CFL Cabinet Grow w/ Pics (2nd Grow)

Greetings to the city population. I am growing again after a very successful, 1-plant cabinet grow with 1, 2, then 3 cfls. growing with a partner this time because the hammer came down from the warden when i initially tried for my 2nd grow.

We are equipped with 5 lights total, though we usually only run 3 due to heating issues. This plant is in an 8 inch pot with basic potting soil, nothing fancy. It is the same kind I had success with the first time I grew. Suffered an early accident due to premature adding of ferts...we are basically recovered from it now though. I snipped off the burnt stuff (it had no chance of coming back), and we full of green.

I topped once after the 3rd set, and 2 shoots came out the sides like usual, yet the middle one continued growing also. We figured 3 is better than 1 so whatever. After the next sustained set of leafs I felt the urge to top again, so what we have ended up with is a short ball of buds basically. This grow is a planned one plant scrog in a small sized cabinet, 5 lights in total and a fan.

No feminised seed though, so we're gonna be crossing fingers. If it turns male, I figure it has been another great learning experience, and I'll try again another day.

Tomorrow makes for the end of week 5 from seed sprouting from soil. It's slow going mainly due to the topping, which I know has halted its growth a little. I am pretty confident that this small bush of buds will grow into a great plant for the scrog method, just hope its a girl.

No Digital Cam ATM, so a cell pic does the trick. Better pics soon though, I promise.

damn that thing has alota leaves, how tall is it? lmao

about 5 inches tall or so. the topping restricts vertical growth for a few days, and also allows the outside and lower shoots to catch up to the top. it will all go under a screen eventually. i predict another few weeks at least for vegging.

i spy nute burns possibly?

did you read any of the things i posted before the picture?

update time: the dead stuff is just about gone after snipping it off. the shoots are going crazy...its incredibly bushy with 5 shoots that will make 5 main colas, with supporting colas all around. at this point i moved the plant further away from the lights so we can get it to stretch a little bit, because it has way too much going on in such a tiny space. the pics below will give you a better idea. im still working out kinks in my photo taking skills...some of what you see that looks like burn is just reflection from the cfls on the leaves, other stuff is burned from the event i described in the first post...

tomorrow (11/7/07) will mark the end of 6th week since sprout. i have no plans to switch to flower until we can get it bigger and more stretched out, then get it going under the screen i made (as this is going to be a scrog grow)

It looks sad and wayy to bushy..

holy shit its a ball of leaves, this thing looks crazy man haha, cant wait to see the end result though:smoke:

It looks sad and wayy to bushy..

sad and way too bushy? its definitely not sad, and what is wrong with busy? it's the method of growing i have chosen for this round. in my eyes now, it is perfect, right where it should be for scrog.

also, i am excited to see what becomes of it....ive never started out (or seen anyone start out) with this bushy of a plant. it should be sweet.

sad and way too bushy? its definitely not sad, and what is wrong with busy? it's the method of growing i have chosen for this round. in my eyes now, it is perfect, right where it should be for scrog.

also, i am excited to see what becomes of it....ive never started out (or seen anyone start out) with this bushy of a plant. it should be sweet.

what he means is that plant isnt in great shape. that medium deoesnt look all that balanced either, between drainage and air retention.

explain that in english, it drains just fine...and i dont know what you mean by "air retention."

balanced medium?

and aside from the few leaves that show the effects of the earlier burn, what about it isnt in great shape?

im half defensive, half interested, so please explain.

Hello, First time poster, long time reader, and I found your first grow thread most informative. Congrats on that grow, it was quite the success

Unfortunately the weather here(Ireland) is terrible so the only possible grow conditions are indoors. Just a quick question on that. How did you find the learning curve?

I plan on starting my first grow soon, and like you did, I'm trying to gather as much information as possible.

Lets hope your second grow is as successful as your last,

Cheers

Hauk

The reason I think it looks sad, and i dont mean pathetic I mean either getting to much water and getting droopy from that or some type of nute burn due to the discoloration of the different leafs.

I have a few questions you can possibly tell me about your whole set up.

1) What is your growing medium and if you made it what type of mixture is it
2) What kind of lights are you using? I noticed you are said you had 5 different lights so I am thinking CFL but I am not positive.
3) What kind of Air circulation system do you have?
4) What kind of ferts if any do you use and how much, organic or chemical based?
5) Tempature of the grow box
6) ph of soil/water/
7) Also i dont know if i missed it or im just pretty stoned but have you stated the height of the plant?

Also If as seen in one of your pictures is true and your light is really that far from your plant you should really try and see if you could get it closer without burning the foliage it will help with the plants growth and to keep it short also. Since CFL's do not stretch as far as HID lights can.

hope that helps

*EDIT* I also forgot about explaining what aeration is. Basically people add perilite into the medium mix to let the air flow throughout the medium to increase and for the soil not to be so dense and pushed down like yours looks.

the medium is just basic potting soil that i have around the house, there are no added nutrients or fillers, just the soil.

i have 5 cfl's for olighting and a 6 inch desk fan for air circulation.

