yellow/lime blotches on leaves?

[chesteratkins]

Hi, Chester here. First time personal grow and I am about 5 weeks in with 4 plants.

I started noticing that some of the leaves have yellow/lime green blotches on and I'm concerned beause it appears to be getting worse, albeit very slowly.
Plants still seem to be growing, but I just wondered if this is something I should be particularly concerned with?

My soil pH is 6.5-6.8 and I recently installed a dehumidifier as the room was showing 90+% humidity, although I am waiting on delivery of a more accurate hygrometer as my current one is still showing around 80% despite the dehumidifier being off (it is set to switch off between 55-65%).

I have some BioBizz grow nutrients which I had crudely mixed with some water and I'm wondering if this yellowing is because I over-did it? Anyway, I have stopped ALL nutrients for now until I can contain the problem.

I am using a 200w Envirolite (blue spectrum) and I also wondered if I had it too close to the plants and the yellowing was a sign of burning? Some, not all, of the leaves do have a little dry curl at the tips. I've since raised the light to a good 24-36 inch away from the plants.

Temperature is good in my room and, without supplemental heating, sits at between 24-27o and, at night, never dropping below 20-21o.

Am I perhaps overwatering?

Anyway, please find attached 2 pictures of the problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, whilst I'm seeking advice...how long now before I should be able to determine sex? And how long should I let these plants (Northern Lights) grow, in the vegetative period before swtiching to 12/12? I am currently providing them with 20/4.

Really appreciate the advice.
Chester Atkins
Nashville

[emmpey]

your plant needs some more N (maybe some magnesium as well), after 5 weeks you should be feeding em regularly. do a half-strength feed and see how they go in a few days. if the leaves get darker but you still have some lighter patches between the veins then try some magensium as well (epsom salts).

NL is very tough with nutes so overfeeding has to be extreme to cause problems. I think you have probably been too cautious with the feeding.

apart from that they look healthy so i don't think you're overwatering. its a good idea to let them get dry out a bit every now and then - I wait for the bottom leaves to begin drooping a bit before every third watering.

pre-flowers usuall appear after the 5th node - but your gonna need some magnification to seem them initially.

I use evirolites and as long as the leaves are not touching the tube it'll be fine - the closer the better, i have mine 1-2cm away.

[L3G10N]

I agree with emmpey. Try what he said with your nutes. Its not a over feeding problem, if it was i think the leaf tips would be browning and crispy.

[chesteratkins]

emmpey, when you say "I wait...before every third watering", what do you mean "third watering"? You water them in between the drooping? Or you feed them every 3rd watering?

I thought I had over-watered them - I should only really be watering every 3-4 days right? Soil seems quite soggy if I do more than that. Also, should I be adding "nutes" for every watering?

Yes, someone told me that I could have the envirolite close to the plants but when I saw the yellowing, I wanted to rule the lights out as a cause. Thanks for clarifying this for me.

Where can I get epsom salts? A regular store? Do I apply the salts to the water?

I bought a x30 pen microscope. Is it worth me trying to take a photo of the 4th/5th/6th node and perhaps people on here could help me out? How many weeks, considering I am at week 5, will it take before I should be able to confidently determine sex?

And how many weeks away, roughly, would you say I am from changing to 12/12 photoperiod?

With that in mind, am I right in thinking that I should switch to a red-spectrum envirolite for flowering?

L3G10N - the leaf tips are curled a little, and seem quite dry, but are not browning right enough. I'll try halfing the nutrients and see if the yellowing clears.

So many questions!! Thanks everyone. REALLY appreciate it.
Regards
Chester

[emmpey]

emmpey, when you say "I wait...before every third watering", what do you mean "third watering"? You water them in between the drooping? Or you feed them every 3rd watering?

I thought I had over-watered them - I should only really be watering every 3-4 days right? Soil seems quite soggy if I do more than that. Also, should I be adding "nutes" for every watering?
i feed them every watering which is about every 3 days - when the pots are dry at the top 2" and it feels light. but on the third i leave it until i notice the bottom leaves droop - i don't think its important, i just like doing it :)


Yes, someone told me that I could have the envirolite close to the plants but when I saw the yellowing, I wanted to rule the lights out as a cause. Thanks for clarifying this for me.yeah, they're not very good at penetration but they are cool so you can get em real close.


Where can I get epsom salts? A regular store? Do I apply the salts to the water?pharmacy/drug store/chemist usually. 1 tsp per gallon, you should dissolve it in a little warm water then add it to the feed water. only do it if the light patches remain on the leaves after you've done a feed.


I bought a x30 pen microscope. Is it worth me trying to take a photo of the 4th/5th/6th node and perhaps people on here could help me out? How many weeks, considering I am at week 5, will it take before I should be able to confidently determine sex?you should be able to tell with x30 - look for the wispy white hairs and post a pic :)


And how many weeks away, roughly, would you say I am from changing to 12/12 photoperiod?dunno, usually you want to veg for 6-8 weeks - how many plants you got?


