New Grower, looking for tips.

[Maltball]

Originally Posted by first_grow1

yes very stretched... put a compact floresent light right over it

gah, i dont even know where to buy that, lol. ...local hardware store maybe? and will it cost much? ...well i'm sure the bulb is only a few dollars but rather the stand that will hang over it, rather than a lamp that sits next to it is what im wondering where to find.

[Metridixal]

You can buy them at wal-mart lol. They are just new energy efficient lights that look spiraly.

Yeah your plants are definitely stretching. Maybe consider getting a few floor lamps and smacking in some daylight CFLs for now? Then you can control light height while they're young.

[Maltball]

While i'm out tomorrow my dad is going to pick up the CFLs & a stand that will sit above them rather than next to them for me (he has no idea what im growin lol). So hopefully I be able to install it tomorrow afternoon.

As of right now, are the plants still okay even though they are stretching? Like, they aren't in danger of coppin' out on me are they?

They look pretty good. Check your pH if the growth seems to have halted.

[Maltball]

Originally Posted by Berlette

They look pretty good. Check your pH if the growth seems to have halted.

Alright. I feel like an idiot or at least a serious newbie at this for asking -- but where can I get a pH tester locally? I've never seen one before...

Sorry for all the simple questions...




Malt

[first_grow1]

lowes home depot any garden shop probably even walmart

I got one at the Armstrong Garden Center... don't know if there are any of those around you, but you can get a digital one for about $30 (pretty decent one too). Also, the optimal range (IMO) for pH is around 6.5. That's what I use and it's pretty good. If your pH is whack you'll need pH up / down.

[Maltball]

Got myself a flousecent lighting thingy...they fluorescent tube lights 20watt, two of them like 2 feet long or 18 inches or something...






and my pH looks about 6.5 ...

[Vicious]

Your PH is fine, you're plants are reaching, I had the same thing happen. They might be rootbound. Put them in bigger pots ASAP. Your plant will only grow as much as the roots allow it, more root room the more your plant can potentially grow. Even though you're plants are very young they're way too big for those pots. Also transplanting causes stress, and you want as little of that as possible unless it may turn into a male. If you have the room you many want to plant them into whatever you're going to let them grow all out in, all you'll have to do is water it more. Are your lights on 24/0 until you move them outside?

Unless it's the strain I don't know why you're plant's aren't getting new leaves other than it being rootbound.

[first_grow1]

Originally Posted by Vicious

Your PH is fine, you're plants are reaching, I had the same thing happen. They might be rootbound. Put them in bigger pots ASAP. Your plant will only grow as much as the roots allow it, more root room the more your plant can potentially grow. Even though you're plants are very young they're way too big for those pots. Also transplanting causes stress, and you want as little of that as possible unless it may turn into a male. If you have the room you many want to plant them into whatever you're going to let them grow all out in, all you'll have to do is water it more. Are your lights on 24/0 until you move them outside?

Unless it's the strain I don't know why you're plant's aren't getting new leaves other than it being rootbound.

they are in pete pots... no transplanting needed (I LOVE THOSE THINGS) but yes put in a new pot

[Maltball]

my lights are not on 24/0...I can't do that cause i'd never fall asleep and i live with my parents (they = clueless bout my project) till i move out to college this sept. So I just give them as much light as possible, meaning window shade open and/or lights on. they are gonna be outdoors so I dont have a pot they are gonna grow maximum size too, that pot = the earth, lol.

What size pots? I cant put them outside yet, it is snowing this sunday and I've got no where to put them in my house (I have 22!!)
wtf am i to do...................I can transplant tomorrow around 5:00 PM cause I got work from 7:30am-5:00pm--ouch!

they have only been in the pete pots for 2-3 days and are only 9 days old (as of April 13, 2007)

[first_grow1]

put them in cups... there a lil bigger

[Maltball]

I checked late last night on their root growths by checking three of the plants, 2 of the largest and 1 of the smallest. I gently cut into the side of the peat pots and didnt notice any roots at all near the bottom or the middle, i only found roots just emerging from the orginal jiffy-7 pellet dirt formations. So I'm inclined to believe the plants being rootbound an issue.

Maybe i'm overwatering? I only water once every 2 or 3 days (soil stays moist it looks, 10 day old plants).

I added a 150watt grow light to side of my fluroescent light setup to give some extra light (probably a 12" away & 12" off ground)

a few of the plants leaves (the marijuana looking ones) got much larger today and have very tiny new ones begining to grow at the center top of stem, must be a good sign. Most of the plants still have sort-of small leaves and two or three of them look slightly crinkled (not completely open) -- is that due to not enough or to much water?

I'll keep monitoring them the next few days and if they seem to stay put (size-wise) i'll move them into 5" pete pots or plastic cups (they are in 4" pete pots now).

Thanks for the help & input...




Malt

[Vicious]

Well the reason you don't want to play with it is if it is rootbound it will actually start to flower if your light hours are low and that will mess up the vegitative phase and you'd rather not chance it. This is what happened to me (check other my thread) and that started when my plants were even smaller than yours. Maybe your lights werent strong enough before.