Thanks bud.. i struggled alot with humidity and by moving the plant indoors & out doors alot during the begining of its life.. Are my lights okay like they are or should i change their locations.. also do i need to switch to led 2700k for flowering or is it okay to stick to the 5000 - 5600k cfl’s im currently using?? As you can see in the pic i posted, that i added some perlite.. Not exactly sure how to use it so i just put a thin even layer over the top of the soil & i guess thru watering itll start sinking in.. if im wrong please correct me!!
Definitely change the locations. The vast majority of the growth happens from the top section of the plant and that's where you should concentrate your light. It's generally accepted that the lower K light spectrum is advantageous for flowering. The perlite on top isn't going to be of great advantage. You definitely need to increase the soil volume to allow for root expansion or your harvest is really going to suffer. Transplanting for the first time can be a bit intimidating but it's not that difficult. Prep the new pot with soil/perlite mix, leaving an adequate hole in the center to accommodate the existing root ball. Place your hand on top of the soil in your present pot with the stem of the plant supported between your fingers. Turn it side down and massage the outside of the container a bit and the root ball will fall out in your hand. The root system is probably well formed and will hold most of the dirt in place. Set it down in the new container and apply moderately firm pressure to assure good contact with the new soil. Make sure you utilize the total volume of the new container. Start watering around the perimeter of the pot to coax the roots to grow into the new soil.
First off i wanna thank you for how awsome youve been & how much help youve given me during this journey.. thanks mann!!!! Ive repotted it once b-4 from a small cup into what its in now.. my wife might need to give me a hand after i flip the pot upside down as its a bit heavier now.. i have a container about double the size of this one im currently using, ill change to that one.. then how long should i wait to induce flowering after i make the switch???????? HOW LONG SHOULD I WAIT TO START 12/12 AFTER I TRANSFER TO NEW POT?? Okay ill use the lower kelvin leds for the flowering stage.. & ill change the locations of the bottom ones more towards the middle and ill add another 2 at the top! I think that should do, what you think!? Also i see alot of colas growing on top & some on the sides about 6-8 in total.. so i tied some big fans down to help the colas get more light.
Thanx, Sypha. I've gained more from this site than I could ever give back. The opportunity to assist is an honor. Your lighting arrangement sounds like a good plan. Lighting at an intermediate level is definitely good for secondary buds and since you're adding a couple of more lights, this will be a good option for you. Fan leaf tucking is also advantageous. As the plant matures, even some light pruning of larger fan leaves that tend to block lights to bud sites is acceptable in my book, although some will argue otherwise. I'm an exclusive coco/perlite grower and have no experience with a soil grow. And I say this to point out I've never experienced any stress after transplant so I've not felt it necessary to avoid a secondary stressful change. I "think" transplant in soil can reap similar experience but don't know for sure. When you transplant, if the root ball remains pretty well in tact, the plant will never sense its moved. If you want to be more conservative, wait a couple of days and if there's no signs of wilt, go for it.
Still havent went to lowes to get the lights timer.. took the family to see “Incredibles 2” lol.. getting the timer tomorrow!! I only tied down the biggest fan leaves total of about 2/3 leaves tied down only cuz their bigger than my hand & their covering up what seems to be cola potentials.. I might just leave it in this pot i dont wanna take my chances at this stage especially with all the stress the plant deals with with humidity the over watering temps and otha b.s.. QUESTION; When i change the seedlings into their permanent pot do i just mix some perlite in with the soil a bit so they’ll be perlite particles thru-out the soil.. then place the seedling with its small root-ball into the pot??
Yes. As far as leaving your existing plant in its present container, some may view this as a cardinal sin BUT many grow in nothing larger than Dixie cups or 2 liter bottles from start to finish! Bare in mind, small root ball=small harvest. I have some concerns about the unamended soil becoming compacted with time. Take a pencil and poke numerous holes in your soil. Stay a couple of inches away from the plant stem. If your perlite is small enough to coax down these holes, do so. If they cave in when watering, poke some more when it dries a bit. This will help with aeration of the root zone. I approached my first grow as nothing more than a learning experience with little expectation of reaping a respectable harvest. I felt the knowledge gained was the meat of the project and any useable bud was just gravy! Keep this in mind and you will have a successful grow irrelevant of the end results!!
Im going to poke the holes in the soil & try n get small amounts of perlite in into the soil As with your first grow this is more of a learning experience gor me.. i have 2 other seedlings im raising and when i put them in its final pot itll be a bigger pot.. ill have learned more & ill be able to care for them better.. I added the other lights i said i would & i also installed the bathroom exhaust fan at the very very top of the space.. I also added holes at the bottom of the grow space hopeing to let in fresh air.. if not ill install an inline fan to pull in air from outside.. & i still have the small fan moving the plant & hopefully some air around too..also installed the timer to get the 12/12 started b-4 i run out of growing space.. All thanks to you bud im ready for the next step thanks!!
Looking good. Be vigilant of light leakage through those holes. If possible, set your dark cycle for overnight hours and keep light usage in the basement to a minimum. If you're unable to do this, consider some type light baffle. Periodic light exposure during dark periods can cause plants to hermie.
Noone uses the basement.. we dont really have anything stored down their either.. only thing in the basement besides pipes & wires is the plant.. Yes i put my dark hrs to be at night from 8-8 in the a.m then the light will come on for 12 hrs.. the closet lights are the only ones bein used in the basement & their are no windows for light to come thru anyways.. I finally got my dumidity down to 65% thanks to you & the bathroom exhaust fan i installed.
Not sure why im up shopping at this time at night, i know its never a good idea to internet shop at wee hrs (end up buying things you dont need).. But i bought a dehumidifier, its pretty kool.. I can set a desired humidity level from 40-80% so it should help out with a happy plant and a great enviorment.. Just started 12/22 & the last thing i want is to ruin my yeild after all this hard work with mold cause by high humidity.. Being that i can set a desired level of humidity i should never have to worry about an high humidity or mold issues in my grow space again.
Now that ive put the plant into flowering ive changed the bulbs up a bit.. I have 4 2700k led bulbs & 2 5600k cfl bulbs to try & create a full spectrum for flowering.. hows that sound?? Also i found this flowering led bulb its a purple kinda color.. good or no good?? (Pic below)
Plant looking great, Sypha. Nice looking bud sites that you should nurture with as much light as you can. I would be comfortable with your lighting plan. Some purists will probably have a contrary view but I'm of the opinion these hardy plants have a much wider parameter for healthy growth in many aspects. There's been enough research done that we have a pretty good handle on what the utopian conditions are for ultimate growth but we can get some really good results even when we step outside of these boundaries. You're good. Enjoying following you journey.
What do you think about the flowering bulb in the pic above?? Its cheap $10 from walmart.. think i should use it??
Sypha, I'm not familiar with those bulbs so I'll withhold opinion. The thing that jumps out at me as negative is the wimpy wattage. I think wattage is going to be more important than spectrum, actually. Those bulbs may very well offer some advantage but for my money I think I would opt for a 2700k 100w equivalent led bulb.
Your so right.. wish i wouldve done more research back when i purchased this bulb about 3 mos ago.. couldnt find cfl’s in walmart that day but it was all they really had at the time
Hey, if you've already got it use it. It'll help. Give it a shot for at least this grow. I hate to throw anything away without at least using it once. If you're like most of us, you'll chuck most everything you've got now for bigger and better next time around. I'm about to build my fourth grow box and buy my fourth set of lights in three years!
Okay i guess ill give it s try.. but with the other lights on you cant even see the color comming off this bulb atall cause their so much brighter.. Yea my next room is going to be awsome.. learning experience first then grow on after.
Just put a small space together for seeding & vegging since the other room is now doing flowering @ 12/12 lighting.. By the time im ready to harvest the first one the next 1 will ready to flower
@boocoodinkydow g.m sir.. I was hopeing you can help “forsure” once & for all determin the sex of my plant as its been light cycling for a week now.. I took these pix with a small magnifying glass i had laying around (i always thought it was a toy lol) Thanks! (Pic below)
Sypha, I've always grown fem seeds so I have no real first hand experience in the art of sexing but I see nothing that would indicate maleness. I think your having a girl! The point in the last pic is the spot to watch. Pistols=female but spherical shaped object =male.