My first Cannabis growing attempt

  • Author Author blackcrow
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This blog is in support of my recent investment of time, money, patience and an unbelievable amount of research about growing cannabis. There is SO much to learn and so many opinions on how to do things.

I purchased a Photon Agrow Systems 5 x 5 grow tent and outfitted in with a 6" air cooled reflector, 6" fan and a 600w MH grow lamp. I added a separate 4" fan and carbon filter for tent filtration.

The lamp is suspended by a pair of ratchet pulleys and the filter is suspended by nylon straps provided with the grow tent. Because of the noise from the smaller fan, I fabricated a muffler from two 6' to 4" reducers and a 6" duct connector and I wrapped the housing and muffler with self-adhesive reflective air duct insulation - this resulted in a 6 decibel noise reduction. Yes, it looks like and RPG launcher, but it works, it was inexpensive and it fits inside the tent perfectly.

I started my project with Dutch Passion seeds: three seeds of Masters at Work feminized Orange Bud, two seeds of White Widow X Skunk #1 (regular) and one seed of feminized Akorn (aka Snowbud). I also added two Burpee Mister Stripey Heirloom tomato seeds as my control set - while not an ideal control set, I had fresh seeds and was curious to see how they would do growing indoors.

I used a Jiffy 72-site starter tray and Rapid Rooter starter plugs heated from above by a small halogen lamp (the plugs were located on the opposite end of the tray and were shaded by construction paper from the light). I soaked the plugs in 200ml of Brita filtered tap water before inserting the seeds (point down) 1/4" below the surface of the plugs. Using a small piece from the bottom of each plug, I carefully filled each hole where the seed was planted. This allowed me to detect sprout growth without disturbing the plugs.

On day three, I added another 200ml of water.

For six days, I monitored the humidity and temperature of the tray. Temperatures ranged from 72 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity ranged between 70 to 90 percent.

On the fourth day, noticing that humidity was beginning to climb to +80 percent, I vented the corners of the lid in order to reduce the humidity, with limited success.

On day five, I noticed the humidity spike to 90% and I also noticed the first signs of sprouting in some of the plugs and decided to more aggressively vent the lid in an effort to get the humidity down to approximately 50%. I also removed all of the excess water from the bottom of the tray.

On the morning of day six, sprouts emerged from one of the two tomato plugs and two of the Orange Bud plugs. There is also movement on the other plugs. Humidity has dropped to a more manageable 68 percent and temperature is stable at 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whew! More to come soon, and I will add photos as soon as I figure out where to upload them too.

Comments

And this is your 1st grow! How many plants do you plan on putting in that tent! I got twelve
In a 4x4x6 ft high wood fabricated from wood! It's super cramped! I also have 2 1000 watt ipower digital ballast! 2 400 CFM fans and a 520 CFM adjustable fan! If ur putting all those plants in 1 grow space I'd at least rock a 1000 watt lamp not a 600
 
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Hi GreenNation. Thanks for the comments. Sounds like you have a full house!

:thumb:

GreenNation;bt6511 said:
And this is your 1st grow! How many plants do you plan on putting in that tent! I got twelve
In a 4x4x6 ft high wood fabricated from wood! It's super cramped! I also have 2 1000 watt ipower digital ballast! 2 400 CFM fans and a 520 CFM adjustable fan! If ur putting all those plants in 1 grow space I'd at least rock a 1000 watt lamp not a 600
 
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So Day seven has arrived and two more seedlings have popped - Snowbud and the other White Widow! From what I can tell, the last Orange Bud should pop tonight or tomorrow morning and that will give me 100% germination... YES!

I have just transplanted my seedlings into 2 inch starter pot and filled them with SupraNatural Synergy potting mix (SUPRANATURAL - Home, if you are interested). The pots are in a 3 gallon clear plastic tray sitting on top of a cut-to-fit piece of plastic flourescent light diffuser (to help with drainage). Each 3 gallon tray holds 9 pots. The seedlings are currently in a separate room (a closet, actually) with bi-fold louvered doors (to help with ventilation) and a pair of 50w CFLs Ra85 5500K 24hr/day.

I plan to move the seedlings to 1 gallon pots in a couple weeks and put them in the tent under the 600w MH veg lamps. Ultimately, they will end up in 3 gallon pots.

More later...
 
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Quick update: On day 15, the roots have developed nicely and are a healthy bright white color.

I transplanted the 6 plants into three gallon pots filled with the SupraNatural Synergy. The SupraNatural Synergy is a terrific product and I know it will work fine, but I expect I will be doing more frequent watering as the plants develop. I suppose I am just second-guessing my decision to not just use the Pro Mix HP Mycorrhizea, as I had originally planned. The next round of plantings will definitely use the HP and I will compare results with like plants.

One of the Orange Bud plants (the last one to sprout) didn't come out of it's 2" pot gracefully, and as a result, it's roots were torn about halfway down. I am keeping an eye on it and hoping for the best, but I may have caused irreparable damage to it - I hope not.

I am also noticing a tinge of yellow on White Widow #2 (https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/504/medium/IMG_23566.JPG)

I moved the plants into the tent and have adjusted the light schedule down from 24/0 to 18/6. I ran the light for 18 hours at 360w, increasing to 400w on day 16, and will promote to 600w on day 17.

Humidity is constant 48 percent and the temperature is steady at 73 degrees. I added a tray of water inside of the tent to increase the humidity.

I am becoming concerned about White Widow #2 - it is turning more yellow, some small brownish marks are appearing on the tip of one leaf, and it's leaves are slightly upcurled: (https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/504/IMG_238311.JPG).

Comments, suggestions and advice are welcome.
 
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blackcrow., I checked out the Synergy too... had a little yellowing like you. I called the company ( their number is on the back of the bag ) - They told me to rinse, then fertilize normally. Problem cleared up and flowering is looking great !
They also said they have reformulated Synergy for 2014 w/ more coco, nitrogen, phosphorous & some pumice for better drainage. I really like the rooting from the coco & microbes - way better than PMHp.
I think I'll give the new stuff another try., my yield & quality is good & I'm not using ph down or any additives - just a good A & B bloom & some nitrogen guano, molasses , compost/ worm teas every other watering ( 2 - 3 days ). Good Luck !
 
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