1st Time Noob Grow CONTINUED!!!!

[LightGreen]

So to make my thread more available for comments I have decided to start a new one rather than keep commenting on my own previous thread. Just wanted to clear that up.

Now, onto this road Mary has sent me down. Here is the link to my first thread which shows my plants in a very early veg stage. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=173688

As you can see my babies were tiny and barely doin much; now however, I have slightly upgraded my setup and dealt with the two plants in one pot situation. I currently am working four different plants (tends to go biggest from right to left but didnt intend on making it that way). Each one is under a 150watt CFL light so 150x4=600watts of magical CFL power. Roughly 1700 lumens is put out per bulb so enough to keep my babies steady risin. I am using Miracle Grow Moisture Control, yes I said it, good ole dispised by many and liked by few MGMC and it has done wonders for me so far, HOWEVER! I have recently come across an enormous problem. One plant seems to have a white mold type haze over the top and just recently I have been invaded by gnats and little bugs that are eatin up my tiniest of plants but seem to be leaving my big bad boy alone. I have not been using any nutes and my light cycle was 18/6 for a week and 24/0 the past 3. I am getting close to switch to the flower cycle but I want to rid my babies of pests first so any help would be greatly appreciated!

To go into some more detail about the setup I am using ceramic pots from walmart, three of them say they can fit 8" plants while the fourth fits 10" plants but the pots are fairly big. When I water I use sink water straight from the bathroom and pour directly on top of soil as well as at bottom where there is an opening to water the soil from beneath (perk of those walmart pots). I do have a small $10 walmart fan keeping the area cool around a steady 78 degress and as low as 75 degrees when my apt's a/c is kickin hard. Also, just for everyone 's inf ormation these seeds were one's I collected randomly from headies and I have the slightest clue if they are male or female.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the grow! Toke on brothas.

~~~~PICTURES~~~~
LOOK!! ^^^^^ HELP!!


Super Bootleg!!

 

[DMXAK47]

first i would like to say good luck on your grow.
for the bugs you can use a spray called safe and its no more then $6 u can get it at the hardware store and just make sure you spray them when your lights are off. and u can also use the sticky strips and cut them to the shape of under your plants on top of the soil.

ph- i would go to the hydro store and buy a ph test kit most should come with everything you need for under $20.
you want your ph balance around 6.5 if your ph is off it will slow your plants growth down.

and make sure you dont over water.

i would find some one who has some foxfarm potting soil for sale that keeps it indoors and buy a bag.

all this is stuff i would do but best of luck on your grow. hope they all turn out to be girls.

 

[DeoXy]

Yea as DMX stated.. You can get a cheap PH tester for like $5 at most hydro stores.. aslong as you can color code/read and match a color lol you'll be ok... even though I have hardly ever used it.. again I use Fox Farms Ocean Forest... *suppose* to come ph'd in the 6.5-6.7 range.. and has oyster shell in it as a buffer... seems to work well.

Another easy solution I've heard for bugs is using a combo of a cigg. dipped in water for a min(nicotine makes for a great bug killer)...and a light soap solution and spray lightly... especailly the underside of the leafs.. or can also go the commercial chem. route.. but I would try n avoid, I know neem oil works for somethings.. not all but is natural!

As far as using MGMC soil(devils mix... j/k).. lol I started off using miracle grow organic choice which still had time release ferts in it(only thing avail to me @ the time till I found the state of IL had 2 hydro stores.. miracle?.. after a year searching/coming up short at local garden centers.. lol, nearest is over an hour away).. but worked out fine.. just had to go very light on the nut... like 1/4 of what bottle said and it worked out fine.. adding more perlite to the mix makes it even better.. *I* like to line the bottom 1/4 of my grow bags with just a perlite layer.. and mix more in to the soil mix aswell.. plants will thank you and help prevent overwatering aslong as you provide good drainage

Good luck with your grow!... Next time try n source some organic sources like dried bat guano.. and earth worm casings to add to your soil mix.. plants will thrive!

 

[LightGreen]

Well I am currently on a 24/0 light ratio for my veg (CFL's ftw) so is there another type of bug spray to use while the lights are on? And also, when you say light soap solution can I just use dial hand soap mixed with the cig water and spray it on the plants or do I spray it on the soil? Wakin and bakin atm, keep the comments comin.

 

