Advanced Biodiesel Mass Auto Fem From Herbies - 1St Time Grow

my first ever grow ... I decided on a feminized Biodiesel Mass from Advanced Seeds to start off with (I regret not getting more than 3 of these seeds)
 
 
my FFOF is late getting here, so this little girl went into fresh, unmodified Miracle Grow Organic soil mixed with about 20% Hydrofarm chunky perlite and some straight chunky perlite top dressing
 
went from seed pouch to wet paper towel world on Monday June 03 - crazy taproot 2 days later and went into soil Wednesday June 05
 
 
I have it under a 125w Hydrofarm CFL about 1 inch from the top of the plant
 
within hours of putting it in the tent and under the light it seems to have slowed down vertical growth, but the leaves are still growing - it is amazing at tracking the light and moving to it
 
before I put it in soil, I ran clean water through it (smartpot) until it drained out the bottom and so far this seems easier than I expected
 
 
 
I'd really love an opinion on the looks of this so far - naturally I'm peeking in on this every few hours like it's a sleeping baby, but I think it looks OK so far
 
here it is at day 7 from seed
 

 
 
 
 
links below to the equipment I am using for this
 
Hydrofarm Germination Station
Hydrofarm MTPRTC Germination Thermostat
Paper Towel
 
Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil
Hydrofarm Chunky Perlite
2gal Smartpot
125w Hydrofarm CFL
Lighthouse Hydro 4x8 light tent
Acu Rite temperature/humidity meter
Flame Defender automatic 2kg fire suppression system
Luster Leaf soil pH test kit
General Hydroponics pH UP/DOWN
Particle paracord rope ratchets
el-cheapo 3in1 soil moisture meter
 
Cannabis Grow Bible
 
to be used with this as it grows
400w Apollo HID with aero hood
6" Ventech carbon filter and blower kit
Variac 3-amp variable transformer
Foxfarms liquid fert kit  tri-pack
Foxfarms granular fert tri-pack
7-gallon Smartpot

 

on the advice of myself and other auto threads here, I've switched the little girl from the 125w CFL to the Apollo 400w MH in an aero hood - for the extra heat
 
since there are only two puny leaves so far I'm running the light at 50% power at around 6-8" from the plant - passes the hand test easily
 
it was 64F in there today and the CFL wasn't warming her as much as I had hoped - now it's 74
 
I have the aero hood ventilated with a 6" Ventech fan at 40v using a variac - plenty of air to cool it and it's quieter than the ballast fan
 
a different asian beetle was perched on her when I just checked in on everything - I think it's going to be a popular plant for them

 

day 9
day 9
 
what do you think about the curly leaves?

 

day 11
 
I was going to wait a few more days between pictures, but I think I've noticed growth even since yesterday
 
I'm running the HPS ligjht at 300w @20/4 about 7-8 inches above her with an oscillating fan in the room
 
humidity has been 55-65% and temps 65-78Ëš
 
I watered her (smartpot) until water ran through the bottom on day 10 and have misted the top dressing once in a while to keep the humidity up
 
everything sound good so far? ... does it look healthy?
 

 
day 11

 

almost the same age - looking forward to seeing how yours grows as well - what's your setup?

yeah, I'm not really worried about the curly leaves, it's just a little different than what I expected

I think it's going well so far, but I'm still expecting it to be dead every time I check in on it



roughly how often do you guys water a plant this size? - I think I'm doing OK but if I fail, it will probably be water related

 

still looking good, but the two sets of leaves are still a little curly ... maybe a trait of the strain?
 
I have now bumped up the light to full power - 400w MH running about 6-7 inches from top at 20/4 schedule
 
passes the hand test and it's 73 near the plant - humidity is 50-78% throughout the day/night
 

 
 
if you're able to successfully clone, why not just keep cloning the best female you get instead of messing with seeds?

 

---- DAY 16 in soil ----
 

 
---- DAY 16 in soil ----
 
 
 
 
 
here it is at day 18 - I was going to wait a few more days but it's really been taking off lately
 
still 400w MH at around 8 inches from top @ 20/4
75-77f in tent with 50-60% humidity
 
---- DAY 18 ----

---- DAY 18 ----

 

I feel like it's going better than I expected so far
 
I'm preparing for a transplant from this 2-gallon miracle grow organic/perlite to a 7-gallon with fresh FFOF - feedback on this?
 
I still haven't used any food but it's here and ready
 
question - if I transplant today into the ocean forest, will that affect when it will first need to be fed?
 
 
 
 
 
---- DAY 20 ----

---- DAY 20 ----
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
boston - yours should be looking pretty good by now - has it started to explode yet? - throw a picture up here if you like, or better yet start a journal, never too late!
 
this little one has me wishing I'd have ordered more of this strain

 

OK I went ahead with the transplant 24 hours ago
 
the soil was a little moist before I did it - letting it get dry for a couple days would have been easier
 
I did it just before the 4 hour dark cycle at day 20 in soil
 
it's now in a 7-gallion smartpot with freshly watered FFOF and I have the MH light set to 50% power (200w) - planning on going to 300w tomorrow and then back to 400w Friday
 
I watered the FFOF down before I did the transplant, and I gave it an additional normal watering 12 hours later - the soil looks and smells delicious, clearly a purchase that I will not regret
 
happy to report that after 24 hours, there are no droopy leaves or really any other signs from the plant that it's having problems
 
more photos in a few days