just about to start my own grow in my cellar in a grow box which is 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall and 2 feet deep.
first of all i would love it if someone could advise me how many plants i can grow in there i have a 250w hps an intake fan and an extract fan both 150mm wide.
also i think a rough time line of the whole process would be very helpful to me as well as other newbies.
for instance,
how long germinating-
how long before transplant to larger pot-
how long to keep inn veg-
how long in flowering-
how long for drying-
if anyone can give any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
germination can be as quick as 2 to 3 days or as long as 7 to 10 days.. if after 10 days you do not have a sprout popping through the grow medium it is more than likely not going to... it helps to soak the seeds in a cup of room temp water kept in a dark place for 12 to 24 hours... plant the seed about 1/4" to 1/2" into the medium.. keep the medium moist.. not soaking wet... and dont let it dry out... if germing in soil it is helpful to mist the top of the soil to keep it moist.. if using rockwool let the rockwool cubes soak for 20 minutes in ph'd water.. some people say soak for 24 hours.. but 20 to 30 minutes has worked for me... if germing in a paper towel place the seed in a folded moist paper towel and put into a plastic zip lock bag to ratain moisture... after a couple days the taproot should show.. when putting the taproot into the rooting medium of choice take much care to be as gentle as possible... put the taproot down..
once you have roots popping out of the rooting medium or a taproot showing it is time to transplant.. transplant the rockwool/jiffy pellet into the hydroponic system of choice if using a hydro system... if germing in soil allow the plant to grow in the container until you see growth slow or stop... this will tell you the roots have used up the available space and you have a soild root mass.. if at all possible it is best to just germ the seed in the final growing container to remove the need to transplant.. but thats not always possible.. **any time you transplant it will cause stress.. take time and care not to "beat on" the roots.. the gentler you are the quicker the plant will return to normal growth after the transplant** this phase doesnt take a lot of light.. a couple cool bulb floros are enough...
there are a couple options for how long to veg.. if starting from seed you want to veg until you see alternating nodes, or rather the branches begin alternating where they extend from the main stem instead of coming out in pairs... this will tell you that it is mature and ready to flower... this usually takes around 3 to 4 weeks of good vegging, sometimes longer.. **strains can play a big role in timing... get familiar with the strain your growing..** you can also let the plant veg until you see preflower.. preflowers will tell you the sex of the plant.. this takes longer to see than alternating nodes.. but if you want to cull out males if using mixed seeds before flowering this will take care of it... if using clones from a mature plant then you do not have to veg at all.. the clone, if taken from a mature mother plant, will be mature and ready for flower as soon as they root.. this is what is dont with sog and scrog grows... so vegging, depending on the situation can be as little as a few days to two or three months.. but typically a month is good enough... you also have to consider the space in which you plant to flower... plants will double to triple in size during flowering, so keep that in mind.. a 1 ft plant can end up being 2 to 3 feet at the end of flowering... you can use anything from an 18/6 to a 24/0 light cycle.. all work good... you will constantly hear mixed reviews on which is best... do some experimenting and see what works best for you.. just dont mess with it during the same grow.. pick one and stick with it the entire veg period.. if you are going to prune your plant at all do it during this time... whether you are going to top, FIM, LST. super crop, ect., make sure you do it during veg...
