farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
First time I've grown indoors and trying to do the best I can for the plants I have going. I'm growing from seeds that came from outdoor plants from my previous two grows, I don't know much about them other than I like the stone that they give! Seeds were popped late in December and were planted into seedling mix soil and placed under a Spider-Farmer 1000 led light at full power in a small tent. I later added two LED Light of America shop lights which I believe are 5000k in spectrum for side lighting to help bump the light penetration. The seedlings were growing fast and soon I transplanted each into 4 inch nursery cups and gave them their first feeding. After doing so I saw what I thought were signs of too much light and or burn from the feeding. I flushed them and raised the SF 1000 up to the maximum the tent would allow and shut off the side lighting. Being new to this I've been watching for grow equipment off CL and found a really good deal on a Gorilla lite line grow tent in 30 x 24 x 78 inches along with a 2 foot 4 bulb fluorescent light with LED conversion bulbs for little more than a song! I sent a email and the seller got back to me quickly the following morning. Along with the tent and light he threw in a variety of goodies including a large collection of seeds he had collected over the years! :)

I quickly setup the tent and moved the seedlings into their new home. I decided to try the light since the owner said he'd grown plants from seed to flower with it. I don't know the maker of the LED tubes but they have a heat sink along the length of the bulb. They produce a bluish light that the seedlings responded to quite well. After running this light for a week I decided with the plants getting bigger and producing more nodes it was time to switch back to the SF 1000. I was now able to run the light high enough without having to worry about dimming it. I've read here that LED lights often require supplementing cal-mag into the plants diet to help them process the light that LEDS produce and will now be watching for signs of deficiency.

Yesterday I transplanted the seedlings into their forever pots. Because of the tent size and having 5 plants I chose four 3 gallon and one 2 gallon smart pots. I'm using fox farm Ocean forest soil and added Dr. Earth home grown nutrients using their container suggestions. The plants seem to be quite happy today with their new pots and space their roots now have. Since i'm using LEDS i'm keeping their room in the high 70's to low 80's with humidity in the 50/70 range. I'm currently running the SF-1000 at 30 inches and have added the LED shop lights back for side lighting. Using a light meter app i'm reading between 19,000 to 20,000 lux which with what I understand translates 450 to 500 umols depending on exact spectrum. Is this enough light? I'm planning on topping the plants but don't have experience with it does anyone have suggestions on when its good and how to do it. I love the site and all the information the members here have to offer but it's kind of rabbit hole like when trying to find information..
 

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TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

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Since you just transplanted, they will need a good couple days to allow the roots to recover from the transplant. I wouldn't feed any nutes at all since you added to Fox Farm soil. I would drop the light down to around 24 inches maybe even a good 18 inches and see how the plants react. Other then that, the plants look healthy. The new growth is "praying" towards the light and looks a nice shade of green so that's always a great sign.
 

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
I'm planning on topping the plants but don't have experience with it does anyone have suggestions on when its good and how to do it
It's pretty average to top after the 4th node. I also top after the 4th myself. This will stop vertical growth and will start more side branching to grow upwards towards the light.
 

twalte

Well-Known Member
I’ve always heard people top above the fifth node....but then I tried this approach and I feel like I have a lot less larf on my plants. You are basically topping above the 2nd true node (ignoring the cotyledons) . I’m not saying it’s right, but it really helped me keep the plants short and manageable.


Photo of post topping with LST, then the structure of the plant as a result of the Uncle Bens topping.

EA04BAFB-2DC2-40C8-9DB5-BBA4077ED332.jpegE33E402D-133D-439F-B31D-70376C6FCFEA.jpeg
 

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
I’ve always heard people top above the fifth node....but then I tried this approach and I feel like I have a lot less larf on my plants. You are basically topping above the 2nd true node (ignoring the cotyledons) . I’m not saying it’s right, but it really helped me keep the plants short and manageable.


Photo of post topping with LST, then the structure of the plant as a result of the Uncle Bens topping.

View attachment 4459426View attachment 4459427
I just topped above the 3rd on one of my plants. I am trying to mainline for the first time. Basically what you have in the pictures above.
 

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Trying to get max airflow I rearranged my kids this afternoon, hope yo yos are strong enough! I'm gonna address the topping issues tomorrow if they have the growth required! Thanks for the suggestions on when to top, I've only grown outdoors and grew pretty big plants with little to know topping other than what the plants did naturally.. Feel like a bad guy going at them with scissors cause I'm always afraid I'm gonna do to much! My sativa I grew outdoors this summer looked like Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the end! Saved me from mold though in the end... :)
 

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farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
I’ve always heard people top above the fifth node....but then I tried this approach and I feel like I have a lot less larf on my plants. You are basically topping above the 2nd true node (ignoring the cotyledons) . I’m not saying it’s right, but it really helped me keep the plants short and manageable.


Photo of post topping with LST, then the structure of the plant as a result of the Uncle Bens topping.

View attachment 4459426View attachment 4459427
So the 2nd photo is a result from what you did in the first Photo? That looks pretty amazing!
 

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
I have only one concern for your future in this grow, your plant in the middle is going to get crowded and might not have room once you start flowering.
 

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
@TheSadVeryBadMadGrower Yeah space is going to be tight. I'm hoping to keep the plants as small as possible. Tonight I topped 2 and fimed 3
Really hoping I did things right!
 

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TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

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@TheSadVeryBadMadGrower Yeah space is going to be tight. I'm hoping to keep the plants as small as possible. Tonight I topped 2 and fimed 3
Really hoping I did things right!
Looks good to me. I haven't "fimmed" before. But my understanding is it's basically a variation of topping. Anyways, next few days, start looking at the nodes. You will start seeing the new growth coming in. Once it starts to really grow towards the top, I remove the top 2 fan leaves to allow the new growth to have room to grow upwards and get better light. Other then that. looking good.
 

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Day 33

First watering in 7 days used 1/2 teaspoon Cal-mag per gallon of water. Also then opened up the canopy by removing a few of the upper fan leaves in hopes of allowing the lower growth a chance to see the light. Posted the pictures of the fan leaves for feedback, they seem healthy but I do notice some yellowish areas on a few hence the Cal-Mag. Thanks

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farmingfisherman

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Day 36

Kids seem to be responding well to their water and pruning earlier in the week. Now I'm wondering how and what to do next. I have a uneven canopy and i'm wondering if I should top again to try and even it out. Is it okay to keep the plants in veg mode till I have a even canopy or do I risk harming the plants? I've been keeping temps in the upper 70's to low 80's during the day and and low 70's at night. Humidity has been mid 60's for the entire grow. I've got plenty of head room but not much else. I'm also considering adding another SF-1000 to the existing one I have or something else to help with penetration as the canopy fills in. Any suggestions?
 

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