I have been growing 4 sativas from clones and 1 indica from seed. for about 7 weeks. Have them in the second bedroom. Was off to slow start, lights not strong enough. Plants growing faster now that have strong CFLs with hoods, and watering with llama manure tea. Growing in Miracle Grow potting mix. Plants are about two feeet tall but only Indica has opposite branches. Sativas all still producing alternating branches. (I changed to flowering lights on them a week ago.) Book says do not go to 12/12 until have opposite branches and signs of pre-flowering, esp showing sex. Mine are not. Obviously they are not ready, but they keep getting taller, and I will have to do something major on my ceiling to get the lights up higher. Will be massive undertaking for me that I would like to avoid. Have any suggestions for me? I don't want to do anything drastic (as a newbie) with the plants because I started out with 12 plants, but only have these 5 left, after trying to do things that I now think I should avoid until I have grown at least a couple of plants successfully the old-fashioned way. My attempts to lower Ph and "train" the plants to grow horizontally have resulted in disaster. Help! Help!
first grow - need advice on readineess to flower
- Thread starter olderlady
- Start date
Walter9999
Well-Known Member
Part of learning is "failing"...read more about LST and start with that, it's easy...don't over complicate it
AimAim
Well-Known Member
Think 'ya got that backward. Plants start out opposite, and switch to alternate as they mature sexually. Might want to re-read your references.
robnarley1111
Active Member
THAT could be part of the problem. Did you switch to 12/12 when they were 18 inches or more? If you don't have a lot of room horizontally, like I don't, you should switch to flowering at a certain height, regardless of if they showing sex or not.
Plants can stretch from 50% to 300% in flowering, more/less depending on the strain and genetics. You should expect your plant to grow at least twice the height after you switch, so take that into consideration while growing--even if they don't stretch that much. Switching at 10 inches or 12 inches is good when using CFLs, if not even less., based on how much height you have of vertical space.
As far as LST, it's VERY easy:
I am a total Cannabis plant newbie (started in June) and I've done it successfully first try! My Northern Lights plant was outgrowing its space and nearly hitting the CFL, so I decided to take a string, tie it to the top branch/nodes, and pull it down to the pot. I put a hole in the pot and tied it.
The plant was then in a 90° angle almost. It stopped hitting the light. Then, the side branches which were non-existent before, started growing outward and catching up with the main stem! So it's really that easy to "train" your plants to grow horizontally. Tie the main shoot and the sides catch up to it. When you put them in flower, the main shoot will still start growing, so keep tying it down accordingly to keep it even. You can have an LST that looks like a scrog, with minimal effort (and your plants will love being tied down into submission)!!
If your side branches are getting too tall, tie them down as well, by making more holes, and tying a string. Use electrical wire (very thin) that is insulated with rubber, or use shoestrings. Something soft that won't damage the delicate plant tissue.
Oh, tying your plant down early enough after the switch will cause bud sites to explode in growth; sites that would not have been exposed to the light had you
not tied your plant down. That just gives you a shot at more buds!
(do you have pics of your plant and setup?)
valleygrowkid
Member
Exactly, growers often do grows from clone to flower because of height restrictions. Dont stess things that are uncontrollable. now focus on things that you can change ie lst the plannts, raise the lights or reconfigure them so they arent in the way. everyone starts off as a newbie, trial and error.