First grow update, input welcome

[weise.guy]

Strains: Bubblegum (fem photo) and blue dream from a dispensary nuggie

Germinated: 12/25

Potted: 1/9

Soil: FF Ocean - eyeballed some extra perlite

Light: 800w quantum led board

Tent: 4x4x80

6" inline fan w/ sensor probe

6" ducting run from the bottom holes for intake

(2)6" fans above the led going while the lights on and a 16" box fan running in 2nd speed 24/7. Temp control is set to high of 75.

Questions: How early can you top? I lost the page but I read something with pictures that showed “plucking” two small leaves fairly early on. It was after the leaves with 5 points develop I believe.

I have a Cloudline T6. Is there a way to set is so that the fan will bring the tent to a certain temp, say 72, then no kick on again until the temp rises to, say, 78? Right now the tent heats up quick enough that it reaches the max temp again in about a minute. It seems a bit over the top to have the exhaust fan going that much. It’s something I can’t figure out no matter how much I read the instructions. Maybe it’s not possible but it’s seems super basic. I live in Alaska so the tent gets to about the 67 at night and the fan never kicks on (I have it so it will always run on the lowest speed).

Any input at this stage in the grow is greatly appreciated. I tried to be concise but other points if interest are that I used that great white microbe stuff when I transplanted and also that they were left unatended for a few days early on when a buddy let me down which is why the bubblegum’s first true leaves yellowed.

I am looking into getting a cheap lux meter I can connect to a Bluetooth app. I use the dye method for pH. My tap is perfect 7 I ad a few single drops of the pH down and that seems to give it a perfect slightly yellowish green probably 6.5ish if I were to guess. I’ve read ph in the water doesn’t matter until you start adding nutrients whatevs takes a couple minutes.

Some photos. The first is the setup, second the blue dream, last two the bubblegum.

[Borderryan22]

Nice setup! The yellowing is probably a little shock from the soil. FFOF is really hot and has a tendency to burn seedlings every now and then. As long as new growth up top is looking good and it isn’t persisting, you should be alright. The yellowing probably won’t go away, but shouldn’t progress as long as you’re pH’ing your water.

@weise.guy

use the dye method for pH

This could also be an issue. Might not be. pH meters, BlueLab or Apera to name a couple brands, are highly recommended. Can be a tad pricey, but are very reliable and dependable. Seeing that all the new growth looks good, should be ok.

If you don’t have one, you’ll want a TDS meter so you can tell how heavy your feed is when you start and if issues arise in the future, you can test your runoff. Like $15 on Amazon.

@weise.guy

How early can you top?

Most growers wait til the 5th or 6th node has grown in, then cut the main branch down to the 3rd node, leaving the small branches and fan leaves.

Looks good with all the companion plants! Good luck and happy growing!!

[Myfriendis410]

@weise.guy

How early can you top

This is entirely up to you. I like to do this at around 10" in height, regardless of the number of nodes. Topping or FIM’ing is done with sharp scissors.

@weise.guy

I have a Cloudline T6

Set your temp and your RH: with a little trial and error you can adjust the RH setting so that, at night as the RH rises (and temp drops) you can hit your setpoint. There is no way I know to increase the range between on and off. 78F is ideal BTW.

@weise.guy

I am looking into getting a cheap lux meter

There really are no cheap LUX meters, nor are they useful for growing cannabis. PAR is the more recognized metric (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) or PPF (Photosynthetic Photon Flux) which is measured in both DLI (Daily Light Integral) and in µmol/j/m2.

@weise.guy

I use the dye method for pH

I would invest in a decent PH and TDS meter. Apera, Bluelab both make good units, along with calibration and storage solution.

Looking at plants, you’ve got a week or two before topping.

Maximizing Cannabis Yields with Dr Bruce Bugbee

This is a great video explaining a lot of the process. Dr. Bruce Bugbee, Professor of Plant Science, Utah State and President of Apogee Instruments (they make high end quantum sensors) so he knows his stuff. Well worth watching.

[weise.guy]

Awesome responses I really appreciate it. I will say I experimented when starting them and the bubblegum I did mix in a bit of FF in the bottom half of the half quart container I started in. Could be it was too hot as it didn’t happen with the one I started in just seed start mix.

Sounds like at this point I should get an electronic meter for pH and tds which is on the list.

That pictorial on topping and gumming was great. As far as the lux meter, the only thing I read is that you can use lux to find what the par rating is. It’s certainly not something I think I NEED right now but I know I’ve been reading these led boards are all different. I’ll take a look at that video today after work.

