1st Grow - 1 Plant - Tips Please :/

[trueX]

After reading the stickies and browsing the forums I wanted to post just because I cannot decide which of the problems my plant is having.

This is my 1st grow and 1st plant so I will give you a bit of background. The plant was started in Hydro by a friend of mine on 3-14 and then he moved it to dirt to see how it would do, and eventually offered it to me to tinker with, so I took it and started the journey.

I moved it to a '10' pot using "Miracle-Grow Moisture Control Mix" in the blue bag. First time I watered it I fed it 2 cups of sink water not knowing how bad it was for it, but since then I give it 1 quart of bottled distilled water that is room temp in my closet.

I put up white poster board in all 3 sides of my closet and one under the plant itself to reflect light upwards, watering ever 4 days or so when the soil is dry about an inch down. The Lights its getting are 3 of the 26/100w CFL bults 6500k. One is overhead about 10in inside of a 12in reflector pan, and the lower 2 are in clip style desk lamps w the bendable necks that I can move each day. I also rotate the plant about every 6 hours of light to get all branches and stems equal light... currently running 18/6 till week 9 or so on 5-20-10

Humidity ranges from 44-57% and Temps range from 68-77F per my digital hygrometer from walmart

I run an oscillating fan across the plants 24/7, in light and dark.

The plant has been growing good, it was 9in when I got it and now its 17in and really fanning out but my main problem is some of the new top leaves that are coming in after I "topped" the plant are twisted like they cant decide which light to go to and some of the lower leaves as you will see are nice and long and green but curling under AND folding in towards each other..not sure wtf but to be honest I dont know the pH or the ppm as im just not checking that atm. This plant was a grab and go to see how hard it would be before dumping money into HPS and the latter.

Any help is appreciated, ty!!

 

[Jakeoh6]

i would suggest that 10" is a bit small for a plant almost 20 inches tall.. your giving its roots only 5" to grow in each direction... I have my plants in 5 gallon pots, they're more than twice that size..

but hey, it kept growing, and if you're topping it you probably don't care if it gets taller. looks like some stress after topping it.. when did you say you topped it? my advice would be move side lights to overhead on either side of the two new main branches, try to bend the new topped branches towards their respective light source and uncurl the leaves if you can gently.

try giving her less water. despite being a large girl, if she's root bound her roots might not be able to absorb all the water she needs that your giving her

Good Luck!
Jakeoh

 

[vthokies1989]

looks like you need to water less often overall it looks great to me but could use a lil tlc from such as side lighting and if you plan on veggin for a bit longer maybe a bigger pot...5 gallon pot would make her beautiful

 

[trueX]

i would suggest that 10" is a bit small for a plant almost 20 inches tall

I will be moving it to a larger pot asap, I dont know if I will go the 5ga size due to closet space but will get something larger.

looks like some stress after topping it.. when did you say you topped it?

I topped the plant about 4-16, 2 days or so after getting it, just after its 4th week.

 

[trueX]

thanks for the replies guys, keep anything coming. bump?

 

[jawbrodt]

I agree that it's a good idea to raise those 2 side lights to the top of the plant, but disagree about the pot being too small. I use both 10" and 12" pots, and end up with 3 foot bushy monsters yielding 3+ ozs each, even in the 10" pots, and no problems with rootbinding. As long as you get the water and fert right, there's plenty of room in that pot for a nice sized plant, much bigger than it is right now. BUT, I will say that it's easier to maintain a plant that is in a larger pot, because the extra soil gives you a larger buffer zone to work with(more available food, water, etc...), so it's not a bad idea to go bigger if you have the option to do so. What you need most, is more light. There is a lack of side branching, and that's because the plant is spending most of it's energy stretching upwards for more intense light, rather than spreading outwards.

 

[trueX]

I have got a "12" 3 gallon pot and transplanted it today, also mixed in "Hydro-Balls" with the dirt just some small brown lava rocks to give the larger root base more air throughout. Also instead of having the lamps clipped down on the base of the stand, the pot/plant itself is now heavy enough not to tip over so I moved the lamps up "12" each and clipped them on the side, allowing much more light at the top/sides of the plant. I also lowered the overhead light to about 4 inches from the top to keep it from reaching / stretching so much. I also threw in a quick shot of my hygrometer showing the High's and Low's of both values..lemme know if it gets too dry or wet or too hot or cold please )

Good so far?

 

[Nukulhedd]

imo the curling is heat stress. the temp is staying with in optimum range but they might be a little to close to the light. good to see it up-potted. it was a little big for the pot you were in. a little tlc and it will be a happy girl.

 

[trueX]

Ok I am now starting to flower the plant as I realized it will grow in size during that stage and its getting pretty large already. Today I have swapped out all of the 6500k lights for 2700k lights and added an additional light to the rear of the plant to get 100% coverage. I have just switched from 6500k @ 18/6 split to 2700k @ 12/12 split. So now im running (4) 2700k CFL's, (1) 42w/150 large bulb/top light @ 2700 lumens, and (3) 26w/100 normal sized side/low lights @ 1650 lumens each for a total of 7650 lumens to flower this one plant until harvest.

