First Post, First Grow (pics and questions)

[extramince]

Hi guys,

First, I'd like to thank everyone who takes part in this forum. I lurked for a while and found some really valuable information. This is a great resource.

I was given two seeds by a friend and had always wanted to try growing a plant or two so I figured this was a great opportunity. I germinated and panted them in soil; I'm using CFLs for lighting. I'm aware of the benefits of MH and HPS lights but I'm a student (read: low on cash) and I'm really just experimenting this time around. I don't plan on selling any of it, I just wanted to experience growing it from seed to harvest, and of course smoking it once I'm done.

Anyway, I planted the germinated seeds 12 days ago and the two attached pictures are from today. I have two plants and they have been in the vegitative stage for about 8 or 9 days maybe. I bought Fish Emulsion fertilizer (5-1-1) because it was available, cheap and organic. I was hoping someone in the know could tell me if my plants are ready for it at this stage or if I should hold off for a bit more. If they are ready, how much should I use? How much water do these things need daily? So far I have been monitoring the soil, making sure that it is still always moist under the top 3/4 inch or so.

Thanks in advance for anyone who took the time to check out my post, and especially to anyone who can help me. If anyone has questions please feel free to ask. Plant A (moto_0112.jpeg) is about 7 inches tall but not as lush as Plant B (moto_0113.jpeg), which is about 6 inches tall.

Thanks again guys!

 

[smithb63]

looks good man how many cfls are you using and how many watts?

 

[extramince]

looks good man how many cfls are you using and how many watts?

Right now I am using 4 CFLs at pretty close range but I think I am going to double that soon. I was fortunate to have some scrap metal stuff lying around my house that is very flexible, so I formed that around the plants and some aluminum foil over top to keep as much light in as possible. I have a small fan for air circulation as well. Each light bulb is 27w, each providing as much soft white light as a 100w incandescent (read that right off the box lol).

 

[DDub]

You're doing great for a first grow.

Are you watering with tap water? If so start buying distilled H20 you will be happy you did

As far as the fertilizer they are definetley ready for it. I have never used any kind of Fish Emulsion and can give no help on that other than to follow the recommeded amount on the instructions. But I would defientley start with maybe 1/4 or 1/5 what they recommend to use and see how they react.

Also you will be needing larger containers in a few days. To decide on larger containers you must decide first on how longer you will veg these babies. Give us some info, how large is your area, what kind of area. You may want to Scrog these and use your light to its maximum potential.

How will you be controlling odor?

 

[extramince]

You're doing great for a first grow.

Are you watering with tap water? If so start buying distilled H20 you will be happy you did

As far as the fertilizer they are definetley ready for it. I have never used any kind of Fish Emulsion and can give no help on that other than to follow the recommeded amount on the instructions. But I would defientley start with maybe 1/4 or 1/5 what they recommend to use and see how they react.

Also you will be needing larger containers in a few days. To decide on larger containers you must decide first on how longer you will veg these babies. Give us some info, how large is your area, what kind of area. You may want to Scrog these and use your light to its maximum potential.

How will you be controlling odor?

Thanks dude!

Currently I filter my plants' water the same way I filter my own - with a Brita filter intended for drinking water. I then let the water sit for a day just to be sure all the fluoride, or whatever there is in tap water, is out. I use a spray bottle to administer the water. Will distilled water make much of a difference or is this good enough?

The angle I used on the photos does not really show the true size of the pots I am using so I attached a picture form the side. Let me know if you still think it is too small so I can get some bigger ones. For reference, the pots are about as tall as a bottle of beer.

As for odor, I don't really know yet. Will two plants make a strong odor? I have them on the top floor of my house and my family is cool with it. Will I still need to filter? If so I've seen a few different types of carbon filters so I guess I'd have to do a little more research before I decide, but I have time before the plants start flowering.

How much water should I give my plants daily?

Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[javelin350]

holy cow my plant is 7 days old and dosen't even come close to that monster i must be doing something wrong

 

[smithb63]

I dont think you need to worry about getting larger pots yet.... they will smell but if your family is cool with it then I dont think you need to spend money on a carbon filter... you dont really need to water them daily unless your soil dries out that fast, water them when ever the top of the soil to about an inch down is dry... remember not to over water the little fellas

 

[extramince]

I dont think you need to worry about getting larger pots yet.... they will smell but if your family is cool with it then I dont think you need to spend money on a carbon filter... you dont really need to water them daily unless your soil dries out that fast, water them when ever the top of the soil to about an inch down is dry... remember not to over water the little fellas

Thanks buddy. I really appreciate everyone's input and advice and am impressed at how quickly I got responses. Again, this is a great site, keep it up guys.

The instructions on the fertilizer say that I should add 5ml to every litre. Would it be safe to simply add that amount to the regular water and water it just with the mix, or should I alternate with pure water as well?

 

[extramince]

holy cow my plant is 7 days old and dosen't even come close to that monster i must be doing something wrong

I'm no expert but it could be simple genetics. I might have a strain that grows faster or larger than yours. This site is full of great advice though, so if you haven't spent a couple hours looking through it, I strongly recommend that you do.

