My first grow...the HIGHS and low (my journey)

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by Deez Trees, Nov 24, 2014.

  1. #1 Deez Trees, Nov 24, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 26, 2014
    Newbie here. Got creative and decided to to make a little room out of anything I had laying around. I would say its. This is far from the one's I seen but it was fun to make and seems to be doing the job. These setups can cost a lot and I didn't have the extra hundred bucks to spend. It cost less than ten bucks to make. Some of you professionals will probably chuckled but I hope some people are inspired. They were just dropped today. My first time with auto's so I'm excited. I'm only using the box temporary to raise the plants to the light. Once they are transplanted, the box will be gone (seen the post about mold....very helpful)! The light is 300W LED Switchable Full Spectrum. Yes that is aluminum foil on the sides lol. The slates .75 each at home depot. So little to no expense. I'm trying to increase the temperature in the room with the use of electricity..........thinking about using the clay pot and candle technique. The room needs an extra ten degrees? Need to fix this before they sprout.  Any suggestions:)

     

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  2. heck ya. if u have the motivation- u will save money!
     
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  3. Thanks for the motivation everyone! I realize that after reading up on several blogs and journals that this set up is so far from perfect. I don't want to be one of those jerks that refuse to learn the process so today I have decided to put all my effort into learning the technique instead of just looking for some good buds. I'm less than 24 hours in so I still have time to hopefully change some things. Well, here is what I'm up against.
     
    1. I seen that the auto plants (blackberry, berry bomb, northern lights) do not like to be transplanted. So reading this.....I transferred them to the three gallon pots right away.
     
    2. I'm worry about the soil that said organic that I brought from Home Depot. Noticed it states three months of feeding so I have been reading about flushing out the nutrients although I know its too early for this stage. (One of my favorite topics from my reading last night)
     
    3. Temperature. This needs to be worked on asap. The temperature of the room is 64 degrees and i understand its too loo. Don't worry I'm on that today. I'm going to make the clay pot thermostat which will increase the temp in the basement from 10-20 degrees.
     
    4. Fan: That's right. Now fan yet but the top of the light does produce air circulation. I'll be looking for an electric fan because almost all of my power is allotted for the light unless I drag a long extension cord to that area. As you can see, that is still up in the air.
     
    5. Exhaust: I keep hearing of these computer fans....got to look more into that. Was thinking, a far pointing inward and another one on the other side pointing outward might do the job??? Slowly understanding the process but gotta get my confidence up for this lol. Uhhhh. Did I say I was a newbie??? lol
     
    6. Smell: Watched a couple of videos about a diy carbon filter but then noticed it some people just attach a duct to the dryer  for a easy release.
     
    7. CO2: Loved how people got creative with two soda bottles and a plastic tube attached to a fan. Drinking the rest of this two liter and trying it. Its worth a shot.
     
    Learning this process makes me feel like a kid again! It's excited. However, I don't think I have as many brain cells as I did when I was a kid so ALL FEEDBACK IS WELCOME:)
     
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  4. Here is the soil in the three gallon pots. I already seen a bug flying around so about to mop around this area with light bleach and water. I have to look into this to making my own mix and that needs to be decided today before they sprout. Its probably this darn soil.......I hope it won't destroy my autos.
     
    Dear Home Depot,
     
    Please stop labeling soil organic.
     
    Thanks..
     
     
     
    LOLOLOLOLOL
     

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  5. The seeds haven't sprouting yet. I have a hour until dark so I'm going to switch out my Home Depot Organic mix and replant the seeds in the good stuff. Time is ticking. I'll update pictures when I'm finished to show you the progress. After I re-clean the growing area and update it a little, I'll show my pots again and give my mixture.
     
    Still studying the blogs to get better techniques and find ways to save but these products were are surely needed and it makes sense.
     
    Pics to come.
     

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  6. Upgraded the soil just in time because one of the seedlings just started coming through. Not bad for less than two days. Decided to go with a homemade organic soil mix, perlite and peat moss. So my soil issue is fixed. Yayyyy!
     
    It was warm yesterday and the temperature of the room got up to 73 degrees. Well today it went back down to 68 so I was able to get it up four degrees with ten tea light candles in the area but away from the plants and plastic. I purchased the materials for the ceramic pot heater so I'll upload a pic when its finished. So, the temperature issue is almost done! Just need it a little warmer before these gals get too big! Work in progress.
     
