Second CFL Grow

sawhit6

Member
Well, I recently put up a post showing off my first CFL grow which ended in both plants being male. Although I didn't get any actual bud from the first grow, I still considered it a semi-successful grow as I fully grew two plants into maturity, with a little internet help and some plants that didn't want to die on me even when I abused them.

I decided I enjoyed my last grow far too much to just stop, even if it didn't work out to my benefit. However, this time around, I plan on keeping a more up-to-date journal to chart my progress!

My Grow: I am using seeds from some fairly good indica, however it IS bagseed and I am simply hoping for a female. I have enough seeds to keep popping them in until I grow a little lady, and I'll just post updates to my plants if I have to re-seed.

My Purpose: I don't sell, but I obviously do smoke often. I will only grow 2 plants at a time, and will flower them fairly quickly as my available space is purposely limited.

IMG_20130103_003604.jpg
This is what happened on my last grow because I let it go too much. Root system completely enveloped the pot! Kinda gross..

As I said, I don't sell, and I only grow because I enjoy it and don't mind free bud, so having a comparatively small grow is my goal. I am aiming for roughly a half ounce to possibly a full ounce off each tree, but would settle for less assuming it is decent! However, my overall and biggest reason for posting it here is because I want to share with others in my position who want to grow for their own personal use, but don't have hundreds to drop, or have to be sneaky about their grows. All in all, this grow cost me less than $100 for everything included. And that all includes: desktop, 4 ballasts and a desk lamp, 9 seperate CFLs, ceramic pot set (waste of money.. should have just gotten a cheap plastic one), and soil.

IMG_20130103_004401.jpgIMG_20130103_005438.jpgIMG_20130103_005443.jpgIMG_20130103_005456.jpg

Will this setup get you mega-dense bud that you'd see at your local dispensary? Probably not. But hey, home grown bud will always taste and smoke better, because YOU grew it.

My Setup: As I'm sure you'd guess, I am growing with CFLs. In specific, I have nine bulbs with 5 ballasts. I have three bulbs specific for the vegetation stage, and six for flowering.

IMG_20130103_005609.jpgIMG_20130103_005614.jpg

Vegetation seemed to be pretty simple, and so I haven't been bothered to buy two more 6500k bulbs for vegetation, so I use two 2500k bulbs for added lighting, because extra light never hurts. Then in flowering I use five of the 2500k bulbs. I am growing under a desktop bought from Wal-Mart that perfectly houses the pots I grow in with room for lights. The space is tight, but it allows me to keep it inconspicuous and the desk actually has some very useful beams/wood in the mid section that let me setup my lights in the best possible locations, and allows for relatively simple adjusting.

IMG_20130103_011306.jpgIMG_20130103_011326.jpg

I am using soil I bought from my local home improvement store, and although I do have nutrients, I don't plan on using it. For the sake of discussion, it is some organic nutrients from Miracle Grow. Once the plants are setup, I cover the desktop with a couple of blankets.

IMG_20130103_030622.jpg

This provides the plants a very enclosed area to grow in, which keeps light from the CFLs in the grow box and out of view, and outside light out of the growbox when the babies are sleeping. Again, the idea is to be inconspicuous enough that when family or unknowing friends come to visit, they have no reason to ask about the desk.

So, before I started this new grow I completely cleaned out my pots, the desktop, and have washed the blankets used. The idea is I want to start clean and sterile, especially considering that my last grow had male plants, and I would worry that their pollen may be lurking around. Don't want any seedy ladies!

Now all I am doing is waiting on the seeds to germinate so I can drop 'em in some soil. I have two sitting in a shot glass full of tap water, and I am just going to drop them in soil when they sink to the bottom. I assume the idea behind that is that when they drop, that means they've cracked because water is being let in. Is that correct?

Anyway, I look forward to keeping y'all updated on the grow and hopefully some others can learn from/enjoy my grow!
 

D.tea

Active Member
Interesting cabinet, and I'll follow along, love CFL growing, those roots are crazy! Anyway, shame about the males, hopefully your girl comes early ;)
 

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
First grow is a learning experience. I am in about the same boat as you, but got lucky my first turned out to be a girl. I was clueless and abused the hell out of her but she persevered, generating a whole eighth for me :-). i got three clones off her that are doing wonderfully now under much better care from someone who learned. Damn, maybe I should have borrowed someone else's kids before having my own.
 

sawhit6

Member
@D.tea: Yea! Those roots make me feel like I was eventually doing something right. It was pretty extensive and healthy, even if completely starved for room. Still, I'd expect that much at the end of any grow with how small the pots are.

@GrowinDad: Yea, first grow was such a good learning experience. Like you, I abused my poor plants so much. I had no clue whatsoever what I was doing, but this time around I am a bit more comfortable. This time around I am going to work on some more advanced things like topping/FIM'ing and seeing how I can get them REAL dense.


