My First Grow - Advice Welcome!

[NwaGreen]

Hey everyone, hope you are having a kickass 420 summer! I'm a new guy here looking to get better educated with cannabis and its culture!

I started my first germination around June 11 and since then I have had a total of 3 seeds sprout! My first seed came from a bag of some pretty good green. Wasn't perfect bud obviously, but it smelt great and was covered in crystals! Was a really good high! The other two seeds were given to me by a buddy that used to grow a few plants back in the day. All were darker seeds, brownish with stripes. My main goal is to grow them till I can sex them and remove any males! I'm really hoping atleast 1 out of my 3 is a female, just have to play the waiting game.

My setup is a cheaper closet grow, with about enough space for 2-3 plants. I have the lighting at 20-4 just to promote a bit more growth!

I'm calling for all help and info and anything I need to change or add to make this a great, successful first grow!

I'll upload as many pictures as I can to help give yall a better look at what I'm working with!

Ask me anything about my setup! I'm open to all help!

Thanks for taking a look!
NwaGreen

 

[mussh]

welcome nwa,

I started with bag seed and for my first two months I grew male plants hahaha.
in that time I was able to do a lot of reading on these forums and by the time I had a female, I had a bunch of info.

what medium (soil, coco, hydro, ????) are you going to use?
what type of lights?

at this point the only advice I would give is to, switch your lights to a 18 (on) 6 (off) 18/6 schedule. plants roots like to grow in the dark, from what I understand.

you are at the beginning of your independence!
good on you!

 

[kiwihigh]

I too would advocate 18/6 however 20/4 is better than 24/0 (which i would never advise as there are metabolic processes which occur during the evening)

my first three grows i only got 2 males out of 8-10 plants so keep optimistic, if you are planning on vegging for an extended period you can try cloning some cuttings and flower them as soon as they root to see what you have in your veg room, cloning is cheap and relatively easy and you don't need all the fancy domes etc any plastic storage container will do as long as its transparent.

 

[NwaGreen]

Appreciate such quick responses Kiwi and Mussh! I'll switch over to that lighting cycle to help with everything!

Right now my lighting consist of 4 total bulbs. Three 23w 1620 Lumen bulbs in cool/daylight , and one 13w 825 lumens in warm white just to have a bit more of the spectrum. If I need to increase to more lighting or change anything just let me know!

My soil was from my local nursery, one of my good friends hooked me up with free bigger pots for when I transplant and what she said would be a perfect soil for the vegetative stage so that's what I'm using! Can't go wrong with free supplies (hopefully haha). I'm watching the medium like a hawk making sure not to under or over water them.

If anyone has an easy way to tell me how to post pics in this forum let me know! I'd love to show you guys my setup and how my plants are doing!

1 plant is coming up on a month old and the other two are about two weeks behind! I'll post pics today for sure!

One quick question Kiwihigh, how big of a container would I need? I've heard of that method and was really condsidering doing that to tell the sex early! Haven't really had any help with that and would love to hear your info!

Thanks a lot guys
NwaGreen

 

[StonerThor]

Photo Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos

 

[mussh]

there can never be too much light. so the more you can get, the better. use the back of your hand to see how close you can get your plants to it. if it feels to warm to your skin, than its to warm for your plants. with cfl you can get pretty close without harming them.

with soil you will want your water ph to be in the 6.8 area.

less is more. don't over water. it is not uncommon to let the soil get pretty dry before watering again.

how tall do you plan on letting them get before you flip to 12/12?
it is not uncommon for them to double in size after flip.

 

[raisingcain]

What type of nutrients are you gonna use?
For a small closet grow I would think you would be pretty good with 3.5 to 5 gallon containers Just an opinion. Cfls are great but only for smaller grows. Seen some awesome harvests with only cfls though.
Also are you familiar with low stress training? May be really helpful to maximize your harvest. LST is great if you wanna keep your plants shorter and increase light penetration from your cfls. Just do some internet research if you need to there's lots of articles and pics on the topic. All of these kick ass people on this site and I will be happy to help you along.

 

[kiwihigh]

Id use more light, four CFL's will be enough light for about one plant and keep them close as you can without burning them.
You want a Minimum of 3,000 Lumens for each square foot of grow area, however an ideal number is closer to the 7,000+
keep in mind that the more plants = less light per plant. Your light is very precious, especially with CFLS so you want o be as efficient with them as possible- Reflective hoods and materials on the walls are a must when growing with low intensity lights IMO

 

[NwaGreen]

For sure Mussh, I'll grab some more lighting! Just to boost it! Any way to go about adding more lights in a smallish closest? I'm basically out of lamps. Any way to add more lights as cheaply as possible? I do have two steel polls that are used to hang clothes, running the length of my closet that I could hang lights off of, any way to utilize the bars and re do my setup for a bet more help with light penetration?
My closet area for growing is 2.5ftX4ft with about 6ft of room to grow even after I transplant into final pot! How big should I let them go to get my greatest yield?

