Very Late Southern Hemisphere Terrace Grow From Bagseed - Complete N00b

[LSDHedgehog]

With some of the recent developments regarding marijuana cultivation here in SA, I decided to put some beans in some damp toilet paper to see where it goes...

Now since then I've been reading up SIGNIFICANTLY more, and have been lurking on various forums (which led me here - awesome vibe, btw), one of which I eventually joined.

A journey most of you are probably (hopefully) familiar with.

Long story short - as I'm sure many of the details will come out as this goes on - I have a couple of seedlings, some which are looking great (I guess), and some that are looking not-so great...

I was expecting something like this, as I'm a complete beginner to the world of growing (as in growing ANYTHING). And the more I'm reading post-germination, the more embarrassing it gets.

The details I've got:

Strain: Bagseed (The guy I got it from says it's Skunk, but I know over here it means something completely different than the more western and European versions everyone is familiar with.) Could be Swazi, could be actual Skunk. Part of my foray here also has to do with discovery, so I'm as excited to find out as you.

Light: I've got access to a 3rd-story patio that gets hella sun from about 7:30 to 5:30 (10 hours) at this time of year. (I know, my seasonal timing is off AF. I've read up now, I'm sorry.)
I'm bringing the plants inside around 6, where I keep them under two normal CFL bulbs until about 10PM. One in the ceiling (too far, I know) and one with a makeshift reflector (that also doesn't cut ANY kind of cheese, I know).

Soil:
I germinated in two batches, so some pots have normal soil with some compost, while the rest are just straight-up potting mix (little pieces of bark & shit in both, if that helps)

Nutrients:
So far, I've only given them a little fish emulsion. Half-strength, of course.

'What was I thinking?!' Right? :-D

I figured the super-sunny patio with a bit of extra light at night could maybe offset the seasonal lateness I've employed...

Either way, I'm not banking to harvest anything amazing, if anything at all. It would however be kinda nice to get at least one or two of these to/through flowering, if that's even an option.

Which is why I'm finally starting this journal - It seems I'm gonna need some real advice...

So hello everyone! I hope this at least proves an educational ride for some, I know it's going to be one for me!

(Feel free to rag me about being a n00b if you really have to. Like I might have mentioned, I know.)

More pics to follow soon!

 

[SageGrower]

If these are a month as you say, which I find difficult to believe, they are WAY behind. You should have several sets of leaves by now. The soil looks dry. When do you water and how much? I found potting mixes with ~30% perlite will make for an acceptable substrate. Are you pH'ing the water?

 

[SageGrower]

These are five weeks. Note there were a lot of mistakes made in the beginning or they'd be even larger.

 

[LSDHedgehog]

This is exactly what I thought. Late AF. The biggest of these went into the ground on the 11th and 14th of April, while the shallower ones went into pots (having germinated in solo cups) on the 22nd. OK, so not an entire month yet, but they still feel like they're going very slowly, especially when comparing to a lot of grow journals on here...

I try to water every second day, but with the crazy amount of sun they're getting, I do tend to give them some water at least daily.
I'm also not watering until it's running off, seeing as they're still small - all of these get about 2 litres every second day at least.

 

[l3g3ndaryfart]

Hey there also a first timer with a first time journal on here im just doing two autoflowers to see if I anytype of green thumb I've also have kinda started mine on the early side they have been out the ground 8days now we both know it's a learning process whatever happens good or bad we can diagnose it and fix or continue doing next time I personally have researched and read till my eyes have bled so I'm ready for that hands on experience if i could give a suggestion maybe start giving some nutrients something on the higher nitrogen side maybe that will encourage some all around growth

 

[LSDHedgehog]

Thanks for the comment l3g! (And SageGrower, sorry!)
I also think some nutrients will only do them good... I'm guessing the fish emulsion on it's own ain't gonna do the trick then?

I also forgot to mention, SageGrower - I'm not doing any ph checking. (Bad Dobby!)

This was obviously a very unplanned start, and I'm going with what I can scrounge together on a VERY limited budget (isn't everyone?)...

 

[Weedman613]

Thanks for the comment l3g! (And SageGrower, sorry!)
I also think some nutrients will only do them good... I'm guessing the fish emulsion on it's own ain't gonna do the trick then?

I also forgot to mention, SageGrower - I'm not doing any ph checking. (Bad Dobby!)

This was obviously a very unplanned start, and I'm going with what I can scrounge together on a VERY limited budget (isn't everyone?)...

I would start by ph your water..
What kind of soil you using.? If you want feel free to check out my journal. You will find information you need to grow a nice healthy plant.

 

[LSDHedgehog]

OK, so here are the individual plants as they are now.

#1 - I put a new bean in here a week ago. It was an empty pot after a previous seedling went down, so I thought 'what the hell?' Peeked out this morning.

