Journel

[Innsurectionist]

Hey just starting a journel

My plants are about 4 weeks old now and they are doing pretty good cept i have a few problems.

First, two of my plants have started to have leaves go partially brown, what should i do?

Two what are possible techniques i could incorperate to create a higher yield, I.E. FIM tieing/training or topping. I have already topped three of them and they took to it fine.

other then that any other recommandations to improve yield.

[Powder Puff]

Nice tomato plant!:p

What strain is it??

[towel]

I think the only way to help your yield is by upgrading your lighting. Those plants look kinda stretched and small for 4 weeks.

From what I can see your plants are are under flourescent tubes now. Adding some CFLs of the right spectrum (cool white for vegatative; warm white for flowering) will probably help.

However IMHO the only way to really grow big plants is with HID lighting (MH for veg HPS for flower).

I think it was Zandor that said - "if you go cheap, you grow cheap"

[Innsurectionist]

i am using grow lux full spectrum cool lights

[mand]

Hello I :) Well love I think the first thing you have to do is to not worry about the yeild just yet and get some vegitive growth going ;)

Personally I would not have topped those plants yet, they are not ready for it, I always top ("pinch") when there is substancial growth.

I have read you're other threads on here and I do fully understand and appreciate that this is you're first grow so it is going to be a learning experience for you ;)

Now I don't know what lights you are using but as "Towel" says the best is MH for the vegitve growth and HPS for flowering ................... that's what I use.

Also I, don't be worried about asking questions on here about how to improve you're grow..................... there a friendly bunch ................ honest :)


I'll just add a pic of my last crop when they were 4 weeks old just to show you the difference between them and how the correct lighting can help ;)



love mand xxx :)



Oh and keep us updated on how they are going on ................ good luck ;)

[Innsurectionist]

ok so where can i get MH and HPS lighting
Can they be used with the fixture i have now or do i need to get one.

[mand]

Hello "I" :) well I'm affraid I know nothing at all about the lights that you are using :o , when I started growing I read that the MH and HPS were the ideal growing set up so I just went to a local grow light supplier and told them what I wanted and then just left it up to them to "kit me out" so to speak.

I do know that you can get them from any grow light shop and off the internet, just look under Hydrophonics or Growlights ;)
I believe that you would need all the right ballast/tranformer thingy as well.

As for the ones you are using I am sure that there are a lot of people on here who can tell you about them ;)


Like I said this is you're first grow so use it has a learning experience, because I can promise this "If I can grow crops of cannabis, anyone can" ;)


Just see what the others on here say about you're present set up.



love mand xxx :)

[bonsaiguy]

Hi Mand,
Nice little trees you got there. I can see why you hang out here.

I agree with you and Towel. Flourescents just don't have the proper lumen(think that's the right term) output to reproduce sunlight, which is what has to be done to grow indoors. GroLux is fine for houseplants and fishtanks but MJ doesn't fall in to that category. And for sure the fixtures will have to be upgraded to handle MH or HPS. I'm pretty sure they draw a lot more current than even high intensity flourescents. So make sure all of the wiring and circuits can handle the load as well. Don't know about weed but the german reef aquarium enthusiasts actually use fiber optic skylights to get direct sunlight to their little corals and such. A clever idea that requires no electricity but is very spendy.

[Innsurectionist]

roughly eight weeks into grow and because of mal-lighting they still have not grown much, but a new system that is coming in soon should boost up there growing. Even now I still have a few questions.

What is the best fertilizer to be using that is relativily cheap?

My new system http://cgi.ebay.com/400W-HPS-MH-CONVERSION-Bat-Wing-Grow-Light_W0QQitemZ7735201669QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem
is a 120 volt 400 watt HPS and MH switchable system, by instigating this system now would it cause unwanted stress to my plants, should i just flower now and start again or put in the lights and then vegitate more then flower, please help?

[elcheapo]

Looking alot better now. Add that light asap. Get a good strong fan blowing on them too. When you put the new light in you are probably looking at vegging for another few weeks then you can switch to flower. Add some reflective material like mylar. And after those stems strengthen a little you can tie them down to promote branching.

