Hey Boneman, after studying this journal for a while i decided to copy your tried and tested method almost exactly using the same nutrients etc WOW! I did three plants in a wardrobe grow (LA Confidential/Blue Cheese/Amnesia Lemon) I used a 125w flouro for germ/veg and they just took off straight from seed. One of the only differences to yours was that I planted the seeds into 2" rockwool cubes approx 1cm under the surface of the perlite. I think this really helped retain a bit of moisture around the seedling because i didnt have to wait for the tap root to get to the bottom, within 5 days of planting the seeds, the first two proper single leaves were overhanging the sides of the buckets! Ive never seen anything like it (approx 4"s per leaf!), i thought maybe id planted lettuce by accident!
After 30 days from seed in veg (16/
they reached between 1 1/2 and 2 feet, I switched the lights over to a coolshade 250hps and have been flowering for 10days now. Already the majority of the buds are 1" each and growing noticably daily.
I havent bothered to check PH, the LA Confidential has slightly twisting leaves but im not bothered, they are all looking so healthy. After the first week in pure water i started to feed at 200ppm and have gradually pushed it up and am currently on about 800ppm using the Monkey Juice bloom. I flush with pure water on every 4th watering.
One thing that I learnt from your journal is just to be patient, dont bump up the PPM untill you feel the plants are asking for it (if it aint broke, dont try and fix it) and just let it grow so thanks for that.
This is my first indoor grow experience and what an experience it is turning out to be, Im definately a converted Hempyist. Thanks for the inspiration!
I also cut and pasted all the relevant info from your journal so I didnt have to keep flicking through it to get the info, ive pasted it below so other people can use it
BONEMANS HEMPY GROW SUMMARY
Ok, I filled the pots up with 100%, yes 100% perlite and ever so gently placed the seed tails into the perlite just as we do for soil. Lightly spread some p'lite over them and gently watered over and just around the seed. Only plain water and just enough to keep that area moist. 2 days later the lil babies discovered the world and broke thru.
July 21st put seeds in wet paper towel (morning)
July 22nd seeds cracked and sent tail in search of love (24 hrs later)
July 22nd newly germ'd seed placed in "hempy" tail down
July 24th discovery of the new world
I left these little babies next too a big glass door for a few days. I continued a very light water only just around the sprout. The whole idea is to keep the sprout healthy as its tap root moves down towards the reservior (approx 10 days). After about one week, I gave it enough water so that the res was full and water slightly leaked out. Growth was very slow compared to what we normally see on successful grows.....but just wait
Day 15....I know the root hit the res because these plants just took off. I believe there is a lil nute deficiency so I am going to buy and add some cal-mag to my mixture.
Yes, initially the tap root heads straight down towards the res the tells all his fellow roots that he discovered something good then they all flock down there. Once I noticed growth, I started watering the entire pot just as we do in soil because I'm sure the roots have spread out as well as down. I can see bunches of roots thru the water hole.
Ok, so the last update, the plants were 15 days old and were suffering a little deficiency. I went ahead and got the cal-mag and added it to my feedings. WOW!! They loved it and greened right up. They continued under flouros until day 42.
Today (day 42) is the day I moved them into my 400w HPS A/C controlled cab. Temps are about 78-80 and humidity is about 50%.
Other than the small deficiency early on, the grow has gone along very well. I am more than impressed with this hempy set up.
We are now on day 50 of the journal and 1 week into flowering. I fed them twice this week, one last veg nute feeding then a plain water/molassas feeding. They are doing AWESOME and consuming twice as much as veg phase. My PPP Fem is just now showing pistils and has grown a few inches. My AK is OUT OF CONTROL!!I have ordered Super Plant Tonic (SPT) from blue mountain organics on ebay. I will start that into my feedings next week. The top of my P'lite has a lil green tint to it, but it seems to be reaction to the nutes rather then anything else.
I've added SPT from blue mountain organics (ebay store) about a week ago and I dont know if it was that, but something kicked them into gear.
ZTF - They are under a 400w HPS in a mylar lined A/C cooled cab.
Cookin - Not sure but I think mine are 6 litres. I'll check. I really dont think the difference in size between 4-6 litres makes much difference in a hempy grow. This is my first shot at the "hempy" and so far so good.
During veg I watered them w/nutes every 3 or 4 days for two weeks then once w/plain water, then back to the nutes. Now that I am in flowering, I mix up 2 gallons of nute mix and when thats gone, i mix up 1 gallon of plain water w/molassas and use until its gone then back to the nute mix. During flowering, I am feeding them just about everyday. They are taking off like crazy and loving life. Hope this helps
2 weeks into flowering everything is still going well. I have bumped up my bloom ppm from 800 to 1000 with no noticeable problems. Some of the bottom fan leaves have turned a bit yellow but I am not worried because its only one or two of the original fan leaves. I have also gave them a good feeding of plain water with molasses.
One thing i just noticed boneman, the very first pic in the last picture update, you see the lower leaf yellowing, its yellowing between the veins with the veins staying green.
Thats classic Mg deficiency starting there mate.
Mg def's are most common in early flowering after the stretch as this is the time they use the most Mg.
Half a teaspoon of epsom salts first disolved in half a cup of hot water then added to every 4ltrs of nute solution should sort nip it in the bud early with a one-off treatment or one teaspoon of epsom salts prepared the same way to 4ltrs of water and applied as a foliar spray once or twice.
During veg I watered every 3-4 days. Now during flowering I water just about everyday
Day 32 of flower. As you can see the main colas and bud sites are starting to frost up very nicely and along with that comes the rank stank of the AK47 aka "Svet".
I started flowering on Sept 8th or 9th. I dont have any CO2 set up. Just a 400 HPS and A/C cooled cab. I've been using Advanced Nutrients Monkey Juice the entire grow. Other than molassas, super plant tonic, and some micro tea....thats it.
I guess the most important part is the total environment working in harmony. I'm not thru yet, but hopefully all will remain on course.
Those pots are from wal mart. I water them from the top just as you would for a soil grow. I water them until it starts coming out of the res.
I mix it up in gallon jugs of water and feed it straight on top of the p'lite until it starts running out of the res. I also add (in the gal jug) molassas, cal-mag, SPT, and some micros. I dont really think the nute brand matters much as long as you mix it up and feed them.
Good thing they are nice and healthy heh? You can tell they are very close to finishing up as the larger fan leaves are turning completly yellow from the plant sucking everybit of "N" as time nears the end of their lifecycle. I will update with pics as soon as I can get a chance. Svets trics are 100% milky with zero amber yet and Zena's are about 50% milky/clear. PPP has about a two week longer flowering period compared to the AK. Pics to come soon
Blue Mountain Super Plant Tonic is some great stuff and definately worth it. I use it during veg to promote good root structure and growth. I dont use it during flowering....well maybe once about 1/2 way thru. I like that product and so do my girls