Hittin' the highminwin road.. my first grow!

Indoor Growing Growroom Diaries
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Cal mag is usually for the synthetic salts growers to supplement the feeding plan, also can be suggested use for soil growers that are watering with RO that everything is stripped out of to supplement those missing minerals

Gypsum mentioned above me is great as a soil conditioner in general and can help give ur soil a nice pH buffer too so that’s a great recommendation
Ground Oyster shell def is another good one to add too and is actually in my tea recipes, I throw my eggshells at my red wigglers too so that also helps adding calcium into things if that’s an option for ya, just let’s em dry out first then crunch em up and throw em in

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https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjftNvf0YD4AhUmbm8EHf2YB7QYABAJGgJqZg&ae=2&sig=AOD64_12QwXR7Z5nrnvN44l4LrxiEAsMng&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiS_tHf0YD4AhWGKM0KHUruA6cQwg8oAHoECAEQCw&adurl=

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This is one I use also. FoxFarm makes one that looks like milk. Earth juice has N in it so keep an eye on ppm. What are you feeding them? Ocean forest isn’t the same as it was 20 years ago.

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https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwio4p_r0oD4AhXEam8EHbRxCh8YABAZGgJqZg&ae=2&sig=AOD64_30gw5PIeUtSAi-DXSXEkWsF01WfQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiLrJjr0oD4AhURcM0KHQDhARsQwg8oAHoECAEQPQ&adurl=

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Looking good in there for your first grow :+1:

The smaller earthbox will run out of steam with 2 in there, lets see how it plays out.

Have you made any LABS?

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thanks so much @Old-Ron @CrunchBerries and everyone else. that is exactly the sort of information i was looking for.

Old-Ron, yes i’m definitely seeing a difference in growth between the two in the eb jr. at the very least it gives me more confidence to go to town on the larger plant. so i’ve been looser with defoliation and bending on that plant, whereas before i had a lot of questions in my head about when and what i should defoliate. i’m glad i sort of waited and rode it out until now my plants are a little bit bigger and it seems more obvious which leaves can be removed if i were to defol.

i will for sure keep a close eye on them for any herming. would this mean that any and all plants in small containers would be stressed and more likely to herm? should i be careful of my 1gallon container plants?

CrunchBerries, i’ve got some of that going on with my plants right now, since it’s been easy to purchase and add to the waterings or top dress. i’m doing the aloe, coco, silica and i add in plant success organics myco, as well as kelp. i feel like i should cut back on the kelp now that i’m trying to flip to flower. i’ll for sure look into the tm7 and the fulpower. the labs i’ve been holding off on since it seemed like a little more work than a simple ffj or fpj. i’ve been meaning to hit up my parents amazing garden to pick off some passionfruit vines for a good fpj.

as i’m getting settled in with my grow and setup though, i’ll be pursuing these things. i gotta get a worm bin going as well. my parents would like it i think, i’m surprised they don’t have one of their own.

one thing, i notice that you guys will have amazingly successful, lush vibrant plants growing super hearty, almost busting out the seams. but then you’ll be stripping large amounts of material off of your plant because it’s too much. so is there a point to pushing the gas pedal so hard if you’re only going to have to put the brakes on so you can keep things reasonable within the space you have? it’s like would you rather have the incredible hulk busting out in his skivvies, or a strong clark kent in a good suit? i wonder if that makes sense.

thanks for the thoughts and advice!

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thanks for stopping by Desert! you’re never late, you’re always on time!

i’ve got the gypsum, i will add oyster shell. i wish i was ready to do the teas, but i’m not ready to have a bubbling pot of mystery earth stew going on in my room just yet, even if it’s gonna be mike tyson sauce for my plants. one day though!

they’re in fox farms ocean forest soil as their base. seedlings in the solo cups were just that soil and plain water for feeds until after transplant.

TRANSPLANTED INTO…
they were transplanted into ~16cups of ffof soil with ~4cups pumice and 1/8cup agrowinn rock dust.

additionally, the black 1gallon containers have no extra added amendments.

while the green containers have the following amendments top dressed…

  • 1/4cup kelp meal, 1/4 cup Down to Earth bio-live, 1/4 cup insect frass, 1/4 cup gypsum, 1/4 cup alfalfa meal

the clay colored containers have the same amendments bottom dressed, along with 2 more cups of soil…

and the cream colored containers have the amendments mixed throughout the soil.

i definitely noticed some burning of tips because of the amendments, but like i had originally said, i was just so excited to have access to these things and they sound so cool for the plants, and yea, i crashed my sports car going a little fast on the growway. but we’re all better now.

there were not enough samples and data points in the mixed soil experiment to really get a good idea of any conclusions, except probably that i would NOT add any amendments to the soil until maybe flipping to flower. it was somewhat stressful as a new grower to see my leaf tips dying and knowing that i really couldn’t do too much that wouldn’t hurt them more. live and learn though.

since transplant, i’ve been watering the following… i use about 3/4 gallon of water between all of the plants, adding 1/2 tsp of kelp meal, 1/4 tsp of aloe powder, 1/4 tsp of powdered coconut, a small amount of powdered mycos, and i think 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of agsil. i’ve been experimenting with bottom watering versus or combined with top watering. still need more time and results to know more. i’ll probably want to get some clear containers that i can transplant into next time so i can understand and see root growth better.

the earthbox jr’s have mostly just ffof soil, except in the middle section in-between the two plants i added some frass and DtE biolive. i watered the soil in layers as i was adding it so it could be more evenly watered throughout, rather than just waiting til the end and only top watering. but they were also top watered a little bit to compact and moisten the soil. then after a few days, mainly just plain water through the reservoir. i had mentioned top watering a little later and noticing they would get droopy, so i stopped doing that. but with advice from OldRon and CrunchBerries, i’ll be able to feed and water them more appropriately.

