First grow. I need advice/ help

Hello everyone,

This is my first grow and my first post.

I have two plants that I believe to be sour diesel and tangie.

My setup:
I'm using 12 bulbs cfl's at 42 watts (2700k) for both plants in flower right now. 12/12

They are sitting in what I believe are 5 gallon pots with a reservoir on the bottom to collect water after its saturated the soil.

Nutes:
I'm using the general hydroponics line of micro,gro,and bloom. I'm also using their kool bloom. In addition I'm also using npk multiply and also cal mag and silicate but I don't remember the brands of them right now. I've been feeding once every 3 days or so.

And so, here's my question:

I'm in day 8 of flower. Yes, I know it's still early but I see a lot of other grows already showing some kind of budding action in week 2. Also, mine aren't stretching very much. I do have some light leaking. I have barely seen any stretching from either plant. And as far as what I've been reading, I'm supposed to be getting lots of stretch by now. Can anyone help me? Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Could my light leak have anything to do with my plants not starting to bud yet?

I've posted some pictures of them to see if anyone can recognize any issues.

Please and thank you?

how old are they? how long did you veg .what's the size of grow space . fans filters air intake . oscillator fans.. . I'd say you need way more light .. but I'm a 1st grower too.... but I veged under 400watt hps and flipped to flower 5 days ago and they all have grown very well under the 600watt hps .. step up the light and you will see massive change

Treat pk like a ko man better off last few weeks as they add weight.just feed veg nutes n some water.
Thats N Def

Honestly,

I vegged for a long time. I want to say 3 1/2 months. With a whole lot of light. I don't remember exactly how much though.

I was thinking like you where I thought maybe I need more light.

I have one big box fan next to them, I know they are getting plenty of air.

I would say my space is about

4' x 4' more or less.

I've been growing them sense I would say January 25th. So yes it's been a longtime .

Patience is a virtue they will grow, sit back feet up and enjoy

Tone24 said:

Patience is a virtue they will grow, sit back feet up and enjoy

Click to expand...

Sometimes I feel that way,

Like I'm just being paranoid as most first timers are.

Alright so here is an update,

I think they might be starting to stretch a lliiiiiitttttttle bit, but I also think they are also starting to flower also? Can someone please verify for me?

Here are a couple picture of two different girls.

Sorry that second picture is blurry

Let's try this one

It's the same plant just with a little better focus on what I want u Guys to look at,

op84 said:

Honestly,

I vegged for a long time. I want to say 3 1/2 months. With a whole lot of light. I don't remember exactly how much though.

I was thinking like you where I thought maybe I need more light.

I have one big box fan next to them, I know they are getting plenty of air.

I would say my space is about

4' x 4' more or less.

I've been growing them sense I would say January 25th. So yes it's been a longtime .

Click to expand...

3 1/2 months of veg and that's as big as they have gotten!?! And yes they are starting to flower.

Lordhooha said:

3 1/2 months of veg and that's as big as they have gotten!?! And yes they are starting to flower.

Click to expand...

Yeap,
This is my first grow...

So I'm just doing what I can as I read and learn, I have another one in veg.

I know now how to allow them to grow and get tall and big but I think that I might be LSTing too hard or something I don't know... and I started LSTing a little late in veg also so...

maybe that's why they aren't growing super tall. But maybe in flower they will stretch and get a little taller? I'm not sure

light leak is gona kill you get that fixes asap unless you want a hermie and seeds. will also affect flower density thus yield. only 42 watts total? or per bulb?

Dynamo626 said:

light leak is gona kill you get that fixes asap unless you want a hermie and seeds. will also affect flower density thus yield. only 42 watts total? or per bulb?

Click to expand...

42 watts each bulb. (Equivalent to 150 watts. At least that's what the box of the bulb said)

I think I fixed the light leak pretty significantly. To the point where it's very dark in there. There might be a very very slight light leak but I mean minuscule.

Do you think even that will mess up bud growth or make them hermy?

yes yes it will. turn your lights off get in your tent/area close off even the tinniest pin hole. the hormone that controls flowering is Photochrome far-red
not gona write a book here I cant type lol but the name sais it all PHOTOchrome. Its all abought the light. as for what the box sais that's all marketing and is a big fat lie. cfls are very inefficient even less so than hid lighting. there only advantage is the total lack of heat letting you get them very close to the plant. ideal for small stealth grows. your area is a bit larger it looks at least 3x3x5 how big is it?

Dynamo626 said:

yes yes it will. turn your lights off get in your tent/area close off even the tinniest pin hole. the hormone that controls flowering is Photochrome far-red
not gona write a book here I cant type lol but the name sais it all PHOTOchrome. Its all abought the light. as for what the box sais that's all marketing and is a big fat lie. cfls are very inefficient even less so than hid lighting. there only advantage is the total lack of heat letting you get them very close to the plant. ideal for small stealth grows. your area is a bit larger it looks at least 3x3x5 how big is it?

Click to expand...

You pretty much nailed it

Maybe 4x4x5? More or less

I've read a lot about cfl's not being good enough for flower but I have also read a lot about cfl's being more than enough to get it done.

Ok so I will do the best I can to make sure no lights gets leaked through. Maybe I can tape up the cracks on the closet doors or something because if you say even a pinhole can screw things up, I better do something about it before it gets out of hand.

Now I feel paranoid that my lap top screen is gonna mess up my grow lol

lol probably is but why risk it. cfls will do it but your only looking at tops an inch two a master gardener may even be able to coax out 6 inch tops depending on strain. they will not be as dense or resinous either. your area is perfect for a 315 cmh. that's over a 100 less than your using and you will get those big foot long main colas with a ton of oil. you can get an off brand one with a good lamp for 250.00 check out my journal for my current grow. in a 3x3x6 under a 315 cmh getting ready to go into my flower tent next week. 9 weeks of veg, 10 manifold tops to each plant. flower tent is 4.5x4.5x7 with a 630 de cmh

do a google search on photochrome red and cannabis you will be careful with light after that

Dynamo626 said:

do a google search on photochrome red and cannabis you will be careful with light after that

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Wow,

Very interesting read.

Thank you for showing me this info.

But you've also made me even more paranoid now lol.

It's a good thing though, I now have a better understanding and maybe my next grow can be a little better keeping this in mind. So again, thank you.

I don't think my first grow is too shabby though, I've seen worst.

I think what I'm going to do is grab a tarp of some kind with Velcro to make sure I don't have any light entering.

I've noticed that once I sealed up the doors a little better, I had better growth.