First Grow - Good Times

I am on my first grow, an indoor grow. I am using CFL's in a stealth growbox that I built. Dimensions on the box are: 3' tall, 20" wide, and 2' deep. Here are a few pictures that I've taken along the way:

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Day 18:


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Day 18:


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Day 18:


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Day 18:


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I went on a four day vacation during which my plant was left unattended. This was before I had the exhaust fans and intake in place. The temperatures had been okay with only having one plant and four lights but I was also opening the door everyday. During the time I was gone one of the lights tilted and burnt a few leaves on the plant. I trimmed them back and it has sinced recovered. The new ventilation setup (pull-thru exhaust method) has kept the temperatures at perfect levels even if left unattended for several days so I am good now. These pictures are from last Thursday. It is quite a bit better since then as well. I will try and take some pictures this Wednesday (which would be day 37).

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Day 31:


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Day 31:


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I'm using four of these for light at the moment and so far they are working well:

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Edited by Azureblue, 14 August 2008 - 04:28 PM.

whats with t he yellow spots and leaves?

plant looks a little sick and dry. do you have co2 ?

whats with t he yellow spots and leaves?

plant looks a little sick and dry. do you have co2 ?

I mentioned it in the thread but I went on vacation for 4 days and one of my CFL lights leaned and accidentally touched that side of the plant. Thankfully CFL's don't run very hot so the damage was minimal. I trimmed back the leaves effected but did not totally remove them.

After the 4 day vacation the plant was in pretty rough shape because temperatures rose into the 90's. I have since installed the exhaust/intake and the exhaust is pulling air through the box. Temperatures are fantastic now even if I don't get to the box for a few days at a time. The plant is in great shape. It is quite a bit better then pictured above. I'll have new pictures on Wednesday

I don't think co2 is a problem since it's only one plant and it's now well ventilated but I am open to all possibilities!

I mentioned it in the thread but I went on vacation for 4 days and one of my CFL lights leaned and accidentally touched that side of the plant. Thankfully CFL's don't run very hot so the damage was minimal. I trimmed back the leaves effected but did not totally remove them.

After the 4 day vacation the plant was in pretty rough shape because temperatures rose into the 90's. I have since installed the exhaust/intake and the exhaust is pulling air through the box. Temperatures are fantastic now even if I don't get to the box for a few days at a time. The plant is in great shape. It is quite a bit better then pictured above. I'll have new pictures on Wednesday

I don't think co2 is a problem since it's only one plant and it's now well ventilated but I am open to all possibilities!

shouldnt be a problem and temp is important. are you using nutes?

shouldnt be a problem and temp is important. are you using nutes?

Yup! Fox farm nutrients since it was a young. Thankfully I haven't had any problems with nute burns, etc. I've been careful not to overwater. I think I lost about a weeks worth of potential growth in that week I took my 4 day vacation because it took a while for the plant to bounce back. It looks great now though, I'll have to get some pictures. That ventilation setup made a night-and-day difference.

Yup! Fox farm nutrients since it was a young. Thankfully I haven't had any problems with nute burns, etc. I've been careful not to overwater. I think I lost about a weeks worth of potential growth in that week I took my 4 day vacation because it took a while for the plant to bounce back. It looks great now though, I'll have to get some pictures. That ventilation setup made a night-and-day difference.

yea the air flow will do that. just go back to the basics.

nice lookin journal man, I just got back from maine so I'll be checking back to see some updates.

nice lookin journal man, I just got back from maine so I'll be checking back to see some updates.

Cool man - thanks for checking in! I'll be adding some pictures on Wednesday when I visit again. I checked it out briefly last night and it's much, much bushier. It has been doing great since I got the ventilation figured out. I can't wait until tomorrow when I can spend some time with her (hopefully)!

Here are some Day 37 (yesterday) pictures

She has really bounced back!

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looks better but is it me or does it look stunt?

looks better but is it me or does it look stunt?

It's my first grow and I hit a few roadblocks along the way. The growbox was designed as the plant was growing, but it's just about finished now (minus a carbon filter). As I mentioned before there was a period of 4 days where I was not able to access the growbox and temperatures skyrocketed to almost 90 in an enclosed area. Plant was wilted when I returned but has bounced back nicely since. I have removed a few of the dead/dying leaves from that difficult period. In optimal conditions (and what I can do with what I've learned) the plant would be more developed at day 37 then it is. Also, the LST experimenting that I've done makes the plant look short because, well, it's been bent down low. Growbox has a 3' max height.