I added some ferts that are also in our gardening shed (where the soil is) and that is what caused the burns. i did it once and it burned so i havent done anything since. i think the nutes i tried using were more along the lines of the flowering n-p-k ratios, rather than the vegging ratios. i have not added any ferts since the first bad experience.

i dont have a thermometer in the box at the moment. all i can say is it is not too hot, and it is obviously not cold. if i had to guess id say in the range of 75-85 degrees (F).

as soon as the plant sprouted, it was within inches of the light, and began developing leaf sets immediately, without any stretching. the addition of the topping halted vertical growth even more, and the overall height of the plant is around 4-5 inches. kind of short for 6 weeks from sprout.

right now there is so much bush-action happening, that the inner leaves don't get much light, so as of yesterday i moved the plant to about 10 inches from the lights to promote some sort of vertical stretching. i think it is needed at this point to stretch everything out and get it growing up while growing out.

finally, i do not have a PH meter, and i know ill probably get yelled at for that one, but i made it through the first grow without, and didnt think it necessary for the 2nd. i guess if i want to play around with nutrients, it will be a necessity.

i hope this sheds some light on the finer details of the grow thus far. please continue to add comments/criticism (constructive albeit), i learn more everyday.

How did you find the learning curve?

i learned everything from the City, in a matter of a few weeks. all i did was go through journal after journal, and all of the Stickied threads at the top of the Beginners and Indoor Growing sections, and then asked the rest of the questions i had. i hope that answers your question.

the medium is just basic potting soil that i have around the house, there are no added nutrients or fillers, just the soil.

your first problem is using just potting soil is really a bad way to do it If you take a look at my medium it is more fluffy and filled with air. It is actually a soiless mixture of Pete moss, perilite, and mushroom compost. Pete moss is a very good medium, perilite helps keep the soil aerated, and compost helps keep water retained and the soil moist. My suggestion is something without just soil.

I added some ferts that are also in our gardening shed (where the soil is) and that is what caused the burns. i did it once and it burned so i havent done anything since. i think the nutes i tried using were more along the lines of the flowering n-p-k ratios, rather than the vegging ratios. i have not added any ferts since the first bad experience.

Could you specify the type of fert you got. Also just to let you know using just any old fert could be very dangerous for a plant at high levels. I would really suggest you looking into some sort of mixture on the lines of 4-2-2 or 2-1-1 then possibly looking for some blood meal which is usually anywhere from (13-15)-0-0 that you can mix at a very small amount to raise the nitrogen a little. Be sure to start any fert mix at about 1/4 strength the first time. Also organic ferts will give a smoother smoke.

i dont have a thermometer in the box at the moment. all i can say is it is not too hot, and it is obviously not cold. if i had to guess id say in the range of 75-85 degrees (F).

There really is two ways you can check to see if the temperature is to high is to hold your hand about your plant and if your hand gets uncomfortably hot then you should know its to hot for your plant. The second option would be going to basically any type of store and buy any type of thermometer and tape it up around your canopy or even in your pot.

right now there is so much bush-action happening, that the inner leaves don't get much light, so as of yesterday i moved the plant to about 10 inches from the lights to promote some sort of vertical stretching. i think it is needed at this point to stretch everything out and get it growing up while growing out.

For your plant i really wouldn't worry about the ScroG method for this because it seems you already have height under control. I would suggest using Low Stress Training to tie some of those branches / leafs so the branches get more light for new growth. Also with CFL's moving the light that far would hardly get light through the canopy.

finally, i do not have a PH meter, and i know ill probably get yelled at for that one, but i made it through the first grow without, and didn't think it necessary for the 2nd. i guess if i want to play around with nutrients, it will be a necessity.

So now this makes me need to tell you to get your ass up and go to a science center near you and get yourself a thermometer and PH paper tests. You really can go and spend under $10 if you don't want to invest in going digital. As you said with nutes you will definitely need a tester.


Hope that helps. good luck

plant is looking a lot better these days, now that i have moved it from the light. it is starting to stretch out and look more like a plant and less like a bush. i got a larger pot (maybe 3 gallons) and im going to concoct some soil and then replant. after its replanted and stable, it's going to be time to start manipulating the branches. there are simply too many branches and shoots to just let it grow, plus its LST and shit is more fun to do. its on a timer as well now, going 20/4. will takes some pics after the replant this weekend.

I started reading your first grow and didn't stop until I'd read the entire thread. Shortly after I registered with the City. Lookin' forward to more updates on this grow.

I started reading your first grow and didn't stop until I'd read the entire thread. Shortly after I registered with the City. Lookin' forward to more updates on this grow.

Does the City offer commissions for bringing on new members? haha jK. Im glad you found it useful, it's nice to take take take and then give it all back via one thread. I hope i can make this grow and thread as useful as the previous one.

Link is in my Sig for anyone else that wants to read it.

my plant has more love for me now. i spent a whopping 8 dollars on great soil, a mixture of organic soil, perlite, peet moss, and nutes mixed in. off the top of my head its 15-10-10, perfect veg npk from what ive read. although avoiding nute-loaded soil is the usual case, this plant is pretty well developed and ready for the soil, in my opinion. saves me from having to buy veg nutes anyhow.

here is old house vs new house:



small ass pot to 12 inch pot.



short and beefy




secured a few branches also, to spread it all out. there are 6 major branches that are going to supply some nice colas, as well as supporting buds all along the stems.

IMPORTANT: all this is only going to be sweet if we have a female, still waiting on that.





and an overall shot of the whole deal



6 weeks and 2 days from sprout. and timer is finally added, set to 20/4.