First real grow attempt - GreenPassion.org - Dedicated to Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Education

TurboTurtle · #1 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 12:27 PM

Hi all

I will soon be starting my first real grow. Before this I have had one grow attempt and all though it turned out poorly it was a great learning experience. Now that I have had much time and a lot of study here at GP and have bought my essentials I am almost ready to begin a well informed and educated grow. I have my lights, digital humidifier, Fan, nutes, various sized pots, Soil, heater etc for my grow. I have only one more thing to get before I begin and that is a camera so I can visually keep every one here in the loop as it were. I will be growing Seeds obtained from HighGrade seeds the strain is called Avalanche (40% Indica-60% Sativa). Once I get my camera I will start the germ process and go from there.
On another note I found a use for some thing that others here may find of interest. I was looking around for a reflective material for the walls and ceiling of my closet, Mylar being my first choice but did not want to buy a huge and costly roll of the stuff. I was in Canadian Tire and low and behold in the camping section there were the emergency blankets made of Mylar. They are inexpensive, less than $4 CND and are 50ish" wide and 80ish" long. a couple of those, a utility knife for trimming and a staple gun go along way.
I am so excited to begin I can barley wait. It is kind of like a kids excitment on the day before Christmas, You know great, wonderful and exciting thngs are waiting just around the corner.
I should have at least a stand in camera this week and start every thing by Friday or Saturday.

TurboTurtle

ando · #2 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 12:42 PM

Hello,TT
Sound like you got a good plan,and a EXCELLENT strain!!!!

Desert Woman · #3 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 04:52 PM

i am always trying to find ways to bounce that light around
everytime it bounces, you get free additional light for your money!
good luck with your grow! Im sure you'll find a lot of good advise and support here!

If it were me. i wouldn't wait for a camera to get started. the sooner you begin, the sooner you'll be smoking! I don't have a camera, mine broke. I ain't slowing down for nuthin!

go ahead, germ away!

Shinningwind · #4 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 05:17 PM

Hi there & Will stay tuned In & Up .. Look forward to your growlog...

TurboTurtle · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 05:25 PM

Thanks Desert Woman & Ando!
I have a few plants growing now but they are every much a test bed situation. I had some bag seed of unknown origin/strain. I am assuming they are more Ind than Sat by their leaf formation but as I am very new at this I am unsure. I germed them two weeks ago using the damp paper towel method and they opened after 48 hrs. I placed them in soil in plastic drink cups under CFLs. I transplanted them to 2ish gal pots 5 days ago and they seem to be doing very well. I have added no Nutes just watering them but I have Voodoo Juice root enhancer, Iguana Juice both grow and bloom. I am a bit uncertain as to when to start giving them the Nutes. I will try taking a couple pics with the cam in my cell phone and uploading them. I hope they are not to bad and that they are viewable by all.

TurboTurtle · #6 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 05:32 PM

I still have to find a good set up for CFLS for the grow closet. Right now I am using the CFL canopy from one of my snake terrariums. I also have another closet set up for flowering. For that room I have a 420 W bulb with a good hood with ventilation hole for exhuast tubing and fan.

Desert Woman · #7 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboTurtle

Thanks Desert Woman & Ando!
I have a few plants growing now but they are every much a test bed situation. I had some bag seed of unknown origin/strain. I am assuming they are more Ind than Sat by their leaf formation but as I am very new at this I am unsure. I germed them two weeks ago using the damp paper towel method and they opened after 48 hrs. I placed them in soil in plastic drink cups under CFLs. I transplanted them to 2ish gal pots 5 days ago and they seem to be doing very well. I have added no Nutes just watering them but I have Voodoo Juice root enhancer, Iguana Juice both grow and bloom. I am a bit uncertain as to when to start giving them the Nutes. I will try taking a couple pics with the cam in my cell phone and uploading them. I hope they are not to bad and that they are viewable by all.

they look nice and healthy, but might green up and have a growth burst with some food..

we use potting mix that has no nutes
so we always use a weak solution of nutes to water with and then gradually wean them to full strength. But, they always need some food, imo. and our plants are doing well with that method. You eventually will be able to tell by looking at the plants if she is ready for stronger nutes because will notice her responce each time you raise it. Just pay attention to and they will begin to tell you what they need...

Deb-HAS-grn · #8 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 08:13 PM

Looking good Turbo, Thanks for sharing pictures, I'll be looking forward to more as you go along .. Wishing you Happy times with your grow

TurboTurtle · #9 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 09:58 PM

Just a little FYI now that I think of it. After germ I put the newly opened seeds into plastic beer cups with soil, they are cheap and disposable. My big thought came when moving the kids from the beer cups to larger pots. I have read and heard that you do not want to stress the little ones. Infants can be so fragile mot matter the species. So I thought how might I make the transition as care free as possible? I came up with the idea of using a utility knife and cutting all the way around the bottom of the cup and then slicing the cup horizontally. This would allow me to remove the bottom cap if you will then place the now bottom less cup in the new pot with some soil on the bottom of it and around the sides. Then I simply grab the beer cup on either side of the horizontal cut, spread and lift out leaving the the small plant and it's original soil practically intact. All that needed to be done after that is fill in around the sides to completely fill in the pot.
Now I am sure some one else may have all ready come up with this but I have not seen it posted yet so I thought I might throw it out to all for consideration.

