Growing Question(s?) - Tips for my first time, anyone?

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

I have never grown before.

I'm a firm believer in learning through experience (and mistakes), and I also believe you should "Measure twice, cut once"
To that end, I researched for almost 3 months before buying my first item. These sites contain a literal wealth of information and experience. My "beans" just arrived from Attitude and I think I'm ready to germinate. Before I do, I wanted to post on these sites. I will do my best to provide all the details. ANY and ALL advice is welcome and appreciated, whether you are a 25 year vet or just finished your first harvest.

This is my setup:
Ebb and Flow system with 6 inch pots in which I have drilled holes in the sides at the bottom. I plan to use rockwool, hydroton and a 50/50 coco coir/perlite mix (more on this later). In the bottom of the drain table about 1/2 inch of water remains after the flow cycle. My solution was to line the bottom of the tray with (rinsed) aquarium pebbles. They are heaver than the hydroton and will not float and reposition themselves, they are inert, and since they do not "wick" water, they should discourage roots from growing into them(I hope).
16 gal black Rubbermaid tote reservoir.
Air pump with 2 flexible air stones in reservoir.
125 Watt CFL light with reflective hood.
6,300 Lumens/6,400 K
and replacement bulb: 8,400 lumens/2,700 K
(As soon as possible I intend to double the lights, but I hope this will last long enough for a successful harvest)
General Hydroponics FloraMicro, FloraGro, and FloraBloom, in addition to their PH control kit.
Digital PH meter
Carson 60x - 100x LED pocket microscope

Here are my purchased seeds:
Nirvana Seeds Kaya Gold - 10 regular seeds
Feminized Seedism Seeds Cheese - (bonus seed)
Nirvana Seeds Bubblelicious - 10 regular seeds
Feminized Barneys Farm Seeds Chronic Thunder - (bonus seed)

(If I understand correctly) This will be the regiment:
I decided to use the glass of water method to germinate. PH corrected to 5.8 after sitting out to dissipate chlorine.
When they pop, I will place them in rockwool that has been soaked for an hour in PH corrected water with 1/2 teaspoon each FloraMicro and FloraGro per gallon.
Then into pots lined with hydroton. I will also arrange the hydroton around the cube to keep it in place, but the top inch and a half will be coco coir/perlite mix to keep all light off roots and hold a little more water.
The pots will then be arranged in the drain table without light and hand watered to keep moist with same solution rockwool was soaked in.
As soon as plant appears I switch on lights, timer set for 18 hours on and 6 hours off.
I will then set a flow timer to switch on for 2 minute intervals. I will start with twice a day, and then adjust as needed. Only feeding during "daylight" hours. 10 gallons of water with 1 teaspoon per gallon each of FloraMicro and FloraGro. PH corrected.
Hand water from top of plants once a week to flush out deposits in media.
Test reservoir daily, add only PH corrected (shooting for 6.0) water to fill line, then completely drain and replace once a week.

Rinse and repeat.

After about 8 weeks, I will switch to my 2700K bulb and reset the light timer to 12 hours on and 12 hours off, still feeding during the day but replacing the FloraGro with FloraBloom. PH corrected.
Soon thereafter I will be able to see if my plants are male or female. The males will be removed and the girls arranged to make the most of the light.
In ANOTHER 8 weeks (give or take) I will use my handy pocket microscope to observe the trichomes on the buds. After they are mostly cloudy before too much amber sets in I will post another long ass thread about curing with similar questions.
If there is anything glaringly (or even subtly) wrong with any of these plans so far? This is the script I will be following for the next 4 months or so.

This is the plan:
Germinate and plant 4 Kaya Gold seeds.
Assuming I will get both male and female plants, the boys will be transplanted outside or by a window in another room (PH corrected) and I would like to collect and store pollen from them. The light timing should be perfect outside for flowering by then, and if they don't make it, not a huge loss.
After harvest I intend to try and "reveg" my females and make clones from them. If everything goes as planned, I would like to ScrOG a couple of clones with one of my female bonus seeds. Is it possible to ScrOG more than one strain together?
I know this is a lot for my first post. Even though I just joined the site officially, I have been reading these posts for a while. One of the greatest things about this crop is how it brings people together, and everyone is so encouraging and helpful it makes me want to burst into song. You are all invited over for a bowl anytime.

