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hey was just wondering have 4000 watt system and added another 4000 watts so that makes it 8000 watts.
Why doesn't my pictures come out good ??? anymore when lights are on ))))))))))))))))))) and is it normal for buds to grow almost to the size of 2 litre bottles ??? being i am on day 42 and need to hit day 70 what would you suggest i do i got sticks in them but there already starting to get heavy and fold

DrFever said:

hey was just wondering have 4000 watt system and added another 4000 watts so that makes it 8000 watts.
Why doesn't my pictures come out good ??? anymore when lights are on ))))))))))))))))))) and is it normal for buds to grow almost to the size of 2 litre bottles ??? being i am on day 42 and need to hit day 70 what would you suggest i do i got sticks in them but there already starting to get heavy and fold

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Don't know what kind of camera you have. I'd suggest cleaning the lens, using the flash, and setting up a custom white balance or, if an optional setting choice, you can use "Tungsten" which will take a better colored digital picture. Most digital cameras contain some form of white balance and a flash so use those and you should get better results with a clean lens. Magnetic ballasts operate on a lower frequency than digital ballasts and as a result the camera might "see" the oscillation of the light.

And you've been here since Oct. 2010, with nearly one thousand posts, and you need to ask if big buds are "normal??" I sure hope that was meant to be sarcastic.

Hey snowcrash, i dont know if you ever used led lights in your grow but what is your opinion on those ones:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-QUAD-BAND-Hydroponic-UFO-LED-Plant-Grow-Lights-270w-/330552426087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf675be67

I've read in the 420magazine forum that a 90w led is equal to 400w hps????
Also are those lights for hydroponic use only or can i use them with soil?
Thx

dr fever: it seems like a pain in the a$$ but you want to stake each branch that's getting top heavy, for the obvious "you don't want your stalks to fold" reason, but also because when a branch is top-heavy some of the plant's energy is going towards trying to keep that bud upright. by staking, you're helping the plant to keep concentrating on flowering.

the other thing you want to watch for with large-budding plants is the potential for bud rot (botrytis) in the end stages..... you'll want to stay on top of your rh during the last 2 weeks.

swantip said:

Hey snowcrash, i dont know if you ever used led lights in your grow but what is your opinion on those ones:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-QUAD-BAND-Hydroponic-UFO-LED-Plant-Grow-Lights-270w-/330552426087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf675be67

I've read in the 420magazine forum that a 90w led is equal to 400w hps????
Also are those lights for hydroponic use only or can i use them with soil?
Thx

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I have not, and will never, employ LED lighting in my own grow room. I have never seen anything convincing start to finish with LED. A 90w LED is not going to have the same footprint of a 400w HID (LED = 1.5'x1.5' while HID = 3x3) because it is low wattage. The comparison sounds more like advertising/marketing hype and real world use does not match up. They are also outrageously expensive.

The future of grow lighting is in Plasma. The diode is not much larger than a single LED but a 250w lamp can produce as much energy as a 600w HID. In addition, since the light is from "plasma," the spectrum is much truer to natural sunlight.

A 250w Plasma system runs about $700 to $1000 http://diyprojectorkits.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=19 and they are not commercially available yet. When they are, expect these prices to get cut in half, which makes them already competitive with LED prices and soon they will take over HID pricing. Maybe within a few years. For the most part, the only people using these bulbs I know of (aside from maybe 1 grower I've seen around) are reef aquarium owners looking for better light sources.

Save your cash on the LED and get yourself an HID system until these plasma lights begin to gather steam.

For the price though... a 250w Plasma system is ~$700. A comparative 600w Quantum digital ballast, AC reflector, dual-spectrum bulb, and required ventilation can hit $400 easy, and then you pay for the .35kw per hour difference. In california (where energy is >$0.20/kwh) a plasma system can pay for itself in about 4,250 hours of use. Or... on 18 hour lighting... in about 8 months of use. On 12 hour lighting it's more like 1 year before the energy costs balance out with the up front cost.

