Ok so I started my grow I'll attach some pics if anyone will help me. I'm using fox farms soil and fox farms big grow nutes. I've had them vegging for probably 3-4 weeks. They don't seem to be getting much bigger. Should I increase light? I've got 2 23 w CFL and 2 more 20 watt CFL for a total of like roughly 86 watts. I have 4 total plants growing right now and would just like some more advice. They seem to be drooping a little bit. I hear overwatering is a problem but I'm only giving them water once a day. Do I give nutes every other watering? First picture is my setup second is my biggest plant. Any help greatly appreciated!
You definitely need more light. You want to have a minimum of 50 watts per sq ft. Also, those look like 2700k bulbs which are more for flowering. 6500k bulbs are for veg.
I suggest placing the side of the bulb towards the plant not the tip of the bulb you are wasting a lot of useable light with the current setup. Should be a lot bigger for 3-4 weeks time.... What size pots are you in? Try letting the soil dry out and then once the first inch or inch and a half of the soil is dry water with plain water. Platinumkidd Coco LED/ CFL Grow
Ok, thank you so much for the help! Where could I buy the 6500 bulbs? And how many for my little grow box do you reccomend as opposed to what I am running now? Box is probably 2' ft all way around
and it is very early to be giving nutrient. There is plenty of nutrient in the soil to get that seedling thru to when nutrients are needed. Watering daily in that small cardboard pot is too much. You need to wait until the plant needs watering, rather than trying to keep on a schedule. That will come later, when your roots have formed solid, and at that point, you can expect your plant to drink what you throw at it, but at this point, dial it way back. how long have you been in those cardboard pots? may be time to up pot if you have been in these for awhile. So, get the nutes out the water firstly, more then likely needs up potted, and then start a wet/dry cycle. Let you plants top half inch or so dry out before watering again. It will be 2 solid weeks of treating your plant GOOD before you will need to even think about nutes. hope that helps man. Also, as mentioned above, get the 6500 K bulbs, and make sure your not burning your plants with high temps. over 85 and they start slowing. 6500k bulbs are at any home depot, or lowes, just gotta look at its kelvin scale rating, they are all marked clearly. you are using 2700K now
So should I lower the bulbs down so the sides are illuminating the plant? The tips seem to get crispy if I let them get closer. I'm looking into getting more light on them asap. Do you know where to get the bigger CFLs? I bought these at Walmart because they had the most lumens
Ok so I will definitely stop the nutes and watering. I'll go buy the bulbs right now. These are some little cardboard pots I have used since seed. What size do you recommend for my little guys? Also how many of the 6500 bulbs should I get ?
You desperately need more light in there to veg 4 plants with. Are you sure your CFLs are in the correct spectrum to veg? There is a veg spectrum and a flower spectrum...not trying to insult you, just no idea what your level of knowledge is. If you've been watering daily, you're most definitely overwatering your plants. These plants require defined wet/dry cycles to stay healthy throughout their lives and constantly having their roots sitting in moisture only will cause root rot eventually. Once you water the plant, nothing else liquid should be given until the container you have them growing in feels just like it did when you loaded it with dry soil. Do you manage the pH of liquids going into your plants (water/feed solution)? If not, you will eventually lock up the roots of your plants. The pH range for soil grows is 6.3 to 6.7 and all liquids going into your plants need to be adjusted to this range. You will need some way to check and adjust the pH (the drops kits can work but are a bit difficult with such a tight range. A pH tester stick is actually the best to use, but don't waste your time buying a cheap one. One that works that you can depend on is going to cost you $60+. I just bought a new BlueLab (THE BEST) and it was $75. But when you consider just how important the pH levels are with growing, it's a worthwhile investment in my mind. Another thing you might want to buy is a PPM tester. This tells you how strong your feed solution is and goes a long way in helping the new grower not burn his or her plants with nutes. They're pretty cheap. I got one for under $15. Next time when you start your plants, start them in Solo cups since confining the root space will force the foliage to grow faster. The more room the plant has to get rooted into, the longer it will take for the plant's foliage to start to grow. That's what you're experiencing here. You started that plant in a container that was too big and it's taken it a couple of weeks to get sufficiently rooted in. That's why you feel they aren't growing. More than likely, you should've only watered maybe once (if that) in the first couple of weeks if you really watered your plants in well when you first planted them. We start ours in Solo cups and they're generally in those from 10 to 14 days. When the plant inside the cup is as wide and tall as the cup itself, it's generally time to up pot to a 1 gallon container (again confining the root space). You do the same thing in that size and continue on up the size chart until you get it in the container you wish to flower in. This is the quickest way to get one from clone/seed to flower that I know of. You need to get on the new grower threads here on the forum and do some serious reading. If you want to be successful, you have to have a good understanding of the basics: How to water, when to water, potting, soil, lighting, nutes (what the numbers on the bottles are and what they mean...and when the plant needs them in it's life). The plant has different nutritional needs as it goes through both veg and flower cycles. Pretty much everything you would need to know is logged there and it would benefit you greatly to spend some time reading and upping your information level. You can figure it out probably using the "fly by the seat of your pants" method, but I wouldn't suggest it. LOL Good luck! TWW
the guy above will help you...listen to him, he knows what hes talking about. good luck man. I forgot to mention pH adjustment also...very important
This is my first grow as the title states, and I am addressing the spectrum issue now. Going to pick up the 65k lights as we speak. Your help is greatly appreciated. And while I could spend more time reading forums I am more of a hands on learner who likes trial and error