Advice on first attempt

[JE3Z]

Afternoon all I'm looking for some advice if possible on these two plants. Used to be three but one got his helmet stuck on his head and passed on.

There inside a box that's approx 1 metre tall and 40 cm wide, three cfls which I know are currently not strong enough, two are 12w and one is 23w totalling 47w....eeesh.

I've been giving them only water so far and am keeping them on 18-6 lighting with the above mentioned bulbs, there is a large hole for a fan which I won't be getting until Monday, the box is sat next to the radiator due to living in tropical England...

The bottom leaves look really dark in Comparison to the leaves on top, the top leaves feel smooth but some parts look a tad burnt possibly (the smaller plat has some mud staining on the leaves)

Soil is just some standard compost but I'm looking at getting soil used for growing tomatoes, I appreciate any feedback you guys can give me!

 

[JE3Z]

Temp is mostly at 25 , can't tell the humidity at the moment

 

[Major PITA]

I'd get those lights closer. Fan? Get some air movement on them.
I wouldn't feed them anything for a while and I wouldn't transplant until they are root bound in those pots.
Water with wet/dry cycles soon to build strong roots.

 

[JE3Z]

I'll look up wet /dry cycles , managed to pinch a small fan and have stuck it in the box due it not being overly strong. Will hold off the feeding and leave them be for a little while, hate to ask but is there any particular way to tell when its become rootbound? thank you for the recommendations!

 

[Major PITA]

I'll look up wet /dry cycles , managed to pinch a small fan and have stuck it in the box due it not being overly strong. Will hold off the feeding and leave them be for a little while, hate to ask but is there any particular way to tell when its become rootbound? thank you for the recommendations!

With new seedlings, I don't let them get dry. Once they are established (2-3 weeks?), let the pots dry out until the plants are ready to wilt - not quite, but close. Then fully saturate the pot with water until it won't take another drop. I put the pot in a larger pot so the get water from the top and bottom. Let them soak a couple of minutes. Remove and drain completely. Tip the pot a little to remove as much of the perched water table as possible. To know what "dry" is, take a pot with the same soil, but dry. Lift it. Get to know what it feels like. It should feel nearly empty.

If those are 1 gal pots, you can probably go 6-8 weeks in them. The easiest way to tell if they are root bound is to let them dry out some, then knock them out of their pots and take a look. If they aren't quite ready, just slide them back in. No harm / no foul.

 

[Greenethumb42]

Yeah I would definitely get them lights closers and get some more..I would get at least 4 more 23w cfl's..you need at least 100w for the first plant and 50w for each additional..I'm using 300w of cfl's,so it can be done

 

[Young Yoda]

Take a look through here my friend lots of useful info!
How to Grow Marijuana - Everything You Need to Know

For now, one bulb 1-2in from the leaves should do it! But as they grow you'll need more light. There's a lot of info on growing with cfls if you look around and that will give you a lot more info than I can here..

Read up! I would say that you don't need to fertilize for at least a few weeks if there's compost in there! Don't kill your little plants!

 

[JE3Z]

That's a big read, good thing its the weekend! Thanks for all the advice much appreciated!

 

[JE3Z]

Managed to borrow a 125w CFl from a mate , can these lights be hung vertically like you would with a traditional light fitting? I worry if I hang it horizontally it will break under its own weight

 

[JE3Z]

 

[Young Yoda]

The majority of the light from cfls come off the sides, so its best to hang horizontal if you can. In an earlier photo someone had their big cfl mounted in a reflector, you could try getting one of those.

 

[JE3Z]

Got a 125 cfl which I didn't secure good enough, it fell onto both plants burning the stalk and half the plant on one, the other escaped with a single burned leaf. The plant that's stem was burnt is definitely dying, any recommendations? Should I cut the yellow burnt leaves off?

 

[JE3Z]

 

[JE3Z]

Second plant , is this looking good?

 

[FloridaSunset]

Managed to borrow a 125w CFl from a mate , can these lights be hung vertically like you would with a traditional light fitting? I worry if I hang it horizontally it will break under its own weight

No,you can hang them horizontally - they are actually designed to hang that way. The idea is to spread the light over as large an area was possible. Horizontally does that best for top lighting while vertically would be of side lighting.

 

[lilybeanz]

sorry for your loss. although the first will probably survive and look a lot better in a couple days.. the second looks like she dodged a bullet and will pull through np. your better off hanging it horizontally as floridasunset said.. also make sure your water doesn't have chlorine or chloramine,(if its city water) by letting it sit out for 24 hours(for chlorine) and if its chloramine your will probably need to buy something to counter act with it. or you can buy distilled water(ro water)..hope this helps you avoid some future issue. keep up the good work!

 

[JE3Z]

Tap water comes out at 6.6 but I'll leave it over night now didn't think of the chlorine! Will do a redesign today , trimmed the dead leaves off and ita able to stand up on its own this morning! Thanks for your help again guys , really nice community!

 

[lilybeanz]

you should consider starting a grow journal with these ladies!

 

[JE3Z]

Have started writing one out now, would have been useful no doubt!

In a bit of a bad spot, I need to move the remaining lady into a bigger pot , problem is the soil I used is such poor quality ita just falling to pieces, I'm concerned I will damage the root ball if I don't Know how to do it correctly. Going to buy some soil for tomatoes as its the only suitable thing I can get at the moment

 

[Foxtrot2112]

JE3Z, when transplanting babies like those, wait till the soil is dry enough that when you tip the pot upside down, the complete plant plus soild will come along. Then transplant, and water to get rid of unwanted air.