First time grower | Looking for advice

[MDR]

Hi Everyone

I'm new here and to growing cannabis. Not much of a user, but I really enjoy growing plants and wanted to give cannabis a try. I bought some White Widow feminized seeds and jumped in before actually doing the proper research. The plants seem healthy from what I can tell, but based on the research I've done on this site, I'm pretty sure I've made some errors along the way. Below is a descriptions of my setup. Happy to hear anyone's advice. I'm not sensitive to constructive criticism and I don't claim to know what I'm doing.

I originally planted the seeds in a Click N Grow indoor herb garden. I've successfully used it to grow many other plants, so I assumed cannabis would be no different. I used their Experimental Plant Pods to germinate the seeds. The website doesn't provide much detail on the soil composition but it does say the pod includes no GMOs, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, or plant hormones. I'm hoping this means there are no time released nutrients because the pod basically makes up the entire root ball for each plant.



Like most things grown in the CnG the seeds spouted within days. Our tap water locally holds a consistency of Ph7, and the CnG has a lighting cycle of 16/8. After the seeds sprouted I started manually controlling the light cycle to 19/5. The temperature of our finished basement holds at about 20C / 68F. After about 4 weeks the plants each had 3 nodes and starting grow secondary shoots. However I started to notice that the bottom leaves were either turning dark green with a downward curl or getting yellowing tips. I've no expert at diagnosing this stuff, but I read this could be a nutrient problem or overwatering.



I'm not looking to have a grow tent, so the set up is out in the open.

Lighting: Feit Electric 2 ft. 2-Light 19W White LED Full Spectrum Linkable Grow Light
Soil: (sad) Miracle Gro Potting Mix



I quickly learned that Miracle Go is problematic for cannabis growth, especially in the flowering stage. The assistant at the store said it's a very mild nutrient charge that would be gone in 2 weeks. Even if that is true, I also ready this soil has horrible drainage. Since then I bought the following products to help fix this dilemma

• Dyna Gro Grow
• Dyna Gro Bloom
• General Hydroponics Cocotek
• Perolite

I also bought a PH kit and tester as advertised on this site. Before I start to transplant my plants to the new medium, I wanted to check if that is wise. What are the risks of stressing the plants out when transplanting them twice in less than a couple weeks? I'm hoping the roots haven't expanded too much. How soon would I have to add the Dyna Gro Grow to the new medium?



Here are a couple example of the leaves with concerns



Long Term Goals

• Not looking for huge yields.
• Would like to keep one as a house plant with proper lighting above
• Clones when possible
• I'd like to train one of them into a bonsai
• If possible; I'd like to return one of the plants into Veg after they flower. I like having the same plant for sentimental reasons.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice shared.

[9fingerleafs]

hello and welcome, everything looks great, they look very healthy. looks like theyre stretching a bit too much between nodes, i think you need more light to keep them from stretching even more.

[SoOrbudgal]

Hmmm a lot to digest here I am not an expert by any means but I do follow the GWE guides to growing weed in order to harvest at the max of my efforts. As you know I think you know you have nute burn from the tips. I think your light may be weak to grow out 4 full size photos. What i'm about to say is a proven element used for growing weed which most of us on this site have used and have had great results. We want our weed to grow to it's fullest potential not average not low yields.
Your plants are 4-5wks old.
They really need to be transplanted into no less than 3gal best 5gal containers preferable fabric.
They require being photos no less than 18/6 on-off they will require a dark period of 12hrs on 12hrs off to promote flowering stage.
What you are attempting to do is grow house plants right now not weed. They need a controlled environment indoors of light, temps, air flow, at this point.
Your plants look good at this point but soon that may change do to the limitations you have in place. Good Luck I hope you can pull this off. I don't mean to be negative but we are serious about growing weed for our personal consumption here. Peace

[Tersky]

However I started to notice that the bottom leaves were either turning dark green with a downward curl or getting yellowing tips. I've no expert at diagnosing this stuff, but I read this could be a nutrient problem or overwatering.

To me, that sounds like nitrogen toxicity https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabi...rogen-toxicity and the tips could be nutrient burn https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabi.../nutrient-burn

I would lower your nutes a bit.
Also like 9fingerleafs said, they do seem to be a bit stretched between nodes. These plants will double, sometimes triple in height when put into flower so that has to be kept in mind when wanting to flower a plant. Mother plants can be used for clones and kept in vegetation for years. I have no experience with long term mother plants or making a bonsai out of one. Nor have i ever re-vegged a harvested plant so i cant comment on that.

[GreenState]

I'd agree they are stretching for light. At this point, I'd think about topping them above the third or fourth node(I'd lop off the top half of the plant). Depending on the heat your light puts out, I'd get it as close to possible to the plants. This would cause them to bush out at a shorter height and you'll be surprised at the growth.
Looks like it's time for larger pots as well.
They look healthy, they're savable.

