1st grow: Bagseed + WW, 2 plants LST CFL low watt

Dezracer said:

My buddy doesn't mix his HPS with his CFLs but he uses a 150w HPS in a DIY reflector setup. He only grows NL from clones but next time I'm over there I'll get a couple pics to show you what he gets from a 150. He's about to double up on the HPS but his plant is ready 7 weeks into flower so it won't make much difference on it. He's hoping to see improvement going forward and he's got a few vegging. He's a bit on the ghetto side with his stuff but he'll still get some good smoke out of it. I'm still new so it's hard for me to guess these things but based on my first harvest I'd guess that he'll probably get about 1 oz or so from the plant he's got flowering. Maybe more but not much.

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Interesting info here, thanks bro!

Hello everyone

Bagseed was harvested TODAY, 6th of june, after 10+ weeks of flowering.
Well, let's start saying that I have mixed feelings:

Good feelings about:
- Fairly low wattage used, 155W CFLs, considering it was shared with another plant, and lately with 3 plants.
- Resin production, which seems to be abundant and I really hope it'll turn into a good quality smoke
- Tons of things I learned from RIU and from direct experience

So-So feelings about:
- Yeld... I'm very happy I was able to make it to the harvest - a small success is still a success, but goddammit... I was hoping for MORE. I don't have the tools to weigh it right now (I'll borrow it to measure dry yeld - and post it) but I think it'll fall in the 15-20 grams area if I'm lucky
- My Grow Box: too tall, could be better ventilated, probably leaking some light also - but did a good job after all (and could have done better if it wasn't for what follows

Bad feelings about:
- Soil: way too crappy, I won't ever save money on this again. I guess it lacked something decent soil should have had, and not everything about it can be fixed through nutrients.
- Nutrients: probably my bad here... but I simply didn't figure out things in this compartments: wrong ones, wrong timing, wrong quantities... who knows! I will definitely dig into this subject more
- PH: lack of measurements and various guessings likely brought to high PHs and lockups. The chemical tester I bought (quite late) cannot test soil, I need to buy the other kind.

So... in the end, I think I'll keep CFLs and try to improve the above...
I will finish WW this month, and the other two by july, with this setup, while doing some experimenting.

Trimmed bagseed is already curing, will post about taste/yeld later this week

C ya

congrats on getting to the finish line, the big thing is to get that 1st grow under the belt
looks very decent to me, buds look tight, love the 'hook' on the main cola, had the same thing myself
great summing up, i do that myself, lets me get my thoughts together after the grow
enjoy the spoils, they were well earned

growone said:

congrats on getting to the finish line, the big thing is to get that 1st grow under the belt
looks very decent to me, buds look tight, love the 'hook' on the main cola, had the same thing myself
great summing up, i do that myself, lets me get my thoughts together after the grow
enjoy the spoils, they were well earned

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thanks m8 I'm sure I will enjoy this and light one up for you at RIU
It's been fun above all, and I think it's going to be even more fun improving grow after grow.

Grats on the harvest. It may not be alot but it looks great man. You going to cure it in jars after its dried?...What will you do to increase the yield in the future?

Congratulations on the harvest man Being a first timer myself, I can only hope that I reach the finish line like you did, regardless of yield. Make sure to keep us posted on that WW!

SmokeyMcPotJK said:

Grats on the harvest. It may not be alot but it looks great man. You going to cure it in jars after its dried?...What will you do to increase the yield in the future?

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Hey thanks Smokey!

CURING:
The venerable buds are in a shoe-box, with lil holes in it, suspended on a aluminium net. I'll open it a few seconds twice a day to change the air.
After that yes I guess I'll put them into jars - Jeez I've still got to buy some and read about this step lol.

IMPROVING:
To improve yeld I'll switch to better soil, monitor ph and read more about nutes to start...
> That's because I noticed all my plants showed lacking elements very early (I blame soil) and growth rate was cramped at times, even stopping/freezing for a while, also showing burnt tips/leaves, and deficiencies I misinterpreted/fixed too late (ph lockups, overnuting, NPK ratios...)

But above all I think I'll build a smaller, better sealed cab with the same amount of watts and better ventilation (too weak now).
> That's because I think watts were definitely enough and close enough at 1-2", also thanks to good reflective material and LST. Therefore a smaller cab would be enough and enhance the reflection/concentration of light.
Also my box may have some light leaks, and I know now that it's a big problem because it really slows the plant's flowering.

Fixing these things should let me understand how far I can REALLY go with 150w So I'm not ditching cfls nor raising watts until I give them at least a "fair trial"! lol

Camtheman289 said:

Congratulations on the harvest man Being a first timer myself, I can only hope that I reach the finish line like you did, regardless of yield. Make sure to keep us posted on that WW!

