Stopped growing, what now? (pictures)

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cptgold

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Hi!
My plants and buds have pretty much stopped growing for the past few weeks, and I'm hoping to find some good advice from people with more experience than myself.
It's my first grow, so I'm the textbook example of a beginner. They're still alive at least! :)

The sprouts were put in soil in the end of January with 24h light, mid March they were about 75% of the size they're today, and I switched to 12/12. Mid April I thought they looked a bit sad and read somewhere that these autoflowering strains thrive in more light, so I switched up to 18/6 which I've been running since.

I was expecting a lot bigger buds, and being ready for harvest end of April, ofc I understand that the numbers you get from the seed suppliers only apply in absolut perfect conditions. But right now I'm absolutely clueless, will it get any bigger? The majority of the pistils have turned brown, should I harvest now?

fullBoth.PNG

As it's kind of stealthy this is sadly the best angle I can get with a camera of the full setup.
Growing in soil, but started with the seeds in paper towels, put them in smaller pots and replanted in bigger once they outgrew their baby pots. Both are autoflowering, the left one White Widow and the right one Royal Haze, at least according to the seller.

Nutrients:
As it's kind of a "test-run" and most guides I've been finding talks about specific, mostly american, brands of nutrients, that's sadly not available in Scandinavia. So I just grabbed some generic all-around plant nutrient I mix with the water hoping for the best. Containing the following:
6% Nitrogen (1.5% nitrate, 1.5% ammonium, 3% carbamide); 2.6% Phosphate; 5% Potassium; 0.01% Boron; 0.002% Copper; 0.02% Iron; 0.01% Manganese; 0.001% Molybdenum; 0.002% Zinc

Light:
8.5W LED strip-light for plants.
PPF: 25 μmol/s
Density: 23 μmol/m²/s
Wave-length: 450-640 nm
Current Light-Cycle: 18h light, 6h dark (no light pollution from outside)

Air & Ventilation:
Pretty powerful fan running about 5-10 minutes per hour on a schedule, pushing air out from the top through a carbon filter. Fresh air flows in naturally from below the plants when the fan is running.
Temperature: 21 C / 70 F
Relative Humidity: 45-55%

closeupRH.PNG

A closer view of the top bud of the Royal Haze, sadly I don't have a banana for scale but the manual power switch for the fan hopefully gives you some clue of the size here.

closeupWW.PNG

And a closer look at the White Widow. I think the top leaves started to shift slightly towards yellow just the last couple of days. Taking these pictures was the first time I noticed it, and they were perfectly green a week ago.

fullWW.PNG

And finally a full view of the White Widow.
 
I have not grown auto flowers but I think what you have is about what your going to get. Check the trichomes with a 40-60 power eye loupe. Depending on the strain and what kind of buzz you want, you will harvest when the right ratio of cloudy and amber trichomes are achieved. The light you have is very under-powered which is probably why the plants are so ‘leggy’. The main stems are very thin too so they would probably not support much of a larger yield. That is probably due to no fan blowing in the plants. Next grow you should get more light(a lot more), some cannabis specific nutrients, an oscillating fan to blow on the plants and run your exhaust fan all the time. Plants need fresh air to grow. I commend you for getting what you have with your current equipment.
 
You don't have anywhere near enough light. In fact, I have to say that I am surprised that you got as much as you did with a light that is only 8.5 watts.

all plants have a harvest window. In addition, autoflowering plants only live for a certain amount of time. I am guessing that if you have gone 5 weeks over anticipated harvest that some of the trichomes may have dids. I'd harvest now.
 
Thanks for all the advice! I decided to harvest yesterday, and restart with better gear for a better yield next time.

I have not grown auto flowers but I think what you have is about what your going to get. Check the trichomes with a 40-60 power eye loupe. Depending on the strain and what kind of buzz you want, you will harvest when the right ratio of cloudy and amber trichomes are achieved. The light you have is very under-powered which is probably why the plants are so ‘leggy’. The main stems are very thin too so they would probably not support much of a larger yield. That is probably due to no fan blowing in the plants. Next grow you should get more light(a lot more), some cannabis specific nutrients, an oscillating fan to blow on the plants and run your exhaust fan all the time. Plants need fresh air to grow. I commend you for getting what you have with your current equipment.

