First Grow Experience Ever!

[BigBadLion]

Hey everyone!

This is my first post here and I'd like to thank the team behind growweedeasy.com for this forum, where people can come and share their own growth experiences and doubts!

And now, well! I'd like to share what I've been doing the past few days!

Day 1

I loved the idea of growing my own plants so after a lot of deliberation I decided to do it.

I was originally going to grow some Royal Queen Seeds Fems (Green Gelato + Lemon Shining Silver Haze) but the growshops I visited gave me some Autoflowering seeds so I decided to grow those first to get some faster experience. The seeds were 4 Gorilla Glue Seeds from a local seed bank (Astrogrow) and a FastBuds Girl Scout Cookies. I used the "put your seeds in water for 24 hours and then into the growing medium" method.



Day 2

The medium was going to be soil and I decided to use jiffy pellets for my next step.



Day 3 and 4

These days were uneventful. The seeds didn't come out so I used these days to build the grow tent and my lights. Also, where I was placing my seeds was somewhat cold (19~20° C or 66~68° F) so moved the seeds inside a thick cardboard box and placed it below the grow lights. The temperature inside the box was around 22-24° C (71~75° F) with a RH of 45~60%.

The tent is 80x80x180 (2.6'x2.6'x5.9') and the grow lights are from a DIY kit with 5 Citizen CLU048 1212 running at 250W real watts.



Day 5

One plant grew her stem (a Gorilla Glue) and other two started to show signs of life! (another Gorilla Glue and the GSC from FastBuds).

[BigBadLion]

Day 6

The 2nd Gorilla Glue grew a proper stem and the GSC was still hiding under the soil. The 4th Gorilla Glue also started to grow. I thought it was a good idea to move the babies to a new container as well, to one that was a little bigger than the jiffy pellets and because I thought the ones that were ahead needed the lights. I moved all of them to one of those typical red cups. For a moment I also thought that the 4th GG wasn't going to make it because the other 4 plants were already showing some kind of life.



Day 7

The yellowish leaves from the plants were now turning green and the GSC was finally growing a stem (with her seed on top). The 3rd GG started to grow as well. I still had no news from the 4th GG. At this point I also realized I was over watering them (oops!).

[BigBadLion]

Day 8

I checked the plants in the morning to see how they were doing and noticed that the GSC had like a very thin layer of skin stickied to her cotyledons and after reading a lot this problem seemed to be called "Helmet Head" and a good way to fix it was use some "warm" water with a Q-tip over the skin, wait some minutes and then gently peel it off. These are the photos of the plant in both the morning (the GSC) and 3 of the Gorilla Glues (still nothing from the 4th). The leaves from the GSC looked weird tho, no idea why.

This day I also bought an humidifier because the plants were staying at around 35~38% RH and now I'm aiming between 50~85% RH for this stage (after this I plan to keep it around 50~65% RH).



Day 9

I forgot to take some photos in the morning but the 4th GG finally showed up! And she was suffering from the same issue as the GSC (Helmet Head, I didn't take a photo, my bad!). But so far all 5 plants were up now! The 2nd GG was catching in size the 1st one, so I suppose I must've shocked her somehow.

[BigBadLion]

Day 11

I didn't take any photo of the 10th day because the plants were all growing in similar conditions but on the 11th day I noticed the 2nd Gorilla Glue outgrew the 1st one (she still seems to be stunned).



Day 13

Today is the 13th day. I still need to take some photos but the 2nd Gorilla Glue main leaves have outgrown the cup (but she still has not grown a proper 3rd node, just some leaves that are probably going to be the 3rd one) and the other plants are close to outgrow their cups.

I'm clueless. Should I wait a bit more or should I just go ahead and do it? I don't want to rootbound my plants but at the same time I don't want to do it way too early (and some small roots are starting to show below the cup). Their final pots would be 10 liter (2.6 gallon) containers (air pots).

