Good morning everyone. This is my first grow ever. Iām using a 4āDx8āLx6ā6"H grow tent. So far I have a inline fan with Carbon filter, and 2 Ficida newest grow lights(although I have been informed they will be insufficient for flowing so I ordered a spider farmer 4000). I also have a small oscillating fan and small humidifier/mister.
Iām growing 3 girl scout cookie extremes and 1 gorilla glue. (I started the GG 2 weeks after the GSCE. I did that because it said GG flowers in 8 weeks, opposed to GSCE in 10 weeks) I purchased all my seeds from ILGM and so far have a 100% germination rate! Thanks yāall!
This is a project I started with my daughter and had so far been a notably fun and remarkable bonding experience. (Go figure)
However I am brand new at this so any help will be greatly appreciated!
This is another shot just to let you pros get a better idea of our setup.
I look forward to hearing from any of you that has advice or help.
And I how everyone has a good rest of your weekend. Stay up!
And the coolest parent of the year award goes toā¦!!
Awesome way to bond with your kids!
I am not one of the experts here - by any means - but Iāll be glad to watch as you guys go along and chime in whenever my limited experience will come in handy.
The Spider Farmer is going to blow you away when you get it in there and hooked up!
You might want to consider getting another fan or two in a space that large to keep the air moving. The more the air moves the more it promotes the exchange with fresh, CO2 rich air coming in and the stale. depleted air going out through the exhaust. Not to mention the benefits to the plant. The wispy breezes are like lite strength training for the girls and definitely lay the ground work for the structure need to support them big ole buds later!!
Everythingās looking great and Iām so jel over your tent. I can only wish the woman would let me have that kind of real estate in the house!
Good Luck!! And youāve come to the right place - the peeps here are easy going - for obvious reasons LOL - and eager to see and help you succeed!
Good Luck and Happy Growing to you, your daughter and EVERYONE!!
Thanks tylersays! So far itās been a fun journeyā¦ Iām still hoping for a modicum of successā¦
Alsoā¦ thanks for the advice. Iāll look into a second fan soon.
Stay up!
Okayā¦ so I just calibrated my PH meter and it turns out my tap water is slightly basic. Iāve been feeding these girls water with a PH of 7.15 for thier while lives. I havenāt started them on nutes yet. They are only 14 days old. Should I panic?
I have still been seeing noticeable growth in them daily.
Just adjust it accordingly after getting it all together in the future and you should be fine. Thatās not that far out of range.
What soil are you using? The run off numbers will tell you what the plant is doing. And of course, the old eyeballs.
With the Happy Frog soil Iām using it sometimes looked like it was too weak for the ladies and other times overwhelming, and the run off numbers were crazy. But over time both the plants and ro have stabilized and stayed in the proper range. So a lot is dependent on the media as well, and you can raise or lower your watering Ph to raise or lower soil Ph over time, or other methods to speed up the progress, i.e. top dressing supplements, chemical supplements, etc.
Iām still learning myself. Thereās a LOT to learn!!
Iām using fox farm, ocean forest. I havenāt bitten enough water to get a runoff yet(I was still under the impression they were too little) please correct me if Iām wrong.
But Iām glad you mentioned ātoppingāā¦ this is something Iām still unclear on. How do I do it, when do I do it, why do I do itā¦
I was planning on starting LST soon after they get a few inches taller but Iām unclear if topping is even part of that.
So, having said thatā¦ Iāll start watering more to get a run off and get a reading from that. I have PH up and down so Iāll adjust then, according to the measurements in RO ā¦ right?
Thanks again for the attention and help
Yeah - the one is definitely to small for a full watering.
Generally at the third set of true leaves youāre considered to be in veg and out of seedling stage. At that point you can start with a full watering. You want the soil to be pretty uniformly moist, but not soggy. And you donāt want them sitting in water. Most people raise them up with like bakers racks or something to allow for good drainage and air circulation. Itās best to add he water slowly and evenly around the container as you go. Being in fabric pots will help prevent over-watering but it can still be done! LOL!
In Ocean Forest you wonāt need to give nutrients for several weeks.
With Happy Frog they say about a month or so before you need them and OF is a āhotterā soil than HF.
After I went all HF I saw where a lot of people use both with HF at the top and OF in the bottom of the pot.
Iām sure, like HF, that when you start reading run off numbers youāll find the PPMs to be off the chart! Ph might be off too, but as long as you keep watering with 6.5 youāll be able to see the Ph stabilize and the PPMās drop as the girls are eating the nutes in the soil.
My New York Diesel was literally screaming for food last week! Iām going into week 9 of veg and am ready to flip, but I want to get their PPMs up some before then, so hopefully just another week. After the flip theyāll hit āthe stretchā and will grow a good amount in a short period of time before they start flowering in earnest.
I was actually referring to top dressing nutrients or supplements to the plant - thatās when you put whatever on top of the soil and let it work itās way in as you water. LOL!
Topping is a whole different thing!
Most wait until the 5th or 6th node to top a plant. Basically topping is cutting the main growing stem just above an established node. It breaks the āholdā the center has on the growth pattern of the plant and forces more energy to the side shoots than when main stem is unaltered. This results in having multiple ātopsā now. Lowest cost way to increase yields.
LST takes advantage of the plants flexibility and basically youāre spreading the plant out to let in more light to the side shoots and even up the canopy height. It helps to take advantage of the horizontal space available in the tent and increases yield by basically making damn near every side shoot a top!
Sadly some will have to be cut out probably to maintain proper air circulation around the plants but with a little patience and work it really makes for a better yield still.
You can actually LST without topping, same principal. If you make the main growing center no longer the ātopā of the plant by bending it over and tying it down the shoots will take off and the main top will slowly bend back up to the light and continue growing. But since you broke that āholdā, thereās an actual term for it, the plant will send itās goodness all through the plant instead of the lions share going to the main growing shoot.
These are all just basic definitions and sorry for the slow replyā¦real lifeā¦LOL!
Iāve done a TON of reading and watching videos on YouTube. Thereās a bunch on there featuring Spider Farmer equipment, probably your specific model too and thatās always a good jumping off point to do more reading and question asking.
Thereās also a great amount of info in the Guides section of the site. Thereās a link at the top right of the page.
Airtightā¦ donāt know whatās going onā¦ I just poured 2 gallons of of tap water into my watering can. Tested PH and got a reading of 8.15 (bigger than yesterday by a full point) used my PH down mix according to the instructions on the bottle and retested the solution. Now I only get a reading of 0.00ā¦ when I test other tap water though, I still get a reading. Any thoughts ? Is my meter just broken?
That is weird I donāt know what happened there.
Using ph up/down is a finesse game. I add either in small amounts and continually check between each little shot.
Iāve never had one Zero-out but I have overshot the landing by quite a bit going in both directions. It does seem that Ph down moves the needle further than the same dose of Ph up does the other way.
I had a couple of gallons i just couldnāt seem to get into range - my problem, not the waters, Iām sure.
I gave up on those few and gave them to the womans tomatoes and started over on my water. LOL!
Tomatoes are tough! LOL! And Iām not wasting it if it can be avoided.
Itās gotten easier to get in range as Iāve gotten the feel for it. And quicker!
I might have to take some time and see why it would zero out like that though.
Meters can slip out of calibration. You could try re-calibration and see if that has any effect and if youāre still getting the same numbers. But thatās new one on me.
Okayā¦ now Iām baffledā¦ I used a little ph up (1/2 tsp) at a time and got a readingā¦ I did that till I saw 6.2. Then watered all 3 GSCE till I got a runoff
Savanah Smiles
2809ppm
3.2PH
DO-SI-DO
3981PPM
3.42PH
SAMOA
2278PPM
4.19PH
I canāt imagine these measurements could possibly be accurate. If I had an emulsion at 3.2PH It would be burning holes through my floor. Furthermoreā¦ PPM ranges that high and I havenāt given any nutrients yet.
They are still in thier original Fox Farm soilā¦ I hope I didnāt screw up.
I do believe there is something wrong with my PH meterā¦
My Aperna came with calibration solution of 7.0 and 4.0, Iād check the calibration first and then retry. They do need it every once in a while. Oh I set to watch if you donāt mind.
Youāre in FF ocean floor correct. I tend to stay away from it because the soil is too hot for seedling IMO. I like Coast of Maine Stonington blend. Try and recalibrate the meter and test again. I would not water to run off yet, those are little gals and you might over water them. I like to log everything in a spiral notebook from the time they germinate until harvest. How old are your plants again?
Hi RG! Nice to meet you and thanks for your reply. My ph meter came with calibration solution of (I think) 6.8, 4.3, and 9 somethingā¦ I calibrated yesterday, however there was only 1 bag of powder for each level and I donāt know another way to calibrate these thingsā¦ sorry, Iām literally brand new to this.
But, to answer your questionsā¦ no. Im in FF Ocean Forestā¦ my 3 girls turned 14 days old yesterday( and Iām basing that on when they stuck their heads out of the ground)
We have also started a log on both the grow as a whole and each individual plantā¦
I hope to hear from you more. We can certainly use some expert advice. Thanks for the info.
Ya definitely dont water till runoff. They only need like maybe a 1/4 cup and water in a circle around the plant to encourage roots to spread out and find the water.
What brand of meter did you get. I like the Aperna ones for like $50 on Amazon. They come with calibration solution of 7.0 qnd 4.0, enough to last quite awhile.
Dont be sorry. Iām only like a year in myself. Do yourself a favor and read Hellraiserās journals. He is the man around the forum.
Thatās the meter I started with too Syd. Mine wouldnāt hold calibration for shit.
Someone suggested a new battery and it still was crap!
Luckily I had enough miles on my card to get the Apera that reads both Ph and PPM. I trust it a WHOLE lot more than the others. And it has a replaceable tip, so itās built for the long haul.
Thank You Capitalism One! LOL! (Ima keep using that one! )
It comes with 2 calibration solutions and storage solution but i bought a 3 point kit with solutions for like $20 on Amazon
Cooking on the grill is such a distraction now and days.
It might have something to do with theseā¦
