[MEGA] Every Year's Community Growing advice, tips, tricks, & experiences

[Wise420]

those who use soil just buy organic soil from your hydro stores from companies like foxhill... its pretty much gonna be all you need from start to finish...

currently (my first grow)... dual 400 mh/hps running in a closet thats 4' wide 2' deep and 8' tall... i will only grow ONE plant... the cutting was taken about 3 days ago from a mother plant i started from seed about a month and a half ago (grown under florescent lamp 24hr light)... i allowed the mother plant to kick into flowering cycle the day after i took the cutting and on the second day it had the tell tale hairs... i currently have her sitting under the same florescent lamp as the clone, i need to wait about another 3-5 days as thats how long my clones usually take to pop roots out of the media.

system:

bubble bucket (copied rumpleforeskin from gc forums, instructables etc)
dual 6" cool tube one running mh one running hps
inline fan through carbon scrubber which vents through the roof of the closet (hot air rises make it flow where it wanna go)
nute: cns17 for veg/ripe and bushmaster
coco
silica rocks (holds moisture pretty good)

i chose this system cause of my location and whats available... i tested my nutes on soil plants (used regular potting soil that was flushed after a eggplant had died) to see how well they would react to the nutes... i was surprised... (i'll post pictures when my girl brings her laptop back)...

anyhow... anyone who is looking to grow... do it in soil the first time... thats what i suggest... get used to the strain you are growing... find its veg time, ripe time, harvest time and above all... dont rush a good thing... cure your weed well! a good harvest can be lame if you skimp on curing it well... i started by learning how to germinate the seeds, i germinated about 40 seeds and took the best 10, put them in 4" pots, waited 3 weeks, gave away the 6 worst, waited 3 more weeks and started their flower cycle, waited 1 week checked for hairs gave away all but 2 best plants... and from there i ended up where i am now... trial and error and about 1 year of LEARNING before i even started my first hydro grow or real grow for the fact of the matter. my uncle tried to put a few of my seeds in a bucket with miracle grow... the plant died in a matter of weeks... i extended just some of the things i learned from guys just like you and now he has a really nice set up of; grape god, and 2 white widows under an hps lamp. hes 3 months in with plants about 6' tall top colas just as big as soda cans, but im still not even getting started... note: hes in another state all the info i gave him has been via text or email...

side note:

my first soil grow was done in an upside down garden planter from wal-mart... i was curious... its a TERRIBLE way to grow... the plant stays in veg WAY TO LONG and takes forever to finish... also the container is very small and the roots will run out of room to grow which will affect your plant... i got about 3 dry oz out of it and had to wait about 9 months (i grew it outside) i can post pics of this set up also... a friend growing the same strain was done in about 6 i believe growing it in the same sunlight just in a bucket on the ground. his buds were much more dense and each plant had easily 2x to 3x more weight dry than mines. if you have time and wanna mess around its a good science experiment and costs about $30 for the container and soil, for me the sunlight was free.

hightimes master growers guide 2010 is a great addition to my coffee table... not a plug for the mag but a definite help to get me started and make my final decisions.

for the member whos worried about ph levels and such... NOT ONCE did i ever take a ph test on that upside down plant... what i did was watch HOW THE PLANT reacted day to day and adjusted from there... leaves dry/crispy; add water, leaves curl down; back off the nutes, leaves turn color; add mag or what ever to compensate... dont ask people to hand feed you step by step... they are YOUR plants, and you should take the initiative to make it work... im not trying to pick on you... the information you need is readily available all over the internet and in books/mags, or like me trial and error.

carry on...

It's all about trial and error and sticking to what works.

If your plants are nice and green with no obvious signs of deficiency then keep doing what your doing and dont change a thing.

I agree with the post's about testing EC's and pH. Ive always grown in soil and have never tested pH or EC before. You respond to how your plant's respond. I find even following recommended nutrient charts arnt needed. Your plants will let you know if they are hungry/sick whateva.

 

[w01fg4ng]

Good news and bad news on this gardeners front:

The good: My organic OG Kush has just finished initial stages of curing and it's probably some of it not the best pot I have ever grown. The taste is a 9/10, the high is 9/10 and medicinal effects are a 9/10. I really don't have much room to complain on this harvest...


The bad: I lost about 6 very healthy rootings to a poorly done transplant. I tried to save some money and reuse old soil. I think it was some left over salt from previous harvest left in the dirt which dried my babies up and killed them in two days flat.

