New Grower White Widow in Coco-Space Bucket Grow

[4d-Rock]

Intro
Greetings and thanks for stopping by! Last summer I decided to try my hand at growing so I built a custom Space Bucket out of 5 gallon pails and various other materials. I ordered some White Widow Auto Fem seeds from Crop King Seeds online and have completed 2 grows so far. Both were in soil and I had a number of issues throughout (I believe pH was the main cause) but they both produced (1oz on first, ¾ oz second) and I was happy about that as it was a learning experience and if I got something out of it then even better! I had read up a lot about Coco Coir since my last grow and decided I would give it a try as it may reduce the chances of overwatering and keep a better handle on the pH. It’ll be interesting to see how this grow compares to the previous two as they both progressed very differently. My plan is to post occasional comparison photos of my previous 2 grows for fun and interest.

Additionally, I would really appreciate everyone’s insights and suggestions on things that I am doing as I am still learning and probably making a ton of mistakes.

So without further adieu…I will lay out the info

Details

Strain: White Widow Auto Fem from Crop King Seeds
Grow Medium: Coco Earth Brand (got from Amazon) Coco Coir brick, mixed with 25% Perlite and a layer of clay pebbles on bottom and top
Nutrients: Fox Farms Trio with Calimagic
Pot Size: Peat pot for seedling, transplanted into a 2 gallon smart pot
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor – Homemade Space bucket

Veg/Flower Lights: 4x 9w LED Bulbs (60w equiv.), 3 at 3000K, 1 at 5000K. Switch allows for 2 bulbs or 4 bulbs on at a time. Run at 20/4 schedule
Ventilation: 2x USB computer fans with 3 levels of intensity, 1 inflow pointed just above pot edge, 1 outflow at top near bulbs
Humidity Control: No controls, but RH is around 40-50% in the room (basement) and will move around a bit depending on fan speed
Heat: Just bulb heat. Temperature is about 20C (68F) with low fan speed through the day, night temp drops to 16C (61F)
Tools: I have a cheap yellow pH meter (also have pH drops), and a cheap iSpring ppm meter i believe on the .5 NACL scale.
Water Source: My tap water comes from the lake I live on, which is then put through a charcoal and UV filter. This runs at about 6.8pH (fluctuates a bit depending on time of year) and 60-70ppm
Feeding Schedule Plan: Through my reading of coco coir I intend to feed with some level of nutrients for every watering and may do a flush around week 4. There is a bit of varied information on feeding schedules and manufacturer doses so I’m trying things out and will modify as needed or as recommended by people in the forms. This was my intended schedule but have made variations slightly which I will lay out when I go through what I’ve done so far:

Seedling: 5ml/gallon Big Bloom, 2ml/gallon grow big, 5ml/gallon CalMag
Veg:10ml/gallon Big Bloom and Grow Big, 5ml CalMag
Transition: 10ml/gallon Big Bloom, 5ml/gallon Grow Big/Tiger Bloom/CalMag
Flowering: 10ml/gallon Big Bloom, 5ml/gallon Tiger Bloom/CalMag
Final week: ph’d water


The Grow (So far)
The seed was soaked in water for 24 hours and placed in a moist paper towel in a container and placed on top of my router. Tap root sprouted after another 24 hours of this.
I placed the seed in my prepared coco-filled peat pot and after a couple days it joined us above ground. The shell was on for a day but I gently removed it to help it along.

I’ve been keeping a journal and I’ll do some quick points I’ve noted:

Day 2: Sprout fell over and is dark green, propped back up, mixed 0.5 gallon with 2.5ml Big Bloom (BB)/CalMag(CM), and 1ml Grow big(GB). 5.8ph. Watered 60ml in AM and re-moistened in late PM.

