First legitimite grow

Hey everyone, just recently joined the site.. Love all the information i've read on the forum.. A lot of helpful information and some killer phots.. I'm a long time stoner that has tried to grow once or twice in the past with no luck due to lack of materials and space..

Anyways, 5 days ago I started germinating 15 seeds from some high end mids.. I figured half of them wouldn't sprout, but suprisingly, 8 of them sprouted within the first 72 hours.. Yesterday, i carefully moved them into some pots (obviously filled w/ soil and i watered it before putting the seed in), getting them about 1/2 inch below the soil surface and kicked the lights on.. I was pleasantly suprised this morning to see that 7 out of 8 had allready sprouted through the soil..

I'm not really expecting anything spectular this time, more like a test run, but anything that ends up smokeable will be a big time bonus.. Was only planning on growing 3-4 plants (3x5x8 closet), so I may have to move some to another location if all 8 continue to grow and especially if they all turn out female.. Guess we'll wait and see...

I'll try to update daily if possible.. Should be able to get some pics posted in the near future..

Just an update, unfortunantly still no camera...

as of yesterday, 7 of 8 seedlings had poked out of the soil.. Today, the remaining seedling still hasn't emerged.. It was sprouted, so i'm not really sure what's going on there..

2 of the 8 have allready shed the shell and each have 4 leaves, while 3 of the 8 are taller but still have the shell on them (about to fall off).. 2 of them drooped over (not growing straight up) almost as if they were trying to burrying themselves under the soil..

Still very early, but exciting to say the least.. Hopefully i'll have a camera 2mor 'n take some pics of the room and plants..

Any advice on the 2 seedlings that are drooping over?

Sounds like a good grow. What kind of lights are you using? As for the two that fell over just leave them.

hey hey, if they're drooping just be careful you're not overwatering! and don't worry about the little fella that hasn't broken through, i've had some take ages longer than the other, that or he got transplant shock and is no longer with us lol

ah, another dirtbagger like myself. i'm in for this one bro.

I grow in soil also, about 1 month into my first grow. My biggest advice for you at this stage is to make sure the sprouts are as close as possible to your lights without burning. I sprouted under 2 20w tubes, but the lights were a little high and they were growing too tall and flimsy. I know people who have lost sprouts this way because they became too weak to support themselves. Don't be afraid to push in the soil or use stakes either if they can't stay straight; I used coffe stirrers and zip ties.

acexxacer said:

Sounds like a good grow. What kind of lights are you using? As for the two that fell over just leave them.

Click to expand...

Right now I've got a regular shop light w/ 2 cool white 40w flouresent bulbs.. Plan on using 400-500w HPS once/if we get to the flowering stage..

As mentioned before, I was only planning on growing 3-4 plants, but it appears I may have more than that...

Would it be wise to add another fixture with 2 more flouresents during veg stage??

Lets say i end up w/ 6 plants.. Is a 400w HPS enough for the flowering stage?

Yea 6 plants is good for a 400w hps. Add more light if you can in the veg stage I pack on all the light as possible.

Mysticlown150 said:

Yea 6 plants is good for a 400w hps. Add more light if you can in the veg stage I pack on all the light as possible.

Click to expand...

i'd be careful using a 400w hps during seedling/veg, it will dry the shit out of your babies, and you will overwater to compensate.

plus, plants don't need nearly as much lumens in veg to be perfectly healthy and vigorous.

Just remember that chances are at least 1/2 will be male...so whatever you do - don't give up on any of them until you know which are females - and it always seems like the biggest bushiest plants turn out male and the ones that never really took off are female (murphy's law) You can always use more lights...especially with CFLs. You can't really have too many CFL's - but you can definitely have not enough. And most important - do not over water while they are little. Then you have to be ready to change gears and water alot more as soon as they become real plants.

Does that help?

Good Luck
YO

RuchaYolanda said:

Just remember that chances are at least 1/2 will be male...so whatever you do - don't give up on any of them until you know which are females - and it always seems like the biggest bushiest plants turn out male and the ones that never really took off are female (murphy's law) You can always use more lights...especially with CFLs. You can't really have too many CFL's - but you can definitely have not enough. And most important - do not over water while they are little. Then you have to be ready to change gears and water alot more as soon as they become real plants.

Does that help?

Good Luck
YO

Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone for the tips/advice..

I don't plan on using the HPS lighting until flowering stage..

In a few days I will probably add some more flouresent, hopefully helping the plants during the rest of the veg stage..

