First Time Grower, G13 Feminized

[Dr Gruber]

dr gruber i don't want to waste a lot of your time, but since i can't read your whole thread, could you please give me a quickie rundown of how you ended up with so many flowers blooming? is it thanks to Uncle Ben, or should i expect similar yield if i do nothing? thanks for your help always

These plants just look like that without topping so you shouldnt have to do anything. As for similar yeild...all depends on many factors like light, temp, humidty, proper feeding and too many other things to mention.

I would try to bring those temps down into the 70's if you can...86 could be a bit high.
If you go hydro, i know nothing about it and have always heard soil is more forgiving.
Is that UFO an LED light? I thought they ran cooler?

 

[supersymmetry]

Is that UFO an LED light? I thought they ran cooler?

yes UFO Illuminator 5-band tri-spectrum, 90 watts. it has 90 LED's which are rated at one watt each. they don't put out much heat at all. however, there is a little bit of heat from the power supply inside the housing and from the 3 fans inside the housing. i presume the fans are there to cool down the power supply but i am not sure. the nice side effect is that it ventilates the grow room nicely since the area is just a bathtub. i will keep an eye on ventilation as the plant gets bigger. also yeah there is only about 5% light loss on the front wall, where the curtain goes. the other 5 walls are 100% sealed (floor, top, side, side, back wall)

 

[supersymmetry]

manufacturer says this 90W is equivalent to "400 to 600W" conventional lamps. when they give a range, i always assume the lower number, so, call it a 400watt, at best. the great thing is that you don't waste electricity on plant-colored light which cannot be photosynthesized. it has about 69 orange/red LED's, 5 blue ones, and 16 infrared ones.

 

[supersymmetry]

hothouse temp maxed out at 82 today. outside the building it reached about 91. tonight i hope for 62-65 in the hothouse.
when i say hothouse, this is what i mean: http://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=1899
i vent it regularly. eventually i will remove it alltogether and let the plants be regular houseplants, and the temp will drop even more. it's just that right now i am worried about insects. in the building there are really tiny black flies and even tinier grey flies that look more rounded and less oblong. any ideas on insect control, let me know anytime. plants are protected & very healthy for now

 

[supersymmetry]

ok, obscure question... if i want to swap my 18on/6off cycle from after midnight to afternoon, there has to be one irregular cycle, where i run the light 24hrs or 12hrs. will this mess up a plant's metabolism or will it be ok?

 

[Dr Gruber]

ok, obscure question... if i want to swap my 18on/6off cycle from after midnight to afternoon, there has to be one irregular cycle, where i run the light 24hrs or 12hrs. will this mess up a plant's metabolism or will it be ok?

Not sure about that one...i would say run it 24 hrs for awhile then make the switch, you dont want to turn it off for 12 hrs srtaight though as it may go into flower.gradually change it.....you may want to ask others though.

 

[supersymmetry]

anyone else interested in that hothouse, a well established company called CSN Stores has it for $32 w/ trouble-free returns. got mine for 39.21, shipping included. it has 3 adjustable vent holes on the clear plastic dome; 1 on top, 1 on each end.

 

[supersymmetry]

BTW to clarify: the heat mat is separate. u can remove it at will. i removed mine right after first leaf, like drgt's instructions said to do, so it's not hooked up. it's just that the climate is hot around here and i haven't figured out an efficient cooling method yet. i guess i could fill the bathtub with a couple inches cold water and frequently drain it

 

[supersymmetry]

gradually change it.....

great idea thanks. instead of continuing the 18/6 cycle, i could do 19/6, twelve times in a row, and that would effectively swap my darkness time from after midnight to after noon

 

[supersymmetry]

the day i got my seeds about a month ago, one fell on the floor. i found it. it's hibernating in the fridge. are you saying (in your journal) that it failed because of the drop? that would suck. i guess i better be ready for anything.

 

[Dr Gruber]

the day i got my seeds about a month ago, one fell on the floor. i found it. it's hibernating in the fridge. are you saying (in your journal) that it failed because of the drop? that would suck. i guess i better be ready for anything.

Mine had germmed and had a tap root already. I think the tap root was damaged in the fall, just droping an unpopped seed on the floor shouldnt hurt it.

 

[supersymmetry]

bought two rectangular 20" x 24" mirrors which i'll be using diagonally for light amplification @ plant level in my grow room since i only have one light source

 

[supersymmetry]

of the 2 original fan leaves, maybe it's my imagination but one of em looks like it has flat spots near the tip, on an otherwise very contoured leaf. i flushed out the 500ppm solution as much as i could and replaced w/ 200ppm. newby mistake, all the way. it will be more obvious 2moro if there is a problem or not. also removed hothouse cover so now the plants are out in the open, w/ lower temp. gonna darken things out from 1 am (now) to 7 am, tomorrow 2am-8am, then 3am-9am, etc, till i reach noon-6pm in about 12 days

 

[supersymmetry]

lookin pretty stupendous this morning. i'm more confident than last night. lo temp reading = 21.9 celsius. first two fan leaves covered with microscopic white dots and i don't know what they are but it seems like a function of health, not a function of disease. will try this light cycle as the first with no hothouse cover. ufo light 6 to 8 inches above. minor water spray to simulate rain & that's all the moisture for now. soil still plenty moist w/ newer lower ppm formula

 

[supersymmetry]

also drgruber FYI after seeing your drgt instructions i see a minor difference with the ones they sent me. it includes specific temp for germing (maintain 85 - 105) and says after first leaf to drop to 75 - 85. your seed packaging looks just like mine except there is an additional lowercase "e" on the lower corner. who knows?

 

[Dr Gruber]

also drgruber FYI after seeing your drgt instructions i see a minor difference with the ones they sent me. it includes specific temp for germing (maintain 85 - 105) and says after first leaf to drop to 75 - 85. your seed packaging looks just like mine except there is an additional lowercase "e" on the lower corner. who knows?

I have the same instructions you have on another pack of seeds from Greethumb. Sometimes they have all that info and sometimes not....dont know why.

 

[supersymmetry]

after u smoke, r u a... grubbing... gruber?

 

[supersymmetry]

figured out how to upload pics. i'll do it later 2nite or tomorrow if i can remember. i have pics starting from day 5. day 8 started a while ago. lights going down in about 45min, 2am-8am.

 

[supersymmetry]

sometimes i get an idea so f-awesome, i can't believe i didn't think of it before. this is one of those times, i think. ok so the G13 is still inside its 3 inch jiffy pot. the f-awesome part is taking an 8 inch pot and covering its interior surface with aluminum tape which has a glue backing, then putting the 3 inch pot inside the 8 inch pot, and putting that whole contraption under the ufo grow light for maximum light coverage on the sides of the plant. i'm doing this super-low-budget thing because i don't want to spend $ on another ufo grow light. i did a before & after with the mirrored 8 inch pot and it does significantly make the seedling brighter all around and on top. obviously this trick will have to be upscaled to bigger pots as the plant grows. i'm thinking a lowe's 5 gallon bucket with mirrored inside surface will be perfect all through the grow cycle and maybe into flowering. we'll see.

 

[supersymmetry]

as soon as i can upload pics they'll be on the next page (5)