My first grow. Rubbermaids CFL

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

Hey everyone. This is my first journal on RIU so hopefully some of you get interested and follow along. This is also my first time growing cannabis, so any advice is welcomed and appreciated.

Grow Method: Low Stress Training

Enclosure:
2 30gal Rubbermaids
3" Computer fan
6" Computer fan
2 Surge Protector
4 42 watt CFL
2 26 watt daylight CFL
Light Timer
2 1" PVC Elbows
Thermometer/Hygrometer
2 cans of Krylon Fusion White Spray Paint
2 Cardboard Hoods

Construction:
Because this is a semi-stealth grow, I wanted to make my enclosure look as normal as possible. To create space inside of the tubs I cut the bottom out of the top rubbermaid tub and cut the lid of the bottom rubbermaid to create some space inside. The first photo shows a birds eye view. I taped the two tubs together on the inside to block out light and spray painted the inside of the tubs white for light reflection.

To mount the lights I used two zipties and mounted a power strip upside-down to the top lid. Next I used outlet to socket adapters in the power strip and used three ysplitters to increase light. Photo 2.

The fans are fastened to side of the tubs with zipties also. I found an interesting DIY wiring thread and found out how to wire a computer fan with any ordinary wall charger. It works perfectly and runs the fans much quiter. Photos 3&4.

Photo 5 shows the other power strip. It is fastened to the side of the tub and that's where I run my fans as well as plug my light timer into.

The hoods on the outside of the tubs are used simply to block light. You can see them is Photos 6&7.

The PVC pipes are passive intakes to control temperatures. Photo 8.

The last picture is of the tubs all closed up. I keep them covered with a dark blanket and it keeps it pretty stealthy. I wouldn't recomment trying to hide it from your parents or anything. Photo 9

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

For my first time through I decided to grow three plants. One of them is supposedly Thai Chron Dro and the other two are supposed to be Sour Deisel. Regardless of what they actually are, I've had some of the smoke, and I can definitely say I would love have some of my own. :weed:

Germination and Planting: I germinated using the paper towel method. I soaked the towels with tap water and put the seeds between them. I stored the towels in a food container and kept it on top of my computer tower to keep it war. I planted my seeds into 16 oz dixie cups and covered them with duct tape to block any light from the roots. I have heard this is a good practice, so I thought I would play it safe. It took them a few days to sprout. I think I may have planted them a little deeper than I was supposed to. They've been in soil now for 7 days now.

SD: The two sour deisel plants look very premature compared to other plants I've seen at this age, but I've also heard this strain grows a little slower than others. I'm a novice so i may be getting to worried about nothing, but at this point every little thing gets me all worked up. Pictures 1&2

TCD: My Thai plant is looking very good. I love to see the progress (hopefully)she makes on a day to day basis. It keeps me going. Picture 3

Picture 4 is an overhead of all three. :weed:

Watering: My watering has been fluctuating. I'm not really sure how to gauge the right time to water. I have a moisture meter, but it does me no good until I get some experience with it. I think I may have been overwatering. If that's the case I'm worried it may be too late because my plants are so young. I'm going to stick it out though and hopefully things turn for the better.

Lighting: For the first seven days I kept the light on 24 hours. Tonight is the first night on an 18/6 light cycle.

Temperatures: My temps have been hovering right around 80 degrees. That's taking into account 24 hours of light. I think now that my lights will be turning off my temps will drop into the high 60's so that should keep them cool enough during dark hours.

Any comments or advice any of you guys have would be awesome. I've been reading and reading on RIU for months now and so many of you have inspired me to do this. I'm so glad I finally get to start me own. Anyhow, please, comment on anything. :hump:

StrongLanguage · Apr 11, 2009

are your lights mounted on the very top? if so you might get alot of stretching like my plants did. check my sig for pics. keeping the light about an inch above the plants gives best results i have learned.

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

StrongLanguage said:
are your lights mounted on the very top? if so you might get alot of stretching like my plants did. check my sig for pics. keeping the light about an inch above the plants gives best results i have learned.

