Hello all, this is my first grow journal.. I started my second grow 5 days ago, and I'm looking for any tips, advice, and support as I am still learning! My first grow was cut short as it was a male (bag seed). I had two more seeds lying around so I figured why not give them a shot? They're under a 300 Watt LED at about 22-24 in. Temps are in the high 70's and occasionally creep up to around 84-85. I'm working on ways to keep the temps from reaching that high but so far with little success so any suggestions would be nice. The RH is between 35-45% with plenty of circulation and airflow. I haven't added any nutes and have watered once since they sprouted, which was roughly 36 hours after planting, with a ph of 6.8-6.9. The runoff ph at planting was 6.3, and I forgot to record it after the first water. They're planted in 2:1 Fox Farms Happy Frog soil and perlite. I will continue to update this thread for anyone that wants to follow along and offer a lending hand with any questions I may have in the future! Thank you to everyone in advance! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
They look good and you chose a great soil especially with adding some perlite I also like to add a bit of garden lime to my mix... before I use it I'll just let it all sit in a trash can till I get to it... it can take a while for it to actually breakdown into the soil. What brand LED are you using? Are you growing in a tent room or closet? Also with proper transplants you won't even have to worry about nutes for weeeeeeeks. Also I wouldn't worry about the temps... 85 is perfectly fine imo. Just try not to go higher because some plants do not like hot weather.... luckily I haven't had that problem... during the hottest months of the year it'll get up to 95°+ or so in my vegroom without any problems. I do however make it a point to keep my flowering room between 72-82. And I only have those higher temps a few months of the year and only on hot weeks and whatnot... it just needs a better outtake is all I just don't have the money right now and summer is coming to an end anyhow.. my veg room is just a trashed small closet. I flower in a 4x2x4 though... that was the tallest I could work with which is a pain but I make it work... I use two mars hydro 300's and keep em 7-12" away from the plants in flower. I plan on doing a scrog next grow and throwing in a 3rd light (not sure what kind yet) and completely filling out the tent and hopefully hitting somewhere around 12 ounces . This grow with two lights and one plant veg'd a bit shorter than I should have im hoping to hit around 7 ounces which is in between my goal of 6-8 I'm obviously not sure yet as I still have one plant flowering. However the plant I veg'd a couple weeks shorter I already harvested and she gave me 78 grams dry which is a tad less than I wanted but still close enough to 3 ounces.. the second plant was a good bit larger and she's getting to use both of the lights directly on her half her flowering life since the other was chopped.. I chopped the first one at around 55-56 days of 12/12 which is pretty early but I mean she did have some amber she's a fast flowering strain that really impresses me... I'm letting my current plant go for 10 weeks of 12/12 (well 13/11 right now up u till the last couple weeks) though and looking to see what all differences there are.. worst case scenario my early harvest will be daytime weed and late harvest my night time weed... but I'm hoping for a QP off of her that'd make my day... anything more would be awesome. I also have a small bagseed plant that was cloned from her mother that I grew my first grow... her mother gave me 10 gram buds so I'm hoping she'll give me something similar I just have a few tops on her I don't need her taking up to much room as she's going to take a little bit.... feel free to check out my grow journal below though and maybe you'll learn something we grow in the same mediums im using 5 gallon buckets but plan on switching to 3 gallon fabric pots next run and flowering 4 plants to fill it my scrog so I don't have to veg as long. (she's yellowing out fast im going to have to give her a couple more full strength feedings before switching to water only... trying to get her as fat as possible and she is really taking up some nutrients compared to all my other plants that have only gotten quarter str doses and the occasional half str) i've only been growing for a year but I've done a lot of reading and it's been helping me a lot more so than anything else just going through these forums and looking through journals and peoples problems and solutions and of course taking advice from a lot of experience growers on the forums so I don't have redo take their mistakes. Grow journal
That's a good looking plant and yeah she is yellowing out fast so she's gotta be killing some nutes! I honestly have no real "goal" amount though I would like to get 3-5 ounces off of each plant..if they're both females. I'm just using a trashed closet for my Grow space right now but plan on ordering a 4x2x5 or maybe slightly larger depending on my budget whenever I order. The LED I'm using is a Bloomspect and it's true wattage is around 130-140 so I know I need more light, I just don't have the money either right now. I've only been growing for a few months so I'm A LOT newer than you to this lol but I have also done my fair share of reading and it truly does help a lot! I'll check out your journal when I have a chance later tonight. I've actually never had a plant make it to flower as my first grow, only one plant, was a male I am debating on whether or not I want to use CFL's to make up the lighting or not as I am on a very tight budget. Temps here are usually around 90-95 during the day outside so I feel your struggle with high natural temps! I've also read some things saying that the off the shelf grow leds from lowes/Home Depot/etc are actually okay when using as a supplemental light? Idk if you know anything about that but I figured depending on prices I may try this at some point. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