**temps in the 70's are the best with a humidity around 40 to 60 percent... you want plenty of good air circulation and air exchange.. the plants breath co2 and use it rapidly.. without air movement and exchange the air around the plants will become stale and growth will be slower... these are acceptable temps and humiditys throughout the entire grow.. the higher the humidity, tho, the more important air movement and exchange is.. keep some sort of fan going at all times inside the grow room as well as your intake/exhaust fans... although flowering it is better to have lower humidity if circulation is not good... this will avoid bud rot... you may need a dehumidifier to lower humidity**
**when starting nutes wait until good soilid growth has started on your plants.. dont feed to early as this can lead to death very easily by nute burn.. it is much easier to recover from a minor deficiency in nutes than it is to come back from severe nute burn... usually you dont need to worry about nutes until 3 to 4 weeks after transplanting... start out with 1/4 strength nutes and increase gradually... little is better in this case.. do the same during flowering.. slowly ween your plants onto the bloom nutes before hitting them with full doses...**
flowering begins when you switch the light cycle to 12/12... make sure the area is comepletly sealed from light.. you do not need to try any other light cycle for this other than 12/12... if you do not know the sex of your plants going into flowering you will be able to tell within the first couple weeks... anywhere from 7 to 14 days usually.. it may take longer.. dont stress if you dont see signs for a little longer... its not uncommon.. females will show two white hairs popping from the nodes off the main stem... males will begin to produce clusters that resemble grapes... as soon as you see these pull the plant.. plants will also double to triple in size during this time... flowering typically takes 8 to 10 weeks.. the most growth of the buds happens from week 4 to 7 ususally.. so dont worry if you buds seem small.. they will swell and will fill in... there are many strains that take longer than 10 weeks to finish tho.. indicas will finish faster than sativas.. indicas will also be shorter and fatter than sativas, which are taller and thinner.. the only way to tell the true doneness of the buds is the color of the trichromes or resin glands or crystals.. however you want to say it.. this is where the THC is located.. you can "choose your high" by the color of the trics... they will progress from clear, to milky, to amber.. if you harvest the buds when they are mostly milky with some ambering you will get more of a head high... if you wait until its a 50/50 mix you get more of a body high, with a little in the head... if you wait until they are almost all amber you get couch lock... don't harvest too soon and dont harvest too late.. wait until there is somewhere between 10% and 90% amber trichs.. **a way to shorten the flowering period and speed sexing up is to give your plants 24 to 36 hours of straight darkness before starting 12/12.. this will tell the plant it is time to start flowering and kick start the production of the flowering hormones... some say this may increase chance of hermies.. i personally have had no problems with it tho.. but thats just in my experience** ***if you want to, you can harvest the top 2/3 to 3/4 of your plant and move the light down so the lower buds can ripen more.. typically they dont finish at the same time as the top buds.. your choice***
if you time your harvest out so that you would need to water on the day you harvest it will speed drying up.. the plant will be low on water at this time.. also harvest as close to lights on as possible... some growers even harvest in the dark right before lights on.. this way everything is left in the roots before they start pushing it up through the plant during the lights on period.. it is much easier to trim your buds wet then to let them dry and trim them then.. save all your trimmings for hash or canna butter later.. i personally trim the large fan leaves off first and then remove each branch and trim branches individually... you can trim the entire plant and hang it if you want.. but its hard to trim and very usually inconvienent to have an entire plant hanging... you want your drying room to be dark.. lower to mid 70s is ideal.. with a lower humidity.. make sure there is plenty of room between your buds to dry and for air movement... keep a fan going at all times as well... **there is no THC that runs into the buds from the stem... that is not the reason branches/plants are hung upside down.. it is purely for conveinence..** you know the buds are ready to start curing when the stems snap when you break them.. dont wait until they are brittle.. just till they snap.. this usually takes 5 to 7 days depending on the size of the buds... once the stem snaps its on to curing... **you can use a large screen, such as a picture window screen, as a drying rack if you want.. a simple way to dry is to attach the branches to a close hanger and hang them in a closet with a fan... make sure you have some sort of odor control tho..**
mason jars are the best thing for curing... they are cheap and available almost anywhere with a kitchen appliance section... you do not want to over crowd the jars... make sure there is room for the buds to breath or you risk mold/mildew... you want to "burp" the jars a few times a day.. remove the lid and allow the air to exchange in the jars with fresh air... curing takes an additional 5 to 7 days...
drying and curing are very important... this is when the true taste and smell of your buds comes out.. an improper drying and curing can result in harsh smoke that tastes like grass... do not rush or try to cut corners during this step.. you've been patient for so long, dont let it get the best of you... a little taste isnt a bad thing tho
hope this helps
sampson
