I'm gonna start a journal, and am going to try using photos from the start, so it will be somewhat complete. Hope this is OK, but this first post I will get wordy so anybody interested will know where I'm coming from. I have previously put other specific questions in other threads to get help, but now realize a journal will be useful. I am now at 7 weeks from planting with my first grow. The plants seem to be doing well.
I think the actual planting day was 14 Nov.
This grow was pretty much a snap decision brought on by a second hand purchase of tent, 300W LED light, exhaust fan with variable speed, charcoal filter (used for one grow only) hangers, timer, and a few miscellaneous things for $275 Cdn. Then I started reading up, and decided it would be fun, and at a minimal cost of the seeds, I should just do it, and if it goes bad - I would learn. So - seeds started. Then I found out from a trade show about Sohum Living Soil, that purportedly wouldn't need and nutrients, and being lazy decided to go with that stuff. Pricey - around $40Cdn per bag, and i ended up using 1 .3 bags.
3 by 3 by 5 ft tent,
300w LED with 3w diodes (no brand name, but with a flowering switch) used till 7 weeks but now using a metal halide 600W digital set-up which is set at 60% after first day of use.
4 inch exhaust fan with VFD and filter
3 gallon fabric pots, Sohum living soil and coco. no nutrients at all (yet)
used Nebula's method of manifolding
4 plants from seed. Blueberry, White Rhino, Critical Widow, Cinderella 99.
I will apologize for the first photos, as i didnt think of using flas till reading later.
1. The first photo is from 18 Nov. I had started 5 seeds, but the Ob-Wan Kush didn't make it (not sure what happened) . Ends up just as well, since even with four my tent is crowded. Oops.
2. Second photo is a week later. I had by now decided to use the living soil, but only had some samples to start - so to fill the pots i had, I put coco coir 1 inch thick all around and bottom, then filled with the soil. I had ordered the soil which was expected to take 3 weeks.
3. Third photo is 1 Dec for the group of 4, and next is a photo from that day. this is where I realized how cold and dry it was in my basement. leaves were not quite right, but soon after adding humidity and an oil heater inside the tent, things went better.
4. fourth photo is of one of the plants on 1 Dec. they all looked very similar. I also at this point switched to a lower wattage (49w) from the 300W as I read about light damage and got scared it might be causing a little yellowing. I got my soil and re-potted them 2 Dec. I put 1.5 inches coco on the bottom of the pots, and around the sides as well - based on a friend"s recommendation (he has since proven to not be as expert as he claimed)
5. fifth photo is of the group on Dec 9, so they are just under 4 weeks old, and have been in the 3 gallon pots for a week. I trimmed em back two days earlier on 7 Dec, to follow Nebula's method, as I had been doing quite a bit of research. At this point, from my research, it appears mine are a fair amount behind what many others get - but they look healthy. I did post to another forum and was told i trimmed way to early, but again they look healthy.
More later. Thanks if you took the time to read.
I think the actual planting day was 14 Nov.
This grow was pretty much a snap decision brought on by a second hand purchase of tent, 300W LED light, exhaust fan with variable speed, charcoal filter (used for one grow only) hangers, timer, and a few miscellaneous things for $275 Cdn. Then I started reading up, and decided it would be fun, and at a minimal cost of the seeds, I should just do it, and if it goes bad - I would learn. So - seeds started. Then I found out from a trade show about Sohum Living Soil, that purportedly wouldn't need and nutrients, and being lazy decided to go with that stuff. Pricey - around $40Cdn per bag, and i ended up using 1 .3 bags.
3 by 3 by 5 ft tent,
300w LED with 3w diodes (no brand name, but with a flowering switch) used till 7 weeks but now using a metal halide 600W digital set-up which is set at 60% after first day of use.
4 inch exhaust fan with VFD and filter
3 gallon fabric pots, Sohum living soil and coco. no nutrients at all (yet)
used Nebula's method of manifolding
4 plants from seed. Blueberry, White Rhino, Critical Widow, Cinderella 99.
I will apologize for the first photos, as i didnt think of using flas till reading later.
1. The first photo is from 18 Nov. I had started 5 seeds, but the Ob-Wan Kush didn't make it (not sure what happened) . Ends up just as well, since even with four my tent is crowded. Oops.
2. Second photo is a week later. I had by now decided to use the living soil, but only had some samples to start - so to fill the pots i had, I put coco coir 1 inch thick all around and bottom, then filled with the soil. I had ordered the soil which was expected to take 3 weeks.
3. Third photo is 1 Dec for the group of 4, and next is a photo from that day. this is where I realized how cold and dry it was in my basement. leaves were not quite right, but soon after adding humidity and an oil heater inside the tent, things went better.
4. fourth photo is of one of the plants on 1 Dec. they all looked very similar. I also at this point switched to a lower wattage (49w) from the 300W as I read about light damage and got scared it might be causing a little yellowing. I got my soil and re-potted them 2 Dec. I put 1.5 inches coco on the bottom of the pots, and around the sides as well - based on a friend"s recommendation (he has since proven to not be as expert as he claimed)
5. fifth photo is of the group on Dec 9, so they are just under 4 weeks old, and have been in the 3 gallon pots for a week. I trimmed em back two days earlier on 7 Dec, to follow Nebula's method, as I had been doing quite a bit of research. At this point, from my research, it appears mine are a fair amount behind what many others get - but they look healthy. I did post to another forum and was told i trimmed way to early, but again they look healthy.
More later. Thanks if you took the time to read.
