Need some guidance in my overall growing!

Hey guys, what I'm looking for is some help in knowing what to upgrade with my growing equipment/what techniques I should try and use.
I've had a successful harvest (last year) where I got around 20grams from two plants. Right now I'm growing another plant which I believe will harvest to around 20grams itself (mid flowering right now). I'm doing indoor growing, but in a room that gets a lot of sunlight, so I've generally been following the seasons flowering times and stuff. I have two lights on the one plant right now which I believe are reasonably strong CFL lights, but I don't have the packaging any more.I'm growing in large soil pots, giving them water but no nutrients.

The plants I've grown have all been tall with large internodal spacing. I believe I should probably be going for shorter, bushier plants. This may also be due to me growing sativa strains?

What I feel is limiting my plants right now is either the lighting or the growing techniques. I'm using good quality soil and the plants haven't shown any signs of nutrient deficiencies. I haven't tried any techniques such as topping or super cropping because for my first grows I didn't want to complicate things too much.

My overall questions are: What should I do to upgrade my growing? Upgrade my lighting? Try techniques such as topping? Use nutrients?

note: My goal is not to grow 123124 ounces. It is for personal use and I would probably stagger out plant growth to have a fresh 2 ounces or so every harvest.

Thanks a lot guys, sorry for the long post If you want any more info from me to get a better idea of how to help, just ask!

what do you want out of it??? hom much are you looking to grow. I grow 1 large plant under a 400w and pull about 3-5 oz. every 2 months with a small veg clone area that has cfls in it. that is enough for me and my wife personally. what is your goal

First off youre definitely going to need a bigger light source. Now dont get me wrong CFL is fine for Veg but you really want to get a more powerful light source. To calculate how much wattage you will need take the square footage of your box or where you are growing and it should be about 50 Watts per square foot.

HPS will give you a more bulkier bud than a CFL which is what I suggest you can get a cheaper 600 or 400 watt if you are mainly going to be growing 1-2 plants. Would help if we knew what soil you are growing in.

tusseltussel said:

what do you want out of it??? hom much are you looking to grow. I grow 1 large plant under a 400w and pull about 3-5 oz. every 2 months with a small veg clone area that has cfls in it. that is enough for me and my wife personally. what is your goal

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Just around 2 ounces each harvest would work great for me!

sk12 said:

First off youre definitely going to need a bigger light source. Now dont get me wrong CFL is fine for Veg but you really want to get a more powerful light source. To calculate how much wattage you will need take the square footage of your box or where you are growing and it should be about 50 Watts per square foot.

HPS will give you a more bulkier bud than a CFL which is what I suggest you can get a cheaper 600 or 400 watt if you are mainly going to be growing 1-2 plants. Would help if we knew what soil you are growing in.

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Cool, so I'm just gonna be growing two plants at a time, do you think a 400watt HPS would be the way to go? And the soil is some "Home Gardening Premium Seed and Cutting- ready to use mix" (I just listed a bunch of stuff it said on the bag )

Like others have suggested, depends on your goals, what you want out of it. More lights for sure is a good start. Add in some more CFLs, or just upgrade to some HID lighting. A 250 watt setup would do you better for just one plant. Topping is rather easy, easier than super cropping in my opinion. With sativa's topping will help bush it out quite a bit and will help with height if that is an issue. Also look into LST (Low stress training) - But late for that now if it's flowering, but good for your next grow. Also, don't top it now if it's flowering, wait till your next grow.

Nutrients are always a plus, but if your soil is working for you, keep at it. Might want to invest in a PH meter also. Mine seems to like it more acidic, but this is strain dependent.

JesterDev said:

Like others have suggested, depends on your goals, what you want out of it. More lights for sure is a good start. Add in some more CFLs, or just upgrade to some HID lighting. A 250 watt setup would do you better for just one plant. Topping is rather easy, easier than super cropping in my opinion. With sativa's topping will help bush it out quite a bit and will help with height if that is an issue. Also look into LST (Low stress training) - But late for that now if it's flowering, but good for your next grow. Also, don't top it now if it's flowering, wait till your next grow.