    I haven't made as many updates to the grow space as I would have liked. Wish I would have opted for measured dry wall instead of cut plastic bags lined with aluminum fool but I blame that on being "over eager" and "frugal" LOL. So, my next step will be to try to spruce up my grow structure and get that aluminum foil off the walls!!! (thanks to the person who sent me the link)
     
    Still no fan yet but I realize that is a definite......so I'll be looking around for one.
     
    I started out trying..... to get Big Buds at a Cheap Price but this is a process.... and is not free if you want to do it right. This should be a tax deduction. lol
     
    Thanks for following!
     

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  7. Going into day three. Only one of the seeds have sprung up. The other must be on the way because I noticed it when I changed soil. I think the last seed might be a dud. It didn't fully germinate with the rest but I decided to plant it anyway to see if it would fully crack open. That would be a bummer. Got the temperature up to 76 today and it was pretty cold here. The lowest temp was 68 which wasn't too bad but not the temp I'm looking for obviously. Humidity ranging from 45-60 %. Still working on getting something that heats for a longer time than my clay pot set up.
     
    Thinking about a heater????? I might as well just fork over the cash.
     
    Its a bad pic but the sprout is dead centered.
     
     

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  8. Decided to recreate the grow space in a warmer environment. I'm very please. Took down that aluminum foil and using white walls for now also:)
     
    Four days in the and the berry bomb is doing well but its the only one sprouting with three leaves now. I might have contaminated the other seeds by picking them up with my hands while they were germinating. I may have touched them to much while trying to transplant them from the the red cups to the three gallon pots and then changing them out again when I changed the soil. Lesson learned but I'll see what happens.
     
    If nothing comes of these seeds...... Is it okay to reuse the pot and soil again and just plant a  new seed if the original doesn't take?
     
    I've read its important not to use reuse soil but I don't know if this is this soil will be considered "used".
     
    Look forward to your thoughts:)
     
     
    Gobble Gobble
     
  9. Going into day five days now. Looks like the my just the one little guy is surviving but the other ones are probably not going to take root. So I germed five new babies and put them in the red cups today. Hopefully I'll do better and learn from my mistakes. The new guys lol aren't autos so I'm venturing off into another new venture. Hope it works:) Temp is up to 78 degrees daily so my homemade heater isn't needed anymore thank goodness. Decided to save up my pennies and so the mylar is in the mail on monday....yay!
     
    Still things needed but I've been swamped the last few days. How you like the new set-up? Can I reuse the dirt from the other two pots since it didn't grow??? Just wondering.....
     
    Oh yes and I HAVE TO GET A FAN!!
     

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  10. The plants are resting now but I will update the pics when they wake up. I measured the plants distanced and found they were 28 inches away from the light. With no mylar yet I figured to move the light closer to 16 inches away. The plants are seem receptive but I will monitor it.This morning I noticed one of the mystery seeds were coming up. Cool. Only two days from seed so I'm pretty impressed. And on a higher note, shuffled through the dirt and found the sweet caramel that I planted (too low i'm guessing) growing upside down. Turned her right side up and she has sprouted right up.
     
    The DIY CO2 was well worth the $3.12. I hooked it right up to the fan. And yes!!! I got a fan. Please remember I was originally trying to do this the cheap way :hide:  :hide:  :hide:   LOL
     
    Got one of those humidity stones and its raised the temperature from 25% to about 38% which is still low so I might have to buy two of them to try to get that up.
     
    Managed my timer so I'm just watering and watching for now. I haven't applied any nutes yet. I'm still trying to figure that part out and that's my next step as a beginner.
     
    I've made a lot of mistake but doing my best to learn. Hope your giving me a curve ;)
     
    Pics will follow for Day 6 when lights are back on. Any advice or links is cool. :wave: :wave: :wave:
     
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  11. Nice!! I also needa figure if ill use nutes or not. I wanna buy some blood meal for extra N. I just purchased a pack of 4 80mm pc fans for 5$!!! On walmart.com cant wait to install them!!!!! Keep updating!! Check out my two girls while you're at it :p
     
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  12. Just wanted to show the new set up. I hope you guys like it. Also found a nursery that carries fox farm so I don't have to order it. Picked up a bag of the ocean forest for when its time to transplant my little girls. I feel better knowing that I'll be better prepared for transplanting into some good stuff. Still have some sphagnum moss and peat left........maybe I'll throw that in there too like I did with the regular dirt. I also bought some Fox Farm Big Grow.........haven't used it yet. Nutes are a scary thing to a beginner!!!! All advice welcome.
     
