First Time Grow!

[Panda Grower]

So, after weeks and weeks of research and contemplation of wether or not I wanted to invest in my own little "project", I decided it was time.

I don't have anything fancy going on and the seeds are from some stuff me and my friend smoke.

I didn't do anything fancy to germ them, simply stuck them between two wet paper towels and some plastic wrap to keep the moisture in. Currently, they're in 1 gallon plastic pots with MG being kept outside (for now) until I order a light kit.

It's been about a week, give or take a day or two, but I'm really excited to see what happens!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

This one popped first, coming out strong. :3

Got these little ones, a little slower, but hey, slow and steady wins the race!

 

[Bapple]

Good luck

 

[NewBoy420]

My first grow too. lets see how we do buddy!

 

[Panda Grower]

Alright, so I'm thinking I'm going to do an update every other day or every 2 days, since doing one everyday might be a little much.
ONTO THE UPDATE!

Nothing too exciting going on with these guys. The weather's been cloudy so they haven't gotten much sun. Looks like today is going to be nice outside, though!
The first one that popped is getting a little taller the the leaves are broadening.
(Sorry about sideways photos. I can't seem to get them to upload right. :s)

The second one that popped is getting it's second leaves and starting to get a little taller as well. Looks like something happened to one of the cotyledons, but I think it'll be ok.

And our last little one is juuuust getting it's second leaves as well. You can see them popping out there.

I'm doing a little more research on lights, and since my grow space is going to be very tiny and I'm hoping for at least one female, I think I'm going to go with CFLs. I'm honestly not sure what wattage though. I'm still trying to figure the whole thing out. Any help with it is appreciated!

Welp, I guess that's it for this update! We'll see everyone in 2 or 3 days! Hopefully, I'll have lights by then.

 

[raisingcain]

Alright, so I'm thinking I'm going to do an update every other day or every 2 days, since doing one everyday might be a little much.
ONTO THE UPDATE!

Nothing too exciting going on with these guys. The weather's been cloudy so they haven't gotten much sun. Looks like today is going to be nice outside, though!
The first one that popped is getting a little taller the the leaves are broadening.
(Sorry about sideways photos. I can't seem to get them to upload right. :s)

The second one that popped is getting it's second leaves and starting to get a little taller as well. Looks like something happened to one of the cotyledons, but I think it'll be ok.

And our last little one is juuuust getting it's second leaves as well. You can see them popping out there.

I'm doing a little more research on lights, and since my grow space is going to be very tiny and I'm hoping for at least one female, I think I'm going to go with CFLs. I'm honestly not sure what wattage though. I'm still trying to figure the whole thing out. Any help with it is appreciated!

Welp, I guess that's it for this update! We'll see everyone in 2 or 3 days! Hopefully, I'll have lights by then.

What's up man congrats on taking the plunge.
Did my first grow last spring and been growing indoors all winter.
Had some experienced gentleman take me under their wing when I started and I learned a lot within the first three months of growing, very valuable lessons learned.

First, you said you started then outside and then plan on bringing them inside once u get ur lights set up right?
Why not leave them outside for the spring/summer/early fall? The only reason I say this is because you've got a lot to learn about your plants cycles/nutrients/watering/trounleshooting etc. taking on these tasks as well as learning all the different variables that come into play growing indoors is a little overwhelming.

Do you know what strain you are growing?

Just a suggestion:
When ur plants are a little more stable (prob within 2-3 weeks)get them out of that MG soil!
Depending on how much space u have you prob wanna transplant into 5-7 gallon containers. (You can go bigger but keep in mind the bigger the container the bigger root system your plant will develop hence bigger plants more food/water) Do some research online about different soil mediums and build your own.
If you have a local garden supply shop around they usually have everything you will need to get you going. Next determine if you want to use organic or synthetic nutrients.
Your plant won't need added nutrients until after your first transplant so just let that the little girl (hopefully) mature a bit before going heavy on the food. Once your ready to start supplying it extra food remember while your plant is in its vegetative state higher "N" food is best (nitrogen), after a week of first signs of flowering you will want to focus more on high "p" and "k" food ( phosphorus, potassium).

Determine early if you plan on "training" how your plant grows (topping, scrogging, LST, super cropping etc.)

And one other very important thing is determining your water source.
Tap water sux just about everywhere. City's and towns usually utilize a lot of additives in their water supply that can be harmful to your plant, some of the minerals or chemicals can alter your soils PH which can interfere with your plants ability to absorb vital nutrients. Think about investing in revers osmosis system or do what I did and head to your grocery store and buy up an ample supply of distiller water each week.

Hope Ithis helps sorry if you have already learned about these basics but it's better to know now then later !
If you have qs let me know I'm happy to help or if can't I know a few people on here that could. I'll be starting my spring journal soon too so u can check it out when it's up! Good luck

 

[Panda Grower]

What's up man congrats on taking the plunge.
Did my first grow last spring and been growing indoors all winter.
Had some experienced gentleman take me under their wing when I started and I learned a lot within the first three months of growing, very valuable lessons learned.

