I'm still learning but boy did I make a lot of mistakes my first two grows. I read and read and read some more but none of it really matters until you get some first-hand experience under your belt.
Started off with bagseed using poor soil and poor lights mixed with some questionable decisions and it ended up exactly how one would expect it to. I didn't kill any plants but the yield was extremely low. I think at best I pulled an 8th from each plant, if that. Basically I spent 4 months of reading and growing to end up with 2 weeks worth of personal smoke. Pretty crappy smoke at that.
To be fair, I was using low wattage cfls, with some time released nute garbage from Walmart. Wasn't testing Ph on a regular basis and had/have very little knowledge about nutes so I never added anything along the way.
Second grow was going to be a little better, I hoped. Scrapped the 400 cfl's (not quite that many but with all wiring, it looked like it could have been that many) and got rid of the generic soil. Picked up a 400 hps and Foxfarm Ocean's forest (I can't stop calling it Firefox Ocean's forest) and some bigger pots with a cheap little digital ph tester. Printed out a calendar and this time around I was going to make note of every watering, every nute added and overall just pay more attention to writing down everything I do. First time around I didn't do that. I told myself I'd remember. Yeah, about that.. Not so much.
So there I am, excited as a kid on Xmas day with new lights and some badly needed upgraded soil and a couple of bagseed left over from my first attempt at growing. This time around it's going to be great. This time maybe I'll have enough to store away in mason jars. The possibilities in my head were endless. Except it didn't quite work out that way, again. F'n again. Turns out that my bagseed was extremely nute sensitive and the ffof burned the absolute shit out of them starting out. Didn't kill em, but sure made for some pretty colorful and twisted looking plants. It didn't help that the cheap ph tester I picked up was broken. First time using it, it showed 7.5. Too high, gotta lower the ph. Turns out it showed 7.5 regardless of what was being tested.
After picking up another tester, the ph in the water was fine the entire time, I had been lowering it to dangerous levels and had no idea. With every mistake another mason jar would disappear in my head. The worst part of it all was leaving the lights on in the room next to where everything is. The first grow that never happened, I would turn the lights on and off by hand at the exact times without missing a beat. Except this time around, the 2nd grow, twice the lights were left on. The hps was on a timer, the room next to it has ceiling lights that you turn on and off with the switch on the wall.
Apparently, after closing the door to the room for the night, I didn't turn the lights off overhead. Stupid stupid mistake.
So guess what happens when the plants are burnt from the soil and lights are left on too long. Hermies. Lots and lots and lots of bananas. It was the last of the seeds so I had to suck it up and let them finish out, I was out of smoke. Half a mason jar later and a few more months of making mistakes under my belt, I placed an order to Attitude. Any day they'll be here and I'll start my much anticipated 3rd attempt.
I'm really hoping that by eliminating the stupid mistakes and having some quality seeds to work with this time around that the end results will be different. I'm tired of looking at all of these empty mason jars.
Started off with bagseed using poor soil and poor lights mixed with some questionable decisions and it ended up exactly how one would expect it to. I didn't kill any plants but the yield was extremely low. I think at best I pulled an 8th from each plant, if that. Basically I spent 4 months of reading and growing to end up with 2 weeks worth of personal smoke. Pretty crappy smoke at that.
To be fair, I was using low wattage cfls, with some time released nute garbage from Walmart. Wasn't testing Ph on a regular basis and had/have very little knowledge about nutes so I never added anything along the way.
Second grow was going to be a little better, I hoped. Scrapped the 400 cfl's (not quite that many but with all wiring, it looked like it could have been that many) and got rid of the generic soil. Picked up a 400 hps and Foxfarm Ocean's forest (I can't stop calling it Firefox Ocean's forest) and some bigger pots with a cheap little digital ph tester. Printed out a calendar and this time around I was going to make note of every watering, every nute added and overall just pay more attention to writing down everything I do. First time around I didn't do that. I told myself I'd remember. Yeah, about that.. Not so much.
So there I am, excited as a kid on Xmas day with new lights and some badly needed upgraded soil and a couple of bagseed left over from my first attempt at growing. This time around it's going to be great. This time maybe I'll have enough to store away in mason jars. The possibilities in my head were endless. Except it didn't quite work out that way, again. F'n again. Turns out that my bagseed was extremely nute sensitive and the ffof burned the absolute shit out of them starting out. Didn't kill em, but sure made for some pretty colorful and twisted looking plants. It didn't help that the cheap ph tester I picked up was broken. First time using it, it showed 7.5. Too high, gotta lower the ph. Turns out it showed 7.5 regardless of what was being tested.
After picking up another tester, the ph in the water was fine the entire time, I had been lowering it to dangerous levels and had no idea. With every mistake another mason jar would disappear in my head. The worst part of it all was leaving the lights on in the room next to where everything is. The first grow that never happened, I would turn the lights on and off by hand at the exact times without missing a beat. Except this time around, the 2nd grow, twice the lights were left on. The hps was on a timer, the room next to it has ceiling lights that you turn on and off with the switch on the wall.
Apparently, after closing the door to the room for the night, I didn't turn the lights off overhead. Stupid stupid mistake.
So guess what happens when the plants are burnt from the soil and lights are left on too long. Hermies. Lots and lots and lots of bananas. It was the last of the seeds so I had to suck it up and let them finish out, I was out of smoke. Half a mason jar later and a few more months of making mistakes under my belt, I placed an order to Attitude. Any day they'll be here and I'll start my much anticipated 3rd attempt.
I'm really hoping that by eliminating the stupid mistakes and having some quality seeds to work with this time around that the end results will be different. I'm tired of looking at all of these empty mason jars.
