Figured I'd Start a Thread

[georgeisabamf]

So I hate to make this post long (I want people to participate, please) but I have a lot to explain. This is my first grow indoors I have ever tried. Thus I am experimenting a lot. I want to keep everything low cost and stealth so that's my first concerns at hand. But I also want a good grow from what I'm using so I plan to keep everything running balanced and perfectly.

For now my grow box consist of one cardboard box (ghetto I know). The reason I chose this is because I have a bunch of extra boxes of the same size. So I know I can expand in the future by adding another box to it vertically (which I plan to do). The box is 1'8" tall (20in) 1'8.5" long (22.5in) and 1'3.5" wide (15.5in) currently. It's giving me enough space for now while the plants still veg out.

The plants I have I received from a fried who germinated him themselves. They were 2-3 weeks old when I received them but STUNTED in growth (I stress that). He kept them outdoors and didn't really keep them in a good environment (long story) so they had a lot of yellowing of leaves, he transported them into a soil pot from their original habitat and gave them to me. They were germinated 2 seeds per rockwool cube, out of just standard bagseed that he had laying around. I have a total of 4 plants in one pot.

Since I have received the plants (In their poor conditions) I have revived them and started feeding them regularly. I have put them into my grow box, the cardboard box I mentioned before, under these lights:

5x 27watt CFL (5000k)
1x 44watt CFL (2700k)

The fixture I have for these lights is simple and rigged with a power strip and y adapters. I will get pictures later but right now I only have pictures of the plants. My box still needs work, it has ventilation running with 2 import fans and one hole for exhaust (basically, negative induction... but backwards?) So it remains quite cool.

Here are some pictures-

When I first received them basically, notice the discoloring. Bottom leaves were dying and browning with burn spots. I added hydroton basically to aerate the soil somewhat:

This is them about 3 days ago, I've had them for about 2 weeks total. They've been inside in my "growbox" for about 5 days before these pics:

This is them as of last night in my growbox. This is the only picture I have of my growbox, they look yellow due to the lighting. I should get better pics of the actual box for you though, but I'm not quite finished (no mylar, as you can see):

So basically this is a grow journal but I posted in the CFL section to give people an idea of how basic and easy a cfl set up can be. I can answer questions, I have a lot more to explain such as ventilation and nutrient schedule (these babies get fed a tid bit of everything, though it's balanced), also can talk about PH levels as I have them quite balanced as well.

Feel free to comment/ask away. Love to take down some advice and learn as much as I can!!

 

[GidgetGrows]

Cardboard usually leads to failure.. It breaks down due to the weight of the lighting, or the humidity of the grow. You will more than likely encounter trouble as the plant gets larger.
If you are looking for smaller semi stealth, you can get on of those laundry hampers with the pvc pipes for a frame, and build your box around the pvc piping.

Good luck getting those to grow!! It'll take them a little while to cheer up from their traumatic beginnings.

 

[theleach]

Hahaha looking good, reminds me of my first setup.... ahhhh my plants almost died of overheating stuffed in that little box with a CFL. Good times, good times......

 

[georgeisabamf]

Cardboard usually leads to failure.. It breaks down due to the weight of the lighting, or the humidity of the grow. You will more than likely encounter trouble as the plant gets larger.
If you are looking for smaller semi stealth, you can get on of those laundry hampers with the pvc pipes for a frame, and build your box around the pvc piping.

Good luck getting those to grow!! It'll take them a little while to cheer up from their traumatic beginnings.

I was actually contemplating building a simple frame out of plywood or something for structural support. Like you said, my light isn't even heavy, and it can still cause cardboard to collapse so I may do just this.

 

[smokey green]

First of all, you definately want to get those babies in their own pots, They dont look to bad, just make sure you seperate them or you will have serious problems, I promise...lol...good job nursing them back to health man...

 

[georgeisabamf]

First of all, you definately want to get those babies in their own pots, They dont look to bad, just make sure you seperate them or you will have serious problems, I promise...lol...good job nursing them back to health man...

This is something I was also very worried about. One, due to roots constricting/interfering, and also because when it comes down to when I have to determine the sex of the plan, it'd be harder to get the males out.

Though I'm worried to take them out now because I'm scared to hurt the roots honestly. I have a dwc system I crafted that I want to try out, I could transport them into that. But I feel like if I go in and take the plants apart, I might destroy some roots which would cause problems.

 

[smokey green]

This is something I was also very worried about. One, due to roots constricting/interfering, and also because when it comes down to when I have to determine the sex of the plan, it'd be harder to get the males out.