I'm not in a hurry by any means, as this is more of an experiment then anything else, so I'm pleased. She grows and develops each day! It looks great today! I should have more pictures tomorrow.

Edited by Azureblue, 14 August 2008 - 06:03 PM.

Is there any chance I'm overdoing the nutrients? I mixed the recommended amount with water in a gallon jug and I use that nute'd water every time. I haven't once fed it straight water. This is my first grow so I probably wouldn't recognize the signs of overdoing the nutrients. What do you think?

hey man I noticed that you have the same type of burn looking marks as I do in a couple spots and I thought mine might be nutes too. My situation is exactly the same I am mixing the amount per gallon it says and it still seems to be too much for some of my plants. What I did was just mix slightly less this time. Also you might want to make sure that you clean your watering can when you mix a new batch. There could be residue in the bottom that is making the concoction too strong, that's what I was told anyway. Hope this helps and keep up the good work.

hey man I noticed that you have the same type of burn looking marks as I do in a couple spots and I thought mine might be nutes too. My situation is exactly the same I am mixing the amount per gallon it says and it still seems to be too much for some of my plants. What I did was just mix slightly less this time. Also you might want to make sure that you clean your watering can when you mix a new batch. There could be residue in the bottom that is making the concoction too strong, that's what I was told anyway. Hope this helps and keep up the good work.

Thanks man! I will definitely give that a try. It is good to know that there are others out there in the same boat as me. Comforting! Thanks for checking in on my grow thread! I will have to hit up yours and see how your grow is going. This has been a very interesting, fun experience so far

any updates

Wow, it's been a while. I didn't mean to abdandon my grow journal but my life has been so hectic it's been hard to take pictures, etc.

The plant has grown A LOT since these pictures and I have been experimenting quite a bit with LST recently. We are at day 56 and I just started 12/12 yesterday. I basically gave it two months of veg and started flowering yesterday.

This past Friday I built a home made carbon filter (I'll try to get some pictures soon) using this great writeup:

http://www.gardenscu...bon-filter.html

It turned out great! To make everything fit properly the filter itself ended up being larger then I wanted it to be but it will definitely do the job. LST is helping me keep the plant short enough to fit the box. The plant itself has been sort of naturally "squat" and makes me wonder if it is more of an Indica blend then Sativa. It was bagseed since this is my first grow and I'm learning.

The fans in my pull-through exhaust are having a harder time keeping up with the restriction that the carbon filter imposes but temperatures haven't gone over 85 degrees. I did some research and everyone I came across said the plant will continue to grow at this temperature. With the lights being 12/12 now instead of 24/0 the temperatures should decrease some.

I used weather stripping to light-seal the door and I caulked every crevice. Should be nice and sealed from light.

Its still a stealth grow, which has been a fun challenge. I had a friend over the other day and we stood and chatted within reaching distance of my grow box and he never noticed, suspect, heard, or smelled a thing. It was awesome

I just hope that carbon filter does the job as I enter flowering. I should known within a week the sex of the plant. I am nervous because I only have one plant (due to size contrictions and the fact that this is my first grow). Hopefully these past two months of nuturing will pay off.

Anyway, I will try and snap some pictures off when I am next able to spend some quality time with the plant. Hopefully on Friday!

Lets hope for a nice, healthy little girl!

well when you get a chance , try to catch up on some pics

well when you get a chance , try to catch up on some pics

Will do! I should be able to snap some pictures tomorrow (Friday) for everyones enjoyment

Hopefully she is doing ok. I haven't been able to visit the grow box since yesterday around noon. Unfortunately with this being a super-stealth grow I can only check on things when no one is home.

I'm glad to here that your baby is going in to flowering. Ill keep my fingers crossed for you that its a little gal. When ever you take pics of the baby take some pics of the carbon filter. I have a little odorsok that will do the trick but I'm interested for future trials. I know the stress of waiting to find out if all your hard work and nourishment will pay off. Best of luck man and keep in touch with the updates.

cant wait to see the pics, i sure hope you get a girlie