E
evrchaning
What a great read! Thank you so much for the time spent on that. Great information.
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A Cannabis Growing Guide - All that you need to know to get started
- Thread starter Kodiak
- Start date
thank you so much for this, i am a brand new grower and have been looking for something like this for quite a while
could you give me some tips on actually applying the nutes and water?
how often do i water?
how do i actually feed the plant?
what do I do if i feed too much?
Is it a good idea to flush the soil a week before harvest?
could you give me some tips on actually applying the nutes and water?
how often do i water?
how do i actually feed the plant?
what do I do if i feed too much?
Is it a good idea to flush the soil a week before harvest?
Hi audacity, I'm glad that you liked the guide.
You could water the plants about once a week, depending on how fast the soil dries out. You can actually tell by the weight of the pot if the plant needs watering. When the soil is dry, the pot will be much lighter so you could go by that. Watering the plants too often can lead to problems, so allow the soil to dry out a bit inbetween.
When it comes to feeding the plant you have two options. One is to mix nutrients into the soil while you are planting the seeds. This food will last for a while but probably not throughout the entire grow. The other way of feeding them is to add liquid nutrients to the water that you are giving them. If you are still planning your grow, you could consider using both. The nutrients in the soil will ensure that they have something to fall back on in case they need to. Just make sure that you get two kinds of nutes, one that is rich in N and another that is rich in P. Mix the two and your plants will have what they need.
You can also foliar feed the plants by spraying the leaves (especially underneath) with a weak nutrient solution. They will be absorbed along with the water. Plants love this.
If you feed the plant too much, you can cause damage to it. What you usually see in that case is leaf burn. It turns the tip of the leaves white. Other symptoms might include stunted growth due to stress, salt buildup or conditions that resemble nutrient deficiencies (spots, discoloring, you name it). The most important thing to remember then is to keep your head cool and not feed them anymoore nutes before you have figured out what is going on. You can flush out the excess nutes by showering the plants (and pots) with water. You can also dilute the concentration in the soil by submerging the pots in water and allowing it drain off several times. You'll be fine as long as you follow the instructions on the bottle.
Some like to flush while others don't. It's a good idea to stop feeding the plants when they are approaching harvest time. The nutes might give the bud a chemical taste and they can in large concentrations actually burn your lips when you smoke the bud. I find that flushing becomes less crucial if you are growing organically because the nutrients are more easily broken down and they don't accumulate in the plant. If you stop feeding the plants say 2+ weeks before harvest, you can also ensure that all the stored up nutrients are used. This usually means that the energy stored in the leafs is drained and relocated to the buds. The leaves turn yellow and orange as a result of this. If you would like to see some colors in late flowering, you should also flush.
You could water the plants about once a week, depending on how fast the soil dries out. You can actually tell by the weight of the pot if the plant needs watering. When the soil is dry, the pot will be much lighter so you could go by that. Watering the plants too often can lead to problems, so allow the soil to dry out a bit inbetween.
When it comes to feeding the plant you have two options. One is to mix nutrients into the soil while you are planting the seeds. This food will last for a while but probably not throughout the entire grow. The other way of feeding them is to add liquid nutrients to the water that you are giving them. If you are still planning your grow, you could consider using both. The nutrients in the soil will ensure that they have something to fall back on in case they need to. Just make sure that you get two kinds of nutes, one that is rich in N and another that is rich in P. Mix the two and your plants will have what they need.
You can also foliar feed the plants by spraying the leaves (especially underneath) with a weak nutrient solution. They will be absorbed along with the water. Plants love this.
If you feed the plant too much, you can cause damage to it. What you usually see in that case is leaf burn. It turns the tip of the leaves white. Other symptoms might include stunted growth due to stress, salt buildup or conditions that resemble nutrient deficiencies (spots, discoloring, you name it). The most important thing to remember then is to keep your head cool and not feed them anymoore nutes before you have figured out what is going on. You can flush out the excess nutes by showering the plants (and pots) with water. You can also dilute the concentration in the soil by submerging the pots in water and allowing it drain off several times. You'll be fine as long as you follow the instructions on the bottle.
Some like to flush while others don't. It's a good idea to stop feeding the plants when they are approaching harvest time. The nutes might give the bud a chemical taste and they can in large concentrations actually burn your lips when you smoke the bud. I find that flushing becomes less crucial if you are growing organically because the nutrients are more easily broken down and they don't accumulate in the plant. If you stop feeding the plants say 2+ weeks before harvest, you can also ensure that all the stored up nutrients are used. This usually means that the energy stored in the leafs is drained and relocated to the buds. The leaves turn yellow and orange as a result of this. If you would like to see some colors in late flowering, you should also flush.
S
SCROG McDuck
You did alot of work putting that guide together...
Great job, wish I had found it sooner but
it will still suppy good info for me, and many others, in the future.
Great job, wish I had found it sooner but
it will still suppy good info for me, and many others, in the future.
Bump for your great info
While I'm here, I do have a question for you. In regards to your transition lighting, is this something that you practice every grow? Meaning 20/4 to 18/6 and on every seven days until you get down to 12/12? This is new to me, but interesting. If this does indeed make it more natural, and decrease the overall stretch, it seems like a good idea. Do you start it in the veg room until you get down to 12/12 then move it into the flowering room? Does it add time to veg? Add time to flower?
Thanks again for the great info!
While I'm here, I do have a question for you. In regards to your transition lighting, is this something that you practice every grow? Meaning 20/4 to 18/6 and on every seven days until you get down to 12/12? This is new to me, but interesting. If this does indeed make it more natural, and decrease the overall stretch, it seems like a good idea. Do you start it in the veg room until you get down to 12/12 then move it into the flowering room? Does it add time to veg? Add time to flower?