With that in mind, am I right in thinking that I should switch to a red-spectrum envirolite for flowering?yep :thumbsup:

[amydaynow69]

hello i don't think you have anything to worry about, your pic doesn't really show any problems it may be that your lights are too close to the plant? i would need more info to really help, however i am just moved to nashville and i am looking for new smoking friends as all mine are in ohio. would love to chat more with you.

[aznson01]

if u ask me ur plant looks fine and ur looking at everything and thinking about it too much, dont worry just let it grow

[chesteratkins]

Hi. Here is an update, on week 6-7 of my personal grow.

I wanted to ask which were the pre-flowers and where they appear? On the photo attached you'll notice I've marked 3 points; A, B & C. Which, if any, are the pre-flowers?

A question relating to this is...do I move to 12/12 BEFORE determining sex or after? I have decided to give them a couple more weeks in the veg stage anyway, but I don't want the males to take over so I'd take any advice on this.

Thanks again. This board is great for asking questions etc.

Hi to amy also and all subsequent posters! :jointsmile:

Hope to hear from you.
Best Regards
Chester Atkins
Nashville

[dutch.lover]

hey emmpey, you said Northern Lights needs a lot of nutes (something along those lines)? I have a NL plant and it is way smaller than all the rest of my plants, and it is lime green in color rather than being darker. Should I just up the N like crazy and see what happens?

[chesteratkins]

hey dutch.lover, I have NL too and I've noticed the lime greeny color. In a way it's reassuring to know that it might just be the variety as opposed to a deficiency of any kind.

I'm feeding 2ml bio-bizz grow organic nutrients per 2L water just now as I was worried I was over-doing it with the nutrients before, however my plants do seem to look reasonably healthy and continue to grow. As aznson01 said, I'm probably thinking about it too much and should just let them grow.

I'd still appreciate any advice on when to switch to 12/12 though. What am I looking for, in terms of pre-flower in the veg stage, to know, firstly, what sex they are and, secondly, that they are mature and ready for 12/12. Any indication from my picture, above, or is it too early to tell?

Thanks again y'all.

Regards
Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

They aren't going to show sex until approx 10-14 days AFTER you switch to 12/12.

[Weedhound]

Actually, let me correct that somewhat....they will pre-flower at a certain stage and some will show a few pistils in the preflower....I have never tossed a plant until after switching to 12/12 and making sure....perhaps others have a better way to tell pre-flowering males/females. I personally have made several assumptions on the sex of plants only to be found wrong later (not new). I don't wait for preflowering to turn them...just do it and cull the herd later..

[chesteratkins]

Hi Weedhound. Thanks for the advice.
I'm getting kind of contradictory advice with regard when to determine sex and when to move to 12/12.

Some have recommended waiting until pre-flowering has commenced before switching to 12/12, although I take your advice on sexing the plant in the 12/12 period to be absolutely sure, prior to "culling the herd" (can the leaves of early, culled, males be used to make hash?).

Reckon I'm going to wait a couple of weeks yet, although my plants are getting big now in a small space.

Coulpe of questions that have arisen from the responses I've received though:

1) I am at week 7 from seed and was expecting to have to keep in the veg stage for at least another couple of weeks. Can you pretty much move to 12/12 whenever you like? I assume that the younger the plant, the lower the yield and/or strength of the yield? Some of the pictures on here it seems that people are moving to 12/12 within a few weeks on really quite weak looking plants. Is this just impatience, or just a desire to keep the time-scale down?

2) I've got a 200W red spectrum envirolite for the 12/12 period. Would it do any harm keeping my 200w blue running as well? I don't want to run it if i don't have to but if it might improve things in any way, I'd consider keeping it in.

Thanks again. Sure appreciate the advice.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

Chester i'm afraid I cannot answer your question about lighting but I'm sure someone else will know and pop in with an answer. I bought the light setup I was told to buy and never looked back....or studied about it for that matter.

You've discovered the joy of this.....there are a million different approaches from all theyway around and some of them seem to actually contradict each other. What I ended up doing was attaching myself (almost literally) to someone experienced and doing things exactly the way they told me (i grow hydro) and voila....buds and things really did appear right and left (and they were good too).

I believe there are several reasons that make folks decide when to switch their plants over...I discovered as do we all that these suckers don't really take off until you are flowering....they can easily double or even triple in size during this period and go crazy; jamming up every inch of your space and lighting so turning them earlier keeps the size down. It does indeed affect the amount of your yield but not the potency....genetics does that part be it a little or a lot of yield. Also some people have continual systems where the timing of the process matters...

As far as when to turn I turn mine in hydro at six weeks...did not wait for preflowers although some do...on my first grow I waited 8 weeks for preflowers and they never really showed and i don't rely on the preflowers to sex the plants anyway. It is recommended by some to wait to avoid stress to the plant and possibly hermie....amongst other arguments....I found the waiting around to be a waste of time for me.

