PLEASE! Help with growing under T5s, trimming and seeds NEEDED BADLY! Only my 2nd try

Last year I grew 6 plants from schwag. 5 were females !!!!!

They turned out hard, dense, stinky and stony. These were grown using a shitty home depot 2 bulb fixture and some clamp on cfls. I was very surprised, got just under 2 oz. and sold and 1/8th for $55. NO COMPLAINTS, in fact he wanted more. Note the pictures.

The only problem is that they grew into big single spears.

Now I am using HO T5s. 1 vertical 4' 4bulb and one horizontal. The growth and health is better but they are not bushing a lot. MUCH MORE than my last try but not quite enough. They are about a foot tall and I want to let them go another month before flowering. I plan on using an extra bank of lights in the red room.

What I want to know is, should I top these plants and if so when? now? right before changing the lights? Also are 1 gallon pots enough for a small space like 1' x 4' x 5'? Or should I go 2 gallon?

On my next run I will be ordering some big bud, master Kush and Afghan. Will these make a HUGE difference compared to AZ-mexi-schwag that turns purple?
If the seeds are THAT critical I have one more question.

What are some reputable seed banks? Ones that send what they advertise or wont just plain rip you off? This is my most important question as two of my friends got ripped off. I looked at the high times list but would like some other feedback please.

WHAt plants, u mean the pics or what ???

No, my mistake. Those were the ones grown under shit conditions just to show how well it did. I'll put up some pics of what I have in a few minutes.

these are the pics.

5 plants under 2ozs? That's weak dood considering all your effort taking care of 5 plants. Use the biggest pots, top 'em and ditch 1 T5. Save your money for a proper HID and ventilation equipment instead of buying seeds. Continue with the shcwag seed until your own method gets dialed in.

I have too small a space for HIDs. Huge heat issues. Those 5 plants that produced under 2 oz. were grown under the shittiest shop lights at home depot. That's why I was surprised that those grew at all. Now my set up is the T5s. If I put a MH or a HPS in my space I'm afraid of fire as my closet is 8' x 4'.
Why top them? Bush them out more? What about the kola? Not a big deal?

will ventilation keep that space cool enough?

Your plants look great...

You can keep your T5 lights within an inch or two if you keep a fan blowing on them.
Top them whenever you want, but I would not veg. too long or they will be too tall to get good light penitration.

I am always rotating them to share the light. i don't know if this helps.

The big question. Should I just plain top them and let them bush?

Also, can ANYBODY give the name of a reputable seed bank? I would like to know the name of one that won't rip me off.

Also, as I am getting readdy to top some of these, the biggest, tallest one has a REALLY thick stem under the 3rd and 4th nodes. over 1/4" thick and STRONG. Should I just clip the top and let it bush out more or will something this thick make a clone? Or should I leave it alone and shoot for the big kola?

And do mail order seeds make a HUGE difference. The ones I have now are schwag but have purple all through the stalks, stems and veins.

theres a ton of ways to get them to bush out more, top them, FIM, supercrop, if your interested in doing any of those, there are some great guides in the archives or whatever you want to call it, you can find them by doing a search. but overall yeah those look nice and healthy. yes HID will heat up a closet but cfls and T5s can too, you just need to use some ventaltion with HID, but eh if your set up works and everything. i have seen some photos on here of ppl's grow with cfls and T5s and they look SWEET. yes ordering seeds makes a big difference, only cause you know what your growing and you get bomb stuff, usually if everything goes well. theres a few seed banks listed on this site.

I have seen Nirvana Seeds and WEED-SEEDS.net
Nirvana was listed here and weed-seeds was on a High Times list. Does anyone have any suggestions?

what is FIM? As far as seed banks, how do I know which ones won't rip me off. I saw nirvana on here and weed-seeds on a list from high times. i just want to know I'm going to get them. That's why i was wondering if anyone could suggest one or two for me.

I looked for FIM and supercrop and couldn't find them.

Also what is super crop?
I just did some pricing and the HIDs and ballasts are just too $$$$ for me. T5s is my option.

That's funny. i topped 4 today out of 12 and fim'd 2 w/o knowing that what it was. It was an accident. The other 2 started making new shoots over night. i don't like the look of the supercrop. LST 'maybe'. I think I'm most comfortable with topping. But I don't want to top it but I want it to bush out more..................

angelsbandit said:

Your plants look great...

You can keep your T5 lights within an inch or two if you keep a fan blowing on them.
Top them whenever you want, but I would not veg. too long or they will be too tall to get good light penitration.

Click to expand...

I just did some measuring. HIDs won't be needed. The way i have my set up I can just set a small 2 bulb T5 in front of my trays on the brace i built. Perfect size and angle for under lighting in both sections. YEE HAW!!! and they're off.