Thanks again for the great info!
Hi Steve
Yeah, I usually introduce the darkness gradually. It seems to reduce the stretch somewhat because the plant grows accustomed to the light changing. It is what you see in nature. If you go from 24/0 to 12/12 directly, the plant will always stretch more because the nights are so long from the start. I also keep the blue light (MH or CFL) in place until I start to see real flowers, after which I switch to the HPS. Keeping the blue light in place during the transitional stage will also help to reduce the stretch to some degree because it promotes vegetative growth, which will keep the nodes closer together.
In my experience it does not affect veg or flowering time all that much because it all evens out in the end. The real difference can be seen in the structure of the plant. More buds will take slightly longer to fatten up than fewer buds, but that's not a bad thing. Harvest when the plant is ready even if it goes a week longer or more.
Keep in mind though that things can be relative to your style of growing, your setup and the plants that you have. Sativas will stretch more than indicas and they often thrive under slightly different light schedules. Some plants also have longer harvesting windows than others. If you veg the plant until it shows preflowers, it will also move into flowering more quickly. This is something that is sometimes overlooked.
Reprogramming your timer is not that much work so I don't see a reason why you shouldn't do it. If you don't know which schedule to use, try 24/0 (or 20/4) --> 18/6 --> 12/12 first.
In the end, this translates into shorter internodes, which means more bud sites. The plant will always reach for the light and stem is of little use to us. Generally speaking, the bigger the gap in the light schedule between veg and flower, the bigger the stretch. The plants also seem to grow healthier under a gradually descreasing light schedule because they have better time to prepare for flowering.
The bottom line is that every plant requires a slightly different treatment in order for it to produce as much bud as possible. Sometimes you need to try a combination of things. The more time you can dedicate to each grow, the better.
Good Luck
Yeah, I usually introduce the darkness gradually. It seems to reduce the stretch somewhat because the plant grows accustomed to the light changing. It is what you see in nature. If you go from 24/0 to 12/12 directly, the plant will always stretch more because the nights are so long from the start. I also keep the blue light (MH or CFL) in place until I start to see real flowers, after which I switch to the HPS. Keeping the blue light in place during the transitional stage will also help to reduce the stretch to some degree because it promotes vegetative growth, which will keep the nodes closer together.
In my experience it does not affect veg or flowering time all that much because it all evens out in the end. The real difference can be seen in the structure of the plant. More buds will take slightly longer to fatten up than fewer buds, but that's not a bad thing. Harvest when the plant is ready even if it goes a week longer or more.
Keep in mind though that things can be relative to your style of growing, your setup and the plants that you have. Sativas will stretch more than indicas and they often thrive under slightly different light schedules. Some plants also have longer harvesting windows than others. If you veg the plant until it shows preflowers, it will also move into flowering more quickly. This is something that is sometimes overlooked.
Reprogramming your timer is not that much work so I don't see a reason why you shouldn't do it. If you don't know which schedule to use, try 24/0 (or 20/4) --> 18/6 --> 12/12 first.
In the end, this translates into shorter internodes, which means more bud sites. The plant will always reach for the light and stem is of little use to us. Generally speaking, the bigger the gap in the light schedule between veg and flower, the bigger the stretch. The plants also seem to grow healthier under a gradually descreasing light schedule because they have better time to prepare for flowering.
The bottom line is that every plant requires a slightly different treatment in order for it to produce as much bud as possible. Sometimes you need to try a combination of things. The more time you can dedicate to each grow, the better.
Good Luck
junkyarddog
New member
Great guide, Kodiak. Thanks for all the time and energy you took to write it. I read your TTP guide first and got a lot from it also. My plants are now probably about half the size but much bushier than before. I got rid of siper mites and gnats by going to bottom feeding and covering the top of the soil with perlite. The perlite chews them up. I also use a hanging product called Hotshots available in garden stores. Haven't had a mite or gnat since and it's been about four years now.
R
Rabbi Reefer
LOADED with great info, thanks!
Thanks guys, I'm glad that you found the guide useful.
Yeah, spider mites can drive you crazy because they can bounce back after a while, just when you thought that you've exterminated them for good. There are a lot of ways to fight them but the only fool proof way to get rid of them that I have found is to stop growing for a few months and remove every plant in the house. That includes regular potted plants as the spider mites will migrate everywhere. If they have no plants to feed on, they die out because they are unable to breed. Their life cycle depends on the environment (temps, humidty etc.), so it's best to play it safe and wait a couple of months before starting a new grow.
Keep growing that glorious weed.
Yeah, spider mites can drive you crazy because they can bounce back after a while, just when you thought that you've exterminated them for good. There are a lot of ways to fight them but the only fool proof way to get rid of them that I have found is to stop growing for a few months and remove every plant in the house. That includes regular potted plants as the spider mites will migrate everywhere. If they have no plants to feed on, they die out because they are unable to breed. Their life cycle depends on the environment (temps, humidty etc.), so it's best to play it safe and wait a couple of months before starting a new grow.
Keep growing that glorious weed.
microbrewer9
New member
Wow, informative! Thanks for posting!
northernkush
Member
Wow lots of good information here. Do you have any info on watering of the plants specifically keeping a reservoir of water around so your not constantly filling bottles every time?
Tagg
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vonforne
Very good thread Kodiak. Well thought out and written. I think this would make a great sticky.
Keep up the great work.
V
Keep up the great work.
V
