Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

First time grower!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    First time grower!

    Hello world! I just started my first ever grow and I'm pretty excited about it. So far I think it's going well enough but I have nothing to compare it with so I'm really unsure. Just want to thank the creators of this site. I wouldn't be this far without the great information provided here!

    For my setup I have a 48"x48"x80" grow tent.
    600 watt MH light in an air cooled hood
    6 inch 442 CFM fan with carbon filter
    I have two 18 gal totes for top feed DWC with a pair of large air stones in each tote.
    Nutrients are GH flora trio. I also use hydroguard.
    I got my seeds from Nirvana. Growing wonder woman and ice. Both feminized.
    I'm in Massachusetts and the tent is in my unfinished basement. I've had a heck of a time keeping the tent temperature and humidity levels high enough.
    I'll be using tap water (town supplied) which tests at a consistent PH of 7.0.

    I planted the seeds in the early morning hours on Sunday 3/18/18 (Day 1). I put them in rapid rooters, no pre-soak or anything like that. Kept the rapid rooters in a seedling tray for a couple of days until I saw some action. I then moved the seedling tray into the tent. I've had the light running 24/7 at 75% to keep the temps up otherwise it gets too cold. It was a struggle initially trying to balance temperature and humidity while still allowing for some air flow. I had to use the seedling dome longer than I wanted until I was sure I could keep it warm enough in there without it. Once they sprouted they really grew fast for the first day or two but now it's really slow. At one point the cotyledons were really curled up and I think the problem was a lack of air using the seedling tray and dome which also kept the rooters soggy. Late evening on day 6 (3/23) I moved the rooters to their netpots with hydroton and fired up the DWC totes. Things seemed to be stabilizing but growth is slow and it's taking all my strength to just leave them alone! Right now all im doing is checking PH every so often and I added a humidifier that I turn off or on to keep humidity in the desired range. I'm using a baby monitor to watch over temps and humidity.

    So far the Ice has outgrown wonder woman at every step. The wonder woman seedlings really seem to be struggling. One of them only grew a single serrated leaf after it's cotyledons barely escaped the rooter. Another died when I was moving them into the netpots. I was holding the rooter and the sprout just fell off leaving the seed husk and root behind. My plan was to grow one plant per tote and have a wonder woman and an ice but if the ice keeps out performing I'll have a tough decision to make.

    Latest numbers from today (day 9) 40% humidity, 74.5 F air temp. Water temps are 69.4 and 70.2. Current PH is 5.5 and 5.7. PPM 280 and 288. Light is running 75% at a height of 34 inches. The inline fan is off but I have two small clip on fans hanging from the ceiling on low pointing down. The two vents at the bottom of the tent are half open. The humidifier is currently off after humidity went up to around 55%. I'll probably turn it back on once it dips below 40%. I still need to take some exact measurements but I estimate each 18 gallon tote has approx 12-15 gallons of water. I added 0.5 ml of each nutrient per tote. I also added hydroguard based on the directions though I don't remember off the top of my head how much that was.

    I'm most unsure about the lights and nutrients. Am I ok going 75% at 34" or should I drop the light a little lower? Is a PPM of 280 acceptable for a seedling or should I add/subtract nutrients?

    #2

    Comment


      #3
      Hello thefunkdrspot and welcome. I am also in MA. and the growing conditions around here this time of year can be difficult to manage, particularly humidity. I think you’re on the right track and your seedlings look good. I wouldn’t be worried about their topside growth at this point as they are trying to stretch their roots into the reservoir. Your ppm’s look good for seedlings, I wouldn’t increase them until you get 2-3 nodes of topside growth. Your light distance and intensity seem good at this point. I have seedlings in a similar stage, maybe a week older, and my ppm’s are at 300 and I’m running a 400w MH 100% at 36”.
      Failure is an opportunity for improvement!!

      Current Grows:
      https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...s-jedi-og-grow

      https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...e-gorilla-grow

      Completed Grows:
      https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...ang-jack-herer

      https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...-northern-soul

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks Obi-Wan! I feel a little more at ease now. How will I know when it's time to up the nutrients or lower the lights? Are there signs I should watch for or is it just based on a timeline?

        Comment


          #5
          If you’re following the dwc nutrient schedule provided on GWE, I like to run the seedling strength for the first 2 weeks before switching to week 2 on the schedule. By the end of the second week you will see that they want more. I also slowly start to drop the light when I give them more nutrients. I start off by dropping it 4”, but I also prefer my plants to grow up to the light so I may only end up lowering my light 8-12” total. You may also want to consider turning your light to 100% before lowering it.
          Failure is an opportunity for improvement!!

