NooB Advice

EdGreyfox said:

Riddle,

Thanks for all the time and effort you put in here. I'm a total noob to growing and you answered a lot of the questions I've had, and have put my mind at ease about some things. Hope you keep the school running though-maybe on your next grow you could do a walk a long and show us how a lot of these things you've talked about look and work when put into practice.

Still haven't gotten my hands on a digital camera, but my girls are looking better then they were. I picked up a humidity monitor yesterday and it was way low (mid 20's), so I added a second bucket of water to the room, hung a few damp towels off to the sides of the closet, and started misting the air a few times a day. It was up to 47% a few hours ago, with the temp sitting a 81. It looks like they have finally gotten settled in, because I'm starting to see new growth on all of them, and most of the leaves that were yellowed are starting to go back to a nice dark green. Looking more and more like it was a case of transplant shock and I just needed to make sure the environment was right and be patient while they recovered.

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Just follow my Goin Loco grow journal, I will keep experimenting and actually just gave Matilda a shower and just posted about it there

She went into HyperDrive today apparantly she loves showers

I posted some new pics there as well (she is naked and dripping, a must see)

DTR said:

great thread riddleme that answered so many of my questions i feel like i was kinda heading in this direction from reading Uncle Bens threads and this just seemed to make it all click this should be a mandatory read for all noobs like me before they even think of growing trying to be chemist from day one thinking youl have some super nuggs is bs whats the point in trying to boost the yeild of a plant if you cant even get it to grow normal and dont understand it

sickens me to think of all the money iv wasted not just the money on hype bs but the fact the hype bs will fry your plants with shit they dont need and waste valuable time that other plants could be growing in

i fell for all the hype 3 years ago when i had a good job and no time i ended up getting full line of advanced nutes which i still have following their guidelines and killing my girls after my first harvest of around 4oz from 1 plant since she vegged forever not beacuse she was grown right while i kept killing new ones i ended up takeing a 2 year break from smoking i gained 60lbs in that 2 years and my insomnia came back so bad i was up to 7 teylnol pm a night even after smoking for about 12years straight there was no withdraw from quitting but it obviously wasnt the right choice so i went and renewed my script and started reading its to bad i didnt find this site first you guys are the best i cant wait to harvest this batch so i cant start my next one

so i still have all these nutes onlything i can find out is they have a minimum of 2 year shelf life and sensizym is dead after 18months and these are 3years old so i tossed the sensi zym but still have the rest of this crap left is there any way to tell if its still useable?
and if it is could i just make my own npk ratio by using w/e from them to get a good feed?
or should i just toss it all?
my guess is some are still good depending on whats in them as long as its not alive i was planing on testing it out on one girl next batch but would rather not kill anymore clones if i dont have to

after all the reading i really just want to throw it through the window of the hydro shop i got it from but it was alot of money to just toss it and im poor now and the dudes a good guy he never pushed it on me i came in asking for it

thank you for all your help i feel like a huge weights been lifted from my shoulders its been such a struggle growing and im fairly confident that my next grow will be a good one and every grow after will just be that much better i feel like iv taken the green pill and my eyes are open for the first time

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Your Welcome, every day I invite people but most either don't make it to the end or just don't post? no matter glad you took the time to read it all and got something out of it, that's why I did it, I figure if I simply help a few folks the word will start to get out and there will be great huge MJ nugs all over the place

Be sure and follow my grow journal as I will continue to share more practical info there as well as I continue experimenting, I believe that the H202 thing is gonna come together soon as I tweak it more

As for your nutes, if it were me I'd put em on ebay or just throw em out, no way I would use something that I did not know everything that was in em???

Hey, riddleme.. how's the schoolin' going?

I thought I'd share a few things with people; things I think I've learned over the last grow-and-a-half, really. This isn't everything I've learned, but it's a start.

This advice is for "from seed in soil" grows. I don't know a damn thing about any other method.

1. Start in soil. It's easy. Are you in this for bud? Or a challenging course in biochemistry? I thought so....

2. As long as you have a decent, ventilated grow space, buy the most light you can stand to choke out the dough for, at least up to 400-600W HID. Beyond that, more subtle preferences become involved. If you have a $200 lineup of nutes and supplements, and a $150 cheapo HPS or less, your priorities are off. If you feel you're serious about this, get a flouro bank AND an HID. I've used my HID throughout both grows. If I could only have one light, I'd rather struggle with the challenges of raising seedlings under an HID and have that power for flowering later. But, I'm convinced flouros are superior for seedlings, and will be adding a flouro bank next grow for sure to produce sturdier, less stressed seedlings.