 

[DDub]

As far as watering daily I would not suggest this at all. Plants naturally like to go through a wet and dry cycle when in dirt. Watering is something you will learn over time with experience. I would water every 2-3 days roughly (ROUGHLY). If you can poke a toothpick down into the dirt as far as a normal pick will go and it comes out totally dry you need to water, if its slightly moist you can go another day and check again. Distilled is the best but if your not expecting the world with your first grow Brita will do you fine. Also only give your plants nutrients roughly once a week. Some may say different on the nutes its just how I do it.

Pots should be ok, what kind of height are you aiming for plants to finish at? Remember with CFL maximum strength light penetrates only about 2" away from bulb. I would suggest keeping these stocky and short maybe finishing at 16-18" which would mean roughly inducing flowering at about 4-6" which means rigvht now for you. Do some research into the Scrog growing method it will work great for you.

If your family is cool with the growing that a big help. You will be amazed how much those two at full size will smell up your room and for that matter the entire level of your house they are on and maybe more. A few things must be considered here. What kind of people come over to your house...i.e. non-immediate family, servicemen, neighbors... How close is your house to the neighbors? Etc...

Honestley I'm guessing your like 14-19 living at home with the rentals and trying to do some learning am I right? If so your exactly how I was at the age. My mom was so cool she took me to Home Depot for some 4' Floros when I was just 14 and there it began. Be grateful your rentals are as cool as they are its rare.

 

[pennywise619]

Your grow looks great bro, good job for your first grow. Here is mine at 15 days under cfl.

 

[smithb63]

you should keep using the water you are using, it seems to be working very well for you.... how long are you going to let them veg for?

 

[DDub]

Thanks buddy. I really appreciate everyone's input and advice and am impressed at how quickly I got responses. Again, this is a great site, keep it up guys.

The instructions on the fertilizer say that I should add 5ml to every litre. Would it be safe to simply add that amount to the regular water and water it just with the mix, or should I alternate with pure water as well?

If it says 5ml/Litre I would start with 1-2ml/Litre...You can always add more....

 

[extramince]

As far as watering daily I would not suggest this at all. Plants naturally like to go through a wet and dry cycle when in dirt. Watering is something you will learn over time with experience. I would water every 2-3 days roughly (ROUGHLY). If you can poke a toothpick down into the dirt as far as a normal pick will go and it comes out totally dry you need to water, if its slightly moist you can go another day and check again. Distilled is the best but if your not expecting the world with your first grow Brita will do you fine. Also only give your plants nutrients roughly once a week. Some may say different on the nutes its just how I do it.

Pots should be ok, what kind of height are you aiming for plants to finish at? Remember with CFL maximum strength light penetrates only about 2" away from bulb. I would suggest keeping these stocky and short maybe finishing at 16-18" which would mean roughly inducing flowering at about 4-6" which means rigvht now for you. Do some research into the Scrog growing method it will work great for you.

If your family is cool with the growing that a big help. You will be amazed how much those two at full size will smell up your room and for that matter the entire level of your house they are on and maybe more. A few things must be considered here. What kind of people come over to your house...i.e. non-immediate family, servicemen, neighbors... How close is your house to the neighbors? Etc...

Honestley I'm guessing your like 14-19 living at home with the rentals and trying to do some learning am I right? If so your exactly how I was at the age. My mom was so cool she took me to Home Depot for some 4' Floros when I was just 14 and there it began. Be grateful your rentals are as cool as they are its rare.

Thanks for the great advice. I would like to see them grow a few feet if possible. I'm willing to invest some more money into lighting if I need to. It's not all about the harvest remember, I'm doing it as a hobby of sorts. Would growing them much taller be extremely difficult/expensive?

You're pretty much right on about me. Are you God? lol thanks again buddy.

 

[DDub]

Well if your aiming for a few feet then I would defientley suggest investing in a small HPS Lamp 175W or 250W will be good. With this will come heat issues though. What size is your growing area? Can you cut through a door or wall? Can you take the door off?

 

[extramince]

you should keep using the water you are using, it seems to be working very well for you.... how long are you going to let them veg for?

I'm not sure how long I want them to veg for. I would like to see them grow big and strong but DDub mentioned that maybe I should switch to flowering sooner because of the limitations of CFLs. I'm still thinking about it and am going to do a little more research before any decisions are made.

A note to DDub - thanks, I'll try 1-2mL and see how it goes from there. As you said, I can always add more.

pennywise619 - beautiful pics man. I'm really in awe of how fast they grow. I attached a couple more pictures chronicling their growth if anyone's interested.

 

[DDub]

Damn man you seem to chronicle everything well you should start a grow journal or use this post as one.

 

[extramince]

Well if your aiming for a few feet then I would defientley suggest investing in a small HPS Lamp 175W or 250W will be good. With this will come heat issues though. What size is your growing area? Can you cut through a door or wall? Can you take the door off?

Growing area is kind of small. It's in my bedroom so I'm not really prepared to put holes in anything or get rid of my door. I would be willing to buy a stronger fan or two for ventilation though. How much is a small HPS like the one you mentioned?

 

[pennywise619]

Trip out bro, I did the same thing in my grow journal with a chronical. Also, I use 8 26 watt 6500k datlights for veg. I keep the lights about 1" off the canopy with a fan running on them.

 

[extramince]

Damn man you seem to chronicle everything well you should start a grow journal or use this post as one.

Yeah, I've been kind of excited about all this lol. I've wanted to do it for a while and taking pictures is pretty easy. I'd be happy to update this thread every so often if it is still around. This forum seems quite busy and I don't know if my thread will 404 before I get a chance to update.