First Ever Grow Journal

[yesum]

On the lights I used to use cfl. I would use a y splitter and then put that in a large size round clamp light reflector. Making a reflector out a beer can is another way to go. DIY Beer Can Reflector For CFLs

The light comes out the bottom in a straight line and also the sides in a 360 arc. Lot of wasted light with cfls. Currently I use LED lights with the dome cut off. 14 watts or higher is good. 10 watts will work though. Keep the cfl or LED close as in a few inches from the plants.

That box looking rig you showed will not reflect hardly any light and will trap heat. The light coming out of the sides is going in a straight line into a reflector that bounces it back into the cfl in a straight line. Better to lose that box thing entirely if you can. v shape or rounded for a cfl light mounted vertically over the plants. They are only getting the bottom light from it now as it is mounted.

 

[Slim6969]

On the lights I used to use cfl. I would use a y splitter and then put that in a large size round clamp light reflector. Making a reflector out a beer can is another way to go. DIY Beer Can Reflector For CFLs

The light comes out the bottom in a straight line and also the sides in a 360 arc. Lot of wasted light with cfls. Currently I use LED lights with the dome cut off. 14 watts or higher is good. 10 watts will work though. Keep the cfl or LED close as in a few inches from the plants.

That box looking rig you showed will not reflect hardly any light and will trap heat. The light coming out of the sides is going in a straight line into a reflector that bounces it back into the cfl in a straight line. Better to lose that box thing entirely if you can. v shape or rounded for a cfl light mounted vertically over the plants. They are only getting the bottom light from it now as it is mounted.

I 100% agree the light box I have is not ideal at all this is what I had on hand so I used it

I have bought and put in y shaped adaptors for the lights to get them on less then a straight line and expose more of the bulb

I’ll be buying LED’s when I have the money but at this point the cash is not there lol

Thank you very much for your input and the information you have given it’s very much appreciated

 

[Slim6969]

Time for an update

Today is day 10 as you can see from the pix there has been some growth in my lady’s

As you can also see from the pic I pulled a rookie move and over watered one of my lady’s The blue dream seems to be more sensitive to watering then the other 2

Theses lady’s are hard at work making there second set of leaves.

 

[dick23rk]

Looking good so far. I wouldn't say you over watered them by looking at your medium. Most plants leaves will bow down like that after watering, they will perk back up in a few hours I'm sure. My babies and plants in flower do this as well.

 

[Slim6969]

Looking good so far. I wouldn't say you over watered them by looking at your medium. Most plants leaves will bow down like that after watering, they will perk back up in a few hours I'm sure. My babies and plants in flower do this as well.

I’m having a hard time deturmaning when to water and how much to water

I know when the pot feels light it’s time but I don’t know how light lol I know overwatering is bad and at this point in the game you want the roots to stretch out to find water

 

[dick23rk]

Yeah there's no given schedule for watering as there are so many variables like humidity, temps and plant size. You don't want it as light as when you filled up the cup, but you don't want to water when it still has weight to it. Once the plants get bigger they can tell you when they need a drink. In a solo cup while they are that small, 1/2-3/4 cup is likely enough. You'll get the hang of it, will be a few more days for sure before you need to water again I'd think

 

[Slim6969]

My poor plant is looking pretty sad You would think if i had over watered her the others would be in the same state

My humidity is at 60%. My temp is 25 c or 77f I have not watered this lady in 2 days the soil on top is so dry it’s like dust lol
It feels a bit damp lower down

 

[Emilya Green]

I’m having a hard time deturmaning when to water and how much to water

I know when the pot feels light it’s time but I don’t know how light lol I know overwatering is bad and at this point in the game you want the roots to stretch out to find water

It is not hard to determine when or how much to water, if you do it correctly. There is a system that puts you in charge, and no longer guessing or sticking your finger in the soil trying to imitate a weather vane...
I wrote a little thing on how to properly water... you might get something out of reading it... see the link below. You almost have the concepts down, and I think you will understand once you grasp the wet/dry cycle that is needed in veg. Good luck and good reading!

 

[dick23rk]

Water it if it's light and as dry as you say, since there's such a small amount of medium in the cup it wouldn't take long for it to dry up along with what the plant used. Make sure you get some runoff as well, about 10-15% of what you put in, this helps pull the oxygen into the medium. Remember, your plant will talk to you. It's leaves are pointing down to the ground, it's something to do with your root zone. So make sure you use plain ph'd water.

 

[Slim6969]

So I’m pretty sure I know what was going on with my blue dream.

This seed was a freebie and honestly did not care if it made it or not. ( making it would mean I’m doing something right ).

So I watered the 2 other plants and the blue dream the same amount 1/2 a cup each.

The to granny’s med pots drained Nicely and after they drained felt about the same

The blue dream on the other had had very little come out and felt twice as heavy as the other 2

Meaning the pot is not draining like the others and holding water longer

. So I carefully took the plant out off the pot as if I were transplanting it.

What I found is the plant had a huge root system at some point.

The bottom of the soil was covered in roots

now that being said the roots were no longer attached to the plant

. And the plant has very little root left to it.

