Rookie's Journal

okay, so i figure that i would share this for other rookies. i have never grown anything. hell, i can't even grow a beard, but i don't like dealing with the uncertainty, availability, and potential legal consequences of buying grass. plus, i really don't like that my ex is my hookup, so i am going to start, or try to start, growing my own.

my philosophy is to learn to do it right. i am interested only in personal use and want to eventually get to the point where i have a steady supply of fresh dope. i know i am going to make a lot of stupid and rookie mistakes, but i plan to learn. i hope to eventually develop a system where i have three rooms (one flower, one mother, and one clone). like i said, i do not need quantity, so i think (hope) that one flowering plant, one mother, and a few clones will be in constant rotation. while i am not rich, money is not my major concern. i believe in spending money on and buying quality important things (pot, food, shoes, etc.)

so far i have purchased:

400w HPS light that also came with a 400w mh lamp ($250)
carbon filter (75)
40 lbs of miracle grow potting soil (20)
indoor/outdoor thermometer and humidity sensor (15)
tray of 36 peet starters (3)
oscilating fan (20)
2 gallons primer (30)
1 gallon flat white (6)
30 seeds (150)
Medical Marijuana Horticulture (20)
BOG's book (20)
Other Growing guides and books (25)
assorted other shit like tweezers, pots, spray bottles, etc. (50)

*prices are approximate* so don't bitch at me for paying too much. i don't care about that. however, if you have any advice or can see mistakes i am making feel free to let me know.

i have painted the walls of a secret room measuring about 12X8X6' high, hung the light above a small table, blacked out a window, and hooked up the carbon filter, but it's noisier and noticible, so i think i might move it up and out of sight so at least it isn't visable. not that this is an area i expect people to see, but due to my line of work i don't think there is such a thing as too secret.

(9/20/06)

seeds have arrived!! i have ten seeds each of Burmese, Fast Girl, and Northern Lights. I figure I'll start with the Northern Lights - I've read they are a pretty *easy* strain and since this is a total learning experience i want easy.

tonight i will soak the Northern Lights seeds to start germination.

wish me luck. i am going to need it.

 

Good luck. I'm sure though BOGs book will guide you throw your grow.

 

Sounds like your well on your way, read those books front to back a couple of times (or come read the forums.....tons of material plus you get to see people make mistakes and correct them or not correct them.....kinda helpful) and you should have a good grip on atleast what your doing for the most part! When in need i always find helpful advice from the hipsters So good luck and can't wait to see the updates!


- 42o -

 

(9/21) day two

after soaking seeds for about six hours (couldn't wait any longer ) i put them in peat cups and watered them with a 2% fungicide and covered the tray with a plastic cover to keep in heat and humidity. i put them under the 400w mh bulb about 27 inches away. i know i could use floros but i didn't as i don't have floros in my grow room.

temp is running in the high 80's with about 55% humidity which i understand is pretty good. it was a little warmer, but after turning on the fan and exhaust it cooled off about 5 degrees.

i came home from work at lunch today to check on my little bitches (i'm hoping) and everything was okay, or looked fine. temp and humidity is steady.

tonight after work i can already see two white growths - i hope this is good and not the tap root growing in the wrong direction.

i have a bunch of pictures, but am having camera issues (i'm an f'in techno-tard). once i get it figured out i'll post them.

so, how much longer before i smoke some of MY OWN DOPE?

 

Hey Duner!

A lot of people would kill for a growroom that big!!! Don't worry too much about the noisy carbon filter - the DAZZLING lights and the pot plants would probably give the secret away anyhow!! LOL The plants will need air "in" and air "out" ventilation, have you got that covered? You have about a month before you will need to add nutes, have you already sorted that out? Get a ph tester, a cheap one is ok to start with. You will also need to figure out some way to adjust the lights height as the plants grow (chains and "s"hooks work great). About the only other thing I might add; is that your room is so large you might want to "sub-divide" it or put some "reflective walls" around your table to conserve stray light energy (cardboard, painted white, is better than nothing).
Oh yeah! And a camera, everybody will be wanting to see pics from time to time!
You seem to have thought this through pretty well!! So I wish you the best of luck as the "Learning Experience" continues!

 

Don't worry about the tap root, if the seed is pointing the wrong way, the tap root will just hook around and go down. Don't touch it with your bare finger (although I have and nothing bad happened).

 

day two - continued

this is fun shit!

okay, so i moved the carbon filter out of the wall and up between two joists. it can still be heard when you are nearby, but it's outta sight - "you're high. i don't hear anything."

i now have three sprouters and i can see that they are hooking around, so i'm pretty happy about that.

i do not have in ventilation since my room is in an old farm house that is drafty as heck. if it becomes necessary (how will i know) i can always drill holes in the walls but then i'll have light leaks - as of now i have no light escaping the room

i think i'll build a knee-wall this weekend to minimize lost light (thanks t.h.) - i had been planning on dividing the room later - probably after i figure out what i am doing so i can with BOG's constant harvest plan, but since i will be the sole consumer one plant should last me a couple of months unless i start smoking a TON more, which is always a possibility. i have a sad feeling i might be throwing marijuana away - maybe i'll just start dropping it around the city for people to find - a charitable act if you will.

i have chains on my light so raising and lowering it is a sinch.

as far as nutes go, i haven't given it much thought, but i was looking at BOG's book tonight and thought i would see about ordering what he recommends online. i've perused the aisles at wally-world but since i don't know what exactly i am looking for as far as ingredients i think it will be easier to simply buy the brands BOG suggests.

they have pH testers at walmart?

