First time grower cant figure whats wrong with my plants?

Hello everyone, I'm a first time grower and I have planted both of these plants on the 25th of December and did a pot transplant on January 7th. I have a 75watt cfl and 2 25watt cfls on them and they have been growing for 24 days now. I have the lights on all day and I try and water them no more than 2-3 days apart. The soil i used was a miraclegrow potting mix recommended by one of my experienced growing buddies. One of them is really small but is growing and the other, it is fairly sizable and the leaves are curling over, I'm not sure why these things are happening. I look at everyone else's plants at this age and they are huge and growing pretty rapidly and mine are the size that they are. Please help me out. Any tips, questions, advice, criticism is very much welcomed! I have do not know what type of bud it is, indica or sativa, I was hoping to figure that out a little ways into the growing. Pictures are attached below. Thanks in advance for all the feedback. And if you have the knowledge can you also tell me what I should be expecting and what i should go out and get for the next month or two of growing. I have no clue what i am doing. I will be up checking this thing all night so expect a quick response!
 

robert030188

Well-Known Member
They look fine to me...use as little water as possible with MG in seedling part of growth to prevent burn from time released nutes
 
Hello everyone, I'm a first time grower and I have planted both of these plants on the 25th of December and did a pot transplant on January 7th. I have a 75watt cfl and 2 25watt cfls on them and they have been growing for 24 days now. I have the lights on all day and I try and water them no more than 2-3 days apart. The soil i used was a miraclegrow potting mix recommended by one of my experienced growing buddies. One of them is really small but is growing and the other, it is fairly sizable and the leaves are curling over, I'm not sure why these things are happening. I look at everyone else's plants at this age and they are huge and growing pretty rapidly and mine are the size that they are. Please help me out. Any tips, questions, advice, criticism is very much welcomed! I have do not know what type of bud it is, indica or sativa, I was hoping to figure that out a little ways into the growing. Pictures are attached below. Thanks in advance for all the feedback. And if you have the knowledge can you also tell me what I should be expecting and what i should go out and get for the next month or two of growing. I have no clue what i am doing. I will be up checking this thing all night so expect a quick response!
First of all, I really would try to save up the cash to get an old 600/1000 to gain the intensity you need to get the growth your anticipating. I wouldn't use CFL's for much other than rooting clones. But until then, 18-24 hours of light's good, you want to watch the moisture levels of the soil to ensure you're not over or under-watering, water thoroughly and make sure you're putting in balanced water at 6.5 for soil but I think your main problem to answer your main concern is you're a little higher on the temps than the plant prefers, which is why the leaves are curling up. If they resemble a half pipe and curling up like that, the leaves are transpiring/sweating more than they want in my opinion.
 

robert030188

Well-Known Member
Oh yep my bad they are starting to taco...get your temps down and do a foliar spray when lights go out but take my watering advice too
 

Dr Kynes

Well-Known Member
first thing's first.

miracle grow (abreviated as MG) potting mix is SPICY. seedlings rarely do well in it. it contains too much of the stuff plants crave, so much that they burn and suffer
most MG potting mixes also contain, as i can see in your pictures, a gelatinous silica amendment substance that they claim "holds water" when what it does is smother roots. thats what makes your dirt form that curious crusty surface after you've watered.

your plant is pale and stretchy. she is not getting enough of the things she needs to grow.

plants need light, warmth free flowing air on the leaves and the roots, plentiful water, but the water must NOT stand in a saucer underneath, and the nutrients should be abundant but not overwhelming.

first, get a LARGER pot something in the half gallon size, a plastic milk jug with the top lopped off does well. pierce ample holes not just in the bottom, but a few up the sides as well. place your pot on a pan lined with gravel, or a rack to ensure that excess water can drain away, and NOT be sucked back up, that just leads to root rot.