[~smokinbuds~]

Looks great, I`ve been wanting to follow a good CFL grow I`ll be following!

I am a Miracle Grow user also. I don`t know if I`m just stubborn but I am determined to make the stuff work for me lol I used it years ago and never had problems. This grow I had a few issues and some say it is my soil...I`m not sold on that yet. My next grow I am using my good ole MG and something different just to compare, with everything being done the same just different mediums should put this to rest....at least for myself

lots of luck to you, looking forward to watching!!

 

[DeoXy]

Well I am currently on a 24/0 light ratio for my veg (CFL's ftw) so is there another type of bug spray to use while the lights are on? And also, when you say light soap solution can I just use dial hand soap mixed with the cig water and spray it on the plants or do I spray it on the soil? Wakin and bakin atm, keep the comments comin.

We're talking about VERY light here/diluted... and yes combine in a spray bottle... spray undersides of leaves/areas affected... don't go too crazy at first.. too much and you'll clog their pores.... just a simple solution and seems to work well for many, read up a bit more on it if it makes you feel any better

 

[LightGreen]

Solution: ORTHO ecosense brand insecticidal soap it's a spray from home depot cost 4.50 and appears to be environmentally safe as well as safe for the plants. So far all pests have been terminated and I have yet to see any movement for about fifteen minutes now. I'll repost tomorrow about the bug situation but this seems to be doing the deed!

ALSO!!!
When is the best time to start flowering? A rough estimate of how long the veg process takes vs. the flowering process would be great. I was told 1 month veg and 2 flowering, and I know the last 2 weeks of the flower are the most potent but I'm running out of time for my lease to end and i am trying my damned hardest not to have to transfer them twenty minutes across town in my car haha I believe I have been vegging for a month or so now, started early May so I'm hoping to switch within a week and am currently deciding on whether or not to go full CFL for flower or go out and buy some t5 or t8 from home depot. Suggestions?

 

[Daffy]

How much money do you have to spend on lights, I say if you have $100 go to ebay and buy a 400w HPS kit. If you have $200 buy a 400w MH kit. Then you have dual spectrum, and 110000 lumens (same as a 1000w MH). The CFL is cheaper in the short more expensive in the long than the equal wattage 400w HID light. T5s and T8s are less efficient than the CFLs. I promise you will not be disappointed. I also just heard about CMHs which look to be the best horticultural light available. If you have less than $100 then go with the CFLs.

 

[JamieShoes]

best of luck with your grow mate

 

[~smokinbuds~]

Hello LightGreen, you asked about vegging...

A month give or take, some flower earlier and some later. I think genetics, the style of grow you use (ie single colas or bushes) and how big you really want them to be make it kinda an individual decision. Just keep in mind they will go through a big spurt when you switch them to 12/12. I vegged mine for aprox. 6 weeks (from day planted) but if I knew how much more they stretched in flower I would`ve switched at 4 weeks.

You can use fluoro`s for flowering, you will get quality smoke but you do yeild a lot less of it. Buds are not as dense. My advice is to use a lot and keep 'em close if thats your choice...and it will get warm in there the more you put in. Good luck to you!!!

 

[MAD DAWG]

I vegged mine till it was 12" tall. 3 weeks under t5's and 2 weeks under an hps. Switched over to 12/12 and like smokinbuds said, big spurt indeed. Went from 12" to 37" tall. So she tripled in growth. I only want them to get to 3 or 4ft so it worked out perfect. So yeah dude it depends on how tall you want them to get. A general rule of thumb is a plant will double and possibly triple in size once going to 12/12.

Good luck to you bro.

 

[LightGreen]

Thanks so much everyone for the suggestions and optimistic help, I absolutely love signing on to see more comments. I have decided to switch to flowering tomorrow night, I do have a timer so i'll switch over to 12/12. One of my plants is dense as hell (pics soon) and as least a foot tall with 6 inch leaves. The other three plants appear sick and/or not up to par with the one biggin. Hope and pray for females!!!!!!!

 

[LightGreen]

THE TIME HAS COME!!!!!













Three of em appear sickly (i think one is a calcium deficiency and the other is from bug bites but the third is most likely doomed because it's the one that i had to cut half the roots off of to transfer it out of a pot) but only time will tell. Comments are still encouraged and again thank you so much to everyone helping out and taggin along for this CFL marvel!

 