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Normally you’ll know roughly how many plants your space can handle, but you are on an exploratory mission so that remains to be seen. I’d personally want less plants growing like gangbusters.
You’ve got calcium in the gypsum, which is mostly calcium with some sulfur I think. You could add some epsom salt for the mag. And you could also get some sort of liquid cal mag if you ever need a quick shot of it or to foliar feed with. But ideally you’ll figure out the right amount in your soil and won’t need the extra.

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Lookin’ good @highminwin. image
I’m still trying to wrap my head around something…when I first joined here just a few short months ago, one of, if not THE first times I ever won seeds (Maui) you asked to trade for a friend who was looking for those, so I did. You proceeded to show me a list of seeds you had that I could pick from that still blows my mind!

And this is your first grow?!? When they said be prepared, you certainly were!

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@highminwin :pray: :clap: :clap: :clap: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
Awesome job brother!! Pulling up a chair!! Congrats!!
:hugs:

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uhh, i know some people would encourage me to join the seedaholics anonymous group, but i’m totally fine. cough. i haven’t purchased seeds in like… weeks! although i have a batch of mr nice seeds i need to wrap up. that damn shipping cost just makes you want to include whatever you might be missing though, you know? if only the economy weren’t taking a huge dump right now.

yes, this is my first grow. i’m happy to have you here, lol! and my buddy was very happy to receive those maui wowies i sent out to him. i think he’s still waiting to get setup though. seriously, if i didn’t have you guys, my real life friends would get so tired of me and my plants.

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I can feel your enthusiasm from here…going to enjoy following you on this.

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i can’t help it, LennyB! it’s like these impulses are calling out to me. i even want to add a second level to my tent, to squeeze in more plants. but i’m giving myself the next month to plan it out and see how my plants progress. perhaps seeing the upcoming growth will convince me otherwise.

i just see people like @Enjoi802 crushing it in little containers, and that grow style calls to me. for now at least.

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thanks for stopping by invisible!

i top dressed the other day with agrowinn’s worm castings, down to earth biolive, and some frass. i’ll have to look into what else is necessary for maintaining growth in that eb jr. right now i also have alfalfa meal, kelp meal, gypsum and i’ll be looking into getting tm7 and some fulpower.

haven’t done labs yet, but it’s definitely on an upcoming to-do list. could i just buy some for now and get by with that until i’m able to make my own?

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Each strain is different. Some stress easier than others. Just keep an eye so your other plants do not get seeded from one.

I clear away a lot of the lower stuff because it is a hassle when it comes clean up time. You spend a lot of time trimming, for minimal return. The less nutrients spent on lower flowers that will not develop as much, is more that goes towards the top and has those top buds swelling.

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There’s more than one way to do things. Some people want one big plant, vegged patiently, trained. Others will put them under 12/12 straight from seedlings with more plants.
So you’ll eventually figure out what you want to do, and that will play into your decisions for your next run.
Any way you do it, unless you’re a heavy RSO user or something it is pretty easy to grow as much/more than you need, so don’t stress it too much. Just observe and take note for things to do again or never do again.

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much appreciated og’ers for your continued guidance.

one question, or perhaps it is more a run-down of my thinking, as i think i already know my answer… would you cut this plant as shown? and what would you do with the cutting?

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this is tropical 3 as of today. she’s doing especially well (i hope it’s a she), having outgrown all of the other plants in the tent and crowding out her sibling tropical 2 who is also in the earthbox jr with her.

last night i removed three big fan leaves and also bent her as well. she’s got a thick stem, so my first bending created an audible pop, which i wasn’t quite ready for. i’ve read about the technique before and i was quite sure she’d come back up without many worries, but still, the snap was startling.

as you can see, she has indeed popped back up, although you can still see the bend in her. i’m wondering if i should cut her where shown. i think it would be good, as she’s already taller than the other plants, and this would bring her down to be practically the same height as the others. i also love how her other branches have formed a natural, even canopy on their own underneath the main branch.

if i cut the main branch, do you think one of the other branches will take over as dominant and start shooting up as well? so perhaps i should just keep training the main one as it has the most vigorous growth.

finally, if i do cut the plant, should i try to root it? my tent is already tight, but it would be good practice for cloning, even if i’m not successful.

looking forward to your thoughts.

edit to add a photo when i first bent her. she was leanin’! the above photo is the morning after when she had recovered.

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You would have wanted to top it when it was smaller, so it might be fine, but it would stress it more than you want. I’d take it as something to not do again (let it go too long before topping). . The snap is no big deal, google “supercropping” people do it on purpose.
Another idea is to do a “scrog” where you can even out your canopy by training it across a screen. Or you could just tie down or supercrop the taller tops too.

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As long as you always bend slowly, I find they usually bounce back. You pretty much have to snap it off to really harm it, pretty resilient plant. The plant will grow a big strong knuckle where you bent it if left alone.

I’m an outdoor guy who pinches the top, so I’ll let the indoor gurus tell you how to top that one.

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gotcha. the other thing i realized is i have been trying to flip them to flower, so i’ve been decreasing the amount of light hours they’ve been getting. they’re at 13/11 right now. so if i tried to root the cutting, i’d have to go back to vegging for at least two weeks to get anywhere with it, which is not the timeline i was aiming for.

alright, i suppose it’s time for some training. i get the feeling i’m really going to have to abuse her to keep her in line with the others.

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