First True Grow, 150w HPS Micro

[AsbestosToast]

Hey there ICMag,
I officially started my second grow, but my first with a fully dialed in box, and real soil. (The first grow, I got impatient and threw some bagseed in some store-brand soil in my 90*F box. Didn't turn out too well... )

Here's the info:

The Box:
16" x 18" x 30" tall
Home-made, painted flat white, with two 120mm intakes exhausted out of a DIY scrubber with a 130cfm fan.

The Light:
150W HPS through a DIY cool tube, exhausted with a 130cfm fan.

The Soil & Nurtients:
FF Happy Frog soil, with about 40% perlite. I plan on transplanting in to FF OF.
Superthrive, FF Grow Big for now, will pick up Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom , maybe some others that catch my eye...

The Ganj:
Of three, the first to germinate are:

Big Bud- bagseed from a CA dispensary.
Ancient Bagseed- about three years old, half the size of the other seeds, but germinated none the less , kept them in a sealed, light proof container in a cool place. (These were the seeds that I used for my first grow, so we'll see how they turn out...)

The other that hasn't germinated is a very pale bagseed, probably won't even germinate, but might as well try.

I also added three more seeds to the paper towel a day or so after the first three, so they should be cracking in a day or so, they are genuine Mexican bagseed, and will be added to the cab as soon as they crack.

Method: The Big Bud, albino seed, and Ancient were soaked in water for a couple days, then put in a folded paper towel and kept moist. The 3 Mexi seeds where then added straight to the paper towel.

I want to thank everyone on this forum for all the knowledge they have contributed to the fine art of cannabis cultivation. This forum has taught me nearly everything I know.

Even bigger thank you to Pontiac for his DIY Link-O-Rama, and the members who posted their tutorials; the cool tube, scrubber, and fan wiring are all straight from those threads, so thank you!

Right now, the Big Bud and Ancient seed have just been put in red cups, and put under the HPS. I put a piece of tracing paper over them to cut down on the intensity of the light, might keep humidity up a little bit for them too. I forgot to label the cups, and now I have no idea which one is which! But, I have a feeling the healthiest one will be the Big Bud, as the seed is fresh, and the other was half as big and years old.

Stand by for some pics!

Edit: Here are some links for those interested.

ICMAG'S OFFICIAL ~DIY~ LINK-O-RAMA
Cool Tube Tutorial I followed, some substitutes where made as materials where available.
Basic Concept I followed for a DIY scrubber.

Obligatory Disclaimer:
I am a California medical marijuana patient, and this grow complies with Prop 215 & HS 420 completely.

 

[StealthDragon]

ime full light is fine for seedlings if you can keep them watered. You'[d want to use less light for clones though..just my 2cents.

always fun to watch bagseed grows...I run alot of strains and my favorite is from a bagseed

 

[AsbestosToast]

Thanks Stealth, I took the tracing paper off of them. The temps are just below 80 so I think they should be fine.

Here is a pic of my cab, as promised, nothing to take pictures of at this point, haha, just a couple cups of soil. Click for expanded view.


I wished now and while I was working on it that I'd moved the filter all the way to the back of the cab, maybe I will later, but probably not. Oh well...
I'll have more exciting pics in a couple days when something actually starts growing!

 

[GrowBox420]

I shall subscribe nice to see so many patients hopefully prop 19 passes and we can get some more heads on here! Nice little set up you got going there! Could you put some of those DIY links in there thanks man, why dont you get some clones from the coop?
Goodluck

 

[AsbestosToast]

Hey GrowBox420, thanks for stopping by, I added some links to some excellent resources at the end of the first post.

I am not getting co-op clones yet because I am ridiculously broke at the moment, and I wanted to run some bagseed through the box first to get my fingers sticky so to speak before I risked killing some primo medical clones.
I am on board with you on Prop 19, lets free that weed! People think it will do this or do that, but I was always a believer that the real cannabis revolution will be the micro grower. Every person supplying them selves with their own, and trading freely with others. Now that is a world that I look forward to!

 

[Keif]

Awesome setup, subscribed. Another patient here myself. When you do get clones, dont make the mistake I made and not check the clones thuroughly before buying. I ended up getting some with root aphid eggs and a week or so later, shit went downhill quick. Day I found them, I tossed everything in the trash and exterminated them. Been two weeks now and I am planning on letting it go for another week to make sure none return.

