First Indoor Grow - Gorilla Girl and White Widow - T5 and 1000w HPS

Hi everyone. This is my first post here. It's been years since I've grown anything and that was outdoors. I've always wanted to grow indoors and even put together some gear intended for a smaller indoor grow but circumstances had to put those plans on hold. Now I've finally started working on my first grow room and I couldn't be more excited.

Please feel free to give any critique or suggestions. Over time I plan to maximize the space I have.

Day 3 of veg under 6 4' T5s:

Note the Frankenstein ductwork.

 

Thanks, Dogma! I'm hoping to get some more serious equipment in there maybe before the year is up but in the meantime this should hopefully yield good enough results to keep the wife and myself stocked.

I'm looking to upgrade to 2 1000 watt digital ballasts for flower and possibly a 600 watt for veg. I'll post some updated pictures of the seedlings this evening when the lights turn back on.

 

Day 5 of veg:

White Widow Auto Girls:


Gorilla Girl Femenized:

 

I forgot to mention earlier that I sprouted the seeds in moist paper towel kept folded in an old Camel cigarette tin. Took about 48 hours to sprout a root and I planted them directly into ffof soil after saturating the pots and allowing them to drain. It took another 48 hours to pop out of the soil.

Currently some are showing a bit of purple on the new growth and I dont think that's a good thing this early on. I'm going to do a bit of research to see what's up but if anyone can offer suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Temps are currently hovering around 78 to 81 with the lights on and around 68 to 70 with the lights off. Humidity stays around 52 to 55 throughout the day.

Day 6 of veg

Gorilla Girl


White Widow

 

Thanks, Unit Farm! I've been dying to grow something good and I've heard great things about white widow. My first grow was outdoors and I did pretty well considering I was forced to chop early due to a very humid fall season. Two plants about 7 feet tall yielded a half a pound. I'm hoping to do better this time around.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Grasscity Forum mobile app

 

I was starting to worry a bit about the rate of growth. I would rather be using a 24 x 48 x 60 tent with a 600 watt mh but I'm unable to afford it at the moment. My lumens per sq ft are hardly ideal for either veg or flower rooms, currently.

Here's my dimensions and basic math behind my planning to give an idea how I'm preparing for the completed grow room.


After checking in on them before lights out today I noticed that they seem to be getting established and picking up steam.

Day 7 of veg 18/6 T5 fluorescents.

Gorilla Girl:


White Widow:


Thanks to everyone that has stopped by. Being my first real indoor door grow I cant even begin to express how goddamn giddy I am to be here.

 

Thanks for dropping in, Papa Puff!

I just got a ph meter and TDS meter to check the water and run off along with a soil ph tester. I dont imagine the soil tester is too accurate but I'm getting readings from 5 to 8 depending on where I insert the probes. Soon I'll start preparing my water but I need to get a tub and an air pump.




I also got adjustable ratchet hangers so I can finally adjust my lights without screwing with chains. I got my carbon filter off the ground as well so now I have more floor space.



I'll get panda film put up to seal off the flower room and fill that gap in the back wall.

Here are the girls so far.

Day 8 of veg 18/6 T5 fluorescents

Gorilla Girl:


White Widow:


Temps and humidity are excellent at 75F and 52% lights on. The temps do drop about 8 degrees with the lights off but the humidity has been stable.

 

So the girls are chugging along but the leaves are twisting slightly. Moisture meter says the soil is completely wet about 6 to 7 inches down into the soil. I didn't water them last night to avoid overwatering them.

Do these look like they're progressing at the right pace for 9 days of growth?

Day 9 of veg 18/6 T5 fluorescents

White Widow:



Gorilla Girl:

 

So I've been wondering what's going on with one of my Gorilla Girls. She hasn't developed a third node like the others so I took a closer look.

Day 10 of veg



I found that the leaves of the second node fused together during growth. Down on the first node there are two secondary nodes growing from either side of the plant.



Here are the rest of the plants so far.

White Widow:


Gorilla Girl:


I'm going to start prepping the 5 gallon fabric pots I have for finishing. I'm not familiar with transplanting. If anyone has any advice on how long to establish the roots in 2.5 gallon pots before transplanting I would be grateful.

 

I tested my water by filling a small storage container I use to get the humidity up and got a reading of 6.8 and 178 ppm. I let it sit overnight and got another reading of 7.0 and 186 ppm. I tested the soil and got lower readings around 5.5 to 6.5 so the FFOF seems a little acidic. I'm thinking that could be limiting the growth of my White Widows but it could just be their genetics.

The Gorilla Girls are growing STRONG, man. From what I've seen at growdiaries I am expecting big things from these ladies.

I have to get some ph up and ph down very soon if I want to keep the soil balanced. It's going to be a bit of trial and error but I trust I can figure it out.

My only other grow was outdoors and I never fussed over ph so this is giving me a whole new perspective. I'm having way too much fun with this to the point of obsession. My wife has been very patient and understanding with me, lol.

 

Hell yeah, here we go! I had an incredibly productive day cleaning the shit out of my house and building a table to veg my plants on and maximize the space. 31.75" x 60" table that sits 26.75" high to give me space to play with below. Maybe for clones, we'll see.



I prepped about 15 gallons of soil and mixed in about 8 quarts of perlite to get the 5 gallon fabric pots ready for transplant. The White Widow I have in the solo cup still looks a bit small but I should transplant it soon from what I've read.



Day 11 of veg

White Widow:


Gorilla Girl:

 

So I've transplanted the White Widow that was in the solo cup. The roots had just started to reach the bottom and search around. I gave her a healthy watering immediately after getting her snug in her final home.

Here's my progress thus far.

Day 12 of veg

White Widow:


Gorilla Girl:


Here's a close up of the mutant and her secondary growth.



Cozy little veg area. I cant wait to get them all in 5 gallon fabric pots. Anyone have any guesses on when the 2.5 gallon pots might be ready for transplant?

 

Wow! I'm impressed with these T5 lamps. I've never used them before but so far their growth is tight and steady.

All of the ladies in the back are Gorilla Girl with the mutant lady in the middle. Front row is White Widow. Hopefully I can squeeze a decent yield out of this old 400 watt HPS when I switch to flower.

Day 13 veg



Gorilla Girl:


White Widow: