First HPS 600W grow - How am I doing?

[ganjagod22]

Hi all been a while since I posted on here. So straight to it I recently upgraded from my wardrobe with a few cfl's to a 1.2 x 1.2. X 2m tent with light ballast fan and everything you need included to get you going. I'm growing in soil in expensive fine seed starting soil with pre added vermiculite watering twice a week once with 0.2 ml of nutrients to 1ltr of water and the other just water. Light is around 2 foot away from canopy. 8" Fan blowing over the top on rotation with intake ducting coming in behind it and running from my window ledge, carbon filter and outtake fan close to the roof pushing up out the top. Temps are 25°c - 75℉. Drops to 20c/70f at night. Big plants in photos are 2 weeks old tomorrow ( seedsman seeds blueberry) the two pots with smaller seedlings are 1 week old tomorrow ( strain hunters money maker) the one in the tiny pot is barely a few days old that's the Afghan freebie from herbies. Just some advice on how I'm doing would be great sorry if I've missed anything out just smoked a fatty oh growing 12/12 from seed but not auto flowers any ideas when best to harvest 8 weeks or ten? Thanks everyone in advance.

 

[Foxtrot2112]

re: How am I doing? First time using 600w HPS

They look good, but having two seedlings in one pot caught my attention.
They are too young to transplant, but do it in a week or so as the roots may get entangled between them.

Also, why didn't you do a 18/6 schedule and switch to 12/12 just fro flowering ?

 

[Weaselcracker]

re: How am I doing? First time using 600w HPS

I grow the seedsman blueberry as well. I veg them for at least two months and then flower for about 12 weeks. Why so long? It just seems to take that long to look ready to me. It's a nice plant, very healthy and strong. Not knock you on your ass strong, but nice, and an incredible blueberry smell.
I'm surprised you have vermiculite in there instead of perlite.
The plants look good- except the biggest one is showing some issues. I don't know what from. With my plants I always suspect ph first when I get troubles.

 

[ganjagod22]

re: How am I doing? First time using 600w HPS

foxtrot2112...Thanks for the feed back the two in one pot was just because I ran out of soil went and got another bag today so will transplant in a week into an 11 ltr air pot like the blueberry plants are in. I didn't run 18/6 just simply because I've seen online that a lot of people are growing 2 foot tall plants from seed to harvest on 12/12 I have 7 plants so if I got two oz a plant that's 14 oz I don't need anymore than that for a while as its just for personal 14 oz should last me a good 3 months . Enough time for another grow that's the only reason but if this idea fails the next grow will have at least 6 weeks on 18/6 before I change to 12/12.

And to weaselcracker thank you also for your response both are much appreciated
Firstly I'm glad to hear someone else has tried seedsman blueberry and has had a good experience I love blueberry flavour weed but it's hard to come by where I live everyone has either amnesia or blue cheese that is all that they sell here lol.
I have no idea why the company uses vermiculite instead of perlite but the soil drains through almost instantly few seconds delay Maybe and holds most of what I pour on very little runs of ( using 1ltr of water per feed).
And secondly yes my ph is way to high it's on 8 in every pot but I have to wait til payday to get ph up and down unfortunately. Also I had it a little closer than I should have to the fan for its size and leaf weight so I don't think that helped. Biggest leaves have picked up a little since I moved her to the other side of the tent so hopefully will be ok in a few days. Anything else I could be doing right or am I pretty much on track for now to a fairly good harvest ( for a first time trying this way anyway) thanks again.

 

[Serpent]

Looking good nice job you must be pulling everyone leg as it looks like you know your stuff you setup looks tight. what about your humility make sure thats good or it will bit you in the ass later and your PH is good keep a eye on that,By the picks looks like your useing a older HPS system by the lines in the pic,but your fine you got a inline fan to clear the room,sweet pick with the seeds by the way.

 

[ganjagod22]

Hey serpent thanks for the feed back no definetly no expert only just got the entire setup two weeks ago lol and yes magnetic ballast so sucks when taking pics and cost a little more to run I believe than a digital but I just read and read and read online for hours looking up info and watching videos on you tube Put it all together when I thought I knew enough to get started and bought the tent just over two weeks ago on the 17th. The seed choice was down two two things, firstly my love for blueberry weed and I have watched every strain Hunter episode there is I think green house are a great company they care a lot for the plant not just the profit it makes and money maker is supposed to be good yield which in mind is great all round and apparently has a fruity berry flavour to it so looking forward to that the Afghan is a complete mystery to me so that will be determined when smoked. Ph will be constantly checked and hopefully once I get a ph up and down kit I'll be sorted. Thanks again any advice or feedback is brilliant and will help me I'm future

 

[Serpent]

keep me posted i would love to keep a eye this grow strain Hunter love that guy lol best episode is when they went to Jamaica now its time to sit back and relax

 

[Weaselcracker]

re: How am I doing? First time using 600w HPS

I find the amazing smell of the blueberry is mostly present during flowering. After harvest it comes back a little bit if you cure for at least six weeks but it's never nearly as amazing.
For pH plus you can use baking soda. I personally use the pH plus I find in the store in the spa/hot tub department. For pH minus you can use lemon juice or vinegar.

With all of those options, especially the first two, mix them with water first to make a solution. And be cautious with the amount when mixing your feed/water so you don't overshoot.

 

[ganjagod22]

Added you as a friend serpent so I can keep you posted Jamaica is a great episode my personal favourite is Swaziland where they come across the original Swazi gold. Nice looking plant.