So my guess is the soil was not draining as it should I clearly did not pay enough attention to what was going on and the plants roots ended up rotting off


Now there is still a bit of good white roots left on the plant but jugging buy the look of the plant it’s not enough the sustain the plant and will most likely die


Does any of this sound remotely right ??

 

[dick23rk]

That could very possibly be what happened but did the roots have any discoloring too them? Or just all white? If all white they were likely struggling for oxygen due to the drainage issue. Try and replant it, you'd be surprised. But add more perlite, always helps. I run promix how and still put another 20% in. But if the root system is that strong then you may be able to save it. Might as well try, helps learn new things

 

[Slim6969]

That could very possibly be what happened but did the roots have any discoloring too them? Or just all white? If all white they were likely struggling for oxygen due to the drainage issue. Try and replant it, you'd be surprised. But add more perlite, always helps. I run promix how and still put another 20% in. But if the root system is that strong then you may be able to save it. Might as well try, helps learn new things

Yes the roots were brown and had a pasty feel to them I cleaned the roots what were still there and replanted it. I’m out of perlite so I’ll have to go buy some more for when I transplant them Guess I should have done that to start with but that’s why I origanly said it’s not about yeld for me at this point it’s about making mistakes and learning from them

This way my next grow ( or the one after ) I have things figured out a little better


We will see what happens in the next few days she might just spring back to life.

I did read somewhere that the plants can regrow there roots (to a certain point) so maybe I’ll get lucky


I’m one of these guys that learn better by doing and not reading lol the info seems to stick better

 

[dick23rk]

Yeah it's safe to say it was starting to rot away due to the amount of water trapped in there. Water it a bit lighter for a while and it may surprise you. We all make mistakes and yes you will learn from them. But there are lots of helpful people on this forum to help you out as well as a FAQ section. I would suggest though getting that perlite and doing a transplant on all of them once you get it. Add up to 25% in with that mix, it will drain a lot nicer. What size pots do you plan to go to next?

 

[Slim6969]

Yeah it's safe to say it was starting to rot away due to the amount of water trapped in there. Water it a bit lighter for a while and it may surprise you. We all make mistakes and yes you will learn from them. But there are lots of helpful people on this forum to help you out as well as a FAQ section. I would suggest though getting that perlite and doing a transplant on all of them once you get it. Add up to 25% in with that mix, it will drain a lot nicer. What size pots do you plan to go to next?

I was thinking a 1/2 gal or a 1 gal depends on how big the plants are. More then likely I’ll go to the 1 gal

 

[dick23rk]

Yup, good idea, I agree with 1 gallon. What is your final size going to be? Final size pot will be what you transplant into a week before flipping to flower

 

[Slim6969]

Yup, good idea, I agree with 1 gallon. What is your final size going to be? Final size pot will be what you transplant into a week before flipping to flower

Will most likely be a 5 gal. For the first time if they make it there lol

I currently have 5 and 10s

 

[dick23rk]

Ok. If you want 5 to be your final you can go solo cup to 1 to 3 to 5. Transplant into the 5 gallon a week before you want to start flowering. I have finished in 5 gallon with decent yields. This time around I went from my seedling cups, to 1 gal to 3 gal, then when I knew I was ready for flower I put them into a 7 gallon, trained them some more and pinned branches back, let them bounce back for a week and flipped.

 

[Slim6969]

So time for an update.

My blue dream is still alive....... but she is starting to get yellow on the tips of her leaves.

The other 2 are doing quite well


I got a new digital ph tester today. And if it’s correct my ph has been on the high end of things. 6.8 So next time I water ( it will be a few days I’m going to lower the ph a bit

Due to a winter storm we are getting my way I was not able to get out and get some more perlite hopefully in the next few days the weather will clear up and the snow will stop and I’ll get the the store lol

 

[dick23rk]

Do you happen to have any armour si or rapid start from GH as well? If so a small dose of each would help it along. But as long as it's still standing you know it's good. It might start to look really sad, and if it does, it doesn't mean it's dead lol. Some of these strains are resilient, it might not even droop, just shock it a bit.

Yep 6.8 is more the high end of your fluctuation. Try going in at 6-6.2 and let it rise while it's in the dirt. pH fluctuations within range are good for your plant.

Nutrient_Chart2.gif

• dick23rk
• Jan 29, 2019

Nutrient_Uptake_and_pH.jpg

• dick23rk
• Jan 29, 2019

 

[Slim6969]

Do you happen to have any armour si or rapid start from GH as well? If so a small dose of each would help it along. But as long as it's still standing you know it's good. It might start to look really sad, and if it does, it doesn't mean it's dead lol. Some of these strains are resilient, it might not even droop, just shock it a bit.

Yep 6.8 is more the high end of your fluctuation. Try going in at 6-6.2 and let it rise while it's in the dirt. pH fluctuations within range are good for your plant.

Nutrient_Chart2.gif

• dick23rk
• Jan 29, 2019

Nutrient_Uptake_and_pH.jpg

• dick23rk
• Jan 29, 2019

Wow great charts thanks for posting these

Once I get some perlite I plan on switching pots ( might be a bit early ) but I want to add more perlite to the soil and put a bit on the bottom of the pot for better drainage

I’m going to find some pro- mix as well I’m not liking the soil I picked up it turns muddy. When wet and I’m sure the plants can’t breath very well in mud lol