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10 (This one is called Trump - because the pot is orange)

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

(Hoping I copied these links correctly...)

They got some water (with fish emulsion - 2nd feed ever) this morning - they're still nice and moist not even 5mm below that first dry-lookin layer.

 

[LSDHedgehog]

As this was on a whim, I got the cheapest soil my non-gardening and budget-conscientious approach allowed.
I figured I could sort out nutrients after the fact...

This was the soil I got for the original lot:

And this was for the second batch of seedlings (shallower in their pots):

And then, on pH:
I know I don't have something to measure pH with at present...
Should use boiled water (cooled down, obvs) in the interim?

 

[SageGrower]

Don't forget perlite next time. It's cheap and greatly aerates the soil which increases root/ plant growth. Tip: since the pots are large and plants currently small, only water directly around the plant at this time. The rest of the soil will wick away water making it considerably harder to overwater while the plant grows and developes are a root system. Since you stated this was unplanned and low cost, search for 'Lucas Formula'. I'll probably start a thread on modified Lucas formulations in the near future. Nutes don't need be expensive to achieve awesome results.

Sage

 

[LSDHedgehog]

Don't forget perlite next time. It's cheap and greatly aerates the soil which increases root/ plant growth. Tip: since the pots are large and plants currently small, only water directly around the plant at this time. The rest of the soil will wick away water making it considerably harder to overwater while the plant grows and developes are a root system. Since you stated this was unplanned and low cost, search for 'Lucas Formula'. I'll probably start a thread on modified Lucas formulations in the near future. Nutes don't need be expensive to achieve awesome results.

Sage

Awesome, thank you Sage! Checking out Lucas right now.

 

[SageGrower]

I'm not sure boiling water will result in 7.0 pH if that's what you're suggesting. As to distilled water, the pH should be 7.0. However, simple boiling is not quite the way to go: 3 Ways to Make Distilled Water - wikiHow

For pH testing, the newer Dr. Meter for ~$13 is pretty nice. So far I'm very pleased with the purchase and the ease of calibration.

 

[LSDHedgehog]

My bad, you're completely right about distilling vs. boiling.
I meant distilling, thank you. ;-)

As for the pH meter, I don't even know if Amazon delivers to SA lately, will have to check.
If not, at least I know what to look for the next time I hit the gardening store, thanks!

 

[LSDHedgehog]

And then... There's the bit that's really going to get me some flak...

Because it's already late into the season, I was hoping some kind of supplemental lighting for a few spare hours would help. Like I've mentioned before, there is no lack of sun once it's up...

Now before you start yelling, I know this is nowhere NEAR the kind of lighting I need, and I do hope to at the very least increase the amount of bulbs long before flowering starts, even if it is to keep some of these vegging a little longer.

This should obviously be taken with a huge amount of optimism... I'm currently starting to think these might not even make it that far...

Oh, and here's their morning view - the sun hits them nicely between 5:30 and 8, when they get taken outside to tan.

 

[SageGrower]

As for the pH meter, I don't even know if Amazon delivers to SA lately, will have to check.
If not, at least I know what to look for the next time I hit the gardening store, thanks!

Cool. Just don't purchase the cheap ones with probes for the soil. These are notoriously inaccurate. A decent unit is worth every penny.

 

[SageGrower]

I can hear your plants CRYING for more light from Cali!!!

 

[The Germinator]

Horrible soil. Too much wood. Good luck.

 

[SageGrower]

Horrible soil. Too much wood. Good luck.

If I were a root, I wouldn't want try to take hold in the wood chips either. Cut it with 30-50% perlite, I might consider growing in it.

 

[LSDHedgehog]

OK, so these are all notes I can use, thanks.

SO, a couple of questions then:
1) I'm assuming cutting with the perlite is going to require transplanting?
2) If so, wouldn't it make sense to just get new soil, or can I get away with the current stuff, even removing as much bark during the perlite adding?
3) Is this one globe I'm using at least the right kind of globe?
4) will more of these globes, closer to the plants help?
5) should I be bothering with supplemental lighting at all at this point?
6) Can this grow even survive at this point, or is a restart maybe a better idea?

I'm genuinely open to any advice - one can only get so far reading, after all.

I'd love to save this grow, as anything would be better than most of the crap we buy here... (I shouldn't complain. It at least keeps the insomnia and ADHD in check.)

If we can't learn from our mistakes, why try at all?

Oh, and if I sound like an emotionless robot, it's because I need a refresher on bbcode emojis - it's been awhile since I did the forum thing. .

 

[SageGrower]

I suggest heavy forum reading mixed with a solid plan going forward. You need the proper substrate, watering, nute and lighting program if you don't want to waste your time. Introducing perlite at this point requires a transplant. However, there is much you can learn from this. Transplanting gives you the opportunity to evaluate the root growth (or lack thereof) and develop skills you will need later.