I am going to keep a journal of my first grow, and intend to keep journals of all my future grows. If you're new to growing and are looking for some hints or tips, you may want to turn back. However, since I'm new myself, and I intend to include any problems and how/if they were solved, this may be end up being a decent guide. Since that is not it's intent, I'll let you make that decision. No detail will be spared in this journal that I am privy to. If I see it, you'll hear about it. I will however skip over the days where absolutely nothing happened. I check on my plants at least once a day, but there's no need to report no changes. You're about to see 22 days jump up one right after another. That's because the grow journal is just now becoming internet bound. I was originally only keeping it for my own records, but now I think it might be best to post it for everyone to see. All tips, criticisms, praise, and words of encouragement are not only permitted, but are encouraged! Feedback is always appreciated, just try to be nice about the criticisms. I don't mind being told I'm wrong, but being called a brainless dumbass is something else all together. That's just not productive. With that said, on to the journal. EDIT: This is now a "Pics Included" Grow Journal!
OmniscientOnus' Grow Journal #1 v1.0 1st Grow Number of plants: 1-3 Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor Seed/Clone: Seed Strain: Bag Seed Medium: Soil (specific soil unknown) Grow Room: Closet Grow Space: 1 12 Gallon Pot 2 8 Gallon Pots Lighting: 3 CFL 6500K Daytime Bulbs (For Veg) 1 CFL 2600K Soft White Bulb (For flowering) 1 Gro-Light bulb (wattage unknown) Water: Tap Water Aids/Accessories: 1 3 Speed Oscillating Fan 3 Work Clamp Light Ballasts Goal: Succesfully grow at least 1 female plant from seed to harvest
Pre-Grow: -Bought Materials -Set up grow room -Determine seeds to be used Notes for Day "Pre-Grow": I picked the seeds I was going to be using by making sure they had a nice dark, rich color and then squeezed them gently between my fingertips. The ones that did not pass this test were discarded. The ones that did were set aside in the grow room. I filled each pot up approximately 3/4 of the way because that was all of the soil that I had. Lessons Learned for Day "Pre-Grow": -Always expect to put in more money than you first anticipated.
Day 1 "Anticipation": -Placed seed 1 directly into soil in 12 gallon pot approximately 1/3" deep -Placed seed 2 directly into soil in 8 gallon pot approximately 1/3" deep -Placed seed 3 directly into soil in 8 gallon pot approximately 1/3" deep -1 CFL 6500K Daytime Bulb per pot placed approximately 6 inches above soil in anticipation of first sign of growth. -Watered until runout was present Notes for Day 1: Everything looks good so far, my hopes are high. I planted 3 seeds because marijuana seeds have a 50/50 chance of being male or female and I wanted at least 1 female. 3 plant increased my odds significantly. Lessons Learned for Day 1: -None
Day 4 "Good News Brings Sadness": -No signs from seed 1 -Seed 2 broke soil (will now be referred to as seedling 1) -Seedling 1 begins 1st leaf set (1 blade fan leaves) -No signs from seed 3 -Watered (amount unknown) Notes for Day 4: I was out of town for work from Day 2 to Day 6. During this time my girlfriend tended to the plants per my instructions via cell phone. It is very sad to miss your first plant start growing. I imagine it's somewhat like missing your first child take his/her first steps. Lessons Learned for Day 4: -Don't start a grow right before you know you're going to leave town.
