newbies have a few questions for the experts!

[jack235]

Hey guys!



Where to start.... Well, we popped our growing cherry exactly a month ago and now we are needing a bit of expert help. A good friend introduced us to this forum and said that you guys were very friendly and helpful!

Okay, so as you can tell from the two pics below - "Little Leo" as we like to call her seems to be doing fine at 14cm/5.5 inches- we placed a guitar pick nearby for scale.

Lighting wise we're using a "daylight" Eco Bulb at input 35watts to output 175watts with 6400k, for around 16-18hrs a day. We had a little heat wave over the last few weeks and we were putting Leo outside in the sun for 5-6hrs in the middle of his 16-18hr light feed, but the weather man kindly informed us over the weekend that the glorious heatwave has passed, will it affect Leo if he doesn't get that anymore?

Reflective stuff is only foil - unfortunately we just read that the tin foil needs to be shiny side down, we have been growing Leo with the shiny side up, is it vital to change it?

Watering has been going okay, or so we thought, we have been spraying daily and squirting probably 50ml every other day. Is this too little? And for the roots to be going deeper should we be watering less frequently and in greater amounts so the water filters down lower??

Also we have been using "Baby Bio" compound fertilizer - 10.6:4.4:1.7 (20 drops diluted in 0.5ltr) - i think we've been a bit cheeky by watering with Baby Bio most times we water - that wouldn't be terribly bad would it???

So ze question is should we get our hands on a HPS light for the flowering or would our current light be okay?

Also we live in a small place, can we just grow Leo to a short height of 75cm/30 inches and then flower? And roughly how many more weeks would we have to wait to start the flowering?


Sorry to bombard you all with the blonde questions!



Thanks a million green fingered people!




P.S - This growing lark is getting very addictive! I fear we have become too attached to Leo... a tiny part of me hopes Leo's a "he"... so he can live forever!

[jack235]

Thanking you in advance!

[Sloppy G]

Um... well, I'm definitely not an expert, my plants are all about as big as yours. But I have been reading a lot and have been asking a lot of questions myself :-)

From what I've read, in terms of not putting it in the sun anymore, I'm sure Leo will be just fine.

Changing the foil around wont do anything to harm Leo. It might increase his growth rate a little, but not noticeably (I've tried both with my plants).

In terms of how much water to use, I can't really tell you, I'm working on trying to figure that out myself. But what I know is you should wait till the top soil feels somewhat dry before watering again, no matter how much water you're using. Using more water will only mean you dont have to water as often, as long as you dont use too much water it's really your choice.

[StonedSkunk]

water when it's bone dry when you stick your finger down into the soil about an inch. Id wait maybe a few wore weeks until you start flowering. Let her grow some more strong branches to support the bud Also you will need some more lights. Just get some cheap CFL's.

Good luck with leo keep us updated!

Hi! You mention height restrictions: well please click the link in my signature about LST...it has worked wonders for me....and I didn't even have a height restriction!!! It was still to my benefit though because the yield will be higher.

I say get HPS for best results. You will need good ventilation..fans, even an inline fan plus filter to clean the air. It's SO worth it

Yeah like the others said...be careful with watering!!!! Leaving the plants until they are thirsty is good advice....you will endanger your plants by over watering. What you said about the roots searching for water is exactly right..also you don't want roots rotting at the bottom of the pot from over watering and poor drainage.

Baby Bio LOL The Canna range is great...but the pro nutrients don't come cheap.

You might like to also click the link to the thread about lighting hours.

Best of luck

[Reefa Cheefa]

hey im not much of an expert as i still have some questions but ive had a few grows. U should get some more lights. Cfls are good and cheap for the first grow and they give decent results. just remember the right spectrums blue for veg and yello for flower and the more light the better. as long as heat isnt an issue. the foil yeah flip it around or just paint ur walls white. its not that reflective even when smooth i forget the exact numbers, and the shiny side can create hot spots and burn holes in ur leaves. As the skunk said wait to water till the soil is dry thats real important for rootgrowth they streach for that water and the bigger the roots the bigger the plant.eh. and looks like u gat good veg nutes, bud plants love food too man and can eat alot but u have to build it up slow. Oh get that hps if u can. Keep it green.

[Rumpleforeskin]

Flat white paint will reflect more light then tin foil and make no hot spots. It is very important to stablize your light cycle. To veg leave the lights on 18 to 24 hours a day. No dark cycle is needed but it does save in electric costs to run it 18 on 6 off. You need to stick with what ever you decide.

Your plant will more then double in height during flower. I like to give it 3x more room to flower. If you think it might be too tall now, then make a chicken wire frame and place it over your plant and weave your tops through as they grow.

60-80 days of flowering is average. I am suspect of any claims less then 50.

Good luck, R.

[jack235]

Thanks sooo much guys!


Sloppy G - thanking you, cool that our plants are at the same stage! do u have any pics?

StonedSkunk - cool, will do the flowering in 3 weeks then, more lights - we thought as much. We'll have to pick up some cfl's today. Love the bong smiley by the way!

Squidgey - Great LST link - mucho grassias! Yeah we gotta start doing the fan filter thing soon.

Reefa Cheefa - Cheers for the tips! HPS lamp will have to be bought then so!

Rumpleforeskin - Excellent, flat white paint will be purchased asap. Double in height? Wow didn't know that, thanks, and 60-80 days - check.


Thanks a mill for answering all our queries! Grasscity people rock.


Unfortunately this morning when we went to check on our other 2 (two week olds), one seems to have become rather yellowish. She (Cleo) was kinda yellowy in her new leaves a few days ago but i just presumed it was normal. Please see attached pic of her next to a very green "Alice" - she's much more yellow than the pic shows .
Any doctors in the house?!!

Also can you buy a budbox that is small, like 4 feet tall? They all seem to be in either large or extra large size. We cant have a huge yield coz of certain factors and don't have a spare cupboard/bathroom/attic/basement - at the mo they are being grown in empty beer boxes. If anyone has any ideas for a new home for Leo, Cleo & Alice your imaginative suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Cheers peeps!

[jack235]

Hi everyone,


If anybody can assist on the above yellow matter or new housing problemo also in above post, it would be greatly appreciated!



Cheers guys

[BUDSLiNGER]

The space issue.... Well here the story...
Optimal time to flower is when the plant is mature, the signs of this are pre flower...
I believe thats somewhere between 6-8 weeks depending on strain.

However they tend to double in size at flower so the space you are going to flower in will tell you the height you need to keep your babies, domination does work.. tie them over, it gets more light to the lower braches anyway, keep them about 35% of your flower height area...train them young and slowly...

Yellow leaves could mean a couple things, I am not a soil grower but I would assume it a nute issue either to much or not enough N... thats a guess we need pics...

Gluck buddy

[Sloppy G]

I dont really know if yellow leaves means bad news. I would guess that it depends on what kind of yellow. They look grey in the picture.

If the plant is still growing normally though, it might not be a huge problem. I dont really know though. Check the table below to see if it's a nutrient problem. If you want more info on plant diseases, check out the link below too, or just wait for one of the more experience people around here to come to the rescue. Anyway, good luck!

Check out this page: http://greenmanspage.com/guides/plant_abuse.html

[jack235]

Thanks guys!