My name is Matt aka MrDuckyJonez and my wife is Paddy aka MrsDuckyJonez. We are first time growers that have been learning as much as we possible can from various online resources, books like The Grow Bible (which lead me here), and various youtube channels.
Here is some info about my setup:
4 x ILGM Feminized Super Skunk
Mars Hydro 4x4 tent
Mars Hydro TSW2000 (this is only good for a 3x3 footprint and need to upgrade)
Inline and carbon filter, nothing notable
3 fans currently in the tent, 2x8 inch fans and a tower fan. (Plan to replace to 8 inch fans with 12 inch wall mountable fans).
Humidifier (been working to been this more constant in veg at 40-50% RH)
4 x 3.7 gallon pots that were transplanted on 12/24 from solo cups. I plan to transplant one more time to 7 gallon fabric pots.
Mychrozine for transplants
Fox Farm Trio Nutrients (Also have Sledge Hammer Nutrient)
Cal-Mag Nutrients
All watering are done at 6.4-6.5 pH
Soil is Happy Frog with a Perlite mix
If I missed anything please let me know.
Here is how I got to where I am at and I will TL;DR: Dropped 4 seeds on 11/28 and all 4 sprouted! Been growing them for roughly ~27 days since they sprouted. During this time I sprayed the plants with Neem Oil (lights off), I transplanted on 12/24 from solo to 3 gallon pots, and on 12/29 I topped my plants for the first time and did some light defoliate. I was so scared to do it since I was not sure of how many nodes and when to LST the plants.
Currently here is what my plants are looking like and my next steps are to start LST in the next 3 days and continue to top for 3 more days.
So I maybe weird and I name all my plants I have one named Bertha that I definitely over watered and we are keeping a close eye on her, she has been bouncing back as we have raised the light power/height as well as kept the humidity up.
I do have a couple of questions if anyone has time to help out, no rush though I know we are all busy
How many times would you apply neem oil?
When do you typically start to notice your plants reducing the number of days it takes to water them? I don’t want to overwater them.
When do you start using calmag and Fox farm trio? I was talking with someone about this and they said that the transplant has given them all the nutrients that they should need for the next couple of weeks. So I am not going to give them any more nutes for a couple more weeks.
I wouldn’t apply neem oil unless I had a very good reason, like bugs.
Re: watering times - it depends greatly on the size of the pot vs the size of the plant. Your plants are small for the 3 gallon and will need to be watered less, less frequently. You don’t want the pot to be soggy for ten days and you will need to get a feel for this.
I can’t speak to the happy frog because I don’t use it.
I top, let the new shoots grow then tie them down. Simple and works well.
That’s all for now. You can still have fun with a 3x3 footprint
I’ll be watching too!!! Think you have most of it covered. For watering, you get a feel for it by the weight of the pot and soil dry or near dry. Neem oil I only use if I find pests. Your plants are fine to start training.
Hey Mr. And Mrs Ducky. You are in good hands here. I will follow along. Just like @Foreigner said about the water. Right now I would only water right around the root zone after your pots dry out. Then work farther out as you plants get bigger. It seems that they like to fill out whatever size pot there in before they really begin to take off. So be patient. But its not like there in 5gal. So it shouldn’t take long at all.
The best rule of thumb for watering is to lift your pot before you water. Then lift it after. Once she feels light again its probably time to water. They like to be more dry then wet. I let my pots dry out pretty well before I water. Once they start to droop a little bit it’s time to give them a drink. Within a few hours they will perk back up.
Looks like your off to a good start. There to the point now that if you haven’t killed them yet its probably going to be hard to kill them now. Unless you drop a light on them. Ive done it. Lol
Thanks all for the support! I am going to hold off on the Neem Spray and will make sure to regularly lift the pots. We had some issues with over watering and I think it is cause we did not stay close to the roots.
Will update you all in a day or two with progress from the topping.
It just takes a while for the pots to dry out on there own without the plant big enough to help. Right now it will always feel light cause you shouldn’t be using that much water. Use a spray bottle to curb the urge to water. It helps. We’ve all been there. I’m sure others will chime in to help. Just keep posting your progress.
My first grow is in progress.
I just started 8 gays ago.
My seeds r from DOC’s.
# 1. Orange dose # 2 x God’s Gift / Colorado CleMetine #1. ( 3 for 3 )
** #2. 2016 MIX ( ? ). MYSTERY. Beans**. … ( 0 for 3 )**
I"m Gathering grow stuff from OG…lights…soil…food…etc.
I have named my plants also…
playing music ( BLINDED BY THE L I G H T) to keep them busy dancing.
I just got in two 12 inch mounted fans to replace my small 8 inch clip fans. Also got a Tower fan that oscillating.
The good news is that I finally got my temps/humidity dialed in on my current setup. I got a cool sensor called SensorPush that has been tracking everything and so far is saying that I have been at an average of 78F with 40% humidity. Going to kick that up to 50% over the next couple days but don’t want to stress the plants out.
That is funny you say that I also will pick out music that I want them to listen too. I played classical music when they were small and now up to hip-hop, jazz, and old school crooners that I like .
Good luck with your grow and tag me in your journal if/when you make it!
Nice thread everything looks good.
If you are heavy handed with watering [like me] have you ever looked into bottom feeding? That helped me alot. But if you choose to continue top feeding remember water for plant size not pot size! Try watering the diameter of thr plant leafs. Think of how rain water would fall off your plants. Best of luck will be watching
