New growers just chill and enjoy learning to grow.

For all you new growers out there I just want to give my 2 cents.

There are as many ways to grow as there are ways to use salt in cooking. When I started growing I was insane about the "best" soil the "best" nutes the "best" lights. While no doubt it's good to have al the "best" stuff possible I assure you an experienced grower can grow the dankest of the dank buds with soil dug up out of the backyard and miracle grow. Well, I may be exaggerating a bit but my point is don't get caught up in all the hype. Nutrient marketing is out of control and led vs. HPS vs. CFL is all just that "marketing"... You can grow killer buds with a t-5 fluorescent bulb happy frog soil and general hydro nutes.

The key to growing buds or tomatoes for that matter is paying attention to your plants and the growing environment. In my experience the key factors to successful growing is paying close attention to the following.

GET A GOOD PH METER!!!

Scatter a few thermometers and hygrometers around your grow space. Try to get one and keep it around the tops of the plants. They will all read a little different. Try to get an average for them close to what your target temp is.

Room temp. Veg - 78-84 flower 78-82
Relative humidity veg - 60-70%. Flower 50 - 60%
Water ph as close to 6.0 in soil as possible
Air flow. - lots - fans fans fans
Soil moisture. - seedlings water with a dropper keep moist but don't soak them. re water as they grow let the soil almost dry out the saturate. Let almost completely dry again then saturate. For new growers not watering is so hard. We are conditioned to think plants need water to grow (and of course they do) but they also need oxygen. Overwatering is IMO one of the most common new grower mistakes. So watch that.

Follow whatever guidelines the nutrient you're using recommends. At the start err to the light side. Increase strength as your girls grow strong...

And

PATIENCE most important don't get impatient and over think. Let the plants do their thing. You're actually there to guide them and enjoy their growth.

Of course ther are many other variables however, if you pay close attention to these factors and make minor adjustments as needed you will find growing enjoyable rather than frustrating and the end result will almost always be kind buds...

If you have questions I'm happy to help...

Grow on my friends....

Very kind of you to offer to help us out! Very much appreciated.

I would agree with you actually, in that I have gotten caught up in researching everything. Luckily I haven't been paralyzed in purchasing things. I have been moving right along and currently am only waiting on the seeds, light, and carbon filter to be delivered. Everything else is setup and ready to rock.

Thank you again, chomsky!
Tri_Cho_Me

Tri_Cho_Me said:

Very kind of you to offer to help us out! Very much appreciated.

I would agree with you actually, in that I have gotten caught up in researching everything. Luckily I haven't been paralyzed in purchasing things. I have been moving right along and currently am only waiting on the seeds, light, and carbon filter to be delivered. Everything else is setup and ready to rock.

Thank you again, chomsky!
Tri_Cho_Me

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Sure thing keep a grow report on ic mag and I'm happy to help out if I can.

plants grow, the more you think FOR the plant, the more you will fuck up

chomsky said:

Sure thing keep a grow report on ic mag and I'm happy to help out if I can.

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I will once I get up and going. I tried to chat with you, but I don't think I've posted enough for it to let me do that. It would be nice to have a knowledgeable resource available do bounce questions off of as I get going and through out my first grown.

Tri_Cho_Me

Tri_Cho_Me said:

I will once I get up and going. I tried to chat with you, but I don't think I've posted enough for it to let me do that. It would be nice to have a knowledgeable resource available do bounce questions off of as I get going and through out my first grown.

Tri_Cho_Me

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Yes you must have like 50 posts (I think) to message. But no worries. I can help you out right here or on your grow report. If you do a report I assure you a bunch of other growers. Many much more knowledgeable than me will be there to help out as well. There are so many helpful folks here!!!!

chomsky said:

Yes you must have like 50 posts (I think) to message. But no worries. I can help you out right here or on your grow report. If you do a report I assure you a bunch of other growers. Many much more knowledgeable than me will be there to help out as well. There are so many helpful folks here!!!!

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So when I get started, I can just sort of journal, and everyone will chime in with their 2 cents?

Where in the forums is it? Thanks again!

Tri_Cho_Me

Grow diaries

https://www.icmag.com/ic/forumdisplay.php?f=65535

Tri_Cho_Me said:

Very cool.

I have some height, so i might leave in veg a bit longer.

