wuddya think

i recently accuired a few seeds from a buddy.not sure on strain just random shit but since this is my first grow im not picky.its just started sprouting two days ago and im already starting to worry.it seems to me thats its not growing a strong enough stem.its about 4 inches tall already and the stem is still very very thin although the sprout is opening up nicely.i have it in some basic homemade compost mildly damp and firmly packed.im running a 250 wat light at about 2 feet above it for 20/4 cycle.could someone tell if you think stem growth is a big factor or not this early on or should i just stop being so paranoid.also any tips on what i may or may not be doing wrong so far would help?i only have this one plant so far so im probably not going to go all out on spending for materials just trying to keep it at the bare minimum right now and see how it goes.thanks z :cool:

Well youre gonna need a fan to give it some exercise, just on low for the time being. If it falls down and rests against the soil then you will have to give it some support. It should be fine in a week or two. just make sure to not give it any fertiliiser or too much water for now. Also 250w of what?

Oh yeah you should have bought the compost, if youre a beginner then its pretty hard not to overwater firmly packed soil ;) drainage will probably be an issue...or it will work wonders who knows i just dont take my chances with that.. can you send us pics please :)

Hello Z :) Well my first thought on what you describe are to carefully put a stick in there to give it some support love ;)

I have a habit of doing that because I do tend to let mine strech a little at the begining :o

Good luck Z...........let us know how you go on ;)


love mand xxx :)


Oh I'll just add a photo of mine with the support sticks when they were little ;)

thanks for the replies.i wish now i had taken more time and prep for it but to be honest i didnt expect anything to grow anyway just an experement.i will most definetly add a small fan and see what happens.im glad you replied mand i was really inspired by your journal and look forward to more advice from you.i already added a small stick for support.how far along where those in your pic?the sprout on mine isnt nearly to that point.hope it all works out ok and ill keep ya posted.pics will be up soon

itll look more professionall later i promise just doin what i can to get some halfway decent pics. :cool: oh its 250w mh

Hello again Z :) in that pic they were 2 weeks (I had to look on my thread ;) )

The pic bellow they were 8 days.

Well at least you have more preperation than when I first tried to grow and you have done a better job as well, my first attempt the seeds never germinated :o Mind you if they had have geminated I wouldn't have had a clue what to do with them :o

Well Z as the guys on here always say get you're light as close as you can to prevent the streching ;)
Oh and when you tie the string on the plant leave it loose so that it will let the knot slip with growing.................I nearly strangled a plant once by tying a knot that wouldn't slip. The plant grew but the string stayed tight :o
Another idea Z would be to start seedlings in the little plastic pots, you have your's in a metal pot I think. You see with the plastic ones when it comes o taking it out of there for re potting you just squeeze the pot gently so it loosens all the compost and plant and it all slides out easily, with a metal pot you are going to have to try and ease it all out very very carefully ;)

Please don't think I'm trying to find faults love, I'm not I'm just trying to see the things that will make the growing easier for you :)
I think that you're doing ok, I'll keep my fingers crossed that she is a girl ;)


Good luck Z...............love mand xxx :)

hey mand i was hoping you would be on the boards just now!
i dont think we have spoke much before, maybe once or twice!
anyway do you know where i can get vita lites? i know they are a U.S based company but are there any uk dealers? cheers. :D :dance:

Hello Highjinx :) Oh I sorry love I have no idea :o

To be honest I've never heard of them :o ..........you do a search on the growshops and I will too and see if we can find anything, I'll let you know if I do ;)


love mand xxx :)

naturallighting.com i think is the main supplier but they are in the U.S :(
vita lites (correct spelling) are full spectrum fluorescent lights. (all stages of growth)
credit card is a no go at the moment thats why i was looking for U.K suppliers!
oh well thanks anyway mand and ill let you know if i find any stockists! :D :thumbsup: :D

Hello Highjinx :) I have found them but not yet found a UK stockist.....................I'll keep looking, I'll check out my local growshop if I can find it :o


Sorry for taking the thread a bit of topic Z :o


love mand xxx :)

oh yeah sorry zman for butting in there im just dying to test these vita lites out! :D
anyway hope your grow goes well. :dance: :thumbsup: jinx

I'm guessing but I would save on elecricity at this stage in your plants life and use a high wattage compact flouro. I am having great success with 48watt ones that output 240Watt incandescent equiv. My nodes are that close together I don't think I'll be able to find a spot to tie em down. Secondary branching is also amazing. I have a fan blowing strong gusts across the plants and lights to keep both cool. Give it a few days with wind and the stem will go from whispy purple to a tough green. Once you get a few strong sets of leaves you can switch back to your MH light but keep it close and cool.
Highjinx - Love your animated Ryu pic! Long time since I've seen Streetfighter around.

hey mand i dont mind at all im just glad to have your advice for some guildance.i tried loosening the string and in the proccess the top fell over.not sure yet if it damaged it but i have a feeling ill know soon.either way i really apreciate the help and if it does go bad ill try try again.as for my faults thats what i wanted.the more i learn from this the better as im sure ill try more plants in the future.thanks again..z