Newbie question about indoor growing

[IRISHMAN1972]

I have about 14 plants that are about 2 inches high.....I just found a 400w mh/hps conversion and would like to know how close to put this light to the plants? i'm afraid ill burn them if to close or them getting too scraggly if too far away....please advise (i couldnt find this answer in the online growing guide so im asking here) ..........

danks,
irish

 

[KADE]

It depends on a lot of variables ambient heat/air movement. You are best off starting 1.5-2 feet away and moving it down everyday until u find the right spot. You can also gauge the approximate distance by putting ur hand by the plant top for a minute.. if it feels warm it is too close.

 

[IRISHMAN1972]

ty for the prompt reply!!!!!!!!!!! THIS PLACE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

irish

 

[astra007]

yup no closer then 18" and put a fan to lightly blow across the plants. you talkin a conversion ballast or a light? an red spectum light will burn hotter then a blue light.

 

[IRISHMAN1972]

I have 2 bulbs.....a mh and an hps.......is this enough light for 13-16 seedlings? ventalation and temp are not a problem....i plan on sexing soon...good or bad idea?(these are 2 inches). And based on your experience.....what % of females should i expect......all seedlings are very happy presently!!!!!!! Your advice is appreciated........

danks,
Irish~

 

[astra007]

if ya got 2 normal bulbs then ya need 2 ballasts unless its a conversion 1. you can veg 13 under a 430 but fer flower, i would do no more then 8 - 9 at maximum per 1 - 430 bulb. normally i would do 5 under a 400w. this is mounted horizonal with a batwing reflector.

yer plants have to be over 15" tall before you want to start flower to determine sex. probably need 2 400w ballasts

 

[IRISHMAN1972]

maybe i was ripped off then....i asked the guy a couple of ?'s in reference to this light and he said all i need to do is switch the bulbs when ready to flower........here is a link to the product......let me know as i havent received the ballast yet.....just the hood and bulbs......the tracking number says the second part(ballast) will arrive tomorrow............

i removed link b/c my question was answered.....tya

danks,
irish

 

[astra007]

nope, looks like this is 1 of the new lite weight dual ballasts. and you may have got an excellent deal. this is a toggle switch ballast enabling you to run either light. but you should have bought 2. but remember you still have to sex yer plants. i would flower no more then 5 max. with this but thats just my opinion; some peeps would say 8.

 

[IRISHMAN1972]

I'll let you know how it works out......thanks again!!!!!! I'll keep this thread going no later than Sunday w/ pics so you and anyone else can critique my method......i love feedback.....thats how i'm going to learn and experience is key!!!!!!! (from what ive heard)...........

danks

 

[skunk]

in my personal opinion i recomend all newbies to start out with flos or cf atleast until they learn a bit about growing marijuana . not to critisize but 14 plants is a big responsibility for the first time . what if there all females? do you know the sq ft you need per plant to flower? do you know how many lumens you need per square ft ? do you know the right nutes to use and how much you will need ? all i can tell you in this point in time is you better hope only 4 are females because you are gonna have you hands full and space if they are all females . so please do yourself a favor and read the grow guide over and over again and other grow guides to it will take some time . very much luck to you .

 

[astra007]

my p/o is to start with HD lights and work yer way up. rule of thumb is 80w per plant or 12,000 lumens. to learn; is not what this forum is for? and for us with experience to help? you can teach the newbies flouro's and i'll teach them HPS or MH. 400W, 600W OR 1000W - i've used them all. plants can be spaced antwhere from 1 per 3 sq. ft to 1 per 6" sq. depending on the method used to grow.

 

[astra007]

i started with a sog with 108 plants under 4 lights in tables of soil utilizing the top cola's only = got 5.5 lbs over 11 weeks. sativas.

 

[ganjabanned]

A good way to judge how much light you need is this simple rule of thumb: 50 watts HPS per sq/ft.

A 400-watt bulb effectively illuminates 8 sq/ft.
I like to start off with 1 plant per sq/ft. (unsexed). Once the plants are sexed and the males removed the girls have more room to flower.

