Lets try this again! 1st grow...second attempt

[The_genius]

So...I'm a little late on starting the journal...so sue me.
ANYWHO I've got :

four 100w Equivalent 26w 6500K CFL's
1 Rubbermaid Container prepped black, then painted flat white for reflection
1 small computer fan as exaust
1 small passive intake
2 6" pots
3 small planters (Experiments)
5 Bagseed germinated and growing

Miracle Grow Organic Soil (...bad idea, but whatever, it's a learning experience)
Shultz Liquid plant food 10-15-10 w/ Micronutrients
Miracle Liguid African Violet Plant Food 7-7-7 w/ micronutrients

NOW FOR THE PICS!!!

[The_genius]

Current Pics WEEK 3 STARTED YESTERDAY

POT 1:



Pot 2:



Pot 3:



Pot 4:




They could be doing better...but I'm trying to diagnose what's wrong with them

[The_genius]

Flushed pot 2 today...she was showing what looked to be burning...but I only gave her nutes once...and they were dilute....oh well. Won't do that again...This grow is testing my patience actually. Everybody's like "Leave them be," but after three weeks/two weeks my plants are squat, under developed, and unhealthy and I'm clueless

[ablepipeman]

what is your watering schedule or how do you figure out the plants need water? I wouldnt give any nutes for a couple more weeks. most of the miracle grow soil says it feeds up to 3 months.....every time you water it releases more nutes to the plant.

[The_genius]

I actually water daily. Enough that the soil is damp but never dry. Should I go to a longer schedule and give more water at longer intervals apart?

[ablepipeman]

dont water starting off until its dry not moist about a half inch down....if you dont wait it gives your roots all the water they need close to the top. meaning they wont grow searching for water. I would wait about a day in between. Also you should lower your lights....with cfl's you can have them about and inch from the plant it will absorb the light better.

[The_genius]

I actually added two more lights today. And The lights aren't but just four or five inches up anyway. Maybe some reflectors would help? I'm getting some better ventilation this weekend (hopefully). And I'll sit back and wait, and let the soil dry out between waterings. The whole "Searching for water" makes a lot of sense. Good deep roots mean a good strong plant.

[ablepipeman]

even with more lights i reccomend getting them closer.....you want them as close as possible without burning and with them not getting very hot you can get them with in a couple inches....maybe someone else will chime in on this and we can see what they think as well! good luck

[The_genius]

Woke up this morning, and the plants looked straight awful...I may lose my plants. They looked burned...so I flushed them all and put them back in the grow box...My power bill came in today and it was under $100 for my water and electricity combined...so I'm not worried about power consumption, woot! The temps spiked today, and this weekend I'll try to get Some better soil...this miracle grow is just causing problems. I noticed another journal with the same soil i'm using, and he's having similar problems...so if the plants survive the weekend (I have to go out of town), I'll transplant them and pray to GOD that they live...although I'm doubting it. Maybe I just don't have a green thumb

[walshy69]

Hey Genius

Thats a nice little set up you started with. It does sound like you've over watered at first, and using MG wouldn't have helped you, I cant speak from experiance as Ive never used it but MG gets a bad rap from GC growers, I have seen one guy post that he has had success with it but he didn't add nutes till the soil nutes were well used up.

Hopefully the flush will sort the plants out, they are hardy little buggers, and I'm sure a transplant to new soil will help further when you do it. All in all, don't beat yourself up, if the plants survive then great, if not, you'll be equipped with more experiance for your next grow, you'll get those green thumbs for sure

Have a good one

[The_genius]

Yeah, I overwatered them...and since the soil is miracle grow (Nutes release at watering) it burned the hell out of the plants with the overwatering. If they die, then I'll get a different soil and start over. If they live...then...well...I'll shit a brick actually. I'm not expecting them to live right now. I already lost One of the five, but it was pitiful anyway and wasn't showing growth for like two or three days. I think that little guy just gave up the fight today. But I've got roughly 140-150 watts of CFL right now. It's a mix of 3 2600K and 3 6500K...maybe if there's enough money, this weekend I'll get more 6500K's and swap them out with the 2600K.

If this grow actually lives and goes to completion...I'ma go with an autoflowering strain next...less trouble it seems.

[Jcs9MM]

really investing in good soil will go along way, either go to the nearest hydro shop (use google) or just orderb that shit, i'm on my first grow and using a rubbermaid setup, i'm using ffof and put them straight into there 5gal pots, there green as hell and i water once every 3 or 4 days, check it out in my sig it might help u out a little, if u were using bagseed u could;ve gotten bad genetics or something cause those plants dont look like they wanna grow, but keep at it man, goodluck

[Jcs9MM]

and really even if those plants bounce back idk how well they'll be, since the first 3weeks were harsh, i think you'd be better off just scrapping those and that soil, get new soil and start fresh

[The_genius]

I'ma get some perlite this weekend. It couldn't hurt...may help with my overwatering issue.

[The_genius]

So I scrapped the grow. I thought to myself...why try and save these seedlings...which are incredibly stunted and showing a LOT a sickness. Within the last day they've gone to hell and yeah...I killed them. Also found some stuff I thought was cool. It's an expandable substrate used for animal bedding, but when I researched it, the stuff is made from 100% Fir bark and Coconut fibers...mixed some with the soil and it's soft, it's light, it's airy, and just generally rolls over easily in the hands. I'ma still get some perlite this weekend and add it to my potting soil/forest bedding material for drainage, as the material likes to hold water (Perfect for the weekends I'm out of town.). Also started germinating more seeds...no use waiting to get this next attempt up and running, eh? Lessons learned from the last one? Get a better PH tester (Probes suck). Don't overwater. Get a fan for ventilation AND cooling. Hold off on the nutes. Get some PH up/down.

Shopping list for weekend.
Perlite
PH Tester
Fan
pH Up/Down

Wish me luck GC...here we go again!