You really can turn your plants whenever you feel they are aready....have seen folks veg for only 2 weeks or so (after two week seedling stage) ...it's a personal preference. Once you have gotten through this grow and seen how much more these things will shoot up in flower (I couldn't believe it the first time) it will help you decide in future grows how long to wait. Space restrictions have a lot to do with it. Good luck and keep us updated!!

[dutch.lover]

Ok as for when to switch your plants to 12/12, I have heard (from jorge cervantes book) that it is best to wait for your plant to pre-flower before you force it to flower, because preflowers mean your plant is mature. if you want your plant to preflower faster, you can change the lights to 18/6. As for your picture, I couldn't really see preflowers, although it was hard to tell. If you think you see preflowers, and wait for a while it will soon become obvious as to what sex it is. Little white hairs= females, balls on sticks=males.

[chesteratkins]

Hello again. Really appreciate the advice offered.

I didn't want to attach myself to one way of thinking/working just in case it was the wrong way! :jointsmile:

I am really enjoying the whole experience though, as you say Weedhound. Not particularly because of any possible yield at the end, which I am, of course, excited about, but the whole process of growing a plant indoors...it's fascinating!

Yes, in terms of space I think I am close to having to make a decision about moving to 12/12, particularly if they double/treble in size as you suggest Weedhound! That would be a problem in my room.

Please find a couple of photos attached - firstly, a photo of plant 3 at almost 8 weeks....female? Then a photo of my room size at present - do you think I am going to run into problems when flowering begins?

Thanks again folks.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[dutch.lover]

female! i didn't see any balls which is a great sign. lol. From what I can tell of your room size, you appear to have lots of room. My pots are all pretty much touching each other, and it looks like you have way more room than that so I would say you are in good shape. Also, LSTing your plants is a good way to keep the size down, I don't know if you have read about it yet but it is definitely worth trying, at least as an experiment. LSTing can also make your plants more spread out, if that is what you want as well. It is beneficial cause more buds get more light that way. More light= bigger buds:D My biggest plant right now (Check out the thread entitled "All Stage Grow Log W/Lots of Pics"), was topped, and then bent over right afterwards. What has resulted is a huge (but manageable) 4-main cola plant, with many many other bud sites, all getting lots of light because of how we trained the 4 main tops to grow outwards. I'm really proud of it. Check out the pics.

[emmpey]

hey emmpey, you said Northern Lights needs a lot of nutes (something along those lines)?nah, I meant that they can take a lot of nutes, i.e. they are good for newbies because you can abuse them a bit - like I did on my first grow :) and yeah its a female in that pic. I still think it looks 'limey' though :D

[chesteratkins]

Is "limey" bad? Anything I can do about it?
They are in a bright room, and they look really healthy to me, apart from a few yellowing/browning leaves at the very bottom, which I believe is natural.

They still have traces of the "yellow blotches" (see pics in the first post in this thread), but it hasn't developed any further really.

Anyway, if you've any advice on the lime effect, I'd be interested in what it is and what I can do about it.

Cheers
Chester Atkins
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Ok, first picture is a closer shot of plant 3 which you mention is a female and it does have those white, hairy, pistils and no "balls"! :D

Second pic is plant 4...female too? :rasta: :rasta: :rasta:
Heh-heh!

Chester

[emmpey]

don't get me wrong chester, your plants look very healthy. maybe it's just the lighting :)

[Weedhound]

Yeah Chester, don't get him wrong when he says your plants look nice :). The one female certainly looks happy and really they all seem to be growing away nicely....as long as your numbers are good and they grow happily it may not be a problem. You also might post a pic of them in a new thread in the hydro section and see if any new fish bite.

Take my word for it ......they WILL grow. What are the dimensions of your grow space? And just out of curiosity...about the lime green....what kind of soil are you using? And does any of the new growth seem darker to you since increasing nutes?

[chesteratkins]

Hi Weedhound & Emmpey.

The new growth is limey looking, I agree, but the larger leaves are a much darker green. They're not drooping, nor do they appear to have any problems so far so, as previously advised in this post, I'm not going to think about it too much and am just going to let them grow.

I'm growing in soil (BioMix) and I'm using the BioBizz organic nutrients. The new growth hasn't changed color since the nutes, so maybe I'm under-feeding? I don't want to burn them really, but if it's not going to harm them then I guess I could increase it a little. At the moment I'm not being very scientific about it, but it's approximately 2ml nutes per litre of water.

Growspace is 1.8m x 1m x 3m (height), lined with Mylar diamond sheeting. 1 x 200W Envirlolite (blue) for veg, 200W Envirolite (red) for flower (when I move to flower anyway!).

