Newbie CFL grow - Need some help

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PositiveGrape

New Member
Started a bagaseed seeding outdoors. Neighbors got nosey and now i'm running a CFL set up


2 x 26w 1750 lumins 2500K
2 x 19w 1200 lumins 2700k

(yes i know i need a higher kelvin for the veg cycle, but these are all i got. i'm getting 5500K this weekend. i know these are perfect for flowering.. not veg)

All lights within 1-3 inches from the plant itself.
The grow closet is around 75F all day and night
The humidity is moderately low, so i have a few wet towels in there for moister, but the plant itself doesn't feel dry what so ever.

The plant is whispy and tall cause i started it outdoors. It's on it's 5 node, so i topped it last night. With it being so whispy and tall with proper care do you think it will fill out?

I haven't tested the PH or used any nutrients. I'm getting these components this weekend.
Also the stem is starting to get purple vains towards the top. Is this genetic, or something i'm doing?

I've only been running cfl set up for 3 days on a 22/2 cycle to bushy it up.. Any ideas to help make it fuller, as i'm wanting to clone it as soon as possible to flower and test the sex.

I can't figure out how to post pics. When i do i'll post you some to help explain.

Thanks guys. I've grown indoors before, never with CFL, and never by myself. Always had a buddy. This is my first solo grow, so any help is much appreciated..
 
Re: Newbie CFL grow. NEED SOME HELP..

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Re: Newbie CFL grow. NEED SOME HELP..

OH ok.. so it's looking good then in your opinion?
nutrient wise is there anything you can recommend? i was just going to get the fox farms grow big for now. then switch to the flowing solution when it's time.
Also the purple stems, you think thats genitic, or a problem? it just started doing that since its' been under the CFL's.
 
Re: Newbie CFL grow. NEED SOME HELP..

It's a little leggy but it looks to be in good health. You can bury the stem to within an inch or so of the first node and it will turn into part of the root system, much like a tomato plant. I used FF for my first grow and had no issues with it at all, it is a decent nutrient system. Purple stems this early in vegetation isn't something I would worry about yet. See how it does once you start with the nutrients.
 
sweet.. now when i bury the stem, should i be careful to bend or break it.. like plant it in bigger pot with the stem straight up and down with medium an inch below the node? or can i just get a slightly larger pot and carefully bend it to fit?

Now with 90w worth of CFL's do you think this would be enough for me to use this as a clone start box as well. i want to clone this plant asap because i don't know if its a male or female. so my thoughts were to get it bushey maybe another 2 nodes and then use the bottom leaves to clone. would i be able to just throw the clones in to this box, and them start to grow? i'm alittle unsure on the CFL watts conversion, as i'm used to cheap HPS lightening system. I know min watts per plant on CFL's are 80w. Would that carry true for clones as well?
 
I would NOT bend or break the stem, just transplant it deeper in the next pot so at least an inch or so below the first node is exposed. 90 watts should be fine for one plant, but more is always better as long as your grow environment can deal with the added heat. Clones need less light and higher humidity than plants in vegetation. You can have clones next to vegging plants just take care to ensure that the clones have the micro climate they need to root, for instance, further away from the lights and protected from low humidity.
 
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you can see the red/purple veins coming thru
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this is the fresh top
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fresh top

now, when the top node starts to repair, i can FIM it just by squishing the top and not breaking it off, just squuishing it and that should give me 4 different colas right? This supercropping is a bit confusing at first. lol

Thanks again for all your help.. This forum makes life soooo much easier..
 
OK so i woke up this morning, and the top part of the stem was alot redder then yesterday. it's on the top part, Below the second to last node it's normal green colored. Also, the leaves look very light green with almost a yellow hue.. I think i need to repot. I'm going to get a 4 gallon today cause I want around 24 inches of growth. Right now i'm on a 20/4 schedule with no nutrients yet. There are no hydroponics store's close to me (within 35 min drive), Any recommendations for something at a lowes or home depot? Where i topped it 2 days ago i expected more growth then what i have. Any thoughts on why it's growing so slow?
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super purple/red stem
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this is the only new growth from a top in 2 days.

so theres my pics, can anyone help me or let me know if this is normal.
thanks again as always.
 
I've only topped twice and from my limited experience, the first topping is a shock to the plant and causes it to redirect resources to recover from the damage and this takes some time. Additional toppings are not as "shocking" to the plant and since the resources have already been redistributed after the first topping, it is able to recover much faster. For example, here are two photos of the toppings I did on the kids. The first photo is 5 days after the first topping, the second one is only 2 days after the second topping. You can see that the recovery from the second topping is on par with the first topping yet it took less than half the time.

DSCN24532.JPG


DSCN24623.JPG
 
ok those are great pictures by the way. so i wonder if i topped it far enough. i'm not seeing any growth on the sides, honstly there is more growth on the main stem it appears.. and any ideas on the red/purple main being that bright only 3 to 4 weeks into veg? thanks again for all the help
 
OK.. Soo i bought:
rainbow mix 5-5-2 dry and mixed it with the Fox Farms ocean forest in a 3 gallon. I transplanted her very carefully and buried the long stem up to about an inch below the first node. That was great advice Colorado, she looks a bit more normal now. I watered her real good until about 10% run off in her new pot. Hopefully with the new nutrients, we can get rid of the yellowing on the leaves and maybe the red stem, if its not genetics. Still no PH test kit, so i'm hoping the water i'm using is alright for the mean time.
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this is her in her new set up. new pot and light placement.
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this is the new cola/cola's forming. Can anyone help determine if this is looking correct or any comments....
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new growth on every node which makes me believe she is happy.


So i'm still running 24/0 until we get some really good growth going. As long as the nutrient deficiencies start to diminish, the next step will be cloning her ASAP to sex her. Any comments are welcome. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Thanks labexperiment i have started (today 6.29) with the 18/6 light. We are gonna let her sleep from 9-3 eastern. Hopefully with the sleepy time this will promote growth and and vegetation. Any have any comments on the top? still looks kinda funny to me.. so hopefully i did it correct.. I'll post some pics today with she wakes up.. thanks again green friends.. you guys rock..
 

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