A little surprise in my Aloe plant

[bubbles]

Hi folks, new to the forum, first post, first grow. So about three weeks ago I decided to separate a big clump of Aloe plant that's been dormant in my house through the winter. I was quite surprised to find a mystery sprout tangled up in the leaves. I would occasionally throw stems in the flower pot and I guess there was a seed in there that germinated. The sprout had like a four inch stem from trying to find light and I figured i'd give it a shot so I transplanted it and buried the stem much deeper and it survived.

Here I am a little over three weeks later and it appears to be doing well. I'm using some premixed super soil which was probably a little hot for the seedling. A few leaves got a little discolored after a little too much water which I think resulted in a minor nutrient burn. I have been more careful with watering (I put this straight into a three gallon bucket) and it appears OK for now. I did a FIM trim about three days ago, can't wait to see if that was successful.

I'm anxiously awaiting a sex determination so I can proceed. If it's a female I will invest in a tent and proper lighting. This morning I spotted what I think is the first hint of it's "private parts" so hopefully it turns out to be a girl. For the time being, I'm vegging it under a fairly bright CFL and I have a small fan circulating air. I have absolutely no idea what strain it is but I'm assuming it's an indica from the shape of the leaves. I rotate the plant a quarter turn every day.

I've been wanting to do a personal grow for some time so this will be good practice. We'll see what happens!

[UndergroundFarmer]

It looks healthy and looks female so far - but this is from a guy who hasn't yet raised a male plant. If you can narrow down what strains it might be, you might be able to determine whether or not the seed came from an auto or photo period plant. Still, if you don't see flowers at 4-5 weeks you'll know it's probably a photo. Good luck with your surprise!

[Rwise]

Lookin good so far! A note on the bucket, make sure there are plenty of holes in it, the girls like lots of air in the soil (I use cloth pots).
Whats the light schedule?

[bubbles]

Photo period would be ideal because I'd love to try cloning. I might as well use this plant as a test bed for growing. If I can get the hang of it, I'll surely invest in good seeds. Here's hoping that little guy in the photo turns into mommy bits...

[bubbles]

Lookin good so far! A note on the bucket, make sure there are plenty of holes in it, the girls like lots of air in the soil (I use cloth pots).
Whats the light schedule?

Yep good drainage in bucket, plenty of holes, a layer of clean creek rock in bottom topped off with a nice loamy (store bought) super soil mix. The day after I possibly over watered it, I used a pencil to poke holes down into the soil to help dry things out. The plant responded very well to that. I'm running 24 hours on my one single 100 watt CFL lol. I keep it 2 to 3 inches from top of plant. It's all I had on hand and unless this turns out to be a female, I don't really want to invest any more than the soil I purchased. For now anyway. I must say the GWE website is fantastic. I've learned so much in the last couple of weeks.

[Rwise]

IF its auto it will flower under the 24/0 at 3 - 5 weeks old (from spout), after that if it is not flowering you have a photo plant, clone away! I started with 28 watt CFLs (100 watt spoof), now I run LED when inside, at the moment we be running a few billion(+++) watts of real sunshine!

[dphipps1020]

Looks good to me so far. So, if you plan to continue growing anyway, why not get a jump start on proper equipment? If it turns out male, no biggie just get another seed (or however many you plan to grow) and try again since everything is already set up for a new grow. Just my thoughts

[Cali]

I’d say get all the equipment now because then there is no turning back you will be hooked. Also make sure you grow that Aloe Vera plant you will need it that is perfect for 1. Cloning gel, forget the hydro store gel you already have it plus 1/4 cup of aloe in 1 gallon of water a week to water your plants can’t go wrong and damn near guarantees a healthy plant.

[bubbles]

Looks good to me so far. So, if you plan to continue growing anyway, why not get a jump start on proper equipment? If it turns out male, no biggie just get another seed (or however many you plan to grow) and try again since everything is already set up for a new grow. Just my thoughts

That's a good point.

[bubbles]

I’d say get all the equipment now because then there is no turning back you will be hooked. Also make sure you grow that Aloe Vera plant you will need it that is perfect for 1. Cloning gel, forget the hydro store gel you already have it plus 1/4 cup of aloe in 1 gallon of water a week to water your plants can’t go wrong and damn near guarantees a healthy plant.

Awesome. We've had these Aloe plants around forever. I always end up with several and give away a few every year. I'll keep that in mind about using it as cloning gel, thanks.

[bubbles]

A little follow up to the Aloe plant hitchhiker. The FIM trim didn't take so I went ahead and topped it and a couple of days later defoliated the 4 biggest fan leaves. I also have 2 more lights so 3 total now for 300 watts equivalent. I was also fighting some discolored leaves which looked like a nutrient issue but using super soil I had my doubts. I suspected a ph issue, got a ph kit and sure enough our tap water is like 8.5. So now I've been letting the water sit out a couple of days to de-chlorinate, then I shake it up real good, test ph and adjust accordingly to around 6.0. Man this thing is taking off now. Started some LST too. I sure hope it turns out to be a female but regardless it sure is good practice and I'll probably keep growing if it does turn out male just to hone some skills. I'll probably take a few clones if it stays healthy. Sure is fun watching it grow, I just wish it would show some pistils in veg.

Peace.

[SoOrbudgal]

Sounds like you have all the right set up for a first grow, good job with the water issue. Our fingers are crossed for a female "something " strain for ya. I'm growing a seed i'm not sure of strain either so i'm hoping it's a fem also. Mine is just in seedling stage now. Keeps me on my toes for seeing M/F parts.