They've made a lot of progress since the last watering (Sunday)... They doubled in size.. I adjusted the lighting, about 2 inches above the top of the plants.. Still no signs of life from the 1 seed that hasn't broken the surface.. The other 7 are all looking nice and green.. The ones that were drooping have now actually started to stand up and appear to be taking the same form as the other ones, just a tad bit shorter..

4 of them have very thick stems at this point (i think)... Atleast compared to the other 3 that seem to have weaker stems..

I plan to water this evening, as I watered last on Sunday evening, but I may wait until 2mor morning.. I like the growth they've taken since I watered..

More updates to come...

1 question.. I've read a lot about reccomendations to use an oscelating fan during the veg stage to promote stronger stems.. Should this be started this early on in its life? Or should I wait until they get a bit older/stronger.. ??

Good news... Got my camera fixed, expect pics of the little girls (hopefully) sometime 2mor afternoon!!!

Quick question for anyone willing to provide some input..

I have enough room in my closet to grow the plants as tall as they want to grow, but i'd rather try and keep them in the 3-4 foot range, even if it means effecting the total yield of the plants..

Do you just keep the lights as close as possible for the 4 weeks of recommended veg period, or start flowering after 3 weeks instead.. I don't want to effect the quality of the bud, but if there's a way to keep them a bit smaller and not effect the quality, i'm all ears...

Thx... I continue to read posts on here, gathering as much info as I can before I reach the flowering stage.. Plan to get some nutrients and the rest of the needed supplies to complete the process in the next day or so..

I will say, by far, this is the best marijuana growing related site i've seen... Kudos to all the devoted members..

why do you wanna dwarf them?? and yeah i'd chuck a gentle fan on, yer not producing loads of heat but it's good to have the air moving about

Great start!! Pardon me if you already said-- but how many watts do you have on them currently? Also I'd say go for the fan but then again I don't know much, lol. I really look forward to this thread b/c I intend on doing what you are -- using flourescents until flowering time and also growing in soil.

Keep the posts coming and I'm looking forward to the pics

kellykapoor said:

Great start!! Pardon me if you already said-- but how many watts do you have on them currently? Also I'd say go for the fan but then again I don't know much, lol. I really look forward to this thread b/c I intend on doing what you are -- using flourescents until flowering time and also growing in soil.

Keep the posts coming and I'm looking forward to the pics

Click to expand...

Right now i'm using just a regular shop light fixture w/ two 40w cool white flouresent bulbs.. Probably adding a second fixture half way through veg stage or sooner depending on how the plants r growin'..

Good Luck w/ your grow as well!!

I've actually had some problems with a light thats too big for the current size of my plants. If you do want to get a 400 watt HID I say go for it man, it'll definitely pump your plants up but I'd wait until they're growing their 2nd-4th real internodes and gaining some size. An HID will fry the living shit out of your seedlings if its close and retard growth if its at the top of your growspace until they're a little larger. When buying an HID for your closet grow remember you have 120 square feet thats more than likely a contained space. 400 watts will require some solid ventilation to keep around 75-85 degrees but nothing outlandish. 400 watts is prob the biggest you want to go with that closet though. PS? I'm with mystic, pack on that light in veg and flower. Order that light now. If you don't want to pay for both ballasts just buy the HPS ballast then an MH conversion bulb.

Appologies for the delay, pics coming 2mor...

Just to update, got 6 good looking 1 inch to 1 1/2 plants.. Unfortunantly, kittie kat decided to bite one of the little babies.. bit the leaves right off.. Didn't realize she was in the room, woops... But anyways, that leaves me w/ 6 and a rule that the cat must go downstairs before opening the closet.. lol

They haven't grown much since their last watering (tue @ 10am).. but the leaves have grown by 3x and the stems seem to be thickening up as well.. VIA the finger test, the soil seems good for now.. I may wait until 2mor night to water.. They are very green at the moment, so i don't see them in desperate need of water yet..

I started w/ some 2.5 inch tall pots.. Some of the plants will probably reach 2 inches by morning.. I know I should have started in a larger pot, and will remember that in the future, but when should I transplant to a bigger pot??
I've read transplanting more times increases risk of stunted growth or other things.. Should I go straight to the final pot?? 3 gallon bucket??

As always, any tips/advice appreciated..

Okay, i know it took awhile, but I finally came threw... Here's some pics, lol..

Decided to transplant to some bigger pots.. As i said last night, the pots I had them in were only about 2 inches tall and not very wide.. I bought some 8 inch pots on sale for $1.. wooh! I think the transplant went well, I guess we'll see in the coming days how well I did..

There's 6 plants.. all varying in height.. I took a pic of each of them and the last pic is a shot of the best looking one from the top.. If we're going by when they sprouted through the soil, they are 6 days old..

Edit: I took the pics before watering BTW...