my first plant died trying again...

my first plant died sadly. I looked at it on day 3, since it had risen above the soil, and it had fallen over and was looking brown. It wasnt stretched or anything. the plant was doing fine until one day I found the soil dry everywhere, I dont know how long it had been like that, I was just watering the tops assuming the soil right below it was moist. So I watered it and I think I over watered. I had also kept lights on 24/ 0. Which I now found out less light after it comes above soil. So I found two things that contributed to its death. Heres some pics, from the first day to the day before it got sick.




At first it survived and even grew while it was fallen over, but I skipped a watering for about a day and checked back, the entire plant had dried up to a crisp.

I have 3 seeds from some very fire bud and im going to germinate and plant them. Hopefuly this time goes better.

rest in peace.

Do you ph test all liquids before adding to your plant(s)? What is the temp of your grow area? What kind of soil are you using? What kind of light you have? How close is it to you plant(s)? Do you have a mositure wand? Do you know how to germinate? Do you know what a humidty dome is?

now that is really bad luck. how big was the pot you used to plant that little baby in? sometimes this seems to happen with big pots since they are harder to control because of their volume. that is what i figured about big pots at the start of growing seedlings.
if this pot was bigger than a 1/2 gallon one that that was the course for this early death. back in my outdoor days i started with jiffies, dried dirt pallets in a mesh. they are cheap, easy to store if the still dry due to size, and easy to control if they are moisted enough since you can touch them all over for testing try those next time and you will have more luck

mogie said:

Do you ph test all liquids before adding to your plant(s)? What is the temp of your grow area? What kind of soil are you using? What kind of light you have? How close is it to you plant(s)? Do you have a mositure wand? Do you know how to germinate? Do you know what a humidty dome is?

Click to expand...

the light/soil/pH is a good question by the way, as well as pot size since this can mess with you and your young baby too

Soil and sprout both look way too dry. It really depends on the ambient humidity in the grow room / closet. Is it cold and dry or decently warm and humid? If its dry (under 40% humidity), I'd say you want a dome.

A good hint for taking firm cuttings is really drench the mother with light-bloom water a few hours before taking the cuttings.

Having said that, I don't use any humidity domes. I mist a few times a day for the first few days then once a day until about 8 days when they start to root.

i use domes since i started mogie and still mist them at least twice a day with pressurised sprayer, giving the rockwoll i'm growin with now a short shot and then do a general mist over and put the dome back on. you really have to keep those domes clean, and everything you put into them since mole starts easy in them, so you have to keep a close eye on that with using domes!

You are right about keeping them clean and keeping a close eye on them. How is the pressurized sprayer working for you?

I dont know the ph nor do I have a ph tester. I dont know the temperature, but its slightly warm, inside the box. the "pot" is a 2 liter cut . Im using back yard soil, it is bug free, and I believe 2 years ago it was soil bought from the store, we just poured bags of soil in this one corner. I keep the light 1" from the plant at all times. my light is a 26 watt 1600 lumen cfl, best I can do is use 2 of them. for flowering I will probably be able to get up to lowes and get better lights but until then thats what I have. And yes I know how to germinate.

weeds a weed right? so it shouldnt take a whole lot of work to grow it... I mean ive already had some other weeds growing in my pot... and a healthy blade of grass grew.

i think the only reason it died was because of the drought and then i drowned it, plus it was under light non-stop until the day before it died.

If you are going to grow this you need to do it right.

Ph is VERY important.

The pH scale is basically a rough guide as to how many Hydrogen ions are present in any given substance; the more hydrogen ions are present, the more acidic the substance becomes. The pH of distilled water is 7.0, this is neutral. Any solution with a pH below 7.0 (i.e. pH 1.0 to pH 6.9) is an acid and any solution with a pH above 7 (i.e. pH 7.1 to pH 14) is an alkali. The pH scale is logrithmic, that is, a pH 6.0 solution is 10 times more acidic than a pH 7.0 solution (pH 5.0 is 100x more than 7.0!).

A humidity and temperature gauge are essential in any growroom.

Daytime conditions should be 70-80 degrees without co2, 80-90 degrees with co2 until the last two weeks when daytime temps should be kept between 70-80 and co2 can be reduced to adjust for the lower metabolism. Night temperatures should be kept above 60 degrees to prevent stress. It is preferrable during flowering to have a night temperature drop of 10-20 degrees to stimulate flowering hormones and reduce stem elongation.

