indoor closet grow suggestions. HELP!!!!

[bkordel]

About the damp soil....i had literally JUST watered them before taking the pics, so thats probably why. i will be taking down the tinfoil immediately, those hot-spots are not sitting too well with me

bkordel Reviewed by bkordel on 03-23-2009. indoor closet grow suggestions. HELP!!!! ok so i have grown many times in the past but i was never really fully committed. it was more just to see what would happen and it worked out almost every time. Now i have committed the money and time and i'm very anxious to get this done. I know there are MANY people with much more experience than me and i would greatly appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM....main point being constructive :) Ok first i'll tell u my setup: STRAIN: Trainwreck feminized x10, although only 9 of them Rating: 5

[bkordel]

OK so i just took down the foil, and to my liking the walls arent as "eggy" as i thought they were so thats good news....the stretching is my main concern at this point. i have an extremely hard time believing its from lack of light though so i'm running out of ideas....i've raised the lights greatly in comparison to how they were. Right now i'm at about 4 feet away. I've updated pics to show the walls "un-foiled" and to show the stretching.


(p.s. the small one in front was the seed that never germinated properly and i figured i might as well throw it in some soil to see what happens, i'll be removing her tomorrow if i see no progress.)

[frostedwonder]

Hey sorry about the stretch issue you are having, that sux and is one of the things I was worried about at first with my current grow. I would recommend when you sense the roots are growing good to re-pot and bury a bit deeper then usual and try a light fan on them/around them and don't be like me and water like a freak I did that eeck. do you have a light meter/water/ph? I bought one for 20 bucks would love to have that space you have I use a 4'l/30''w/4'h and for a first time indoor grow it is not easy to dial things in without funds and patience (I am out of both lol)

[Forwhat420]

HPS are adequate for vegging but they do cause a little stretching. Similiar to the problems you are having. Also trainwreck is a plant that grows kind of spindly so I'm guessing that you are in the realms of being alright. You really need to work on your temps and ventillation though because that is what makes or breaks high end buds!!

[everTree]

The only bad thing about Aluminum is it asborbs heat.

[bigtopsfinn]

The only bad thing about Aluminum is it asborbs heat.

Please refer to my earlier post. Foil + HID's = dangerous! Safety first...:thumbsup:

I think it was a good idea about the fan... get those babies waving a little bit. They will stop growing up for a couple days and just fatten up its stem (which is a good thing anyways). Although I am not recommending it, I had a strong fan blowing on my baby for the entire first grow, and it turned out nicely. Anyways, a little more air flow should sturdy them up a little.

[irydyum]

HPS are adequate for vegging but they do cause a little stretching. Similiar to the problems you are having. Also trainwreck is a plant that grows kind of spindly so I'm guessing that you are in the realms of being alright. You really need to work on your temps and ventillation though because that is what makes or breaks high end buds!!

Very true about HPS causing stretch. They are concentrated in the red end of the spectrum and that by itself causes stretch. You could add a couple of side light fluoros or something to get the blue spectrum needed for veg. Also, I believe Hortilux makes an HPS bulb called the "Eye" which includes about 10% blue spectrum to discourage that internodal stretch.

I'm going to watch this tho, absolutely a huge fan of trainwreck.

Food for thought. Anyone know the true origin of TW?? I know that GH markets and sells the shit out of it, but I have heard tales of it being a California clone strain. Could be 2 different TWs I suppose, just wondering if anyone has looked in depth on it.

[bigtopsfinn]

Food for thought. Anyone know the true origin of TW?? I know that GH markets and sells the shit out of it, but I have heard tales of it being a California clone strain. Could be 2 different TWs I suppose, just wondering if anyone has looked in depth on it.

I've been reading trying to find some info about it myself. GH says its from the Arcata clone strain, guess they force hermied it or something since it's only fem. seeds available. The original Trainwreck was a mix of (I think) Lowland Thai, Mexican, and Afghani. I've also heard that it had columbian instead of thai.

One story says that the people planted this strain outdoors, and there was a train wreck nearby. They didn't want their plants discovered by the clean-up crews, so they went to pick them at about 8 weeks of flowering, thinking that they will not be finished yet with the dominant sativa genetics, but they to their surprise, they were done. There are some other stories too.