Though I'm worried to take them out now because I'm scared to hurt the roots honestly. I have a dwc system I crafted that I want to try out, I could transport them into that. But I feel like if I go in and take the plants apart, I might destroy some roots which would cause problems.

Do so now man, Their still small enough so if you do damage the roots, they will recover just fine, they shouldnt be intertangled yet....If you dont seperate them now, you will have way bigger problems than just root damage... you will probably have a total loss on your hands.... Im pulling up a chair and going to watch how this plays out...should be ok as long as you get those seperated now...

 

[georgeisabamf]

Do so now man, Their still small enough so if you do damage the roots, they will recover just fine, they shouldnt be intertangled yet....If you dont seperate them now, you will have way bigger problems than just root damage... you will probably have a total loss on your hands.... Im pulling up a chair and going to watch how this plays out...should be ok as long as you get those seperated now...

Alright I'll have to do it soon then, they have been alive for quite some time and they are getting big FAST (I kid you not, I'll get pictures sometime tomorrow). Anyhow, I am really worried about hurting them but I guess it's better now than anytime.

Why would they die though? I mean wouldn't the pot be big enough to allow all the plants to grow quite well? I don't plan on letting them veg out for too long as this grow is purely an experiment. Next time I will be planting them myself and starting them the right way.

 

[lee harvey]

yeah transplant like smokey said... the roots will get tangled and the plants will die if you dont

 

[georgeisabamf]

yeah transplant like smokey said... the roots will get tangled and the plants will die if you dont

Alright I'll get around to doing this tomorrow then. So do I just go in and rip the rockwool cubes in half and try to separate the roots and plants?

Sounds risky, as I said.

So here's my list of things to do that I can think of at the current moment:
- Transplant plants
- Line Box with mylar
- Get tubing for fans (mostly for easier exhaust ducts, and to prevent light from getting out as much)
- Build flower box (run 2 boxes separately)

Tonight I built a system for the lights that allows them to hang rather than this ghetto rigged mess I had earlier. I also added a second box to the current box to make it taller. This is my veg box. My flower box will be kore thought out with different lights (obviously), and a bigger space. I still want to build a frame eventually but the boxes I am using are very thick and sturdy. I also didn't just throw crap together and the roof is "reinforced" in a way so it can support the hanging light. It's a really simple rig I configured but it allows me to easily make the lights higher as needed.

 

[lee harvey]

sounds good man..throw some pics of the light setup on here if you get a chance.

 

[georgeisabamf]

Will do this afternoon when I get out of classes for the day. Last night my new light set up ended up falling onto one of the plants (I basically didn't rig it quite well enough). I heard the light fall luckily, but by the time I got to it there is already small burn marks on a few small leaves. So now I have that thing secured on there real well.

Also anyone have a problem with small gnats getting in their plants? I've realized with other plants around me (I grow vegetables and whatnot), whenever I water my plants, these really tiny gnats get into my soil. They are really pesky and I had gotten rid of them about 2 weeks ago by covering all my plants' soil in dry dirt, which caused them to leave. But now they are back again.

 

[georgeisabamf]

Also, is my PH to far off to be something to worry about? My nutrient solution (what I use to water) sits at 6.0.

My tap water runs at 7.4 non-purified, and 7.1 purified. My nutes drop my PH a lot but I was wondering if I should look into upping it to 6.5? Would it be detrimental not to??

 

[georgeisabamf]

Welp I just transported them all to separate pots. I was scared to do it still, ripping the rockwool cubes in half was a pain and I hope I didn't damage to many roots.

Everything is in its own separate pot now. Sitting under half the light I usually run and I won't feed them for a couple of days. I hope when I get back home from class in a few hours, that they aren't drooping over or dead. I hope for the best. Will get pictures if they aren't a disaster.

 

[georgeisabamf]

So everyone I've been sick the past couple of days and slacking on this thread haha. Like I mentioned, I transported them all into their own smaller pots for now. I haven't noticed any of the plants suffering from problems due to transport though, so I'm excited for that. I feel like they aren't growing as quick as they were but I also just put them in their new homes yesterday.

Pictures: (sorry for the crap quality, taken with my phone, hard to get a good shot will get better ones later)-

I might be a little off topic, haha, but pictures of my tomatos (I use them basically to try out nutes... and also to eat)-

So, also what kind of nutes are good to use?

Right now I use Fox Farm Grow big, a little Liquid Karma (which apparently is good for transplants), some Humboldt Honey, and I also will be using Botanicare pro bloom during budding.
My PH of the nute blend I use is roughly 6.3-6.5 (depending on how exactly I mix the nutes). I feel like these nutes are a great combination for effective growth. Let me know if I should look into adding other nutrients as well. Any suggestions on any really good nutes for budding? I want something that might fatten my buds up and increase my yield. (I only use organic nutes, don't suggest anything synthetic please).

