My First Grow Ever! I'm Excited!

F

first-tymer

New Member
Welcome all to my first attempt at growing! I'm 28 years old and this has been a work in progress if not physically then mentally since the day I first had my first hit of properly grown bud and has turned into a passion over the last decade of my life. I have a back problem I won't take the time to dive into which leads to a rather constant pain in my back and can cause migraines and at times lack of proper blood circulation. This (marijuana) has been my escape since I first became aware of its medicinal qualities and will forever be apart of my life. I am going to thank everyone in advance for their help and support throughout this incredible process and I hope I get the chance to help all of you at some point as well. Lets GROW!

Day #1
I have recieved my 10 seeds today from weedseeds.com/AutoSeeds and they are an autoflowering strain called Auto-Pounder. It's a cross between Auto#1,
Big Bud, and Power Plant. I picked this strain due to it's 8-9 week seed to harvest time/Autoflowering genetics, it's relatively large yeild potential(450gm per square meter)/Big Bud Genetics, and it's potency levels which I've heard can range anywhere between 15-20%/Power Plant Genetics! If these seeds live up to the hype I expect to yield approximately 1 pound minimum in my 4'x4'x7' tent which equals 16 sq ft. or 1.5 square meters, but could get more or less.... Here is what I am working with.

-One 600w HPS Sunsystem Block Buster Reflector - 6" duct openings for air cooling $175.00
-One Sunsystem Crop Master HPS 600w Ballast $175.00
-One 600w Sunmaster Enhanced Performance HPS Lamp $82.00
-One EcoPlus Classic Inline Fan - 6" duct openings $140.00
-One GrowLab 120 - 4'x4'x6'7" thermally protected grow tent $270.00
-One pedistal style adjustable oscilating fan
-One Water Farm 8 Pack - 8 unit hydroponic drip system $515.00
-Botanicare Organic Grow and Bloom liquid nutrients $130.00
-Large dogfood sized bag of clay pellets for a growing medium
-One Portable digital Ph meter
-A few Ph test strips to compare with meter
-I am using distilled white vinegar to lower the ph of my tapwater and baking soda to raise it when neccessary
-Cheap magnifying glass
-digital indoor thermometer/humidity meter
-40 ft of 6" duct

Thats all i can think of right now, I am new at all of this and have never used any of this equipment so any and all advise and questions are welcome i will use this information and respond to all as fast as possible. If anyone has any info on any of this equipment (ex: cheap homemade methods, news, numbers, etc...) I would love to hear it!

I have most of my equipment setup already but due to some info I have gathered online I have determined I need to poke more holes into the bottom of the growing chamber in the Water Farm units and that due to circulation issues and subsequent ph imbalances throughout the system it may be better to use the Water Farm units all indiviually rather than as one fluid unit until I can remedy this problem so I can more accruately control and manipulate ph levels in each unit although it appears I may end up working a little harder during water changes and while monitoring them each individually. This may become esspecially hard due to my use of distilled white vinegar and baking soda to manipulate the ph of large amounts of tapwater when refilling each unit and subsequent monitoring. If this proves to become too difficult I may invest in an increased circulation kit that is on the market for the Water Farm 8 system, or I may also buy some Ph boost and droping liquids....

I germinated 7 of my 10 seeds inbetween a few wet paper towels in a dark closet today and am eagerly waiting results!

Day #2
I checked them this afternoon and didnt seen any changes at a glance, but not at all discouraged yet!

Day #3
I looked again this morning and it appears they have all begun to pop but I'm gonna try to let the taproot pop out a bit on most of them before i proceed.

I liked how they looked so I put them each into a rapid rooter this evening adding just a drop of clonex to each one as well at same time. Then lightly wetted them with ph balanced 6.5 water and put them into a jiffy pot dome system to continue germination and begin root growth/sprouting. I also put a little standing water in bottom of dome sytem so the tips of the rapid rooters are sitting in just a bit of ph balanced water. Should see some changes in about 3 days.

Will have pictures coming soon as that is a work in progress.
 
It is may also be important to know I am renting an apartment at this time. It is a two bedroom with a small living room combined with a small kitchen and one bathroom. I am using the second bedroom as my grow room and have it completely emptied except for my equipment/tools. There are two windows next to each other on the north facing wall but other than my air conditioning unit which should get fixed later today those windows will be my only source of fresh air at this point and I am trying to keep all this on the downlow for now so I keep the windo covered with a dark blue blanket to prevent anyone from seeing the bright light and large equipment inside. The apartment is located int the very back of the complex so the only few people that venture back here are those who live back here or a few of their friends/family but all n all very little traffic. It is on the third story which incidentally happens to be the top story and my door opens to a small outdoor deck which I share with one nerdy little stoner neighbor who lives up on the third floor as well, he's a band major so not much of a threat... I share my apartment with my girlfriend but she is obviously supportive of my cause and can help when properly instructed and monitored. Other than that no much to tell, I live in the midwest and have most of my life but enjoy traveling.

