First time grow of Northern Lights

Hey, Sep.

Good, we've got dumb answers.

The germination stage ends when the first true leaf set opens. The seedling stage of growth ends when the third leaf set opens. After that, you want at least three weeks of vegetative growth before switching the photoperiod to 12/12. That gives the plant some time to get started on a good root system. But every plant is different. Some plants grow faster than others. The grow environment plays a big role. The plant can stall out for a bit or have a growth spurt. The grower may have specific size goals and/or constraints. If you want to train the plant in veg to get a low profile plant with a flat, wide canopy, that will take extra veg time. For all those reasons, veg time can vary quite a bit.

Bigger plants grow more bud.

18/6 usually.

I've never flowered outdoors, so here is where the dumb answers start.

You want to avoid temperatures below 50F, so that's one reason not to rush them outside at the first sign of a thaw.

Pests can be a concern.

See what I mean?

There are some treatments that act a a prophylactic against critters. Neem oil springs to mind, mixed in water with a wee bit of dish soap, which serves as an emulsifier. It's safe for cannabis plants and some growers treat their soil with it. Critters don't like the taste.

And neem oil comes from the neem tree, which is known to be an organism.

I'll skip the questions that I can't make up good answers for.

Yes, some more than others. Not an overpowering smell. But if you are a deer or perhaps a vegan, they probably smell delicious. I have a vegger right now that smells wonderful when you get close enough.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZvFoSI5VN8"]Zappa Plays Zappa - "Call Any Vegetable" - YouTube[/ame]

Welcome to Grass City.

 

I grow NL, we go out beginning of june and they take off, 65 gallon pots will yeild 8' monsters. It is pretty disease and pest resistant as a whole but tends to stink. I mean stink, early. Mind you the stankiest pheno means the most bag appeal but other than Durban I don't have another strain that stinks like NL as early as NL.

 

Yes. Training can increase yield. It exposes secondary growth and results in more tops. But you don't get that main central cola. It can also undermine the structural integrity of the plant, requiring you to brace it. But plants often need bracing anyway. The buds get heavy.

Some strains train better than others. I have no personal experience with Northern Lights.

That doesn't sound worrisome.

Wood nymphs!

Now he sounds delightful. Have you considered a pit trap?

Me too.

You will need good drainage.

 

hahaha yes!

 

That's a big topic. I'll tell you what I do. I wait for the 6th leafset to come in. Then I top the plant, cutting just about the 4th leaf set, That yields a good cutting, which I attempt to root for a second plant.

About 10 days after the topping, the plant will have put out two tops in place of the one I cutoff anf they will be long enough to tie down. So I tie them down, wishbone style, so that the tops are facing sideways rather than up. I loop a string around the branch and duct tape the two ends of the string to the side of the container. Some plants bend easily, some less so. If the latter is the case, I'll bend them in stages over a couple of days. You don't want to split the stem, but if you make a habit of doing this it will happen eventually. It's not the end of the world. Tie the split together with string. It heals itself.

After you tie down the two tops, they will turn back up at the ends to face the light. It takes a few hours.

Below the tops there are two more shoots that have grown out at right angles to the two tops that I have just tied down. I tie those down too, wishbone style. So now I have four branches tied down like the 4 cardinal points of a compass. The secondary growth is all exposed to the light. There is no clear top. Every bit of growth on the plant will take a shot at it.

Ten days later you will have new shoots that may be long enough to tie down in the same fashion -- spokes on a wheel. The circumference of the plant is getting larger, but it isn't putting on much height.

You can also top the two tops that grew in after the initial topping. If you do top both of them, you get two more cuttings and two tops will grow in for each top taken. So... more tops.

You can continue with this progression for quite a while, tying down new shoots as they make their bids to be the apical top. You end up with a very bushy plant. Vertical growth has been translated into horizontal growth. The plant is still roughly symmetrical. It's structural integrity has not been hugely compromised.

Every time you tie down a shoot, secondary growth points at the nodes are exposed. New growth results. The number of tops multiplies.... That's how it goes.

