First time CFL grow, need advice.

Hi, I have been getting in touch with my inner Horticulturist (and potheadness) lol And decided to start a grow of my own ever since finding out about CFL's. Ive done enough research on RIU for practically all the basics and alot of advanced info. My only problem has been the lower leaves turning yellow and die off. Ive never bought or used a PH test kit, so im assuming just from common sense that that is my problem. Info and pics provided below, any feedback is welcomed.

My Setup.
Plants: 2 plants. Random Bag-seed dank
Soil: Crappy Scotts soil to begin with then REPLANTED with FF Ocean Forest
Nutes: Recipe for Success:Starter Kit (Technaflora Plant Products)
Lights: 4- 10½ inch Broder Clamp Light Fixtures, (1 above each plant, 1 on the side of each plant)
2- 105 watt 5000k CFL bulbs (1 above each plant)
1- 42 watt 2700k CFL bulb on the side of the non-topped plant
2- 23 watt (1 2700k & 1 5000k) on the side of the topped plant
Fan: 1- 3 speed fan that I use to circulate air, and it pushes out air on one side and sucks in air on the other side
Water: Distilled gallons of water.
Planted on: Nov. 12 2012
12/12 started on: Jan. 23 2013



Pic 1 is the best looking IMO, the non-topped plant.
Pic 2 is of the non topped leaves that turn yellow and die.
Pic 3 is the other, topped plant.
Pic 4 is the yellowing/dying leaves on the topped plant.
Pic 5 is another of the dying leaves on the topped plant.
Pic 6 is a shot of my set-up (best I could get lol)
Pic 7 is of the beautiful baby nug of the non-topped plant.

I know I have gotten lucky as I only started 2 plants and they both were female, and of course everything isn't perfect as it IS my first time trying to grow anything.

ANY and ALL advice/feedback/constructive criticism is welcomed. Thanks for viewing.

Welcome to the wonderful world of growing! I hope you enjoy it and get what you want out of it.

Do yourself a favor and get a pH tester and some pH Up and Down. A digital pen would be ideal, but if you're el-cheapo then the liquid and test strip kits would be better than nothing. pH is one of the most important things for growing. Too high or too low and your babies won't be able to pull the nutrients they need to grow and thrive. If your pH is out of whack for too long then nutrient lock out starts.

Also a digital thermometer is almost a necessity so you can monitor and adjust temperature and humidity if need be.

Using distilled water presents some problems too. Distilled water has everything stripped from it...while at first this seems like a good thing, a plant needs tiny amounts of the trace elements found in RO or tap water.

Looks like you have plenty of light and good coverage. Just remember with CFLs you need to keep them within inches of the plant but not soo close as to burn the leaves. If the lights are too far away your plants will stretch too much trying to reach the light. If they stretch too much you will end up with small, airy popcorn instead of big dense colas.

Best of luck in your first grow!

awesome, thanks for the tips/info. Do you have any recommendations for digital pen ph meters? I typed it into amazon, and I am a cheap-o , but some of them were 10-15 and I definitely don't mind paying that much for a "descent" one, as the local hydroponics store charges 15-18 USD for the cheapest ph UP ph DOWN + test strips. (OFC 20-30 wouldn't be bad for a reliable one)

I will also get a thermometer, eventually, lol my temps were a lot higher once I installed the 4th light fixture on the side, but I have adjusted it, so its getting better airflow.

Thanks again for the info. Much appreciation.

From what you wrote, it seems that you have enough light, well of course the more the better, but we are not talking about perfection here, however plants are low in foliage and stretchy. Could you be more specific about how far away the lamps are from plants? And how often do you water them? Also how big is a growing media. Cause your case looks very similar like my very first attempt to grow. I was giving water too often, i never let the soil get absolutely dry(I was overwatering it), and because of that it did not developed proper root ball thus it resulted in a small yield and same looking foliage.. Now I found out that the best is to wait until the plant will show you in a very obvious way - leaves becomes fluffy and start to wilt(don't worry they get back within an hour after you water them, so you will not kill them). If you are checking plant every morning and every evening, you will definitely notice it. You would be surprised how many people kill plants on their first grow with their love appreciation in a water form haha... From what I see in your pictures I would say you should water the plant every 7 days, difficult to say cause I cant see the size of grow media.. another thing, distilled water i believe should be 8-9ph? While growing in soil it should be 6.5-6.8 so roots could properly absorb nutrients. I used tap water until at some point I bought ph drops with a color scale, I saw that all that time I was watering plant with 9ph.. I am still new to this, so I do not know whether it is very bad, or just preferably a thing to avoid, however I solved it by adding a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per 1liter of tap water. ph+ and ph- for addjusting water ph would be better of course, but I am a budget person and that perfectly worked for me. Also lights has to be 1-3" away from the plant. Depends on how air circulates in your grow space.
Good luck man, don't give up

By the way, I just remembered, fan leaves in a process, at least at first and second node 3-4weeks into flower dries out and falls down. I thought that it is because the light does not get to them through all the upper growth, but maybe they fall because of aging process.. Somebody more experienced maybe could answer that.