Nutrients are always a plus, but if your soil is working for you, keep at it. Might want to invest in a PH meter also. Mine seems to like it more acidic, but this is strain dependent.

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Yeah I was considering using topping for my next grow. But I was also considering try some indica plants, is topping still useful for indica plants or are they bushy enough already?

it depends on how you want the grow to end up so do you want a short stocky plant (typical natural indica growth) or do you want to grow a pot bush (top and or train)?

If you are willing to spend some money a grow light will make the most dramatic difference with what you are doing. Some of the plants' stretchyness is a result of low light intensity. I would say get a 250 watt high pressure sodium HPS light and use that to flower and you will still be able to veg under the cfls and sunlight. If you are willing to spend more up front (in exchange for lower electrical usage and less canopy heat) you could get a led grow light.

You can get hid lights for cheap on ebay or refurbished at local grow shops. I also got a 4x4x6.5 grow tent for $115 off ebay. If your growing indoors you want to control the environment as much as possible.

do you have a spare closet? in a place you own?

technical dan said:

it depends on how you want the grow to end up so do you want a short stocky plant (typical natural indica growth) or do you want to grow a pot bush (top and or train)?

If you are willing to spend some money a grow light will make the most dramatic difference with what you are doing. Some of the plants' stretchyness is a result of low light intensity. I would say get a 250 watt high pressure sodium HPS light and use that to flower and you will still be able to veg under the cfls and sunlight. If you are willing to spend more up front (in exchange for lower electrical usage and less canopy heat) you could get a led grow light.

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Height an size aren't a problem for me in the space I'm growing in currently, so I'm down to grow with whatever is most efficient/effective!

tusseltussel said:

do you have a spare closet? in a place you own?

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Yeah I can use a closet in my house for sure if that would be better.

So overall I'm understanding that the main feedback is that I need better lights. If I'm going to be growing either one or two plants at a time, in an open room that gets sunlight or a blocked off closet, what are your guys suggestions for lighting? I'm OK with spending some money for the lights, as long as they are adequate for me growing two plants, hoping for a relatively good yield!

I think you wouldn't go wrong with a 400w in a closet with a fan and filter maybe a little 6" clip on fan to keep the air moving. It would produce plenty in a small closet. I will tell you about my setup for personal use.... it is 2.5x7x8 with reflective foam board insulation on the walls. The door is in the middle so on one side have a 400w light in about a 2.5x2.5 area. above it is a 4 inch fan and carbon filter that exhausts air out into the attic. on the other side is a 12" kitchen base cabinet with reflective bubble insulation all over the inside, in it are 4 26w cfls the ballast hangs from the ceiling and it is wired with 2 outlets. one for the 400w the other with a power strip that runs everything else. in the cabinet there is a 1" hole for passive intake and a 4" inline fan for exhaust in the wall next to that is a vent for the whole room intake... in this space I flower one big plant at a time while vegging in the cabinet. I veg 2 months in there. I also take 2 clones from my vegging plants to keep the genetics alive. usually by the time my flowering plant is done the clones are rooted and the vegging plant is potted up then put under the 400w for 2 weeks 18/6 then flowered. meanwhile the best clone is the next vegger and is topped young and mainligned while the other plant flowers... this provides enough to satisfy 2 people. or you could do a bunch of little plants but I am not into production.... there is also a 2nd 6" clip on fan in the veg cabinet...

adoo said:

Height an size aren't a problem for me in the space I'm growing in currently, so I'm down to grow with whatever is most efficient/effective!



Yeah I can use a closet in my house for sure if that would be better.

