Indoor-Outdoor Grow: Newbie with Bagseed

[Ojos En Fuego]

So I was sitting around with some extra seeds and said to myself, "Hey, why not?"

So I germed a few, using a heat light and my lizard cage, and somehow, all of them sprouted. But along the way, I found out that heat lights destroy the water supply in the tiny seedling pots in less than half an hour, as well as the fact that my lizard enjoys some germinating mj plants. So I was down to one half eaten plant.


Over the course of two weeks, it came back and sprouted two new branches, and so I got some cfl's and made a mini growbox in my closet. Unfortunately, the ph in my water was about 8.5 and I was using miracle grow soil. That's when I found grasscity.

Using the plethora of info here, I learned what I need to do and started 3 new plants. I'm poor, so I eventually got the materials over the course of the last month.

I left one of my poor plants in the sun for too long and she shriveled up, so now I'm down to three, but they are all pretty strong.

As of right now, I have 1-42 watt and 4-23 watt soft light cfl's and 2-20 watt daylight cfl's. I have a nice little fan blowing on them about 12 hours of the day and they have strong stems. I now am using Schultz Potting Soil Plus+ and Expert Gardener All-Purpose ferts (24-8-16) every other watering.

I am taking them outside in two weeks to start the outside portion of their growth.

[Ojos En Fuego]

Just thought you guys might want to see some pics

1. My little setup

2. Plant 1, the original plant, about a month and a half old (side view)

3. Plant 1 (top view)

4. Plant 2, stronger of the two new ones and my personal fav (side view)

5. Plant 2 (top view)

6. Plant 3, pretty and vibrant (side view)

7. Plant 3 (top view)

8. My lil forest w/ lighter for size comparison

9. Another view of my setup

Gimme some input...

[tmarin]

Nice start, you'll be amazed how they take off when you put them outside. Is it too cold to do so now? They look like they could probably handle the outdoors as long as it doesn't get too cold at night. Maybe at least set them out in the sun for a few hours each day to harden them off.

Are you gonna be putting them in the ground or in pots? I grew in pots last year (check out the journal in my sig) and I wish I'd have put them in the ground - would've yielded much more.

And you might want to start some more seeds if you've got them. The outdoors can be harsh, and you need to account for males.

For example:

Last year I started with 10 plants:
- 2 were found by cops/whoever owned the property -
- 3 died in a bad storm
- 2 were bulldozed by a developer (long story short)
- and I harvested the remaining 3 which all happened to be female

Thats a 30% harvest ratio - hopefully you've got some more secure spots - my grow was a total guerilla grow. But even if its secure you still have pests, animals, storms, and males to account for. Just think about it - you've still got plenty of time to start some more seeds.

[Ojos En Fuego]

Originally Posted by tmarin

Nice start, you'll be amazed how they take off when you put them outside. Is it too cold to do so now? They look like they could probably handle the outdoors as long as it doesn't get too cold at night. Maybe at least set them out in the sun for a few hours each day to harden them off.

Are you gonna be putting them in the ground or in pots? I grew in pots last year (check out the journal in my sig) and I wish I'd have put them in the ground - would've yielded much more.

And you might want to start some more seeds if you've got them. The outdoors can be harsh, and you need to account for males.

For example:

Last year I started with 10 plants:
- 2 were found by cops/whoever owned the property -
- 3 died in a bad storm
- 2 were bulldozed by a developer (long story short)
- and I harvested the remaining 3 which all happened to be female

Thats a 30% harvest ratio - hopefully you've got some more secure spots - my grow was a total guerilla grow. But even if its secure you still have pests, animals, storms, and males to account for. Just think about it - you've still got plenty of time to start some more seeds.

I'm at college right now and I'm planting them at home. I'm not going home for two weeks, so that's why I'm waiting. Plus, there isn't much foliage yet where I plan on planting, so to find the best spot, I need to find where it will be the sunniest. I figure in a couple of weeks the leaves will be thicker and I can find some sunny spots.

I'm putting them in the ground for sure. I've heard there is less chance of damage to the plant and there is more growth. No worries about anyone finding it, it's my property and my mom wouldn't go back there if her life depended on it. Cops would have no reason to unless someone tipped them off, and there's no suspicion b/c I ride back there. Storm is really my only worry, but I'm willing to take the chance.

I am thinking about germinating some more, but I have no seeds at this time. I can't buy anything either. So, I'm working on it. Thanks for looking out though.

I checked out your journal, pretty badass, except for the whole losing seven plants thing. I could only hope to get as much as you did.

[tmarin]

If you've got a nice spot like that to plant them, you should be in the clear. In that case you can probably get away with three plants. You'll be able to take better care of them and probably have much less chance of being found.

I live in an apt. and don't have many options so I have to spread out my plots and minimize visits. Its risky but too much fun to quit. I can't wait for my clones to root so I can put them outside to get huge.

[Ojos En Fuego]

Originally Posted by tmarin

If you've got a nice spot like that to plant them, you should be in the clear. In that case you can probably get away with three plants. You'll be able to take better care of them and probably have much less chance of being found.

I live in an apt. and don't have many options so I have to spread out my plots and minimize visits. Its risky but too much fun to quit. I can't wait for my clones to root so I can put them outside to get huge.

Yeah, I'm not too worried. I just hope I get at least two girls out of the three. That's a little much to ask but one can only hope.

After you put yours outside, when was the biggest growth time, shortly after or later on when the roots took hold? The sooner the better.

Since this is my first grow, I obviously have little experience. But from what I've done so far, it's alot of fun. It's almost good when my plants get sick or something because I get to figure it out and then fix it. I feel professional or something...


By the by, I have some problems with some of the lower leaves on all of my plants. Looking at the pics, does anyone know what's up?

