First time indoor closet t-5 grow

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by johnnypotatos, Feb 18, 2015.

  1. Hello all.  After reading dozens of grow journals, a few books, and a million words online, I decided to take the plunge and give my first grow a go.
     
    5 days ago I put 5 feminized AK-48 seeds from Nirvana into soaked jiffy pellets, covered them with a humidity dome, and set them on a shelf in a dark warm room.  2 days ago, two seeds had sprouted about an inch.  One (plant 1) had not dropped its shell, and was covered with white fuzzy mold.  Plant 2 looked green and healthy. 
     
    After consulting a seedling guide on Royal Queen seeds website, I decided to plant all five of the jiffy pellets, still quite wet, directly into the pots in my closet grow room and turn the lights on 24/7.
     
    The set up there is five three-gallon buckets with a 3:1 mix of Fox Farms Ocean Forest to perlite, under a Quantum VHO 4 foot, 8 bulb t5, with grow-spectrum bulbs.
     
    As of day 5 from planting seeds:
     
    Plant 1 has lost it's mold, but has not shed its shell or grown at all.  Should I do anything about this?
    Plants 2 and 3 are about an inch and a half, green and healthy looking.
    Plants 4 and 5 have yet to break the surface.
     
    The jiffy pellets remain moist.
     
    Below is a picture of my setup. Out of view is a small oscillating fan.
     
    Any pointers, tips, hints, critiques, would be appreciated by this newbie!  
     
     
    2.17.15.jpg
     
     
     
     

     
  2. Well hello there
     
  3. Make sure the plant 1's seed is a little moist helps them lose it better. Worse comes to worst you can always carefully remove the shell yourself man. Not personally a fan of jiffy pellets, always seem too wet or too dry for me.
     
  4. Thanks, I'll keep it misted.  Next time I'll plant directly into the pots and skip the jiffy pellets... 
     
  5. Yeah I just germ them in a wet paper towel zipped inside a zip lock bag placed in a warm area, not too bright of a place though. Let them sit 24 hour's then carefully check for roots, check again about every 12 hour's.

    Once a tap root pops out I plant them in a solo cup, maybe an 1/8" down in soil and moisten well. You can just spray the soil where your seed is really well. I like to make sure I've gotten it just wet enough the water will soak down and then the tap root will follow down.
    You don't wanna let the seed dry out but once it's sprouted you can.
    Sorry for rambling man its late and I'm high lol. Take it easy
     
  6. #6 johnnypotatos, Feb 19, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 19, 2015
    Tragedy this morning.  Plant 1, which I moved in its jiffy pellet into a bucket of FFOF under lights (after it sprouted with mold under a moisture dome, and then wouldn't lose its shell after being moved) was found dead, brown and on its side.  Online research suggests it had "dampened off", probably due to being waterlogged in the jiffy pellet and too much initial humidity under the dome.  I will plant seeds directly into soil or use a paper towel germinating method next time.
     
    Plants 2 and 3, which came up four days ago, look OK, pictures are below.  Plants 4 and 5 have yet to make a showing.  To recap, I moved all the jiffy pellets from out of the moisture dome into the soil and put them under a light at the first sign of mold.
     
    Plant 2:
    20150218_190111.jpg
     
    Plant 3:
    20150218_190136.jpg
     
    I'm a bit worried that two plants sprouted a few days ago, and two haven't yet, as they were all planted at the same depth in the pellets.  Maybe I'm being a bit impatient or paranoid? :bongin:
     
    RIP Plant 1, I'll never forget you.
    20150218_190519.jpg
     
  7. Day 7 update - 
    jiffy pellets in soil still moist, keeping t-5 about 4 inches above buckets 24/7, oscillating fan
    Plant 1 : dead from dampening off
    Plant 2 : 
    20150219_175730.jpg
    Plant 3 :
    20150219_175747.jpg
    Plants 4 and 5 still not showing
     
     
     
  8. Day 9:
    Plants 2 and 3 are progressing decently, 3 and 4 are in doubt, and as I said earlier, 1 is dead.
    I've made a few super newbie mistakes that hopefully others can learn from.
    Pictures and the story so far, plus some advice seeking, tomorrow.
    Goodnight everybody!
     
  9. Are you gonna pour some water all over those seeds?
     
  10. #10 johnnypotatos, Feb 25, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 25, 2015
    Hey folks!  It's day 12 of my first grow and time for an update!
     
    First, I'll get the newbie fumbles off the table.  Of the 5 AK 48 plants, three have passed on.  As I mentioned earlier, I planted all seeds in jiffy pellets under a humidity dome.  Plants #1 and #2 both sprouted at the same time, and plant #1 quickly developed a white fuzz.  In a panic I consulted a seedling guide from a seed bank which suggested that both jiffy pellets and humidity domes were a bad idea, and suggested planting seeds directly in the growing medium in the same conditions the plants would live out their lives.  Not being able to "un-do" the jiffy pellet error, I removed the mesh and planted all the jiffy pellets into three gallon pots, each containing a mix of 3:1 mix of FFOF/perlite, and put them under light 24/7.  Plant #1 never recovered, and died from dampening off.  Plant #2 did well, and plant #3 sprouted under lights.  Unfortunately, plant #4 made a brief appearance before dampening off, and #5 never showed.  I dug up seed #5 on day 11 and it had rotted, turned to mush. I assume this was due to an excess of moisture held by the jiffy pellet.  
     
