BlueCollarBob- Bumbling Through My First Grow

[BlueCollarBob]

Sour D got the quick and shaggy cut and joined Slurty in the dry tent




Close up of sift from last night:

 

[Zen_seeker]

You might be mentioning something completely new to me. What's the purpose of soaking the roots in May? I am chopping, though.

I planted my first outdoor last year before May 24th, typically our last frost period. One of the steps recommended is to soak the roots and ground around the plant(s). Let the plant soak up as much as they can to protect cells and keep the earth a tad warmer. Only tried this the last to outdoor grows so can’t say if it’s better or not but the plants made it.

Nice! What did you go with for the Winter cover? I haven't researched good cover crops for my area, yet.

These were on sale at three of our bigger stores so I grabbed two for our bushy low plants like lavender. But the small cannabis plant will be testing one first.

Doesn’t stop sun or rain but does help with wind and frost and stops snow.

This first grow was in 100 gallon grow bags. For outdoors next year, I plan to go in the ground and really focus on maintaining living soil. A ground cover crop will be part of that, for sure.

You want a monster like my last year plant grow it indoors after new years and put it outside as soon as the frost is past. Then LST and a top net. You’ll do great.

Sometimes they need some privacy, lol. Hope she's doing great.

She’s trying.

It was a toss it or plant it moment. @stonemason dared me to try and grow it late. So why not? I might get 1/4 out of her.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I planted my first outdoor last year before May 24th, typically our last frost period. One of the steps recommended is to soak the roots and ground around the plant(s). Let the plant soak up as much as they can to protect cells and keep the earth a tad warmer. Only tried this the last to outdoor grows so can’t say if it’s better or not but the plants made it.
View attachment 75839

These were on sale at three of our bigger stores so I grabbed two for our bushy low plants like lavender. But the small cannabis plant will be testing one first. View attachment 75840View attachment 75841

Doesn’t stop sun or rain but does help with wind and frost and stops snow.


You want a monster like my last year plant grow it indoors after new years and put it outside as soon as the frost is past. Then LST and a top net. You’ll do great.


She’s trying.

It was a toss it or plant it moment. @stonemason dared me to try and grow it late. So why not? I might get 1/4 out of her.
View attachment 75842

Thanks @Zen_seeker! I hadn’t heard about soaking the ground before a cold snap. I do plan to start my out outdoor plants indoors, next year. I don’t know if I’ll be forward thinking enough to get them started in January. My gardening brain might still be in hibernation then, lol.

Those covers look perfect. Maybe that’ll be the key to finishing out the plant @stonemason talked you into starting late.

 

[Zen_seeker]

Those covers look perfect. Maybe that’ll be the key to finishing out the plant @stonemason talked you into starting late.

All our big box stores had them on sale. I didn’t save the cardboard sleeve with its name or I’d post it but here is a web pic. Mines just larger.

I was tossing it anyway. No one needed a clone at that time so I couldn’t give it away. She should be further along but it took her a month to shake off the shock of being moved outside.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Got back from vacation late yesterday. Feel like I'm ready for another vacation, lol.

Dry trimmed Slurty3 in the bowl trimmer. Filled a 1lb grow bag with 1lb... exactly. No messing around trying to hit that. It just happened that way. The small things trip me out, sometimes




A few fish from the trip:

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Dry trimmed and bagged Sour Diesel this evening. The bigger buds made this go pretty fast compared to the previous plants.Not that they were huge. Just a bit bigger than Butter Waves and Slurty. Ended up with 17.3oz of Sour D split into two bags:




I also found a branch of Slurty that I somehow overlooked in the dry tent. She gave up another 1.1oz.


Only thing left in the dry tent is Jet Fuel Odder Popz. That should be ready to bag next weekend. That'll be a wrap on my first grow. Then it'll be time to put a plan together and give growing indoors a shot

 

[BlueCollarBob]

So, I've been trying to follow @GrumpAzz as he addresses water content in his thread Grump's Blue Dream and GDP Grow . I'm looking to try some version of hydro for my first indoor grow and need to get my water straight, too.

Is there an existing thread dedicated to explaining what I need to look at for mineral levels, conductivity and whatever else?

I had my well water tested last year. I then installed a filtration system. Do I need to have the water tested after the filters?