So even right now, the best savings, the best technology, and the best place to look forward to is Plasma.

And you can use any light with any media.

Hey Snow, i've read numerous posts and i've read plenty on potency, but i wanted a quick answer and also a personal opinion from experience. I have a harvest fast approaching, these cannot be grown in the area their at much longer, odor issues, so i wanted to know if harvest time affects the length of the high or if the strain does and its genetics determine amount of THC, i am actually growing bag seeds and its from nice stuff i enjoyed thoroughly, but my real question is if i harvest for the strong head high, more energetic, because i've smoked so long, i need something that will firmly give me a kick in the ass in the morning, but keep me that way for a while, yield is of littler consequence, so bare that in mind, im 26 days into flower, call me a newbie just wanting to get the most intense high from his stuff possible and i know this one will mature about as fast as normal Indica dominants do, much faster than sativa, pistils have a mild yellow hue and most of them have nice frosting, just looking for the altered space time continuim high, so much trouble has been put into insuring their survival, if this failed, i could quite possibly never try it again, thats how disappointed i would be, anyways, that is what i was wondering and i dont have real nice magnifying glasses or anything to check trichomes with, i did this because people dont know how to smoke good shit around here and potency is a major issue in my area, i want to blow it all out of the water and then some with the seeds from the dank stuff i got for once....

Solo

SoloSlayer said:

Hey Snow, i've read numerous posts and i've read plenty on potency, but i wanted a quick answer and also a personal opinion from experience. I have a harvest fast approaching, these cannot be grown in the area their at much longer, odor issues, so i wanted to know if harvest time affects the length of the high or if the strain does and its genetics determine amount of THC, i am actually growing bag seeds and its from nice stuff i enjoyed thoroughly, but my real question is if i harvest for the strong head high, more energetic, because i've smoked so long, i need something that will firmly give me a kick in the ass in the morning, but keep me that way for a while, yield is of littler consequence, so bare that in mind, im 26 days into flower, call me a newbie just wanting to get the most intense high from his stuff possible and i know this one will mature about as fast as normal Indica dominants do, much faster than sativa, pistils have a mild yellow hue and most of them have nice frosting, just looking for the altered space time continuim high, so much trouble has been put into insuring their survival, if this failed, i could quite possibly never try it again, thats how disappointed i would be, anyways, that is what i was wondering and i dont have real nice magnifying glasses or anything to check trichomes with, i did this because people dont know how to smoke good shit around here and potency is a major issue in my area, i want to blow it all out of the water and then some with the seeds from the dank stuff i got for once....

Solo

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Hey Solo. I could probably drone on all day about what determines potency. Everything is a factor. Genetics, methods, nutrients, harvest time, drying and curing. To get the very "best" stuff you can each of these categories needs to be fulfilled to perfection.

The high you are looking for sounds a lot like the kind of THC-v high that I'm always after. Kinda trippy, introspective, and long lasting but without that groggy come-down you'd get from a kush strain.

This first grow is a learning process. Just do what you think is best and then next time around you can improve on that or try something else new. Don't expect to get it perfect the first time, which I'm sure you don't, but maybe you should think about that a little more closely. Don't hold yourself to too high a standard.

In the future my suggestion to you is to find a strain that has the high characteristics you are after. I've been spoiled living in CA with a med license, smoked damn near everything under the sun (yet they keep coming out with new shit) and I know what I like and don't like. I think you're probably similar in that regard.

Subcool and I have exactly the same taste/high preferences which is why I am going to suggest the genetics from TGA Subcool. Jack the Ripper, Jack's Cleaner, and the new Ace of Spades are all probably perfect strains for what you are looking to accomplish. To increase resin production in my own garden I use small amounts of Snow Storm Ultra, Bud Candy, and Nirvana nutrient supplements.

Also, UV-B radiation has a known influence on trichome production. Running both Far Blue and Far Red light will have a dramatic influence not only in the size of your flowers but also their stickiness.

