First Grow - Need Advice - Images Included

Maphyr · May 8, 2013

Hi everyone, I've been reading here at RIU for a couple of weeks now, excellent source of information here - thanks to everyone here who contributes to this amazing community. This is my first ever grow, I only have 1 plant and no more seeds - so I don't want to fuck up! I have just a few concerns at this point, I've done enough reading in the past 2 weeks to put put a librarian to shame. Okay, so let me explain my situation first.

I'm growing in a 22 gallon Rubbermaid box right now, I plan on putting another on top of that to double my space once I really have to, right now the 1 seems to be working fine. Right now it's 3.5 CF after adding the 2nd box I'll be at 7 CF. Everything I used for this grow, I found laying around the house, I didn't spend a dime - if I did I could make some amazing shit with all the information provided on this site. I'm just broke right now. I've got a 120mm 1800 RPM 72 CFM PC fan as my exhaust on the top of the box, with a passive 2" intake at the bottom. It seems to be working fine as of right now but I haven't added a carbon filter to it yet.. so we'll see how that works out when we get there. I've got another exact fan on the inside of the box blowing cool air on the CFL's, because it got super hot in there the first day without a fan, I was getting 95F temps. After I put the fan inside, temps are around 83F-86F with lights on and 65F-70F when the lights go off. I'm running an 18/6 schedule right now with (2) 5500K's and (4) 5000K's. I plan on putting (6) 2700K's in the box for flowering. I don't know what strain I'm growing, I just found a seed in a bud my friend gave me on 420 and decided, fuck it, lets see if it germs - and it did. The plant's been growing for about 2 weeks now since I put it in the soil, since April 24th. I was forced to use Miracle Grow potting soil for this grow, it's all I had around the house. It has those little nitrogen time release balls in it, I've read MG spoil is very bad, but I havent had any problems yet, also have not added any ferts or nutes to this soil. I did mix it a little bit with some topsoil after transplanting from a solo cup to a bigger 1 gallon pot (might be a 2 gallon, cant remember right now).

Now, my concerns. I have limited grow space, so I want to utilize LST and topping (I think?) I can't really find a good guide on SCROG so I just sort of decided on LST and topping since I can find all sorts of information on it. But my concern is this - When do I start to LST and top? I see people say to start topping after the 4th node, but I'm not sure If I have 4 nodes yet? I have 4 branches coming out of my main stem at the same spot, do those 4 branches count as 1 node? Also, my nodes seem to be very tight, almost right on top of each other. That's really my main concerns right now, LST and topping because she (I hope) is starting to get big.

Thanks in advance to anyone able to offer me any advice / guidance.

DeeTee · May 8, 2013

Beautiful looking baby you've got there, treat it right and you should be ok, as you stated mg soil was not your best bet so be carful watering, each time you do ferts will be released and might burn your plant, you may want to think abt transplanting in better soil some time, good luck with your grow and hope it works out ok for you.

GrowinDad · May 8, 2013

Let her get a few more sets of leaves. Then I would top her. Once the new tops grow a bit, you tie them down. You will see the new growth coming down below those main tops. When you tie down, those will grow up along with the original ones. Hope that makes sense.

LTsmoker · May 8, 2013

Let it veg, Let it veg. There will be an answer, let it veg. They look good, don't over water.

Mister Black · May 8, 2013

Hi Map. Nice post and your plant looks fine. In your shoes with an unknown bagseed I'd have a different set of concerns. Recently I had a similar situation. I had one unknown bagseed and no back up. My main concern - IS IT FEMALE?
Since you have limited space already I'd change the bulbs to 2700k's and put it straight into 12/12

If you veg for a while you'll end up with a plant that is too big for your space. Possibly a MALE plant that is too big for your space. 12/12 from seed rocks anyway. I got 93g from 1 plant on a 12/12 from seed grow using only CFL's so yield is not an issue.

The only issue I'd be thinking about now is MALE OR FEMALE and quite frankly I'd want to know as soon as possible so as not to waste too much time on a useless plant.

Finally with CFL's it seems to take a while to trigger flowering so you'll have time to top and LST and all that fun stuff in the meantime.

My plant turned out to be male and had to be chopped and thrown away. I'm sending out some female vibes in the hope yours turns out differently.

