New Grower A proper grow log for tSB

[theSmilingBandit]

I have been asking for advice all over the forums willy-nilly. I figure it would be better for me to post a proper grow log to consolidate all my dumb noobie questions.

I got 12 seeds from Seedbay a few months ago, and attempted to germinate 10 of them. They were a strain called Secret Citrus. Here are my parameters.

3'x3'x6'tall grow tent.
half/half mix of Sunshine and Ocean Frog soil
400 watt HPS light. I have a 1000 watt ballast that I am afraid to use as well.
Inline blower that I turn on when it gets hot.
The plants are in 3 gallon buckets.
I used Maxigrow nutes once, but I have switched to Maxibloom at 1/2 strength. I feed twice, then pure water once.
I have never checked PH, but the local water is just a bit above 7.

Of the seeds I tried to germinated, 5 popped up. I think the soil was way too rich for them at first, they were gnarled twisted little plants for awhile lol.

Two weeks ago, I got my first big surprise. Secret Citrus is NOT feminized. I had to cull two of my five babies. Thanks to archie gemmil for spotting the balls.

Now my plants are doing OK, I think. I will post the pic I took yesterday. Please give me any advice you want, I am extremely worried I am doing something wrong. You know, I like these girls so much I am going to be sad when I have to harvest them.

That's other plants in the background. I do NOT recommend growing catnip with your plants like I did.

 

[stevie]

hi the mate,you need to have your water ph'd between 6.0-6.5 if yr using soil..thats about all the advice i can give you as im new to growing aswell..but there will be lots of top growers on here that will help you through any trouble,just like they did for me ...good luck :Sharing One:

 

[theSmilingBandit]

Yeah, I need to get a soil meter. I haven't seen any signs of PH problems, though, so I have been procrastinating about buying one.

 

[stevie]

Yeah, I need to get a soil meter. I haven't seen any signs of PH problems, though, so I have been procrastinating about buying one.

i dont even know what the signs are if you did have a prob with the ph lol... well i got the digital tester after trying the test tube way..only thing is with a digital ph tester is you might av to calibrate it every 3 or 4 months , but thats easy enough to do,but if you having no probs then carry on with what yr doing...the plants look real good, apart from that boy on the first pic lol, anyway i will be following you on this thread

 

[WGL]

Perhaps add a fan. The inline is good for exhaust but many of us have something to gently keep air moving inside the tent, usually a canopy level. Overall, nice set up. The ph thing is a choice for you. Since you don't have ph problems with your plants, you might be well enough to leave things alone. Other strains may act differently, though. No experience with your nutes but they seem to be working for you. Just keep it light on feeding, don't love them to death. Good luck.

 

[oldster]

A little clarification regarding water pH. Ideally you want your soil pH to be in the 6.2 to 6.6 range. You adjust the pH of your water to maintain soil pH within the desired range.

A lot of peat based soils will get more acid over time so you counteract that by increasing the pH of your water.

Soil pH effects the availability of key nutrients that the plants need. If it gets too far off the desired range various deficiencies can start to show up so that is why it is important to monitor.

 

[theSmilingBandit]

Yeah. I plan on getting one when I have spare cash. I also have a little clip on fan in there. I am not sure if it is doing anything, but it makes the plants sway nicely. Checked the plants this morning and the buds are really starting to form! Looks like I will have some decent colas!

 

[oldster]

Air movement will help strengthen the stems and help prevent mold as the buds develop. You want just enough to cause gentle movement so sounds like you are on the right track.