Totally new to this! First grow: Journal

johnnytsmitw

johnnytsmitw

Active Member
I would just pick the hottest part of the day and set them off for then. I had mine off from around 1pm-5pm. I run from 8pm to 8am now in flower. I veg'd for a month bc my lights were wrong. but even if they werent, from now on I plan on topping after the second true node, which gives 4 tops. Combined with LST I have 7 tops on one plant and its very short. Youre pretty much set now pal. After you get your watering system figured you just have to worry about keeping your nutes right.

have you looked at making something like this to block the light? or is it escaping from seams?
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Ooooooh two major problems me thinks. First one little seedling has taken a dive, my Lemon Skunk is leaving us it seems, but i didn't really have room for 4 as we said in there anyways, so i'm not too fussed.

More to the point, i've actually just checked my bulbs i bought and i realised i bought them assuming they were 6500k when actually they have nothing printed on them at all, and now i'm assuming i just have a MOUNTAIN of 2700k =/ Boobs so ebaying some more now but not particulary impressed!

//Edit: Cool thats pretty much what i'm doing time wise, the light is escaping from below where i've put little holes in there, and tbh the whole thing gives off light its not actually totally opaque even with the mylar, damnit!

Right balls well thats another ~£40 on this, i don't wanna add up how much this has cost now, it was meant to be cheap! :(
 
johnnytsmitw

johnnytsmitw

Active Member
You might try painting the inside of the bins white. Sucks though you would have to take everything out, but it might be worth it. You may not need to spring for the other lights, or atleast maybe just one bigger one. I plan on using 12/12 after only two weeks from now on to keep size down. I look forward to the next pic update. Feel free to swing by my journal to see what mine are looking like.
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Nah its fine, they arrived today i've never had lights better packed. You could tell he'd individually tested every light wrapped them all separately wrote me a letter and gave me a free led torch. More than happy and you cfan tell these are MUCH MUCH bluer than the ones i had in. So i'm good to go now. I'll be vegging these for longer than two weeks but the better the light the tighter the nodes i understand, so i'm just making sure they're soaked. 8 x 30w blues (at least 20k lumens i suspect). I'll now flower with whatever i can get which include a 105w monster + about 10 23w and 4 20w, i have room for up to 8, but i may just wire some more pendants in as i flower if i feel they need it :)

Mucho happier now, my little himalayan gold is looked a little heat stressed though, temps hit high in there once as i said and i think my lights were *too* close so i've back off and left and i'm sure he'll be fine. But tiny browning on the edge of cotyledons and first true leaves isn't a great start but no biggie.

Humidity is a stable 40-50% which i'm very happy with considering i fell upon that... Temps are probably a little hot in there. Never dips below say 26C whilst the lights are on, and more often then not sits high 28/29 touching 30 now and then, which is too much but its all i've got. I'm also not too sure on the accuracy of the remote thermometer either...

Pics are comin up now :)
New Lights!

Top: Himalayan Gold; Middle: SLHA; Bottom:SLHB :)

Little pic showing setup including my new hanging fan which is super versatile (can point up down sideways change heights etc... Dunno why i didn't think of it earlier!)

Himalayan Close up

SLHA close up

SLHB close up


In summary HG is looking like a runt, SLHA is biggest despite being behind SLHB at the beginning but is showing minor signs of stress as well. SLHB looks the healthiest.

Now i've got my new light in there heat will be much more on par with light output. Whereas before they were getting the wrong spectrum but all the heat associated. I think they'll flourish now!

//Edit: Yours have went through a lot man, but you're doing well it seems, i'd be happy enough for mine to just grow either way, one i've this grow out the way i feel i'll be much more ready for the next (if there ever is one) which is a cliche but so true!
 
johnnytsmitw

johnnytsmitw

Active Member
I run at similar humidity and temps. not much to do besides more powerful exhaust, but its not too much of a problem. over 80 though, according to BUDS for less, you need to water twice as much. I water once a day most the time, sometimes letting it dry out over two days before a little more. I cant remember what soil you are using, if it has nutes in it and what not. Sometimes nuted soil can burn seedlings. but youre right it was probably heat. You should pick up BUDS for less. I check it often to line up my progress with his.
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Its random tesco cheap nuted soil, it could be nute burn but i very much doubt it much more likely to be my heat. That's under control it seems now last night anyway min 66 max 77 which again is perfect. I think the new bulbs although brighter are cooler? My pots do get light about once a day, i've give them a day off to dry occasionally. But i don't think the seedling are taking the water as you say its the high heat its just evaporating... I'm very happy with development though, and cheers for the link as well dude i'll have a browse :)
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
And then there were two! Piss flaps i'm left with my two Lemon Hazes my Himalayan Gold decided to shrivel up last night, i can only assume its still a heat problem as he was watered yesterday and was dry so i did water him today. My thermometer in there says otherwise but i don't totally trust the cheap piece of crap... Oh well you wint some you lose some, it would appear whatever is left now are pretty hardy :p I didn't just want SLH ha... Himalayan Gold is still alive so i've left him with reduced light because he doesn need more than one cfl like this and see what happens, but he was ruined...

