First Grow - ALL CFL's *VIDEO*

[adam89]

Ok this will be my first proper grow. I saw a thread a while back that inspired me to do something similair as it was best suited to myself. Here's what inspired me:

http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/140651-1st-grow-cfl-s-northern-lights.html



So i went out and build a box that was 2x2x3 feet. It may be too small but im willing to experiment. I lined the entire thing with mylar and created a simple yet safe way of adjusting my lights (shown in video).

My soil mix consists of:

60% Potting compost containing peat
20% Perlite
20% Vermiculite

I have germinated 2 Mandala Hashberry seeds in the paper towel technique and have planted them in my soil and placed the 2 small seedling pots under a propogation lid.

I have only planted 2 seeds because this is an experiment to see if it grows well and if not, i will make changes to the setup.


I have purchased 2 bottles of fertilizer; one is BioBizz 'BioGrow' the other is BioBizz 'BioBloom'.

For watering i will be using a bucket filled with room temperature tap water to sit for the chemicals to evaporate and i will whisk it from time to time to aerate it further.

The tap water is slightly alkaline so ive purchased some phosphoric acid based "Ph down" and a digital PH meter which i will calibrate soon.

If ive missed out anything, do let me know.

Thanks very much. Hope you all watch the grow.

VIDEO: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6of48bUEbeE

[THesCientist]

Nice box. Is that a roast chicken container? LOL Bird...

Good luck man!

[adam89]

Originally Posted by THesCientist

Nice box. Is that a roast chicken container? LOL Bird...

Good luck man!

Thanks. Thankfully for 'stevo' it was not for roasting poultry.

[THesCientist]

Good stuff man.

[adam89]

DAY 10



http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=I0QYwhxOTWk

NOTES

Other plant germinated but failed to sprout.
Im just going to do 1 plant as a practice because its my first grow.
Comparing my plant to the plants of this thread, both on day 10.

http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-jour...rn-lights.html

Im a bit curious to know why mine isnt as developed as they are.


Everything seems healthy. When do i nute?

[adam89]

*uploaded screenshot from video*

[THesCientist]

How often are you watering?

Are you monitoring your ph?

125w is it still?



Sometimes plants just start off slow. This is your first grow. Don't worry, weed is just that...a weed, and will grow despite you sometimes.



The 1st and 2nd picture are the same. Do you have anything snapped today?

[adam89]

DAY 11

Originally Posted by THesCientist

How often are you watering?

Are you monitoring your ph?

125w is it still?



Sometimes plants just start off slow. This is your first grow. Don't worry, weed is just that...a weed, and will grow despite you sometimes.



The 1st and 2nd picture are the same. Do you have anything snapped today?

I water every couple of days when it needs watering.

I havent monitored my ph, can you tell me a quick way to do that? my ph buffer solutions havent arrived yet to fully calibrate my PH meter, but i calibrated it a bit. so i think its ok to use.

yup just 1x125 watt envirolite.

[THesCientist]

Don't take this as gospel, but a good way to get a gallon of tap water to a suitable ph is to leave it out & open for 24 hours, sifting is good too. After that add about 2 drops, yes drops, of lemon juice. Shake it up and you should have water that's around 5.2-6.2. This method isn't perfect I know, but at least you'll know you're around the right area.

Also, mandala's can be fickle little plants. How did the germination go? I assume that it tapped pretty quick.

What are the temps like in your grow area? That alone can SERIOUSLY stunt a grow. Both too hot and too cool are bad.

What's you lighting sched right now? (ie 24, 18/6, 12/12)

You shouldn't worry about nutes until you've got 2+ nodes. The soil mixture you have seems ok...I would honestly just watch it for a couple more days.

My grow was frustrating me and then BOOM they just exploded literally overnight one night.

-tS

[adam89]

i have a big bucket of tap water sitting in the corner of the room which i stir around with a whisk from time to time.


I also have some PH Down i got ages ago.(Phosphoric Acid 81%)

The temperature is about 23 degree Celcius or 73 degree Fahrenheit.

The lighting and fan schedule are 18/6.

how much PH down should i put into my bucket?

Should i aim for a lower PH. or get the water at about 6.4 ph?

[THesCientist]

You want your ph below 6.5 for sure. If you can hit 5.5 5.8 that would be perfect.

Also, it's not quite warm enough in your grow box. Is there anyway you can get the heat up to 76-80?

Those 3 degrees will make a big difference.

The 6.4ph you quoted...is that after it sits, how it comes out of the tap...what?

[adam89]

Originally Posted by THesCientist

You want your ph below 6.5 for sure. If you can hit 5.5 5.8 that would be perfect.

Also, it's not quite warm enough in your grow box. Is there anyway you can get the heat up to 76-80?

Those 3 degrees will make a big difference.

The 6.4ph you quoted...is that after it sits, how it comes out of the tap...what?

The tap water sitting in the bucket was at about 7.2.

I added a few drops of ph down and now its at 5.4.

Il try and get the temp a bit higher.

Thanks.

[THesCientist]

Sounds good. I think the temp is stunting the growth a bit. I'm subscribing. I'll help where I can, or when you need me.

gl

[adam89]

Got the temperature up to 75 F due to fan repositioning.

When it comes to flowering i think i might buy 2 x 125 Watt envirolites.

That should get the temps up a bit anyway during flowering.

And i really watered the plant just now with the bucket of ph 5.4 water.

The water drains ridiculously fast. Probably due to the soil mixture.

So as it drains i water some more a few times.

Il update tomorrow and see what happens.

[gord420]

My CFL grow is way easier I just set my light up on a couple egg cartons stacked up with the plant beside it with reflection all over the place inside my closet and im using 1 13W CFL and the plant is a foot tall and bushy as fuck. its a really ghetto setup but works amazing. I soon plan on getting 1 23W to replace the 13W. I figure since the 13W grew the plant a foot tall without any stretch or anything the 23W should be good till atleast a foot and a half to 2 feet tall than by that time it should be ready to put outside to bud.I thought I was going to need alot more light power when I started this grow but Ive been good with a 13W for a long time and its growing a beauty plant. I cant wait to see the results with a 23W it should grow huge.