It'll veg both plants perfectly fine... I would highly recommend you try to at the very least buy one of these for the second plant for flower though Mars 300W LED Grow Light Hydro Full Spectrum Veg Flower Indoor Plant Lamp Panel | eBay with just that one LED panel you already have you'll probably get 1-2 ounces per plant with one panel for each plant you can obviously double that and get 2-4 ounces per plant depending on veg and environment. I wouldn't recommend wasting any money on Home Depot lights... by the time you have everything you need for your lights you'll have probably spent 50-80% of what a decent LED that's more efficient would end up costing itself. Worse comes to worst go donate plasma a couple times to get you the money to buy you the LED. Hell keep donating to continue adding on to the grow room without having to cut back normal finances lmao. And yeah she's definitely going through more nutes than any other ones I've grown so I'm hoping that's a good sign and those buds really fatten up I'm gonna keep feeding high doses at least a couple more times. Grow journal
I've been wanting to get a mars hydro but I couldn't afford it the first go around. I can't wait to see what you yield off of that baby that's hungry as hell! Lol I haven't thought about donating plasma, and that's not a bad idea at all. I may look into donation places in my area closer to flower to buy the mars hydro! I've gotta order more nutes close to flower as well as I only have what I have access to in stores here Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
That's how I got my first light.... blood money haha and yeah I'm excited to see what I get most of that yellowing happened in a 24 hour period so yeah she's definitely getting a heavy feeding tonight. If in the us dyna gro offers a solution preview pack for 28$ if you email their customer service and ask... it comes with 32oz bloom 32oz foliage pro 32oz magpro 32oz protekt and 8oz k-l-n which is enough nutes to last for a few years. Grow journal
I am in the us so I will definitely be doing that! Thank you BIG TIME for that advice lol any other tips to ball on a budget? Haha Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
That's pretty much it for now haha... the nutes are not organic nutes they are salt based btw but they've been working fine for me so I can't complain... idk it came down to buying 5 different bottles for 28 bucks or buy 1 or 2 bottles for 28 bucks... hell even all those dyna gro nutes cost around 100$ on amazon when combined so it's a hell of a deal granted they still offer it... I came across it on an old thread that listed companies that gave samples idk if they change or not.... I know someone else told me they paid more than 28$ idk though if interested I can PM you a copy of their reply they sent me when I asked about samples. Is smell going to be an issue/do you have a carbon filter? Grow journal
Smell isn't an issue as it's just me and my girlfriend in the house and we smoke on a daily basis inside lol and if it does become an issue I'll just have to address it then lol but I plan on having a full exhaust and intake system whenever I get my tent up and running. Yeah that deal on the nutes if it's still going is unbeatable from everything I've looked at lol. Any kind of combo package is $40 or more and it's even more to try and buy things individually..but money for the grow room is hard to come by ATM as we just rescued a second puppy and yeah if you don't mind PMing me that would be awesome! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Hell I'll just post it here there's nothing personal anyhow. We are happy to provide new customers with samples, free of charge except for a nominal shipping/handling charge of $29.76. (This offer is available for shipping addresses in the USA only.) The solutions preview pack contains the following items: 1 qt. Fol-Pro 1 qt. Pro-TeKt 1 qt. Bloom 1qt. Mag-Pro 8oz. KLN With this array of products you will be able to properly perform trials for Propagation, Additive, and Nutrient situations. Just give us a call at 800-396-2476 with your payment and delivery information. Happy growing, Elizabeth Turner DYNA-GRO 2775 Giant Rd Richmond, CA 94806 ph (800) 396-2476 fx (510) 233-0198 customerservice@dyna-gro.com www.dyna-gro.com Grow journal
I'll be checking out the dyna-gro tomorrow and just ordered my hangers! Coming in the clutch man lol Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
goodluck and yeah I got a pair of hangers off of them a month or two back and I know I loved em compared to crappy metal wires I was using to hang lights haha Grow journal