I plan to flower 6-8 weeks or so, possibly adjust depending on how it does or doesnt grow. With my current light setup of 120w CFL with a 450w equivalent running 7650 lumens for a plant almost 2 feet tall, will that hold me over until harvest of this first one is over?

TYIA


edit: will get pics up of newest setup ASAP

 

[azoo]

rise the lights make em higher it should help

 

[jawbrodt]

7,650 lumens is enough light to cover 2 square feet of area, at 3,825 lumens per square foot(LSF). 3,000 LSF is accepted as the very minimum amount of light output that will provide healthy growth, and it's ALWAYS recommended to use more than that.(mine averages a little over 5,000 LSF, and I wish I could add more) So, I'll estimate your plant to end up being 3' tall x 2' wide, which would mean that you'd have 10+ square feet of area to cover, if you chose to surround the entire useable area of the plant. That's just an example to put things in perspective, even though that probably isn't what you were planning to do. What I'm getting at, is that those CFLs won't have enough output to cover much of your plant, not if you hope to get some nice dense buds. You could either put them all surrounding the very top of the plant, and end up with a smaller amount of decent bud, or spread them out around the plant, and end up with a shitload of underdeveloped popcorn buds.

I think it would be a wise decision to add more lighting, eh?

 

[trueX]

I would agree but currently adding more light is just not an option, not due to money but im moving out of this house in like 2 months and my landlord is already showing my house to new renters...cant put much more in the closet and be discreet about it :/ Im doing the best I can but, my buddy DID just give me an crazy LED UFO light w ballast to also use to finish flowering. Maybe my fan leaves are small, but I swear my plant gets tons of needed light...ill post pics ASAP.

Thx for the info Jaw, keep it up

 

[brandon873]

I would agree but currently adding more light is just not an option, not due to money but im moving out of this house in like 2 months and my landlord is already showing my house to new renters...cant put much more in the closet and be discreet about it :/ Im doing the best I can but, my buddy DID just give me an crazy LED UFO light w ballast to also use to finish flowering. Maybe my fan leaves are small, but I swear my plant gets tons of needed light...ill post pics ASAP.

Thx for the info Jaw, keep it up

wouldn't perhaps be a 90 watt hidhut ufo would it????? those things are like 500 bucks?? Must be nice.......

 

[Old Goat]

I don't get it with people saying raise the light. Stop making your plant reach for more light. That's why this plant is so skinny and tall. With CFL's you can and should bring them within inches. Put your hand between your plant and the bulb and move the light to the plant. When you can't move your hand back and the light isn't burning you hand your still not too close.
You were running the proper light during veg so the plant should be shorter and stocker(blue). Yes we all know about Sativa but that's not the issue here. The issue is in veg you use blue (keeps it short & full).That plant by final in flowering is gonna take you whole closet in height I'd say add a couple more blues to slow it down height wise. Now some are saying I'm nuts and you're damned right.
Read up on the Sun Agro 430 HPS. They tell you clearly that they added 30 watt but also increased the blue for this very reason.
Now down to the REAL reason you're having problems Miracle-Grow Moisture Control Mix. Miracle Grow with these plants is purely an absolute last choice. I'd say also try to keep your RH lower.
I can tell by reading and watching the things you notice that given just a very little time you should become a very good grower. It's what I'd say with a very wide grin you've just lost your virginity.

 

[Cru3l]

This is a great example on how to post about a problem plant!

 

[trueX]

Well its official...ITS A FEMALE after noticing some odd looking small white leaves coming from where the side stems join the main stalk, I was hoping it was female but now all the joints are starting to have these small t hing looking leaves...and they have white little spider web like tentacles coming from the...so I think I can safely say I got a girl

Now just wondering how ripe she is going to become once I finish her out and add that crazy UFO LED top light to the mix.

 

[brandon873]

Well its official...ITS A FEMALE after noticing some odd looking small white leaves coming from where the side stems join the main stalk, I was hoping it was female but now all the joints are starting to have these small t hing looking leaves...and they have white little spider web like tentacles coming from the...so I think I can safely say I got a girl

Now just wondering how ripe she is going to become once I finish her out and add that crazy UFO LED top light to the mix.

thats some luck isn't it. out of around 8 seedlings i kept 2 because they looked the best and both ended up being female in the end.
that must be a sign that i was meant for this shit. lol

 

[brandon873]

u should put up new pics. the plants is lookin much better

 

[trueX]

Ok it has been 11 days now into its flowering cycle, I have tried to trim and make smart decisions to keep the plant to a manageable size for its space and light, etc and it has been growing well. I would like to possibly cut off or "top" the plant now to allow more light down below, since the top is getting quite thick and the bottom has lots of leaves that could use some of that light. Also I think I am seeing the small white Trichomes starting to form, I got a couple pics up so tell me if im crazy or not.

I would like to keep the plant from expanding outward much as its getting where it touches all sides of the closet and its very close to the lights, also its getting wider than my top light in its reflector will easily cover when close to the plant. I can raise it to get a more wide spectrum..but that tends to make the plant taller... anyhow, opinions or tips please.

 

[trueX]

To The Top !!

Any words on the new progress pics? Questions? TYIA