Also a quick update, the seeds haven't cracked yet. Tonight I took them out of the glass of water and wrapped them in a wet paper towel. I did this to my first grow and it worked out perfectly, so I am hoping by the end of tomorrow I'll have enough taproot to drop it in.
 

sawhit6

Member
Awesome, so finally got something to report, and I consider it a bit positive in a round about way.

Two seeds have finally cracked, and are ready to go into soil as of tonight, however I got a notice about a visit by my landlord tomorrow, so that will just have to wait. But, at least I didn't already have the plants down for when they came, as that would be tougher to conceal.

Either way, seeds should be in the soil by no later than tomorrow evening. Crossing my fingers for two ladies this time around.
 

thafoot

Well-Known Member
im no expert but those pots may be a tad small. i heard the general rule of thumb for pot size is 1 gallon per month. so even if you are starting at 12-12 you would need at least a 2 gallon container. just my thoughts man.
 

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
Well, I recently put up a post showing off my first CFL grow which ended in both plants being male. Although I didn't get any actual bud from the first grow, I still considered it a semi-successful grow as I fully grew two plants into maturity, with a little internet help and some plants that didn't want to die on me even when I abused them.

I decided I enjoyed my last grow far too much to just stop, even if it didn't work out to my benefit. However, this time around, I plan on keeping a more up-to-date journal to chart my progress!

My Grow: I am using seeds from some fairly good indica, however it IS bagseed and I am simply hoping for a female. I have enough seeds to keep popping them in until I grow a little lady, and I'll just post updates to my plants if I have to re-seed.

My Purpose: I don't sell, but I obviously do smoke often. I will only grow 2 plants at a time, and will flower them fairly quickly as my available space is purposely limited.

View attachment 2464660
This is what happened on my last grow because I let it go too much. Root system completely enveloped the pot! Kinda gross..

As I said, I don't sell, and I only grow because I enjoy it and don't mind free bud, so having a comparatively small grow is my goal. I am aiming for roughly a half ounce to possibly a full ounce off each tree, but would settle for less assuming it is decent! However, my overall and biggest reason for posting it here is because I want to share with others in my position who want to grow for their own personal use, but don't have hundreds to drop, or have to be sneaky about their grows. All in all, this grow cost me less than $100 for everything included. And that all includes: desktop, 4 ballasts and a desk lamp, 9 seperate CFLs, ceramic pot set (waste of money.. should have just gotten a cheap plastic one), and soil.

View attachment 2464661View attachment 2464662View attachment 2464663View attachment 2464664

Will this setup get you mega-dense bud that you'd see at your local dispensary? Probably not. But hey, home grown bud will always taste and smoke better, because YOU grew it.

My Setup: As I'm sure you'd guess, I am growing with CFLs. In specific, I have nine bulbs with 5 ballasts. I have three bulbs specific for the vegetation stage, and six for flowering.

View attachment 2464665View attachment 2464666

Vegetation seemed to be pretty simple, and so I haven't been bothered to buy two more 6500k bulbs for vegetation, so I use two 2500k bulbs for added lighting, because extra light never hurts. Then in flowering I use five of the 2500k bulbs. I am growing under a desktop bought from Wal-Mart that perfectly houses the pots I grow in with room for lights. The space is tight, but it allows me to keep it inconspicuous and the desk actually has some very useful beams/wood in the mid section that let me setup my lights in the best possible locations, and allows for relatively simple adjusting.

View attachment 2464667View attachment 2464668

I am using soil I bought from my local home improvement store, and although I do have nutrients, I don't plan on using it. For the sake of discussion, it is some organic nutrients from Miracle Grow. Once the plants are setup, I cover the desktop with a couple of blankets.

View attachment 2464685

This provides the plants a very enclosed area to grow in, which keeps light from the CFLs in the grow box and out of view, and outside light out of the growbox when the babies are sleeping. Again, the idea is to be inconspicuous enough that when family or unknowing friends come to visit, they have no reason to ask about the desk.

So, before I started this new grow I completely cleaned out my pots, the desktop, and have washed the blankets used. The idea is I want to start clean and sterile, especially considering that my last grow had male plants, and I would worry that their pollen may be lurking around. Don't want any seedy ladies!

Now all I am doing is waiting on the seeds to germinate so I can drop 'em in some soil. I have two sitting in a shot glass full of tap water, and I am just going to drop them in soil when they sink to the bottom. I assume the idea behind that is that when they drop, that means they've cracked because water is being let in. Is that correct?

Anyway, I look forward to keeping y'all updated on the grow and hopefully some others can learn from/enjoy my grow!
Looks like a good starter setup, but from what I'm going through right now, you will probably end up wanting more 2700k's for flowering.
I used 98w to veg 1 plant and it was plenty, but I just added another 200w about 3 weeks into flower, and I am wishing I had done it right when I flipped.
Don't forget, only 1 plant per pot.;-)
 

sawhit6

Member
Yea, it's about as basic as you can get, but I'm not looking for anything crazy. Just to say I've grown my own, at least.

