First time grower

[george goff sr]

Hi, just a little back round on me so everybody knows why i joined. i'm 77 yrs old and my oldest son lives with me and has glaucoma real bad and spends a small fortune at the medical dispensary ($600 month) ohio just legalized growing so i decided to try to help him out. i never do anything without extensive research so i went and got a 8x8 tent and all the bells and whistles, led lights, co2, humidifier, ppfd meter, ph meter, ec meter, osmosis water, etc. i started on 08/01/24 and my plants are already 11 to 13 ins tall and in 5 gallon fabric buckets, ive had a couple of hiccups on the way, but everything seems to be ok. (ill attach pictures if this forum allows it) i started with 10 seeds and they all grew, 5 real good and 5 not so good, (sour ape and purple lime mist ) i joined another forum and every time i asked a question i didn't really get an answer, so i thought id try another forum. if you have questions ill answer them as best as i can, i'm using vivosun nutrients, foxfarm soil mixed with coco, 50/50 mix, ph of water 6.5, ec level is anywhere from .18 to .25, runoff water is 1.27, moisture in buckets is .19 to .28 %, temp in tent runs between 72 to 78 degrees humidity 75 to 78 %, par is 300 to 400 ppfd, lights are 20 inches above canopy, i have product coming today to raise ph level of soil (currently 5.2 ) Whew, did i miss anything? Oh, my question LOL, 5 of my plants have between 7 and 8 nodes and i'd like to know if i should trim them now or wait awhile. plants are 39 days old.

 

[MaryJane RC]

Right on dad!!! Family first!!!
Welcome and many are here to help as well as learn and you have a beautiful grow!!!

 

[Rolling Green]

Greetings and welcome to 420 Magazine George Goff Sr.

Strictly and outside grower here and not one to defoliate or train plants. Wish you success on your first indoor grow and lots of pungent huge colas come harvest time. Would recommend that over the winter you think about planting a couple autoflowers and a couple photoperiod plants around mid May as possibly you may find it easier, cheaper and more convenient than growing inside.

Good luck Mr. Goff and hopefully we will see lots of pictures in your grow journal if you decide to make one here!

 

[StoneOtter]

Hi George Welcome!
That soil ph. Did you determine that by doing a slurry test?

 

[Greenvein]

Welcome buddy beautiful little ladies

It's a bit of a strange one your PH being so low they early. What Coco did you use? Also how comes you mixed it with soil?

Did you mean topping what you said trimming?
Topping plants is usually done around the 6th node on average.
LST training can be started almost as early as you like if your careful.

 

[StoneOtter]

Btw, good on you for helping out like this!

 

[StoneOtter]

The nodes!
Yes you should "top" as we say to as many nodes as you want. Have you thought about training?

 

[george goff sr]

Hi George Welcome!
That soil ph. Did you determine that by doing a slurry test?

yes i did a slurry test on all 10

 

[Bill284]

Hi, just a little back round on me so everybody knows why i joined. i'm 77 yrs old and my oldest son lives with me and has glaucoma real bad and spends a small fortune at the medical dispensary ($600 month) ohio just legalized growing so i decided to try to help him out. i never do anything without extensive research so i went and got a 8x8 tent and all the bells and whistles, led lights, co2, humidifier, ppfd meter, ph meter, ec meter, osmosis water, etc. i started on 08/01/24 and my plants are already 11 to 13 ins tall and in 5 gallon fabric buckets, ive had a couple of hiccups on the way, but everything seems to be ok. (ill attach pictures if this forum allows it) i started with 10 seeds and they all grew, 5 real good and 5 not so good, (sour ape and purple lime mist ) i joined another forum and every time i asked a question i didn't really get an answer, so i thought id try another forum. if you have questions ill answer them as best as i can, i'm using vivosun nutrients, foxfarm soil mixed with coco, 50/50 mix, ph of water 6.5, ec level is anywhere from .18 to .25, runoff water is 1.27, moisture in buckets is .19 to .28 %, temp in tent runs between 72 to 78 degrees humidity 75 to 78 %, par is 300 to 400 ppfd, lights are 20 inches above canopy, i have product coming today to raise ph level of soil (currently 5.2 ) Whew, did i miss anything? Oh, my question LOL, 5 of my plants have between 7 and 8 nodes and i'd like to know if i should trim them now or wait awhile. plants are 39 days old.