MB

Maphyr · May 9, 2013

Thanks for the replies. It makes me feel a lot better knowing you guys think she's looking good. This indoor growing this has quickly become a very passionate hobby of mine, if I knew it was this fun I would have been doing this years ago man.

I do have some bad news though, it's got me in a panic a bit. I noticed a gnat earlier today, just 1 in my grow box - I killed it. I didn't think much of it, but then I got thinking, man what if that gnat layed eggs or something. So I started moving the soil around very gently on the top, not even half an inch down. I started seeing these little tiny, super tiny white little crawlers. Man, my heart dropped right there on the damn floor. So I got on here and started reading, I'm fairly convinced it's gnat larvae. Now, I'm just trying to decide how I should deal with this, sand on top of my soil, potato slices, hydrogen peroxide? I'm not sure, but I do know I'm going to let that pot dry out like crazy, I think I've been over watering. Every other day I give it 1-2 FL OZ, maybe a little more. I've been giving her bottled water that I leave out for 24 hours, but not a full bottle.. not even half a bottle, probably more like half of a half of a bottle (make sense? hah)

So yeah, hopefully I'm able to get rid these gnat larvae. I looked at the holes at the bottom of the pot and they seem pretty moist, got me worried about root rot now too. What do you guys use to catch the water that drains out the holes in the bottom of the pot? I read it's bad to use like some sort of.. shallow box.. (i don't know what you would call it?) - Because the soil will just keep soaking up the drained water? So what's the solution to that?

Maphyr · May 9, 2013

Mister Black said:
Hi Map. Nice post and your plant looks fine. In your shoes with an unknown bagseed I'd have a different set of concerns. Recently I had a similar situation. I had one unknown bagseed and no back up. My main concern - IS IT FEMALE?
Since you have limited space already I'd change the bulbs to 2700k's and put it straight into 12/12

If you veg for a while you'll end up with a plant that is too big for your space. Possibly a MALE plant that is too big for your space. 12/12 from seed rocks anyway. I got 93g from 1 plant on a 12/12 from seed grow using only CFL's so yield is not an issue.

The only issue I'd be thinking about now is MALE OR FEMALE and quite frankly I'd want to know as soon as possible so as not to waste too much time on a useless plant.

Finally with CFL's it seems to take a while to trigger flowering so you'll have time to top and LST and all that fun stuff in the meantime.

My plant turned out to be male and had to be chopped and thrown away. I'm sending out some female vibes in the hope yours turns out differently.

MB

Thanks for the female vibes

Trust me, I'm concerned if it's female or male, I just don't think there's anything I can do about that - that's mother natures decision. I've read there's some things you can do to improve chances of female like not stressing the plant to putting a damned banana in the soil next to the stalk but I'm not sure if I buy into all of that. The way I see it, if it does turn out to be a male, then the plant was not useless because I learned a great deal and my next grow will be much more better because I've learned from my mistakes. Also I've read you can make hash and oil from males? Not sure. She's a girl anyway! (positive vibes)

Maphyr · May 9, 2013

So I opened my box today and seen zero gnats, soil is drying out nicely. Think I'm just super paranoid perhaps.

Hoping I don't have an issue, still thinking about watering once with some hydrogen peroxide, it seems to be a good thing from what I've read. Might put some sand on top of the soil also, just to be safe.

Maphyr · May 10, 2013

I think I have an issue, I opened my box and seen a dead gnat in there. So I guess I have a gnat problem. I have hydrogen peroxide but it's stabilized 3% and I've read that's not worth a damn to plants. So I guess I'll put some sand on top of there, I mean it's not a swarm of gnats but I'm just trying to stop it before it gets any worse.

Also noticed something new, just now I checked my box because the lights are about to go out. My leaves are curling upwards near the top. Some leaves are bending in weird looking ways, I attached some pictures - can anyone explain to me what this is? Is it OK? I haven't watered all day today, I'm trying to dry the soil out to rid the gnat larvae. And temps in the box have been higher than normal today, temps in my room are at 80F today, usually they sit at 72F-74F and my box is normally 80F-85F, but I've seen my box get up to 88F-89F today.

Another thing Ive noticed when looking at pictures of other growers plants, is my plants leaves are not.. stretching outward like, it's very bushy, is this normal? It just looks like I'm getting 3 leaves on every new growth, is this right?

GrowinDad · May 10, 2013

New dads... Chill a bit. Leaves look fine.

