First Grow-Starting easy-18gal tote SCROG

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by azgrassman, Nov 2, 2012.

  1. Hey City,

    I'm currently about 14 days into my first grow ever!

    Currently things are going relatively well; I have five plants growing.

    I'm using a 2ft, 4 bulb t5 light fixture with 3:1 6500K:2700K ratio. The light is working well for my needs, although I am having some issues with stretching. I'm looking into getting more CFLs to supplement growth as time passes but for now the 8000L the t5 gives of seems to be enough.

    Thanks to the light being fluorescent I don't worry too much about temps; they usually hover from 76-79F. This time of year in AZ is perfect for growing, it'll be in the 70s from mid-November until early March during the day. I'm just using a fan for circulation, plants are in an air-conditioned room that also has access to fresh air.

    Currently, I have the plants in SOLO cups. I'm going to sex them before I put them in their final positions and start training them.

    The plants are in Miracle Grow Organic with Miracle Grow Perlite (3:1.5). I totally appreciate the fact that this makes no sense at all due to the fact that the MG perlite contains chemical ferts and therefore negates any organic consideration for my plants. I regret buying MG every time I see that half used bag sitting on my shelf...

    No nutes at all yet. I hope to not use that many nutes in any case. I'm in process of building an organic soil and it'll be ready for my next grow. For the current grow I'm hoping to use mostly organic practices but I can't go full organic, unfortunately.

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    This is the current setup. Light is about 1.5" off of the tallest plant. Fan is on constantly, lights have been 24/0 but I'm switching to 20/4 tonight to promote root development. Watering occurs every 4-5 days and I had been spraying due to the low humidity (It can get below 10% somedays...) but it didn't seem to help. I'll be getting a humidifier soon, I hope.

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    Here's my first child. She's 14 days old today, four pairs of new leaves, and about 3-4" tall (She should be taller but I added soil earlier in her life to raise soil levels). Slight yellowing at lower leaves but nothing to be too concerned about, the shitty MG products are the issue but hopefully it'll pass with watering. Stalk strength is good and she seems pretty happy.

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    8 day old sprout. Good health, solid growth, 2" tall after 1" resoil.

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    8 day old sprout. Slight yellowing but no burn. I hate MG. She's the runt of the litter.

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    8 day old sprout. Burn... I really hate MG... I flushed her last night, wilting and dramatic yellow went away but the burn is a burn. She's the underdog of the group.

    The above four are just bag seed from some Reggie. First grow, didn't want to spend a lot of money to mess up during germination and lose my investment.

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    Here's the better of the bunch. Hog's Breath, a pretty solid indica, used to be popular a few years ago. I thought it would be good for SCROG and I happened to find a seed that was viable.

    8 days old, really strong growth. Fatter, larger leaves than the others, obviously better genetics. I'm pretty excited but worried about issues with smell come flowering time.

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    Family photo November 1st 2012:)

    Like it says in the title, I'll eventually be running a SCROG set-up in an 18 gallon tote. the tote measures about 18x34 at the level that I expect the soil to be so about four and a quarter square feet for five plants. Current light setup states 8000 Lumen (1778 Lumen per square foot) so I'm set on light for the next few weeks and maybe up until flower but I'll need to supplement once flowering rolls around for sure. I'll be using 1" hex chicken netting for my screen, but don't plan on training until I know sex (don't want to tear apart my plant due to a male in the bunch).

    So far, I've dealt with watering issues (my bad) and nitrogen issues (also my bad) but nothing too dramatic. I think I've done my research and I'm able to pretend to know what I'm doing pretty well, so, we'll see!

    I'd love some seasoned growers input to see if there's anything else I should do/improve upon.

    Thanks in advanced for reading and for the help!

    Good smoking,

    AZ
     
  2. That looks like a very nice soil mix
     
  3. It's not a bad mix, but the MG products are way too low in pH and have a lot of nitrogen compounds.

    I'm using more Perlite than the average grower due to the low humidity in my area.
     
  4. Day 15:

    More issues with the MG soil, I think...

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    Burn at end of leaves. This is the Hog's Breath too...:(

    It was due for a watering, so I went ahead and flushed the cup with pH neutral distilled water. Still not feeding.

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    Lower leaves on 15 day old plant are continuing to yellow. Also flushed the cup, so we'll see in the next few days if the soil really was the issue.

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    Some okayish news. This was the plant with the nitrogen burn from the original post. One day after flush wilting has gone away and, while there is some yellowing, deeper greens are returning.

    Hopefully that result will reoccur with my other two sick little girls...

    In any case that's the story so far.

    AZ
     
  5. 10 hours since flushing.

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    Pretty dramatic wilting action from my 15 day old, but that's to be expected from the flush this morning; she's pretty weighted down with water and such. I'll wait a full five days before watering again.

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    Color on new growth is looking better but there is some permanent damage on the two original leaves.

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    This is the same leaf from previous post. Some crispiness but hopefully its recoverable.

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    Other side is much less likely to recover. Very crisp, a lot of damage. Might remove this leaf in a week or two once the plant has enough foliage to support itself without it.

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    Hog's Breath looks much better than it did this morning.

