My First Grow A Little Help Would Be Awesome.

[greencorral19]

Guys this is my first grow and I have 2 whites I dont know what the exact strain they are but they are dank. I have a 380 watt cfl and a 200 watt cfl on each and they seem to be doing well I am just having a problem with them stretching. They sprouted from seed on september 10th so that would make them close to a month old at the time of this post. I am a little curious as to when you would suggest that I start force flowering but I want to do it the right way. I am open to all critiques and advices.

 

[NoDrama]

Those aren't 380 watt Bulbs, they are at most 60 watts. CFL bulbs have an "Equivalent" wattage of incandescent light (380) and an actual wattage (60). Your gonna need more light (that's why they stretch). 400 Watts ACTUAL wattage is the bare minimum I would suggest for 2 plants. Don't water too often, the soil should be allowed to get dry before more water is added. You do not want moist soil all the time.

 

[napa23]

Right, those aren't actually 380 watts. those should be bigger at a month old too. Something's wrong. maybe not enough light.

 

[MoppinSauce]

They look like they are starving. Have you fed them anything? If so, at what rate? What product?

 

[gobbly]

not enough light, and probably could use more nutrients. Really though, I suspect the light is going to be a severe limiting factor in growth rate for you. If you aren't already, leave the light on 24/7...

 

[welshsmoker]

repot them deeper mate, they aint stretching at the tops which is a good thing, and yes more LIGHTS,,,

 

[greencorral19]

Nice preciate the help fellas. Yah I added 2 more 60 watt cfls one to each plant and I replanted them deeper more pictures to come possibly later tonight. I did move the lights much closer to each plant and recently they have exploded in growth so I am hoping the 24/7 technique and the extra lights will help. What nutes would you guys suggest possibly something relatively easy to find and how much would you suggest?

 

[napa23]

go to ebay and pick up Blue mountain organics nutrients. here I'll just post the link. It's organic and cheap. I've heard nothing but good things. http://stores.ebay.com/Blue-Mountain-Organics
edit: by the way, cfl's need to be as close as possible. I used to keep mine a finger thickness away. As long as you have a fan blowing, they shouldn't burn.

 

[Snow Crash]

They're the wrong spectrum. Red light encourages internode spacing and stretching. 27w Day Light 6500K bulbs are needed. Keep them about an inch away from the plant and you'll see a difference immediately.

 

[greencorral19]

OK i ordered the blue mountain organics and they should be here within the week and I also moved the lighting closer and added 1 additional 68 watt cfl per plant and it has definitely made a difference over the past couple days. That puts it at 2-68 watt cfl and 1-42 watt per plant which would make it an equivalent to around 900 watt per plant. Here are some pics so far and you can see they have definitely picked up since the change. I have been getting some slight browning and curling on a couple leaves however. I am not sure if that has anything to do with the fact that I switched to 24/7 lighting but the fan is on them at all times any ideas?

 

[napa23]

Some good new growth there. Do you have a temp sensor in there? What's the temp like, looks like a bit of a heat issue maybe. Try to get better pics of the effected leaves. Take the plant from under the lights and take a pic of the effected leaves from the top. I can't really determine what's wrong because you don't have good angles.

 

[Snow Crash]

One of your bulbs is FAR too close to the plant. You're going to burn her up with that bulb that's basically touching the leaf.

Again. Your bulbs are the wrong spectrum. 60ish watt plus CFL bulbs have a serious issue. They cast too much heat versus how much light you get. At the distance it is safe to keep them you are getting the same amount of energy as a 20ish watt bulb that could be kept closer because it throws less heat.

In my opinion any CFL bulb between 30w and 100w is not a good choice.

Again, red light provides a very minimal amount of energy to the plant. More blue light is what you need. get yourself a two pack of 27w Day Light spectrum 6500K color temperature, replace your 60 watters with them, and your plants will do better. I've been growing with CFL for about 2 years now. Trust me on this one and you'll be very glad you did.

 

[napa23]

One of your bulbs is FAR too close to the plant. You're going to burn her up with that bulb that's basically touching the leaf.

Again. Your bulbs are the wrong spectrum. 60ish watt plus CFL bulbs have a serious issue. They cast too much heat versus how much light you get. At the distance it is safe to keep them you are getting the same amount of energy as a 20ish watt bulb that could be kept closer because it throws less heat.

In my opinion any CFL bulb between 30w and 100w is not a good choice.

Again, red light provides a very minimal amount of energy to the plant. More blue light is what you need. get yourself a two pack of 27w Day Light spectrum 6500K color temperature, replace your 60 watters with them, and your plants will do better. I've been growing with CFL for about 2 years now. Trust me on this one and you'll be very glad you did.

That's not entirely true. Back when I was primarily using CFLs I had a 105W and some 26 and 32 watters, all within an inch of the plant. That's how it needs to be. Of course, this is assuming you have some temperature control. A fan blowing cool air should be enough. Growing environments vary from person to person. Put your finger between the bulb and plant. If it's too hot for you then it's too close. This is why i was asking if he had a thermometer. You're right about the spectrum though. For a regular photoperiod plant, you want blue spec for veg and red for flower. you can get by with red spec, but it's not optimal. If you don't have the cash for more CFLs, it won't hurt to keep the red. Again, growth will just be slower. A mixed spectrum will benefit you, too. They really need both blue and red. more blue in veg and more red in flower.

 

[greencorral19]

Nice thanks for the help guys. Yah Snow I am picking up some of the 27w today just to add, it cant hurt to have mix of red and blue. And napa I will be sure to get those close up pics tonight when I add the new lights and try and get a temp sensor in there. I do think it may be a temp issue but we'll see. I also wanted to ask if you had ever used the blue mountain organic nutrients and if so how much and at what rate?

 

[napa23]

Nice thanks for the help guys. Yah Snow I am picking up some of the 27w today just to add, it cant hurt to have mix of red and blue. And napa I will be sure to get those close up pics tonight when I add the new lights and try and get a temp sensor in there. I do think it may be a temp issue but we'll see. I also wanted to ask if you had ever used the blue mountain organic nutrients and if so how much and at what rate?

No prob, that's what we're here for. I have not used the BMO nutes. Do a search on here, I know others have used it. It looks great though. I plan to buy it in the future. Actually, I think on their site they have the dosage. Try looking there again. Good luck buddy.
Edit: Do you have a fan in there? i see you have support sticks tied to the stem. That shouldn't be necessary. The wind from the fans will strengthen the stem, also helps cut down on stretching.

 

[greencorral19]

Ok the ladies are 36 days old and the changes Ive made are almost night and day in terms of growth they have exploded the past couple days and it is obviously helped thanks alot guys. I am wondering if it may be about the time to flower because they are getting fairly dense and they are both about 13 inches tall. Suggestions?

 

[napa23]

Yeah looking good, that's what I like to see. You can start to flower whenever you want. Please tell me your temp isn't reading 108 though!

 

[greencorral19]

Haha no the silver film on the thermometer just looks like that it reads up close at around 85 and humidity around 60%. Thanks napa would you suggest 12/12 lighting?

 

[napa23]

Your plant will most likely double and maybe triple in size in flower. So start whenever it would best fit your space. For a CFL grow I'd start now.

 

[greencorral19]

It has been 74 days since sprout and it has been 35 days since flowering and they seem to be doing well. I am hoping they start to thicken up and gain more mass around the stem I am 99% sure they are both female however I saw a couple pollen pods on both of them however I clipped them off and havn't seen any since I am hoping they are not going herm but a lil feed back would be awesome. Especially in terms of harvesting and curing.