First Indoor Grow

Serpentz said:

I wouldn't worry about those first leaves. It does look like a cal-mag deficiency, but your top leaves are looking nice now. Whatever it was could have just been some temporary thing and it looks as though your past that.

I didn't see anything about you measuring your water pH levels. This is something I check daily... almost religiously. What is the pH level of your mag water that you are using? By the way, never heard of magnesium water - You're adding something like CalMagic?

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I unfortunately have no pH testing ability right now. I don't have a machine or even strips. This bit of water I am using is coming from tap water, but I will likely use distilled when it is done.

Since I was unable to run to get CalMagic yet, I went with the poor mans route to magnesium (Epsom salts), but had no calcium to add yet. By then I figure I will have CalMagic or something similar.

buddha61 said:

I unfortunately have no pH testing ability right now. I don't have a machine or even strips. This bit of water I am using is coming from tap water, but I will likely use distilled when it is done.

Since I was unable to run to get CalMagic yet, I went with the poor mans route to magnesium (Epsom salts), but had no calcium to add yet. By then I figure I will have CalMagic or something similar.

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Grab yourself a pH meter off of eBay. The cheap ones aren't more than 10 bucks and work just as good as more expensive ones as long as you calibrate them and check them. They come with a calibration kit. Or grab the strips they work well too. I use Plagron pH Min to control the pH in my water and it only takes a couple drops per 5 liters to bring it down to 5.5 - 6.0 which is where I keep my water. Even when I am watering in soil this is what I want coming out of the bottom in the runoff.

Knowing the pH of the water you are giving your plants is crucial because if the pH level is too low or too high it causes nutrient lockout where the roots won't be able to take in nutrients that the plant needs.

Without knowing what your pH is your driving blind in your experiment. I'm also doing my own hydroponic experiment right now and looking at all the elements and how they affect the plant.

While it is no meter (gardening store wanted $50+ for digital meter), I bought some GH pH indicator drops and pH Up/Down kit. It appears the water I was using is close to 7.0. I haven't gotten a full watering for runoff yet. I also bought my first Nutes, some Dyna-Gro Mag-Pro, Foliage-Pro and also the Bloom. I figure that should be basic enough for a first grow.

https://imgur.com/a/2qNXk1V What a difference a week can make.

buddha61 said:

https://imgur.com/a/2qNXk1V What a difference a week can make.

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Looking like shrubs already! Is that a rhododendron?

Scrog net build. Inside (usable) area is 27"x30" with 2" squares. Next will be to build the legs for it.

Looks cool. I would think "adjustable height" on the legs. Before you get a plant in there, you might want to think about tying individual strings. Just because if it ends up being too tight a fit and you want to make the squares bigger you can just snip away a single string without the whole thing going kaplooie

OH, and those drops like for the pool work fine. They are not as precise, but they are better than saying "oh well". I would recommend having a good light and a white background when using that method.

I was already thinking adjustable legs, or at least something that easily allows me to adjust the height. I hope the holes are okay right now. At the very least, there are 2 strings, so not 1 big one, but would still be some work should I need to change the holes. I just hope to get through one grow with this, and then adjust as I get my own experience. I always appreciate the insight though, as it gives me things to think about that I may have not been thinking of.

Topped the plant yesterday, and also noticed the newer growth appearing lighter in color, and some spotting. Yesterday was the first day that I gave nutes, so I will continue to monitor/watch the plant over the next few days/weeks.

Depending on the soil used, it might be a little early for nutes. At this stage, if you don't give them enough nutes, they may grow slower. If you give them too much, they may die quicker

Better to let them ask for it than to go by some schedule. Once you get into flower with a healthy plant is when you start trying to kill them with nutes LOL

H.A.F. said:

Depending on the soil used, it might be a little early for nutes. At this stage, if you don't give them enough nutes, they may grow slower. If you give them too much, they may die quicker

Better to let them ask for it than to go by some schedule. Once you get into flower with a healthy plant is when you start trying to kill them with nutes LOL

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I have only given nutes onces so far (yesterday), and it was 1/2 strength. The yellowing of the end of the top leaves started before I fed them. I was told that the Mother Earth Coco Peat had some nutes (hot soil, whatever you call it), and should be able to feed the plant (can't remember if they said a couple weeks or about a month). I figure the color starting before I fed them any nutes might have been a sign that they were ready to be fed something besides regular water. I was planning on feeding about once a week (would be about every other watering right now as it seems to be every 3-4 days I water), and just regular water the other time.

Always appreciate input though, as I can try to learn more.

buddha61 said:

I have only given nutes onces so far (yesterday), and it was 1/2 strength. The yellowing of the end of the top leaves started before I fed them. I was told that the Mother Earth Coco Peat had some nutes (hot soil, whatever you call it), and should be able to feed the plant (can't remember if they said a couple weeks or about a month). I figure the color starting before I fed them any nutes might have been a sign that they were ready to be fed something besides regular water. I was planning on feeding about once a week (would be about every other watering right now as it seems to be every 3-4 days I water), and just regular water the other time.

Always appreciate input though, as I can try to learn more.

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I guess what I was saying was it's too early. That tip-burn on the leaves doesn't come from needing nutrients
If I had to guess, your leaf problem was probably from the pH initially. If you have the perfect soil with all the right starting nutrients in it, but then use water that is either too high or low on the pH, it only allows absorption of some of the nutrients. It locks out others.
So your initial 'nute-burn' was just from the wrong pH, Adding nutes may or may not have had an effect. Whether you had the nutes already in the soil or added them really doesn't matter if the pH is off. But if a leaf gets damaged like that it doesn't get better. so that leaf will look that way now no matter what you do. So forget about that.

You just topped it, which is added stress, so I would just let it go for a few days to get dry, then go with just 6.5 water a few more weeks and see what happens,.

buddha61 said:

Scrog net build. Inside (usable) area is 27"x30" with 2" squares. Next will be to build the legs for it.

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Nice clean job on the scrog net bud. good work

how about rather than adjustable legs, use the ratchet hangers?

would that work? reasons it wouldnt?

have been considering this myself, figure i throw it out there.

H.A.F. said:

Looks cool. I would think "adjustable height" on the legs. Before you get a plant in there, you might want to think about tying individual strings. Just because if it ends up being too tight a fit and you want to make the squares bigger you can just snip away a single string without the whole thing going kaplooie

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Very good point about individual strings. Would save so much hassle if you need to snip one.

diggs99 said:

Nice clean job on the scrog net bud. good work

how about rather than adjustable legs, use the ratchet hangers?

would that work? reasons it wouldnt?

have been considering this myself, figure i throw it out there.

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Seems like it should work. Kinda like the idea of it.

The hanger idea is a good one. Only issue I could see would just be the swinging. If you get plants woven into it then bump it, it 'could' be tragic. Maybe hanging, but with a way to fasten it to the tent-pipes once you get it to the right height?

Ya I assumed there would def need to be some bracing from the corners, make sure it don't move around. That would not be good lol

Nothing screws and zip ties couldn't fix tho?

I was gonna build a scrog on adjustable legs aswell, losing more real estate to the legs is what annoyed me. Got me thinking about the hangers .

diggs99 said:

Ya I assumed there would def need to be some bracing from the corners, make sure it don't move around. That would not be good lol

Nothing screws and zip ties couldn't fix tho?

I was gonna build a scrog on adjustable legs aswell, losing more real estate to the legs is what annoyed me. Got me thinking about the hangers .

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That's basically why I veered toward the mainline thing quick I hate the plant being stationary. I rotate mine all the time, and can easily water, prune, etc.

H.A.F. said:

That's basically why I veered toward the mainline thing quick I hate the plant being stationary. I rotate mine all the time, and can easily water, prune, etc.

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Ya I really enjoy moving my plants around , my new space will be big enough that I can walk around them, even under them if I decide to grow trees lol.

But if I were to go the scrog route, I think I would try the hangers and attach some ties to the poles to keep it stationary