You should wait until your plants are sexually mature before you sex. This occurs at between 3--6 weeks of veg. and is indicated by alternating nodes. My preferred method is to take clones from each plant, root then sex those.

Luck of the draw--it's been my experience that, out of 100 seeds chosen at random, about 60%--65% will be females.
Some people say there are techniques that increase the ratio of females to males when they are seedlings that involve temps and nutes, but I'm not up on those.
P.S. stress during flowering can turn girls into hermaphrodites or males.

 

[IRISHMAN1972]

Since im kind of in a dilema (14 plants and 1 400watt conversion) do you guys think i should sex them now????? I remember the last time back in 1997 we sexed at 3-5 inches....that way i could pull all the males and concentrate on the strong females....weed out the weaklings and probably end up w/ 5-8 strong females. What do you guys think???? I appreciate all feedback received and yes Skunk i'm reading alot in the guide and im beginning to figure out you're correct about the number of plants i have going........ty

Irish~

 

[Mutt]

6" sq. depending on the method used to grow.

wow I thought the most you could pack in during flower was 1 plant per sq. ft. max SOG. From what I've read anymore and yeild may suffer.
To be able to pack em in like that is it dependant on strain as well? Also is it hydro or soil your doing this?
Sorry to ask, but I am very curious this sounds like it would be great for me as I only run a 250W for heat and I don't need much herb to begin with. So a tight packed SOG would do me justice.

As for my opinion on sexing. I never fully agreed with re-vegging to determine sex. esp. at week 3-4. Too much stress IMHO. It's easier and less stressful to take a cutting and sex that. I do that and pick out my healthiest females and use them to clone off of and chuck the rest or flower the females I don't want as donors while the other cuttings get rooted and veg for a little while. IMHO.
I veg under florous with average lumen (about 4,000/sq.ft.). helps control the size so I can do more seed starts without getting overgrown. Plus I;ve had better female ratios under florous than an HPS. but for flower. HPS all the way.

 

[skunk]

ps astro i was not recomending flos. for flowering ,only veg . and 50watts persqft and 6000watts per sq ft is more than good if you could even get that much light absorbtion to your plants . it would have to be a sog grow to get 12000 lumens per sqft and not everyone has 1000 watts of power or the space to grow that much at 1 time . 1 400 conversion is all he has to work with and i would not recomend more than trying to flower nomore than 4 at a time with a 400 hps giving giving them 2sqft per plant then that away you wont have 14 plants with each plant having a problem whether its heat stress ,overfert,underferted,overwatered , ect ,ect just trying to say for a newbie not to get in over his head.

 

[astra007]

yes skunk, that why i said 5 plants per 400w is what i do and i dont like to force sex. i wait until plants are 14 - 16" tall in veg and then flip to flower to show sex naturally. i allow 80w per plant and a minimum or 2 sq.ft. for sativa unless im doing a SOG then you can pack them in; 1 clone every 6" in square containers. you are looking for the top colas only and sativas are the plants to use. you actually "rape" or remove all the side materials.

 

[Mutt]

yes skunk, that why i said 5 plants per 400w is what i do and i dont like to force sex. i wait until plants are 14 - 16" tall in veg and then flip to flower to show sex naturally. i allow 80w per plant and a minimum or 2 sq.ft. for sativa unless im doing a SOG then you can pack them in; 1 clone every 6" in square containers. you are looking for the top colas only and sativas are the plants to use. you actually "rape" or remove all the side materials.

So you are doing them in 6" containers. I either do a single large one or two if they'll fit. or 1' pots in a SOG. Rape isn't the word I was thinking my first time SOG. more like a machete and "bushwhacking". lol but I'll have to give the 6" a try and compare weight on the same batch of clones. Thanks man.

 

[astra007]

a big tip my friend; a 1 gallon container is how deep? and take up 1 sq ft. so i reduced the amount of the sq footage and increased the DEPTH of the container. you can use sq pots or 6" circular pipe; 2 - 3 feet deep.

hehehe - have fun

 

[IRISHMAN1972]

Im back......this site still ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

i need a critique on the looks of our dank...................