Pic One: Crispy edges and dirty brown spots on plant two

Pic Two: Another view; as you can see it's not affecting the new growth

Pic Three: VERY yellow leaves, starting at the oldest growth on plant one

Pic Four: Yellowing making its way up the plant, need some N?

Pic Five: A couple crispy edges, and some yellow splotches on plant three

Pic Six: Closeup on leaf to show yellowing, it's very light.

Pic Seven: Lucky number seven leaves! I'm so proud. (Also, it looks like a little plant hand is holding the leaf, with tiny green fingers wrapped around the stem. Anyone else see it?)

[tmarin]

I noticed the most growth right after I put mine outside, they just took off. But really they continue to grow quickly throughout the summer and harvest season. You will want to look into some LST to keep them short and stealthy.

Regarding the problem: the yellowing does look like N deficiency, but I doubt that if you've been ferting every other watering. It actually seems a little early for ferts, especially b/c I think your soil is pre-ferted. Check the bag and see if it has time-release ferts in it. Some of the pics look like nutrient burn, so maybe there is too much ferts. Try flushing them maybe? I'm really bad at diagnosing plant problems, but thats my guess. Maybe someone else has an opinion?

[Ojos En Fuego]

SO, after posing my problem on the "sick plants" section and 2 solid diagnoses of the same thing, I flushed them today, and clipped a couple of the dirtiest looking leaves off, as they are burnt beyond repair. Hopefully my girls can come back well from this. How long does it take to successfully flush when you have so many nutes they hav locked into the soil?

Anyway, I reorganized my growspace to give the ladies more room, as they daily are getting all too close to the lights. I might post some pics tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to setting the ladies (hopefully) outside. A week and a half left! What are some good soils for outside? They need to be relatively inexpensive, but I want quality. Turns out it's not the miracle grow soil that's bad for plants (it's not good) but the time release ferts. So I want something every home and garden center of a retail improvement store will have, but w/o the time release ferts.

By the way, I fed my lizard some of my burnt leaves and he loved it. About half an hour later he was trying to burrow through the bottom of the terrarium! Afterward, he took a good long nap. Ever since he ate my little germing plants he's been a fiend for the mj...

[tmarin]

Just keep flushing them. Judging by the last pics they should be able to bounce back, just give them a couple of days.

Regarding the soil and ferts: In all honesty I grew mine in MG time release soil last year. I just didn't add any ferts for the first month or so. My plants didn't get burnt at all. Not to say that yours won't, thats just my experience.

After a month I used a seabird/bat guano tea, then later used Fox Farms Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom.

Now, I won't be using MG soil again. This year I'm going to mix up my own. I found some organic potting soil at the local hardware store for like $3 a bag. I'm gonna mix in some perlite, peat moss, sand, dolomite lime, mushroom compost, guano and maybe some other organic matter (worm castings or whatever I can find).

You should take some pics of your lizard with your plants, it'd look nice in my sig.

[Ojos En Fuego]

No doubt, once my cam charges, I'll hook you up with a pic. I have to be careful though, he'll snatch three or four leave off in less than a second. I'll just feed him before I do it, 's no big deal.

How much will all of those materials cost and how much will it make? My summer is going to find me with some cash so I might have to try and work that out. It sounds like a good mix, better than the clay in my area anyway. And I don't trust the MG at all anymore.

The plants are doing better, Little bit greener, stem a little bit stronger. It's only been about 8 hours so far.

[Ojos En Fuego]

tmarin, here's some pics for your sig. i like the first one, but you can take your pick. i don't know what your preference

[Ojos En Fuego]

So I took some advice from a close and experienced friend. Got some new topsoil and perlite. Mixed em up at 70% to 30%, respectively. Afterward, I loosened most of the original soil out and mixed er up with the clean, nuteless soil at 70% clean and 30% overnuted. I also upped the ante by putting two of the biggest rootballs in 10" pots (up from 6"). Finally, I added a little bit of white boards for "light containing". All of this will hopefully help out. I'm leaving for the weekend, and want, in that amount of time, the girls to get started on their rerooting. All in all, I think this new combo will help out and start some real growth.

Some more pics added.

1. the open air version of of the new setup

2. top view with new white boards

3. top view of plant #1

4. top view of plant #3

5. top view of plant #2

6.close up of top of main cola on #1

7. close up of top of #3

Not many people are looking at this thread, but if you are, enjoy!

[Ojos En Fuego]

Despite the lack of attention my journal is getting, it's been a solid 4 or 5 days since I've last posted, so I'll post for my own benefit.

I've been having some real problems with ph and nutrients, and slowly but surely my lower leaves are dropping off. I've clipped some of the bad ones, and in the process this has strengthened the side growth. Plant 3 has 6 side branches that may eventually turn into strong, healthy colas if I give her enough attention and return it to a healthy state. But for now I need to concentrate on fixing my ph and nute problems.

So how long do excess nutrients stay in a plant? A week, two? Less than that? After my attempts to fix the nute burn, there are still a couple problems that seem to stem from it. I just hope there is a fix soom.

I'll post a couple pics tomorrow. There's been some real growth.

[westLAtoker]

if you're worried about excess nutes in your soil, i strongly suggest flushing all your plants. if i remember correctly, you're supposed to flush them w/ 3 times the volume of the container that they are growing in. this should remove all salts and other shit in the soil. then after that, just make sure not to give em any fert burn. i had the same problem, but i never bothered to flush my plants when i should have. guess we all gotta learn this at some point.

what kind of problems are you having w/ pH? if you can get a hold of some dolomite lime, use it. mix it in w/ your soil and then you never have to worry about pH again because the dolomite lime will act as a buffer for the pH level and keep it @ 7.0 which is good for soil grows.

hopefully this will help.

[stopsnitchin]

lookin good!! keep it up!