Advice Please: Getting Nervous

[Woodstockfan]

Bought seeds from Amsterdammarijuannaseeds.com and went with their Amsterdam Indica strain. Growing indoors. I germinated my seeds December 18, 2009. Did this in rockwool under humidity dome. All went well, of the ten six are alive today. Week two I transplanted seedlings into nute-less potting mix in ten ounce plastic cups. I'm in a 32" x 32" grow tent under plenty of CFL lights (wall-to-wall fixtures overhead, two fixtures w/ 4 T-5s cool white in each light fixture, eight tubes in all), and I have maintained the lights very close to the plants. There has been no stretching, no plant damage, no heat stress (temps have been maintained 80 or less daytime, 65 lowest nighttime), no nute burn (started nutes Dutchmaster Gold Grow as prescribed after second set of leaves appeared), careful to not overwater (water on average every four days alternating nutes), have hanna pH meter and have been careful to apply nutes at pH 6.2. Plants look very good color-wise, leafed out, etc. They look really healthy, truely. If I had pics, you'd be rep-ing me and giving me kudos if this was day 21, trust me. But my god, this is DAY 40!!

Here's what is driving me nuts: the six range in size from as small as 2.5 inches tall to 3.5 inches tall, and they are only just now getting their third set of fan leaves. They are growing at a snails pace. I'd think transplant to larger pots, but canopy does not extend outside of the cup's rims yet.

TODAY IS DAY 40! Is this slow growth accounted for by the strain? Everything I have read (I've read for hours on this great, respected forum) says most growers have ten-inch plants and nearly reach maturity in 40 days. At this rate, I'll be vegging for three more months!!!!!

Could you experienced growers speculate:

1. Could this slow growth be okay and nothing to worry about, just a characteristic of the strain?

2. With this being day 40, if all MAY be okay and nothing to worry about, when should I expect to see rapid growth?

3. Has anyone out there ever experienced this type of slow growth rate with happy ending?

Working on pics. But I'll tell ya: they look really pretty and healthy, good color, etc. I'm a newbie and this is my first grow, but I know all the symptoms of a sick plant, and they aren't sick.

I thought I'd be getting ready to move into flower by day 40

Can anybody give me some enlightenment and/or encouragement???? Please speculate. It's getting to me! I greatly appreciate your input!

 

[Bosson26]

your obviously doing something that keep stressin the plant.

do not give the plant any more nutes this day forth until u get a 10 inch plant. follow my direction and ur plant will skyrocket. (TRUST ME)


no more nutes. get a gallon of water from the tap. leave the cap open for 24 hours.

leave the light on 24/0

water every 4 days. no nutes. just straight water. until that plant get 10 inch tall.

for that size plant i suggest just fill half a cup of water and just flush that into the pot and wait another 4 days.

 

[Bosson26]

and if possible. just transplant that flower into a 1 gallon pot. fill the dirt almost all the way to the top but make sure u wash that dirt making it wet but drain it completely. then transplant ur baby into the 1 gallon pot and water the dirt that been transplant with half cup of water and just wait.

 

[Bosson26]

also are you using a 6500k lights? this is require.

 

[figtree]

you will get very slow growth under cfl's, i used to run 20x 23 watters (460 actual watts) and found that by switching to a lower watt of a light (hps 150) i was actually getting quicker growth. the reason, cfl's arent intense enough to penetrate even if your right on top of the plant. so i cut my wattage from 460 watts of cfl's to 150 watts of hps and get incredible growth. i suggest you doing the same, if you want better growth and a better harvest.

Flouro's work great for young plants, cuttings, and seedlings. once your plant reaches a certain stage it will need more light to grow properly.

 

[Bosson26]

unless your on a budget i suggest you run some CFL on the side of the paint to get some light in deeper area.

 

[trichlone fiend]

...what's your temps?

 

[trichlone fiend]

...is this "Dutchmaster Gold Grow" a chemical fertilizer? ...or an organic?

 

[Woodstockfan]

your obviously doing something that keep stressin the plant.

do not give the plant any more nutes this day forth until u get a 10 inch plant. follow my direction and ur plant will skyrocket. (TRUST ME)


no more nutes. get a gallon of water from the tap. leave the cap open for 24 hours.

leave the light on 24/0

water every 4 days. no nutes. just straight water. until that plant get 10 inch tall.

for that size plant i suggest just fill half a cup of water and just flush that into the pot and wait another 4 days.