My new problem has been in keeping the temperature up. Dropped to 62oC for a while and, because of my room dimensions, I don't want to put a heater in for fear of fire. I could box a heater in, but this would reduce the room dimensions which are already quite small. I might have no choice though as it begins to get colder.

Thanks again for the advice offered. I shall update with some new photographs soon...almost week 9 now!

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Merry Christmas, one and all! :jointsmile:

Quick update on things. Here are a couple of images at week 9.
Switched to 12/12 today, as a little Christmas present to myself, and am going to feed with Bio Bizz Bloom from now on. I have also switched to the red spectrum Envirolite.

I am unsure about the sex of two of the plants, which haven't shown like the others (which appear to be female - see previous posts). My understanding is that males usually show pre-flowers before the females (Georges' book) so I'm hoping that, because two look very female, that the other two are just late females.

Anyway, to be sure, I'm going to wait until a week or so into 12/12 to fully determine sex, so I may be posting some images again soon. The two I'm unsure of don't have the fuzzy pistils, but they don't have "balls" either. Time will tell, I'm sure.

I had previously asked if I could/should use my blue spectrum light along with the red spectrum, during the 12/12 stage...any advice on that yet? I am currently using just the red spectrum but if it would increase yield/strength, then I would consider perhaps just hanging it slightly higher than the red.

Thanks again. Happy holidays to y'all.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[kindprincess]

dual specs would help you to cut down on flower stretching, the period when the plant doubles or tripples it's size... as for an increase in yeild, more lumens=more buds... as for potency, it's been stated above; that's in the genes babe, but northern lights is sure to please you;)

at week nine of veg, your plants are deffinitely sexually mature and ready for flowering (12-12) all of your plants should show preflowers now... but waiting for confirmation is all the ticket, no doubts, just buds...

and btw, your plants look very healthy and lush; i don't think they have any defficiency at all, it's just the plant's natural colour...

hope this helps, and i'll be back:)

love, kp:p

[chesteratkins]

Hi Princess.

Yes, I chose NL because they were reasonably cheap (€15). I'm looking forward to trying it but I've got a good few weeks to go so patience is a must!

That's interesting to know about the lumens. I may well try that then because I don't want them to become too tall! With my inexperience, I can't decide on the sex of two of the plants so I've moved to 12/12 and hope that this will become more obvious.
I'm checking every day (mainly because I'm like a kid at Christmas about it!) so I'll take some images, if I'm still stuck, and maybe you can help me identify them?

I am very pleased with how they're looking. The lime concerned me, but they weren't getting any worse so I thought it best to leave them.

Quick question...as they get bigger, will the fact that they are beginning to overlap matter too much? Some have suggested "LST" 'ing the plants, but I'm really not sure if that's possible, now they've reached the size that they have.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted! Nice to meet you.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Just been reading your post KP - "KP's Cannabis College: Cannabis Issues, Facts and Guide."

Very interesting stuff. I'm slightly concerned that my, potentially, male plants might pollinate the females as early as 12 hours into 12/12, although I assume this is quite rare? I think I'll need to take some pictures asap into the 12/12 stage and get some advice on the sex.

Really useful information though, thanks for the link.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

Chester your plants are monsters!! At this point who cares if they are fuschia because they obviously are happy, healthy beasts! And if you think they are impressive at that size just WAIT!!

[chesteratkins]

Yes, they are rather nice aren't they!

I was reading that some sativas can grow to 15 feet, which is a worry in my small space! I think I am going to hang the blue envirolite in with the red though, during flowering, to try and slow the vertical growth.

Anyway, that's me into day 3 of 12/12 now. When do you think the sex will show? I think there are 2 males, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyway, I will take some close up pics tonight and post an update later.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

I don't usually wait for pre-flowering before I turn them so it usually takes between 7-14 days for mine....the males start looking a little different at about day seven but sometimes the females will take up to the 13th or 14th day before I'm sure enough to toss the males. I do use the leaves for cooking or smoking...cooking gets better use out of them for me. I'm sure you can use them for hash-making as well although I don't know what the quality of the hash would be.

[chesteratkins]

Almost 1 week into 12/12 now and I have a photo update.
Can anyone confirm that this is a male (see photos)? I'm pretty sure that it is, but it's my first grow so I want to make sure.

Best to simply cull this plant? Is there anything worth smoking in this plant?

Thanks
Chester Atkins
Nashville

[emmpey]

hey chester,

sorry to say it is a male. if u haven't had a puff for a few weeks you could dry out the growing tips and roll 'em up (flush first or it will taste rough from the nutes). you will get a mild buzz if you smoke it 'neat'. there's about 3% thc in dried growing tips so i read somewehere. it goes something like:

(% as dried weight)
roots: no thc
stems: 1%
fan leaves: 1%
growing tips: 2-3%
immature flowers: 3-5%
mature flowers: 10-20%

[Weedhound]

male-o-rama

[chesteratkins]

So I should remove this from the room as soon as possible then?

