first of all, let me say that i'm a mom of two small kids, on a tight budget, so i'm using what i have and what i can afford, which is next to nothing. i don't want fancy gardening tips, a big yield, etc. just a nice, little, healthy plant that mama can manage. okay, here's my story. i've never grown anything before, not a fern or a tomato or a bean or anything. husband bought me a clone, which i planted in a 6"pot, it flowered, got massive spider mites, i sprayed chemicals, everything died, end of story. this was earlier this year. at some point during the death of my first plant, my husband planted a random unknown seed in the same pot, unknown to me. it sprouted, and started growing very well. i have no idea when it sprouted, because i didn't even know the sucker was in there. therefore, i have no clue how old it is. at the very least, 12 weeks old. 17" high. anyway, i moved it to a bigger pot, which it's in now. 12" round, maybe 3 gallons? it got spider mites again when it was young, and i managed to get rid of them by clipping off some infested leaves (the plant didn't like that very much), washing the plant with a microscopic amount of dish soap every couple days. i have continued this regimen, and it's working. i wash down the leaves, careful to keep most of the soap out of the soil. i let it sit for the day, and then rinse it. i also started feeding it miracle grow 20-20-20 a few weeks ago. it's all i have. i've never grown anything, so i was feeding it weekly, and watering it weekly. misting it every couple days. for the past two weeks, it's been over 90 degrees here (over 100 this week), and i've left the poor girl outside all day long, forgetting to water her a couple times. (I'm in southern california by the way, inland empire, desert climate). those are all the issues so far. now her leaves are yellowing, starting at the bottom of the plant. new leaves come in healthy, then yellow as they grow. based on reading, it appears to be an N deficiency. so, my questions are: 1--it's so hot and dry, should i be misting her constantly? i don't know if i'm over/under watering. 2--how often should i add nutrients? if i'm always washing and misting, don't they wash off? should i just add a teeny bit of nutes to every misting bottle? 3--i have a 1/4 gallon misting sprayer, and adding 1 tsp of miracle grow. too much? too little? i have started bringing her inside the house at 9am and putting her beside a window that gets constant sunshine. that way she is getting sunlight, but not so harshly. she is also in front of a swamp cooler, so that will help her get moisture and a breeze. i will put her back out around 5pm to get evening sun. also, the other plants in the picture are some random beans that my kid decided to plant. i'm going to remove them, but they are looking pretty good! p.s. remember i am a patient who is a mother growing in a small container, one plant, in the back yard. i don't need maximum yield or anything like that. just want a little smoke and make some tonics.
1. When watering i check with my finger, i dig down in the soil to about my middle knuckle. if the soil is dry at that depth, water. the soil on top should look dry and crusty also. In the pot u have i would give it about 1 gallon per watering. 2. miracle grow nutrients are highly concentrated so i would use in small doses, say tsp per gallon, but only use nutrient about every 10 days so not to over dose. 3. i would not recommend misting the plants with nutes. only mist with water to keep them cool on these hot days. misting with nutes can burn the leaves very easily. 4. also bringing the plant inside-outside causes stress. i know that in this heat u feel like theres no way the plant could take it but cannabis is a very tough plant. If you are going to grow her outdoors, it would be best to leave her there so not to confuse her too much. Although they are very tough, they are very sensitive to there surroundings. i hope this answers your questions. Cannabis is such an amazing plant with amazing uses. i wish there was enough people like us that knew that. LEGALIZE IT!!!
Thank you, that was very helpful! I will find a gallon container and fill it with filtered water and add tsp of miracle gro and water once the soil is dry to the knuckle. Within the past 2 hours since I've had her inside, she has perked up tremendously. Should I just keep her in here where it's humid and breezy? I have no problem keeping her on the kitchen table, right beside the window 24/7. I hope it's a 'she'. Either way, I've learned a lot from the last grow, and am learning a lot from this one, too!
I know what its like to be on a tight budget. Last year and part of this year we used Alaska Fish Emulsions from Lowes, the one near my house carrys both the veg and flower and cost about $12.00 each for a 1 gallon jug of each. For 1 plant that would last you quite a while. The only other thing we used was unsulphered molasses. 1tbsp of molasses per gallon of water in veg and 2tbsp per gallon in flower. If its been hot outside where you live give it a little bit of water in the morning to help it handle the hot temps better.
yeah if it perked up from moving it out of the heat then i say thats a good thing. if you do put it out i would put it out in the morning. plants like morning sun better than afternoon. and mornings are not so hot. keeping it inside by the window is also fine as long as it gets enough sunlight. a plant needs about 5 hours of light a day so yeah you could set it out in the morning for a while then bring it in for the rest i think that would work just fine.
leave sizes vary with the strain. Indica strains have short fat round leaves. Sativa strains have long skinny leaves. yours look like a hybrid, wich is a mix of both indica and sativa.