Bigkahuna's First Grow (Sour Diesel - Indoor - Soil - CFL to HPS)

[bigkahuna]

So this is my first grow and I have made my fair share of mistakes, I have omitted the details in order to not frighten you:
-Topping too much off
-Excessive pruning
-Not providing nutrients
-Inconsistent lighting and light schedule
-Still have not checked my tap water pH or let it sit out
-No air circulation

I have been consistent the last few weeks with the nutrients, lighting, 12 on/off schedule, and air circulation so the plant has been looking much better. 420 Magazine has been my main source of information as it seems to stand out above any other website, so thank you everyone! here are the details of my grow:

Sour Diesel (obtained a clone from a friend who threw it away a day before I got it)
Earthgro Potting Soil
Fox Farm Tiger Bloom & Microbe Brew (did not use any nutrients until approx. 4 weeks ago)
Currently 6-7 weeks into flowering (cannot remember exactly when I flipped)
150 watt Floralux HPS Mini (used two 42 watt 2700k cfl's until approx. 2 weeks ago)
Stand up oscillating fan
Honeywell HEPA-type air purifier

Here it is before switched into flowering and lst, I also believe it is before I topped (butchered) it

February 5th, 2014 in flowering, topped, lst

February 12th

February 17th

Today, February 28th (just came back home after being gone for 11 days, a friend watered it for me while I was gone)

 

[bigkahuna]

So I was wondering how far into flower do you guys think it is since I am not really sure and how long do you think it will be before it is ready to be harvested? My guess is a couple more weeks but I want to be ready to flush it properly.

Also do you guys think the 3 bladed leaves resulted from all the stress I put it through? It used to have 5 bladed ones in the beginning.

 

[CO Finest]

What I have found when I tie my plants is some times they do that from re growing in new ways so the plant is re forming it self. Not a bad thing in any of my cases. As far as age I am not sure. I like to flower mine about six months in Veg but I have enough room and plants to do that. I go by color on buds with a scope. Looking good to me. Happy Growing

 

[bigkahuna]

Hey there CO Finest! Reassuring to know that yours turned out fine, I was worried mine would turn hermie. Hopefully I'll pick up one of those handheld microscopes soon to check the trichomes. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[CO Finest]

No problem. I wish you the best. Happy Growing.

 

[bigkahuna]

Top Part

Bottom Part

Any advice on spacing out these guys to get better light coverage?
They are too short to LST, it would just cut into the bud.
Is it risky to trim a few leaves this late into flowering?
I tried searching forums but everyone seems to have different answers so I figured I would ask just to get opinions on my situation.

 

[bigkahuna]

Rearranged the tie-downs to try to get a more even canopy and open up the center. Wish I would have read Light Addict's Quick Guide To Fluxing - Featuring The Original Flux! when I first started. I'm definitely fluxing with the next plant.

Smelling zestier with each day

 

[SmokerJoe]

Hey there! Welcome to the forums. I subscribed to your journal but it looks like you are well on your way. Its looking really nice so far. Good job

 

[AZ007]

Looks like more than two weeks, i dont see any brown hairs yet.. But like Cofinest said look at it with a microscope and check the trichs

 

[SmokerJoe]

Ok after reading lets see if I can help you out with a bit of info. I would venture to guess your 3-4 weeks into flowering. The reason I say this is because there is a nice amount of pistils but there arent really any buds yet. And all the hairs are still white with none discoloring. For what you have there the spacing is fine but what I do is anchor each branch where there will be a cola to different sides of the containers and step them so if you pretended it was a staircase you could climb them. This prevents overcrowding good airflow and less branches will get blocked by other branches. For the size of your plants I dont think I would advise cutting any of those leaves as they seem to be forming a nice amount of trichomes and with the low yield you will get you will want to have those leaves to smoke. They wont be as potent but if you let them dry out properly and perhaps wash them if you have foliar sprayed they will still get you high and roll nicely in a blunt. As far as lsting you really have done all you can with the size they are as you are far enough into flowering that the size will really not increase as the plant is now focused on making the buds available to you. Also your plants look incredibly green so if you are I would advise against giving nitrogen at this stage and focus on potassium and phosphorus as those are now the main building blocks your plants infrastructure needs to produce extra sets of flowers and pistils. Hey at least your first grow looks like it will be successful in terms of getting anything. My first grow was pathetic. I did the research just didnt have any advice or help and wasnt a member of this awesome community then but rather of a community full of elitist idiots who rather brag about what they can do that you cant. Anyways enough of that. Im curious how long did you veg your plant before switching over? If it was stated previously I apologize as I skim in order to get to the helping you part. Have a good day and welcome to the forums.

