New Grower My newbie mistakes...

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Today is day 16 since my 4 Auto Jock Horror seeds popped (Nirvana). My first grow (kinda...30 yrs ago...)
Running a 4x4x7' tent. 600W Metal Halide fully ducted (HPS when and IF I get to flowering!) CFL's to supplement.
Thunder 420 CFM fan w/rheostat. EVERYTHING is on a timer. I pretty much have all the bells & whistles. All seeds started in Rapid Rooter's. I use ONLY distilled water. 2 plants are in coco coir. 2 plants are in GenHydro Water Buckets (independent units), drip type recirculators using Hydroton. All nutrients are General Hydroponics trio: micro/gro/bloom/CalMag. Digital PH meter which is calibrated each and every time I use it - which is...like...every coupla hours! EC/ppm meter on the way. I thought I had it dicked.

OK, onto the the MISTAKES...

1. AFN is the shit. I didn't start my research HERE!

2. I used Hydroton which had been sitting in my attic for 15 years! I THOUGHT I rinsed it well enough. HA! For when I placed my seedlings (still in the Rapid Rooters) into the Hyroton and fired up the system using trace amounts of properly mixed, properly PHed Nutrients, the PH level in the reservoir SKYROCKETED in a matter of hours! Lost a lotta sleep constantly adjusting PH in the rez. I ended up doing tons of research on those little clay balls and discovered a great deal. I had to flood my system and gently remove the two seedlings, then BOILED THE LIVING SHIT outta the little clay balls while stirring like a man possessed. Added some vinegar while the clay stew was cooling and continued stirring like a madman. Rinse, rinse, rinsed those little clay dumplings! Thought I had it dicked! After gingerly re-assembling the seedlings back into the hydro unit, firing it up again...Excellent results...for a day. Again, the PH was spiking, but not as much...a ONE point swing instead of 2plus. Better. The PH has since settled perfectly but I think it may have been too much for one of my Jocks. BTW...The other Jock in my Hydro is a MUTANT! Moral of the story: don't use OLD shit. Meanwhile...the 2 Jocks in the Coco look PERFECT!

3. I happen to be a Pollack:dunno:

4. I failed to use any root booster/enzyme. After perusing these forums, I've discovered that with the short-lived Autoflower, beginning with a good base is an absolute MUST! Maximize the short vegetative state! I will not have a decent yield because of this. Can't wait til my NEXT grow!

5. Windburn. The ONLY piece of equipment I have that is shitty (other than the fackin Hydroton). Did I mention I hate Hydroton? The circulating fan. I have a 3 speed. I musta been drunk when I positioned it directly at my tender seedlings with first leaves ON FULL FACKIN BLAST! Result: Burned, browned leaves (often mistaken for Nutrient Lockout). I'm currently ensconsed on a foliar misting regimen which produced almost immediate results...and yeah, I had to put some molasses in with the concoction. You'll find a few suggestions here and/or links to where you can purchase truly expensive pre-mixes. I'm simply using quarter strength of my regular Hydro mix with the sweet stuff. A great number of problems can be solved by foliar applications (in the vegetative state). QUESTION: Should I trim off those first let of leaves? They were windburned and somewhat browned. Does this steal the plants energy in attempting to heal itself. If your answer is YES, clip 'em. Do I dab A little H2O2(hydrogen peroxide) on the wound?

6. Remove your humidity meter BEFORE you apply foliar misting. Did I mention I happened to be a Pollack? After giving my girls a healthy dose of that OH, SO HEALING, mist, I zipped the tent, tidied the area, and happened to glance at the temperature/humidity meter...HOKEY SMOKES, BATMAN! 76º humidity! I cranked the Thunder fan full blast, poked some holes in the ducting, slugged a beer.............opened the tent....bigger'n shit...the meter was SOAKED! BTW, keep your sensor at canopy level (level with the top of the plant)...if it's on the floor or hanging on the wall above the lights it's a brick...worthless.

