Hello all, and thanks for visiting. This will be my 3rd grow. They've all been pretty basic but with pleasing results. (imho) And, without a doubt, it's all been alot of fun and very educational! I improved upon the first with the second and have made some improvements to this attempt as well. Admittedly, my grows are somewhat half-ass but I'm sill in college and so cash isn't really flowin' the way I'd like. But, I love the plants (Ha Ha) and smokin' your own sticky-icky is ... well, nothin' compares! Here's a quick look at what I got (currently) : 4.5 sq ft area, 6 ft height 150w cfl (taking 2 plants to flower, LST) Ph nuetral coco/perlite medium FF soil nutes 70 - 80 degrees F, 30% - 50% RH (dry, I know) RO water (Ph corrected) bagseed *Comments and Advice are welcome! Hope you enjoy~ Ok, here's some pics: day 12 out of the ground. They're lanky, I know. I had the light too far away the first 24-48 hrs. That sucks, but I started training them to help correct the problem. This will be an LST grow anyway; I don't think it will hurt too much. Check'em out... My concern at the moment is the wilted leaves, which you can see really well in the last two pics. I would think over-watering, but the substrate is dry. This medium is really aerated- I was/am amazed. It seems to work well though. I see root growth and most of them seem to be doing well, imo. What does anyone else think? I was planning on using fine soil mix to germinate, but my sprouts were ready before I had the soil. I mixed the coco, vermiculite, and just a bit of worm castings (my own, grown with love). That is what they are in now. I have to water or spray down pretty much daily. Does anyone have any ideas on the droopy leaves?? Do they look decent for 12 days from seed?? Thanks
Some look better than others, but pretty much all of them have stretched quite a bit. I'm not sure about the droopy leaves, unless your medium is TOO dry. That's usually the first clear sign if she needs water badly, but only if you know the medium is very very dry. Also, those babies are pretty young to start training them like that. It's stressful at such a young age, so I would undo all of that and let them grow naturally for the next week or two. Once the main stem is a little stronger, then start training so she can handle the change a little better. For now, she's still working on her root system during light's out for the most part (make sure she's getting 8 hours of darkness for better root development). In a couple of weeks, you'll see the vegetation start to grow faster and faster once the roots start taking up more water/nutes. It's a very slow process at first, but you'll get used to that . Best of luck m8. Peace DM
Thanks, I could believe that it was dry more than I could it being wet. It's somewhat arid in my space and I'm learning a new medium. The stretching is unfortunate but I don't want to turn back. Should I bury that elongated stem when I transplant? I'm thinking of taking the best 8 or so to preflower if I can. Should I prop them up for now or just remove what I have ?? I didn't mention that- this is my first time LSTing. Thanks for the advice, DM. I had'm at 16/8 for a week, then rose it to 17/7. I guess I hold it there for a little while yet. Peace
I would just remove what you have and let them try and stretch up. This will actually help build a stronger stem since they won't be relying on something propping them up. And yes, I would put some cloning powder/gel on the part of the stem you want to bury once you're ready to transplant. Leave enough stem space between the top of the dirt and the leaves so that air can still easily pass under the plant. No problem man; I only mentioned the 8 hours of dark in case you had a 24/0 schedule like some growers do. Not that it's a bad thing, but during the seedling stage they need some darkness for a good reason. After that, 24/0 will pump up the vegetative growth, but at the same time retards root growth, which can be beneficial under some circumstances. Hope this helps Peace DM
Update: This morning I removed the twist-ties from my seedlings. Their stems are strengthening and they are growing roots. I watered thouroughly yesterday and the medium is still pretty damp this morn. I know that they are watered for today and am confident that they will drink this up today as my relative humidity is around 40% or lower. This is day 12/13 above ground. Some look ok, some do not. I do not know why the 'droopy' leaves. ok: good: bad: Any thoughts ??
hey bro, thanks for checkin out my grow. thought id see what your green was up to. not sure why only a few of your plants are getting droopy leaves... it seems like a water issue but i dont know. are those bagseed from the same plant? same genetics? if not, maybe there is variation in water preference and they either have too much or not enough water. different genetics require different atmospheres and need certain requirements in order to stay healthy. so that may be the case but im really not sure if that is the case here. well its lookin good and for this to be your third grow you must have atleast had some sucess in the past, so just do what you need and dont be afraid to experiment.
Thanks alot, g-dude Yeah, that's true-- it very well could be a difference in genetics. I just collected various decent looking seeds for a few months, then germed them and took the best. I'll be thinnning this group in half soon. I believe they'll turn out ok -- thanks for stopping in.
