First grow, some guidance appreciated!

[frisbee]

Hi guys,

I plan to start my first grow sometime this week, however I'd prefer to get my medium/nutrient situation sorted before I start so I can have a solid plan!

My grow will be between 2 small cabinets, one for mother/parent plants and the other for flowering. (mainly) Due to the small cabinet sizes I will be using CFL's for lighting.

This grow will be a stealth one, and I'd like to keep maintenance to a minimum and as such I have ruled out hydroponics(for the time being).

 

At this stage I am leaning towards using soil/perlite as a growing medium as it seems to be more resistant to ph fluctuations and nutrient issues.

However I have seen some decent grows using coco/perlite as a medium such as wantdachronic's and EIkel's!

Is there much of a difference regarding nutrients that can be used for these two mediums? or will I need coco specific nutrients if I choose that path?

Will coco need to be watered more frequently than soil?

Would it be an idea to keep mother plants in soil and flower clones(started in rockwool) in coco? or vice-versa? or both soil or coco?

 

As for nutrients, I am currently thinking of using an organic variety, however I have recently read a post discrediting such products. I was thinking of using Guano Super Grow and Guano Super Bloom.

Would these suit my requirements? Would I be better going with something out of the Canna or another range? Any recommendations?

If I did use coco as a medium, would Canna Coco or Dutch Master Hot Coco nutrients be suffice?

If I do use inorganic nutrients, will I need to flush my grow mediums to prevent any build ups/lock outs? This is of concern if I am using these nutrients on the parent plants also.

 

Finally I am also thinking of some additives which could be used to my advantage.

SuperThrive(in very low concentrations) for some shock relief or on clones/mother plants.

Oxyplus to provide adequate oxygen to the roots.

Cannazym and PK 13-14.

How does this sound? Have I missed/overdone anything?

 

I know this is a long post!(longer than even I intended!) However I'll be pretty much set once I get this sorted and will start a grow diary eventually!

Any advice/guidance/recommendations will be greatly appreciated :thumbsup and will hopefully aid my first grow to a success!

[WantDaChronic]

I plan to start my first grow sometime this week, however I'd prefer to get my medium/nutrient situation sorted before I start so I can have a solid plan!

 

i bet you have already thought about what you want a million times over in your head

 

My grow will be between 2 small cabinets, one for mother/parent plants and the other for flowering. (mainly) Due to the small cabinet sizes I will be using CFL's for lighting.

 

compact fluros are great for clones and early vege, but you cannot beat a HID for fast growth and massive yields...the CFs will not exactly do that great for flowering, dont get me wrong you'll still get buds, but they'll be skimpy as compared to ones you'd get even under a 250watt hps :thumbdown

 

This grow will be a stealth one, and I'd like to keep maintenance to a minimum and as such I have ruled out hydroponics(for the time being).

 

hydroponics is only as difficult as you make it, hell my first indoor grow was using just coco and hand watering not a whole lot different to just growing in a pot of soil...

 

At this stage I am leaning towards using soil/perlite as a growing medium as it seems to be more resistant to ph fluctuations and nutrient issues.

However I have seen some decent grows using coco/perlite as a medium such as wantdachronic's and EIkel's!

 

well thanks for the credit, but if you read my first grow thread, the plants nearly died due to excess nutes and an overdose of superthrive, second got ripped and im only now working on my third eikel on the other hand pulled 12oz from a single plant using coco/perlite, thats a good indication of what can be done hydroponically :reallyexcited:

 

seriously though, i would go the coco/perlite over soil/perlite....sure with soil you dont have to give as many nutes and you get a better taste but it can take alot longer for the plants to recover, getting the right pH and EC can be a complete bitch and i have also read that plants can get alot bigger growing hydro vs soil in the same size pots :scratchin

 

Is there much of a difference regarding nutrients that can be used for these two mediums? or will I need coco specific nutrients if I choose that path?

Will coco need to be watered more frequently than soil?

Would it be an idea to keep mother plants in soil and flower clones(started in rockwool) in coco? or vice-versa? or both soil or coco?