I find that low humidity causes stress on plants. I recommend 50-60% humidity until the final 2 weeks of flowering. At this point, the humidity should be lowered as much as possible to encourage the plant to seal and protect itself with additional resin. (I am able to get the humidity to go as low as 31%) I have been able to frost things up considerably this way. The higher humidity levels prior to final ripening reduce salt levels within the plant tissue and encourage healthy, more lush growth.

Backyard soil has bugs!

Pre-Germination Soak..

Materials:

-Glass of (ideally 7 pH) water
-Cannabis Seeds
-Superthrive or other preferred formula (Optional)

Procedure:

Place your seeds into the Glass of Water...at this time you may add a drop of Superthrive, or whatever mixture you see fit.

Leave the seeds alone for a while (1 hour to 6 hours, whatever amount of time suits you...please realize that soaking for 6 hours rather than 1 could improve germination rates.).
Soaking loosens the shells of those really stocky seeds, and helps pave the way to a strong Cannabis Plant. Generally speaking, most seeds that float are worthless; those that sink are running candidates.

Germination Technique

Materials:

-Tupperware Container
-Lightly Wetted Cloth, Paper Towel, and Napkin.
-Mild Heat Source
-Pre-Soaked Cannabis Seeds

Procedure:

Remove the Cannabis Seeds from their Glass of Water.

Place the seeds onto the Lightly Wetted Paper Towel (or whatever you decided to use. by the way...use common sense, don't try to germinate on wet cardboard.)

Place the paper towel into the Tupperware container then seal the container.

Place the Tupperware container on top of a heat source... I personally use my router, or use the top of the fridge or something else practical.

Finally, open the container once in a while and look for moderate condensation, this will relay that there is an adequate level of humidity...if everything is running smooth, you should notice "changes" within a few days to a few weeks.

When you notice the protruding taproot, it's time for soil.

thanks for the advice.

but the problem is I havent gotten my licence yet, so im stuck on foot, theres no possible way for me to get any of the supplies needed anytime soon, maybe in a few months I could get up to lowes but thats about all. plus this is my first grow, so im not as concerned with getting results. im only growing to have a little extra bud, and to successfuly finish, to see if I can.

right now im using backyard soil, days old tap water, bag seeds, and a single cfl... I think I can grow a plant with just this, and then by the time its ready to flower I think I could get up to lowes and get some better lights.

if all goes well I will definitly invest in some better equipment so I actually can find out about the environment its growing in.

get some deasent soil from your garden centre, big bag is about 5-10bucks only and gets you soil for 5 3gallon buckets. stratch the soil with coco fibers or perlite or expanded clay and you get a top notch soil to grow with ah, don't get per-fertized soil, will kill your seedlings.
start your seedlings in jiffy pellets, 50 for 5 bucks at your garten centre. plan to shop for some cannabis ferilizer from a hydro store, something like hesi, canna or something else which is matched for soil. you will need it after about 2 to 4 weeks, so no rush on this

get a few cheap cfls, 20W+ ones, they go sometime for less then 4 bucks and give your plants enought light to veg with, keep them right an inch over the tips

yeah sadly I cant get to anywhere except cvs. they sell only 26 watt cfl bulbs, I got 3 [for $13 total]. sadly only 2 lamps to use them in... in the whole house, and I cant acquire anymore. So im stuck with 52 watts of light... the soil, I wouldnt even have anywhere to put the extra, even if I could get it; since I cant let anyone else see it or im busted .

im just finding out what works so when I move out I can really get started .

so you stock at home... if you living i the states or canada most bigger chains deliver straight to your door
so luck a bit around maybe, home depot and canadian tire carry a lot freaken stuff they ship. so there is more then cvs for you for sure. hack most local garden centres deliver home for disabled customers nowadays at now or little extra charge just ask for it

if 52w of energy is all u can use then ur wasting ur time.

Wait until you can do your grow right. You are wasting your time.

I cant even do that, because when it arrived I would either be at school, or at work, either way I would be caught -_-.

I have one friend that would drive me somewhere, but I have to pay for gas... but right now im dead broke anyways, it would be 2 weeks until I had money to spare...

But 52W of cfl [max... im currently only using 1], 3200 lumens, for a single plant is plenty, from what I read. Im sure I could even flower with them, though I doubt the results will be even half-decent.

As I said, im just looking to finish from the start, Im not professional, im not selling, or looking for an enourmous yield... its just experimenting. Ive heard of people even grow with worse materials and a worse set up than me, so I think im fine... plus I did have something growing before, I just drowned it...