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Starting to think about my next grow, want input

bluecanoe

bluecanoe

New member
Okay, my last grow was sad. I harvested all of 1/4 oz. It was okay stuff. The taller plant died, it evidently wasn't photoperiod because within a week of switching to 12/12 it was dead as a doornail, kaput, DOA, no hope. I still have my clones. One is getting yellow around the leaves, but still no visible roots in the drain holes, but they are alive at 5 weeks. Still wondering if the mom didn't do anything will they??? Should I waste my time, $$, energy?
I've ordered some new seeds from a different seedbank, 3 auto Jackpot seeds (they claim it's easy to grow and will knock your socks off, but that's what the other company said about the Northern Lights) The seeds are feminized, and I will get 2 mystery feminized seeds. It'll be a few weeks if I'm lucky and they don't get stopped at customs, so I have time to get my stuff together.

My grow tent, if that's what you want to call it, is about 2 ft deep, and 4ft tall. I plan on using homemade soil, 50% compost, 25% sand and 25% vermiculite. I plan on feeding from the veg stage, unless I need to start sooner like after germination, since there are no nutrients added to the soil I plan to make, other than what's in the compost.

I don't think I'm going to grow all 5 plants at once. Plus the 2 clones if they live will make 7 and that's too crowded for my space. I figure 2 clones (if they live) and 2 Jackpot seeds. I have smallish lights, how much cfl wattage or led wattage do I need/should I have to promote max growth for the size of my little grow space? Should I split between cfl and LED or just use one?

Because they are autoflower do I start them out on 24/0 light schedule or do I go 20/4...another person on another forum said 20/4 or 18/6. I know these last plants did NOT like less than 24/0.

Random ramblings from a curious soul. Any help is truly appreciated.
 
My 2 cents, and that's over priced.

I'd run either the 2 clones and save the seeds, or ditch the clones and go with 2 of the Jackpots and save the others.

Reason: Your tent and light situation sound like 2 plants will be pushing it. Also you want to get at least one run in with the Autos before mixing strains, unless you know the growth pattern. Running the 2 Jackpots or clones you'll have some uniformity. You can always try the unknowns later once you feel comfortable with your garden. Plus you want some back ups, just in case.

If you're growing Autos the range is 18/6 to 24/0 depending on strain and grower preference. Also on Autos NEVER go to 12/12. Run the same light schedule all the way from seed to harvest. Though I suppose going up on the light period wouldn't be bad, but that's a guess. Someone with experience growing Autos would know better than I.

Good luck! I've got some auto seeds coming that will be my first ones when I grow them.
 
Hi mate, I would personally avoid using sand in my medium. As i don't think it will be too beneficial for drainage. Try using coco or replace with more vermiculite.
Light is important. I use a 300W Galaxyhydro LED which works great. I also have a few home made CFL fittings around the 'tent'. Cool white (blue light) and warm white (red light) bulbs are interchanged during the grow based on which stage im at. Blue - Veg, red - bloom.
My auto had great gains at 20/4. I have personally seen great yields with 18/6 also, thats upto you.
Humidity is something you may also want to consider controlling.
Ventilation, especially air being exhausted out is also somethig to look into.

As for your clones being 'yellow' around the leaves, this seems like a nutrient deficiency. If you describe the symptoms more specifically you may receive a more accurate solution. If only the tips of the leave/s have the yellow tinge evident it could be 'over fertilisation'.

Hope i helped!
 
putting an auto on 12/12 won't kill it, it just won't grow to its full potential. There's another reason for the death that you need to investigate.

As for how much light you should give autos, I personally do 24/0. You can see the results in the grows in my signature. 20/4 is pretty common as well. 18/6 is slightly less common for autos and I wouldn't recommend going any lower than that.
 
I only went to a 12/12 light schedule because someone said the difference in the plants, (both were supposed to be auto Northern Lights, but one was dwarfed and stopped growing at 10" and started flowering, while the other plant kept growing to at least 18", had pistils all over it but no flowers at all) could have been because the taller less productive plant might have been a photoperiod plant. I knew it didn't like the 12/12 or even 18/6 schedule because when I tried to switch them, they revolted and tried to die on me, as soon as I went back to 24/0 they were fine. I'll keep this in mind when the seeds get here and I start germinating. The clones make me suspicious that they will be a non-producing plant like the mother plant. Thanks!
 
