So it's about to be one exact week on Sunday that i planted these plants. In worried how tall and skinny they are growing can I add more soil so it can grow a little more stable? I lowered the light more after doing some research aswell. I've only been giving them water 2/3 times this week. I'm just curious what I should Properly do next this 2nd week I'll try uploading some pics for a better idea how the plants are looking and the setup
New grower here! Seedling stretch?
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GreenMachinee
Well-Known Member
lower the light even more. whatever bulb you are using is not giving them the amount of light they want so they stretch towards it. if its a cfl you can get its as close as a few inches from the plants. yes you can bury up one more node when you transplant but i wouldnt do it this early in the game. just use a toothpick or something to prop them up if need be. but lower your light a lot more. CFLs suck IMO so if you want it to grow like it should, the most important thing is a good light. Look into LEDs to save money on light and electricity or if you have some extra cash a CMH will pay for itself your first harvest. and it comes with a 2year warranty from sunsystems... so in that two years you can buy another one and keep the cycle going.
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GreenMachinee thank you for all the information! Will definitly look into LED lights!! I will add a toothpick just in case. When do you think I should transplant the plants? In looking into getting the Famers soil and adding perlite once I transfer them. Should I just keep giving them water this second week coming up?
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just plain water for now,, plants will survive just fine with no nutes what so ever.,, but for now, plain water only,,nutes the easiest way to mess this up.
i use cfl's and led's,, i near prefer the cfl's, my opinion still forming on that one,, get the light close,,
one can nearly get those lights half inch away, i do
two inches is too far,,, my saying,,
let dry inbetween waterings,, near bone dry,, but not wilted to death,,
could be up potted anytime,, carefully,,
cheers,, a ton o info on this site,, wise to use it,, cheers and best of growing,,
just to show you to not be afraid to get the cfl's close,, plants love you for it,,
i use cfl's and led's,, i near prefer the cfl's, my opinion still forming on that one,, get the light close,,
one can nearly get those lights half inch away, i do
two inches is too far,,, my saying,,
let dry inbetween waterings,, near bone dry,, but not wilted to death,,
could be up potted anytime,, carefully,,
cheers,, a ton o info on this site,, wise to use it,, cheers and best of growing,,
just to show you to not be afraid to get the cfl's close,, plants love you for it,,
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@nivek thank you! Highly appreciate man! You just answered most my questions and gave great examples! It's kinda stressful not knowing much I've been doing some research but a lot of people agree and disagree I will for sure go off your advice though! Your plants look beautiful! Quick question how many watts should the CFL be? and when do you think I should start giving it nutes ?
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- #7
I'm on my first grow, too (cfl & ffof soil) and just wanted to concur on the lights- get 'em as close as possible without burning, so say a 24 watt bulb can be much closer than a 125w bulb. Also, ffof soil is good stuff... I didn't add any perlite or vermiculite either in order to have a richer soil later so 1) easy on the watering at first because it won't t dry as fast as soil with perlite 2) ffof is rich stuff, you won't need nutes for 3-4 weeks probably. Happy growing!
GreenMachinee
Well-Known Member
Started these seeds june 21st. 4 different strains under a sunsystems LEC 315 Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH) LEC (light emitting ceramic)
a simple soil recipe, i use, lotto folks use,, one part of each of these,,
potting soil,, plain, not enriched with nutes
peat moss,,
vermiculite, to hold moisture
perlite,, to hold air
one part of each, mixed well,, provides moisture, oxygen, and a healthy growing environment,,
as the poet mentioned,, no nutes for at least the first two weeks ,, then very minuscule amounts to begin. over feeding is the number one problem with new grows and growers,, so easy to over nute,, and the results of overfeeding do not show for a few days,, so plenty of folks give more nutes in the mean time thinking there was not enuf in the first place,, so easy and so often it occurs,, so be aware,,
i use 23 watt cfl's,, plenty of em,, the larger ones, i am not sure about closeness,, but, use your hand to see how close is comfortable,, the back of your hand,,
cheers agin
potting soil,, plain, not enriched with nutes
peat moss,,
vermiculite, to hold moisture
perlite,, to hold air
one part of each, mixed well,, provides moisture, oxygen, and a healthy growing environment,,
as the poet mentioned,, no nutes for at least the first two weeks ,, then very minuscule amounts to begin. over feeding is the number one problem with new grows and growers,, so easy to over nute,, and the results of overfeeding do not show for a few days,, so plenty of folks give more nutes in the mean time thinking there was not enuf in the first place,, so easy and so often it occurs,, so be aware,,
i use 23 watt cfl's,, plenty of em,, the larger ones, i am not sure about closeness,, but, use your hand to see how close is comfortable,, the back of your hand,,
cheers agin
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- #11
Thank you to all you guys! I really appreciate it a lot . you guys are literally teaching me everything I need to know thank you guys again! so now it's about to be 3 weeks this upcoming Sunday. They for sure are looking better. There's a long way to go but I'm learning that patience is key to all this. I'm managing to give them some natural Sunlight for a couple hours then put them back under the light for the remainder of the 18/6 schedule. Here's an update how they're doing. Feel free to leave some feedback .
