My first grow, need some input.

So these babies are a about a month old now, had some issues (and still do) with them so I have a few questions, but first I guess you should know what I've done so far.
Started them in my closet under an incandescent (I know I know..), they were going fine, then I moved them to a better room where I set up a chicken brooding lamp, which I changed quickly after some research to the largest CFL at my hardware store. They've been going pretty well as far as I can tell. One plant's leaves were sickly and stuck shut, so I opened them and it has since flourished (compared to the lower leaves) and my healthiest plant has recently slowed down in growth and the lower leaves are starting to turn yellow, go limp and die. Also they were all really limp so I had a fan in there for a while and I replanted them deeper so that less weak stem was exposed. That fixed itself pretty quickly. And probably the worst thing so far I've found was using Miracle Grow, but now I switched to occasionally using Nutri Grow, and that seems to help.

also just Fyi, these are Grapefruit.

So whaddya think, how are they doing for been growing a month now, what can I do to improve the growth, and how long till I initiate the flowering stage (or how big) annnd yeah any other suggestions would be sick.

I'm surprised the weed hasn't grown a mouth and screamed at you to kill it already.

Read the CFL forum, you've nowhere enough light. They look awful, puny and stunted for a month. Very very sad looking, stretched to shit, pale, and flimsy.

You're likely going to have to try again, if they're female, they'll hermie by this point.

-They're tall and spindly because they're desperatly trying to get closer to the light.
-They're yellow because there isn't enough light for photosynthesis to turn them green.
-If you flower with that amount of light you're going to get less than a quarter ounce total.

My sick suggestions would be to read more and try again. Sorry if I'm coming across as harsh, but theres nothing good about your setup. Just keeping it real. Not insulting you.

Yep ^
Your plants are strectching like a mother fucker. That CFL is not close enough to the plants. You need to get rid of the incandecent light. You just need to start over

Hey there. You can get the light a little closer. Get fresh coool air blowing in from somewhere via a fan and also an oscillating fan blowing air back and forth on them. At this point you can start feeding 1/2 strength nutrients to them. I would go and buy some good stuff from the local hydroponic store. Just ask them for a decent grow and bloom food 2 diff. bottles) I would go organic since your in soil anyway. Should run you around 40-50 bux but it's worth it man. Feed on a schedule of feed, plain water, feed, plain water, etc.
You need to let your water sit out for at least 24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate and you need to correct the PH of your water to around 6.5 or so. To do this you have to buy a ph test kit and a bottle of ph-up and ph-down. Ask at the hydro store for the cheap test kit, they are 7-10 bux if money is an issue.

Remember they will only grow as well as you can reproduce a naturelike environment. That means plenty of fresh air, proper watering and nutrients, rise and fall of temperature within an optimal range, appropriate lighting ( prefferably HID ) and good growing medium. You give them all of this and maintain a healthy life for them and with the right genetics ( very important ) you will harvest lush bountiful crops of homegrown buds. You should do about 20 hours of reading about growing here on the forums, the amount you will learn if you pay attention is astounding.

~ BCbuddy

Well shit.
I'm not gonna restart now, I just found the seeds in a huge bud and thought I'd give it a go.. whatever I get is whatever I get.
uhm so how much more light. I'm not using incandescents, I haven't since the first week or so.. theres two CFL, a extra large one and a mini.
also I have the option of planting these outside..I have a huuge rural property. I just started inside because I was late in the season so I figured I could just get them goin faster with some nuts and controlled lights.
I really don't give a ffuck if they only produce a 1/4 .. just a learning experience.
and what do you mean by hermie?

you need AT LEAST 3,000 lumens per square foot of growing area and preferably 7,000 - 10,000 lumens per square foot to flower properly. it will be tough to get much off of your existing plants because of too little light this far into its life cycle.

to help:
cfl 13 actual watts/60 equivalent: 850 lumens
cfl 26 actual watts/100 equivalent: 1,750 lumens
cfl 42 actual watts/150 equivalent: 2,750 lumens
cfl 68 actual watts/250 equivalent: 4,200 lumens

hermie is hermaphrodite - both male and female parts and the male parts will fertilize every female in the room, giving you seeds and shitty dope. but i disagree with grizzly, you've done nothing to cause hermies to date.

okay sick, I'll get on the light problemo..
but what would happen if I just moved them outside..? would that be too dramatic for them and then killin them?

you can move them outside. try half days for the first couple of days to help the plants adjust. you'll also want to repot to larger containers and it looks like your plants are short of nitrogen as well.

aight so I fixed it up a bit, I put in 3 more CFLS for a total of 4, 3x 13W and 1x30w, so thats 800lumens x3 = 2400, and 1600 x1, so I have 4000 lumens of light for my little buddies. Should be enough? oh and I moved them close to the plants.
and I got my fan up and going again, and just for the hell of it I gave them each some NutriGrow cause of the yellowing leaves might be attributed to Nitrogen deficiency.
only thing now I think I should do is get a couple bigger bulbs, and then make some reflective surrounding for the plants.
anything else?

