| Title | Description | Added |
|---|
| Early sprouts |
Very early sprouts. Lost a few, of course, but that's to be expected. |
05/25/11 |
| The first couple of good sprouts |
This pair emerged earlier than the others. |
05/25/11 |
| Under the fluorescent grow light |
A few days later, they have begun reaching toward the light source. |
05/25/11 |
| Under the fluorescent grow light |
A few days later, they have begun reaching toward the light source. |
05/25/11 |
 |
| Under the LED lights |
Shortly after planting in large pots. |
05/25/11 |
| Under the LED lights |
Shortly after planting in large pots. |
05/25/11 |
| Growth is accelerating |
They seem to like the conditions. :-) |
05/25/11 |
| Growth is accelerating |
They seem to like the conditions. :-) |
05/25/11 |
| Transplanted today from big pots |
A few hours after transplantation from the big containers to their individual pots. |
05/28/11 |
| Transplanted today from big pots |
A few hours after transplantation from the big containers to their individual pots. |
05/28/11 |
| Transplanted today from big pots |
A few hours after transplantation from the big containers to their individual pots. |
05/28/11 |
| Exterior view of my set up |
My hardware consists of the following. The ventilation fan is sufficiently quiet that it can't be heard with the door closed, even at night. By using LED lights producing virtually no heat, it doesn't need to vent to the outside, so there is no risk of neighbors hearing it. And the filter eliminates 100% of the odor, which was my main concern, living in a townhome.
1) 36W x 60H x 20D grow tent
2) 240 CFM ventilation fan
3) Carbon filter
4) Digital timer for ventilation system
5) Mechanical timer for lights
6) ASP UPS/Power Conditioner |
05/29/11 |
| The elimination of the weak |
I removed two plants that were lagging behind in development, despite living in the same conditions as all of the others. I take that as an indication of either weak individuals, or weak genetics, neither of which should be taking up valuable light and space. |
06/04/11 |
| False color images |
The color balance has been manipulated in both images to make the leaves look green under the heavy red/blue of the lights. |
06/04/11 |
| The right side of the grow tent |
I move the plants every 24 hours so they get balanced light spectra from the LEDs. The plant in the corner today will move over and up one position tomorrow. If you look closely, you'll notice that the plants are showing their genetic identities. The plant at bottom right appears to be mostly Sativa, while the plant at bottom left looks like it is mostly Indica. The others appear to be hybrids, somewhere between the two. |
06/06/11 |
| The most developed plant so far. |
...was the first to sprout and has led the way from the beginning. It appears to be an Indica Sativa mix and is about 12 inches tall. |
06/06/11 |
| Beneath the canopy |
There is a lot of growth and development under the canopy. They presently range in height from 9-12 inches. |
06/06/11 |
| Some were a bit thirsty for the |
I've been on guard against over-watering, and have tended to allow them to indicate when they're ready. This is another false color image in which most of the editing was done in LAB format. |
06/09/11 |
| Basking under the LEDs |
|
06/10/11 |
| Actual height range is now 9-13 |
My intention is to get them to 24 inches minimum before going to flower. It's very satisfying to see them this developed, but it will all be for naught if I can't get them to share their bounty. |
06/10/11 |
| Nice and healthy |
As part of routine cleaning and maintenance, I removed all the plants for a few minutes. They currently range from 9-13 inches tall. There are no signs of nutrient deficiency, thanks to the Foxfarm Ocean Forest organic potting soil. I probably will not add nutes until the change to flowering, because I have read that Ocean Forest provides all they need for at least six weeks. |
06/10/11 |
| Two weeks into vegetative stage |
Two weeks of vegetative stage have gone by now, and the plants have all grown to nearly 12 inches, with the tallest exceeding that height. I watched a Jorge Cervantes video last night and concluded that my watering scheme has been misguided in that I believed that watering should be kept to a minimum to avoid root rot. However, I have now learned that it is advisable to water every day in particular amounts. Therefore, I have started watering much more than before, and the plants look healthier for it. I also discovered that the timer controlling the lights and fan inside the tent have been on 24 hours a day. Evidently, I inadvertently moved the switch from Timer to Outlet. I mention these things because despite my miscues, the plants are healthy, showing that there is room for error for we beginners. |
06/12/11 |
| Two weeks in veg |
Another thing I've learned is that you don't want to the plants to grow much beyond a foot before moving from vegetative to flowering because they continue to grow during flowering and could outgrow the available space. So I ordered Foxfarm liquid nutrients to prepare for the transition. |
06/12/11 |
| Everybody got a haircut today |
Well, not a haircut exactly, but I did remove the lowermost leaves on all of the plants. This included almost everything up to about 4 inches from the soil. This shot shows the stems after pruning. |
06/13/11 |
| Too bad it's all useless |
This is the material that was pruned away. It had a very strong smell of chlorophyll. And of course, one does not want to take the chance of being discovered, so all of it went down the kitchen sink disposal. |
06/13/11 |
| Pruned, watered and back in the |
After being pruned and watered, they are back in their tent. Height now ranges from 9.5 to 14 inches. |
06/13/11 |