Man thanks for your response.

I didn't start nutes until week three, just like Dutchmaster says to. I started 3/4 strength like they say and there were no signs of nute burn such as burn on tips, etc. The plant seemed to tolerate it well.

I'm really not overfertilizing 'em according to the directions, and I'm not saying you're wrong, It just doesn't figure. I'll follow your suggestions and see. I have only been watering every four days all along to avoid overwatering, and I can see by the weight of the cup it's time then to water.

 

[Woodstockfan]

also are you using a 6500k lights? this is require.

Yes, they're T-5s, 6,500k. Each 2' bulb puts out 2,000 lumens, and I have eight bulbs over these plants. Everything I have read (until now) indicates the more light, the better the growth.

Is this too much light? Again, they are 40 days old and showing no stretching at all, and there is no sign of light burn.

Temps are always no higher than 80 f when lights are on, no lower than 56 at night. I've had them on 18/6 cycle.

 

[Woodstockfan]

unless your on a budget i suggest you run some CFL on the side of the paint to get some light in deeper area.

LOL. Again, man, these 40 day old plants are no taller than 3.5 inches from the soil. They have no need for side light yet (I wish I had a canopy blocking light).

I'm working on getting pics.

 

[burnonehomie]

Yes, they're T-5s, 6,500k. Each 2' bulb puts out 2,000 lumens, and I have eight bulbs over these plants. Everything I have read (until now) indicates the more light, the better the growth.

Is this too much light? Again, they are 40 days old and showing no stretching at all, and there is no sign of light burn.

Temps are always no higher than 80 f when lights are on, no lower than 56 at night. I've had them on 18/6 cycle.

Try 20/4 or 24/0

 

[BlueFish]

If you're following the nutrient schedule, you're probably overfeeding them by a huge amount at this point. The smaller they are the less of the nutrients they can handle. Backing off the nutrients may well get them growing again.

 

[Woodstockfan]

you will get very slow growth under cfl's, i used to run 20x 23 watters (460 actual watts) and found that by switching to a lower watt of a light (hps 150) i was actually getting quicker growth. the reason, cfl's arent intense enough to penetrate even if your right on top of the plant. so i cut my wattage from 460 watts of cfl's to 150 watts of hps and get incredible growth. i suggest you doing the same, if you want better growth and a better harvest.

Flouro's work great for young plants, cuttings, and seedlings. once your plant reaches a certain stage it will need more light to grow properly.

Again, my space is 32 inches square, and I have solid CFL overhead (two fixtures with 4 6,400k bulbs in each, that's a total of 8 6,400k bulbs over the plants). Each bulb puts out 2,000 lumens, for a total of 16,000 lumens. Again, all this light is over only six plants, and they are only about 3.5 inches tall each. They have three sets of leaves.

That's a lot of light, but I have been planning on only vegging in the tent. Then once I move to flowering, I have three 600watt HPS lights in my flowering room ready to go. I just thought after 40 days I'd be moving them to flower by now, not looking at babies! But they look healthy ....

Thanks so much for responding. This is really beginning to f*ck with my head here!

 

[Woodstockfan]

It's a liquid. Dutchmaster is pretty well respected from what I read. It is for both hydroponic and soil. They have a nute calculator and all that. It's supposed to be very good.

 

[trichlone fiend]

...the reason for asking is, alot of problem occur when we use chemicals in a soil or a soilless mix. Salts build up, the pH is a battle from hell exc... due to soil or soilless being such a great buffer for salts... When we use organic fertilizers in soil or soilless we have flawless results. IMO

 

[trichlone fiend]

Can you get some pics man?

 

[glyphen]

Again, my space is 32 inches square, and I have solid CFL overhead (two fixtures with 4 6,400k bulbs in each, that's a total of 8 6,400k bulbs over the plants). Each bulb puts out 2,000 lumens, for a total of 16,000 lumens. Again, all this light is over only six plants, and they are only about 3.5 inches tall each. They have three sets of leaves.

