theyorker
05-07-2007, 09:28 PM
What have I learned in 5 months of growing? Well I started my grow on January 20 with 14 seeds. The seeds were bought from Amersterdam Seeds and I bought 10 White Widows and received 10 free. 7 of each were germinated. 7 for 7 on the Widows and 5 for 7 on the free. I planted them in small containers and transplanted them into 1 gallon containers about February 17. I started LST'ing 6 plants and I started flowering the other six. Of the six I flowered, 3 came to harvest. Yield was very low on 2, maybe an eighth off of one and maybe a quarter on the second. The third will yield at least on ounce. Of the other three plants that didn't make it to harvest, one was male and destroyed quickly. The other 2 showed female and I started them to flowering 8 weeks after they were planted.
The first really big lesson I learned is that genetics is very important. The bag seed plants looked very good early on, but turned out to really screw up my grow. One of them hermed and spewed pollen and now they all have seeds. The other one was all seedy and really nasty, so I ended up throwing it away. I also sexed the other six that I was LST'ing and it turned out that the 2 that were bagseed were also mutants, so I destroyed them. Don't bother with bagseed. If you are serious about doing a good grow, spend a few bucks and buy good seeds.
So now I have 4 plants that have been subjected to intense LST'ing. Basically what I did is from 4 weeks on I bent the plant over at the tip so it was growing parellell to the dirt. I used pieces of a metal coat hanger and bent them into a large hook and used that to hold the plant down and I grew the plant in a circle around the inside edge of the pot. Then every 3 - 5 days, I would use another hook and pin the tip (which had turned upward again) and hold that parellell. After you do this for about six weeks the plant will start to sprout new stalks that grow upwards. So now I have these plants that are 12 - 14" tall with 3 - 6 colas on each plant and I expect that these plants will each yield at least 2 ounces each. They have been growing for almost 5 months and still have another 2 months of flowering.
What do you need to know to get started? First and foremost is patience. This stuff takes time. If you want to grow your own and are starting from scratch, you will need a minimum of 4 months to even get a good sample (and this will be a little piece of crap mutant that gives you a few crappy buds). Also, you have to be patient with watering and fertilizing. The plants need time to be left alone and grow.
Once you have decided that you want to try your hand, you are going to have to find a grow area. In general you need 12 - 24" to veg your plants and 3 - 5' to flower them. The next thing you need is light. This is probably the most expensive part of the grow. Keep in mind if you go cheap on the lights it will show in the results. It is very easy to get a seed to sprout and grow into a little plant. To grow the plant strong vegatatively and flower the plant you will need ALOT of light if you plan to grow indoors. In general you want 3,000 lumens per sq foot of grow space if you are using flourescents and 5,000 lumens per sq foot of grow space if you are using HID lighting. Another good rule of thumb is to look for 40 - 50 watts of light per square foot for flourescents and 75 per square foot using HID. The decision to use HID or flourescents is personal preference. I used all flourescent and I am very pleased with the results.
OK so you have good seeds, a space and some lights. Now what? Go for it. Plant a couple of seeds and grow them. Experiment with them. What will mess them up is too much water, too much fertilizer or not enough light. Also temperatures in excess of 95 degrees F seem to be a real bother. Remember that in order to flower them, you will need to veg your plants for 8 - 10 weeks. You HAVE to give them enough time vegging. You can easily veg them for 3 months and you will get a much better yield when you flower. When you plant them I would strongly recommend you give them a big enough pot to grow in and put some rocks and sand in the bottom of the pot to help with drainage. MJ roots like good drainage and it will affect the plants growth and output it there is too much "muck" on the bottom of the pot.
Finally, read. This is a creative, fun process. I was told that you can't get a good grow using flourescents. I used my brain to create a grow environment and learned as I went along. You will do the same, but you have to start. Don't sit by and say maybe next week or next month. Just remember, it takes patience like you can't imagine. Most dope addicts I know are impulsive fucks and we want it NOW! Growing MJ has taught me some great life lessons and it is a great hobby. So go on and grow away. Today you will start something and take it all the way to completion. Five long months. Germination, seedling, vegging, flowering, curing and then, finally the payoff! This is a great hobby, get on the FAQ and read and grow.
The first really big lesson I learned is that genetics is very important. The bag seed plants looked very good early on, but turned out to really screw up my grow. One of them hermed and spewed pollen and now they all have seeds. The other one was all seedy and really nasty, so I ended up throwing it away. I also sexed the other six that I was LST'ing and it turned out that the 2 that were bagseed were also mutants, so I destroyed them. Don't bother with bagseed. If you are serious about doing a good grow, spend a few bucks and buy good seeds.
So now I have 4 plants that have been subjected to intense LST'ing. Basically what I did is from 4 weeks on I bent the plant over at the tip so it was growing parellell to the dirt. I used pieces of a metal coat hanger and bent them into a large hook and used that to hold the plant down and I grew the plant in a circle around the inside edge of the pot. Then every 3 - 5 days, I would use another hook and pin the tip (which had turned upward again) and hold that parellell. After you do this for about six weeks the plant will start to sprout new stalks that grow upwards. So now I have these plants that are 12 - 14" tall with 3 - 6 colas on each plant and I expect that these plants will each yield at least 2 ounces each. They have been growing for almost 5 months and still have another 2 months of flowering.
What do you need to know to get started? First and foremost is patience. This stuff takes time. If you want to grow your own and are starting from scratch, you will need a minimum of 4 months to even get a good sample (and this will be a little piece of crap mutant that gives you a few crappy buds). Also, you have to be patient with watering and fertilizing. The plants need time to be left alone and grow.
Once you have decided that you want to try your hand, you are going to have to find a grow area. In general you need 12 - 24" to veg your plants and 3 - 5' to flower them. The next thing you need is light. This is probably the most expensive part of the grow. Keep in mind if you go cheap on the lights it will show in the results. It is very easy to get a seed to sprout and grow into a little plant. To grow the plant strong vegatatively and flower the plant you will need ALOT of light if you plan to grow indoors. In general you want 3,000 lumens per sq foot of grow space if you are using flourescents and 5,000 lumens per sq foot of grow space if you are using HID lighting. Another good rule of thumb is to look for 40 - 50 watts of light per square foot for flourescents and 75 per square foot using HID. The decision to use HID or flourescents is personal preference. I used all flourescent and I am very pleased with the results.
OK so you have good seeds, a space and some lights. Now what? Go for it. Plant a couple of seeds and grow them. Experiment with them. What will mess them up is too much water, too much fertilizer or not enough light. Also temperatures in excess of 95 degrees F seem to be a real bother. Remember that in order to flower them, you will need to veg your plants for 8 - 10 weeks. You HAVE to give them enough time vegging. You can easily veg them for 3 months and you will get a much better yield when you flower. When you plant them I would strongly recommend you give them a big enough pot to grow in and put some rocks and sand in the bottom of the pot to help with drainage. MJ roots like good drainage and it will affect the plants growth and output it there is too much "muck" on the bottom of the pot.
Finally, read. This is a creative, fun process. I was told that you can't get a good grow using flourescents. I used my brain to create a grow environment and learned as I went along. You will do the same, but you have to start. Don't sit by and say maybe next week or next month. Just remember, it takes patience like you can't imagine. Most dope addicts I know are impulsive fucks and we want it NOW! Growing MJ has taught me some great life lessons and it is a great hobby. So go on and grow away. Today you will start something and take it all the way to completion. Five long months. Germination, seedling, vegging, flowering, curing and then, finally the payoff! This is a great hobby, get on the FAQ and read and grow.