[kingfish]

Since they are Photos, they need COMPLETE darkness when you switch them to flowering 12/12. What is your plan for that?

[MDR]

Since they are Photos, they need COMPLETE darkness when you switch them to flowering 12/12. What is your plan for that?

My intention is to keep one in the house as a mother, another as a possible bonsai, which would be another consistant veg plant. Give the rest away to friends. I would replant clones outside in around May next ear

[MDR]

I'd agree they are stretching for light. At this point, I'd think about topping them above the third or fourth node(I'd lop off the top half of the plant). Depending on the heat your light puts out, I'd get it as close to possible to the plants. This would cause them to bush out at a shorter height and you'll be surprised at the growth.
Looks like it's time for larger pots as well.
They look healthy, they're savable.

I bought second light to double the exposure of what i currently have. I'm most likely going to give 3 of them away and keep two to re-pot into larger containers. Now that I understand more about requirements,

[Gluteous]

Agree with GreenState that a topping is in order. Also, great point by KingFish. If you're going to flower them you don't have a good setup for that.

[MDR]

Agree with GreenState that a topping is in order. Also, great point by KingFish. If you're going to flower them you don't have a good setup for that.

To be honest, I'm not looking to flower indoors. I want to narrow down to the healthiest 2 plants and use their clones in the Spring for outdoor grows. Is this a feasible idea? I'm not looking to maximize yields here, which I understand is contrary to the general accepted norm on this forum. SoOrbudgal mentioned I'm trying to grow weed as a house plant. If my end goal is a long term mother, is this possible? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thank you everyone for the advice. It's very helpful.

[Tersky]

It's possible. Not the standard here but it's possible. A mother plant is the way you want to go and they can be kept indefinitely as long as you maintain it correctly. Unfortunately, i dont have any experience with long term mothers, but i know it can be done as the major cultivators all have mother plants and it is considered standard practice for them. Yes, here we are more focused on how we can yield the most with what we have, but im sure someone on here has experience with long term mothers. All i know is you want to keep it on 18/6 light schedule, you may have to repot a couple times or trim the root ball to keep it in the same pot, but i dont know exactly how to do those things. Sorry im not that helpful. You may want to spend some time googling. Unfortunately, although this site has a lot of information, mother pants is not one of those things we see a lot about. If i ever have the space for it i'd want to create a mother plant. Also look into training the plant as mother's will have to be trained so they dont grow too large for their space.

[MDR]

It's possible. Not the standard here but it's possible. A mother plant is the way you want to go and they can be kept indefinitely as long as you maintain it correctly. Unfortunately, i dont have any experience with long term mothers, but i know it can be done as the major cultivators all have mother plants and it is considered standard practice for them. Yes, here we are more focused on how we can yield the most with what we have, but im sure someone on here has experience with long term mothers. All i know is you want to keep it on 18/6 light schedule, you may have to repot a couple times or trim the root ball to keep it in the same pot, but i dont know exactly how to do those things. Sorry im not that helpful. You may want to spend some time googling. Unfortunately, although this site has a lot of information, mother pants is not one of those things we see a lot about. If i ever have the space for it i'd want to create a mother plant. Also look into training the plant as mother's will have to be trained so they dont grow too large for their space.

Thanks - this is extremely helpful. I already did some of what you're suggesting and you're right it is possible, but has some unique requirements. I'm thrilled to hear this is an option. I used to consume a lot in university, but it also gave me bad side effects of anxiety and paranoia. I eventually went cold turkey because it wasn't getting better. That was my experience, and don't assume the same for others. Growing it has always intrigued me, so I'm glad I can enjoy the plant in other ways.

[Tersky]

If the bud you smoke is high in thc low in cbd and is harvested early you can get anxiety and paranoia. If you ever wanted to smoke again, i would recommend a high cbd strain or lower thc strain and letting more amber develop before harvesting. You might find that sometimes these super high thc strains are just too much. CBD is great for anxiety, but not trying to push you to do something. Just my 2 cents.

Id be interested to see how everything turns out!

[MDR]

Thanks I will keep you updated

[9fingerleafs]

just to add a couple of things here, every strain is different but as a general rule there is a point when the plant needs to be replaced by a new clone, in simple terms you need to keep your mothers growing, if you give them too little light, the roots get too crowded or the plants just get too big then the plant will not grow as it should and that decrease in vigor gets reflected in flowering, meaning if you keep a mother plant under a few CFLs for a year when you root clones and get them under HIDs they will get stunned and grow at a slower rate. so to keep a plant growing its way easier to replace the mother with a new clone and flower the old mom