Day 6 "News from Afar": -Seedling 1 dropped seed casing -No signs from seed 1 -No signs from seed 3 -No need to water Notes for Day 6: Excited to come home and see my plant. I'm sorry I missed it break soil. Lessons Learned for Day 6: -See Day 4
Day 7 "Meeting the Newest Member of the Family": -Seedling 1 begins 2nd leaf set (1 blade serrated) -No signs from seed 1 -No signs from seed 3 -Watered until runout was present Notes for Day 7: I'm incredibly happy to see my plant for the first time. Although I'm curious as to why the other two have not yet broken soil. I'll give them some more time before I worry though. Lessons Learned for Day 7: -Lesson from Day 4 confirmed
Day 9 "Spiritual Fulfillment": -Seedling 1 shows signs of growth throughout -No signs from seed 1 -No signs from seed 3 -Watered Seedling 1 (approximately 12 ounces) Notes for Day 9: I'm amazed by how much a plant can grow in such little time! I heard people saying that they grow really fast, but it's almost as though I could spend an hour with the plant and physically watch it grow. Newfound love for gardening instilled. Lessons Learned Day 9: -Growing a plant is spiritually fulfilling
Day 10 "Wonder About Water": -Seedling 1 begins 3rd leaf set (3 blade serrated) -No signs from seed 1 -No signs from seed 3 -Watered all pots (approximately 12-16 ounces per pot) Notes for Day 10: I'm beggining to wonder exactly how much water I should be using. I know the forums on Grasscity.com said when the soil is dry at about the second knuckle of your finger (I'm guessing around 2" deep), but since your finger feels damp at the top of the soil, it's hard to tell if you're feeling dampness at 2". I think I'm going to research a little more to see. For the time being, I think I remember my soil bag saying something like "Takes the guesswork out of watering" so I think that means I'm safe as long as long as it doesn't go dry. I imagine it'd be better to overwater a little than to underwater. I'll look it up in my freetime. Lessons Learned for Day 10: -Get your facts straight prior to starting something new.
Day 12 "Watching the Grass Grow": -Seedling 1 shows signs of growth throughout -No signs from seed 1 -No signs from seed 3 -Watered Seedling 1 (approximately 14-18 ounces) Notes for Day 12: I figured by now I'd be used to the speed at which marijuana grows, but it still amazes me! I'm finding a whole new love for this plant other than it's intoxicating effects when smoked. I spent at least an hour with my plant today just trying to watch it grow. Lessons Learned for Day 12: -Watching the "grass" grow is a lot more interesting than it sounds.
Day 14 "Don't Count Your Seeds Before They Germinate": -Seedling 1 begins 4th leaf set (5 blade serrated) -No signs from seed 1 -Gave up on seed 1, turned light off and removed seed from pot -No signs from seed 3 -Gave up on seed 3, turned light off and removed seed from pot Notes for Day 14: I don't think that seeds 1 or 3 are going to grow. I dug them out of the soil and found no signs of growth. No root systems showed at all, so I threw them away. This has gotten me a little worried. Now I only have one plant in which to hope for a female from. I'm going to go try and find some more seeds. I really should have germinated the seeds first instead of going only by color and strength. I better start calling seedling 1 "she" from now on, the power of positive thought! Lessons Learned for Day 14: -Always germinate seeds before potting to determine which ones will grow
Day 15 "Death at the Door?": -Seedling 1 develops brown spots on the edges of fan leaves -Found seeds 4-10 in my stash -Placed seeds 4 through 10 directly into soil in 12 gallon pot approximately 1/3" deep, spread out evenly -Watered Seedling 1 (approximately 8 ounces) -Watered seeds 4-10 until runout was present Notes for Day 15: My seedling has brown spots showing on the edges of the fan leaves and I don't know why. Is she going to die? Time to research! In the mean time, in a fit of panic I planted all of the remaining seeds into 12" pot in hopes that at least one will grow. Lessons Learned for Day 15: -Know common potential problems before starting a new project to avoid confusion and lost time
Day 17 "Fear Sets In": -Seedling 1's fan leaves are now almost completely brown -Seedling 1 shows signs of growth throughout (excluding fan leaves) -All 3 CFL 6500K Daylight Bulbs are on Seedling 1 approximately 4" away from plant each -Watered Seedling 1 (approximately 36-48 ounces) -No signs from seeds 4-10 Notes for Day 17: The fear is really setting in now. The fan leaves are almost completely dead and I still don't know what the problem could be. Back to researching, In the mean time I'm putting the other two lights on this plant so that I'm positive it's getting enough light. Lessons Learned for Day 17: -See Day 15
Day 18 "There's No Escaping the Fear": -All of Seedling 1's leaves have now developed brown edges (excluding newest leaf set) -Seedling 1 begins 5th leaf set (5 blade serrated) -No signs from seeds 4-10 Notes for Day 18: Almost all of the leaves on my plant have turned brown in one way or another. The fan leaves are completely brown, and the 1st set is mostly brown, and the rest is yellow. All of the other leaves have brown aorund the edges, except for the brand new growth. The 4th leaf set has only a very small amount of brown on the very tips however, which means that slowly the leaves are taking longer to turn brown. Hopefully this is a good sign. I believe that my plant is suffering from "Fert Burn". This means that the soil has some sort of fertilizers and/or nutrients that are probably set up to be time released. If this is the case, my seedling may be getting more nutrients than she can handle, which may be causing the browning. Unfortunately I don't know how to change over to a new soil. Lessons Learned for Day 18: -Fert Burn is a common problem with marijuana when using soil that has time released fertilizers in it -Knowing the problem is not as good as knowing the solution
