Looking for tips/quick diagnosis pics included

Before I get into this I must warn you that this is a half-assed and my 1st indoor grow attempt, so experienced grows please forgive me.

This is Connie and she's 1 month old (random seed)


Like I said this is my 1st indoor grow attempt so I sadly only know the basics (this is also a very cheap grow attempt). She's in 1/3 of a 2 liter pop bottle with Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix. My sad excuse for a "grow light" is an upside down bed side lamp with tinfoil at the bottom to reflect more light, the bulb is a 20 watt Helical bulb (Yes I know this is very low watts for growing), I have the light on for the full 24 hours of the day. At 1st I used tap water that has sat for at least 24 hours but last week I noticed spots on a few of the very 1st leaves.



After seeing this spots I assumed that the pH level of the tap water even after sitting for the 24 hours was still too high so I switched to using Aquafina bottled water (It was my best guess for a quick cheap fix)

At about 3 1/2 weeks I noticed the points of the leaves seem really jagged. I guessed that this was a product of over watering so I let it sit for two days and it didn't seem to get any better/worse. To be 100% honest I don't know if this is bad or normal.




And now at 4 weeks it seems to me that the leaves turned glossy. Once again I have no clue if this is normal or not (I'd rather be safe then have my girl suffer)



Something I know that is wrong is the temp. I understand it's way too low I didn't expect her to make it past the 2nd week due to the fact that I've never had one last longer (outdoors).

For the past 3 days I've watered her once a night @ 11 pm with a spray bottle, I spray the leaves enough to make it look like a 10 sec drizzle and the soil enough to darken it about 1 1/2" deep.

If I were to go and buy a decent grow lamp/bulb would it be too much stress on her or is it a worthy gamble.

Even though that now my heart and soul is into this plant hoping the best for it, I don't know enough to be confident to just let it go as is. Any help is much appreciated.

Are you giving it any ferts and how much/often? It may be a K Potassium def. with the way your new/young leaves are wrinkled/curling up. Start out giving it veg ferts at around 1/4 strength for the first two watering, then bump it up to 1/2 strength for the next two, then give it full strength every-other watering until your ready to flower. If you don't have a ph test kit Id probably advise getting one. If you don't have $ or a hydro store around go to a Walmart and pick up one of there aquarium liquid ph test kits ($5), don't get a pool test kit they only read from around 6.5-8.5 the aquarium test kit will at-least read from 6.0-7.5, if you can go to a hydro store then id pick up one of there liquid test kits they have a larger range that they read or if you can afford a digital ph tester, then id get on ebay and pick one up for around $20-$35.

Some improvements to start with:
Not sure what a "helical" bulb is... What I suggest are 27w Day Light CFL bulbs. Place them in the medium sized clamp light reflectors found at your local hardware store. You will need 1 bulb for every 3 inches the plant is tall. A 12 inch plant needs 4 bulbs, etc. You'll need something to hang them off of around the plant, so you might need to be creative to get the bulbs in the right places.

Secondly, you need to monitor you heat and humidity. A thermostat/hygrometer won't set you back more than $25 and is indispensable in the grow room.

Your spotting is nothing to be concerned about. The glossy leaves is though. It is a stress reaction, which means something is off. It could be the pH of your media, it could be the environment... Hard to determine from here though. Just keep educating yourself on the ideal indoor conditions for a plant and try to achieve the right temp and RH.

Hey bro, not sure what you're worried about, all I see is a nice healthy plant. Just make sure you have good water drainage and keep doing what you're doing.

Its pretty for your setup, but i would definately get a 400w Metal Halide bulb and ballast if you can afford it. Ive had to finish plants indoors because of wet windy fall seasons in WA and it amazes me that they make the transition every time. I would buy more soil and transplant it to a larger pot when you do upgrade your light. For now, go grab any light bulb from any socket in your house and it will be better than the bulb your using. And put a plate under your pot and feed it water until it pools onto the plate, You'll know when to feed it next when the pool dries up on the plate. I would say a pint of water every 2 days would be a ball park estimate.

An update closing in on week 5 I woke up today and saw some new/different spots on the leaves, my guess is under watering


My drainage is a problem I made holes in the bottom of the bottle but I don't think they're big enough I'll have it fixed in a few hours

wrap that pot in something like tin foil to keep the light out of the roots. other then that wont worry she looks great the spots look like light burn do you mist her? if you do let her dry before you put her back under the light.

no thats deff not underwatering if you underwater she will just wilt and look dry loll under watering is very easy to see you "will" know if its under watered =P

I do mist her once a day but maybe it's not enough? I'll wrap the base in something to block the roots from light but if it was light wouldn't it be on the leaves closest to the light and not on some of the 1st branches? I honestly don't know just would make sense to me.