I'm not particularly fussy about the mild tips, so I think I'll just admit defeat on this plant and nurture the others. Seems a shame to destroy something so beautiful though.

Thanks for the confirmation though. I really appreciate it, and I think it has confirmed to me that I can identify them myself really, but it's nice to get a 2nd opinion from more experienced growers. Cheers.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

If you don't want your females pollinated then yes, remove at as soon as possible and as far away from your grow room as possible also. If you really don't have the heart to destroy it perhaps your dear old aunt would like a nice houseplant.

[chesteratkins]

Hi. Ha! Yes, my aunt would appreciate being led away by law enforcement! :D

Please find a picture update of my grow (attached). Week 1 of 12/12, and week 10 overall (from seed).

I've attached pictures of what I'm sure is another male, which I would appreciate a second opinion on. I'm pretty sure it is though. I have removed it anyway, just to be safe.

You'll also find a picture of the remaining plants. Two are definitely female and one hasn't shown yet so my thoughts are, considering the females have already shown, that it will also be male, leaving me with two nice females which is probably about right for my space I guess. Also attached are some pictures of the female pre-flowers.

Anyway, I would appreciate confirmation that this is another male. Cheers.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

Yes Chester I'm afraid that is another male. :( Auntie is going to be having quite a collection over at her place. Your last one--that hasn't shown yet---I would guess is going to be a female as well.....usually the lagging ones are since the males tend to show first so there is one little ray of hope anyway. The photo at the bottom shows several nice happy healthy plants that will come bursting out of that grow room (is that wrapping paper on the sides?) very soon now.

[emmpey]

i know you may have raised the light for the photo - if not then you should lower it some. :)

[chesteratkins]

Just found out my aunt breed's top quality seed, so she is chuffed to bits with the two Northern Lights lads! lol. :rastasmoke: (not) :)

Yes, looked again tonight and the third is looking female - so I'm now taking care of 3 nice females (best not tell "the wife"!).

The wall is mylar which has a kind of diamond pattern on it. Apparently it reflects x% more light than standard mylar, so I went for that.

At the moment I have them in 15 litre pots which are about 80% full (soil mix). Should I re-pot into something larger or is it probably too late now? I don't want to unduly stress the plants, but I also don't want to experience problems later on in the flowering stage. The two males that I've got rid of did have a good, healthy looking, root system but I'm concerned that, as they flower, the roots will grow as rapidly as the veg/flower and that the pots might not be big enough. The roots on the males were already through the soil at the bottom and sides of the pot, although there was still a lot of soil showing. Anyway, I'd appreciate some advice on that.

My thinking now is that perhaps I've let them grow too big before moving to 12/12? I think I might try tying them in future as well, although I need to get used to how they will look when in flower and, therefore, which bits to tie. Is there any good instruction on that?

Hi again emmpey. Yes, I could probably still lower the light some, considering they are envirolites, but I have added the blue spectrum light back in now to try and keep the height down (as advised by KP, above) and I'm having a little problem keeping the temperature down. It was previously sitting nice at about 73o-75o with the single red light, but is now at 80o-85o with both lights running. Humidity is good, as I bought a good 12litre dehumidifier which I think has saved me from a lot of problems, but the temperature concerns me. Will 80-85 be ok?

Thanks again for the advice and information. Peace.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

Chester I'm afraid you will have to ask the soil questions of actual soil people...kp, stinky etc can steer you in the right direction there as I know nothing about growing in it. Our first hydro grow....I had tried to grow in soil previously and could not make it happen....we let the plants get to about 2 feet before we turned them. By the end they were about at the five foot level so now I turn them at about 15 inches but I top them several times during veg to help them stay short.

I tried lst for the first time in my last grow and was very happy with the results but found out that whether you grow them up or sideways you will need room....3 plants lst'd took up the same amount of room as my five plants growing straight up, only sideways....but gave me close to the same yield also. I just slapped mine down with some gardening ties willy-nilly and they did ok but I doubt that is a proper tutorial for you, lol. I'm sure there are some detailed instructions around on this forum somewhere. There are so many things I do to/with my plants simply because I was told to do them by people who know and half the time I don't know the hows or whys; just that when I do what I'm told it works.

As for you temps...80 should be ok but I don't know if 85 is starting to push the envelope somewhat...again the wise ones can help you better than I. Sounds to me like you've used me up information-wise Chester....I've never seen that pattern on mylar either....I feel old.....Good luck!

[emmpey]

Will 80-85 be ok?
hi chester, depends where u measure from, i would be happy with that though. take the temp at soil level, the plant will be ok with higher temps near the light. I have mine as close as poss without touching.

the 15L pots will be ok, you should flush them when going into 12/12 and before changing to the higher P bloom ferts.

I'm doing a grow with 200w CFL at the mo. I lst'd a few plants and they are now on day 39 flower - there's a grow log wiv lots of pics from when they were little. http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=88633 (http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=88633)

[chesteratkins]

Cheers emmpey, that's reassuring.