[LightGreen]

Just about two weeks into flowering and Im still not quite sure if they're male or female. Im pretty sure I have two females and one looks like a male, but my biggest one that was lookin dense has started to outgrow its pot and is very wilted. I dont know if I should transfer it, or even how large of a pot to put it in, or if i should just call it quits on that one and focus more on the other three. More pictures to come tomorrow (the lights are out at the moment). So I guess the question of the day is, male or female? And also, how large of a pot to get for a plant that is lookin like it might get 3 ft tall (I only planned on it getting to 2 ft max).

 

[asstastic]

How much money do you have to spend on lights, I say if you have $100 go to ebay and buy a 400w HPS kit. If you have $200 buy a 400w MH kit. Then you have dual spectrum, and 110000 lumens (same as a 1000w MH). The CFL is cheaper in the short more expensive in the long than the equal wattage 400w HID light. T5s and T8s are less efficient than the CFLs. I promise you will not be disappointed. I also just heard about CMHs which look to be the best horticultural light available. If you have less than $100 then go with the CFLs.

is that 100 even or about
link please

 

[LightGreen]

Bout to head to work so this is gonna be a quick post but just trying to get pics up! Had one male that I killed off and i'm for sure I have one female, but the other two havent been sexed yet. Im hopin for fems!!! I still think i have a potassium def in one of them but i'll figure it out soon enough. CFL's for the win.

 

[MAD DAWG]

You could probably get by with a 3 gal pot but you may want to consider a 5 gal pot. 1 gal per ft is a general consensus. I use 5 gal to be on the safe side. Plus the bigger the root mass the better.

 

[LightGreen]

You could probably get by with a 3 gal pot but you may want to consider a 5 gal pot. 1 gal per ft is a general consensus. I use 5 gal to be on the safe side. Plus the bigger the root mass the better.

Thanks a lot MD! I need to run to wallyworld and take a gander at the prices but I'm hopin the pots I have around the house will make due for this first op. After the summer when I move out Ill have a lot more space in my new house and a buddy has been saving a juicyfruit seed for me so that is most likely gonna be my next op. For right now, with the three that are left (one was male so I killed off that sucker), I know for sure one is female. I'm about 80% sure my second one is female also, but my third (which was my biggest but almost died) has had to catch itself up so I cant quite tell the sex yet, but again pray for females!!!

The most interesting thing about this current op is that these seeds were collected off the streets. For about a year of me buying the dankest bud around town I came across about 4 or 5 prime lookin seeds and so far they all seem to be different strains (one indica and the other two appear sativa).

Just picked up some real fire purple monster, bout to go dig in!! Keep burnin my friends, and keep in touch!

EDIT!!! 420 views Thanks ya'll.

 

[staff11]

3 gallon will work fine, especially if you are using CFL's. Seriously.

 

[LightGreen]

We're officially 6 weeks into the grow from the start of veg and I have three gorgeous looking females. Two of the plants main colas burned off (I went out of town for about three or four days and my plants hit a spurt right into my light) so they are budding a little slower than my third but it's made it past the hump and is goin nowhere but up! I'll try to post some more pictures by the end of the week once buds start to show.

Every day I get more and more excited to see these babies grow and just hope they survive to be dense and dank. I have decided I want to start using plant food of some kind I'm just not sure what. I am using 100% MGMC soil so whatever nutes it has is what the plants are getting, however I'm pretty sure I have a NPK shortage in one of my plants I have massive yellow tips at the bottom and a few red stems at the lower stages but if anyone else can diagnose better please lemme know!

Also, any good plant food ratios that have worked for Miracle Grow users and/or CFL users are greatly appreciated because as of right now these babies of mine have had nothing but good 'ole H2O. Also, would more CFL's facing the side of the plants help with budding or should it strictly be from above with reflectors?

-Heights-
Plant #1 (far left) is about 18"
Plant #2 (middle) is about 17.5"
Plant #3 (far right) is about 19.5"

I'm so curious to try figure out these strains, hopefully if I get my hands on a better camera I'll be able to put better quality pics up, but for now I'm using my iPhone so we'll have to make due.

Thanks for taggin along everyone!