          Current Grows:
          https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...s-jedi-og-grow

          https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...e-gorilla-grow

          Completed Grows:
          https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...ang-jack-herer

          https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...-northern-soul

          Comment


            #6
            Just noticed I'm getting some sort of white build up on some of the hydroton. Could this be residue left behind by nutrient water or something more sinister?

            Comment


              #7
              Interesting....I do get a similar build up on my hydroton from nutrient salts but never this early in a grow. Did you rinse them thoroughly before using them? If so did you use straight tap water? Does your area have particularly hard water??
              Failure is an opportunity for improvement!!

              Current Grows:
              https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...s-jedi-og-grow

              https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...e-gorilla-grow

              Completed Grows:
              https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...ang-jack-herer

              https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...-northern-soul

              Comment


                #8
                I did rinse them thoroughly with tap water. The water does seem a little on the hard side. I guess all I can do is keep an eye on it at this point.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Im in Mass also, welcome aboard !

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Oh, heres a light chart for you since you had a question about height of HPS light. Oops,just realized you said MH light
                    Last edited by Dutchman1; 03-26-2018, 01:13 PM.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Thanks Dutchman!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I'm getting some weird patchy yellow spots on my seedlings and I'm not sure if it's a problem or not. I first noticed about two days ago and I'm not sure if it's getting worse or they are just growing and it's becoming more noticeable. PH is good at 5.8. PPM is about 290. I inspected the leaves and there's no holes or anything on the plant. The texture feels uniform across the leaf. They aren't dry or crinkly. Is this normal or something I should be worried about?

                        Comment


                          #13

                          Comment


                          • Dutchman1
                            Dutchman1 commented
                            Editing a comment
                            No, doesnt look quite right. Not sure whats wrong. Insect dmg? Leafminer? I dunno, just guessing. See what happens with the new leaves. Youll have a better idea.

                          #14
                          Structurally the leaf is fully intact its just discolored. I guess waiting to see is my only course of action since I have no idea what else I can do at this point.

                          Comment


                          • Dutchman1
                            Dutchman1 commented
                            Editing a comment
                            Hopefully someone else more skilled will identify your problem.

                          • Campesino
                            Campesino commented
                            Editing a comment
                            Not claiming to be more skilled, but it looks like Cal to me. A lot of my plants have had Cal issues at that age... especially at low pH. But I grow in Coco, so don't know if the best option is increasing dose or raising pH in your case.

                          #15
                          Hey funkdr, I'm from MA and also started my 1st grow. Any update on your spots? Getting any better/worse?
                          Instagram: @farmerjim420
                          What is VPD?
                          diygrowdata.com

                          Completed:
                          #1 Nirvana Super Skunk - 49/49 - DWC - 64g (1 plant)
                          Completed: #2 Nirvana Lemon OG Haze - RDWC - 460g (3 plants)
                          In progress: #3 DARK HARVEST GROW CHALLENGE! (Group Thread)!
                          In progress: #3 Dark Harvest Grow Challenge - farmerjim (thread)

                          Current Setup:
                          • Scrog Tent: HydroFarm Phantom cMH reflector & ballast - Phillips MasterColor 3100/4200k
                          • Mainline Tent: HydroFarm Phantom Dual 315 cMH
                          • #diyrdwc
                          • GH Flora Trio, CalMag, Hydroguard, ArmorSi, Diamond Nectar

                          Comment


                          • thefunkdrspot
                            thefunkdrspot commented
                            Editing a comment
                            Hey farmerjim! I'm in the worcester area. Plants seem to be doing well. The spots are still there on the first leaves but nothing on the new growth so hopefully it was just a temporary problem. I'll post some updated pics. It's hard to see the spots in the new pics but they are still there on the first serrated leaves. I also might have injured those leaves while inspecting them. They look curled up and sorta wilted but that happened after I gave them a good once over. New growth however looks fine so I'm just gonna ignore that first set of leaves at this point.

                          • Dutchman1
                            Dutchman1 commented
                            Editing a comment
                            Probably a good plan thefunkdrspot

                          • Aloner
                            Aloner commented
                            Editing a comment
                            Metro West (east of Wormtown) checking in!

                        Check out our new growing community forum! (still in beta)

                        Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter!

                        Working...
                        X