Rocky Mountain High Grow Journal (CFL's exclusively)

I have been peddling around this site for a month or so and thought it would be cool to start a grow journal.

I started with a Agro Sun, flourescent tube, for the seedlings. Once they fill my 12oz cups with roots I transplanted them to bigger pots. Originally I was using Miracle Gro, but found a hydro shop close, and switched to Fox Farm products exclusively.

I use the Light Warrior for seedlings and the 1st translpant. Once they are ready I move them into 2 gallon pots with Ocean's Floor. I follow the Fox Farm feeding schedule to a t, and it has worked wonderfully.

I am using the CFL's, sylvania's Full Spectrum are a little smaller and I can get 3 bulbs in 1 hood with a splitter, and keep them as close as possible.

I put my best 8 into the flowering room 2 weeks ago this coming monday. Yesterday my 2 best and biggest plants finally 'showed' that they are males. How disappointing. Am I the only one who has a strong attachment to the plants I've nurtured? It broke my heart to destroy them, but, gotta go sensimilla.

Today I awoke to find one of the other 6, showed to be female, so I'm back in good spirits!!

I will work on getting pictures up of the grow room and the plants.

Please, Please and Please feel free to post comments and especially advice within my grow journal. This is my very first grow so I need the help....Thanx Fellas!

Here are some pics of my garden and the 2 plants I had to destroy, sniff, sniff.

I have my essentials, including a electric PH meter for the water.

Next is my seedling shelf. then the shelf below begins vegetative growth. I take the strongest plants and then move them above the flowering room.

Hope you guys enjoy. the last close up pic is of the female who showed today. Not sure how clear it is with the phone camera, but if anyone can confirm that this is a female I would appreciate it. I'm 99% sure but, it's my first grow.

I have read a few books and now buy High Times so I'm equipped with a little knowledge.

More pics of seedlings

here are the plants in vegetative growth. Many have been pruned and grew two stems in the place, good stuff.

Here is the flowering room. Hoping for all baby girls!!

Wow, your boy were very nice, too bad. Your using FF, niiice i went with the Sensi Grow for my AN brand, i got my soil grow in FF ocean something. female, yea that should put you in GR8 spirites. So what wattage you working with?what soil you using? what strain you working with on the seedlings and plants? Really nice journal you got going, so keep us posted. Its Saturday, usually doesnt pick-up till the afternoon, so you will get some responses, just wait for the smokers to arise!!!!!

Good Growing!!!

Thanks for the response, I truly appreciate it.

I'm using the "Sylvania Craft Light Mini". it is 23watts, replacement for a 100watt, is what is says. What I looked for was the Lumens. These produce 1600 lumens, which was the best I could find in a full spectrum type of CFL.

My problem is I keep breaking the damn things! Usually trying to force 3 into 1 hood.

And now I just went to get one from my stock to post the correct packaging details and guess what? dropped it on the floor and it broke! Guess I'm a clumsy fricker.

Like I said I start the seedlings in the Fox Farm-Light Warrior, then when I go to the 2 gal pots I use the Ocean's Floor mix. I never imagined the difference between miracle gro and fox farm but it is amazing. Adding the fertilizers really helps too.

One question. I basically tried to mock the SeeMoreBuds system of growing 8oz for $100 using the cfl's. I have way too much invested and probably should have went with metal hallide but didn't want to bother with ventilation and over heating. In the book he begins flowering in like the 2nd or 3rd week from sprouts saying that the cfls will not penetrate so you must start them early to control growth. My question is, are the 2 gallon pots going to be big enough for full flowering potential?

The two males I had to erradicate yesterday, I gave them a full autopsy, were far from 'root bound' despite a few long roots making their way to the bottom of the pots in a couple of weeks. there was plenty of room for lateral root growth and fill in, but I still have about 10-12 weeks, I'm guessing, of flowering and worry that the pots aren't big enough. Especially if the double or triple in size during flowering.

Any thoughts or suggestions??

Thanks fellas.

Yes, if you want bigger plants i would move them into bigger posts eventually, no rush but you definately need to get more lights... How many 23w cfls do you have? During flower the plant needs all the light it can get in its 12 hour and more light=nice heavy nugs. I am growing stright cfls, may get a 400-600 hps in last month, i have 4-105w and 1-85w(true watts) going and i know i still need more(got 1 girl and 7 unknown 3 days into flower) getting some 40w watts today and ordering some 85w online. Sorry, so much about light but if you dont want light airy bud you need more hun. I am almost $1k in the hole and when i get that hps i will be well over. Other than that you have really got it down, you grow looks SUPER!! Did you say it was your first? You got a good on-going system, i wish i would have got some clones off my babies.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

In the flowering room I have 6 hoods with 2 bulbs in each, so a total of 12 bulbs for 8 plants, which fit perfectly into the room. I'm hoping not to have to transplant to bigger pots as I can only fit probably 4 in there, so the next question becomes, what is the trade off? Should I go bigger pots, less plants, more buds or more plants, same pots, less buds but maybe more weight from more plants?

