First Grow: T5s in Small Grow Tent

Starting back on March 18, I got three clones I was told were Diesel (Whether or not that's the actual strain - I don't know. Meh.). Once it was time to repot, I culled the two smaller, less vigorous ones.

They were put in a 1.5' x 1.5 x 4' grow tent (DR40). For lighting, I'm using four 36" T5 lamps. 6400K @ 5022 Lumens each, mounted vertically. When flowering begins, I'll be switching three of the 6400K lamps with 2700K ones. Photoperiod during veg is 18/6.

Ventilation is provided by a 4" tabletop fan with a duct vent mounted on it. Circulation comes from the same type of fan. Humidity is controlled with a humidifier and misting.

The plant is being grown in ProMix BX soil-less mix. It is being fertilized with Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow and Liquid Karma for the veg stage and will move to their bloom mix for flowering and ripen with the soil formula while still using Liquid Karma.

So I reckon that I might as well share my little journey into the wonderful world of Cannabis cultivation. Comments and questions are welcome.

Here's my journal thus far:

March 18
Day 1 - Plants are in the tent.

Day 2 - Watered with a weak solution of DNF seedling and cutting formula.

Day 3 - Temp. 26C - Misted. Plant that was chosen was 5.5".

Day 4 - T: 30C H: 30% - Purchased new thermometer with hygrometer and a circulation fan. Misted.

Day 5 - T: 27C H: 25% - Misted, and added tray of water to increase humidity. Watered with DNF.

Day 6 - T: 27C H: 30% - Misted. Switched to larger water dish.

Day 7 - T: 27C H: 35% - Misted. Noticed a strong smell .

Day 8 - T: 25C H: 40% - Pre-flowers emerge. Watered with Pure Blend Grow @ mid-size strength and Liquid Karma. Misted. Height 7".

*Up until this point I hadn't had the opportunity to pick up the Pure Blend and Karma, so I substituted with the free ferts I got with the tent. I mist in the morning and afternoon every day, so I'll stop mentioning it now and we can just assume that I did.

Day 9 - T: 27C H: 40%

Day 10 - T: 27C H: 30% - Purchased humidifier.

Day 11 - T: 30C H: 40%

Day 12 - T: 28C H: 40% - Transplanted from party cup to 10" pot. Watered with mature strength Pure Blend.

Day 13 - T: 28C H: 45%

Day 14 - T: 28C H: 45%

Day 15 - T: 27C H: 40% - Height is now 10"

Day 16 - T: 30C H: 45% - Culled smaller plants.

*At this point everything has pretty much levelled off. Humidity is under control and the temperature, although on the high side is steadily between 27C and 30C (~79F - 86F) which I believe is slowing the growth. This is mainly due to the wee little fan I'm using for exhaust. It simply can't take the air out fast enough. I'm sticking with it though, because it's what I got. Hopefully when I switch the lamps, the lower output will create less heat... We'll see.

Since nothing much has changed, I've stopped recording everyday. I'll update more regularly as things progress. Plan is to switch to 12/12 once the plant reaches 15". It's Day 24 and it's at 13"... So it won't be long now.

I have a few more pics that I'll upload later today or tomorrow.

Cheers,
sk'mo

Here's the pics I promised.

The circulation fan started off at the bottom of the tent, pushing air upward, but had to be moved to the top because the pot was off-centre causing the plant to lean toward one side.

The exhaust fan has a duct vent duct taped to the top of it to create better suction. It's simply set on top of the vent hole. Fan from Walmart: $6 Duct vent from Home Depot: $5 Cheap-ass way to exhaust your grow tent: Priceless.

The humidifier is set just outside the tent. The exhaust fan draws enough air to suck in most of the mist.

The humidifier and exhaust fan is hooked up to the same timer as the lights and the circulation fan runs 24 hours a day.

High-tech thermometer/hygrometer makes environment monitoring a cinch!

