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LOOKING For Any Helpful Hints In First Grow!!!!!!!

Discussion in 'Cannabis Grow Journals' started by It's All Real, Sep 24, 2006.

  1. #1 It's All Real, Sep 24, 2006
    9/23/2006
    Alright, i just want to start by saying this is a fuckin sweet website. I began my first grow about 3 weeks ago and i have fallen in love with it. Growing is such a fun hobby and i can only imagine how satisfying it will be when im smokin my own shit...keep your fingers crossed.
    Ok... i will start with my first plant.

    Plant#1.) I started with a bagseed of some pretty dank shit. After germinating it without any problems, it quickly began to grow. Not quite prepared for such rapid growth, the plant quickly outgrew the half beer can it was in...maryjane is good but you cant forget the boozin to go along with it. Anyways, after about 2 weeks of sitting under a regular soft light bulb in a lamp, P1 was about 7" tall. Finally, between school and just being a lazy mother fucker, i went and bought some supplies. I got a 5.3 gallon pot with some good soil. I added sand to the soil to retain moisture. After a shaky transplant, by the way, it was obvious when transplanting that P1 had grown a little too big for the half of a keystone can, things seem to be pretty good about a week since the transplant. i already have some 5 leavers at the top, if that means anything?? As far as my growing closet goes, it is about a 6'x2' closet. i put some aluminum foil on the sides, as i heard that was helpful. For the light source, i have a 75w "plant light" that i found at the hardware store and another 75w typical soft white light bulb. HPS seemed a little too expensive for starting and plus i didnt want to buy that ballast or ballas just to be able to use the bulb...??? I have the "plant light" hanging about 3" inches directly above P1 and then the soft bulb is just in a lamp sitting near P1. seems to be ok. leaves dont look burnt or anything and they arent stretching. I bought some Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food, but i am not sure when to start applying it. sounds like ferts can be a delicate balance so ive been a little scared away from that...but thats why im here right? Finally, ventilation. This is where I am really lost for ideas. All I have right now is an oscillating fan. I placed it on the top shelf in my closet and tipped it downwards just about 20 degrees so that the air would go under the frame of the closet, if any of that makes sense. i didnt just want the air to blow around in the closet so i left the right side of the closet open by about 4"-6". Im wondering if that is sufficient or if i should really go and get a job so i can buy some shit! The closet is in between 76-80 degrees F. I dont have anything to measure humidity, but there is def. a noticeable difference between the humidity in the closet and the rest of my room. I have a pitcher of water sitting in there to help add moisture as well as a cup full of baking soda (i heard that helped raise humidity levels?). As for watering, I have been watering only when the soil appears and feels mostly dry. But i am not sure of how much water to add at a time. i would kinda like to know if there is a certain procedure for watering or if it is just "do it whenever it needs it?"
    That is a lot of shit, i know. But i wanted to give you guys a foundation of facts, i figure i can get the most knowledge from you guys if you know everything first. i am completely open to all suggestions or helpful points relating to all aspects of the grow. it has been a lot of fun growing P1 but i would hate to do a bunch of work and get zero bud in the end. sorry about not having any pics right now. i will get my roommates digital camera and post some pics very soon. PLZ HELP ME!
     
  2. #2 urgr8estfear, Sep 24, 2006
    There is waaaaaay to much text in your post to read it all and not forget the beginning.
    There are waaaaay to many questions you ask.

    Do us and yourself a favor, go to the indoor growing forum, read grandpa's growing guide.
    Then read some grow journals.

    Then ask us whatever questions you have left.
    We won't sort out that stuff you posted and hand it to ya on a silver platter.
     
  3. #3 Lucian, Sep 24, 2006
    Welcome to your new hobby :) It is great smoking your own and growing will teach you patience hehe. I am not sure what soil you got but usually MJ does not like wet soil as it rots the roots, you should have added perlite. I do not know what sand does. The regular light bulb you are using is useless. If you can't get a HPS, then go to walmart and look at sprial compact fluro lights (CFL) as the are pretty cheap and fit into regular light sockets. There are jouranls on here of people using them for the whole grow and you can get pretty good results with them. As for watering, you sound like you are doing it right, only water when the dirt is dry, if using city water, let it sit in a bucket overnight so the chlorine/floride evaporates. Eventually you might want to get a pH test kit to check the pH of your water. Good luck! :)
     
  4. #4 It's All Real, Sep 24, 2006
    hey thanx dude, i was just trying to list everything so you wouldnt have to ask me what light, or what sort of ventilation i use. you could have given me advice on the whole damn thing or u could have just adressed a single part. i appreciate your feedback tho. i am workin on gettin pics up, im sure that will help
     
  5. #5 It's All Real, Sep 24, 2006
    i think i got some pretty decent soil with that good ratio and stuff. its meant for tomatoes and what not. im hearing a lot of bad things about MG so ill try to take it back. ill def look into getting a CFL or two??
     
  6. #6 senior_ganj, Sep 24, 2006
    Okay, despite the excess of text, i'm gonna try to go through and answer all ur questions.

    For your ventilation, is the fan inside the grow closet? If it is, all your hot air is just being blown back towards your plant. You want fans that are high blowing out and fans that are low blowing in. Hence the fact that hot air rises.

    Your lighting, im with lucian. The normal soft white bulb is completly useless for growing and is just adding to the heat inside the closet. Get rid of it and go with the CFL's for sure. I'm not sure about the 'plant grow light' either. I can tell you that CFL's will work just fine and you can have them nice and close to your plants.

    About the watering, just go through and water whenever it feels dry. You'll start a little cycle and will learn when ur plant needs it based on how much you water and how big your pot is. Make sure you are watering all around the pot, not just by the stem. This promotes root growth which is always a good thing. Not sure about the sand though, as I have never used it.

    In your soil, make sure there are no time release ferts. You are better off going with some sort of organic, even a MG organic soil isn't that bad. Time release ferts a lot of the time just end up causing nute burn and problems.

    As for the ferts, you would need to know some more info about your soil. Whether or not there are time release ferts, what amount of ferts are added, stuff like that. Normally in straight up organic soil, a plant can sustain itself for 2ish weeks without any fertilizers, but the fact that the soil is made for tomatoes sounds like there are fertilizers in there. If you are going to start adding them, add them at very minimal amounts. Don't go full strength with the fertilizers. I'd say go 1/4 strength and do that once a week and see how the plant likes it. If it's doing fine, slowly work your way up, but remember, overfertilizing is a lot worse than underfertilizing.

    Hope this helps.
     
  7. #7 It's All Real, Sep 24, 2006
    thanx for all the info. i think my fan is alright and maybe you misunderstood how it was place-thanx for the concern tho. ya i figured i would start really weak with the ferts and then see how the plant responds to that. i def need some cfls. thanx for helpin
     

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