Ive always tried to keep the lights as close as can be, without burning the plant of course, but I have recently just gotten the other 2 fixtures on the sides of the plants, so im sure that was the reason why they are a bit stretchy. When I water them, I try to let it get as dry as can be, when I stick my finger 2 inches into the soil. If I feel any moisture, I give it another day or 2.

I will be trying to get a PH test kit, or a meter if I can find a good one ASAP. Thanks for the tips/info Simis

SmokesWithHeart said:

Hi, I have been getting in touch with my inner Horticulturist (and potheadness) lol And decided to start a grow of my own ever since finding out about CFL's. Ive done enough research on RIU for practically all the basics and alot of advanced info. My only problem has been the lower leaves turning yellow and die off. Ive never bought or used a PH test kit, so im assuming just from common sense that that is my problem. Info and pics provided below, any feedback is welcomed.

My Setup.
Plants: 2 plants. Random Bag-seed dank
Soil: Crappy Scotts soil to begin with then REPLANTED with FF Ocean Forest
Nutes: Recipe for Success:Starter Kit (Technaflora Plant Products)
Lights: 4- 10½ inch Broder Clamp Light Fixtures, (1 above each plant, 1 on the side of each plant)
2- 105 watt 5000k CFL bulbs (1 above each plant)
1- 42 watt 2700k CFL bulb on the side of the non-topped plant
2- 23 watt (1 2700k & 1 5000k) on the side of the topped plant
Fan: 1- 3 speed fan that I use to circulate air, and it pushes out air on one side and sucks in air on the other side
Water: Distilled gallons of water.
Planted on: Nov. 12 2012
12/12 started on: Jan. 23 2013

View attachment 2524358View attachment 2524359View attachment 2524361View attachment 2524362View attachment 2524363View attachment 2524365View attachment 2524367

Pic 1 is the best looking IMO, the non-topped plant.
Pic 2 is of the non topped leaves that turn yellow and die.
Pic 3 is the other, topped plant.
Pic 4 is the yellowing/dying leaves on the topped plant.
Pic 5 is another of the dying leaves on the topped plant.
Pic 6 is a shot of my set-up (best I could get lol)
Pic 7 is of the beautiful baby nug of the non-topped plant.

I know I have gotten lucky as I only started 2 plants and they both were female, and of course everything isn't perfect as it IS my first time trying to grow anything.

ANY and ALL advice/feedback/constructive criticism is welcomed. Thanks for viewing.

Click to expand...

How much did you feed, and what is the N-P-K value of it?
Any particular reason you are using distilled water?

I go half strength on the nutes when I put it into 1 gallon.

For the flowering stage the "recipe" is:
B.C Boost - 3 tsp === N-3.0% P-0.0% K-2.0%
B.C Bloom - 3 tsp === N-1.0% P-4.0% K- 7.0%
Awesome Blossoms - ½ tsp === N-2% P-11% K-11%
Thrive Alive B-1 Red - ½ tsp === N-1% P-1% K-1%
MagiCal - ½ tsp === N-2.0% P-0% K-0%
SugarDaddy - 2½ tsp === N-0% P-0% K-0%

***I add half off whats said above, in a 1 gallon jug of distilled water***

I have been using distilled water because I had looked up what water other people use, and most people say Reverse Osmosis is the best, then distilled water. If I have been mis-informed, please inform me properly. Thanks

get more 2700k cfl in there if ur flowering
and distilled water is the best u can use ...

Ive read that 5000k is best to use as it uses BOTH spectrums,

https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/614185-why-5000k-better.html

I won't refute that post you quote. I've not seen the info elsewhere either. So I take it with a grain of salt for now. FWIW I vegged with only 5000K bulbs and my plant turned out great. I flowered in 2700K only however. I might try a mix in flower this time around...

ahhh ok, gotcha.

I got the "General Hydroponics" pH control kit now at my local hydroponics store for 20 USD. Happy Valentines day girls

They'll show you the love in return over time! Correct pH = Happy plant

I did a CFL grow a few years ago. My local store carried 6500k so I used those in veg obviously. For flower I swapped out 6 of them for 3000k. So total in flower was 6 "flower" and 4 "veg" bulbs, it worked out well.

What soil are you using? Is it peat based? That tends to have a wild ph range from when you water until it dries, this could be the cause of your loss of foliage.

I've seen way worse, give yourself a pat on the back and keep on truckin.

Lol well when I FIRST started them off, I didnt have any money for soil, but my friend gave me a bag of some Scotts "Topsoil" which was terrible, VERY mulchy/woody, and they were doing fin ofc for about a month or so then that combined with non-PH'd water probably threw it all off, and then I Bought a bag a Fox Farm Ocean Forest and transplanted the non topped plant into that bag with FFOF (the one that hermied and was looking dead haha).

This is my other plant that I have. https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/634829-first-time-cfl-grow-harvest.html