Noobies first grow, hopefully i can change my name soon

[Noob84]

i feel like i have been overwatering compared to what everyone has said but i tried leaving them for 4 days and they wilted a lot. i usually water every 2-3 days because the dirt is completely dry and when i pick up the pot its light. i think i got some soil that doesnt retain the water. they could also be wilting because of the heat, it has been getting up to 87-89 degrees because of the new lights. i am going to put a little fan inside the box to go with the others that blow and **** air in/out. all learning process, so far, so good.

on the wish list:
a local pawn shop has a 600 watt hps with ballast/hood/light and long cord combo for $200 and would probably be able to be talked down a ways. maybe for next grow......

 

[Noob84]

both plants look female, i hope i am right. growth has been slower lately, i think they are running out of nutrients. it is almost day 30 and that is how long the soil was supposed to last.

what are everyones preffered nutes? any favorites over others? suggestions? new pictures will be up soon.

 

[newgreenthumb]

I use "Technaflora" nutes for Hydro but was told they can be used for soil to. I feed at a rate of 1/4 nutes to keep from over-feeding. http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicnutrienttechnaflora.htm

 

[newgreenthumb]

you seem to be doing good with those cfl's. keep doing what you are doing as it seems to work. :aok:

 

[Noob84]

just a little update:
-i tried once again to let the plants go 4 days without watering and they almost died, i took these pictures 8 hours after a good watering and they are coming back really well.
-they are on day 30ish of veg growth. i went to go get lights today but they are out of the 2700k 42 watt cfl's. so i just got 3 1700 lumen 23 watt cfl's.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO A QUESTION:
in the picture that shows the top of the plant with the lights, notice how i put the plant in between several of the lights to where the top is actually above the lowest point of the bulb. is this a good idea because the light is then closer to the lower bigger leaves? or should the plant be directly beneath one of the lights. i was wondering if this mattered???? i know that there is drastic diminishing returns of light the farther you get away from cfl's, so i assumed that putting a bigger majority of the plant underneath it would be better than directly underneath one. suggestions?

 

[cyberquest]

just watch being that close, my fan was blowing a couple of my leaves into the bulb and burnt the leaf.

i have my CLF's wired to seperate fixtures like yours, but i found this at lowes for $20, not a bad idea, a couple rows of these and you have tons of CFL lighting.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=24584-1811-VB5-6CH&lpage=none

they are 4 1/2 inches wide and 3 foot long, three rows of 5 gives you 15 CFL bulbs evenly spaced. a 1650 lumens cfl would give you 24,750 lumens of light in a 1ft by 3ft canopy= 6187 lumens, not bad. and for the 5 bulbs it only has one set of wires to hook up, my fixtures is a maze of wires.

 

[Noob84]

i also have a maze of wires but i did a really good job of keeping them tightly together and evenly spaced. anybody know about my spacing question?

 

[THE BROTHER'S GRUNT]

just a little update:
-i tried once again to let the plants go 4 days without watering and they almost died, i took these pictures 8 hours after a good watering and they are coming back really well.
-they are on day 30ish of veg growth. i went to go get lights today but they are out of the 2700k 42 watt cfl's. so i just got 3 1700 lumen 23 watt cfl's.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO A QUESTION:
in the picture that shows the top of the plant with the lights, notice how i put the plant in between several of the lights to where the top is actually above the lowest point of the bulb. is this a good idea because the light is then closer to the lower bigger leaves? or should the plant be directly beneath one of the lights. i was wondering if this mattered???? i know that there is drastic diminishing returns of light the farther you get away from cfl's, so i assumed that putting a bigger majority of the plant underneath it would be better than directly underneath one. suggestions?

I myself would put them right under the lights. If you are worried about the lower branches growing you can always try LST on them babies.

 

[newgreenthumb]

What is LST and HST? Just thought I'd ask.

 

[Elephant Man]

What is LST and HST? Just thought I'd ask.

Low stress training and high stress training.

 

[WubDaBuds]

Are you root-bound?....

I had a plant that looked just like those... re-potted and he took off untill I had to kill him.


Also... have you figured out lumens per sq. ft.?

 

[night501]

thats why i love my little home made chamber. i dont have to worry about size cause if it starts to outgrow what i have i can add on for $4. i have a chamber made out of flat white foam paper laminate.

 

[newgreenthumb]

Thanks Eman for the answer.

 

[Noob84]

Are you root-bound?....

I had a plant that looked just like those... re-potted and he took off untill I had to kill him.


Also... have you figured out lumens per sq. ft.?

what do you mean root bound? when i decide to flower, i will be at 4300 lumens/square foot, that is all i can get.

 

[night501]

rootbound as in not enough room for your roots to grow

 

[newgreenthumb]

Hey Noob to see if it is rootbound see if you can turn her upside-down an tap the pot lightly, if you can remove the plant and it looks like a ball of roots shaped like the pot she's in then she is root bound and time for a transplant.

 

[Noob84]

i am almost afraid to try that in case i spill her out. here are some updated pics. Big Bloomin is 1 foot 2 inches and Green Mojo is 1 foot. they seem to be different strains because they grow quite a bit different than each other. i started using miracle grow at about 1/5 teh recomended strength. i mixed up a gallon of water to mix and fed them the last week with it even though it says to use every 15 days. is this okay? can i continue to use nutes every watering time? there was no nute burn so i am going to mix 1/2 strength thsi next time. there are tons of white hairs everywhere, i will start flowering in about a week.

 

[newgreenthumb]

To avoid mute burn feed every 3rd watering or go at 1/10 to 1/8 the nute strength.

 

[night501]

this is another thing im not to sure on.
iv never given my plant any nutes.
she is growing like crazy but i wouldnt even know where to start with nutes. the only nutes i have are for my hydro setup

 

[cdblop]

what miracle grow mix are you using? weeds eat up alot more nutes then normal plants... i ussualy feed my plants with the low strength mix on the box with every watering wich is 2-3 days take 1 cycle off to give them just water, i step it up till nute burn shows on just the tips of each finger then hold it steady there so there just a little more then what she needs.