Growing a "Friendly"

[MojoNojo]

TODAY IS DAY 21 - END OF WEEK 3

Hey Everyone,

I don't have a lot of info on the strain and percentages for anything. A roommate gave me a seed. I think the seed may have been from his brother's plant that was growing in their Greenhouse during the fall...

I have this plant under 2-40watt CFLs and 1-13watt Fluorescent Tube.

Here is a photo of it presently - Day 21 - End of Week 3

IMPORTANT NOTE:


Then it was switched to 1-40watt CFL and 1-13watt Fluorescent Tube for a few days until I could add on the second 40watt CFL to the equation.

SOIL AND POT SETUP
I am using the same soil that I planted the germinated seed into:

Soil - "100% Organic Seed Starter - Milled Sphagnum Moss - No Damp Off"
Pot - 3'' Jiffy Pot

All of that is sitting on a "Jiffy-Gro Heat Mat"

SOIL INFO
Did A pH/Nitrogen/Phosphorous/Potash test within the 1st Week
pH = between 6 and 5
Nitrogen = High
Phosphorous = Low
Potash = Low


Watering
I think I have been watering it way too much, the soil was being kept dark and wet daily usually watering it around 7am till soaked and then returning to water again around 6pm and frequently spritz it's leaves in between.

Here is a picture of signs I think may be showing me I'm watering too much.

I am assuming the dead leaf edge or whitening on tips of these (new leaves that have only emerged in the past few days) are showing me I have been overwatering.

ALSO
As you could see from that picture above, the little guy is being supported to stand up straight. Here is a picture (Taken Day 18) of how he stands without support:

THOUGHTS?


P.S.
Can take pictures and upload as frequently as they are needed, just let me know what you need to see and I'll deliver it.

Thank you all in advance, I have been looking around and have seen nothing but positive attitudes and overwhelming support in this community!

 

[CocoJoe]

Plants in soil wants a 6.5 PH.

 

[MojoNojo]

Plants in soil wants a 6.5 PH.

Anything I can do to make it less acidic?

 

[MojoNojo]

New Light Setup and a Troubleshooting Picture

NEW LIGHTING SETUP FOR "FRIENDLY"



BULB:
2-27watt CFL Spiral Bulbs (100watt Equivalent)
w/ Circular Heavy Duty Aluminum Reflectors

LUMENS:
Combined output of 2800Lumens with a goal of 3000minimum
(Have a 3rd CFL but Nothing to hang it yet)

Color Temperature:
5500K for each bulb with a goal of 6000K and this was the closest one available

PICTURE OF THE BULB PACKAGE:

All Products Purchased from HomeDepot.

Wide shot of the new setup:

Close up of the new setup:

Troubleshooting Picture:

I'm Pretty sure i've been overwatering it, and I am definitely sure that this new light setup will have a positive effect.

I have had it on 18hours of Light and 6hours of Darkness. Is this the right cycle for this stage? I've heard people saying 24hour light, but I wasn't sure if that pertained to my situation.

 

[dohmixer]

Cut back on the watering, get some very light breezes blowing across that plant with an oscillating fan to hopefully strengthen it a bit. 18/6 is good for your lighting. About your PH ?
How Can I Raise or Lower the pH of my Soil Mix?

 

[420warriors]

I agree with everything dohmixer said, also heres a link for any CFL questions you may have. CFL Light Tutorial

 

[MojoNojo]

Thank you dohmixer and 420warrior for the quick responses!

Dohmixer: I have a fan but it doesn't oscillate, is that okay to point on a low setting slightly above the plant so it's indirectly blowing it?

420warrior: Thank you I read that and it was very helpful, that's actually the reason I identified my problem with lighting and fixed it between my post this afternoon and the more recent post from an hour ago. Great tut for anyone that is reading this and considering CFLs!

 

[SciFi]

Some authors believe that 24h leads to more herms and more males in general and that 18/6 is more natural, but will results in slightly smaller plants as they get more lumens on 24h. Either way, I think you'll be fine..

