New Grower My First Grow. Finally. Feedback appreciated!

[indicalla]

@indicallaWelcome to AFN I hate the paper towel method! Plant them right in the dirt! FFOF is too hot for autos even diluted by 20%.

Your RH% will climb out of the acceptable range in no time when the plants are bigger. You need to vent to the out doors unless the RH out there is too high causing the fresh air coming in to be too wet. In that situation you will need a dehumidifier. Regardless you need fresh air at all times to keep the Co² levels up.

Thanks for your feedback! I went with this mix based on advice from an auto grower I spoke with, but it sounds like I might learn the hard way that it’s just too hot. Maybe I’ll learn early what nutrient burn looks like.

I’ll vent outside as planned.

 

[Frank_Spencer]

Good luck with your grow. You’ve already found the best resource to help you grow autos. Some of the incredibly knowledgable growers here covering every aspect of the humble weed plant. You’ll do just fine.

Frank

 

[BoCoGrow]

I read where some dude somewhere said cloth pots should really be elevated above the tray so that when watering to runoff, the bag doesn't reabsorb the water. He said it's waste and should be removed. I assume that is not the case now, before the plants are growing, but I'd love to get some feedback on whether y'all do this or not at any stage in your grows.

Soil isn't meant for runoff. You are running FFOF (and so am I), and by watering to runoff, all you are doing is washing nutes out the soil and dumping it, rather than keeping the nutes in the soil for your plants to consume.

I do water to runoff BUT I let the pots sit in the runoff for 5-10 minutes. If the soil can take more liquid it will drink up the runoff. If not, only then would I dump it.

I might be wrong, but @WildBill I believe I've seen you comment on this topic numerous times, so do you have a POV? It could have been Proph, but you came to mind instantly.

 

[TekkoN]

Looks like a good start, sir. I will be following*
Thanks for the mention as well, actually this place seems more inspiring

 

[indicalla]

Good luck with your grow. You’ve already found the best resource to help you grow autos. Some of the incredibly knowledgable growers here covering every aspect of the humble weed plant. You’ll do just fine.

Frank

Thanks! I appreciate your positivity. AFN has already been a valuable resource.

 

[indicalla]

Soil isn't meant for runoff. You are running FFOF (and so am I), and by watering to runoff, all you are doing is washing nutes out the soil and dumping it, rather than keeping the nutes in the soil for your plants to consume.

I do water to runoff BUT I let the pots sit in the runoff for 5-10 minutes. If the soil can take more liquid it will drink up the runoff. If not, only then would I dump it.

I might be wrong, but @WildBill I believe I've seen you comment on this topic numerous times, so do you have a POV? It could have been Proph, but you came to mind instantly.

Great feedback, thank you! Do you mix FFOF?

 

[indicalla]

Looks like a good start, sir. I will be following*
Thanks for the mention as well, actually this place seems more inspiring

I’ll call it a good start if my girls pop.

 

[BoCoGrow]

Great feedback, thank you! Do you mix FFOF?

This is my first grow running FFOF. I don't mix it with something lighter. I believe you mentioned you scooped out a cup of FFOF at the top center and replaced it with something else. I do the same, though I scoop out somewhere between 2-4 cups (I eyeball it....little bigger than a softball size hole) and fill that with seed starter mix.

FFOF did seem to peter out around week 4 or 5, so I think you are right about amending around week 3 or 4. I'm using Build a Flower top dress kit.

 

[indicalla]

This is my first grow running FFOF. I don't mix it with something lighter. I believe you mentioned you scooped out a cup of FFOF at the top center and replaced it with something else. I do the same, though I scoop out somewhere between 2-4 cups (I eyeball it....little bigger than a softball size hole) and fill that with seed starter mix.

FFOF did seem to peter out around week 4 or 5, so I think you are right about amending around week 3 or 4. I'm using Build a Flower top dress kit.

I probably scooped out a bit more than a cup for the center, and I went a little heavier on the Light Warrior mix near the top of the pot, as I'd heard the stories about FFOF being so hot. Did you have any problems early on in your grow?

Thanks for the tip about Build a Flower -- there's so much to learn and I've kind of put nutes off, as I knew I wouldn't be adding any for the first few weeks at least. I'll start my research with Build a Flower top dress kit (and I'll also learn more about FF's nutes).

 

[BoCoGrow]

I probably scooped out a bit more than a cup for the center, and I went a little heavier on the Light Warrior mix near the top of the pot, as I'd heard the stories about FFOF being so hot. Did you have any problems early on in your grow?

Thanks for the tip about Build a Flower -- there's so much to learn and I've kind of put nutes off, as I knew I wouldn't be adding any for the first few weeks at least. I'll start my research with Build a Flower top dress kit (and I'll also learn more about FF's nutes).

Build A Soil has some great products. I'm interested in experimenting to find what works best for me, so I recently ordered their 3.0 soil (which is supposed to be a water only medium from start to finish), as well as their light mix soil which I will use at the top center for my seed. So much to learn still!

Did I run into any problems, oh boy! Yeah, I'm using RO water, and someone I know who is a long-time grower recommended I use Cal-Mag every time I water. In hindsight, I realize that was a bad recommendation because feeding Cal-Mag without other amendments to create a balanced nutrient solution led to lockout. I was able to save the plants but they clearly look like they suffered. I also use silica, which if you are unfamiliar helps strengthen cell walls and helps the plant cope better with environmental issues and fluctuations. I will be experimenting with humic acid and amino acids, but for now, since I've already damaged these plants, and they have about 3 weeks left to go before harvest, I don't want to mess with them anymore. I'm going to add another 1" layer of Build A Flower to the top of the pots tonight, and from then on, I'm just going to feed them water until harvest. Here is one of my girls, pic taken yesterday. You can see the damaged yellow leaf at the bottom from the lockout (and that isn't the only one), but she is still churning out the trichs!