This is my first attempt at growing, doing it mostly for fun and if I'm able to get some sh'dank out of it then I'll be even happier. I'm using nirvana's blue mystic autoflowers, potted in a solo cup inside a pc case. Due to space and cost, I'm using a single 60w 6500k cfl bulb (it's gigantic). I germinated the seed Wednesday in some paper towels and a tupperware container, but in the future I'm going to go the natural route and put the seed right into the soil. It broke ground last night (Saturday, exactly 48 hours after I put her in) and for today it sat in a sunny windowside. Hopefully she'll live a happy life and I won't manage to kill her before she's ready. But, I'm feeling pretty good about everything as I've spent the last couple months reading guides and journals, so now I know what to look out for and what not to do as a rookie. Anyway, enough talk, here's my setup: Outside of the case, with cd for perspective. (btw check out the melvins, good band ) Inside And finally, the little seedling. So there we have it, the start of great things perhaps. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share, I'm always up for tips from those more experienced than I. I also have one last question: is she close enough to the light? I didn't want to burn her, but she looks a little stretched out to me. Any insight on that?
Hey mate, Welcome to GC! I'm a newbie here too. Nice little baby you have there . I use my wrist as a temp guide with CFLs (like you do checking baby's milk). Seedlings this age are are sensitive little things but she looks really happy in her home! It's hard to see from the angle of the pic but you want between 1-2 inches (depending on heat aka wrist test) so maybe a touch closer. I've only ever grown one auto (always grown photoperiod strains) but I found I ran out of room in my grow space (twice) because she did not like to be trained at all. I'm unsure in the BM tho, does that strain like LST? How much hight have you got to work with inside the cab? Looking forward to the grow.
Hey, thanks for the reply! It turns out she is about 2 inches from the bulb, so looks like we're all good there. I've heard that LST for autos can stunt their growth, bc their on a clock their whole lives so any time spent recuperating from stress can put a nice dent in the yields. So, my plan is to let her do her thing and if it comes to it and I run out of space, try and figure something out. Although I might try some lst to attempt to get her to grow out instead of up. Anyway I have about a foot vertically and a foot horizontally, so it should be interesting keeping her inside . Nice having you around, hopefully I'll be able to get a nice harvest from her!
lol I hear ya brother. I think everyone who's ever done micro will at one stage (or a lot) run out of room. See I didn't know a thing about growing cannabis let alone how to grow an auto lol so I made all the rookie mistakes. I repotted her, I topped her, I tried to LST lol. I'm honestly surprised she never hermied or grew nanas and she gave me just over 3 grams dry. Cute little thing. That is more ass than class let me tel you lol. Is that the pot she's staying in...the solo cup? They really hate being repotted so if you are going to change up the cup- just cut the bottom of the cup out so the roots are free to grow down and Plant the whole thing, cup and all.....she'll never know Let her do her thing is probably the best motto to have with autos so sounds like you're on the right track
Haha I've done my share of reading so hopefully I won't mess her up too bad. And yep, I'm thinking I'll keep her in the solo cup in an attempt to keep her and her roots small. I'll keep your trick in mind though for the future, when I have all the room for growing I want
Update 1: 12 days from seed So far, so good. She's amazing me at how fast she grows, I'll check on her one day and the next her leaves will have doubled or tripled in size ! I've been careful not to overwater, and when I do water her she drinks it right up. Not the best pictures this time around, I was on a dark cycle when I took them and had to use flash. So, how do they look? If there's anything that looks wrong please tell me, I want to keep her as healthy as possible. And finally my question for the week. As I've been looking for a 2700k light for flowering, I've been thinking of using an LED as opposed to cfl. Would this (http://www.amazon.com/Lemonbest-LED-Grow-Flowering...) be enough light? I don't have room for more than one, and I'm hoping to keep this as low cost as possible. Or, if you have any other suggestions, feel free to drop a reply!
