New Grower First Time, Soil, Think Different & Cheese XXL

[Dhante420]

Day 20 Update

Hey guys, my 3 TD's got some LST over the past couple of nights to expose some of those lower grow tips and my 2 bigger TD's were topped today.

My 2 300w lights arrived as well so I have more coverage, they have red spectrum in their veg mode which is different to the 600w

I made a bracket to hang al three together on

Here are the ladies, close ups are the topped TD,s

 

[Dhante420]

Day 27 Update

Have been doing some mild defoliation and some pony tailing over the last week to get some of those lower colas to rise up. I think i have done ok, My 2 white pot TD's are still ahead of the rest but the others are looking a lot better.
I got 6 even colas on this TD

<<There is water on the leaf of this one which is why it looks weird.

All in all looking healthy but i made the mistake of having my light way too close when i started off so they are quite short.

and here is the equipment i use.

The red tub has about 6 and a half liters of water in which i leave sit for about 3-4 days to evaporate any nasties! There is a pair of tights over the rim to stop any bugs falling in

 

[Dhante420]

So i just purchased an aquarium air pump kit with air stones in so i can oxygenate my water 24h prior to watering, and also a lux meter for light.
What should be my lux reading for optimal growth? I want to try and find that sweet spot for my ladies.

 

[Dhante420]

Day 36 Update

Hey guys so im on day 36 now and the girls are well into their pre flower, got alot of pistils growing around the place!
My ladies are still quiet small for their age so i think i stunted them when they were younger, i know i had the light way too close when they were seedlings so i think thats what did it.
Still though, got a lot of tops on the way.

 

[Dhante420]

Hopefully will see some flower stretch and them get at least a foot taller!

 

[Dhante420]

Update Day 48

So im on day 48 and the Cheese XXL is looking lovely and healthy producing lots of pistils.
My Think Diffs however are alot lighter green in color and the stems are all purple. I have pulled one out of the pot to look for root aphids or any bugs and there is nothing (Few fungus gnats here n there but under control)
I have just bought Bio Bizz Alga-Mic so hopefully i should see the leaves get a bit darker when i add that in. They say you dont need to look for PH in BioBizz nutes but i think im going to have to invest in a PH meter and check my run off.

Unfortunately i dont have the money yet to buy a PH meter, i want the Bluelab one so i know i have a decent product.

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

thats the thing with cheap ph pens,they could last 2 years or 2 weeks.bluelab is tough and should last a lifetime,but ohh so costly.not just the cost of the pen but cleaning/storage,ph4 and 7 calibration fluids.
if things arnt going to plan a ph pen is number 1 tool in the garden.
biobizz is fairly neutral but maybe your base water is out of whack ? the biobizz has no kind of ph perfect the way other products have.
id like to be able to tell you to add some this that or the other,but untill ph is known it would be the wrong thing to do.
if things get out of hand pop a thread in the infirmary for professional help.
good luck.

 

[Dhante420]

thats the thing with cheap ph pens,they could last 2 years or 2 weeks.bluelab is tough and should last a lifetime,but ohh so costly.not just the cost of the pen but cleaning/storage,ph4 and 7 calibration fluids.
if things arnt going to plan a ph pen is number 1 tool in the garden.
biobizz is fairly neutral but maybe your base water is out of whack ? the biobizz has no kind of ph perfect the way other products have.
id like to be able to tell you to add some this that or the other,but untill ph is known it would be the wrong thing to do.
if things get out of hand pop a thread in the infirmary for professional help.
good luck.

Thanks for the comment man
i will be buying a PH meter tomorrow, not Bluelab though
As i use Bio Bizz Nute lineup i will not be measuring my Nute solution only my water so i think an average priced meter will do me OK, €40ish! with some 4 and 7 buffer! I cant use chemical PH adjusters so ill be using good ol Lemon and Baking Soda
That along with Alg a Mic that i just bought to de stress the ladies should work.
Not that i am experienced enough to say this but my money is on a lockout due to incorrect PH.

 

[Dhante420]

Hello Everyone,

Sorry i haven't posted in a while... Disaster struck my garden about 2 weeks ago.
Not only were my plants starting to show deficiencies (From my lack of experience)
but we had a power cut which lasted 2 days which meant not only did they not receive any light but they were very cold because heating is electric.
Everything turned yellow and purple and the whole garden just looked extremely sick
I was devastated and very sad over the whole ordeal and nearly lost all hope.

I had the plants in the lounge with our open fire to keep them warm and moved them across the floor as the light from the window progressed through the day.
I was not giving up!
Finally the power came back on after 2 days and we had heat and light.

I switched from Bio Bizz nutrients to General Hydroponics because i just couldn't shake the deficiencies i was having... after a sad week of plants that just wouldn't drink water the ladies eventually turned green again and looked much happier.
These poor ladies have been through hell in this grow and tbh so have i but yet they are here and i have i have some nice dense looking buds.
I am now watering with just water and harvesting in a couple of days.
I will post a picture later on so you can see them.

I must give a shout out to Dinafem and Dutchpassion for some nice strong genetics! They truly have taken a beating!

Looking forward to my next grow, so many things i will do differently.

Dhante

 

[Hippy_BiotabsF70]

Hey dude, glad your problems got sorted and you now have some decent buds. Almost ready to chop as well!

Also, I don't think you did stunt your plants mate. I think the topping and training looks to have gone well judging by the last pics. Your girls put their effort more into sideways growth in veg, which is kinda what you were aiming for! I say good job dude.

I sometimes think I should do more early training, but I just can't really be arsed. My cobs seem to make my plants grow fairly big and open, so I usually just supercrop at some point. But I love the look of your garden man.

Let us know how the final product is mate. I currently about 30% into chopping and trimming a Stilton, and I started 4 hours ago