Hello world! I'm new to the community - long time lurker - and I just started growing my own cannabis plants. I'll start with my short story and then get to the point. I on and off smoked marijuana since I was a teenager but never seriously enjoyed toking until I was in college. I've been smoking a lot more the past year (I smoke every day if I can!) and recently came into contact with a few seeds after purchasing a bag from a friend. They had recently stopped getting 'quality' weed and sold me a big bud that happened to be CHALK FULL of seeds. (I literally had maybe 3-4 small bowls out of this bud - it was awful lol) So I decided since I was reading up a lot about cultivating marijuana that I would try it out myself. I didn't expect any results tbh. At first I just stuck 5 of the 12 seeds I got from the bud in some soil (rookie move, but I just found an unused pot that was already filled with soil because the family I live with likes to garden, and at first I was trying to be stealth about it. So, I stuck the seeds in the wet soil and put 5 other seeds in a bottle of spring water and stuck it in the darkness. After about 20-22 hours I put the soaked seeds in the same pot of soil as the other ones. I watered it and kept the big pot in my bathroom for about 3-5 days (still not really expecting anything to happen - I am in NO WAY a farmer ) but one day there were little plants sticking up from he top of the soil. I was excited and surprised that I actually managed to get SOMETHING out of this bag seed. Immediately I switched the tiny little sprouts with their tiny round heads into an egg carton filled with a potting soil designed for seedlings that I got from Walmart. I watered them and let them sit in the windowsill for a day before I was able to acquire a small grow light. After a day or so the sprouts started looking a little too big for the egg carton and I decided to transfer them to their first growing medium. I used miracle-gro soil designed for plant seedlings and root development. (They are still in this soil) I started with about 6 seedlings and two refused to grow (although one, which is extremely underdeveloped, has its embryo leaves and a tiny little set of true leaves) One of the plants was developing a thick stem but its head was so small and underdeveloped that it seemed to have fallen off at some point (the stem/taproot is still growing kind of?) So far I have 3 'healthy' looking plants and the other three seem to have died or are not likely to survive or develop any further. (Stunted growth?) They sprouted their first true set of leaves about a week ago in addition to the embryo leaves, and have done nothing but grow these leaves bigger since they sprouted. There's no sign of a second set of true leaves yet, however they are approx. 4-5 inches tall from the surface of the soil to the top of the plant. They've grown a lot in the last two weeks but haven't made much effort to move too quickly since then. I seem to see a sligh difference every day, but due to the fact that I have a tight budget and not much to work with, I'm not too worried about it as they seem rather healthy and they are growing, even if it is at kind of a slow pace. This is week three and this is about what we're at: It looks a little 'bent' but its just the angle I snapped the picture at. It's actually only a tiny bit curved just due to weight and seems stable enough that I don't need to add a support quite yet. This is what my tiny settup looks like (I plan on moving it to an actual room as soon as I can get it cleaned/set up.) I understand that there are many flaws in this set up, which is why it isn't permanant. I am growing the three healthiest plants on the bathroom counter and so far they haven't encountered any problems growing - no sign of health problems, overwatering, underfed etc. HOWEVER when one of the plants sprouted above the ground it seemed to have a piece missing out of one of its round leaves - sort of like something took a chomp out of it? They're all growing inside with clean soil and no bug infestations or mold or anything around it. And it seems to be growing at the same pace as the other ones and hasn't encountered a problem with this little chunk missing. (when it gets a little bigger I can take a picture of anybody wants to see it.) NOW ONTO THE REAL REASON I'M HERE. I've read basically everything I could for the stage I'm at although I'm certain new things are going to come up every day. I understand that because of my lack of a grow room and a good light/feeding system, these plants might not grow as fast as they could be. I'm basically just looking for advice that I can use for my current situation while using the least amount of money I can (I dont plan on having a whole lot of plants - 2-3 at a time is perfect because I'm only growing it to smoke it myself - not distrubute it) As they get bigger I am able to provide more space, lighting, and fertilizers. Money is not a TERRBLE issue for me as long as these things I purchase are within a small budget range. I'm looking for advice from other beginning growers, and maybe from some experienced growers on what I should be looking for. My first question is - are these plants way too small for the length of time I've been growing them? 3 weeks and they only have 1 set of true leaves and a 4-5 inch stem. I feel like I've seen others that are growing under similar conditions that have at least a couple sets of leaves on them by now. Remember, this is my first time growing. I researched a bit before I actually started, but I still have no idea what to watch out for. Any advice is good advice thanks in advance.
yeah man they stretching to find more light, i would doubt u get anything of these plants. look into buying some equipment for a small grow such as this, its better than spending money on shit arse weed full of seeds edit: i have 2 week old plants that are on their 3rd set of true leaves, my advice is definitely look into buying a light and fan at least. edit 2: also miracle grow is not the best stuff to use, look it up and see the bad reviews man, basically the most important thing ive learned is - the more effort you put into the grow, the better the results will be and if you smoke everyday it definitely worth it
Like he said. They are stretching for light and weak and should be much farther along. You can't grow without a basic setup that gives the plants enough light, air, nutrients, and a good medium.
Well there are different levels of basic setups and we need to know what you mean by a small budget. Some basic three part nutrients would cost around 30 dollars, another 15 dollars for a PH control kit. Some basic pre-mixed soil and some pots with good drainage would only cost around 45 dollars probably. The things you really need is more light though, you can get a basic 250w or 400w hps/mh setup for around 150$ or if you want to do something like CFL i would recommend the bulbs that start at 40w and up for better light penetration. The 150w and up CFL grow bulbs are more specific for the job though.
Yeah I realized they were stretching pretty bad. I think I'll just see what I can do with them from here out and try to get some new seeds. I have a pretty cheap grow light but I do plan on getting something better. I think Walmart has mh bulbs for around $20. I need to get a light that I can adjust to get closer the plants too. I planned on looking into nutes as soon as the next set of leaves came along. Do you think there's any way these can be saved? I'm moving them to the new grow room this week and hopefully getting a new set up. Since this is my first grow and its all for personal use I kind of want to see it through mainly as a learning experience. Thanks for the advice!
buy a good growing medium, i am using FFOF it has good drainage and lots of good stuff in it, and bury those babies neck deep, get them close to a light, if all you have is fluro lamps, put it inches from the tops, after doing that dont feed them straight away, they will be stressed, wait till they are stronger and more established.. im sure there are some that will have better advise, but as these are just shitty bag seed planted on a whim, i wouldnt throw a lot of money into it, i have done a but load of shitty bag seed grows, with little to no budget, never turns out great, but it gets you by for free? good luck!
I transplanted two of the plants into bigger pots and burried a majority of the stem. I believe they're now about 2-3 inches from the surface of the soil to the tops of their heads. I moved the light so that the two I transplanted are about 2-3 inches away from the bulb as well. The grow light was given to me and its more than likely seen some use. I think its a Phillips agrolight bulb that's inside right now. It says its a 60w 120vt. The bulb is blue when off and bright white when its on. I don't know much about lights but I'm going to try and at least get another bulb or a second lamp/growlight to help the process. No nutes/ferts yet (haven't had the cash, although. I read you can use african violet food - might try that because the walmart here sells it cheap. As for the other two plants I moved them to natual sunlight to get their light. I'm aware that the change could shock them but its better than getting a ton of stretch and no growth. I'll post new pics tomorrow. Any more advice on how to save these babies?
Oh yeah, I have a fan set up and a window open as well as a small heater on low setting. Same with the fan. The plants are very gently swaying (tiny movements, not brute force winds or anything) and the room is warm but not hot. Fresh air is always pumped through the room now.