First of all, thanks for bein willing to help out... Before i get to the pics, heres a brief description: --400w HPS w/ Hortilux bulb (larger spectrum than reg HPS) --320w worth of CFL's -- LST'd about halfway around each bucket in a circular direction -- All the larger ones are strawberry haze (except for the distinctly different, especially dense/bushy, one) -- Smaller 2 are unidentified strain... we got 2 seeds from a buddy who had a small operation. --We use distilled water, with the nutrients seen in one of the pics below. --Room temp w/ lights on (18/6) lingers around 80*. In these pictures, taken last night, they are a bit in need of water, so they're sorta droopy. Also, we cut most of the LST ties off of them except for the original tie and, in some cases, a second. This was done simply to stress them less, and also to allow the top cola to continue vertically. My one big concern, which i mentioned to you in that other post, was that a few of the plants have secondary branches which have grown taller than the top cola. Lookin at the pics, it'll be obvious which ones i'm talkin about, and its only happening on about 3 out of 11 plants. In the case of those plants, the secondary branches that are taller than the cola are clearly stretched... I was concerned with whether or not we should tie these down/top them (the secondary shoots, not the cola) in order to allow the cola to be the tallest part of the plant...? This is my second grow, and my partners first... I've done a lot of reading and research, but obviously putting into practice has been a an experiment in trial and error haha. Once again, thank you very much for the help dude.
well, for some reason the pic of the nutes didnt show up, and it won't allow me to upload it again (i'm not exactly the most forum-literate)... but what we're using is: Botanicare "Pure Blend Pro Grow" (a veg solution), organic, 3 - 1.5 - 4... I have come to conclusion that you're right about only doing one or two tie-downs on the main branch. That's what we did in my first grow and it had vey good results... I suppose we'll go back to that after this crop is done. Luckily you intervened before we continued in a complete circle around the bucket. Also forgot to mention that our soil blend is roughly a 50/50 split of FoxFarms Ocean Forest and Pro-Mix, and we added some perlite for draining/aeration. Also, even though we're pretty happy with this Hortilux bulb, we're eventually going to expand the room to have a veg section, operating under a MH setup with "daylight" CFL's... and a flower section consisting of our HPS Hortilux with "soft-white" CFL's, but until i get this job locked down, funds are a bit limited haha.
Very nice set up and as you said once you get your finances in order it will just get better. I appreciate your ambition to improve, I myself have a few more renovations planned for the future. Yes Hortilux bulbs are great , My MH is Hortilux and the growth is promotes is far better then other bulbs I have used. Botanicare products are great as well, Botanicare and Fox Farm are the only Major Brand name Nutrients I use. Fox Farm OF and Pro-mix two of the best on the market mixed together sounds like a great recipe. So you run 18/6 , I personally do not endorse this lighting schedule in my opinion it is pointless, Just slows the Veg period and causes stretching. Despite what some people say that the plants need rest that is a silly myth, For 10 years I have grown and always Veg my plants with a 24/7 light schedule and my plants never showed any signs of stress in fact just the opposite they enjoy every minute of light they can get. And another advantage of 24/7 is once you switch to 12/12 the plants instantly notice the difference and begin to flower in days. As for your concerns about the secondary growth, yes just tie them to keep them level with the main cola, I am against Topping or Fimming these techniques to me are Obsolete. Some say using a combination of LST and FIM is the way to go, But I disagree. I am a LST purest, since 2000' I have used LST and LST alone and I am very pleased with the results and would never dream of growing a plant with out using LST. Your grow is coming along great, For your second time you are doing very well keep up the good work! I am anxious to see the progress very eager to see your plants bloom and flower. Keep me posted . Good Luck Live Long and Smoke Well.