I also have heard of this practice. I have stacked cardboard boxes in the bottom bin and it raises the plants up to about 2 and a half inches below the lights. Thanks for stopping by man! :mrgreen:

peezy315 · Apr 11, 2009

this id my first grow and ive been growing for 4 weeks indoors fromt seedling start and i use two 65 watt plant lights ans one 70 watt plant forecent light, can i use this for all stages and when can i start the flowering stage, i use the right nutes i know from reading so much but im still kinda iffy, right now there 8inches tall, i could use any advise i can get plz help thanks

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

peezy315 said:
this id my first grow and ive been growing for 4 weeks indoors fromt seedling start and i use two 65 watt plant lights ans one 70 watt plant forecent light, can i use this for all stages and when can i start the flowering stage, i use the right nutes i know from reading so much but im still kinda iffy, right now there 8inches tall, i could use any advise i can get plz help thanks

Those lights might work. I'd have to find out what the lumen output is and so on. Nutes are a bitch man, I know. But i usually only use them if it looks like my plants need them. And for your flowering stage its all up to you. It depends alot on how much space you have to fill. Remember that your plants will double or even triple size during the flowering stage, so plan it out. Anyhow, Thanks for stopping by man! :blsmoke:

peezy315 · Apr 11, 2009

hey thanks alot man im actually got them growing in a 30 gallaon fish tank lol theres 8 of em, they look good i mean they are on the 6th node and there 8 inches i mean idk if thats good or not i have a fan blowing on them at all time i was kinda thinking about forcing the pre flower stage tonight idk tho what do u think and yea i know theres 8 of em in a 30 gallon tank but i figure some will b males even tho it would b nice if none were at all but u think that enough space and how much bud so u think i could get and can i use those lights threw the budding stage

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

peezy315 said:
hey thanks alot man im actually got them growing in a 30 gallaon fish tank lol theres 8 of em, they look good i mean they are on the 6th node and there 8 inches i mean idk if thats good or not i have a fan blowing on them at all time i was kinda thinking about forcing the pre flower stage tonight idk tho what do u think and yea i know theres 8 of em in a 30 gallon tank but i figure some will b males even tho it would b nice if none were at all but u think that enough space and how much bud so u think i could get and can i use those lights threw the budding stage

Haha. I like the fish tank idea. Way to use what you already have! I mean as long as they look healthy you should be safe. Forcing flowering is debatable. Im going to have to do it because my plants will get too tall if I dont. When I asked you about your space I meant verticle space. How much room do the plants have to grow up? It depends on how you grow what your yield will be. I'm anticipating getting at least 2 ounces from these three plants. Like I said before I need to know the lumen output to know if your lights are going to be good for flowering. Happpy Growing man, good luck! :peace:

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

So today is the third day since the plants sprouted.

SD: I was getting worried yesterday because my Sour Deisel plants weren't looking very healthy, but when I checked on them today the new growth looks very green and healthy. The false leaves are starting to die on one of them, and I think overwatering is the culprit. But as long as my nodes are growing in, I'm not worried. What do you guys think about those two? Photos 1&2

TCD: My Thai plant is looking awesome, as far as I can tell. I haven't seen any discoloration or slow growth, I think she's going to be the first one done. I cant wait! Photo 3

Lighting/Temperatures: Last night was the first night my lights were on an 18/6 light cycle. When I checked on my plants today I noticed that my temps dropped down to 57 degrees during my dark hours. I'm not sure if this could be bad for the plants or not. I'm going to read some today and find out what an ideal dark temp is. My highs were at 82 degrees.

What do you guys think about my plants?! I think they're looking pretty good. Gimme some input and happy saturday! :bigjoint:

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

I filled a two liter with fermenting sugar and put it into my enclosure today too. It's to hopefully get some co2 inside. I found a thread that lays it out pretty simply. If any of you want that url just let me know. :blsmoke:

peezy315 · Apr 11, 2009

nah dude i go like mabey 4 feet of space tall

Exo · Apr 11, 2009

sick set up yo. i like it lol

Exo · Apr 11, 2009

i got two stealth grows in my room. i got one in my desk check it out in my signature. operation - desk drawers.