I was previously measuring temperature on the floor, then moved it level with the canopy. I will move it to soil level and see if it drops some; it is a small area though and I did notice a difference when I added the blue light in with the red. Both my lights are 200w so I've got 400w, in a small area, which I'm sure is responsible for the increase. Anyway, I just wanted to check that growth would be ok at 80-85. Thanks.

I'm glad the pots will be ok. I didn't want to transplant now really as it would have been messy. If I ever do this again, I think I would use maybe 20-25 litre pots with an inch or so of some medium/light gravel in the bottom, to help with drainage.

I've already started the 12/12 and bloom ferts and didn't do a flush prior to switching - no harm done I don't think.

Will post some updated photos when this week has passed. I'm noticing a slight change in the plants but not quite as scary as I was expecting following some words of warning (above)...I'm assuming it will just happen, soon enough!

Thanks again for the advice. Nice grow log as well, by the way.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Week 2 of 12/12 and week 12 overall. Thought I'd post a photo update.

Still not been overwhelmed by "growth" yet, but they are bushing up at the top, and the top of each of the main branches. Still looking nice though.

Chester Atkins
Nashville

[Weedhound]

Two weeeks in Chester? Patience young whippersnapper!

[emmpey]

get that other light horizontal and lower them too - now that you're in flower you really need to get as much light as possible onto those buds. any buds more than 10" from the light will not yield very much.

[chesteratkins]

Cheers for the advice again emmpey. I do have another hood, so I'm going to use it although it's not suited for the envirolite bulb which hangs rather awkwardly in it. Anyway, I'm sure I'd probably get more out of the light if it were horizontal so I'll put that back in (it's what I used for the veg stage anyway).

I think the photo's a little misleading with regard the height from the plants...at most it's 6-12" away. I take the point though; the closer the better.

Noticed a difference in the growth today so I think it's picking up now but yes, Weedhound, I must learn to be patient! lol! Like a kid in a candy store.

Chester
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Just a word of warning about "hanging" envirolites. On emmpey's advice, I decided to take my light, which was previously hanging vertically (see above photos), and put it back into a hood, to hang horizontally.

Anyway, I discovered that the plastic base of the light was ROASTING hot (couldn't hold it in my hand) and I'm glad I caught it when I did! It appears that, due to the way the light hangs, all of the heat rises upwards (yes, I know, envirolites aren't meant to be hot - but they are, take my word for it!).

This heat passes directly over the plastic base and it appears that this could be quite a fire hazard. To test it, I decided to touch the other light base (red spectrum) which is hanging horizontally in a hood. Yup, it was as cool as a cucumber.

So...I would strongly advise you NOT to hang envirolite bulbs vertically. ANY bulbs for that matter. Even if you've got ventilation etc, it won't matter because the heat rises upwards over the plastic base, thus heating it up.

Sincere thanks emmpey - you may well have, inadvertently, prevented a fire there! Much appreciated.

Chester
Nashville

[emmpey]

good call chester - I have seen them hung vertically as supplemental lighting but with the 'ballast' (I don't know what you call the starter gear on a CFL) at the bottom.

I think it's a bit of envirolite hype regarding temps, although the bulbs do stay MUCH cooler than HPS, the overall heat output is not much lower.

here's an article by ed rosenthal about evirolites, see what he says about heat output.
http://cannabisculture.com/articles/3119.html

:)

[chesteratkins]

Hi again.

Photo update for you all. Week 3 of 12/12 now, and week 13 overall (from seed).

Really starting to flower nicely. Not very dense so far, but it's early days.

You'll see the problem I have with my old reflector and the envirolite. Hangs really unusually, and looks like it's going to break, but it's sound and is much cooler than hanging the light as I had been doing previously (thanks again emmpey).

Would appreciate your thoughts on progress so far.

One thing I've noticed...since I removed the males, there is hardly any odour. Not that I'm complaining, but at the same time I really like my greenery to "honk". Is odour particularly important at this stage, in terms of strength?

Thanks again for any advice offered. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Chester
Nashville

[kdspecial]

I think the oder doesn't exactly tell the potientcy of a plant. I believe it does however tell the strain. My plant are almost 5 weeks in flowering in My CFL cab. And there is very little oder If anything they smell kinda Rank. They smell like a barn, Or like the organic materials I feed them.

I only have 2 plants though... Yours are looking really nice tho duder..

kd

[Bodom Children Of]

Sweet grow. Never seen the big envirolights in action before. Can't wait to see the final results! Good luck.:smokin:

[emmpey]

looking good there chester - i find they start honking more when the trichs appear :) give it another week or so and you should start noticing the good stuff on the bud leaves.

[chesteratkins]

Hello again.

Photo update for you all, as promised. All seems to be going well.
Week 4 of 12/12 and week 14 overall.

They are taking a lot more water/nutes now, and are starting to plump up at the top mainly, although the flowers at the bottom have started well, despite being further away from the lights.

I've noticed some yellow speckles on one of the plants, so I am going to flush with water only, next watering. I'm not majorly concerned about it, being 4 weeks into flowering, but I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Space is becoming a major concern really. Every time I'm in there and am moving things around (turning plants, watering etc), I feel like it's all very heavy handed. Leaves intertwine and are in danger of snapping branches, so I'm having to go very carefully. Clearly the more space the better. Some of the pictures on here though it looks as though people are squeezing way more than 3 plants in, in much smaller spaces, so maybe I have a lot to learn in terms of pruning, LST'ing etc, in order to get the maximum yield from the minimum space.

Anyway, enjoy the photo's. Comments, advice and suggestions all greatly welcomed. Thanks.

Chester
Nashville

[MisterE]

They're looking nice :)

Dont feel bad, I physically can't get to the whole backside of my plants at all. I wont see back there until harvest.. So you're doing well!

[chesteratkins]

Thanks MisterE.

So it's ok to just leave them growing; that's good to know because I was getting worried about damaging them any more than I have done already. In an ideal situation it would be better to turn them though, yes?

Because they are potted seperately, I lift them right out of the room when watering, although I do have a tray set up underneath the pots to catch any run off. I've pretty much been flushing them every watering (in the bath!) just to eliminate any potential problems. Seems to be working.

Anyway...can't stop looking at them every day now...sniffing the flowers, staring at trichs. The whole experience, so far, has been fascinating, good fun and, with any luck, will have a really nice ending! :rastasmoke:

Cheers for the reply. Feel free to post a pic of your grow.

Regards
Chester
Nashville

[MisterE]

Oh, yeah if I could rotate my plants I'd do it every day. Mine will be very uneven at harvest with some parts ripe and some not so much. I might try to stagger the harvest if it seems possible at the time. I'm not too picky though so we'll see.

[Weedhound]

I'm sorry Chester, what was that you were saying about space concerns?:D They look terrific btw!

[emmpey]

hey chester, the trichs look nice for 4 weeks :)

[chesteratkins]

Hi. MisterE...can you explain about staggering the harvest? Won't it all "ripen" at the same time? I'm not too picky either to be honest, but if there was a way to take off the large top flowers (without killing the plant) and keep flowering the smaller buds below, which would get more light with the larger buds removed, then I'd consider it.

Yes Weedhound, only three plants but the room is full! Lol! You were right about the growth although, maybe because I'm in there every other second "checking" stuff, I haven't noticed any dramatic growth, day-to-day. A "watched pot never boils" I guess! Woah, I made a joke! :stoned:
It's actually interesting looking back through my post here, at earlier photographs, to really appreciate how much they've come on but yes, they are monsters now really!

Emmpey, do you know how long I should flower Northern Lights for? Reading posts here it seems 8-10 weeks flowering is about right, in terms of optimum strength, although I'm quite happy to have a little more quantity rather than strength. Really nice crystally looking at the top though, all three plants.

I read that I should check the trichs to see if they are going cloudy. If 50%+ are cloudy, that would be the optimum harvest time, yes? Does it really matter though? Like, after 9 weeks flowering, I could just decide to pull the plug on them and still have some pretty good grass?

Thanks again for all the advice. Slight yellow spotting appearing on one plant tonight so will probably post a panic pic tomorrow. I had thought it was only a couple of leaves but on closer inspection it apperas to be affecting the whole plant. Update to follow...

Thanks again.
Chester
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

As promised, my panic pics about these cream/yellow flecks which have started appearing on one of the plants. I've noticed it has gotten worse the last couple of days. Anyone know what this is?

It's not on any of the other plants, and they have all been getting the same treatment.

Also enclosed a couple of updated pics of the room.

Would appreciate some advice on what that problem might be. Thanks again.

Chester
Nashville

[emmpey]

hey chester. dunno about those yellow specks, i aint had that one before - check under the leaves too for signs of insects. regarding flower times you should expect to go at least 2-4 weeks longer (yeah shocking). give it two weeks longer just to get ripe (i.e. mostly cloudy) - then add a couple more weeks depending on how much amber you want - always watch the trichs though ;) more amber - more couchlock. I aim for 40%-50% amber but its a personal preference thing.

[chesteratkins]

Hi. Sorry, been away for a week or so, so haven't been keeping up with my photo updates.

Here are some pictures taken at week 6 (of 12/12), although I'm at week 7 now.

The yellow spotting was either nute burn or a deficiency of some kind. The closest picture I could find on the net:
http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/1134calcium-1.jpg

I'm sure I have a calcium deficiency with this one plant. It certainly isn't bugs of any kind, firstly because I can't see anything and secondly because neither of the other two plants have been affected.

Anyway, I think it's too late now to try and resolve this issue. I hope to be cropping them within 2-3 weeks tops! I'll post a pic of the sick plant next time.