Any questions?
 
make sure your nerd neighbor keeps his mouth shut,he doesn't need to be talkin to band members about how kool it is to have you growin next door.. I am also in the midwest, in southern Ill. :lot-o-toke: welcome to the club :420:
 
yes I would definitely change the locks , that way if he try's to get in, and contacts you about new locks.Chances are he isn't gonna kick down a door that he has to repair,, it will at least give ya some time to hide your plant(s) It's gonna be a scarey grow no matter, when you've got landlords ,and close neighbors .I would try to do a closet grow,for sure:goodluck:
 
Hey first tymer, Good luck man. Ill be watching from the left coast. You might want to look into a small carbon filter for the smell. Also lemon juice is pretty good at lowering PH as well.
Happy growing bro! cant wait to see it,
 
Day #4
Yeah, I'm a little worried about the landlord, my lease says they need to provide 24 hr notice before entering the apt and as long as they follow the rules I should be around to be a deiversion and prevent them from getting too close, I have to job at the moment and shouldnt need one for awhile so I am almost always around esspecially during the day when the apt people are around as well. My girlfriend is afraid that putting an extra lock on the door may attract unwanted attention from the apt people and may actually spark their curiousity if anything, given the fact they dont want us putting any holes in walls, etc...
As far as my neighbor goes, I went over and had a nice long talk and I offered to buy him and his friends a keg of beer when we move out in about eight months if he can keep the noise and traffic to a minimum and I dont find out he told anyone. Got a giddy look on his face said he had never had a keg before and agreed fast as could be...
Shamus thanks for the advise, I have a fungus project I started same day I germinated and it should finish an about a month, I plan on using the profit off of those to fund the rest of what I need for this first batch (carbon filter, second inline fan, etc...) and maybe even expand on my operation so I can harvest more frequently. For that I would perhaps want a slightly smaller tent for a veg room, clone box, Metal Hylite, some good compact flourescents and somewhere to keep a mother plant for clones....
I am definitely going to try the lemon juice rather than distilled white vinegar, I'm afraid the vinegar might show through in the taste of the bud in the long run if I continue with this and feel that lemon would taste much better if that were going to be the case...
Know anything that will raise ph better or to the equivalent of baking soda, that probably wont taste to great either if my theory is correct, but havent needed to use it much yet as my water is way too alkaline when it comes out of the tap!
If for some reason the fungus doesnt turn out well, I have a good recipe for a homemade charcoal filter that should be able to get me through this batch...
I am also considering supplementing co2 as well, but it is an expense I am not quite yet prepared for, and will have to wait until more funds are available. I did not intend on spending as much as I did the day I went to the hydroponic store to purchase most of this equipment and things quickly got out of hand but I made ure I had most of what I needed to finish this first batch bacause it is a four hour drive round trip to the hydroponic store nearest me and I don't like to make that drive anymore than I need to bacause that gets expensive on gas and takes me away from my apartment longer than I would like.
I just moved to this area about 7 months ago and have since spent most of my time in this part of town getting to know a few people so that when my product does finish I can easily get rid of it without anyone knowing where it is coming from... I have watched many of my friends attempt this and fail so I am being very quite! I am originally from Lincoln Nebraska where it is very illegal and have seen all the horror stories first hand. They busted a grow op there recently that consisted of about 6 or seven houses all spread out accross town and owned by a large vietnamese family in the area (used to do a bit of business with them couple years before all this went down). There were over 1000 plants in all when they kicked the doors in and it had appeared that most of these houses had been operational for about the last five years which from my experience with them makes a lot of sense. They were driving around on flashy escalades with lamborgini style doors, etc... That is about the time I stopped working with them, cause I knew it was only a matter of time and didnt want to be close to that when the hammer came down, turned out I was right. Point is that although I may seem relatively knew to the concept of growing, over the past ten years I have put more thought into doing it than anything else in my life reguardless of the fact it cost me a 6 yr relationship with my last girlfriend, so I am ready to make sacrificies and know to stay on the down low.
My blew a fuse in my breaker box this morning when my gf was using her drier in the bathroom, or atleast I thought I did. Everything shut off for a few minutes and after looking at it for a few minutes and making my gf dry her hair in other room it just came back on, so I'm not exactly sure what happened there, maybe my surge protector did it? Anyone ever have that happen?
I am trying real hard not to keep checking on my girls while they are in the rapid rooters, I dont want to stunt their development just to satisfy my curiousity, esspecially knowing they cant be ready yet anyway...
 