    I spoon watered plants #2 and #3 until day 11 (yesterday), then I saturated the pots containing both plants with tap water until there was about an inch of runoff in the bottom of the turkey roaster pans I'm using as trays.  I discarded the runoff and tested the mix in the pots with a probe, getting ph of 6.5, and a reading in the mid-range of "moist".
     
    Also on day 11 I planted two new seeds, (#6, a feminized Northern Lights, and #7 a feminized Aurora Indica (both from Nirvana) in small containers of the FFOF/perlite mix, put them in a dark corner with no humidity dome, and am spoon watering to keep them damp.  
     
    20150224_203407.jpg
     
    Today (day 12 from seed) the pots with plants #2 and #3 have a ph of 6.5, and read on the dry end of moist. The lights remain 24/7, very close to the plants, with an indirect breeze from a fan.  Both plants seem to be doing quite nicely, although there is some minor upwards curling of the leaves.
     
    Plant #2
    plant 2 day 12.jpg
     
    Plant #3
    Plant 3 day 12.jpg
     
    A few questions:
     
    The new seeds are in a mix which is 1/3 perlite, will that cause problems when it's time to transplant (will the medium fall apart)?  Does anyone have any other thoughts on how these were planted, how wet I should keep them, etc?
     
    The growing plants are in the same mix.  Do I want to keep them moist (i.e. water every day) or let them dry out then re-water?  With the amount of perlite in the mix it seems impossible to achieve a wet reading using a probe.  
     
    Obviously, I've made it about as all over the place as possible -- letting a few sprout in jiffy pellets in the dark under a dome, then moving all the jiffy pellets into a sort-of soil/sort-of hydro mix under lights to let the rest sprout, (with the pellets and the mix having different saturation levels) and now attempting 3 strains planted at two separate times under the same lights.  
     
    This is a "learning grow" for me. If I wind up with more than a bit of experience I'll be happy.
     
    Any pointers, thoughts, comments, insults, whatever would be appreciated!    :bongin:
     

    Attached Files:

  11. Hey howdy! Anyone out there?
     
  12. #13 johnnypotatos, Mar 7, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 7, 2015
    Well HELLO again! 
     
    Today marks 20 days since I put the first seeds in the dirt on my unbelievable FIRST TIME INDOOR CLOSET T5 GROW .  It's been a while since the last progress report on day 12, so I think it would be a good idea to provide a little update.
     
    Day 12 (this is a recap) -
    I planted an Aurora Indica seed (plant #6) and a Northern Lights seed (plant #7) (see above), after losing plants #1, #4 and #5 :cry:.  I'm using emoticons in this post!
     
    Day 13 -
    Plant #6 popped out of the soil with shell attached :confused: , what was going on with that? I decided not to annoy the plant and I let it do it's thing.
    And I put the fan more directly on plants #2 and #3 to strengthen the stems because they were looking kind of thin and spindly. 
     
    Day 14 -
    Plant #6 had grown about an inch and a half in length overnight, and it was drooping.  It had dropped it's shell but it still retained a membrane that was holding the starter leaves together  :confused: .  Was this plant confused?  It was certainly confusing me!  I misted it, and gently popped the membrane off with a tweezers, and put it under the light right next to plant #2 and plant #3.
     
    20150226_132202.jpg
     
    By the evening time some real leaves appeared and the stem began to straighten out, and so I transplanted the plant into it's permanent home in a 3 gallon pot.
    I also planted another 2 seeds, another Aurora Indica (#8), and Northern Lights (#9), because I was hoping to get a total of six plants under the t-5 light for this grow. 
     
    Day 16 -
    I completely saturated the containers holding plants #2, #3 and #6 with clean, fresh tap water.  My water comes right out of the faucet with a ph of 7, so what I do is add a little apple cider vinegar to adjust it down to 6.5 to keep the plants nice and happy.
     
    Day 17 -
    I took a look and plants #2 and #3 had developed some rusty-brown spots on the lower leaves :eek:.  That gave me a startled feeling!  And the soil ph tested 6.5!  I did a lots of looking for information on the internet trying to find out what those spots were, but everything I read said different things! There was a lot of conflicting information!  :confused: The good news is, pointing the fan on those plants for a few days really helped the stems get thick and strong!
    Unfortunately plant #6 was still leaning over, but now it had 4 serrated leaves.
    And guess what!  Plant #7 was still not showing up for the party!  I uncovered it by removing clumps of dirt with a tweezers and it turned out a root was just poking through the seed husk. What was going on? I lightly covered that seed again with soil  :bongin:.
    Plants #8 and #9 were still no-shows.
     
