"First grow, South Texas: Can they take the heat?"

Well, I killed the SB a couple days ago by dropping the container...root tip broke and my baby withered and died, RIP. I am germing a second seed of SB as we speak so hoping this one goes better.

The Paki Ryder is looking good! 3 days from seed and it is really loving the bright Texas sun. Its been in the mid 70s/80s. Its going to get real hot down here soon. Hoping my babies can take the heat. I will do everything I can to keep her roots cool though. We will see what happens.

The PR popped her head out of the soil on 4/25 under my 250watt CFL indoors. The same day I took her outside in the sun and she has not been back inside since. I really hope I dont kill this one too. I am only trying to grow some decent personal smoke. Not in it for any kind of "profit". I am well educated and have a well paying job. I enjoy the gods green gift just like everybody else as it helps me cope with my stressful life. (I work in Logistics.) I dont do coke, meth, H, X, or any other BS. I am a true stoner at heart here guys.

For seedlings:
-Organicare Pure Earth Aeration Soil
-Miracle Grow Perlite (washed off all nutrients)
-Feliz 250 Watt 6500k CFL for germination heat
-RO water
-Texas sun
-20 oz. cups w/50% soil and 50% perlite

I used white cups as black absorbs heat...not good for roots. Plus the cups say "ICE" so..yaknow..

Here a few pics. Please guys, let me know how shes looking thus far. I am really nervous since I have never tried to grow my own and would like to have some sort of success. Any advice/tips/pointer greatly appreciated.

WOS Pakistan Ryder:

Popped her head out under the 250w CFL on 4/25:


Here she is @ day 3 in the sun:



Sorry for low quality pics. My camera ran out of batteries.

She's still young but I am really excited! I hope it looks good for a baby, lmk what you guys think!

Will post pics of my Strawberry Blue baby as soon as she breaks surface.

-Alter

Edited by ALTER EG0, 29 April 2012 - 08:41 AM.

Heres the PR @ day 5. After fresh watering in 88 degree F Texas heat. Getting at least 12 hours of direct sunlight. Growing real fast and looking very healthy thus far. It is currently developing its second set of true leaves.



Finally, my 2nd baby has popped ground after a bad start with me killing the first one.

WOS Strawberry Blue:

Day 1 @ 4/30:



Thanks for looking. I hope someone can let me know how I am doing so far, thanks fellow greenthumbers!

-Alter

Edited by ALTER EG0, 02 May 2012 - 03:26 AM.

Looking healthy so far man. I'll try to stop in here and help as much as I can. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed with thread subscriptions.

At this stage, just don't over-think things and let them do their thing.

What do you plan on transplanting them into after the cups?

Dude, you are a very nice guy! No homo...hahaha.

I know things are not really rolling yet but ya gotta start somewhere right?

I am glad you asked that question. I plan on tranplanting the SB to a 5 gallon pot and the PR to a 3 gallon. I have a bag of FFOF that I will be using as my medium. There are only 2 things I dont know about...

1) Should I plant in the dirt (earth, lol)? I am hesitant since I do not want the SB growing out of control...if I ever reach that point but at the same time, I want to yield as much as I can.
2) When do I transplant? I want thinking of transplanting when I start to see root tips poking out the drain holes or 2 weeks...whichever comes first.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Alter

Dude, you are a very nice guy! No homo...hahaha.

I know things are not really rolling yet but ya gotta start somewhere right?

I am glad you asked that question. I plan on tranplanting the SB to a 5 gallon pot and the PR to a 3 gallon. I have a bag of FFOF that I will be using as my medium. There are only 2 things I dont know about...

1) Should I plant in the dirt (earth, lol)? I am hesitant since I do not want the SB growing out of control...if I ever reach that point but at the same time, I want to yield as much as I can.
2) When do I transplant? I want thinking of transplanting when I start to see root tips poking out the drain holes or 2 weeks...whichever comes first.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Alter

If you're going to grow the whole season, I would choose a container that is bigger than 5 gallons. Double that at least, just to maximize your yield without letting things get monstrous. I would recommend using a product like Geopots or Smartpots.

I have nothing against planting in the ground, it just depends on your native soil and how safe the spot is. Like you said, you also need to take into account that it might grow uncontrollably if the conditions are right, of course.

2 weeks should be right in those stadium cups.

Hey Alter,

All my seeds geminated in 24 hours! Just planted all of them into there starter pots! .

And let the madness begin!

