BCSavage's first grow

BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
Just thought I'd start my own thread, mostly because my questions seem to go unanswered when they are tucked into other peoples threads.

So this is my space, my plants. Nothing fancy, and I'm sure my lights aren't the greatest but I simply don't have the money right now for anything more than what I've got. I could afford to buy a light a) if my truck would sell or b) middle of august (lot of bills tyin' me up till then) but that's too late (I think) because these girls need to start flowering within the week I'd say. Plus I don't have the air circulation required for a lamp that creates a bunch of heat. Is there something out there that's better than what I've got, but not quite the expense or involvement like the big-boy lamps? I like where I'm at for temps and humidity (78deg, 60-70%). I know that I should've used some nutes for veg'ing but I had no time to wait on mail order and the local hydro guy wanted to sell me a sugar packet of some kind of pink crap for $15. Oh and I've seen a couple of random little orange-ish colored worm looking things skittering around on the leaves. I've been misting with water and haven't seen any more in a day or so. At any rate, if I can pull a dried oz per plant I'd be happy. So what are your guys's opinions on when I should start tripping over to 12/12? For a beginner, what can I do about feeding and checking ph's? Can I just buy those silly paper strips and put them in the dirt for a few minutes? Pretty clueless when it comes to that stuff.
 
BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
no one has an opinion? I'm about to pull the trigger on a 400w light here ($150) cuz the hydro shop guys says it will double my potential harvest.
 
Geozander

Geozander

Well-Known Member
Alright mate? Your plants look healthy enough, you wil see a major difference with a 400w light, plants will develop stronger and faster, you will need to get some kind of nutes too. If you feel they are ready to flower, go for it. Just remember the longer you veg. The bigger the yield at the end. Best of luck mate.
 
Boneman

Boneman

Well-Known Member
They look fine. The 400 will definately give you better results but be prepared to deal with heat.
 
303

303

Well-Known Member
BCSavage said:
Just thought I'd start my own thread, mostly because my questions seem to go unanswered when they are tucked into other peoples threads.

So this is my space, my plants. Nothing fancy, and I'm sure my lights aren't the greatest but I simply don't have the money right now for anything more than what I've got. I could afford to buy a light a) if my truck would sell or b) middle of august (lot of bills tyin' me up till then) but that's too late (I think) because these girls need to start flowering within the week I'd say. Plus I don't have the air circulation required for a lamp that creates a bunch of heat. Is there something out there that's better than what I've got, but not quite the expense or involvement like the big-boy lamps? I like where I'm at for temps and humidity (78deg, 60-70%). I know that I should've used some nutes for veg'ing but I had no time to wait on mail order and the local hydro guy wanted to sell me a sugar packet of some kind of pink crap for $15. Oh and I've seen a couple of random little orange-ish colored worm looking things skittering around on the leaves. I've been misting with water and haven't seen any more in a day or so. At any rate, if I can pull a dried oz per plant I'd be happy. So what are your guys's opinions on when I should start tripping over to 12/12? For a beginner, what can I do about feeding and checking ph's? Can I just buy those silly paper strips and put them in the dirt for a few minutes? Pretty clueless when it comes to that stuff.
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Ok, first the orange-ish colored bugs are the main concern right now, or would be for me, I recommend ortho eco sense ($7 at home depot). I've used many times with excellent results, apply as little as possible, wait...then spray with water. I use for preventative bug attacks, I spray in my grow tent if I have the slightest suspesion, floors, walls, pots, its great stuff. Safe for pets and humans alike and can be used the day of harvest if needed. Another tip... when in flower stop spraying foilage with water, (unless you like moldly buds). As far as nutrients, I wouldn't use any if you don't have any money. And you really don't have to, what kind of soil did you use? Most have enough nutrients to feed the plant the whole grow, assuming you veg 4 weeks and flower 8-11 weeks like most. Pick yourself up some grandmas mollases and add 1 tsp per gallon. Now your gonna ask why, it adds carbon to the plant which in return gives the plant more mass and it also helps bring out the natural oils and resins and flavors in the bud, its good to use molasses throughout the whole grow, and very cheap found at the local store. If you come across some cash get the fox farm trio ($60-$70) and use 1/2 strength, its what I use, and have superior results.
Ph... I got my kit from a local grow shops, kit by general hydroponics brand ($15) comes with ph up, ph down, ph tester, ph tester dropper, and a vial. Instructions are simple. You should measure ph of water your giving them and adjust accordingly, ph 6.5 is ideal. Now, measure the runoff from the pots, should be the same, give or take. You can also buy ph pens off the internet ($20). What are you doing for circulation right now? You minimally need a oscillating fan on those girls. Check my journal, I recorded everything start to almost finish. Hope this helps... :peace:bongsmilie
 