So overall I'm understanding that the main feedback is that I need better lights. If I'm going to be growing either one or two plants at a time, in an open room that gets sunlight or a blocked off closet, what are your guys suggestions for lighting? I'm OK with spending some money for the lights, as long as they are adequate for me growing two plants, hoping for a relatively good yield!

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Alot of ballasts are dimmable so you could buy one that will grow with your needs.

tusseltussel said:

I think you wouldn't go wrong with a 400w in a closet with a fan and filter maybe a little 6" clip on fan to keep the air moving. It would produce plenty in a small closet. I will tell you about my setup for personal use.... it is 2.5x7x8 with reflective foam board insulation on the walls. The door is in the middle so on one side have a 400w light in about a 2.5x2.5 area. above it is a 4 inch fan and carbon filter that exhausts air out into the attic. on the other side is a 12' kitchen base cabinet with reflective bubble insulation all over the inside, in it are 4 26w cfls the ballast hangs from the ceiling and it is wired with 2 outlets. one for the 400w the other with a power strip that runs everything else. in the cabinet there is a 1" hole for passive intake and a 4" inline fan for exhaust in the wall next to that is a vent for the whole room intake... in this space I flower one big plant at a time while vegging in the cabinet. I veg 2 months in there. I also take 2 clones from my vegging plants to keep the genetics alive. usually by the time my flowering plat is done the clones are rooted and the vegging plant is potted up then put under the 400w for 2 weeks 18/6 then flowered. meanwhile the best clone is the next vegger and is topped young and mainligned while the other plant flowers... this provides enough to satisfy 2 people. or you could do a bunch of little plants but I am not into production

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Wow thanks for the in depth response! Yeah I think I'm gonna go with this, I'll do something similar with a 400w light and a fan! Do you do topping/super cropping or anything on your plants? I'll for sure look into finding a way to stagger my plant growths like you do, although maybe not as efficiently

I mainline my plant.. one always in flower one always in veg timing isn't that hard. veg 2 months, flower 2 months, clones take a month to root and start rapid growth. The timing works itself out.. https://www.rollitup.org/subcools-old-school-organics/542308-main-lining-thread.html

adoo said:

Wow thanks for the in depth response! Yeah I think I'm gonna go with this, I'll do something similar with a 400w light and a fan! Do you do topping/super cropping or anything on your plants? I'll for sure look into finding a way to stagger my plant growths like you do, although maybe not as efficiently

Click to expand...

tusseltussel said:

I mainline my plant.. one always in flower one always in veg timing isn't that hard. veg 2 months, flower 2 months, clones take a month to root and start rapid growth. The timing works itself out.. https://www.rollitup.org/subcools-old-school-organics/542308-main-lining-thread.html

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Interesting, is mainlining considered challenging to do properly? I've never tried any techniques for controlling plant growth before so it'll be all new to me!

it is not hard, the thread I linked walks you through it very well. if it looks like too much for you I would suggest you check out uncle bens topping technique in advanced cultivation. Don't let the name fool you it is in no way advanced and I would advise that you just look and don't comment in that or any other thread over there. Those guys are a bunch of jack asses. Basically all you do is let the plant grow 5 or 6 nodes then cut off at the main stem above the 3rd node, strip off any growth from the first node. This is also the first step in mainlining.

adoo said:

Interesting, is mainlining considered challenging to do properly? I've never tried any techniques for controlling plant growth before so it'll be all new to me!

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https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/151706-uncle-bens-topping-technique-get.html
Grow it out to 5 or 6 to have an established root system then cut between the 2nd and 3rd true node and thats it. I did it on my 2 babies in a sad little veg station and its really cool. You can use the cutting to clone too. There is a bunch of pretentious jerks trolling the joy out of each other on some threads, thats for sure. tussel might have adapted it a bit. Which is totally fine with normal people but if that came up on ub's thread he would get pissy, lol. It's definatly not the place to ask questions or post opinions. imo.

Steelheader

Awesome guys, thanks a bunch!!