1st grow ever. Hashberry seeds, CFL, Soil & Tent 48”x24”x60”

[fonzee]

Hey Fonzee, You are as cool as your namesake! All your advice seems good and I will pretty much implement all of it.

Going to get a pump, timer and tubing. Then I will run some tests to check water flow amounts using the timer and just generally trouble shooting the system. That should get me through the trip while I'm away from the plants. The bonus will be that I will also have a system ready in case of emergencies.

About the nutrients. Being that I am very new at this, and having read over and over again about how new growers burn the shit out of their plants with nutes, I am hesitant to do any feeding until they show signs of deficiency. The trouble is, I also recognize that I am being a chicken shit! So I have decided to go with a bottled flowering fertilizer. I'm looking at OF Tiger Bloom 2-8-4. (quick aside - why do they list the nutes as 2-8-4? Wouldn't it mean the same thing if they reduced the numbers to 1-4-2?) I plan on waiting until I see some flowering and then start with 1/2 the suggested amount, see how it goes the 1st watering and then up the amount to 2/3 for the 2nd watering and finally the full recommended amounts on all the future waterings up until getting ready for the final days before harvest. I'm still a bit of a chicken shit at heart but at least I will be getting some food into the soil.

I think I will be ok with the venting and temperature. I will be VERY careful with all the different electrical elements used in this grow and appreciate the warning about unintended catastrophic problems that could develop without adaptive care and attention. (I don't want to burn my shit up or anyone else's)

Thanks

To check your water intervals check how much you give a plant each time, and how often you do so.
Then divide the numbers and see how much it takes each day. Give 10-20% more on a daily basis.
You can check how long it takes for that amount to drip by placing a measuring cup and see how long it takes.

You don't really need to feed until they show deficiencies.
You can give them a little boost with some seaweed extract if you want.
I never used any of the fox farm product as they are not available in Israel, but from what I've read around you should start at 1\5 strength and building up to 1\2 strength, not full strength. Unless you plant clearly needs it.
I know thats the deal with BioBizz fertilizers.
And with a nice soil mix (a soil with compost, worm compost, kelp and so on) you should fertilize only every 2nd or 3rd watering.
Don't give your plants food for the time you'r off - you won't be around if they show any issue. Its WAY easier to give them food then reducing their food supply.

If you'r afraid burning your plants (which is pretty common) just use a slow release fertilizer.
Organic? guano, kelp, EWC and more processed options.
Not organic? I've heard Osmocote Plus is easy as cake and does a good job.
Use all of those at 1\2 - 2\3 the recommended amount.

The numbers is the percentage of the element. 2-8-4 is twice as strong as 1-4-2.
Or something like that.

Change of plans
I noticed something on the 27th before making the planned 12/12 light cycle change. I have Girls!

Four out of the six seeds planted are showing pistils! Hit-Girl, Mystique, Supergirl and my favorite, She-Hulk!



NEW FLOWERING START DATE OCTOBER 28TH!:yay:

I decided to start flowering on the 28th. Last night was the 1st time my plants have been without light! The reason I waited was I wanted to cut the lowest cloneable set of branches off of each plant that was a for sure female. All the plants were still in the vegetative state and I wanted to experiment and try cloning. I went to a hydro store and bought an inexpensive little "Root Riot" cuttings kit. It came with starter cubes, tray and a little package of "Clonex". I made the cuts and have them in a cardboard box under a cfl hopefully growing roots. If the cloning is successful I will incorporate them into the flowering 12/12 cycle in a couple weeks for a small eight plant SOG. (I doubt that I have room for all of this but will cross that bridge when I come to it.)

I think Poison Ivy and Wonder Woman are a couple of dudes and will have to go. It's too soon for me to know for sure, so I will wait a couple more days. If they turn out to be females also, I will have a difficult decision to make. The tent does not look big enough for more than 4 plants...if even that many! I will most likely pick my favorite 4 and get rid of the extras.

Later log lookers!

Cloning is easy. You can do it by just dropping a cut into a glass of pure water and plant when they produce roots.
You can go as complicated as you wish.

Check how much pots you can fit (you might wanna look into the taller and thinner pots) for a start.
You could get a SOG done in 2L water\soda bottles if you wish.

3 weeks into flowering (since flowering starts, not since 12\12) you want to make sure you have a cutting of your favorite plant(s). After the 4th week they take more time to re-veg after showing a root.



Good luck~!

 

[ChardIr]

Heyee Fonzee! Thanks for the good info!

To check your water intervals check how much you give a plant each time, and how often you do so.
Then divide the numbers and see how much it takes each day. Give 10-20% more on a daily basis.
You can check how long it takes for that amount to drip by placing a measuring cup and see how long it takes.

That's the test I will use to figure out the watering schedule.

Check how much pots you can fit (you might wanna look into the taller and thinner pots) for a start.
You could get a SOG done in 2L water\soda bottles if you wish.

Do you think the 2L bottles will work better than 1gal grow bags? That is what I was thinking of using but I seem to remember reading something about a SOG type of grow works better with roots traveling a long way down rather than having more volume for the soil medium.