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Thanks bro wish you best luck and sure will keep this thread updated, there are still ladies in the room!

Im going to post more info then necessary about curing now, lol
A passage from the book of JC.....Marijuana Horticulture - The Indoor Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes
Paraphrased
Curing:
Hang dry for 5-7 days once they are dry they still contain moisture inside,this affects its taste and potency. Curing will remove this moisture. Curing makes the bud uniformly dry and converts virtually all THC into is psycho-active form

Cut stems so the buds fit in an air tight container, mason jars work great. Dont put in Tupperware plastic gives the bud a shitty taste. So, put as many buds as you can get into the mason jar without smashing them and screw the lid on tight. Stick it in a cool dry place. The moisture in the center of the bud will even out through the rest of the bud. Check on the jar every few hours to see if the buds have sweated moisture. Squeeze a few buds gently to see if the outsides are more moist then they were a few hours ago. If they get so moist in the jars that the stems are bendy again instead of snappy then paper bag the buds and turn them a few times a day until they are dry again. Place back in jar. Open the jar every few hours for a few minutes so moisture can escape. Depending on moisture content buds should be totally dry in a few days to two weeks. Fully cured bud will glow evenly and smokes smooth.

Drying tips (before curing)
65-75 degrees
45-55 percent humidity
no light
minimum handling
hand until dry (stem snaps instead of bends)
Then cure

awesome bro exactly what I needed +REP

Congrats man!! It's not a lot, like you said, but it looks good. I'd say for only 155w it's pretty damn good and I'd be stoked. Get it set so you harvest a similar amount every few weeks and you're in good shape.

Dezracer said:

Congrats man!! It's not a lot, like you said, but it looks good. I'd say for only 155w it's pretty damn good and I'd be stoked. Get it set so you harvest a similar amount every few weeks and you're in good shape.

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thanks bro!!!
That's the next step, hopefully C ya

congats on your harvest bro keep up the good work brotha

merkstillgrows said:

congats on your harvest bro keep up the good work brotha

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thanks man! there's still quite a way to go to harvest decently

***
PRE-UPDATE

-I've been away from the forums, I'm going to be around more often in a while

-bagseed is curing nicely: after a 6 days in a shoebox I moved it into a nesc@fe ermetic jar (a nice, curious find in my kitchen - dunno where it comes from ahahah) It's still a little moist, therefore harsch, but I'm already "tasting" it: it works, and it's average potent and lasting - I can notice there are no chemicals in it also, which I like - and the lady puts me in a positive mood.
I didn't get my friend to borrow me something to weigh it, she's a crazy ladydude so no wonder, but let's say it's 15g for now.

-WW: the remaining WW it's 8 weeks flo. and shows stunted growth, yellow older leaves, burnt tips as bagseed did - but the resin/buds are there and look fine - and in 7-10 days max. I'm going to harvest; I decided to ignore completely what I'm screwing up as long as these finish smoothly >> next time I will be more scientific, as it is worth to create the best conditions to see what low wattage cfls setups can do

-Violator and WW2 are doing good, except some liiiight defs at their lower leaves - trying to correct that

C ya I'll post some pics later

trifase said:

thanks man! there's still quite a way to go to harvest decently

***
PRE-UPDATE

-I've been away from the forums, I'm going to be around more often in a while

-bagseed is curing nicely: after a 6 days in a shoebox I moved it into a nesc@fe ermetic jar (a nice, curious find in my kitchen - dunno where it comes from ahahah) It's still a little moist, therefore harsch, but I'm already "tasting" it: it works, and it's average potent and lasting - I can notice there are no chemicals in it also, which I like - and the lady puts me in a positive mood.
I didn't get my friend to borrow me something to weigh it, she's a crazy ladydude so no wonder, but let's say it's 15g for now.

-WW: the remaining WW it's 8 weeks flo. and shows stunted growth, yellow older leaves, burnt tips as bagseed did - but the resin/buds are there and look fine - and in 7-10 days max. I'm going to harvest; I decided to ignore completely what I'm screwing up as long as these finish smoothly >> next time I will be more scientific, as it is worth to create the best conditions to see what low wattage cfls setups can do

-Violator and WW2 are doing good, except some liiiight defs at their lower leaves - trying to correct that

C ya I'll post some pics later

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Welcome back, good to hear from you. Glad your smoke is good

Congrats man. Glad your back...

sounds like a good haul to me, very usable clean weed
i get great peace of mind knowing how it was grown

not bad what wattage is your lights