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    Drooping not significant, slight damage on outside of leaves, but most likely going to make a full recovery. She's even starting to reach towards the light again.

    I'll keep up to date on the plants situations as time passes

    AZ
     
  6. Okay end of the day. 30 minutes until lights off for four.

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    Wilt issues have greatly improved from a few hours ago. Noticing some yellowing on outsides of some upper leaves but hoping it will subside by the morning. I think she might be asking for some other nutes; I'll look into it before acting.

    Two bottom leaves look pretty rough still. One raised a bit but the other is just hanging... :(

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    Good news is that the Hog's Breath is fully better and is basking in the light! :)

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    In any case, I still have five healthy young ones and that's a pretty cool thing to close up my 15th (now 16th) day.

    Take it easy GC,

    AZ
     
  7. Your putting 5 plants in an 18 gallon tote?
     
  8. Yeah, that's the plan!

    18-gal tote filled 3/4 of the way with soil provides me with just over 13 gallons of root space. If we assume 1-gal per foot of height over 5 plants I can get just over 10 feet of plant above soil (2ft per plant). This plus the scrog setup means I'll hopefully get a lot of plant matter in a 3x3x2 space.

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    Basic setup for the totes. I have one for soil and plants and the other is for drainage collection. I have three bricks in the bottom tote to raise the top tote about three inches. I'll be using a small water pump to remove the excess runoff from the bottom tote.

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    For the screen I'm using galvanized steel chicken wire. It's pre-made, cheap, and should work almost perfectly for my needs.

    As far as issues with root entanglement, I'm not too worried. I'm waiting to start training until I know sex, so, hopefully, when they're in their final spots I shouldn't have to worry about entanglement.

    Then again, its bag seed. So, potentially I might end up planting a single girl in an 18-gal tote and have to kill the rest... :confused_2:

    We'll see...

    AZ
     
  9. Day 16:

    My eldest looks much better today!

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    Bottom two leaves are definitely long-term goners, but for now they'll serve some purpose for the plant. Mg/Ca deficiency ended up not being an issue like i previously worried.

    All in all, the little ones look pretty spry this morning. Think the 20/4 cycle is working well.

    AZ
     
  10. End of day 16:

    Relatively good day, I guess.

    Lets go from smallest to largest...

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    Good day for the runt! Gained about 3/4" in height and leaves have increased in size. No issues with nutes, no discoloration, just a happy plant! :D

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    Several new leaf sets in the past 24 hours. Slight burn on tips of leaves but nothing dramatic. Good health over all.

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    Two days after flush and she looks good! :hello:
    Happy to see her leaves up and color is ideal! Older leaves have reached the edge of the cup, gonna need replanting sooner than I had thought.

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    Got them Big ol' leaves now. Measuring a solid 5-6 inches from tip to tip! This is the Hog's Breath. Really hoping she's a girl, because I'm already drooling thinking about the product she'll give me! Her mom rocked my world and I'm hoping she will too (Sounded less creepy in my head...).

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    Here's the 16 day old. Not super happy with the way her leaves are sagging but color is good and I'm hoping she's still just recovering from the flush. We'll see in the morning.

    In other news, I ordered some 1-gal smart pots and they should arrive by Friday. Planning on replanting as soon as I get them! My little ones need some more room to play.

    I raised lights this morning and already need to raise them again. Good sign i think ;)

    Lights-out in 3 and a half. Tucking my girls in now.

    See you in the morning GC,

    AZ
     
  11. GOOOOOOOOOD MORNING GRASS CITY!

    It's a pretty nice thing to wake up to five healthy plants!

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    A little bit nervous though. My smart pots apparently aren't getting here until Friday at the soonest and then it's a three day weekend... I don't think i can go any more than one week without transplanting... So I have quite the predicament.

    Also cotyledon leaves on most of the plants have wilted away, I'm going to need to start feeding them soon...

    Focusing on the bright side- I have five healthy plants in my third week of my first grow! :D

    Smell ya later GC,

    AZ
     
  12. There is no need to worry about transplanting in your current state

    Here is a prime example

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  13. God Damn, that's pretty as hell! I guess a week isn't too long... Thanks for easing my worries.
     
  14. Yeah that is amazing. Fixing to start my first grow here real soon when I move to new mexico.
     
  15. I love the South West and New Mexico can be a beautiful place; I'm sure you'll love it. Any idea on how you're going to grow?
     
  16. Day 18:

    No news is good news, i guess. Plants are green and growing. No watering, no feeding, just sitting and watching my plants grow.

    Still waiting on supplies, they're in the mail now!

    Good things are happening.
     
  17. End of Day 18:

    And we have nute issues again...

    Leaves one and two of 18 day old:

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    Slight yellowing, thought It might be a deficiency.

    Same two leaves six hours later:

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    Still not 100% sure what the issue is. Can't tell if its burn or deficiency... Waiting for the morning to see.

    Lets hope for the best,

    AZ
     
  18. You are focusing on the bottom leaves.
    STOP

    New growth is at the top of the plant
     
  19. It's hard not to focus on every part of my plants... I just love them so much.

    You don't think I need to worry about feeding?
     

  20. ok, for some reason i thought u were doing hydro in a tote.. you need 5 gallon per plant for that.
     

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