BBBold's First Grow [Attic, 400w, Soil]

I hate to be a buzz kill but....if your light ever heats up and melts those plastic ties holding up your light or they break some how......you house might, could, probably will burn down...just giving you a heads up, good luck dude, you should buy some chains or metal "S" hooks at lowes/dome depot or something, $2 = no house fire

endogrowa said:

I hate to be a buzz kill but....if your light ever heats up and melts those plastic ties holding up your light or they break some how......you house might, could, probably will burn down...just giving you a heads up, good luck dude, you should buy some chains or metal "S" hooks at lowes/dome depot or something, $2 = no house fire

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Point taken. They are also held up with a small nylon rope - but you're right.

Something to put on the list for the next trip to the hardware store.

Thanks man!

Its been a bit since I updated...

First a couple pictures from Week 8 (June 3, 2009)


Seeing some moderate growth... which is good. They haven't been stretching as much as they were when I had the light up too high. Also... there is a definite odor now. Not strong, but you notice it when you enter the room. Hence, I hooked up the carbon filter to the inline fan, and they're now going all day. Not that I'm worried about other people smelling it really, since my location is so remote it's nearly impossible for anyone to get a whiff.





From what I can gather, they look healthy. Initially I think I was a little overzealous on watering them... so I might have overwatered them the first few weeks... but I really let them dry out this week. And they thrived as a result.


You can see my very first (and probably piss-poor) attempt at cloning. Kind of, but not really. I trimmed the plant cause I'm trying to get 4-6 individual colas per plant, so I just took the part I cut off, dipped it in some rooting solution, and will now see what happens. Really, I'm expecting it to just die... so if anything else happens I'll be way excited. I guess I'm just practicing for when I have to really clone from a mother...




That's it for pictures, at least for the next couple weeks.

My "lab" is now completely self sufficient. My watering system has been thoroughly tested and is flawlessly setup; water is good to go with the pH leveled out around 7.0, and I added about 1/10th of the recommended dosage for nutrients. I wanna ease them into the nutrients, so I don't have issues with nute burn. Watering is set to twice a week, roughly one and half liters per plant, per watering.

Also, and most importantly, there are now metal hooks holding up the light. Thanks for that heads up endogrowa.

Like I said, that's it for now - and for the next couple weeks. I'm leaving town for a bit, leaving my babies completely and 100% unattended. I raised the light up, cause I'm expecting serious growth while I'm gone, and I don't want them to burn themselves.

Thanks for looking... see you and my babies in a bit.

you might be surprisd about that clone.. it might just make it... as long as it can root quick enough itll make it...


hope all goes well in your absence... see ya and your girls when ya get back

Make a humidity dome over your clones. A water bottle cut in the right places could work. Mist every 2 days. Some super thrive wouldn't hurt. Looking healthy. What kind of nutes you runnin?

hes taking off out of town for a while... and he has a HUGE heat problem.. a humidity dome over his clone for a week would for sure kill it... it would get choked out... he's better off letting it fend for itself like he is.. even tho i agree that a humidity dome is a good idea for a couple days... but like i said, since it would be on there for so long his clone would be dead if it was left on while he was gone..

I'm baaAAaaack! Vacation was awesome... although of course I couldn't help but worry about my babies the whole time. I'm happy to report that they did INCREDIBLY well. The watering system I set up worked FLAWLESSLY... although I think I didn't water them enough. The soil was desert bone dry... but then again the ladies (hopefully) didn't seem too bothered by that. Enough talk... lets take a look.

June 23, 2009 Week 11


The obligatory shot for comparison. AMAZING how much they grew while I was gone! I was so pleasantly surprised.


Here you can see the filtration system I setup before I left. I was a little worried about the stink, which is now pretty pronounced... so its nice to know I have the Carbon Filter going all the time. It does a hell of a job too.








My beautiful sea of green. I love this hobby. So fun.

That's pretty much it for now in terms of pictures.

I obviously switched over to the HPS bulb, and am slowly going over to 12 hour light cycle to induce flowering. I'm also now adding Molasses to the water. Roughly a TSP per gallon of water... Nutrients for flowering I haven't purchased yet, but will do next week. I think Ill be doing nutes for two or three weeks, and then let the plants go with just water with Molasses added.