Weaselcracker thanks again for your input I didn't know that about the lemon juice and baking soda that they adjust ph very handy tip though as I have both will give that a try today thanks

 

[ganjagod22]

Morning update on the girls. The biggest blueberry has outgrown its pot width in just 2 weeks from germination is that Normal? Never had plants that big after 2 weeks with cfl more like a month.

 

[Weaselcracker]

It's on the good side of normal. They're probably all suffering to some degree with that super high ph. The blueberry is the one plant in my grow that seems hardiest against ph swings, with the sativas being the most sensitive to it. If you get that under control you should see faster growth all around.

 

[ganjagod22]

Yeah I think the ph is hurting them as the smallest blueberry has some messed up first leaves they look like they have shrunk ans the Afghani is taking ages to grow 4 days and barely see the true first leaves but I'm just smoking a j having some pizza then going to give them a water with lemon juice as its around ph 2 according to a chart I just saw online. If I'm wrong and I need to use baking soda to reduce the ph please let me know asap as I dont want to shoot it right up to ph 14 as that will surely kill all of them. Thanks Weaselcracker if it's ok I'm going to add you as a friend your advice has been great and you seem like you know your stuff. Oh while I think about it should I flush the whole pot of soil through and then give a feed with lemon juice? I'm thinking that will help it soak through the whole medium and not run past dry spots or am I over thinking? Thanks again

 

[four201976]

Re: How am I doing? First time using 600w HPS

Keep us updated on the 12/12. Light is so very important to the plant. In regards to 2 oz per 2ft plant, I think that may be on the heavy side, especially with the lack of veg time. I always plan for the least and hope for the best.

 

[ganjagod22]

Yeah 2oz was on the better side with more experienced growers than myself but if I got a oz of each plant 7 oz is enough to keep me happy for a while I couldn't yield less than that surely? I hope not anyway lol I will keep updating this post with pics and results for you all as I said earlier this is really just an experiment based on other 12/12 from seed grows I've seen . I mean it takes 2-6 weeks when on 12/12 to show sex and that's a long time to grow some height and girth on the girls and then at least 8 weeks in flowering and the whole time they should still be growing. So hopefully will be a nice little yield to keep me going for a while and keeps me away from street weed that's laced with glass and sand and other crap to make it weigh more. I'm thinking of doing a scrog over the blueberry plants what do you think Weaselcracker? Would this possibly increase my chances of a higher yield by making more of the plant produce buds? Thanks everyone for your help advice and comments. More to follow daily going to wait to adjust the ph til Weaselcracker gets back to me on which product is the right way to get it down from ph8 to around ph5-6.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Ok. I'm assuming you have a ph tester, right? Since you mentioned it was at 8.5.
I haven't used lemon juice myself but it will work fine to lower ph. I don't know how much to use, you'll just have to mix with your water, adjust, and keep testing. I think lemon is quite strong. So mix up a few drops of it with water to make a small bottle of 'ph down' solution. Then use this to adjust the water. You'll have to use a little trial and error here but it should be pretty easy.

What is this water you're giving them- your tap water? And it has a natural ph of 8.5? If so there could be other issues with the water- like high parts per million of minerals. This is where you lose me a bit as I have never grown with tapwater. I have a rainwater collection system for everything here.
It would be good to know the ppm of your water.

I also admit I'm not a soil grower- at least for the cannabis part of my garden. A decent soil should have good buffering abilities, and usually contains things like lime, and clay, which do a good job of keeping the ph at around 7 -even if it's being given quite acidic or alkaline water.
Still, 8.5 sounds awfully high. I would even it out to between 6.5 and 7 for a start, and we will figure out the rest later. There are people on the forum who have more experience with tap water, and with soil, and we can call them over if necessary.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Ok I just got to the last part of your question.
I would say no don't flush them with a bunch of water before adjusting the ph. Because you'll probably get worse issues from overwatering. The blueberry maybe is big enough to handle it, barely, if the soil has good drainage as you say. The little ones definitively not.
I would just water them however you were before but adjust the ph more in line with 7.
I still don't know what your water is, but if it's problem tap water may be safer to just get some bottled/distilled stuff for now.
I hope this helps!
I'll get back to you about the scrogging ideas. Just going to catch a bit of sleep

 

[ganjagod22]

Excellent thank you Weaselcracker I'l mix up a solution of lemon water and see what happens. Yes I am using Tap water unfortunately I have no way of collecting enough rain water to feed my plants regularly so tap water sat over night to evaporate chlorine and left at room temperature will have to do. I'm not sure of the ph of my tap water but I will check in a moment. And I have no way of checking the ppm of the water I have no clue how to either lol. Anyone else you know on here that can help would be great to hear from I'm always open to advise. I'd rather be told to stop doing something and try something else than be left to it and have a complete failure of a harvest :-( thanks again sound advice as usual :-D

 

[ganjagod22]

Ahh didn't think of bottles spring water cheap aswel about 10 pence a 2ltr bottle at our local supermarket. Will try that and test the ph of the bottles water aswel just to see the difference.

 

[vy001]

Set up looks lovely dude. Cheeky tip. Disconnect your carbon filter until you see preflowers. The plants won't have a tell tale smell until then which will save on the carbon filters life.

 

[ganjagod22]

Thanks vy001 good advice I didn't think about that should speed my outtake fan up aswel with there being less resistance. Good tip thanks mate!