3 weeks into flowering (since flowering starts, not since 12\12) you want to make sure you have a cutting of your favorite plant(s). After the 4th week they take more time to re-veg after showing a root.

Good luck~!

I did think that the daily count for flowering did start as soon as the switching to the 12/12 light cycle. I'm guessing I will know what flowering looks like when I see it.

Thanks again Fonzee, and I hope your grow continues to do great things!

 

[ChardIr]

I F'd up!
I rigged up a little hood for a 68watt CFL. I stupidly used some tape in the construction instead of something more permanent. (It has been corrected) Anyway, the bulb came loose and hung against the top of the plant for about 30 minutes. A bit of the very top of the plant suffered from burns, and portions on a few of the large cover/fan leafs were also burnt. (very pissed off at myself! I know better than to use tape!)

I posted this in the infirmary forum section and was told to just trim the brown away and not to worry. Sounds good to me.

 

[fonzee]

Thats really nothing to worry about. Just a bit ugly but the plant will be over it in a second.


SOG grow is best done with long and thin pots so you could fit in more and have more volume for each.
water \ soda 2L bottles are pretty nice for that. the store-bought pots are pretty expensive.

To run this method you need to test how many bottles fit in your space and have a clone for each bottle.

You want to flower those clones as soon as a 2nd or 3rd new node sprouts.

You want the clones to be from a veg. plant and not a flowering one so only one cola will grow.

 

[ChardIr]

Hey Fonzee,
Not all that worried about the burnt plant. More pissed off that I didn't put the reflector rig together a little better. Here are the photos of the reflector hoods I made with cardboard, Reflectix tape, wire from a clothes hanger and some zip-ties.

Here are the tops and bottoms of the hoods. (coat hanger wire taped to the cardboard to keep the hoods shape wasn't a bad idea. Tying a rope to the wire was!)


Top view of hoods and the CFL 68watters they will house.


CFL bulbs attached to hoods and hanging. Hanging string tied off to the wire that is taped to the cardboard.


Tape failed to hold wire to cardboard. (I'm glad it failed when I was around checking on things) I still use the wire to hold the shape of the hood but I use a zip-tie as a place to tie the rope used for hanging.


Everything looks pretty good in the tent now. The heat from the bulbs are not an issue with the close contact to the cardboard. The Reflectix tape seems to provide a very good diffused light reflection. And everything is tied off nice and tight.

So Far I am having a great time with my new hobby!

 

[fonzee]

I don't like using cardboard near my lights as it might ignite.
But with CFLs I don't know how critical it is.

 

[ChardIr]

Well it has been a few days since I put up the reflectors that initially had a problem. It has been corrected and I have kept a close eye on things to make sure everything is stable. I am confident the little reflector hoods are safe as long as I keep the bulbs from touching the plant. That would not create a safety issue for humanity, but plant life would definitely be jeopardized.

The plants have continued to grow and as of today 11/05/2010 the tallest is 53cm (21") and the shortest is 43cm (17").

Out of the 6 seeds planted there are a remaining 4 plants. 2 of the plants weren't girls at all, they were guys and had to go!

Here is an update photo of the girls 1st group shot.

Photos taken 11/2/2010. The Girls 1st group photo 35 days from seeding, 2 days into flowering.

 

[ChardIr]

Everything is going along very nicely! The problem with the CFL bulb burning a patch of a plant can only be seen if you look for it carefully.

The temperature stays between 22 - 28 C (72 - 82 F). The PH tests from the drainage after watering with untreated tap water is between 6 and 6.3.

The humidity is between 45 - 65.

The only nutrients the plants have received so far is what is in the FFOF soil the seeds were planted in on 9/28/2010 and transplanted into on 10/18/2010. I have decided to stick with Foxfarm for nutrients and have a bottle of Tiger Bloom 2-8-4. The instructions and feeding schedule are for 2-3 teaspoons per gallon 2-times a week. My plan is to change this to 1 teaspoon for every 2 gallons 2-times a week for the 1st week, then double it to 1 tsp per gal 2x week for 2nd and 3rd weeks. Then 3tsp per 2 gallons 2x-week until final flush or I change my mind.

The plants have continued to grow and as of 11/08/2010 the tallest is 66cm (26") and the shortest is 52cm (20.5").

Group photo 11/08/2010 Day 9 of flower cycle


#1 Hit Girl


#2 Mystique


#4 Supergirl


And last but not least, my favorite, #6 She Hulk


Here are some shots of a few developing bud sites.


Until next time, Sayounara serious growers of Sensimilla

 

[stonedar]

hey very nice 1st grow, I know you asked several days ago and got a great answer but I think setting up a drip for 6 days is over-kill. if it was me I was only gonna be gone 6 days I would set the pots in a kitty litter tray or something with some water in the tray. you'd be suprised how many people water all the time like that.
if you were to feed them all the time like that you'd have to flush them occasionally. but for just one time vacation sorta thing setting the plants in a tray of water works great. ask around icmag.

again super 1st grow, hope it goes this well all through out for you!

