New Grower First Grow in 10 Years (Coco/Perlite, Mephisto Genetics)

Kazman420

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Hi All!

Just over a decade ago I made a half-assed attempt to grow some weed. I failed miserably. Shortly thereafter I quit smoking entirely. A decade has gone by and my state has legalized for recreational use. I've decided that I would like to smoke again and this time I want to grow it properly. (And I also want my first time smoking in 10 years to be some quality bud)

After spending a lot of time reading on the subject I decided on the following.

MEDIUM: Coco + Perlite (70/30)
POTS: 3.5 Gallons (No transplanting)
LIGHTS: 400w MW for Veg and then 400w HPS for Flower. (I'll look into LED lighting for the next attempt. I already had the ballast and reflector from last time).
LIGHT SCHEDULE: 20/4
LOCATION: Basement. Dedicated Room. No Tent.
NUTRIENTS: General Hydroponics Flora Series
SUPPLEMENTS: CalMag, Silica
WATER: Distilled (My tap water is horrible. I'll look into a RO system down the road).
TOOLS: pH Meter, EC/TDS Meter, Fans, Mechanical Timer
SEEDS: 1x Skywalker. 1x Forum Stomper (Mephisto Genetics)

GERMINATION:
Paper towel method. After 24 hours both seeds had a 1/4" tail and were promptly planted.

DAY 1:
Temp: 80f / 26.6c
RH: 70%
It took about 24 hours for them to break soil. A plastic dome was placed over the soil to help keep the RH up.

DAY 3:
Temp: 80f / 26.6c
RH: 70%
First true leaves appeared. Plastic dome removed. I think I had the light a little too high. I tried to calculate Lumens/Lux using an app on my phone, but I suspect my math (or the app) was off. As a result the seedlings stretched a little bit. I promptly lowered the lights down to 12 inches. I'm using an air-cooled hood so heat isn't a concern. I was afraid I would bleach them if the light was too close. Seedlings are 2.5 ~ 3 inches and still standing upright.
Day3a.jpg

DAY 4:
Temp: 86f / 30c
RH: 72%
Seedlings stopped stretching after lowering the lights yesterday. Hopefully the stems will thicken up a bit. They are holding their own weight. I've ordered some TPS Silica since I've read it can help. Runoff pH and EC are about the same as when they go in. The second set of fan leaves are just starting to appear. Nothing else to report right now.
Day4a.jpg



ADDITIONAL NOTES: Using the 3-part GH Flora series at 25% strength for this first week with a little CalMag (~350µS). Water is pH'd to 5.8. I'm not sure how accurate the RH reading is on my meter. I have an old analog hygrometer and it's about 10% higher than the digital one.

CONCERNS: I forgot to buffer my coco. I'm using Canna Coco Professional Plus (brick) and I'm reading mixed reviews on whether or not it's needed. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. I'm making sure to water to 20% runoff each time.


By the way, is it cool to just tag a few random growers in this thread? I don't really know anybody on the site yet and I want to make sure I'm following proper AFN etiquette. If anybody can suggest some Coco/Mephisto/GH Nute growers I would really appreciate it.


Thank you for reading!
 
Welcome to AFN!! I use the Canna Coco bricks. They are pre buffered. But, when I rehydrate them I use water mixed with my nutrients at 350ppm (.7EC). Seedlings look ok. Maybe a little stretchy. But look healthy
 
Day 5
Temp: 86f / 30c
RH: 67%

Today I found one of the girls leaning heavily on her side. I propped it up with a paper clip. (I'll buy some garden wire this weekend). Do you think it can still pull through, or is she doomed from the start?

Day5a.jpg Day5b.jpg
 
Welcome hon!! :bighug:
I think you are doing fantastic for not growing for 10 years! Ladies look lovely, just a little leggy. I had a leggy lady once, but my pot didn't have enough space to add more coco. I just stuck a chopstick in the soil and attached her to it with a bit of garden wire.

Looking super there!!!
XOXO
Mom
 
Day 6:
Temp: 82f / 27.7c
RH: 70%

I added about a half an inch of coco on top as per the suggestion by @Frank_Spencer and the plants are now perfectly upright. The leaves are continuing to grow and I haven't noticed any more stretching.
Day6a.jpg


Day 7:
Temp: 81f/27.2c
RH: 67%

Still no more stretching, but one of the seedlings looks as if she is just starting to curl/canoe a little. I don't think it's heat related since the temp at the top of the plants is only 81f. The light is a 400w MH and it's 12 inches away in an air-cooled hood. I did have a small 6" fan blowing gently on them. It doesn't oscillate, so I'm thinking too much wind. I'll buy an oscillating one today.
Day7a.jpg


I know I'm just being overly paranoid about my babies, but I'll feel much better once they make it past the seedling stage.
 
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