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Started these seeds june 21st. 4 different strains under a sunsystems LEC 315 Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH) LEC (light emitting ceramic)
Wow they look amazing! I hope mine come out like yours man great grow
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masonman
New Member
Just remember, during veg, you are building a root system that will carry the plant through flower, and cultivating her for the shape you wish her to take.
Let your container dry out between waterings. Dry like she is just barely starting to wilt. Get used to what the container feels like completely watered compared to dry. A good way to do this is fill a similar container with fresh soil and pick it up a few times. Memorize what it feels like with no water.
By letting her dry out, your forcing the roots to grow... searching for water. Not much will happen up top. She'll spend most her energy building roots.
When she's good and dry, you can pull her out of the pot and look at the roots to see if she is ready for transplant.
This one was in a .75 gallon pot (notice how dry the soil is). The torn roots you see was on purpose. They need to be scored with a knife vertically 4 times around the root ball before transplant.
It's perfectly safe to pull her out to look at roots, but you have a way to go yet. Don't do it now. When you need to water her every other day or so, that's a sign she is ready for transplant. Pull her out and take a peek.
Have fun bro... that's what this is all about.
Let your container dry out between waterings. Dry like she is just barely starting to wilt. Get used to what the container feels like completely watered compared to dry. A good way to do this is fill a similar container with fresh soil and pick it up a few times. Memorize what it feels like with no water.
By letting her dry out, your forcing the roots to grow... searching for water. Not much will happen up top. She'll spend most her energy building roots.
When she's good and dry, you can pull her out of the pot and look at the roots to see if she is ready for transplant.
This one was in a .75 gallon pot (notice how dry the soil is). The torn roots you see was on purpose. They need to be scored with a knife vertically 4 times around the root ball before transplant.
It's perfectly safe to pull her out to look at roots, but you have a way to go yet. Don't do it now. When you need to water her every other day or so, that's a sign she is ready for transplant. Pull her out and take a peek.
Have fun bro... that's what this is all about.
WillysMom
Well-Known Member
I hung this in my grow room when I planted my first seed!
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- #15
Just remember, during veg, you are building a root system that will carry the plant through flower, and cultivating her for the shape you wish her to take.
Let your container dry out between waterings. Dry like she is just barely starting to wilt. Get used to what the container feels like completely watered compared to dry. A good way to do this is fill a similar container with fresh soil and pick it up a few times. Memorize what it feels like with no water.
By letting her dry out, your forcing the roots to grow... searching for water. Not much will happen up top. She'll spend most her energy building roots.
When she's good and dry, you can pull her out of the pot and look at the roots to see if she is ready for transplant.
This one was in a .75 gallon pot (notice how dry the soil is). The torn roots you see was on purpose. They need to be scored with a knife vertically 4 times around the root ball before transplant.
It's perfectly safe to pull her out to look at roots, but you have a way to go yet. Don't do it now. When you need to water her every other day or so, that's a sign she is ready for transplant. Pull her out and take a peek.
Have fun bro... that's what this is all about.
I'm getting the hang of when to water and when not to I been doing like you've said just to check the weight which really helpS a lot man thank you! I have a couple questions When do you think I should transplant them? how long is the veg stage? And should I keep the lighting to 18/6 or should I move it to 12/6? They're on to their 4th week since this past Sunday. I been reading and researching but I can't seem to get a legit answer. Thank you for you advice and info I appreciate you man!
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masonman
New Member
You're quite a ways from transplant. Keep her at 18/6 for now. You wont need to transplant or switch light schedule for weeks.
Concentrate on your watering technique. All you're doing right now is building roots. Keep making her roots look for water. She wont look like she is doing much up top, but you'll be blessed with a rocket engine below the dirt.
I may have said this here already, but veg stage is solely to build roots and to cultivate her into the final shape you would like her to take when she flowers.
Seriously consider creating a grow journal. We will need to see everything your doing to be much help beyond answering simple questions here and there. Questions like how long should I veg requires detailed information. Creating a journal gives you the proper forum to do this. I usually update my journal every time I water/feed/prune/transplant... so on and so forth. The more experienced growers that follow me, and help when I need it, rarely ask me questions. They can see exactly what I have been doing and will warn me if I'm screwing up before I have a sad. It's also a great way to make friends. I look forward to coming home after work and catching up with all my peeps.
