Page 1 of 20

Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:29 pm
by (weedguru)scarf
I have started a test grow with two of the five seeds i received free when purchasing Northern Lights.

I germinated them in a cup of water, planted them in some store purchased potting soil.
After a week, both have sprouted about 5cm from the soil. One is nice and green... with two small flowers.
One is a little darker with the flowers not yet unfurled.

I am testing with a very cool light, and with a slightly less cool. 4100 K from memory.

My soil is still moist, and is lightly packed.
As yet i do not have any reflective materials, but ample ventiallation.

From reading, i should be able to wait another week or two before i need to lightly water again.?!

Nutrients, Im a little unsure of. Im thinking of getting some bloom nutrients over the weekend.

Lighting, has been on a 24 hour cycle since planted, i know i should switch to an 18-6 system, but
how detrimental is 24 hour lighting?

Im hoping Higher/Bubbles read this and post some advice... Pictures as soon as i move from the living room to my bedroom.
(about 20 minutes)

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 1:32 pm
by Weedguru Higher
(weedguru)scarf wrote:
From reading, i should be able to wait another week or two before i need to lightly water again.?!
You're most likely gonna need to water waaay before that. It depends what size pots you have and how hot things are...small cups can dry up in a day just from the heat. Watch em closely cause you don't want a seedling to dry up. If they are in cups or pots lifting them up and checking the weight can be a good indicator of how wet or dry they are.
(weedguru)scarf wrote:Nutrients, Im a little unsure of. Im thinking of getting some bloom nutrients over the weekend.
At this stage in the game you need nutrients suitable for the vegetative cycle. Bloom nutrients are for flowering...

Check this link out...you would want to use Grow Big and not the Tiger Bloom. These are the nutes Spri7e is currently using

http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/products_liqfert2.html
(weedguru)scarf wrote:Lighting, has been on a 24 hour cycle since planted, i know i should switch to an 18-6 system, but how detrimental is 24 hour lighting?
It's not detrimental at all...most people use 24-7, including myself.

Pics! We need pics! Hurry it up already! :P

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:04 am
by Bubbles
make those 20 mins faster!!! i cant wait!!

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:44 am
by (weedguru)scarf
Image
Image

i have a feeling the second might be dead...
i lightly watered.... althought when pushing my finger into the soil prior to watering... the soil was still partly moist.

will get grow nutes this weekend

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:03 pm
by Weedguru Higher
That's a really big pot for seedlings...

Careful with the waterings or you will wind up with root rot issues

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:50 pm
by (weedguru)scarf
check... i used a half cup tonight....

logging everything so that if things fuck up i can at least have a guide..

i read that transplanting can be difficult so i thought i would just plant big to begin with.

do u think number two is dead?

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:51 pm
by (weedguru)scarf
also... my lights are not warm... they are just light

should i buy some CFL's that emit more heat?

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:12 pm
by Weedguru Higher
Remember that marijuana doesn't like to be watered everyday...Every 2 days or 3 days is good
(weedguru)scarf wrote:do u think number two is dead?
You mean the number 2 pic? No...not dead at all

What lights are you using exactly?

Pictures help...

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:17 pm
by (weedguru)scarf
CFL
Mirabella brand... "cool white 4100K"

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:18 pm
by (weedguru)scarf
Im going to buy some different ones tomorrow... what would you recommend for veg state?

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:22 pm
by Weedguru Higher
Types: CFL's come in mainly two flavors, Soft White (color temperature 2700k) and Daylight (color temperature 6500k). For a complete grow, you should use both. Soft white mimics the spectrum of a HPS light, and is best suited for flowering. Daylight's color spectrum is like that of metal halide lights, and is excellent for the vegetative stage. (This applies to tubes too. Around 6500k for veg, around 2700k for flower.) There are also tubes labeled plant and aquarium. I haven't seen them in CFL form, but they have no real color temp, so I'm not sure on their efficiency, but I've used them and it's rather slow growth for the watts.
Read more about CFL's here

http://www.weedguru.com/forum/viewtopic ... 88&t=26831

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:26 pm
by (weedguru)scarf
Yeah i had read that... but where does heat come into it?

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 6:09 pm
by SpRi7e
you don't want heat coming from the lights.. The cooler the better, but you should/should have invested in some Daylight CFL's. That's what veg. stage needs

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:53 pm
by Weedguru Higher
^ That's right...

Also, make sure you get your light as close as possible to the plants to reduce stretching, like your seedling is doing. It's especially important when using CFL's or Fluros

See the difference of the stem length between yours and mine?

Image

Mine
Image
Image

Re: Scarf's First Ever Grow!!

Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:56 am
by (weedguru)scarf
i cant see yours higher.

i switched to 6100 K lights this morning and purchases some miracle grow fert.
Used the 1/4 method so will wait and see.

going to adjust the lights closer now