Thought I’d share some newbie lessons for others out there...I decided I’d try my hand at farming and get my six legal ladies going but wanted to do it right...after a fair amount of research this is what I ended up with;
Veg/Bloom side (4x4 area)
June 21, 2019 I bought 6 clones from a respectable nursery (2- Blue Dream, 2- Grand Daddy Purple and 2- Mimosa). These were about $20 each and they were about 2 weeks old (approx 4-5” tall) started under T5 lighting.
Mistakes/Remedies
Thx- Grampa G
Veg/Bloom side (4x4 area)
- 4’x5’x7’ grow tent (1’x4’ is separate space for clone/nursery)
- 1200w Full spectrum LED w veg and bloom switches
- Ventilation kit- 4” variable speed fan with carbon filter
- 2- 6” clip on fans
- 6- 5gal fabric grow containers with plastic saucers
- 2- 2 liter bags of Fox Farm Bush Doctor Soil
- Humidity and temperature sensors
- Automatic watering pump
- Wyze wireless security cam
- PH tester, nutrients, soil moisture/ph/light tester, timers, spray bottles and other misc stuff
- 80w LED (4’)
- Clone dome
- Rockwool blocks
- 1.25” trays
June 21, 2019 I bought 6 clones from a respectable nursery (2- Blue Dream, 2- Grand Daddy Purple and 2- Mimosa). These were about $20 each and they were about 2 weeks old (approx 4-5” tall) started under T5 lighting.
Mistakes/Remedies
- Put them in grow tent on veg light mode about 32” from 1200w light per mfr specs for 20/4 light cycle which caused light burns after 48 hours- resolved by elevating light a few inches but should have started out with light all the way at the top and worked down over several weeks- high power LED lights will cause light burn if your not careful...it stresses the plants and stunts normal growth.
- A week later I transplanted the clones into the 5 gallon pots thinking this was ok...they didn’t have enough time to establish a good root system and as a result this slowed their growth way down with one almost not surviving. I should have moved them into a transitional size that would allow for proper watering and draining- the cost for not doing that was slow development and I estimate this put me about 1-2 weeks behind.
- The plants were about six weeks old when I noticed some very light speckling on the tops of the leaves on three plants...I thought this was some sort of nutrient or watering issue but after researching further I discovered I had some “dirty girls” in my tent...yes, they had spider mites!...now, all my stuff was brand new and it was my first grow so how the hell did I get these?...turns out this is a common problem with nurseries and even if they tell you how clean and healthy their plants are, don’t take their word for it...I had to get a neem oil with other stuff in it to spray the plants and of course this stressed them out again and the next morning they were all drooping...spray them with h2o and lots of extra fans for 24 hours and they bounced back but again I lost about a week of growth from it.
- 2 months into the grow they looked nice and green but they were super bushy with small leaves and really should have been further along at this point...again I researched the light intensity and proper heights for this type of light and discovered that the veg light is only blue light and can actually stunt proper photosynthesis...the bloom light is red spectrum which is needed to balance out what the plants need to grow...I flipped both switches on and moved the light up a few inches and within 48 hours these ladies started accelerating their growth but this caused at least another week lag in my schedule...start with both modes and up high...work your way down until you get a good distance that doesn’t burn the leaves
- Nutrients- I’ll keep this one short- don’t use them if you have good soil like I bought- all I did was burn them by feeding them one time...roasted all the bottom growth and fried the tips of most everything else...the soil has what is necessary for the entire grow...yes this was another set back
- Keep checking for bugs- I thought I was out of danger with the mites but apparently there is a species common to Cannabis nurseries which is tough to get rid of- they are the 2 spotted variety and commonly referred to as “Borgs”- I’m guessing short for cyborg- if you don’t kill these little bastards they will ruin all your hard work- yes I had to douche my girls again and yes it stressed them out again, but they are doing better
Thx- Grampa G
They develop resistance to insecticides real fast. If you are looking up Insecticides for either, make sure you go for 2 or even three alternatives that are different classes. 2 treatments with one of them over a 7-10 day period and then treat with another 5 days later....then see if you have nuked the bastards. You need to do multiple treatments around that sched to kill of the active ones and then kill off ones that hatch from any eggs / pupae that hatch.