fill your pot with good clean dirt, if you wish to use miracle grow potting mix, you must add something nuetral to thin it out, like coco coir (coconut fiber) backyard dirt (with worms) or at the very least a lot more perlite.
ideally your dirt should provide plenty of places for roots to grab on, so your plant doesnt fall over, and it should store plenty of water, but nutrients should be sparse enough to make the plant reach for the food. you can always add more nutrients, but dirt that turns sour and burns your roots will snuff your plant.

place your plant, pot and all in a bath of plain lukewarm water and gently massage the MG potting mix away from the roots, then plant your seedling in your fresh MILDER dirt and water her in. she may wilt, dont panic. you really need to get that hot ass MG potting mix off the roots, and a lukewarm bath works wonders.

place the larger pots with the milder dirt and the fresh washed seedlings under your lights, and bring the lights CLOSER, with CFL's you can get the lights right down in there, like an inch from the leaves. this will give them more of the light and warmth they need at this stage.

within a day or two they will perk up and then you gotta check em every day and move the lifghts as needed to keep the leaves from reaching the bulbs. clip on shop lights with 12-24 watt CFL's will really help you keep the lights on the plants without being terribly hard to move.

finally, on the lights... you most likely do not have a 75 watt CFL unless that fucker is BIG. look at the base of the bulb, where the ballast lives, it will tell you there what the actual wattage is, rather than the incandescent equivalent number on the bulb packet, which means nothing. most CFL"s come in 8-12-24 watt sizes, rarely will you see a 25 watt bulb, and 75 watt CFL's are specialty items from garden shops.

if you got the dough, get a four tube T5 fixture and use that rahter than edison type lamps. youll get more light for less power, and the tubes last longer and are cheaper to replace than CFL's. CFL's make fabulous side lights and additional lighing for when your plants get big, but they are not very efficient whn compared to a tube fixture, even a T8 or T12 (bigger number means larger diameter tubes and lower efficeincy, smaller T numbers are best)

once you have your plants in good dirt, watered well but not soggy, and under plenty of light, if everything goes to plan, your babies will turn a much darker green and and start growing fast. DONT FERTILIZE until your plants start looking a little pale, like a month or more from now. then use any fertilizer you like, using the instructions for tomatoes, or if you have a cannabis specific fertilizer, as directed.

i usually fertilize about half whats on the packet, and do it half as often. this gets good results. once your plant starts demanding more fertilizer to keep the growing going, you can edge up the dosage and frequency slowly, just be careful not to burn them, nutrients are the number one killer of dope plants, we just love them too much.

good luck bro.
 

jpill

Well-Known Member
jesus man, cut your finger nails ! Omg thats fucking nasty ! Plant looks good just don't let it stretch, study topping and pruning techniques asap.
 

smokeytokeybear

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone, I'm a first time grower and I have planted both of these plants on the 25th of December and did a pot transplant on January 7th. I have a 75watt cfl and 2 25watt cfls on them and they have been growing for 24 days now. I have the lights on all day and I try and water them no more than 2-3 days apart. The soil i used was a miraclegrow potting mix recommended by one of my experienced growing buddies. One of them is really small but is growing and the other, it is fairly sizable and the leaves are curling over, I'm not sure why these things are happening. I look at everyone else's plants at this age and they are huge and growing pretty rapidly and mine are the size that they are. Please help me out. Any tips, questions, advice, criticism is very much welcomed! I have do not know what type of bud it is, indica or sativa, I was hoping to figure that out a little ways into the growing. Pictures are attached below. Thanks in advance for all the feedback. And if you have the knowledge can you also tell me what I should be expecting and what i should go out and get for the next month or two of growing. I have no clue what i am doing. I will be up checking this thing all night so expect a quick response!
kinda looks thirsty and strechy, but good luck
 

robert030188

Well-Known Member
first thing's first.

miracle grow (abreviated as MG) potting mix is SPICY. seedlings rarely do well in it. it contains too much of the stuff plants crave, so much that they burn and suffer
most MG potting mixes also contain, as i can see in your pictures, a gelatinous silica amendment substance that they claim "holds water" when what it does is smother roots. thats what makes your dirt form that curious crusty surface after you've watered.

