Nirvana Northern Light Auto Grow (First Grow)

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by Aristocat, Apr 12, 2014.

  1. #1 Aristocat, Apr 12, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: May 16, 2014
    Well Hello!

    This is my first Auto grow and hopefully it will be a good one!

    Background: I am brand new to growing and am growing legally. I have family (my brother) who I would like to grow meds for. There is a learning curve so I am excited to start learning and hopefully growing. I suffer from arthritis and at the ripe age of 32 and have been offered hardcore pain drugs. It makes me sad that something like this isn't universally legal but I get offered pills like it is nothing...

    Setup: 

    Lights: Apollo Horticulture Full Spectrum Grow Light 240w ($159.98 amazon)

    Grow Space: My condo in a grow tent. Aviditi PTU-68 Mylar Reflective Hydroponic Grow Tent with T-Zipper, 36" Wide by 20" Deep by 63" High ($61 amazon)

    Soil and nutes: FFOF and FF Trio Nutes (about $15 for a bag of soil from the hydro store and nutes trip about $50 on Amazon)

    Air: 6in outake with passive intake

    Fan: Some clip fan I got off of amazon for $15. Just enough for the leaves to shimmer. 
     
    I am growing other strains as well but I don't want to mix them in this journal. I like when I search online for a certain strain and find a grow that is just that strain so that I find the info I need.
     
    Again this is my first grow so we will see if things go well!
     
    I will post more soon and pictures!
     
    I am also doing a Nirvana Short Rider Grow http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1296086-nirvana-short-rider-auto-grow.html
     
    Also a I just started a Headstash Seeds Lychee Kush grow  http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1304183-headstash-seeds-lychee-kush.html
     
  2. Meet the girls: Hali and Kari


    I put them both in Jiffy Pellets and it took 4 days for Kari to pop up, and Hali took 6. I did not do anything but wet the jiffy, put the seed in, and lightly cover it up.

    So March 16 at night I popped them in, and by March 22 they were peeking out.

    Here they are as little babies

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  3. Once the girls sprouted they were put into 3 gal smart pots. I added extra perlite to the fox farm. Because they are autos it was important that I try to get them settled into their permanent homes.

    Confession: Kari's taproot was crazy long and I broke a little of it off when planting her. I felt super bad about it. Sucks to have jacked up hands like mine and next time I will have someone else do it for me.

    Attached is a picture of Kari in her new smart pot.
     

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  4. I should have used CFLs first until they got a bit bigger but at the time I had not set up my seedling station. Yes, I name everything to make it cute and fun. I even named my "farm." I am not even ashamed.

    Here is Kari under the LEDs after a few days.

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  5. #5 Aristocat, Apr 12, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2014
    Which brings us to today. The ladies are now about 21 days old. Kari was growing much faster than Hali but now Hali is taller. Kari has a lot of undergrowth. Not sure if that early mistake hurt her...

    I also was so afraid of giving them too much water that I think I they became kinda upset with me.

    Today is the first day I fed them. I am going REALLY slow on nutes so just used one tablespoon of big bloom to one gallon of water.

    Here is a pic of each lady (Hali is the taller one)
     
    Cheap red wine for scale

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  6. #6 Aristocat, Apr 12, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2014
    These ladies each have a smell which is pretty exciting! 
     
    Hali (taller less bushy) smells only slightly of skunk. 
     
    Kari (shorter and bushy) smells much more like skunk with a citrus end note. 
     
    I am not great with explaining scents but I wanted to give anyone who cares insight into the grow. They only smell up close, but I noticed today that my tent is starting to make my kitchen a little bit more "herby" which is a lot better than anything else in the kitchen as I suck at cooking. 
     
    I am not going to mess with them in terms of training or topping because this auto probably does best being left alone. If I am wrong let me know! :)
     
  7. #7 Aristocat, Apr 12, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2014
    Decided that one side the tent was not getting as much light as the other and put in two 23w CFL 5500's.

    I have more powerful options but this side of the tent is younger plants and their tomato buddies! You can kinda peep little "Mandi" who is a Nirvana Mystery Seed. I should do a grow journal for her and her brother (I think it is a brother because he is HUGE). 

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  8. you mentioned something about overwatering them..... how often do you water? and are you testing the ph of the water before you feed/ water the girls?
     
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  9.  
    I was afraid of doing so and only barely wet them. I take PH and always get 6.5. I think I wasn't giving enough water because they started to wilt and get crispy. Like the leaves started to show the veins in a way that indicated not enough water. I was just SUPER afraid of giving too much water. Before I did not even get a wisper of run off and I have a lot of perlite as well as smart pots so water drains well.
     
