Thread: 1st Go-Round - CFL's and Bagseed

I had intended to keep a detailed account of this first go-round, however between my hard drive crashing and the boards being down, I'm afraid this log is going to be a little less then complete.

Cab Dimensions
33.5" deep x 22 3/4 wide x 46 3/4 tall


Lighting
(12) 23w 5600k CFL's (Veg)

(4) 42w 2700k CFL's (Flower)
(8) 23-26w 2700k CFL's (Flower)

Ventilation
120mm Computer Fan
3-Speed Oscillating fan

Temp
Living in a southern state has presented a few problems, temp wise. 20-30 degree swings and an unseasonably warm winter have provided their share of difficulties. Now that winter has finally settled in, temps tend to stay between the high 70's and low 80's.
Temp readings are taken by one of these:Aj MOSS | Mini Temp Ir Thermometer by Raytek that I had laying around.


A few improvements have been added since these pictures were taken. The passive intake was expanded to 8"x4" while the fan was relocated inside the cab. I've ghetto rigged a light trap for the exhaust out of a shoebox, but I'm probably going to be forced to rethink the whole exhaust setup. Either by adding a second computer fan and finding a better designed light trap or give in to this newfound hobby and invest in a quality can fan.

The smaller part of the cab is not yet in use. It will either be used for clones or a mother somewhere down the line, hopefully after I recieve a rooted clone of either Sensi-Star or Bubblegum.

Now on to part II - The Plants!

Seeds
All the seeds from this go-round came from the same strain of bagseed. They were germinated about a month and a half ago, then tossed into Jiffy Peat pucks. The jiffy pellets were then planted in a solo cup slightly modified for drainage. Soil was a random "professional" brand purchased from my local nursery, which sadly looks to go out of business soon.

Transplanted
About 3 weeks ago the 5 survivors were moved into 8" pots with Fafard's Professional Potting Mix mixed with perlite for drainage.

Nutes
Technaflora Recipe for Success Starter Kit

Though I recently acquired this box set from the hydro store, the majority of vegetative growth occurred without the benefit of nutrients. At present I've only fed the plants twice, following their schedule of Feed-Water-Water-Feed


Training
As you can probably tell, all the plants show signs of overenthusiastic LST-ing. This clearly was something I began without fully understanding the concept, and continued unchecked while the boards where down. Of course the plants end up overgrowing the sides of their pots and everything has become a little crowded, but at least I'm learning. As is the plants are looking bushy rather than tall, which is exactly what I need them to do.

End of Veg
The plants are on 18/6 cycle while I finish up the last minute tweeks before throwing it into 12/12. I do plan on letting the plants sit in the dark for about 36 hours prior to making the switch to 12/12.


There, that should just about get this log caught back up to speed...

righteous! the log begins!

looking good bro

Update time.

After 8 days in flower the plants are showing their true colors. Of the 5 surviving plants, 3 had the audacity to let their balls hang out. But what can you expect from bagseed? Damn. So out comes the axe and down they go. The two girls seem to be doing alright, though clearly one is straggling. It's only just showing it's pistils, unlike it's more robust sister. None the less, I'm glad that the first go round didn't end up all males.

Pic 1 - Girl #1
Pic 2 - A closer look at Girl #1
Pic 3 - 2 sisters. Isn't that cute?

nice. good for you. i wouldn't be too discouraged over only seeing pistils at 8 days in. my ladies don't do anything till about day 12-14. then they get really hairy. a few more weeks and they start putting on weight. soon they become really stinky and then, towards the end of their life, they get really fat. women, eh?

Originally Posted by GoldenGraham84

soon they become really stinky and then, towards the end of their life, they get really fat. women, eh?

I think this is the first time in my life that I'm actually excited by that idea

Time for an update! Went ahead and changed the nute schedule around after the first week of flower, dropping down to half strength every other feeding. Basically feed water feed. The two girls seem to be doing well, though one is still leaving her sister in the dust.

Here's the better of the two, posing in few rather revealing shots. What a tease.

Some popcorn!!! I want! Healthy looking plants you got there!

looks like are plants are close to the same time frame...about when are you planning to harvest...i'm hoping to have some freshly cured homegrown herb for 420...hope i'm able to pull it off...your grow is looking good tho...
peace
cman

Thanks MonkeyBone

cman - They're a couple days into the 3rd week of flower at this point, so we'll just have to see how it goes

Here's a few pic's of the 2nd female

hey guy, the plants look awesome. i like what i see here, very good. my cab's dimensions so far are 29" wide x 2' deep x 5'6" tall.

