My first grow using CFLs...Opinion/suggestions?!!

Hey guys, I have already posted a thread on my grow, but have chosen to post a new one in this CFL page, where I should have been in the first place...lol...

Anyways it's been about 3 weeks now, i'm using 4 26w/100 CFLs...2 for each plant...

I am growing for the first time, and enjoy learning about it more then growing it...i'm wierd I know, but I like to learn!!

Annd here are my recent pics...

They look great!

Have you read up on LST suercropping? It's perfect for CFL grows.

hey lookign nice so far. what kind of soil r u using?? have u added any nutes to them yet?? i am pretty much doing the same grow as u but i have one more light on each plant(i have 2 plants going). good luck. let me know how thing progress..

Looking good! You look like you know what you're doing pretty well. I'm on my first grow and I haven't done anything special besides topping one of my plants, otherwise I've just been watering and they have some organic blood/bone meal mixed with kelp etc. to help out. Bagseed? Strain? Details baby!

smokinrav said:

They look great!

Have you read up on LST suercropping? It's perfect for CFL grows.

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I have breifly looked over LST but not supercropping. But yeah those are 2 things I need to study up on, as they will be beneficial to my grow...lol...just a little nervous since it's my first time, i'm a perfectionist and if my plants don't make it I will be sad. But it's something I need to learn!!!

sh2x said:

hey lookign nice so far. what kind of soil r u using?? have u added any nutes to them yet?? i am pretty much doing the same grow as u but i have one more light on each plant(i have 2 plants going). good luck. let me know how thing progress..

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I'm using MG palm and citrus planting soil, which unfortunately already has its own nuts...I was really planning on using a basic soil mix with no nuts, but this is all they have around here...I think if I were to add nuts, my plants would definitely burn.....Today I made my own reflectors for my lights, which I made out of 1/8" aluminum, pretty nice, just need to buff em out, and hopefully it will direct the light a little better over my plants...I'll take some pics of them and post them this evening!!! You know I was thinking, I know I only have what I have in the light department, but as it is in the 3rd week, do they look like average 3rd week plants? lol

brutalbuds said:

Looking good! You look like you know what you're doing pretty well. I'm on my first grow and I haven't done anything special besides topping one of my plants, otherwise I've just been watering and they have some organic blood/bone meal mixed with kelp etc. to help out. Bagseed? Strain? Details baby!

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Thanks Bud!!! I have been spending hours reading and reading many, many posts on this site....Just doing the best I can with what little money, and materials I have at this time. I am probably going to get a HPS/MH in the future, but right now it's more efficient for me to just use CFLs, plus from what I have seen in a couple CFL posts, they work really well!!!

Anyways, yeah it's just some bagseed i'm using, since i'm just learning I don't really wanna ruin some good strains, I wanna be sure I know whats going on before then, so I can get the most out of it. I'm keeping them on 24hr lighting, with a small blower fan, I'm watering them about everyday as the soil dries up pretty quick. I'm just using my regular tap water, with a 24hr wait period for the nasty chemicals to evaporate. And thats pretty much it!!

nice start!

keep reading, and keep adding to your setup.

Looking real good man. Keep it up and you'll be very satisfied.

Ok so here is an update of my progress.....since my last post, I have added a couple light reflectors I made.....There not growing to fast, but still growin!!!

Added one more cfl...make 3 total now for each of the 2 organisms.

I think this is a good sign, compared to what was in the previous pics.

Looks as if now the leaves are reaching for the light.......

Am I still doing everything right? lol dumb question I know, I think....

you might be over watering, wait till the soil is nice and dry before you water again.

get those cfl's right as close as possible to your plants.

have your fan blowing directly on them.

temps should be in the 70's and humidity is safe between 30 and 40%

other than that. leave em alone. your old ones may just be stunted, not totally dead.

Phishy said:

Ok, so I know it has been awhile since I had an update....

Plants seemed to stop growing, and look about the same as they do in the last pics. These plants should be huge by now, so I know there pretty much trash..

Anyways I went out today, and picked me up a 100W, 6500K, CFL light, to go along with my 8, 26W 6500K CFL lights.

I now have new seedlings growing, and hope that the extra 100 watts will improve the grow.

Also to improve my grow, I have purchased some potting soil with no nutrients. My other plants are in MG soil, so I'm hoping the plants will be more lively in this no-nut soil.

Please, I beg, for help, I really have been studying the crap out of this site now, for about 3 months now. I have learned so much that I feel like I could be a pro-gardener, but there is still much informatimon missing......

So...Will the light, and soil make a difference?

Maybe a better difference...lol, I really have been putting everything I got into this, its a goal I strive to achieve.​

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The slow growth is probably due to the MG soil, in 99.9999% of any thread I have seen MG being used they tend to have a disastrous period of growing before they get the plant out of the MG.

Is it over watered? underwatered? (top soil looks dry) it has close nodes so light distance isn't an issue.

I would carefully try and remove it from the MG and transfer it to new potting soil.

I have my fingers X'd for ya!!

Ok, I have decided to do a little experimenting. I did transplant my old plants into the no-nut top soil; hopefully they may come back to their senses.

Anyways my experiment: Thinking that the MG made my plants retarded, I am germenating a couple more seeds, and am going to plant them in the non-nut soil, to see if there is any difference in growth.

I usually keep the lights within about 3 to 4 inches from the plant(s). I water about every 2 to 3 days. I don't water until the soil is dry at 1" deep. Even though the soil on top may be dry, the soil beneath may still contain much moisture.

I have central air conditioning and heating, so my temperature is very controlable, along with the humidity. I have excellent air circulation in my house. I moved my plants from my closet, to the openess of my room. I have the plants sorta boxed in with ductboard. I live alone so I don't need to be stealthy about it. Plus this setup gives me more room to work with. Oh, and I do have a bathroom exhaust fan constantly blowing the plants...

Since I "now" have decent soil, enough lighting, and pretty much everything else, does my luck look any better?!

phishy,

This was a hard thread to read, could really empathize with your troubles. MGMC really gave it to me without benefit of vaseline too. Not MGMC so much, just the preferted soils in general, so many things can go wrong with that kind of soil.
My 2nd grow I've gone organic. God what a difference. Used MG Organic soil. Bad things can happen in organic too, I've just found it many times easier to get results. I hope the best for recovering your grow.

growone

phishy, sounds like you are good to go, just leave em alone, and talk dirty to em.

also when the top of the plant stops growing for a little bit, it could be the roots starting to take over, this happen to me and i have non fert soil. i just let them do there thing, and they came out beautiful.

Phishy said:

Hey guys, I have already posted a thread on my grow, but have chosen to post a new one in this CFL page, where I should have been in the first place...lol...

Anyways it's been about 3 weeks now, i'm using 4 26w/100 CFLs...2 for each plant...

I am growing for the first time, and enjoy learning about it more then growing it...i'm wierd I know, but I like to learn!!

Annd here are my recent pics...

Click to expand...

Hey, just alittle FYI: You should have your lights WAY closer than that. Dont worry about heat issues with CFL bulbs.
(or did you lift the lights for photo?)