I've currently got my light hung by an eno strap in order to achieve the height I wanted the bar in the closet I'm using rn is too thick for any of the clips I have on hand so I had to make it work The piece in the background that is just above the light is the 4 ft mark. So if anyone else runs to into a hanging issue outside of a tent because the lack of a thin cross bar and you happen to have a hammock strap on hand, they work perfectly (if you can adjust the height of the bar helps too). I've got two levels I can hang my bar at, 4 ft and 6ft. I currently have the bar at the 6 ft mark and the strap hangs down about 1 ft plus about another 1.5-2 ft drop due to the wires on connecting the light. That puts the light just below the 4 ft hanging point for the cross bar. I had to put my solo cups on a stand to get them right at the 22-24 in height level I wanted. Anyways, that eno strap saved my ass cause I wouldn't have been able to hang my LED without it! I'm thinking about lowering my LED either today or in the next few days. Would this be a good idea or should I let them stretch out a little more? I plan to flower in at least a 4x2x5 tent. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Yeah I had those wires and couldn't adjust my light so I'd always be putting stuff under my plants lol.. the ratchets don't need to be hooked to the metal you just loop em around and latch it onto the top so it's secured around the metal. Little convenient bastards I didn't know what I was missing until they offered em back when I got my first set lol... ended up buying a second set for my other light when I had got it. It ratchets up and down so you don't have to adjust anything all that long string can get messy though but that's not much of a con lol. How far away is the light now? You are definitely going to want a second led if you go with a 4x2 because of the coverage area. Really three or four would be best but two would work. May want to look into a 3x3 imo. That away if you can only use one led this grow it'll cover the area better and you can add a few CFL around the sides if you want. But after you actually buy a 4x2 and put 1 led in it you see it doesn't work well lol. Also if you have the room for a 6 foot tent I'd highly recommend it. Grow journal
They're about 22in away from the top of the seedlings now. And I may do the 3x3 so it'll be a little cheaper and it'll give me a veg and flower tent whenever I get the bigger one! Gives me more time to learn and get more equipment too instead of needing it in the next few weeks! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I'd personally say the lights fine where it's at... I keep it around 26" away at that stage but it just depends... I let them slowly grow into it they by end of veg I keep it around 16" away and flower I drop to 12" and lower as I see fit. Grow journal
I'll leave it be for now then lol thanks for all the input and advice! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Good morning all, Today marks one week! I just went into my closet to check on my babies and They're doing so good this go round! It really goes to show that knowledge is power! They were showing me they were thirsty so I gave them a good watering (half a solo cup each) ph'd to 6.7. I use distilled white vinegar and tiny amounts of baking soda to adjust my waters ph up and down, but to go up I usually just add in fresh tap water and it slowly brings it back into range if the vinegar does to much. It's an easily accessible, cheap, alternative that I haven't seen any problems with and have read where it's the only ph up and down other growers use without problems. Any input on whether this is safe or not is welcome as well! Just putting it out there for anyone else on a tight budget like myself lol. There aren't any signs of any kind of nutrient lockout or deficiency at the moment but my run off ph was 5.6. I know that's low for soil, should be between 6.6-7.2 right? What's the best way for me to get my soil back into the proper ph zone? I have garden lime on hand (not dolomite lime unfortunately) and can add so the soil or crush into the water if anyone thinks that would help with the issue..I've also read up on flushing with higher ph'd water to adjust the soil levels i.e. I would flush with 7.3 in order to try and bring the soil up from 5.6. Other than that everything is going smoothly and they're loving their environment for now! Plant 1: I also noticed a little darkness to the new leaves on plant one. I'm not sure if you can really tell in that pic but to the eye it's noticeable. Both seeds came from the same bag so they should be the same strain (unknown); however, plant 2 didn't have the darkened second leaves. I don't really care as long as they both stay healthy lol! Plant 2: Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Just got my hangers in yesterday and they made the space above my plants a lot cleaner and definitely makes adjusting the height a lot more precise and flexible where I only had the change in height option if the eno strap lol. I highly recommend picking a pair up..they're free so why not? Anyways, plants are looking good! I was wondering if I should go ahead and top them or if I should let them develop a little more? I'll post some pics. Plant number 1 is much lighter in weight than plant 2, she's also a little taller and has under growth developing where plant 2 does not. The first leaves on plant 1 are a little more wonky than plant 2 but neither are doing it too badly..anyone know a cause for this? Plant 1 Plant 2 Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum