What do you think, more light?

[Beegeplaya6969]

I've been growing my babies for a little over a month and realize now that I have way to little light for growing. I have a 20 watt florescent tube and I was wondering if I can salvage the plants if I add more light or should I simply start over. If I start the flowering stage now and switch the lights to 12 on 12 off (with more lights of course) will it get more bushy or just continue to stretch upwards? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this is my first ATTEMPT lol. Thanks guys!

 

[Bear's Blunts]

ya you need way more light . get some cfl s or even better a hps. Peace

 

[Beegeplaya6969]

And should I just hang them from the top?

 

[HippieMan]

You can salvage them, they look perfectly healthy. For awhile (2-3 months) I was tending a plant under the worst of conditions, it was the most stretched and thin plant I'd ever seen, but within a couple weeks of putting it under a high-watt HPS it flourished into a mega-plant. Theres no problems that I can see on your plant. I wouldn't flower them right now as they wouldn't produce very much compared to the effort and time you put into them, but once you get a better light I would allow it to vegetate for another 2-3 weeks then flower them, just so they get a bit more bushy.

 

[Beegeplaya6969]

You can salvage them, they look perfectly healthy. For awhile (2-3 months) I was tending a plant under the worst of conditions, it was the most stretched and thin plant I'd ever seen, but within a couple weeks of putting it under a high-watt HPS it flourished into a mega-plant. Theres no problems that I can see on your plant.

Hippieman what do you suggest I do with the lighting... HPS? How much? Etc? Thanks bro

 

[email468]

nice job for your first attempt. if you plan on continuing to grow and possibly expanding your garden, i'd recommend switchable 400w MH/HPS ballast - you can grow quite a few small or a few large plants with it. i don't know what your situation is or where you're growing but you'll need to put the plants in a place where they can be in complete darkness during the 12/12 dark period. that usually means putting them in an enclosed space. that means you'll need to ventilate that space and watch out for high temps using HID lights.

i guess what i'm trying to say is if you switch to using HID lighting then you may need to also invest in better exhaust and ventilation system.

 

[Kief Reefer]

You need a 400 watt metal halide or 400 watt high pressure sodium, both are available at Lowe's or online for about $150. Wait until pre-flowers appear to induce flowering. Males will start to develop pollen sacs and eventually autoflower. Females can stay in perpetual vegetation, but will still develop little ovaries with two pistils forming a "v" shape at the internode. When you see these, switch to 12/12. Don't let you males pollinate your females. Check them twice a day when the time gets close. You've got about a month to go before you have to worry about that, and you'll keep waiting until you get more light. Growth probably isn't really happening much right now, and it won't without enough light. Get the High Intensity Discharge light of your choice, and have a blast with two beautiful healthy plants. Peace brothers

 

[Hubert]

Looks pretty damn good for being under only 20w! The amount of light you need depends on how large you growroom is...for flower you want a minimum of 50w per square foot, and the closer you get to 100w per square foot the better. HPS is the way to go if you can regulate temps, if not look into T5s.

 

[Beegeplaya6969]

My setup is in my walk in closet so there is some room. I have a small fan blowing non stop on the plants just to keep the air circulating. I think I am going to buy some of those CFL's or a HPS to get this baby bushy... Is it best to hang the lights from the top or should I use a lamp and put it between the two.

If i start putting the lights on 12 and off 12 now will it yield anything, or should I keep it in the veg stage a little while longer?

 

[email468]

personally, i would hang the HID from the top. if you want to supplement with side lighting you can use CFLs.

if you switch to HID, i'd give a week or two to acclimate to the new lighting before switching to 12/12.