No new growth

Mosemse

New Member
Hi. Interesting pot...
It looks OK for me but give more information about soil, lighting, temp, PH please.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
I haven't been overwatering, she is getting enough nutrients from some miracle-grow, and now I just need someone to examine her.
What kind of lighting? Maybe it's not sufficient.

You say you don't overwater. How do you know that? (I think everyone who has overwatered didn't think they were.). How often do you add water? Do you let it dry so the container is light (weight)?

Does the container have drain holes?

What soil are you using? It looks heavy. I would add 30-50% perlite next time.

Which MG fertilizer? I'm growing a plant with MG Tomato. It's starting the 2nd fan leaves and I'm surprised how weak MG is. With all the complaints about MG burning plants, I thought I would have weaken it a lot. But, it's looking like it should be higher than the labeled dose. I just fed full-strength yesterday. (I think the burning complaints are people using MG soils with time-release nutes *and* feeding MG fertilizer.).

It looks hungry to me. But, if you're adding a little water every day (thinking you're not overwatering) that could hold the soil ph lower than it would be if it dried, reducing its access to N (which would explain the pale color).
 

Resinhound

Well-Known Member
Good advice here,make sure you have drainage.The plant is a bit stretchy makes me curious how far from your lights?ph is an important factor,make sure you have some way to check it,I would advise a ppm/ec meter too.Make sure you don't water until the top soil is dry and get yourself some dynagro foliage pro because it's gonna want to eat soon.I just love that stuff for my soil grows.
 
So I have only been using miracle-grow for a few days now and my lights are some piece of crap CFL's. I don't really have the funds to buy anything better for two weeks but I am expecting a hygrometer (I think thats how you spell it :blsmoke:) and a thermometer as well. So ill see whats up with environment. Would it be impossible to repot her in a different soil?
 

sunni

Administrator
Staff member
plants that small dont need nutes.
and if your lights are piece of crap cfls like you say they are thats why the plant has stunted growth
you can also see that the plant is not getting enough light by the amount of stretching the stem has, this is trying to tell you its reaching for the light.
get a real gardening pot, they cost 60 cents at the store, maybe cheaper at walmart, they have proper drainage in them. once you get them
read this thread so you feel confident removing the plant from its soil and placing it into a new pot with new soil
https://www.rollitup.org/t/replant-those-long-stretchy-stems-its-easy.429767/page-23#post-12109098

imho your soil looks pretty wet to me, i dont even make my soil that wet looking but it could be light and your webcam so ill chalk that up to a possible maybe

i wouldve waited until your set up was properly done before sprouting, but now that were here
you need to do some reading, theres alot of stickies at the top of the newbie growing section and
i find www.growweedeasy.com is a really simple easy to read guide thats helpful to newbies
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
So I have only been using miracle-grow for a few days now and my lights are some piece of crap CFL's.
I'm still curious how you know you're not overwatering? The plant can't be that old, so when you say you've fed MG "for a few days" that sounds like a few waterings - which I think would be overwatering.

If you answer the questions in my first post it would help. Particularly about how often you water and how dry you let it get. (It should get pretty dry, like almost paper light when you lift the container).

You can replace those CFLs with Cree LED lightbulbs sold at Home Depot (if you're in the US). That's more light per watt, less heat (which may be undesirable in the winter).

(I disagree with Sunni about nutes. It depends on the soil. My soil, I give nutes after 7 days. I don't see burning, so I don't think that's a problem. But, I agree about the wet-looking soil. You may be watering too often -- which is overwatering.).
 
So I bought some new cheap lights today to help with growth (3-200 watt). Only problem is that they are incandescent and put off a bunch of heat. So i had to move her out of my closet into my room to help combat that. Are the lights too close? When I repotted her the soil was very wet :oops: so now I barely put any water in the new soil in hopes that the other water will dissipate out of the old soil. I don't have a home depot in my town but next time I am near one ill go check out those bulbs you suggested @az2000
 

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az2000

Well-Known Member
I don't have a home depot in my town but next time I am near one ill go check out those bulbs you suggested @az2000
You can order Cree A19, A21 and PAR38 from Amazon (or look at the HD website).

I don't think incandescent has the spectral quality for growing. It's only about 10 l/w (compared to CFL's 60'ish). I would just turn those off if I were you.
 
How hot do they get? I just noticed that the lights I just got were melting the plastic around the light fixture. I am not trying to burn my house down lol.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Also would it be best for the soft white (2700k) or daylight (5000k) for those A19's?
See my blog article on the topic. The short answer is 1:3 ratio in veg, 1:1 in flower.

I didn't understand what you meant about "would they be hotter." The molten metal inside glass (incandescent)? Yes,l at 10 lumens per watt, 90% of your electricity is going to heating that piece of metal to make it glow enough to emit 10 lumens. :) And, like I said, I recall seeing a spectral power diagram recently which showed why incandescents were never used as grow lights.

I didn't mean to send you on a crusade to improve your lighting. CFL works. It's just that they put out heat (which can be desirable in certain circumstances). I don't think your problem was lighting. And at the stage of growth you're in, CFL is ok.

