My Very First Grow Journal

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

I am new to the entire journaling thing and growing. I have done alot of research prior to getting ready to start my grow when it comes to light, nutrients and strains. I have to say, it is very nerve racking having seeds sent to your house, well at least for a first time. I waited about 2 weeks before even opening the package. I was going to say it was the wrong address and I have not had the chance to get it back to my post office. Or at least that was the plan. I have been smoking medicinally for some time now and the costs are just too much in the long run. I had a very nice welcoming post and it seems I am in the right place. I tried a forum prior to this one, called Roll It Up and it was a nightmare there. I was there trying to learn and it seems people are more interested in bashing you rather then help guide you. Hopefully, this is not the place that does this as well. I started to soak my seeds last night and I think I am ready to get this grow going.

I will be growing using LED lighting along with 2 grow tents. One is a 48in x 48in x 72in tent and the other is a 32in x 32in x 60in tent. I plan on using the smaller of the two for vegetative stage and the larger one for flowering stage. In the smaller tent I have a Mars-Hydro TS-1000 LED Full Spectrum Grow Light and in the larger tent I have a Mars-Hydro TSW-3000 LED Full Spectrum Grow Light. I did not think soil would matter much so I bought a few bags of Miracle Grow Potting Soil but soon realized this was a mistake so I replaced it with Fox Farms Ocean Forest Potting Soil along with their trio of nutrients called Grow Big, Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom. I also currently have a bottle of General Hydroponics Cal-Mag Supplement as I was told I will need this using LED as a grow light.

The strains I will be doing my first grow with was very hard to choose from and frankly, very costly. I will compile a list just below this paragraph of the seeds I will be using. I found Neptune was a very common place to use when it comes to discrete and safe purchases. All seeds below listed were from this bank.


Mass Medical Strains - Star Pupil *
In House Genetics - White Giant
In House Genetics - Deluxe Sugar Cane *
Dragon's Flame Genetics - Dragon's Stash F2's

* = Feminized Seeds

I will be starting 1 each of the Feminized seeds and 2 each of the Regular seeds. Below is the picture of each pack that I received.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

Please, at any time feel free to let me know if I am doing something wrong or can do something easier. I appreciate all feedback and advice. Thanks everyone.

 

[Schwaggy P]

This place is much less confrontational. Feel free to ask any question and I'm sure you'll get helpful input from many here. With your first grow you'll be better served by working on getting your plants to the finish line without trying too many different things. Your first few grows are going to be getting used to dealing with quite a few things about getting plants from seed to smoke. Getting too fancy too quickly (trying different additives, advanced training techniques, etc.) introduces opportunities for complications that may throw off an otherwise successful grow. As you get more comfortable with the process and your environment, incorporating new techniques and methods will have higher levels of success.

I use the Ocean Forest soil and it has plenty of food to keep your plants happy for a few weeks with plain pH'd water, so I wouldn't get the liquid nutrients involved for awhile. You'll do fine and remember to have fun with it.

 

[Capt. C]

Look forward to stopping by and checking your journal out. Sounds like you got the makings for a great grow !

 

[BreezyB330]

I am new to the entire journaling thing and growing. I have done alot of research prior to getting ready to start my grow when it comes to light, nutrients and strains. I have to say, it is very nerve racking having seeds sent to your house, well at least for a first time. I waited about 2 weeks before even opening the package. I was going to say it was the wrong address and I have not had the chance to get it back to my post office. Or at least that was the plan. I have been smoking medicinally for some time now and the costs are just too much in the long run. I had a very nice welcoming post and it seems I am in the right place. I tried a forum prior to this one, called Roll It Up and it was a nightmare there. I was there trying to learn and it seems people are more interested in bashing you rather then help guide you. Hopefully, this is not the place that does this as well. I started to soak my seeds last night and I think I am ready to get this grow going.