Now that I've begun the flowering phase, does anyone know when I can expect to sex these plants? TIA for your help.

BBBold said:

I'm baaAAaaack! Vacation was awesome... although of course I couldn't help but worry about my babies the whole time. I'm happy to report that they did INCREDIBLY well. The watering system I set up worked FLAWLESSLY... although I think I didn't water them enough. The soil was desert bone dry... but then again the ladies (hopefully) didn't seem too bothered by that. Enough talk... lets take a look.

June 23, 2009 Week 11

The obligatory shot for comparison. AMAZING how much they grew while I was gone! I was so pleasantly surprised.

Here you can see the filtration system I setup before I left. I was a little worried about the stink, which is now pretty pronounced... so its nice to know I have the Carbon Filter going all the time. It does a hell of a job too.

My beautiful sea of green. I love this hobby. So fun.

That's pretty much it for now in terms of pictures.

I obviously switched over to the HPS bulb, and am slowly going over to 12 hour light cycle to induce flowering. I'm also now adding Molasses to the water. Roughly a TSP per gallon of water... Nutrients for flowering I haven't purchased yet, but will do next week. I think Ill be doing nutes for two or three weeks, and then let the plants go with just water with Molasses added.

Now that I've begun the flowering phase, does anyone know when I can expect to sex these plants? TIA for your help.

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wow.. impressive growth!! i bet you were cheesin like a little kid.. LOL

glad to hear the watering system worked... did it run out of water or just not water enough?? fortunately MJ is one of those plants that like the wet to dry.. i am getting ready to cut back my flooding schedule to 4xs a day... they wanted more water at first.. but not they are leveling out a little.. so im cutting back to 4x a day and seeing what happens.. prolly start that tomorrow...

so your gradually cutting back light to a 12/12?? there is really no point in that... keep the same light cycle you are running now until you get ready to switch to 12/12 for sure and then just switch it.. a lot less to worry about as far as turning on and off your lights or resetting timers... its a good thing you are introducing molasses to the feeding.. but i also recommend you run nutes longer than the first 3 weeks of flowering.. in fact you should use them up until about the week or so before you harvest... during the 6th weekish of flowering they will use a TON of nutes producing flowers... if they dont have an ample supply of flowering nutes you wont get the buds you are gonna get if you use them... just something to think about..

as far as sexing, once you switch to 12/12 you should be able to tell sex in about 2 weeks.. if you want to speed things up a little, give them 24-36 hours of straight dark before switching to 12/12.. this will jump start the plants production of flowering hormones, and will lead to a quicker on set of flowering, a short flowering period all together, and will show sex sooner.. just watch out for the little cluster of ball sacks we all hate to see...

simpsonsampson420 said:

glad to hear the watering system worked... did it run out of water or just not water enough?? fortunately MJ is one of those plants that like the wet to dry.. i am getting ready to cut back my flooding schedule to 4xs a day... they wanted more water at first.. but not they are leveling out a little.. so im cutting back to 4x a day and seeing what happens.. prolly start that tomorrow..

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The watering system actually had about half left when I got back. I only set the watering to twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays. That obviously wasn't quite enough, and now I plan on going every other day, since they seem super thirsty.

I've also noticed that like 1/3 of the soil is gone, or just compacted. Is that normal? Should I add more? I'm afraid of all the nutrients in the soil causing nute burn if I add more. Any thoughts?

simpsonsampson420 said:

so your gradually cutting back light to a 12/12?? there is really no point in that... keep the same light cycle you are running now until you get ready to switch to 12/12 for sure and then just switch it.. a lot less to worry about as far as turning on and off your lights or resetting timers... its a good thing you are introducing molasses to the feeding.. but i also recommend you run nutes longer than the first 3 weeks of flowering.. in fact you should use them up until about the week or so before you harvest... during the 6th weekish of flowering they will use a TON of nutes producing flowers... if they dont have an ample supply of flowering nutes you wont get the buds you are gonna get if you use them... just something to think about..