Next time do some research before running out and buying something.

T5HO is good for shorter grows. It doesn't have the penetration. You need about 40w/sq ft (I went to 45-50 in flower with sidelighting). The bulbs degrade over time (as do CFL) so you have to pay attention to how long you've used them. Unless you need the heat generated by them, I would still transition into Cree bulbs. If you want an easier setup (fewer fixtures to deal with, single sources of light), look at Area51 LED.

What kind of budget do you have? What size plant do you intend this to be? How many plants do you imagine growing on an ongoing basis? (1 at a time, 4?).
 
Well I haven't really thought about what I want to maintain growing but I certainly know that I want at least one plant at all times. Im on a college student budget right now. I would like the plant to yield at least two ounces from this plant though.
 

sunni

Administrator
Staff member
So I bought some new cheap lights today to help with growth (3-200 watt). Only problem is that they are incandescent and put off a bunch of heat. So i had to move her out of my closet into my room to help combat that. Are the lights too close? When I repotted her the soil was very wet :oops: so now I barely put any water in the new soil in hopes that the other water will dissipate out of the old soil. I don't have a home depot in my town but next time I am near one ill go check out those bulbs you suggested @az2000
i dont want to come off rude so please dont take it that way
this is a set up like i had when i was 17 and tried growing pot in my little apartment and i almost burned my house down.

it isnt a safe set up and it wont work. period.
your plant is probably going to die if you do not hurry up and rush order some real lights , if you have other seeds, i would say stick this guy in your window for now and wait until your lights arrive from a reputable source.

it seems to me, you did not at all research anything light wise , and thats ok its a newbie mistake, but you have a plethora of information on rollitup
the kicker is you actually have to sit down and read it.

if you want to stick to CFLS which you totally can read here:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/advantage-v-disadvantage-cfls.57813/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/tutorial-to-growing-with-cfls.107992/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/cfl-proximity-to-foliage.41024/

even if you are on a college student budget you can get a part time job along with your financial aid and have a real grow room
but , ask yourself is this even realistic? do you have the time and money to invest in this ?
growing marijuana can be simple once youve got it down and youre knowledgable about it
but you as a person have to be realistic in your ideas for this to work

sitting a plant on a bar stool with several cfls that arent even the right kind in multi light lamps isnt a realistic grow , and it will fail or you will burn your house down.
you have to realize at some point that sometimes things just dont work out the way we think they should and that at sometimes we have to let ideas go and start when we have time, money and energy to do them.

youre probably either at home, or renting a room with other people , if thats the case growing 1 pot plant isnt safe, legally and it probably will break any tenant rules you have.
(i am assuming you are not in a dorm as most dont have hardwood flooring)

i was a college student and still am (currently taking a break) although I am a bit older than you, my advice is
buy some books, read in your spare time, gain knowledge , come to riu talk with us learn from us, make new friends

and once you have your own home, and safety and oyu know how to grow marijuana comfortably enough , than start your grow.
it just doesnt seem realistic at this time in my opinion

should you want to grow anyways, i would unplug those lights and stick the plant in a really sunny spot in your room, and do some reading and buy proper lights and have them arrive monday/tuesday
 

bbyb420

Well-Known Member

az2000

Well-Known Member
Well I haven't really thought about what I want to maintain growing but I certainly know that I want at least one plant at all times.
You could scale into something like I linked to with Cree bulbs. They're good spectrum and fairly efficient at 90-95 l/w (compared to CFLs in the 60s). You could replace a CFL at a time, add a Cree as the plant grows (or, as you wish to grow a bigger plant.). You could fill a 2x2 4' tall space like I linked to using 4 PAR38s on top, 4 A19 9.5w around the sides. With a 3gal container and LST training to keep the plant suitable for the space, I've gotten 220g.

But, @sunni makes a good point. You have to be concerned about odors eventually unless you're in a legal state. That means a tent, fan, carbon filter. And, if you're subject to a landlord's unannounced entry, a tent isn't enough (you have to investigate stealth cabinets). Hopefully you've already thought about those aspects. It's not so bad to figure it out as you go in other regards.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Just for the OP's benefit, not to argue, but I wouldn't recommend @bbyb420 's suggestion. That's 70 l/w (and it goes lower with use), and no reflector which will diminish the actual lumens reaching the plant. Not much better than what you're doing now. For the same money you can do Cree LED at 90-95 l/w and a 10-year warranty.

Not that CFLs won't work, and aren't desireable when you need to heat a space. But, just in terms of value, I think the LED bulbs are the better choice. And, clamp-on reflectors give you the reflector (and ability to direct lights individually around the plant).
 
Well I happened to come across enough money to buy three of the Cree A21's. They should be in on Tuesday. Here is what she is looking like now after being repotted, turning the incandescents off, moving the CFL's closer and not overwatering. She appears to have started growth again and has taken on a darker green color towards the top. The bottom leaves still appear a little too yellow though.
 

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