Test Grow - Day 24...WE HAVE A GIRL!

That's right! It looks like she's actually a she after all! When I looked up close yesterday morning, I couldn't quite tell for sure, but now that she's had another day, I think I see some beautiful pistols! I didn't bother resizing the photos, because you really need to see the full size images to actually see them. But, check it out for yourself!

Damn, it feels good knowing I didn't do all that work for nothing (so far!) Now, all I need to do is keep her stable and happy until I snag a couple more clones, then flip into flowering and bring her to harvest! I'm really worried about light leaks however, and those in turn making her hermie.

She seems to be doing much better now, and she's growing like crazy! Not really getting any taller, but she's definitely getting bushier, as I've seen her horizontal growth explode with no training. Although, this is bag seed, so it's a crap-shoot on what strain it is. Still a long way to go, but it feels nice to be making some more progress.

Take care and stay green!

Test Grow - Day 19

Whoa, sorry about that. My weekend was incredibly busy! Anyway, enough excuses, time for an update! But first...some photos!

She's definitely getting bigger! But she's also doing some weird stuff...just above the first node of the stem, it appears the side of the big fan leaf has split a little, and down at the bottom by the first node, a whole bunch of leaves are on their way out. Here's some better pics of that:

Do you see what I mean? The leaves look all crumpled up and stuff, and I have no idea why? I think I'll be taking these photos over to ICMag's new grower section and see what those guys think (or, feel free to comment!). This may be entirely normal, but I wouldn't know, since I've never grown anything before. Anyway, here's a few more pics of the new leafage.

On an unrelated note, I have a very large project going live at work over the next week and a half, so updates might only come every other day, or maybe even once a week. I'll do my best, however, to stay on track with daily updates. Take care and stay green!

EDIT:
I decided to upload the full resolution versions of the photos. Check this link to view the album. Make sure you hover over the image, click the gear, and then click 'View Full Resolution' to get the full-size image.

Test Grow - Day 15

Well, she seems to be continuing the gangster lean. I remember that when I first put her into the dirt, it wasn't very deep. I'm thinking I might need to put about half an inch to an inch of soil around the base of the stem. Not really sure quite yet. Gonna let her continue to do her thing, and see what happens.

She's getting bigger and bigger every day, it's pretty amazing just how fast the process is happening. She has her first 5 leafer! Looks exactly like any and every cannabis leaf logo I've ever seen. It feels nice! I'm definitely going to get into growing vegetables and spices in the future. Anyway, enough rambling. Pics tomorrow night, since I've gotten off track somehow.

Have you visited Homegrow.co yet? If not, you definitely should check it out! Make sure you sign up and swing by the forums! Seed giveaways and resources for growers local to Colorado, as well as the energy of an up-and-coming community. Stay green!

Test Grow - Day 14

Wow! Two weeks already! Man, time is just FLYING by for me. Well, that's good I guess...means I'm one day closer to harvest (hopefully)! But you're not here for my disbelief, you're here for an update! Well, lets start off with some pics then.

As you can see, she's got a bit of a gangster lean! lol. Actually, I'm a tiny bit concerned because it doesn't seem like the stem is fattening up quite yet. I may actually have to tie her up from the base. I haven't seen anyone else having to do that though, so hopefully the stem thickens up a bit and she'll be able to support her own weight.

While I have your attention however, I do want to give a shout-out to a new site that I've been frequenting. It's http://homegrow.co and it's a site run by another local Colorado grower. I actually had the same idea a couple of weeks ago, and was delighted to see someone had already made a site and some forums dedicated to legal growers in Colorado.

Even if you don't live in Colorado, you should definitely check the site out. And if you're from Colorado, you should already be there...if not to connect with other growers, but at least for the free seed raffles! Clones and seeds that growers donate will be distributed to the members via drawings, as well as just grower kindness.

So come check us out! And tell em ginga_ninja sent ya! Stay Green!

Test Grow - Day 13

Sorry, no pics tonight :(

I've had an incredibly busy week so far, and just haven't had 5 minutes to take a couple of photos and give a proper update. I'll be taking pics tomorrow night and hopefully have a little more time to write a decent update! Until tomorrow, stay green!

Test Grow - Day 12

Not much of an update today, and I doubt that I will even get a chance to take photos tomorrow. Just busy, busy, busy! At any rate, the plant is doing great. Seems to be loving the 24 hours of light she's getting. It would seem that in this instance, no news really is good news!

Stay green!

Test Grow - Day 11

Sorry about not doing the part 2 post last night. There really wasn't much of an update to be honest. She still looked pretty bad, and I was sure I had killed her. Well, much to my surprise, she has seemed to bounce back! I'm pretty happy, and the lights are now on for 24 hours solid. I'm hoping this kills my drooping issues, and she stays nice and perky!

