First grow, advice appreciated

hello everyone! another first time grower here lol

So here's the skinny... got 2 bagseed vegging under 11 6500k 26 watt CFLs. Grow space is a closet measuring 4' wide 7' high and 2' deep. temperature usually stays between 75-85, i try to keep it more towards 75. i have an oscillating fan that sits right next to the plants... i usually have it on high to keep temps down and it blows them plants around pretty good but the stems seem to be nice and stiff.growing with Sta-Green brand soil (only thing i could get my hands at the time). I started them in peat pots and then transfered them to 10" pots at about 1 1/2 weeks after sprouting. No nutes have been added since the soil already has some. Watering with distilled water every so often, i might have overwatered slightly once or twice, still getting it down. i haven't been checking pH because i don't have a reliable meter, any cheap digital meters that anyone could recommend would be great. So..

The plants looked similar after sprouting but to much of my surprise was 2 diff strains. One is growing very well and has had no problems that i know of. the other on the hand is a bit slower on growth but only for about the past week. it seems that some of the lower leaves are getting orange rusty looking spots. some leaves edges are getting pale in a way and some small yellow looking spots. the top leaves have curled under at the tips as well and are curving up in a V shape... not sure what that means. it's slowly progressing but hasnt gotten outta hand. any advice on that would be great.

The plant on the right is the one im really rooting for and is the healthy one... never been pruned.

The plant on the left is the one with the problems... also never pruned.

Both plants are 25 days old from when they sprouted. Sorry the pic quality on the close ups suck. Advice is appreciated! and thank for viewing.

Hey, welcome to Rollitup! Nice grow you have there, looks like you've done your research. Plants are lookin pretty healthy. If your'e concerned with over watering, you can check by sinking your finger 2-3 inches into the soil, if its still moist theres no need to water. OR, you can invest in some aqua orbs, I'm currently using them in my grow which you can find in my signature, so far they are working great, maybe they will work for you too.

You want the roots to stretch are search for the water so it's okay if you go a few days with dry soil, the plant will develop a good root system and become strong a meaty! Good luck!

<3 Skybike

Oh by the way, I just noticed the lights in your pics are much too high, CFLs work best if they are close to the plants as they lose intensity with distance. Try keeping them 2-4 inches from the tops of the plants.

skybike said:

Oh by the way, I just noticed the lights in your pics are much too high, CFLs work best if they are close to the plants as they lose intensity with distance. Try keeping them 2-4 inches from the tops of the plants.

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Thanks a lot for the advice!

ok so now i've got some problems... the one on the left has slowly progressed with the rust spots but i am seeing growth, since all the smaller branches are really comin out and it's gotten a lil bit taller...

The plant on the right is still growing im pretty sure, but all of the new growth lower and upper is turning a pale green on the outside and looking very unhealthy...

I went and got a pH test kit to check some pH levels but its color coordinated so lets see how it goes... also picked up a bottle of superthrive in hopes it would help. I haven't treated the plants yet. ill have some pics up shortly.

plz plz help, im planning on flowering when i get my 150 watt hps in so advice on starting that would be great too

I'm guessing your babies are just hungry. I didn't notice anywhere where you mentioned what you've been feeding them other than distilled water. What are you feeding? If you don't have anything yet I suggest looking up fox farms. GRow big for veg, then the combination of Tiger bloom and big bloom, along with the powdered nutes they sell for flower. They work great and the bottles themselves pretty much explain how to use them. Plants need to eat something or they can't sustain. Don't expect fast growth with just water.

Revolution101 said:

I'm guessing your babies are just hungry. I didn't notice anywhere where you mentioned what you've been feeding them other than distilled water. What are you feeding? If you don't have anything yet I suggest looking up fox farms. GRow big for veg, then the combination of Tiger bloom and big bloom, along with the powdered nutes they sell for flower. They work great and the bottles themselves pretty much explain how to use them. Plants need to eat something or they can't sustain. Don't expect fast growth with just water.

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Yeah i've been giving them distilled because the soil i got is suppose to have the stupid release ferts but i looked on the back and the ratio was really low so i didn't see how it could harm them so you are probably correct about the feeding. but then again im not sure... i read up and it seems like a nute lock or Mg def on the one and under fert on the other. here are the pics... first 3 pics are plant on the left (what i call it lol, read first post i guess) and second 3 pics are the plant on the right and then the last is both of them together.

And i'm really sorry my camera is so shitty and the pictures almost hurt your eyes cuz it does to me. pos lol

Next time, get some fox farm soil too. Something without nutes already in it, and something light and airy. Weed doesn't like mud or really thick like soil. I can't honestly tell how yours is from the pictures but it looks pretty good. If you go to the hydro shop and get some food get a jug of clearex while you're at it. It's a salt leeching solution used for removing salt and mineral deposits in hydro, and for completely flushing soil and plants of all minerals and nutrients. So if you can snag that and food, flush with the clearex, mix according to the bottle, water until significant run off, then when soil drys water until run off again with your distilled water. Basically brings you back to a clean slate to start feeding from again.

