First time grower ; new here

Salutations to all!

Growing is always something i wanted to do at least once just to experience it. Now that ive got my life in good order i felt like it was finally time to give into this whim of a desire to grow cannabis. So i did as much reading as i could and after about a week i decided to give it a shot.

My grow isnt one of any real complexity and im sure is excessive in its rookie mistakes. With that said, ive gone with a set up that worked with the budget i had set to spend, and in a manner that seemed simplest for me to do and not be affected if i wasnt around for it (i.e. my first child being born and the subsequent overnights at the hospital)

I started with 5 bag seeds that i happened upon in what my guy called "berry white". I used the typical towel method to germinate them and after 48-72 hours i had tap roots ranging from 1/3 inch - 1/2 inch. I planted them in 6" clay pots ranging from 1/8" deep - 1" deep. In 50% miracle gro seedling soil : 50% miracle gro perlite. I took a 3'w,2'd,4'l box i got hockey equipment in and foil lined the inside, put a hockey stick over the top opening and strung a 300w l.e.d. light from it with (2) 45w cfl lights and a 13w blue cfl light. All 2 feet from the plants.

After a week, my "friend" with "tons of grow experience", gave me a container of miracle gro shake n feed tomato, fruit, and vegetables (9-4-12). He told me it was the best nutes to feed without worries of being tracked for what i buy and where. Normally im not so paranoid, but it was free supplements from a friend trying to help. By this point the first seed i planted wasnt looking so hot due to a small taproot and it being planted deep. So i shook a tablespoon's worth on top of each plant's soil as directed and watered.

By the end of week two my first plant died and another was starting to get nute burn. I ordered dyna-gro pro foliage 9-3-6 and dyna-gro bloom 3-12-6 from a place online as well as fox farm ocean forrest. Unfortunately ocean forrest was on back order and i plan on ordering it this coming week from a different company.

Im mixing the pro foliage at a ratio of 1 table spoon per gallon of boiled and cooled water. And watering every other / every 3 days. Ive also cleared out any of the surface nutes from the shake and feed.

Now that my remaining 4 plants are 3 weeks old they seem to be doing better but with this being my first grow and it being a budget grow... Im unsure of my total over all plants health. Everything i read says rule of thumb things with exceptions for specific strain but never tells me about which strains to look out for. I.e. i have purple stems and read that its too early for my plant to have purple stems... Unless its specific strains.

So at 3 weeks is it ok to have purple stems?
 

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Jimmy Sparkle

Well-Known Member
After a week, my "friend" with "tons of grow experience",
Forget anything miracle grow, as a matter of fact forget everything you have heard from this friend also, for he that uses miracle grow doesn't know. That is my opinion and Im really not aiming to put peoples ways down . Just my opinion. Purple stems , red stems are totally normal for any blueberry strain, purple strain or ANY strain that have ever been xed with these at any time. Genetics , especially strong traits ie red stems ect are nearly impossible to completely remove no matter how controlled the breeding is . Purple/red stems no worries , however if the leaf veins are red then you have a problem but by this time your plant will look like crap and that won't be a surprise. Pink Cotton Candy . purple/pink stems= no problems....
 

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az2000

Well-Known Member
Forget anything miracle grow, as a matter of fact forget everything you have heard from this friend also, for he that uses miracle grow doesn't know.
I wouldn't recommend MG soil (except perhaps the Organic Choice which has low nutrients built into it). However, MG fertilizer seems to work. I'm growing bagseed in MiracleGro Tomato. It seems to be working fine. It's not as green as I'm accustomed to using Grow More Sea Grow (my schedule).

I don't encourage the use of MiracleGro products just because they're part of the Scott's, Monsanto, corporate takeover of the food chain. There are other products that are as good or better and similar price. (Black Gold's Natural & Organic potting mix; Grow More Sea Grow nutrients; Jack's Classic nutrients.).
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
So at 3 weeks is it ok to have purple stems?
Some strains do that. Cold temps at night can do it. Could be early mg def.

The plant with the rolled up leaves could be exhibiting early mg def. (I feel like I've seen my leaves do weird things before showing yellowing between the veins.). That one seems to either have nute burn tips, or K deficiency.

Be sure to let the soil dry well before feeding. If you keep it wet (which is common for new growers, treating it like a houseplant) it holds the soil's ph lower than it would be if it reached drier levels. That can limit availability of Mg (which is part of K's uptake).
 
Thank you,

I know a lot of people have strong feelings against miracle gro. I'm sure there is better out there, and plan on using ocean forrest when i switch to flowering. It was my first grow and figured seedling soil would be ideal for my first seedlings.

My 4 babies are all growing... Just not at even levels and im unsure if they are within the range that most would call "normal" or "healthy" for being 3 weeks old.

Ive seen 2 week plants look twice as big as mine, so i know i wont have people banging my door down to sing my praise. Im just trying to make sure that i can get a harvest out of the time invested.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
The fat-leaved plants are indica, they grow slower, bushier. Mine always take longer to finish than sativa.

Things look reasonable for 3 weeks old.
 
I was hoping for a 3 month turn around time. 5 weeks veg, 5 weeks flower, 1 week dry, 2 weeks curing. Is that too quick for this since its a slower strain?
 

Yekke

Well-Known Member
You can mix 1:1:1 coco/peat : good quality compost : perlite for a great soil mix.
Guano is quite expensive but works very well with cannabis and releases nutrients for around 2 years so you don't need to reapply it often.

I would take extra care with that cardboard to keep it from burning...
I was hoping for a 3 month turn around time. 5 weeks veg, 5 weeks flower, 1 week dry, 2 weeks curing. Is that too quick for this since its a slower strain?
If you work with clones you can veg for 2 weeks, flower for 9, dry for 1 and cure as the next cycle goes in.
However, timing your next cycle before even properly starting your first is not good thinking.
 
I'll worry about the next cycle once i see how this one turns out. Its a hobby for me to learn. so i imagine it will take time and a lot of money as i go, to finally get a product worth talking about.

I just want to get an idea of how mine are looking and simple ideas to make this grow a little better.

Eventually i will look into better stuff. As it is, the box with a fan (hole cut in rear) is sitting at around 79 degrees with a nice breeze
 
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