I’m not very good at referencing peoples responses in my posts but thanks you guys! That info should get me through the next couple weeks at least

[Pinboy]

A good ph meter is a must have. You can download the Photone app on your phone. It’s not perfect but plenty good enough for what you need

[Myfriendis410]

@weise.guy

I read is that you can use lux to find what the par

LUX measures light visible to the human eye, including green which the plants (mostly) ignore so you will not get the same or correct reading for PAR. You need a quantum sensor which is a whole 'nother kettle of fish. ($400+)

[Kingkupa]

All tips above are right on. I tried using the ph strips and even the tube you put solution in, not nearly as accurate as a good ph pen. Also tds meter are most. Agree with above yellow leave could easily be a little shock, should be to early or any kind of root problem. Great start nice step up. What is your light never seen one that small that can do 800 watts you have to be careful manufacture can make some ridiculous claims. Another thing if you have an iPhone photone app is great, I’ve heard of people that have androids and Samsung phones and it not nearly as accurate for some reason. But looking good she growing so definitely doing something right, keep up the good work

[weise.guy]

I may try the photone app just to dink around but yeah $400 is a bit steep for what I’m trying to accomplish lol. Definitely did not know the dropper tests were so inaccurate I will have to order a digital reader asap. The ones on stock here are way marked up.

Thanks for the kudos on my setup. I went high end with things like the fan and the light. I guess you wouldn’t consider this light that high end but I got it over black Friday and it had good reviews. It’s the BloomPLUS4000. It claims 800w output with a 50% draw which was appealing. It can be dimmed as well. It’s about 1’8"x2’. Says "works for a 5x5 on the add but I had to just buy something haha.

A lot of the info I get and have got for my whole setup and grow have come from searching old threads in this forum. Great little wealth of knowledge here hopefully I can update pics of nice buds at some point

[CygnusX1]

How are things looking a couple of weeks later?

[weise.guy]

Hey I think I figured out the quote thing!

So things took a turn for the worse. I actually really appreciate you checking back in on this because I could use some input. First let me explain where I’m at really quick and some data from the grow log and my own hypothesis. I’ll provide pics too. I should have been taking more but honestly its harder to take pics of them all fucked up LOL

1/9 was the transplant to the buckets with FF + added perlite (eyballzed it)

1/17 1st watering to drainage using water w/ dropper tested and adjusted pH

Day after pics, looking pretty good. perked up did exactly what I expected. The first 2 are the bubblegum and the 2nd 2 are the Blue Dream.

1/20 2nd watering to drainage. Watered in the morning and my Apera meter came in the mail. I tested the runoff after 8 hours of it sitting in the dish for context. I dont know how accurate the TDS readings are for this watering because I didnt calibrate those before using it but I’ll list as well. I found out the water I’d been using was too basic still which was a surprise at 7.3 pH!

Reading: BG - pH 7.47 - TDS 5.76ppt (yes, ppt) BD - Ph 7.61 - TDS 9.47
Next day were looking good still

1/23 3rd watering to drainage. This is where things took a drastic turn for the worst. I sort of anticipated I would run into a learning curb on the way and this one was one of those “don’t fix what ain’t broke” moments.

I used compost tea this go around. Same stuff I had been using pretty regularly from germination but did not use as much of the tea once I moved them to the bigger pots but used some. I waited 8 days to give them a drainage watering and had been using a cup or two at a time and carefully saturating the roots every few days letting it dry. The grow store has a big pvc pipe thing with this stuff fresh, I got a gallon of it and went back to my house, so it was under 30 minutes fresh.

When watering I have been trying to follow the full saturation to run-off then dry period method. I add the water (or tea this time) 1 quart at a time. First I pour enough to get the full top moistened and drained in. Then I slowing ad some around the stalk as best I can then focus the rest more along the perimeter of the pot. I take a long break, about 45 minutes inbetween each quart. I gave each 2 quarts and then poured the drainage back on top.

I came back a few hours later and was horrified to see them drooping HARD. Over the next few days, this got only seemingly worse. Leaves yellowed, the Blue Dream got hit really hard. I was fairly poopy to say the least, but I didn’t find the need to seek any advice on the forums because I had some pretty clear evidence to what I believe was the culprit. At the same time, I’m also at a stage where I sort of confused and want to make sure I’m getting back on track before my trip here soon you read about.

Readings: BG - pH 6.63 - Cond. 2.43mS - TDS 1.75ppt - Sal. 1.23 BD - pH 6.54 - Cond. 2.12mS - TDS 1.49ppt - Sal. 1.05

Unfortunately these are the only pics I have after the watering, about 5 hours after the watering

1/27 4th watering to drainage. Just water, pH at 6.7. I let the plants try to recuperate and dry out enough before my next feeding, they got hit pretty hard as you are about to witness. I did just finally prune a few major yellow fan leaves around the bottom on both and think I should do more but am not certain when the best time would be.