Also, I don't know if my plants are growing fast, the website it says that the plant should be around its 4th or 5th node if I want to "top it" (which I won't, too scared to do it in my first grow) after 14 days (when do I start counting? After the stem and cotyledons show up? Or after I placed the seems in the soil?).

Anyway, if anyone has any kind of suggestion I'd love to hear them! I'll use Biobizz to feed them as well!



Thanks!

[Potted]

Welcome, seedling look good,u can transplant as soon as leaves overgrow the cup. Transplant and wait a few days till the chance of stress passes an then top at the fourth node, you’ll do great👍

[BigBadLion]

Even if the 3rd set of leaves have not grown yet? Also, while I transplant this one, should I leave the other ones in their respective cups for now?

Thanks for the huge help!

[Pyro1711]

BigBadLion nice little grow journel started! First question for you...how did the GSC plant end up leaf wise? I'm growing the exact same seed/breeder and my GSC actually has a deformed leaf or two on her...

Ok...now on to my .03 cents worth...Don't ever believe these timelines that are given for autos is my first piece of advice to you. Everything grows different and she will be ready when she is ready. DO NOT BE SCARED TO TOP THEM when you get to 4th or ,5th node..you'll Be glad you did in the long run. What is your soil medium?? What type of lights are you running, and how far away are they? I would definitely get them into their final pot if the leaves are wider than your solo cup. Autos don't like to be moved much, you'll experience some slight stunting...mine do it all the time and I have NOT had an auto yet that is done in X amount of days as they claim... Go real light on your nutes...I know nothing about "biobizz" so I can't suggest any help there... I start mine out at 1\4 strength and slowly work em to 1\2 strength as they get bigger.. You might want to experiment with ONE of your GG plants and watch how she reacts to your nutes. Your little girls are looking very nice...I'll wait to see what your soil is before I make any suggestions.

[BigBadLion]

Hey! Thanks for taking your time to check my post!

Starting day 6 all the "first pictures" (minus the group photos) from my diary correspond to the GSC (the 2nd one is the 1st GG, the 2nd the 3rd GG, etc.). In the very first photos que can also tell her leaves are "different" compared to all the other ones (they look like rugged or something like that).

The soil is called "Light Mix" by BioBizz which is (as the name suggests) low on fertilizers. I also have the Indoor Try Pack from them which contains 3 bottles, one is for growing (Bio Grow 4-3-6), the other one is for flowering (Bio Bloom 2.0-7-4) and the last one is called Top Max which seems to be a blooming stimulant. All their products are organic. Some people who has used Biobizz told me to start with half dose and then see how the plants adapt.

The lights are 5 COBs (Citizen CLU048 1212 3500K) with each of them running at 50w (and they are standing at ~20 inches (50cm) from the plants. They are some full spectrum lights with some decent PAR/PPFD values.

And about topping, I really want to do it, but I fear I might end making a mistake considering it's my first time growing (I was thinking to actually do some LST, which seems to be a safer bet!)


Thanks again!

[BigBadLion]

Hey!

I bring photos more photos!

Day 13

The 2nd Gorilla Glue was outgrowing the cup and the 3rd one seemed to be doing as well (her stem was short so I couldn't really tell) so I moved them to their final pots! The GSC and the 1st GG are close to reach the right height as well so probably tomorrow I'll transplant them as well.

I think tho that I'm probably losing some soil space there... so I was thinking to lift the seedlings again and fill them with a little more soil. Should I do that before it's too late?

The order of the photos is this one: General photo, GSC, GG1, GG2, GG2 in her new pot, GG3, GG3 in her new pot and GG4.




Thanks again!

[Nartak]

I don't know if it's just me but GG2 & GG4 and maybe a bit the GSC look faint in color...Maybe just a 1/4 of the dose slowly slowly?