Here's the test results directly from the well:

I installed filters in front of an existing and aging water softener. Sounds like I should have the softener in front of the filters? I ended up bypassing the water softener, because we didn't like the feel of the softened water and it also sometime tasted salty. The filters did address our iron and sulfur issues. Before installing we sometimes had the sulfur odor and had to use Iron Out to clean orange stains in the tubs/sinks.

Here's are links to the filters I installed:

iSpring WGB32BM 3-Stage Water Filter Triple-stage 15-GPM Mechanical Filtration Well Water Whole House Water Filtration System

PRO+AQUA PRO-WELL WATER Single-stage 10-GPM Mechanical Filtration Well Water Whole House Water Filtration System

 

[steamroller]

I think you need to test after your filters, before softener.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I think you need to test after your filters, before softener.

That makes sense. I guess you could draw straight well water before filtration, if it was good enough. I'm having a hard time figuring what measurement to convert that conductivity to. Pre-filter pH is high.

As @Stoneyluv mention in his thread, rainwater is an option. I've read about some positives for that, but it sure would be nice to just run a fill line right to a reservoir. Maybe even have a level float and shut off valve.

If I get the water tested post-filtration, I need to learn what all to have them test for. I recall there being options when I had the well water tested.

 

[steamroller]

6.8 is not too high of a pH IMO. You should be able to manipulate it.
Your 244 conductivity equals 159 TDS.

 

[Stoneyluv]

That makes sense. I guess you could draw straight well water before filtration, if it was good enough. I'm having a hard time figuring what measurement to convert that conductivity to. Pre-filter pH is high.

As @Stoneyluv mention in his thread, rainwater is an option. I've read about some positives for that, but it sure would be nice to just run a fill line right to a reservoir. Maybe even have a level float and shut off valve.

If I get the water tested post-filtration, I need to learn what all to have them test for. I recall there being options when I had the well water tested.

our water is similar to yours. i used my well water for years to water plants and it worked great. rain water is attractive to hydro because of it's low EC, easier and better to measure your nutrients and more importantly you then also know exactly how much of each food in then combined. my water is under 10ppm from my roof. i only use one side of a third of my roof to collect and i never run out. i have one for the garden and i have another one behind my garage for my koi pond top off and i use a smaller one off of my chicken coop roof to provide them water.

Marty Rainey claims a metal roof is the cleanest for rain collection. i have one on shingles and one on a metal roof and both read identical.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

i have one for the garden and i have another one behind my garage for my koi pond top off and i use a smaller one off of my chicken coop roof to provide them water.

Do the chickens drink directly from the collection barrel or do you have to transfer it to their waterer? My chicken have two buckets with the with the poultry nipples on the bottom hanging in their run. Until freezing weather hits, I just leave a water hose running to a splitter with hoses running to both buckets. It's nice to just open the valve and let the buckets fill up. Your way might require even less labor.

Off topic, but one of the best investments I made for the chickens was adding a solar powered dawn-to-dusk door. I've had it for like 7 years and it has operated flawlessly. They march out when it opens in the morning and head in before it closes at night.

Marty Rainey claims a metal roof is the cleanest for rain collection. i have one on shingles and one on a metal roof and both read identical.

Asphalt shingles here. Good to know that work for you.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

6.8 is not too high of a pH IMO. You should be able to manipulate it.
Your 244 conductivity equals 159 TDS.

Thanks! I see where it says 159 TDS and I'm guessing the 500 mcl indicates the scale. I'm trying to understand how the conversion to TDS was calculated. I've tried using this online calculator, but I'm missing something and/or the starting unit isn't available in the calculator . Might not matter. Just got it stuck in my head.

I was leaning toward coco, but I'm also drawn towards the fallponic systems like PA Hydro sells. I don't really know why those options interest me. I just like the idea of trying something new (to me). I also like the idea of building a system vs buying a package. Starting to get antsy. I'll probably dive into the wrong option here, soon .

 

[steamroller]

500 mcl is
Maximum Contaminant Level
MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) refers to the highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water

 

[Zen_seeker]

, rainwater is an option. I've read about some positives for that, but it sure would be nice to just run a fill line right to a reservoir. Maybe even have a level float and shut off valve.

Wonder if you could collect in 50g rain barrels and go from there? At least it’s a secondary reservoir.

We have four now. Only ran out of water for outdoor plants once last year.