PITA.

Good luck with the bag seeds , could get lucky and get a super-dank strain! I had good luck with some on my first grow years ago!

Lookin' forward to updates! Happy and safe growing.

 

[hazydreams]

+1 for checking the clones out thoughouly before introducing them to your environment. a friend of mine in CO went to the dispensary to get clones, the resulting biological disaster had him tearing his hair out. Aphids, gnats and worst of all the BORG!!! all off widows hashplants and flo clones he picked up and brought into his 6kw top feed coco operation. the resulting invasion quickly killed off his mothers as an added benefit.

BEWARE OF DISPENSARY CLONES! its a business, and as with any business when the product is rotten you still put it out on the shelf and hope for the best.

 

[AsbestosToast]

Thanks for the help guys, the dispensary I have in mind to get clones from has the brightest, greenest clone I've seen anywhere around, and they are the coolest, most down-to-earth guys, so I'm hoping I won't have a problem, but I will definitely heed your guys' warnings.

Well, nothing but good news coming from the box; one seedling has broken soil, and is working on shedding it's shell, and has been positively identified as the Big Bud. The other seedling, the old timer seed, is just barely visible amidst the soil, so she should be popping out in the next day.
In addition, two of the Mexican bagseed have germinated, and are now in the box, so I am looking forward to them popping out in the next couple days.

I was excited to start this grow, but just the sight of these little seedlings reminded me how fun and exciting it is to nurture and care for these beautiful plants.

I will post pics when my cam battery recharges. Hope everyone's gardens are green!

 

[hazydreams]

i gotta say i like your light set up, it looks very similar to my own.. how many degrees above ambient does the cab run ?

 

[AsbestosToast]

Hey hazydreams, thanks, you don't have any grow logs or anything up do you? I'd like to see your setup. My temps get about 5 degrees above ambient, if things are locked up tight for an extended period of time they tend to rise slowly to about 10 degrees above ambient. Today when I got home, it was unusually hot, and I realized my window was left open, so my room was pretty warm, and my box temps where around 84, the highest I've ever seen them with my current set up, but I still need to do some more air proofing, and that should buy me a couple degrees.

Here are some pics of the babies. The Ancient as I'm calling it is starting to poke up out of the soil.

Here's the Big Bud, trying to bust out of that husk or whatever you call the outer shell.

Here are all four.


It looks like the pale seed will not germinate at all, but the last Mexican I'm germinating should pop any day, for a total of 5 in the box.

Feel free to post question, comments, criticisms.

 

[hazydreams]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=189055

thats the link to my current cab. its slightly larger then yours and i went way way more complicated for better or worse. but i like what you've got going on there. i just hope they are all females for you!

 

[blueschato]

Very interesting....
subscribed!!!

 

[hazydreams]

Thanks for stoppin by my thread there.

I had a thought while re reading your post.

i wouldn't be feeding them that grow big any time soon. I actually managed to burn some mother plants using that stuff. i prefer to feed my moms in Happy frog PH'd water and about 5-600 ppms of ionic grow. i only do that when they look like they need a boost. other wise happy frog is pretty awesome stuff i must say. I also use it to root clones when im out of rapid rooters and rock wool.

IMHO if i had to flower out in soil: i would use the FFOF and tiger bloom every other watering. done it with great success many times.

 

[AsbestosToast]

Hey haze, thanks for stopping by.
I'm not feeding them anything right now, just water. They are barely a day old!
I wouldn't be updating this often, but exciting news, every seed has popped! Even the pale one, affectionately referred to as Whitey from now on, sprouted a nice long tap root. When I went to put the last two seeds in the box, I also found that the first two to break soil, the Big Bud and the Ancient have grown considerably and are throwing out their first pair of serrated leaves. The excitement grows!
Here's the Big Bud

The Old Timer:

and a group shot: Big Bud, Ancient, Whitey, and 3 yet-to-be-named Mexi's


I can not wait for the next couple of days, when I will have a full box of little seedlings. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[AsbestosToast]

Just a pic update

Just a pic update

Here's an update of the ladies. Everyone seems to be flourishing except for the albino seed. I fed them some Big Bloom and Superthrive at 1/4 strength last night, and they seemed to like it, so maybe I'll do that every 3rd watering or so, until they are ready for the Grow Big. I have a little bit of money at my disposal so I am going to install a couple fans in the box to get some air moving over the seedlings, I would like to see their stalks strengthen up a bit. Here are the pics:

All 6


Big Bud- day 7
The first two are putting out their second pair of leaves.