Day 3: Left outside in sun with plastic dome, watered 50ml in PM

Day 4: In Space bucket all day, ~12 inches from lights

Day 5: Watered 60ml in AM and in PM. pH increased in mix, brought down with lime juice (pH down en route), Outside in sun and plastic dome

Day 6: Mixed new batch of feed, 1L with 1mL BB/CM, 0.5mL GB. Read 600ppm so I diluted down to 500ppm. Used pH down to bring it to 5.6-5.7 pH. Watered in afternoon with 80mL to 20% runoff. Raised it closer to lights, thought it might help growth (~6 inches)

Day 7: Watered 80mL in AM, forgot to measure pH. Dry by PM, leaves curling down, likely due to light intensity, put back to 12inch and switched to 2 bulbs. Watered 100mL of mix pH’d at @ 6.1pH

Day 8: Leaves still curled, watered 60mL in AM and placed in window for sun. Noticed root poking out bottom hole of peat, decided to transplant into 2 Gallon smart pot in PM and watered 250ml, slight run-off

Day 9: Put outside on hot/sunny day, had to move to shade periodically as leaves were pointing up. Back in bucket in PM

Day 10: Watered 250mL in AM, no runoff. Put outside in shade just off direct sun, back in bucket in PM

Day 11: Minor burn from sun and droplets on leaves. Mixed milder 1L using 0.5ml BB, 1mL CM, noticed that 1ml CalMag would increase TDS from 60-400ppm, might lower in next feed. Watered 500ml, 6.2pH (drops said 5-6 pH, need to calibrate pH meter), no run-off. Was outside for 6 hrs in indirect light and bucket for rest

Day 12: Watered remaining 500ml from mix, noticed split/hole in leaf with some small dark spots and a bit of yellowing.

Day 13: Noticed more light splotches, some with white circles around them? Also a couple darker brown dots. Mixed 1L of new feed, started at 64ppm, added 2mL BB (130ppm), 1mL GB (540ppm), 1.5ml CM (1040ppm). Started at 6.8pH, 6.35 after nutes, pH’d to 5.7. Watered ~750mL to 20% runoff. Switched to full 4 bulbs

Day 14: Checked in AM, leaves curling down and splotches getting slightly worse. Also, new leaf growth in the morning looks more yellow. Watered another 750mL (diluting leftover mix and ph’d to 5.8

And this is where I am today. So, as you can see I’m a little bit all over the place and having trouble dialing things in. I feel like I’m struggling to get a good handle on reading the plant and adjusting nutrient strength, as well as how much light and from what distance. I would happily welcome any advice or comments anyone may have.

 

[MickJ]

For all your monkeying around she is hanging in there. I would leave it in the spaceship and adjust from there. You're not dialling in outdoor or your grow space by moving her all the time.

Sent from my comfy chair.
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[4d-Rock]

Thanks for the tip. I just noticed that it really liked the sun when it was outside and had much more drooping once in the bucket. But you’re right, I’m sure the changing environment and light intensity could throw off the grow rhythm.

I mixed up another feed yesterday similar to my last one that is about 1/2 the recommended dosage. I also attached a picture. The first leaves are deteriorating further and a few spots are showing up on the newer leaves. I’ve been looking up pictures from the infirmary and I’m wondering if it’s a magnesium deficiency or potentially an excess of nutrients making it look like a deficiency.

Not quite sure if I should be dialing back nutes or just upping CalMag.

 

[4d-Rock]

Quick update:
I’ve put it back in the space bucket and will stop putting outside intermittently. It’s currently at day 17 and I went ahead and tried to slow down these brown spots. I’ve mixed at a ratio of 8ml Calmag, 2mL big bloom, and 1mL grow big/ gallon, ph’d to 6.0. If it’s a cal or mag deficiency, hopefully this helps out. If not I’m thinking about upping the overall nutes as I haven’t seen any burning of tips as of yet, I know everyone says less is more, but maybe I’m going to light on the nutes?

 

[4d-Rock]

Just for comparison. I’ve added a couple pictures from my previous two grows at Day 17. First grow started well but super big leaves and didn’t stretch much, second grow was pretty stunted. I think from the transplant and too long in the peat pot.

Amazing the difference of the same seeds but slightly different grows.