Hi everyone, New to the GC forums been browsin for a while though researching material on ScrOG grows. Had a couple 'scratching the surface of cannabis cultivation' grows before with bagseed, you know the usual stick a plant in a pot and put whatever light you can find in a shed over it and hope for the best kind of thing, as well as an outdoor attempt which due to the shitty climate here resulted in a lot of lettuce. Well as everyone who ever did that soon realises, the yield was miserable and so this time I want to do it with a bit more thought gone into it. So all criticism and help is much appreciated as its the main reason for this journal. Onto the business side of things- Attic space (I know it's not ideal but it's the only option-climate however is fairly steady so temps should be relatively easy to manage without too much fluctuation due to seasons). 1.2m x 1.2m screen situated in the centre of the floor with more then enough headroom for a scrog (about 2m)and space to walk around on each side of screen Reflective material-possibly white lynoleum, will surround grow area 600w hps for flower and veg unfortunately but will be kept well away til the plants can handle it. Planning short veg time with some FIM and LST anyway as both strains are sativa dominant dont want them to stretch too much!I know the hps wont help with that in veg hope it doesnt stretch them a lot. 3 oscillating fans will keep the air moving below and above the screen. The attic is well ventilated with 6 vents to the outside so hoping that will be enough for airchanges without the need for intake fans etc. Soil being used has added nutrients which should be enough for veg stage with possibly added nitrogen if deficiences begin to show. For flowering liquid tomato feed will be used. Might look into more expensive options if it looks like it wont do the trick we'll see how the plants react when the time comes, have heard good things about it anyway. Last but not least are the plants themselves, 5 fem Jack Diesel and 4 fem Amnesia Lemon already germinated and some beginning to poke their heads out of the soil. They are in small pots now but will be moved into their final pots once root system develops(still looking for the best option was thinking 3 x 80litre rectangular containers with 3 plants in each, evenly spaced beneath the screen in rows?)Gives each plant about 25litres The reason for so many plants is to fill the screen quickly with minimum veg time with some FIMming and LST to promote branching especially in the Jack Diesel which I've read tends to remain in a single cola otherwise. Then apply the screen, flip to flower and keep training them to the screen while they stretch a bit and then hopefully watch the magic happen! Will put pics up once I get the chance and when theres anything really worth showing Cheers exs
Shit thats longer then I thought, pics really do tell a thousand words ill get them soon save us all the hassle
All of the seedlings made it to the surface and are under the 600w on a 18/6 cycle with a fan cooling the air between them and the light.Had a bit of stretch due to keeping the light well away the first couple days but it has been gradually lowered to about 3' from the tops of the seedlings.Keeping a close eye on them and will adjust the light as necessary.Temps are a steady 24C (75F)
Went out and bought materials for the screen as well as 9 x 12litre buckets only costing €1.80 each(thats about $1.50 i think). Theyll make great pots and the prices for actual gardening pots that size around here are about €8+ so they were a bargain! Got 2 different colours of string (blue and red) and im going to divide the overall screen into 9 areas using blue string for each 2.5'' x 2.5'' hole then red for the divisions for each plant(like the # symbol).Dunno if that makes sense will be easy to understand from a pic. Im hopin this will make it easier to judge when to flip into flowering by judging how full each of the 9 red squares is rather then estimating the percentage filled of the entire screen
About midway or so into their first week all seedlings lookin healthy enough have the light about a foot away temps are stayin within recommended limits.The new growth is slightly yellow or lime coloured which I think is from the added nutes in the soil they look strong enough tho.anyone know whats the best thing to do with them or should i leave them and hope as they grow theyll tolerate the nutrients?Im leaving them get fairly dry before watering and the fan is beginning to strengthen the slightly stretched stems.pics will be up asap all comments on the strains setup etc are welcome exs
so seeing is believing heres some pics 3 days out from soil 6 days out surrounding area will be covered in white lynoleum to reflect the light back
whassup man... nice journal... whats the temps in that room... it looks like a fun grow flat white paint on wood will be cheaper than linoleum... unless you just have some laying around... your plants are yellow because your ph is wrong... whats the runoff PH? are you testing your PH at all? take some close up shots of the plants, that will help
Havent got around to buyin a pH tester the local garden centres only have the soil testing kits and I heard they were useless.Gonna get one online along with a humidity meter I'm expecting the air to get fairly dry especially in the winter if I need to add some heating up there, any recommendations for good pH meter? yellowing has pretty much gone think it was slight burn from the added nutes in the soil but I think the plants have adjusted to it as new growth is much greener cant really tell from the pics due to the hps light.will make sure to test pH asap though! Temps are 26C lights on and about 21C lights off think thats around 75 to 80 fahrenheit mark. Thanks for the tips feel free to comment all help much appreciated!