First, you said you started then outside and then plan on bringing them inside once u get ur lights set up right?
Why not leave them outside for the spring/summer/early fall? The only reason I say this is because you've got a lot to learn about your plants cycles/nutrients/watering/trounleshooting etc. taking on these tasks as well as learning all the different variables that come into play growing indoors is a little overwhelming.

Do you know what strain you are growing?

Just a suggestion:
When ur plants are a little more stable (prob within 2-3 weeks)get them out of that MG soil!
Depending on how much space u have you prob wanna transplant into 5-7 gallon containers. (You can go bigger but keep in mind the bigger the container the bigger root system your plant will develop hence bigger plants more food/water) Do some research online about different soil mediums and build your own.
If you have a local garden supply shop around they usually have everything you will need to get you going. Next determine if you want to use organic or synthetic nutrients.
Your plant won't need added nutrients until after your first transplant so just let that the little girl (hopefully) mature a bit before going heavy on the food. Once your ready to start supplying it extra food remember while your plant is in its vegetative state higher "N" food is best (nitrogen), after a week of first signs of flowering you will want to focus more on high "p" and "k" food ( phosphorus, potassium).

Determine early if you plan on "training" how your plant grows (topping, scrogging, LST, super cropping etc.)

And one other very important thing is determining your water source.
Tap water sux just about everywhere. City's and towns usually utilize a lot of additives in their water supply that can be harmful to your plant, some of the minerals or chemicals can alter your soils PH which can interfere with your plants ability to absorb vital nutrients. Think about investing in revers osmosis system or do what I did and head to your grocery store and buy up an ample supply of distiller water each week.

Hope Ithis helps sorry if you have already learned about these basics but it's better to know now then later !
If you have qs let me know I'm happy to help or if can't I know a few people on here that could. I'll be starting my spring journal soon too so u can check it out when it's up! Good luck

My plan is to yes, bring them inside once I have lights. I would love to leave them outside, but I live in an apartment complex and I don't think my landlady would be too happy with me growing weed right on the patio. Plus, I feel if I do it indoors I have a little more control, I suppose you could say. And it's also illegal.

I'm trying to keep it small scale (ideally, I really just want one female...it's about all I have room for), so I don't want them to be huge. The closet I plan on using is roughly 2x3x8, so super small, but just perfect for one plant.

I have no idea what strain they are, just some bag seed I'd been saving. I really liked the weed they came from so I thought why not. I had looked into getting some seeds from online, but I'm kinda tight on money, so I figured these were better than nothing. Plus, if something happened and I fucked the whole thing up and the plants ended up dying anyway, I'd be out $50+ and I'd be kinda upset. Now, I don't mind investing in lights because I can't just grow these out in the open. CFL's aren't that expensive and I can always use them for another grow.

Now, as for the whole training thing, I've read about some of that stuff, but I think that since I'm brand new at this, I'd better just stick with letting them grow how they grow. I'm pretty set on moving to a 3 gallon or even maybe a 5 gallon, but definitely not any bigger. Again, it's a space constraint. Plus, I don't want to get soil everywhere.

As far as nutes go, I didn't know that so thank you. I'd only briefly looked at using nutes, figured I'd research it a little more when they were a bit older.

I'm still really new and I'm just trying to stick with the basics. Nothing too fancy or complicated. Haha.

 

[JusTokin]

Subbed.
Good luck with your grow. I'm on my first grow as well. Lots to learn but this is a good place to do your research and get some great advice.

 

[Panda Grower]

Day 11

Let there be light!

So after looking into an HID/MH grow kit online that was $150, and seeing how that's a little steep for my budget, I've decided to go with CFL's. A whole lot cheaper and more ideal for a small grow. For veg, I picked up two 23w (100w) natural daylight CFL's by UtiliTech. They're 1600 lumens but only 5000K (I really wanted to get 6700K because I read those are better) but Lowe's didn't have them. For flowering, I got two 23w (100w) soft white CFL's by UtiliTech. They're 1600 lumens as well, but 2700K.

Here's the setup, guys!

I'm using duct tape to hold the lights horizontally, since they give off more light on the sides.

There's also a piece of duct tape holding the cord to the wall, so it's a little more stable.

I think it worked out ok. Haha.

I'm also thinking about making some kind of reflector from aluminum foil or even covering the walls in it, but I've read that it's almost not worth it since once the aluminum foil gets crinkly, it loses a lot of it's relfectiveness.
Should I go for it, or naw?

 

[Tropical Thai]

There s art in that lighting. Goodluck on the grow.

 

[CoNerd]

Welcome to the club, guys.

You are set for now on the lights. Little ones are fine with less light. You'll want to put as much light on the plants as possible during late veg and flower stage.

My buddy bought a bunch of these: HDX 150-Watt Incandescent Clamp Light-CE-300PDQ - The Home Depot

I've seen a bunch of home made reflectors made from baking pans that seem to work too. Love the lamp hanger. Red would be proud.

Beginners usually over water, over feed and fiddle with their plants too much. Resist those urges. Cannabis is a hearty plant. They overcome stress easily. Gardening is not a science and you have to work with what you have.

