Mr Grow Pro (LED) - First grow

[Ganja Goblin]

Hey all,

I'm going to keep this updated for anyone interested - I am using a Mr Grow Pro LED model to grow my plants, I am growing Critical Mass Autoflowering Feminized.
Soil: BioBizz Light Mix

I am 8 days in so far (24/0), and here she is:



I am planning on low stress training her and then using a scrog net after about 3-4 weeks veg. So far I've been keeping watering to a minimum as to not over-water.

Question: Shall I top her now? I've been doing a lot of reading and I think I should pull out the two little leaves that are forming in the middle - is now the right time?

 

[Triplec]

Hey all,

I'm going to keep this updated for anyone interested - I am using a Mr Grow Pro LED model to grow my plants, I am growing Critical Mass Autoflowering Feminized.
Soil: BioBizz Light Mix

I am 8 days in so far (24/0), and here she is:

View attachment 3208186 View attachment 3208187

I am planning on low stress training her and then using a scrog net after about 3-4 weeks veg. So far I've been keeping watering to a minimum as to not over-water.

Question: Shall I top her now? I've been doing a lot of reading and I think I should pull out the two little leaves that are forming in the middle - is now the right time?

Since this is an autoflower, I wouldn't recommend topping. All the research I did said it is hard for them to recover because they have a much shorter life cycle and you can't keep them in veg. With regular seeds you can keep them in veg for virtually as long as you want. That's where topping is truly beneficial. If you lst her right, you'll get good results. I wish I would have done it with my first mrgrowpro grow.

 

[Ganja Goblin]

Day 9



I started with the plant up near the ceiling of the case for the first 8 days, with all 3 light strips stuck the top. The plant was 8-10cm from them.

Now she is getting bigger, I've moved her to the bottom of the case, so she gets plenty of air from the fans. I've also moved the lights so there is 1 on the ceiling, 1 low down near the plant on the side panel and 1 on the front panel, also near the plant.

Thanks for the reply Triplec, I will take your advice and not top since it was an autoflowering seed - Do you think I should start LST'ing now or is it too early? I was thinking of bending the main stem away from the light at about a 80 degree angle.

 

[Triplec]

No problem, as for lst, it looks a little early. How tall is she? Also, what lst method are you thinking of using?

I started my second grow yesterday. Waiting for my seeds to spout as of now. Here's another few pieces of advice. I did the lighting the way you're doing it for my first grow. However for my second grow I bought some strong magnetic hooks off amazon and some flexible garden wire from Home Depot. I'm using that to hang the lights directly over the plants, maybe 6 or so inches away. When I get home I will get a pic for you so you can see. Also, make sure you get a temp/humidity monitor. I ran into some high humidity issues so you want to make sure you know that at all times. Here's the link for the magnet hooks I bought.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001LQWHO4?pc_redir=1405403916&robot_redir=1

 

[Triplec]

Hey all,

I'm going to keep this updated for anyone interested - I am using a Mr Grow Pro LED model to grow my plants, I am growing Critical Mass Autoflowering Feminized.
Soil: BioBizz Light Mix

I am 8 days in so far (24/0), and here she is:

View attachment 3208186 View attachment 3208187

I am planning on low stress training her and then using a scrog net after about 3-4 weeks veg. So far I've been keeping watering to a minimum as to not over-water.

Question: Shall I top her now? I've been doing a lot of reading and I think I should pull out the two little leaves that are forming in the middle - is now the right time?

Also, I use BioBizz products including the light mix. I'm planning to use the full arsenal of BioBizz nutes especially since I'm not doing autoflowers for this grow, just feminized. Here is BioBizz nute schedule if you don't have it. FYI, autos are more sensitive to nute burn so most people recommend using half the recommended dosage. I ran into nute burn once during my first grow but that was primarily due to not having a good enough dropper to measure the nutes right.
http://www.biobizz.com/uploads/bestanden/3aef58a5-f168-4c67-90e5-f795080075c4

 

[Ganja Goblin]

I like the idea of hanging the lights I might order some of those myself - do they support the weight ok?