Like I said... Drone all day long about potency.

lol well thanks for the answer, all of the great nutrients products are out of my reach, along with superior lighting, but i know potency is such a major issue. Its what we worry about these things for so many months for anyways, but i will maybe just harvest the branch i think suits my tastes best and mildly dry and cure it and sample and i'll let that be the deciding factor for the rest of my crop, i still dont think any of it will be a disappointment though in that regard, thanks for the advice though... +Rep

Is this common to have buds in the crux of the fan leaves? Should I be remove them, or trim off the leaves around the bud, or leave them alone?


Thanks!

hermy in the making? my 2nd grow , no way is this normal, right??

schmidlap said:

Is this common to have buds in the crux of the fan leaves? Should I be remove them, or trim off the leaves around the bud, or leave them alone?

View attachment 1563766
Thanks!

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Nah, not normal, but you don't have to do anything about it.

Thank you for sharing that picture. It's a real gem seeing mutations like that.

matatan said:

hermy in the making? my 2nd grow , no way is this normal, right??

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Definitely not normal growth, but the result of damage, and not an indication of sex.

The stress that would accompany that damage might push your plant to be "more than woman" so keep an eye out on her. It'll take time.

Snow Crash said:

Definitely not normal growth, but the result of damage, and not an indication of sex.

The stress that would accompany that damage might push your plant to be "more than woman" so keep an eye out on her. It'll take time.

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What kind of damage/stress? Only thing not totally pampered for that gal has been night temps that got a bit cool... maybe roots are too cool. Could that do it?

hey schid that was towards me and my pic, he asnwered yours above that post

alright i haven't posted in this forum for awhile but im back with more question's.
i am getting ready to try and clone some of my plant's they have been under cfl's for awhile now not sure how long but thier about ten inches tall with around 12 branch nodes
branches aren't quite big enough to clone from yet what i was wondering is should i top plant's veg for one more week and clone branches or just cut single clone from top of plant for now which will result in the loss of maybe three to four branch nodes(their pretty compact at the top)

next question ive read about not fertilizing with nitrogen before you clone i have only fed these once about a week ago and only quarter strength but i am in organic soil wich contains nutrients will these nutrients in soil affect the cutting's success %

next question i keep reading 24 hour light on your cutting's low strength light i am using cfl's think i mentioned that i have about 170 actual watt's in a 3x2 closet temp's running round 80 light's on that's canopy temp. also closet set's at about 72.

i am on a 18-6 cycle can i use this cycle to clone them or should i go 24 hrs.i had planned on just putting them in corner of light coverage with a humidity dome in peat pellets

any input be useful....tristynhawk

tristynhawk said:

alright i haven't posted in this forum for awhile but im back with more question's.
i am getting ready to try and clone some of my plant's they have been under cfl's for awhile now not sure how long but thier about ten inches tall with around 12 branch nodes
branches aren't quite big enough to clone from yet what i was wondering is should i top plant's veg for one more week and clone branches or just cut single clone from top of plant for now which will result in the loss of maybe three to four branch nodes(their pretty compact at the top)

next question ive read about not fertilizing with nitrogen before you clone i have only fed these once about a week ago and only quarter strength but i am in organic soil wich contains nutrients will these nutrients in soil affect the cutting's success %

next question i keep reading 24 hour light on your cutting's low strength light i am using cfl's think i mentioned that i have about 170 actual watt's in a 3x2 closet temp's running round 80 light's on that's canopy temp. also closet set's at about 72.

i am on a 18-6 cycle can i use this cycle to clone them or should i go 24 hrs.i had planned on just putting them in corner of light coverage with a humidity dome in peat pellets

any input be useful....tristynhawk

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A picture of the plant would be ideal but I don't think you should be cloning branches that aren't ready. Allow them to reach the proper size first. Also, I've never see a successful clone from the top of a plant. Don't know why... But don't top it unless you plan to add another 8 days to the time frame.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to clone plants. All that information is available online and on RIU.