Dump the water that drains out. You don't want the plant sitting in it. I water every third day.

Gnats will happen. Read up on them, not hard to deal with. Check out Neem oil and diacetaneous earth. Both are readily available.

kermit2692 · May 10, 2013

didnt read your main post but i gather your using delay release..dont do that..also dont worry about a bug here and there bugs throughout your house will naturally congregate at your grow and normally are not a problem at all. if its a pest i just squish it and dont worry about it again unless im noticing the start of an infestation which for me is super uncommon. if its not a pest its likely a predator of pest bugs and i just let them chill and live there. they dont like harvest very much :cry:

kermit2692 · May 10, 2013

use proper organic soil and pick up the ge go box...that has everything you will need and easy instructions as far as ferts. as long as you do those two things you get the added benefit of NEVER having to worry about ph since everything will be properly balanced from the start and your water cant throw the ph on all that medium. you should be letting your water sit out for a day to two before using it also btw

kermit2692 · May 10, 2013

ok now i read the rest lol...this is not really a budget hobby and that plant is not getting big yet..growing inside of a rubbermaid will yield you about a half zip tops on one plant and imo its a waste of time especially if your illegal! you need about 500 bucks for a decent start..imo its pointless to grow without an hid so that 150 on the cheap side plus 40 or so for a one run nute line and then a bunch of random little shit by the time you harvest you spend about 500 bucks. anything short of that is a learning experience only so if i were you i would really watch how the plant grows and observe what is what and why it does what and how things feel. watch what the plant needs and how it tells you and then decide when you get you quarter of mid grade improperly cured pot if you want to go big or go home!...nice and green so far though, good luck getting the hang of growing and getting a first harvest.

Maphyr · May 10, 2013

GrowinDad said:
New dads... Chill a bit. Leaves look fine.

Dump the water that drains out. You don't want the plant sitting in it. I water every third day.

Gnats will happen. Read up on them, not hard to deal with. Check out Neem oil and diacetaneous earth. Both are readily available.

Thank you GrowinDad, for actually answering and addressing my concerns, instead of telling me I'm wasting my time. I truly appreciate it and have +rep'd you for it.

I don't have access to Diacetaneous Earth or Neem oil, so I'm just going to put some sand on top I'm thinking. I checked the box this morning a few hours after lights on and the leaves look fine, like you said, they stopped curling up, I think it was to hot and not humid enough in the box yesterday and that's why they started to curl upwards.

I'll post more pics tonight before lights off to track progression of the plant.

Maphyr · May 10, 2013

kermit2692 said:
didnt read your main post but i gather your using delay release..dont do that..also dont worry about a bug here and there bugs throughout your house will naturally congregate at your grow and normally are not a problem at all. if its a pest i just squish it and dont worry about it again unless im noticing the start of an infestation which for me is super uncommon. if its not a pest its likely a predator of pest bugs and i just let them chill and live there. they dont like harvest very much

use proper organic soil and pick up the ge go box...that has everything you will need and easy instructions as far as ferts. as long as you do those two things you get the added benefit of NEVER having to worry about ph since everything will be properly balanced from the start and your water cant throw the ph on all that medium. you should be letting your water sit out for a day to two before using it also btw

ok now i read the rest lol...this is not really a budget hobby and that plant is not getting big yet..growing inside of a rubbermaid will yield you about a half zip tops on one plant and imo its a waste of time especially if your illegal! you need about 500 bucks for a decent start..imo its pointless to grow without an hid so that 150 on the cheap side plus 40 or so for a one run nute line and then a bunch of random little shit by the time you harvest you spend about 500 bucks. anything short of that is a learning experience only so if i were you i would really watch how the plant grows and observe what is what and why it does what and how things feel. watch what the plant needs and how it tells you and then decide when you get you quarter of mid grade improperly cured pot if you want to go big or go home!...nice and green so far though, good luck getting the hang of growing and getting a first harvest.

Hi there kermit.

First off, let me thank you for wasting your time replying to my thread. Not only did your negative tone rub me the wrong way, you didn't address or answer a single question or concern that I had - a truly remarkable waste of your time sir.

