OK, this is my very first hydro grow, based in a 30"x60" closet.. I'm very pleased with the results so far only 25 days into it but now I have a problem to solve.
I have two plants of unknown strain in a 3-1/2 gal bucket, a DWC bubbler. Since this is my first hydro grow, I decided to use the "free" seeds I've received with my seed orders to try it out to make sure I know what I'm doing before using the known (expensive) strain seeds. I'm using a switchable 400W MH that is only 14" above the top of the bucket. I'm able to do this because my cooling system for the closet is so good (exhaust through the light and using a glass lens), I can actually hold my hand up to the glass on the fixture indefinitely (without actually touching it). My temps run from a low of 60 degrees (lights off) to 84 degrees (after 12 hrs of lights on). The normal avg temp for the closet is running between 70-75 degrees. Solution temp is running from 67-72 degrees, I check & adjust pH daily and it varies from 5.7 - 6.1. Relative Humidity is normally around 40%. I'm using Technaflora nutes (recipe for success), currently veg formula with PPM fairly high at 1100-1400 PPM. I have changed the nutes once so far 25 days in and plan to change them today or tomorrow and move everything into a bigger (5 gal) bucket since the plant and roots are growing so vigorously. I have been amazed at how vigorously they are growing with so much light and just maintain the pH & PPM within a certain range.
One plant is much bigger than the other, and I think that they're the same strain but who knows since they were "free" seeds. The two seeds germinated at the same time but the smaller plant's tap root pushed it out of the rooting medium instead of burrowing into it. I tried to save it because it still had dark green cotelydon & leaves even though they were tiny. The result is that it's about a week behind the bigger plant. It has not shown any pre flowers yet but the bigger one has and it's a female. I just don't know the sex of the smaller one but hopefully will. Both plants have veg'd like crazy and are extremely dense & lucy given the very strong MH lighting.
My dilemma is this: The larger plant must be an auto flower because even at 8" tall now, it's starting to flower, 25 days after germination. The smaller one hasn't even shown sex yet. I want to change to fresh nute solution but with one flowering and one not there yet, I don't know 1) whether to switch to flowering nutes & 2) whether to switch from the MH to the HPS bulb.
In either case, the buckets will remain close to the lights so the lighting will remain intense. Currently running 18/6 on the lights, I plan to keep it that way since the big one is an auto flowering strain.
I'm looking for some guidance here from anyone with more experience than me.
Thanks for any help I can get in advance!
ps: apparently I can't post pics yet because I'm still too new to the forums here (been toking for 44 years now) but trust me, these plants are lush, dense, and gorgeous with no signs of any problems. I want to keep it that way and see what I can produce from these two "free" seeds.
I have two plants of unknown strain in a 3-1/2 gal bucket, a DWC bubbler. Since this is my first hydro grow, I decided to use the "free" seeds I've received with my seed orders to try it out to make sure I know what I'm doing before using the known (expensive) strain seeds. I'm using a switchable 400W MH that is only 14" above the top of the bucket. I'm able to do this because my cooling system for the closet is so good (exhaust through the light and using a glass lens), I can actually hold my hand up to the glass on the fixture indefinitely (without actually touching it). My temps run from a low of 60 degrees (lights off) to 84 degrees (after 12 hrs of lights on). The normal avg temp for the closet is running between 70-75 degrees. Solution temp is running from 67-72 degrees, I check & adjust pH daily and it varies from 5.7 - 6.1. Relative Humidity is normally around 40%. I'm using Technaflora nutes (recipe for success), currently veg formula with PPM fairly high at 1100-1400 PPM. I have changed the nutes once so far 25 days in and plan to change them today or tomorrow and move everything into a bigger (5 gal) bucket since the plant and roots are growing so vigorously. I have been amazed at how vigorously they are growing with so much light and just maintain the pH & PPM within a certain range.
One plant is much bigger than the other, and I think that they're the same strain but who knows since they were "free" seeds. The two seeds germinated at the same time but the smaller plant's tap root pushed it out of the rooting medium instead of burrowing into it. I tried to save it because it still had dark green cotelydon & leaves even though they were tiny. The result is that it's about a week behind the bigger plant. It has not shown any pre flowers yet but the bigger one has and it's a female. I just don't know the sex of the smaller one but hopefully will. Both plants have veg'd like crazy and are extremely dense & lucy given the very strong MH lighting.
My dilemma is this: The larger plant must be an auto flower because even at 8" tall now, it's starting to flower, 25 days after germination. The smaller one hasn't even shown sex yet. I want to change to fresh nute solution but with one flowering and one not there yet, I don't know 1) whether to switch to flowering nutes & 2) whether to switch from the MH to the HPS bulb.
In either case, the buckets will remain close to the lights so the lighting will remain intense. Currently running 18/6 on the lights, I plan to keep it that way since the big one is an auto flowering strain.
I'm looking for some guidance here from anyone with more experience than me.
Thanks for any help I can get in advance!
ps: apparently I can't post pics yet because I'm still too new to the forums here (been toking for 44 years now) but trust me, these plants are lush, dense, and gorgeous with no signs of any problems. I want to keep it that way and see what I can produce from these two "free" seeds.
