5 weeks into flower wondering if 8 weeks should do the trick

[Trying2grow]

Hey everyone,

This is my first time grow 100% noob at this point to this stage of the game i have 2 plants both 4Ft.+ and there 5 weeks and 1 day into the flowering stage. I used regular mid grade bag seeds just so i wouldnt be using high priced seeds when i really wasnt 100% sure what i was doing.. buttt quite to my suprise everything worked out quite well But after reading up on a few different sites and seeing a few video's most people say follow the plants they'll tell ya when there ready... is that a good thing to go by or should i expect within the next 3 weeks to cut down my 2 pretty ladies.. i'll attach a few pics any feedback would be appreciated

 

[Trying2grow]

And YESSS i know the right plant is rather close to the light... i just didnt expect them to grow that tall and thats the maximum hight my room could be until i get these plants out and move somethings around to get about another 1.5-2 feet

 

[Trying2grow]

and another question the top of the plants are very very matured but the bottoms i guess maybe because of less light penetration they look like there a couple weeks behind the top.. any reasoning for that? or is that how it basically grows

 

[brokenturtle3102]

Hey man, they have at leeeeeasttt 3-4 if not 5 weeks to go. Also, tie the plants down with rope to allow more penetration. Lst.

 

[Trying2grow]

Hmm not to sure how to tie them down... would u be able to explain a lil more in depth please?

 

[SSHZ]

Bottom line.........not enough light for your strain. Tying down would even out your canopy so all the branches get even light. Adding light would help greatly. But, I'm guessing you have at least a month left, maybe longer.

 

[Skunk.n'the.Trunk]

I agree with turtle. Look into LSTing. Also whats the temp of the room, ambient and in the canopy? It looks like your plants have a lot of space between the nodes which is sometimes due to temp

 

[GreenRedneck]

Wow. Those plants are very tall for an inside grow. What type of light did you use to veg them? Yes, its normal for the bud sites on top of the plant to be farther along than the lower bud sites, as they form first. As far as the buds fattening up, you will need to tie the plant over like Brokenturtle suggested so the lower bud sites can get more of the light or you will end up with "popcorn" buds. Tie it over very carefully; the plant is flowering and you dont want to stress it. Its best to tie it down (LST- Low Stress Training) when the plant is still young and in the veg stage. Remeber that when you start to flower, the plant is going to start growing at an accelerated pace and will end up 1.5 to 2 times its veg height. At that time it will stop growing vertically and the bud sites will begin to fatten up/mature. If you LST it from the seedling stage, you will have many good size Colas (main bud) instead of just one at the tip, when you flower it. Check out the post regarding LST, very informative. Good luck and good grow.

 

[Clint Torres]

Yes, I agree w/ brokenturtle. At least 3-4 weeks. I have grown excellent bud from flat bricky mexi-schwag. just because it is bag seed does not mean its genetics are bad. Bag-schwag is usually just poorly handled and shipped. But yes, at 5 weeks you are about half way. Do your self a favor and buy a $15 loupe at a hydro store. look at the trichomes. At about 7 weeks they should look like little mushrooms with clear heads. this is approaching peak potency. You also want about 75%-80% of the white hairs to turn amber. On the last two weeks of bud is when they add their real heft and where the hairs are it will swell, looking like it is trying to make a seed. When the hairs are ready and the trichs are standing and clear to slightly milky you are good to go. if you let it go past this the trichs will continue to turm milkier and eventually amber as the heads break open. This is past peak potency and in the stages of degradation of the precious oils.