I will reconsider the sand in my soil, and will add more vermiculite. The LED light I used the last time had both red and blue and seemed to be okay but it's not very strong, I need more light. Humidity is not an issue, the room I grow in is very humid, and I live in the south where humidity keeps us old women looking 25! But we are getting a dehumidifier soon to make sure the humidity is kept at the right %. I have ventilation, ceiling fan that runs 24/7, floor fan, and daily open the window to let in fresh air.
The clones might be needing some fertilizer, I was afraid to do anything but keep the soil damp so I didn't fertilize them. Other than the yellow around the leaves they look healthy, but like I said in the last post, I'm leery of them because the plant I took them off of didn't do anything. We have a wooded area behind the house so I might think about sticking them in the ground back there if they root to see if they will grow....if they do Yay! If they don't, no great loss. Thanks for the input.
 
The plant was not happy for a while before I put it on 12/12 schedule. We were thinking it was a photo plant because of the lack of flowering, that's why I put it on 12/12. It had been fine, tall and lush, covered in pistils. it got too close to the light because of the dwarf plant that was growing beside it, I was unable to adjust the light to accommodate the height so it got some light burn and I pulled it away from under the lights, but it was still getting light. As soon as I harvested the dwarf, I raised the lights and the light burn didn't ease up. I watered when it needed it, fertilized as I had been. Maybe the light burn was just too much for it to recover from. Both plants were really persnickety plants, if you didn't hold your mouth right when you watered them they took offense. I've never grown anything so funny (not haha funny) in my life. I'm blaming the seeds. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!! LOL!
 
"Both plants were really persnickety plants, if you didn't hold your mouth right when you watered them they took offense. "

So great! :)
 
PokedSmot, I decided that I was going to let these plants do what they wanted to do. No topping, no training no nothing except food, water and light, and the plants aren't supposed to get that tall, but after this past grow I don't know what to expect. They could be giants!! I've watched videos and read articles about LST but don't know that I feel comfortable with training. As for the when and how.
Right now I'm just thinking and asking for advice, and gleaning as much info as I can get before the seeds come in. I may change my mind and just grow one plant and learn a new technique, training! I'm open to anything right now. I want a perpetual grow and honestly one plant at a time would be more beneficial to me, the seeds would last longer, if I germinated one at a time when the older plant went into flower....just a lot to think about while I'm waiting. It would be wonderful to have a never ending supply of medicine. Thanks for the ideas.
 
hey Blue . while reading your posts it made me wonder if you watered to much .most plants no matter what strain wont die from less light but will die quickly from root problems, I grow in soil and would suggest that you add more vermiculite and perlite as well as some lime ,if needed .my mix for soil is 3 shovels compost, 3 shovels promix,1 shovel of peatmoss,vermiculite,perlite then I add one cup plant tone(organic fertilizer) and 1 cup lime. if I have them I will add kelp meal,wormcasting, but all you really need to do is check to make sure your soil PH is right and you water PH is right when you water. You didn't say what you used for water so if you use tap are you letting it sit open overnight to get chlorine out . My ph meter went haywire and I lost about 10 plants in all, I've overwatered and killed a couple but I never had one die from switching my light to 12/12. just something to think about
 
Hi bluecanoe,
Sorry to hear about the quantity on your last grow, some is better they none. The statement on GWE that sticks in my head the most is " once you get your first grow under your belt " it will get easier. I'm happy to see that you are already planning out you next grow and moving forward.I have a couple of questions for you,
1) do you have any pic of you grow space/light? Pic help.
2) what kind of/wattage led light did you using and are you going to upgrade it?
MJ plants will grow big, Bader, and more with more light up to a point and if you do not give them enough it can hurt your yields/size. You mentioned putting your clones outside, that's a safe bet if it's a safe place. You would be giving them the great light in the sky and not wasting energy and money in case it was genetics. As far as a 2X4 grow I would agree with PS, one plant and GG, two is pushing it.
 
Thanks Berry, I am upgrading my lights to a 300W led, and plan on using some cfls as well. I am on a minimal budget so I get as I can. But plan on ordering the light this week.
 
