Blackwater first indoor grow

[pop_rocks]

Thanks pop_rocks. I really don't think there is a soil issue either. I checked ph in and out a couple waterings ago and had 6.5 going in and 6.5 was the runoff. I think I will keep giving some veg nutes every watering. I know you are suppose to feed every other but they seem to be begging for some N. I have been using about a teaspoon of grow big per gallon which is pretty light. I have been watering every 3 days. Some feeding charts have you using 2-3 teaspoons grow big + some big bloom + tiger bloom per gal but these girls are not use to much so I think I'll keep feeding slight. Maybe one teaspoon each of grow big and tiger bloom per gal every other and just a teaspoon grow big on the other watering. Since this strain is suppose to flower in 55/60 days I think only a couple more weeks of nutes anyway and then a flush and just h2o for last couple weeks.

I got a 10X loupe today as well so I will be able to check trichomes a little more closely. I can hardly wait for the light to come on so I can take a close look at those crystals.
I will take more pics when they come out for watering tomorrow evening.

you are on the rihgt track man
the def dont look overfed but no point in pushing them
if you grow the same strain again you can always up the feeding but for a first time you are doing great!

looking forward to your next update, they should start showing some withered hairs and getting plumper soon now

 

[Fiddynut]

you are on the rihgt track man
the def dont look overfed but no point in pushing them
if you grow the same strain again you can always up the feeding but for a first time you are doing great!

looking forward to your next update, they should start showing some withered hairs and getting plumper soon now

Thanks for the incourgement pop_rocks! I think I spotted the first orange hair when I had them out tonight. Getting fatter by the day!

 

[Fiddynut]

Some ugly leaves

Some ugly leaves

Tonight's update has some good, some bad and some ugly(leaves). I gave them their heaviest feed ever tonight. I trimmed some dead and dyeing leaves. I also trimmed a couple healthy leaves that we're blocking the light from some nice buds underneath. I didn't go nuts but took maybe 8-10 off each plant. They fit a bit nicer in the tent now as well.

The 2 smaller ones are looking perry nice with just a few leaves that were pale or yellow. Many of those are ones that were up against side of tent and weren't happy with that. Since the trim I was able to get them closer to center and they should be clear of walls now.

The other one that has been most affected by pale and yellow is not getting worse and may be a bit better. Even on this one the new leaves around buds are nice and green.

They got there usual 1/2 gallon water so I mixed 1.5 gal spring water with 5ml grow big and 10ml tiger bloom and split between the 3 plants.

I took some pics and will share those in this and next post. I set up a veg tent yesterday and it gives me a nice place to shoot pics from until I get some baby's in there.

These are the 3 plants and a couple bids of the worst leaves.

 

[Fiddynut]

Now some of the good

Now some of the good

More pics from tonight. These are some pics of the buds.

 

[Walt Jabsco]

The ffhf in the bag is about 6.4. After a while plants seem to go down hill because the Ph tends to drop over time. Plants that are sensitive to PH swings show problems when this occurs. First sight of yellow and you are probably in the mid 5's. This must be corrected.

 

[Fiddynut]

Defoliation

Defoliation

Here are the leaves I took off. Most we're removed because they were unhealthy or dead. I took a couple healthy ones that were providing a bit too much shade to some nice buds underneath.

 

[Fiddynut]

The ffhf in the bag is about 6.4. After a while plants seem to go down hill because the Ph tends to drop over time. Plants that are sensitive to PH swings show problems when this occurs. First sight of yellow and you are probably in the mid 5's. This must be corrected.

Hi Walt. Thanks for the info. I checked ph of my runoff a couple waterings ago and it was 6.5 same as ph of water I was giving. Is there a good way to check soil ph other than testing runoff? This is certainly something I want to learn to correct so that I don't have same problems next grow. Is there something I can add to water to raise soil ph or is this something I should have amended soil with before poting? I will check the forums for info on soil ph'ing and correcting. Still a lot to learn and I seem to be learning something every day.