Update 2: 14 days from seed Ok, so today I noticed that the bottom two fan leaves and the cotyledons had turned a yellowish color . I had noticed that they were a little yellow the day before, but it really caught my attention today. So, I was wondering what it might be. I was reading about nitrogen deficiencies and to me it sounds and looks like that's what it is (bottom leaves turn yellow first, very quick change from green to yellow). But, since I'm using a soil that already has nutes in it (black gold organic) I was unsure, since she's been in the soil for not even two weeks. I flushed her today to see if maybe the soil was too hot and I will check how she's doing tomorrow. Otherwise, if nothing changes or it gets worse, I think I'm going to give her 25% of a dose of Schultz plant food plus (10-15-10) to try to get her some more nitrogen and/or any other nutrient she might need. If anyone has any suggestions on what it may be or what I should do instead of giving her some nutes, please let me know! some out of focus pictures of the yellow leaves (they are a more noticeable yellow in person)
Looking really good so far It is normal for that older growth to yellow, the cotlydons provide just enough energy to feed the plant for about two weeks, then it yellows and will fall off. So its right on schedule. Your new growth looks really nice and green so I wouldn't worry too much about nutrients so far, but if the yellowing really begins to spread and she starts looking hungry than use your instincts and provide just enough of what she needs. What kind of soil are you using? Nice tight node spacing so far, plant is thriving!
Black Gold organic, it has like earthworm castings or something as fertilizer in it. I gave her a small amount of nutes last night, and she's still growing like there's no tomorrow
Hey drag0naut, sorry I didn't get say much once I found your journal last night, I was headed off to bed. Anyway, seems you are okay taking advice from other growers, that's good, you'll leave Rookie status way behind by reading & listening to other growers, and checking out successful grows. Ask as many questions as you need. It's a straight path to success. That's a super small chamber, she will definitely outgrow it sooner or later. Unless the pic is tricking me, the box looks like about 2' x 1&1/2 give or take. Now everyone may not agree and that's ok, but I think that light looks like it would produce heat problems in such a confined space, as I've said before I use LEDs so I could be misjudging a CFL. Anyway, you mentioned you are interested in tips to enhance your skills. My first one would be ditch that aluminum foil if that's what it is ( looks like it ) it's not a good choice for a grow, although it's cheap, it will cause heat problems, possibly even plant burns, which is not always cheap to solve. If you invest in a small bit of Mylar, which will set you back $5-$10 for a small roll & up to 20+ for medium to larger rolls. Some growers use white walls to reflect light, but I believe you'll regret the foil. Do you have a hygrometer in there? I didn't see it if so. I also think you're ok until the embryonic leaves start dying, which doesn't look like long. I don't know if you paid for your seeds, but that alone can be a pain to lose one that you put your sweat & heart into. Honestly, I've heard of a lot of micro grows I guess they call it, usually there's intense LSTing necessary, so as to keep it growing out not up. I'm not at all trying to discourage you brotha, rather keep you from getting discouraged on your first run. Is there any chance at all you can use something else for your grow box, even an small old fridge gutted, or a entertainment cabinet, just be cautious of wood, and water don't mix, unless you want to risk mold. I used a stand up metal cabinet which was perfect, but I have a basement, so I dunno what kind of space you have. You're making a great attempt, and a few adjustments may keep you from a big disappointment and get you much more bud; which most of us always want. Just perhaps considered it, I'm not really a rookie at this, and you don't have to be either. Any questions at all, ask anytime, it won't bother me, pm in need be, I'm glad to help... if someone else gets better at growing, and gets to enjoy the buds of their labor. Peace! -GK