Now, I understand you may just be trying to help me out or educate me a bit, but if you had taken the time to read my first post you would have read that I do not have money to spend on lights and special dirt and you would have also read that if I did have the money I would be properly doing this with the proper materials. Since I have no money to use on these materials, I'm working with what I have around the house and you know what man? So far so good. You know what else? I'm acquiring a great deal of knowledge with this "waste of time" (according to you). Therefore, I do not see this as a waste of time and frankly I'm a bit tired of people telling me that on here. If I can get half a zip out of 1 plant for my first grow, then you know when dude? I'll be happier than a pig in shit.

It's your opinion that it's pointless to grow without a HID, there are hundreds, thousands of growers out there who use only CFL's and they produce some damn nice buds. You come off as a pot snob to me man. You're the kind of person I drop like a sack of bricks in real life. The kind of people if it's not done your way, then it's the wrong way. I'm sorry to break it to you but there is more than 1 way to skin a cat sir.

Go big or go home? I'm sorry man not all of us can afford a huge growing room with all the bells and whistles, I do what I can with what I have.

I'll tell ya what kermit2692, you send me some soil, you send me some HID's, you send me all the materials I need and you know what? I'll grow it just how you want me to. Or better yet, just send me some cash my man, I'll go buy what I need.

Now, if you would like to comment further in my thread - then please provide solutions to my concerns and questions. Otherwise I'd truly appreciate if you keep your opinions to yourself and stay out of my thread.

I'm sorry if this post comes off as hostile but sometimes people just need to be put in their place.

kermit2692 · May 10, 2013

lol....someones time of the month?? maybe i didnt mean BIG i dont have all that shit either but i mean go small at least?? i mean its simply my opinion and many would agree that if you cant afford some soil at least, then come on really?! do you buy a snake if you cant afford a cage yet? you get a freebie since its your first go im just saying in the future these are things to consider. you did say in the first post any guidance or tips are welcome so take the tips how you will but dont go nuts on people for telling the truth. you also said thank you in advance so too late to take it back :bigjoint:

also i agree alot of people have dialed in rooms and pull off good yields with flouros but its rare for someone to rival an hid so without a larger plant count it is not cost efficient to run less than a few plants and it is not cost efficient to run flouros for flower in many circumstances. dont hate me hate the math im informing you of. i did not waste my time because this will be here for people with the same issues to read for a long time and i give good advice always..i suggested you do a bunch of stuff that will maximize what your doing without the hid in the first couple posts..the first was about what the thread was about which was bugs, the second post was very informative anyway and both were very lighthearted, you say i must not have seen where it says your on a budget but the first thing i said in the third post was its not really a budget hobby so i obviously read that. in the third post after reading a bit more of what you were doing i had to tell you the truth, if you disagree that spending months doing something that may be illegal idk where you are, spending some money because you need to buy some stuff cant get around it, and the rest of the process isnt worth it then so be it no reason to get all bent out of shape. many people will agree that if you arent going to at least grow a plant to about 18 inches before flowering you wont get much yield and may as well just be buying pot after all the work and money put in IF you continued to do that again, i can respect the fact its your first run im just saying not smart to continue to do that method if you grow again! their are exceptions like sog clones and such that can be shorter..also i was completely nice about it i said good luck on your first harvest and maybe if you decide to continue growing, and have money then im assuming, you should start a real set up. i also said its a learning experience so ofcourse your "aquiring a great deal of knowledge" i suggested you do that and some certain things to watch to learn about the plant so why exactly are you hating lol? didnt just say it was a full waste of time, as far as production or cost efficiency it was a waste of time..i gave you alot of good advice if your ego cant handle it thats too bad others will read this over time and agree its good advice and you were a straight dick while i was being straightforward but still nice. haha you will learn how things work around here mr 9 posts, your a funny guy threatening me on the internet. thats like throwing water at a fish..not goooing to do anyything :sleep:

Sincerely420 · May 11, 2013

Ppl on here that grow with CFLs rival some HID yields..Just have a look around bro.
You can do fine with them from start to finish. Just as well as HID in some circumstances, it just takes a little longer.
Everyone has to start somewhere, so don't get discouraged when you hear/see ish like this.
6 month ago all I had was a bucket of CFLs. 14 ounces and 6 months later I've got a tent and all HID lighting for the next run.

Bro was right about one thing tho, you 1st run is gonna be your learning experience! Bet thing you can do it no over water HER lol.
And she's look very slightly heat stressed...Might be a little too warm in your box.