As far as tying down LST is "Low Stress Training" which is less stressful for the plants than supercropping. Supercropping works well on some strains but not others so I like tying.
here is an example of simple tying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxtp-4GAqOM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL70775D13E5238F12

 

[Trying2grow]

Wow. Those plants are very tall for an inside grow. What type of light did you use to veg them? Yes, its normal for the bud sites on top of the plant to be farther along than the lower bud sites, as they form first. As far as the buds fattening up, you will need to tie the plant over like Brokenturtle suggested so the lower bud sites can get more of the light or you will end up with "popcorn" buds. Tie it over very carefully; the plant is flowering and you dont want to stress it. Its best to tie it down (LST- Low Stress Training) when the plant is still young and in the veg stage. Remeber that when you start to flower, the plant is going to start growing at an accelerated pace and will end up 1.5 to 2 times its veg height. At that time it will stop growing vertically and the bud sites will begin to fatten up/mature. If you LST it from the seedling stage, you will have many good size Colas (main bud) instead of just one at the tip, when you flower it. Check out the post regarding LST, very informative. Good luck and good grow.

lol well like I said it was my first grow I used a 250w hps ...yes hps for the entire grow cycle.. same bulb never taken out from seedling til now.. and yes I'm definitely going to look into LST if not for this grow then definitely for the next one ty for your input

 

[Trying2grow]

I agree with turtle. Look into LSTing. Also whats the temp of the room, ambient and in the canopy? It looks like your plants have a lot of space between the nodes which is sometimes due to temp

It stays between 76-81 degrees in there depending on how often I open the closet door to admire the sheer amazingness of these things LOL

 

[Trying2grow]

Yes, I agree w/ brokenturtle. At least 3-4 weeks. I have grown excellent bud from flat bricky mexi-schwag. just because it is bag seed does not mean its genetics are bad. Bag-schwag is usually just poorly handled and shipped. But yes, at 5 weeks you are about half way. Do your self a favor and buy a $15 loupe at a hydro store. look at the trichomes. At about 7 weeks they should look like little mushrooms with clear heads. this is approaching peak potency. You also want about 75%-80% of the white hairs to turn amber. On the last two weeks of bud is when they add their real heft and where the hairs are it will swell, looking like it is trying to make a seed. When the hairs are ready and the trichs are standing and clear to slightly milky you are good to go. if you let it go past this the trichs will continue to turm milkier and eventually amber as the heads break open. This is past peak potency and in the stages of degradation of the precious oils.

As far as tying down LST is "Low Stress Training" which is less stressful for the plants than supercropping. Supercropping works well on some strains but not others so I like tying.
here is an example of simple tying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxtp-4GAqOM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL70775D13E5238F12

Ya I already have a 30X magnifier I got off of amazon I stare at the little bubbles forming on the leafs looking for the trichs to start forming its become more then a hobbie lol this is like an obsession and ty for ur response going to check out the video now tyvm

 

[Trying2grow]

Just watched the video thanks so much that will really help ill tie the main stalk back a little bit then tie the lower branchs off into a different direction to get more light to the center and bottom of the plant... These fan leafs are friggen huge tho and there soaking up all the damn lumens lol

 

[benzi2191]

wow there TALL! nice job tho bruv looking good was shocked how high they are for indoor but keep up the good work mate yeh defo 4-5 weeks left well peace bro

 

[Clint Torres]

also top those suckers in veg. leave only 4-5 main tops. it will bush out like crazy.

 

[Clint Torres]

Just watched the video thanks so much that will really help ill tie the main stalk back a little bit then tie the lower branchs off into a different direction to get more light to the center and bottom of the plant... These fan leafs are friggen huge tho and there soaking up all the damn lumens lol

Yeah, next time start tying in veg and the shoots will grow up to the light. you will end up with numerous "tops". Depending on the strain sometimes i just top it. I definitely tie the taller sativa heavy strains. these techniques will make bushes out of your plants instead of having one long, tall main stalk.

 

[Trying2grow]

ok awesome ty for the advice... unfortunately as im looking at them they have 1 strong main stalk... and they've both stopped growing all together... so any hopes of them shooting another top is long lost.. but 1000% i will do that on my next grow.. got some really amazing seeds and im going to treat them things like queens because there all feminized but i will tie them back a little to get extra light to the bottoms