Day 10 Plants are coming along very well will update with pics this weekend. Building ScrOG screen this saturday hopefully as well as purchasing the last of the things on my shopping list to complete the grow room. The plants will then be transplanted into their final pots after the last bits and pieces have been finished in the room.
Will hopefully be getting a pH meter this weekend eager to see if the pH of the water is correct and also the soil. Some yellowing and a slightly wavy appearance on the leaves of some plants but not others.Could this be from the added nutes which were in the soil or could a high/low pH level affect the plants this early on into the game?They are still growing strong tho so I'm not overly worried and from what I've read theres not much point in messing around with em til I know the pH
Ok time for an update Day 12 Got a soil pH meter for the time being will have to order one for testing water pH off the internet cant find one anywhere. Turns out the tap water must have been alkaline as the pH was about 8. All plants were transplanted into their final 3 gallon buckets and I am now using distilled water and pH of soil has been corrected to 6.5.Another fan was also added to keep air circulating. ScrOG frame (1.2m x 1.2m) was also built but the netting has been left off til the plants grow a bit bigger. Heres some pics from day 10 before transplant and day 12 after transplant.
Day 14 The plants are lovin their new pots and new sets of leaves are bursting out. They also look a lot healthier after switching to distilled water. The miracle-gro compost has nutrients to last for 3 weeks I'm wondering should I add some nitrogen or should I wait for them to show a deficiency?They are not quite as green as I think they should be but it could be the result of the nute lockout due to the high pH before.Half strength nutes maybe or are they too young? By the way I've been lookin up problems people have had with miracle-gro and the yellow nutrient pellets. The soil I'm using does not contain these pellets I'll check the label again and see which miracle-gro product it is or wether we have a completely different product range here on this side of europe.
Day 16 Today the plants got FIMmed or at least i hope so we'll see the results over the next few days.Think its time for some nutrients on their next watering gonna start on some half strength nutes and see how they react. One of the amnesia lemon was not FIMmed yet, (I suspect I damaged the roots when it was a seedling-the one in the middle of the first pic with bottle beside it) has been a slow grower with very yellowed leaves.I'm not too worried about it as I should easily be able to fill the screen without it and who knows it might perk up yet so I wont stress it by FIMming for another couple days. Waiting on funds and time to create a ventilated and insulated tent around the grow area to maintain steadier temps during winter. The inside will be covered in a reflective material-I realise a lot of light is being lost at the moment. Anyway heres some pics before and after FIM
Day 19 The plant in the foreground of the third pic is the amnesia lemon that wasnt doin so well seems to be perking up now though.The rest of the plants seem healthy enough to me anyway and the FIM job seems to have encouraged some side growth.Sorry about the blurry pics
There seems to be some kind of micro nutrient deficiency in your soil. your leaves look wrinkly and frail.
Yeah i know me too feels like its takin ages slowly but surely I suppose...thanks for subbin been waitin on people to take an interest
I noticed it myself would you say its the after effects of having a high pH while they were young or should I begin feeding them incase the soil isn't providing them with what they need?
Yeah I'm sub'd too! I want to do a scrog for my next grow... Let's see what you can do. Did you say what kind of soil you are using?
Welcome aboard mrtybudd.Yeah its miracle-gro but its not the one with the added nutrient pellets I know people complain about MG but I have no complaints so far and with added perlite the drainage is good as well.