My Grow Set-up and Streching Concerns

Greetings Fellow Growers,

I am new to posting anything on this forum, but thought that I should give it a try to get some feedback on my new grow.

I am a moderate grower of the magical herb. I have a new grow set-up consisting of an area size of 3' x 6' feet inclosed in a homemade cabinet. Height is six feet also. The cabinet is painted white and the walls and floor are covered with mylar for optimum reflection. I have two stealth CFL hanging fixtures which hold three(3) 105 w bulbs each, two (2) bulbs are 5100 K and four (4) bulbs are 6500 k, respectively. In addition, I have also introduced four (4) 26 w 6500 k CFL bulbs hanging independently, two on each end of the grow box. Temperatures are about 80 F consistently, a little lower at night.

My scenerio is that I have three (3)seedlings in each three(3) gallon bucket. I have eight (8) three gallon buckets, ten (10) are White Widows and ten (10) are Ice seedlings that I have going. I have a few bag seed in there as well. I have placed this many plants in each bucket because I plan on thinning it out once males are identified. That should give the roots more space once all males are removed. They are planted in Miracle Grow Organic, mixed with some perlite, vermiculite and and special magic mix which includes worm castings and other beneficial nutrients...

Here is my question, since I have transplanted the seedlings one week ago, (now two weeks old) when I transplanted them into the three gallon buckets, I now realize I did not get them into the soil deep enough. They were streched to begin with and they are now around five inches tall. If I place all lights around three inches or so from the plants, will the streching stop? Each plant has the two main leaves going and they look really green and healthy, but the strech has me a little concerned. Will the stalks thicken up over a period of time? I have the fan lightly blowing on then with the lights on 24/7 for now. No nutrients have been applied at this time...

In conclusion, I have been visiting this forum for sometime now and have learned new things and other things are also coming back to me from memory. Memories from the old day's living in Southern California and growing up there in the 70's. Times sure have changed from the 70's and I have some fine memories of smoking some very fine herb back then. I guess I am trying to meet some old timers to be able to chat and share my grow experience with. I feel comfortable in this forum and any personnal feedback on what I have going in regard to this particular grow will be highly appreciated...thank you!

Respectfully,
Lifesrun...:thumbsup:

Howdy Lifesrun welcome I find my stalks do thicken with a fan not much else I can say about soil grows at the moment, but sure one of the siol growers will stop in shortly and help you with some answers.

Good luck with your grow.

Hey Lifesrun! I have a cab almost exactly the same size as yours. :thumbsup:

The closer you can get the lights, the less the plants will stretch. But you have to be careful not to fry them. Get a fairly good sized fan blowing a gentle breeze between the lights and the fan and this will not only keep the temps down, but the breeze really helps to strengthen your stems.

BTW - I flower under 1,200 watts in that cab. You are going to have to re-think your lighting when it comes time to flower as you don't have anywhere near what you need for that.

PC :smokin:

Thank you Jack and PharmaCan...I appreciate the direct input.

Again, I should have planted them a little deeper at least just below the beginning round leaves. The long stem is thin and I am hoping that it will get thicker over time. I do not want to entertain digging them up to re-plant them deeper as that may cause more problems or even death. Also, I cannot add any additional soil. I have the lights closer now, just gave them their morning water, slowly despensing the water as to not disturb the soil too much. They look heathly and green. I do hope those stems thicken up to support new growth. New green leaves are forming and they appear that they will weigh down the stem unless it thickens up to hold them up. I will keep an eye on them for any improvement / thicker, stronger stems...

As far as my lighting is concerns, after the veggatation period, I intend to swap out the lights for CFL flowering bulbs which are 2700 k and 3500 k respectively. I grew some tremendous buds last grow from bag seed. This is my first grow with store bought seeds and I do not want to blow it and have them die on me....it's $120.00 bucks worth of seeds...

Also, just to have this grow gives me something to spend my time with, and it is a good side hobby to keep me occupied and in good smoke most of the year. I worried a little about using anything other than CFL's at this time due to heat related issues. The CFL's stay rather cool compared to other types of lighting sources.

Has anyone tried smoking White Widow or Ice...? I hope it is a good relaxing high...

Again guys, thank you for the input as it is really appreciated....makes me feel like I can turn to someone to get assistance when needed...

Very Best Regards,

Lifesrun

There's a balance that you want to have between pot size and plant size. About a gallon of soil per foot of plant height is ideal, and transplanting to a large pot too early will lead to a plant spending a lot of energy 'underground', plus not being able to reach the far corners of the pot and use the water there, so the soil sits wet and dank and stagnant. By 'seedling' I assume you are talking about a plant that has fewer than 6 total sets of leaves. Usually you don't want to put a plant that size in anything bigger than a quart for the reasons listed before, plus the use of light is not ideal- you will lose some light to the soil surface if the canopy is not continuous.
In the meantime, water only RIGHT around the plant and water lightly, until it grows larger and the roots have had a chance to spread, and add more drain holes even in the sides of the pots so that the soil won't stay wet and the roots will be able to breathe.
About the stretching, more light = less stretch. Also, more BLUE light such as that from a MH bulb or a 'cool white' style flourescent, or one of those fancy 'ott light' cfls, will make the stretch much much less.
To thicken the stems, a bit of a breeze will help you a lot. In fact, a slight breeze is another way to reduce stretch (not by much, but every bit helps!).
A hint, 24" T5, T8, or T12 shop light style single-tube flouro fixtures make wonderful side lighting in a small grow cabinet, placed vertically in the corners. The low temperature that tube flos run at is so cool that the plants can safely touch the lights without significant burning as long as they are properly watered.

Greetings Dear Friend Stinky,

Thank you Stinky for the information. All that you have offered is deeply appreciated and all the points that you have made are being considered. Stinky, the seedlings were very young when I transplanted them, I should have waited a little longer before I done that. You are correct in your judgment. Well, you learn from experience and from friends like you. I intend to grow these young ones until they are about 3 1/2 foot tall or so. My soil is allowed to dry out a little between waterings. Side holes are drilled in pots as you have recommended. Due to the lights being lowered a little, the streching has slowed down considerably. My fans seem to now have helped the situation. I will also look into the recommended side lighting...thanks again.

BTW, I am from Fall River, Mass. Small world...

Peace, Lifesrun

Don't worry about side lighting if you are satisfied with lack of stretch. It's not needed in most cases, but it's very nice in a 'micro-grow' in a small cabinet for instance.
It is indeed a small world. You'll find that MA is very well represented here at canncom.