Revolution101 said:

Next time, get some fox farm soil too. Something without nutes already in it, and something light and airy. Weed doesn't like mud or really thick like soil. I can't honestly tell how yours is from the pictures but it looks pretty good. If you go to the hydro shop and get some food get a jug of clearex while you're at it. It's a salt leeching solution used for removing salt and mineral deposits in hydro, and for completely flushing soil and plants of all minerals and nutrients. So if you can snag that and food, flush with the clearex, mix according to the bottle, water until significant run off, then when soil drys water until run off again with your distilled water. Basically brings you back to a clean slate to start feeding from again.

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Well i did some looking around and i really can't find anywhere that sells quality MJ growing products... mostly farmer bullshit around here. I can't get ahold of any Fox Farm so i'll have to order or something.. pretty sure that's what im doing for next grow.

I did go and get some MG ferts yeah i know they suck but its the only decent thing i can get my hands on and i dilluted it pretty well, i also mixed some superthrive. I didn't see any other way to really figure out what was wrong with the plants until i took action. My thoughts about the left plant was that it was nute burn, but i didn't know so i gave it a pretty good watering with the ferts anyway to see if maybe things would clear up. I checked this morning and nothing too much has happened, but i think the smaller growth has gotten a bit more of a vibrant green. The plant on the right was the one that really surprised me... all this time i thought that i was overwatering the thing but i gave it a good lil drench and lord did it perk up. i still feel like they might be stressed, but hopefully the superthrive will work some wonders.

Thanks for the advice revo because if i hadn't acted soon on the right one that prolly would have died.

And of course any further advice would be appreciated. I ordered a 150 watt HPS which ill combo with some 42 watt CFLs. should work very well with the 2 plants, hopefully it'll be here in about 5 days so that's around when i'll start flowering. plant on the left is about 6 1/4" tall and the one on the right is almost 8". Odor control would prolly be the next task as well.. they are already starting to smell pretty good. I'm not really worried about yields... i just wanna make sure i got some ladies and the buds will smoke producing a high lol. just tryin to learn and get some experience.

ok enough blabbing. pic 1 is both of them, pic 2 is left plant and pic 3 is right. This is after the watering with nutes.

Nice one on ordering the new light. I like the thousands but a 150 will do just fine for these gals. I don't think you're going to kill your plants, they all look pretty healthy, you just need to experiment with what you've got until you see what they like. Honestly they look pretty good and have the potential to be some pretty bushes. If you run into trouble just flush, even if you can't get the clearex I mentioned just do a really heavy water or two with straight water to get any bad mixtures of nutes out. Also when watering you should only feed once a week, lets say monday, then maybe give it straight water once on oh say thursday or friday so they can finish taking in the nutrients from monday and then feed again the following monday. The idea here is that one feeding a week leaves plenty of food in the soil for the entire week, and then just one extra drink of straight water to keep it perky and taking in those nutes is plenty. Weed likes it when you water until you see it draining out the bottom, then let it go so dry the leaves are just almost ready to start to droop, not wilt, just droop, hang a little bit. then it wants water again. Basically wetting the soild and letting it dry completely like this sucks oxygen into the soil for your roots to strive on, just like an air stone in a hydro set up. Just instead of a pump you're using capillary action. Co2 to Plants is like Oxygen to the roots, awesome!

So i got my new 150 watt hps and i decided to start flowering them. i hooked the light and fan up to a timer which turns on at 7 am (when i get up for work) and turns off 7 pm (right about the time it gets dark) which works really nicely. they were on 24/0, i gave them 12 hours solid dark then started up 12 solid light with the hps so hopefully the transfer went well for them. the plants are looking pretty good and i think i have good chances of females but the taller one might be a male i can't really tell by the preflowers... it almost kinda looks like it might even be a tiny leaf forming right at the node because it's easily visible by eye although just one one side of the node... not both sides, it really doesn't look like a preflower lol, ill try to get a picture of it but that damn camera of mine sucks.

here they are!

p.s. thanks again revo the watering tips are working really well for me.

and i will be adding more light, i might order another 150 to combo them, prolly wont be for a while so some 2700k CFLs will be added soon

I'm now day 7 into flowering and the plants are doing very well... I added 6 26 watt 2700k spectrum CFLs, i got those around the lower parts of the plant so it bushes out a lil better. still need to find some reflective material but i can't find anywhere with mylar so any good alternatives would be a great suggestion. Not gonna lie, i had a few close calls, these things really start suckin up the water when it's flowering time, so now i water about every other day. started them on the flowering nutes.. a 10-15-10.. but i plan on changing that because it's some crappy store bought stuff, suggestions for nutes is appreciated as well. but anyway here they are..

the shorter one is about 13 inches and the larger one going on 15-16 and the aromas are starting to kick. still not sure whether or not i have females... that's the only thing im really worried about but im hopeful.

any comments, good and bad are welcome! i love critics

Looks like you have everything under control, very nice. +rep

bigtomatofarmer said:

Looks like you have everything under control, very nice. +rep

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Thanks! always nice to have a visitor. +rep to you my friend

ahh they looked good at 7 days in. Nice stretch but nothing excessive, indicates a good amount of light for the room as they always stretch when the 12 12 comes on. You should be looking at a few nice fat colas if you keep up the good work!

