I live in bc Canada where it is perfectly legal to grow four plants for personal consumption. Im sick of paying for something I can easily grow myself. So I had a bunch of seeds brought most of them into the veg phase a couple still in the seedling phase. (took a week for some of my seeds to crack and sprout) I'm using a 600w mh ballast and bulb 1.18L slurpee cups with holes in the bottom Tinfoil On the walls (apparently im not supposed to) - should I take it down? Miracle grow dirt (the nutrient levels are way off and I had no clue) My little seedlings are all droopy and my larger plants have a peculiar coloration (some weird dark/light spots from the tinfoil) I'm on disability and I have a really tight budget so keep that in mind. Suggestions / tips appreciated
You can try a himidome it helped my clones a lot after transplant. Cut the bottom out of a clear 2 ltr bottle take the cap off spray the inside with water and cover babies. When you transplant get some good organic dirt so you can add nutes earlier just make sure it has good drainage
Flat white paint is much better than alfoil. It diffuses the light more and avoids the hot spots that true reflectors can cause. Never used it, but from what I hear, MG soil has too much slow-release fert and can cause burning. I'd guess that's your problem. A pic or two would help. (I'm on disability support too, so I understand your position.)
Yea, I had read that the white paint is better than the tinfoil. Wasn't a 100% sure though until I read a couple more guides. I've ripped it all down (waste of 5$ but w/e). The nutes in my soil are 15-5-10 with those time released mg crap. So now I need to find a new bag of dirt. Thanks for mentioning the himi's I can't believe I didn't think of it. I'd post some pics but all i have no clue how to... Hold on I'm sure I can figure it out.
> Go Advanced > Manage Attachments It'll be clear from there on. The alternative to white paint is mylar film, but white paint is every bit as good and costs less.
Both my droopy plants and the bigger ones. Will upload a couple more pics. Week 2 for the droopies Week 3 for the rest
The most obvious problem is that the plants have stretched a hell of a lot looking for light. You say it's a 400W MH. Should be fine. How far above the plants is it? For a 400W HPS, 8 - 12 inches is good if there's plenty of ventilation. I imagine it would be similar for a 400W MH. I'm sure someone else will advise on this. I use CFLs for veg. I'd bury them a little deeper, to cover up some of the elongated stem. A bit hard since the pots are pretty well full. Maybe you could do it when you go up to bigger pots. The sooner the better. What size were you aiming to go up to? Also, it wouldn't hurt to tie them to stakes to keep them upright. Aside from that, they don't look too bad. Nice and green, by the look. They're fairly stunted, but that's still just the distance to the light, I reckon. I can't see the discoloration that you mentioned in those pics. If you can get a closeup of that when you take the next pics, it'll help. (My grow journal shows what 2-3 week old seedlings can/should look like, even if conditions aren't quite perfect. Just scroll through the pics. Don't have to read the text.)
The discoloration is barely noticeable. I can only tell cause I stare at them so much. I just got the 600w mh kit last night. Before I was using 2 cfl's + 2 flouresent which isn't nearly enough light for all of them, tried to rotate the light around, but I didn't wanna screw around to much with them. I've got the mh 24" away running at 75% (breakers pop if I run it at 100%) I need a fan aaand lots of other stuff. Ok. To do list: Prop them up + make himi's Buy new grow medium / transplant - throw out mg Find a fan
Get that light a little closer, but in reality the problem was caused by your previous lighting. Why only run it at 75%? Even a little $15, 6 inch fan will help for now. That's what I use inside my cabinet aimed near the plants, combined with another one the same pushing air in and 2 PC fans for exhaust. Only just does the job in Summer and I have to open the door a crack, but my results have always been good. There are some pics of the fans in my grow journal too.
I've dropped my light down to about 12-14" above them now. I can't run my ballast at 100% cause the breakers just keep popping. I've got my surge protection though. I just don't like havin to wait for the bulb to warm back up. I've had enough problems thus far. Thanks for the help and the tips. It's so appreciated; you have no idea.
Sounds fair enough. Also, it's not good to re-start these HID lights before they've fully cooled down, it shortens their useful life. At 12 inches for the light, keep an eye on things for a bit and raise it a little if you really have to. Best way is to see if you can hold your hand near the top of the plant for 1 minute without becoming uncomfortable.
The little one looks like it's starting to come down with dark closet syndrome and the other I'm guessing I burnt it a little.
Man, they could look a lot worse. They're not too bad, if you ignore the stretching. Give em a couple of weeks and you won't recognize them.
This is the 3rd time I've tried to start growing. First two times were with friends and it was complete and utter fail boat. Mostly because they had no clue what they were doing ( even less than myself and they'd just kill them on me -.-') These are the best lookin ones I've had yet. Mostly because no one else is screwin around with them. Too bad these are bag seeds and I really have no clue what strains I'm growing.
They'll be fine. It's a steep learning curve at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it. Good luck. and keep us posted. (I've gotta hit the sack, it's 2.30am here in Oz and I'm exhausted. Way too old for these late nights.)
What is the temp at the top of your plants? The reason I ask is it looks as if they are getting heat stressed as well.
On average the temp has been about 22-23 (celcius) my little room heats up quick. The window's open but the airflow sucks. So, That's a definitely a strong possibility .