If you're going to grow the whole season, I would choose a container that is bigger than 5 gallons. Double that at least, just to maximize your yield without letting things get monstrous. I would recommend using a product like Geopots or Smartpots.

I have nothing against planting in the ground, it just depends on your native soil and how safe the spot is. Like you said, you also need to take into account that it might grow uncontrollably if the conditions are right, of course.

2 weeks should be right in those stadium cups.

My man, I was thinking about what you said today. I really dont care how big and crazy the plants get, as long as the SB stays under 6 feet tall. I was thinking about growing in planet earth (lol, i dunno why thats funny) but then just trying some sort of LST techniques to keep height down? How insane would it be to have multiple colas under the Texas sun?! That was one idea, the other was to get a 10-15 galling pot and burying it underground to 1) reduce height and 2) keep my roots cool, what do you think?

Sorry, another question. I understand that on the PR, nutes are not really needed on untill about a month later. But on the SB, when should I start feeding her in veg state. I really want to stay away from nutes...or rather go light on the nutes since I noticed that that is where most growers problems begin (especially novice growers like myself). Any tips/recommendations? I was thinking about picking up some of AN pH Perfect line of nutes. What do you recommend?

Hey Alter,

All my seeds geminated in 24 hours! Just planted all of them into there starter pots! .

And let the madness begin!

Brother, I am so siked about your grow. We are pretty much on the same schedule as far as age/date of our babies, I know we will become good friends over time and help eachother out! Keep me posted and lets help each other to get as much tasty meds as possible!

Not much to post yet. The only thing I noticed was that my cotyledon leaves are still looking green and healthy. Actually, on the PR the cotyledon leaves are getting bigger and greener by the day...I thought they were supposed to shrivel up and die?

Ill post some more pics in a few days.

Edited by ALTER EG0, 02 May 2012 - 03:41 AM.

My man, I was thinking about what you said today. I really dont care how big and crazy the plants get, as long as the SB stays under 6 feet tall. I was thinking about growing in planet earth (lol, i dunno why thats funny) but then just trying some sort of LST techniques to keep height down? How insane would it be to have multiple colas under the Texas sun?! That was one idea, the other was to get a 10-15 galling pot and burying it underground to 1) reduce height and 2) keep my roots cool, what do you think?

Sorry, another question. I understand that on the PR, nutes are not really needed on untill about a month later. But on the SB, when should I start feeding her in veg state. I really want to stay away from nutes...or rather go light on the nutes since I noticed that that is where most growers problems begin (especially novice growers like myself). Any tips/recommendations? I was thinking about picking up some of AN pH Perfect line of nutes. What do you recommend?

Alter,

No need to apologize; we are all here to help each other out.

I think you've got some good ideas. I think your ryder will stay pretty short, as that trait is in its genes. I'm all for growing monsters, I just didn't know if you had security constraints. With most strains six feet will be easy to surpass. I think LST will be helpful, but you have to start early and stick with it. Outdoors it is going to involve lots of staking.

As for burying a pot, this is only a good idea if you use an air pruning pot like the ones I recommended above or if you cut the bottom out of your plastic pot so the roots could make their way into the ground. You'd be surprised how much root action you'll have by the end of the season.

I'm an organics guys, so naturally I will kindly ask you to shy away from Advanced Nutrients or any other companies like them. If you do a little research you'll find that what's inside the bottle isn't that great for humans or the environment. If I had to recommend something for feeding, it would have to be a basic organic soil mix. It might take a little bit of studying in the organics section here at GC but it will be worth it in the end. I will help out with it as much as possible, but I'm still in the process of learning myself.

I respect that you can go down any path you choose, just know I have no experience with bottled nutrients so I won't be able to help out there.

Carlo, like I said beforehand, I would like to stay away from any kind of nutrients if possible. I am an utter and complete noob when it comes to growing anything. The only thing I know how to grow is Mango trees. Lol.

With that said, I have a bag of FFOF already. Can I still use it as is throughout the grow or should I try to organically ammend it? I know it is "hot" already as is and do not want to burn my babies.

Thanks for all your help so far brother!

Slight update since I got some batteries for my camera!

WOS Pakistan Ryder @ Day 7:

This baby is vigorous! It does look like it is slightly getting into a lighter shade of green, that or I am just paranoid..as usual.






WOS Strawberry Blue @ Day 3:

This one has been out in 88+ F for its entire life. Not really developing super fast but it looks healthy and I have full faith in this baby!





Still not exciting, I know. But for me, this is a whole new world and a fast growing hobby! I am having tons of fun so far watching them grow! I hope you guys like my babies!

