candlecats First Grow, Organic or otherwise...

Greetings,
 
I am finally to the point where making a journal for my first completely legal, medical grow is feasible.
 
I posted this question a while back and since then have successfully started my garden.
 
http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1243907-first-organic-grow-soil-mix-teas-etc.html
 
On September 7, I mixed my first batch of soil based on recipes that I have found around the forum. I let this soil cook until November 29.
 
2 cu. ft. of soil:
5 gallons Alaska Peat Moss
5 gallons 4 Corners organic EWC
5 gallons perlite
2 cups dolomite lime
6 cups of amendment blend
8 cups Gaia Green glacial rock dust
 
Amendment Blend:
All Down to Earth brand, all in equal parts, save the Greensand, Azomite and Kelp
Neem Seed Meal
Crab
Kelp (twice as much as others)
Alfalfa
Bone
Oyster
Greensand (half as much as others)
Azomite (half as much as others)
 
While the soil was cooking for those 12 weeks, I added a basic tea twice. The tea was made using a 1 gallon tea pitcher filled with 1/2 gallon R/O water and bubbled with a 1.8 Liters/min air pump and air stone and kept at 75F with an aquarium heater for about 24 hours. The recipe is as follows:
2 tsp molasses
1 tsp Eco-Hydro Fish (ingredients: hydrolysed fish, phosphoric acid)
1 Tbsp alfalfa meal
1 Tbsp kelp meal
1 Tbsp neem seed meal
1/2 cup EWC
1 tsp liquid seaweed
 
 
I bought some seeds from an OMMP dispensary. I was really bummed that none of these dispensary owners or employees seem to know the first thing about growing or seeds. I shopped around quite a bit and no one could give me any valuable information, even anything basic like Indica or Sativa. They claimed they were a "resource center" for growers, patients, caregivers, etc but they just have a couple issues of High Times and some overpriced mids. Anyway...
 
I picked up 3 5 packs of Alphakronik Genes. Alpha Dawg, Snozzberry and the dude threw in a pack of Raw Dawg for free.
I could find this info about the seeds:
 
Snozberry (Purple Urkle x Snowdawg BX)
90/10 Indica/Sativa
Flowering: 65-70 days
1.0-1.25x stretch
 
AlphaDawg (Chemdawg D x Snowdawg BX)
40/60 Indica/Sativa
Flowering: 70-75 days
1.25-1.5x stretch
 
So germinated 6 of these seeds in a basic soil on November 3.
1/2 part peat moss
1/2 part EWC
1/2 part perlite
 
Direct sow 3mm deep into moist soil in seed starter trays. Put into tray and on top of seedling heat mat and under germination dome, which I misted with water daily. On November 6, all 6 had sprouted so I put them under a 4 foot flourescent fixture and misted them daily. At that time, I was using the wrong color temperature, a 5200K instead of 6500K. Oops, but they seem to be doing ok.
 
On November 11, I transplanted 5 of them to solo cups with the same basic soil and watered them 3-4 oz each for the first time. One of the RawDawg was weak and died before the transplant.
 
I watered again on November 15.
 
I saw my germination technique had worked, so I germinated the other 9 seeds in the same fashion.
8/9 sprouted within the first 3 days and were moved immediately under the flourescent fixture. I decided to pick up some CFLs since the 4 ft. fixture is kind of stupid to use for some tiny sprouts, so I got 2 23w 6500K CFLs and put the sprouts under there. The last seed sprouted a couple days later, but another of the same strain died. The RawDawg has always been the last to sprout and the first to die while all the others have thrived... hmm...
 
I watered batch 1 again on November 24.
 
On November 29,
I transplanted batch 1 from solo cups to 1 gallon containers filled with 50% basic soil and 50% amended soil and watered them. I also sprinkled granular Down to Earth Root Zone Myco fungi with beneficial bacteria in each hole for the root ball.
 
I transplated batch 2 from seed starting trays to solo cups with basic soil and watered them.
 
I have had some problems with fungus gnats already, which are the worst in the Alpha plants it seems. I top dressed all the plants with Neem meal. It worked for a little while, but they are back. So I sprayed all the leaves with Neem Oil. This seems to have gotten rid of most of them, but some still linger. So I will spray with Neem Oil every week and redress with a little Neem meal and EWC. If that doesn't work, I guess I will use sand. They aren't that bad, though. A dozen or less total flies...
 
I am vegging in a 4x4 currently under 4 32w 6500K FL tubes (2 4 foot fixtures) 24/0, an oscillating fan blowing gently over the tops. So I have 5 in 1 gallon pots with 50/50 base plus amended soil that are now 5 weeks old and 8 in solo cups that are 3 weeks old.
 
Right now, I seem to be having some problems with humidity, says my hygrometer. I think my hygrometer is not so accurate, which is worrying me. I have a $20 Grower's Edge hygrometer that I picked up at the nursery. Anyway, so I put a couple wet sponges in open tupperwares on top of a seedling heat mat right under where the fan is blowing (poor girl's humidifier). It has been FUCKING cold and dry out here in Portland for the past week or so (20 degrees F). I have a short amount of ducting feeding directly from outside into my tent that I usually just leave there always, but I have been worried about the cold air coming directly into my tent so I have been pulling it most of the day and then putting it in for a few hours to get some fresh air in the tent. 
 
My space is set up in my spare bedroom, I have 2 4x4 tents (the other one I will of course use for flower later...) I am just keeping the entire room warm with the wall heater. Room is staying at 75-80 and around 40-50% humidity (like I said, don't think the hygrometer is accurate.)
 