    I now will probably water every two days but am not sure since I am now just watering them properly. I will feel the pot and also to a few inch test with my hand. 
     
    I am cautious because I want to give these plants the best lives before I chop them down. Growing has become more than a hobby, it is a passion. I enjoy growing more than I do smoking if that makes sense to any person on earth lol  
     
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  10. oh wow... perfect. 6.5 is perfect. I was just the opposite.... I didn't want mine to be thirsty lol

    Growing for me has also become more than a hobby and more like a passion. I enjoy growing an awful lot, in fact, I haven't smoked weed since I started my grow. It was the only way for some reason that I was able to stop. I smoked too much anyways.... every two hours every day... Had to clean up because i'm looking to change jobs and growing is like my rehab lol when i see something wrong with my plant i freak out much like i do when i can't score haha
     
  11. I totally get it! I think a lot of people like myself are anxious and smoking or drinking relaxes us. So does growing!!!

    My job is a drug tested job. So if I were to move to a new place I would stop for sure. I don't smoke much. Keeps my tolerance low, and stops me from being boring. I'm not a functional person high.

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  12. The girls seem to enjoy the little bit of big bloom I fed them. I went REALLY light and only did one tablespoon to a gallon. They didn't have any issues before so I felt going slow would be alright. I am going to do a feed with Grow Big next but at a smaller dose. 
     
    For water I used filtered water in large bottles. My cofarmer gets them filled for like $2 and the ph is great. My hyrdro store has filtered water that they give away free with purchase which is pretty awesome. 
     
    I am going to try to use my local hydro store more. The guy is fantastic and I want to help local people out. 
     
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  13. Hali and Kari at about 20 days old. Kari remains pretty much the same. I wonder if maybe she got stunted? She is still nice and green. Hali is a bit taller and growing.

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  14. #14 Mr. President, Apr 15, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 15, 2014
    Looking very good Aristocat! Wow... 20 days old and that large already? You're certainly well ahead of me! I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that i'm growing a no name seed?

    Anyways... they look beautiful! Keep up the good work :)


    Add: I planted my no name after it germinated on the 20th as well so right around the time you planted yours!
     
  15. Thanks! I planted a no name seed on the 20th as well but I am not journalling it because I am almost sure it is a male. I will post a pic on ur page so you can see what a beast this thing is turning out to be.

    I am getting anxious to see some flowering!!!!

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  16. 22 days old and the girls are still going.

    Kari doesn't seem to be getting taller but her side branches are growing.

    Hali is getting taller and is less busy as always.

    I a thinking about using some thin stakes in order to help the side branches get light.

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  17. Very nice ! Looking a bit better than mine I have to admit haha :) Hali looks a bit sad to me...The droopy leaves ussualy indicate a watering problem, either too much or too little, i suggest you water when the top is BONE dry, don't keep a strict water schedule, make sure after you water there is a bit of runoff...And i know the feeling you get when you start growing! It's awesome the smoking at the end of her life is just the icing on the cake ! Haha !
    This is my big devil autofem plant what do you think about it? I name it too :D
    How much are your girls growing per day? As in height i mean, my girl grows around 1.2cm a day :D
    I just started germinating an regular ak47 hopefully I get a female, even if it's a male im keeping it :p
     

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  18. oh wow, tatuny those look nice.


    And yes, Aristocat, Hali does look overwatered... which is okay for the moment... just make sure when you water like tatuny said, the medium should be DRY. I usually put it like this... If i feel like watering her, give it another day. To underwater, she would have to be bone dry for a couple of days. Allowing the medium to get DRY allows for the soil to oxygenate and the roots get to breathe.

    She'll be perfect :)

    Check out my thread, i updated my grow room!
     
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  19. It might be underwated too, Aristocrat you know best ! Use you're judgement and leave a dry period in between waterings, mimic nature, in nature it doesn't rain at fixed intervals, they are more irregular try to mimic that and when u see the soil is dry leave it for a day more, it wont hurt!
    Remember plants that are maintained perfectly with 00000% stress yield less that plants that have been stressed very little. (LST, low humidity)
    Be sure too leave the plants in dark for 72 hours BEFORE you harvest, it increases potency and yield.
     
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  20. Omg I didn't even noticed Hali DOES look a bit sad! She was BONE dry! Thank you so much for the heads up!

    I don't measure every day but I will measure each post. I know I totally suck documenting!

    OMG yours looks amazing! How many days is she and what day did she flower? Dude she is really looking sweet! I WISH my Attitude order didn't get jacked by customs (ugh) I had some fun stuff coming!

    Thanks again for the heads up!!!!

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