-Alter

Edited by ALTER EG0, 03 May 2012 - 02:22 AM.

I cut the top of the cups to the soil level so when the wind blows, it will promote the stems to get stronger/thicker. Just FYI.

Yes sir!

Looking beautiful, .

My OG seed is about to sprout. I swear it's the fastest germination seed I've ever seen!!

I am so excited for you though. I have a feeling we are going to have good yields!

Carlo, like I said beforehand, I would like to stay away from any kind of nutrients if possible. I am an utter and complete noob when it comes to growing anything. The only thing I know how to grow is Mango trees. Lol.

With that said, I have a bag of FFOF already. Can I still use it as is throughout the grow or should I try to organically ammend it? I know it is "hot" already as is and do not want to burn my babies.

Thanks for all your help so far brother!

How big is the bag of FFOF?

My best advice would be to maybe buy a little more and add two critical components of any good soil mix: quality compost and quality earthworm castings.

Those are looking really good. Are you in a medical state to get strain seeds or do you know people to aquire them. I'm stuck working with bagseed

Yes sir!

Looking beautiful, .

My OG seed is about to sprout. I swear it's the fastest germination seed I've ever seen!!

I am so excited for you though. I have a feeling we are going to have good yields!

Next time, I am definately using your germination method. Your shit is crazy fast!

As Texans, you and I both know how deep the OG strain runs down south. Keep it up man! I see dankness in your future.

How big is the bag of FFOF?

My best advice would be to maybe buy a little more and add two critical components of any good soil mix: quality compost and quality earthworm castings.

Sweet, compost and EWC. On it!

Those are looking really good. Are you in a medical state to get strain seeds or do you know people to aquire them. I'm stuck working with bagseed

Medical state huh...lets see. How do I put this lightly...?

Hell. The. Fuck. No. I live in Nazi Texas.

On the contrary, I have a pretty secure location even though I will take a few stealthy measures.

As far as beans go. I just ordered them from The Attitude. Check it out. Once you see their site, you won't be able to look away for about....say, 2-3 days? Lol.

Thanks for the website. I always wondered if those actually worked, did you use your real name and credit card? And how much did they cost?

Yes buddy, real name, real address, real credit card, real everything. I am still a free man. You will be just fine ordering from them like you order anything else online, take my word in it. Seeds prices vary among the 1000s of different breeders on there. They also throw in tons of freebies so go ahead and order some good beans. I recommend WOS for indoor and Mandala seeds for outdoors. I dont have experience with anything else.

Updates? Come on man, you got me waiting... lol

Lol, sorry, I had to transplant my babies real young, my soil pH was up in the 7.5 area and flucuating day by day. I got pissed and ended up putting them in some Light Warrior. I gave them water and the SB didnt grow for a few days. My dumbass forgot to use perlite on the LW and the soil gets really compact and retains water way too long. The PR was showing some signs of overwatering due to that. I will post a pic in a couple days bro. I think I am going to pop my other SB and PR bean too. I might even throw a AKR bean into the mix. Will update shortly.

See, you had your first grow last year. You have some experience over me. Me...this is my first time growing anything...I am going to make mistakes. Honestly. I have been pretty bummed about these stupid mistakes last few days...its ok though...Ill pop more bean and do those better and hope these current babies recover.

Edited by ALTER EG0, 08 May 2012 - 04:30 AM.

Well, its about 1 am right now and I was woken up by heavy rains...FML...my PR was already suffering from overwatering and when I ran outside, the cups were drenched....

The SB was actually ready for some water so I just ended up bringing them both inside. I put the SB on the window sill (its a photoperiod plant and dont want to mess with the natural light cylcle its used to) and put the PR under my 250watt CFL, hopefully the heat and light will help dry her up a bit...hopefully this one will pull through...I am not all than hopeful anymore to be honest. I stressed the shit out of both these plants the last few days. Some was my fault, some was just bad luck...

None the less, here is my update. It is pretty depressing, I know this, so dont rub it in, lol. I love these girls and I hate that I am doing such a terrible job.

PR @ DAY 14



SB @ DAY 9: This one is a super slow grower. Even slower after the transplant, but it does seem to be growing a little each day now, we'll see what happens.




For what its worth. I learned a few things...always use perlite no matter what.

I will start a few more beans in a few days or so...this time, the correct way hopefully. 1 PR, 1 SB and 1 AKR. I'll let you guys know how things go.

-Alter

Edited by ALTER EG0, 08 May 2012 - 06:29 AM.