Newbies First Grow Journal - Nl

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by Cigarlover80, Jun 6, 2013.

  1. First time poster, so I apologize for not participating in any discussions beforehand. Like many others though, I've been lurking around here for the past few months, taking notes for my first grow. And this is why I'm here:
     
    I started my grow 2 weeks ago (13 days ago to be exact). I planted 5 feminized NL seeds, and all seem to be okay. Not great, but okay.
     
    I'm using a stealth box with (6) 23w CFLs. I've been running them at 18/6 since I started, and they're about 12” above the plants. Inside is lined with aluminum tape, and an exhaust fan is above. Temp has been a steady 74 degrees for the past 2 weeks. I had to use Miracle Grow potting soil, and my pots are probably oversized, but it's what I had handy at the time.
     
    In the 2 weeks since I planted the seedlings, I've watered about 4 times, 12oz. each time, with spring water that's been sitting out at room temp. for a day (see? I did my homework beforehand)
    My question is, do they look normal for this age? The seedlings were about 2” tall when I planted them, and they've maybe grown 2” since (probably stretching). The one's stem is semi-limp, the others are fairly rigid. The only leaves they've grown are yellowing (slowly). Am I doing anything wrong? Should they be growing faster? Should I be concerned with the yellowing? Should I replant with diff. soil or in smaller pots? Should I attempt to prop up the one plant that's not as strong?
     
    This is my first time attempting anything remotely close to gardening, so any help at all would be GREATLY appreciated.
     
     

     

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  2. get those cfls about 2 to 4 inches away man! they need more light
     
  3. Is that aluminium tape on the inside the same as tin/aluminium foil? As mentioned, lights too far away.

    Sent from my GT-I9300 using Grasscity Forum mobile app

     
  4. It looks like you may be able to save 2 or 3 of them. Especially the 2 in the bigger pots. Your soil could use added perlite/vermiculite. Are your bulbs 6500k or 2700k. By the looks i would say 2700k. If so, take away 4 of them abd replace with 6500k daylight. Drop them 2-4 inches from plants. You may want ti either re-pot ir add soil due to the stretching. It will help to strengthen the stems. Adding even a 4 inch fan to blow on them will thicken the stems up too. Since its MG soil, your time release nutrients will mostly need only water or they will fry n die. I believe if you try a few if these, especially the lights, you will see some major improvements in 3 or 4 days.
    Good luck to ya!
     
  5. So I followed your advice and lowered the lights. They've been about 4" above the plants for the past 5 days, and it's made quite a difference. I attached some photos so you can see the growth. These are all 18 days old now.
     
    Two are strong and healthy. Two of them I initially propped up with sticks and they perked up and are doing good on their own. One, that I thought was doing fine, now has a droopy stem, so I propped it up this morning with a stick as well. Fed them 12oz spring water on Sunday, and they're still on the 18/6 cycle.
     
    At this point, is there something I should be doing? Or do I continue monitoring them daily, and watering every 3 days?
     
    Thanks again everyone for your help!
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  6. Day 30, and all is well. I've attached some photos, but it seems all 5 girls are doing great. They're ranging in height from 8" - 11". Thus far I've maintained the lights 4" from the plants. I've watered as needed (usually every 3 days), with just spring water. I haven't added any nutes or changed the soil (other than to aerate it a little before each watering).
     
    All 5 plants have gone from various stages of okay (some were drooping, some stems were weak) to great. The stems are nice and strong (I've done some bending, but the fan in the box has helped keep air flowing and bend them naturally). The leaves are looking good (there's one leaf that shows a little yellow, but it waas leaning up against a stick, so I'm not concerned about it - stick has been removed).
     
    I'm still using the MiracleGro potting mix, and even though I heard some not so great things about it, it seems to be doing the job well enough. Also, for the record, I'm using auto-flowering feminized NL seeds.
     
    So now what? Do I introduce some nutes to my water? Or just let the MG soil do what it does? I don't have a tester, so I have no clue what (if any) nutes might be missing. Also, when do I begin flowering? There's another 20" of clearance above the plants, and they're at about 10" right now.
     
    And lastly, because these are auto-flowering, is there a need to put it in 12/12? Or will it flower on its own? When do I cut clones?
     
    Many thanks in advance for the help!
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