Also, as you can see in the pictures, I started tying down my plants slightly. I feel like with the way my light fixture sits over my plants (and the fact that some are far more stunted than others), this is the best way for all my plants to get the most light from each bulb. I plan on doing this for a while, I plan on possibly topping and/or using a scrog method during flowering. Not sure if I want to get all fancy with it though, it is my first grow after all.

All help is appreciated!!!

 

[georgeisabamf]

and please keep this thread going guys!! I'm excited to see how good of bud I can get out of this and I will have PLENTY of questions in the future as things come up. From the looks of it (and I may be entirely wrong) it seems 1 or 2 of my plants are looking more sativa and the others look small and stout). This excites me as I want to grow different varieties.

 

[lee harvey]

if there was a solution to fattening up buds everyone on this site would be raving about it..i wish... use whatever you think your plants will like.. i used a tiny bit of molasses for veg and now im using some nutes for flowering (cns-17)....the stuff i useto use is called Neptines organic fish and seaweed fertilizer..that stuff also worked great..just throwing it out there..feed your plants and they will reward you. but remember, organic is the way to go (IMO)..as for tying your plants down... GREAT JOB!! tying them down will let the light get to most bud sites instead of just the top cola... alot of the cfl growers here use LST method..including myself..works great.. keep it up my dude..rep

 

[georgeisabamf]

if there was a solution to fattening up buds everyone on this site would be raving about it..i wish... use whatever you think your plants will like.. i used a tiny bit of molasses for veg and now im using some nutes for flowering (cns-17)....the stuff i useto use is called Neptines organic fish and seaweed fertilizer..that stuff also worked great..just throwing it out there..feed your plants and they will reward you. but remember, organic is the way to go (IMO)..as for tying your plants down... GREAT JOB!! tying them down will let the light get to most bud sites instead of just the top cola... alot of the cfl growers here use LST method..including myself..works great.. keep it up my dude..rep

Thanks for the advice man. I am not 100% sure how to tie down my plants though. I have read into LST the past couple of days, I guess I'll keep up with it and tie it down as needed. The little guys are definitely growing so I'm excited for that. I think I overwatered one of them though (not running off the way I want, seems really moist) so I am thinking of not feeding any of them for a couple of days just to dry out the soil. Generally with the plants I've grown in the past, I get major gnat problems with the soil becomes to wet. Can't have this happen again!

Will get pics sometime this weekend though once they look a little more progressed.

Edit: Also just topped two of my plants. Seemed like a smooth and easy process, figured I'd try it to two of them for now and if I see they grow two sites from it then I will do it to the others. Plants are looking good except one that has semi-yellowing of the leaves on the outside. They seemed to be getting dried up and crumbling off but it's only on one plant. Anyhow, I think this may be due to the fact that 3-4 days ago my light accidentally fell on the plant and burnt some of the leaves (which I pruned off). So I hope this problem is just from that and not nutrient burn.

Tomorrow is a more relaxed day for me so I'll get some quality pictures of things while I have the time. Will get pics of the grow box and whatnot and my light fixture itself. Still needs work, but it's growing these guys quite well.

and again, try and keep this going. I have a lot of stuff to learn. I'm contemplating when I should put them at 12/12. I figured I'll get it another week or two before I go for it. Though I do need to create a separate box for flowering and need a whole new light fixture for that box itself. We'll see how that all goes and of course I will get pics.

How often should I be watering really? I'm worried to over water but I only water once a day (I water with my nute feed until run off). Is this too often? I know the soil is probably staying quite moist, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything detrimental to the plants as of now.

 

[georgeisabamf]

So here's an update for yall. Got some better pictures of the plants:

Group shots!!

Plant that is giving me problems. As I said before a light did fall on it. But that was about 4 days ago, not sure about yellowing of leaves. Trying to make sure this guy doesn't die

I like this dude, he's growing well, really tall if not tied down, trying to bush him out some though:

I'm still waiting to see if my plants that I topped are going to do as they should.

 

[georgeisabamf]

Also just got back from home depot. Got myself some 2700k lights for flowering (about the same amount of wattage I am running during veg), and some pvc tubing to make a frame. Light fixtures still end up costing me a lot though, I mean it was just about $50 bucks but I've had to build 2 of them so far!

Anyhow, will get pics when it is set up. The second box is no rush for me to build as I plan on waiting a bit to flower these things.

Anyone have any ideas on maybe why the leaves on my one plant in my last picture are yellow? Give me advice people!!!!!