I will be growing using LED lighting along with 2 grow tents. One is a 48in x 48in x 72in tent and the other is a 32in x 32in x 60in tent. I plan on using the smaller of the two for vegetative stage and the larger one for flowering stage. In the smaller tent I have a Mars-Hydro TS-1000 LED Full Spectrum Grow Light and in the larger tent I have a Mars-Hydro TSW-3000 LED Full Spectrum Grow Light. I did not think soil would matter much so I bought a few bags of Miracle Grow Potting Soil but soon realized this was a mistake so I replaced it with Fox Farms Ocean Forest Potting Soil along with their trio of nutrients called Grow Big, Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom. I also currently have a bottle of General Hydroponics Cal-Mag Supplement as I was told I will need this using LED as a grow light.

The strains I will be doing my first grow with was very hard to choose from and frankly, very costly. I will compile a list just below this paragraph of the seeds I will be using. I found Neptune was a very common place to use when it comes to discrete and safe purchases. All seeds below listed were from this bank.


Mass Medical Strains - Star Pupil *
In House Genetics - White Giant
In House Genetics - Deluxe Sugar Cane *
Dragon's Flame Genetics - Dragon's Stash F2's

* = Feminized Seeds

I will be starting 1 each of the Feminized seeds and 2 each of the Regular seeds. Below is the picture of each pack that I received.
View attachment 29829

Welcome friend! There are a few of us that are new and ended up here after less than warm welcomes at other places. Based on my experience over the last 2 months, i feel you are in the right place! And are starting out with some nice gear ?...i look forward to watching you grow here(literally and figuratively)! I'm New also,but will help where i can! Good luck, and welcome!

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

This place is much less confrontational. Feel free to ask any question and I'm sure you'll get helpful input from many here. With your first grow you'll be better served by working on getting your plants to the finish line without trying too many different things. Your first few grows are going to be getting used to dealing with quite a few things about getting plants from seed to smoke. Getting too fancy too quickly (trying different additives, advanced training techniques, etc.) introduces opportunities for complications that may throw off an otherwise successful grow. As you get more comfortable with the process and your environment, incorporating new techniques and methods will have higher levels of success.

I use the Ocean Forest soil and it has plenty of food to keep your plants happy for a few weeks with plain pH'd water, so I wouldn't get the liquid nutrients involved for awhile. You'll do fine and remember to have fun with it.

Thank you. Yea, I am trying to keep this first grow as simple as possible. This way I can learn how the plant grows and just overall experience working with them. I have read about the nutrients not needing to be used for a few weeks as well because of the soil having nutrients already in them. I have also read that it's best to never really use full recommended feeding dosages ; 50% or so being the average overall strength. Once I learn a little and feel comfortable, I am sure I will be looking into other methods as well. In my opinion, soil looks like the easiest of the grow mediums.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

Look forward to stopping by and checking your journal out. Sounds like you got the makings for a great grow !

I am hoping so. It seems there are some pretty amazing growers here and if something were to pop up, I hope I can get help from them to get the plants back on track. Thank you for stopping in though.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

Welcome friend! There are a few of us that are new and ended up here after less than warm welcomes at other places. Based on my experience over the last 2 months, i feel you are in the right place! And are starting out with some nice gear ?...i look forward to watching you grow here(literally and figuratively)! I'm New also,but will help where i can! Good luck, and welcome!

I appreciate it, thanks! I spent alot of time looking for what to use and what not to use. The market can be a very confusing place.

 

[socaljoe]

You're starting with some good genetics. InHouse has some great stuff, check out @Frimpong's journal, he has some of that Deluxe Sugarcane I think. Ridiculously frosty.

Good luck. And remember: KISS (Keep It Simple Stoner).

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

You're starting with some good genetics. InHouse has some great stuff, check out @Frimpong's journal, he has some of that Deluxe Sugarcane I think. Ridiculously frosty.

Good luck. And remember: KISS (Keep It Simple Stoner).