P.S. PH corrected.

Also P.S. Everything contained here is for my entertainment only. I have no intention of violating any local or Federal laws.

 

[TheHermit]

I would suggest topping and LST if you are planning on using CFLs to flower. 8 weeks may be too much veg time for a cfl grow, they don't have much penetrating power. If you have room, I would take clones before flowering. You will need about a month to get the plant to reveg, and then about two weeks to get your clones to root. I see no reason why you couldn't scrog more than one plant. I don't know much about hydroponics, so I can't help you there. Best of luck with your grow.

 

[flynfish]

if it was me I would start with the freebies. that way if any mistakes along the way really didn't cost u the beans u really wanted. that's my 2 cents

 

[lofly247]

Looks like you've really done some preparation there. Measured several times and can't wait to cut.
If it's your first time growing, you will soon get a feel for it. I'm still amazed at how much of a waiting game it all is. You create the conditions and the plant does what it does.
I'd also recommend looking into LSTing and no doubt you'll keep a journal to look back on.
This forums are the bomb. Good luck.

 

[budfarmer420]

what everyone else said. LST them. As a first time grower you will be amazed and overwhelmed with how big one plant will grow untouched. It is nice to see a noob actually do the research before germinating. PS, when I started I also decided to use CFLs, half way through the grow I swiched to a 400 watt hps, best decision ever.

 

[greenlikemoney]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yep, you won't last long with those CFL's, upgrade ASAP.

 

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

I would suggest topping and LST if you are planning on using CFLs to flower. 8 weeks may be too much veg time for a cfl grow, they don't have much penetrating power. If you have room, I would take clones before flowering. You will need about a month to get the plant to reveg, and then about two weeks to get your clones to root. I see no reason why you couldn't scrog more than one plant. I don't know much about hydroponics, so I can't help you there. Best of luck with your grow.

Thank you. I wanted to take clones before flower, but I was worried they would root long before the original plant was finished flowering. I only have the one light, so the clones would be on a 12/12 lighting cycle. Is that a problem?

 

[TheHermit]

How much room do you have? Do you have space for separate vegging? If so, I would cut the clones right before you switch. When you switch to the 2700k, you could use the 6400k bulb to veg the clones. If the cfl has a medium base, you could go out and buy a cheap clamp light for under ten bucks. It will take about two weeks or so for the clones to root. You would then have about six weeks or so to veg and train them. When you cut your first harvest, you will have plants with 8-10 colas ready to go into flower if you do it right.

 

[TheHermit]

If you want to put rooted clones into 12/12 that will work too. They wont yield all that much though. They might do well though under cfls. You are going to want your plants as short and bushy as possible when you flower, because they may double or triple in height
the first month of flowering. I don't know much about kaya gold.

 

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

Thank you to every reply.

So, now I have revisited lighting and also learned about LST. A couple more questions:
First off, would hanging a light vertically accomplish the same thing as LST growing?
And second, I can't seem to find info on light temp specs for the HPS lights I have seen so far. Is there a single bulb that will do the trick from seed to harvest? And will they all require a ballast?
If I can make it through one grow with my current equipment, that would be awesome, but if I need to make any alterations/purchases, now is the time.

Also @ Fly: I really like the idea of having multiple strains to work with after I get the process down.

 

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

How much room do you have? Do you have space for separate vegging? If so, I would cut the clones right before you switch. When you switch to the 2700k, you could use the 6400k bulb to veg the clones. If the cfl has a medium base, you could go out and buy a cheap clamp light for under ten bucks. It will take about two weeks or so for the clones to root. You would then have about six weeks or so to veg and train them. When you cut your first harvest, you will have plants with 8-10 colas ready to go into flower if you do it right.

I love this idea, it's brilliant, but I only have 1 room and 1 light fixture so far. Also only 1 ebb and flow system built. If I understand this correctly, I would need basically 2 of everything, correct? Or is there a way to use my existing set up to accomplish this?

 

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

8 weeks may be too much veg time for a cfl grow, they don't have much penetrating power.

This is the best news so far.

 

[budfarmer420]

Thank you to every reply.

