1st Real Indoor Grow

[BongRIP79]

Hello everyone. How are we? I am having some issues with my 1st what I call "real indoor grow" I grew a few Oz's a few yrs ago in some Rubbermaid totes with cfl's but that was another story. Fast forward to now,
Cabinet: 3x3x5.5
Lights: Veg-4-300w Marshydro 60x3w Flower- 600w dimmable hps
Nutes: Fox Farms Trio with Epsom salt and unsulphered molasses on hand
Fan: Terra Bloom 6" inline with passive intake
Soil: 50/50 Coco/perlite
Genetics: Nirvana Blue Dream and Aurora Indica
Germination: paper towel method
Temps/humidity: 80 lights on/68 off. RH high 64 low 55

Everything germed fine. Popped thru, 1st week decent growth. Week 2 trouble. 1 AI died. The BD is severely stunted. Popped 2 more 1 week after 1st 2. BD is doing great. 1st BD and 2nd AI doing horrible. I watered with distilled water 1 time because my air went out this weekend. The lights are 30in from plants. I won't have a ph meter till this weekend. The perlite is miracle grow and the Coco is pre loaded with a light fert (.06 .03 .03). Tips are yellowing. Color is all jacked up. I have pics. 1st pic Blue Dream wk1 All 3 with light on. It's was 2 days ago before air was fixed. It's 77 now. Next is another Blue Dream at 2wks and last is Aurora Indica at 1 wk. New growth is pale. Tips look gray before drying out. I know about N toxicity (claw waxy dark leaves) nite and light burn but I had 5 plants in 1-3 gal pot in miracle grow under 24-26w cfl's and they started better than this.

[Colombo]

Hey BongRip79, What is you watering schedule, how much and how often? do you PH water to 6.5 Do you have a place with natural sun light inside you can use till they get a little larger? less stressful on the seedling just starting off. Most times the plant grows out with no issues. Good Growing !!

[BongRIP79]

Watered plain water after 1st week. Then again a few days ago. I know you don't water much with LED but you got to frequently water Coco. It's confusing. I'm getting a ph meter Saturday. I know my tap water is 8.0 and the distilled should be 7. Was going to use cidar vinegar to bring it to 6.0/6.5.

[Colombo]

Hey BongRip79, I found this researching for quickest way to lower PH and is beneficial to plant. About 15 drops of lemon juice per gallon of water drops ph from lower 8 to mid 6. Watering your plants is based on the plant requirements and growth rate not the led lights. (They give off less heat) When you water, water till it drips out of the bottom of the pots and water every 4 days and adjust your schedule based on the water uptake/evaporation by the plants due to temps. When your plants get the second set of leaves up, start a light feed 1/4 strength. As the plant grows so does the feed. Start a grow log calendar that tracks your water/feed/problems/etc. that you check off each day for future grows and knowledge. Welcome to the GWE and enjoy your grow !! Good Growing !!

[BongRIP79]

Thank you Colombo. I have been a member on 2 other forums for years. But the bickering and fighting was too much. I've been following Nebula for a few years and am glad I signed up. I have a ton of exp growing outdoors but the indoor thing is all new to me. The marshydro's were a gift a few yrs ago before we knew better. I will getting quantum boards after a few grows with these. I would like to not use my 600w hps because of heat and extra electric expenses. It's already $350 a month during the summer. I want to get to where I can grow good bud with crappy lights so when I upgrade I'm ready. I followed your advice on ph and plants are doing better. I put them back under cfl and will keep them there a few days.

[Canuck147]

Good start - although any material with the words 'Miracle Grow' I would not use.

[Mr.furley]

Watering in Coco is a breeze BongRIP79. With or without nutrients,
1)just make sure your are pHed between 5.8 and 6.3
2). Water till you get 20% runoff out the bottom
3) wait till your top inch is dry or your pot is lite when lifted

I typically find every two to three days in a 5 gallon fabric pot. some peeps water more, alot more and that's OK but I don't find its needed

[MeestaFeesha]

I agree with Mr. Furley and Colombo on the watering. I've been better lately, as I can't lift my big pots, but before would not water until my 7gal fabric pots were "light". The girls will let you know when they're needing a drink.

For the love of cannabis, get a written diary or phone calendar notes for watering+feeding+issues. Colombo once again on point! 😋. It's very nice to be able to look back at examples, or jog the memory.

[BongRIP79]

Thanks for the replies. Starting a journal for feeding/etc. Might as well treat it like a workout log I guess. I'll have more pics soon. They look the same but bigger and healthier. I put them back under led since the issues have cleared up and are gaining size. May have to play with height for a few days but I think I can do this.

[Colombo]

Start at 28" and work your way down 1" at a time until you find the sweet spot. Watch for the leaves reaching for the lights real strong !
Then you have some happy girls ! Good Growing !!

[BongRIP79]

[Colombo]

They look very happy !

[BongRIP79]

Day 18 from seed. Fresh from transplant. Hopefully won't shock much. Lamp is at 24". Will begin LST and fimming once they put on some size. 2 tsp cidar vinegar with 1/4 strength nutes puts my water at 6.1. May play with it a bit to fluctuate it thru it's range for better nute absorbtion.