Beautiful ladies my friend.
Welcome to 420Magazine.
I wouldn't prune anything on a young girl but it's ultimately your call.
Nice work.



Stay safe
Bill284

 

[george goff sr]

Welcome buddy beautiful little ladies

It's a bit of a strange one your PH being so low they early. What Coco did you use? Also how comes you mixed it with soil?

Did you mean topping what you said trimming?
Topping plants is usually done around the 6th node on average.
LST training can be started almost as early as you like if your careful.

yes i meant topping, and i got coco coir, to save money ( fox farm soil was $40 a bag and i would have needed 6 bags) and also to make sure the plants drained good, did i make a mistake mixing them 50/50 ?

 

[Greenvein]

yes i meant topping, and i got coco coir, to save money ( fox farm soil was $40 a bag and i would have needed 6 bags) and also to make sure the plants drained good, did i make a mistake mixing them 50/50 ?

I wouldn't call it a mistake, I've just never known anyone to mix them...
Coco is Hydro so mixing soil with it takes away it's advantages.
soil, I would guess fox farm is already well airated as I see it's used by many and that's all Coco can do for soil.
Besides that info its done now your ladies will be fine having Coco and RO you definitely be needing Calmag.
When I grew with compost coir I didn't add any nutrients untill I started to see deficiencies so I used all the soil nutes before adding salt's then from this point I watered until 10% run off disposing the run off.

Always good to check pen calibration when soil seems off too

 

[Azimuth]

As a first time grower you'll need to experiment a bit to find your jam. For training, I'm partial to Quadlining (link in my sig) which produces nice, symmetrical and very productive plants.

Even if you did just one to see how it works for you I think you'd be pleased. Another option is LST (Low Stress Training) which involves bending the plant over while restraining it with string typically.

Good on you for helping out your son.

Your temps could be a little higher as canna generally likes it warm. Something north of 80*F will get you faster growth.

One caution for you though. Growing this plant is addictive. Once you start you may never be able to stop.

Also, once you get to harvest, there are more options available besides smoking, many of which are preferable for medical use.

 

[Phytoplankton]

I think your research paid off! They’re real nice looking! Man, that’s highway robbery for Fox Farms OC. I just bought 10 bags fot $11.50/bag. Last year I was getting the 3cu ft bags for $20.

 

[Azimuth]

Are those air hoses going into your soil?

 

[StarkRaven]

Welcome to 420magazine I love that you are doing this for your family! we are in the same boat you and I, I wouldn't of tried so hard if it wasn't for everyone else. Your plants are looking amazing.

 

[MaryJane RC]

Are those air hoses going into your soil?

Appears he has it attached to the manifold for feeding , you can see trace liquid in the clear hoses

 

[george goff sr]

Are those air hoses going into your soil?

water, at 77 i try to keep manual labor at a mininum LOL i have a 20 gallon tote that i fill with the osmosis water and a pump that pumps to the plants which i time to put roughly a gallon in each plant

 

[StarkRaven]

water, at 77 i try to keep manual labor at a mininum LOL i have a 20 gallon tote that i fill with the osmosis water and a pump that pumps to the plants which i time to put roughly a gallon in each plant

Beautiful ladies my friend.
Welcome to 420Magazine.
I wouldn't prune anything on a young girl but it's ultimately your call.
Nice work.



Stay safe
Bill284

Id listen to Bill this man is the goat. He wouldn't do you wrong. Hope your grow is doing well friend good luck with your first ever grow.

 

[Azimuth]

Id listen to Bill this man is the goat. He wouldn't do you wrong. Hope your grow is doing well friend good luck with your first ever grow.

Bill grows outside in a greenhouse and in a specialty built building. The OP is growing 10 plants in an 8x8. Different rules apply.

 

[Tokin Roll]

Welcome to 420 Magazine @george goff sr

Beautiful garden you have there; what nutrients do you use?
Are you just an indoors grower or do you grow outdoors to?

Here's some helpful info: Welcome New Members - Please Read Before Posting

Here is some information if you would like to start a grow journal How to Make a Grow Journal

If you want to see want other growers are doing, here's that link.

This is where you place your grow journal.

Journals in Progress: Current and Ongoing

And, after you have over 50 posts you can vote and enter our contests to win free grow stuff from our sponsors.

420 Contests: Win Cool 420 Prizes

Stay safe, and grow well my friend,

Tok..

Also, we now have a Fungi section if you would like to grow mushrooms.