Ancient Bagseed- day 7


Mexi 1- day 5
These two are starting to catch up to the first 2.


Mexi 2- Day 5


Mexi 3- Day 3


Whitey- day 3
obviously behind, the first fan leaves are coming out a little disfigured. I'm hanging on to her for now because I have plenty of space, but she probably won't be around for long.


Well thats it, hope everyone's grows are well.

 

[hazydreams]

a word of caution. they are still very young for any ferts even at 1.4 strength. i dont give ferts to my soil babies until they are at least 4-6 inches tall with lots of leaves and an established root ball.

Many a pot head has been guitly of caring too much for our favorite plant. dont over love it, contrary to popular beliefe somehow this plant managed to live for millions of years without humans spoon feeding it the absolute max ferts it can handle... make it show you it needs the ferts first, i personally wouldnt even feed them anything until they at or near needing a transplant from the solo cup.

your mileage may vary.




hazydreams..

 

[AsbestosToast]

Hazydreams- I know that people wait till vegetative growth to add fertilizers, but both Superthrive and Big Bloom say they can be fed to seedlings, and the nutrient amounts on the Big Bloom are very low. 0.01 - 0.3 - 0.7 to be exact. Do you think I should be waiting still to feed them?
Another problem I ran in to, which will probably become evident with pics, is I made the biggest rookie mistake of (at least what I think is) overwatering. I realized some misremembered advice, coupled with beginner's over-zealousness led to me watering every day, or every other day. After some poking in the soil, I realized there is much more moisture than I had previously thought, so I am on what I believe to be a correct watering plan now.

On to the pics:
Here is Big Bud, day 14, a little droopy, but looking pretty good.

Here is the Ancient seed, also day 14. Also a bit droopy, but still growing and looking alright.

Mexi 1, at 12 days, is having the most unexpected hardship. The tallest, but developing these wavy leaves, with some crimped looking parts. A little splotchy color, and slightly crisp feeling leaf ends.

Here is a leaf closeup

and another

Here is Mexi 2, also 12 days. More droopy than the others, with some small splotches on her leaves here and there, but nothing horrible.

Mexi 3- 10 days. Looking pretty good

And last but not least, the severely stunted Whitey, 10 days. Her first set of true leaves came out with no tip, they just blunted off in a strange fashion. The next set is looking a little more pointy. Very blotchy leaf color, and raised between veins. Don't know what will happen, but I'm hanging on to her anyways.

Leaf closeup


Well that's it, I look forward to your guys' opinions on their progress. Maybe it is something besides overwatering I haven't thought of. I plan on testing the run off next watering to see if pH problems are occurring, but I don't think it would be a problem, because I am using quality soil this time. I am also wondering if it's because I am using straight tap water, but the water quality in my area is pretty good, could still be the chlorine though.
I have a feeling they will perk up when the soil gets a chance to dry out, and get some oxygen back in there.
Let me know what you think!

 

[darryl]

your so called "whitey" could be some great mutation! i would hold out on tossing it untill you for sure know its not worth it!
just my thoughts!
ps. good looking cab you have im subed!
pss. heres a link to my stealth cab if your interested i just started a week ago on this new design.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=3989682#post3989682
enjoy!

 

[HobbyGrower]

hey asbestos, just dropped by to see if there were any updates. Good luck on your grow.

 

[AsbestosToast]

Well everyone, things could be worse, but they are also not the best at the moment. I won't repost pics here, but I have an Infirmary thread started, HERE if anyone wants to be so kind as to share some knowledge, and help save my injured plants! I will post a regular photo update of the ladies tonight at lights on. I am thinking about repotting, but don't want to stress them when they are already injured. Maybe I can get some opinions at the update.