lights

[lotusanm]

ok so i've read in lots of places about light and dark cycles and that you shouldn't use incandescent light bulbs but i've still got a few questions.

i just planted 3 seeds about 2 weeks ago. the plants are about six inches tall from the soil and they are green and healthy. since they are so small i leave them in the window during the day. they get about two to four hours of direct sunlight and the rest of the day is indirect sunlight. at night time i stick them under my lamp which has 5 incandescent bulbs. the tops of the plants are about a foot and a half away from the bulbs and i havent had a problem with this yet. the plants get somewhere between 2 to 6 hours of darkness every day basically from the time it gets dark till i get home from work at night.

my first question. are my plants getting enough dark time?
my second question. does putting my plants under the lamp actually do anything?
my third question. with three seeds how big are these things going to get? how much longer can i expect to be able to keep them in the window without drawing attention?
my forth question. once the plants are two big to keep in the window is keeping them under the lamp going to be sufficient since they are only incandescent bulbs?
my fifth and last question. the pot the plants are in is 6 inches in diameter and about 5 inches high. is it big enough to keep them in until i harvest or am i going to need a new pot?

lotusanm Reviewed by lotusanm on 10-18-2008. lights ok so i've read in lots of places about light and dark cycles and that you shouldn't use incandescent light bulbs but i've still got a few questions. i just planted 3 seeds about 2 weeks ago. the plants are about six inches tall from the soil and they are green and healthy. since they are so small i leave them in the window during the day. they get about two to four hours of direct sunlight and the rest of the day is indirect sunlight. at night time i stick them under my lamp which has 5 Rating: 5

[DOUGAL25]

1) yes...you can have them on a 18/6 or 24/0 (light/dark) hour schedule.
2)No...get yourself at least some CFL's (compact flourescent lights) for under 10 bux
3)They will get too big once you get CFLs...also, they shouldn't be in the same pot. (1plant/1pot)
4)Same answer as question 2
5)That pot size is fine IF you have 1 plant per (1) 6" pot

Get some CFLs and get your plants on a consistant, regular light schedule (either 18/6 or 24/0).

:stoned:

[lotusanm]

yea so i figured out just recently that i should not have planted them in the same pot. is there any way to fix this? if i transplant them more will that help? is it possible for them to survive in the same pot or should i try to separate them?

[DOUGAL25]

Seperation/transplatation is best done early, when the root systems are less developed and tangled. Examine your situation and move slowly - if they are tangled, just be careful in not tearing any roots. If you let 3 plants in the same pot go...they are going to try to outsurvive each other and fight for nutrients and space.

:stoned:

[lotusanm]

k sorry i was confused about my lighting b4. the bulbs in the lamp are cfl's. i'm not sure if that makes any difference.

[DOUGAL25]

How many watts per bulb



just gettin back to ya after a blazzinnn:stoned:

[lotusanm]

haha nice. there are 5 13 watt bulbs. apparently they are the same as 5 60 watt incandescent.

[DOUGAL25]

Even though those bulbs might be kinda weak, I don't see why you don't just leave the plants under them on a consistent light schedule instead of putting them by the window.

[lotusanm]

ok so i just transplanted my three babies and i'm pretty sure they are going to die. i had to put stakes in to keep them up and i saw a lot of leftover roots in the soil that i threw out. my poor babies i killed them

[Dutch Pimp]

ok so i just transplanted my three babies and i'm pretty sure they are going to die. i had to put stakes in to keep them up and i saw a lot of leftover roots in the soil that i threw out. my poor babies i killed them

Best thing you can do in situation like this: for future reference, just cut down, all but one seedling in the pot. Only the strong survive.