Day 20 "Fear Turns to Horror": -Seedling 1 is showing further signs of fert burn -Filled 12 gallon pot with remaining soil from 8 gallon pot -Transplanted Seedling 1 to 12 gallon pot -No signs from seeds 4-10 -Gave up on seeds 4-10, attempted to remove from soil but could not find Notes for Day 20: I just discovered that the pH level of the soil could be adding to the fert burn. Apparantly when the pH levels of the soil get too high (above 6.8 from what I've read) it blocks the plants from taking in the necessary nutrients from the soil. I'm not entirely sure how the plant can be blocked from getting nutrients, yet getting too many however. More research must be done, and quickly I'm afraid. The transplanting went very well however. I simply dug a small hole (about 2/3 the size I thought I was going to fill) in the new pot. Then, I took my hands and pulled the plant, and lots of surrounding soil out of the first pot and placed it all into the new hole I had dug. At first I was kinda nervous that I wouldn't end up taking enough of the surrounding dirt over and I would expose the roots, however, everything worked out perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better transplant, especially on a plant that is so stressed to begin with! Lessons Learned for Day 20: -pH level of the soil should be between 6.5 and 6.8 when growing marijuana -High levels of pH can block the marijuana plant from receiving essential nutrients from the soil
Day 22 "A Ray of Hope": -Seedling 1 continues to show signs of fert burn -Removed dead fan leaves from Seedling 1 -Flushed soil with pH corrected water (pH lvl of 6.5) -Buried Seedling 1 up to first serrated leaves by adding more soil around the stem -Seedling 1 measures 2" above the soil -Approximately 6 hours after flushing, soil is quite dry Notes for Day 22: I went out and bought a pH tester for the soil and researched how to change pH levels. The pH level of the soil I was using was 7.0 which is too high. So, I flushed the soil with pH corrected water (pH lvl of 6.5) until runout appeared. I'm not sure if that is enough to flush it, but I'm hoping it at least begins to solve the problems I am having. As of now I am weighing the possibilities of scrapping this grow and beggining a new one now that I know more of what's going on. Either way I intend to begin two more seeds. I am confident that with my newfound knowledge I can sucessfully grow a healthy female plant from seed to harvest, which is my intended goal of this grow. However, I have become emotionally attached to this plant and really want to do whatever I can to save it. An interesting turn happened too today. About 6 hours after I flushed my pot, the soil is already fairly dry up to at least 3" deep. The soil is drying quicker now that I have all 3 CFL's on it, but it has never dried this fast. I wonder what's going on. Lessons Learned for Day 22: -pH levels can be adjusted by flushing the soil with pH corrected water -pH levels can be raised by using Sodium Bicarbonate -pH levels can be lowered by using Sodium Biphosphate -Tools to measure/adjust pH levels can be found with fish tank/aquarium/pond supplies
Day 23 "The Find of Lifetime": -Seedling 1 begins 6th leaf set (5 blades seratted) -Began watering with pH corrected water (pH level 6.2-6.5) -Watered Seedling 1 (Approximately 16 ounces) -Seedling 1 has been named Caramon Majere (Ref. Dragonlance Chronicles) -Seed ? was discovered growing (will now be referred to as Seedling 2) -Seedling 2 is approximately 2 1/2" long -Seedling 2 has 2 leaf sets (1 blade fan leaf, 1 blade serrated) -Seedling 2 has been named Raistlin Majere (Ref. Dragonlance Chronicles) Notes for Day 23: While tending to Seedling 1 I made a discovery in the corner of the closet. It seems as though a seed got left behind in one of the 8 gallon pots that I had used to transfer soil to the 12 gallon pot. It was receiving very little light (only from the Gro-Bulb about 7 feet away and blocked by some clothes hanging in there and the soil was near bone dry. I moved it to the center of the pot (it was growing near the very edge) and immediately gave it plenty of pH balanced water and it's own light. For the moment it looks very green and fairly healthy. Obviously, however, the leaf growth is minimal at best with both leaf sets growing very close to each other and each one only being about 1/4" long. However, the leaves are quite green and the plant looks very healthy in spite of all it has been through. I have no doubts that this little survivor will thrive in the environment with the new knowledge I have already gained. Today is truly an exciting day! But, with every good thing there comes a consequence. Seeing this seedling thrive in such harsh conditions has made me worry about the 6 other seeds that were never removed from the 12 gallon pot (I could not find them to remove them). Somewhere, about 6" deep, are seeds that could very well be trying to find their way to a light source. Since I moved around the dirt quite a bit in that pot to try and find the seeds, I'm not exactly sure where they could even be. I'm a bit worried that if they survive they may end up trying to grow into the root system of Seedling 1. I have named the seedlings after my favorite book characters, Raistlin and Caramon Majere. This will surely be a trial of the twins! Lessons Learned for Day 23: -Patience is a virtue -Marijuana can grow with very poor lighting and for weeks without water
WOW! Way to go omni! Now this is becoming one serious growjournal. If your plants will get the same amount of devotion as your journal then this grow is gonna rock!