I use moss/verm/perilite soilless now and just to point out... it usually dries out really fast for me, but I have low humidity too.

 

[MojoNojo]

Some authors believe that 24h leads to more herms and more males in general and that 18/6 is more natural, but will results in slightly smaller plants as they get more lumens on 24h. Either way, I think you'll be fine..

I use moss/verm/perilite soilless now and just to point out... it usually dries out really fast for me, but I have low humidity too.

I don't have high expectations for size, just health. I feel that it's too early to transplant so I hope these new lights will get it bigger quicker.

Curious, when will I see signs of sex? Before flowering or after?

Do you use CFLs? if so, what do u think of my setup?

 

[dohmixer]

When it gets a little bigger and stronger just drop that whole jiffy pot into a bigger pot with your prepared soil well moistened and you shouldn't need to water for at least a week maybe more. You can pick up a cheap light, moisture, ph meter at any nursery. Browse through these threads that you find interesting or educational to you. How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know

 

[420warriors]

Your set up looks good, the lights are fine where they are but as it grows and gets stronger you can move them closer to the plant though. you can put CFLs an in. or 2 away in most cases. Preflowers will start to show before flowering, usually about 4wks or so. Many people put their plants in 12/12 to sex them but I don't really see the need in your case. Here is another link, browse through it and you will find MUCH valuable info. How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know It includes how to identify male/female. Just keep in mind that these are weeds and they are pretty forgiving. They mainly require light, water and air. You will also likely get conflicting answers, research is your best friend. Read Read Read! As it sounds like you already have! It's a nice start, good luck

 

[MojoNojo]

Thanks a lot 420warrior, I just added a pinch of water soluble miracle grow ferts. to a new water sprayer and gave it a good soil rinse and kept it off the leaves. Hopefully this will fix whatever Deficiency my leaves are showing in the middle (lighter colored centers)...

Will have before and after photos by the end of the week to hopefully confirm some level of progress, but will routinely do the weekly fertilizing and ration water compared to my overwatering tendency.

Thank you everyone for the help, I really appreciate it and hope if anyone else on here sees my troubleshooting picture and knows what is exactly wrong that they could just throw a response in here... Thanks again.

 

[SciFi]

That's tiny for as old as it is and it should be able to hold itself up. You need a fan on her at very low speed. It'll strengthen the stem so it can stand up itself. You might have a nitrogen def, or the temps got up too high for her. I'd suggest some general hydroponics ferts.. they're real easy to use, and lots of big guys use them too. (Look at the Viper's nest grow.. he uses GH flora too)

 

[MojoNojo]

Re: To SciFi / Update on Ferts I Used

That's tiny for as old as it is and it should be able to hold itself up. You need a fan on her at very low speed. It'll strengthen the stem so it can stand up itself. You might have a nitrogen def, or the temps got up too high for her. I'd suggest some general hydroponics ferts.. they're real easy to use, and lots of big guys use them too. (Look at the Viper's nest grow.. he uses GH flora too)

About the size. I think that my lighting setup was severely underdone and in the wrong spectrum for the Stage it was in. The CFL Tutorial that 420Warrior mentioned is really good and is the reason I have my new setup above this post.

Temps probably aren't too high, although I can't say that for sure because I don't have a thermometer.

For humidity, i'm just putting water in a tinfoil tray on the same heat pad and just filling up when it's dried out periodically...

Fan blowing on it angled because it's not oscillating, so it's just barely blowing it, enough to sway it a little...

For Ferts. I went out today and around 2pm gave her powder-form "Miracle-Gro® Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food"

• The Ferts. came with a double sided measuring spoon... I had a 16ounce spray bottle and the measurements were 1/2teaspoon (Small end of the measurement spoon) per Gallon. So I just did the math and needed something madd small approx. .0625 of a teaspoon of the stuff LMFAO... so i did like an 18th of the spoon and mixed it good with a spray bottle that i'll use exclusively for that application.
  
  IMPORTANT: I DID NOT SPRAY the Miracle Grow on the Leafs so as not to give the plant a chemical burn.

