Beans' 3rd CFL Grow

koolbeans · #1 04-03-2008, 12:36 AM

Grew in my closet twice;

The first time was using Northern Lights x Big Bud. I dropped the lights on them several times. Ended up with one female, much to my relief. Took good care of her and ended up with a little over an 1/8. Used two 2' 24W T5, putting out 6500K.

Second time was a little better, a little more prepared. This time it was White Widow. Used the same 2' 24W T5 fixtures. Allowed a sturdier grow space. Still managed to drop the lights on them, but not as often! Ended up with two females, one definitely prettier than the other. Harvested a little over a half.

Now on to my third time. Hope to harvest quite a bit for CFL growth. Using White Widow, supplied by BC Seed King, who was very fast in delivery and accepted credit payment. Awesome, found my new supplier. =)

Background:
I'm really a noob. I figure you can stick a seed in the dirt and it should grow. That's probably why I don't yield as much, but hey, it gets you high.

Used Black Gold for soil, probably stick with it. I'm thinking about getting litmus paper to test pH, but I don't know...one of those things that are a maybe. I germinated the seeds last weekend and planted two nights ago. 6 started, 5 sprouted.

Hence, here we are. One is a pic of my setup from my last two grows. Once I repot, I'll move it to the new setup.

koolbeans · #2 04-03-2008, 11:04 PM

A note of things to buy:

A small fan.
Duct Tape.
Smaller pots, perhaps more shallow.

Anyway, worked on my new grow space for about an hour and a half; The toughest part of this whole process for me is designing a functional, reliable system to put my lights on.

I thought about hanging the lights, but decided on using a shelf system. A little more convenient and since it'll be closer to the floor instead of reaching up high in the closet, I shouldn't drop the lights as much. LOL. Reading some other people's journals makes me realize just how much care and thought they put into it while I try to be proficiently lazy yet hope to yield good results.

I had this grow journal in mind while I was working and decided on naming my plants. I'll change them once they sex so I tried my best to give them unisex names.

Dinky is the runt of the bunch. Man, hope it grows out. Otherwise, the best seems to be Kimber;

First pic is Dinky. Not any higher than my first knuckle while the others are at least to my second knuckle.

Second pic is (almost) everyone, with Kimber in front. Dinky is right in the middle, soaking up the max amount of light.

koolbeans · #3 04-06-2008, 12:45 AM

Just remodeled the bottom of my closet so it's become the official grow space. A little ghetto, but functional:

Mylar covering every surface; Added two more lights (24 watt, 6500K). Deeply watered all five babies since there's more heat close to its surface and I don't think I'll check it again until Monday morning. Wish I had pics to post but don't have a camera battery at the moment.

Whole remodelling/moving process took over 2 hours, but worth it. I think there is much more light/conservation going on now that it's been tweaked.

koolbeans · #4 04-07-2008, 10:37 PM

Just rewatered tonight. They were just the right amount thirsty.

First pic is my new grow space, mylar galore

Second pic is my best, Kimber.

Third pic is a question for all that look: What is with the curled leaves in the beginning of growth? I thought it was heat so I let the grow space ventilate, but no change. Any ideas?

Last pic is of Dinky, a little bigger, but still behind all its siblings.

koolbeans · #5 04-08-2008, 10:44 PM

Wow, one day can make a big difference. All my plants started a spurt of growth, probably 3-4 days until I have to raise the lights again.

The pic is a close up of Kimber's new growth; Still the strongest and tallest of the bunch, but it's getting to be a tight race among them all.

Well, except Dinky. Maybe it'll turn out to the be cute little sister of the bunch? Haha, I hope so.

koolbeans · #6 04-10-2008, 10:24 PM

Uhh...not too much to say. Just posting pics to update on growth. I see roots coming out of the holes at the bottom of the pot; Not time, but maybe in another week?

Kimber, doing great. Dinky...not so much. You'll be able to see how it's doing in comparison.

Last picture is a nice little row, Dinky is the smallest of the bunch.

I think I pinpointed the cause of its runtiness; When I planted the seeds, there was one with half of its sprout got stuck in the paper towel and I still planted, thinking it wouldn't sprout. But it did! Thus, Dinky. It's like...2-3 days behind everyone else, but oh well.

koolbeans · #7 04-11-2008, 11:18 PM

Watered again tonight; As soon as I opened the box, I noticed that sweet smell associated with flowering. A little concerned, I saw that Kimber had little offshots coming off the main branches. ALREADY???

For about four hours yesterday, I had to go "dark" for stealth purposes. Hopefully, with the 24 hour sunlight schedule back into play should suppress any flowering desire.

Or maybe it was because I added more lights? If so, only good things can happen from it.

koolbeans · #8 04-13-2008, 11:05 PM

So checked the babies tonight and they've grown horizontally, with slight vertical growth. Most of them have their first, largest set of leaves kind of spotted. You'll see in the examples. I have an inkling of what it may be, but I'll remedy it tomorrow night. Gotta do some research.

Anyway, watered them thoroughly. They were thirsty. Kimber is doing great, but so is Pepper and Beans; The only way I can tell the difference is Kimber is a half inch taller than the rest.

Took lots of pics tonight, might be two posts.

These are two sets of two plants, view from top and a view of nodal growth. A little surprising, thought it could be from the little sleep they took (and it could be) or something to be expected from all the mylar that is reflected back into the plant.

Mylar is nothing like Aluminum foil, for those of you that read this; Definitely a worthwhile investment, cost me around 30 bucks for a big roll of 2mm (thicker stuff than the 1mm) 6'X25'.

koolbeans · #9 04-13-2008, 11:09 PM

All right, second set of pics. A little more disturbing, but I think it involves nutrients or burning of lights, or maybe too much heat? I would really like to be enlightened so please comment if any of this looks familiar to you.

Sorry for the pic where it's crooked. The size limitation automatically did it for me, nothing I can do to correct it.

As you can see, there are yellow spots on the lower tier leaves, some are in the beginning stages. The one that is definitely yellow is the worst of the bunch, but the rest are a little lighter colored.

The last pic is of Dinky's nodal growth. Thought it was kind of cute.

I once saw this website that had pictures of weed plant problems and I'm off to google for it, but in case I don't find it, does anyone know what it is? Thanks.

TreeMan93 · #10 04-14-2008, 05:39 AM

You're plants are looking great!

Im having a slight problem with my seeds sprouting.
I germinated them using the paper towel n zip lock container technique and they germed fine, but the seeds are taking forever to sprout.
It's been about a week since I planted them, and Im JUST starting to see my first sprout, and even that one still has the seed casing on it.
I planted them about an inch deep in Miracle Grow potting Soil.
The temps ranges between 70 and 80 degrees and I water it daily on mist with a squirt bottle.
What am I doing wrong?