But... To answer your question about when to transplant. You'll notice as she grows that you have to water more frequently. When you're watering every 2-3 days she's telling you she is close, or ready. Like I said above. You can pull the plant out of the pot and look at the roots. This is the best way to see how much time you have or if she is in fact ready. But don't do this until you notice you're watering more frequently. If you tried to do it now, there are not enough roots to hold the soil together. More experienced growers can do it. They usually have a good reason to do it though. For you, just be patient.
If you do create a journal, make sure you come back here and tell us so we can follow along.
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- #17
When you say make the roots look for water, I've read that by giving them the water from the bottom instead of dropping the water on top like normally, the roots will spread more. Do you think that's true?
I've actually been trying to see how to make a journal but have no clue how to start it. But your right this site is such a great place man. I love the vibe and goal. I really appreciate everything! Thanks for the info will definitly keep it at 18/6 I got some pics from today but I'll just wait to post them on the journal lol
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me too bits just a bit, iffin ok,, re,, watering,, pot weight is my favorite way to know when to water,, as stated, each plant is it's own master, as a plant matures towards flowering it drinks more, and as the flowering is nearing finish, it drinks less,, with biggg pots it is hard to go by weight,, but, don't have to lift the pot, just nudge it, can tell a dry pot easy,, and dry it needs to be before watering in veg,, near wilting, as stated already
a plant can be put to flower at any time, whatsoever,, even straight from seed can be straight to flower,, the reason, or maybe, a reason for deciding when to put to flower is plant size,, maybe one wants little plants, no worries, grow small plants,, i use one gallon pots, and put my plants to flower based on a few things,,mostly my plants go to flower at about six to eight weeks from planting, so i veg them for six to eight weeks
an available space in my flower room is number one,, i have seven plant spaces in there and one must be empty to put a new plant in there
the size of the plant,, i have screens above my plants so the plants must fit under there
anyhow, point being the plant can be put to flower anytime you choose,, you are the boss of that plant
i know one might not want to put to flower early, just saying one can
this was put to flower near right from seed,, for a solo cup grow friendly competition here recently,,
a plant can be put to flower at any time, whatsoever,, even straight from seed can be straight to flower,, the reason, or maybe, a reason for deciding when to put to flower is plant size,, maybe one wants little plants, no worries, grow small plants,, i use one gallon pots, and put my plants to flower based on a few things,,mostly my plants go to flower at about six to eight weeks from planting, so i veg them for six to eight weeks
an available space in my flower room is number one,, i have seven plant spaces in there and one must be empty to put a new plant in there
the size of the plant,, i have screens above my plants so the plants must fit under there
anyhow, point being the plant can be put to flower anytime you choose,, you are the boss of that plant
i know one might not want to put to flower early, just saying one can
this was put to flower near right from seed,, for a solo cup grow friendly competition here recently,,
masonman
New Member
nivek looks like a valuable resource for ya....
As far as bottom feeding/watering, that's what I do. I didn't go into it earlier, because I thought I might be trying to give you too much information.
During veg, when the pot is dry, I fill a container that is bigger than the pot with water and dunk the pot in it. After about 5 minutes, water wicks up all the way to the surface of the soil. Eliminates the possibility of a dry spot in the soil when top watering and will not compact the soil. When the pot becomes to big to lift (I flower in 20 gallon) I pour 1/3 down the top and the rest in the saucer.
Notice how she is just starting to wilt. Perfect time to water. Do not let her go any longer than this though. Lifting the pot is usually the best way.
EDIT: now that I think of it, she was just transplanted before that pic, so some of the wilting is from stress, but not much.
When I lift the pot and it feels dry, I look at my schedule. If it's a weekend and I can keep an eye on her, I'll wait till she just starts to wilt. If I know I'll be at work or otherwise busy, I'll water right then.
masonman
New Member
Starting a journal is the same as how you started this thread.
Go here
[h=2]Journals in Progress[/h] Click post new thread.
Describe your grow. Include strain, soil or hydro, what kind of light (how far above the canopy)...
Include as much detail about your grow as you want. The more the better. In the title of the thread, include your name, strain, grow medium... really what ever you want.
Your journal will evolve over time.
Go here
[h=2]Journals in Progress[/h] Click post new thread.
Describe your grow. Include strain, soil or hydro, what kind of light (how far above the canopy)...
Include as much detail about your grow as you want. The more the better. In the title of the thread, include your name, strain, grow medium... really what ever you want.
Your journal will evolve over time.
