hello all! i have recently started my first grow with some sweet seeds cream caramel autos, as well as some northern lightsxbig bud (5 plants in all). at the moment, i'm 7 days in. it looks as if my plants have stalled growth and they are drooping a bit. they're also stretching, and a bit of a darker green than i think they should be. i have started in a small closet that's roughly 3' X 4'. i'm using ffof mixed 70/30 with organic perlite which is giving pretty good drainage. i'm trying to follow protocol and make sure i don't over water. there are 300W of T5's spread out among the plants. there is also a small fan circulating air through the closet, and mylar lining the walls. i plan on picking up a ph meter when i can make it to town, i was wondering if any of you could take a look at my girls and see what you think the problem is (if any)... thanks for any help, in advance. and remember... i'm a noob, so go easy on me. =]
They look decent. Possibly a little over watered, and they definitely need more light. The dark green is just from the high nitrogen content of the ocean forest.
Your plants are stretching because the lights are to far away, if you can keep your grow area nice and cool you can have T5`s within a couple of inches of the plants and with a small fan blowing at canopy level it helps keep the heat at canopy level down to where your plants don't burn. Get your light closer then hold your hand at canopy level for a minute or so if its to hot for your hand then raise the lights till its not. Also I would have filled the pot full to within and inch or two of the top with soil.
thanks so much for the advise. i have more lights on the way. i was told it was best to start with blue spectrum T5's for the first 10 days or so. is this wrong? should i worry about the leaves drooping or slightly curling upward?
@tplat. thanks for the help. but the lights are on both sides of the plant and are no more than 2 inches away from 2 lights. any other reasons for the stretch? thanks again!
what size pot are you starting in? with autos it's best to start them in the pot they're going to fully grow in. starting in a smaller pot, then transplanting, stunts them and can have a negative effect on final yield. if it were me, i would plant the seed directly into a 2-3 gallon pot. also if they're stretching, it's because the light is too far away, move it as close as you can without heat problems.
How far away is the light above the plants from the top of the plants? T5`s are great for veg growth upto a certain point. My T5 grow light is 8 bulbs running at 452 watts and if I veg 2 or 3 plants above 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall then the lower growth begins to suffer from lack of light penetration.
Not really. Did you have them under the T5`s from the start? Other then that you can add some more soil to the pot to where its with in an inch or so of the 2 round starter leaves.