Hello again!
1- The blotches on one the plants. My dad splashed freshly chlorinated water from the nearby pool while using the skimmer... Which is better than when he obliviously mowed down 4 3-week old plants I'd just put in the soil in the yard, last year... LOL and I love the old guy to death.
2- Bugs. Dang, forgot about the bugs though we really don't have much (common flies, lady bugs, ants; light bugs and moths at night...), but will refrain from taking them out just in case. Thanks, Ms. Rosebud!
3- Reading and research. I've been hitting the books pretty hard over the past 6-7 weeks, at least 4-5 hours every evening. I've learned how to meticulously keep my filtered water at 6.4 ph and do not overwater; to keep everything kitchen-clean; since I'm an old-school kinda guy, I've picked an NPK balanced soil mix recommended by local (Canadian) growers into which I blend 40% of my own compost. To that mix, I add 25-30% perlite/vermiculite per volume. I went paper towel for germination of my 6 bag seeds, transplanted them into 1 pint pots and when I saw that the roots went all the way down, I put them in their current 2-gallon pots. Their final 8-gallon pots are at the ready and waiting. Everything was washed beforehand with a 5% bleach/95% water solution and thouroughly rinsed. Come to think of it, my wheelbarrow and shovel were not washed before the initial soil mix... Oops.
I honestly forget which made-for-cannabis nutrients I bought, but haven't fed them yet as the nutrients in the soil should sustain them for the upcoming weeks, at least until they go from their current 2-g to the new soil of their 8-gallon pots. Then I'll feed accordingly to each stage though what I've read suggests I shouldn't have to feed much up until flowering (haven't settled on the flowering nutes yet, tbh).
I am somewhat familiar with the basic pruning/trimming/cropping/super cropping/topping/lolipopping/fimming/SOG/SCROG/LST and cloning techniques. But haven't actually performed any of them other than topping and LSTing the current brood.
4- Grow space setup. I've turned my 6' x 12' (74" ceiling) ex-darkroom into my grow room. It has a 300 cfm vent and charcoal filter, 6 (x2) power outlets on 3 different circuits while the walls and ceiling are a glossy white; the latex paint has cured for well over 5 years (haven't developped a roll of film in *ages* LOL). The floor is ceramic tiles. The room also has electric heating, a not-yet-needed humidifier and a 16-liter/24 hours dehumidifier on standby.
5- Equipment. I have purchased 2 (but only installed 1 so far) 1000w LED grow lights (
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01DM0LDLO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20). I also have 4 neon cases with 8 "cool white" 48" tubes and 8 "warm white" tubes to add more light in both veg and flower stages if/when the babies require them. Each LED grow light will have a pair of these wrapping down around the plants to get more light into the canopy. I also have 16 individual light sockets each with a 9' electrical cord as well as the 16 "cool white" CFLs and 16 warm white CFLs to get "in there" if need be. Overhead, I have a solid trellis of bars from which to hang all that gear without any worries of anything crashing down on me and my younguns. Being an experienced photographer and movie director, I kinda like to think I know how to work with light and have all kinds of pro-grade instruments to help me achieve acceptable light coverage and balance. ; )
6- I am single, only work freelance/part-time now and invited my old parents to move in with me 20 months ago so they would not have to suffer being apart if one of them lost his/her autonomy and had to be sent to a home. Won't happen on my watch : )
7- Long story short, I worked hard, somewhat neglected my health and recently (re)discoverd cannabis and the progress made since I last regularly 'partook' 35 years ago. Finding out about all the new strains, the hard science behind most of them and how the medical establishment has somewhat come around to what most of us knew (hoped to be true?) about the benefits of cannabis led me to start reading up on the matter in the hope of taking better care of myself (I now have "me" time or at least have learned to make some) as well as making my old folks more comfortable with the ailments of old age. Somewhat surprisingly, they are quite enthused by the whole idea!
And, to be honest, I'd like light one up now and then just for the fun of it, too!
8- So, this first run was initiated mainly to get things rolling and see if I could pull it off before I even knew enough about strains to be able to choose which one(s) would suit me/us best. Kind of a dress rehearsal to see if I enjoy it enough before I get serious and purchase seeds from abroad. On that subject, I am kind of partial towards what the people at CBD Crew have to offer... But then again, I am such a *total* Noobie-Noob-Noob in that department, too, hence the fully deserved nickname LOL
Also, when I wrote about possible yields, I was talking about "eventually, when I get well beyond this novice level". But thanks for pointing out that in reality 1.5 - 2.0 lbs don't go a long way; in my day, a single pound implied you were a member of a biker gang and/or that Interpol was hot on your trail but that you'd be up to your eyeballs in marijuana *forever* since we stretched out an ounce for well over a month - LOL! So I guess I should already start thinking of aiming a bit higher than I naively thought.
9- So there you have it. Thank you so much for getting this far without passing out from boredom. And yet more thanks for any and all input/advice you may share as you've so generously done so far. Really.
And finally, 10- Regards, you bunch of magnificient folks!
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Noobie-Noob-Noob