Readings: BG - pH 6.64 - Cond. 1851uS - TDS 1.27ppt - Sal. .90 BD - pH 6.95 - Cond. 4.13mS - TDS - 2.58ppt - Sal. 2.05

First pics are the BG 2nd are the BD. Wish I had got more pics right before I pruned. I just took these pics. Believe it or not they’re looking a bit better than they had been.

Shit sorry for the long post but its a lot of info and theres even more specifics I just left out. Inevitably I believe I overloaded the roots when I used the straight compost tea on that 3rd watering. The soil was already “hot” and I should have contemplated that. The tea they provide isn’t supposed to be nutritious so I just made what I think was a bad call. I’d really enjoy any more thoughts though on what it could be and what I should be doing from here.

I also want to top this one the BG which I know for a fact is a photo. There are 8 nodes if you count the very first node as 1. I’d like to top it at node 6 or 7 but want to wait for the plant to get stronger. I can tell the new top growth is benefitting from the last watering.

h

[CygnusX1]

Sorry for the delay, I’m not on as much most weekends.

Sounds like you’re finding and correcting issues quickly, so kudo’s to that!

When I grew in Fox Farms soil in the past I used nothing but RO water + a little Cal Mag until the nutes ran out and I think this is what most would recommend so the compost tea was probably a but much for them in that soil / early on as you learned. I’ll tag in a few other very experienced growers to offer input as well.

I’ve moved to Coco now, but with the hot soil its “usually” best to not add anything until the plants start showing they need it. I also never watered to a lot of runoff until I started feeding, then 20%ish to clear salts and take measurements.

Those lower leaves won’t “recover” so if top growth looks good you’re getting back to a good place and can continue pruning.

On topping, you can probably get away with it soon / now depending on how big of a plant you can handle. You’ll get significant upward stretching for the first 2-3 weeks after changing your light schedule to 12/12 for photo-period plants so keep that in mind when you’re making that decision.

Here are a few experienced growers who may follow-along and can either confirm, add to, or correct me on any of the above.

@Low @Hellraiser @Graysin @MattyBear @AfgVet

[MattyBear]

That pretty much covers it @CygnusX1 , thanks bud

[Oldguy]

@weise.guy

gave each 2 quarts and then poured the drainage back on top.

This would be my thoughts as to why the sudden droop and yellowing.
By doing this basically they just had a salt bath from all the run off you just rinsed from the pots.

Don’t do that.

[AfgVet]

Good catch!

[Oldguy]

Thank you ma’am.

[Graysin]

Thanks for the tag @CygnusX1

@weise.guy

also want to top this one the BG which I know for a fact is a photo. There are 8 nodes

I’d do it now. I only cut off one node but everyone does it differently. If you want to play with clones, cutting a bit more so you have a couple clones is good.

@weise.guy

horrified to see them drooping HARD.

You overwatered, in addition to the commentary from Cygnus and Oldguy.

One thing to note is that you’re in plastic pots. I hate plastic pots with a passion - they tend to trap water at the very bottom and when your plant is as developed as she is, the very bottom is where your roots are living. The water sitting way down there is prime territory to start promoting root rot. That’s no one’s fault but the plastic. The best thing you can do is: transplant into fabric instead; cut more holes for more drainage (twice as many as what you have now); water less frequently.

For my soil plants, I take wet/dry cycles almost to the extreme end of “dry” because my plants bounce back within hours if they haven’t been watered for a while, but they take days to set themselves straight when they’re overwatered. Soil is excellent at water retention, which is a major double edged sword, especially combined with plastic pots. I highly recommend waiting one more day between waterings, even two days, if you want to keep your current set up as is with no changes to the container.

Anyway, aside from all the bashing on plastic, the plants are looking good. Just be patient with em and definitely don’t feed them for a week and see how they do with just what’s in their soil at this point.

[weise.guy]

Yeah I meant to get fabric pots but somehow got talking to the guy at the store and walked out with a plastic tub lol. Anyway, its certain I oberwatered. I should have stuck with my watering cycle I had going as my plants were doing exceptional but I kept reading all this “water to drainage” stuff which it sounds like I could have avoided.

In other news, I’m leaving for Argentina for 3 weeks tomorrow so I guess they’ll live or die it’s out if my hands but when I get back I’m going to get my actual main grow setup I had intended.

[Graysin]

@weise.guy

leaving for Argentina for 3 weeks tomorrow so I guess they’ll live or die

as long as they’re freshly watered I bet they do just fine. Got anybody who can come give them a gallon of distilled in 7-10 days?

[Low]

Good info above

[weise.guy]

Yes luckily my roomie grows too and will be looking after them. I’m trying to wait as long as possible now to water. I do have a little moisture probe that told me what you guys have been saying - WET on the bottom.

It’s time for a weed to be a weed! In other news my tomatoes, basil and houseplants are doing great