Hello everyone! I was hoping to get some feedback and ANY advise you can give me. I just won a raffle at my local club and guess what my 1st prize was? a little lady, she is a Chocolope but my problem is that I have never grown before. I have read many different ways to do it and I think I have a pretty good idea. But I want to make sure b/c I am so clueless and kill regular plants all the time. I even killed ivy, and ivy is hard to kill. So here is my setup- I will put my little lady, who has been named Herby by the club, in a grow closet that I will be finishing up shortly. I know that I need lights, ventilation (a fan to move the air around the space but not directly on the plant), and some sort of reflective material (foil or insulating foil) in the closet as well. Lights- if I understand this right I need at least 100 watts of light for my plant. CFL's work great but does anyone know any others that work just as well? I'll take all suggestions. In the veg state I can leave my lights on for 16-20 hours until my plant reaches to be about 2 feet tall. Keeping the lights at least 2 inches above the plant. At that time I can go into the flowering state and keep the lights on for 12 and 12 off. (Is this right?? And do I change the type of lights I use when I enter into the flowering stage?) Soil- I have read that it isn't good to transplant your plants more then once. B/c she was a prize I am not sure what the makeup of soil is. Would it be better to transplant her now while she is small or is it okay to wait until she is bigger and transplant her to a larger container with my own soil makeup? Also, what types of soil would be the best to use. Fertilizer- I have read that both Rapid Gro and Eco Grow are good fertilizers to use. One suggestion I have read was to dissolve either Rapid Gro or Eco Grow in worm water and spray (using a spray bottle) the plant every few days until harvest. Does this sound correct to anyone? Or does anyone have any other suggestions. Water- Only water when needed. Need to check that the water is draining out correctly and don't over water. Don't use tap water. I think this covers my basics. Sorry you guys but I don't know who to ask and with SO many different ways out there I thought it would be best to post the way i am thinking about and let you guess critique it for me. Thank you and again I am open to all ideas but keep in mind that I have NO clue about this and am not familer with a lot of the terms. But I'm willing to learn.
Wow..you won her? How can I join this club...lol Couple things....how tall is she now? and what size pot is she in now?
24/7 is better lighting time. 2 feet is unnecessary, 1 foot is closer. dont use miracle grow, and use a decent sise pot....12' you really should read grada pa's grow guide.
Yes I won her. The club that I go to has little meet and greats with raffles etc. 1st time I have gone, and I think after this I will continue to go. The pot size she is in right now is about 5x5 She is almost 7 inches tall from the base of soil/stem to the top of her leaves. I have a feeling that she was planted on Jan 4th, due to the 1/4 date above her name on the sticker on the pot, but I am not too sure. Thank you for the help! I know I could use it.
Grada pa's grow guide... I can't seem to find it. I must be blind. Why is it better lighting to do it 24/7? Is that only to produce a harvest faster? Or is it better for the plant ie to make better buds? Some of guides I have read, said to produce a higher quality of buds it would be better to wait until she is higher then 2 feet and only have light 12 on and 12 off. That way she could 'grow' into her own. If I were to leave lights on 24/7, would that mean to leave them on through out the vegetative and flowing stages until harvest? Would that change the quality of buds and size of my harvest? Thank you for your help!!
It's actually called 'Grandpa's Grow Guide'. Here is the link. http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/73015-grandpas-grow-guide.html As for lighting schedules, for vegetative growth you can use 24/0, 20/4, or 18/6. For flowering you want to use 12/12. MJ will not flower without the 12/12 light cycle unless it is an autoflower strain but that is a whole other can of worms. I personally prefer the 24/0 schedule for veg, but and of the three I mentioned will work just fine for you. Once she has developed alternating nodes, and/or is showing signs of preflowers, then swith her to 12/12 for flowering. Good luck.
what kind of club gives away marijuana plants as prizes for raffles, and where do i sign up lol. Chocolope is a lovely smoke. As regards the 24/0 lighting, this is just for vegging. When you want to flower switch the lights over to 12/12. As for grandpa's grow guide Here you go!, its one of the stickies at the top of the absolute beginners forum.
Thank you for pointing out the guide... I didn't think I was that blind. Now with the 24/0 lights for veg and 12/12 for flowering would this combination work for CFL's: Daylight for veg and soft white for flowering? I keep hearing that I need at least 100 CFLs for my lady but I also hear that the HPS lights work better. B/c HPS lights are much hotter, wouldn't that burn my plant?? Do you have any suggestions or comments about these lights? Someone told me something a little different yesterday, so I thought I would ask you guys. Since I am not all the way set up for my little lady, I have placed her outside on my balcony for fresh air and sunshine until I can move her into my setup. (I wanted to be ALL the way set up before I moved her around) The person said I should move her inside and keep her under my inside (kitchen) lights until I get all the way set up b/c by just leaving her on my patio... she could start to flower. ???? I didn't think that was possible, for isn't she way to young and small? The Grim Reefer- I have never tried the Chocolope... how is it??