First grow… at 40

[Reed Spacer]

What’s shakin’ fellow growers? I’ve been waiting to say that for decades. At 40, I decided to throw caution to the wind and set up my first grow.
I decided on Runtz Muffin as my cultivar, and the AC Infinity 3x3 Advance Grow Kit as my setup. https://acinfinity.com/hydroponics-growers/plant-kits/advance-grow-tent-systems/advance-grow-tent-system-3x3-3-plant-kit-wifi-integrated-controls-to-automate-ventilation-circulation-full-spectrum-led-grow-light/

Here’s the progression of young Thelma. Currently 23 days old. Her sister Louise suffered a bit when I Transplated her into Happy Farms Soil with 15% coco coir. Seeing as Thelma would likely fill my 3x3 on her own, I gave Louise to a friend, where she will be well taken care of.

She is growing stout and bushy. I decided to prune her and perform some HST on day 22. I enlisted some surgical tape on a few branches to aid in positioning. She’s already recovering and looks like she will provide a nice, Even canopy… removing any doubt I may have had about her filling my 3x3.

She is responding very well to the AC Infinity S33 light. The color temp seems to favor Veg. Im debating on switching lights, or adding supplemental flower(Maybe my two ViperSpectra V300 I bought for my first false start 5 years ago will get used.)

That does it for me. I look forward to posting in here often… and bugging you guys with stupid questions

Thanks for having me
-Reed Spacer

 

[H.A.F.]

Welcome! The AC Infinity gear is a good starting point. Lurk and read, there's lots of knowledge on here to help you out, and peeps to answer questions.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

Nice setup amigo and welcome! This place is dope.

Will you be drying in the same tent or in a separate area? My novice advice is document your grows, even if it's just a couple bullet points on a calendar so you can troubleshoot, try something new or continue with whatever is working. Cheers vato

 

[Reed Spacer]

Oh yea. I have a meticulous Journal. Ha. Im researching options for drying. What would you suggest?

 

[treefarmercharlie]

Oh yea. I have a meticulous Journal. Ha. Im researching options for drying. What would you suggest?

Drying in a spare tent makes it a whole lot easier to keep it in proper conditions.

 

[sandman83]

spare tent with humidifier and a window ac next to it for cold air intake is my current plan.....drying/curing is the difficult part for me still and I'm weight the cannatrol price/performance..

 

[H.A.F.]

spare tent with humidifier and a window ac next to it for cold air intake is my current plan.....drying/curing is the difficult part for me still and I'm weight the cannatrol price/performance..

If you have a dry environment I would not put a humidifier in the same space as the flowers. That is just asking for mold problems. If you have the tent in a room, humidify the room and keep it mostly closed.

 

[sandman83]

well shoot, thanks for correcting me real quick!

 

[H.A.F.]

well shoot, thanks for correcting me real quick!

I have real low rH in general. 30-50% range. But once you hang a plant in a small space it will humidify it as it dries. I have one little AC Infinity "muffin" fan that moves air around the drying space but not blowing on the plants, then an extraction fan that runs through a carbon filter. If the space is small enough you can just set a pan of water in front of the fan to raise the rH without any mist.

 

[Reed Spacer]

Thanks for all of the responses! Ive been watching A LOT of YouTube videos regarding the drying/curing process. I dig(see what I did there?) Mr Canucks channel in particular. I discovered a few days ago he has episodic videos documenting an entire grow of ‘Wildberry Runtz’ utilizing the exact 3’x3’ AC Infinity setup I'm using. The cultivar is also similar to the ‘Runtz Muffin’ from Barney’s Farm I’m currently growing.

I live in the South Eastern United States, so, I will More than likely be forced to use various methods of climate control during Drying. I’m averaging a temp of 80° and RH of 40% in the tent. The only step taken towards climate control at the moment, in addition to the oscillating and exhaust fan, is keeping the door to the room open so it can receive cool air from the AC running in my living room. Im living in a Tiny house, so, climate is controlled by a Solar Powered split unit from Hotspot Energy.

 

[Tvanmunhen]

Congratulations on your first grow. I hope you enjoy the experience! Best of luck @Reed Spacer.

 

[Reed Spacer]

Damn. Turned out to be a terrible holiday weekend. I had an aphid infestation and liberally applied Bee-Safe. The next day, noticed curled and dark, almost black leave tips. I raised the light a bit, to 18”, and it looks like this.

Looks like it’s back to square one. If she doesn’t recover, Im going to start with a clone from one of my friend’s plants. The friend I gave my
other plant to, in fact. He has 8 cultivars going.

REAL F*#king bummer.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

If you're going to start over why not take that plant and put it outside (if that is possible). Just a suggestion.

 

[H.A.F.]

This is gonna sound counterintuitive, but start a worm bin. Unless you are in DWC castings can fix most things. The cool thing is once you dive down the organic rabbit hole and you can ditch bottled nutes, you stop asking "what's wrong with my plants" a lot sooner than with the pink-water 3-part.

And we all had the same questions. No, the house won't stink, no worms won't invade the bed while you sleep, and there won't be "bugs in the house" with gnats and such like you get with non-organic grows. You get to ditch pH pens, TDS meters, and all the chemical accessories along with their batteries and calibration solutions. No pH up or down, no calmag, just rich soil that you can actually buy straight out of the bag now then re-ammend as you grow and/or between grows.

It is a rabbit hole and there is the initial investment in soil and some top-dressing amendments, but worm bins can be a rubbermade tote. And if you have a yard and or veggie garden you can grow your "nutes" at home. Feed the worms the good stuff and the plants thrive.

The initial mental hurdle(s) is/are well worth it in the end, but since you are just starting there's no bad habits to break.