Hey guys I got a concern with my lighting. I have heard to leave lights on for 48/8 and 24/0 which one is better or is there some other combination I should be doing? I only first turned lights on them almost 24 hours ago. I also was conserned about the light it's about 6 inches from them but I only have 1 light on. Do I need the other light in them also at this point? Okay and on the side note...(if you get confused on this part realize I gave each plant a color to identify them with) There are only two sprouted out of three at this point. Of the two sprouted one seedling (green) has the two little green round leaves but the stem is kinda thick and purple in color, is this normal??? The other seedling (red) has two round leaves that are opened up now and it's stem is the same color green and much thinner than the other. So is this normal or is something wrong with one or both?
Not 100% sure on this but I think you can leave the lights anywhere from 18-24hours on for veg. Personally I use 18/6 but hopefully someone else can clear up if there is a set time to go by. IF they just sprouted the one light is probably ok. Not sure about how far away you should keep them;;it depends on the temperatures in the room and your ventilation. Sorry about not being able to give you a 100% answer;; i just want to give you the best advice I can but I don't want you to live by it and it screw up your grow because Im by no means an expert or seasoned grower. Good luck though man Im definitely pulling for you to get a good grow!!
Thanks at least I'm on the right track I added the other cfl earlier today cause it kinda seemed like they where streaching a little for the light. So they each got their own light right above them for now until they have to share when their sister sprouts. I noticed they could probably use some water to so I will water tomorrow sometime.
What are your temperatures and means of ventilation? Hey just a friendly tip;; whatever your plants are in(probably dixie cup or something?) pick them up whenever you have a chance. You will naturally get a feel of the cup. Water when it gets light and when it still feels heavy don't water. That will help greatly!
Haha that's pretty funny you should ask. I don't really have any ph testers, thermometers, humidity readers... I got nothing. But I do know the temperatures are probably on the lower side since they are in the basement. I would estimate it fluctuating between 65 to 75 degrees. Since it's pretty cold I really havnt created a ventilation system. Though to make up for it I will open the door (more like a white blanket curtin) for about 10 minutes a day. Idk if it would do much to help but it helps ease my own mind to thinking it helps. As for the water tip -thanks! I will pick them up and judge, I have not watered yet since all the soil is still moist so I think there okay. Then finally small update: the last finally sprouted today so she's under the light with her siblings. Her nickname for now is blue. The little round leaves that where folded together (cause it just sprouted) where kinda on the yellow side much to my concern but now being in the light for several hours it's starting to green up. Fingers crossed for her and the others!
You're excited now? Wait till you see your first pistil! Don't worry too much at this point, there's not much you can screw up in the first two weeks, they're mostly on autopilot. Just don't feed them anything, don't overwater, and don't burn them. They like it best in the 70's, and I'd recommend getting a cheap thermometer/humidity meter (forget what that term is). They're like 5 bucks, and really help you keep your plants happy.
Oh really I didn't know how cheap it was! I might be able to get ahold of one at some point. How could I increase the humidity without like a humidifier? I can't wait to see the sex I make myself call them all girls but it's kinda like counting your chickens before they hatch. Some could be boys... Glad to know I can't fuck up to badly and things seem okay for now. One of them (nicknamed: red) kinda seemed to be stretching to the side some and I didn't want it to go crazy to the side so I lowered the lights about an inch. Hope it helps. Then the first one named green looks like it's doing really well. It has a purple thick stem and really dark green round leaves (compaired to red which is light green leaves and has a lighter green thin stem). Green even is starting to grow two of the regular looking leaves! So ya pretty anxious. Oh and happy 1 week birthday for them today also! (germed on the 12th)
You shouldn't need to worry about too low humidity. Too high could be a problem, it will encourage mold. Don't let them stretch too much, I forgot that part. Can the light come closer without burning them? 6500k CFL's work wonders! Another thing I learned is that red stems (later in life, not positive on infancy) can mean it's too cold. It doesn't seem to hurt anything, but it does tell you that they might want it warmer. Though it could also be totally normal...
Ah yes that makes sense thank you. No need for much humidity and I don't think there is much in the basement. I could probably get the lights closer I'm still trying to play around the arrangement so that every plant gets equal light. My fault kinda for putting them in 6.5 inch wide pot. I didn't want to deal with tansfering them until bigger. My cfls are 5000k which I heard works to. Oh and thank for explaining the purple stem thing I liked it cause I thought it was pretty. But in light of the possibility it's to cold a brought my space heater in my room (grow is in closet). I personally enjoy the cool air but a mother will do anything for her babies well being
I prefer planting them in a big pot right away, transferring can cause shock and delay growth for a week, and who wants to wait another week for their bud?! 5000k is good, not AS good as 6500k theoretically but still better for vegging than regular soft white. Just get em as close as you can without touching, and check every day to make sure they don't grow up into them. Get that thermometer, the lights might be keeping them warm enough. The red stems are nothing to worry about, if it's not too cold for you it's not too cold for them. 70's is ideal, not necessary. The red is a trait, some plants show it easier than others. They're probably fine. Now if I can only remember what made pink pistils...THAT was cool...
