1st Time Grower w/Lowryder

[OperaYak]

Ripped that rotten male bastard out of there. Read up a bunch on making seeds with males, it is something I think would lower the overall cost of operations and have great ambitions for in the future.

Picked up some new CFLs for when I change from cool to warm lights.

I am trying to find the proper term for the next picture. I was thinking pre-flowering, but not sure. Would anybody be so kind as to tell me what it would be considered? This is 29th day since seed, its on 18/6 with only 2 cfl's (3200 lumens @ 6500k).

Thanks for checking out my journal, any advice is appreciated.

 

[PatrizioD]

Dude, seriously, 2 CFLs? Thats impressive. I had a Lowryder#2 going for about 4 weeks and it didnt end up showing pistils, so we axed it. Im glad to see your's are going so well! Any chance of getting a full sized plant shot in here anytime soon?
That right there is a picture of the first stage of blooming. Those are definitely pistils, but I wouldnt call them preflowers, more like...baby flowers. Im actually eager to learn the specific name for this stage as well, since my AK47 hit this about a week ago...


Keep up the good work, and keep down that power bill!

 

[JJ Bones]

Nope I would call it just straight flowering my friend. Always keep in mind you chose an auto-flowering strain for your first grow, which is not a typical strain as far as typical growing procedures. Everything you've probably read is about 18/6 then go 12/12 etc.

So your flowering baby! Great journal and they look very healthy. I'm thinking of starting a Lowryder grow in my room with something like a PC Grow Box, homemade of course.

 

[OperaYak]

Good morning folks, been a few days since I checked back in here. Today marks the 28th day since I planted my AK-47 lowryders, and they are in full flowering stage. Up to this point I had used only two 6.5k CFLs, with total lumen output of 3200. Today I am adding four 2.7k CFLs for the last 4 weeks of flowering, bringing total lumen output to 9600. I plan on staying with the 18/6 schedule they have had since being planted. I am actually amazed at how well they have grown, as I have no "grow room" specifically. They started in the bathroom on the counter, and are now in a little corner of my closet. I have used tap water, two CFLs, MG soil and some Big Bloom nutes. That is all, literally. Not the ideal setup, but I think it should be fine for the small grow op I got going.

I have learned a great deal since I started this, and wanted to thank everyone who has given me advice so far. There is so much info available in these threads, it almost makes the head spin. Onto the pictures:

Here is a pic of the plants with a soda can, for size reference:

Here is a behind the plants pic. Pretty hard to see it here, but the short bastard is packed with flowering nodes.

I have a bit of a question on the taller on, as you can see in this next picture, the leaves toward the top are starting to sag on the ends. Little droopy, any ideas as to what might be causing it? Don't think its over watering, as I wait until the top two inches are dried out before I water. Doesn't seem to be a lethal thing, but want to nip it in the bud before it turns worse.

That is all I have for today, I will have more pictures up by the end of the week with the new lights. Thanks again for checking this thing out. Grow Strong!!

 

[OperaYak]

Got the new lights set up and the plants seem to like it, as I have noticed a definite change in the strength of odor coming from them after just one 18/6 light session. On the bad side, the droopy tips of the leaves are starting to spread to the other plant. I am starting to get worried now, as I haven't got a clue as to what the culprit could be. Any suggestions out there for a novice grower?

 

[OperaYak]

My tall plant has grow 3 inches in the last two days, but I still have the droopy tips and no idea what is causing it. Any ideas out there?

 

[OperaYak]

So to go along with the droopy, non-yellowing tips I now have a couple of the main stems of the fan leaves turning purple. Not fully purple yet, just starting to go that way it seems. Everything I have found so far seems to indicate a Phosphorous deficiency. Any suggestion on how to combat the issue?

Thanks for any help you might be able to offer.

 

[StinkFinger]

So to go along with the droopy, non-yellowing tips I now have a couple of the main stems of the fan leaves turning purple. Not fully purple yet, just starting to go that way it seems. Everything I have found so far seems to indicate a Phosphorous deficiency. Any suggestion on how to combat the issue?

Purple is not a problem man. Most likely just a genetic trait of the strain.

Nice Job OY!!

SF

 

[StinkFinger]

My tall plant has grow 3 inches in the last two days, but I still have the droopy tips and no idea what is causing it. Any ideas out there?

Droopy tips are usually a sign of either under-watering, or over-watering. I'm not sure based on your watering schedule which I didn't see. And I'm not really a soil grower, so I'll defer the exact remedy to someone with soil experience.

But this is something now for you to research.

Have a great day!
SF

 

[lil stinker 420]

i was wondering were you found your 6500 cfls at. all i can find is the 5000.i dont know if there is a big diff. in the two but your plants look pretty good with the 6500s.thanx

 

[OperaYak]

Stinkfinger - Thanks for the tip. Surprisingly it seems as if I might have been under watering them.

J.Strouse - I got my lights from Menards. Real cheap too. Was 10$ for 3 of the 6500k lights. Very nice quality. CFLs have opened my eyes, as I never thought they would be viable for grow ops.

Someone else pointed out that it might be too much N. Does that sound right to anyone? I don't like to act on the first thing someone tells me, and would like some sort of consensus. I am getting so much pleasure and joy out of growing my own stuff, I just don't want it to fall apart with the ladies being so close to harvest.


Thanks again for checking out my grow, any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[PatrizioD]

Do you have a pH meter? They are key.... About a week into flowering 2 of my plants were starting to sag and get pretty ugly, but after testing the pH we realized we were running too high at 8.5, so we lowered it. Now the plants have bounced back to nice and healthy, and are flowering great. As long as the pH is good, you should be pretty fine; these are damn resilient plants.
Before...

and After adjusting pH...

