trim during flower?

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by pinkbear, Nov 21, 2011.

  1. #1 pinkbear, Nov 21, 2011
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2011
    hey guys. started to flower my plant on tuesday. its now sunday. was wondering if i should trim the bottom branches? like the bottom one or two? fist time growing. plant is 18 inches tall sitting under 4 14w t5 (2 3000k 2 6500k) and 3 100w cfls 2700k. would it be ok to trim the bottom branches? so energy is not wasted?[​IMG]
     
  2. you could but ur plant is so small i dont think it would matter too much
     
  3. alright il just leave it then. its been plumping up. i know she is thin. this my my first grow
     
  4. question 2. i have been rasing the lights every couple of days only becuz the plant will start touching them. if i stop rasing them will it stop growing taller and also help the bottom start to bush more?
     
  5. no, its going to grow upwards unless you tie it down in some way. search LST (low stress training)
     
  6. Here's just some advice: CFLs do not have good light penetration, so because of this you will want to incorporate top lighting as well as side lighting. As far as I can tell from the pics all of your lights are at the top of your plant. I would suggest either moving some to the middle and lower parts of the plant, or if you can then buy some more CFLs and do this. At the moment only the top of your plant is getting light. If you have more light coverage over the entire plant you will end up with a better yield. It's a little late to be starting training in my opinion, but you could try some LST if you want just to see if it makes any difference.
     
  7. i can move those lights. mabey 2mrw i will move 2 of the lights to the sides of the plant one on each side?
     
  8. Since you're using cfl lights, I would highly recommend what others have mentioned and make sure to get side lighting. Take your grow space's dimensions to determine how much lighting you will need. 3000-5000 lumen/sq. ft. is the amount of light you want to give your plants.

    Honestly in my experience the real lower branches that don't get enough light aren't worth the effort of trimming, so I usually do a layered harvest allowing them to mature.
     
  9. ok i moved the lights to all around it. i can rotate those lights all around too. can aim them almost anywhere

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    better?
     
  10. That looks like a better setup. Are those 100 watt equivalent CFLs? a few more couldn't hurt unless heat issues would start to factor in.
     
  11. yes they are. i took apart a lamp and made those lights on the sides. would have to go buy some way to add more
     
  12. The big home improvement stores like Lowe's and Home Depot sell very cheap clamp-on lights. Home depot has 4-packs of 23 watt (100 watt equivalent) for like two bucks.
     
  13. i work at home depot. we sell a clamp light for 9$ 150w and we sell a 300w (68 watt) cfl for 17$. 4200 lumes 2700k. could i add this? im sure adding this will have huge results ha for a total of about 25$
     
  14. #15 morange, Nov 21, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 21, 2011
    Hey, the adjustments to the light positions look good. One thing I may add though, most of the light from cfl bulbs comes from the side of the bulb not the tip, because of the larger surface area. You may want to remove those lamp hoods and turn the bulbs a bit. I've seen plenty of people make their own reflectors for cfl bulbs on this site with as little as a soda can. Doing this will really help you utilize the lighting you have to work with.

    An example:

    [​IMG]
     
  15. it will be some work but i will do it
     
  16. ok so i picked up a 300w cfl(act 68w) and plugged it in to one of the lamps. holy hell soo bright ha
    [​IMG]
     

  17. I'm running six of those 68 watt soft white CFLs, plus some smaller ones, in a closet grow. I noticed the last time I was in Home Depot that they had raised the price of the big ones from $14 to $17, not that I expect to need one any time soon. I live close to one and I go there a lot, and I've noticed that they seem to move a LOT of those bulbs. CFLs last 4-5 times longer than incadescents and use 20-25% of the electricity for the same, much cooler, light. The do put out some heat, though.
     

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