Metalpoet - 1st Grow - Northern Lights Auto - Soil FFOF - CFL - Indoor

Hi, Pat! Going to come over and check out your grow as soon as I'm done here.
Day 20: Matilda's looking good. I'm still trying to balance wind flow and temperatures but she's hanging in there despite my clumsiness. I have managed to get the 2nd node growth pinned down. I can probably get some training done on the top node later today--- there's not a lot of room to get in there with more tie-downs.
Not sure if you can see some of the holes in the fan leaves. Possible water spots? I see NO evidence of pests other than the fungus gnats and I have seen none of those after this last dry-out.
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Thoughts on watering: I'm on day 20 and I have watered twice- and neither watering was a complete drenching since I was dealing with a seedling. The seed did start life in drenched soil. Anyway, I say this because when I read it seems like everyone is watering all the time--- and I bet when the plant is bigger you may have to water everday, but that's later. I have just read thru some problem pics and over-watering seems a big issue. So!
 
Looks like your gonna have 4 nice tops on that beast:thumb:. Until you can tie down the top 2 you can lightly bend them down a couple times a day. Those holes look like gnat damage, but you've already got that under contol. Over watering is a common problem with new growers, cannabis likes it wet/dry cycles, so just let her tell you what she's wants. Any questions feel free to ask away or pm.
 
Day 24 UhOh!
I may have an issue, but let me catch the journal up. Two days ago, after waiting one more day so the soil would dry out because I continue to see the odd gnat now and then. The soil was DRY! Loose even. I watered with full nutes and a treatment of insecticidal soap. I also ph'd that down with vinegar (just fyi for someone- the lemon juice kept the ph more stable for longer). Ph of the entire mix was 5.5 which pulls the soil down to about 6.2 which rises up to 7 as it dries.
The next day (day 23, that was yesterday) it was like a gnat jamboree at Matilda's!!! Gnats everwhere. I was a gnat grim reaper, gnat assassin, clapping and smashing. If they showed themselves,I helped them into the afterlife. I made it a mission to check on things continuously yesterday. Which is why I noticed the other issues. Here's an overview from yesterday afternoon .
20160617_163113.jpg

Not looking too bad. I pulled two of the bigger fan leaves off yesterday; they were in the way. The other two will probably get snipped today. Anyone got any thoughts on that: should I snap it off at the main stem or just snip along the leaf stem anywhere? LST continues as I can. The center is tight.
2016-06-17_17_01_01.jpg

I want to remind everyone that I tore one of the cotyledons when Matilda was a sprout and she has had a tendency to favor the untorn side. This is the good side. Growth continues to be a bit stronger and fuller on this side. Here's the other side.
2016-06-17_14_44_54.jpg

I see dark patches and all kinds of alarming stuff. Now, admittedly, I tried to, uh, expose new growth to more light and may, when they were tiny, I may have caused some of this damage (it's a learning experience). Some of it is older damage from the first gnat issue. The bruised and burned look is probably my real concern so I would appreciate any thoughts.
I did treat with a layer of food grade diatamaceous earth when Matilda was about 10 days old. Between the yellow pest cards, the de, and some insecticidal soap I thought the gnats were done.
My plan, I guess, is to do a foliar and surface soil treatment with insecticidal soap, do another layer of de, put another sticky pest card in and wait and see. We are debating the 203 treatment. We hate another expense but...Matilda is our baby. I guess most people would start over and I can do that but will persevere for now. I have read a lot of journals and some sickly small plants have recovered into fabulous fat buds. Fingers crossed and awaiting advice for now.
Correction: double checked myself and the bruised/burned is actually the stronger growing side.
Heat: We keep her temps below 81degrees; never above 80 for more than 30 minutes.
light: 125w cfl . I keep the light at about 7 inches above the plant, maybe 9 inches if it gets warm. Yes, I am a helicopter parent!
No sign of gnats this morning so far. Will carry on with my insecticidal plans later and will get a picture for today so we can see progression, if any.
Happy weekend, all. I will be out there catching up on everyone's grow journals. :circle-of-love:
 
Gnats are a major problem, you'll need to reapply your insecticidal soap daily for a week. The larvae are below the surface and will continue the cycle of reproduction in a matter of days. They're riddled through the soil, when you water they start freaking out and come to the surface and show their numbers. Also, These soaps will build up in the soil so make sure to flush once the problem had been eradicated. A full on soil drench may be in order, if you can research into that it may be a good course to take.

KiG :green_heart:cheers
 
Thanks, snid. I gave her another treatment yesterday and it seems to be having an effect. I have to say that I am kind of disappointed in the FFOF. I have an large handful of houseplants and I have ways had the best luck with straight up Miracle Grow, but lots of reading (I do so much reading about weed that my bf just calls it "weeding") led me to check out what I think of as "fancy" soils. Turned out, the oft-hyped FFOF was available locally. While I feel that gnats can be an issue with any soil when damp, the FFOF is sluggish to dry and, to use the vernacular, that ain't no good!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for checking on me and glad you're feeling better.:thanks:
 
Don't give up On her now... It's about to explode with growth! She's establishing her roots and is about to turn to making nodes. Give her another week, please...foliage seems fine, it's only the larger leaves that are affected, not time to worry yet.