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It's awesome to have high and unlimited space in general. Again be very careful even with lots of height. plants can grow out of control very easily. I would read up on pruning topping f'iminf LST (low stress training) and light penetration. Remember your light can only penetrate a certain distance down into your plans. So depending on what light you have you don't want a gigantic plant which can end up in a big tangled mess. You'll end up with all kinds of undeveloped little popcorn buds ( which for me are a hassle, especially come harvest time ) And much of your plant will simply die because it is not receiving any light. For your first real grow it might be a good idea to grow the plants to a manageable height. Make sure you always have enough room above your canopy so that there is clearance for the light you are using you don't want to burn the tops of your plants and plenty of room for airflow.

I am an experienced green thumb, just not with cannabis. So, I plan on trimming the lower stuff quite a bit. I was also going to top them twice. I have a scrog, but wasnt going to use it for this first grow. Didn't want to dive too deep at first.

Tri_Cho_Me

Would pictures help with anything? Or product questions that I plan to use?

Tri_Cho_Me said:

Would pictures help with anything? Or product questions that I plan to use?

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Pics are always good.

Before getting started I'd also seriously consider bug bombing your grow room.

Media: Happy Frog + Perlite (50/50ish)
Pots: 1 & 5 gallon smart/fabric pots
Water: Tap water pH'd & left out overnight
Nutrients: MaxiBloom in veg / Fox Farms Tiger Bloom in flower
Light: Advanced Platinum Series P450
Grow space: 2x4x7 / 4in. intake, 6 in. outake / Two small 2-speed fans

Looks good. I see you're growing in a tent. How tall us the tent? How do you plan to keep it cool? What size pots are you using? Getting your plants started slowly and properly is extremely important. For example start the seeds in Red solo cups or very small 2 inch pots. Then bump up to a 1 gallon than a 3 gallon on up to whatever you're going to settle in. Do not rush the routing process. Letting the pot filled up with roots and having healthy roots is extremely important. And DO NOT OVERWATER. You also mentioned shying away from the Scrog. I know my title is just chill and enjoy but really in a tent a scrog may not be a bad idea. It's a bit more work but you can definitely enjoy that too. Too much pearlite I'd say, I'd do more like 3:1. Also be sure to ph water after nutes are mixed.

chomsky said:

Looks good. I see you're growing in a tent. How tall us the tent? How do you plan to keep it cool? What size pots are you using? Getting your plants started slowly and properly is extremely important. For example start the seeds in Red solo cups or very small 2 inch pots. Then bump up to a 1 gallon than a 3 gallon on up to whatever you're going to settle in. Do not rush the routing process. Letting the pot filled up with roots and having healthy roots is extremely important. And DO NOT OVERWATER. You also mentioned shying away from the Scrog. I know my title is just chill and enjoy but really in a tent a scrog may not be a bad idea. It's a bit more work but you can definitely enjoy that too. Too much pearlite I'd say, I'd do more like 3:1. Also be sure to ph water after nutes are mixed.

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Before the pics I gave some basic information. My tent is 7 feet tall. I plan on using the paper towel method then planting directly in the 1 gallon smart pots.

Tri_Cho_Me

Tri_Cho_Me said:

Before the pics I gave some basic information. My tent is 7 feet tall. I plan on using the paper towel method then planting directly in the 1 gallon smart pots.

Tri_Cho_Me

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You can certainly do that but it will be much harder then if you start out in a much smaller pot. Like I said a 2 inch planting pot. Your root system needs to establish itself before being in such a large pot. The problem with such a large pot is the soil drying out far beyond where your roots will reach at first. I would HIGHLY recommend starting smaller and then transplanting once the root system is established. A well-established root system there is no problem transplanting directly into a 3 gallon pot. Then from there a five if you want to go that big in a 7 foot tent. I'd say after the plants are 8 to 10 inches tall. I would also highly recommend using some rapid start. Trying to start seeds and such large pots you're very likely to drown your seedlings.

One last thing. Check online for your municipality water information. If your water is purified with the chloramine leaving the pots out overnight will do nothing to get rid of that. If your city uses chlorine that is a perfectly fine way to do it. Since you're using organic nutrients it May be a good idea to get yourself a dechlorination filter. Not necessary to get reverse osmosis a simple inexpensive Hydro farm dechlorination filter works great. I use one and I still leave my water out overnight.

chomsky said:

One last thing. Check online for your municipality water information. If your water is purified with the chloramine leaving the pots out overnight will do nothing to get rid of that. If your city uses chlorine that is a perfectly fine way to do it. Since you're using organic nutrients it May be a good idea to get yourself a dechlorination filter. Not necessary to get reverse osmosis a simple inexpensive Hydro farm dechlorination filter works great. I use one and I still leave my water out overnight.

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My water source comes out with an annual water report and it stated chlorine. I'll be sure and leave the water out overnight at least.

I'll definitely try the solo cups before moving to the 1 galloners.