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

Exo said:
i got two stealth grows in my room. i got one in my desk check it out in my signature. operation - desk drawers.

Thanks for stopping Exo. I checked out your grows and they look real good. Happy Growing man, keep it up.
Peezy - You're going to have to guage when yo start flowering by anticipating how much your plants will grow during the flowering stage. I just know you should keep at least double the height of the plants open before you start.

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

Hey guys. I've been watching the progress my plants have been making, or lack of progress they've made and its got me thinking. I've been considering germinating another seed from another dnk strain I got my hands on awhile ago and getting rid of one of the sour deisel. The only thing is that I am very invested into these plants. I have been putting alot of work and attention into these and would feel bad about tearing one out and throwing it out. On the contrary, I want a healthy plant and steady growth. I dunno what to do?!?! Any of you have some advice for me. I know restarting a plant is going to be just as much of setback as waiting for the plant to recover, so that's the point Im at right now.
Any advice you guys have is weloome. Happy growing and take it eassssssy. :bigjoint:

Tatan · Apr 11, 2009

This grow should be fun. subscribed

BudTinsley · Apr 11, 2009

Tatan said:
This grow should be fun. subscribed

Hey Tatan. Thanks for checking it out. I'm really enjoying this. Even after reading for 3 months I can definitely say one week of growing my own plants Ive learned so much. Anyhow, thanks for stopping man :bigjoint:

BudTinsley · Apr 12, 2009

Like I mentioned the other day I have been thinking about germinating another seed. Today I decided I'm going to start another plant in case one of my sour diesel plants dies or lacks growth. I am told this seed is from a Lemon G strain, but like the others, I have had some of the smoke and know it's worth growing.

So for now I'm going to have 4 plants, 3 different strains. Starting this other plant will also help me determine what strain grows best in the environment that I can provide. Hopefully it's grows healthy. I think my first go at the other three plants provided alot of valuable information I can use to hopefully keep this Lemon G on the healthy side.

SD: The false leaves on both my Sour Deisel plants have completely died. They're turning from yellow to brown ad curling up. The odd thing is that the first node leaves are very healthy looking. I don't really understand how the false leaves can be so unhealthy but the fan leaves are healthy as can be. Any of you guys have a clue as to what could be causing this. My guess is either overwatering at the start of my grow or an n deficiency. Either way, I hope it's going to be a fixable matter. Lemme know what you think. I'll post some pictures this afternoon to show you exactly what I'm talking about.

TCD: My Thai plant is still looking healthy as ever. It seems to be growing very slow though, like the others. I'm guessing the culprit is either overwatering or heat stress. My highest temps are still right around 80-83 degrees. I've seen temps in other similiar grows get into the upper 80s and the yield is still good, so I don't think that's it. Watering is much more steady now. I realized I was overwatering the first week.

You guys have any guesses as to what the problem might be that's causing the slow growth? Thanks for the help. Have a good easter. Laaaater bongsmilie

Tatan · Apr 12, 2009

BudTinsley said:
Hey Tatan. Thanks for checking it out. I'm really enjoying this. Even after reading for 3 months I can definitely say one week of growing my own plants Ive learned so much. Anyhow, thanks for stopping man

I know what you mean.. I did a bunch of reading before starting my own grow, and its a lot more exciting having plants of you own

Also yeah... I would recommend always a few more plants than you need cause you always end up losing some...

BudTinsley · Apr 12, 2009

Tatan said:
I know what you mean.. I did a bunch of reading before starting my own grow, and its a lot more exciting having plants of you own

Also yeah... I would recommend always a few more plants than you need cause you always end up losing some...

Thats the mindset I'm at now too. I'd rather have a few extra plants and get more bud than I anticipated rather than lose a plant and get less than I was expecting. Thanks for stopping by man

My first grow. Rubbermaids CFL

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