 

day three:

all ten seeds have sprouted and six are showing seed leaves already. i still have them in the peat pellets - when should i move them into pots? is it still too early? should i just take the plastic cover off the tray? i recall reading that if they stay under the plastic too long they can start to rot, but i can't seem to find where i read that or remember how long was too long. anyone who can help with this?

today i bought a ph tester and two garbage cans that i filled with water so i can use room temperature water instead of cold. i also moved my light and table up against a wall to contain light and will build a knee wall tomorrow or sunday.

so far, all seems to be going well.


here's what i have so far - http://i10.tinypic.com/2lc5vvd.jpg
temperature is steady at about 88 degrees and humidity between 52 and 55%.

 

when im germing i use a plastic wrap over the top of the pot........once it sprouts i keep the plastic wrap on for another day or two......and straight to the 400W MH they go........of course the light is kinda far away at first but you just progressively move it down towards the plants until your at optimum height. By progressively i mean start out with it atleast 2ft above them then every day or two lower it a couple inches until you get to the point where your as low as you can go without burning the plants. As far as putting them in pots.....im not sure 'cuz i always start them in pots so can't help out there. But im positive someone else will be able to help ya out with that. Congrats on all ten sproutin, sorry i have a horrible memory, but are you goin to have any pics??? Either way keep up the good work!


- 42o -

 

Oh nevermind i just read one of your earlier posts and noticed the camera troubles thing

- 42o -

 

here's a pic of my table and light.

 

Day Four:

i've made some (more) modifications to my grow space. I built a divider - basically a four foot wall and painted it white. it really traps in the light, so i will have to keep a hold of the temperature to make sure it doesn't get too hot.

from behind the wall: and

i can slide the wall to access my plants

as you can see - if you're following this - i also moved my light to take advantage of the corner to box in the light even more. if i can control the heat i will probably also build a wall across the table to trap even more light.

so far, so good. i have what look like eight HEALTHY sprouts and two that appear to be fighting for a good root. the sprouts are starting to show true leaves and are about an inch in height. i still have them under plastic. i'm thinking they will be ready to put into pots in a couple days or so.

 

Dude - you gotta make your pics smaller!!! It's like I'm a blind man trying to feel the Statue of Liberty!!!

 

i told you i'm a techno-tard .. . how do i do that?

 

and who you calling dude?

 

I've never used jiffy-pellets/pots but I would take them out of the plastic container as soon as they sprout to avoid damping. The sprouts that look good and strong can be put (jiffy-pot and all) into pots right away. As long as the roots aren't showing yet there's very little chance of any "transplanting shock". Little sprouts are actually pretty tough - but sensitive to light! That one looks pretty skinny, second from the top on the right side, it might not make it! Try to keep the stems up off of the moist surface of the jiffy-pot without any pressure or force, maybe just slip a piece of plastic baggie in between - the stem can rot through and die real quick at this stage.

I'm sorry! Dudette, is that better? I don't know how to make them smaller either! You either reduce the resolution on the camera down to 680x420 or something to make a smaller image file or else you put the image into Paint and reduce it there - I'm not sure?

 

okay - heading into the garden and putting all pellets into pots. . . . then off to bed.

thanks for the help.

 

day five:

on the bright side: i built kneewalls to enclose my space a little, temp is constant at about 82 degrees and humidity at about 50%. i've put all the peat pellets into pots and removed the plastic cover.

on the down side: it looks like i have one for sure death and two more little ladies who seem to be struggling against joining their sister.

however, that still leaves a possibilty of seven old fashioned man-hating feminists. yea, i know there will be a number who will bow out and grow dicks when the going gets tough, but i really only want one good bitch out of this first grow.

here is a pic taken at the end of day five. is the size better? i might have figured out how to resize. . maybe not.

note the dead one in the upper right. http://i9.tinypic.com/2hx6844.jpg

can't really tell from the pic, but they are about an inch and a half in height.

as a rookie i want to water, but my reading and research tells me to wait. i would appreciate any help on knowing when to water.

 

okay, i have been informed that i fucked up by using miracle grow for a medium due to its lack of magnesium. . . so that sucks - i don't really know what it means in the long run, but . . .

from what i have been told by a helpful board member is that i should use jacks classic fertilizer to make up the difference, but i also understand (or think i do) that it is too early to use any fertilizers. . .am i correct here? i had planned to mix up BOG's soil mix when i transplanted from quart pots to 2-gallon (10 gallons of feeding type potting soil, 3 cups of blood meal, 2 cups of bone meal, and 1 gallon of perlite). i was planning on doing this around day 21 or when my plants start getting rootbound in their current homes. . . will this overcome my magnesium deficiency or do i need to do something earlier?

here on day six i have ten seedlings (apparently death has not come yet) - a couple look pretty scraggly and twisted, but who knows. i removed one wall i had put up to trap light in order to allow more air movement from the fan to improve stalk strength. they range in height from about 1 inch to 2.5 inches.

i have misted them but not watered the soil as it still appears to be wet from the transplanting on day four. . . does this seem okay?

by the way, the help i have received on this forum has been awesome. thanks to everyone who has posted advice both here and in pm. i really appreciate the help.

 

Hey duner!

Yes, miracle grow is not a good medium to use for marijuana plants. Not just for the magnesium, but just in general IT IS NO GOOD FOR GROWING POT. Some people will argue but its just way easier to not use it.

Now im not real sure if that will fix your deficiency, but im sure T.H. or someone will stop by your thread and be able to help ya out a bit better in that department.

As for the scraggly ones.........they probably wont make it.......but this early on you could plant a couple more seeds to make up for the scraggly ones and they would only be a couple days behind your others.

As for your soil........when i have young plants like yours i just wait until the top (visible) part of the soil is dry, and then i water the next day. Seems to work for me. Just remember it is alot easier to fix underwatering rather than overwatering

Other than those things just keep up what your doing and just keep reading reading reading.....never can have to much information. Keep up the good work and keep the updates coming.


- 42o -