Thanks, sfw88 and smokezalot, appreciate the input and concern, and of course welcoming me to the club. Cant wait to become a contributing member to the medicinal community! This has been a long time coming and I won't waste my opportunity. It has been a dream of mine to end up on the cover of a magazine like 420 mag, or high times since the day I had my first hit of kind bud and am actively pursuing my dream now. Wish me luck and check out my friends cover if you would like Feb. High Times 2009. His name is Zach Volk and if you google for him you will find it. Thank you all for now sharing my dream!
 
Welcome First Tymer. Wow what a story. I will be in the process of moving soon. I am hoping to find a 2 bedroom to do just what you are doing. But I will also be trying my hand at growing veggies which will be my cover story if asked any questions. I hope I have cool neighbors but I really don't socialize much outside of my bf. As for your neighbor, nerdy, young, and in a band...Just seems like to me he would blab to someone even if it is his boy. But you never know. I have a cool neighbor but the landlords brother also lives in the basement apartment. Who likes to squawk like a damn parrot and report things back to the landlord. I think he is the one who told my landlord that I had a cat. It was the funniest thing because I had been trying to hide him for the longest. When the landlord found out he made the lamest excuse to get access to the apt. I guess I am saying be careful because landlords like to pull fast ones and usually are nosey as hell.
 
Yeah, he doesn't really know too many people (nerdy neighbor) has a small group of little nerdy friends that could probably care less, and as for the band he is in, it is the University band, not like rock n roll band. I just figured it would be better that he know to keep the noise to a minimum, I help him locate bags from time to time so we are on each others good side til he messes up and I will not hesitate to let him know if that were to happen. He looks up to me a bit and should do as told if he knows whats good for him. Besides it is legal here and I am legit, just dont want anyone to get any stupid ideas. Although this is my first grow, due to my back problems I have been around the block a time or two in this business and am pretty good at reading people. If i wasn't I wouldn't be here today. Hope you find that two bedroom apt you are looking for, I would live there for a couple months if I were you so you get to know the neighbors and their paterns as well as your own. This will help you when you are determining when you would like to run light cycles and do routine mainetence like water changes, etc because sometimes it can be noisey and time consuming. I even lived in a one bedroom in this complex for about 4 months before deciding on a quite spot and changing to this two bedroom on the top floor, then lived here for another three months before deciding it was safe and the time was right... I hope you have a similar experience. Oh almost forgot QueenTokelove, what part of the country are you from?
 
first-tymer said:
Yeah, he doesn't really know too many people (nerdy neighbor) has a small group of little nerdy friends that could probably care less, and as for the band he is in, it is the University band, not like rock n roll band. I just figured it would be better that he know to keep the noise to a minimum, I help him locate bags from time to time so we are on each others good side til he messes up and I will not hesitate to let him know if that were to happen. He looks up to me a bit and should do as told if he knows whats good for him. Besides it is legal here and I am legit, just dont want anyone to get any stupid ideas. Although this is my first grow, due to my back problems I have been around the block a time or two in this business and am pretty good at reading people. If i wasn't I wouldn't be here today. Hope you find that two bedroom apt you are looking for, I would live there for a couple months if I were you so you get to know the neighbors and their paterns as well as your own. This will help you when you are determining when you would like to run light cycles and do routine mainetence like water changes, etc because sometimes it can be noisey and time consuming. I even lived in a one bedroom in this complex for about 4 months before deciding on a quite spot and changing to this two bedroom on the top floor, then lived here for another three months before deciding it was safe and the time was right... I hope you have a similar experience. Oh almost forgot QueenTokelove, what part of the country are you from?
Click to expand...

Hey then no worries since it isn't illegal where you are. I am in the States. Yeah I plan on getting a feel for my new neighbors and the lay of the land where I will be at. I am sure we all here have confided in at least one person who knows what we are up to. But I don't have visitors plus like I said I will be trying my hand at growing veggies in the near future. So, if my new landlord was to pop up on the scene, it wouldn't look suspect.
 
I currently am running a 600 watt tent setup in a apartment as well. I had the same issue as you regarding the windows and keeping things looking normal from the outside. do not take carbon filtration lightly. I have a solid carbon setup but still need to use the ona gel outside the tent. MAKE SURE TO HAVE ADEQUATE VENTILATION!!! also do not overlook the importance of c02. either use the exhale c02 cultivators, leave a window open, or both. I did both my grow and has worked wonderfully.

I am subbed for this.