So yeah, she's definitely looking a little better! I also hope the 24 on will help dry the soil up a little bit, because I think I might have been a bit overzealous with the initial watering. At least it was with pH balanced water. I've included a couple of shots that weren't close ups, to give you a better idea of the overall size. These are 3 gallon pots, roughly 10.25" tall. Distance from the light to the plant is roughly 4" to 5". Ignore the humidity, because as soon as I move it out of the dirt, it plummets to around 29-30%.

Also, please ignore the ducting just hanging there. It's left over from testing out my ventilation setup earlier. All-in-all, I'm pleased with my ventilation setup, as temps have kept themselves between 75 and 80 degrees without any help. Summertime will be another story lol. Stay green, see you all tomorrow with another update!

Test Grow - Day 10

Sorry about missing the update last night. My wife and I ended up hanging out with some friends and by the time we got home, I was too tired and wanted to go to bed. When I got up this morning though, the plant was not looking too great. Another set of leaves had begun to sprout, however, the plant was extremely droopy. I went ahead and transferred her to her new home anyway though.

In the second photo, you can see my stats. Ignore the high of 90, I had the thermometer about an inch away from one of my CFL bulbs for about 10 minutes and it spiked. However, that temp is still a bit higher than I wanted, so I put a fan in the grow tent, and have been letting it run a while, so hopefully the temps will get back down towards 76-79, where it has been staying since day one.

I really hope she rebounds. Only time will tell. If she's looking better tonight, I'll post up some more pics. If she doesn't rebound, I'll at least post an update.

Stay green!

Test Grow - Day 8

Wow, when I woke up this morning, she had perked right up! But, by the time I got home, she had slumped back down again. That's when I noticed that there was a bit of a pattern going on. My light schedule has ben 20 hours on, 4 off. But, I think I'm going to change it to 24 on, 0 off. I've seen this recommendation all over the web, and it a couple of books, so it seems to be a tried and true method.

I'll be asking a friend tomorrow who has experience growing whether I should do this or not. At any rate, I'm pretty sure I'll be transplanting her to her new home this weekend in some Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil in a 3 gallon pot. Here's to hoping! See you guys tomorrow with a photo update!

Stay green!

Test Grow - Day 7!

Well, it's officially been one full week since this grow has started...and wow, what a week it has been. From thinking I killed her, to thinking she was doing great, and now I'm back to worried. I think this Miracle Grow is just some nasty stuff, or I'm overwatering, or it's getting too hot. Or...who knows. Sorry for venting, here are some photos.

Not sure if you can see (or if it's even there) the yellowing on the interior part of the leaves, where they sprout from the stem. I'm hoping it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but who knows. The good news is that every morning, they seem so much healthier. I'm running them on a 20/4hr light schedule, and they click on about 30 mins before I get home and start taking pics.

So hopefully, she'll perk back up a little tonight, and be nice and healthy in the morning. No pics tomorrow night (unless something awesome happens), but look for another quick update, with more pics on Friday. Stay green!

Test Grow - Day Six

Last night, I changed my watering method from spraying the soil, to just dumping water in until some ran out of the drain holes. This morning, they had perked right up. By the time I got home, things were still looking good with the fan leaves getting bigger. The soil feels a bit dry, yet slightly damp. It's got me really confused, because I'm not sure if I should be watering tonight or not.

Common rhetoric says if its dry 1" deep into the soil (about knuckle deep), then it's time to water. Well, its not wet, but not dry. What also has me concerned was reading a thread on ICMag about a grower whose seedlings were stretching. It was determined (through descriptions and pics) that his lights were a little too far away. And when I looked at his pics, I realized my CFL's were about the same distance away.

Of course, his situation had complications that I haven't had. For example, when he began, he was using a 600w MH bulb hung vertically with no horizontal reflection. Judging from how far away he probably had to keep the bulb for heat concerns (based on the heat output of my 400w HPS bulb), I'm guessing it was a great deal further than I currently have my lights.

I put them back on a box I was using to get her closer to the bulbs. She's now about 4-5" away from the bulbs, which is in line with most recommendations I can find. I think before bed tonight I'll check again, and I might just mist her a little to get her through the night. Then again, I may lower her back down to about 8" away, given that she hasn't stretched very much. Ugh...decisions decisions.

Test Grow - Day Five

Well, another day, and that means more progress! The fan leaves are continuing to grow. I think a bit later in the week (possibly this weekend) I will be moving her to her new home in some new soil! Her stem is super flimsy right now, and I'm not sure my butterfingers are stable enough to handle transferring such a delicate thing right now. Anyway, here's some update pics!

