My first grow.. All good?

[Weed Whisperer]

First off.. This site is great. It has been very helpful for me getting going. Like to garden.. Like to smoke weed.. I really should combine those two.
My setup is indoor in a Jardin DR120. (4'x4'6.5') 6" fan to a 6" cool tube with a 600w Hortilux HPS. No filter yet but will pick one up when I am closer to needing it.
I have a couple of small cfl's 23w as well and move them around to get some light into the lower branches.. Not sure how much help that is but I enjoy moving them around like I know what I am doing...
Was thinking of changing them for Sunblaster 125w cfl's but not sure if they will fit a regular socket. Bulbs are about $80 CAN and don't want to add more expense for new sockets.. My thought was to ultimately have 4x125w cfl's to move around the floor...

I started with bag seeds I have collected in the last year or so... They are supposed to be Afghan Kush but I have no idea if they are or how to tell. Anyone help out there? I have 11 plants and they could be 11 different strains for al I know at this point.

Germinated with the paper towel method and then right into solo cups. Now in bigger pots (1 gallon maybe).. Plan is to move them soon to bigger pots this coming weekend..(3 gallon I think)... Coco from the beginning.. Green Planet Dual Fuel + Aussie Tonic (Vitamins) + Cal-Mag in Ph'd water> Will add Massive, Liquid 8 and finisher during bloom.

So dates..
Germinating last week of Sept.
Oct 7th seedlings in Solo cups.
Oct 16th into gallon pots.
Oct 24th topped 7 of 11 plants at 4th or 5th node.. I did not count the first leaves as a node..
Oct 29th weekend into 3 gallon pots, (final transplant me thinks)


So.. I think it's going all right but not sure if I should be doing anything else..? Tallest plant is around 7" after topping. Is a week long enough to recover from the stress of topping to transplant into final pots..? How much longer should I veg? My thought was 2 weeks but that is based on.. well.. nothing really. An uneducated guess..

 

[Weed Pharma]

Damn- for a first grow you are rock'n it!
As far as final container- you have about another week you COULD wait. I use the 1 gallon per month expected growth and for every 12" of final growth.
So @ 3 gallons I would expect plant to end up around 3ft tall and need 3 more months combination veg/flower.

A typical scenario for me would be 1 gallon until 1 week before flowering-(i only veg for 5+ weeks from sprout- 2 full weeks in solo and 3 weeks in 1 gal) then transplant into final container- allow to settle for 3 days and then flip if all is well.
As far as side lights - I personally feel that you tend to remove the lower leaves and allow the canopy to get full lights- and the only thing side light MAY do is add to total light.

 

[Green75]

Looking great...keep it up. Do you have any plans on training them?

 

[Karlee]

Are you growing all those in a tent that size? 2 filled up my tent in the last grow with that light?

Have a plan before each grow it happens fast, and write down things it helps.

 

[insomniaczzz]

Look great!

Are they all girls? If you don't know, best to find out sooner rather than later. You can switch to bloom cycle, force them to show their sex, then switch back to veg cycle. No point in spend lots of time, money and energy on boys if you don't have to (like we did). After you've weeded out the boys, use others advice and start training, etc. Top them for sure

 

[Weed Whisperer]

Thanks! I owe a lot to the tutorials on this site.
It is great to be able to ask questions when you are not sure what you are doing.. Reading only gets you so far lol.
Also thanks for the information. I will leave in the 1 gallon containers for 2 weeks. Transplant to 3 gallon and flip to 12/12 if all is well after 3 days following transplant.
I was pretty sure the cfl's were not a lot of help but I will continue to shuffle them around for my amusement.

I was thinking of cutting clones from the plants at some point. After the transplant to the final container and the three days to settle.. Is that a good time to cut the clones and flip to 12/12?

 

[Weed Whisperer]

Other than topping them I had no plans to train. I do want to try training at some point but not my first grow. I just want to get through it as safely as possible.
Even topping them was a great internal debate.

No idea of sex yet. I am hoping it will show soon into bloom. I don't mind keeping care of them until then but I know it will hurt to tear them out if they turn out male and I dare think about the time and effort I spent on them. I have to say it would be nice to know before the last transplant but I have resigned myself to doing the work first.

Agreed.. 11 plants seemed like a lot to me for a 4'x4'6.5' tent.. Being my first grow I figured I would have lost some plants before now.I have not managed to kill any yet.
I had hoped to reach bloom with 6 females. It may turn out to be more.. I have no idea how many to expect to lose when their sex shows.

I have a journal going. It's a great idea. Especially with my memory...

Thanks again to everyone for their input and help. It's great.

 

[Weed Pharma]

You can take clones anytime- however- taking them from (lower) branches, (unlikely to reach the canopy) just before the flip to 12/12 seems to work for me.
Make sure you mark the clones- so you know which ones are female and you will only have to grow out 6 next grow.

 

[Karlee]

I promise you you will regret growing to many in your tent, for training and watering, you need to have them handy to access. I grew 3 in a gorilla tent 4x4x7 and my tent was crowded 2 it was full but I could have access and when the colas are leaning you want to yo-yo and get in there.

Hindsight I would have grown one to figure it all out. Still 3 would be my limit with training. In a tent

 

[Canuck147]

All the info here is good. I agree with Karlee, that size tent will be very crowded in no time. You also say the 125 watter is $80 Canadian, welcome fellow Canadian. The 125 watter needs a ballast connection, I know, I have one. It seems to me you are doing a lot with your first grow, not saying one can't but.............sometimes simpler is better. Just saying, some plants don't need as much help as you think they do. Just don't overwater.

