This is my first grow, and I've been studying everything I could on the subject for the past few months.. message boards, articles, tutorials, even bought the Cannabis Grow Bible by Greg Green. For strains, I chose Jacky White and White Berry because (1) they're both fine for indoor-growing, (2) they provide a nice variety (berry fragrance vs citrus-y grapefruit, one's more of a sativa, the other an indica) and (3) because they were feminized. (didn't want to waste my time on any males) I'm working with a 6 gallon drip hydroponic system x 6 plants (3 White Berry, 3 Jacky White), a 430w Agro HPS, 5 feet of vertical space, an AC unit which recycles the air and a 12" fan. I've been following a few things: - keeping the water around 5.8pH - 6.0pH - keeping the temperature above 80F and under 95F (it's usually around 88) - a 20/4 light cycle for vegging My wall's not a flat white, so I ordered some mylar sheets. They should come sometime this week. Some notes I've taken thusfar: September 14th - Planted the seeds in rockwool, covered it with dark plastic. pH'd the water to 5.8, and I put the light three feet above them to reduce any heat stress it could cause the seedlings. September 17th - They've germinated, so I removed the plastic and I'm letting them grow. Only one hasn't, unfortunately. (a white berry) September 28th - Let the vegging commence, four are growing pretty healthy. Two of them are growing a little slower but they're managing. I replaced the water, added 1/4th of the Grow nutes that came with my kit and rebalanced the water. I dropped the light from 3 feet down to 22 inches, which according to that chart, should be optimal. Today, September 30th. Please keep in mind these pics don't accurately represent how green these leaves are.. the light seems to do something to my camera. I'm getting worried. The leaves started curling up a bit on Saturday, and from what I read, it's due to too much heat on their leaves. I repositioned my fan, set it higher and it seems to have subdued a bit. Could this also be a pH or nute problem? Some yellowing has appeared and a few tiny yellow specs are appearing on one of the Jacky Whites. I also noticed the nutes seemed to have added some foam to the tub, could this cause problems? I haven't found anything on it so far. The one White Berry that's been struggling from the start is doing worse than ever. It's about a week behind the others and it's been playing catch up.. unfortunately, two of it's leaves have become a little dry and yellow.
A 430W Agro CFL? I think you'd better read the package label again... And yes that curling upwards is a sign of too much heat and/or low humidity.
Those res temps are way high, could be causing some problems. It should be more 65-70 degrees, it holds more oxygen and keeps the root rot at bay. Higher res temps are good for cloning but not for later on. People say the roots grow faster at higher temperatures, but from what I've seen it's better to keep the water cool so they stay healthy and area more resistant to heat at the canopy. It's a lot like taking a swim in cool water on a hot day.
LOL, how clumsy of me.. I meant HPS, don't know why I put CFL. It's a 430w Sun Agro HPS. This is my first time doing any of this and I'm a little worried.. hence these obvious mistakes I'm making. @Mr.GoodStuff Thanks. So do you have any tips as to how to keep those res temps down? I was reading somewhere that you could freeze an unopened water bottle and stick it in.
Ya frozen water bottles work but it's a pain in the ass. I wouldn't freeze them unopened though, more 3/4 full so they don't explode. I used frozen 3 liter jugs for awhile before I got the hydrohuts, after that the temps went down to around 75 or so. Not perfect but much better than in the 80s, need to get a chiller soon. All the pros have chillers.
I'm happy to report I now have it all under control, with lots of new, dark-green growth. Turns out it was a problem with the pH when I mixed in the nutes, so I spent a while balancing it all out.. I also emptied some of the reservoir and topped it with fresh distilled water to water down the nute mix. (I put in half the recommended dosage but at this stage it may have been too much) I'll post up some pics when I get the chance. These past few days have been nothing but a relief. Edit: Random question, would it be possible to support 2 or 3 Lowryder #2s on the side? Can a 430W HPS sustain six medium-size plants and those Lowryders?
Updated pictures: I think they're growing fine.. anyone see any problems? Is 30% humidity @ 89F okay? You'll notice some of the bottom leaves are yellow--that's from the earlier post as you saw. The new growth seems to be OK. Would it be alright to snip those dry, brittle, yellow leaves? I'm assuming they're dead.
Got my nutes today and the mylar, and with it some pH Down which has brought my tub back it's optimal pH level. I'll take some pictures with my digital camera when I have the mylar up.
I think have everything covered and okay, except for that one little runt. Might as well tear it out and let the plants around it use it as extra space.
Definitely looking heat stressed. Notice the leaves curling over? Also looking kind of limp. Your humidity should be 40-50% at least for veg also.
You're definitely right, I was noticing the drooping and it was worrying me. Since then though, I rearranged their net pots so the four plants that were thriving got the most space, and they've perked up. The tallest plant grew two inches over the past day or so and once I replace the water with a new nute mix I can now effectively control and measure, all should be good. http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee174/essentials690/DSCN1233.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee174/essentials690/DSCN1229.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee174/essentials690/DSCN1228.jpg I have a humidifier in my basement that I'm working on bringing up.
Since my last update, my plants have grown to be four-feet tall. They're MONSTERS. I have about a foot and a half of vertical space left to work with.. I'd post up pictures if I felt it was worth it, but I don't think anyone's really watching this thread. A little over a week ago I switched to 12/12 and changed the nutes to the same NPK balance as before with the P tipped up a bit.. so far, everything's female, no hermies. All the bud spots are growing in and the little pistils are coming out and doubling: Can't wait to see what they'll look like in a month.. my little girls are growing up.
Recent pics, they're starting to get a little frosty. Anyone have any idea what additives I should check out in addition to the nutrients I already have? And keep in mind I'm three weeks into flowering, is everything going okay so far?
And now it's beginning to look a lot like a white Christmas this year Is anyone keeping up this photo-journal?