7. Don't mess with CO2 until you are ready. I guess, in small doses, in controlled circumstances it could increase your yield. I plan on using it again when I recover from my PTSD related to CO2. I could use a sniff of 'Think Different' right about now. I've got all the gizmos needed to correctly apply this miraculous gas...but...did I mention...
Yeah...
...everythings on timers. I failed to correctly adjust the ppm on the regulator and ended up with a WIDE OPEN CO2 tank gassing my baby girls for over three hours! Good thing I was having PH issues or I would never have caught it in time! I was also windburning the 'lil bitches at the same time. I'm considering AA. But as far as pests go, its the best way to get rid of 'em! No aphids in MY garden! Commercial greenhouses often use CO2 to purge pests. I use diatomaceous earth as a rule for pests

8. Don't garden drunk! You'll tweak and tweak and OVERDO. You'll break shit. You'll turn the fan on full blast. You'll leave the regulator wide open. Pick a plan. Stick to it. Make subtle adjustments or change completely on your NEXT grow. I will. Mom depends on me and I'm tired of supporting nogoodnicks.

9. READ, READ, READ...TIL YER EYES BLEED, BLEED, BLEED! This forum provides you with some of the best talent and experience I've come across.

thanx fer lissenin...
 
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Struggling Jock

DSC00016.jpgDSC00015.jpgDSC00014.jpgOther than being wind burned and OD'd on CO2, I've exhausted my gamut of diagnosis...
Any Help'll do!
thanx
 
Oh dear Eggman :) The little ones dont look happy!

I've never had a wind burned plant (despite my plants ofter growing against my fan), so i'm not experienced at diagnosing it.
It looks to me like a PH problem! Very pale green too.

You could probably save it! But do you have access to any other (perhaps more forgiving) Mediums like premium soil brands or coco??

I wouldn't bother with the CO2 mate :) i'd leave that for later down the line when the plants are growing happily enough without the supplement.

Mom depends on me and I'm tired of supporting nogoodnicks.

Understood mate! - Lets get you growing some real plants and buds! :) I'm gonna pop a link over with some buddies in the High Team to see if anyone can help you with these pebbles you have! :)

:d5:
 
Thanx fer the quick reply, Blue...

I have two Jocks doing nicely in coco.
THIS one (and the MUTANT) are in a drip, recycler. The PH for the first two weeks was a nightmare and I use ONLY distilled water! I was adjusting it every 4 hours. Sometimes changing out the entire reservoir (as I have several extras) and starting fresh. The PH has now leveled off to 5.9 - 6.2. I have added a root inoculant and began an aggressive foliar misting program which seems to have helped in the last 18 hours.

I really think the damned Hydroton was the culprit. That or the Rapid Rooter...which is peat based and can screw with PH levels.

If this doesn't help within the next 48 hours, I'll attempt a transplant into coco - which is already set up. It'll be exactly the same set-up drip/recycler but I've replaced the Hydroton with coco. Distilled water adjusted to a PH of 5.8 has been running for 3 days thru the coco in anticipation of either my last Jock seed or a transplant. The PH in this unit has remained steady with no change. Either way, it's gonna be an interesting experiment as only Jayar has something similar...his unit is 'drain to waste'. I've already read both dissertations by the two coco experts.

thanx!
 
Either way, it's gonna be an interesting experiment as only Jayar has something similar...his unit is 'drain to waste'

Good idea Eggman - Jayar would be a great person to follow and mimic - he gets consistently good results! :)

If this doesn't help within the next 48 hours, I'll attempt a transplant into coco - which is already set up.

I mean this in the nicest way, but are you sure you want to take the risk with this already slightly damaged plant? It can only be a couple of weeks old - maybe it would be better to start a new seed.

My only concern is that Autos are notoriously delicate to begin with and the the people who get the best results (un coincidentally) isually get the best starts! Your final yiled will be affected by the way the plants starts. (it will never reach it's optimum the way it has started.)

I used to never give up on a plant (and sometimes, i'll still stick and manky one in the corner) - but there's a good case to ask yourself the question "should i start this one again?"

^_^

Just my thoughts!
 
Blue,
Thanx again. Much as I hate to...being my first grow and all...I'm gonna go with my new seed. and yeah...I'll 'manky' that one in the corner, perhaps I could learn a little something. It will also give me an opportunity to inspect the roots. I knew going in I wouldn't get world class yields...If one plant survived I'd have been happy.
 
Blue,
repotted sick Jock into coco (my invention) drip system as a test. Inspected roots. Smelled delicious. Looked good. Lettin her go. Mutant may become a houseplant in the south window! Couple queries as you seem to be the only one here.

1. Why NOT 24 hour light regimen for veg (MH)?...and yeah, I posted this question in 'Lights'.

2. Why didn't anyone mention that distilled water is unstable and has to be buffered?

thanx
 
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