First grow. Blueberry CFL + T12 Combo

Hey there fellow GC'ers!

This is my first grow attempt ever! I want to share my journey with the community, so buckle up, we're getting ready to roll!

The dossier:

One plant of Blueberry Permafrost. (using feminized seeds from some bagseed)
MG Organic Soil and Perlite for the medium
2 6500K 27W CFL bulbs
3 5000K 27W CFL bulbs
2 6500K 40W T12 florescent tubes
4 2700K 27W CFL bulbs (for flowering)
4 2700K 13W CFL bulbs (for flowering)
1 Bedroom closet
2 120mm PC case fans
Plain old tap water (I let it sit out to lose some of the clorine.)
Pelegrino sparkling water (I spray the leaves ever so lightly every couple days to introduce some CO2.)

I will be purchasing some T12's in soft white as well. Don't quite need them yet.

Now that I'm done with the goods, lets get into the room description. I'll also be growing some fresh herbs in the grow area. (Cilantro, Chives, Rosemary, and Lavender) I was using a small 3 cuft cabinet, but I have ventilation issues there. So...I'm abandoning the case for now, and only using it when I need stealth. Stealth seems to be less of an issue than I originally expected. We'll see once the smell kicks in... I hope these herbs can help in combating that smell.

Since the grow has been underway for a week or so...let's get into some history.

DAY 1

It sprouted on 10/7. At that time it was under a measly 2 cfl bulbs.



DAY 2



DAY 5



DAY 6



DAY 8



DAY 9



Overwatered the little one when I got home...boy, I'll be careful not to do that again.



DAY 10

Looks like it bounced back a bit.



New setup:

One of the T12 bulbs is faulty... I'll be exchanging that tomorrow.
Once I get that fixed, I'll have 213 Watts/15,270 Lumens of florescent action on them.

I'll be updating with many more pictures. Stay tuned!

 

DAY 11

I'm see a slight yellow tinge on one of the fan leafs, its tough to make out in the pictures though. I haven't added any nutes, but I do know that the Pelegrino has a slight sodium content. Pelegrino states 10mg sodium in the pint-ish size. (forgot the exact volume...) I really don't use much except 2-3 short sprays every few days.

I have a soil tester, but it is garbage to say the least. It is a cheap $20 meter that I found on clearance...no wonder they wanted it gone...lol So...needless to say, I don't know the current pH of my soil. I plan to grab a cheap aquarium testing kit for now, as it should be more accurate, although not perfect.

Can anybody give me some insight as to what may be causing the slight yellow tinge? It's almost unnoticeable, but I'd like to nip any potential problems right away.

I also realized I failed to mention a few things about the grow plans.

Lighting is 24/0 right now. I'm thinking of reducing it to 20/4 in a week, and then 18/6 two weeks after that. I may grab another T12 fixture for flowering...I'll need those lumens.
I have a 20" box fan pushing air through the plants and lights for cooling. Most likely I'll grab a smaller fan as the 20" fan moves air like crazy even on the low setting.
I'm hoping to stick it out with MG Organic the whole time, but everybody seems to rave about Fox Farm...so, I may look into that. I plan to start introducing nutes in two weeks, though I'm not sure if I'll go with General Hydroponics or Fox Farm products.

Anyways, I'll be adding pictures and info as often as I can. Until then, take care GC!

 

Hey thanks Pixi!

I hope your grow goes well. Do you have a thread started?

 

Thanks LookUp!

On another note...

I won't be flowering soon, but I can't stop my mind from trying to explicitly plan it out. I have numerous soft white CFL's, and plan to use the 2 (maybe 4) T12's as well, but I can't stop looking at HPS setups.

I'm trying to keep the costs down as much as possible, so running out to get a HPS in a month or so just isn't very economical to me. However, I don't want to my first yield to suck.

I'll have 320W/15,920 Lumens of soft white action (2700K), 400W/21,920 Lumens if I add another set of T12's. For one MJ plant, this seems like overkill. I'm also mindful of the fact I now have 5 other herbs vying for light with the MJ. (Also note, a few of those herbs are pretty shabby looking, they were bought on clearance at a local nursery. I figured I'd trim them a bit and let them grow in the grow area.) I may trim them much more since the height difference between the Rosemary and MJ is quite substantial. I may move some of the herbs to the windowsill during sunny hours, this will open up some more space to adjust the lighting as needed.

Anyways, that's all for now.

 

The problem for me is that I already have the soft white bulbs, and if they can cut the mustard so-to-speak, then I will be fine with that. I just feel like HPS may be overkill. If I get a yield over 1oz. I'll be ecstatic to tell the truth.

 

DAY 11 Evening

Some more pics at the bottom.

Soil is quite dry on the first top inch, but I feel a bit of moisture below that. Since I was overzealous in watering the other day, I'll hold off on water until tomorrow.

I'm getting excited now that the 5 leaf set is coming in. I've also noticed the leafs turning towards the CFL power strip. I'm guess I'll need to move it a bit closer to prevent reaching.

That's all for now. Enjoy.

 

Thanks man.

However, I can't take all the credit. My buddy told me about Pelegrino, and he swears by it. So I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

Thanks man! Glad you've joined our journey.

I guess I worry too much about this little one, which I assume is normal for the first time. I feel like I need to attend to it all the time... I guess I just need to sit back, , and watch the grass grow.

 

DAY 12

It's still turning towards the CFL's. I guess I'll have to mount those directly above the plant to encourage straight growth. Also, The two fan leaves at the bottom are drier to the touch than all the other leaves. Is this a sign of needing water? I still feel moisture an inch or so down...

On another note, I decided to change the lighting schedule late last night. I have begun 20/4 lighting, and will stick to it for 1-2 weeks.

 

Changed the lighting arrangement around a tad. Now they encompass the plant better I think. Temps have improved slightly as well. I was running around 84-86F, but now it's down to 81F. Humidity is tough to hold in this closet. Most times is in the high 30's, when I want to get some quick humidity I turn on the shower in the adjacent bathroom. This really helps, but even then it won't hold above 50% for very long.

I'll post pictures later this evening. Until then, take care!

 

The two fan leaves are yellowing some more... I'm thinking I have a pH problem, but I can't do anything about it for about 24-36 hours. The reason I can't is that I don't have time to get by a store selling pH test kits tonight, or tomorrow. I am starting to worry as the bottom leaves are losing color, and the 2 sprout leaves (the lowest two leafs) are much lighter green than the rest of the plant. It may be hard to see in the pics.

Anyways, I plan to get a test kit tomorrow eve, or the next morning.. Until then, is it recommended to flush with some purified water? If so, much much water does a flushing require? I could really use some help.

Thanks in advance for any input received.

 

Considering the soil was rock hard on top, yet I still felt slight moisture from the bottom of the pot...I gave it a big drink. I hope that helps it along. I'm still planning for grab a pH test kit tomorrow. Hope all looks well in the morning.

Until then, good night GC!

 

Thanks Inda!

DAY13

Still feeling a tad dry on the lowest fan leafs. I think it was thirsty last night, as it does not exhibit any signs of overwatering this morning. Hoping the growth takes off soon...

Back later tonight with more.