Yes, as soon as I removed their support before harvesting, they both snapped by their own weight.
I made a makeshift loupe with a camera lens, but the depth of focus was so extreme it was still hard to see clearly. Getting a loupe for the next time!
They do get pretty much of fresh air though, the floor-level ventilation is natural, no fan, but the air down at the floor, especially as I'm on ground level, is a lot cooler than most of the air inside the growing area, it gets sucked in by the rising heat, escaping through the roof ventilation, can actually see it, blowing cold vape smoke on the floor outside. The exhaust fan I use is ridiculously overpowered, but with that comes very loud. However I filled the growing area with smoke from a vape, really thick smoke, started the fan and there was no smoke left at all after just 5 seconds.
So I was really hoping that it would be sufficient to "clear" the air completely once per hour, during 10 minutes (lowest setting on timer), do 30 minutes just before I go to bed, and then nothing until I'm supposed to wake up anyway. But I really should get an oscillating fan, that's a bit more silent and feeding it fresh air from the floor vent. And I will have to keep looking for recommended nutrient for cannabis that I can buy here.
And thanks :) I'm looking forward for an even better result with some upgrades for the next growth!


Regarding the lights, the best ones are probably ten times my budget. But I've found two models that's at least way better than my current setup, and still within a decent budget. It's a model that comes in either a 15W LED, not even twice of my current one, but if I've got it right, the most important numbers are the Photosynthetic Photon Flux and the density. My current rig emits 23 µmol/s/m², this one has a PPFD value of 399 µmol/s/m², and it's possible to extend them with one extra light rig, sharing the same power. I could go for two of those right away, at least if they are decent for the job. The alternativ is a 23W version of the same model, with a PPFD value of 570 µmol/s/m². But they're a bit more expensive, so I'd have to settle for one in the beginning and then extend it with another a month later.

You don't have anywhere near enough light. In fact, I have to say that I am surprised that you got as much as you did with a light that is only 8.5 watts.

all plants have a harvest window. In addition, autoflowering plants only live for a certain amount of time. I am guessing that if you have gone 5 weeks over anticipated harvest that some of the trichomes may have dids. I'd harvest now.

Yeah I was hoping to be able to extend the one I have, but I've realized I have to step up a few levels, now hoping the ones I mentioned above will suffice. Now it's the hardest part of waiting, watching them slowly dry and then cure. Even if they didn't become as glorious as I hoped, I will stick to my plan of celebrating my first growth. I got separate grinders for the two plants, collecting the now rather small amount of kief from each strain separately to coat the corresponding top/main bud from each plant with. But it will not be nearly enough to call them proper moon rocks this time :)
 
Dont waste your money on that light unless you want the same results as those plants were starving for light..you can find some half way decent lights on amazon for reasonable prices too. I honestly wouldn't use less then a 600w led setup growing 1 plant let alone 2 plants
 
Mars hydro lights get a bad rep, but I had good results before with them. Amazon has cheapie LEDs. Just find some with good reviews, and do your research on how much area it covers.

I have a Bloomspect that was under 100 and my plants responded great to them when I added em it. You can grab one, if cash is tight, and add a few more as they grow bigger.

Dont feel bad though, my first grow looked very similar. 6 months under a halogen bulb. Cfls for the rest. 3grams is what I got. Seems like a waste of time, energy, and money. But what you learn in each grow is invaluable. Each grow brings better results and different struggles! Lol.

My last grow with autos, I got a bit over an oz on 2, and around 20g's on another. If you want weight, you dont want autos. If you want quick, and the ability to go for a constant harvest in one set up, you want autos. No need to flip the light, so you can have some vegging while you have some flowering. Plus, with a cheap led setup, you dont want tall monsters bc of light penetration.
 
Dont waste your money on that light unless you want the same results as those plants were starving for light..you can find some half way decent lights on amazon for reasonable prices too. I honestly wouldn't use less then a 600w led setup growing 1 plant let alone 2 plants

Depends on your grow area and plant size. I had a 400w Mars hydro that worked great in a 2x2 tent. I had 3 autos in it. Of course it got a bit tight.
 

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