Thanks for the link I'll stick to that but take it easy on the strength

I'm not sure about method of LST I was planning on using the scrog net that came with the case, but critical mass is only a short plant so I dont know how well its going to work. I was also going to tie it down to try and get it to strech to form more bud sites, kinda grow it around the pot. Shes about 4" tall now

 

[Triplec]

I like the idea of hanging the lights I might order some of those myself - do they support the weight ok?

Thanks for the link I'll stick to that but take it easy on the strength

I'm not sure about method of LST I was planning on using the scrog net that came with the case, but critical mass is only a short plant so I dont know how well its going to work. I was also going to tie it down to try and get it to strech to form more bud sites, kinda grow it around the pot. Shes about 4" tall now

As for the hooks, they hold 15lbs each so that's no problem at all. At 4 inches, if probably wait a few more days to start, maybe til she has a solid 4 nodes, but you could probably do it now if you really wanted to, just gotta be careful. It's also recommended that you lst a day after watering so that the stems are more pliable.

I'm primarily going to use a screw and tie down lst method this grow. Basically just taking some screws and screwing them in around the pot. Tie one end of twine to the stem then gently pull it in the direction you want and wrap the string around the screw and use a piece of tape to hold down the string. I recommend tape since you will have to make adjustments and you won't have to untie a knot or anything every time -- just peel off the tape, unwrap the string from the screw and make the adjustment. Whether or not I also use the scrog in addition to that method is something I have to play by ear. It's pretty difficult to use that screen because the squares are so damn small. You really have to be on top of it and check it daily. Also, just because it is a short plant strain, don't think that it won't try and grow taller than your case. Once flowering starts you'll get a burst of growing in regards to height. Seriously, one of my plants was no taller than at the middle of the case and 1.5 days later it was touching the lights at the top. I made the mistake by not LST'ing the first time and it bit me in the ass.

 

[Triplec]

I like the idea of hanging the lights I might order some of those myself - do they support the weight ok?

Thanks for the link I'll stick to that but take it easy on the strength

I'm not sure about method of LST I was planning on using the scrog net that came with the case, but critical mass is only a short plant so I dont know how well its going to work. I was also going to tie it down to try and get it to strech to form more bud sites, kinda grow it around the pot. Shes about 4" tall now

Here are some photos of my new light setup. It's easy to raise up too. Took me maybe 10 minutes to do that. 6 pieces of wire, each about 3ft long.

 

[Ganja Goblin]

Nice that looks a lot better, I ordered some magnets today so I can do the same
Second plant sprouted today, 10 days behind the other. I'll post some pics when the magnets get here and another update, hopefully I can start lst soon!

 

[Triplec]

Awesome. I germinated my new seeds Saturday night, they popped Sunday night. They sprouted last night! So Took just one night for both to sprout.

 

[Ganja Goblin]

Day 13

The magnets arrived today, so I got some gardern string and hung those LED strips all the way down to the same level as the fans, to ensure the plants get plenty of fresh air.



The first plant is still going strong, and I think I will start lst very soon, probably within the next 3-4 days.

It will be interesting to see how the plants react to getting all that airflow now, hopefully the stalks will become thicker and I can train them into nice bushy plants with nice, juicy fat buds!

Enjoy the pics...more soon

 

[Triplec]

Day 13

The magnets arrived today, so I got some gardern string and hung those LED strips all the way down to the same level as the fans, to ensure the plants get plenty of fresh air.

View attachment 3212675 View attachment 3212676 View attachment 3212677 View attachment 3212678 View attachment 3212680 View attachment 3212681

The first plant is still going strong, and I think I will start lst very soon, probably within the next 3-4 days.

It will be interesting to see how the plants react to getting all that airflow now, hopefully the stalks will become thicker and I can train them into nice bushy plants with nice, juicy fat buds!

