Did I Dwarf my Plants or What?

[NewGrowerUSA]

My Problem: When I started this FIRST grow, I thought it was as simple as buying cheap soil from Walmart, but the spouted seeds in it, water well and that’s it. WRONG......Well, the seedlings grew SLOWLY for about 3 weeks and then totally quit growing.....I knew I had problems and began to feverishly search the internet for answers. I learned that the soil that I was using was poor for marijuana (if you get to see the BEFORE photo, you can see the mulch-looking soil I was using). I also learned the 48 inch flourescent tube shop lights I was wasn’t going to work. And, I read about pHing the wather. I will include a BEFORE and AFTER photo of these seedlings. The BEFORE photo was taken at age 6 weeks......They were tiny, for sure. At that stage is when I implemented the changes in soil mixture/proper lighting/proper pH for the water. This was 10 days ago and the AFTER photo shows that they again are growing well, even though they are no where as big as they should be for almost 8 weeks old! I have searched feverishly for answers to certain question without success......Hopefully, you can tell me: Did this stunted growth I put them through actually cause them to be DWARFED? Also, the life cycle for this strain is 8 – 14 weeks: How do I know what stage (age) to consider them? They only look a week or two old to my untrained eye, so, what should I do now? I am going to order new seeds in a few weeks, and another few weeks for the seeds to arrive in the mail. I will know more about their situation by then, but, how will I know when to put them through 12/12 light? They are getting 24/0 light right now. Your help is much appreciated.

This is the BEFORE pic.......Image:

This is the AFTER pic......Image:

Strain - Indica KC Brains Afghani feminized & regular
# of Plants - 8
Grow Type - Soil
Grow Stage - Vegetative
Bucket Size - 8 inch
Lights - (4) 42 Watt CFL Twist / (4) 23 Watt CFL Twist
Nutrients – FoxFarm Grow Big
Medium – 3 parts FF Ocean Forest / 2 parts FF HappyFrog / 30% Perlite
PPM - unknown
PH - 6.0
RH - unknown
Room Temperature - 78 to 84
Solution Temperature - 65 to 69
Room Square Footage - 3' x 10'
Pests – small gnats

Any ideas?

 

[Jimmycricket]

Thats a lot of lights for one tiny sprout.

I was using a single 23 watt bulb to grow up to 7 much bigger plants for quite awhile.

Also those little white cups, thats what a 1 week old plant looks like, so yours is certainly farther along

these are what to expect at about 4 maybe 5 weeks, 3 possibly if great seeds and grown perfect.

 

[OG1969]

Been there and done that I think IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, get some new soil, good soil FFOF or Roots Organic and replant the plant in the new soil and do not water for a couple days chances are they are overwatered as mine were, once replanted and let dry and then kept the watering at a minimum, checking with a moisture meter, I have some nice growth out of them all except the one I did not replant it is budding but very slow growth. The overwatering and soggy soil invites mold and unneeded bacteria and pests but can also rot the roots soe a transplant and a good flush, no nutes, an epsom salt or h202 flush will help. Best of luck peace OG

 

[OG1969]

I usually start my new sedlings under a 400w metal halide, when they emerge in mother nature she does not dial down the wattage on the sun??? This has worked for me so far clones are under CFL. OG

 

[NewGrowerUSA]

Awesome looking plants! Ya, mine are 7 1/2 weeks old but are only at the 3-4 week stage due to the poor soil/lighting/un- pH'd water I started with.....They are doing MUCH better and I do believe that by April 1 when I order new seeds, they will be coming along just fine....thanks

 

[NewGrowerUSA]

Ya, I already did the new soil/new light situation......I have 8 plants so I hope I'm not giving them TOO much light! Time will tell....thanks

 

[NewGrowerUSA]

Ya, I wanted to put them under the 400w metal halide but didn't have the money at the time....Second grow I will use them.....using 42w CFL twist bulbs and 23w CFL twist bulbs right not.....When I put them in new soil, gave them this new light, and pH'd their water, they started growing.....There definitely is a growing cure to this, but, I am much more educated on it than I was 7 1/2 weeks ago!

 

[OG1969]

You can't give them too much light unless it producces to much heat that you can not evacuate from the room, The more light the better the plant will grow and will have a tighter internode structure and you get better penetration throughout the plant, Peace OG

 

[Jimmycricket]

Oh i know its pretty much the more light the merrier, but I was just saying 8 bulbs on a plant of that size is a waste for the time being lol.

 

[NewGrowerUSA]

Gottcha......There are 8 plants though....Hey thanks for the heads up.....

 

[NewGrowerUSA]

That's what I was thinking....I have 8 plants and each plant has it's own bulb....didn't think that was too much....Hey, thanks for the heads up!