1st grow. Bag seed. Cheap ass. A lot of learning

[honeyb]

First off, I want to thank all of you for your knowledge and willingness to share. Secondly, I want to share with you my grow, it was a zero investment so Im quite happy so far.

I germinated these seeds by soaking them in water for 2 days until they sprouted, then buried them 1/2" deep in MG Potting Mix from our previous project. The lights were sourced from around the house.

I'm blessed to have learned so much through this project from the growing medium to the lights and nutes used. Like don't use MG Potting Mix, don't water with tap water and don't feed/ph balance off the cuff.

I just switch to using tap water with 2 Tbsp of distilled white vinegar to lower the pH rather than just straight tap water. Im aware of ph UP/ Down but don't want to invest any money on my first grow. The vinegar trick I learned off of these forums and I hope that it will help with some of the pH issues Im having with the plants as well as other plants in our window boxes.

The plants are currently on a 24hr light cycle with 4 home depot cfl light. I want to grow this project into a small scale grow op that can supply the two of us with the meds we need. We see our selves having 2 plants to give us about 4oz ever 3-4 months.

I'm planning on bringing these small plants outside in a few weeks once they look like they can handle the weather. I might also invest in a T5 setup because I can easily hide the evidence from my wife i the weekly clutter of Home Depot receipts and supplies for the house.

I was planning on transplanting these plants into pig composte or more recent and interestingly 100% perlite.

Please give me some feedback, I have a low budget and like household tools.

Thanks, have a great

 

[Drift13]

So far looks good to me. I use vinegar myself to lower my tap water. One thing leave your tap water sitting out for a day or two to get rid of the chlorine put into city water. Happy growing to ya.

 

[canna woop!]

hi honeyb and welcome tot he fortum, nice 1st post!

i have a couple suggestions for you if i may.

if you are going to move it outside i may suggest for you to consider acclimatizing them, in other words let them have some ambient light in the shade first, then after a day or two allow 1-2 hours of morning or partial direct light, then after a few more days leave them out for good.

I understand why some one may use a hundred percent perlite, but In my opinion you should limit perlite to 20-40 percent of the total soil mix. I would add %10-15 pig compost (is it composted or straight manure?), %40-50 of coco husks or s. peat moss or topsoil, and another %30 of perlite or lava rocks.

Then add your amendments in like kelp meal and your minerals like glacial rock dust, as well as your agricultural lime. and stir and water everything thoroughly. if you added enough lime the soil will be kind of fluffy, and clump into a ball in your hand, when you poke it it falls apart though. The lime (calcium carbonate) loosens compaction and balances the pH.

looks like your on a good start! c wipe

 

[Javadog]

Subd. Good luck OP. Sounds like you are off to a good start.

...and nice structure on the little ones.

JD

 

[Weeddoctor]

...
I just switch to using tap water with 2 Tbsp of distilled white vinegar to lower the pH rather than just straight tap water. ...

Don't do that. If you want to adjust your PH level, you MUST have a PH-Meter. You can not estimate the amount of PH down or PH up you need. If you don't use a PH-Meter, you will most likely ruin your plants. Some drobs can be crucial.

And I have very bad experience with vinegar, because it destabilises the PH values. In the first moment the PH level turns down and if you measure some hours later, the PH levels are up again. Faltering PH-levels are worse for the plant than too high values.

 

[Weeddoctor]

can't edit my post?!

some more:
If you have, use rain water or water from the next pond, creek, river, lake etc. Often it's the best choice. And if your three plants are small you don't need much water.

I have less experience with outdoor growing and found it quite frustrating. Guess it depends on your location. All my plants always dissapeared. Stolen by other stoners, cut by the cops or destroyed by animals, pests, multiple illnesses, drought, floodings etc...
Since then, I grow indoor.

 

[honeyb]

Canna Whoop and gang,

thanks for the replies guys. Since then I have been taking the plants out during the days and keeping them under the cfl's during the evenings. Since the weather is nice and sunny now I don't fear them getting beat up by the cold.

Thanks also for your recommendation for a good outdoor growing medium. We have some good sources for horse compost so I think that Ill do 60% compost and 40% perlite. I was initially concerned about their light cycle being put out to soon, however the days are getting longer and hotter, i just didnt want them to flower prematurely. I would love to get them to grow nice and ripe.

Hey guys I've done about as much research and reading I can do. I think it comes down to just hands on time with the plants. I would like some advise about outdoor planter container options. I see a lot of 5 galon buckets, raised beds, mesh bags etc. I'm leaning towards just some large terra cotta planters to blend in with the tomatoes better.

Here are some pictures that I just took. I have been actively topping the plants. Once has really taken off and the other is slacking.

Thanks for all the advise. Talk soon. More updates to come once Ive transplanted them into their larger buckets.

 

[canna woop!]

sure thing, B

your weedlings are looking nice!

do keep in mind that the terra cotta planters are porous, and the roots may grow into the pots. If you are trying to transplant without stress, using a blade to slice the sides of the container can help loosen them out. That said it looks like you are a week or two out from a transplant



keep posted!

whooping C.

 

[honeyb]

HI guys,

Its been about a month since my last post and I have learned a ton.

Since the terra cotta, the plants have been transplanted into a mix of 70% coco and 30% enriched soil. They are in 10 gallon smart pots. Both of these plans are being hand fed. I treat my water w PH Down and use Flora Grow on a regular basis. Occasionally I use some Alaskan Fish formula and a few drops of Superthrive.

The plants are on my back porch and I'm trying to blend them in the best I can. I'm doing my best with the training, tying down at every opportunity so that I can keep the plants small.

I have put these plants through hell over fussing with them. In doing so I have managed to split both main stocks about 3 weeks ago. I've used some pipe cleaners to keep the plants together, readjusting them every few days. Its amazing to see that they keep chugging right along.


I over actively top and hst them. I only call it HST, rather than LST is because it starts soft then I get carried away and the plants look like they were beaten up. I've tried to reduce the amount of broken stems when LST. I think overall the plants are looking ok.

The smaller one I have learned does not respond well to any sort of training. Her growth has really stunted. I guess thats what happens when you split their stocks.

I can see them rebuilding so hopefully they will produce something, not looking for much but a few buds would be nice.

Any ideas guys on how much I can get out of one of these plants?

Thanks, Have a great afternoon.

 

[Javadog]

well, they look happy. Good work.

I have also found that training can stunt some breeds.

It also seems to relate to some degree to the overall strength
of the plant. I have found that some clones, taken from
different parts of my mothers, seem to be runts to begin with,
and that these runts can be more adversely affected by training.
This latter bit is just conjecture.

Onward and upward,

JD

 

[honeyb]

Thanks Javadog,

I think this was their las topping, only LST from here. Who knows maybe a few ounces.

 

[KGB~Dragon]

Good Reading and these plants we love are some hardy weeds! Just TLC from here on out and I bet you could get maybe a few easy.
Keep the updates coming!