now what the hell do i do (many pics)

[dankh]

I started growing like 2 months ago, something like that. The following are pictures I started with and the last few are where I'm at now. And as far as what my plants look like, EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN ON THE FORUM TELLS ME I'M DOING IT WRONG. Two factors: First, I had to transplant them from the sun into a box (seen below.) Second, my urge for growing came when we found a dusty but still working Aerogarden in the garage (no kit materials) and so I used that light fixed in a set position because the lamp on that fucking thing is such a weird shape its hard to hang without making some alterations to the light and rigging up this shit and spending a bunch of time on something I would rather do right.

Soooo.. right now I'm plotting the rest of the grow. I've been on 18/4 for the last 2 months about and I'm not sure when I'm supposed to change the schedule. Hell, those plants might be fucked and I could be wasting my time. Anyways. My delima is this: wha tthe fuck do I do? I have the means to build a cheap and personal aero or hyrdro or bubbleponics system but I'd need someone to tell me exactly what to hit up from the stores to build something asap. Most of these threads are about big ass grow rooms.

A smilie for good measure:kiss-ass

These bad boys were tossed into our back-yard and saved after they'd been growing for about 2 weeks in the sun.

The initial lighting used to save them, courtesy of a found Aerogarden:

The looked pretty bad:

The transfer plan involves some new soil and good size pots:

The ghetto constructed box made from a big ass kennel we found in the garage and some white plastic... sheet.. stuff..:

Opened and planted:

Closed top down view:

In the sun room with the lights on (its not there anymore)

Timer and fan, in the garage:

*CURRENT STATUS*:

Please note the middle upper most plant and the two to its right and bottom. I've had this setup for well over a month, probably more like 2. Watering once every 3-5 days depending, with almost no nutes, using our tap water (not left out to airate the chlorine - just read about that), and uhhhh.. yeah, the lighting is fixed at the moment. I'm trying to find information in the forum regarding what tools I can buy to build a small lighting adjustment rig. I'm not even sure if I'm suppoesd to keep using this light from beginning to end... >_< These girls just don't look like all the other pictures I've seen here.

Halp?

 

[pokesalotasmot]

Looks like you did what myself and a lot of other people have done: you started growing before having a plan.

Your lighting definitely needs to be addressed; from your pics it looks like its too little, too far away and it's stretching your plants too much. Just keep reading all the information that you can, and check out Jorge Cervantes grow vids, they have a lot of good information. Do what you can with what you got, you'll probably make more modifications to your grow area as you go along.

Good luck mang

 

[GreenSpring]

I'd try get that light closer to them, stop that stretching. Ad some nutes to... it doesnt look like they're getting enough food. Be careful though - start with low nute concentration and gradually add more so as not to burn them.

 

[dankh]

Looks like you did what myself and a lot of other people have done: you started growing before having a plan.

Your lighting definitely needs to be addressed; from your pics it looks like its too little, too far away and it's stretching your plants too much. Just keep reading all the information that you can, and check out Jorge Cervantes grow vids, they have a lot of good information. Do what you can with what you got, you'll probably make more modifications to your grow area as you go along.

Good luck mang

Well, yeah. I was talking about growing with my GF and she decided to take a handful of seeds and toss them in the backyard. That's where the sprouts came from, so I'm having to sort of figure out what the hell I need to do to 1) save them and 2) make them produce. And with literally no money.

I've got some shop light fixtures but they aren't functioning for some reason and I need to grab some GE Daylight bulbs.

How long should I have them on a 20/4 schedule? Or should it be 18/6?

 

[dankh]

And.. why is stretching 'bad'?

 

[Psychopassive]

And.. why is stretching 'bad'?

It's not a bad thing outdoors, but indoors it means that there's a big difference in height between the top nodes and the bottom ones. If a plant is 2 feet tall and the lights are optimally positioned for the top of the plant, the bottom of the plant won't be getting anywhere near enough. Indoor growers aim for a nice flat and even canopy which allows you to get maximum light to all parts of the plant.

Also, really stretchy plants often have thin stems that bend and break easily under the weight of bud.

