the yellow spots are?

[ISTANDALONE]

looks like nute burn to me, but you've hardly fed them anything. invest in a ph meter. homedepot has them in the garden dept for $15, well worth the cash.

[Shaman]

Everything is still going well, the plants are looking great and have been growing a lot. I'll try to post pictures soon.
Though there is one problem (or maybe it's not, I don't know). The last few days I've started to see more and more little bugs. They look like fruit flies. Is this something that I should worry about? Or is this common and should I just let it go? If it is a problem, what can I do to get rid of it? I'm trying to do an entirely organic grow, so I don't want to use any chemicals. I have heard that using diluted soap works (obviously not a scented one or anything). What do you think about this?
Thanks!