First Time Growers: Common Mistakes
December 24th, 2008 by Silvio
Growing is easy right? You buy some seeds, source a couple of pots, grab lights, dump in the soil and then instantly start to grow weed. Sounds pretty simple!
Well, it is… until the first real roadblock makes itself known.
Luckily, we are here to get you past those roadblocks before they even materialize. Just remember; every mistake you are about to make, someone before you did the exact same thing. So, lets try and avoid the most common mistakes made by first time growers.
1) Overwatering
Overwatering kills your plants. Simple as that.
Only water once the top few inches of soil dries out, just stick your finger in the pot and test if it’s dry. Hydroponics is very hard to over-water, due to the abundance of water roots, but it’s still a good idea to keep a close watch.
2) Telling Other People
This should be obvious.
Telling other people will only make them jealous, it also gives them power over you. People love to feel important, if 4 weeks from now there’s a disagreement, you have no idea (or control of) who finds out there’s a grow-up at your house. So don’t tell anyone anything unless you absolutely have to. Keep it to yourself.
3) Touch / Kill Germinating Seeds
Waiting is never nice, especially for germination. But remember, some seeds may take up to ten days until they sprout. Some growers will tell you the paper towel method is not recommended because you must personally handle the seeds when transferring from the paper towel to your growing medium. I think that’s not a problem, just be careful and hygienic when handling your seeds.
Read the rest of Silvio’s tips after the jump!
4) Growing Bag Seeds
If you want to set yourself up for failure, this is the way to go. There’s a very good reason why experienced growers buy their seeds only from established seed banks – they are purchasing quality.
If you find seeds in your stash, you can use them, but don’t get your hopes up. Here’s why; self-seeding marijuana is produced from hermaphrodite plants or a very stunted and late flowering male that the grower did not notice. Flowered hermi-seeds will produce tall late flowering females coupled with early flowering males. This is not a good combination.
Plus, supporting top-tier grow banks means your crop will produce more and be worth more. It’s a no-brainer.
5) Over-Fertilization
Fertilize after first set of true leaves appear. Start with 25% of what the label says and work your way up. If the leaves suddenly twist or fold under, leach and spray with pure water for several days!
Don’t fertilize your plants every time you water if you grow in soil. A common watering schedule is to fertilize at full strength, then water at half or quarter strength. This prevents salt build-up, leaf burn and root burn. In addition, don’t water at full strength if the medium is too dry – root burn can occur. I like to flush my plants once every two-three weeks, to make sure everything is balanced.
6) Under-Fertilization
This doesn’t really happen that often, but it’s worth mentioning. If you want to give the plant ‘just enough’ nutrients, use an organic soil mixture with blood meal and bone meal or some slow release fertilizer with micro-nutrients.
7) Don’t Start With Clones
Start with the real deal… seeds.
You don’t want to spoil your garden with bugs and diseases. A lot of growers are able to grow indoors without pest problems for years, why introduce foreign elements? Another grower’s cuttings are almost guaranteed to have diseases or pests. Also, if you start with seeds, you can produce a mother plant (for clones) yourself.
8) Growing In Dirty / Unhealthy Environments
Provide air circulation and fresh air even during the night cycle. All the air in your grow space should be replaced every 5-10 minutes. Humidity between 30-70% temp aim for around 75-85 degrees.
Even seedlings need a gentle fan to strengthen the stems. Don’t create a storm inside your grow room, just make sure the air is moving, then gets out and that fresh air gets in.
9) Harvesting Too Soon
A quarter of plant weight will form in the last 10-15 days. Begin flushing the soil with pure water when the pistil are 25% brown. Harvest when the plants have totally stopped growing and the white pistils are at least 50-75% brown.
Harvesting is a technical aspect, so consider this a beginner introduction and you can be sure I’ll cover this topic specifically later into this series.
Thanks for reading everyone, and there will be more next week!