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Is there a specific sign of when to begin the flowering phase? I read in a book I bought (Jorge Cervantes "Marijuana Horticulture: Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible") that you should switch once you see pre-flowering sex indications...? But I don't see shiat yet...

simpsonsampson420 said:

as far as sexing, once you switch to 12/12 you should be able to tell sex in about 2 weeks.. if you want to speed things up a little, give them 24-36 hours of straight dark before switching to 12/12.. this will jump start the plants production of flowering hormones, and will lead to a quicker on set of flowering, a short flowering period all together, and will show sex sooner.. just watch out for the little cluster of ball sacks we all hate to see...

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Good to know... Since reading your advice I just switched over directly to 12/12.

I don't have any reflective material up yet... the best I could find so far was some white sheets that I hung around the plants, in the hopes that it does a little better than having nothing. Finding mylar or anything similar in my locale is proving very tough.

BBBold said:

The watering system actually had about half left when I got back. I only set the watering to twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays. That obviously wasn't quite enough, and now I plan on going every other day, since they seem super thirsty.

I've also noticed that like 1/3 of the soil is gone, or just compacted. Is that normal? Should I add more? I'm afraid of all the nutrients in the soil causing nute burn if I add more. Any thoughts?



Is there a specific sign of when to begin the flowering phase? I read in a book I bought (Jorge Cervantes "Marijuana Horticulture: Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible") that you should switch once you see pre-flowering sex indications...? But I don't see shiat yet...



Good to know... Since reading your advice I just switched over directly to 12/12.

I don't have any reflective material up yet... the best I could find so far was some white sheets that I hung around the plants, in the hopes that it does a little better than having nothing. Finding mylar or anything similar in my locale is proving very tough.

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the soil will compact over time.. this is due to watering and shit.. should worry to much about it.. if growth slows or anything like that then you know its a problem.. but im sure your fine bro! also i would either set it up to do a nute feeding every 3rd watering (if your gonna go every other day watering) or just run 1/4 to 1/3 strength nutes the entire time.. this will make sure your girl uses all the nutes up first!

as far as when to flower there is a specific "time" to flower... basically if you see preflowers then you know they are ready to start flowering whenever.. or once the nodes start alternating then you know they are mature and ready to flower.. but ultimatley, flowering, and when it happens, are up to you...

with the size of your girls and the space you have starting to flower now is a good idea.. you might even think about tieing some of your branches down because they will double to triple in size during flowering.. which will cause you problems.. so youll want to keep them down best as you can..

as far as reflective material goes.. it would benefit you a LOT!.. make your light way more efficient.. if you cant find mylar or white poly.. you can use that super reflective wrapping paper that most places carry.. or use flat white paint and paint the walls... the paint is the cheapest way.. i guess they even have mylar paint now... i am going to try to get ahold of that when i build my wall up between my two sections.. it'll be easier to paint than to try to hang shit...

So it looks like I've got three males.

Check this shit out...











So annoying.

The third one doesn't have any signs of sex... so maybe that's my only hope?

Now what to do with the males? I mean I know I should just cut em down... but can I do anything worthwhile with em?

throw the males out

nice set up not far of mine need some mayler what strain you got going

get the males out bro!! they are no good to you.. and if the last one does end up being female you dont want to risk it getting prego... sorry to hear about the shit luck... i will smoke a blunt in your honor.. theres always next time.. and the success you had with them this time should leave you very optimistic about future grows.. except for the male thing..

simpsonsampson420 said:

get the males out bro!! they are no good to you.. and if the last one does end up being female you dont want to risk it getting prego... sorry to hear about the shit luck... i will smoke a blunt in your honor.. theres always next time.. and the success you had with them this time should leave you very optimistic about future grows.. except for the male thing..

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Please do. To add to this shit Monday I'm all out of medical supplies.

When it rains, it pours.

What's the deal with "feminized seeds." Can seed banks really ensure that they are feminine?

I'm going to Barney's Seed Farm Wednesday and want to know the deal before I spend mucho dinero on some seeds.

Any comments, especially from you simpsonsampson420 - would be GREATLY appreciated.