 

[Stoneyluv]

Do the chickens drink directly from the collection barrel or do you have to transfer it to their waterer? My chicken have two buckets with the with the poultry nipples on the bottom hanging in their run. Until freezing weather hits, I just leave a water hose running to a splitter with hoses running to both buckets. It's nice to just open the valve and let the buckets fill up. Your way might require even less labor.

i collect it in an elevated drum, i think it's 35 gallons... their coop and run are on a decent grade so it helps me get the elevation so i don't need any pumps. one output goes to a float valve inside the coop in a gallon jug with three nipples on the bottom, in the winter i put a small aquarium heater in it and this is their main source of drinking when frozen outside. and outside in their run i have a big jug with auto fill cups all around it. they prefer to drink from this over the nipples but it makes too much of a mess inside the coop with open water.

Off topic, but one of the best investments I made for the chickens was adding a solar powered dawn-to-dusk door. I've had it for like 7 years and it has operated flawlessly. They march out when it opens in the morning and head in before it closes at night.

i sure do, great minds think alike!!... installed it as i was building the coop!!! i used an automotive light sensor and a couple relays connected to an actuator... it's still a mess yet, i had to take it apart and change out the power source a while back and never ties it back neat again, the chicken don't mind!!! haha

 

[BlueCollarBob]

i collect it in an elevated drum, i think it's 35 gallons... their coop and run are on a decent grade so it helps me get the elevation so i don't need any pumps. one output goes to a float valve inside the coop in a gallon jug with three nipples on the bottom, in the winter i put a small aquarium heater in it and this is their main source of drinking when frozen outside. and outside in their run i have a big jug with auto fill cups all around it. they prefer to drink from this over the nipples but it makes too much of a mess inside the coop with open water.

Yep, that sounds like a good set-up. My waterers are outside the coop, but in the run. I use those 1500W tank de-icers. The 500W bucket de-icers don't seem to last very long.

i sure do, great minds think alike!!... installed it as i was building the coop!!! i used an automotive light sensor and a couple relays connected to an actuator... it's still a mess yet, i had to take it apart and change out the power source a while back and never ties it back neat again, the chicken don't mind!!! haha

View attachment 78456View attachment 78457

Yours is sexier, because you built it. I just bought the door, solar panel and battery as a kit. It's been a great purchase, tho.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Wonder if you could collect in 50g rain barrels and go from there? At least it’s a secondary reservoir.

We have four now. Only ran out of water for outdoor plants once last year.

I was thinking along these same lines. I think I like this idea.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

500 mcl is
Maximum Contaminant Level
MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) refers to the highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water

I made a horrible guess, lol.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Dry trimmed what was left of Jet Fuel Odder Popz, this afternoon. This one had 3 weeks in the dry tent and already smoked well in a test bowl. Weighed in at 11.3oz.



All of my first grow is in the bag. Ended up with 71.6oz, altogether. I lost a little due to not properly preparing for rain and wind late in flower, but still ended up with way more than I imagined when I started. There's a lot to work on, but you all really helped me exceed expectations. Thank you all!

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Saturday morning, I started trying to germinate some seeds for outdoors 2025. All are feminized. Two seeds are White Widow from Southern Oregon Seeds. Two each (all from Captain Red Beard Seeds) Orange Widow, Lemon Sour Diesel and Green Crack (auto-flower). I peeked this morning and the White Widow and Orange Widow have cracked . Pretty impressed as it's a little cool in the room where I have them. A new seedling mat is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

I'm hoping to build on what I learned from you all, last year.

Happy Growing!

White Widow:


Orange Widow:

 

[BlueCollarBob]

6 of 8 seeds are sprouting. No action out of the Green Crack, so far. I'm not sure whether I should give these Green Crack seeds some more time, try a couple new Green Crack seeds, or go with a different strain, entirely. This is the first time I've tried germinating seeds. My first grow attempt, last year, started with a seedling a buddy gave me and I purchased three clones to go with that.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

So, just checking in before I go too far with this. I've only used the tent to dry my first harvests, last Fall. Now, I want to set it up to grow some seedlings I've germinated. I'm mainly looking for input on how the fan is set up with the light. Please, ignore where things aren't tidied up, yet.

I have a MH/HPS light and hood that a buddy gave to me. I purchased new bulbs and have the MH in there, now. The hood was designed for 6" duct. I purchased a 4" fan for this 2X4 tent. So, I attached 6" to 4" reducers too the hood. The light and the filter are on pulleys, so the height is adjustable. I read somewhere that the fan should blow across the light rather than pull air across it. So, that's how it's set up, now.

