New Grower first time

[ballzbeard]

Hey, guys. First timer here. Just wanted to post and introduce myself because I am sure I will have plenty of questions throughout the coming weeks. Attached is a pic of my setup. I'm going to lightproof the netpots/reservoir here in a day or two since I don't have my lights running yet.

I got some Early Miss from cropking. All of them germinated and were just dropped into my system. I've read that autoflowers don't need as much nutrients as there brothers and sisters so I halved my initial dose; ppm came out to ~120 and ph is around 5.5-6. Dropped in a little hydroguard for good measure.

My first question is this: do I need to add water throughout the week or should I just change out water/nutrients once a week?


Here's hoping for a bountiful harvest TaNg's Thang

 

[ballzbeard]

Found my first mistake: adding nutes this early. Quickly ran to the 24hr mart and grabbed some fresh water and am in the process of calibrating it. Hopefully the girls won't mind.

 

[akreso]

Welcome to AFN. I'm a newbie here, too. You won't find a nicer, more helpful group of folks than here at AFN. If only everyone was this nice! Seriously a ton on info, lots of great support, seemingly infinite kindness! I'll be watching your grow (and learning with ya)

Happy 4/20

 

[ballzbeard]

So far, she's an only child. When you go about adjusting pH, do you pour the ph down/up directly into the tub or do you mix it with clean water and dump it in? I was thinking about using a pipette.

 

[MedGrower]

Hello ballzbeard. Once you have any roots having contact with the water it is required to adjust the pH separately by taking the water out first, then adding the pH down/up, stirring good and then applying the solution back to the reservoir. This is just because you have to have even acidity in the solution or it might shock the whole plant by exposing the roots to extreme acidity or alkalinity.

If you had ppm around 120 for that little seedling it is just ok so don't stress about it. First couple of weeks is best to go with really low ppm but soon you can bumb it up. I have started the seedlings with 200ppm to even 300ppm for first couple of weeks too without any problems. Good looking bubbler you have there!

Oh! And yes, just change the water weekly at first. Around the day 28 on you might need to start adding more water depending on how much your girlie is comsuming it and how much there is in the reservoir. Just keep monitoring daily and you'll see what works for you. If the ppm is rising and pH falling, that means your ppm was initially too high and you need to add just more plain water. If the ppm is falling and pH is rising, you need more nutrients. That should work as rule of thumb as long as there is no other issues such as pathogens.

 

[ballzbeard]

MedGrower,

Thanks for the advice on ph calibration and water/nute cycling. My ppm is at 60 right now.

Just checked on the little girl and she looks like she may have grown some more already. It's about 48hrs after planting, when should I start worrying about the other pots?

 

[MedGrower]

I have had some that have taken only 24hrs to pop up from planting the seed and some that have taken an entire week. Generally they should all come out in a week. If not then something is wrong. Remember that weed is not a swamp plant so dont soak the growing media too much at this point or you will have problems. Just add a little water if you see the rockwool getting dry, some 3 ml will be enough.

First couple of weeks are always reeeeeeaaaaalllllyyyyyy slow before the true action begins, so patience is a virtue in this.

 

[redrobbo]

I think i will tag along with your grow ballzbeard.
I grow in coco atm,but am thinking about DWC for future grows,so i wish you the best of luck
with your venture.

 

[paddler54]

Balls-be-ard? That is funny, like a pirate at the drs. visit. "It's me balls doc, they be ard!" I'm on my first grow in dwc as well. I'll be rooting for ya balls...arg!

 

[ballzbeard]

It's amazing what a day will do!

Came to find out my tub was sitting at a slant so I leveled it out; some of the rockwool cubes were soaked while the others were slightly damp. Here is a pic of baby girl. I am confident another will sprout in the next day or so. Thanks for the interest, guys! I'm looking forward to sharing my experience with you all.

Paddler54,
If only I were that clever. It's just Ballzbeard (balls-beard), but I'm willing to go along with your story.