1st grow

[Vasis]

Gnarly man, though some people will argue that 24/0 is bad lighting. I tend to agree with these people as the dark allows for the root system to grow, which is essential. Just something you may wish to take into concideration.

 

[simpsonsampson420]

Gnarly man, though some people will argue that 24/0 is bad lighting. I tend to agree with these people as the dark allows for the root system to grow, which is essential. Just something you may wish to take into concideration.

this is completely a false statement.. its just old growers urban legend... the plant uses light to grow.. whether its growing roots, shoots, leaves, or buds... roots dont just grow during dark period... now.. ill explain why roots are usually stronger on a cycle with dark..

we all know that when lights are out the plants stretch looking for light... so during an 18/6 cycle, 6 hours of the plants day are spent stretching.. although the do grow during the dark period, the stretching is the main thing... based on the that, during the light cycle it is actually able to absorb and use more light, due to the stretching.. the stretching allows light to penetrate further and deeper into the canopy... the more light that penetrates through to the plant = the more light that can be used = bigger, happier, healtheir, plants, and bigger stronger root systems... now with 24/0 nodes are tighter and growth never stops... its not that the plants need rest.. again its just the stretching that occurs during this period which allows for the extra light absorbtion which means the plant has more energy for growing both above and below ground...

 

[GigEmGreens]

so i gotta ask, should i have the 24/0 i have now or switch to 18/6? keep in mind i dont want my plant stretching too much, im trying to keep it small. I plan on doing LST when it gets bigger.

oh and another problem maybe someone could help me out with. My closet is still up to 90 degrees. any tips on how to lower it down some?

 

[simpsonsampson420]

i think, if you are planning on doing LST, then 24/0 would be fine.. since you are going to make it so the light can penetrate the plant more by spreading her out and tieing her down you wont really benefit from the stretching that occurs during the 18/6 cycle... i personally would leave it under 24/0 if i planned to do what you are doing...

and as far as the heat goes... unless you exhaust it out or bring cooler air in you cant do much about it... what sort of budget are you working with so i can think about how to help you within your means...

 

[GigEmGreens]

i dont have a budget really, ill spend whatever. the problem is i cant make any modifications as far as ventage goes to my closet, it would bring too much attention to it. is 90 degrees deathly hot to the plant?

 

[simpsonsampson420]

90 degree isnt good.. but if you have constantly moving air it isnt bad either... so fans moving air inside will at least tame the problem.. or keep it in check... the only thing i can think of is to keep the closet door open all the time and put a lock on your bedroom door.. or something to that degree.. if you cant modify the closet... other than that just keep air moving as much as you can inside the closet when the door is shut..

 

[GigEmGreens]

the problem is im worried about keeping my little computer fans on when im not home (fire hazzard i like to keep an eye on them) so i just have the one fan that rotates. Plus i cant lock my door cuz the house settled and now doesnt close

 

[simpsonsampson420]

get a cheap desk fan from wal mart or something.. i got a 10 inch adjustable height fan for 15 bucks.. they had some for 5... and replace those computer fans... that would be an easy fix... it would move enough air that while your not able to open the closet they would at least have a good breeze going on...

 

[GigEmGreens]

what would u think about me raising the lights a little bit? would that make a drastic temp change?

 

[simpsonsampson420]

raising the lights wont lower the temp of the closet since heat rises... and if its trapped in there it will reach its peak warmth and just stay there.. ie no matter where your lights hang the closet will always get as hot as it does now... what raising the lights will do is cool the area off around your plants... but again if you can keep the air around the plants moving you wont have to raise up the lights... either way will work... just remember if you raise the lights you will get some stretching... the further away the worse it is obviously... so try to move them away minimally if you do

 

[GigEmGreens]

Week 2, day 6... temperature is still too high for my taste but i dunno know what else i can do. also, i havent watered my plant in almost a week but my moistermeter says its moist down at the very bottom, however the top 4 inches are completely dry. any advice?

plants taking off and growing a lot, advice concerns etc welcomed

 

[simpsonsampson420]

as far as the heat goes, unless you cant vent through your roof its gonna be an issue... only thing you can do its keep a fan moving air up there to help keep the plants cooler... sucks tho.. i feel for ya... been through the heat problem myself before..

as far as watering goes i will say this.. the reason you havent had to water much is because the plants stomata are closed.. this is where they actuallly transpire through... they are closed to hold moisture in... its just their way of saving water in warm climates... until temps drop they will stay like this.. and growth will be slow.... are you giving them any dark period now?? i forget.. sorry.. its early.. and wake and bake.. cant remember shit... if you arent, giving them an 18/6 or 20/4 cycle will help them get some cool down time... the only thing i can think of otherwise is if you can cut a hole in the attic door and run ducting to it and vent through there into the downstairs... i dont know how secretive your op is... but that would at least vent some of the heat from the attic... drop you 5 to 10 degrees depending on the size of the exhaust...