 

[dankh]

It's not a bad thing outdoors, but indoors it means that there's a big difference in height between the top nodes and the bottom ones. If a plant is 2 feet tall and the lights are optimally positioned for the top of the plant, the bottom of the plant won't be getting anywhere near enough. Indoor growers aim for a nice flat and even canopy which allows you to get maximum light to all parts of the plant.

Also, really stretchy plants often have thin stems that bend and break easily under the weight of bud.

Ah, shit son. Makes sense. Okay well I've gotta figure out how to make the transition from the box to something more stable and portable. We gotta move in a few weeks. :/

 

[cleangro]

just go down to your gardening store and buy some standard vegetation grow mix that they recommend and use that, the plants will love that, and you don't need to get too specific with what you're using fert wise until you're in flowering anyways. Yes you need more light, and it needs to be lower down. Oh, and what are you going to do when the plants get too big for the kennel?

 

[dankh]

Just bought some cheap 2x4's and had them cut up to build a frame. I forgot the fucking nails though so I'm using 2" nails and some wood glue. I'll get proper nails tomorrow I guess and secure it. Anyways, I went with a notch track system so i could just center balance the light (got bulbs today too) and move it easily up and down. I'll take pics. :9

Hey, since I'm limited to roughly 4' in room to grow I was wondering about the ScrOG method. And uh, I'm going to see if I can find the answer to this, but how long should they be in veg phase? I'll have to go longer I think because my lighting solution was a failure and they're stretching and not growing.

Anyways.. danke!

 

[dankh]

just go down to your gardening store and buy some standard vegetation grow mix that they recommend and use that, the plants will love that, and you don't need to get too specific with what you're using fert wise until you're in flowering anyways. Yes you need more light, and it needs to be lower down. Oh, and what are you going to do when the plants get too big for the kennel?

already on top of that mang! while i'm waiting for the glue to dry i'm going to research the watering systems that i can use in an indoor setup so when i go back for the screws or nails I can get those materials too. I'm thinking I just need like a fish tank pump, real cheapo and like.. some tubes.. or something. ::

 

[Rusty Crutch]

You should have a good look through the grow journals. See what everyone else is doing and pick the right one for you and your budget. There's a lot of wasted space in the "grow box". You will get a lot more height if you tipped the whole thing on its end. I've never thought of growing in a cage though. Would be great for SCROG.

 

[Rusty Crutch]

If you just planted a handful of seeds you are probably going to get males too. Its something you are going to have to watch for when you go to 12/12 in a few weeks. I would get that light about 3-6 inches away from the plants too. They will soak up a lot more light that way. You will need to get a fan in there it blow fresh air on them and get them moving around a bit. If you are going to set up an auto watering system you are going to need a good timer.

 

[GidgetGrows]

Lots of little plants, you have the starts of a decent little grow. CFL's are your friends, I would, and this is if it were me, I'd wire power strips on all 4 sides of the cage and hook CFLs through the wires and plug them in from the inside, so they get lighting from all sides as well as the top.
Once they get bigger, they will be easier to light, but until then, the closer you can get the lights to them, the faster and bushier they will become.
Good Luck!

I would put your lights on either 24/0 or 18/6. Until they are like a foot tall more or less, then switch to 12/12 to flower, since they will double or triple in height when you flower. If my journal is of help, you can reach it in my sig, almost finished growing out 3 females, lots of pics.

 

[speeka]

The fourth picture down is the perfect example of bad pot size for plant, only partially watering your compost can only lead to a wank root tball & an inactive micro heard in your compost.
Still i must admire how you salvaged them & popped them under what ever you could find. Smaller pot's wet the compost through with just water, they never need nutes this young if they are in fresh compost. It is a weed after all!

 

[Delux83]

he is right when you water you want to make sure you get all of the soil with 10% run off. dry spots = dead roots
if you cant lower the lights sometimes its easier to raise the plants
I wouldnt recomend building and irrigation system for them on your first grow. you cant find the time to water 3x a week?
gl on ur grow though man its addictive have fun!