your plant is pale and stretchy. she is not getting enough of the things she needs to grow.

plants need light, warmth free flowing air on the leaves and the roots, plentiful water, but the water must NOT stand in a saucer underneath, and the nutrients should be abundant but not overwhelming.

first, get a LARGER pot something in the half gallon size, a plastic milk jug with the top lopped off does well. pierce ample holes not just in the bottom, but a few up the sides as well. place your pot on a pan lined with gravel, or a rack to ensure that excess water can drain away, and NOT be sucked back up, that just leads to root rot.

fill your pot with good clean dirt, if you wish to use miracle grow potting mix, you must add something nuetral to thin it out, like coco coir (coconut fiber) backyard dirt (with worms) or at the very least a lot more perlite.
ideally your dirt should provide plenty of places for roots to grab on, so your plant doesnt fall over, and it should store plenty of water, but nutrients should be sparse enough to make the plant reach for the food. you can always add more nutrients, but dirt that turns sour and burns your roots will snuff your plant.

place your plant, pot and all in a bath of plain lukewarm water and gently massage the MG potting mix away from the roots, then plant your seedling in your fresh MILDER dirt and water her in. she may wilt, dont panic. you really need to get that hot ass MG potting mix off the roots, and a lukewarm bath works wonders.

place the larger pots with the milder dirt and the fresh washed seedlings under your lights, and bring the lights CLOSER, with CFL's you can get the lights right down in there, like an inch from the leaves. this will give them more of the light and warmth they need at this stage.

within a day or two they will perk up and then you gotta check em every day and move the lifghts as needed to keep the leaves from reaching the bulbs. clip on shop lights with 12-24 watt CFL's will really help you keep the lights on the plants without being terribly hard to move.

finally, on the lights... you most likely do not have a 75 watt CFL unless that fucker is BIG. look at the base of the bulb, where the ballast lives, it will tell you there what the actual wattage is, rather than the incandescent equivalent number on the bulb packet, which means nothing. most CFL"s come in 8-12-24 watt sizes, rarely will you see a 25 watt bulb, and 75 watt CFL's are specialty items from garden shops.

if you got the dough, get a four tube T5 fixture and use that rahter than edison type lamps. youll get more light for less power, and the tubes last longer and are cheaper to replace than CFL's. CFL's make fabulous side lights and additional lighing for when your plants get big, but they are not very efficient whn compared to a tube fixture, even a T8 or T12 (bigger number means larger diameter tubes and lower efficeincy, smaller T numbers are best)

once you have your plants in good dirt, watered well but not soggy, and under plenty of light, if everything goes to plan, your babies will turn a much darker green and and start growing fast. DONT FERTILIZE until your plants start looking a little pale, like a month or more from now. then use any fertilizer you like, using the instructions for tomatoes, or if you have a cannabis specific fertilizer, as directed.

i usually fertilize about half whats on the packet, and do it half as often. this gets good results. once your plant starts demanding more fertilizer to keep the growing going, you can edge up the dosage and frequency slowly, just be careful not to burn them, nutrients are the number on killer of dope plants, we just love them too much.

good luck bro.
Yep i think he covered everything you need to know i'd +rep but it won't do much for ya lol
 

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone, I'm a first time grower and I have planted both of these plants on the 25th of December and did a pot transplant on January 7th. I have a 75watt cfl and 2 25watt cfls on them and they have been growing for 24 days now. I have the lights on all day and I try and water them no more than 2-3 days apart. The soil i used was a miraclegrow potting mix recommended by one of my experienced growing buddies. One of them is really small but is growing and the other, it is fairly sizable and the leaves are curling over, I'm not sure why these things are happening. I look at everyone else's plants at this age and they are huge and growing pretty rapidly and mine are the size that they are. Please help me out. Any tips, questions, advice, criticism is very much welcomed! I have do not know what type of bud it is, indica or sativa, I was hoping to figure that out a little ways into the growing. Pictures are attached below. Thanks in advance for all the feedback. And if you have the knowledge can you also tell me what I should be expecting and what i should go out and get for the next month or two of growing. I have no clue what i am doing. I will be up checking this thing all night so expect a quick response!
Here's mine at about the age of yours.
I'm in MG moisture control with about 40% MG perlite added.
This is my 4th plant in MG and have had zero problems with the time release nutes.
After this pic was taken, I gave first feeding at day 25 from sprout.View attachment 2486264
 

