flouro v. hps

this was not a planned experiment. I am just buying lighting as I can afford to. in sept. I got a hair across my ass and decided to plant some seeds. knowing nothing about what I was doing, I of course jumped in head first. I started 8 germinated seeds from bag seed in some seed starter I got from wal-mart. they were under a very low wattage cfl desk lamp for about 2 weeks. growth was very slow, I didn't know what to expect so I was happy with my babies. I ordered a book, marijuana horticulture the indoor/ outdoor medical growers bible by Jorge Cervantes. I highly recommend it. I bought a 100 cfl flood light and reconstructed it to remove crappy reflector which was actually wasting light. Growth speed increased exponentially, I was ecstatic. I lost 3 shortly after transplant. 2 I ignorantly tried to help by gently pulling off seed casks there growth stopped. another developed gray wilting leaves that began to spread. I culled it from the crop. I kept them in my bath tub for about 4 weeks while I constructed a 7' X 7' two chamber grow room. I used my brothers shower, didn't want anyone wondering out there. I then put them under 4 4 foot 40 watt flouros and continued to use 100 watt cfl for some side lighting. growth speed increased again. I purchased 2 LED grow bars from solaroasis and put them over plants to start 12/12. even with 100 watt cfl side lighting, growth slowed to a crawl. no disrespect to solaroasis, maybe I just don't know what I'm doing with them but I wasn't pleased. I replaced the LEDs with the 4 foot flouros from before. and in a few days growth resumed. they began to flower. I identified 4 females and was still waiting on fifth. I was relatively sure it was female since I had read that males tend to flower first. My luck wasn't that good however to get 100 % females, but 80 % isn't bad, it started to grow balls. I purchased a 70 watt HPS flood light from home depot. it is really only enough for one plant. I chose the one that looked like it had the best looking tops so far and put it under HPS. this was about 2 weeks into flower. to be honest. I've lost track of weeks next time I'll keep a better journal. what can I say, I'm a stoner. if I had to guess I would say that they are now 5 or 6 weeks into flower. I had them in one gallon pots and they began to get root bound. growth slowed. I cut the bottoms out and put them in some 10 gallon pots. in about a week they recovered, but I had to stake the one under the HPS. she seems to be doing fine. I have them in moisture retaining miracle gro soil, like I said I didn't know what I was doing. the only think I don't like about it is it drains slow, duh, but when I started them I didn't know I wanted good drain. they are doing fine, but in the future I will still mix my own, I want the best I can grow.I am learning as I go, this is a lot of fun. I feed them with miracle gro bloom booster every other watering. they only need water about once a week in those 10 gallon pots with the moisture retaining soil. ok this about bring us up to date. here are some pics of my best 2 tops. one of them is under flouros, the other the 70 watt HPS. I thought this might be interesting, not planned just the circumstances I found myself in. one of the shots of the one under the HPS came out distorted, I included it because I thought it looked cool. appreciate any and all comments. the city has been invaluable to me.

 

thank you RTH. yes I know things are far from optimum. I'm making do with what I have to work with for now. I'm having fun and learning a lot along the way.

 

thank you all very much, this is exactly the kind of detailed advice that will keep my grows improving. yeah, it's in with the flouros as well Brazy, just more under the hps. one of the others under the flouros is getting some of the hps as well.

 

Ha Ha very funny DW. you just drive me to earn your respect. I've ordered a 400 watt HPS. will update with pics when it comes in and I get it up.

 

ok, some new pics from the tops of my four ladies. still waiting on the 400 watt hps. sent out a mo to high tech grow supplies saturday, hopefully it will be in with in a couple of weeks. I have a pretty good size area to grow in, so I think if I put up a shelf outside the chamber for the ballast, and keep a fan blowing on the light, I may be able to control heat, any input? oh I have good ventilation for the room as well. the one in the 3rd pic got some pretty bad burn from accidentally over fertilizing a few weeks ago, it seems to be recovering though after losing a lot of fan leaves. looks like I should be able to get a little something something, eh? they all have a lot more bud sights, I can't seem to get a real good shot of the entire plants yet, maybe when I get a little better with this camera. oh does anyone think it's too soon to stop feeding?

 

ok, been messing around with camera some more, here's a little better shot of the last one from previous post.

 

my first calyxes (spelling) starting to swell, I'm so excited. these are from the plant from previous post.

 

yeah, that's the one. I've got a few ideas of using some of the flouros in there with it. any guesses as to how much longer I've got till harvest? some of the leaves on this plant near the flowers, especially the ones with the calyxes swelling nicely, are getting white speckles, I'm loving the looks of it, I'll try to get some macros of what I'm talking about later.

 

thx green, yeah, mine are way behind from poor lighting and conditions early on, I don't expect much of harvest, this was a learning experience, they're already at about 8 weeks, should be soon. thx for stopping in tetra, I'm truly flattered to have a grower of your caliber check in. Please say anything to me you would with no fear of hurting my feelings, I'm here to learn, thx again. hey chicken. I'll probably come down to see you again after harvest so I can share some of my first grow ever with a good friend. that's really bummin you couldn't find the fan. they're called in line fans and they work great. their purpose is to more efficiently move heat through your house, especially if you have an upstairs. I think you'll need at least a 6 inch with your space and heat issues, also would help to keep a fan trained on the light. glad to hear you got the closet finished, can't wait to see it. gl and see you later.

 

oh yeah, lol, I'm such a stoner. well, better late than never. here's those macro's. not to bad looking for some bag seed, I'd say.