Does this look okay to you guys or do I need to make some changes. Thanks for checking it out and any for advice offered.

Let's see whether this video of the current arrangement displays :

 

[steamroller]

I would think fan first.
I don't run MH but you would the fan first if you were going to filter/scrub the exhaust.
@smoke runs MH.
Maybe we can get him here.
Set up looks good to me.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I would think fan first.
I don't run MH but you would the fan first if you were going to filter/scrub the exhaust.
@smoke runs MH.
Maybe we can get him here.
Set up looks good to me.

That's the way to do it, from what I've been reading here and there. Truth is, I feel better getting input from Bud Builders. I really appreciate the input @steamroller!

Recent bumblings:

I had first placed 8 seeds in a wet paper towel and DVD case on 08MAR25. 6 seeds germinated and on 15MAR25 I put the seedlings in soil. Nothing fancy. As per usual, I didn't prepare and grabbed GroundWork Organic Seed Starter that was available locally at TSC. Just to keep track of things, I marked the healthier-looking seedling of each strain as "1" and the second as "2". I haven't done any research on what I should be looking for in soil for seedlings. The info on the bag says:

Total Nitrogen- 0.06%
0.006% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
0.006% Other water soluble Nitrogen
0.048 Water insoluble Nitrogen (Slowly available Nitrogen derived from from compaost poultry manure and feather meal)
Available Phosphate- 0.03%
Soluble Potash- 0.03%

Ingredients- sphagnum peat moss, processed wood fiber, perlite, ground dolomitic limestone (pH adjuster), and a wetting agent.

Photos of the seedlings that I took on 15MAR25, immediately before putting them in the starter mix:



The humidity in the tent was hanging around 40% when I put the seedlings in on 15MAR25 and continuing through the next day. I ended up making a 1.5hr drive to a shop in Salem, VA and buying the small ACI (T3) humidifier. I also picked up an ACI outlet to replace the mechanical timer I had on the light. I had never been here before, but will be returning. They seemed to have a little bit of everything and were super-friendly.

Shop manager, Sparkles, was a real sweetheart:


Sunday night, I installed the humidifier. Here's the current configuration:


I don't guess you can tell while the tent is open in that photo, but the Govee hygrometer readings are not inline with the ACI temps and humidity. They were dead even when I was using the tent for drying last Fall. I guess i should pick up a third before calibrating this one to the ACI readings? I supposed it could be ACI is out of whack or even both. Anyone have a recommendation on a reliable device I should pick up?

I screwed up and didn't fill the humidifier with water Sunday night. I had just put in enough for it to run while I was figuring out where to place it. Ended up forgetting to top it off and got an alert that it had run empty and shut off shortly after arriving at work, yesterday morning. It was after 9:00PM before I was able to fill it up and get it running last night. I don't know if it was the long stretches of dry air or something else I've done wrong, but Orange Widow 2 seems to be toast.

Current targets. Recommended changes are welcome for any of this:

Temperature	75℉
Humidity	70% (wondering if it I should use the humidifier to target VPD, instead)
Metal Halide lamp	Vegelumax 400W, correlated color temp(K) 6000
Bulb Spacing	17" above seedlings
Light Cycle	18/6 (on at 6:00AM and off at 11:59PM)

Here's the most recent 24 hour trend. That dip at the front is 6 hours with no light. The temp dropped to 62℉. Should I run a small heater in there during lights off?

 

[BlueCollarBob]

The healthiest looking seedlings (#1s) when I put them in soil are still the healthiest looking, now. I killed Orange Widow 2. So, only one of those remain. I'm trying to learn what they want. As always, I welcome any insight and recommendations:

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Day 19 since sprout.

I took some photos this evening. This is my first time trying to grow anything in the tent. I hope to get these in the ground outdoors in around five-weeks from now. I'll be trying to germinate a couple of Green Crack seeds for my first real indoor effort. I'll also try to germinate some Shiskaberry X Sour Lime OG or some Purple Kush, in case I fail to get the Green Crack to pop, again.