I will also pic up a Ph test kit to make sure of the levels!

Cain,
I'm really wanting to know what best nurtrients I need to pick up! For best growth, best budding, and what can help with thc production! And thanks for telling me the measurements. I can get my pots for free and any kind of misc. stuff like that! BIG help for throwing that info my way about LST, will definitely be reading into that as soon as I'm finished here! Any thing else that could help me out?

Thank ya kiwi!!, looks like the verdict is more lights! I'll get to it! Any opinions on how to add more cfls for cheap? Buying the bulbs I'm not worried about, I just need some idea on how to add lots of lights in a smaller space!

Yal guys kick ass!!! Appreciate all the help! Keep it coming! Thank you guys a Bunch!
NwaGreen

 

[NwaGreen]

These were taken today on July 3

First plant is about 2 weeks older than the long leave one (2nd), and the one closest to the edge of cup (3rd) is a week younger than the 2nd one!

 

[NwaGreen]

Also guys, can I change my lighting midway through from my cfls to like 1 or 2 high pressure sodiums? Is that doable in a closest grow? I'm open to all ideas! Maybe even build a grow box inside my closet or something. Anything to really make this an awesome harvest even if I only end up having just one female. Thanks guys!

 

[mussh]

For sure Mussh, I'll grab some more lighting! Just to boost it! Any way to go about adding more lights in a smallish closest? I'm basically out of lamps. Any way to add more lights as cheaply as possible? I do have two steel polls that are used to hang clothes, running the length of my closet that I could hang lights off of, any way to utilize the bars and re do my setup for a bet more help with light penetration?
My closet area for growing is 2.5ftX4ft with about 6ft of room to grow even after I transplant into final pot! How big should I let them go to get my greatest yield?

I will also pic up a Ph test kit to make sure of the levels!



Yal guys kick ass!!! Appreciate all the help! Keep it coming! Thank you guys a Bunch!
NwaGreen

I have seen multiple adapters for lights. you screw it in and it has four-???? outlets for more lights. would be perfect for your grow space.

as far as how big they can grow, there are a few ways to deal with that. I personally let the plant grow el natural (check my rhino grow) if it has good genetics, I will clone it and watch what the el natural plant does. did it stretch to more than double its size after 12/12 flip, take note. adjust the grow with the clones for max yields. the simpler way is to supercrop. start bending and shaping it to MAKE it work. I have used both techniques.

ph meter rocks. ppm meter rocks just as hard.

your seedlings look healthy mate.

good work!

 

[mussh]

Also guys, can I change my lighting midway through from my cfls to like 1 or 2 high pressure sodiums? Is that doable in a closest grow? I'm open to all ideas! Maybe even build a grow box inside my closet or something. Anything to really make this an awesome harvest even if I only end up having just one female. Thanks guys!

yes.

bear in mind that you will have more heat from a hps bulb. so be prepared.

 

[NwaGreen]

What's up guys! Happy 4th to all you kickass tokers!

I have a recent update. I went ahead and bought a few adapters and a new 40w 2600 lumen bulb! I also went ahead and rearranged my setup to accompany the new bulb and to help dispurse the lighting! After all said and done it looks great and each plant is covered in light now!

I went ahead and did the math, and if I'm correct my output of lumens has increased to about 9100 lumens! Which I'm pretty happy with! In another few days I'll pick up another new bulb and hopefully have over 10,000 lumens for the baby's! Anyone have any suggestions on high lumen Cfl bulbs that can be store bought! Appreciate it guys!

I'll post pics today of my progress and setup! Hope everyone has an awesome 420 4th of July!

NwaGreen

 

[NwaGreen]

Update on my plants! Can't seem to find the main reason as to why my leaves have the dreaded "taco-ing" shape! Does anyone have any idea or reason on why this is happening? It happened once before then went away. Now it's back and I'm at a loss! Here's my current setup! It's seen a lot of changes, and I've tried to keep it as low cost as possible! Would love to hear some opinions on what I could add or take away from it. I do have an osilating fan, set to the low setting just to keep air moving and simulate wind to help the stem grow strong. Could this be to much wind?
Thanks! Nwa

 

[mussh]

they look fine.
might be time to give them a bigger home

ph some water to 6.8 and give them a drink.

 

[NwaGreen]

they look fine.
might be time to give them a bigger home

ph some water to 6.8 and give them a drink.