Haha thanks I started getting worried about the temp anyway cause it has dropped pretty low the past few days and my room was even making me shiver at one point. Haha so heater gets turned on periodically when it gets to cold. I think they all look great at this point. The one with the red stem could be a trait as well as cold but it grew even last night. The two fan leaves are almost the size of the round leaves. Other one is just barely behind the first and it's stem has also gotten slightly darker but is not nearly as thick as the other. The last one is a good few days behind which is going to be difficult when I start having to raise lights. But it looks healthy to. About the pink pistol thing... I actually have never heard about that it must be pretty cool looking. So is it like a trait or something you do to it when growing it?
So today I was just informed of some bad news... I gotta fly across the country this coming Sunday night. So this means my three, 1 week old babies are gonna have no one to look after them until Wednesday. I could really use some advise on how I can safely tide them over for a few days. See I heard about the vacation timer but I really don't got money at the time for that. I manually plug and unplug the lights every day (I switched to 18/6 schedule) and it's far to cold to put them outside they would perish. What should I do??? I was thinking that maybe I can move them to the small cabin out back. Just some problems with it... Firstly it is suffering from a mold problem in the walls I don't know if it can hurt the plants at such an early stage. Second, I don't know how much light they will be getting right from in the window. Third. The electricity is not a sure thing it works some times and not others. This means they might or might not be getting heat from the space heater which itself can even risk fire with the electricity going on and off. So I got my hands tied pretty good... Suggestions?
[quote name='"SnowCappedHills"']So today I was just informed of some bad news... I gotta fly across the country this coming Sunday night. So this means my three, 1 week old babies are gonna have no one to look after them until Wednesday. I could really use some advise on how I can safely tide them over for a few days. See I heard about the vacation timer but I really don't got money at the time for that. I manually plug and unplug the lights every day (I switched to 18/6 schedule) and it's far to cold to put them outside they would perish. What should I do??? I was thinking that maybe I can move them to the small cabin out back. Just some problems with it... Firstly it is suffering from a mold problem in the walls I don't know if it can hurt the plants at such an early stage. Second, I don't know how much light they will be getting right from in the window. Third. The electricity is not a sure thing it works some times and not others. This means they might or might not be getting heat from the space heater which itself can even risk fire with the electricity going on and off. So I got my hands tied pretty good... Suggestions?[/quote] A cheap mechanical timer for your lights can be had at home depot for about $10. I grow hydro, so not sure on watering... But I think if you water on Sunday night before you leave, I think it would be good until Wednesday. But don't quote me on that, because mine is always in water. (DWC). I'd probably set it up in a closet or something. Your cabin sounds pretty unreliable.
Timer is a must have man. I bought one of the cheapest ones I could find at lowes and it still works fine. it'll really help with the time and it seems like the only thing if you have been doing it manually. I agree with pokespeak I think if you water them sunday they will be fine just try to coordinate so you dont water heavily on fri or sat so you can water good on sunday.
I just dont know when I'm even gonna get ten dollars to spare I'm jobless and pretty much function on twenty or thirdy dollars a week thanks to my mom. I had another thought though... I could put them in my car only problem again is how cold it gets at night. Below freezing for sure. Then there is a house kinda to complicated of a situation to explain but it would be safe to store them there in a sunny spot again not sure about temperatures. If worse comes to worse I can move them upstairs at my house at the very last minute where sun will come in a little. And temperatures probably won't get to bad up there. Only problem with this is mother cannot find them. So it be like me waiting for her to get in the car then run in say I forgot something and run them upstairs. Then I would have to be first in the house to get them when we come back. Just a sucky situation.
Just had a thought;; since its so early in veg just leave the lights on 24/7 and itll keep them warm in your cold basement. Just give a really good watering right before you go.
Yup, that's what I'd do. Try to make sure the lights are just far enough away that they won't grow into them. The rest of your options sound like bad ideas. This will work just fine. Just make sure nothing will get burned by the lights or space heater. The worst way to get caught is when it's cuz you burned your house down! Oh and the pink pistil thing, I don't remember how it happened. I think it might have been a trait, but I seem to remember reading that temperature changes can also cause it. It was only temporary, but it was so cool! Edit: I remember now! The pink was on a round of clones. The only time I saw it from this strain, which is why I thought it had to be environmentally influenced.
Fuck I had everything typed out and the stupid web page randomly left to google. Ah now I gotta type again. Wish I could remember what I said. Anyway, thanks both Kamel and 2Bugs that is probably the best idea and I will do that. Its better than brooding over new ideas like I was doing. I just didn't want to do it at first because I had just switched them to 18/6 light but it shouldn't hurt them to go back to 24/0 I don't think. Hopefully just a minor shock at best. How many inches should I expect them to grow while im gone for 3 days? Like 1 or 2? Now if I can make a plan to smuggle a little bit of weed with me to tide me over... haha thats gonna be a challenge. That must have been some awesome pistols to see. It would be cool if they where like purple or blue colored to. Haha it be trippy...
Hmmmm...give em like 6 inches just to be safe. I wouldn't expect any shock or recovery time. Aaaaaand, I dunno about smuggling anything on a plane. Not something I'd wanna mess with nowadays. BUT if you do, good luck my friend!