I'm someone who has to learn things the hard way. I've been making mistakes and trying to "feel" my way along with these first few seedlings. From the very beginning, the 1s were the healthier looking of two each of the same strain. The 2s were the less robust an I killed Orange Widow 2. The 1s continue to be healthier than the 2s, but all have some damage. I "think" I caused most of the harm by over-watering, having the light too low/too soon, and having the humidifier tube discharging too close to the plants. They seem to be improving after I adjusted for those things. Actually, they are definitely improving, but that doesn't mean I have things set where they should be.

I've been targeting 78℉, but it's been running consistently 80℉ - 81℉ during lights on. I have room to adjust it down, but it's been so consistent I've just left it there. Averaging 68% humidity. On an 18/6 schedule with a 400 watt MH bulb. They've been up-potted from seed starter soil into Foxfarm Ocean Forest. Started Lotus nutrients at feed chart provided by Lotus, but these will be transitioning to compost teas and living soil stuff as they head outdoors.

I'd like to mess with VPD. If any of you have an IR thermometer that you recommend, I'd love to hear it.

As always, I appreciate any advice you folks care to offer. If you see something that requires more environmental info or other details to diagnose what's going on, I'm glad to share.

You'll see in these photos where the 2s have had a tougher time shrugging of my missteps. They do look better than they did a couple days ago, though.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Here is damage that I "believe" was caused by poor placement of the outlet end on the humidifier tube. It was pretty much trained right on these leaves. It wasn't intentional. I had made some adjustments to placement of the pH/Temp probes and height of the light, but overlooked moving the humidifier tubing, accordingly.



All of the plants have leaves showing some level of waviness and leaf curling that I "think" was caused by over watering early on. The newer leaves appear to be developing a little better. Lemon Sour Diesel 2 is the frailest of the surviving seedlings and she shows the most examples of this damage.



I'm second guessing the concerns I had about the light being too close to the plants. Currently, I'm leaning towards overwatering being the biggest contributor to poor plant health. I did install the PPFD Meter and Photone apps that I've seen some of you commenting on lately. I didn't see a metal halide option for PPFD Meter. I purchased the MH option for Photone and it HPS is available. I haven't studied up on the best practices, yet. I only made the paper diffuser and messed around with the app for a minute.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Well, it looks like my first indoor effort will be using Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG. These were freebies with and order from Captain Redbeard Seeds. I'm not seeing much strain info online and am only guessing that the Sour Lime OG is a cross of Sour Diesel and Lime OG. I am concentrating on not overwatering these seedlings. Though all but one survived, I'm certain that I overwatered my first batch.

I tried to germinate the last couple of Green Crack autos I had, but it's not looking good. There's one sad-looking little sprout with a brown tip on what looks to be a single cotyledon that's not showing much promise. It has to be something I'm doing wrong. I'm just scratching my head, because the other seeds all seemed to germinate easily. This time, I soaked two seeds each of Green Crack and Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG for 23 hours in a 1% peroxide solution. I only had two GC left and treated the Shishkaberry the same as a sort of control. I've never soaked seeds before and was surprised that none of them sank like I was seeing in videos. The were all still floating after almost 24hrs. The Shishkaberry cross sprouted just as easily as the first batch of seeds (Currently, under the MH lamp until the time come to harden and plant them outside).

I gave the plants in the tent their first topping last night. It was late and I was too lazy to walk back upstairs to get my cell phone to take a photo. Most had 7 nodes and I topped to the fifth, except for one that I topped after the fourth node.

Here's a photo of one of the Shishkaberry X Sour Lime OG, right after transferring it from the DVD case to a solo cup of starter soil. she has a nearly identical twin in a second cup:



Happy growing everyone!

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I snapped a photo of these five plants last night at 32 days since sprout. I topped them for the first time and did some defoliation on the bottoms Sunday (day 31 from sprout). I realize this isn't a great photo, but I'm seeing some leaf curl (yellow arrows). It's more noticeable on some plants than it is on others. I'm wondering if I'm still overwatering or maybe they're getting too much light.

I suspect the lighter green (red arrow) on the fan leaf at lower left is from where the portion I topped was blocking light. Does that sound right?