Thanks for all the info man, it's nice to have so many people happy to help and answer questions . You're pretty much spot on about the size of the box, and I'm looking for something a little bigger (but not too big, I still want to keep it micro) I can use in the future. But, for this first grow I think I'm just gonna stick with it and try to keep her small enough, or at least until I'm able to find something (stealthy) to use. The light I have in there isn't too hot, and since I have some fans in there it stays nice and cool. I do have aluminum foil on the sides, but that's just because that's all I had, and hopefully soon I will be able to get some mylar or something like that. I don't have a hygrometer; does weed like dryer or more humid climates? And I'm prepared to LST, but I'm going to use it as a last resort because apparently autoflower strains don't respond too well to it. This first grow is kinda just a low budget test drive, so I can see how it's grown and stuff like that. After this one if all goes well then I probably will start to invest more $ into it. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks a lot for all your info, I'm very grateful
You will need a hygrometer. I'm not sure I can help you dude if you can't make changes to what you've got. Your going to run into a lot of issues. It sounds like you are having trouble financing this project. You may just have to learn the hard way bud. To answer what cannabis likes, dry or humidity is a lot of details. They like both depending on what growth stage their in, and a hygrometer for one is necessary to get this information, but knowing you may not be able to afford it at the time, or get other basics things done, it's not going to go the way you want if you don't. Sorry man. I'll stop bothering you now, and stop by and take a look ever now and again, but you got to get the very basics down first or your plant will suffer needlessly, and your wasting time & plant, I'm telling you. But I'm sure there's some guys on here that may try to explain better and you'll understand & believe them more. One more thing rookie, what you'll have to do is listen to those who really know their shit, or find a good cannabis book, and read it all. I had to go through it, everyone else did too on GC. You just got to trust those who know what their saying & doing by proof of their own garden or you'll be wasting your time and money. You'll learn something bro, how to trust good ppl to help you, and that a grow project done right isn't cheap or free. I say this to you like a real friend would. Good luck. -GK
Alright well thanks anyway for the suggestions, I just don't exactly have the money to get some of those things right now edit: I wouldn't be too sure that I'm wasting my time though just because I don't have the prime materials. When you think about it, marijuana's a plant, and plants have learned to survive in the wild on their own in less than optimal conditions without someone monitoring every variable. For example, people who grow outdoors don't really have control over anything: light, humidity, soil, etc. but they are still able to get their plants to grow pretty well. But that's just my opinion. And I'm not blowing off your or anyone's advice or anything, it's that right now I'm just financially unable to take it.
Then your plant may die. Sell something dude, anything to get a little cash to get the basics or not.
Good idea huh? See, You've got to have something around your place you don't want anymore, CDS, DVDs, old jewelry, games, ya know just stuff... Throw some shit up on CL or eBay. That's how I paid for my first quality led, selling things on eBay. Have a yard sale this weekend, get creative and then you can be proud that your first run wasn't a failure.
Update 3: 19 days from seed She's doing well so far. The bottom fan leaves have yellowed pretty bad and feel dry and plasticy with some weird coloring on the ends (and brownish edges), which is due to some nutrient deficiencies, which I'm thinking are caused by high pH locking out the fertilizer I gave her. I'm getting a pH meter Tuesday, so I'll be able to fix that then. I gave her some nutes last Tuesday (her first dose) and some more this morning, right after I took the pictures. Some of her leaves are looking kinda droopy, but it probably has something to do with the pH and nute deficiencies rather than overwatering, which I am positive isn't the cause. Her growth seems a little slower than it used to be, but again, after I fix the pH I'm hoping that will get better. Other than that though, things are going pretty well ! bottom pic is of yellow leaf
Bad news . The pH probe I got doesn't even work, and I can't go out and get any test strips until friday. The second set of fan leaves have also started to yellow and purple, and some other leaves are getting purple from the back and on the edges. Hopefully she can hold out until friday and I'll be able to fix her pH and save her.
Fixed the pH today, the bottom fan leaves are practically dead, and the second set have turned purple. But, now that she has the proper pH, I'm hoping she'll be doing better. She's grown vertically a lot, and this morning I think I saw what might be a bud with small white pistils. Just in time too, as I just got a 2700k cfl today! I think I'll change that out tomorrow and see what happens. I'm starting to get excited....