EDIT There is also the possibility they got over-nuted after being transplanted (I feed them a small serving because they were yellowing), so I am still not 100% sure how this happened.

EDIT 2: After some careful consideration, it doesn't seem likely that anything from the previous usage could have killed the rootings. I am 99% certain at this point that it was the small feeding I gave them directly after transplanting that actually killed them.


Never stop learning that's for damn sure.

 

[dontstopthemusic]

when i transplant i only use zero water (from the zero water container you can buy in a store)... basically to reduce or remove any shock that the little women may go through... im able to get 100% success rate by keeping things simple... when i used to over complicate i had many many many dead plants, or plants so stressed they would grow into a hermaphrodite.

so from cutting (follow any instructions from any site on how to clone), i DO use a rooting hormone powder, my coco is allowed to soak up a little water, and it sits under the lamp for 5-8 days... once the roots are out... i moisten my media: coco/silica rocks in zero water and wait for a day or two... from there i SLOWLY work the amount of nutes into the plant (cns17) i use 1/10 the recommended dose, and each watering i add just a little more to the soil/water till im at full strength.

i did leave one key thing out, well for me it is key... i do grow my own worm castings... i have a 20 gallon storage tote with a colony of blue worms that eat up 1 3lb bag of lettuce from costco about every 2-3 weeks, any liquid that drips out the bottom, i filter through a coffee filter and i use that for leaf feeding... ALL my plants love it even in my veg garden. when a plant gets sick or turns slightly yellow i'll mist it when its lights out... come time in the morning to turn the lights back on they kick back pretty quick. and for the actual poop, i'll collect it and mix it with recycled soil from a compost heap bin i have also, but i use that to feed my palm trees and flowers around my yard (keeps the smell from inside the house undercover... i have and prefer to use rosemary bushes) and a little just plopped right on the top of the dirt in the pots for the rest of the girls.

since this is my first hydro grow i'll be using the worm "tea" to help with trace. most new articles ive read in mags or online many people are turning to worm "tea" to aid in growth and overall health of the plants... from my personal experience i must say whats in print is pretty much what i have experienced also.

 

[w01fg4ng]

^ I know my mistake now and it's something that I always previously avoided. I have always had a 100% success rate at transplanting right after rooting. It's just this old dirt I am using that changed my thought process and I gave the little girls too much food. I'm sure I won't be making this mistake again...

 

[dontstopthemusic]

yeah ive done that too and i was wondering wtf was going on... why did ALL my plants die? even a pepper plant that i was growing dried right up... did a little reading and found out why... as you stated salt build up in the soil... after i read that i learned how to recondition my soil for use again... beats driving to the fricken store spending $14 on soil over and over again... you just need a week or 2 to flush and condition.

 

[w01fg4ng]

^ So you think that the previous salt build up could have something to do with it as well? I gave the soil a solid flushing before harvest, but I suspect some lingering salts were left in it and contributed to their death after giving them a feeding at such a young age.

Anyhow, I'm going continue to try to use the soil, as it's all I have at the moment. I think I might flush the soil out again just to be sure at this point...

 

[dontstopthemusic]

its the most obvious agreeable phenomenon haha... yes... many garden experts here where i live say to not reuse "potting" soil unless you recondition. the way the girl at the local collage botany class put it... if i handed you this gum im chewing now would you want to use it (chew it)... but if i washed it out, gave it some new flavor, rolled it into a ball you would be more inclined to do it then... and i said yes... not SO INCLINED but if i had a choice yes id take the second choice.

the soil i reuse is about 2 months old, its allowed to dry out till its rock solid, i'll flood the trash can with water a few times, and i'll start to add new ferts/nutes all the while letting it drain off... im left with pretty good soil but when i pot the plants i'll give them extra food just before mixing (my food is the worm poop or tea). still never took a ppm or ph level from that soil... currently my peppers, eggplants, strawberries, and weed are all happy... this is the 2nd recycle im on with this soil... and the soil is about 1 year old.

 

[minddetergent.]

Prelude a little food for thought, when some of us started growing there was no internet, you bought a book and if you were lucky you knew an old timer who could clue you up.

 

[minddetergent.]

I will up a pic of one of the plants my partner is growing, the instructions i left him were very basic, ionic nute so no fuck ups with mixing(plus the added humic acid is a plus)the plants are picture perfect and the guy hasn't grown anything since cress at primary school.