If you can pull a pound from these I will bow to you! good luck
 
Yeah, figured they would leave you alone in Washington unless you were growing on a rather large scale. Was this recently? I used to live in Everett when I was in the Navy. I love the Northwest! Lived near Boise, Idaho as well for a short period of time. Very fun place, so much to do compared to the midwest. Will hopefully end up somewhere in that area again someday.
I am experimenting on a small plant that was neglected in soil for the first month of its life and I have transplanted it into a single water farm unit with light nutrients and it hasn't been pretty at all. Most of the larger leaves have died off and I can't pinpoint the problem. The ph was way high for the first three days because I couldn't figure out how the ph meter worked and subsequently hadn't read up on how to manipulate the levels yet. Luckily this is just a test run on an unknown strain that didn't have anything close to optimum conditions it's first month of life, so I didn't expect miracles.
Nevertheless now that I have my ph meter working correctly and I have figured out how to lower it before adding it to the system I have corrected the ph problem that I believe was at the heart of most of the issues preventing the plant from receiving any of the nutrients it needed.
The leaf tip would first begin to dry and curl up and it would seemingly spread down the side of the leaf and eventually into the center until it it completely shrivels up and dies. The new growth shows decent signs of productivity at first but then ends up starting at the tips like the rest of them once they start to get significantly larger. It seems to be catching up with the plant faster than the plant can grow but I am hoping that since I have begun to flush the system for a couple days it will self correct itself from there... Any ideas anyone? I am giving it very little nutrient soulution at this time because it is so small. What do you all think???
 
Sometimes it is better to call it a loss and chuck it! In my opinion the first few weeks of a seedlings or clones life is the most important. if things do not go welll here you are going to be bummed on the yields, potency, and overall health of the plant!
 
Shottafire are you refering to the Boost Buuckets? I have considered them but when I did a review of the product online many people were not impressed with the results, there were a couple that seemed happy but I was still apprehensive about spending over 100 dollars on it at this point. What do you think? Do you just use a co2 tank with a regulator valve? I'm kinda in the dark on this area, I know I need to allow as much fresh air in as possible and I'm hping that since I live about 100 yards from the interestate and my windows are facing it, that that will give my air a little co2 boost right there, and one of my friends agreed with that theory but I haven't tested it yet. What is your take on all that? As well as everyone elses...
I'm kinda banking on the fungus project to fund my carbon filter in about a month but thats a bit of a gamble cause I've never tried it before either, but I've done A LOT of research so I'm confident, but seen some good friends fail at this before as well.
On a positive note, I am learning a lot from my test plant and have gotten a lot of good advice on here. Thanks to all!
 
Okay all, I am going to try to take a couple photos with the camera on my phone, I will post them shortly. I'm hoping to get a couple pics of the dying plant, some of the bedroom I am growing in, the tent and light/ventilation setup, I also will grab a couple of the rapid rooters although not sure how those will turnout or if I even need to take those yet for there is little to see at this point. If any of you would like pics of anything else let me know, they will be up soon!
 
Okay guys here is the deal with the pics, I took some using my phone yesterday and I thought I had the correct cords to transfer the pics to my computer but I was incorrect and am now scrambling to find another way. Will probably end up using my girlfriends phone because I know it will work, so give me a few more hours and I will see what I can figure out. On a positive note, I took my test plant out of the waterfatm unit it was in because I was sure it would die if it was left in there. I took one of my other waterfarms and preped it for use by running the clay pellets under ph balanced water first to get the excess dust off of them and proceeded to add more ph balanced water to the system itself. That is the mistake I made initially when I started the test plant to begin with, I didn't pay attention to the ph of the water I was putting into the system because I didnt realize the importance that plays in nutrient absorbtion. I think thaat because the ph was so high and I didn't understand how to use my meter for that period therefore the integrety of the system was compromised and the plant suffered as a result. I kept looking at the leaves and was trying to diagnose the problem by comparing to pics of plants I had found online and I was really getting confused because it was showing multiple symptoms for multiple problems and I couldn't narrow it down. But, I read an article that explained how ph issues could lead to multiple nutrients being locked out of the plants system which explained why i was seeing so many different symptoms. I cut the old roots off of my test plant and dipped it in a rooting compound and set it in a rapid rooter. I then placed the rapid rooter in a small hole I had made in the center of the waterfarm and turned the system on after I pushed the pellets back around the rapid rooter. I have since been watering the rapid rooter by hand and have let the system run continuously, except for the light and cooling fan, I have those on a 18/6 light cycle at this time. The plant has since seemingly begun to turn around and looks like it may make a full recovery at some point. Anyone see anything else I could be doing differently at this time. I also think I may have ended up with retarded seeds because I was told that when they grminate the taproot should know which direction to do based on gravity, but i have had to turn atleast one around already cause it sent the taproot to the surface and was essentially growing upside down.... Strange, it appears i may have atleast one more doing the same thing but i cant quite tell yet. Anyone know what may be happening here?
 

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