Hi guys, My plants are my first ever attempt at growing, and they are a sort of hybrid hydro/soil. They were germinated in cotton but went into soil on the first shoot, they are in little individual greenhouses and get either sunlight or halogen lamp 24hrs a day. I use natural rainwater on them, and when they get a bit bigger theyll get horse manure and seasol. Can anyone give me an idea when they might be mature? They're growing really fast but some are just shooting straight up without bothering to sprout enough leaves, while some are short with lots of leaves. Im a total newbie, any comments?
They will not begin to flower until triggered to do so by the lighting cycle. If they are outdoors that won't start until later in the summer. Flowering to maturity can take 8-12 weeks depending on the strain.
Also just a side note Kalikapsychosis, but your halogen light really isn't doing much for them. Its the wrong specturm. You would have to have one BIG halogen lamp for it to do any good. You should really contemplate geting ethier some cfls or a hps/mh system. Just a idea.
Good catch Moggy, didn't even see the reference to halogen. They put out way, way too much heat. For indoor lighting you need either HID (HPS, MH) or fluoros (tube, CFL).
I guess I didnt explain myself.... It is SNOWING on and off here, they go in the sun if there is any, but if I didnt give them SOME kind of light at night, theyd freeze! Thats the only reason I have it, to keep the greenhouses warm until they can go in the sun again. No access to flurescent light, Im currently looking for a job so what they got is what they gotta live with!
Hey, a mate of mine told me 9 months to maturity! Now your tellin me 8 to 12 weeks! I think because of the way Ive got them set up its hard to judge...And they need the heat from the halogen, trust me, Its winter here, its a very small lamp, and I only have it on them to stop them from freezing! Its not to encourage more growth or whatever, they get the sun when there is any... They are very well looked after, I even go and move them on the balcony when the sun moves! Theyve been growing about 2 months now.
So your plants are outdoors plants, but you have a halogen light on them to warm them up? Hmm..... maybe you should consider either waiting till theres decent (non snowing) weather or you should grow the babies inside! To grow properly outside they need direct sunlight a bare minimum of like 6 or 7 hours a day (i believe... correct me if im wrong). And no it does NOT take 9 months to grow buds. If your gonna have an outdoor grow you should plant in late spring and prepare to harvest in the fall, if growing indoors it takes like a minimum of like 2 -3 months for buds. Good luck
Using a mix of sun and artificial light may cause light stress, resulting in a hermie. I think you should decide whether you are an indoor or an outdoor grower. Not everyone lives in a climate where you can grow outdoors.
Technically, they ARE indoors...I only put them out on my balcony when theres full sun and its really warm. They get so cold inside and the halogen is the only lamp I have at the moment. I baby them fawn over them, give them good vibes. Some are just magnificent, about 4cm tall with HEAPS of leaves, some have shot up to 6-7cm with almost no leaves, and a few little ones 'faint' when out in the sun! They actually seem to prefer the halogen to sunlight! I was always called 'the experimental farmer' in ag class, and no matter what my crazy ideas, my plants always did better than everyone elses! Im trying an idea that I was given in ag class where you encourage the plant to take up nitrogen on its own, but Ive thrown my own spin on it. I think theyre gonna be wicked.
I fully intended to grow them solely indoors, but we got a sunny day and I thought 'my babies would love some of that sun..' so out they went. They never come out of their greenhouses, and they spend more time inside than outside. I think I know what you mean by 'light stress' cos the littlest one 'faints' in the sun but picks up again under the halogen. Another two weeks and I'll give them fertilizer, you should have seen them spurt when I finally collected rainwater for them! Got a stock of it now... Gawd, I hope it'll only take 3 months to bud, cos I need to prove my little theory works...None have died! They are all healthy!