Day 25 "Let There Be Light!": -Caramon shows little signs of growth -Removed Excess dirt from around Caramon -Removed 2nd leaf set from Caramon (cut of with scissors close to main stem at 45 degree angle) -Raistlin begins 3rd leaf set (3 blades serrated) -Raistlin shows first sign of fertilizer burn -Watered Caramon (Approximately 24 ounces) -Watered Raistlin (Approximately 16 ounces) -Aerated Soil with Wire Hanger -Mylar was added to the walls and other objects in the grow room to increase light Notes for Day 25: They weren't kidding, mylar is very, very reflective. However, at $50 for a 50' roll (well more than I needed), it wasn't quite as cheap as I had anticipated, but at least there will be plenty more for the next time... and the next time, and the time after that and for a long time after that. I had to remove the 2nd leaf set from Caramon. It's been dead for awhile, but I've been waiting for it to fall off naturally. Since that hasn't happened yet, I decided to remove it myself. It's sad to have to purposely mutilate your own first sprouted. I noticed that when I stuck my finger in the soil to check if they needed to be watered that the soil felt firm, so I decided to aerate it. When I stuck the wire hanger in the soil I almost couldn't get it to the bottom. The soil was clumping up horribly, maybe from the way I was watering, or maybe the soil itself is to blame. Lessons Learned for Day 25: -Mylar is a very cost effective way to increase light in a grow room because it can be reused indefinately. -Aerating soil helps bring Oxygen to the roots. Finally got some pictures of my grow room and plants. Take a look! It's really hard to take pics of the plants with all that shiny mylar in the room though. Raistlin is especially difficult to see, however, that is actually yellowing on the end of her leaves though . She's just now showing signs of fert burn...
You want comments ? Disclaimer - I'm just a newbie grower, but I'll give you a few. It's of course hard to judge a grow without any pix from you, but here's a few thoughts after I read your journal. Next time, if you're doing a soil grow, know what kind of soil you're using, otherwise why bother ? The type of soil you use and knowing the ingredients (earthworm castings, guano etc.) that the soil contains is obviously important if you wish to maximize your crop and get the plants to grow well. Just buy a bag of decent soil next time, it isn't that expensive. Add a little bit of perlite to the soil, if it doesn't already contain it. This will help aerate. You wrote that you bought mylar for 50 bucks, and mylar is no doubt great for a growroom, since it reflects better than just about anything else. But, in my opinion your priorities are wrong, since you spent zero on the soil and a bit of money for mylar. If you have decent soil, there's no need for you to go sticking coat hangers in the soil ! What if you mess up the roots ? It sounds like your soil was pretty crap, based upon what you wrote. No matter how beneficial mylar is, soil is more important to a grow, if you have to choose. Don't start seedlings in 12 gallon pots ! 12 gallons, holy cow, lol. From what I understand, it's better to start out with small pots, then gradually work your way up, allowing the root systems to better develop, then transplanting to a larger pot, as opposed to just dropping a seed in a huge 12 gallon pot from the getgo! If you have a camera, sometimes a picture says more than a 1000 words. Well, good luck......