That's a lot of light, but I have been planning on only vegging in the tent. Then once I move to flowering, I have three 600watt HPS lights in my flowering room ready to go. I just thought after 40 days I'd be moving them to flower by now, not looking at babies! But they look healthy ....

Thanks so much for responding. This is really beginning to f*ck with my head here!

Im still a noob as far as this site goes, however I am an old man and I have been there done that. The Flo's arent giving enough lite, but prolly not the issue either. How far away are your flo's? They should be close, like 2"-3" close.

Also, there is a huge missunderstanding of CFL's/Flos going on here. You do have 16,000 lumens of light, however your lights do night combine to create a larger intensity of lights. So no matter how many of those nice T5's you throw in there, you will not make anymore intense of a light then 2,000 lumens. You will have great coverage at 2,000 lumens, but you will not create a larger intensity simply by adding additional lights.

I would try to swap lights out of your tent. I bet 150w of HID light will do you 10X better. I use T5's to maintain my momma, but to get her to grow I needed better light.

If they are more then 2-3" away from your babies that alone could be your issue.


Good luck man, some pics well help.

I will offer my words of wisdom again when pics are provided.

 

[Woodstockfan]

Good luck man, some pics well help.

I will offer my words of wisdom again when pics are provided.

Thanks for your input. I'm really frustrated.

Pick 3: shows my setup inside the tent. And my lights are about 10 inches from the plants, and I thought (maybe wrongly) that with all of those light bulbs I had plenty of light and the distance is alright. I also thought because there is no sign of stretching, distance is okay. Wanted to avoid heat.

Pics 6 & 7: shows you all six of the plants I am asking you experts about. the ones in the red cups are another story .........

Pics 4, 5, & 8 are all of my biggest plant, and it's only 3.5 inches tall, and the canopy at the widest is about 5 inches across. It looks healthy, though.

Close up my other five plants look pretty good also, no stretching, good color, not thin and spindly, etc. JMHO.

FYI: the seedlings in the red cups were planted December 26, so they are 30 days old. And they also are growing slowly, but they are not stretching, they look okay, I have given them NO nutes only Hormex in H2O, and they are only 1 inch tall?????????????????????? They are in nute-less potting mix. What's up with this???

Please pile on with your advice and brutal criticism.

Thanks very much!

 

[glyphen]

Thanks for your input. I'm really frustrated.

Pick 3: shows my setup inside the tent. And my lights are about 10 inches from the plants, and I thought (maybe wrongly) that with all of those light bulbs I had plenty of light and the distance is alright. I also thought because there is no sign of stretching, distance is okay. Wanted to avoid heat.

Pics 6 & 7: shows you all six of the plants I am asking you experts about. the ones in the red cups are another story .........

Pics 4, 5, & 8 are all of my biggest plant, and it's only 3.5 inches tall, and the canopy at the widest is about 5 inches across. It looks healthy, though.

Close up my other five plants look pretty good also, no stretching, good color, not thin and spindly, etc. JMHO.

Please pile on with your advice and brutal criticism.

Thanks very much!

I honestly think you might just need some better lighting. Do your plants ever lift their leaves upward, so they are pointing to the top corners of your area? Towards the corners that are near your lights?

If not that might be the deal. Your leaves should respond to lights on/off. If they do not, you need to move them closer to the lights. If the light is abundant, however not intense enough it will trigger your symptoms. I bet thats the issue. During my last garden I noticed my babies pointing to the ground, sorta like yours are. I thought I was over-watering or something tragic. Nope the local hippy told me that my ladies were to far away and my light wasnt intense enough to provoke the rapid photsynthesis that MJ needs to grow.

Nice looking little ones by the way.

You are right though, no obvious signs of stretching/nute burn or anything. What all is in your soil? Can you let it get any hotter in there? Closer to 80 or so? Not for ever or anything, just day or two. See it that provokes them to grow. Maybe your relative humidity is low, and your thermo is reading funny because of the placement.

Ill keep an eye out for your response, and WE will get through this.

For the time being I would get those babies closer to the light, only feed them tap water thats been out at room temp for 24 hours.

I bet in a couple days things change. If your humidity is too low, try adding a bowl of water to the room or reducing the fan speed.

That moisture really helps at this early stage.

Good Luck !!!