So, now I have revisited lighting and also learned about LST. A couple more questions:
First off, would hanging a light vertically accomplish the same thing as LST growing?
And second, I can't seem to find info on light temp specs for the HPS lights I have seen so far. Is there a single bulb that will do the trick from seed to harvest? And will they all require a ballast?
If I can make it through one grow with my current equipment, that would be awesome, but if I need to make any alterations/purchases, now is the time.

Also @ Fly: I really like the idea of having multiple strains to work with after I get the process down.

Hanging a light vertically isnt the same as LSTing. Check out apollo hordiculture. amazon has the 400 watt ballast, hood, hps bulb, mh bulb, and timer for like 150.00. As for cooling you will need ventilation witch ever light you choose to go with, but you could get the hid light set up with a cool tube. and yes , you can grow start to finish with just a hps bulb. One more bit of advise. if I understand you want to do a couple strains at once plus take clones? All of this takes alot of light and serious LST skills, dont get in over your head your first time.

 

[lofly247]

If you have time and money, then expand your setup to include a separate veg cabinet after you have your first grow up and running and conditions dialled in. MJ is a plant and it needs stable and suitable conditions. Get those going and you will have heaps of time to tinker on a second cab that can take your cuttings. If short on cash, go ghetto DIY, try organic or just focus on getting your first grow notched up. You will learn a lot just popping some beans. Be good to see some pics along the way.

 

[TheHermit]

If you are wanting to take clones, then a veg area is a must. You really don't need a lot of space or money to set one up. You could throw a clone in soil rather cheaply and use it as a mother plant. For hydro, I am pretty sure you would need two setups because the nute regiments would be different for flowering and vegging plants. I am probably not the right person to be giving advice on hydro though. Your current setup should be fine for your first grow. Plenty of people get good results from cfls. If you are thinking of upgrading to a hid then you will need a ballast and most likely a cool tube if you are in a small space. I agree with budfarmer, the apollos are a good deal. I have a 600 and am happy with it. It comes with the ballast, cool tube, hangers, timer, a metal halide bulb and a hps bulb. Pretty much everything you would need except for ventilation. I would recommend upgrading to the 600, it is only about twenty dollars more. 96,000 lumens on the 600 vs. 50,000 lumens on the 400. They are dimmable to 75% and 50% if you are worried about electricity consumption. Hps are usually around 2000k, while metal halides are usually around 4000k.

 

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HG1J36I/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2WRS4X4C0GMOQ

Does this compare at all to an HPS? Or would I still want to upgrade eventually?

 

[budfarmer420]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HG1J36I/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2WRS4X4C0GMOQ

Does this compare at all to an HPS? Or would I still want to upgrade eventually?

Nope. Dosent compare, but you can still use what you already have just start small with ONE of your free seeds. After you have finished one grow you will know what type of lighting would be best for you. I am going to harvest my 3rd grow in a couple days, and I am still tinkering and changing my grow space.

 

[UncleReemis]

I'm unsure if anyone has mentioned this yet (no way I'm reading your guys' novels up there), but it can be problematic growing a variety of strains in one system. Each strain requires its own optimal pH and nutrient levels, needless to say. You seem to be well read on this subject, so I'm betting you'll pick up serious knowledge once things kick off. Best of luck, always.

 

[slowandsteady]

Agree with budfarmer. start small and grow. If you've never grown before and starting with hydro. yes you've done your research but reality is different than theory.

 

[GreenIsmyFavoriteColor]

You are 100 percent correct. That was theory.

This is reality:


2 weeks into veg.

TheHermit, Lofly 247, and Budfarmer420, I can't thank you guys enough for the tips. I did some additional research and learned to top and LST and also bought a Phresh filter for flowering (which I'll probably do at week 4 or 5 because of size restrictions). I'm not sure if you can tell from the pics, but I have already tied down the stems and they are almost long enough for the second tie-down to pull them horizontal. I ended up planting 3 Kaya and 1 Bubblelicious. They are regular seeds, and I have already prepared a place (on the other side of the house) for any males, as I intend to collect some pollen. This is one of the greatest learning experiences ever, my excitement levels have been maxed for weeks!

Thanks again guys! I'll try to post more soon!