First Grow - Soil, White Widow

G

gorocker

Member
Hi all.

So this is my first grow. It's been a week since my seeds arrived, and 8/10 are doing OK. I've had a few teething problems, but thanks to browsing these forums i've sorted most of it out. Many thanks!!

SETUP

Growroom - A section of angled cupboard in Attic space (my bedroom is attic conversion) approx 3' x 5' sloping up to 5' high. Similar shape to an under-the-stairs space. Mylar on floor and walls.

Lighting - 1x 250w CFL 6400k on 18/6 timer

Soil - Biomix All mix / seedling compost + 1/3 vermiculite and perlite, in 3" pots

Seeds - 8x White Widow from Amsterdam marijuana seeds

Temperature ranges between 25oC - 34oC depending on outside weather. (It's been a very hot week in UK, and loft space gets hot before any lights!
 

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G

gorocker

Member
Falling Over

So my first 4 seedlings appeared 24hrs after planting the germinated seeds. I think i had the lights too far away to begin with, the 2 first seedlings were over 3" when i came home in the evening. I took them out of propagator and moved close to lights, with a small fan lightly blowing. On day 3 i came home to discover the two longer girlies had fallen over, the shorter 2 were fine. I propped up the longer 2 with another inch of soil. Day 4 I've added another 4 germinated seeds as other 4 seem to be going ok. Day 5 i've come home and all 4 have fallen over, including the shorter 2. They are still facing the light, but the stems are resting on the ground. The soil seemed a good wetness, i hadn't watered for 2 days, but it wasn't dry, and they were close to lights. The only thing i could think was a problem was humidity (or lack of). Without being in an enclosed space, the combination of the light and the fan has made the environment extremely dry. I popped all the pots back into the propagator, and they are now sitting at about 60-70% humidity and are all back standing straight. (as shows in photos)
 
G

gorocker

Member
trailerparkboy said:
do you plan on gettin more lighting later on that 250 wont grow 8 plants very well once they get bigger
Click to expand...
In a word - yes. :)

I don't really want the lights to be greater than 8" away from the tops of the plants, so when they get too wide i'm planning on adding a few 20-30w bulbs around the sides that aren't reached by the main light.
Probably switch to HPS for flowering, but, i think i might have to insulate the room first, because of the heat. It's all under uninsulated tiled roof, and would show up on infra-red camera pretty easy at the moment.
 
trailerparkboy

trailerparkboy

Well-Known Member
depending what size an type of HPS u might me ok ive got a 400w and i have it 8inchs or less away bcuz it doesnt run very hot at all...u get lots of fly overs in the UK?

ps sorry for just posting in ur journal without u asking for opionions
 
G

gorocker

Member
1 Week Old

First 4 plants doing well, planted another 4 a few days behind, and germinating a few more at present.

Decided i want to go for a SoG grow, which is reason for so many plants for the space.

Opinions welcome! :blsmoke:
 

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G

gorocker

Member
Week 4

A busy week. Bought a fan and installed it. We're in the middle of a heatwave here in UK, and my grow room is reaching 38-40oC sometimes, even with extractor on full! Hoping it cools a little, though i am enjoying the sunbathing.

I have been topping my 8 plants in different ways as an experiment to see which produces the most. I have left 2 alone, 3 topped above 2nd node for 4 colas, 3 topped at 1st node for 2 colas.

Bought an HPS system, and will be moving plants over into flowering at different points this week.
 
G

gorocker

Member
Week 5

Males!!!

Very disappointing, my two favorite strong growers (the 2 that i left untopped) have turned out to be male. why they were the fast growers maybe?
 

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G

gorocker

Member
Week 6

ARGHHH MALES!

About 10 days ago i had a lovely flowering room with 8 beautifully healthy plants growing. i now only have 2 females and 1 remaining that i'm unsure about yet. My 3 little plants are doing well though.

The 2 females were the plants topped at 2nd node and have produced 4 good tops! 1 of them (photo) is also showing about 10 small tops lower down!! i think i'll be taking a couple of clones from this plant.
 

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G

gorocker

Member
...and then there were 2

So, the last plant has also proven to be male. Out of 8 plants, i have 2 females. is that just bad luck??

On a plus side, i've taken 4 cuttings from my two females, and 24hrs later they seem to still be alive, we'll see...
 
G

gorocker

Member
Week 10 - 6 weeks flower

Had quite a problem with Spider mites and temperatures. Spider mites are getting better, still spraying every few days. Main problem is high temp, and low humidity, ideal for spider mites, not ideal for plants :cry:

Currently the grow room is in uninsulated attic space, i'm going out this week to buy a whole lot of insulated plasterboard. Half the problem with temp is that the roof tiles get hot in sun, just making room hotter. Insulation and more venting is the plan. Insulation i hope will also help against UV cameras
 

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