 

[fonzee]

I'd get a small bag of Peruvian seabird guano (2.2 lb for 6.5$) and lay a teaspoon per gallon of pot on top of the soil and add a 1\2 teaspoon per gallon after a month.
Then you can start using the tiger bloom thing 2 weeks later then planned and at half the dose you've planned.

It has enough N for your plants as well.


4 weeks before harvesting I highly recommend Budswell (http://www.thehydrosource.com/Nutri...no_Company_Budswel_Liquid_.01-.10_-.01_Gallon) at 5ml per liter of water once, and once again a week later.
Total of 2 waterings with it.


I would also watch for micro-element problems as you'r using nothing on that area. If something pops look for the proper cure but don't worry about it too much before it comes.

 

[fonzee]

the tray thing works, but for 6 days its asking for bugs.
The common way is setting a wick system so the water rez is enclosed.

In my opinion setting a bucket, water pump and drippers is less work as you don't need to move too much stuff around.

 

[gelmancadet]

WOW.for you first grow they are excellent KEEP IT UP.post some pics when finished

 

[ChardIr]

Hey Stonedar, Thanks for kind words and the advice for a low-tech short-term watering solution. I'm leaning on watering this way instead of the drip system. Not that the drip system isn't a great solution, I just like the idea of no electrical wires or water hoses. Even though drip systems seem to be used by many people without problems, for a six day trip I think I can get away without the setup. Cheers and be cool.

HiYa Fonzee, I gave the plants the 1st taste of nutrients. They got a 1/6 dose of the recommended amount of FF Tiger Bloom. I was going to try and stay away from using any nutrients for this grow. My thinking is this is my 1st time growing, I need to get a grow under my belt and keep it as simple and basic as possible. I am sure your suggestions for added nutrients and supplements would put on some weight and help the buds, but it wouldn't allow me to see what the baseline yield results would be with just good soil, the right temperature and watering correctly. I am messing up my baseline a little by adding the Tiger Bloom but I think that if I only add a very small amount I will stop a deficiency from possibly occurring. I'm not adding the Tiger Bloom to increase yield, just to get me through my 1st grow.

I did take your advise from one of your earlier recommendations. I took back 2-four packs of 23watt CFL bulbs and replaced them with 6, 42watt bulbs. I am now using 2, 68watt 2700k CFLs / 6, 42watt 2700k CFLs / 2, 23watt 2700k CFLs. That is a total of 434 watts of light. I can tell that the way I am growing the plants this round is not the most efficient way and am thinking of the next. Pretty sure it will be a SCROG.

Hi Gelmancadet, I notice this is your 1st post. I've got to say this is the greatest 1st post I have ever seen. Just kidding. Thanks for the good will and I'll keep posting until this is finished.

 

[fonzee]

You can usually fix a deficiency once it occurs. Its much easier than fighting it before you know what it is.

 

[ChardIr]

These are shots of one of my Mandala Hashberry plants (I call her She Hulk). Out of 4 female plants she has grown the fastest, shown sex the 1st, when cloned she rooted the quickest and seems to be budding the best. I am making a mother out of the cutting I took from her. The clones from this plant will be what I grow for my 2nd run. Since I am still very new to all this I figure I will try and become an expert on growing this particular plant and see what I can do to grow it more efficiently and with a better result in the future than whatever I get out of her this time.


14th day 12/12. Mandala Hashberry (plant #6 She Hulk)



This is the layout of the tent and lights for this grow. It's my 1st grow and I will not run this same set-up in the future. I think it will get me through to the end as it is now, I just have a few ideas from reading the boards how it could be improved with a few easy changes. Also, since I will be growing a clone from a plant I have grown in the past, I should be able to tailor an environment in which it would respond better than the current layout. Right now I am thinking that SCROG and this plant would be a very good match. I'm wanting a very even canopy for the 2nd grow.

Current tent and lighting layout.


Here are the plants, just sitting around sucking up the light as best they can.



Thanks for stopping in and checking out my log.

Take it easy, easy takers.

 

[CFL_Grow]

Looking great in there !

 

[ChardIr]

Hey CFL (now HID) Grow,
Thanks! Your first grow is inspirational!

 

[fonzee]

I'd recommend getting a few of the lights below the plants or cutting down the bottom branches. Right now they will produce nothing.

Also, try to keep clones from all the plants until you smoke a sample from each.
Sometimes the odd ones smoke the best.

 

[dj_ilum]

WoW. Nice starting for the first grow. Damn i wished mine could of been that way.
Ill be watching this grow till the end.
Keep up with the good work

 

[GrassMaster]

VERY NICE for a first grow. I'll be pulling a chair up for this one. I love CFL growing for some reason. Plus you can't convince me there is a bertter light out there for veg stage.
I too would suggest getting some CFL's on the sides for flowering. CFL doesn't penetrate like HPS so adding some side lighting will help to ensure big tight bugds throughout the plant when finished.

GM