 

[SmokerJoe]

Oh one more thing before I go away. It is kinda hard yet easy to turn a plant hermie. What I mean by this is defoliation most often will not cause a plant to hermie . A hermie plant can be smoked but generally there will be a loss of yield and a loss of thc vs a true female. Also any seeds resulting from a hermie are more likely to themselves turn hermie so it is advised those should not be used unless your breeding for specific goals such as a traditional hermie strain to breed it out with a few generations crossed with stable strains. The things that I speak of when I said easy to hermie is heat stress and light leaks into the growing environment when the lights should be off. I have read that you can have a green light to work in the dark because that light isnt really absorbed by the plant but reflected but I do not do it at all because green has been used by nasa in led within the other spectrum for growth and Im not taking any chances to mess up my hard work. Also lowlight conditions will also promote hermaphrodites. I understand and appreciate the benefits of going cheap but if your trying to grow for example 4 plants using 85 watts or something why even grow? Just read the plants and give them what they want. Extreme stretching lowlighting or the lights are to far away. Mold and bugs usually because they are overwatered. It takes some time and patience but you will soon begin to understand your plants and they will in turn love you for it. Hope I helped and sorry for the wall of text but I really wanted to help you out and do for you what wasnt done for me. Happy growing.

 

[Light Addict]

All looks as spread as you can get it! So if needed cut in half or remove whichever you happiest with. Any leaf covering a bud site. Quite easy just judge from above! I reckon you have ages yet good info posted above so I think your in good hands
Thanks for the shout out above If your fluxing next time just holla at me anytime! Best of buds

 

[SmokerJoe]

Thanks Light

 

[bigkahuna]

Hey SmokerJoe, stoner2b, and Light Addict! Thank you guys very much for the advice, especially you SmokerJoe! No worries about the wall of text, I really appreciate it. I flipped into flower only about a week after receiving the clone but I was not consistent in a 12/12 lighting schedule, no timer at the time so it was done by me which was not smart at all haha. I did not think I would be able to keep it alive on my first grow so I was a little careless and expected many mistakes but wanted to learn from them directly. I can't wait to start my next grow with the information I have read on this site so far and having the knowledge of all the great members here at my fingertips. Thanks again!

 

[SmokerJoe]

No problem Keep going thouh you will get something there for your troubles!

 

[Light Addict]

Best of buds to you my friend

 

[bigkahuna]

Been awhile since an update but the plants are looking good and fattening up. I flushed 3 days ago and I am going to use plain water "tomorrow", March 18th. Just wondering, but what would happen if I put my plant outside to finish up flowering; would it be beneficial or detrimental? The hours of sunlight where I live is currently 12 hours and 3 minutes, increasing by 2 minutes everyday. My plant is currently on a 12/12 schedule but it starts at 12:30pm and ends at 12:30am, the sunrise here is at 6:55am. So a bad idea right? But what if my next plant was on the right schedule?


Pictures taken on March 17th:

 

[SmokerJoe]

once they are that far into flowering you can give them a bit less darkness and they will be fine and continue flowering. But the thing is indoor plants arent as tough as outdoor plants are and so if you bring them out you should only bring them a few hours each day for about 4 or 5 days then they will be ok to bring out until they finish. The leaves will become thicker outside. Also, a lot of plants flower at less then 12. It is just accepted to start 12/12 to guarantee a flower trigger.Once they trigger some growers do 24/12 to get a bit more yield but they wont share that info. Once 12/12 has gone a few weeks plants will mostly continue to flower with as little as 8 but the 12/12 is the guarantee if you dont know your strain to well. But you will be safe with the sun length increasing you will still be above 11/13 which is what I us indoors. Good luck

 

[bigkahuna]

Awesome thanks for the great advice SmokerJoe!

Do you think it would be okay to add a little bit of Fox Farms Mircrobe Brew when I water or should I just stick with plain water until harvest?

 

[SmokerJoe]

Well your plants are looking healthy so I would not if they were my plants. If you are looking at fox farm I would say big bloom,tiger bloom and give them blackstrap molasses(baking isle) and some bat guano. I even treat my girls with a bit of juice when I eat a orange they love that.