 

[GigEmGreens]

ya i for sure cant cut any holes or anything, i have it completely opened up right now with like 5 fans in my room circulating the air so its slowly dropping, its like 80 right now. but i cant always have it opened liked this so i need to figure out a way of perfectly circulating the air in the closet when its closed =/

i hope i have to water it soon, soil moist that long could cause fungus like in my last pot, remember?

and ya maybe ill put it on a 4 hour cool down and see what happens

 

[GigEmGreens]

oh ya, and another thing, at what point am i gonna be able to tell if its a sativa or indica?

 

[GigEmGreens]

Tomorrow starts week 3 of my little darlings life. Can anyone tell if this is a sativa or indica yet? how long will i have to wait to tell

 

[simpsonsampson420]

Tomorrow starts week 3 of my little darlings life. Can anyone tell if this is a sativa or indica yet? how long will i have to wait to tell[/

im glad temps went down some with the door open.. definatly need to do that as much as possible.. one way to help temps is to have your cool down during the hottest part of the day... but if you cant cut any holes you are sort of at an impass i'd say... unless you want to shell out large amount of money on a chiller i cant think of anyway that can cool down without removing heat.. personally i would shut it off from say 11 am to 3 pm... that should get you through most of the hot part of the day.. and also remember that even if the room temp is say 100, if you have air moving and blowing on your girls it will keep them cooler.. about 5 degrees or so i would imagine.. so two good box fans or oscilating fans will do you well...

also its still kind hard to tell indica/sativa... with the temp being so warm the leaves will be skinner... this is the plants way of saving water....

normally molasses is used during flowering as a way to increase girth of buds and resin production.. but it is also a natural fungicide.. if you add some to you water when you water, 1 tsp mol./gal of water, you wont have to worry as much about fungus/mold... it wont hurt your plant at all either.. plus its beneficial for the soil microbes and has some trace elements in it.. the reason its not using water at a faster rate is because it isnt transpiring it at a normal rate... its slowed way down due to heat..

but your plants are looking good non the less.. as long as they are growing then your doing ok!

 

[simpsonsampson420]

i forgot to finish about the leaves... since the leaves are thinner, and thats the easiest way to identify, it will make it harder to tell.. it will be easier to tell once it gets a little bigger.. a week.. maybe 2

 

[GigEmGreens]

Thanks sampson, you help me out a lot.

Ya i closed the closet and went right back up to 86 ish. i just dont know what else to do. where can i get a cheap chiller? how much do they go for?

i watered it today also for the first time in over a week and seems to be enjoying the H20. i think im gonna start watering it more and more even if the moister meter says "moist" cuz i think shes almost big enough to handle every day watering

also, and this is most important, there are 2 hairs growing at the biggest node, i dont know if you guys can see it well in the pictures but they arent white, they are green hairs. is this an early sex determinate or will they turn into their own leaves eventually. (im not talking about the obvious leaf sprouts, there are actual hairs on the side of the big node). advice welcomed!

 

[simpsonsampson420]

Thanks sampson, you help me out a lot.

Ya i closed the closet and went right back up to 86 ish. i just dont know what else to do. where can i get a cheap chiller? how much do they go for?

i watered it today also for the first time in over a week and seems to be enjoying the H20. i think im gonna start watering it more and more even if the moister meter says "moist" cuz i think shes almost big enough to handle every day watering

also, and this is most important, there are 2 hairs growing at the biggest node, i dont know if you guys can see it well in the pictures but they arent white, they are green hairs. is this an early sex determinate or will they turn into their own leaves eventually. (im not talking about the obvious leaf sprouts, there are actual hairs on the side of the big node). advice welcomed!

chillers are expensive... they are worth the money, from what i can tell... but i really dont know much about them.. i was half ass looking for someone else and the cheapest i found was 650.. and that was for a single room chiller.. like a bedroom.. which would be perfect for you... but im not sure if they need exhausted or if the exhaust is cooled and that is the air that is actually blown.. im still confused about it.. but there is a link from bgmike in my journal to a site that explains them more i think... i didnt check it out.. but look where we are talking about chillers.. within the last couple days...

i would NOT water everyday... marijuana likes to go from wet to dry.. if the meter you got is anything like mine it has numbers like 1 - 10 on it... and 1 to 3 are the "red" area... i let my girls get down to 1 or 2 before i water them again.. with my girls being taller they will droop a little towards the bottom also to let me know... if you girls are starting to drink more i still wouldnt water more than every 3 days... i just dont want to see you get root rot or something from over watering...

and i believe that hairs you see arent hairs... do they make a little V at the nodes? if so then its just one of the ways the plant shows its sexually matured and ready to flower... they may or may not show preflowers.. so its your choice if you wait a little to flower or not.. but they are telling you at this point they are ready to flower to their maximum ability...

 

[GigEmGreens]

ya i cant imagine it being ready for flowering yet so it must not be hairs but ya they make a V, and they arent white theyre green. i guess its just another branch about to stem off