New Grower 1st full grow

[bong_chat]

I say 1st full grow, because this is the first time I've gotten this far into growing without killing my plants. I tried one before this one, and I grew in my attic. Yeah, never again. It got so hot up there my thermometer topped out and couldn't go any higher. I would have started this diary sooner but i wanted to make sure my plant genocide was over.

So I changed areas. After getting permission from the warden I converted a 2.5 x 4 ft closet into my new grow area. I use the stanley DIY fan for an exhaust through a DIY carbon filter. (I'm trying to do as much DIY to show you can do a decent grow with DIY equipment. Minus the light and ballast) I have a passive air intake at the base of the closet with a 12 in osc. fan to blow through the leaves. Temps at their hottest were 87 F. Humidity stays between 40-60%. Unless it rains of course.

I use a 400w HPS with 84 true watts CFL for supplimental side lighting. The room is painted with a white ceiling paint, and the entrance is panda plastic with a flap velcro'd downfor easy access.

The grow medium is FFOF for now, but for my next grow I will probably use the moonshine mix. I water with distilled water adjusted now with cal/mag. I didn't feed during veg, but gave the occasional shot with molasses to give the kids some root candy. Flowering is getting shots of Tiger Bloom with cal/mag.

I am growing from seed. They were sprouted under 2 6500k CFLs in 16 oz beer cups. Transplanted once into their finishing 5 gallon pots. The kids were vegg'd for 3 weeks. Could have gone longer, but I got impatient and wanted to flip them so I could see and learn the different stages of development before moving on to my next grow. Veg cycle was 18/6, with the light burning at night.

Here they are. Not sure when they were taken. I know I'm a stoner. There are 6 in there, but for some reason I only got 5 plants. You can see all 6 in the group shot

 

[bong_chat]

And now a same day update. Playing catchup with the diary can be fun when you have nothing better to do at work.

The girls are now at 2.5-3 week under 12/12. I don't really keep track of time with them. I can get obsessive, and if I start watching the time I'll get impatient. So I don't watch the calander, and will harvest based on trich color instead of date. Besides, who actually goes by the harvest time that the breeder claims anyway.

There were 6 originally. I warned them all to be girls, but 2 didn't listen. So I told the girls that their brothers were going off to college to better themselves. They said their goodbyes and we were off. The 2 males were looking at the door waiting to leave, and I came up behind them and slit their stems. They didn't feel anything, and it was over quick. The girls don't know a thing, they don't need the stress.

So basically I have 4 girls. Still new to the growing thing, so I know I have done a few things wrong, and I'm not expecting a spectacular harvest. But anything will do for first timer. I'll know better than to stress the plants like I did this time, and next time find all new ways to stress the kids.

So here they are as of last night...

















and my favorite one







Any thoughts/suggestions/comments will be very welcome

 

[Dr Dog]

Hey Dude
Welcome aboard, you grow looks nice, you kind of remind me of me. The way you write and your set up seems similar to mine. Sounds like you have a twisted sense of humour as well
I like what you are doing right now, having 4 plants is probably enough for your space, will allow you to really concentrate on those plants and not have to worry about what the hell you are going to do when it gets really crowded in there.
What kind is it? I tried reading your description a few times, but alas, did not see any mention of strain.
I am curious as to what is up with the shop vac. But I am gonna guess
Yo have it out next to the plants due to the fact that you do not have any saucers for those big pots, and you are sucking up the overflow?

Anyways take care, I will be back to what you got goin on
Cheers

 

[Sardonic]

looking good so far man! I'm also curious about what strains those are

 

[bong_chat]

Hey guys.

3 of them are Top44. I decided to go with a strain that was claimed to be very forgiving. And so far I can say I have no complaints. Although the beans I got didn't have a very good germ rate at all. When they came in they were pale green and pretty much useless. I had to get them replaced, and those were nothing to write home about. So out of the first 10 I got, only 4 germed. The other 2 I planted were bagseed I had laying around. I know at least 3 of the girls are top44. The other I'm not 100% sure. But if you have any advice on other strains that are good for the extreme novice who could kill a plant at 20 paces with a glance...please do tell.

