Did my homework, but could use some advice on my 1st grow

Like a million other people before me, I took a bag seed, stuck it in some soil, and it sprouted. Ain't nature grand. Here are the details for the last month. I added as much detail as I can remember, hopefully you guys will take the time to read this and pass on any mistakes I should correct, or sure fire ways I can improve the health of my plant. My goal is to produce a seedless bud. If I can get a half ounce off this thing, I will be extremely happy. I'm not looking for a large yield, just success of some sort. I'm staying away from adding nutrients on my first time, just to keep things simple. If I do this a second time, I'll probably get a pH meter to take away a lot of the guessing.

I'm going to separate this into several posts as I tend to ramble. PLEASE feel free to comment, criticize and especially question. But I'll be posting as much relevant information as possible over the next few posts. I have some great quality pics of how she is doing that I will post at the end. It shows the damage I'm worried about, and a few other things I have questions about.

Also keep in mind that I ran out of weed on 5/2 (18 days ago). My energy was a lot more focused towards growing this thing right and paying more attention to her needs. Also, this forum rocks. Never thought stoners would be able to pull this off. All this energy and we can't legalize marijuana? PEACE.

Seed popped through soil on 4/22 -- Earth Day! It was planted in Miracle Grow Cactus soil which is what I had on hand. (Transplanted to Scott's eventually.)

After keeping her outdoors in a pot with 4" diameter for about a week, I brought her inside. Found this site and put her under one 26 watt CFL 2700k. Watering with filtered water about every 3 days, I definitely did not overwater. On an 18/6 cycle

Growing a little thin, probably because when she was outside it was in a mostly shady area. I added a second CFL, this one 23 W and 5000k. I found out weeks later that this mix of lights was pretty good. I'll probably add a third 26w CFL when she gets to be about a foot.

This is around the time I learned about male vs female plants. I should have increased my odds by planting a few more. But I still had stuff to smoke at this point, so I wasn't worried about too much.

At about two weeks, I noticed the leaves were turning pale. I knew I needed to re-pot and change the soil. But I'm lazy. So for the next two waterings, I flushed her with distilled water. Actually for the second flushing I added about a teaspoon of vinegar to a gallon of distilled water thinking that would help things. (I continued to use distilled water + vinegar, but after that first watering I use about a drop of vinegar to a gallon of distilled water as opposed to the full teaspoon or so I used the first time. I spent way too long figuring out how to calculate the pH of weak acids rather than buy a pH meter, since no one has ever asked that question on the internet. Ever.) Also, I discovered that purple stems are not normal. The first set of leaves weren't looking so great, pale, and the tips were starting to look burned. But this had started well before the vinegar was introduced. After a week of procrastination, I bought a bigger pot and some new soil. I also had been out of weed for 8 days at this point. You'd think that would motivate me...

Feel free to comment... I'll add more tomorrow about how the last two weeks went.

purple stems: are from lack of phosphorus i think.
pale color: is either lack of nitrogen or molybdnenum
burnt tips: this is a nitrogen problem cut back on the nutes just a tad and flush with clean water if you use miracle grow STOP. buy a balanced nutrient formula like dyna-grow or something
airflow : keep it above your plants
water: balanced ph is ok but 5.8 to 6.0 is ideal you can get a ph kit from walmart for uber cheap i paid 5 bucks and it has 250 uses just go to either aquariums section or swimming pool section this is a good investment cause low ph can lock out nitrogen which is what happens when you add too much vineagar and high ph is just bad. very very bad. just take 1 gallon of water, test the ph if too acidic add vinegar if too base add lemon juice. add 3 drops then check ph again do this until you get it ideal and count the number of drops this will make it easier on you in the future and if you dont want to you wont have to but another ph kit as long as you dont change water companies.
temperature : 78 degrees (hydroponics water temp 72 degrees)
light : do your research on this you need a hps (sodium) light for flowering keep that in mind
taste : to make it better add sucanat (100% organic dark brown sugar) or sweet ( buy it for 16 bucks from discount-hydro.com)
wilting: mostly caused by either 1. over watering (most likely) or 2 lack of nitrogen
pests : spider mites are a bitch bastard to prevent this have your pot sitting on a "wire table" surrounded by water this brings up humidity tho. and you should watch how the air flows around your plant if it will circulate upwards your good. air from below makes the living conditions for spidermites horrible airflow like this greatly reduces chance of mold also
nutes: self explanatory but add 1tbsp of epsom salts per gallon to your water this will relieve your plant of chemical build ups in the pores on the root hairs thus faster and healthier growth. if you have bad problems post pics we will help

