This is my first time growing and I have several questions. I'm growing 3 indoor strains, Mazar/Afghan, White Widow, and Aurora Indica. I started with the Mazar/Afghan and White Widow about 2 1/2 weeks ago and just germinated the Aurora Indica. I'm growing in a 2x2x4 box, inside is painted flat white except the bottom, which is flat black. I read that light reflecting up hurts the tender bottoms of the leaves. I started with 5 fluorescent "plant lights" from home depot, all 120 watt bulbs. I just moved to daylight cfl's, 3 30 watt (120 equivalent) and 2 23 watt (100 watt equivalent). The Mazar/Afghan grew very tall very fast. The bulbs were originally 4 feet up. Though it seemed to be enough light, I quickly found out that it was way too high. I moved the bulbs inside, about 2 feet above the plants. I still proved to be too high which is why I purchased cfl's. The heat emitting from the "plant lights" was making the box temp about 90 or 95 degrees. The cfl's are now placed roughly 8" to 1' above the plants and heat is no longer a problem, but none of the plants can stand on their own because they're too tall. Otherwise, they look awesome. I've started to brush the tops daily and put a fan on them every once in a while to simulate wind. My first question is this. Will they be okay? Will I have to prop them up for the rest of their lives or can a few changes now strengthen them enough so they can eventually stand on their own and be normal? Secondly, I started with Miracle Gro Moisture Control and moved to a mixture of MG Moisture Control and MG Seedling Mix. I've since read some forums stating that MG is a bad idea. Should I transplant them ASAP or wait things out. Nothing seems to be over-fertilized so far. Also, when should I start fertilizing? I bought a general fertilizer, Vigoro All Purpose Plant Food, 24-8-16. My original plan was to start fertilizing soon using a very diluted mixture, but now that I know there are time release fertilizer pellets in MG, should I fertilize at all? I'm sure I'll have more questions later, but right now these are the pressing issues. Thanks for any advice you can provide. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.
1 foot from tops of plants is too far for CFLs to be effective. I don't know what the plants look like. You may be able to strengthen the stems, you may not. Let us know how it works out. Miracle Grow...good luck. Never used it. Stay away from the nutes until your plants tell you they need them. Look for deficiencies/yellowing in new growth as well as old.