As you can see from the second pic, that one leaf is looking a bit droopy. I had just sprayed the soil using a new water bottle, and I got a bit of water on the leaves, which I feel may be contributing slightly to the droopiness. At any rate, progress is still being made, and when I look how far she's come in the last four or five days, I'm pretty impressed.

Unless there's some significant changes, look for another photo update on Wednesday, and a quick status report tomorrow night.

Test Grow - Day Four

The fan leaves are getting so much bigger. It's crazy to see how much this little thing grew in the past 24 hours! After I post some progress shots tomorrow night, be sure to compare them to last night's pictures. I think you'll see a pretty big difference!

I also picked up some nutrients and fresh soil today, to get her out of this nasty miracle grow dirt. I'm going to wait another day or so before I transfer her to her new home. I've also spoken with a friend of a friend, who has some high quality clones that he is considering donating to a newbie grower! So hopefully, this means the DWC buckets will be starting soon!

I've also considered growing two plants in soil at the same time, to see which medium I prefer. Yes, I'm creating a little bit of extra work for myself, but work that I think will be worth it. That way, I can compare the growing mediums directly, and hopefully set a nice, even standard by which I can compare all future grows.

Anyway, pics tomorrow! Stay green.

Test Grow - Day Three

Holy shit, it was crazy cold outside today! Actually had to bring my heater in my grow area! Brrr...anyway, how about an update with some pictures?

You can definitely tell she's getting taller! And just seeing those fan leaves gettin bigger makes me a happy guy! I think she's recovered fully from drying out a bit the Thursday morning, although I'm not sure if it affected her that much in the first place. At any rate, the system is working well, the timer is operating correctly, and it's easy enough for me to make adjustments to lights and ventilation and placement.

Even if I lose her completely, or it turns out to be a boy (or goes hermie), I've gotten used to checking on her on regular intervals, (partially) learned to resist my urge to fiddle or take more photos, and have begun to see where I might need to make adjustments in the future. So all-in-all, no matter what happens, I'll benefit from this experience. Now enough talking, more pics!

Test Grow - Day Two

Wow, it's amazing how pure excitement can change to terror in only 8 hours. Last night, right before I went to bed, I used my spray bottle to water my seedling a little, and at the recommendation of a forum post, I moved the plant a little closer to my veg'ing CFL's. Well, it got a bit hot apparently as when I woke up this morning, the soil was really, really dry, and the tiny leaves had wilted a bit.

My heart sank a little, but I was able to water her and lowered her half the distance away (in total, I raised her about 6 inches at first, then halved the distance, and she is now 3 inches closer to the bulbs than she was before). When I got home, it appeared she had rebounded well, as she was a bit taller and the first two fan leaves got a bit bigger.

No photos this time, since there hasn't been much progress. I'll be posting some photos tomorrow night of her two day (from day one to day three) progress, and will probably keep that schedule (photos every odd day) until the end.

Test Grow - Day One!

After three days of germination (and waiting), she finally sprouted! I say "she" but really, I have no idea, since this was bagseed. Hoping for a female obviously, but this grow is more about the experience and testing my setup.

I'm really excited that she popped, as this is the first time I've ever grown anything at all. But enough of my talking, here's some pics!

Test Grow - Into the Soil Part 2

Well, it's the first full day (almost) of the seed being in the soil, and nothing yet. I know it takes time, and patience is a virtue, so I'm still having high hopes she will sprout. Other than that, I've been trying to keep the soil moist at the recommendation of a friend. I guess only time will tell.

Test Grow - Into the Soil!

So, I decided to plant my little seed and get the growing process started. I'm using Miracle Grow Potting Soil since all the grow stores were closed, and it was like $4. It will work (I hope) for getting the seed to sprout, but I plan to move it into some FoxFarms soil when it outgrows the Solo cup.

One thing I didn't do, which I wish I would have, was actually wet the soil. I don't know what I was thinking...too much Tangerine Haze or something, but I didn't wet the soil before planting the seed. I just put the dry soil in a cup, made a little hole for the seed, planted the seed, and covered it back up. Then, I sprayed it with some water, and that's when my wife asked why I didn't wet the soil first.

D'oh. I hope she will sprout, given the colossal screw up I've made. I tried to get the soil as wet as possible via wetting the areas around where I planted the seed, hoping it will drain down a bit. Oh well, here's to hoping!

Test Grow - Germination Part 2

Happy New Years everyone! Also, WE HAVE A TAP ROOT! YAY!  I'm thrilled! After I thought I killed this poor seed, it goes and does the exact opposite and pops out a little tap root! I'm going to let the root get a bit longer before moving to soil, but hopefully this is a good sign that this is a resilient little plant and I won't kill it being stupid/inexperienced.

No photos as you can barely see anything.