Had to grow somewhere... Right?!?! My first grow and First Log

[420Rx]

Hey everyone,
First time grower of MJ and wanted to start a journal to pull feedback from all the pros out there. Any input is GREATLY appreciated so thank you in advance. Needed to find a spot for my babies to thrive so started geekin' out and looking around while sitting at my work bench. I looked down and said "Bingo".
6.5' wide x 4' deep x 3.75 tall... Perfect for a small grow. So I started the build out... Closed it in with 1/2" ply, put a floor in with a 1" void under so I could treat for pest and deal with run off and then lined it with mylar.





Took some time to read and educate myself on hydroponics setups and decide to try it on some pepper plants while my seeds were in route from Nirvana. Ended up with root rot and believe it was from the top feed setup.


So ditched the hydro for now on the MJ and went with soil. I ordered Bubbalicious, Master Kush and Swiss Cheese. They arrived sooner than expected and germinated fast. Wanted to try the florescent lighting to conserve power and keep the heat signature down. After doing some research i found a article on T8s and boosting the output by double up ballasts. You can actually go 2x, 3x or even 4x on the ballasts meaning on the high side you can take a 4 light electronic ballast and wire it into 1 bulb. I ended up using two 4' fixtures and pairing them together into one fixture and then wired each with a 4 light ballast increase the output 70% which is a higher output than T5s for a lot less $$$. Been using the 6500k from Phillips running on 24hr cycle and seem to be getting excellent results.

Here are a few pics of my progress...

This is about 3 weeks in after germ and first green and the first toppings.



4 weeks in and have been topping, FIMing and pruning. I have made some mistakes but that is how we learn.






I am at about 5 1/2 weeks now and am sculpting them for short bushy baby girls with lots of colas.

This is Master Kush #1 and she is thriving big time!


Master Kush #2 has taken a hit from me cropping and topping to much I think. One time when I had a couple to may cocktails. May turn into a big bud on a stick.


Meet Bubbalicious... This is my favorite so far. We seem to have this connection almost like a transfer of energy. LOL *Chanting*


And this is Swiss Cheese. She is a beautiful young lady that loves her daddy very much.



For soil I am using just some cheap stuff from HD. For nutes I have been using the CannaVeg from my hydro experiment at half strength every other watering and increasing slowly. Using the clay pellets on top of the soil to hold moisture and it looks purdy, lol. Did hook myself up with a rain barrel outside which was an awesome move. A little low on the PH and haven't really messed with it. My bad...

Plan on switching over to 2700k and adding some 2700 CFLs on the sides.

Questions for the pros:

When should I "flip the switch" to 12/12 and 2700Ks?
Should I worry about PH being low? Rain water is around 4.5-5.
Should I be using the Canna products for nutes?

Just give me some feedback please and let me know how I am doing please? I have a God given green thumb from being raised with a garden. My outside veggies plants and flowers are all very healthy but as we know the MJ is a little bit of a different grow. Any feedback would be helpful.

Thanx in advance,
420Rx

 

[420Rx]

Come on... Someone jump on this one and help me out please?!?!

 

[greenghost420]

looks good! no probs from the low ph water visible yet, dont switch the lights til after you switch to flowering at about day 14 or so. i would also switch the lights to 18/6 til you flower. i would say your biggest mistake was ordering from nirvana so far. lol sweet box you got there, i need one of those right now!

 

[Sand4x105]

What is the Temp and RH of inside your box ?
If you can add some more light in your box...maybe a few CFL's like you said...

 

[420Rx]

looks good! no probs from the low ph water visible yet, dont switch the lights til after you switch to flowering at about day 14 or so. i would also switch the lights to 18/6 til you flower. i would say your biggest mistake was ordering from nirvana so far. lol sweet box you got there, i need one of those right now!

Thanx for the props greenghost420... What would the 18/6 do? As far as Nirvana, I was just getting ready to order seeds for my next run. Should have done it sooner but sh*t happens, where would you recommend ordering from? Was thinking of pulling a few clones off what I have and adding some different stains.

 

[420Rx]

What is the Temp and RH of inside your box ?
If you can add some more light in your box...maybe a few CFL's like you said...

Thanx for the input Sand4x105. I do not have a temp or rh gauge in there yet but good call. I am in FL so humidity stays high and the florescent don't produce much heat but would have to say it is a little high right now. Maybe 85-90 with the doors closed all day. I have a simple exhaust fan that I am planning on using soon and make a carbon scrubber until thing get a little more serious. I am going to convert this box to strait flowering so there will be many more lights (CFLs) added. I want to do a SOG next run utilizing ALL the space. Got another spot picked out for clone and veg that would work perfect.