Jarhead, I watered when the soil was dry to my first knuckle and sometimes waited til it was dry to the second knuckle, just to make sure I wasn't over-watering. I use tap water, we have hard water where I live and use a filter on the cold water side for our cooking and drinking, because if we don't it tastes like the river or whatever it's pumped from! I let the water sit, even when using the filtered water that takes out the chlorine.
I plan on using more vermiculite in my next soil mix, and years ago when I had tons of potted plants in the house I always put a layer of gravel on the bottom of the pot to make sure I had good drainage, I've thought about doing that this time as well. For some reason I forgot I did that....a senior moment perhaps!
I checked the ph on my soil several times and it was fine, never checked the ph on the runoff as I didn't ever water enough to have runoff, should I water till I have runoff? If so, I will water til I have runoff on the new grow.
Thanks for the input. I'm needing all the info I can get.
 
I can't put my clones outside, it's not safe. If I put them anywhere it'll be at the very back of the yard near the woods and if the cops find them I know nothing--could have been the meth heads who used to live next door! I still have them under an led light 24/0, waiting to see if they take root. I need to fertilize them since one is starting to yellow around the edges and someone mentioned they might need nutes. I really don't want to waste my time on clones that were taken from a non-productive plant, they might be the same, but curiosity is killing me!
I am upgrading to a 300W led with some cfls thrown in for the different stages, someone mentioned blue for veg and red for flower. My wonder is do I get a red/blue led light? Or just white?
If I get the red/blue led do I need the cfls?
And I left a number off the size of my space, it's 2dx3wx4h, but still small. I think two plants will be too much now that I've finished one grow. I do have room to expand if I need to.
I'll have to take pics. It takes me a while since I have tons of running to do since my husband was in a terrible car wreck 3 weeks ago....having to drive 100 miles one way to doctors, lawyers, etc....so when we get home I collapse, but thankful he's alive.
Thanks so much!
 
Ha, yah tweezers do weird stuff. I'm the same, it didn't work so I must not give up I can do better.
I Just threw out 6 clones, did know the strain of the plant, it's been getting hot, still have week on this grow, which means more starting veg time, plus I have some new seeds. So I made the call to just end it for them and start a new after the heat. I would have to say that what ever happened with your last grow could be going on with your clones.
As far as the led lights go I'm in the dark, someone with experience need to answer all your questions about them. But what I do know is the in your space led could be to much ( this again is a question for a led expert) but cfls do a great job in that sized space with 1 maybe 2 plants top and LST plus they are very inexpensive. I veg my plants under cfl ir does great, they are a couple of growers on here that have amazing harvest with them.
Check them out
9's
http://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/72965-9-a-garden-update
Jeg
http://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/84704-jeg-s-journal-2

Just something to consider since your planning your next grow.
Sorry to hear about all the stress and hard time your family is going through with the help in this forum and the website you should be growing soon.
Read here to.
http://www.growweedeasy.com/cfl-coco-coir
 
Thanks Furley, You've given me a lot to think about. Since I am growing in a small space, I might be better off and cheaper investment using the cfls. I can do that cheaper than buying a new led light., just a run to Home Depot.
I want the max harvest I can get per plant/harvest so I need to take a step back and reconsider my next grow. At least I have time to eenie meenie miney moe my decision! That's how I make most of my important decisions in life. LOL!
Lately though have been having my doubts....everything I have planted since the harvest has died. Literally. I tried to germinate spearmint seeds, not one germinated. I got some catnip to repel mosquitoes outside, it was beautiful in the kitchen window, I transplanted it and it's dead. My passion flowers were crowded in the pot they were in, I transplanted them into the ground and they are dead, a plant that grows wild in the country is dead....Today I found that my aloe vera plant has root rot and it's not been watered in a while! And my peace lily has brown spots on the leaves. I have nursed this plant back from one leaf to a full lush plant....the only funeral plant I have left from our son's funeral and now it's acting weird. I think I need to just drop back and punt. Take a break, stop trying to grow things until my seeds come and then only plant the clones and if they live HOORAY!!! If not it's no big loss.
Sounds like time for meditation and self-care before I start another grow.
I appreciate that response.
 
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