Hi everybody, My name is Tom and I am trying out my first grow. I will list my strain and setup below for easy reference; any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. My main concern is that my plant may have gone hermy on me. During the first couple weeks of flowering she gave off a real nice heavy skunk smell but over the past 10 days or so she hasn't given off much aroma at all. I am also worried that the colas don't seem to be bulking up; pretty much have looked the same over the past week and a half or so. Hopefully I am just an over anxious parent and my girl is just taking a little breather before packing on the buds. I have included a couple pics for reference. Again, any help would be awesome. - Tom Strain: Low Rider Autoflower (Nirvana) Soil: Fox Farms Ocean Blend Lights: G8 240W LED (Broad Spectrum for both veg and flower) + G8 90W Red FlowerPower UFO Nutes: Place a SoilTab in with the Fox Farms then added FlowerTab once she started to flower Sprouted 14FEB15 so she is on day 36 (Nirvana users claim about a 60-70 day life cycle)
It doesn't look horrible, if that helps. That being said the plant has had too much nitrogen. Those dissolving tabs, as well as any other time released fertilizer, is not ideal because it doesn't allow you to feed at proper intervals. Yep, you can grow with them, but they often cause plants to be over fertilized. The rolled over, claw hooked, dark green leaves on tour plant are a dead on sign that this is the case. The buds should swell more, have patience. Flowering comes in stages. First site development when you see all the new bud sites. Second the number of new sites will slow and the existing sites will grow in size and grow together to form colas. (This is where your plant looks to be now) The third phase is when calyxes should begin to swell and the buds fatten up. Finally the trichs will begin to turn, hairs recede, and swelling will stop. Your a little early for them to really fatten up. Autos can be a gamble as well. I have no idea on that strain but some just do not yield huge buds. Also, thought it may or may not be the case with your plant, excessive nitrogen levels can inhibit flower growth. Since you used soil tabs you have no real control to adjust it other than a huge flush that could possibly release the whole tab at once. This is a perfect example of why not to use time release nutes. We all learn somewhere, next time grab some water soluble nutes.
The buts are growing, will plump and frost up near the end. Keep autos in a 18/6 veg timing. Plant more autos right now so when that plant is harvested others are right there to take its place. Not bad for a first grow. Grow rooms are an ever evolving project that get better as you go along. my advice.. Organic Hydro, fuck that fucking dirt, hydro is faster and the buds are way bigger,better.
Ehh not to start an argument but I disagree with snoop... Start off soil and learn then move over to hydro.. There is a lot of precision and knowledge of a strain that's needed for a hydro grow.. Soil is more forgiving.. Grab yourself a general organics go box. .. Its the easiest way to go and one of the cleanest organic BASED nutes.. Fox fox happy frog soil.. And distilled water .. Your lights will do the rest . start the nutes on day 14 at %50 and watch them explode .. You will learn how to use nutrients for cannabis and by the time you hit flower you will be hoping it slows down.. I'm on day 5 of some beans and they are already working on their second set of leaves .. Normally I got vermi-organic but I have a less than private back yard now .. And no matter what you do with hydro ... It will NEVER taste as good as organics...
Idk if snoop has tryed dirt or how experienced he may be but i wouldnt suggest switching to hydro at anytime. I have never tryed hydro but have read enough to know a beginner should start out with a soil that they dont have to babysit constantly.
i wouldnt suggest switching to hydro at anytime. + I have never tryed hydro What! so lemme get this right you have offered your opinion on NOT doing hydro, but you have NEVER grown hydro before.... How can you have an opinion and offer advice when you have no clue nor have done before? Chef.
Since i know u read the whole thing. Did you miss my reason for being against it or did you just want to try and make someone feel bad? Just so you know. I have an opinion and a clue because i have read about this for months before attempting anything. My ADVICE as you say was for a beginner to stick with an easier medium. Rather than fucking up some ph ppm bullshit. Now if you want to be real i have tryed a sort of improvised hydro with decent enough results untill it was chopped up when i was a kid. So if you're mad go get a coke and have a smile with the knowledge that i was just trying to help a less informed grower.
Chef quoted you and now I'm quoting you as well. You said "I have never tryed hydro" so yes everyone missed your reason. Also all you did was tell the op you didn't like hydro but you have never tried it. Lemme know how your coke was
Hydro has its benefits. While it is a bit more work, you have more control over what goes in to the plant. Deficiencies and toxicities appear more quickly and are remedied much more quickly as well. Using a ph meter isn't that difficult, and a ppm meter really isn't required.
You have to check PH with soil, he has to measure out nutrients before adding, essentially the same man. Especially to a beginner who doesn't know better. You can see problems in yor plants quicker in hydro and can fix it just as quick. In soil it takes a while to show damage then continues to get damaged then you have to fix it and wait some time intill it shows positive effects I know loads of first time hydro growers that have killed it on their first grows. If you do your research you have done half the battle. I just think your point telling someone to stay away from hydro because what you have seen in the forums and that you have never grown hydroponically was terrible and empty advice. Chef. Head Chefs Indoor and Outdoor Adventures - http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1289059-Headchef%27s-indoor-and-outdoor-adventures
Haha.......you dont have to constantly babysit hydro.......ive done 9 months of research/watching videos into hydro while ive been doing my Soil grows as a beginner, and calling one of the most reputable people in this section of the forums ignorant, I think you need to take a step back and take the binky out of your mouth and learn to actually shut it.
I think that what he is saying is that hydro might be overwhelming for a beginner? It seems to have a lot more...requirements and gear. I just started growing this past year and it seems more simple to do soil.
I'm growing both on my first. I ph my water before feedings, thats about it. For a beginner, depending on what you want to spend, hydro is a fairly lazy way to grow tbh. You have to check things daily anyway, so just put ph on your "chores" list and call it a day. Again, it's really just preference. Chef will definitely get you on the right track though
Jay and Snoop, Thank you so much for the advice. I am definitely throwing away the time release tabs; I had an inkling that my plant may have been getting too much nitrogren from a quick google search but now with your advice it is confirmed. I do have her on an 18/6 lighting timeframe so I am glad to see that is what you guys recommend. Also good to hear that time is on my side and I should just let her fatten up. I started my second plant (without the tabs) and have some soluble nutes on order so they should be here in time to start feeding my second girl. I will let you guys know how the grow/yields compare. Gonna try hyrdo at some point but wanted to get my feet wet with the old school way. Lessons learned, but I have to say growing has been a thrill. Watching my baby grow is almost as fun/enjoyable as smoking her is gonna be. Thanks again for all of your help.