The pics of the plants were taken as recently as yesterday. As of this morning, this little girl is 14". One more inch and it's time to flower!

Questions and comments welcome.

Lovin it man. If you look in my sig you can see where I started in the first couple pics. I was in a small ass cabinet. I am lucky. I am legal and have just enough cash to upgrade. Plus some homies helped me out. Your temps are like mine. Lots of stuff you can try. When you get some cash grab a small intake fan to put down low. Or run a vent from an AC unit into your tent. I noticed you are spraying your girl. That's good. I am a foliar spray believer. Here is a good thread for it.
The lost art of foliar feeding
The first page has a pretty good formula. It doesn't affect what I do to the soil,but I follow it pretty good. Somewhere around the last page you can see I am doing a Foliar feed comparisson. I took two girls from the same mother. One was all fucked up. I spray that one with my foliar spray,and the other only with water. I only spray my girls once in the morning though. I have no moniter only a fucked up tv for a minute. I'll keep up better in a couple weeks. Your girl looks good. Love that Diesel. Like you said,never know. But she looks happy fo sho. Good luck homeboy. Peace.

And I'll be watchin homey. You came to the rght place for growing info. RIU is the shit.

Day 25 - Well today I switched three of the 6400K T5s with 2700Ks... That's right, it's flower time! That said, life isn't without its hiccups. I was recently made aware of the potential for a plant to grow to three times it's height during flowering. Seeing as I only figured it would rise to twice the height, I grew it halfway up the tent .

I reckon a little LSD... Err, maybe just LST... may be in order. As to whether to do it now, while I know the stem is still pliable, or wait until I'm sure it is going to hit the top when the stem might not be so willing- I don't know.

Another thing I did today was to buy the blooming fertilizer. Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Bloom Soil Formula. I can't really compare fertilizers seeing as this is my first grow, but what I can say is that Grow and Karma seem to work well. No signs of deficiencies, salt build-up, overdoses, or anything... Smells like ass though!

Thanks for the kind words Godfrey. Cheers. I do like to mist a couple of times a day, as long as I know it'll evaporate before lights off. I've never been a fan of foliar feeding. Not sure it's really worth it. I did read your thread. How is the comparison test going? I'm curious to know.

I'll get some pics up tonight or tomorrow. It's hard to judge. The one I spray only with water is doing excellant. But it was very healthy. The other one was kinda fucked and stringy. Than I ripped the roots real bad. But she is catching up a little. I guess the experiment really is if I can get the shit one just as good. If I do than it proves it works at least a little to me. If not. I don't know. I guess I'll do it one more time,with 2 more that are more identical. Not really a true test. Lol. But since no one else stepped to the plate,figured I would. Peace.

Here's a couple of pics of the plant 'under' the new lights. You can see that the 2700K T5s aren't as bright as the 6400K.

I spoke with the person I got the plant from, and was told that this plant shouldn't grow to more than twice it's height during flowering, and that's under better lighting. This is good news, because I wasn't to keen on training this plant considering how tight the space already is.

The first day on 12/12 was Tuesday. It's Saturday, so there isn't really much to say about flowering. The next watering will be the last of the transition mix of half Grow, half Bloom (+Karma). Next week is straight bloom.

id be straight on bloom now, well ready

lol, for sure.

Kinda forgot about this. Didn't keep it up.

I threw the plant into flower when I added the 2700K. I had some issues with heat due to the weather and over-fertilizing, but all in all, it turned out pretty well. Buds where lighter than what I'm running under 600 Watters, harvested ~30g (I can't recall exactly how much it was.). If a person is looking to grow a small garden, I'd say t5s are a great option. Very cost effective for a new gardener.

My new grow is bigger and better. I'm running Blue Satellite, which is turning a wicked-awesome black colour! I haven't made a journal of this run, but I might with the next, as I move to a perpetual harvest, Sea of Green.

fuck, only just looked at the date - im stoned ps ill stick to 400w hps and 250 cflcombo happy growin dude!