Practice run. Wish me luck! - Page 2

hearmenow · #11 03-05-2007, 08:09 AM

Thanks, VM. I hadn't thought of the impact of changing soil entirely. I transplanted them Friday afternoon using the organic soil and they seem ok so far, even sprouting new leaves, so hopefully we are out of the woods. As far as 3 gallon being too big, you are probably right but I didn't want to have to transplant again and they were at risk of getting rootbound in their previous pots, which were 5". All the roots were already at the bottom of the pot when I took them out.

videoman40 · #12 03-05-2007, 08:14 AM

The 3 gallon is the size I finished my grow in.
You should be fine.
May the the marijuana Gods shine upon your grow!

hearmenow · #13 03-05-2007, 08:17 AM

Thanks, bud (no pun intended). Did I read you got your seeds from Nirvana?

hearmenow · #14 03-06-2007, 06:54 AM

So I snapped a few pics this morning. Remember, I have the plants outside during the day and under the lights inside at night. I'm on the 20-4 cycle. Any comments or thoughts are appreciated.

hearmenow · #15 03-08-2007, 06:54 AM

Quick update for anyone following. All but one of the plants are doing extremely well and I'm seeing signs of significant growth. I had to transplant one yesterday because it looks like it's dying - the leaves look "eaten" and are falling off but there appears to be new growth leaves, so I am holding out hope. I gave them a hormone and vitamin treatment on Tuesday, in addition to the nutes on Saturday, and they seem to love it! I'll try and post some pics tomorrow but I'm excited. I am seeing a 2nd and in some cases, a 3rd set of nodes. Last night I have them a little CO2, using the sugar, water and yeast method. I used an empty drinking water bottle with the pop-up top. In addition to just shaking the bottle and leaving in the middle of the plants, I shook the bottle several time with the top snapped shut and let the CO2 pressure build up. Then I placed the bottle directly over the plant and released the top, allowing the CO2 burst to directly hit each plant. I only did the CO2 for about 2 hours. I plan on at least 4 hours tonight. Things are looking up so far....

videoman40 · #16 03-08-2007, 07:48 AM

"I had to transplant one yesterday because it looks like it's dying "

Dude, stop transplanting! I am afraid that one day I am going to come back to read this thread, and see you have your babies in 55 gallon drums! lol

Also, vegging should be done at 18/6 not 20/4
When you get your lights, keep em close, about 2" away, maybe 2 and a half inches to be safe, and get an oscilating fan blowing across them. Make sure the fan blows past the plants to give them a break, this will simulate nature. It will give them stronger stems too.

I think the next obstacle you are going to encounter, is going to be stretching, the lights will help avoid this, if placed right. Also a temp difference of more than 12 degrees over the 24 hour period will promote stretching.

hearmenow · #17 03-08-2007, 10:21 AM

VM, thanks again for the advice. Always welcomed and appreciated. Let me clarify a couple things. The one plant that was sick had never been transplanted. It was in a 5 gallon pot since I planted it. The problem I think was the soil. It was old soil that had been sitting in the pot. I moved it to a small 5" pot now.

As far as the light arrangement, here's what I've been doing for the past 5 days or so: I take the plants out each morning at 6am, as the sun is rising. They are in an excellent location, where they receive a lot of light and warmth (I live in South Florida). When the sun starts going down, I take the plants indoors under the lights. I have them on a 20-4 cycle but I see where you recommend 18-6? I will research and adjust accordingly.

I am expecting to receive add'l lights that I won on Ebay but for now I have 5 CLFs of varying wattages and lumens strength. I have a 2600 lumen, 2 1200 lumens and 2 CFL spot lights of about 600 lumens each. The 2600 lumen I have under a large reflector, about 12" diameter. The other 2 regular CFLs I have under an 8" and 6" reflector. The spot lights have no reflectors. Except for the big light, all the other lights I put within 2 or 3" of the plants. I check the heat repeatedly and it seems ok. I also have a fan going to keep things cool (except when the COs is administered), although it doesn't oscilate. The lights I ordered come with reflectors and 2 sets of 2 lights (2 for veg and 2 for flowering). These lights are rated at 6500K (kelvin heat units) for the red spectrum lights and 5500K for the blue sprectrum lights.

I THINK I am on the right path? Comments appreciated.
So far the plants seems to be doing good.

hearmenow · #18 03-09-2007, 03:40 PM

Updated pics. Starting to see some real growth now after a very slow start. I am noticing some brown spots on the leaves of one of them though. Any thoughts from anyone?

hearmenow · #19 03-12-2007, 08:14 AM

Well, we are well into one month since the seeds prouted and I thought it's a good time for an update. One plant died over the weekend, I am sad to report. It just shriveled up and died. I transplanted it to better soil, gave it some nutes and TLC but it didn't pull through. Another one seems to be battling some grubs or something. I actually spotted (and killed) a bright green fat little worm on it. Some of the leaves were eated and had holes in them and are turning a little brown. I sprayed with soapy water, so I hope this helps. Any other suggestions?

On the bright side, I also for fun had thrown some seeds into out garden in the back at the same time I planted the others and lo and behold, on Saturday I saw this little plant struggling to make its way to the sun. I transplanted it to a 5" pot and it seems to be ok.

So right now I have 2 tiny ones, about 2" each and 4 very healthy plants and one sick one. The healthy ones are starting to show strong growth and are about 6-8". It was amazing how much they grew over the last 3 days! My wife was out of town Friday and Saturday and when she saw them yesterday, she couldn't believe they were the same ones she left! I gave them their 2nd vitamin and hormone dose when I watered them yesterday. I use Superthrive. They seem to love it. As of today, I am now on strict CFL growth. It's becoming too risky to leave outside and it's a big problem trying to take them inside in the evenings without the kids wondering what the hell I am doing transporting a bunch of plants to the bedroom. So, as of today, they will no longer be getting their daily dose of 10-12 hours of natural sunlight, supplemented by 6 hours of CFL light.

I will take pics of the plants and grow room tonight and hopefully post tomorrow.

pauliojr · #20 03-12-2007, 09:56 AM

The brow spots may be signs of nute burn. I am having the same problem as well. Recommended methods are flushing the plant or chill on the nutrients and see if they make it out. Depends on the strength of the plant. Good luck.