BC Bud Mango - First Grow

[Tsuto]

Hello all, I've been a lurker on this forum for a while and wanted to finally register and jump into the conversation with my own grow journal

I'm a first time grower just looking to do a little "botany experiment" and hopefully get a decent little closet grow going for my own personal supply once I feel comfortable with it.

I planted my first plant on 6/1/11 in a makeshift grow cabinet and recently moved so I'm working on moving it into a closet setup once I have the money to purchase the lighting, etc

 

[Tsuto]

This pic is from 6/14 and I'm a little worried about the development so far. I plan on buying some much higher intensity lighting tomorrow and currently I'm using a 175 watt florescent bulb.

It seems to me that the plant is really stretching for light due to the low intensity, does anybody else think it looks a little too long and thin or am I just being paranoid?

The plant sprouted 10 days ago

Thanks!

*The camera does wash out some of the brightness so it is brighter than the pic appears. The change in setting is due to me moving to a new apartment

 

[xRedkiller03x]

No ur not paranoid dude, its really strectching in that las pic u posted. U need to get a stronger light. Since ur only growing one plant a 250 watt MH/HPS Grow light will be more than enough.

 

[AlkaloidContent]

You need to take that plant and bury it up to the first set of leaves and then lower that light down to about an inch away from the top of the plant. Or raise the plant to it either way. Also make sure that you plan to get it in a cabinet that you can bring air into the bottom and exhaust air out of the top. You dont want your plants to sit in a completely closed environment, right now its okay but it will cause issues very soon.

Also go to the auto part store and buy one of those reflective things that people put in the windshield of their cars. Cut off the thin layer of shiny stuff (if you can) and tape that up instead, aluminum foil is the worst thing you can use.

 

[Tsuto]

Thanks guys I'll follow your advice. I was kind of limited on funds until payday tomorrow but I plan on getting a much stronger light, reflective material, etc to greatly improve my setup

Currently its been moved from the cabinet to a closet that is about 6 wide x 3 deep x 8 tall that I plan on outfitting for growing

 

[AlkaloidContent]

If you have a nice size closet, you can do what I have going. Its basically a box inside the closet, so you can come and go in the closet as you please and as long as your grow room is good and light sealed you dont have to worry about it being high profile, just make sure when you get your air intake at the bottom, exhaust at the top usually fed with a fan, when they start to stink up a good smell, get a carbon filter over your exhaust (look up a DIY carbon scrubber) and use hepa filter on your intake to keep out dust, bugs, pollen, etc, make sure light doesnt come through though, with your lights inside yoo shouldnt be able to see light coming out anywhere. and keep a fan inside the room blowing over the plants like the wind

 

[Tsuto]

Yeah I was thinking about doing something like that. The closet is big enough that I can walk in and close the door pretty comfortably. I was thinking about measuring this corner and just cutting a top and front piece of wood and attaching them directly to the walls with hinges on the front piece and vent holes/filter apparatus on top. So I could make an enclosed area of around 3x3 and 5 high for a single plant to live happily.

I'll see what I can do today and post more pics later once I get my setup complete

 

[Hick]

Tsuto, get a fan circulating air in there as well. Enough air movement to make "her" wiggle and dance a little bit. That will strengthen that skinny stem.. primary cuases of stretchy skinny stalks are low/insufficient lighting and poor air circulation.

 

[Tsuto]

I didn't take a pic but I stopped by home depot today and picked up a 100w MH Flood Light and installed it in my grow closet to help my little baby out for a while

I figured 100w would be more than enough to help it perk up for now since I only need to light a small area for one plant. I replaced the fixture in the closet with the flood light so I can keep it locked up and just flip the switch from outside when needed

 

[AlkaloidContent]

We gotta see what you got before we can really get you growin!

 

[Tsuto]

Here are some pics of the new setup in my closet. As you can see I mounted the light on the ceiling in the place of the normal light fixture (Sorry the brightness/frequency of the light seems to freak out my camera)

I moved the plant into a larger pot and buried it close to the bottom leaves and watered it thoroughly. It seems to be reacting well to the increased light and the leaves aren't drooping as much any more

 

[AlkaloidContent]

Excellent Im sure someone will chime in here soon about it. Make sure you keep the light as close as possible, little mercury thermometer that you can put right at canopy (top if plant) level. The light can be put close, ONLY if you have air blowing over the plants or over the lights pushing the hot up to your exhaust. Test your temps and adjust as mentioned before. In a perfect world you would have both fan blowing up and across in your room. Make sure you get your exhaust and intake going so the closet stays comfy. Otherwise you did a great thing for you baby today she should be thanking you soon.

 

[Tsuto]

There's a panel in the ceiling that opens up into the attic so I may remove it and wire up some fans to pull hot air out and let it go out through the eaves of the house like I've read some people do. For right now I'm leaving the door open to let air circulate through.

I'll use this time before it gets too stinky to improve my filtering/venting system

 

[AlkaloidContent]

OMG your set then

 

[Tsuto]

I was a little worried because I didn't want any vent air to end up going into neighboring apartments or anything but upon further inspection there is a wall separating the attic area into sections for each apartment

It's actually pretty big up there. Too bad its so hot or I'd move my grow up there lol

There is nothing but wiring and insulation so no need for anyone to need to go up there to fix anything

 

[AlkaloidContent]

I was a little worried because I didn't want any vent air to end up going into neighboring apartments or anything but upon further inspection there is a wall separating the attic area into sections for each apartment

It's actually pretty big up there. Too bad its so hot or I'd move my grow up there lol

There is nothing but wiring and insulation so no need for anyone to need to go up there to fix anything

Even still once it gets bigger and starts to fruit you will want to get a carbon filter over your exhaust outlet. IT WILL STINK.

 

[Tsuto]

Oh yeah I'll definitely be doing plenty to make sure its well sealed up and any air going out is scrubbed clean

Thanks for all the tips so far

I'll post a pic in the morning to see how things are going with the improved lighting. I can already see a big improvement in just a few hours

 

[Rosebud]

Fun stuff Tsuto. What a difference so fast. Welcome to MP.

 

[Tsuto]

Thanks Rose, glad to be here

I'll keep this thread updated with my growing progress

 

[Tsuto]

Day 17 update -

I feel bad wasting a few days of grow time with bad lighting but it seems like I was able to correct it well enough for my little baby to really start to take off

The stem is much firmer and stronger now and its sprouting leaves all over the place.

Having way too much fun wanting to check on it all the time lol