    Sorry the pics aren't the best since they are taking from my computer.
     

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  13. Berry on the right. The sweet caramel to the left was the lost one. Its came up beautiful since I turned it over.
     
  14. #15 LordSosa, Dec 2, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 2, 2014
    Hey Deez Trees
     
    A couple things...
     
    1) I totally planted a germinated seed upside down and had the root coming out of the soil about 1.5" before I realized it was upsidedown. :yummy:
    its growing beautifully now by the way so no worries on that mistake. :yay:
    2) Is your new room an enclosed space?! I found that in an enclosed space with no exhaust air leaving the room the fan heats up the room by blowing the hot air around from your light. u can see anywhere from 5-10 degree increase with that. depending of course on the fan and the rooms dimensions. My room sits at 69.8 and they seem to be doing just fine bud. keep it simple and keep it stable.
     
    3) Not 100% on this but it might be a bit early for the co2. :confused_2:
     
    4) I have my plants in fox farms ocean forest, and its a time released mix so theres plenty of food in there too keep your girls happy until transplant. Now if you plan on keeping them in those black pots you have, 3 gallon right? if my goldfish memory serves me right :bongin: :bongin: :bongin:  you should not try to feed them any nutes. (atleast not yet) Mine are just shy of a month from being put in the ground (11-10) and they have just been growing with foxfarms ocean forest no nutes yet. Check out my grow it might help you a bit. http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1345996-first-grow-led-chemdawg.html
    my oldest are also sitting in 3 gallon pots.
     
    5) Be patient dont overwater, try to reach 40-60% humidity for this part of there life. They are very delicate at this stage you can try making a dome for them, to improve humidity. Its also important to keep your top soil moist for seedlings
     
    Subbing to your thread, Dont hesitate to ask for help!!!
    goodluck brotha happy growing! :smoke:
     
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  15. Yes, that is just fine.  BUT!  Why not spend $12 on some good soil?  How big is the town you live in?  If there is a Home Depot, there is likely a hydroponic store that will have a lot better choices.  Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Roots Organics are 2 great choices for you that would help greatly.
     
    My first couple grows I used the Miracle Gro crap and it ruined a lot of things.  If you can get some legitimate supplies, I promise it is worth it 100 times over. 
     
    I am subscribed to this grow.  I'm betting it'll be a good one!
     
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  16. You guys rock! Thanks for all the great tips!
     
    I'm hoping the co2 doesn't affect my plants negativity. I put all that work into cutting holes into that one liter!!! lol But I will double check that because I don't want anything negative affecting my plants. Yes, you are so right about the humidity without an exhaust fan. The temp is ranging 78 degrees to a max of 80. I feel that is too high and I don't want the plants to burn. Humidity is at 40% now which is the highest I can get it with one aqua stone. I was thinking about the creating a dome and I will make that today and post pics later. Such a big help!!!
     
     
    Oh that soil! I bellied up and you can see that I'm using them as a riser. Decided not to reuse the soil, I was trying to be cheap....:-( The good news is, it made me think smarter. Just found a spot last night on foxfarm.com that gave me a reputable nursery. Now I can get all the supplies I need. I plan to transplant my five fems into the fox farm since I was using a mix of organic soil (vigoro....I know it wasn't the best), perlite and sphagnum moss mix. I just didn't want to replant them as two new babies are now up in the red cups. I think i learned my lesson from fooling with them too much. Your advice is wonderful:)
     
     
    These pics are off a computer so they aren't the best. Plan on getting a camera to get more subs;-) lol
     
    I'm having fun. Hope you are too!
     

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  17. On the co2 im curious on how it could be negative, wouldn't it be like putting someone on oxygen? The temps.. my temps go anywhere from 78 low to 92 high... I feel like a lot of the plants burning has to do with light intensity ..but I dont know . My girls love it right now. Im curious where in the world the temps dont get close too 100 when growing outdoor, even in the middle east where the majority of the Sativas come from..... Im using miracle grow nitrogen release brand, I wouldve used something else preferably some mix of my own from a forest or somethin, go digging in some creeks for that nute rich silt and mud. But I had to use that and it low on p and k and high on n but they percentages of pkn are still under 2% so there hopfully wont be any burn and I can add some natural stuff to bring the pk up during flowering.
     
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  19. Lol yeah I bought a jar of yeast and a thing of brown sugar last night. Fyi all the med growing books ever are online if you look I believe there are even torrents that contain all of them in a bundle!!
     

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