First time Grower- I thought this was gonna be easy

[Swiss]

Hey guys, i’m a first time grower, I bought Female WW from ILGM, and it’s been super exciting the first week and super stressful. Not gonna lie, thought i could just throw some seeds in a pot, add some water, grab a light or two and be done…Fast Forward 2 weeks and feel like i have a question every minute either scaling the forum for advice or asking a buddy so i figured it was time to create an account

I was so eager to start the grow, i skipped the germination process, i bought a small plastic container, pods that are supposed to dissolve as the roots grow throw them, a heating pad and an “3 ft. Black Bright/Cool Light White Integrated LED Shop Light that outputs 50- Watt florescent and 3200 lumen”

i soakedthe soil, added the seedling, put the pods in the container, ontop of the heating pad (with a grill rack) between the container and the heating pad and hung my light over, i was trying to create a warm/damp/high humidity environment… few days later i had a couple seeds pop up right away and they seem to grow pretty quickly at the beginning, felt like i wanted to name them “Jack” I was so pumped thinking i was doing everything right, then a buddy of mine told me my lamp was to high and the plants were growing so fast “reaching for sunlight” so after a couple days, i grabbed some bricks from my garage and added them to the container to raise the plants.

I leave the light on pretty much for 24 hours a day, the other day the room was getting kinda hot so i opened the lid to the container to let the plants breath and turned the light off for an hour or so but nothing more. Yesterday I was looking at the plants and thinking there’s wait to much moisture in here and felt the condensation was blocking off the light to the plants is was so wet. So yesterday I open the lid, have the plants still in there and letting it dry.

If your still with me after that Stephen King novel I appreciate it-

Here are some issues I am seeing and any insight would be helpful.

Yesterday I noticed a tiny black bug, just one running around the soil, it was not on the plant at all, and didn’t seem like it could fly, i read alot about the different types of bugs that accompany indoor growing and i wasn’t 100% sure if that is my issue. Like i said it almost looked like a flea and wasn’t sure if it came from the brick in my garage, or my organic bag of soil or if it is the grim reaper of death and it’s gnats or other harmful pests. I only saw one bug and it looked like a flea to me, (sound like a broken record i’m just stressed out with these plants and prob to much adderall today) Also i am noticing some of the plants have a little bit of a yellow tint to them but not the plant i saw the one black bug in. I’m not sure if this is lack of nutrients, since i haven’t added any yet) Lack of water or to much water, or to close to the light, Any advice would sure be appreciated and thanks again for read this novel.

• Swiss

P.s. Have 4 Plants, organic soil, and no fertilizer or anything added to it. the plants seem to be healthy but i’m new to all of this.

Attached are my most recent pics.

[Swiss]

Sorry for the dog picture, that some how manged it’s way in there.

[kabongster]

Hello @Swiss and welcome to ILGM

what brand organic soil is it?
are you pH’ing the water for the babies?
they shouldn’t be needing any additional food from you right now, they will live off stored nutrients for a few weeks.

I dunno if it’s the light but they seem a little lighter colored at the edges, if so it may be pH or over watering

raising the plants was a good idea, the stalks are a little stretched out and may need support from you till they get stronger…do you have a fan circulating air for when the domes are off? the breeze will make them grow stronger stalks, the leaves should be vibrating slightly from the fan.

Cannabis pests & bugs – Control and identification

[Swiss]

@kabongster
Thanks for the feed back, I have not pH anything as of now and the brand of soil i am using Is called Earth’s Finest, it came from a local nursery down the road. Should i start pHing my plants?

[FloridaSon]

I also believe your pH is off. To help the long stems, just bury them deep when you put them in the ground or a pot.

You shouldn’t need any nutrients until those two rounded seed leaves start to yellow and die. They are called cotyldons. I think I spelled it correctly.

Kabongster is a good one to listen to. Just wanted to comment on what I thought…

[merlin44]

@Swiss

Should i start pHing my plants?

@Swiss , Yes! Knowing what your pH is, and getting the pH to the target value of 6.5 is the first step.

If your pH is too high or too low, your plants will not grow properly and may actually die.

I am growing in soil. My soil pH started at 7.2. After two waterings with adjusted water (ph 6.2) my soil pH is down to 6.9. I have a ways to go but getting closer.

[Swiss]

@merlin44 thanks for the feed back, i’ll deff start pHing. I always thought it only matter if you were growing hydroponics.

[Swiss]

@FloridaSon thanks for the feedback, do you know if i can buy ph scale and formula at a local store or is it something i’m gonna need to buy online?
Thanks again.

