Hey fellow blades and bladies of GC. Here, I will be keeping you all updated on my first ever florescent grow. Any insight/opinions/comments are always welcome! Soil Mix 10 Gallons Peat Moss 6 Gallons Nitrogen Rich Soil 2 Gallons Organic Compost (my own) 2 Gallons Miracle Grow (started the plants in it, they did well so I added it to my mix) Lighting: Four 32W T8 1" Thick Floros Light Output - 2750 Lumens Color Temp - 6500k Installed in a 4 fixture Shoplight hood Temp: 78-82 degrees during the day 73-75 degrees during the night RH: 57-62% Daytime 52-55% Night time Seeds are bagseeds from a pretty good smoke sesh I started out with this lame poor man's setup you see pictured. The plants simply weren't getting enough light, so they started stretching pretty bad View attachment 1227385 Here you can see them attempting to get more light, they're approximately 3 days old here. View attachment 1227386 I went ahead and buried 2-3" of the stem for added support/less stretch. This slightly delayed development in my foliage, but helped my plants develop a stronger root system. Little guy is looking happy and healthy at 5 days old. I put one of them in a smaller pot as well. View attachment 1227371 At this point, I came across some money for a little upgrade, this is my current light fixture I described. Plants are now 6 days old. View attachment 1227372 At one week, they were just starting to show signs of their second leaf set. I watered them and gave them their first dose of superthrive on 6/18. View attachment 1227374 View attachment 1227377 View attachment 1227378 Day 8: (6/19) Placed a few more books under them to get them at an ideal distance from the light View attachment 1227379 Day 9: (6/20) Here they are today View attachment 1227390 View attachment 1227392 I'm going to try to update this daily. I'd like to take one picture of each plant per day as a personal documentation of their daily growth. After all said and done I want to compile them into a GIF of my plants growing from seedling to fully flowered beasts. Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Awesome, none of the pictures worked. Here they are in order: Hopefully that worked. Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
They're looking nice. No sweat on the poor man's setup, we've all been there. However, i think the fluorescents aren't strong enough: hence the stretching. Have you thought about adding some supplemental lighting? Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
The stretching has slowed significantly since I moved them into the closet with those lights, but ideally I would like to get more lighting in there like you suggested once I get more money. (Left my job last night, long story) Update: 6/20 2:52pm Est I just moved this little guy outside for some fresh sunlight. Seeing how much of a benefit it would give me if I decide to rotate them each outside for a few hours of natural light each day. Sorry if that doesn't make sense, I'm baked 8) Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Personally, i wouldn't move them in and out, but that's just my two cents. I read a thread a while back where a guy was doing that and it stunted his plants for a couple of weeks, i think. Start a thread and ask if it'll hurt them, just to be sure. Remember, the only stupid questions are the ones that go unasked! Sorry about the job situation. Went through something similar a few months ago. However, a little bit more light doesn't have to be expensive. A couple extension cords, a couple plug-in light bulb adapters, and a couple decent cfl's should be under $20 at your local hardware store or walmart. Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Update: I once again adjusted my grow room setup while my plants soaked up some natural sun. It's way more efficient on the light because I basically made a reflective box and moved the light right above the floor. Gonna check em in a few hours to make sure they're not TOO close now (don't wanna burn em incase the fan isn't doing it's job) First my issuse was not getting close enough! It's a good accomplishment getting this better for my plants in such a short time, I can see Mary is thanking me. Close up of the inside of the "reflective box" All my children How it looks with the front piece on it, fan blowing through the side making a slight wind tunnel effect, providing steady breeze to all plants inside. Current temp of box - 77 degrees Current Relative Humidity - 54% Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Now that looks like they'll get lots more light to feed their appetites. Is that aluminum foil you're using as a reflector? Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Nah it's some sort of building material that I had laying around the basement that happened to be quite reflective Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Nice. Looking forward to seeing how they turn out, man. Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Day 10 - 6:03am Lights on for my little girls, as well as updated pictures. I can see noticeable growth on all plants from overnight. Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
While they certainly are, I still feel their size is a lot smaller than they should be (I know I struggled to get them a decent amount of light the first 3 days they broke soil) How long can I expect them to take to recover and resume growing at the normal rate again? Anything I can do to help them along (besides the obvious of adding even more light) Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Generally, seedlings thrive in a humid environment. Not too much, because fungus can become an issue. Don't quote me on this, but around 40-60% humidity with decent air flow, and they should perk up nicely. And once they add a couple more leaf sets you can start dosing them with CO2. Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
My temps stay steady between 72-81 degrees and RH between 49-59% currently. I got paid today so I'm sketching up some plans for a grow box and probably gonna head to Lowes later. Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Update: June 22nd, 2:50pm Talk about an overnight growth spurt! This girl is now starting to show her third leaf set (is this the proper leaf set to start topping?) This little girl is close behind Improving on her second leaf set Smallest of the plants (but I think I may have planted her 2 days after the others) Also rigged a few more lights, they'll be going into my cab I'm working on, just waiting to come across a little more money for a duct fan and paneling for the sides. Working on making a tutorial for it if it comes out as planned Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Give her just a bit more time. Fourth leaf set is where i start, cause doing it too early freaks them out. Looking great, bro! Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I can wait a few more days for the fourth leaf set if it'll keep my girl happy. Thanks man, I'm glad I was able to upgrade so much from that poor mans setup, the girls are really showing their appreciation. Sent from my Droid using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Anytime, man. Always here to help if i can. I want each and every one of these plants to be cared for the way they deserve, cause the gifts they give us are limitless. Sorry, i'm a complete space monkey right now. Buddy came over and shared some Widow x Haze and it's kicking. Sent from my SCH-S720C using Grasscity Forum mobile app