The design of my grow box is terrible really its hard to position lights the right height and the right place. I hadn't thought all this through whilst making it. Sham really. But next grow might use an entirely different design. Boo hoo!
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Well i'm starting to think i'm **** at this! :D Two Haze's are alive, and OK, but oldest largest leaves are yellowing tips in and curling down. On both, one more than the other. I'm watering just under once a day when things are dry on top ish. My water seems to be just over ph6.5 i think but i'm just using iodine solution and its vague at best. Water run off seems pretty acidic though when i tested it earlier it looked pretty close to ph5 =/? So its a toss between Mg deficiency, more/continued/old heat stress or ph problems.

I'm probably thinking slight more toward ph problems, since my temps have been stable and more likely to be low than mental high recently. I still don't like my grow box though :p It really isn't practical!

I'm going to use a little dolomite lime (when i get some) as its high in Mg/Calcium and hopefully will raise my overly acidic soil a little. But really very little! I've moved the lights a little further away just in case too :)

Largest one smells ever so slightly if you get your nose in there, smells sweet man :D. I'm seriously debating taking two and putting a new box together to make it all easier and i feel they kinda deserve it now! Ill see what big boxes, small drobes i can see around ultra cheap, i've got loads of mylar leftover (i was given twice as much as i bought) and i can just transplant all the parts over in a day whilst they're sitting somewhere dark i'd imagine :)
 
johnnytsmitw

johnnytsmitw

Active Member
that sucks man. try posting a thread in the plant health section with pics and detailed info and see if you can get an answer back. I have done this a couple times and get answers back within a day.

good luck!
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Right well everything seem's ok, they randomly just recovered without any real intervention. Latest pics:

These were the ones i took of the leaf damage and the general curling on the smaller plant:




And leaf damage (from heat i assume) on the larger, this plant suffered no curling though?



Here are the latest pics as of today big one is lookin very good:




Little one aint doin too bad either but still has the weird curling but looks healthy i think?:





And the two together, you can see the size difference here although theyre the same strain and under the same conditions?:
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Nah haven't even touched nutes yet, can't possibly be burn. Could very well be over watering, i'm going to give it an extra day to dry and just make double sure if it perks at all then i'll know, i don't think i've been over watering though, i've been super careful with that at least i though! I have no high expectations at all man don't worry, after losing two plants anything is good!
 
6Barrel

6Barrel

Member
Your designed looked quite good if you can iron out a few creases. Those pics don't look overly healthy though, the leaves should be reaching up toward the light. Like you say, looks abit like over watering! Its nice to see another Brit on here :)
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
I think the leaves aren't reaching up because of the way the light reaches them, i'm hoping to keep the node as small as possible, i've got lights above and around them when in place properly, so they have little reason to "reach". Well at least i think anyway, the lights are as close as i can safely get, and a little too close at times it seems!
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Haven't updated but i'll take pics soon, nothing really to report. They defo smell now, can't truly leave them open without the carbon filter. And with the carbon filter temps aren't as nice as they where originally! I'm getting a wardrobe soon and i'm gonna sort it out properly in a wardrobe. This whole ghetto grow thing has just been a paint in the ass! :) The smaller one is still growing a little weird, lots og grow just all tangled up in itself. Pretty stunted i think, but then again i don't exactly know what to expect. It's going to yield something i'm sure which is what counts...
 
johnnytsmitw

johnnytsmitw

Active Member
randomlygrow said:
Haven't updated but i'll take pics soon, nothing really to report. They defo smell now, can't truly leave them open without the carbon filter. And with the carbon filter temps aren't as nice as they where originally! I'm getting a wardrobe soon and i'm gonna sort it out properly in a wardrobe. This whole ghetto grow thing has just been a paint in the ass! :) The smaller one is still growing a little weird, lots og grow just all tangled up in itself. Pretty stunted i think, but then again i don't exactly know what to expect. It's going to yield something i'm sure which is what counts...
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hope your wardrobe works out man. I am thinking of trying one myself if this dresser doesnt work. It will also give you room to potentially make a veg and flower box in the same thing. a perpetual micro grow would be sick. Good luck dude. From what I understand unless you throw a lot of money at it the first grow is usually rough so its good to see you arent discouraged! :D
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
johnnytsmitw said:
hope your wardrobe works out man. I am thinking of trying one myself if this dresser doesnt work. It will also give you room to potentially make a veg and flower box in the same thing. a perpetual micro grow would be sick. Good luck dude. From what I understand unless you throw a lot of money at it the first grow is usually rough so its good to see you arent discouraged! :D
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Yeeeeah i totally understand, thing is they'll still grow, seems to be pretty hard to actually kill the buggers past this stage :p The wardrobe once acquired will come with updates and much finer control over temps and Ph. Hopefully i'll see some REAL results!
 
johnnytsmitw

johnnytsmitw

Active Member
yeah, past that stage they get pretty resilient. which nutes do you plan on using? only real problem ive run into has been calmag deficiency. I was flowering for two weeks with an organic fertilizer that didnt have any of the micronutrients. so yellow fan leaves that im still trying to get under control.
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Some random tomato nutes from garden centre which have the same npk as everywhere i've read advise. I have tired and failed to fine decent flowering nutes so far though. Seem very hard to get hold of!
 
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