Anyway, here are some pics of week 16 overall, week 6 of 12/12. Enjoy.

Chester
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Hi. Here is a series of photos showing how the yellow spotting has developed on one of my plants. Also attached is a room update, week 17 from seed, week 7 of 12/12.

Should I remove the seriously damaged leaves or just let it grow out now, considering I'm only going to be at it for another 2-3 weeks at the most?

If I should remove them, where should I cut them? Where the leaf branch meets the stem of the plant? I don't want to "hurt" the plant or invite mould/bacteria into a "wound" if I can help it. Would appreciate some advice on that.

I have some questions about harvesting too. Is it possible to part harvest? MisterE suggests that this is possible, but again I'm not sure where I should be cutting and what I should be cutting. There are lots of small buds around the base of my plants that could certainly do for being in direct light, closer to the bulds.

When it comes time to harvest is it best to just cut at the base and trim everything from there?

Also, with regard possible yield, when I look at them and envisage all the leaf removed, it doesn't look like a great deal of "bud". What should I expect from 3 Northern Lights plants?

Also, when to harvest. I've read about waiting for the trichs to turn cloudy/amber, but not having looked at trichs before, should I really be checking this every day? I've got a 30x magnifier, and the trichs look amazing but in different areas of the plant they look different. Advice would be greatly appreciated again.

Thanks for all the help...I'm hoping this turns out to be a nice crop that keeps me going for a good few months at least! Another 18-20 weeks would be useful anyway!

Chester
Nashville

[chesteratkins]

Was it something I said? :(

Chester
Nashville

:hippy:

[Weedhound]

Yes it was something you said.....what did you say? You will have more bud than you think when the time comes Chester. I dont really know what those spots are on your leaves though; are they spreading? If not I would probably try to limp through but if so.....well you may as well just cut them down then and send them to me. Once I have studied them I will let you know how much bud you would have had.

As for harvest, you can harvest the more mature buds and leave the others to grow if you want. Cut the branches fairly close to the main stem and make your cut as clean as possible. I usually leave about an inch of branch because when I try to cut at the stem itself I always end up stripping off some bark. Then I take a dab of Serenade and put it on the "wound" just once like a voodoo charm agains mold etc. If you harvest the whole thing then yes, I cut them at the base and break the larger branches down to workable. I try to keep the branches in a pattern that when I hang them upside down they have good airflow between the buds for quicker drying.

Lots of people are different when it comes to when their plants are done. I like my trichs mostly cloudy with a little amber....too much amber makes too much sleepy and not enough fun for me but to each his own. And yes; towards the end I check them every day. How can you not since they are so neat to look at?

That spotting.....it's not spider mites is it? I have not had that problem with my plants but I know a lot of others have. It is definitely not hard to find a better mind than me on these forums who will know.

[chesteratkins]

Hi Weedhound....thanks for replying! :rasta:

The pictures in my last photo post show how the spots progress on the leaf. First it's small spots, which spread across a leaf. They then seem to join to make the leaf yellow, and then the yellow starts to brown in the middle.
Lol! Yes, I'll send you the plant and you can "study" it for me.

I think I might part harvest the plant that has these problems. If it was spider mites wouldn't it be affecting all of the plants? This is only affecting one plant, and you can see how close together they all are.

The problem with the trichs is that they already look a little cloudy in places, in some places amber, in some places clear. Should I just go for it? You are right though, I can't resist a peek every day now! :stoned:

Anyway, I'm "out" at the moment so I may consider swiping the large bud on the damaged plant and see if it allows the other buds lower down to grow. Should I remove the yellow/brown leaves on this plant too?

Thanks again for replying. Appreciate the advice.

Chester
Nashville

[Weedhound]

I usually check the buds nearest the light....I try to go for mostly cloudy, like 70% cloudy and maybe 20% amber. Maybe 10% or less clear ones. I try to check the same bud or group of buds every day to note any changes. Generalizing is the best you can do in my opinion. You may want to try snipping a few branches here and there with different trichs on them to try to help you decide what you like best. Just remember which one is which after you have dried them---that's the part I forgot when I did it. It will also help you by letting you do a partial harvest and letting the smaller buds get some extra light while you "test" the others. :)

I am not liking the look of the spotting on those leaves though. My very first guess would be spider mites.....I have seen them on some of my outdoor fruit trees although never in my indoor plants. Might be a good idea to post a new thread in this forum with some photos of those leaves.....they are good photos so someone should be able to pin it down for you. Why they would only be on one plant though seems weird to me. Of course it could be something else altogether so it would be good to get other and wiser opinions. You said you have a 30x mag.....can you look at the back of the damaged leaves and see if you see anything?

I probably would remove any damaged leaves if you can but now I really am starting to be curious as to what that is. I will check back soon and see if you have been able to dig up any answers etc.

Talk to you soon. :D