[Rick3]

I’m a First timer too Swiss, So I Feel your growing pains
Thank you “Merlin44” i was just looking at what PH my water should be, Mine is at 7.1 so gonna have to find some thing to lower it

[merlin44]

@Rick3

Mine is at 7.1 so gonna have to find some thing to lower it

Hey @Rick3 just purchase some pH DOWN (get pH UP as well so you have it if needed).
What are you using to measure your pH?

If you want to “tag” someone, just put “@” before their user name like this @Rick3.

[kabongster]

a few ideas for meters

http://ilgmforum.com/c/ilgm-official-sonsors-buters-guides

Digital pH meter on Amazon

pH pen on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AI10NQ6?tag=greenrel-20

and we like dog pictures @Swiss

the pH/moisture probes that you stick in the soil are not that reliable…get pH drops or a digital pH meter…look at swimming pool supply stores or fish/aquarium stores or our favorite, Amazon

[highcountrygal]

@Swiss Welcome to the encyclopedia of anything you could ever want to know. You will love it here for sure. The little black bugs you see are fungus gnats because your soil is way to wet. They can do some damage to the root system. Get some Monterey BT

and spray the soil to saturate the top of the soil. It will not harm you, your plants just the fungus gnats. If you have a bad infestation clean out the area where the gals are kept. They lay their eggs in the soil and if you get really close they look like mini maggots.
In the mean time put the plants where they can dry out significantly. In the winter time overwatering is a problem because they don’t have time to dry out before being watered again. I know it’s hard but believe me having fungus gnats is much worse. Good luck and happy growing!

[kabongster]

more to read

Spider mite control need the geniuses to read this

Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats Quickly: What You Need Yellow Sticky Cards A larvae-killing product with bacillus thuringiensis bacteria (I recommend Mosquito Bits or Mosquito Dunks) A fan to blow air over the top of your soil (Optional, but recommended) Diatomaceous earth - food grade 1.) Place yellow sticky cards in the grow area - fungus gnats love the color yellow and will fly towards it. These yellow sticky cards (found at most gardening stores) are covered with a glue that will trap adult fun…

these will help identify any pests

https://www.amazon.com/Hafer-Dual-Sticky-Yellow-3-Inches/dp/B00NT8Y3M6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519247828&sr=8-2&keywords=sticky+yellow+paper

[Rick3]

LMAO
@ when and Where do I put it? LOL You said in front of name I see Nothing to Tag people or Really even who to tag, I have 1 post going with about the same kind of stuff swiss is going thru being new to growing,
Oh Crap I’m using a PH-80 PH/Temp Hydrotester, From Amazon

[highcountrygal]

@Rick3 Welcome! You are allowed ten @s so tags are randomly specific or specific, see how I did your @. If you get inch worms or loop worms or ‘bud’ worms from the cabbage moth this stuff will wipe them out. The thing that makes it work is you HAVE to be consistent from about 1 mo. old till day of harvest on a weekly basis or it doesn’t work. The worms have to eat it and then they die. I think I had maybe 4 worms from 6 plants and they didn’t eat much. Happy growing!

[elheffe702]

@Swiss welcome! Organic soils have lots of tiny critters that are good. They help break down nutrients and make them more available to your plants’ roots. I may have some of the terminology there wrong, but some of the critters are actually predators, too, and prevent others from harming your plants.

[Swiss]

@kabongster, @highcountrygal, @merlin44 I got home this afternoon to check out my pods and saw the one plant had the black looking gnat on from last night had 2 crawling around today. They seem to have wings but nothing was flying. I was able to kill the two and I snagged some pics if anyone can confirm if their fungus gnats or something different? If they are I know I need to kill them but I am curious if the plants are to young to take on the pesticides? They’re around 10-12 days old. Also if its in one pod do yall think it’s in the others as well?

[merlin44]

I have a similar looking flying insect in my room. I believe they are coming out of the soil. I don’t know if they are harmful. I hung fly strips/ribbons in my grow room and they fly around and get stuck on it.
Fewer each day for last two days.

I look forward to some of the more experienced folks weighing in on this one. Excellent post @Swiss.
@Niala @neckNflu @Donaldj @Flyr @ReMoLu @Countryboyjvd1971 @Covertgrower @Myfriendis410 @Rugar89

[blackthumbbetty]

I recommend any Apera pH meter.

Do you have a fan going to help strengthen those stems?

Also, that soil has way too many sticks in it. I use a local nursery mix, as well, and they do an amazing job building their soil mix.

[highcountrygal]

@Swiss Yes those are fungus gnats, they crawl all over the soil esp around the stem and have their babies deep in the soil. House plants get them all the time when over watered. It’s a common pest. Too much water and that new organic soil are prime breeding grounds of the fungus they thrive on.