Let’s set the scene:
I had a 4×4 tent, two Spider Farmer SF1000D lights, and absolutely no chill.
I was growing 3 autoflowers in 70/30 coco and perlite — and in my head, I was gonna crush it.
Spoiler alert: I did not.
But I did get several ounces of bud that gets me high, and I grew it myself — so that’s a win.
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🌱 I Tried to Do Too Much
If it existed, I wanted to try it.
Nutrients? Yep. Recharge? Why not. Worm castings? Sure, let’s sprinkle that in once and pretend it matters.
I basically treated my plants like a science experiment without a control group.
Don’t do that. Don’t be me.
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🧘 Patience Is the Name of the Game
This isn’t a video game. There’s no “speed up grow” button.
Your plants move at their own pace, and getting impatient just leads to dumb decisions like overwatering or panic-buying Cal-Mag.
Trust the process. Or at least stop hovering over them like an over-caffeinated plant parent.
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🎯 Don’t Try to Dial Everything in at Once
Here’s the problem with adjusting everything at once:
When your plant gets worse, you don’t know what screwed it up.
When it gets better, you have no clue what worked.
Pick one thing. Try it. Wait. Observe. Repeat.
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🧪 You Don’t Need Fancy Gear on Grow #1
Look, I get it. The YouTubers have tents that look like NASA labs.
You don’t need that. You need to learn the plant.
Start basic. Upgrade later. You’ll appreciate the gear more when you know what the hell it’s doing.
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🌿 What I Got Right
Despite my chaotic energy, I did get some things right:
Hand-watered daily (and accidentally turned myself into a human pH meter)
Used decent lights – I’ve got two Spider Farmer SF1000D LEDs.
Solid budget lights, especially for a smaller grow space. In a 4×4 tent?
Eh… they can work, but don’t expect them to light up every corner like it’s Times Square. They shine brightest (literally) in smaller tents or when used for one plant per light.
Got several ounces of smokable, self-grown weed
It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. And that’s enough.
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🧠 What I’d Do Differently
Bigger pots — 5-gallon next round to see if size really matters (spoiler: it probably does)
Stick to one nutrient line at a time so I can actually tell what’s working
Pick one strain and focus on improving it instead of chasing every shiny seed
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🔥 Final Thought
You’re going to screw something up.
You’re going to overthink things, make some bad calls, and stress way too much over humidity.
But in the end?
You’ll have weed. That you grew. With your own damn hands.
And that’s honestly the coolest thing ever.
So get growing. Learn from the mess. And remember:
Even your worst grow is better than no grow at all.
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Got questions? Regrets? A grow tent full of fungus gnats?
Drop a comment or check out my Godzilla Cookies Grow Log for more chaos and cal-mag.