TurboTurtle

TurboTurtle · #10 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 01:18 PM

Just thought I would post a couple more pics that show a closer view. I have fingers crossed that 4 out of 4 will be Female. I know this may be wishful thinking but one can never stop being optimistic.

TurboTurtle · #11 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 01:50 PM

I know this is supposed to be my grow journal but I thought I would show off my other kids, they up grew very well to! I can only seem to post 5 pics at a time so I can not show every body. I have three dogs, Blizzard(White bulldog), Sukey(White and brindle bulldog), Magic(White and brindle Corgy). Two snakes, Colombian Boa(Gwen), Ball Python(Dave) not shown. A white's Tree Frog(Bubba) and two ducks(Muscovy) not shown.

plant boy · #12 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 02:00 PM

Good luck with the grow , how do you start a grow log?

TurboTurtle · #13 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 02:13 PM

Hey Plantboy

Do you mean where in the site do start a grow log or what do you need to start your own grow log?
I have read through a large portion of this site(knowledge is power after all) and there are many people who have posted their grow logs here. That should give you a idea where to begin. If you are growing it is a very good idea to keep a journal. List every thing that you do from start to finish, type of strain, how they were germinated, the type of medium you are growing in, temps and humidity levels etc. This way you have a wealth of knowledge to draw from both the good and the not so good. Not only will this format of detailed information help you in future grows but with it you can provide others with helpful information. Hope this at least points you in the right direction!

TurboTurtle

TurboTurtle · #14 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 05:58 PM

I need at little bit of advice or assurance I guess that I have things as optimum as they can be. I have humidity at 64-65%, Temp is 78-80 degrees and I am running 60w worth of cool white CFLs on a 16-8 hr schedule they sit about 2" inches from the young ones. As I have said I think this is more of a Ind strain due to the short broader leaf size. My experience as you all know is very limited so I am looking for any input y'all can give.

plant boy · #15 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 07:05 PM

do you mean in my home page under albums ,start the log?

TurboTurtle · #16 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009, 07:26 PM

PlantBoy

Start your grow journal thread in this section of the site. This is where I started this thread/Grow Journal. I can not stress enough that I would keep a written journal, taking note of every thing. By recording all details of your grow you will have easy reference to all of your actions both positive and negative, improving on the good and learning from the poor results. This way you will achieve better and better results and much needed knowledge and experience with each grow. Also the people/community here will be your best resource for some time to come. I have not found a single unfriendly person here and every one has a large amount of experience and knowledge that will give you a huge leg up on your grow if you but stop to read and listen.

TurboTurtle · #17 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009, 10:54 AM

PlantBoy

I meant to say that you start your own thread under the grow log section of the site not here in my grow log. Sorry for the possible confusion.

plant boy · #18 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009, 11:00 AM

can i move this to that thread?

TurboTurtle · #19 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009, 11:08 AM

I am not sure if us newbies can move stuff around but one of the Mods sure has the ability to do it for us. Just ask one of the Mods and I am sure they will be happy to assist.

billybudsmoker · #20 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboTurtle

Hi all

I will soon be starting my first real grow. Before this I have had one grow attempt and all though it turned out poorly it was a great learning experience. Now that I have had much time and a lot of study here at GP and have bought my essentials I am almost ready to begin a well informed and educated grow. I have my lights, digital humidifier, Fan, nutes, various sized pots, Soil, heater etc for my grow. I have only one more thing to get before I begin and that is a camera so I can visually keep every one here in the loop as it were. I will be growing Seeds obtained from HighGrade seeds the strain is called Avalanche (40% Indica-60% Sativa). Once I get my camera I will start the germ process and go from there.
On another note I found a use for some thing that others here may find of interest. I was looking around for a reflective material for the walls and ceiling of my closet, Mylar being my first choice but did not want to buy a huge and costly roll of the stuff. I was in Canadian Tire and low and behold in the camping section there were the emergency blankets made of Mylar. They are inexpensive, less than $4 CND and are 50ish" wide and 80ish" long. a couple of those, a utility knife for trimming and a staple gun go along way.
I am so excited to begin I can barley wait. It is kind of like a kids excitment on the day before Christmas, You know great, wonderful and exciting thngs are waiting just around the corner.
I should have at least a stand in camera this week and start every thing by Friday or Saturday.

TurboTurtle

here's what i found out about using white paint--plastic roof paint seems to be the best choice but costs more and usually comes in large amounts, but it boasts 98% reflectivity-flat white paint hits the scales at about 75-85% reflectivity-so to me the small difference was made up by not having to mess with the hassles of taping mylar to the walls- i did use it at first but now going with paint which also makes it easier to clean up- i can wipe down my whole cab. with ease not having to worry about screwing up the mylar