Enjoy the pics...more soon

Awesome! Looking good. I think you should start lst now. That one looks ready. You may not be able to bend the stem as far down but start bending it over in stages until she is nearly horizontal. She'll grow sideways a little, but then start growing towards the light. As new stems start producing tops, you'll train those to go in the direction that you want to maximize light to the lower areas to make more tops before you switch to flowering. The point is to try and have a nice even canopy so that light is hitting the best spots.

 

[Triplec]

Day 13

The magnets arrived today, so I got some gardern string and hung those LED strips all the way down to the same level as the fans, to ensure the plants get plenty of fresh air.

View attachment 3212675 View attachment 3212676 View attachment 3212677 View attachment 3212678 View attachment 3212680 View attachment 3212681

The first plant is still going strong, and I think I will start lst very soon, probably within the next 3-4 days.

It will be interesting to see how the plants react to getting all that airflow now, hopefully the stalks will become thicker and I can train them into nice bushy plants with nice, juicy fat buds!

Enjoy the pics...more soon

I'm also planning to lollipop my plant before I switch to flowering. You may do some research about lollipopping but especially for autoflowers. I'm not sure if this would be a beneficial technique since you cannot determine when your plant will actually start flowering, until it's has preflowers -- it could stunt the plant.

Anyway, lollipopping is basically a technique where you assess the lowest/smallest stems/tops - that you know won't produce well or much at all. You then cut all those off at the bottom of the stem. You only do this when in veg, a few days or a week before you start flowering (switching to 12/12). The point is so that when flowering starts, the growing is happening to good producing tops.

 

[Ganja Goblin]

Day 14

So its been two weeks and ive started lst on her, I've used a paper clip to hold the main stalk down but I'm not sure if I've done it right?

 

[Triplec]

Day 14

So its been two weeks and ive started lst on her, I've used a paper clip to hold the main stalk down but I'm not sure if I've done it right?

View attachment 3213534

Yes, you've got the concept down. I'm not a big fan of pushing stuff down into the soil like that plus I think you would have more flexibility with the screw and tie method. Also the plant will start to grow back towards the light so depending on how secure that paper clip is in the soil, it's possible after a few days it could come loose.

 

[Ganja Goblin]

Day 16

The first plant is coming along nicely! She has responded well to LST, so hopefully this is the start of great things
I took your advice Triplec and took the paperclip out, I've used a bulldog clip which I've attached to the side of the plant pot. I then put some of my gardern string around the main stem and tied her towards the clip, so she's almost horizontal now - The leaves all responded and now she looks much happier:



If anyone has any advice for LST that would be helpful, like where do I go from where it is now? Shall I leave her and wait for a new stem to tie back??

The other plant is doing pretty well too - She's only 5 days old but getting there slowly

 

[Triplec]

Yea just leave her and let her grow. When new stems and tops start tie them down too. Just try to keep it as even as you can.

 

[lilmafia513]

Well, ill chime in, and say so far you are off to a good start, and seem to have a good helper here already (Triplec).
I have done LST a few times on my outdoor plants, and have had great results from it. Indoors, never really did much with it, I always grew SOG style. But recently i have changed my mind and will try out mainlining the next time i pop seed. I wouldn't suggest it on auto flowers, because it involves topping several times thru veg.
Also if I LST in a pot, I always drill small holes around the top edge to tie the string off to, then if you have to add more, tie it the branch and run it through a hole somewhere on the pot.

 

[Ganja Goblin]

Day 20

So far so good, new stems and tops have been forming after I started lst - she's really starting to take shape now!



I'm still using bulldog clips & garden string to tie the branches back, which seem to be working well. She's drinking a lot more water now so I've made sure to keep on top of that. The other plant is going well too, I planted that one in BioBizz All-Mix so it will be interesting to see if the results are any different to the original one which I planted in BioBizz Light-Mix.

I've noticed one of the tips on one leaf has gone yellow/brown - I think this is because it isn't getting enough light. I haven't used any nutes yet so it can't be nute burn, I'll keep a close eye on this to make sure it isn't going to be a wide-spread problem.

Thanks for the info as always guys

 

[Maris]

Its heat stress. Too close lamp!