My First Indoor Grow

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 01:56 PM

This is a brief journal of my first indoor hydroponic growing. I wish I had done this sooner, but things have been hectic and now it's time to ante up!
Where do I start? OK, I started growing my garden in March and have learned alot from all of you along the way. This is what I started with:
I started off with a 19 gal. rubbermaid tote and a 24"x24" Botanicare tray, then I found an irrigation drip system on the internet. I decided to go with the drip system rather than the ebb/flow. I'm using rockwool cubes to grow in and hydroton pellets. My nutrient are the GH high 5 grow pack, which comes with FloraNova grow, FloraNova bloom, Liquid Koolbloom, Floralicious Plus, and Subculture. I'm also using MagiCal because I'm using distilled water. All of my lights are T55 flourescent with grow and bloom bulbs. I'm using an 8" intake fan, and a 4" exhaust fan with a can filter. I also have a 10" oscillating fan going. I ordered my beans from Nirvana (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) I decided to go with Medusa and Snow White (which turned out to be a big mistake, since I was growing them all together in one tray. It might have been better if I was growing them in buckets) My space is limited, because I only have a very small area to grow in.
I started germinating on 3/20/08 all 4 had sprouted by 3/23 and were put in small 1" rockwool cubes. They were put in the room on 3/24 under 2 T55 2' lights. I started them off on no nutrients for the first week. When I started with nutrients I learned a VERY IMPORTANT LESSON about the GH FloraNova grow. It is VERY CONCENTRATED! I started at 1/2 strength, but quickly changed to 1/4 strength and highly recommend no more than 150 ppm at this stage. You can tell from the pictures that some of the leaves were starting to curl.

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 02:29 PM

Week 2: I started with my first reservoir change. I'm doing them every 7 days because I'm only using 5 gallons at a time. I'm still using 1/4 strength nutrients and still running about 150-200 ppm.

Week 3: I cut 1 1/2" of the plastic off the bottom of the rockwool cubes, and added my Hydroton around the plants. The reason I cut the plastic was because I got a good tip from one of my friends on this website that it would keep the roots deeper in the hydroton....which it did! My nutrients are at 200 ppm, pH 5.6, temp 78 and humidity at 50%.

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 02:59 PM

Week 4: My nutrients are at 250 ppm, pH 5.6, temp 78, and humidity still at 50%. Things are really coming along good at this point, but I did start to notice that the Medusas just couldn't take the nutrients that the Snow Whites could. And from the pics, you can also tell that some of the sisters were starting to grow larger than the others! I guess this was nature's way.....there will always be, when growing this close, one plant that will dominate.

Week 5: Nutrients are at 300 ppm, pH 5.6, temp and humidity are the same as before. Everything is looking good! But I can still notice the Medusas having trouble....even though it's hard to see in the pics.

Week 6: Nutrients are at 350 ppm, pH 5.6, temp and humidity are the same. Everything still looks pretty good. At this point in time, I have taken all the plastic off the rockwool cubes, and covered them completely with the hydroton. The Snow Whites look real good, but I can tell the Medusas are starting to fall off, and I probably should have done something different as far as maybe moving them into their own pots. I topped the biggest Snow White at the end of this week.

IceIceBaBy · 06-07-2008, 03:25 PM

dude those babies are looking very healthy...good job dude. honestly..i have never heard of the Medusa strain is that an indica dominant strain or indica/sativa hybrid? overall...they are lookin badass. very green...very health...very happy. good job man.

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 03:33 PM

Week 7: My nutrients are now at 450-500 ppm, pH 5.6, temp and humidity are still the same as before. I started the "transition" phase of the GH FloraNova grow schedule. The nutrients,which I later learned, was actually a little too high, but the Snow Whites handled it well, while it started the downfall of the Medusas. This was a very valuable lesson learned about trying to grow certain strains together. Or at least together in one tray. At the end of this week, you can tell by the pics I have switched to my 6 bulb 2' bloom bulbs. This was the start of my flowering. You can also see how the Snow Whites really loved the nutrients, while the Medusas weren't doing so well. In my opinion, anybody growing the Snow White strain could get away with growing them on the hot side, but I do not suggest anybody doing it for their first grow.....don't learn the hard way like I did.