 

[goaheadanjuna]

Check out bunnings and buy the organic potting mix which is an orange and white coloured bag. Add some extra perlite for drainage and Dynamic Lifter(grandular pellets) and she will love the mix.

hi wise420, im after some advice pls im new to the growing game and have one plant on the go, she seems to be doing ok i have her in a room of one square meter, i have her under a 600 now, she is about 4ft and very bushy, i am only feeding her Canna Flores 5ml every other day with 1ltr of ph neutral water daily, well the problem is that some of her leaves look a bit well sorry for them selves, drooping down and the storks look purple, the rest of her looks fine she has loads of buds forming, so can you give me any advice on either what im doing wrong, or what im not doing right, any help will be greatly appreciated as she looks so lovely i dont want any thing bad to happen to her, thanx in advance

 

[goaheadanjuna]

It's all about trial and error and sticking to what works.

If your plants are nice and green with no obvious signs of deficiency then keep doing what your doing and dont change a thing.

I agree with the post's about testing EC's and pH. Ive always grown in soil and have never tested pH or EC before. You respond to how your plant's respond. I find even following recommended nutrient charts arnt needed. Your plants will let you know if they are hungry/sick whateva.

ok but its the big leaves that look poorly they are drooping down could it be im giving her to much canna? im thinking to change it to every 2 days instead of every other and see how they react is the colour ie purple underneath any thing to worry about, because apart from that she looks very healthy

 

[goaheadanjuna]

Do you use the nutriculture tanks? Once the roots hit the res then its not such a problem.

One time I lifted the to tray up to check something and the top of the plant got caught in the 18" industrial fan I was using, it ripped the plant out the system and there were bits of branches flying everywhere. The whole plant came out root mat and all, stuck it back as best as I could and it kept on flowering, obviously yield was down but it still made some nice hash.

love the root mats they form in these tanks (the brown colour of roots is down to nutes staining them)

hi minddetergent, can you help me im new to the growing and have one lovely plant on the go she looks healthy except the big leaves look droopy and mouve on the storkes do you know wat is wrong or what im doing wrong?

 

[Wise420]

ok but its the big leaves that look poorly they are drooping down could it be im giving her to much canna? im thinking to change it to every 2 days instead of every other and see how they react is the colour ie purple underneath any thing to worry about, because apart from that she looks very healthy

How big is the pot? And are you feeding her only 1 litre each watering?

Drooping usually means its under or over watered.


Personally I would use organic nutes when growing in soil, ive found hydro nute's dont make the plants look as healthy.

 

[Wise420]

Can you get some photo's up? Makes trying to explain your problems alot easier

 

[goaheadanjuna]

How big is the pot? And are you feeding her only 1 litre each watering?

Drooping usually means its under or over watered.


Personally I would use organic nutes when growing in soil, ive found hydro nute's dont make the plants look as healthy.

im only feeding her 1 litre a day, the pot is 12inches by 18deep i thought it might be either under or over watering but dont know which one, it is only the biggest leaves all the others are ok, the storkes on them are mouve

 

[goaheadanjuna]

im only feeding her 1 litre a day, the pot is 12inches by 18deep i thought it might be either under or over watering but dont know which one, it is only the biggest leaves all the others are ok, the storkes on them are mouve

also what is the optium amount of space from the top of her to the light ? i have it at 14inches

 

[Wise420]

She's underwatered for sure. Try feeding her 5 litres each water, and try to wait 2-3 days in between waterings rather then each day.

Use the back of your palm and put it at the same height as the plants highest top/bud site. You want it to be warm, but not to warm. You may need to raise/lower your plant to achive this.

 

[goaheadanjuna]

thats great thanks alot i will try that i will move the light down a bit as well cheers

 

[goaheadanjuna]

She's underwatered for sure. Try feeding her 5 litres each water, and try to wait 2-3 days in between waterings rather then each day.

Use the back of your palm and put it at the same height as the plants highest top/bud site. You want it to be warm, but not to warm. You may need to raise/lower your plant to achive this.

so i suppose i alter the feed to match the amount of water as well, do you advise going by manufactures guidlines because on the terra flores im using they advise 50ml to 10litres so by rights i should add 25ml to 5l do you think this is ok? i know they state it but what would you suggest from experience

 

[Wise420]

so i suppose i alter the feed to match the amount of water as well, do you advise going by manufactures guidlines because on the terra flores im using they advise 50ml to 10litres so by rights i should add 25ml to 5l do you think this is ok? i know they state it but what would you suggest from experience

Ive never used those ferts before, but I would be going by what's suggested. So 25 ml's to 5litres would be correct.