They are vegging under a 400W metal halide bulb. The Photone app with paper diffuser gave me these numbers: PPFD - 409, DLI (18hrs) - 27.1 and lux - 26,100. I don't have a way to test the accuracy of the apps measurements I'm gonna order their diffuser and see how that goes. I took the readings at the top of the plants, after topping. These number would have been somewhat higher prior to topping, but I was already concerned about hitting them with too much light and decided not to lower the light to the pre-topping distance from the plants. Readings from April 4th using the same paper diffuser and with the light at the pre-topping distance distance from the plants were: PPFD - 573, DLI (18hrs) - 35.4 and lux - 34,000. I think the light was 19" above the canopy, but I had attached the pH and temp probe wires to either side of the light so the probes hung at canopy height. I just raised the light to keep the probes even with the tops of the plants. After topping, i left the light where it was and droppe the probes down a couple of inches to the top of the plants.

Photone readings from April 13, 2025, after first topping:




When you are late giving your Amaryllis some rest, forget about it and leave it dormant for longer than necessary, you get April blooms:

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Just adding a couple photos showing how some plants are displaying more leaf curl than others. My gut is saying it almost has to be related to light intensity or overwatering. And some plants are just more tolerant than others. So, I'm now running the lights a little further from the tops of the plants. 22" from the bottom of the bulb. I wasn't sure whether to measure from the bottom of the bulb or the bottom of the fixture. I'm guessing it might not matter as long as I find the right spacing and consistently measure from the same point on the light.

The first plant shows more leaf curl than the second. I also noticed that the first plant is more compact and the lower fan leafs are reaching for the light. The second plant is more spindly and it's lower fans are hanging:

 

[Zen_seeker]

That's the way to do it, from what I've been reading here and there. Truth is, I feel better getting input from Bud Builders. I really appreciate the input @steamroller!

Recent bumblings:

I had first placed 8 seeds in a wet paper towel and DVD case on 08MAR25. 6 seeds germinated and on 15MAR25 I put the seedlings in soil. Nothing fancy. As per usual, I didn't prepare and grabbed GroundWork Organic Seed Starter that was available locally at TSC. Just to keep track of things, I marked the healthier-looking seedling of each strain as "1" and the second as "2". I haven't done any research on what I should be looking for in soil for seedlings. The info on the bag says:

Total Nitrogen- 0.06%
0.006% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
0.006% Other water soluble Nitrogen
0.048 Water insoluble Nitrogen (Slowly available Nitrogen derived from from compaost poultry manure and feather meal)
Available Phosphate- 0.03%
Soluble Potash- 0.03%

Ingredients- sphagnum peat moss, processed wood fiber, perlite, ground dolomitic limestone (pH adjuster), and a wetting agent.

Photos of the seedlings that I took on 15MAR25, immediately before putting them in the starter mix:
View attachment 93891
View attachment 93892

The humidity in the tent was hanging around 40% when I put the seedlings in on 15MAR25 and continuing through the next day. I ended up making a 1.5hr drive to a shop in Salem, VA and buying the small ACI (T3) humidifier. I also picked up an ACI outlet to replace the mechanical timer I had on the light. I had never been here before, but will be returning. They seemed to have a little bit of everything and were super-friendly.

Shop manager, Sparkles, was a real sweetheart:
View attachment 93893

Sunday night, I installed the humidifier. Here's the current configuration:
View attachment 93894

I don't guess you can tell while the tent is open in that photo, but the Govee hygrometer readings are not inline with the ACI temps and humidity. They were dead even when I was using the tent for drying last Fall. I guess i should pick up a third before calibrating this one to the ACI readings? I supposed it could be ACI is out of whack or even both. Anyone have a recommendation on a reliable device I should pick up?

I screwed up and didn't fill the humidifier with water Sunday night. I had just put in enough for it to run while I was figuring out where to place it. Ended up forgetting to top it off and got an alert that it had run empty and shut off shortly after arriving at work, yesterday morning. It was after 9:00PM before I was able to fill it up and get it running last night. I don't know if it was the long stretches of dry air or something else I've done wrong, but Orange Widow 2 seems to be toast.

Current targets. Recommended changes are welcome for any of this:

Temperature	75℉
Humidity	70% (wondering if it I should use the humidifier to target VPD, instead)
Metal Halide lamp	Vegelumax 400W, correlated color temp(K) 6000
Bulb Spacing	17" above seedlings
Light Cycle	18/6 (on at 6:00AM and off at 11:59PM)

Here's the most recent 24 hour trend. That dip at the front is 6 hours with no light. The temp dropped to 62℉. Should I run a small heater in there during lights off?
View attachment 93895

You got a lot going on here. Looks like two ACI probes, hygrometer and another probe in the red cups soil?

