First CFL grow

[timmythetooth]

My first grow - im about 4 days in so far so its nothing special. There are 4 13w CFL's over the plan and i plan to add more as the plant gets bigger. The first 2 pictures are day 2-3 and the last is taken today. How much should i be watering? i have been doing 2 tablespoons - should i move up to half a cup?

Also - I have other plants growing in the closet; some tomatoes and herbs - will they have a negative effect on my one plant? Im just starting them then i will move them outside when the weather gets nicer so its not permanent.

Thanks.

 

[mjisgood21]

No they won't affect youre plants,id say.You need to drill some holes on the bottem of the pots & put some rocks in the bottem.When you water,get all around the pot not just the middle were it grows.Excess water will drip so get a drip pan or make one for them.This gives the roots beter development & increases youre chances for a healthy plant.Roots need some air also,so this helps out alot.Belive me,it will!If you already done that,sorry.I can't tell in the pics.Im not a pro,still a newb also.But I know what im talking about on this part.Anyone else on here will tell you the same.

 

[timmythetooth]

No they won't affect youre plants,id say.You need to drill some holes on the bottem of the pots & put some rocks in the bottem.

I have done that - my pot setup for the time being is small bit of newspaper crumpled at the bottom (allows air into the pot through the holes and keeps the medium from leaking out) some perlite and then the soil. for the first few days i have been watering the cube and just around it until it grows slightly bigger - then i will water around to get the roots to grow.

I'm just not sure on how much water i should be giving this plant....

 

[mjisgood21]

Youre doing it a lil different then I do.I use peda or peta pots(forgot how to spell it lol).Until the roots get close or start to come out the edges.I always filled them with water so the whole peda pot was moist,but not soaking.But this isn't helping you much lol.Maybe someone else will chime in.Seems like less & less people are helping on here though.Most will just read & not give a reply if youre Q can be answeared by reading through previous threads/post.
I don't think that newspaper is going to help any.When it gets wet the soil will just weigh it down.Just my opinion.Do what you want though.

 

[timmythetooth]

Here is a picture from today, its third set of leaves are coming in. Im still not sure on how much water i should be giving the plant. I have started doing 1/4 cup every other day - is this enough?
I also add a bit of a nutrient solution high in P to encourage root growth because i will start flowering in about 2 weeks. (its diluted in water to about 1/8th of its normal strength, i will strengthen it after a few more watering.) Should i be spraying this solution on the leaves or just adding it to the water?

 

[mjisgood21]

From the pic you posted.Youre still on youre first set of leaves/nodes.
I sould be on my 7th set.But since I burned it.Im onely on my 4th.Not full but geting theyre.You should wait till you get on the 5th at least.Thats when it starts to be mature enough to have a decent harvest.Here is a pic of it from tonight.Got around 100w of CFLs right now.
1-42w 2.7k 1 20w 6.5k to my bigest one & a baby.
1-15w 6.5k & 1-23w 6.5k for the other 2 babies.

 

[SyNiK4L]

are those daylight CFLs? for the veg stage u deff need 5500-6500K bulbs. im runnin 6 daylight cfls and 2 softwhite. all 23 watt. the stickied post bout growing with cfls is really good info about what kinda bulbs u need. and it deff makes a difference. i almost ruined a couple of my plants cus i had the wrong bulbs.

and i wouldnt spray nutes on the leaves cus it builds up stuff on the leaves unless u spray them off after im pretty sure. the only thing i spray on my leaves is distilled water. and if when i use nutes i just pour it in a circle around the bottom of the stem on the soil.

 

[SyNiK4L]

and why are u starting to flower in 2 weeks? they wont be big enuf to really handle buds.

 

[timmythetooth]

and why are u starting to flower in 2 weeks? they wont be big enuf to really handle buds.

I wont be - instead I'm clipping clones and planting them outdoors because i wont be in the same location long enough to harvest...bummer but this is more of a test run before i start a bigger harvest.

I have 2 sets of 13w Daylight and 2 26w Soft white for my tomatoes and herbs in the back.

I will be foliar feeding the mother plant because its clones will be out in the rain and shine and wont be getting anymore since i will be leaving in 2 months.

Anyways - here are some pictures from yesterday and today. I'm on day 6 now. Tomorrow the plant should be in the vegetative stage( i hope) and start growing because its still very close to the ground.

 

[timmythetooth]

Here is todays update. The plant seems to be growing fine, maybe a little bit slow?

Does anyone know why is it so low to the ground?

 

[volcometsarehere]

its growing nice. everyone loves a short bushy plant. it might be from the lights being close to it. or it could be part of its genetics.

 

[SyNiK4L]

Here is todays update. The plant seems to be growing fine, maybe a little bit slow?

Does anyone know why is it so low to the ground?

probably hasnt had enuf to time to grow bigger. also raise ur lights. not to much....but just alil bit so the plants stretch toward the light

 

[SyNiK4L]

and get more high watt daylights. im runnin 8 of them. 23 watts a piece. daylight is really good for veg stage. soft white wont help that much for this stage. i took all my soft whites out cus they were actually ruining my plants.

 

[timmythetooth]

and get more high watt daylights. im runnin 8 of them. 23 watts a piece. daylight is really good for veg stage. soft white wont help that much for this stage. i took all my soft whites out cus they were actually ruining my plants.

They ruined your plants? Well ive got 2 26w in the back but and the equivalent in Daylight on my plant and nothing harmful has happened yet.. This is what it looks like after 8 days!

 

[timmythetooth]

Thats the picture from yesterday....Here is todays

 

[Budweaver]

Rather than give it such a small amount of water so many times, give it a good, full soaking less often. Put your pot over something to catch the water and slowly pour in your water til it runs out the drain holes...then don't water again until you see the leaves starting to droop a bit from needing water. Lift your pot and get a feel for it's weight at this point (when it's bone dry) so you'll know when to water in future. Then give it another good, thourough soaking like you did before. This is benificial for the plant in several ways. For one, by soaking and draining like that you are pulling oxygen down into the medium. Also, by letting it dry out completely you are forcing the roots to go in search of every drop of moisture, subsequently making them grow to fill the pot.

Also, I'd consider upgrading to at least 23w CFLs, 13w just don't pump enough lumens...this is likely the cause of the slow growth. If you don't mind spending $10 or so, get one of the 40-something watt bulbs, they fit into a regular lamp socket just like those 13 watters and your plant will love you for it. Keep those bulbs within 2 or 3 inches of the plant and watch it take off.

 

[SyNiK4L]

i meant that i had all soft white bulbs...and they sorta ruined my plants because i only had soft whites....soft whites are not for veg. they are for flowering. it wont ruin ur plants but it also doesnt do much good. thats why i swapped out all my bulbs and now have 10 CFLs 23 watt daylights.

 

[timmythetooth]

Ok here is today's picture. I started watering more as someone suggested so the soil stays moist for about 2-3 days. Im still using small lights but the growth seems fine - its on day 10. When i do a more permanent grow in a few month i will get stronger lights and more of them.

 

[Budweaver]

Have you considered any training on your plant? I think CFLs are excellent for LST and SCrOG techniques because they open up the plant and really let you get the bulb right down in there.

 

[lilkc]

Good Start Timmy! bt u should really get sum 6500K bulbs.
& wat type of soil are u using?