IMO, cloning is super easy. Follow the very good tutorials online and you might have some success. Personally I would not be cloning a plant that wasn't ready.

yea kinda what i was thinking snow.I made some clones last year first out of the top's complete failure then after laterals got goin i did it again with bout a 50% rate.
Final time i tried i was 20 for 20 so im pretty confident i can do it.
But i have read through alot posts on cloning just looking for tips,and i went ahead and just topped my plant's about an hour before light shut off figured this would stimulate lateral growth
another week or so isn't that long to wait for success

i read through an article subcool did on cloning,you think the peat pellets are as good as the root stimulators he mentioned(pretty sure thats what he called them i googled them they weren't that much $$)how bout lighting you think 18-6 be ok for them or should i put em seperate and to 24 hr. i have a little 75watt flouro tube i could put on em it's what i used last year.
As always thanks snow your the main reason i come to this thread so much..lol

tristynhawk

tristynhawk said:

yea kinda what i was thinking snow.I made some clones last year first out of the top's complete failure then after laterals got goin i did it again with bout a 50% rate.
Final time i tried i was 20 for 20 so im pretty confident i can do it.
But i have read through alot posts on cloning just looking for tips,and i went ahead and just topped my plant's about an hour before light shut off figured this would stimulate lateral growth
another week or so isn't that long to wait for success

i read through an article subcool did on cloning,you think the peat pellets are as good as the root stimulators he mentioned(pretty sure thats what he called them i googled them they weren't that much $$)how bout lighting you think 18-6 be ok for them or should i put em seperate and to 24 hr. i have a little 75watt flouro tube i could put on em it's what i used last year.
As always thanks snow your the main reason i come to this thread so much..lol

tristynhawk

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The best results I've seen are from aero-cloners. Even the homemade ones return a very high success rate. I personally have the best success with rock wool cubes. I've tried a few things, soil, coco, rapid rooters, peat pucks, etc, and for me rock wool works best. But that's just a total personal preference, there are many ways to clone successfully.
I start by taking a clone of a length so that it is short enough when it droops it can manage to lift itself back up; but also not so short that the leaves can come into contact with the media. The right length is somewhere in the range of 4.5 inches from top to bottom. Then, I'll take the cutting and place it directly in a vase of clean water for a few minutes. I'm not sure why, but the "vase effect" seems to help keep my clones standing taller and stronger longer. Then I dip in Clone-X gel and place right into the media of choice.

I spray them down immediately with a copious amount of water and place them under the lights which I keep far enough away to keep the heat and direct light from being an issue. Around 6" to a foot for fluorescents. I've tried dark periods with new clones and it doesn't work out as well. I prefer 24 hour light for the first 3 days to just keep the "motor running" then switching to a 18/6 schedule to encourage root growth. When I switch to 18/6 I'll move the lights closer.

During the first 2 weeks I'll keep the media moist all the time and spray the plants frequently but much, much, less generously than before. Less is more. My clone rates are around 80% on the average. In coco, it's more like 60-70%. A lot of that is due to experimentation though, so I think if charged with the task I could probably get 8 out of 10 no problem even in party cups of coco peat.

I don't mess around with heat mats and humidity domes (used to) but I do keep the temperature around 78 to 82 and the humidity above 40%. I have mold fears... But to each their own. Honestly though there are just so many ways to go about it. If you find something that works then I say: "If it ain't broken then don't fix it."

hello,

i was wondering why everybody is using reflector with the bulbs? If you have enough space in your grow room, isn't it better to place the lights in the middle of the room and the plants around them?
All this heat that is collected inside the metal of the reflector is a problem sometimes(adds extra heat to the room) and seems to me like "loss of light". Please correct me if i am wrong.

gantsa said:

hello,

i was wondering why everybody is using reflector with the bulbs? If you have enough space in your grow room, isn't it better to place the lights in the middle of the room and the plants around them?
All this heat that is collected inside the metal of the reflector is a problem sometimes(adds extra heat to the room) and seems to me like "loss of light". Please correct me if i am wrong.

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