I find the ACI probes work best hung in the middle of the tent if you can. But I do have one off to the side in one tent at the moment. If I clip my hygrometer to the ACI probe they read pretty much the same. But if in different spots like yours, especially with the door open I get different readings.

Looking good

 

[Zen_seeker]

Here is damage that I "believe" was caused by poor placement of the outlet end on the humidifier tube. It was pretty much trained right on these leaves. It wasn't intentional. I had made some adjustments to placement of the pH/Temp probes and height of the light, but overlooked moving the humidifier tubing, accordingly.

View attachment 95774

All of the plants have leaves showing some level of waviness and leaf curling that I "think" was caused by over watering early on. The newer leaves appear to be developing a little better. Lemon Sour Diesel 2 is the frailest of the surviving seedlings and she shows the most examples of this damage.

View attachment 95775

I'm second guessing the concerns I had about the light being too close to the plants. Currently, I'm leaning towards overwatering being the biggest contributor to poor plant health. I did install the PPFD Meter and Photone apps that I've seen some of you commenting on lately. I didn't see a metal halide option for PPFD Meter. I purchased the MH option for Photone and it HPS is available. I haven't studied up on the best practices, yet. I only made the paper diffuser and messed around with the app for a minute.

I get leaf issues like that in my 3x1 section. It’s usually cold and damp when it happens. I’ll get leaf issues if the fan blows on leaves too intensely or doesn’t oscillate. I’ve also noted a few strains are deformed when young but grow out of it after weeks.

I’m just a soil newb. Double check things with the experts. Looking good.

 

[Zen_seeker]

Don’t worry about seeds sinking or floating. You’ll find people who prefer both. I tend to like floaters but both have popped and failed over the years. Always nice when they pop though.

 

[Zen_seeker]

I don’t have any experience with lights other than LED. You’ll need to check things with them.

Strange you have one plant praying while the other is drooping slightly. If they are at the same hight under the same light it’s unexpected. I’d be leaning toward to much light myself. The tight nodes I usually get when my lights closer to the plant(s).

Again check with more experienced members but I’d say the light was closer than needed and/or brighter than needed. Are you training them or just letting them do their own thing?

 

[BlueCollarBob]

You got a lot going on here. Looks like two ACI probes, hygrometer and another probe in the red cups soil?

Good eye! Your observation already made me learn something. One probe goes directly to the controller. The second is plugged into the humidifier. Yes again, one is just to a seed mat that the seedlings are sitting on. After seeing your message, I looked up whether I need the second probe for the humidifier. Since the humidifier is plugged into the controller, I don't need it. Thanks for pointing that out.

I find the ACI probes work best hung in the middle of the tent if you can. But I do have one off to the side in one tent at the moment. If I clip my hygrometer to the ACI probe they read pretty much the same. But if in different spots like yours, especially with the door open I get different readings.

Looking good

The housing for the light is pretty wide. I'll have to rig up something to get the probed centered in the tent. Maybe a piece if TIG wire attached to the light with an appropriate bend to center the probe will do the job.

I get leaf issues like that in my 3x1 section. It’s usually cold and damp when it happens. I’ll get leaf issues if the fan blows on leaves too intensely or doesn’t oscillate. I’ve also noted a few strains are deformed when young but grow out of it after weeks.

I have a LOT of room to improve on temperature control. Honestly, I can envision a small grow room wrapped in a slightly larger (more manageable than an entire basement) lung room, down the road. I need to learn what grow style I want to focus on and what I need to be successful in that type of grow space, before jumping in and doing it wrong.

I currently have the light set for 18hrs on and 6hrs off. The metal halide bulb heats up the small 2X4 tent pretty good. I'm averaging 78℉ (25.6℃) while the light is on and 65℉ (18.3℃) with lights off. Maybe that's too much of a temperature drop for them. I think it would be much easier to control temps with the tent in the basement, if I was using LED lights. I've been eyeballing some lights, but I have it in my head that getting some experience with MH and HPS will be good for me. Plus, the light was gifted to me by a buddy and it would be cool to light up and share something grown under his old light. I also wonder if the heat these bulbs generate might become a benefit during the Winter.

I’m just a soil newb. Double check things with the experts. Looking good.

Don't sell yourself short, buddy. I appreciate everything (it's a lot) you do to contribute here. I follow your grows and think, "I can't wait to grow something like that."