Ninjabowler

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone, I'm a first time grower and I have planted both of these plants on the 25th of December and did a pot transplant on January 7th. I have a 75watt cfl and 2 25watt cfls on them and they have been growing for 24 days now. I have the lights on all day and I try and water them no more than 2-3 days apart. The soil i used was a miraclegrow potting mix recommended by one of my experienced growing buddies. One of them is really small but is growing and the other, it is fairly sizable and the leaves are curling over, I'm not sure why these things are happening. I look at everyone else's plants at this age and they are huge and growing pretty rapidly and mine are the size that they are. Please help me out. Any tips, questions, advice, criticism is very much welcomed! I have do not know what type of bud it is, indica or sativa, I was hoping to figure that out a little ways into the growing. Pictures are attached below. Thanks in advance for all the feedback. And if you have the knowledge can you also tell me what I should be expecting and what i should go out and get for the next month or two of growing. I have no clue what i am doing. I will be up checking this thing all night so expect a quick response!
Well lets give this one a go..
you are eventually going to have to get more light. Ditch those small cfls eventually, get bigger ones. I used 150 w equivilant, 40ish real watts i think, cant remember. With Y spliters and extenders coming out of the socket x 4. This is important, no light = no bud.

Nutrients, soon. Theyre at the point where they can take low doses. 250 ppm, parts per million. If you have no experience just buy the fox farm trio, why not. Just somthing with a grow side and a bloom side. A cheap ppm meter can be at your place in a week if you order it off amazon. Mines a small blue hanna.

Most new growers over water which stunts the growth. Your soil has almost no pearlite in it. White flakes that help drainage so even if your not watering that much you may still not be letting your soil dry enough. Test the weight of your pot with dirt in it, you want to water when the pot feels light, almost hollow. Your plants will droop slightly when theyre thirsty.

Make sure your cfls are within distance to work. Your smaller ones can probably be 3 inches and the larger one a bit higher, maybe six inches. I cant tell cause theres no pics of it. If theyre getting to hot move it up. Use your hand to test temps. To hot?

read through RIU threads, lots. Dont post till you know what your doing and everything should go great. Check Luigis super mini plants grow journal for some good timeline info. Read, most people get pissed when you cant answer your own questions with google, RIU has many threads to read on all topics. Good luck :)
 

Dr Kynes

Well-Known Member
Here's mine at about the age of yours.
I'm in MG moisture control with about 40% MG perlite added.
This is my 4th plant in MG and have had zero problems with the time release nutes.
After this pic was taken, I gave first feeding at day 25 from sprout.View attachment 2486264
utterly charming young lady you have there bro.
i want to offer her some candy to get in my windowless panel van.
i agree 100% with you that miracle grow is good, as long as you amend it with something else to take the edge off it's overabundance of nutrients.

im curious what lighting you used to keep her so short, curvaceous and stacked.
 

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
utterly charming young lady you have there bro.
i want to offer her some candy to get in my windowless panel van.
i agree 100% with you that miracle grow is good, as long as you amend it with something else to take the edge off it's overabundance of nutrients.

im curious what lighting you used to keep her so short, curvaceous and stacked.
Thanks, LOL at the candy.
Vegged (for 21 days at time of pic) under 46w of 2700k CFL, and 52w of 5000k CFL, keeping the lights about 2" above the plant.
Here's a pic at 28 and 30 days from sprout, after first feeding at day 25 with MG.View attachment 2490307day 30, 10" tall, 12" wide, still under same lighting.View attachment 2490308
 
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