If you're still vegging, get a root stimulator. I use Great White and its given me amazing results and will magically turn a small, puny plant into a big and monstrous beast. Super Thrive is also great. You want to make sure you build a great foundation during the veg stage so when you flip into the flower stage, your plant will be able to hold the big dense nugs that I assume you want. I agree with BCBuddy, you want to make sure you get a pH test kit ASAP and make sure that your water's pH is 6 - 6.5. Its easy to harm your plant by taking the pH factor for granted.

IslandPunk said:

aight so I fixed it up a bit, I put in 3 more CFLS for a total of 4, 3x 13W and 1x30w, so thats 800lumens x3 = 2400, and 1600 x1, so I have 4000 lumens of light for my little buddies. Should be enough? oh and I moved them close to the plants.
and I got my fan up and going again, and just for the hell of it I gave them each some NutriGrow cause of the yellowing leaves might be attributed to Nitrogen deficiency.
only thing now I think I should do is get a couple bigger bulbs, and then make some reflective surrounding for the plants.
anything else?

Click to expand...

I'm not certain 4K lumens is nearly enough. If you get them to flowering, 4K lumens (even 6k) will only stretch them and the bud will be light and leafy.
As well, be careful of the nutes you use and test your water PH EVERY time you water.
You seriously need to bump up the light if you want something to harvest.
I do not know too much about CFL grows; being honest. I use HPS and my lamp puts out over 90,000 lumens. The heat is bitch to contend with, the fat ass buds on the other hand are a treat to contend with.

I shouldn't have to worry too much about pH since I live in a rural area and I get my water from our private deep bed well but okay thanks, Ill look into root stimulators.

phusionsa said:

I'm not certain 4K lumens is nearly enough. If you get them to flowering, 4K lumens (even 6k) will only stretch them and the bud will be light and leafy.
As well, be careful of the nutes you use and test your water PH EVERY time you water.
You seriously need to bump up the light if you want something to harvest.
I do not know too much about CFL grows; being honest. I use HPS and my lamp puts out over 90,000 lumens. The heat is bitch to contend with, the fat ass buds on the other hand are a treat to contend with.

Click to expand...

okay well I'm planning on replacing the 13 w with 30w or greater so that should be around 6k
and once they get bigger I'll probably put more lights in.

EDIT: also I have only three plants, and less that a square foot of space needed atm.. so according to the "3k for every square ft" I should be allright

IslandPunk said:

so according to the "3k for every square ft" I should be allright

Click to expand...

you're good now but if your plants get healthy by flowering time count on at least two square foot per remaining female - you're probably going to need more light.

yeah I figured, heres what I've got going now

So I put in two new 40w CFLS on a splitter in the main dome, and another splitter on another bulb,
so now, 2x 40w, 1x 30w, 3x 13w
also they've really picked up quite a bit.
Here's some new pics, plz tell me what you think.

If you'r not giving up and restarting I'd recommand doing the following:
1. Get yourself a good soil mix. Non-fertilized mix that has some perlite in it and 20% good compost should do the trick for a few weeks without any need for additional fertilizing and you'll be clear on that area.
If you'll start with PH and fertilizers and stuff you will end up spending a lot more money when you don't really have the basics.
2. When you replant - bury them down again.
3. Get a fan blowing on them to stiffen the stems.
4. GET MORE LIGHT. put those 13W in your bathroom or closet - they are good for nothing. Get a 45W CFL (daylight color) and use it with the 30W you already got.
Place those lights UP TO 2" from the tops. more than that and you'll get problems, less than an inch and it will be too hot. Thats a lot of tweaking but thats CFLs.
5. Water as needed for 3 weeks and come back from help if you don't find your way by then. When you have a good organic mix in a nice big pot you should water every 5-10 days. NEVER WATER MORE THAN ONCE EVERY 3 DAYS. if you need to, you have a problem of either not knowing how to tell when they need water or your plants are rootbound and needs transplanting.