Don’t worry about seeds sinking or floating. You’ll find people who prefer both. I tend to like floaters but both have popped and failed over the years. Always nice when they pop though.

You know, I haven't taken a deep dive into that, yet. I think I remember @CannaGranny and some others here talking about doing a 1% H2O2 soak. I looked at a couple of examples that popped up on an Internet search. I swear, both said that you want the seeds to sink and the floaters wouldn't germinate, lol. Guess that just proves you have to be careful about who you accept advice from.

I don’t have any experience with lights other than LED. You’ll need to check things with them.

I have noticed a few people here who are still using these lights. I'm keeping my eyes open, but haven't searched to see what they've shared about distance between the light and the plants, yet.

Strange you have one plant praying while the other is drooping slightly. If they are at the same hight under the same light it’s unexpected. I’d be leaning toward to much light myself. The tight nodes I usually get when my lights closer to the plant(s).

I did inch the light up a bit more this morning. My gut is telling me I still need to find the sweet spot for distance from the light. There's not a lot of difference in plant height, right now. I have the light pushed off center to accommodate a shorter shelf that puts more distance between the light and the seedlings.

Again check with more experienced members but I’d say the light was closer than needed and/or brighter than needed. Are you training them or just letting them do their own thing?

These plants will be going outside. I hope to get them fairly healthy before taking them out to harden. The two seedlings will go the distance in the tent and I plan to train those. Outdoors, I will probably go lighter on the training, but I definitely want to trellis them. High winds educated me, last year.

Thanks for the help, @Zen_seeker!

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Wednesday night, after @Zen_seeker brought the extra ACI probe to my attention and recommended centering the remaining probe in the tent, I removed the extra probe from the humidifier and rigged up a hanger to center the remaining probe under the light. The wire yard sign holder is adjustable up and down by sliding a stopper along the wire. You can also raise and lower the probe by adjusting were the cable clips in. I cut a short piece of stainless brake line tubing, wrapped a little Gorilla tape around it for some grip, and zip tied that to the reducer on the light housing. I put a cable tie over the adhesive-backed tie downs, because I was worried that heat from the light might make them slide off or something. The sign wire runs up through this tubing and the stopper is slid over the wire. The stopper was just a piece of rubber the probe and jack were packaged in. It was the right size for a snug fit over the yard sign wire.

Nothing fancy, but it does center the probe under the light. I think this quick fix will work until I figure a better way. Other than that, there's nothing exciting going on here. It's a beautiful day, here. Might as well ruin it by mowing the grass, lol.

https://bluecollarbob70.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F781188681434365952

 

[Zen_seeker]

I still haven’t fixed my other tent yet. Nice Macgyver

 

[BlueCollarBob]

I still haven’t fixed my other tent yet. Nice Macgyver

Ha! MacGyver would have done a better job of it while simultaneously disarming a bomb.

Thanks for pointing it out to me. That one flew right over my head, but made perfect sense as soon as you brought it to my attention. When I unboxed the humidifier, I probably literally grunted when I when I saw the probe and the jack for it to plug into, lol.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

All advice and recommendations are welcomed.

I believe these plants are in late week three or early week 4 of veg (I still need to learn how to identify day 1 of veg, accurately). These plants are still droopy with some curling. I don't "think" I'm overwatering, but this is still a possibility. I think the weather will soon let me set these out to harden some during the day. They will likely go in the ground the first or second week of May.

Nutrients- The only added nutrients they have received are from Lotus Grow. I mixed the amount of nutrient per gallon in accordance with the Lotus feed chart. These plants were up-potted from solo cups of seedling starter soil to 1 gallon nursery pots of FoxFarm Ocean Forest. Maybe the nutrient added to this soil is too hot???

Light- Still using 400W metal halide. Tops of the plants are 26" to 28" from the bottom of the bulb. Here are the light readings, measured from the top of the plants, that the Photone app gave me. I'm still using a paper diffuser until the little clip on Photone recommends arrives:



Here are the 5 plants. You'll see varying degrees of curl from the different plants:


The tops of these two seedlings are 40" from the bottom of the bulb. I plan to use these two for my first indoor effort. So, hopefully, I will figure out a few things from the five bigger plants and and get these two off to a better start. Here are the Photone app readings at tops of the seedlings:



Here's the two seedlings. Until now, they have also had clear trays inverted and set on top as makeshift humidity domes: