What are common mistakes made by first time growers?

[Twyzt3d]

Here are literally the most common mistakes new growers make...

They believe the first thing they read online as if it were from the Ganjaqueen herself. Do research, don't follow the first idiot, for all you know, that's the 12 year old girl who was recently made famous for pretending she was a grown up adult to stop other adults from committing suicide. Follow the rule, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action" ... If you read it once...ok, maybe that's true. You read it again somewhere else, maybe it's just coincidence, maybe it's the same idiot again posting false info somewhere else. Three times though, something's up...Hey, it might be true!...

Here's my advice: Read until you're blue in the face, but you won't know how to do everything right until you do a thing or two wrong...Just do enough reading so that you can figure out what you're doing wrong before it's too late, and you'll be fine..

 

[Bill C]

That's the worst regurgitation of information I've ever read....sorry...

Outdoors, harvest is based on season and location...not October...It also depends on when it was planted, location, sun, aeration, etc... In the northern hemisphere, the sun hits red in fall, which triggers bloom. That's all, it's not like the bud says "oh shoot, its october, better bloom" .. . . .

Indoors, you'll have as much veg and flower as you decide... YOU control the elements indoors, nothing else...you can veg for years if you decide, many do, this is how clones are formed...

Harvest based on appearance, texture, color, not season or weeks. If you base it on time, you're almost guaranteed to fail as a new grower...

Hi Twyzt3d,

He asked about averages, not "when is it the exact time to harvest". The answer that I gave is correct for the bloom period; 8-10 weeks, with a little more as you get into sativas.

You're right about outdoors. I should have prefaced that with "In the northern hemisphere". And in the northern hemisphere, the average outdoor harvest is in fact October.

As far as indoor grows, you are again correct in that the grower controls all of the elements. Of course, if you veg crops (as opposed to mothers) for more than 4 weeks, you'll have very tall plants reaching the ceiling and into the lights (a common mistake by new growers, although recoverable, is to veg too long). And yes, mothers can be grown for quite a long time, but again, the question was for a harvest and not mothers, so that is the answer that was given.

 

[Bill C]

Here are literally the most common mistakes new growers make...

They believe the first thing they read online as if it were from the Ganjaqueen herself. Do research, don't follow the first idiot, for all you know, that's the 12 year old girl who was recently made famous for pretending she was a grown up adult to stop other adults from committing suicide. Follow the rule, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action" ... If you read it once...ok, maybe that's true. You read it again somewhere else, maybe it's just coincidence, maybe it's the same idiot again posting false info somewhere else. Three times though, something's up...Hey, it might be true!...

Here's my advice: Read until you're blue in the face, but you won't know how to do everything right until you do a thing or two wrong...Just do enough reading so that you can figure out what you're doing wrong before it's too late, and you'll be fine..

I'm sensing a lot of anger in your posts.

Please my friend, constructive advice is always much better received than name calling and ranting. We're all friends here and there is no need to be advisarial.

Peace.

 

[Bill C]

Alright thank you very much! but another question, sorrys new grower, would you wait after the full 8-10 weeks to harvest?
thanks

This is a pretty good article on when the proper time to harvest is by looking at your trichs and when they begin to turn.

How To Know When To Harvest

Good luck!

 

[Twyzt3d]

I'm sensing a lot of anger in your posts.

Please my friend, constructive advice is always much better received than name calling and ranting. We're all friends here and there is no need to be advisarial.

Peace.

I didn't call anyone names, I wasn't referring to you as an idiot, your information is valid under the correct circumstances, and I thought it was a bit constructive. I apologize if it came off rude, I meant none of it towards you or anyone directly.

Average height, grow time, bloom time, everything is based on conditions, not events or time. Weaker light sources will take longer, that's just a fact. For instance, my MH broke right before I went into the stretch and I was forced to resort to CFL bulbs to finish veg, and took nearly twice as long as my MH to get it to where I begin flowering..

All I'm sayin is too many ppl believe the first thing they read, then wonder why they fail. Here's another fact, 90% of first grows are screwed up bad...due to misinformation, it's almost guaranteed to happen, so my advice is be prepared and know how to deal with any potential dangerous situation that may arise. Learn about deficiencies, over/under-watering symptoms, and listen to your plant, it will tell you what it needs if you pay attention.

And I've kept a mother trimmed proper for 2 years, clipping trimming and cloning from it..It never broke about 3' in height.

 

[TinyAgate3]

I enjoyed reading the post on first time growers....Thanks for the needed info.

 

[Odin]

That's the worst regurgitation of information I've ever read....sorry...

Outdoors, harvest is based on season and location...not October...It also depends on when it was planted, location, sun, aeration, etc... In the northern hemisphere, the sun hits red in fall, which triggers bloom. That's all, it's not like the bud says "oh shoot, its october, better bloom" .. . . .

Harvest based on appearance, texture, color, not season or weeks. If you base it on time, you're almost guaranteed to fail as a new grower...

"The sun hits red in fall, which triggers bloom."

Um, what? I don't even know what that is supposed to mean. Aside from that, the other bolded portions of your post don't make much sense either. Unless the latter portion of what I quoted and bolded was in reference to indoor growing. Even then you'd have to be an idiot to think that the season had anything to do with growing indoors. I highly doubt anyone could be that naive. I get a sense that you are blowing Bill C's initial generalized response to a very vague question way out of proportion.

Here are literally the most common mistakes new growers make...

They believe the first thing they read online as if it were from the Ganjaqueen herself. Do research, don't follow the first idiot, for all you know, that's the 12 year old girl who was recently made famous for pretending she was a grown up adult to stop other adults from committing suicide. Follow the rule, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action" ... If you read it once...ok, maybe that's true. You read it again somewhere else, maybe it's just coincidence, maybe it's the same idiot again posting false info somewhere else. Three times though, something's up...Hey, it might be true!...

Here's my advice: Read until you're blue in the face, but you won't know how to do everything right until you do a thing or two wrong...Just do enough reading so that you can figure out what you're doing wrong before it's too late, and you'll be fine..

If new growers take your advice then it would be to not believe anything you just said at face value. I don't think anyone is suggesting that people will read this post and then they are now ready to grow. If you look around, any of the most sucessful growers on this site will all encourage the same thing you are saying, read read read, then try try try. No matter how many books you read, still doesn't mean you are going to be able to execute a successful grow.

The internet is loaded with bullshit. People have to be able to distinguish whats truthful and whats BS. Overall I think this post has a lot of good pointers for new growers. No one should get into growing without first accepting it is a trial and error process. Likewise, if these new growers continue to research, the most reliable information will become quite evident.

 

[Twyzt3d]

I really didn't want to go into a science lesson... but I guess I will have to...

The sun burns at roughly 5800 Kelvin, and varies in temp from 5500-6500k. At 5800K, the sun produces blue-white end spectrum of light, which is ideal for vegetative growth. However, during the equinox, when the earth's tilt increases, the angle the sun projects the light is increased. When the angle is increased, the light is stretched and diminished, and falls in temperature to the red end of the spectrum. Due to the angle of the rays hitting the earth, and the sunrise/sunset angles account for more than half of the garnered energy, it triggers bloom as it prepares its fruit and seeds for winter.

To address your, idk, confusion? The sun, as stated above, "hits red in fall, which triggers bloom" - the sun hits the red spectrum, which triggers the plant to prepare itself for winter, which produces our favorite topic of discussion, and seeds.

No, harvest based on appearance is not solely indoors. My fall is different, and maybe earlier or later than yours. Maybe it's a different season all together. Maybe I don't have a fall. Who's going to harvest earlier? Someone in northern Canada, or someone in California? What about someone in australia?? If they pick a season, or get some idiotic time frame in their head, as a new grower, they will fail or be sadly disappointed in their product or maybe not even end up with a product.

And no, I don't want anyone to take my advice. Or everyone can. I could care less. This is just my input. I'm also an old head, always preferred indica, and like to push my harvest as late as possible, when possible, for the highest CBD possible. I do not ever base it on time, season, days, anything. I don't even keep track, literally. Never have, never will. For me, it's all based on how it looks. The texture, the density, scent of the buds, the color of the trichs, are all factors to when I begin my flush.

Here's how I learned. I planted a seed, it grew a little and died. so I tried again, adjusting a few things, and planted another one. It grew twice as long, and much better, but died. Change a couple other things, next thing I know, I've got 4 plants busting out of their pots. My first successful grow, and 3 of those 4 ended up male. But I was unsure at the time what a male plant even looked like, so I let it grow. It was seedy, and ugly, but it smoked and got me high, and I knew exactly what to look for, and what I was doing right. My next grow, planted 6, 4 proved female, and I was on my way.

 

[TorturedSoul]

To address your, idk, confusion? The sun, as stated above, "hits red in fall, which triggers bloom" - the sun hits the red spectrum, which triggers the plant to prepare itself for winter, which produces our favorite topic of discussion, and seeds.

<COUGH>Increasing hours of uninterrupted darkness<COUGH>

Yes, the changing spectra has effects, but try flowering with that spectrum under 18 hours of light a day and see what happens.

I think maybe that's what they were getting at?

IMHO, it's probably better to tell newbies in a newbie thread that as the number of hours of darkness start to increase, flowering initiates - and that as they continue to increase, the rate of flowering increases. After you're sure that they get that, you can add more information.

When your little boy asks where his sister came from, it's probably better to explain that you and his mother created her through an act of love, that she grew inside her mother for 38 weeks, and that she then came out to join the rest of the human race. Later is soon enough to drag out the textbook and explain about embryos, zygotes, gametes, et cetera, lol.

But that's just my opinion, of course.

 

[Twyzt3d]

<COUGH>Increasing hours of uninterrupted darkness<COUGH>

Yes, the changing spectra has effects, but try flowering with that spectrum under 18 hours of light a day and see what happens.

I think maybe that's what they were getting at?

IMHO, it's probably better to tell newbies in a newbie thread that as the number of hours of darkness start to increase, flowering initiates - and that as they continue to increase, the rate of flowering increases. After you're sure that they get that, you can add more information.

When your little boy asks where his sister came from, it's probably better to explain that you and his mother created her through an act of love, that she grew inside her mother for 38 weeks, and that she then came out to join the rest of the human race. Later is soon enough to drag out the textbook and explain about embryos, zygotes, gametes, et cetera, lol.

But that's just my opinion, of course.

I'm just going to stay out of the noob threads.

Me, I have a little girl, but no boy, and my daughter's mother is no longer in the picture. I raise her alone, and I would, and will teach her all the et cetera. I've never hidden a thing from my child, and never will. She also knows there's no easter bunny and that her mother is a junkie who she'll likely never see again. She's doing just fine with the truth.

But what do I know? I think everyone should take an auto class before getting a driver's license. Similar principles apply here...

 

[The Lurker]

The internet is loaded with bullshit. People have to be able to distinguish whats truthful and whats BS...

Well said, O exalted ruler of all Asgard.

I liked that so much, I went and made a motivational poster out of it...enjoy!

(Yes, the 'doo is also part of the sculpture...you can thank the artist)

<COUGH>Increasing hours of uninterrupted darkness<COUGH>

Yes, the changing spectra has effects, but try flowering with that spectrum under 18 hours of light a day and see what happens...

IMHO, it's probably better to tell newbies in a newbie thread that as the number of hours of darkness start to increase, flowering initiates - and that as they continue to increase, the rate of flowering increases. After you're sure that they get that, you can add more information...

Yep - one can always save Tinkering with stuff for later.



TS my friend, I often find that, whatever viewpoint you happen to be commenting on at that particular moment - I am usually in complete agreement.

Cheers,

-TL

 

[420Cudistoner]

This is a pretty good article on when the proper time to harvest is by looking at your trichs and when they begin to turn.

How To Know When To Harvest

Good luck!

Thanks very much for that is was really helpful!

And Twyzt3d, Thank you too I agree with the things you're saying and I did ask a really general question but thanks for all your insights. I like the idea of just listening and watching the plant for what it needs and making sure everything is ok.
Thanks guys and after a much heated discussion, lets all do the one thing we're good at peace

 

[Mandyspot]

Thanks you helped me out alot!! growing in my aerogarden 3 and i have 2 males and one unknown any ideas on what to do with my male plants ??

 

[sully508]

if your getting males then there all male. i doubt your gonna get a female.
unless ordered from a seed bank as reg. seeds . bagseed is all male or female. for the most part. bagseed was not crossbred to make female or male but because pollen by a male or hermi.
i just grow female and check for herms..
its worth an extra 20.00 bucks. or buy 10 reg. seeds and you should have 5 female give or take one.

 

[Mandyspot]

IM REALLY NEW AT GROWING probably a stupid question to ask but what is a hermi? im looking forward to buying seeds from attitude do you have any seed suggestions that would grow good in my aerogarden? i want something that grows fast high in thc grows bushy and autoflowers itself and it has to be feminized of course hehe im gonna chuck my males hoping the little plant will be a female have to wait a couple weeks and if thats a male ill chuck that one too and start from scratch

 

[Twyzt3d]

hermi is a hermaphrodite...meaning contains both male and female traits. they will both bud and seed, and seed other females in the area...

I torture males to death....sacrifice to show what happens if any males pop up...hermies as well...

 

[Mandyspot]

lol thanks i was lost for a sec hehehe just got rid of my males gonna order some from the seed bank which would be good to use on my aero?

 

[sully508]

id recommend autoflower. 10 weeks from seed to weed actually 11. nirvana short rider is very dependable. but there are many kinds to pick from.
i keep mine under 18 hours of light and they're budding. its a very easy grow. alot of light, water, and light on the nutes.
i have regular female plants growing outside but thet wont be ready til oct. i grow auto flowering plants so i have something for the 4th of july. i started them in april. low yeild but vert fast growing.
getting like 20gm per plant. some 12 grams. some 30 grams. but its all good and high in thc. i call it my happy weed. cause it really is the only kind that makes me laugh till tears come down my eyes.
my other weed makes me energetic. and i accomplish alot everyday but its more euphoric.

 

[Mandyspot]

Thanks so much sully your a big help my friend

 

[sully508]

no problem. thats how i learned by asking questions. if your new to growing no question is a stupid question. the people at 420 are awesome. anytime. sully