 

[Fiddynut]

Update and pics

Update and pics

Plants needed water last night so I pulled them out and had a nice close look at them. I have used synthetic nutes the last few waterings so I wanted to flush some of the salts out. I have been battling what looks like a N deficiency for 2 or 3 weeks now and starting to think its a ph issue or lockout of some kind. Not going to go too crazy just want to run some water through to see if it helps things.

I gave them there normal 1/2'gal of watter then let them chill for 10 minuets or so to let salts devolve. Then I put a couple gallons of spring water throughout them and let them drain while I mixed up some watter, budswel, kelp and folic acid. I gave them 1/2 gal feeding and after draining I put them back under the lights. When I checked them 12 hours later they looked happy. I had read that plants can look overwatered and droopy after a flush but not these girls. I plan on using budswel for the rest of this grow and hope this makes for tasty nugs.

I also took off a few leaves that looked shitty and took some pics.
The buds are growing fatter every day and are getting frosty. The next couple weeks should be interesting. I expect them to finish in 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[pop_rocks]

these are looking great man!
might be time to start looking into some structural support
esp in teh first pic, i can see that top/side colas overloading the stem and drooping

the other looks like it has nice fat stems and could hold itself up but i usually tie a few key points to something just to hold everything in place

 

[Fiddynut]

these are looking great man!
might be time to start looking into some structural support
esp in teh first pic, i can see that top/side colas overloading the stem and drooping

the other looks like it has nice fat stems and could hold itself up but i usually tie a few key points to something just to hold everything in place

Thanks pop_rocks! I'm going to pick up some wooden dowels to use a support. I hope these get heavy enough to need them. Looking pretty good over the weekend. They are going to need water tonight so I'll get a closer look and some more pics.

 

[Fiddynut]

Update 8-2-16

Update 8-2-16

Time for another update and some pics. Things are looking good and smelling even better. When I open the tent I am hit with a dank skunk and vomit smell that is quite powerful. They needed water and budswel. The upper buds are really packing weight and I seem to be getting an explosion of new bud growth. I had to resist the urge to clip off a bottom bud for sampling because I know they will just get better. I had a good look at them, took some pics and made a couple observations that are noteworthy.

One of the observations has to deal with the water they are using. For a few weeks now they have been using 1/2 gallon of watter every 3 days and I had been gritting some runoff of 1 - 1/2 cup every time. Last time I watered I did a light flush and was expecting soil to be more moist than it was. I gave them their usual 1/2 gal and got no runoff this time. I may have to water more often in these last few weeks since the soil was as saturated as can be and still dried out in the 3 days. I guess they are getting more thirsty so maybe I will give 1 gallon from here on out. I may also have to water every 2 days.

My second observation was that these girls are getting a bit top heavy and as pop_rocks suggested, I should get them some support. I probably should have done this a while ago but I will be putting some sticks in to help support them. I would hate myself if one of these colas broke because I was lazy.

So I have a couple things to keep an eye on with increased water consumption and some support. I am happy with the progress and I am having a hard time believing that things are going se well. I have never had even so much as a house plant before this so yahoo. I want to thank all who have helped in this grow and all the people who wrote all the 1000's of threads and articles that helped me learn enough to get the right equipment and get this far already.

 

[Fiddynut]

Some bud shots

Some bud shots

Here are some bud pics and a close up!

 

[pop_rocks]

Time for another update and some pics. Things are looking good and smelling even better. When I open the tent I am hit with a dank skunk and vomit smell that is quite powerful.

hahah
in what world would you think "hell yeah" reading this!?!

you are doing great fiddy and i esp like your openness to take it all in and learn!
learn form other and def learn form your plants

the girls want water,man and your thinking is spot on
/they have growing flowers to support
pretty soon you are going to cut the nutes out and give them nothing but water, but that comes later

i look at your pics and see golfball sized nuggets reeking of skunk and vomit!
and i think "hell yeah"!

 

[Fiddynut]

hahah
in what world would you think "hell yeah" reading this!?!

you are doing great fiddy and i esp like your openness to take it all in and learn!
learn form other and def learn form your plants

the girls want water,man and your thinking is spot on
/they have growing flowers to support
pretty soon you are going to cut the nutes out and give them nothing but water, but that comes later

i look at your pics and see golfball sized nuggets reeking of skunk and vomit!
and i think "hell yeah"!

