GL's 1st Time Grow Journal

Hey Guys,

Been lurking around for a while and finally decided to take the plunge! For my first go-round I figured I’d cut my teeth on some random seeds I’ve collected over time so I don’t know what they are but willing to sacrifice these before using precious W.W auto seeds that arrived last week.
My goal is to be as thorough as possible, ask questions/advice from others on here and hopefully, we can all learn something along the way and grow some primo plants in the process. So without further ado here’s what I’m working with…

Strain; Bag seed - unknown Seed #1 and unknown Seed #2

Soil in pots (waiting to be transplanted to 3 gallon smart pots)

System type? Vivosun 2 x 4 x 5 Tent [ Edit: I’ve also decided to be ambitious and SCRoG this as well ]

PH of runoff or solution in reservoir? Plant #1 - 6.3, Plant #2 - 6.0

What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS

Indoor

Light system, size? Two Viparspectra 300W LED

Temps; Day, Night - 80F / 69F

Humidity; Day, Night - Avg 48% day, 40% night

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size - 4" Inline fan connected to Carbon filter recirculating within tent + 6" clip on Fan to push air around and over plants + passive ventilation through tent vents

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier, - N/A

Co2; No

Now how do you attach pics to this thingy? :older_man:

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Hi… If you using a smartphone hit the right -down button (upload)

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The Setup -

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Thanks for the tip! I’ll keep that on hand for mobile posts! :+1:

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The Seeds -

I’ve had these seeds stored in my fridge for about a year and decided what the heck, got nothing to lose by trying so I soaked them in regular tap water for approximately two days - after 8 hrs or so they needed help sinking so I tapped on them very lightly with my pinkie.
By day two in water both had cracked and one even had a lil root poking through so I moved them to a moist paper towel with a little plastic bag over them and set on top of my fridge (I came across that lil tid-bit on the internets). They lived in the moist paper towel for another day (see pics below) this helped the tap root to grow out a little bit more and then transferred to a small container with FFHF potting soil with some perlite mixed in for aeration.

TL:DR - I was able to germinate unknown seeds that had been chilling in my fridge for a little over a year with some research and lots of luck. So far, so good!

Unknown Seed # 1

Uknown Seed #2

Sprouting in Foxfarm Happy Frog + Perlite

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The Seedlings -

Pics from Week 1 | 3/11 - 3/17

Pics from Week 2 | 3/18 - 3/24

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All Right, you’re off to a good start! Welcome to ILGM. As you know, there are a lot of people here that can help you. Once you get them in starter soil, I would try to get a little better control of the pH. Not serious yet but it is a good habit to be in. Your soil pH range will be 6.4 - 6.8 with a sweet spot of 6.5. Keep the pH in good range and your grow will go much better. Make sure you check your run off from the watering and feeding on a fairly regular basis. If your leaves start turning colors, the first thing to check is the run off. It is at the heart of the blame most o fthe time.

Have you been running the set up to make sure of the heat produced and how well your system handles it. (Thanks @Hawkeye_diesel) Looking forward to seeing your grow. Jerry

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Thanks for the welcome and info @TxGrowman,

the plants are housed 24/7 in the tent and have been on an 18/6 light schedule since start of week #2.
I’ve tested the runoff on both plants and came out between 6.3 and 6.5, I have started adding calmag at 1/4 strength - to be proactive about calmag deficiencies when using LEDs. The pH of water I use is at 6.0. Other than that I’ve just left them alone to do their thing.

The hottest the tent has gotten is about 86 F and that was when both fans were off - with fans on it fluctuates between 79 and 83. Is this an acceptable range? Has anyone recirculated scrubbed air inside the tent? Pros and cons of this?

Also when should I transplant to the 3 gal smart pots? I know I should be concerned with the roots outgrowing current containers but I am also concerned about over-watering at this stage. Thanks for the support guys!

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That’s a little high. As a general rule, max should be 82 with ideal below 80 but a night range should be 62 - 72. The day and night temperature differences should be no more than 18 F (10 C) but a better range is 10 F (5 C).

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I have recirculated air in spaces and boxes I find smell leaks far more since you can’t attain neg pressure it also means you need to let fresh co2 rich air in often or add co2. Since your ladies as they get bigger will want more co2 it also is reason for your higher temps you are recycling the heat fine in a cold area but can create problems in a fairly stable space

I’ve implemented a few changes to the grow tent per advice from the forum. I’ve now mounted the carbon filter inside the tent and sucking tent air through and out through the inline fan that now sits outside of the tent. My tempratures are now solidly between 81 and 79 with both lights on. This has also helped to keep the RH between 45% and 43%.

This week was also transplanting week and both plants are now sitting in their 3 Gal smart pot homes but I noticed this when I took them out of the smaller containers - what do you guys think @TxGrowman @Donaldj ? Will this green-ish algae like stuff be a problem for the roots? Hindsight: I should’ve thoroughly mixed the Perlite with the Happy frog but wanted to create a “drainage zone” at the bottom of the container

Transplanted to 3 Gallon smart pots 3/28/17. I did notice one of the first set of serrated leaves on Plant #1 is yellowing a little. Does this mean its time for nutes?

Yellowing leaf on Plant #1

the algae should die without light and your ladies will improve now they are in fresh soil

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One comment on the second picture. When the duct is bent that sharp (90 degrees), the fan does not get full flow and also puts extra load on the fan. If you moved more air through the fan, it might help cool it down a little inside. Try to readjust the angle that the fan and duct meet. More like 110-120 degrees.

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UPDATE Week 4 (April 1 - April 7)

Its been one week since both unknown plants were transplanted into the 3 Gal smart pots and both plants never really showed any stress and are doing pretty well. They both had 5 decent nodes by 4/5 and I decide to go ahead and top them. I’ll be using a SCoRG net and LST to try to fill out my 4 x 2 tent.

Plant 1 - Possible Sativa Pre and Post Topping

Plant 2 - Possible Indica Pre and Post Topping

They’re recovering nicely since I topped them, and are starting to smell especially when I touch the leaves. I’ll upload pics on the next update. I also installed my SCoRG net above them. It’s attached to the 4 posts in the corners of the tent and I made it adjustable to be able to move it up/down as needed or when its not in use.

I also got a bit restless and since there will be room in the tent I decided to germinate one of the White Widow Auto seeds I ordered from ILGM. I used the 24 hr soak - 24 hr wet paper towel and had a decent sized tap root prior to planting in FF Happy Frog.

I am hoping the two unknown plants are female and regular plants, that way the Auto catches up to them pre-flower so I can harvest all 3 around the same time.

Here’s the WW auto seedling in the small pot on the left, Plant 2 indica in middle and Plant 1 sativa on the right

Thinking about LST and tying the plants back against the net - has anyone ever used zip-ties? I saw a vid that claims they don’t hurt or cut into the plants and makes for much easier cutting later.

Last question, at this stage I’ve only fed nutes twice once at 1/2 tsp per gal and second time at 1 tsp per gallon. Can I increase? or if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. These plants are 4 weeks since they pushed thru soil and wondering if they are on the small side. Tallest, the sativa is about 5 inches (well…was till she got her head chopped off lol)

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So its day 33/34 and plants are doing ok but I have a problem. Looks like it could be mites, I first found deformed leaves on Plant #1 a couple of days ago and then what appears to be holes/bite marks on both plants #1 and #2. What do you guys think? @TxGrowman @Donaldj

I’ve applied the bug blaster that came with the seeds but doing some reading on here and i think I’ll wait a few days and if problem persists try the cigarette and hot chili pepper method to treat the plants and grow tent.

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You’re already taking steps for pest control so think you have it handled :slight_smile:

Look VERY closely under the leaves and all around the plant. There may be bugs crawling on your plants also. Sometimes that are not easy to find.

To trim or not to trim? Here’s this bushy lil thing. My concern is how dense and close the leaves are. I’ve just “LST’ed” or tried to but I still think its time to start trimming the bottom before she hits the scrog net. What do i trim away? I’ve read that you dont want to trim fan leaves, that leaves the smaller stems with bud sites will trimming them affect trying to fill out the screen later?

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Can someone tell me if these plants are ok? Its been 12 days since I topped them and last feeding was Fox farm Big bloom 4 tsp, Grow Big 2 tsp and Cal + Mag 5 ML. I just feel like they should be a bit taller/bigger by now since its been 12 days. The pic with the measuring tape shows the plants are about 5" - 6" tall and they are def. both short and bushy. I tried trimming off some lower growth on the bushier plant #1 but didn’t want to send the plant to shock or slow down further growth so I barely took anything off.

Issue #2 is the deformed leaves and obvious bug/pest eating some leaves. Only maybe 4 or 5 leaves total have been bitten into so its not overrun but I’ve been spraying the bug blaster that came with the ILGM seeds in hopes it helps with the unwanted dinner guest.

These are pics from today - Day 38 above soil. Temps btw 74F and 80F, Ph in 6.5, PPM with nutes 782, run off pH 6.0

Plant #1 - is it me or are the leaves/stems really drooping?

Site of Topping

Base of main stem

Deformed leaf

Plant 2 - less droopy but shorter with some deformed leaves

Two main stems at topping site

Stem decided to grow sidewatys a bit - could be why its shorter than plant #1?

Plant #2 Deformed/weird leaves

Tent with WW auto seedling

@Donaldj @yoshi @garrigan62 @hillcrest21678 @Hawkeye_diesel @TxGrowman

any help is appreciated!