Here's a picture of the Fertilizer I used:
for anyone that is interested...

Product Details:

• Fertilizer Analysis:
  24-8-16
  
• Indoor Plants Directions:
  Mix 1/2 teaspoon (not tablespoon) per gallon of water. Apply every 2 weeks. **We do not recommend foliar (leaf) feeding for houseplants.**
  
• Indoor dilution rate:
  1/2 teaspoon per 2 quarts of water, or 1 teaspoon per gallon of water every 7 to 14 days (small end of scoop = 1/2 teaspoon).
  
• Watering can singles:
  1 packet to 2 gallons of water every 7 to 14 days.
  
• Constant feeding method:
  1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, given at every watering.

Pictures of "Friendly" Day 22 (First Day of Fertilizing):

This is not likely to show much improvement, but it will show some difference from yesterday because I've been watering less. He is standing alone, as always was...
but as you can see he has scoliosis, anyone have experiencese like this?


BACK?

FRONT?

TOP.

P.S.
I hope I'm giving good information as quickly and cohesively as I am learning it. Anyone that sees incorrect facts or wants to make suggestions on my setup or routines, please don't hesitate to tell me.

I'm here to Learn, perhaps teach... and to grow "Friendly".

 

[dohmixer]

The mixing of chemicals is important and it's better to error on the side of under rather than over. Metrics are a lot easier to deal with than Tbl spoons and Tsp. Wallyworld sells decent (metric)measuring spoons cheap. Your scoliosis should work itself out with proper diet(nutes) and exercise(fan). If you want her to grow up producing buds and not balls start referring to her as she.

 

[MojoNojo]

Day 23 - More Light

Day 23 - More Light



Hey everyone,

I've added another light this morning. Same one as the other two as you can see in my above posts. I also Moved the lights much closer which should hopefully help her grow quicker...

Light output in Lumens Before - 2,800

Light output in Lumens After - 4,200


Here are some pictures I took after I changed the setup:

New Lighting Setup

Close up 1

Close up 2

Close up 3

More updates soon... Feedback and Support is greatly appreciated!

 

[MojoNojo]

Response to Dohmixer

The mixing of chemicals is important and it's better to error on the side of under rather than over. Metrics are a lot easier to deal with than Tbl spoons and Tsp. Wallyworld sells decent (metric)measuring spoons cheap. Your scoliosis should work itself out with proper diet(nutes) and exercise(fan). If you want her to grow up producing buds and not balls start referring to her as she.

Despite the lack of time that has passed, her leafs do seem to be getting their color back to normal... We'll hopefully see a bigger change in a week or 2... Thank you for the advice, I certainly aired on the side of caution and used barely a pinch of the stuff.

 

[CFL man]

I really like your reflectors Im tuning in

 

[MojoNojo]

I really like your reflectors Im tuning in

Thanks a lot man, I got them over at Home Depot for only $6.47/each , they're not only reflectors, they're also the light fixture which I thought was cool and they have clamps and can be adjusted to point wherever.

Was interested in your grow journal/got the reflector idea from it lol.

I assume you have much more light on your plants, how many Lumens did it add up to and how many do you think I truly need?

It's week 3, so I assume my little girl should be a bit bigger.

Hopefully this new light setup that's only a couple days old mixed with the ferts I added yesterday will show a nice growth spurt?

Last but not least, how often are you watering?
and
How do you know when it's watered enough?

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[CFL man]

Light fixtures, nice! Haven't found anything like this here tho...

I get about 10500 lumens with 7 lamps, i think you got enough for one plant the reflectors really do the trick. should spurt really quick now!

i water whenever there is a need, i usually finger test my pots, stick my finger as deep as i can into the soil and feel if it is dry/moist/soaked ^_^ but they get dry in about 48 hours, lots of heat, ventilators and low humidity. I water till water drips out from the bottom.

Just try not to rush it, i think i might be rushing a little, also i might be hurting mine a little, I worry for my babies. But they are my experimental children lol