I will be flowering under an Advanced LED Diamond Series Extreme 3w LED with supplemental flourescent lighting. I plan to buy more LEDs in the future, but they are expensive so for now this is what I have.
 
I also have 2 4" 171 cfm fans and a 4"x12" 200 cfm filter for later use.
 
So my biggest concerns right now are the cold air coming in and the humidity and hygrometer issue, the fungus gnats and wondering if I should have put 100% amended soil instead of 50/50 into my 1 gallons....
 
I will post a few pictures a little later today.
 
I appreciate any and all advice given.
 
Thanks for reading
 
Here are some pics. I got a little too busy to take pics for a while so there is obviously a time gap.
 
 

First batch a few days after sprouting.


All the 5 week olds.

Snozberry

Snozberry

The 3 week olds

A spot on one of the Alphas, that are the worst with fungus gnats.

Some tip curling on the tallest plant, an Alpha.

Some discoloration on a Snozberry.
 
Some of the leaves were yellowing before I transplanted into the amended soil. They seem to all be a little happier now.

 

Thanks tj! Right back at ya.
 
I do already have my LED. Sure, I can throw them under there. Sounds like a good idea. I have been wondering if I'm not giving them enough light so why not use it if I have it, right?
 
I just watered my plants, decided to water them from the bottom up since the fungus gnats are still there and I read that could help. I'm wondering if I should top dress again with neem meal and EWC, sand or maybe if I should go out and get some Gnatrol? Any help? I want to get rid of them...
 
I also noticed that my plants in solo cups need to be transplanted. I'm going to put them right into 100% amended soil. Should I put them in 1 gallons or go straight into 3 gallons? I also have 5 gallons that I was planning on finishing in.

 

Thanks! I'm not too worried about space since I don't plan on cramming too many plants into my small tent haha. I think I will go straight to the 3 gallons with these and see how I like it.
 
I put them all under the LED plus one of the FL fixtures a bit ago. Will upload pics a bit later today.

 

So, since I posted last I have been having some problems with yellowing leaves.
 
On December 14, I transplanted all of my plants into 3 gallon containers. All with 100% amended soil. I watered that day and again last night.
 
I will post pictures from before the transplant and from after.
 
I am hoping you guys can help me out and tell me what might be wrong.
 
Thanks!
 

Before the transplant. All green and healthy.



 

One of the Alpha plants.


One of the younger Alpha plants.

Some plants still look fine, like the Snozz.

Some browning on the edges of the Snozz.

 

Thanks Leafy! I have definitely learned a lot from GC so far and continue to learn more every day thanks to all you fine folks.
 
Looking forward to switching to 12/12 soon!
 
I hope these problems with the yellow leaves don't continue. Not too sure what's wrong. I hope my soil is ok.

 

 
Hey waktoo, thanks for the response! I actually only applied the teas twice to the soil only during the 12 weeks that it was cooking. I've never watered with anything other than water for the plants in the pots from seed until now. I don't plan on adding any more tea because my plants don't seem to want it.
 
I only top dressed because I had quite a few fungus gnats that didn't want to go away with Neem oil spray. I then just top dressed with a thin layer of EWC and neem. I don't plan on top dressing any more as long as the Neem spray every 7 days keeps the gnats away.
 
 

 
As for watering, yeah I definitely could be watering them too much. I have been trying to play it by ear and just water when they need it. Still trying to get a feel for that. I waited this last time until some leaves were actually drooping a little, the soil had pulled away from the edges of the pots and the pots felt light. To me anyway, haha. It has been anywhere from 5-9 days between each watering so far. Maybe I am giving them too much at a time.
 
When I applied those teas, I applied them only on week 3 and week 6 of 12 (12 weeks of soil cook time.) So I used 1/2 gallon of water to brew the tea, then diluted it with 1/2 gallon of water and watered that into the 2 cu. ft. of soil.
 
 

 
 
Which of the ingredients would you consider extras? Like I said, I don't plan on adding any teas to my potted plants. This was just my first go at making a soil and I wanted to make sure to build a solid soil. But yeah, I have read that just some kelp would make a good tea. I've read bad things about liquid seaweed. I've read good things about hydrolysed fish. I've read bad things about molasses, haha. You get my drift. Some people swear by things that other people scoff at.
 
The list goes on about reading good things and bad things about each and every ingredient or piece of equipment I've decided to use in any part of this grow. It's hard to sort through all the info that is out there and make the best choice. THE TORTURED LIFE OF A NOOB.
 
Thanks again for the responses fellas! I appreciate any and all feedback, most definitely.

 

Hi Papawayne, nice to meet ya.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone!
 
What you said makes total sense, I will think about that when I make teas in the future. I will grab some compost and use that next time I make a tea and add the compost to the soil the next time around. I will have to do some research on the best kind of compost to use. Any reccomendations?
 
I'm going to switch to 12/12 in the next week or so. I'm thinking about trading my Diamond Series 300 back and getting two Diamond Series XML 350s. I know the one 300 isn't going to cut it for flower so I may as well just spend the money now and get the second light and if I'm going to buy another light I may as well spend the extra couple hundred on each to upgrade to the XMLs. The XMLs seem really nice. I considered going with Black Dog as well because the price is about the same and these two brands are really the only two I would consider buying.
 
My plants are looking good. The yellowing is not getting worse or anything, the gnats are still gone and all the new growth looks great. The sativas are starting to get tall. I am going to have to figure out how I want to train these guys soon!