Thanks for the post SmokeAron....... although I suspect you were high when you said "too acidic add vinegar if too base add lemon juice". They are both acids. But you did help because I forgot to mention a few things like temp. I'm indoors, and the plant is pretty much out in the open in the corner of my living room. So temp has been as low as 68, as high as 80. On to week three:

on 5/10, I switched to a much bigger pot (8.5" diameter), and buried about an inch of the stem in the new Scott's soil. The Scott's potting soil says
"continuous feeding for up to 4 months!" which kind of worried me, but it didn't say anything about time release. At this point, I had been reading this forum for a solid two weeks. I had flushed a day before the transplant, so I waited until 5/12 and watered her real well again. She started to droop, probably from a bit of over watering. Let her dry out for 4 days, even put the clay pot on the stove on low heat until the bottom inch of the pot was warm. I didn't worry about doing this since I knew the roots were no where near the bottom since I just transplanted. This seem to help it dry out, and she started to really grow during week 4. At this point I also trimmed off the lower leaves... the first true leaves that come up after the
cotyledons. They were very pale, but not quite a yellow color, and the edges were burnt. I let them dry for two days, microwaved them to give them a crunch and smoked them, knowing full well that this would do nothing for me. But it was good for my psyche. Still no weed.

During week three I also started taking off an hour of light each day to get to a 12/12 cycle. I was reading Spittn4cash's Grow Journal #5 and decided to switch. I don't want a huge plant, just one that produces.

I also started to relax about whether she was actually a female. Either way this is good practice.

One more detail... I don't exactly keep her in complete darkness at night. I have a 50 watt incandescent about 20 feet away that I sometimes use for general lighting. Plants see the moon at night yet they still make it. I don't know why people think they're plant is going to be super stressed if they have a light leak in their grow closet. Maybe I just didn't read enough on the subject and that is something I should change? Well no matter where I put it, she won't be able to get total darkness from 8-12 because the lady I share this place with needs to see shit when she's walking about. She doesn't mind the plant, but forcing her to walk around in darkness after 8 might not make her so tolerant.

o yea lol i meant drops of ammonia but also if your already in your flowering stage DO NOT let any light hit the plant it will mess with it only green lights are ok when your in the flowering stage has something to do with spectrum's but thats a bit too in depth for myself ok so basically it should go something like this

germination : 1-11 days
seedling : 5-7 days then time to transplant from your cup, bowl, ect...
vegetative : i recommend a couple of weeks of STRONG growth and the plant should generally be 18" or taller it should have 4-6 leaf branches on it before you jump into flowering
flowering : this varies from plant to plant you should have or buy a 30x magnifier you will see a snow like effect around the buds and some of the leaves and hairs will start turning like a rusty reddish color no light man, its a bad idea you will have a funky crop and the buds will be "wispy"

HARVEST!!! careful when handling the buds you dont want any of that precious tetrahydrocannabinol rubbing off on your hands HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK

The plant has been growing real well since the transplant to a bigger pot and Scott's soil, and I've watered with distilled water again a couple of days ago. I trimmed off the first true leaves... they were light yellow and in bad shape. The leaves on the next few nodes were looking progressively better. The plant started growing wider. I also progressively worked her down to 12/12 over the last 6 days. I have a lot of time on my hands.