People have problems with MG because they add lots more food, and then the time release balls (you seem them in your picture) dissolve and the food becomes too concentrated for your plants. You have some options. 1. Let it ride and just don't add much food.
2. Wait until they are more than 2" tall and transplant into safer soil.


Get some trays for your pots. You want something that allows air flow underneath. Pick up each plant every day to weigh it. You need to know when the plant is ready for watering. A good tip is fill another pot with dry soil and use it for reference.

Enjoy your grow.

 

[Panda Grower]

Hey thanks for the tips! I've read a lot about people overwatering, overfeeding, ect. I'm not much of a fiddler, so not much worry there.
In fact, when I first started germing my seeds, I completely forgot about them for 2-3 days. When I went back and checked, that's when I realized they had just about sprouted.

I'm gonna try to leave them in the pots they are now until they outgrow them, unless something happens with the soil. I don't wanna transplant too many times and stress them out.

I definitely need some trays, though. Thanks for bringing that up. It completely skipped my mind.

 

[JusTokin]

Looking good Panda! This will be fun to watch.

 

[Panda Grower]

Day 12

Death From Above D:

I may have murdered one of my plants. Or well, my lights did.

See, what had happened was, after I set the lights up, I went to sleep. (I work overnights and plan on keeping the lights on while I sleep then turing them off while I work and turning them back on when I get home. Roughly a 15/9 light cycle for veg. When I start flowering, I'm going to get a timer.) Anywho, when I woke up to get ready for work, the first thing I did was check my babies. And to my dismay, the duct tape failed and fell on the biggest plant. Which makes me really, really sad, because, while I was setting everything up, I remember thinking something alone the lines of, "These lights are going to fall and I'm going to be upset."

Number one (I guess that's what I'll call her since she was the first one that popped) is looking really bad. Super shrivled and droopy.

I've decided to germ 3 other bag seeds, in hopes that one'll pop soon, and if Number one does pass, I'll have something to plant in her place. For now, I'm going to keep her in hopes that a miracle may occur and she'll recover. I've moved her outside since the light from the CFL's probably isn't the best idea right now. Maybe a little sunshine and air will do her good.

The other two (which I think I'll call Mary and Jane) are unscathed, which I'm super thankful for. I've decided to move them more directly under the light, which I've also made sure to secure more. They grew a lot during the night. I measured them this morning and they're about 3cm tall now!

Mary's looking great. You can barely see the second set of leaves coming in.

Jane's doing great as well. Her second leaves should be here tonight or tomorrow.

I'm thinking these plants are two different strains since the leaves look a little different. Does anyone else see it or is it just me? Haha. xD

If anyone has any tips on helping little Number one, they'd also be really appreciated.

And as a last little side note, I'm basing days off when they first popped. Not when I planted. Just to clear that up.

 

[Bapple]

Howdy PG!

Sorry about number 1s accident.

My experience with duct tape is that the glue goes all gloopy in high temperatures ( I once held the cover of my boiler on with duct tape) so make sure you have vulnerable points secured with something else also; the old belt and braces approach so that the lights don't fall into your girls again.

 

[Panda Grower]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it!

 

[Panda Grower]

Day 14

Here's some pics. I gave them a little water today and they reacted well to it. I'm amazed at how fast they're growing!

Mary

Jane

You can defintely tell the difference in the leaves now.

 

[Panda Grower]

Day 16

Everything's looking great, except the slight discoloration on their leaves. I'm not too worried about it. Other than that, I'm really pleased so far.

Mary

Jane

 

[Panda Grower]

Day 1

Alright. I know what you're thinking. Why is the title day 1?

There was another mishap. The lights fell. Again.
You think after the first time it happened I would have learned, but nope.

I've got the lights secure now and 2 of the 3 seeds I germed to replace Number One with popped, so I'm starting over.

Here's the setup now. Pretty sure there's no way the damn lights will fall again. I don't know why I didn't think of this in the first place.

I'm still calling them Mary and Jane.
xD

Mary

Jane

I'm gonna be keeping the lights on 24/0 for now till they get a little bigger.

Let's hope there'll be no more mishaps.

 

[Bapple]

Lesson learned

 

[Panda Grower]

Alright, so I have a small dilemma. After the lights fell, I realized the original Mary was probably not gonna make it, so I went ahead and pulled her and put the new Mary in her place. Number one was gone as well, so I used her pot and put new Jane in her place. But I didn't get rid of the original Jane (OJ for reference), because she looked like she had a fighting chance so I stuck her outside for the day yesterday. Well, I brought her in this morning and stuck her in the closet to see what would happen and low and behold, she is still going. Her third set of leaves have come in and they're a little burnt at the tips, but she's fighting. Now, here's where my dilemma lies. I really don't have the room (or the light) to grow more than 2 plants. But OJ is just such a fighter that I don't want to get rid of her. She is growing much slower now, but she is the farthest along. :/
Should I just go ahead and pull her too? Or should I wait and find out if she actually is female?

Here she is: