Newbie grow of White Widow Fem in Coco

Day 7
Hi everyone! I am a first timer attempting to grow White Widow (fem) from ILGM indoors in Coco Coir. I have been reading lots but this is my first attempt at growing, so please excuse me if I show a few mistakes along the way. I’d love any feedback, so without further ado… :slight_smile:

Strain; Type, Bag seed, or NA; White Widow Fem , seeds.

Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco? Coco with 30% perlite.

System type? Unsure what this means?

PH of runoff or solution in reservoir? 6.0 in reservoir after nutrients and calmag, hand watered.

What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS. N/A

Indoor or Outdoor: Indoor 2.6’ x 2.6’ x 5’

Light system, size? 400W HPS, currently running 24 hrs.

Temps; Day, Night: 75 F.

Humidity; Day, Night: 50%

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size. Yes, 6" exhaust fan.
AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier: No.

Co2; Yes, No: No

These are 7 days from the seeds being planted in 5 gal pots and measure about 2" tall and 3"wide. I missed the importance of CalMag, but after reading these forums I have just flushed both pots today (Day 7) with a full dose of Cal-Mag and half dose of GT Grow A and B. so this was the first time I’ve given them any, I hope that hasn’t stunted their growth!

Welcome any comments or criticism, my journey is just beginning!

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I just bought a Bluelab PH pen that is soaking now, as I’m a bit paranoid about making sure the PH is correct, up until now I’ve been using a simple color match kit.
I also bought a Bluelab EC pen too, which I don’t know how to use yet.
I have a couple of dumb questions. For 7 day old plants:
Q1: Is there a good guide somewhere on what EC levels I should be aiming for?
Q2: My pen has a ppm 500, and a ppm 700 setting. Which one should I be set to?
Thanks in advance!
Fusion

Well, I had my first panic attack.
I managed to work out how to use my EC Pen, and at the next watering/feed I had a bit of a shock.
I am growing 2 x WW fem from seed in 6 gallon pots. This means it takes quite a few day for the soil to dry out as I fully water the pots. I’d prewatered the Coco, but I think I initially stuffed up by prewatering with full strength nutes.

Day 8 from seed planting.
I watered using half strength nutes and full strength cal-mag,
I got the pen the next day, so I had to wait till today (Day 11) before I was game to water again.
Day 11 from seed planting.
I feed/watered today using a 1/4 strength nutes and 1/4 strength cal mag, as I had the tiniest-tiniest browning on the serrated points of the leaves (not the end), so I was a bit worried about nute burn.
I measured the runoff (for the first time) using the EC pen. It measured at 6.0 and 4.5 for the two plants!!! Eeek! Panic!!
The pots came out and I have flushed with tap water till the runoff came down to an EC of 0.5.
I then watered with 1/4 strength cal mag, with a PH of 5.8 and EC of 0.5, no nutes at all.
I then measured the runoff, a PH of 6.2 and an EC of 0.5.
I hope I haven’t overreacted by removing all nutes, but everything I read here is to get onto nute burn straight away.
I am only watering every 4 days, so I am wondering if it is OK to leave them without nutes till say day 15? (expected time of next water) They currently have only PH water and Calmag, am worried they need more.

Below is a picture of the assumed nute burn.


Thanks!

You’re plants are still very small to be feeding nutes, and that pot is way too big for you to be watering to runoff. What soil are you using?

Hi Raustin,
I am starting to realise that now…doh!
I’m using Coco Coir with 30% perlite.
So, it’s ok not to be feeding them nutes at this stage?
The shop where I bought everything convinced me to feed them from the get go, and after spending some time on these forums I’m realising that was a bad idea.
Same thing with pot size. I’m thinking I should be only using a small amount of feed/water around the plants?
Thanks for the advice!

Ok, I didn’t realize you were in coco. Yes, you need to feed earlier when using coco because it has nothing in it for the plant to feed on. However, you should wait until the first, round feeder leaves turn yellow before you start feeding. The plant looks nice and healthy now, so I don’t think it needs feeding.

When you do start to feed, be careful to Ph the nutes properly because that pot is too big to get runoff from. Once the plant is bigger - about twice the size it is now - you can get runoff and and test it.

DAY13
Thanks Raustin,
It’s good to have a sanity check mate, appreciate it.
The feeder leaves are still green, so I’ll wait till I see some dry soil or feeder leaves start going yellow.
I’ll start at 1/4 strength nutes and calmag as I’m a numpty newbie at all this, and it seems easier to recover from underfeeding then overfeeding methinks.
Day 13 Photos below, do they look ok? They’re growing lots of sets of leaves in the last two days, (13cm x 11cm across) but not much in the way of vertical height growth. I assume that means my lights don’t need to come closer.
This is fun, but stressful!


Cheers!

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Day 15
I think because I used such big pots (5 Gallon) I am finding it doesn’t need watering as often as I thought, this is the 4th day since watering (no nutes) and the Coco is still damp across the pot.
I am seeing no sign of the feeder leaves going yellow, (thanks @raustin!) so am holding off on any nutes.
There’s been a bit of a growth spurt in the last two days, the amount of leaves and size seem to have taken off.
This is on no nutes since flushing, only Calmag.
Keeping a sharp eye out for nutrient deficiency!

![IMG_0365|666x500]

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Hi Guys,
I need help please on whether this is classified as drooping leaves.
This is my first grow, so a bit inepxerienced compared to you gents.
The piccie below is day 45 of veg (since seed planted). I’m just about to switch.
I noticed that the leaves are a little bit droopy, they’re not sitting straight out. Is this something to look at? Or is it simply normal due to the plant ageing and getting bigger?
Runoff is EC1.3, and PH at 6.0.
Do these look normal to you lot?
Thanks guys, appreciate it.

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They are a bit droopy, it looks like overwatering. Did you water recently? Also, your Ph is a little low if you’re growing in soil, it should be between 6.3 and 6.8.

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G’day Raustin,
Yes mate, watered with 6litres to runoff with nutes (1.3 EC) day before yesterday. (23 litre pot)
But I’m growing in Coco with 30% perlite, not soil.
The drooping I noticed before I watered, I actually thought I’d let it go too dry, the top inch of Coco was almost dry.
The only thing I could think of was I haven’t added any Cal Mag since week 4, but it doesn’t look like a cal mag deficiency to me.
I’m going to try and leave the fan blowing on the plants and the exhaust fan running, as when I switched the lights off I noticed the edges of the leaves had drops of water form on the serrated points, so maybe I did simply overwater.

Well, she certainly looks healthy. I don’t see any deficiencies, but since you’re in coco you should keep using the Cal Mag. I know that people who use coco also use a lot of Cal Mag, so give her a dose and see if that helps her drooping.

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Day 40 flowering.
G’day All,
Firstly, thanks @raustin for the advice, the Cal Mag was the issue, a half strength dose and they picked right up. I noticed that the plant seemed to grow taller when the Calmag was corrected, would it be fair to say a lack of calmag can stunt growth?
Against all odds like my newbie fussing and ignorance, they seem to be doing OK. This is at day 40 of flowering.
I thought I was close to harvest, but after reading up, I note that I still had a lot of white stigma/pistils still proudly standing up. Is it true that most of your stigmas will be curled and darkened before the trichomes start going milky? I was worried that White Widow would not show any amber on the stigmas.
I just received my 60x jewellers loupe, and I am pretty sure the trichomes I am looking at are still clear. They look like glass, and someone said they will look almost like dull plastic when the THC is at max, and I should harvest when 80% of the trichomes are milky.
This is more fun and more challenging than what I believed it could be! Hopefully only a couple of weeks to go!

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Great, i’m glad the Cal Mag helped. She sure looks beautiful, best definitely not ready for harvest. You’ve still got a few weeks to go, exactly what you read. The pistils will start to turn dark orange and brown, then start checking the trichomes. They do look like glass when they are clear which means they’re not ready, and they do look like plastic when cloudy, which means they’re perfect. Most of us will wait to see a little amber in the trichs as well.

You’re doing a great job, you’re gonna have a good harvest, just be patient.

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Day 56 Flower
HI All!
I think I’m paying the penalty for not LSTíng for long enough, its starting to get a bit cramped and cutting out the light penetrating lower into the colas.
However, it’s my first grow, so I’m happy that they look healthy.
5 days ago I measured the runoff at an EC of 2.5 on both plants. and I was so worried about over-nuting I gave them water only. Yesterday I gave them a drink again with water only again but this time the runoff was an EC of 1.4.
Should I give them a top up with nutrients this close to harvest?

Looking at the trichomes, I am seeing a coupla % going amber, the rest are mostly cloudy.
I am guessing another week?

Man, the smell is overpowering once you pull them out of the tent!




Appreciate any advice from you guys.
Thanks!

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No, don’t feed again, let her eat herself at this point. The leaves whol start to turn yellow and red, but don’t worry, it’s a good thing. You also might want to do a flush to get out the last of those nutes in the soil, this will give you a nice smooth smoke. She looks beautiful, you did a great job for your first grow. You’re going to be very happy with the harvest.

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Thanks Raustin, appreciate the feedback. The stems have started reddening, but the leaves overall are still quite healthy, so I’ll leave off on the nutes.
l wait for the last few days to flush, yes?
I can’t quite believe I’m almost at harvest, didn’t think this day would ever come :slight_smile:
I just moved the lights from 13/11 to 14/10 tonight.
Also, is there any truth to the concept of letting them sit in the dark for the final 72 hours to fatten up?

Cheers,
FO

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At this point, two weeks from harvest, you should do your flush now and no more nutes. Don’t worry about what she looks like anymore, it’s all about the harvest. One week before harvest many of us split the stem and do another flush, but that’s up to you. Then, a few days before harvest she goes into the dark for about 72 hours, it fools her into thinking winter is coming, so she gives her last effort to throw out resin.

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Thanks Raustin,
I’ll do as you suggested. I owe you a beer or twelve for your help, it is an enormous weight off my mind being able to get such helpful advice.
Cheers!
FO

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I did WW FEM first grow, and waited through the same as you, come on trichomes! Lol plant looks great!