The seeds were dropped in soil this evening, and we'll see how it goes!
 

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
Make sure to weatherstrip your cab. doors to prevent light leaks, and you mentioned stealth when visitors come....... Have you thought about odor?
 

sawhit6

Member
@Bakatare666: I have, and the reality is that it will smell either way. I plan on keeping the plants small, and theoretically the smell won't be as hard to manage. Candles, open windows and such are really all I have at my disposal. Still, I don't foresee any major issues keeping the smell down.


I know this is a late update, but I wanted a little more to update besides just a extra leaves here and there. So, this is a bundle of updates in one, starting from my last post, which was about two weeks ago.

Since then, the plants have definitely sprouted and are doing quite well. I initially started off on a 24 hour schedule while they sprouted. Once they looked healthy, I switched to an 18/6 schedule and am currently running that. I usually water the plants about once-a-day, due to the size of the pots I'm growing in. Still, I am careful not to over water, and am doing a good job thus far. I haven't introduced any nutrients to the plants, and the lighting has been pretty sufficient this time around.

The plants are growing low and bushy, and I am feeling fairly confident that at least one could be a female this time around. I am basing that off it's short and stubby/bushy nature, but again this could simply be a case of sufficient lighting causing very little stretching. Finally, and I will mention this in the picture captions for the representative plant, I am experimenting with topping. I have one plant topped, with the other left to grow naturally. I am really hoping it pays off and goes as planned, but if not, both plants won't be affected.



IMG_20130118_164515.jpg
This is a shot of one of the plants just a few days after my most recent post, which puts it about a week and a half ago. The plant stem grew slightly off because when watered one time, the water accidentally offset it. Still, it recovered just fine.

IMG_20130123_140516.jpg
This is one of the two plants. This one was NOT topped, but I feel like this shot shows how it's pretty healthy, and looking pretty bushy. Hopefully that's a good sign!



IMG_20130123_140526.jpg
This is the second of the two. This plant HAS been topped. This picture is a day after I topped. There clearly isn't much to show, yet, but we'll hopefully see some new growth shortly.



IMG_20130123_140538.jpg
This is a bird's eye view of the topped plant. That darker spot in the middle of the two leaves, where their stems meet, is the topped section.




Well, that's my update for now. I will try and make another thorough update in about a week or two. In that period, I am hoping to see some solid growth on the topped plant, and hopefully we can get the two nodes growing like it's supposed to!

Also, because I am limited on space in the pot, and I want as little stress on the plants as possible during flowering, I will likely start on a 12/12 schedule starting NEXT Monday. Assuming the topped plant appears healthy enough to handle it, I would like to start the flowering early. I know this is quite early, and the plant still appears rather small to flower so soon, but I have to be cautious about how large I vegetate them, because last grow revealed just how tight the root system can be. I don't want the plant to constantly be battling for nutrients in the small plant, so flowering earlier should alleviate this problem. The yield won't be large, but for my lonesome, it is perfection. :)
 

Attachments

sawhit6

Member
@GrowinDad: Me too! It will definitely be interesting to see how the plant fares. I feel like the buds won't be plentiful, but if I can keep it relatively small, then I can have more light on the buds, which would hopefully increase it's quality. We'll see. I'm excited to see where this plant goes, but patience is necessary.
 

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
If you can move some of those bulbs I see pointing down, they give off more light from the sides, than the ends.
Looking good so far.
 

sawhit6

Member
@Bakatare666: Didn't know that! They are moved now. Good to know!

Since I'm here, I'll give a quick little update. The plants are well, and the topped plant appears to successfully be growing two separate stems now. That's great to see! More updates to come in a week or two.
 

Indoor Sun King

Well-Known Member
@Bakatare666: I have, and the reality is that it will smell either way. I plan on keeping the plants small, and theoretically the smell won't be as hard to manage. Candles, open windows and such are really all I have at my disposal. Still, I don't foresee any major issues keeping the smell down.
Burnt my toast today...what a stink, but was thinking how well it would work in a pinch to mask the scent lingering in the mists
 

sawhit6

Member
@Indoor Sun King: No doubt. Febreeze'ing the shit out of everything works well, too, but is also more of a quick fix for a short period. That dank won't be kept down! And sometimes, I don't mind. ;)
 

Indoor Sun King

Well-Known Member
Shoot a skunk, solve your problem for the whole season.:o
as long as you are not growing a skunk plant :)

I really don't care about the smell.....it ain't stink to me, personally I kind of like the smell.

My apartment hallways are pressured so no problems but the neighbour a floor above has issues with my cigar smoke, so we have a compromise worked out…….we are a pot friendly city/province, but many have a serious hatred for cigarettes/tobacco.
 
Top