Hello everyone I hope you guys have a lot of knowledge of growing cause I could use some help. Along with the pictures here is some background. My setup: The goods-2 seedlings, one just out of germination phase and potted/ the other is like 1 and a half inches and has been growing for like 5 days. Light- $20 setup from walmart- two 4ft 32 watt T8 fluorescent lights with 2600 lumens( per bulbs i saw this when i was reading earlier so not sure if it will help in your judgement) the plant is 2 inches away from the top. the current light cycle will by 18 hours a day on and 6 off. Ventilation- opened the window in the room they grow in Water -(THIS IS WHERE I NEED AN ANSWER QUICK)- i have been watering them whenever the top feels a little dry, is that too much?? or too little? So I got these seeds from a bag of "Headband" I bought a couple weeks ago. I have no idea the sex and I am very curious so any ideas when the sex organs will start growing? like what day? I thought about growing them left them and they just sat in the bag for a week until I decided to give it a shot, two days later I had a seedling! I figured I would go with fluorescent light until the flowering stage then go to HPS (not really trying to spend a lot of money just yet). Also I read if you use fluorescent lights you dont have to worry about over heating and no ventilation needed, is that right? Also,what would you say is the best flowering stage light? (looking for best yield) I had the plant in a window seal and it was growing thin and taller than I thought it should be, so I went to walmart and got a light setup. After one day on the lights it seems like the plant is growing in diameter a more but it still grew upwards but not by much. So that is it for now ill post about the growth in a few days, but comment on how to make it better. Also how much does it cost if my energy company charges 6 cents per kwh?? Any help is really appreciated! And dont be afraid to be blunt or a dick about it! I'm a grown man any comments about growing will definetly be taken into consideration!
I'd say it's too much watering. Best way to do it is by feeling the weight. You'll know when it's dry. They need to.completely dry out to prevent droop and even root rot. The window works for now but you have to take pollen from outside into consideration a little later. You can get an excellent mh/hps light and hood for about $150. Ventilation is always a necessity while growing. The stale air can cause mold or bugs. Just 2 plants I'd say for flowering a 400 watt hps would do good. I don't know much about fluorescent lighting but I think a t5 would do better for you. http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1290240-Berry-bomb,-afghan-kush,-pineapple-chunk-grow-update.-Thoughts-welcome
Sorry for such short answers lol. Think about how a basement smells from moisture and mildew. You wouldn't want to live down there would you? Lol unless you just meant no cooling system for the lights. Either way the babies love a good breeze (invest in small fan) and good air flow/circulation. It'll help make strong stems as well from the resistance http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1290240-Berry-bomb,-afghan-kush,-pineapple-chunk-grow-update.-Thoughts-welcome
oh and you can look for pre flower around 3 weeks or so http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1290240-Berry-bomb,-afghan-kush,-pineapple-chunk-grow-update.-Thoughts-welcome
Get those tubes swapped out they look like regular warm white tubes tubes, you need a couple of 'hard' white 6400k colour temp for growing, do you know the colour temp of those tubes? If they are 2700k they will be ok to keep for flowering! I started my first grow under a couple of T8s and they need to be quite literally touching the top leaves or your seedlings will be stretched out and falling over from trying to climb to some usable light! Once i got mine under some good strong lighting they took off and stopped stretching out! Like he says ^^^ over watering for sure dude, they like their feet dry! Make sure the pots are at least 2/3 dry before giving them another drink, eaisiest way is to feel the weight of the pot. A dry pot will be feather light to pick up! If its taking more than 4-5 days for the pots to dry out properly your multi-purpose probably has moisture lock in it, you should really think about getting a bag of Perlite and repotting them into a mix of about 2/3 multi to 1/3 Perlite in order to aid the drainage and reduce water retention of your soil!
They are 3000K so swap them out and maybe keep them for flowering stage? So if the T8s are 64000K they need to be right on it? thanks for the info!
If you have a small fan just to move air under the tubes, you can have the plants touching T8s with no problems as they barely get warm to the touch! A general rule of thumb is: However close you can hold the back of your hand to the light source without it being uncomfortably warm after a couple of mins and its safe for the plant to be that close too! 6400k 'blue' cold white is for vegetative growth 2700k 'red' warm white is for flowering growth Without getting technical the red spectrum included in 2700k helps hormone production responsible for starting/maintaining the flowering cycle! You might get away with 3000k (definitely not ideal though) for your first grow, if you leave one of the 6400k tubes in when you switch to flower!