That's what's I was thinking. I noticed today at the bottom of one of my cups 2 tiny roots stared to pop out! Went ahead and cleaned my bigger pots and prepped them for transplant tomorrow. I'll go ahead and pH and let em have their final drink in the solos. Much appreciated. I'll post how the transplants goes tomorrow

 

[uhewekguilw]

CFL grows put out some kick ass buds! You will definitely want to train them to spread out to make better use of the lights if you aren't planning on switching to hid lighting. Keep the cfl lights within 2" of the plant and adjust as needed. Seedlings look nice. There are plenty of good people here to help you if you need help or advice. Keep up the good work and good luck!
GB80

 

[Outragedpluto]

Update on my plants! Can't seem to find the main reason as to why my leaves have the dreaded "taco-ing" shape! Does anyone have any idea or reason on why this is happening? It happened once before then went away. Now it's back and I'm at a loss! Here's my current setup! It's seen a lot of changes, and I've tried to keep it as low cost as possible! Would love to hear some opinions on what I could add or take away from it. I do have an osilating fan, set to the low setting just to keep air moving and simulate wind to help the stem grow strong. Could this be to much wind?
Thanks! Nwa

Hey there NWAgreen, setup looks pretty good. Takes me back to my beginner years lol. I definitely agree with the more cfls the better. I have to search through my gallery but i will try and find a picture of a cfl i found. It is an induction cfl rather than standard. All this really means is that it is powered by electromagnetism rather that direct metal nodes in the bulb. Google if you want more info on that. Also i suggest getting rid of that miracle gro and grab some better nutrients. In general, miracle grow is bad for smoking. Jobes is a great brand and is conveniently found in most box stores. Come in both organic and non organic feeds. Or you can go to a hydro store and pick up some higher quality grow nutrients. Also stay away from anything that says "for ornamental use only", not good to ingest!!!! The leaves "tacoing" could be from over watering or heat. Having the foil as a reflector will cause hot spots that can cause burning and heat stress issues. Plain white is a great reflector. And with watering less is more, you want the soil to dry out before watering. Let the roots dig deep in the soil to reach the last bits of water. Once you have more leaves you can increase watering.

Hope this gets you somewhere!!!! Good luck and i will stick around to help all i can. I have some great threads in my signature that will help you. All my past journals have major issues that i was able to come through.

Read Read Read!!! Knowledge is POWER!!!!!!

 

[NwaGreen]

Hey there NWAgreen, setup looks pretty good. Takes me back to my beginner years lol. I definitely agree with the more cfls the better. I have to search through my gallery but i will try and find a picture of a cfl i found. It is an induction cfl rather than standard. All this really means is that it is powered by electromagnetism rather that direct metal nodes in the bulb. Google if you want more info on that. Also i suggest getting rid of that miracle gro and grab some better nutrients. In general, miracle grow is bad for smoking. Jobes is a great brand and is conveniently found in most box stores. Come in both organic and non organic feeds. Or you can go to a hydro store and pick up some higher quality grow nutrients. Also stay away from anything that says "for ornamental use only", not good to ingest!!!! The leaves "tacoing" could be from over watering or heat. Having the foil as a reflector will cause hot spots that can cause burning and heat stress issues. Plain white is a great reflector. And with watering less is more, you want the soil to dry out before watering. Let the roots dig deep in the soil to reach the last bits of water. Once you have more leaves you can increase watering.

Hope this gets you somewhere!!!! Good luck and i will stick around to help all i can. I have some great threads in my signature that will help you. All my past journals have major issues that i was able to come through.

Read Read Read!!! Knowledge is POWER!!!!!!

Appreciate the kickass info Pluto! Haha glad I could take you back for a sec! It took a little imagination to set it all up but it looks like it's getting the job done! So you suggest just get rid of the foil all together? The walls in the closet are solid white so you think that's fine? I'll pick up a few more adapter and bulbs for transplant day tomorrow! I'll search to see if I can find that type cfl! Seems like those would be perfect for a grow like this! In the mean time, have any preferred cfls, like brand wise?

I had heard that miracle grow was a no go on cannabis, bought it kinda out of impulse just thinking I need to get some sort of nutes. I've used it I think a total of twice at 1/4 strength on all three plants. I'll just use water until I pick up some better nutes! What are some of the nutes you use by jobes? I'm pretty sure my nursery up the street has fox farm nutes, but last time I was in there it was basically miracle grow and that! I'll do some shopping and see what I can find! Appreciate that info! I'll stay way from that oremental stuff and stick with the good stuff!

Being my first grow I'm still trying to learn how to adequately water these suckers! It's hard to nail it but like you said the more I read and learn the more I know! Thanks for all that help!
Nwa