Hi guys, So I just started growing and I just want some opinions on how I'm doing and what I could improve on. -I have a 400w 6500k cfl bulb 3" from the top of the plant -I'm using an organic potting soil that is pretty damn close to a 2:1:1 npk ratio. -Temps stay in between 76f and 81f -18/6 light schedule -watering every 2 to 3 days depending on how dry the soil is This is day 17 and I switched from a 24/0 schedule to 18/6 yesterday and starting using a 1/4 dose of nutes for veg today because the bottom leaves had a little yellowing on the tips and the base of the leaves on the branches were developing some purple stripes that I thought could be a magnesium deficiency. I also FIMmed my plant today. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Hey RicoG.R.A.M thanks for the reply, she's an unknown indica dominant hybrid. as far as nutes just an all purpose plant food with 24% nitrogen 8% phosphate 16% potassium and all the micro nutrients and my ph from my tap water that I'm using is 7.0
7.0 is what your soil pH should be....7 is neutral for soil. The water pH should be 6.5, actually 6.3 to 6.7 with 6.5 being the sweet spot. Your plant looks really good. One of the biggest killers of plants by new growers is over watering. Always make sure there is dryness all the way down to the roots before you water again. You need defined wet/dry cycles with these plants to force the plant to search out the whole container and form a bigger better too ball and to avoid root rot. Sometimes with larger containers, the top may look dry and it may actually be dry several inches down into the soil, but you'll still have wetness at the root level. Not letting the roots get dried out enough can cause root rot. And the pH thing....extended watering/feeding with pH out of range will cause root lockup and your plant won't be able to take in nutrition which leads to deficiencies. Since you're new grower, take the time and go to the new grower section here and read the threads there. You need a good understanding of the basics: pH mgmt. Watering technique. Lighting. Grow Media. Nutes. You need a good reliable pH tester (IMO). The cheap ones are totally unreliable and since you have no way of knowing exact levels using them, the drops didn't work for me either. I tried one of the cheap pens only to realize a few months later that it hadn't worked correctly right out of the box. Since pH has so much control over the health of your plant, knowing that you're on the money with the range is a biggie to me. Once I had an instrument that worked correctly, my plants exploded with growth and were healthy from veg to harvest. Also, get yourself a TDS/EC tester pen. These are cheap, under $20, and are a great help in not frying your plants with nutes. It tells you how strong your mix is. In the beginning, it seems like there is just way too much to ever understand. But as you grow and READ, it will start to come together and make sense. It's not rocket science, but quite a bit more complicated than tossing a seed in some dirt and waiting on the magic to happen....as I'm sure you've already realized. Good luck! Hope you get a nice harvest from your plant! TWW
Hey thanks for the reply and the tips i will definitely be getting a ph testing kit asap. Yeah reading definitely is the way to go I've figured out. I've quickly become addicted to reading these forums lol
testing pens with good reviews at a reasonable cost http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W3OM3LA/ref=wl_it_dp_o... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IDBZ1A2/ref=wl_it_dp_o... for the ph pen you will also need this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PG1RFLK/ref=wl_it_dp_o...
Thanks for the advice on pens, I'm going to pick up a ph kit from a local shop this week.</p>she seems to be recovering from the FIM attempt but i may have topped it by accident... ill post pics soon. i only have one big 400w single cfl bulb so i think I'm going to get a soft white cfl to add to the spectrum and get more light on the plant, maybe another daylight cfl too but a smaller size. i heard you can't really give the plant too much light with cfl's as long as it doesn't get too warm but i can control the temps pretty easily.
I only cut most of the top node off and now it looks like a stump with little branches changes coming out the sides and bits of the cut leaf at the ends of thw branches. I don't think I cut it right but the plant still seems healthy
Here's a pic of how she's doing today... it's day 19 and I notice alot of growth in the lower new growth since I attempted a FIM, still not sure if the top is producing 2 nodes or not but it is growing. And the leaves that were on the node when I snipped 80% off have branched out with little stubs of a leaf on the end which seems strange...
Okay so it's day 20 and I don't know if my FIM worked... the top shoot has 2 branches that are just growing mangled leaves now at the tip that I cut and no sign of new nodes... but besides that she looks healthy I'll post some pics
The bottom will boost out now you have done that and you won't notice much new growth yet where you FIM few more days
Here's an update on how she's doing. I notices some purpling on the leafs stems... I thought it was a magnesium deficiency but I gave her some nutes the second to last time I watered her and still no change.. pics will be attached.. besides that, the new undergrowth had a lot of growth today so she's getting bushier!