 

[PuravidaC]

I only use CFL for my grows. I have a unique set up but my overhead lights (single plant only) are four, 150w CFL that can be purchased at most hardware stores and they have a standard base. They draw 42w each. I use a 4 way splitter with a reflector but you are trying to in-fill from the side so your needs are a little different. 150w CFL at big box are around $10 USD. My Mom is Canadian so I'm 1/2 way there!

 

[Weed Whisperer]

Lol.. Yes. Sometimes I think I have bit off more than I can chew.. I was assuming I could manage 6 plants tops in my space.. I know as some point I will lose a number to being males.. Say I end up with 8-9 going into bloom.. What are my best options.. ? What training could I do? Would it be easier to just pick the best few plants and turf the rest.. after cutting clones. I imagine topping them has only made my potential space problem worse.

Karlee filling the tent with 2 plants has me concerned. Also, good point about access to water and tend to..

So much to keep in mind.

Yes. Canadian here. Was just watching the first snowflakes come down.. won't stay but it won't be long until it does..

 

[Canuck147]

hehehe.......that's why ya gotta live on the wet west coast. Hardly snows here at all, looks good on the mountains tho.

 

[NebulaHaze]

If you're growing a lot of plants the main thing is you just need to remember to flip to the flowering stage by the time they've completely filled the canopy. If you let them grow for too long before switching to flowering it can get out of control quickly with so many plants! One cool thing about growing many smaller plants (as opposed to a few big ones) is you can start flowering sooner because they fill up the tent faster, and so you get to harvest sooner!

If you're interested in their gender, you can look at the "joints" where the fan leaves meet the stem. If you look carefully all over the plant you can usually find one with "pre-flowers" by the time the plant is 4 or 5 weeks old. It doesn't mean the plant is flowering; each plant naturally makes a couple tiny pre-flowers once it's reached a certain age. If you look for them you can figure out what the gender is while the plants are still in the vegetative stage

Here's a page with what to look for to find the gender!

Your plants look great so far!

 

[Weed Whisperer]

No Title

Update: I now have 8 plants in 3 gallon pots. I identified 3 males and pulled them. Out of the 8 left there are 5 confirmed females. Not sure of the other 3 although I suspect at least 2 more are female. The shortest plant is 12" and the tallest is 19" .. most of the rest are around 15-16". Today will be their first day of 12/12. I am concerned that if I end up with 7 plants showing female.. well, I am going to stretch the limit of the 4'x4'x6.5' tent and 600w hps light.. I was thinking of moving to a 1000w hps but have heard that because you can keep a 600w much closer to the plants it actually brings more lumens to the plants.. I have my 600w just over a foot from the tallest plant and have no problems.
I have cut 20 clones in the last few days. They seem to be doing well. They are in rock wool, under a dome, heating pad, T5 lighting 18/6 schedule.
I realized that if my plan was to cut clones to veg while flowering then my little 2'x1' stand with 2x20" T5's was not going to get me far.. So now that light stand sits in a 3'x3'x5.5' tent with a 400w mh. light I will use once the clones are ready for coco in solo cups. Hopefully that will allow me to veg in one until I harvest in the other.. Seems like something I should have figured out awhile ago..

My biggest question at this point is the flowering tent .. 4'x4'x6.5' with 600w hps.. Is there anything to the argument that because a 600w runs cooler it can be kept closer to the plants and therefore provide more lumens than a 1000w hps .. Is a 600w hps + 2x200w cfl's a better option..? Just the 600w hps and stop fu**king with it!!

 

[NebulaHaze]

I always find it interesting when people use rockwool to clone, as I've had pretty poor results cloning with rockwool (I like Rapid Rooters) because I feel like rockwool gets waterlogged. But your clones look huge, green and healthy so they definitely like how you do it! Just curious what's your cloning technique?

I would stick with the 600W by itself considering the space you're in. Adding 2 x 200W of CFLs on top of the 600W would add more heat than just getting a 1000W, because CFLs put out more heat/watt than HPS lights. I don't think adding CFLs will do anything for you in that space. If you're keeping the 600W less than 16" away from your plants, you're likely already giving your plants more light than they can use. I really don't think the 1000W would give you a significant advantage over your current setup because you'd have to keep it further away while your plants get the same amount of light (and you'd be using 2/3 more electricity).

One thing you might consider is getting a better hood, that will spread the light out further, so the plants at the edges get more light instead of it being blocked by the reflector. I like this one because it spread out the light a lot and it's actually pretty cheap. Some of the more expensive options have even better glass and reflectivity than that one, though I think the one I linked to is pretty great especially if you keep the glass really clean When you've already got the right size HPS for a space, getting a better hood can make a difference to your yields. Just a thought

Though I just have to say, your tent looks like it's set up well and your plants look wonderful!

 

[Tika]

I say this with respect and admiration:
folks we have another gungho newbie with us!!!!
Welcome Weed Wisperer if I hadn't said already.
looks just great
ps I did 4 5 gal smart pots in my. 3x3 Jardin 1st grow with 250 hps..ask-47 and all came out fine.
consider feminized seeds at some point
good luck!

 

[Charlie]

looking good

 

[Weed Whisperer]

Thanks Tika. It's true.. I am gungho. Although I have to say at week 10 the biggest thing I have learned so far is patience. Read a lot. Listen.
So far, so good.