Damn right pop_rocks! If I opened my car door and a "dank skunk and vomit smell" came out I would be less pleased. I will up the quantity and frequency of water if they tell me that's what they want. I'm thinking that I will cut out nutes in a week or so. Thanks for keeping me company on this one.

 

[Fiddynut]

Quick update no pics

Quick update no pics

Just a quick update today. I didn't have my phone with me so no pics today. The girls are really getting thirsty now. They needed water after only 48 hours and are taking more than ever. I did some overwatering early in this grow and have been very carful ever since, to the point of under watering a couple times. Going to keep upping quantity and frequency as needed.
I'm really stoked to be getting close to the end. Not because I am not enjoying it but because I really look forward to smoking my own product for the first time. I use to buy weed and not think much about what went into growing it and just kind of took it for granted. Now I know that it is a bit of work and a lot of love that makes for beautiful plants and great buds. I have a couple of bottom shutes that have some small buds that I am dyeing to clip, dry and sample but I want to wait another few days and let them frost up a bit.
I will have another update and some pics in a couple days.

 

[pop_rocks]

this all teh way man!

growing your own weed is the way to go

keep it up and look forward to those pics

 

[Fiddynut]

Update and pics

Update and pics

It's been a busy week and weekend so far but time for an update. Let's start with the bad news.
While checking on the seedlings that I sprouted this week I saw a few tiny white crawling bugs. I can't seem to get a good look at them because they move fast. I have been unable to catch a live one and get it under my loupe. I believe them to be very young root aphids. I did see a flyer a couple days ago that I thought was a fungus gnat. Now tiny crawlers in pots that I just filled a few days ago. I have searched the forums for info about these fuckers. It looks like they can be a real bitch to get rid of. I still hope that it's something else but I just have a bad dealing it's aphids. It seems like they can be anything from a minor pest to a major plant killer. Since my seedlings are only a couple days old they should be very sensitive to bugs and I should see them go downhill quick if these are aphids. I doubt the big girls will be much affected and they only have a couple weeks to go anyway. I will be keeping a close eye on things. If this is an infestation I will have to find a way to completely wipe them out before starting my next run.

Other than the bugs things are looking pretty good. I staked the girl that was keening a bit and have stakes ready for the others if needed. It's hard to feel too good about them since the bug discovery but I am trying to be positive.
Here is a few pics and there will be more updates soon.

 

[Fiddynut]

Still thirsty

Still thirsty

I took some more pics this morning and gave the lady's a drink and some budswel. I had a good look around the soil and found a couple bugs that were dark and small and had wings. I almost caught one but it flew away before I could get it under my loupe for a closer look. The couple that I killed were smashed beyond recognition. I guess it need to get some sticky traps so I can get a look at one that is not smashed. The lady's don't seem to be minding them at least not that I can tell. Makes me think that they may have been around for a while and maybe part of the cause of my yellowing leaves that I have been fighting. Maybe not nitrogen deficiency like I thought. If they are aphids they may be eating my roots and blocking nutrient uptake. I hope these plants are tough enough to hang in there a couple more weeks or so until they are done. I have captain Jacks (spinosad), azamax, and sm-90 on hand but from what I have been reading these are not very effective against root aphids. Not going to get too worried unless the plants start looking stressed. My few day old sprout still looks good so keeping a close eye on them all.
I also staked and tied the second plant and will do the third next watering. Here are a few pics.

 

[Fiddynut]

Girls looking normally ok this morning. I am going to try an azamax soil drench next watering and spinosad after that. Still not sure what kind of bugs I have and was unable to get sticky traps at my local garden store. I will have to hit the hydro store for those.

 

[pop_rocks]

these are lookin great,brother!

sucks about the pest

azamax works and should hold them at bay, another choice would be neem
dont go overboard on the pest control tho
we dont need to erridaicate the buggars, jsut hold them off
these babies should only be a few weeks from harvest ( i think you are in what, week 5-6? of flower, please correct me if im wrong) so its not as bad as if it were earlier in growth
these babaies are almsot finished

what is important is after your grow
ditch the soil and give the whole area a good spray
i like h2o2 and soapy water but clean your area really well