| Changed to flowering |
I made the decision to initiate the flowering stage three days ago because they have all reached close to a foot or more in height. With 6-8 weeks of flowering to go, the plants will also continue to grow. Besides, short plants are my preference. The tallest plant is now 17", with the smallest coming in at 11". |
06/16/11 |
| LED lights are a game changer |
With their low power consumption and heat signature, LEDs are finally ready to change how people grow. All I'm using is 90 watts, which will attract no attention from anyone. They take away the biggest problems for growers. |
06/16/11 |
| Five days into flowering |
Five days into flowering and there is no indication yet of gender. I'm eager to get it right as soon as possible, but being a novice raises a lot of questions. |
06/18/11 |
| Black & white |
They look nice without all the red/blue lights to distract you from the detail. All are growing strongly right now, with some becoming more elongated than others. I suppose that could be due to strain, gender, or both. |
06/18/11 |
| Recent growth has been rapid |
5-6 days into flowering now, and I have identified two potential male plants. I'll wait a little longer just to be sure. Several plants have really stretched their legs since the swithch to flowering and caught up to the lead plant. Two of them are the suspected males. |
06/19/11 |
| Recent growth has been rapid |
I'm still hoping for six females. I just ordered some feminized seeds of the strain Tangerine Dream from Barney's. They will be my next planting, and hopefully my last grow from seeds. |
06/19/11 |
| One male was removed |
Identified and destroyed a male plant this morning, so I'm down to eleven. Unfortunately, it was the sativa. I'm still hoping for six females from the original 14. |
06/20/11 |
| Added 1st nutrients today |
I applied Foxfarm liquid nutrients today diluted in water to 50% of recommended strength, just to be on the safe side. |
06/20/11 |
| Growth is way up |
They seem to like the nutrients. All of them have grown significantly since going into flowering and receiving nutrients. The tallest is now 24 inches, and much to my delight, it is a female. |
06/22/11 |
| Left side of the garden |
Out of an original 14, two runts were culled, one male was destroyed, and two have been confirmed as female, leaving nine mysteries. I will examine for gender again this evening before lights off. |
06/22/11 |
| Right side of the garden |
I had to raise the LEDs this morning, as my tall girl was within an inch. I think she grew an inch over night! They're now in the highest position I have without rigging something. |
06/22/11 |
| The beginning of a flower |
The beginning of a flower. Four male plants were identified this morning and destroyed. That leaves seven plants, of which five are females and two bashful unknowns. |
06/23/11 |
| Look Closely |
Look closely and you'll see the tender little hairs of a female early in flower. |
06/23/11 |
| Tall Girl |
Tall girl in the middle was 25.5 inches this morning and is growing like crazy. |
06/23/11 |
| All Females Now |
Four males were removed yesterday, and the final seven are all confirmed females! This is better than I hoped and a perfect 50-50 ratio between genders from the original 14 seeds. |
06/24/11 |
| Still Growing |
Tall Girl reached 29 inches today, and has been growing 1.5 inches per day for the last three days. With seven females remaining, they will have more room in the grow tent. |
06/24/11 |
| The Girls |
Say hi to the girls. I'm hoping they turn into golden girls. :-) Here they are, out of the tent for a few photos during weekly cleaning. |
06/26/11 |
| Lots of Green |
I like the symmetry of this shot. |
06/26/11 |
| Tall Girl's Flowers |
Look closely and you'll see small flowers developing in several locations on Tall Girl. |
06/26/11 |
| Top of Tall Girl |
Here's the flower on the top of Tall Girl. |
06/26/11 |
| At 15 days flowering |
Not a bad looking little bud, but I have no clue at all about what strain it might be. |
06/29/11 |
| At 15 days flowering |
Same bud, side view. |
06/29/11 |
| 17 Days Flowering |
|
07/01/11 |
| Tall Girl bends over... |
Tall Girl has eclipsed 40" now, and has reached the lights (again), but this time, there is nowhere else to go but over. So this is a good chance to see if she'll produce more flowers with greater exposure of the stem to light. |
07/01/11 |
| 19 Days Flowering |
This is the top of my second-tallest plant. This plant may also need to be bent over to keep it from reaching the lights. There has been no problem with Tall Girl after being bent. In fact, lower branches are getting more light and their flowers are becoming more substantial. |
07/04/11 |
| 19 Days Flowering |
I watered yesterday with 75% strength, the most I have given so far. No indication yet that the plants have received excess nutes. |
07/04/11 |
| 19 Days Flowering |
A couple of buds 4 nodes down. |
07/04/11 |
| 22 Days Flowering |
|
07/07/11 |
| Day 22 Flowering |
|
07/07/11 |
| Day 24 Flowering |
A developing cola. |
07/09/11 |
| Day 24 Flowering |
A lower node flowering on the bent-over Tall Girl. After bending, her vertical growth slowed greatly, while growth at lower nodes have grown considerably. |
07/09/11 |
| Flowering Day 31 |
|
07/13/11 |
| Flowering Day 31 |
|
07/13/11 |
| Flowering Day 31 |
|
07/13/11 |
| Flowering Day 31 |
Tall Girl's developing cola. :-) |
07/13/11 |
| My New Set Up |
My set up as it stands today. A new 4x4' tent, 240W LED from Lighthouse Hydro, and miscellaneous parts. It is now the flowering tent. The smaller tent is the mother/veg tent, with four Tangerine Dream seedlings in residence. |
07/22/11 |
| Day 38 of Flowering |
The seven girls were moved into the new 4x4 with the 240W light. |
07/22/11 |