[BigBadLion]

Hey man! So far I've just been feeding them with osmosis filtered water! (Ppm is around 200 and the pH is around 6.3~6.6) but I've noticed that the 2nd set of leaves in the GG2 look a little like claws (I suppose that's because of the overwatering? Because I doubt it's Nitrogen Toxicity at this stage!).

[Nartak]

Hey BBL and welcome to GWE!

You should know that biobizz is a great company well known for great taste,yields and growth from her organic nutes. I can actually tell you a whole operation i know run on biobizz light mix and their nutrients under 5kW of Quantum Boards.
I also use biobizz light mix for my last 3 grows and im very happy with it,i just add 30-40% perlite in 25L fabric pots using Advanced Nutrients line and im very happy!!

Now for some notes..

but the growshops I visited gave me some Autoflowering seeds so I decided to grow those first to get some faster experience.

This isn't necessarily true. Though Autoflowering strains have a shorter natural cycle from seed to harvest most people that don't trust the autoflower fashion stick to photoperiod plants and a 12/12 Light Schedule from Seed that gives off great yields if used with a Sea Of Green or ,LST & ScrOG .It will take anywhere from 9-12 weeks from seed to harvest (also depends on the profile you want for terpenes and THC/CBD content)and you don't have to cultivate any Ruderalis percentage in your strains. To be honest i am thinking of doing this because i have about 13 Church seeds from GreenHouseSeeds and i need them to go! So doing 9 in 10L pots as a Sea Of Greenfor 10 weeks might just give me a decent yield and i get to use old seeds!

Another thing to note is transplanting.I know a lot of people will jump at me for this but there have been many journals that prove that it only spends you soil,especially with autos since the recommended max pot size is 20L for them to reach their potential (~160cm if not LSTed or Topped).You also have Airpots which seem to be the best thing after Coco Coir/Pebbles and DWC/Hydro so the root system will constantly prune itself when it hits an edge and start growth a bit before the edge was met,moving to another direction and so forth...

Your Node Spacing is great for now and it seems you did overwater them a tad but they will survive!
Great setup,nice strains to start with and great presentation! You're a natural Green Thumb

I will also be growing a GSC and other Fastbuds autos in my grow next week,i already setup a journal.Im qurious to see how they will all turn out! Pyro1711 Do you have a journal with the GSC?
And i will also be growing GG Autos from Fastbuds but not sure how many yet...I really wanted to plant as many seeds as a strain has phenotypes but i'll have to weigh that out with my urge to grow 5 different autos...

A quote from Advanced Breeding Techniques on GWE site.

Phenotypes

Phenotype = Genetics + Environment

A “phenotype” is simply a list of all the various traits that you observe in a plant (how a plant grows, how the buds turn out, etc). You’ll likely hear this word a lot when talking about breeding cannabis strains.

People might talk about how a strain has a “tall” or “short” phenotype, or perhaps that some of the plants display a “pink” phenotype that grows pink buds.

Phenotypes are like the traits children get from their parents. Each child is a different phenotype. So YOU are a phenotype made from your parents, and each of your siblings (if you have any) would be a different phenotype.

Imagine two parents; one is very tall and the other is very short. Each of their children could be tall or short. But if both parents and everyone in their family are tall, chances are their children will be tall too.

This is similar to how phenotypes work with plants.

Enjoy the experience buddy and keep us posted with pictures of your lovely baby girls!!

Keep it Green

[BigBadLion]

Thanks for the welcome Nartak!

And I'm glad to hear some good stuff about Biobizz. I was thinking to buy some more perlite for my future transplants, probably my plants will thank me! Also, I've heard "Bio-Heaven" is their star product. Should I buy one of those? They say it helps a lot with recovery and to help with plant shock!

Also, while I thought about doing a SoG (with 7L pots) with feminized seeds I thought it'd be a bad idea as my first attempt, plus seeds where I live are rather expensive x__x also, probably growing some fems would probably helped me as well (since they allow more room to make mistakes) but I feared that the whole thing would take a bit too much time!