I plan to leave her in a 12/12 cycle. I don't have a huge setup, just a spot on a table with two CFLs attached to a timer. I don't want these suckers getting too big, and I'd like bud as soon as possible... so there are some of the reasons for going 12/12. Like I said, I'm not too interested in yield, just any form of success. I'll do a better job next time.

Only other problem I ran into is that I white fungus or mold started growing on the side of my clay pot. It has been rainy and cool these days, and I think that's what caused it. I used 91% rubbing alcohol to clean the outside of the pot with a toothbrush. I figured it would evaporate quickly before it got absorbed through the clay pot and into the soil, and still kill whatever was growing. That was on 5/18.

So, the pics are coming up next. I really, really hope she is a girl. but I sprouted another seed yesterday. As for the pics, i'll put some comments with them, but i'm just looking for insight. It looks like the first two weeks were rough for the plant and she is growing out of it. The main damage is on the lower leaves, and the stem is mostly green now. See for yourself in the pics to follow. Any comments on what I've done right or wrong so far would be great. Specifically, the vinegar, rubbing alcohol, soil, and 12/12 cycle. I'm confident lighting, amount of water, and circulation is fine (maybe need a fan dry out the air around her so white mold doesn't grow on the pot).

the mold was caused by too much humidity arid is good sometimes.

Hope the resolution isn't lost here. Anyway several things to notice... The leaf in the lower right hand side of the pic has some damage to the first and second blades (from left to right). The third blade has some damage too, although the damage at the very tip is from brushing against a light. Also notice how droopy the plant is... this pic was taken at night after she was asleep for a while. When it is lights out, she droops big time. After just 15-20 minutes of direct light, she perks up big time. Is this something to be concerned about?

Also ignore the lettuce lying on the soil. I needed a green background to get the focus and the exposure right on my point and shoot. first time attaching images, so I hope I get it right.

Don't know why the file size after uploading was so small. I have some really hi rez pics that are about 1 mb which is below the limit. Any help on that would be great. for now, let me attach another pic, it is still pretty clear. I'm guessing that RIU is shrinking the image and loosing quality in the process rather than just showing a 50% zoom or something?

Anyway, in this pick you can see the same damage as above, but a better view of the damage on the first blade... a bit more deformed. Also you can see some purple stems, but I think that she is growing out of it. I'm at 30 days in these pics. Again, notice droopiness.

Here you see some of the more severe damage, on a lower node. As stated earlier, there is still some remnants of purple in the stem, but the higher up the plant you go, the healthier she looks. I love the resolution on this shot, but had to severely crop it to keep the rez. Thoughts on this damage would be appreciated. Also curious why she droops so severely at night. One more setup pic coming up.

OK, I think i'm done laying out all the details. I'd like any help figuring out what caused the leaf damage, and why she is droopy at night. The pics in this post are a night picture and day picture, and you can see the difference. Also, in these pics you'll notice some sort of white deposit on the clay. This is different than the mold I mentioned in earlier posts. This is like a hard mineral deposit, but I am using distilled water, so I just think some minerals are being extracted from the clay, and not a big deal. I'm using two CFLs and I rotate the pot several times a day since I kind of want her growing upright.

Any comments, advice or questions would be greatly appreciated... this is my first time. I know I wrote a lot, but I'm looking for as much good feedback as possible, and figured all this info would tell the whole story. Thanks.

Any ideas about these questions?

1) Is it normal to be so droopy at night?
2) Any idea as to the damage?
3) Comments on lighting or other things that i'm doing or should change?

Hoping I didn't include too much info, or maybe I should have posted this in another forum?

In general, how is she looking for 30 days of growth

wow, the 12/12 is way to early, your getting to excited, go buy a bag and relax your not getting any bud within 2 months period no matter how much you go spend right now. Not possible! with that granted, lets talk about the 12/12- too early- you maybe able to revert back to 18/6 but you should have started at 24 and worked down in increments as the lamps need to be raised for their height. you shouldnt put your first load into veg until its 16-20 inches tall- I am currently shooting for 18, then you can clip a clone and go to flower. Your second problem is lighting- you need to give these plants some TLC- they need a room in the house, build them a small cabinent- your CFLS are low heat- and if you build it right you can keep all light out and flower.