Here is a pic of the closet. It's quaint. Runs with the door atleast somewhat open usually- that's the ventilation. But can be shut if need be. That's a heating blanket underneath, humidifier beside. Here's the plants tonight. They seem to like their new freedom; most seem ok. The ridges on the new growth signifies that it is dry, I think. That fits- 42% RH is the highest it's been all week. I don't know if that's behind the droopiness though. Check it out. droopy, misshapen, nute def? Maybe it is the difference in some seeds. Of course, I'm still not 100% used to this coco medium either. My meters don't read in it. I've been checking my water's Ph. Tomorrow I think I'm gonna give them some mild Big Bloom and go for a little heavier watering as well-- try to get a runn-off reading. If they're dry enough, of course; but, I'm done with the spray bottle-waterings.
Well, I watered them each very well last night. They still seem real droopy to me. I'm thinking it isn't under-watering. If they don't perk-up by tonight, I'm gonna wonder about the over-watering theory as well. Then what? Maybe nute def ?? As I said, they are in coco, which has no nutes of its own. I gave 1/4 strength Big Bloom last night as well. - Hopefully that helps, there are some yellowed leaves. My Ph going in was 6.3, runoff read about 6.7. The best reading I can get from the medium itself is 6.9. This makes sense to me but I'm not sure of the accuracy of my meter. ---if so, that may be a bit high. Should I treat coco as soil or hydro as far as Ph? It seems as though, not many GC users have tried coco much. Anyone that has, I'd love to hear what you think. Here they are - Any advice is appreciated.
This kinda sucks My little girls do not look good at all! They still seem pretty wet so I doubt I'll be watering today. They still look REALLY WILTY. There is also now a nut def. of some kind. I'm hesitant to feed more, but they are in obvious need. I gave them 1/4 strength big bloom when I watered day before yesterday. Good news is that the stems seemed to have recovered. I'm starting to think I need to start over again. - This time use the soil to start them, and not let them get so lanky. I really don't want to do this, however, unless they are too far gone. Fuck! Anyway, here's this morning's pics. Help is greatly appreciated!! -- On the first two pics you can see the wilty/droopy leaves, the yellow tinge on the older leaves (starts at tip), and you'll notice the purple stems/veins. -On the 3rd pic, you can see the purple-tinge on the newest growth. Starts at base of leaf.
hey man.. they do look overwatered and a little hungry. big bloom won't do it at this point. If you like the fox farm stuff then use "Grow Big" at like 25% next time you water. ive had the same thing happen a million times and they sprang back real nice for me. so: 1. let them dry out a little 2. 1/4-1/2 strength grow big (PH adjusted to 6.5 or so) 3. watch them love life! GL man!!
Ok, thanks AugustWest. I'll give the grow big a shot next time. -- Any idea what I should look to keep my Ph near with a primarily coco grow? I've been shooting for 6.5 -6.8. Do you think I should get it lower than that? Know of anyone who's uses it alot? It seems really nice to me - spongey and aerated, but there growth seems slow now. I'm wondering if it is simply being underfed until now. -Or maybe the Ph? Thanks again!
oh man my bad.. i assumed soil. you want the coco to be around 5.8 or so. also you need to flush that stuff pretty regularly. so feed/water/feed/water etc. and yeah the PH might be playing a role in this.. so run a bunch of PH 5.8-5.9 water through.. about 3x the amount of water to the pot size.
Thanks again, I'll give'm tonight to continue to dry up, then feed with a lower Ph tomorrow. I hope that improves their situation b/c this is not a good start. -- Guess I'm learning. Thanks again August
This morning, I flushed with 5.9 distilled h2o. Then fed with Ph 6.0, 1/2 strng Grow Big & 1/4 strg Big Bloom. Hopefully they will suck that up soon. They are very deficient . I wonder if these poor conditions at the begining will reduce the yield; I wonder if I'd be better off starting again. At this point, I can learn from the situation -- hopefully, they begin to recover ...soon. I believe the medium Ph is now around 6.0 -- I believe that is where I want to be. I'm thinking of transplanting soon. That medium should drain better, which may help the overall situation. I examined the roots of the 3 weak seedlings I culled this morn. The best one seemed pretty decent I thought. That makes me think the 'healthier' plants have decent roots as well. Hopefully they will be more able to drink up this morning's flush n feed. That, plus the added nutes and, "all are problems will be solved". Ha, yeah. Still have just 96W on them. Temps around 74-78, 45% rh. The next few days will tell. Thanks for stoppin Roots of the smallest ones. Lookin' grim.
hey man just checkin to see how things were going, hopefully the youngsters have bounced back by now!
Hey dude, your grow looks nice, just a quick question tho, i've just sprouted my first grown and they stretched like yours did. About how long did it take their stems to bulk up? i'm worried meh babies are gonna be dingo-food.
Hey guys - thanks for stoppin in. The seedlings' stems thickened up with no worries-- unfortunately, because of the coco- I had stunted growth overall. I decided to start over. Peace!