    Day 18 -
    I carefully uncovered plant #7 with a tweezers. I found out that it was rotting, and I pronounced it dead.  
    I was happy to see that plant #8 had sprouted, and I moved it into it's new home in a 3 gallon pot under the light,
    I carefully uncovered plant #9 with a tweezers, and it hadn't opened at all. It was just sitting there! It was like it had never been planted! I put it in a wet paper towel as an experiment. :bongin:
    And the rusty spots were spreading on plant #2 and plant #3.  The ph of the soil was good and the plants were really bushy with almost no space between the nodes.  So I made an assumption. I assumed the spots were due to a nutrient deficiency and began feeding the plants.  I used 1/2 strength General Hydroponics Flora-Gro and a drop of Superthrive mixed into fresh, ph-balanced tap water.
    I gave plants #6 and #8 a good drink of water too, but without the nutrients.
     
    Day 20 -
    The paper towel experience for plant #9 was a total dud!  That seed had done absolutely nothing after 6 days in a moist environment!   I said SEE YOU LATER, SEED!  ADIOS AMIGOS!  So the fact is that out of 9 seeds, only 4 seed actually made it to planthood!   Either I got a few "bad seeds" or I need to work on my germination skills!  Or probably both! :hide: .
    I gave plant #2 and plant #3 a healthy feeding with full strength nutrients.
    And I gave #6 and #8 a good soaking with fresh, ph balanced tap water.
     
    Day 21 (today) -
    The spotting has stopped on plant #2 and plant #3, leading me to believe I was right about those spots showing up because those plants weren't just thirsty anymore, they were hungry for nutrients! They're really stocky and full now! I topped both of them, and I also trimmed off a few yellowing leaves at the bottom which weren't getting any light because the leaves are so thick! Is it unusual to have almost no space between the nodes? Things are getting pretty crowded on these plants!
     
    So taking a look at where things stand right now, out of the nine seeds I planted, there are four plants that are with us today:
     
    #2 (AK48, 20 days since planting seed)
     
    20150306_194735.jpg
     
    #3 (AK48, 20 days since planting seed)
     
    20150306_194740.jpg
     
    #6 (Aurora Indica, 12 days since planting seed)
     
    20150306_194749.jpg
     
    #8 (Aurora Indica, 7 days since planting seed)
     
    20150306_194757.jpg
     
    And here they all are.  You could call them the John, Paul, George and Ringo of plants!
     
    20150306_211417.jpg
     
    They once said in the White House, MISTAKES WERE MADE.  Although I lost five seeds -- I think 4 plants under a 4 foot light is probably a pretty good number.  I think six would have been too many!
    And here's a preview of what's to come: I plan to SCROG!  Because I like to LEARN from my MISTAKES!  I'll talk about that more later on.
     
    THANK YOU FOR READING!  Feedback would be very, very appreciated.  Even if it's harsh criticism, I'd like to hear your thoughts!  I'll be back next time with no emoticons!
     
  13. It looks like no one has any comments about my grow!
     
  14. #15 johnnypotatos, Mar 10, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 10, 2015
    Day 23 - Added two 40 watt cfl lights to one end of the t5 using duct tape, to provide side lighting and to help penetrate the foliage, plan to add two more to the other end.  They can be lowered as the plants get bigger, but my closet space won't allow for cfl's along the t5 lengthwise.  I'll rearrange the plants often so they all benefit.
     
    Another feeding today, and #2 and #3 (recently topped) are growing cabbage shaped. There is literally NO space between the nodes.
    Is this shape desirable?  If not, what can be / should be done to tame these gals?
     
    20150309_215513.jpg
    20150309_214108.jpg
    20150309_193050.jpg
     
    #6 is still a youngster and #8 is too tiny to photograph.
     
    Is anybody out there?  Would really appreciate feedback from an experienced grower.  
     
  15. #16 highnifty, Mar 10, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 10, 2015
    Hey Johnny! I say you're looking good! I'm not sure the CFLs will add anything besides heat at this point. I think your T5 is doing a great job alone! They are staying short because you're keeping the light close. Personally I like a short bushy plant, but I grow in a small space. Have you topped yet?

    Edit: I see you have topped! That will keep them bushy as well. What do you plan to flower under?

    Peace :smokin:
    My grow journal.
    http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1340115-2nd-Grow-LED-Stealth-CannaCabinet
     
  16. Yea, you always have to keep in mind that marijuana is a photophilic plant. It will grow toward the light and will do anything it can to get light to all of its branches and leaves. Right now you're not doing anything to make it want to branch out, as light is hitting everything without it needing to strain. Pick that light up 3 feet and watch how tall your plant gets in a week ;)


    Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
     
  17.  
  18. Hey guys, a few questions:
     
    assume I'm planning on a four plant SCROG under the lights I already have : a 2 ft x 4 ft HO t-5, up to four cfl's... and the space I already have :a standard bedroom closet (it's what I have to work with this time)
     
    based on the pictures above:
    at what height would you induce flowering?
    can I keep topping the latecomers to keep a height consistancy until they all reach that height?
    at what height would you set the scrog screen?  
    they've been topped once, what other training training would be suggested?
     
    what about reducing them to clones and launching into a sog 12/12 in a week?  would that yield more than the 4 plants scrogged?
     
    This obviously a personal grow and I am looking for the most quality smoke per least $ spent -- the prettiness of the end product isn't an issue.
     

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