Thanks, will do. They weren't cheap at all, that's for sure. I had a hard time choosing between that or a strain they have called " Slurricane ". I never knew in a million years it was even possible for a plant to have that many trichomes.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

I have noticed there's numerous ways to germinate seeds. This is how I am doing it. I am soaking the seeds in separate cups filled with a little tap water. I used a PH pen to test my water here and it registered at 6.43 so I assumed that was in range as I have read to stay in the 6.3-6.8 range with 6.5 being the sweet spot as you would call it. Once the seeds have soaked for 24 hours, I am taking 2 napkins folded and laying one down first, then the seeds, then the other napkin. I will make sure to remove any standing water the paper towels do not soak up. Once I have roots, with luck of course, plant them with the taproot facing down in the soil and cover with about 1/4in. of soil. I learned a trick that I can use a clear cup over the cups I am starting the seeds off in to create a humidity dome.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

Maybe I am doing a little too much to sprout seeds? Or is this method ok.

 

[socaljoe]

Maybe I am doing a little too much to sprout seeds? Or is this method ok.

Lots of people use the paper towel method for sprouting, you're fine there. Not a fan myself, but it's one of those things where there are a bunch of ways to do it and not one "right" way.

Only thing I'd caution against is the cup as humidity dome. Sometimes baby seedlings can be sensitive and that extra humidity can cause problems, damping off comes to mind. Speaking from personal experience, I've never had an issue not using a humidity dome with newly sprouted seedlings, and conversely, the only times I've had issues were when I did use one...take from that what you will.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

Lots of people use the paper towel method for sprouting, you're fine there. Not a fan myself, but it's one of those things where there are a bunch of ways to do it and not one "right" way.

Only thing I'd caution against is the cup as humidity dome. Sometimes baby seedlings can be sensitive and that extra humidity can cause problems, damping off comes to mind. Speaking from personal experience, I've never had an issue not using a humidity dome with newly sprouted seedlings, and conversely, the only times I've had issues were when I did use one...take from that what you will.

I am trying to get my humidity up in the vegetative tent. I set them up early so I can work on the temperatures in them. With the fans, I can only get the RH up to about 40%. I just assumed this was way too low for this stage of growth and it would help them along a little. Once they sprout, I would have only kept a dome on for a week, if even that.

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

I also advise removing the dome as soon as they sprout... too much risk of damping off... 40% rh is low but remember it will increase once you have respirating plants and Big pots of dirt in there...

Anyways, you've found the right forum for certain! You'll have your ups and downs so just remember to enjoy the ride and never hesitate to ask questions... this is a much more supportive place than RIU

 

[socaljoe]

I agree that you definitely want that RH up when vegging, it's just the seedling stage, say the first 7-10 days after sprouting, where it can be counterproductive to get it too high. And for what it's worth, I think 40% is plenty for seedlings. The thing with a humidity dome is the lack of air movement that comes with it.

And I'm not telling you not to do anything, just cautioning what could happen. After all, it's your grow, so do as you see fit.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

I also advise removing the dome as soon as they sprout... too much risk of damping off... 40% rh is low but remember it will increase once you have respirating plants and Big pots of dirt in there...

Anyways, you've found the right forum for certain! You'll have your ups and downs so just remember to enjoy the ride and never hesitate to ask questions... this is a much more supportive place than RIU

Yea, I found that out really fast. I legit was trying to ask serious questions and I did get an answer here and there but 90% of the others were just bashing me. It was not worth the hassle. I thought us stoners were peaceful people. Then there's this guy named Uncle Buck and Tangerine5 or something of that nature. I don't know how they allow that there but that is not a place for me. Maybe when I was 16 years old.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

I agree that you definitely want that RH up when vegging, it's just the seedling stage, say the first 7-10 days after sprouting, where it can be counterproductive to get it too high. And for what it's worth, I think 40% is plenty for seedlings. The thing with a humidity dome is the lack of air movement that comes with it.

And I'm not telling you not to do anything, just cautioning what could happen. After all, it's your grow, so do as you see fit.

Thank you. Yea, once they sprouted I would have removed it. I am just trying to do everything by the book but like said above by someone, don't do too much.

 

[The Hash-Slingin Slasher]

I am having a problem with notifications not being removed from my top right corner. The number by the bell thing just keeps going higher and higher even though I am checking the notification.

 

[Frimpong]

Bro u are starting w top notch gear I love it ?