I was actually amazed that I got 4 girls to be honest. I ended up with 6 seedlings when they went to their pots. I figured I shopuld have at least 1. 2 would be a bonus. But when I saw 4 girls, I about lept around like a little schoolgirl after having a worm put down her dress that time when I was in grammer school. Uhhh....forget that last part.

Well I actually do have saucers for those pots. I like to water the plants until I have a bit sitting in the saucer, and let them absorb the water back up. Usually takes about 20 minutes or so for the saucers to be clear.

The shop vac is a different story. I don't like alot of crap sitting on the floor of my grow room, so it gets sucked up from time to time. But another reason...I HATE spiders. Like truly with a red hot passion hate spiders. Like, one time back when I still hunted (no more of that anymore) I was out hunting with my brother, and I came face to face with the biggest ugliest spider I had ever seen on a web strung between 2 trees. And yes, I put the barrel of my 12 guage shotgun about an inch from that unnatural beast and blew its guts out. So in an effort to save the little freaks from an untimely end (and to save my walls from shotgun pellets) I suck up the spiders that find their way even close to my grow.

Yeah, you can say I have a twisted sense of humor.

 

[LatinThug]

The shop vac is a different story. I don't like alot of crap sitting on the floor of my grow room, so it gets sucked up from time to time. But another reason...I HATE spiders. Like truly with a red hot passion hate spiders. Like, one time back when I still hunted (no more of that anymore) I was out hunting with my brother, and I came face to face with the biggest ugliest spider I had ever seen on a web strung between 2 trees. And yes, I put the barrel of my 12 guage shotgun about an inch from that unnatural beast and blew its guts out. So in an effort to save the little freaks from an untimely end (and to save my walls from shotgun pellets) I suck up the spiders that find their way even close to my grow.

just kidding, that was one of the funniest things ive heard all day......sadly i would probably do the same thing but i dont hate spiders........it woulda prolly been a centipede or a mosquito

 

[order 66]

nice -- check the first link in my sig for my first one

 

[bong_chat]

Quick photo update today, alone with a few questions from you more experienced growers.

So pics first, questions after...



















I noticed a bit of stretch on 3 of the girls. I've only raised the light a little to avoid burn. I was wondering from the pics, do they look ok to you guys?

Also, is it common for the lower leaves to start yellowing this early. I'm roughtly 3 weeks into 12/12 give or take. I've heard conflicting information as far as that goes. I know the lower leaved don't get near as much light as the tops. A few of the lower ones have died off, and I'm assuming that's normal. I can usually touch the stem/leaf and it falls off.

Basically this is my first grow and I really don't know what I am looking for. If you guys have any advice please fill me in.

 

[Dr Dog]

Yes that happens, you should get rid of those anyways.
Most of the lower bud sites will be worthless for pretty much the same reason, you will get buds there, but they will be small and not very good
What yo want to do is decide where the light effectively reaches, and remove all leaves and stems below this point.
That will allow the plant to concentrate on the upper colas
Check out a few scrogs to see this described and shown very well

 

[bong_chat]

Thanks Dr. D.

I had actually planned on lower buds having issues because of light penetration. So I added about 84 true watts of CFL for side lighting.

Would you reccommend pruning back any leaf that has turned yellow and open up some of the lower sites for CFL penetration? Or is the fact that the lower leaves did yellow showing me the CFL isn't enough for the lower branches?

Thanks for all the advice already. I hope I can pull some decent smoke off these. I would so love to be able to end the $$ going up in smoke (love that movie). Plus now I know everything that went into them. No crap and no additives.

 

[Dr Dog]

Well the plant is going to give up on those leaves and concentrate on the new growth and future reproduction. Those leaves normally will fall off on their own, but you can take them off if you wish, no need to prune, just grab it next to the stalk and bend it down, it pops right off.

You may see that you will want to do this to other leaves as they bush out, feel free to, but remember that the plant does it's whole photosynthesis thing in those leaves.

Just my advice, the side lighting is cool and all, but the plant will want to grow vertical, so most of the growth will be directed to the north, you will want to concentrate on those areas. I have tried to get lots of side buds, but I am normally not happy with those, so I tend to trim the plant up a bit till it is all main colas growing

 

[InNvBoarder]

Looking good so far bro!! if I were you I would think of doing some training next time to keep your top main nugs from being a foot away from all the lowers. With a good topping or Fiming or something you could have a even canopy. That equals better light distribution and a better yield in the end! Good luck !!
P.s you might want to try to get a bit stronger fert?? Just a thought but some Bud swell or some kind of guano would really help in the long run.

