Small Buds?

[Gangela]

Hi all, Forgive the angst ridden post, I'm sure lots of first time growers have similar worries. I'm approximately 6 weeks into flowering a Skunk #1 variety. I'm seeing lots of nice crystals coating the tiny buds and sugar leaves but I really think she should have more sizeable buds at this point. I admit I'm not feeding her much though I am watering her regularly. She doesn't seem to respond well to nutes, or perhaps I was doing it wrong, though I followed the guidelines thoroughly, her leaves turned brown at the edges, this was helped by returning to just watering her. If any experienced growers could advise me as to whether this bud size is normal at this stage I would be grateful. Also any tips for a natural food I can give her that may help. Cheers folks

 

[Gangela]

Posting links to bigger pics..

 

[Gangela]

 

[Serpent]

Hello Gangela your skunk #1 looks good nice and healthey :good job: keep up the good work as for your small buds what type of light are you using the more light the bigger the buds. you said the plant is 6 week in flowering ??

 

[Gangela]

Thanks for your reply Serpent, I'm uing a Lumii 125w cfl bulb, I also have a red and blue LED bulb on the lower part of the plant thats just 20w. I'm guessing my gal need more light, though it looks brighter than the sun in her little cupboard! I'm a bit strapped for cash so Can't afford super light set ups and hoped I'd be able to wing it on what I have. Any advice on a cheapo way forward would be ace

 

[Serpent]

ya not to worry i have seen good grows with CFL if you can find 6 to 8 CFL as big as you can i use 8 45w CFL i think there 150w each or something i veg two to three plants under that then when flowering comes a use a 1000w HPS but i have done a full grow from veg to flower with CFL i had two plants and got a little 5 ounces in my eyes thats dammam good for CFLs and two plants :jaw dropper:

You can buy Y fittings so you can hook up two CFLs to one out let and so one i use a 600w heat light from a snake tank with y adapters i hook up 8 CFL to that fitting. Theres all shorts of tricks to growing cannabis if theres a will theres a way lol check the pic of my CFL i use to veg and you can see what I'm talking about

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Could be cfl light distance to plant canopy causing a problem ?

Need these a few to several cm away at best, as cfl suffer badly with diminishing light return over distance (square law of light etc)

It is either 6400k or 6500k kelvin cfl bulbs for veg growth & 2700k for flowering as light spectrum plays a big part during growth stages !


You would be pleasantly surprised to what you can achieve with cfl tho & know many do use them with fine result, perhaps do some research on the forums & take a look around or get past some minor issues as it may take a grow or 2 to dial skills in a little

 

[Gangela]

That'd make sense Fuzzy Duck! It could well be that I've kept her a bit too far from the light. In all honesty when I bought the bulb online I really wasn't expecting it to be so big!!, as I'm only growing the one plant I thought that should be alright and got a bit worried about it being too close so have maintained about a 6 inch space between the tallest bit of plant and the bottom of the bulb. I'll be brave tomorrow and raise her up a bit higher and see how she likes it. Many thanks for your tips, am really very excited to get to the end of this little growing adventure!

 

[Young Yoda]

Things look good here but, as people have said, cfls need to be close.. Real close! 1-2in. As for the bud size, it's absolutely about light!
I would highly recommend using lots of smaller bulbs, say 23w. Each and every bulb you crowd up near budsites will improve bud size and density!
Also, airflow can help improve bud size!
Also, defoliation can be a very useful technique. Use early to mid flower on fan leaves that are blocking budsites from light


If you are committed to cfls then do that and get as many bulbs in there as possible. If not, check out leds!
These guys lowest end light is around 65-70 i believe, and I know they make decent lights!
Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion