Cannabis slow growth, please help

[thrifty]

Type: bag seed
All purpose soil from walmart
miracle gro plant food fertilizer
2 23w cfls totaling up to 3200 lumens, lights are as close as i can get them
grow box
sun reflectors for a car to reflect light
one fan

my seed is about 3 weeks old and isn't as big as it should be. Im a rookie grower so i can't really figure out the cause for such slow growth. theres no yellowing, leaves are developing really slow.

I water once every 3-4 days or when soil gets dry and fertilize once every other week. the plants first set of leaves are beginning to point down, i don't have a solid camera to provide pics but i will try to soon.

 

[convicted]

as a newbie myself but finishing a grow, your soil is wrong and miracle grow is killing your seedling, and not enough light, which country are u in?? as i am uk so only know whats avaliable here,
i use bio biz all mix soil others use foxfarms, PH is so important 6.5 is ideal for soil, u must test the water every feeding, i personal dont use cfls but i have read enough to know the lights u are using are not giving enough energy to your plants so an increase on bulbs would help,

best thing is to get so pics up and then the long term growers can really get u growing as their advice is awesome, my tips can get u started but they can get u budding

goodluck

 

[TanR]

Hi thrifty.

Wanted to begin by welcoming you to 420 Magazine and the community of members that gathers here!

I have to agree with convicted that your girls (hopefull) could use some more light. I think you can get by with the soil your in and all though not ideal, there has been decent bud grown with MG over the years. Sounds like we just need to get you through your first grow and then begin the inevitable upgrading of supplies and mediums later.

Will you need to transplant them at some point? If so I suggesting finding some perlite to mix in with the soil prior to transplanting.

Since you mention having access to Wally world soil, can't help wonder if there might also be a home improvement store like Lowes or Home Depot within reach? I don't believe Wal-Mart carries them, but look for some larger CFL's like a 300 watt equivalent (85 or so watt actual draw) in the 6500K range. Any idea of the kelvin rating of your current bulbs?

If you can give them more light, I think you'll see a dramatic improvement in the growth.

Be well, happy growing, and again - Welcome to 420 Magazine.

 

[thrifty]

thank you for the reply, i'm in the us and i think my lighting is playing a huge factor i havent got around to buying a ph tester yet but i boil my water and let it sit overnight before i decide to give it to my plants. i've decided to change my lighting over to 100w 6500 k lamps and a better soil mix!

I guess in a week i'll see if it changes anything

 

[thrifty]

thank you for the welcome! I just stopped by lowes and picked up some better soil along with 2 100 w replacements at 6500k bulbs. i've transplanted my plant into the new miracle grow seed starting soil and watered so i'll give it a week before i make anymore changes i may just need more light.

i think a big problem is root development so o'm hoping the changes will promote better growth!

 

[convicted]

pls say u got perlite also, the soil needs to breath and dont over water i got into the habbit of when i think they need water do it the next day just to make sure is wasn't over watered, also for now it wouldn't hurt to cut a 2ltr bottle in half and place over the top of the pot, this is like a little micro climate that helps humidity and cuts out the need to spray or water the leaves

 

[thrifty]

i didnt get it perlite but i was back and forth between it im going to give it some time to settle into its new dirt and lights 6500k should do right?

 

[mussh]

hello and welcome.

you may want to invest in a few 2700k bulbs for the best part of your grow...the flowering.
i was able to find some 300 watt equivalent cfl bulbs on ebay. you can get them in 6500k and 2700k.
they will make a huge difference.

- musshy

 

[KingJohnC]

You should position your Compact Florescent Lights 5-6 inches from your plant. You should avoid Miracle Gro soil if it has time released fertilizer in it. You want 6400 kelvin cool white Florescent for vegetative growth and 2700 kelvin warm white for flowering. You want 1400 lumen or higher for your Compact Florescent lights. When I first started growing I used Miracle Gro Soil and had many problems. Now I use peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and mycorrhizae for my soiless mixture. You could purchase Pro-Mix HP and add additional vermiculite and mycorrhizae. I use General Hydroponics Flora series 3 part nutrients that can be mixed for all stages of vegetative growth and flowering. General Hydroponics Flora series can be used with hydroponic, soil and soiless mediums.

https://generalhydroponics.com nutrients flora series

https://www.horticulturesource.com general hydroponics gh flora series performance pack

Flora Series 3-Part


here is some information on Miracle Gro nutrients

Nutes - What To Use & How To Use Them - Tutorial

 

[CronicHempHog]

also you shouldn't have been feeding your seedling too soon coulda waited for about 2-3 nodes some people say 5 sets before feed

 

[KingJohnC]

I would wait until your plant is 4-5 inches tall and has 5 nodes of growth before feeding 1/4 strength nutrients.