 

i would buy canna nutrients over say experts choice coco nutes, simply because canna is a proven brand thats designed for cannabis + if you fuck up, you can ring up their hotline for advice

 

watering times will vary on the strain, how warm the environment is, how big the plants are, how big the pots are, etc. generally speaking the larger the plant gets, the more often you'll have to water with larger amounts but just dig an inch down and if after an inch you just hit the damp medium, its time for a water wether its hydro or soil....

 

as for mother plants, it doesnt really matter what you have them in, but imo you should stick to the medium that suits the plants their best, from what i have grown, coco/perlite at about 65/35 gives great results and doesnt require as frequent watering as a 50/50 mix would with pretty much the same results...i would definately use some perlite if you are using coco though, it helps with drainage and getting air to the roots + the plants grow a bit quicker

 

If I do use inorganic nutrients, will I need to flush my grow mediums to prevent any build ups/lock outs? This is of concern if I am using these nutrients on the parent plants also.

 

if every 2 weeks you ran say 20L of plain, pH adjusted water through every pot you are using, you shouldnt have any build ups or lock outs at all...just make sure that you dont keep using additives all the time like i did in my first grow as they can induce lockout very quickly and be masked as other problems :thumbdown regardless of which medium you are using atleast the last week, preferably 2, you should be flushing the plants to get rid of all the chemicals and nutes left, well unless you want chemical tasting buds you should do it

 

Finally I am also thinking of some additives which could be used to my advantage.

SuperThrive(in very low concentrations) for some shock relief or on clones/mother plants.

Oxyplus to provide adequate oxygen to the roots.

Cannazym and PK 13-14.

 

superthrive is like nitro, be damn careful when using it because it will total a plant in barely any time at all if your not careful... i have heard horror stories of people accidently spilling the bottle into a pot with plants just about to be harvested, the next day they are keeled over and barely alive unless the plants are looking unhappy, i wouldnt use it, but if your plants are looking dull, it'll put the life back in them...

 

never used oxyplus, heard great things about it though...

cannazym and pk 13-14 are meant to be the bees knees, if you have the money i'd buy them....

 

ok im typed out , im sure a few other members will pick up from where i left off

[frisbee]

yeah I've been thinking of starting this grow alot, however I have usually found a flaw in my plan. Anyway this time (i think!!!) I'm set.

 

I've decided to use coco/perlite as a medium and will be using Canna nutes and afew additives such as superthrive, cannazyme & pk 13-14.

 

Looks like I'll be using CFL's the whole way through (using different color temp's for the different stages!) (my flower cab will only be ~ 30cm X 30cm X 90cm)!! But in the future (once conditions improve) I'll be using HPS and probably MH lighting.

 

Looks like your set for a decent grow this time wantdachronic!

 

I've attached afew images of my (small) mother cab, with a bit of luck it'll be containing a white widow or 2 in afew days!

 

[Gush]

Looks like a mum would be very happy in there. If your worried about light leaks, get some stickon foam strips from bunnings and whack it around the edges of the door. :thumbsup

[Guest Eikel]

Hello frisbee, Welcome to OzStoners!

 

Wantda has already given you a good rundown, so I'll keep my comments brief.

 

I've decided to use coco/perlite as a medium and will be using Canna nutes and afew additives such as superthrive, cannazyme & pk 13-14.

 

I actually am not yet that impressed with Canna's CoCo nutes so far, it's a two-part nute with no seperate flower and veg. Cannazym and pk13-14 I'd say are good products.

 

Regarding superthrive - only use it if you have to, i.e. if the plants are stressed.

Use 1/2 to 3/4 dosages if you are using it, I always figure less is more when applied to nutes and additives.

 

I would use the following "sets" of nutes/additives:

 

Canna "set"

Canna CoCo nutes, PK13-14, Cannazym and a little superthrive when required.

 

DutchMaster "set"

DutchMaster Hot CoCo 2-part Veg & Flower, DM Guardian, Oxy-Plus and a little superthrive when required.

 

Both will give you good results, but until I can test Canna on an experiment with the same strain/conditions i used DuchMaster under - my hunch is Canna's CoCo nutes are inferior somehow.

