My ladies look like dwarfs!

You could always back the light off a bit and force it to stretch.

cheers and goodluck

McFonz said:

Just place the light higher and they'l strech for it a bit.
Your plants look great beside that.

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WHY? that's nonsense !

napa23 said:

You could always back the light off a bit and force it to stretch.

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Don't do this either. Keep the light where it is.

I don't get why anyone would want their plant to stretch ??!? Close nodes are a GOOD thing.

If the nodes are all 1mm apart its NOT good.

The ideal gap in my perception is 1cm. (0.5")

If its lower than that - higher the light.
If its higher than that - lower the lights or fix your problems.

McFonz said:

If the nodes are all 1mm apart its NOT good.

The ideal gap in my perception is 1cm. (0.5")

If its lower than that - higher the light.
If its higher than that - lower the lights or fix your problems.

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The gap should stretch to at least that in the first few weeks of flowering.

Spacing the nodes during veg lets more leaves get more light. It should be done from the beggining.

McFonz said:

Spacing the nodes during veg lets more leaves get more light. It should be done from the beggining.

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I disagree. But won't argue the point.

I think none of them is less than 1cm apart from another. Still, I'm gone check it out to make sure.
And yes, I clearly understand that. In fact, that was the reason why I posted this thread. I thought they were too close...

Trabecula said:

I think none of them is less than 1cm apart from another. Still, I'm gone check it out to make sure.
And yes, I clearly understand that. In fact, that was the reason why I posted this thread. I thought they were too close...

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No such thing as "TOO CLOSE".. remember that

That's great (at least for my babies)! And as you told me, they seem to be kicking off now! They grew a lot since yesterday! I built a CO2 generator (bottle of water with yeast, baking soda and sugar) today and it might be a coincidence but it seems to be working! Though the yeast stays on the top for a very little time and them it dissolves but the water is filled with bubbles that slowly pop at the top! Is it supposed to be like this?

One other thing that I'd like to know, when going into flowering, should I change them to 12/12 suddenly or slowly reducing it's light period instead?

Cheers!

You go straight into 12/12. Some people say to give them a dark period (36 hours I have read here somewhere) but I haven't jumped on that band wagon.

36houres of darkness? That doesn't sound good to me either... in nature, unless there is a massive eclipse, that would never happen so I guess I'll just go straight into 12/12.
One more thing, I read somewhere that one should start giving them blooms nutes one week or so before going into flowering. Is there any point in doing that?

I don't start bloom nutes unril the plants are showing flowers, usually the second week of 12/12. I do start the "Open Sesame" bloom supplement a few weeks before 12/12.

oJUICEBOXo said:

They ARE small for 5 weeks.........here are mine at a little over 4 weeks and 2 feet tall
View attachment 1114956

I agree with Tommy it definitely looks like bad genetics. I wouldn't worry too much though there isn't much you can do except keep them healthy. You could try 20/4 instead of 18/6......I keep mine on 24/0 in veg.

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Are theese fromclone or seed?

I give 24 hours of darkness before flowering.
nature also doesn't change from 24\0 to 12\12 in one day. Doesn't mean it doesn't work.

Tried both methods, this proved to be better for me.
It kick starts flowering. The long dark time make them start preflowering faster than 12\12 at the same time, from my experience.

McFonz said:

I give 24 hours of darkness before flowering.
nature also doesn't change from 24\0 to 12\12 in one day. Doesn't mean it doesn't work.

Tried both methods, this proved to be better for me.
It kick starts flowering. The long dark time make them start preflowering faster than 12\12 at the same time, from my experience.

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I went for ... Setting a date .. reducing time from both ends every 3 days over a 2 week period till i had it down to 12 /12 with no break or sudden change ... very gradual ... They started to show pre- flower mid way thru the second week .. Had vegged for 8 weeks prior .

Worked well for me

Everyone has diffrent ways and swear by then if they work ... truth is the plant figures out its not as light and the signals kick in to flower .

So to answer the OP's question ... It's what you feel right with ... but the end result will be the same ... plant will figure it out

Bonzi Lighthouse said:

I would not change a thing you are doing. Those are the best looking "how do my plants Look" I've seen in a while. Only down side to such close nodes is the buds will be so dense that you can run the risk of mold. Keep your RH down and you will be fine.

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Fully agree !

These are from seed, not clones.
Thank you for your help... Guess both ways seem good. I'll think about it! In a few days I will post an update on them. Cheers!

Ok, as promised, here is an update!
They complete today 5 weeks from seed and I'm quite happy as they grew a lot more this week than in any other.

Two of the photos show some white salty-looking crusts that I've been finding on the top of the soil. What is this? Salt build-up because of the nutes? Should I flush them more? My watering schedule is something like this: One day I water them with Bio Grow and Hesi Super Vit, next day plain water or with Super Vit only, next day, if the soil is still moist I do not water them, if it is dry I water them again with nutes. Bio Grow states 2 to 4mL per L of water. I started with 2 or even less, now I'm giving 3mL per L and I hope to give them 4mL this week (before going into flowering). I still don't know if I'm going to change them to 12/12 at the end of the week or at the end of the month. They are about 10 inches (most advanced) and 8 (least advanced) high. I know they could veg a lot more but the grow box is not really high and if they double size during flowering, I'm afraid they might get too close to the 400w HPS.

Any suggestions?

PS: the pics where taken with HPS turned on.

Salt buildup usually mean too much fertilizers.
Watering every day, or every other day when using soil is way too much by my book.
I try to water once a week. (using big containers that hold a lot of water)
Top is once every 3 days.

You should get some runoff when you water - thats like a mini-flush.


BioGrow by BioBizz is pretty concentrated.
I believe 2.5ml\L is the full dose plants should be given. More just clog the soil and doesn't help.
You can further reduce the need for BioBizz by using a compost-rich soil. When using around 30% compost you shouldn't need more than 1ml\L of BioGrow for the first 2 months.
I've used it at 5ml\L as recommanded and it was way overdoing it. And cost me quite a bit.

Start at 1ml\L and if your plants starts to go pale - add more.