why is my bud growing so damn slow!?!?

Grumpy do you think it would hurt the plants if I put the light on 24/7.

Up the lighting to 20/4 at least, and lose the fertilizer spikes. Repot each plant in its own pot, and stick with just water for a while because there are fertilizers in the soil already. Get an HPS bulb and ballast, or more CFL's. Otherwise they look great!

It wouldn't hurt, but with the distance you have them at now, it's not gonna help much either.

I'm re adjusting the lights right now I will post pics as soon as I'm done

Yep, those light are very far away. You're going to want them like 2" off of the tops of the plants. You could probably go 3"-4" but definitely no farther away than that.

From what it looks like in the pics, that tube floro is a t8, or is it something else? Regardless, the tube can be pretty much so close it's just shy of touching the plant. The cfl bulbs give off just a little bit more heat (cause they are compact) and can be like 2-3 inches away.

EDIT: I was more an outdoor grower till recently,(only indoors the last 2 years) but have done tons of research on indoor grows and lighting. Deffinately look at all the info you have gotten so far, and research it. There are quite a few stickies on very aspect, of every type of grow. Ranging from room set ups right up to harvesting, drying, curing, and even smoke reports of different strains. I wouldn't take anyone's word as an end all rule. Not even my own lol. Research all info you get, and choose what works best for your situation.

alright I moved the ballast and the cones I have to wait till payday to get some more pots. Other than the pots is there any other suggestions? Oh yeah I am going to pull the feeder sticks right now

The ballast has two daylight flourecent tuned

Those plants are big enough that the roots are most likely already tangled together. If you try and pull them apart you're probably going to kill all of them. I would leave them alone except to transplant them in a much larger pot - next payday.

a new pot is only like 3 bucks.. you can prolly get a 5 gallon bucket for even less.

Right on. I was worried about seperating them as well. How big of a pot should I get for all of them?

5 gallon bucket is good,

Well, if the OP makes some straight cuts, he'll be able to separate and transplant each one of them no problem. The roots will grow back
These are your babies my friend, treat them well and they'll bless ya <Thumbs up!>

Another thing, if yu want to try to maximize the tube light, look into lst. No need in having a four foot light with a couple feet footprint of plant. Lst it to go along the length of the light.And it appears to be in just a corner of an open room. If nothing at all try to make a wall to keep the light right in the area of the plant. Hell, even some cardboard walls painted white on the side facing in.

if ya stress them anymore there goin 2 die. dont water 4 a day r 2 an see wat happens im my soil is damp i dont water an i only use a 100watt reflector bulb and have been forcing for 3weeks and started forcing her since day4 mayb 5 due 2 lack of space i also have a hps but im a cheap cunt and dont wanna use it lol

to be honest with you man, Iv'e had em go both ways. Sometimes they just get a little stunted for a while then they spring up. I would try lowering the light a little bit so she can get as much light as possibe in those 18 hrs. Thats all i really got without pics man.

ya bro deffinately lower the light to where its about 6in from the top of the plants. your just going to have to raise the light as the plants grow. and I know your going to hate to hear this but you have to stop using miracle gro. ITS HORRIBLE FOR YOUR PLANT. its great for roses or lillys but not for what were dealing with. go get yourself some terra vega and terra flora from your local hydro store. and tell them what you have and they will tell you how to use it right. first things first, lower that light

Here I took a piece of plywood and wrappedit in tinfoil you think that'll help with trapping some light. It's a whole new grow room lol.

fenderburn84 said:

Here I took a piece of plywood and wrappedit in tinfoil you think that'll help with trapping some light. It's a whole new grow room lol.

Click to expand...

Cool. Now your getting somewhere. I hope it turns out female. Trust me, I know it sucks when you start out and everyone says "Do it this way. Do it that way. ", but it's usually for a reason (again why I say research all replies). Mylar would be better than tin foil, but in a pinch it works just make sure it is dull side out as the shiny side is actually less desirable due to creating hot spots. We are all just trying to help you not only have a good grow, but one that will produce as much as possible.

I really do appreciate all the advice and tips. Hopefully this crop still pulls through. Even if it doesn't I have it set up a little better now. Again thanks guys.