Please rate my set-up and plant!

I just decided to start growing a more than 4 weeks ago and I have acted on it after doing loads of research. Attached are the current results of my plant and my setup please give me feed back on what I could do to make it better. I have the pot down with a cfl light above it about 2" 18/6 cycle. I have two other lamps to the side of it but i don't use them because I'm waiting for the plant to grow a couple more branches so i can transplant them and start using the other lamps. The light bulbs are cfl 13w=60w each so about 180w total i have right now. the stem seems to be growing but not very tall...is this because i have a lamp that's above it? and I have my soil about 6.2ph with 12-12-12 fertilizing. It is about 1.3weeks old including when the radicle was planted into the soil. Please view out the pictures and rate it. Also I was wondering if there are other alternatives for the minor nutrients the plants need? I know I have like a paragraph but...Thanks for looking!!

You have 39W, not 180W. I see how you got there but it doesn't work like that, the "equivalent" wattage is meaningless in the grow world. You are way short on lighting, you need to be closer to 100W per plant (or more, preferably).

The plant looks fine for now though, it could be shorter but you don't have an issue with stretching -- yet. You will though very soon if you don't get more lighting.

Soil looks way too wet right now too, dryer soil encourages root system development which is what you're going for right now.

How did you calculate it up to 39? The soil looks wet because i watered it before i took the pic. Would i need to get more lamps in the box?

also to increase the wattage could i get 26w cfls instead of 13?

3x13 = 39w

of course you could get 26's and you'd have twice the wattage per bulb

or better yet get 42 x 3 = 126w, now you're looking at getting some decent results. That's what I would recommend.

do you know where i could get them? also i dont have money for hps so im trying to grow about an ounce so i can sell it and buy better equipment so could i use the cfls till the end?

Everyones gotta have a dream

Nemmba said:

do you know where i could get them? also i dont have money for hps so im trying to grow about an ounce so i can sell it and buy better equipment so could i use the cfls till the end?

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If you get the 3 42's like I suggested you have a fighting chance at that ounce. Of course genetics and how well you take care of the plant are huge factors, but talking light alone the 39W you have now will absolutely not get it done.

you can get those 42's at home depot, etc. they are easy to find.

You dont want to see your seedling get tall at all, Im not sure if thats what your thinking but, you want to keep it very short, as short as possible, which is done by giving it lots of light. I cant tell whats happening with your cardboard boxes, but I used a similar setup with a light inside a box to heat the soil of the rooting seedling, Just be very careful with that. You should get really small thermometer and stick it in the soil and keep an eye on the tempurature of the soil. warm is good, but too warm will cause stretch and even warmer still and youll cook your seedling. 25degrees celcius is the sweet spot I think
like I said I cant really see what youve got going on there.

in my house it is about 66degreesf and my room is a little bit colder so i think heat wont be a problem. I have it in a 18/6 cycle with the 6hr starting from 11:00Pm to 5:00am. could i buy a 64w and leave the 13w alone?

Nemmba said:

in my house it is about 66degreesf and my room is a little bit colder so i think heat wont be a problem. I have it in a 18/6 cycle with the 6hr starting from 11:00Pm to 5:00am. could i buy a 64w and leave the 13w alone?

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Yea you can do that for the start, you might want to get more light as it gets bigger. I think with CFL's the key is to have them very close to the plant, so if you have just 1 decent sized CFL you will only get it close to one part of the plant, Youd be better off with 6-8(or more, 20 cfl's would be pretty damn cool) 13 watters and having them dispersed around the plant to get the whole plant covered. I imagine running all that wire would get a little messy

I would suggest losing the tinfoil, it causes hot spots.

jus stop dude. for real. spend some money and lets grow some herb! damn. being a newbie is one thing but this? i duno. am i being mean? im a newbie too so, dont take it so hard. its not like i know shit...