Alright, so I am trying to grow indoors, and have 5 newly started plants. Unfortunately, I've been looking around and have noticed that my plants look different from most others. Its not a specific type, just some mids seeds I got from a friend. My plants are about 4 inches tall, but only have their 2 first (round) leaves and 2 tiny new leaves- the new leaves are around 1 cm long. Also, they are leaning. They seem too tall or something. Ive had the light on for about 20 hours a day and have them in peat-moss soil. Ive only watered when needed, and have misted them a few times. Its been about a week since I germinated them. Any tips would be helpful- it sucks to see your plants failing miserably Thanks. -dr gt
Welcome to GC. What type of light are you using? Have you tested ph? Basically more information needed. Check the "read before posting" sticky to know whats needed.
Thanks for the welcome I have 4 65w 'grow lights', and havent tested the ph. Also, if theres anything I should know about growing that might not be on the forums, any tips would be helpful. -dr gt
Adding info: Its purified water, I water when the dirt isnt moist 2 inches in (its been about once every 3-5 days) The temp is probably in the mid 70sF, slightly humid. Ive been misting them a bit. Just peat moss soil about 5 inches deep because of lack of funds (luckily im getting soil, nutrients and actual pots this weekend). And Ill add specs of light if possible. Edit: couldnt find specs of exact lights online. I think theyre cfl. They look like blue floodlights. I heard theyre good for vegging but not for budding? Honestly Im clueless.
well I would proly change the medium when its ready to transplant, and proly get different and more lighting going on. A ph test kit would help avoid problems throughout the whole grow.
I looked into it a bit more and I think I need the lights closer to the plants. 1-2 inches? or is that too close?
Well do you know of any relatively cheap lights that would be good for about 5 plants? Im getting supplies with a friend this weekend, so now would be a good time to buy different lights if need be.
if you're going to do a CFL grow, you're going to need about 100w per plant for the first plant, and then 35w more for each plant after that. so if you have 5 plants, you're gonna need 200-250w of real power. if you have the money to invest, i would suggest getting a HID light, these will produce much better looking buds than CFLs would
Honestly if you plan on growing 5 plants it's basically more economical to purchase a HID system because by the time you purchase the amount of materials and bulbs for that many CFL's you could have already gotten a HPS for almost the price you paid for the CFL's. But if you want to stick with 1-2 plants you may use CFL's but your yeilds will still be very low. I would also be aware of misting the plant because if you get to much heat directly on the plant it could possiably burn the leaves killing them. (Had that happen to me before)
Yeah sounds like stretching... Light Too Far Away from the Top of New Growth / Lack of Adequate Light. As Far as the whole light situation, I think its a question of Money. If you can put it together grab a High Pressure Sodium Bulb. I was very suprised to find out that my local Home Depot carries 75, 150, 250, & 400 watt HPS, at a decent price. (Im NOT Using them) BUT I think having 1 HID, would be better for flowering purposes alone over CFL's unless your using enough and are switching light temp./cycle. Even if its just 150 watt HID., Look into that. If your are going to go with CFL's, you want the light temp approx. 6500k for Veg, and you would proly want to change that to approx. 2700k for flowering. Of course you dont HAVE to change, but everything comes into play at Harvest. You can Harvest Sticky, Icky Sweetness, or you can Harvest Sticky, Sticky, Shitty. Good Luck
Another good bit of advice would be to make sure you have a fan blowing a slight breeze on your seedlings. It will greatly increase the strength of those spindly little stems
ah thats a good idea. Thanks. I actually heard that before but having a bad memory.. heh well, yeah. I have to say this site is one of the best growing resources out there, thanks for the tips. Also, when I can tell the difference between male and female plants, should I just dispose of the males? or is there a use for them? Also, can anyone tell me what type of fert to use, or at least how much nutes i should use at different stages? dr gt
There are lots and lots of posts about plant sexing and fert schedules. I would read them all so that you can weigh the information yourself. You can usually sex the plants towards the end of the veg stage before they start to flower, but you have to know what you're looking for. There are lots of pics available, but they normally show the organs just after the pistils come out. Generally, for the strains I've grown at least, the males show first. The females tend to have a more elongated teardrop shaped preflower... coming to a point at the end a lot of times. The male preflowers look like claws kinda. You may just have to see it for yourself a couple times before you get good at early identification. I use Bio Bizz ferts. BioGrow for veg and BioBloom for flower. This is mostly just a habit. I've never had a problem with them, and they always give me good results, so I continue to use them. I also give the plants a little superthrive once a week. I typically feed every other watering... and water every other day. That will be dependent on your strain of course. Some are thirsty... some are not Good luck!
Thanks for the info! I'll explore the forums a bit more, maybe I can figure out everything else I need to know.
I know that in my cheap closet grow which is just prep for 2 moms, I went to home depot and bought a cheap and easy CFL setup which with 180 watts will cost you around $40 start to finesh. Look for the CFL bulbs they should be around $7-8 a piece. (4) 45watters = 180 watts for around $28 then in the electrical isle they sell a base i used which has 2 opening to screw in the bulbs($6 for base). All you need to do is get an 8 gauge replacent corde($6) and use either electrical tape or the little orange twist on caps(preferred) to wire it up. Just plug into an outlet and your all set. Timers are always usefull but as always optiona. So with that set up you would be looking at 46$!! Easy and very basic.