But IMO, this is the best topping method:
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/151706-uncle-bens-topping-technique-get.html
And here's some info regarding supercropping and training your plants:
https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/413359-supercropping-canopy-control.html

Best thing you can do this run tho boss, is LEARN. Be VERY observant lol.
Now, to see someone doing their thing with Miracle Gro:
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/633996-4-plant-600w-grow.html

Good luck bro. Get you nerd on. The more you know, the better you grow :joint:

Maphyr · May 12, 2013

kermit2692 said:
lol....someones time of the month?? maybe i didnt mean BIG i dont have all that shit either but i mean go small at least?? i mean its simply my opinion and many would agree that if you cant afford some soil at least, then come on really?! do you buy a snake if you cant afford a cage yet? you get a freebie since its your first go im just saying in the future these are things to consider. you did say in the first post any guidance or tips are welcome so take the tips how you will but dont go nuts on people for telling the truth. you also said thank you in advance so too late to take it back also i agree alot of people have dialed in rooms and pull off good yields with flouros but its rare for someone to rival an hid so without a larger plant count it is not cost efficient to run less than a few plants and it is not cost efficient to run flouros for flower in many circumstances. dont hate me hate the math im informing you of. i did not waste my time because this will be here for people with the same issues to read for a long time and i give good advice always..i suggested you do a bunch of stuff that will maximize what your doing without the hid in the first couple posts..the first was about what the thread was about which was bugs, the second post was very informative anyway and both were very lighthearted, you say i must not have seen where it says your on a budget but the first thing i said in the third post was its not really a budget hobby so i obviously read that. in the third post after reading a bit more of what you were doing i had to tell you the truth, if you disagree that spending months doing something that may be illegal idk where you are, spending some money because you need to buy some stuff cant get around it, and the rest of the process isnt worth it then so be it no reason to get all bent out of shape. many people will agree that if you arent going to at least grow a plant to about 18 inches before flowering you wont get much yield and may as well just be buying pot after all the work and money put in IF you continued to do that again, i can respect the fact its your first run im just saying not smart to continue to do that method if you grow again! their are exceptions like sog clones and such that can be shorter..also i was completely nice about it i said good luck on your first harvest and maybe if you decide to continue growing, and have money then im assuming, you should start a real set up. i also said its a learning experience so ofcourse your "aquiring a great deal of knowledge" i suggested you do that and some certain things to watch to learn about the plant so why exactly are you hating lol? didnt just say it was a full waste of time, as far as production or cost efficiency it was a waste of time..i gave you alot of good advice if your ego cant handle it thats too bad others will read this over time and agree its good advice and you were a straight dick while i was being straightforward but still nice. haha you will learn how things work around here mr 9 posts, your a funny guy threatening me on the internet. thats like throwing water at a fish..not goooing to do anyything

You know, I didn't even bother to read your giant block of text. So keep on wasting your time, big post count man!

Maphyr · May 12, 2013

Quick update, I've let my soil dry out pretty good, dry 2 inches down, got a 2 inch white root growing out the bottom of a drainage hole, so I don't think I have a root rot problem. I've seen 1 more gnat, so I don't think I have a huge problem there. I didn't even put sand on top of the soil, just let it dry out real good. Plan on watering tomorrow with a cap full of hydrogen peroxide mixed in a bottle of water.. still debating if I should use that hydrogen peroxide or not, I've read alot of good about it.

Really have no issues at the moment, just letting her veg. I think I'll top soon she's on her 3rd or 4th node - I think. The first 2 petals that grew out of the seed look like they are turning yellow but I think this is normal and it's supposed to fall off? Also, I think this plant is Ruderalis because of the way the leaves look man, they are 3 leafs, with 2 smaller ones at the bottom. I don't know, we'll see I guess.

Maphyr · May 12, 2013

The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced this is an auto flower. Which sucks, I haven't read much about auto flowering at all, so I'm worried I may have fucked up by using a 18/6 light cycle. I mean is it even possible to get an auto flower seed from a bag? It sure as hell looks like ruderalis to me, it's definitely not a sativa strain and it doesn't show enough leaves for it to be a pure indica. I think it's an auto flower indica, I know it's an indica strain because I smoked the bag where this came from. I'm hoping I'm wrong and this is not an auto flower. Anyone with a good eye able to provide any insight?

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