You can really see a difference. Most deficiencies or toxicities are caused by bad pH screwing with the plants ability to get certain nutes.
I wouldnt worry about a little bit of leaf tip sagging, as long as the plants are getting larger and the leaves are a healthy green, you're golden. Best of luck!

 

[OperaYak]

PatrizioD - No I do not have a pH meter. Was just talking to the wife today about getting one. Seems like the next thing I have to aquire for future grow ops, but I think for the time being I am going to just get some pH strips (if they are feasible for soil) until I can pull the trigger on the actual meter.

Couple of questions about the pH readers. It looks like you just plunge the meter into the soil and it reads it automatically. Is that the "jist" of it? Looks pretty self explanatory, even a newbie like myself could handle it if so. When I googled pH meter it came up with a shit-ton of options. I am trying to do this as cheap as possible for the first couple of grows, just to learn about the plant and what it takes to keep them alive. They have meters as cheap as 10$ that do moisture/light/pH readings, which interested me. They also have some really expensive ones that do only pH. General rule of thumb is you get what you pay for, but do you think I can get away with using a cheap one for now?

Are the pH strips even plausible for soil. It looks like they need liquid on them to even work. Anyone try pH strips with any success? And if so, how?

 

[PatrizioD]

Basically we used a pool supply pH tester. Put some water in and read the strip. You want to check the water that you're putting in, and then check the runoff. We dont stick the pH meter in the soil, because thats not really reliable IMO. Test the water going in, and the water coming out, and that should give you a pretty fair measure of where you're at.

 

[OperaYak]

Went and got a pH meter today. It's not digital. (I was impatient and just bought a cheap one. I see how bad of a choice it was, as I am returning it tomorrow for nice pH600 by Milwaukee.) I measured the tap water, and it is @ 7. I tested the soil and its @ 7.25, maybe a little higher. I know the best pH for soil is as close to 6.5 as possible.

Any one have any suggestions as to what would be the best/easiest way to lower my pH?

 

[OperaYak]

I used some lemon juice and it did lower it for a bit last night, but I think I am going to have to use some pH down from what I have been reading. Anyone have any experience using it? It seems pretty simple from what I have read, and works better long term wise.

 

[OperaYak]

Hello once again,

my experience with the pH testers I got was not a good one. First one was non-digital and was hard to get an accurate reading. Then when I went and got a proper digital one (from the same store, last digital one they had) it didn't work properly. I could tell someone had used it before and also returned it, as the tip still had dirt on it. I went ahead and ordered the Milwaukee pH 600 model, just waiting for it to arrive.

The leaves have stopped drooping as much, a few even straightened out. I figure as long as it doesn't get worse I can live with the results, as the buds seem to be filling out. I am starting to see the trich's as well, so that makes me anxious. Still have a little over 3 weeks until I plan on harvesting them (as long all is well in trichome land, once I get my jeweler's loupe), so now I get to sit back and just watch the buds get fat.

One quick question, and then on to the new pics. I have read that it is recommended to stop feeding nutes 2 weeks before harvest. Does the same apply for autoflowering strains? I assume so, but just wondering about any personal experience.

Both of them together:

Tallest one:

Short, fat one. Biggest yielder probably:

Light got too close to the top of this one, but it is the beginning of the trich-parade:

Again, thanks for checking out my journal. Any comments/suggestions are welcomed.

 

[PatrizioD]

Lookin good there Yak. I dont have personal experience yet with flushing before harvest, as Im in the late stages of my first grow. I CAN tell you that I 100% intend to flush for at least a week before harvesting. We went the way of Roots Organic soil and nutes, and based on the immense smell of guano, I dont want to be smoking that. Im not positive, but I think that flushing also tells the plant its almost time to die, because it isnt getting the steady stream of nutrients anymore. There are plenty of tutorials on flushing, here is but one...
A critical look at preharvest flushing
Give it a good read through, then decide for yourself based upon knowledge youve gained from others, and from your own experience. I've been using this tactic for everything I do in life, but I think growing cannabis has benefited the most
with the grow! Seeing your plants and watching them progress to this point, I have faith you will be pleased will the end result.

 

[OperaYak]

Patrizio - thanks for the link about flushing. Definitely informed me on the subject. I plan on doing the 10 day flush, like in your grow. Today marks 2 weeks until harvest on my auto-flowers. How much longer do yours have?


I have a couple pictures here of what I think is a Nitrogen deficiency, but would like to get confirmation from someone who is more knowledgeable than I. Anyone care to take a look, and leave a comment on what it is and/or how to correct it please?

 

[PatrizioD]

Well as of right now, I have one AF thats blooming, its an Auto AK47, and the specs on the seeds say it vegetates for 14 days then enters a "rapid and violent" flowering phase which lasts for 56 days. This seems pretty specific to me, so Im leaning on going a little more liberally with harvest time. The grow isnt at my place, and my buddy went away for a week, so I cant see them. I'd imagine that We're nearing harvest time right now, since the seed broke soil on March 21st. Right now we're at day 50 from seed...hold on I gotta go check my journal...and she started throwing pistils around April 7th. Since its a Sativa, we're going for an early-window harvest. I prefer to be head-high over body-stoned.

Enough about my grow. Looking at the pics you posted up, I think the discoloration could possibly be natural course of life. As the plant fills out its buds, it draws nutrients from the larger fan leaves, and they fade. I could be wrong. I, too, am a first time grower. I HAVE read an ass-load of material on the subject though, and I also have a general background in flowers/vegetables from my landscaping days (which are still under-way).

Basically just take it all in stride. If the leaves are towards the bottom of the plant, and the buds dont seem to be affected, I wouldnt worry about it. These are mighty plants; Im pretty sure in most cases you have to actively kill them for them to die. Keep watering, make sure the pH is right, and pass good vibes onto them.