BBBold said:

Please do. To add to this shit Monday I'm all out of medical supplies.

When it rains, it pours.

What's the deal with "feminized seeds." Can seed banks really ensure that they are feminine?

I'm going to Barney's Seed Farm Wednesday and want to know the deal before I spend mucho dinero on some seeds.

Any comments, especially from you simpsonsampson420 - would be GREATLY appreciated.

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fem'd seeds are created by taking a 100% female plant and pollinating it with pollen from a hermie... dont know about the technical shit.. but i do know thats how they are made.. the seeds from the female then are female.. i would assume its because there are no male genetics every passed along since the hermie is a self pollinated female and its pollinating a female...

anyways.. when they first started fem'in seeds it was shaky... it wasnt uncommon to get hermies... after a lot of work breeders are getting much better at producing all female seeds.. there is still a chance you get a hermie or two.. but its much less common to see...

i think strain plays into it to.. strain seems to play into everything... but i would imagine some strains just have better luck staying all females than other strains... but this is just a guess..

there are a couple banks that claim 100% all female seeds... i cant comment on them because i dont know.. but i will say this.. i would always and will always look for hermies the first round with fem'd seeds... until i know they are for sure 100% female and they will not herm on me, i will be ever watching for those banana sacks..

when it all comes down to it you are still much better off starting with fem'd seeds than mixed seeds.. i look at it like this.. with mixed seeds you have a 1 in 3 chance of getting a female.. it will either be female, male, or a hermie... when starting with fem'd seeds, you still have a chance of a hermie, but at least you have no chance of getting males and the chance for a female is much much greater than for a hermie... just make sure to purchase from a reputible bank...

I have some Barney's Farm Feminised seeds. G13 Haze and Violator Kush. Feminised seeds work great. Go for it.

So the three males were trashed... much to my dismay. Oh well. I did tell myself at the beginning that this is only the dry run... to see how hard all this shit is, and if its even doable over the long term. The three males did bum me out a bit, but I made a wonderful discovery today that brought back all my excitement...

Week 14 [July 13, 2009] Take a look:


Super Macro shot of the hairs...


Super Macro






In the last pic you can see how I tied her up a bit. What can I say, I'm a kinky bastard.

I'm also currently playing with the idea of creating a flowering rooms with some CFL lights. Anybody (simpson) have any input on that?

Basically want a room I can run clones in, and have others flowering at the same time. Are CFLs a viable option? I do NOT want to run another HID light... that would just augment my heat issues.

Any input is appreciated!

if you are wanting to create a sperate veg/flower room your best bet would be to do opposite the lighting you are thinking... use cfls to build a veg/clone room.. you want the same spectrum for clones as you do vegging plants.... and use the HID in the flowering room, but use an hps bulb instead.. it will work with the ballast you have.. i promise.. it will be fine.. or you can easily set up a sog style grow and make a small room with a few cfls for rooting clones, and a larger area that is for flowering... then you can root a bunch of clones and just throw them straight into 12/12 without vegging them at all...

simpsonsampson420 said:

if you are wanting to create a sperate veg/flower room your best bet would be to do opposite the lighting you are thinking... use cfls to build a veg/clone room.. you want the same spectrum for clones as you do vegging plants.... and use the HID in the flowering room, but use an hps bulb instead.. it will work with the ballast you have.. i promise.. it will be fine.. or you can easily set up a sog style grow and make a small room with a few cfls for rooting clones, and a larger area that is for flowering... then you can root a bunch of clones and just throw them straight into 12/12 without vegging them at all...

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That's what I meant... a room for Veg/Clones, and a separate one for Flowering. I have both bulbs, but only one ballast...

I was hoping I could use CFL's for rooting clones and/or maintaining a mother? Obviously I can't root clones under my single MH on a 12/12 cycle.

Basically that's it... want a separate space for CFLs on a 16/8 cycle for clones and to keep a strong mother.

Only thing I worry about is insulating my space... because winter temperatures are not suitable to growing. That could cost some major $$$ not to mention make it obvious during snowfall periods. Really really big problem for me at the moment. Trying to figure out how to deal with that since summer's quickly passing by...