Things have been going too well as of late, so misfortune seemed inevitable. While taking a gander at the girls, your humble narrator somehow managed to drop a light fixture onto both, burning several leaves in the process. Meanwhile, it appears a number of fan leaves are yellowing on Plant A. Is this a natural development seeing as she's at almost 4 weeks of flower, or should I be concerned? I wonder because at no point in her life has she been flushed.

Pic 1 - Burn on Plant A
Pic 2 & 3 - Yellowing fan leaves

sorry about the burns, hope it wasnt too bad. and i cant really answer your question about yellowing, since i havent gotten that far in my own grow yet. but your plants still look good, i wouldnt complain about having a couple like that. im almost finished with my new grow cabinet. pretty excited...wiring it up now. its going to have 14 light sockets and 1 18" fluorescent. 12 sockets are in the bottom portion, some of them have splitters for more bulbs. 2 sockets are in the top, along with the 18" fluorescent. i hope i wont need more light lol.

With a setup like that, you should do all right for yourself. Now to find a way to cram more light into my cab...

Pushing week 5 of flower, and my have things changed. The weather is turning warm once more, throughly demonstrating the utter failing of the cab's ventilation. Whether this is due to the relatively short height of the cab or the inability of a single 120mm computer fan to properly vent the area is anyones guess. Unfortunately, the larger female is in the midst of shedding her fan leaves. There's a thread discussing it here

Here's a few pics of the older girl for your viewing pleasure:

Almost forgot to mention, in an attempt to rectify the drooping/yellowing fan leaf issue the plant was uprooted from her 8" pot and transplanted into a 10". This was probably too little too late. Judging by how rootbound she was, the poor girl probably needed a bigger container somewhere around the final days of vegetative growth. Oh well, live and learn.

The next pictures are of the 2nd female. Though coming from the same bagseed as her sister, there are several characteristics that appear distinctly different. She's bushier then her sister, possessing far more leaves and significantly less distinct bud. Considering that she took about two weeks or so to start showing her sex, maybe she's just a little slow. If this trend continues, she'll probably end up being harvested a couple weeks later then her overeager sister. Other than the odd nute burn, the only discouraging thing about this plant is the sugar leaves pointing downwards on a couple of the colas - as seen in the 5th picture:

i feel ya on the ventilation issues same for me...damn this warm weather and the fact that its too expensive to run the A/C haha...i've been thinking about throwing her outside and moving her in every night but idk about that cuz i dont know if i can get away with it...still man...looking good for sure

Unfortunately, mover her outside is a no go with the current light cycle. The light turn on at 8pm and shut off at 8am in an attempt to capitalize on cooler nighttime temps. You can see how well that's working.

Today a deep sadness overshadowed the grow. Several seeds sprouted on the larger plant, standing out like an adams apple on a go-go dancer. The other plant seems to be seed free, a trend that hopefully will continue until harvest. Trying to look at the bright side, perhaps there will be at least a few viable seeds that will come of this. Perpetuate the bag seed line.

If your having problems with temps you could try a bathroom fan. I have a small one on my cab I think it's 50cfm, and my cab has similar dimensions to yours. At lowes they have them for about $15 but you might want to put a ceiling fan dimmer on it so it doesn't run full blast these things can move some air.

I googled it Broan at Lowe's: 50 CFM Bath Fan

Thanks for the suggestion trinity, definitely something to check out next trip to the hardware store

Well, the hits keep on coming. Both plants appear to have turned hermie, and are cranking out the seeds. At this point it's looking like light leaks that did it, either due to its covering coming undone or inadequate caulking on one of the corners. Changes will have to be made. Either way, pictures when the lights come back on tonight.

On the bright side, thanks to the generosity of a fellow southern grower there is now a Sensi Star clone attempting to root underneath a humidity dome over in the Veg box. This being the first clone this grower has ever experimented with, hopefully all will go well. If not, fortune may smile upon us once again in the form of a rooted Sensi Star or Bubblegum clone.

Another week, another update. Cut off nutes for the balding girl. The 2nd, more leafy plant still appears several weeks away from finishing.
Pic #1 - The flowering sisters
Pic #2,#3, #5 - Plant A
Pic 4 - Dreaded seeds

A few pics of the once dainty 2nd female. While the plant is bushing out, it also shows some rather strange growth.