At this point tho- it may be hard to revert your 12/12 and the droopyness... crazy furtz in your soil- you'd be better taking dirt from outside. try a mix or pearlite and sterilized soil- like 20% will make drainage alot better- that might help the droopyness

But that next seed lined up, work on her- and give her the TLC she needs

Thanks for the input OB. If I could buy a bag, this first grow probably would not have gone so far. I know the bud won't come fast, but as I said just looking for any bud on my first grow. When you say my problem is lighting, you think it is a big deal that she is not completely blocked out from light at night? The most light she gets during the night is 50 watts from an incandescent about 20 ft away, and no actual direct light from that bulb. My intuition tells me that this is not any brighter than a full moon on a clear night.

But, I guess I won't take my chances and put her in complete dark at night, and I'm going to add another 23 watt CFL. The plant should be receiving at least 4,000 lumens which should be enough for one plant from what I read. I also put her on the porch for direct sunlight for about an hour a day when I remember. too much shade on my porch so can't leave her there all the time.

As for the 12/12 grow, I understand that a veg cycle will help her grow bigger faster, and produce more bud sites, but people have been growing with a 12/12 cycle from seed with great results. This thread is why I decided to switch:

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/50395-grow-journal-5-12-12-a-20.html

I want a small plant my first time. not worried about yield, just health and a simple diet of whatever is in the potting soil and distilled water. I may add water from a compost tea later on, but I'd prefer to keep it really simple.

Please keep the advice coming. I'm going to listen to that perlite advice as the soil does seem slow to drain. Thank OB, any input is appreciated, especially since I'm not following the book on this one.

It could be the soil on the leaf burn, good ohh backyard dirt... Keep the pics coming, I am interested, best of luck, for the 12/12 after reading that, its a unique technique- perfect for your situation though, and seeing that I stumbled into PC grows, have you seen those? ridiculous, plants in a computer? with a big yeild! so i am sure you can do it, TLC will grow THC. Keep it posted and pictures! I am working on a photo for my opp right now

She turned out to be a girl and started flowering at week 5, and I am now at week 7, If you didn't read the whole thread, I'm running 3 CFLs with a total of 72 watts for ONE plant. Running into some new problems though and could use some advice.

The edges of the leaves have been curling under. See attached pic. I am not overwatering, that is definite, as when I transplanted I mixed in about 25% perlite with Scotts soil and I water every 4-5 days or less often when the top 2 inches are completely dry. I think the pH might be off, but I don't want to spring for an expensive pH tester.

Other details: There is over 2 gallons of soil in the pot, and the plant is 18 inches tall, and I hope has stopped growing. Transplanted 10 days ago.

This bagseed looks like an indica dominant strain to me. I'm proud my first grow is going so well, although I was wondering if the buds looks small for 2 weeks. Does she look healthy? Why are the leaves curling down (but not drooping like when you overwater)? I don't feed nutes, except for some compost tea that I tested on a seedling first to make sure it wouldn't freak. Any questions or comments will be greatly appreciated.

those buds look pretty big for 2 weeks, the end of 2 weeks, or the beginning, you should check my journal i am mid second week- and my flowers are just that still flowers, those are definitely more budular... nice

As far as the leaves, try misting them with a drop of superthrive mixed in, and it might help- i did that an my leaves love it... other than that... great

Thanks, I was exactly at 14 days in those pics. I might mist, there is a small chance that this is heat stress, but not likely. Rarely over 90 except when I bring her outside for a couple of hours for sunlight. Maybe the change in environment that is causing this?

nice lookin plant, I definitely think you could pull off 1/4-1/2 of some nice dank shit.
my diagnosis on the plant is its either overwatered or rootbound


edit: thats based on the moist soil in the pic, the bottom leaves yellowing, and droopy/curled leaves.