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Starting my first indoor grow with some proper (beginner) equipment. Using a 1.5L pot (0.33 gallon) as I'm aiming to keep the plant small. I have no plans for nutrition yet, but I'm open to any suggestions. I mixed pumice into the top layer of the soil to fight fungus gnats coming from other plants, however I have ordered BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) which I will mix with the water once it arrives.
In the first days I'm using a smaller 18W lamp, as my first seedling died while only using around 10% (~10W) strength of the ViparSpectre at 70cm (27.5") height from soil. I will work towards a 18/6 light cycle, while in the first days I'm aiming for 12-14 hours a day.
Day 3 update: Today I used the ViparSpectra P1000 at 10% (~10W), height 70cm, lightcycle 18/6, noticed the plant hasn't grown as fast as earlier seedlings, and it's growing taller instead of wider. Tomorrow I'm moving to 25% (~25W) and see how that goes as I'm trying to not kill the plant this time :)
Day 5 update: 18/6 at 35% (~35W) today. I'm moving up the light ~5W per day to see how far I can push it. Seeing real growth in the leaves now and the plant is not growing so much in length anymore (5mm today, as opposed to 2cm per day before).
Day 6 update: 18/6 at 40% (~40W) today. The leaves grew larger but the plant did not grow in length (maybe 1-2mm), hence holding off with increasing the light intensity for a day. I've added a bowl of water to the tent as to increase the humidity.
Day 8 update: 18/6 at 40% (~40W). Keeping the light intensity at this level for now. The manufacturer suggests 60% (~60W) but she is not growing any taller so I've just kept it constant in the last few days. I still haven't considered any nutrients, I need to read up on it.
Day 10 update: 18/6 at 40% (~40W). She still hasn't grown in height so keeping the light intensity unchanged. Two of her leaves are hanging a little, while the tip of the hanging leaves look dark green; I'm not sure what it is but I might have overwatered a little on day 8.
Day 13 update: 18/6 at 45% (~45W) today; Height: 9cm. She's growing 5mm a day now, but it's mostly the leaves reaching up.
Day 14 Update: 18/6 at 50% (~50W) today; Height 10cm.
Her leaves seem to be growing fast now, still haven't done anything with nutrition but will be ordering soon.
Day 16: 18/6 at ~55W; Height: 11cm / 4.3inch
Day 18: 18/6 at ~65W; Height: 13cm / 5.1inch
Day 19: 18/6 at ~65W; Height 13.5cm / 5.3inch. I noticed early signs of what I think must be a Nitrogen or Magnesium deficiency. I've been holding off with watering until the nutritions arrived, which should be any day now. Watered her with some Epsom salt for the time being, but I read that might not help at all with the Magnesium. The nutrition I ordered is Green House BioGrow Powder and Green House BioBloom Powder, which both contain Magnesium.
Day 20: 18/6 at ~65W; Height 14.5cm / 5.7inch. Still waiting for the nutrients to arrive.
Day 21: 18/6 at ~65W; Height 15.5cm / 6.1inch. Found a houseplant nutrient mix with NPK 1.9: 0.7: 3.3, watering her with some of this for the time being.
This was a tough week. I'm still waiting for nutrients to arrive but in the meantime I've been using a houseplant nutrient mix with NPK 1.9: 0.7: 3.3 as she's been showing some signs of potential Nitrogen or Magnesium deficiency (as far as my current knowledge goes). I tried to be careful not to overfeed but ended up doing exactly that I'm afraid. Initially I thought I was increasing the light intensity too much (hence I've been lowering the intensity) and I continued with adding nutrients. I've flushed her on day 29 after I realised it might be the nutrients.
Day 22: 18/6 at ~75W; height 17cm / 6.7inch
Day 23: 18/6 at ~80W; height 18.5cm / 7.3inch
Day 24: 18/6 at ~80W; height 19cm / 7.5inch
Day 25: 18/6 at ~80W; height 20cm / 7.9inch
Day 26: 18/6 at ~75W; height 21.5cm / 8.5inch
Day 27: 18/6 at ~75W; height 23cm / 9.1inch
Day 28: 18/6 at ~75W; height 23.5cm / 9.3inch
My plant has not been doing well. I'm updating today in the hope to receive some advice and learn a thing or two.
I have been mixing in too much nutrients it seems, caught it a bit late but flushed her on Day 29. After the flush she was doing quite okay for about 24 hours but on the morning of day 32 she was hanging, she soaked up all the water at a much faster pace than usual. I then watered without any nutrients, but she has been hanging ever since. There are worsening signs of deficiency, with the old leaves turning yellow and brown.
I've posted details of the nutrients I've been using while I've I'm waiting for the ones I ordered to arrive (I ordered Green House BioGrow and Green House BioBloom). I started using the houseplant nutrients temporarily as deficiencies started showing.
Day 23: 200ml water with 1ml nutrients (1ml/200ml)
Day 25: 200ml water with 2ml nutrients (1ml/100ml)
Day 27: 70ml water with same concentration (1ml/100ml)
Day 28: 30ml water with same concentration (1ml/100ml)
Day 29: Flushed; Did a flush using a total 2L / .22gal of water, flushed three times 15 minutes apart to let the water soak up nutrients.
Day 30: Fully watered (extremely dry soil in the morning, watered until the soil was fully wet, didn't measure the amount though)
Day 32: Watered 200ml, no additions
Day 33: Watered 200ml, no additions
I've been overfeeding, did a flush, and now I'm not sure what to do as she has been hanging for a few days. Full details are in my diary.
Any help is much appreciated :)
Wait to water or feed until you can stick your finger into the soil and it feels completely dry. It may be too saturated with water at the moment and can't get any oxygen with it's roots. Plants need oxygen to stay alive, contrary to popular belief.
Once it dries out, do what grannie said. Give it some nutes at half strength, let it dry out again, give it normal pH'ed water, let it dry out, Then you can start feeding her properly again. But, don't forget, you don't want to feed two waterings in a row. Stick to a feed -> water -> feed -> water regimen unless your plant tells you it needs more food.
If you're new here, please select the answer that helped you out the most by clicking on the "answer" button underneath what the person said. If you have any questions, feel free to message me on here. You can pull up your messages tab by clicking on the little airplane in a bubble. It's located on the bottom-right of your screen.
I hope this helps!
@love_2_grow, thanks! Hopefully one day will see the kind of yields you have yourself. Love the way you're preparing soil and the sustainable way of thinking
HappyLobster
