My first Closet Grow on Low Budget ( 2 x Aurora Indica 2 x Short Rider Auto ) 2012

Posted on 03-04-2012 ( After the hacking of rollitup.org forums I used Google cache to recover some of the infos from my old thread )

Hello Guys.
I purchased a month ago seeds from Nirvana for me and a friend. At the time my plants are 12 days old but I'll post some pics from the very start. This is my first attemt to grow weed indoor. I'll use two CFL for the early veggin and MH/HPS after.

Cannabis Seed Germination - Paper Towel Method
For the germination I did the paper towel method which worked for me very well : 4 out of 5 popped into nice plants.
I waited for 1-2 days and it was a nice moment when I saw the seeds are viable and ready for the next step.
I purchased 5 Aurora Indica, 5 Short Rider and 5 AK48 ( feminized seeds ) and paid ~80 euros for all.
So 3 x Short Rider in the left side and 2 x Aurora Indica in the right side. And my story begins

Day 2 - My cannabis seedlings in my cat's house
For the first days I used my cat's cage. This way I was able to protect them because my cat gets very curious about lights and new shits ( especially plants ). So if you have a pet you need to make sure they'll not damage your plants.
Think on things twice so you won't get any issues.
I'm using for the first days 1 x Osram Dulux Superstar 30W 1940 lm, 2500K ( 10 usd in stores ), some regular soil from a gardening store and small pots from the same place.
I watered them with low percent of nutrients but this is a mistake I think. For the first 2 weeks or so use only plain water. Make sure you get a clean water from the shop or distiled water. Don't over-water, you can do that by taking a 1 day break. The plants can do well with less water for a while.
Ahh make sure your pots have some holes at the bottom for the extra water.

Day 3 - New grow place / Cannabis stems weak and stretched
I changed my grow room and left my cat's cage. Used a wood box and added an extra fan for ventilation ( 15 usd )
Also I added a second lamp : Osram Dulux Superstar 30W 1940 lm, 2500K
For 20 USD I got a temp/humidity monitor and some timers.
The girls are doing fine, plenty of light BUT I did one mistake. The lights are pretty far away from my plants and they get a little streched and their stems got thin. Dealing with a weak stem is not that hard, you can always add extra soil and this way you can get a stable plant. When you realise that the stems are streched bring the lights closer especially when you use CFL lamps.

Day 6 - Enjoying light
Now it's so obvious that my plants are really loving the light. The fan blows them and hopefully their stems will be stronger.
The light cycle I chosed is 18/6 but I've heared that a 24/7 light on them could not be bad.
This is the day when I decided that I should add some extra soil to them. I burried like 1-2 cm from the stems in the soil. Act gentle on them because you can mess things up in a second.
Added some cups with water for extra humidity. During early veggin the seedlings need high humidity ( ~60% ).
Also you can add some DIY CO2 generators. Check Youtube!

kngpedr - subd, good luck bro
past times - looks good man, don't be afraid to get those lights right on top of the plant (within a few centemeters). the closer the better. Then you'll really see how much they love the light and will keep them from getting too tall.

Day 11 - Extra humidity BUT not too much !
I bought a humidifier for 50 USD but I did a mistake. I used the tem/hum monitor outside the box thinking that the IN/OUT sensor will deal also with the humidity. NO , using the cable sensor you only get the temperature.
You need to place the device inside your grow box/ room to get the real numbers.
Also during the night for few days I left my humidifier ON and again I think it was a mistake. I got one plant ( check the second pic ) with twisted/curled leaves and I think the reason was high humidity. You need to make sure the average hum. is around ~50-60% and the temp is ~25-30 Celsius degrees.
I added a DIY CO2 generator using a 2L soda bottle, sugar and yeast. I hope it will help them to grow nice.
I used a pulverizer to water them but I think this is not enough. Give them plenty of water when you think the soil is almost dry. Don't use nutes on them in the first 2 weeks, the soil nutrients are enough for them.
Make sure the pots have some holes in the bottom for the water drainage.
Any other suggestions/corrections are welcomed. Thank you guys and happy growing

Defuzed - I have a plant similar age to yours, I've got a 20w cfl, 30w cfl and a 12w cfl, and I'm 3rd week in and it's going good.. I was thinking about keeping CFL's until I start flowing then I'll switch to 250w HPS/250W CFL. I'll keep following this! Good luck!

How big is that grow room/ box? Looking good