Felt like I 'had it down' now I'm opening a can of worms, I believe!

The other thing is, it's my first grow so I don't have anything to really compare to, so I don't know what I'm missing probably, which is good. I have to admit I'm amazed that I was able to grow anything from bag seeds.

When they started with the little tiny stems I thought this will never grow into a real plant, but boy was I wrong!!

My other problem is that I have too many plants for my space and need to start 'weeding' them out, nice pun, huh? I just have a hard time doing so before they show male or female.

Hey man your plant look very nice and healthy. You probly dont want to here this but I think you might need some more light to get decent results. I not going to tell you to goy by HID system. For a $30 at home depot you can get a 65watt cfl flood light. Take the casing off the flood light and wire it into your hoods. I was using purly T5 flourecents. They work great! but I wanted a little more. So I bought a 150 HPS flood light from home depot for $90. This was the best thing I did. Its small enought not to get blazing hot and puts out 15,000 lumens. If you have an extra $100 add the HPS to all your CFL if not get 1 or 2 of the 65 watt CFLS. Your buds will be nice and dence not light and fluffy. Keep up the good work your doing great for your first time! It would just suck to end up with light fluffy buds after all your hard work

I feel like an idiot for asking but help me out here. The $30 65watt cfl flood light. I went to home depot and just browsed around. Every flood light I found was a halogen type. What is a 150hps flood light? Each hood set up costs me about $30. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have 13 of them! I coulda got much better, I know, I know. The hood is 10, the bulbs are 8 each, the splitter is 3, so about 30 plus tax. Sounds like maybe I should have went with the flood cfl 65 watt, at the same damn cost!

Can you tell me exactly which ones to look for, please? By brand, packaging, maybe even what part of the store. Anything to get me to exactly what I need.

I really appreciate the help and thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it. It is a lot of work, but I am actually truly enjoying the journey. The pay off will be icing.

Very nice!!!

I'm gonna do a grow journal too!! Great and keep up the awesome work.

Thanx I appreciate the props. Hope your grow goes well. Send me a link when you get it going.

I have to recommend reading Mattso's journal, that was the shit, better than some of the books I've bought.

Well I have one more confirmed female, she showed today. Unfortunately I also have 3 that I'm 95% sure are males, 1 that I'm 75% sure is male, and two that replaced the first 2 males are still undetermined.

I will give the males a couple more days for 100% confirmation, then pull them and place the next 3 into the flowering room.

Funny thing is, my fiancee is pregnant and we have been hoping for a boy, which was confirmed by ultra sound last week, but my mind is on complete opposite in having baby girls in my garden!

I have a quick question. I thought that the plants have to into the flowering, 12/12, to start showing sex? I have way too many plants and I have been holding and rotating them into the flower room as I kill off males. I'd love to be able to sex 'em earlier to clear ups space and pots for the next crop.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Today another female showed herself!! Woo Hoo!

So from the 8 I started flowering I have 3 confirmed females, 3 dead males and 2 that are still undetermined. I replaced the 1st 2 males with the next best plants so they are still undetermined too, keeping 8 in the flowering room at all times.

Can anyone tell me how hard it may be on my plants to flower them all until they show, and then force them back into vegetative growth. They are about 5-6 nodes tall, kinda small to start flowering but I NEED to get rid of the males ASAP as I have no room left!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Home Depot. go to the Outdoor lighting section. If you need ask they guy that work at the store if they have any High Pressure Sodium outdoor flood lights. There will most likley be two sizes 70watt and 150watts. bigger the better but if you can only afford the small it will do. I live in canada, I am guessing your out west in the states I am sure you can find them.

Do not flower them and reveg this will cause mass stress on your plants. just chill...wait, your plant will show dont worry. if you want you can take a clone of the plant flower them and then you know wich one is male. But I am guess the rest of your plant will show in afew days. Mal plant wont open for while you got lots of time!

Rocky Mountain High said:

Today another female showed herself!! Woo Hoo!

So from the 8 I started flowering I have 3 confirmed females, 3 dead males and 2 that are still undetermined. I replaced the 1st 2 males with the next best plants so they are still undetermined too, keeping 8 in the flowering room at all times.

Can anyone tell me how hard it may be on my plants to flower them all until they show, and then force them back into vegetative growth. They are about 5-6 nodes tall, kinda small to start flowering but I NEED to get rid of the males ASAP as I have no room left!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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I have done the 12/12 to sex the plant and then reverted back to veg. As long as you catch it when the pre-flowers show and then flick it back to veg its usually ok. They don't go into full on flower production until around the 20th day in 12/12 but should show pre-flowers from day 14 onwards. Its a method I have used with success before.

Taking a cutting and then sexing the cutting could take 2 weeks if not more.