400watt MH/HPS bagseed grow. First time growing, advice and tips appreciated

[casoles22]

Hey, this is currently my first grow ever. I'm going to keep this thread updated as much as possible, so feel free to give me some advice.

The Grow:

I germinated 10 bagseeds and put them in 16oz plastic cups for 2 weeks. From there i took the 4 best looking and transplanted them into 5 gallon buckets. I figured that only doing one transplant would reduce overall stress and hopefully not produce any hermies. The soil i am using is Country Accents potting soil. I know that this isn't ideal, but the Lowes and Walmart in my area did not have much stocked in the gardening section. I also couldnt get any perlite, but the drainage seems good and the plants look healthy. I also have 1 cup of bone meal and blood meal mixed into each pot. I'm using a 400watt MH/HPS Floralux and the plants have been under that for 3 weeks now on 18/6. I am watering as needed, which is about every 3 or 4 days, with a half strength dose of fish emulsion and 2 cap fulls of hydrogen peroxide.

Heres what they looked like on friday when i snapped sum pics:












I did some LST on them, but i dont know if i should continue. They are going to be moved to a spare bedroom in the next day or so, so height really wont be an issue. Would i yield better just letting them grow naturally, or should i continue to train them?

The messed up looking leaves are from my failed FIM attempt....i guess i didnt cut enough of the growth off and the leaves just grew like that

Once i put them into 12/12 i will be using Fox Farms Bloom Big and Tiger Bloom and i also think i am going to try some molasses. I have been reading some good things about it. Does anyone have any experience using it? I would like to know if it really does make a difference.

Let me know how i'm doing so far. I should have new pics up either tonight or tomorrow. It looks like they have grown a couple more inches.

[paint_u_dgt]

it looks good....... Your yield is determined by lots of factors including lights, grow methods, and medium but, more importantly the strain and genetics..

In other words certain strains react differently to different methods... try em all see what gets you the best results

[SmknVTEC]

Looks good.

[Anony]

Yea, i agree looks good.
Just curious, without perlite, did you increase drainage? As plastic doesn't breathe like clay does, and 5 gallons being on the heavy side.
How old are they? 5 weeks?
I know they are tough, but I would try to flatten out the blankets a little better.

[casoles22]

Thanks for the replies. I think i am going to LST 2 of them and just let the others grow naturally and see wut happens.

Originally Posted by Anony

Yea, i agree looks good.
Just curious, without perlite, did you increase drainage? As plastic doesn't breathe like clay does, and 5 gallons being on the heavy side.
How old are they? 5 weeks?
I know they are tough, but I would try to flatten out the blankets a little better.

Each bucket has between 8-10 holes drilled in it for water to drain out of. I hope thats enough. I went with the 5 gallon in the hopes that i wouldnt need anything bigger than that. I read that you should have 1 gallon of pot space for each foot you want the plant to grow. So if these get to 5 feet, cool and if not then no big deal. they are 5 weeks from seed, i'm thinking about moving them into the new room this week and then switching over to 12/12 a couple days after that. I agree with you on flattening the blankets, the reason i haven't is because i have 3 new blankets that i am going to use in the other room and i am going to make sure those are as wrinkle free as i can get them....which i'm sure will be a pain in the ass. I should have some new pics up either tonight or tomorrow. I trimmed off some leaves last night to get more light in too.

I seen different opinions about this, but should i leave the plants in 24 hours of darkness before i go to 12/12 or just adjust my timer and let it go?

[Anony]

5 Gallon buckets are best imo, but how big are your drainage holes? Just curious. Some drill holes in the sides to help with air as well.

Putting them on 24 hours darkness before 12/12 seems to be a personal preference. Some people do it to give em a kick start, but if your not rushed for time, i would just follow nature as best as possible.

Keep in mind you can also train the leaves instead of cutting them for deeper light penetration. = less stress.