KiG :green_heart:cheers
 
Day 27
The good news is that yesterday it became obvious that Matilda was taking up plenty of water. I considered watering her yesterday, but with the ongoing gnat issue, I decided to wait til today.
I have been doing surface soil treatments and foliar treatments with light insecticidal soap every day before turning the lights off. The yellow sticky cards pick up 2 or 3 gnats a day. I continue to kill a few as I see them each day.
I watered this morning. 1/4 strength veg nutes. Little bit of lemon juice to bring the ph down a bit. Insecticidal soap included. Ph of the solution was 5.5. Ph of soil after watering is 6.4.
Growth is tight!
LST issues: I have been using the coated wire to lst Matilda. But she just pulls those hooks right out of the soil. I see many folks use something to tie down the plant; what are good materials to use for the tie-downs? I still prefer the wire hooks-- should they be longer? I have about 2-3 inches below ground?
She's looking puny to me. But, I agree, she's at the stage where she should take off. I'm hoping to see obvious recovery and growth by tomorrow.
Love the journaling, everyone! Thanks for showing me yours and looking at mine.
2016-06-21_06_54_04.jpg
 
MetalPoet said:
Day 27
The good news is that yesterday it became obvious that Matilda was taking up plenty of water. I considered watering her yesterday, but with the ongoing gnat issue, I decided to wait til today.
I have been doing surface soil treatments and foliar treatments with light insecticidal soap every day before turning the lights off. The yellow sticky cards pick up 2 or 3 gnats a day. I continue to kill a few as I see them each day.
I watered this morning. 1/4 strength veg nutes. Little bit of lemon juice to bring the ph down a bit. Insecticidal soap included. Ph of the solution was 5.5. Ph of soil after watering is 6.4.
Growth is tight!
LST issues: I have been using the coated wire to lst Matilda. But she just pulls those hooks right out of the soil. I see many folks use something to tie down the plant; what are good materials to use for the tie-downs? I still prefer the wire hooks-- should they be longer? I have about 2-3 inches below ground?
She's looking puny to me. But, I agree, she's at the stage where she should take off. I'm hoping to see obvious recovery and growth by tomorrow.
Love the journaling, everyone! Thanks for showing me yours and looking at mine.
2016-06-21_06_54_04.jpg
Click to expand...

Perhaps you might like the method I've been using, could check it out in my journal; I'm recycling grocery bags by cutting out long thin strips (each strip being about an inch thick and 13-15" long) and lining my pots with paper clips horizontally to tie tops/strips down onto - very easy preparation (3 bags get me enough strips for a few weeks of training sessions) and very simple learning curve.. the results within a few weeks are quite insane for me as my plants have just completely filled up with new tops every time I go in now.

I twist each strip up with my hands a few times before tying down a node (so they're not actually an inch thick when doing training), this way they're taking less surface area on the plant and have much more dexterity, being able to pull down thicker nodes later on with ease.

The added benefits for me are limited growth delay, cheap materials, and easy ability in cutting out old ties for transplants/new training... also how damn simple the whole process is, with my 4 plants I only have to dedicate 20-30 minutes worth of training every few days when new tops grow towards the light and am just noticing explosive growth :yummy: :)!
 
As the top soil dries the stakes are easy to pull out... I know, it's annoying. But at this stage I find its too risky to be tying things to the stems... Lol I know.... Haha. Making tour stakes longer is not a problem, in fact it's good to score your roots, it creates new root branches if you cut them... Just like topping. So don't worry about the stakes being too long, do what you got to do...once the stems get thicker it's good to use ties since they pull out the stakes with ease. Ad for the gnats, I'd take it easy on the foliar spray, once every couple days... The soil you can spray daily, but you'll soon need to flush it to clear out the insecticide soon. I'm afraid of build up causing some sort of toxicity. Idk what excess potassium soaps will do. Doing great though... Keep up the fight and...

KiG :green_heart:cheers
 
Day 28
Matilda (now occasionally referred to as Tillie) is definitely taking up water and I take that as a good sign. Am I also seeing a little nute burn? Or what else is going on? I'm flushing with plain water on the next dry out: tomorrow, maybe the next day. The flush will help with any excess nutes and also help flush any residual stuff from the insecticidal soap.
Matilda is currently sporting her new, longer pins under some nice light. She has a thick, sturdy structure and occasionally likes to pull her bonds and strut naturally.
I included the tape measure since sometimes it's difficult to judge size with no comparison. She still seems a bit puny to me and I have to remind myself that I took a lot of her more mature foliage off already.
2016-06-22_09_30_13.jpg
2016-06-22_09_29_27.jpg
 
Day 29 Me, Tillie, & the Gnats
The gnats are few and far between, but continue minor harassment. I'm feeling like keeping them in check is just a day to day battle. S'ok.
Tillie looks pretty good. Should I worry that lst puts some of her foliage in contact with the soil? I have kind of dug out a trench so the leaves don't touch dirt.
20160623_073612.jpg

A view of Matilda's newish home. She doesn't spend much time fully contained just yet. Even now, every now and then I get a tiny whiff of delicious weed from her. The smell of good weed makes my mouth water, but it just makes my bf nervous. Gotta get ready for the smellies.
2016-06-23_07_40_08.jpg
 
Some sweet training happening already! Ill just park myself here and watch!
 

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