Week 8: Nutrients are at 600 ppm, pH still 5.6, and temp/humidity still the same. Now I'm really noticing the Medusas falling off. The Snow Whites are continuing to thrive.

Week 9: Nutrients are now up to 800 ppm, but I really do not recommend going that high. I later learned that was a little on the hot side. It did finally wipe the Medusas out and the decision was made shortly thereafter to pull them up. Sometimes to have to sacrifice the lamb to feed the wolf!
I also was starting to notice that the T55 light I was using would not be enough light. I had planned on having a high pressure sodium light by now, but didn't have the funds, so I decided to use the other two 2 ft fixtures....just had to order the bloom bulbs. So I did.

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 03:38 PM

The Medusas are an Indica/Sativa mix. I do plan on growing these again on my next grow. They are a challenge to grow.

IceIceBaBy · 06-07-2008, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcdunn1

The Medusas are an Indica/Sativa mix. I do plan on growing these again on my next grow. They are a challenge to grow.

yea i hear you...the white strains seem to be heavy feeders and like higher PPM's...i have ICE growing right now and it is a white strain. they are 3 weeks into flower and ppm is up to 1300-1400

jangel · 06-07-2008, 03:54 PM

WOOW! Nice babies rc! I truely don't know squat about hydro but boy, those look happy!!! Good for you!

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 04:09 PM

Week 10: This is my 3rd week flowering. My nutrients are at 900ppm, pH 5.6, which the Snow Whites seem to love! At this time the Medusas were pulled. Oh Yeah! I forgot to say, that at the end of week 9, I lollypopped the plants to get rid of some of the lower branches that would produce anything anyway. I'm still waiting on the bloom bulbs, but I did order my HPS light. Thanks to George for giving me back my gas money! Ha! Ha!

Week 11: This is the 4th week flowering. I kept my nutrients at 900 witha pH of 5.6, but I don't know if the Snow Whites could have been run hotter if I was using my HPS lights. The plants have really started to grow. I kinda thought they were stretching at first, but later learned they weren't. The bloom bulbs have arrived, and the fixtures were hung one the sides. But the way my set-up is, I'm beginning to wonder if the plants are going to allow me to use the HPS when it arrives.

Week 12: My nutrients are still 900ppm, and pH 5.6. My HPS has arrived, it was a hard decision to make not to use it, but this thing started filling in GREAT when i added the extra lights hanging on the side. It is almost unbelievable and I can only imagine what it will be like when I get to use the HPS. I plan on using them on my next grow with the Medusas. I'm ready for the challenge when I finish with these. I feel bad about having to pull them.

rcdunn1 · 06-07-2008, 04:36 PM

Week 13: This is week 6 of flowering. My ppm is 900 and pH 5.6. As you can tell everything looks beautiful and is filling in nicely. I have nothing to complain about this week, everything is growing smoothly!

Week 14: Today is June 7th and we are now just 1/2 way through week 7 of flowering. My ppm is 900 and pH is 5.6. Things are looking good, I finally go a mini-microscope and I'm starting to watch my Trichomes so I'll know when to start my flush. Although I am new to indoor growing, I am not new to growing. I've grown outdoors for many years, but it turned into too much of a hassle, and this is badly needed medicine. So as best I can report to you, as far as the nutrients I was told to use, they are great. I would recommend them to anyone interested in using them. Just be warned that when they say "concentrated", they mean CONCENTRATED. I have found this only to be so with the FloraNova grow, FloraNova bloom, and liquid KoolBloom. The Floralicious plus and the Subculture were used at the recommended strength, as was the MagiCal. As far as light go, I have to report that I am really impressed with the TT55, and TT5. But I really don't have anything to compare it to since I have yet to use the HPS. As far as my indoor and outdoor experience goes, all I have to say is WOW! It is really amazing! I also want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has ever helped me along the way. There are too many of you to name, but thanks to all.

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