 

[Nizza]

18/6 or 20/4 will give your plants a rest period to do rootwork and recover from the long day of heat and light. also helps the roots cool off esp. if your off cycle is at night and you allow your room to cool down
this sleeping period allows buildup of carbohydrates
carbs can be provided in addition to nutrients. No worries if organic but doing a semi-organic (synthetic bio friendly nutes) grow in soil you use 1 tsp/gal to 1tbsp/gal of molasses per gal of h20
things to remember when teaming with microbes
root zone temps 60-70deg. 5 deg swings
foliar zone 70-80. 5 deg swings
this is different with co2.
If teaming with microbes be sure to make sure water used will not kill microbes (not too hot/cold [match water temp to soil temp] , not "Hard" (use ppm meter or reverse osmosis water, ph adjusting solution must also be bio-friendly)
by bio friendly i mean this nutrient won't kill microbes
and then each nute line makes their own carbo-loads which are synthetic and you dont have to worry about microbes breaking stuff down

trying to show the importance between carbs and a rest period during veg. I hope i helped and didn't ramble too much but this is info i've figured from reading and recalling in my head, so i can't cite much of it.

please correct me if i was wrong and i'll edit it anybody, i appreciate it

 

[Nizza]

as for your designs on your growrooms i strongly encourage an air floor with the intake below it(sorta like an air hockey table). The exhaust up high, as opposite as possible from it. usually use one good quiet fan to exhaust and seal everything and the other hole passively sucks in.
the perforated floor makes it so air rises up through your pots making the roots more oxygenated
also air pruning buckets (air pots, smart pots) are more effective with the air floor
this guy says he got up to 20% more with it vs without Grow ideas
i use a lot of his ideas in my designs, hope you like it
stay away from light movers by the way!

 

[420Rx]

18/6 or 20/4 will give your plants a rest period to do rootwork and recover from the long day of heat and light. also helps the roots cool off esp. if your off cycle is at night and you allow your room to cool down
this sleeping period allows buildup of carbohydrates
carbs can be provided in addition to nutrients. No worries if organic but doing a semi-organic (synthetic bio friendly nutes) grow in soil you use 1 tsp/gal to 1tbsp/gal of molasses per gal of h20
things to remember when teaming with microbes
root zone temps 60-70deg. 5 deg swings
foliar zone 70-80. 5 deg swings
this is different with co2.
If teaming with microbes be sure to make sure water used will not kill microbes (not too hot/cold [match water temp to soil temp] , not "Hard" (use ppm meter or reverse osmosis water, ph adjusting solution must also be bio-friendly)
by bio friendly i mean this nutrient won't kill microbes
and then each nute line makes their own carbo-loads which are synthetic and you dont have to worry about microbes breaking stuff down

trying to show the importance between carbs and a rest period during veg. I hope i helped and didn't ramble too much but this is info i've figured from reading and recalling in my head, so i can't cite much of it.

please correct me if i was wrong and i'll edit it anybody, i appreciate it

WOW!!! Great input Nizza! Had to read it a couple times to absorb but got 90% of it. Still a newbie and learning. I dig the carb load thing totally in a human app, never considered for plants. Will definitely look into that. Thanx man

 

[greenghost420]

i think plants can show sex sooner with 18/6 0r 20/4, ime. iv read running 24/7 can influence sex towards more males, not too mention save a tiny bit on the bills! just a suggestion tho. i order from the tude usually, just breaking you brijules about nirvana lol im sure they have something decent.

 

[420Rx]

as for your designs on your growrooms i strongly encourage an air floor with the intake below it(sorta like an air hockey table). The exhaust up high, as opposite as possible from it. usually use one good quiet fan to exhaust and seal everything and the other hole passively sucks in.
the perforated floor makes it so air rises up through your pots making the roots more oxygenated
also air pruning buckets (air pots, smart pots) are more effective with the air floor
this guy says he got up to 20% more with it vs without Grow ideas
i use a lot of his ideas in my designs, hope you like it
stay away from light movers by the way!

Air flow is next on the list of this on going project. Fan is sitting on my work bench. So who is this "Dude" you speak of with the air/smart pot tech? As far as the light mover thing... I think I am picking up what you are laying down but I would appreciate if you elaborate. Thanx man.

 

[greenghost420]

that techonolgy is called smart pots. they are fabric pots, awesome and can prevent a ton of shit. install the airflow immediately. click on the words grow ideas in his post...

