2d Grow; Chemo; Closet; Soil

Vancouverguy · #1 03-23-2008, 12:28 PM

The posters on this site were very helpful when I did my first grow last year 1st Grow - Soil, Closet, and I really appreciated all the great advice.

I've just started my second one and will post diary entries here for other newbies to learn from my mistakes.

As before, I purchased my seeds from the Vancouver Seed Bank, as I had 100% germ last time. Vancouver Seed Bank

Based on advice from this site, I purchased Chemo seeds for the low odour and medicinal characteristics.

I germinated 6 seeds, hoping I would get 3-4 females. So far so good with all 6 sprouting!

Vancouverguy · #2 03-23-2008, 12:38 PM

I selected 6 seeds for germination and used a damp paper towel as medium.

March 14, 2008

Germinating in progress March 15, 2006

Ding! March 16, 2008

Vancouverguy · #3 03-23-2008, 12:48 PM

Germinated seeds were placed into peat pellets until they are big enough for soil

March 17, 2008

Growth is pretty quick at this stage

March 20, 2008

Vancouverguy · #4 03-23-2008, 12:59 PM

1 week from germination, and 5/6 are growing nicely - the last one got tangled up in the seed pod but has finally taken root.

Vancouverguy · #5 03-29-2008, 11:02 AM

Having noticed some stretch in the last photo, I transplanted the seedlings into some soil (I use small peat pots so I can easily transplant into larger containers when the roots grow through).

I also set the plants up under a 200w CFL blue spectrum light. Look how close I can get the plants to their 13,000 lumen shower.

The plants have started filling out (although they are still pretty small). I am very pleased at how close together the new pairs of leaves are coming in.

I also added a small fan to blow over the plants and help to strengthen the stems. It's a little warm in my closet (I've taken readings as high as 29 celsius (84F)), so I might need to add a larger fan when the girls are up to it.

6 peat pots under a single 200w CFL light

4 pairs of leaves on most plants and very close together.

Stems are starting to strengthen too

Vancouverguy · #6 04-01-2008, 09:59 PM

I thought everything was going too smoothly.

This morning there were yellow patches on some of the leaves and a couple of the stems had turned purple.

By this evening, the yellowing had advanced quite a bit in one of the plants.

Based on my research, I have self-diagnosed that I've got some nutrient lock-up caused by my pH being too low.

I then tested the water and it's between 5.0 and 5.5 (I don't have a soil tester - yet). I've been giving the plants a lot of water over the past few days so the soil is probably way too acidic now.

After mixing in some pH up, to raise the water to about 6.5-7.0 I thoroughly flushed all the peat pots - I hope that works.

I should have remembered that the tap water here is acidic from my grow last year - I hope there's not too much damage. Most of the other plants have only very slight discolorations.

QUESTION 1: Is my diagnosis correct?
QUESTION 2: The pH Up I have (Technaflora brand) is so powerful it's a bitch to work with. If I mix some of it down with distilled water at 20:1, will it become unstable?

Thanks for your advice.

Vancouverguy · #7 04-09-2008, 10:23 PM

Balancing the pH seemed to get things back on track.

The plants were filling out quite a bit, but staying very dense - such a huge difference from my last grow when I used natural light only during veg.

I needed to re-pot to larger containers, but I couldn't find the time until tonight - I hope that they didn't get too rootbound - I want dense growth, but not bonsai pot plants!

My latest miscalculation was thinking that I could fit six 3-gallon grow bags into my closet space - no way. Since I only had room for three of the bags, I made a command decision to double them up - 2 to a bag. I'm hoping that once they get sexed, I can pull one or two out.

Here are some pics of the new set-up in the grow room - I would consider this veg part II.

Vancouverguy · #8 04-09-2008, 10:28 PM

Here are some pics to illustrate the tight bushy growth.

Comparison pic of first grow
http://www.rollitup.org/attachments/...w-dsc00030.jpg

It's a little further along, but same number of nodes and 3-4x the height

Vancouverguy · #9 04-22-2008, 08:33 PM

It's been almost two weeks since my last update. Miss me?

The first week after transplant nothing much happened - I assume that the plants were just getting accustomed to their new home(s). The past week has shown some significant new growth with the plants all looking very healthy and filling out considerably.

I'm about a week behind schedule of where I thought I would be, growthwise, but I'm not in that much of a hurry (speak to me in 2 months and my answer might be different).

Here are the pics. Please give me your thoughts if you think I'm doing something wrong (or right).

I expect that I will move to flower in about one week - thoughts? Comments?

Vancouverguy · #10 04-29-2008, 11:05 PM

April 29 Update

Thinks seem to be progressing well, the plants have all doubled in size in the past week and they look green and healthy.

One thing is strange, the plants closest to the lights have leaves that are longer and narrower than the ones furthest from the light. All seeds are the same, and with two seeds in each pot, each one exhibits the same charateristics as its roommate.

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?

I'd also appreciate some advice as to whether or not it is time to start flowering.

Closest to the light

Furthest from the light

Lots of bushy new growth