I usually top once, sometimes three times. I've never topped 5 times. After a while, its a case of diminishing returns. The two new tops that grow in to replace a top that was cut off are both slightly smaller than the original top.

There is a section devoted to training. There are some tutorials in there. Plant Training - Grasscity.com Forums

You use a pH meter. Good waterproof pH pens run about $90. A combo pH/TDS meter/pen runs about $120. You also need calibration solutions, cleaning solution, storage solution. I like Hanna pH meters. You use the pH meter to measure the pH of the solution you have mixed up for a feeding. The sweet spot for a soil grow is 6.5 to 6.8. Use pH Up or pH Down (these are products) to adjust the pH of your feeding solution.

You want to start off with a medium that is in the desired pH range, 6.5 to 6.8. Fox Farm soils come this way. There are other soil manufacturers that cater to this market as well. If you are making your own soil mix, various amendments are more or less acidic or alkaline. You can measure the pH of soil by adding a teaspoon of soil to a cup of distilled water, which is pH neutral, and mixing it up. They call that a slurry. Measure the pH of the resultant mixture.

Indoor growers monitor the pH of their soil by measuring the pH of the runoff during a watering/feeding. Outdoor growers can't really do that. They can do the slurry thing.

If you are using bottled nutes, pH is more important than if you are growing organically and providing for the plant with soil amendments and subsequent surface applications of mysterious brewed up concoctions, teas and what have you. Organic Growing - Grasscity.com Forums

Yes.

Sure you can. Or you can start a grow journal. We have a section devoted to Outdoor Grow Journals.

Good luck with your grow.

 

Hey Sep. Alatar has given you a lot of excellent advice. There's a great organic pest control regimen popular in the organics section. It's a neem-aloe-silica spray. I cannot take any credit for it, that belongs to a man called LD, but I thought I would share it with you:

You need: Dynagro pro-tekt (a liquid silica supplement, used to emulsify the neem oil and also silica strengthens plant cell walls, thus increasing their defenses against pests), aloe vera juice (can be bought at any health food store, the saponins in aloe vera make the spray stick to the leaves instead of just rolling off. A cheapo version is a couple drops of pure liquid soap like dr. bronner's pure castile soap, NOT dish soap), and organic, cold-pressed neem oil (the quality of neem oil is what determines whether or not the spray is effective. The best neem products can be found at neemresource dot com).

Mix 1 Tablespoon of neem oil and 1/4 teaspoon of Pro-tekt in a cup of water and stir until the little beads of neem oil blend with the rest of the liquid. Then add this mixture to a gallon of plain water. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of aloe juice (Lily of the Valley is a good brand) or a few drops of pure castile soap. Shake shake shake well. Spray 1-2 times per week as a preventative treatment.

Another good way to prevent soil pests is to mix some neem meal into the soil or use it as a top-dressing. Neem meal is also a great source of N and various beneficial plant compounds. You can get the best prices on neem meal from the same source that I mentioned for the neem oil.

In terms of selecting a site for your grow, you want as much sun as possible. Visit the site at different times of day to see how much sun it gets. You want full sun, and as much of it as possible.

In terms of pH/fertilizing I would suggest that you do an organic grow. That way you don't have to worry about pH or fertilizing, the only thing you have to "add" to your organic soil is plain water. Take the money that you would spend on a pH pen and use it to build a good organic soil and you will be in business (and you'll have some money leftover in your pocket). Since you are already planning for next year's grow, you have plenty of time to build a primo organic soil. Good call on the horse manure, stay away from the miracle grow.

Come on over to the organic section, read the stickies, and we will point you in the right direction if you are interested in growing organically. HTH

 

I've never prepared my own soil, so I can't really help you there. And now I'm reading InTheGarden's post and I'm thinking that my work here is done. Someone who was already done what you intend to do has come along and thrown down a good sized chunk of useful info. She is certainly quoting the right scripture. LD is the man when it comes to growing organically.

That sounds like a solid plan, Sep. It's the start of an adventure.

Great! I look forward to it.

My pleasure.

Everyone always loves the pit trap idea.

That's the path that leads to your adventure, Sep.