 

Looks like I'll be using CFL's the whole way through (using different color temp's for the different stages!) (my flower cab will only be ~ 30cm X 30cm X 90cm)!! But in the future (once conditions improve) I'll be using HPS and probably MH lighting.

 

Your plants will grow, but yields will probably not be huge under CF's. With only that much useable space you'll probably get 1-3 oz from a plant, but your grow-cycle will have to be at least 16-20 weeks because the plants aren't getting as much light-energy and will grow slower.

 

If you can afford it, invest in a 250w bulb and external ballast, with a 6" fan you should easily be able to exhaust the heat put out by the bulb in every season except summer.

 

I've attached afew images of my (small) mother cab, with a bit of luck it'll be containing a white widow or 2 in afew days!   

 

Nice cabinet, I reckon you should go get that 250w bulb, mount it close to the roof as you can - don't even bother with a shade, just have it poking out horizonally from the back of the cabinet. But don't bother with the 250w if you can't afford a decent 6" fan.

[fsagertyaef]

that vabnit can i see a front view im thinking of making 4 small grow rooms 400 watts each and a clone cabnit andim just looking at diffrent setups to see how they all work and i kinda like your keep up the good work sounds like you will be up and growing in now time flat

[frisbee]

Thanks for the replys!

 

Looks like a mum would be very happy in there. If your worried about light leaks, get some stickon foam strips from bunnings and whack it around the edges of the door. :thumbsup

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yeah I should be getting some weather/foam strips or something to use around the door as its not exactly flush!

 

Hello frisbee, Welcome to OzStoners! 

thanks!

 

Wantda has already given you a good rundown, so I'll keep my comments brief.

I actually am not yet that impressed with Canna's CoCo nutes so far, it's a two-part nute with no seperate flower and veg. Cannazym and pk13-14 I'd say are good products.

 

 

On this site here I found this:

CANNA COCO NUTRIENT is for both vegetative and flowering. Simply increase the amount of CANNA COCO NUTRIENT during the bloom stage and add CANNA PK 13-14 at the onset of flowering.

 

I'll be using PK 13-14 so I'll see how this goes!

 

Regarding superthrive - only use it if you have to, i.e. if the plants are stressed.

Use 1/2 to 3/4 dosages if you are using it, I always figure less is more when applied to nutes and additives.

 

I'm gonna try to be very careful with this stuff. It will probably only be used if I've trimmed a mother plant in some way (roots or taken clones).

 

I would use the following "sets" of nutes/additives:

 

Canna "set"

Canna CoCo nutes, PK13-14, Cannazym and a little superthrive when required.

 

DutchMaster "set"

DutchMaster Hot CoCo 2-part Veg & Flower, DM Guardian, Oxy-Plus and a little superthrive when required.

 

Both will give you good results, but until I can test Canna on an experiment with the same strain/conditions i used DuchMaster under - my hunch is Canna's CoCo nutes are inferior somehow.

Your plants will grow, but yields will probably not be huge under CF's. With only that much useable space you'll probably get 1-3 oz from a plant, but your grow-cycle will have to be at least 16-20 weeks because the plants aren't getting as much light-energy and will grow slower.

If I got 1-3 oz I'd be some what satisfied as I'm not a huge consumer! 16-20 weeks would allow me to get about 3 harvests per year.

 

If you can afford it, invest in a 250w bulb and external ballast, with a 6" fan you should easily be able to exhaust the heat put out by the bulb in every season except summer.

Nice cabinet, I reckon you should go get that 250w bulb, mount it close to the roof as you can - don't even bother with a shade, just have it poking out horizonally from the back of the cabinet. But don't bother with the 250w if you can't afford a decent 6" fan.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was actually thinking of getting a 150w HPS as it appears one is available second hand, but I need to look into the availability of spare lamps before I take that path!

 

 

that vabnit can i see a front view im thinking of making 4 small grow rooms 400 watts each and a clone cabnit andim just looking at diffrent setups to see how they all work and i kinda like your keep up the good work sounds like you will be up and growing in now time flat

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This is my clone/mother cab, I'll be building the flower cab in the next week or 2!

This is the only front on image I have atm. I should be able to add another later.