 

[420Rx]

i think plants can show sex sooner with 18/6 0r 20/4, ime. iv read running 24/7 can influence sex towards more males, not too mention save a tiny bit on the bills! just a suggestion tho. i order from the tude usually, just breaking you brijules about nirvana lol im sure they have something decent.

These were femmed seeds and do look like ladies so far but damn they were a bizitch to pop!!! Gonna plug the timer in tonight and run it on 18/6 til 12/12 and bulb change. No worries on the brijules bro.. They can take it. LOL What do you think about the carb loading method that Nizza brought to the table. Interesting stuff.

 

[420Rx]

that techonolgy is called smart pots. they are fabric pots, awesome and can prevent a ton of shit. install the airflow immediately. click on the words grow ideas in his post...

I did click on it but it said... "Invalid Thread specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator" WTF???

 

[greenghost420]

great info. im trying to read that book teaming with microbes but been too lazy. if you want the best flavors and smells from your flowers, check that book out and go organic.

 

[Nizza]

i think my link was broken. so just think of an air hockey table. to make this air hockey table you must take a piece of plywood and a hole saw and do a pattern of holes that will keep the piece of wood strong enough to hold the plants. you put this on top of your intake, seperating the intake to make a chamber for the air to diffuse out of the perforated floor piece. this allows air up through the pots and then on top of that you are using air pots that air prune your roots . using a good soil mix is also key so that air can go through and water is still retained, lots of people load up on perlite, you just water more often. also you want your exhaust at the top , inline fans are prime but any old fan will do. modify the fan or whatever to the exhaust up top to create a vacuum and it will passively suck air through that intake below the perforated floor because its in a vacuum. also you are taking advantage of physics because its always better to exhaust heat from the top because heat naturally rises. After you get a proper fan setup you will not be wasting any time on your grow venture. A little box like yours may be able to kept in an air conditioned room. I like to save $ by opening windows at night and using fans, and also using an off cycle on my veg room for 4 hours a day

 

[420Rx]

great info. im trying to read that book teaming with microbes but been too lazy. if you want the best flavors and smells from your flowers, check that book out and go organic.

Check out this post. Dude has a potting mix that rocks...
https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/603754-my-1st-grow-completed-8-a.html

Growing Organically in 3 gal grow bags(w/perlite lined bottoms)consisting of an amended version of Fox Farm Ocean Forest:-1.5 cu ft(11 gal approx.) Fox Farm Ocean Forest
-3 gal(64 cups)Wiggle Worms Earthworm Castings
-1 qt(4 cups) Gia Green Glacial Rock Dust
-Roughly 2 gal(36 cups)Perlite
-4 tsp Hi-Cal Lime
-3/4 cup Espoma Green Sand
-3/4 cup Espoma Tomato Tone
-3/4 cup Algamin Kelp Meal
-2 tbsp Sunleaves Indonesian Bat Guano(later addition)

I've been mildly inoculating the soil at this point with Kelp and EWC teas, to which I've added a little liquid fish to twice.
I amended the soil lightly(according to most soil mixes), but I did so with the thought in mind that I can always add to the soil population, which is what it's about in organics. Fox Farm Ocean Forest is already strapped with a little of everything I've added except for the tomato tone.

Check out his pics. Holy Fuckoly!!!

 

[420Rx]

i think my link was broken. so just think of an air hockey table. to make this air hockey table you must take a piece of plywood and a hole saw and do a pattern of holes that will keep the piece of wood strong enough to hold the plants. you put this on top of your intake, seperating the intake to make a chamber for the air to diffuse out of the perforated floor piece. this allows air up through the pots and then on top of that you are using air pots that air prune your roots . using a good soil mix is also key so that air can go through and water is still retained, lots of people load up on perlite, you just water more often. also you want your exhaust at the top , inline fans are prime but any old fan will do. modify the fan or whatever to the exhaust up top to create a vacuum and it will passively suck air through that intake below the perforated floor because its in a vacuum. also you are taking advantage of physics because its always better to exhaust heat from the top because heat naturally rises. After you get a proper fan setup you will not be wasting any time on your grow venture. A little box like yours may be able to kept in an air conditioned room. I like to save $ by opening windows at night and using fans, and also using an off cycle on my veg room for 4 hours a day

You rock brother! I am all over this on my next batch. These girls are already potted for the full pull and am not going to disturb. I am thinking this set up with an organic nute filled soil would be a great low maintenance bottom end that would produce great results. Thank you!

 

[420Rx]

great info. im trying to read that book teaming with microbes but been too lazy. if you want the best flavors and smells from your flowers, check that book out and go organic.

I am thinking yields are kinda low for 8 plants though...

 

[greenghost420]

good yeild for cfls...