NSS Four Way - Grow Journal

This is my first real grow, so bear with me! I'm going to try answering most of my own questions with a bit of research but I may need to turn to someone for help. So far I've built a box, painted the interior white, bought all supplies including seeds from Gypsy Nirvana (http://www.seedboutique.com/), germinated, planted, and transplanted.

Surprisingly all of the 5 seeds I used germinated. The Soil is a mix of a high quality local blend (5 parts), perlite (2 parts), vermiculite (2 parts), and worm castings (2 parts). I'm using a couple 105 watt compact fluorescent bulbs (6500 K) for the light source.

 

Box:

Day 1:

Day 3:

Day 5:

Day 7:

 

I guess for now my only question is:
These pots are about 2 gallons (maybe 2 1/2, probably should have checked :/), how much water is needed for seedlings like these in that size of pot?

 

My babies seem to be forming some odd white power looking substance on some of the older leaves. The leaves look healthy, otherwise, but I was wondering what this might be. I can take a picture later if need be but for now I don't have a camera available. I forms near the edges and in little stripes across the leaves. Thanks for any help.

 

So right now I have two 105 Watt 6500K CFLs going and my plants seem to be doing fine There was a little nutrient deficiency speed bump, so to speak, but they're coming back in full swing. I'm under the impression that my transition between pot sizes was a little too drastic.

Regardless, I'm looking to supplement my lights with two more 32 watt CFLs but am wondering which spectrum I should go with. They offer 5000K and 3000K at the hardware store I am employed at (I get a great discount, too).

Should I go with two 3000K to give a more rounded spectrum or two 5000K because blue is most important in the vegetation cycle?

Day 27

 

I kind of figured. I wanted a second opinion, though. I'll install the two 32 Watt 5000K tomorrow to go with the two 105 Watt 6500K already in there. 274 Watts of Fluoro goodness.

 

Would anyone happen to know where I could find a guide or thread of how to detach an HPS socket from it's ballast. I want the ballast to sit externally for the sake of cutting down on heat. I'ts probably not as hard as I'm imagining but I don't want to screw something up.

Thanks!

 

Like I said, not as hard as imagined. I'm sure somone at work (hardware store) can show me exactly what I need. Thanks, man.

 

I think the roots finally touched bottom because they have tripled in size in the last 4 days or so.

Day 30:

 

My plants appear to be suffering from minor zinc and nitrogen deficiencies. What are some products that can help remedy this? Preferably something that is likely obtainable from a small greenhouse or department store (such as Fred Meyer) as we have limited quality garden supply stores where I live and all of them are a damn road trip away.

 

Here's a shot of the problem. My theory for the plants being so small is that it's primarily due to the oversized pots I moved them into, although I'm not too sure. The browning tips have been a constant problem and the yellowing leaves seems to subside with each new watering.

The red circles mark browning leaf tips, and blue shows the yellow new leaves. What you can't really see is the redish coloring of the stem and nodes which also seems to slightly subside upon watering.

 

Haven't posted progress in a while. I still have a terrible Razor cell cam.

Day 32 (added two new CFLs)

Day 41

Day 50


They're really picking up the pace. 14 inches+
One or two weeks till flower!

 

Day 62

Day 71

Day 72


Day 72-2


So here are my babies. I waited a little too long to switch them over but between school, work, and trying to maintain a social life...

Two of them turned out to be bros, and were promptly sent to the execution chambers. It's a damn shame because those boys were very handsome.

The three remaining girls seem to be thriving. Just a week and a half in and they're already hairy and sparkling. I've got two 105 watt 2700k, a 26 watt 3000k, and a Reptisun 10.0 UVB (waiting on a second). The UVB really seems to be helping as where the light from it hits are the most trichome covered buds. I also have a two litre bottle filled with a yeast and sugar water brew to supply a little extra C02.

The tallest of the three actually surged in growth and touched one of the lights causing mild burns on the uppermost leaves. Which brings my to my question: These plants obviously aren't going to be able to grow to full height in this enclosure. I was considering a bit of LST but I'm really not sure where to start. If you look at the last image (Day 72-2) I was thinking of tying it down in that position. But really, I don't know what I'm doing. :S

I ordered a new Casio Exilim EX-Z70 so I should have some high quality pictures in the coming weeks!