[BkSkillz]

get rid of the that red tarp asap thats obsorbing alot of light eitha go with dull white or anything relfective a cheap reflecter would be the dull side of tin foil(the shinny side will cause burn) bring what ever lights u have now within a inch of plants i dont think they'd respond badly to a mh light at all it looks like there really lumens deprived an stretched out from the bottom those stems could be thicker as well jus take it as a learning experience and im sure u'll do better

[Innsurectionist]

HEy everyone just adding to my post...

1st off its been at least 8 weeks I never really counted but after some serious light problems I decided to upgrade...

Currently i have a 400 watt hps ballast and fixture running on 120 volt system feeding into a mh conversion lightbulb with 36000 lumens, How much longer should i keep in vegitative till i switch to my HPS Bulb?

I have been fertilizing the plants with some basic fertalizer but i have the surplus to obtain much better products, What are the best products to use in both stages. *commercial products not some mail order

I have had problems with browning leaves as shown in pictures what should i do with this, also ive had some orange fungus build up on the top layer of soil that i scraped off, I just acted on these problems today using my method i use on my vegetables and herbs (like oregano sage and dill) which was: for the fungus I lightly sprinkled baking soda over the soil; for the brown spots i used palmolive and water in a spray bottle. Though these are quite rudimentary solutions i will see if they will work, but is there a better way?


...other then that its smooth sailing and high times here.

[Innsurectionist]

ps,

i have been on and off tieing and FIM/topping the plants as needed and they seem to be taking well, should i ever stop this or just keep on doing so?

I added a fan to keep air circulation and they seems to be fine it is a big womping mother fucker and if aimed at the plants it blows them over so it is aimed right above them blowing at the light
____________
|.LIGHT
|........\\
|...o......\\ AIRFLOW
|...|.........\\
|.plants.|......\\./
|......... |......../fan
|______|____/



also should i move the light closer or

[turtle420]

Hey dude,

The light, as close as possible. Check to see if you can hold your hand in front/below it without getting burned... if it works, it works for them.

-turtle420 :cool:
.

[buthead]

check soil ph and or ur WATERING PRACTICES. take another pot sam size and mix,weigh its dry weight.wen the pot ur growin in weighs that amont or close to it water.amont of water depends on plant size and pot size.if u know in ounces how much ur using,u can up the amont or lower by the ounce until plant looks its best.plants look best to wen u go the right direction,wen adjusting up or down.usally peeps need to adjust down.

[buthead]

also bakin soda can cuz ur ph to gohigh.

[Innsurectionist]

how do i lower/rise ph in the soil

[Powder Puff]

Before you go messing about with the PH, you should have a PH pen...!:)

[Innsurectionist]

How do you find the PH of the soil
how do you change it
where do i get the supplies

[Nochowderforyou]

How do you find the PH of the soil
how do you change it
where do i get the supplies

Answer to all of those is a Ph testing kit. You can buy one at any store that has a garden center.

Peace.

[Innsurectionist]

Hey just a quick update,

Its been about half a week since I have switched the plants to 12/12 and the HPS bulb.

Also today i transplanted the babies into new pots they look fine.

I now just have a few questions,

What is the best way to get the most harvest out of them,

When will they start showing sex?

When do they start budding?

I have not been using much fertilizer but they have not seem to take affect, the soil has time release fert. capsules would this account for the lack of side effects?

One plant is all over the place with new tops should i tie some down and let the smaller ones grow or just leave the thing?

[scobbie]

:stoned: what strain is it , as its your first grow just learn from what your doing mate and enjoy as your next will be a lot better, they will show sex at about 7/14 days they start flowering after that and get a nute high in k for flowering:stoned:

[Innsurectionist]

It is just a bunch of bag seed for the strain, what else is high in potassium that i can use, like bananas?

And what about my other questions?

[Innsurectionist]

First signs of sex were shown today...

Three females and one still unknown,
pretty good ratio if i do say so myself


If anyone has any tips tricks or advice for a higher yield please tell me i could use some help!

[Innsurectionist]

Hey just an update on my plants...

They are well into flowering and just doing fine.


Burned

A week or so ago a light fell on one of the plants for 5 minutes until i caught it. Needless to say the damage was still done to my baby. I had to prune the burnt section and it took well to that, good thing too because I am running out of space.

New Nutes

I am using a 18-24-16 nute now in my water every 7 days or so, They seem to be taken too it normally, well it seems that why since nothing catastrophic has happened.