3. Use multiple container steps; don't be afraid of transplanting. I've started in big pots both times. It works, but has avoidable limitations. By starting small, you can a) start more plants and weed out obvious losers b) change your soil at transplant time, if you have plants that don't like what they're in and c) focus your resources (more space, soil, water) into your females later when they show.

4. Don't be afraid to water! If you have good pots with drainage holes and good soil, it's difficult to overwater. It's better to give more than less, within reason. I've held back on water for fear of overwatering and over-releasing pre-added nutes. That's nonsense. This actually caused the struggles I hoped to avoid. A full watering keeps a fresh, healthy environment around your roots. Water until you get a little runoff out of the bottom. Burn the "feel" of a wet vs dry pot into your brain -- pot weight is the best rule of thumb, IMO.

5. Don't anguish every little change in your leaves. Yes, sometimes plants have real problems, but mostly they don't. And the leaves go up, down, sideways, curl up, look a little yellower / greener than the next plant... on and on and on. And 98% of the time, it's a natural response to temp, moisture, humidity, variability in the strain, etc.

6. That said, sometimes you have real problems. Almost always from adding too much stuff. Once trouble starts in soil, you can't make decisions about problems and solutions on an hourly or single-day basis. You have to take your time, make your best possible estimate of what the problem is, correct it, then give at least a few days to see if that's the fix.

7. Finally, sometimes you're going to lose plants. It doesn't mean the rest are in the same danger. So don't stress.. Like people, some individuals just can't get along in certain situations.

I've made all these mistakes personally so you don't have to ('cept the light -- got that right first time with a 400W HID).

Peace...

right on man ill look into that for sure and for the nutes i think ill fertilize the desert with lead and w/e is in these overpriced bottles
thanks again

Ok, riddleme. So you were saying how the plant wants water then food and what not. And how the plant sleeps after it's watered. Quick question. Is there a better or certain time to water the plants? Like beginning of the day when lights first come on or right before lights go off? Or doesn't it really matter?

an hour after lights on so it has time to absorb the light then wick the water off if it was before lights out there would be exsessive moisture and may cause mold problems is what i got from reading

riddleme said:

Than you and welcome friend, come back anytime your input is always welcome

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Hey riddle,

Thanks for putting on an excellent class. You truly are a master researcher and skilled grower. I Totaly missed the "Water- WTF?" thread. I have gone and read it several times and it is just one more piece of proof that what you have taught in this thread is for real.

I am changing my approach to this farming thing. I will say that I had to apply a few of the myths( 3 part Nutes) on here so that I could learn for myself what some of the problems associated with them.

I think that the KISS mantra ia probably one of the best. Although I am not trying to be organic, I am trying to keep the thought process of "What would Mother Nature do". Although I am reading up on Botany, Chemistry and other plant literature, I am nether a Chemist or a Botanist. For this very reason is why I am choosing this approach to growing.

I believe that patience is some thing that is a virtue when it comes to M/J growing. I am learning but it tough sometimes. I have become accustomed to living in a instant gratification society and expect it for myself sometimes.

Well just wanted to let ya know that I am still here and keeping up with things.

Peace,

Big

P.S. Your girl looks awsome all naked and showered like that.

heyy riddleme =) srry i havent been on for a few days, internet provided fucked up n turned off my service 2 weeks befor the bill wus due.. but its all chill now lol. but damn man, everything in this thread has helped SO MUCH! thank you man. and im goona do a side by side comparison with my clones, one fed with the flush,then nutes,then water, and 2 just fed how i have been, im not second guessing you or any thing like that lol i have to keep one or 2 of my clones small in order for them to fit in my beg box, so i figured it would b a great way to show how much this benefits a plant. ill post pics of em ina while. just the flush alone has made the one clone alot healthier
thanks again man! your goona help alot of noobs get some good looking plants

so im just wondering, i flushed the clone with about 4 times as much water as soil in the pot, checked her this morning, and she didnt droop one bit, is greener but the soil is just as wet as it wus last night and she is perky as can be lol does this not work the same way with clones or did i not use enough water on the flush? or should i jus continue and feed her ina day or 2 when the soil is mostly dry?

jumboSWISHER said:

so im just wondering, i flushed the clone with about 4 times as much water as soil in the pot, checked her this morning, and she didnt droop one bit, is greener but the soil is just as wet as it wus last night and she is perky as can be lol does this not work the same way with clones or did i not use enough water on the flush? or should i jus continue and feed her ina day or 2 when the soil is mostly dry?

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Totally depends on how well the clones root system has established, If it is a young clone I would not reccommend doing this as she will be unable to wick the water off fast enough, remember I said NURTURE seedlings and clones till they are good and healthy (establisned, about 4 to 5 weeks)

oh alright man, the clone has a really good root system for its size. it has a much bigger root mass then any of the seedlings iv had around the same size. the clone wus taken on dec 25th, took root the 3rd day after cutting. do you think i should wait a few more weeks?

jumboSWISHER said:

oh alright man, the clone has a really good root system for its size. it has a much bigger root mass then any of the seedlings iv had around the same size. the clone wus taken on dec 25th, took root the 3rd day after cutting. do you think i should wait a few more weeks?

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I would wait a minimum of 3 weeks for sure, of course watching her closely for signs of problems, get her established then put her to work.

also you said she did not droop, did you use cold water???

hey there with thos cfl reflectors how many would be needed for 8 ladies????

yea i used cold tap water, same as i do with all my other plants and they all droop alot, it seems like she has not wicked at all and thinks its just a normal watering... maybe cuz its the first time i flushed with this soil and it released some nutes or something??

and i flushed the clone befor i read the answer. all 3 clones have been yellowing a bit on the new growth, so i figured i would flush one and see if it helps. i think they are jus low on N, and the soil is 7-1-3 so i figured a flush would feed em a bit of nutes, instead of me tryn to give em a really small amout of FF. and it helped the yellowing, n then then i finally wus able to get on the the internet and read the answer, and figured i would try it on the one i just flushed ya kno lol

doogleef said:

Can't wait to see you with some real lights, Riddle.

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Yeah I'm a growin fool it'll be awhile as I will lower these lights and finish the bottom of the plant then gonna reveg it just to show folks how

Them we go CMH and I've been savin a LA Woman seed for that

ok so it "rained" in my garden yesterday morning, with my high heat and wind per riddle, the soil is almost dry this afternoon.........

now according to preveouse posts she is "hungry" now............

does she want the same amount of nute enriched water as the " rain " ( till runn off?) or less...........................

BTW I only have the nutes at 1/8 strenth ( 1 cup fullstrenth nute to 7 cups water ) it is miracle grow 24-8-16 ( the only thing i could find around here)

i can get 10-10-10 but its the pellets not a liquid form

please respond quick case they are DRY again... but with moisture.....

THANKS!!!!!


ohhh yeah the whimpy ones are still whimpy BUT have started to perk up ( theyr leaves are not as low as they were yesterday.. but all in all looking muchhhh better!!!!!!!

THANX RIDDLE AND UB!!!!!!!!!

johnathandoe said:

ok so it "rained" in my garden yesterday morning, with my high heat and wind per riddle, the soil is almost dry this afternoon.........

now according to preveouse posts she is "hungry" now............

does she want the same amount of nute enriched water as the " rain " ( till runn off?) or less...........................

BTW I only have the nutes at 1/8 strenth ( 1 cup fullstrenth nute to 7 cups water ) it is miracle grow 24-8-16 ( the only thing i could find around here)

i can get 10-10-10 but its the pellets not a liquid form

please respond quick case they are DRY again... but with moisture.....

THANKS!!!!!


ohhh yeah the whimpy ones are still whimpy BUT have started to perk up ( theyr leaves are not as low as they were yesterday.. but all in all looking muchhhh better!!!!!!!

THANX RIDDLE AND UB!!!!!!!!!

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Feed just till you see runoff then stop, do not make it rain with nutes (feeding) and keep an eye on em they will get dry again soon and want it to rain again

Well Matilda got fed this morning and I took this pic tonight when I got home, she is dry from her shower and she wicked her water off pretty quick why I fed her this morning instead of waiting until tonight (but I probably could have) Gonna give her another day to see what she does probably rain again on sunday

Enjoy the bud porn she is gettin purdy

and i do this process over and over and over the whole time she grows and buds....sould i back the heat off???? id be doing this every day well rain every other day and feed every other day so she shouldnt dry out that quick should she?