But for now the 10lt containers I got seem to be a good call for now! Today or tomorrow I'll move the 1st GG which is still in a solo cup, she's curling a bit now which worries me (makes me think the soil she's in needs some work) and the size of the leaves are somewhat bigger than the cup as well. I'll also move the GSC (she also seems to be stunned or she's just slower than the other ones)

I'll check your journal and I'll keep this one updated.


Thanks! <3

[Potted]

I ran 2 GSC autos on my last grow in soil from fast buds,came away with 6 oz’s dry with 14” colas and as big around as a water bottle. Thay seem to like the notes,and was a easy grow! Good luck and keep posting.😁

[BigBadLion]

That sounds awesome!

And that's indeed a lot for two GSC!

How much did it take from seed to harvest by the way?

[Potted]

Do u mean how long it took?about 31/2 months from seed

[BigBadLion]

Yeah, exactly that!

They took their sweet time for sure, but I bet their final product was amazing! How big were your pots?

[Nartak]

I can't find reason to harvest anything before 9 weeks or 10...

[Potted]

3gal smart pots on risers

[BigBadLion]

Day 14

Today I moved the first GG from the cup to her final pot. Her leaves were twisting and I fear that might be because the soil she was in wasn't in the best condition.

The youngest plant is growing slowly but steady and I need to remind myself as well that her cup has a little less soil compared to the other ones so probably I'll need to transplant her soon to avoid any possible issues in the future. The GSC leaves seem to be curling a bit (like with the 1st GG) so I was thinking to maybe transplant her now or tomorrow in the morning. Any opinions on that?

I also bought an energy booster (to help the plants to recover a bit faster). Is this a good moment to actually use it? Or should I wait a little longer?

Here's a picture of the GG in her new "home".

[Nartak]

Hey BBL, i wouldn't worry about what you are seeing there.A lot of plant's first leaves go like that,a lil less, a lil more,unless you're not ontop of your soil's Ph,everything is fine!

As for the booster,if it isn't biobizz don't use it..I would start on today using 1/4th of recommended dose feeding them all 100-200ml in the airpots...

[BigBadLion]

Hey Nartak!

Thanks for saying that haha. I feel like an overprotective father who worries a bit too much :P

I've been feeding my plants only osmosis water but that's getting a little too expensive. I also lower its pH till it reaches 6.3~6.6. Tap water in here has about 500~700 PPM and 1300 us/cm which I fear is a bit too much but I don't think I can continue to use the good quality water.

I also spoke with the dude who made this booster and he told me if I use half doze I should be fine. He also recommended me to just use his product line but since I already have the other kit he said that probably I'm going to be fine since Biobizz is quite "soft" (his own words haha).

Thanks again!

[BigBadLion]

Same Day 14

Moved the GSC to her final pot, I hope she likes it!

Probably tomorrow I'll transfer the last baby, her cup doesn't have a lot of soil and I think that might end being negative in the long run!

[D.A.A.S.69]

Nartak, are you talking about just water ec or nutrient water ec,want burn your plants, sorry but I didn't quite unstand that comment,

[Nartak]

I mean the water EC alone.Just plain tap water EC never hurt my plants no matter what stage i just Phed it from 5.8-6.5 depending on the plants stage and it was fine...And yes i did add the EC i wanted extra ontop of the tap water EC.

Now i don't even use the EC meter,i just add the ml according to a certain schedule and everything works out fine,i even give less at times (i see deficiencies)

[D.A.A.S.69]

Thanks, for explaining, lots of folks call nute burn, ec burn.

[Potted]

Only use on seedlings every other watering and always ph your water to 6.5 that’s ideal for pot to grow best in, if using town water allow the water to breath for a few hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate,well draining soil is another must, plus letting the seedlings dry out good before watering them again is another 👍good thing to do.all the best on your grow, lol