 

[bong_chat]

Well time for a long needed update. I would post how long they have been in flower, but my stoner ass can't think straight. So we'll say it's been a little bit. I had a problem with the girls being a little top heavy, so tonight I tied them up. All but my runt. I named her stumpy. I love stumpy.

These pics are not all the girls, but I was screwing with the camera and really liked these images. So since I'm the sharing type, I'm putting them up. I have one girl that I am pissed at myself over though. No pic of her, cause I need to hide my shame. I really phucked the pH on her, and it really shows. I flushed yesterday and I hope she recovers. She has some really nice crystals on her and I would hate to lose her cause my overzealousness in adjusting pH too much.

So on with the show...lets start with stumpy




so nice, I did her twice




Now me playing with my camera




And a couple random side nugs







That's all folks. After smelling all that nice bud, I'm gonna smoke me some of what I hope to be the last bud I will ever need to buy from a dealer.

 

[Dr Dog]

Stumpy is looking great
Very nice cola
How much longer you have before they go chop chop

 

[chubbynugs]

Nice grow man. You are doing great for your first grow. I love stumpy too!

 

[bong_chat]

Yeah stumpy is my fave so far. The rest of the girls have some decent stretch, and one got so top heavy I couldn't move her until I tied her up. But stumpy is a tree trunk. She's maybe 2 ft tall at most. Vegged the same amount of time, but she stayed really compact. Wish I would have cloned her.

As far as chop, not sure. The pistals are still pretty white throughout, and I haven't seen many trichs at all. 1 of the girls has crystals everywhere, but for the most part, I'm not seeing many. I wanted to harvest sometime between 50% cloudy and 50% amber. But without trichs, not sure how to judge chop time. Stumpy is so nice, I don't want to jump the gun too much.

Although I may very well start some light flushing very soon if I see any sign of getting close to harvest. Any pointers on judging harvest time with few viewable trichs?

 

[chubbynugs]

I have noticed that the strains i at least have grown out will produce heavy pistil production like three to four times in the life cycle of the plant. Meaning that you will see tons of white pistils then see a lot of them die off and then you will see more white pistils and then they die off etc. Around the fourth time i notice that happening and no new pisitils are present your plant is probably done. Your fan leaves will be all yellowed and dying. Let em go longer if you are not sure about chopping.

 

[ganjadreams420]

bong chat, i just got to say AWESOME first grow,... no joke but this looks like a damn good harvest coming your way. you said you wish you had cloned stumpy? she is sexy... you shouldnt cut her down like the rest... let her reveg and reflower or clone her after you strip her of her beauty. wish i had experience about harvesting but i really dont, there is a good picture on here that shows the pistils deteriorating, like they will start changing colors, and when they are roughly 50/50 in color you should be close to harvest i believe. i would let the buds get as big as possible though... and once they stop swelling up well you know what to do then.
awesome grow mate, good job

 

[bong_chat]

So since I was just playing with the camera last time, I figured I would get a group shot of the girls. The stretchy one in the back is having majoy pH problems. I adjusted too much in one shot, and she was NOT happy about it. Since tomorrow is their normal watering schedule, I think she will get the flush and a minor amount of nute after a big flush.

And stumpy...well she's in the back under the direct light.

Little side light action




and next the girls au natural




And just because, a close up of one of the colas





Now judging from the close up and seeing how open the pistals are, would you guys say I should start seeing them bulk up soon? Ohh, I have also started to see some crystals on my formerly crystal free plants. This is totally uncharted territory for me, so sorry for all the questions. I just want to make sure I chop at the right time. To me they seem a bit too airy atm. I would guess there is al least a couple more weeks on their schedule. What do you guys think?

 

[InNvBoarder]

How many days are they at ??? Those plants look sativa dominant which means there probably gonna have a bit longer cycle. I would guess 70 days at least, but without seeing them closeup its hard to say. When the hairs start to turn brown you've gone too far id hack when 3/4 of the hairs are red. That should be a nice combo high, of couch lock and get up and do something. Peace