420Jedi

420Jedi

Member
If your already having problems with heat... your going to want to address that before you get a 400watt. I got a 400watt with a cooltube and 400cfm fan.. my temps only go up 2 degrees.. with out that cooltube its like 10.. what kind of fan are you using? Growing weed is expensive man.. its like a big black hole that slowly sucks up all your money..
 
supdro

supdro

Well-Known Member
imo if you are having heat problems go with something smaller till you get experienced. get a 250 watt hps and try it. you don't want to get a huge light and have another issue and kill your plants.
 
BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
Thanks for all the advice, and maybe it'll mean something here shortly but as of right now I'm on evacuation from those West Kelowna fires and had to leave my plants behind. They've been in darkness for who knows how long now because bchydro cut the power to the area. Pretty sure my girls are gonna be in rough shape and I can't get back into the area to rescue them OR my cats. *sigh*
 
phreakygoat

phreakygoat

Well-Known Member
BCSavage said:
Thanks for all the advice, and maybe it'll mean something here shortly but as of right now I'm on evacuation from those West Kelowna fires and had to leave my plants behind. They've been in darkness for who knows how long now because bchydro cut the power to the area. Pretty sure my girls are gonna be in rough shape and I can't get back into the area to rescue them OR my cats. *sigh*
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daaaamn fuck the plants: POOR KITTIES! bro, nature just fucked you over... the plants will probably flower in the dark tho. sorry for ya
 
BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
phreakygoat said:
daaaamn fuck the plants: POOR KITTIES! bro, nature just fucked you over... the plants will probably flower in the dark tho. sorry for ya
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lol, the plants can't get out on their own, the cats can :P I heard the power is back on now, so they probably are fine but my timer is still set to 18/6. Not sure how they're gonna respond to that (24 hrs of dark then back to veg light :S)
 
phreakygoat

phreakygoat

Well-Known Member
BCSavage said:
lol, the plants can't get out on their own, the cats can :P I heard the power is back on now, so they probably are fine but my timer is still set to 18/6. Not sure how they're gonna respond to that (24 hrs of dark then back to veg light :S)
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so you are using a mechanical timer, not a digital? that was a good call. the 24hr of dark wont fuck with them too much, so i'd let them fully revert back to veg before re-flowering. how long have they been flowering?
 
BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
They're doing ok. Bought a product called "Doktor Doom Botanics Domestic Plant spray" to get rid of these random aphids I keep finding. It's an organic pesticide derived from Chrysanthemum flowers with .20% Pyrethrins. Its a contact killer so all the hatched bugs should be dead and in a few days when the eggs hatch I'll take care of those ones too then it should be smooth sailing sans bugs. Couple of the plants have started to kill off the lower leaves. Not too worried yet, Picking up a 400w HPS at the end of the month, which is when I plan to trip them over for real this time.
 

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BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
just wondering if I should make an attempt at topping/training? Prolly should have considered doing it earlier on but it might be a good idea now that the plants are tall strong and fairly healthy.
 
BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
well, anything about my leaves spotting like that? And you can see from the pics that I've gone ahead and experimented with tieing/topping. We'll see how that goes. Next weekend I get my 400w hps and cooltube. Already thinking about relocation (to a tent or wardrobe) for better ventilation/lighting and to gain use of my bathroom back lol.
 
BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
just an FYI, the ballast wasn't wired properly (that is to say, it was wired for 220, not 110v) and the bulb, even thought it looked "broken", still works. I'm going to veg another week with the nutes I was given and then I'll trip over to flower. Prolly going to have to relocate if the plants go any bigger than double due to height restriction. Cooltube will be bought friday as well as improving air flow. Bathroom exhaust fans just don't cut it.
 

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BCSavage

BCSavage

Active Member
getting some pretty high temps now, 90degF. Not sure what I can do about it in a bathroom. My idea is to put a floor-vent style vent between my closet and the bathroom right down low by the toilet and have some kind of blower fan pumping AC'd air from my closet into the bathroom and then the stink-vent out. Any thoughts on this idea? My reasoning behind it is then I can just put another vent cover in the closet when the time comes to relocate and it'll look "normal".
 
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