Revolution101 said:

ahh they looked good at 7 days in. Nice stretch but nothing excessive, indicates a good amount of light for the room as they always stretch when the 12 12 comes on. You should be looking at a few nice fat colas if you keep up the good work!

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very cool, that's what i like to hear.

I have bad and good news though, the taller one is showing some hangin nut sacks and the balls are showin so i pulled him out of there and it's a shame because he was looking very bushy like i might have yielded more, buuut i do have a lil lady left and she gets all of the light and attention! this = . i hope the rest goes well because she only vegged for a lil while and wasn't very tall going into it but the new hps / cfl combo is def showing improvements in size... i just hope the yield isn't too low but all in all i just want to gain experience

i'm thinking about germinating some seeds and trying 12/12 from seed to start. It would be in soil though so i'm not sure how it would go but the method is perfect for my situation and i heard it's a much shorter wait

so it's day 14 of flowering and the past couple days my plant has been showing some yellowing on the fan leaves in between the veins and burnt tips most of the tips going upwards... i figured it was nute burn so i gave it a lil flush with distilled water, i drenched her with 2 gallons (its a 10" pot, i know you're suppose to flush with 3x the pot size but i didn't have any more water handy) and then gave some 10-15-10 nutes with superthrive for the shock and it was pretty diluted but i think i might have watered with about half a gallon of that. i know the nute strength isn't over half, not sure if that was good or bad, but i let all the water drain out as good as i could. that was yesterday about 2 hours before lights went out... i went in there today and the leaves are getting worse, it was 91 degrees though, it's been getting pretty warm out and the temps seem to be increasing in the closet so extra ventilation is needed... the 150 watt is about 9" above the top and the fan in there blows upwards towards the heat of the light and the top of the plant so i don't think it's a heat issue but i'm not sure... this problem seems to be progessing fast. please help me out anyone i don't wanna lose my only lady!!!

buckwinkle said:

so it's day 14 of flowering and the past couple days my plant has been showing some yellowing on the fan leaves in between the veins and burnt tips most of the tips going upwards... i figured it was nute burn so i gave it a lil flush with distilled water, i drenched her with 2 gallons (its a 10" pot, i know you're suppose to flush with 3x the pot size but i didn't have any more water handy) and then gave some 10-15-10 nutes with superthrive for the shock and it was pretty diluted but i think i might have watered with about half a gallon of that. i know the nute strength isn't over half, not sure if that was good or bad, but i let all the water drain out as good as i could. that was yesterday about 2 hours before lights went out... i went in there today and the leaves are getting worse, it was 91 degrees though, it's been getting pretty warm out and the temps seem to be increasing in the closet so extra ventilation is needed... the 150 watt is about 9" above the top and the fan in there blows upwards towards the heat of the light and the top of the plant so i don't think it's a heat issue but i'm not sure... this problem seems to be progessing fast. please help me out anyone i don't wanna lose my only lady!!!

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I maybe wrong but, It looks like your plants suffered from a flucation in ph. Based on what i read i'm guessing your useing miracle grow for soil. miracle grow soil is acidic, i think in the ph is low 6's, and most nute additives will make the water and soil even more acidic. Your best bet is to get a ph test kit and test the runoff when you water your plants. You want your ph to be around 6.5-7 anything lower or higher will hurt your plants. If your ph is too high or low you can fix the problem by getting some ph up or down from your local hydro/garden store. Good luck wit your grow hope this helps.

Shonuff504 said:

I maybe wrong but, It looks like your plants suffered from a flucation in ph. Based on what i read i'm guessing your useing miracle grow for soil. miracle grow soil is acidic, i think in the ph is low 6's, and most nute additives will make the water and soil even more acidic. Your best bet is to get a ph test kit and test the runoff when you water your plants. You want your ph to be around 6.5-7 anything lower or higher will hurt your plants. If your ph is too high or low you can fix the problem by getting some ph up or down from your local hydro/garden store. Good luck wit your grow hope this helps.

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yeah i tested the runoff ph and i think it was around 6.6 according to the test tube i have. Soil started as miracle grow then transplanted to sta-green soil and around that time i had no real problems, this yellowing is completely new

buckwinkle said:

yeah i tested the runoff ph and i think it was around 6.6 according to the test tube i have. Soil started as miracle grow then transplanted to sta-green soil and around that time i had no real problems, this yellowing is completely new

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Hey buck were you the one with the outside clone that had problems? Anyways nice looking plants...