[Rusty Trichome]

i would greatly appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM....main point being constructive

Gotta be constructive...? Bummer.

LIGHTS: 2x 400W (800 total) HPS, about two feet from the plants. Lights set on 16-8 cycle, i know many use 24 hour lighting but i opted to play it safe. I know the lighting isnt quite enough for all of them but i didnt want to have a few extra seeds laying around so i just decided to do all at once as not all are guaranteed to fully mature.

I get 6 three gallon plants under each 400w HPS. Why so far away from the tops? I keep mine in the neighborhood of 12 to 16 inches. See how close you can get the back of your hand under a light. That is realistically how close you can get to the ladies...but backing it off a couple of inches is fine if ambient temps are a tad higher.

SOIL: All natural soil, 11-5-18 ( i know its not ideal but the grow shops here kinda suck) mixed with perlite.

All natural, yet not organic...? What's the brand name, and isn't there a Miracle Grow mix available? If going with ferted soil, MG is fine and plentiful.

VENTILATION: OK this is where the most concern is with me, i have a table fan circulating the air in my grow room, not blowing directly on the plants.

Circulation and ventilation is important. Why no oscillating fan blowing on 'em? They need the breeze to 'stress' some strength into the stems, and deliver fresh carbon dioxide.

GROW ROOM: I use a large walk-in closet (not sure the exact specs but plenty of room) I've coated the walls in aluminum foil because the color of the walls were not the best choice and i cant paint the walls as i am just renting the place

Any shade of flat white is fine. From eggshell to mint...whatever. Mylar and foil suck. Too loud, it scratches, folds, bends, get's water-spotted, tears, falls on plants, and isn't free. Why go through all that if the walls are already painted? Not necessary to get anal over a couple of reflected lumens. But the heat build-up and retention from foil is not optimal. Especially if real humid where you live, you risk mold between the foil and the walls.

TEMPERATURE: OK another big concern i have...The temperature on average is 28-29, but sometimes it reaches 30-31. I know thats a little too high but i'm not too sure what i can do about that....any tricks would help greatly

See my signature. Might be some helpful insight there about my experiences with growing in the desert.

CONCERNS: Ok the first thing i've noticed is that on some of the plants the tips of the leaves are curling under, on most its not an issue but a few are worrying me. I know that can happen if the lights are too close but i dont think thats it. And another is the on 2 of them they are not growing straight, they grow kind of sideways. please refer to the pictures...

Overwatering...?

Have you ever buried the seedling up to it's cotlydons...? (the little round leaves)

Were they mine, with that ammount of stretch...I'd get a gallon pot, measure to put exactly the ammount of soil in the bottom, (two inches, three inches...whatever it will take to lift the little round leaves just above the rim) transplant the stretching seedling into the pot, and spoon-in additional soil, packing it a tad. (using care not to crush, bend, fold, spindle or mutilate the stem) When finished, and you water it...the soil will sag. So add more soil, to level it out. Leave about 1/2 inch, to allow for future waterings.

Works every time, and is something I do to each and every seedling I grow. (for the past five years) From this trasnsplant, through to harvest...they never see a moment without an oscillating breeze on 'em. Just use care when adding soil, and packing it in. Grows fine, (this isn't a stressful technique...no developmental delays) and eventually grows roots from that buried stem.

[attachment=o214871] [attachment=o214872]

Kind of a bad example, but these are indica doms, and I planed-ahead for limited stretch. Were it my C-99 or Potent purple, (sativa doms) I'd have used the gallon pot technique mentioned above, instead of leaving them in the 2 cup pots.

[bkordel]

ok...

I've lowered the light to around 14 inches. I raised them because of the suspicion that it could be the heat causing the curling in the leaves, but after lookin at your posts i see thats not it...


My soil brand isnt anything known so u wouldnt recognise the name, but i'm confident with it.

And i do have an oscillating fan blowing around in there so thats cool too.

Its always a possibility that i'v been overwatering them but i dont think thats it, plus i have the soil mixed with perlite so should i ever add a little too much water it just seeps out the bottom. But note taken

Thnx for the pix, my babies are looking similar to yours so thnx for putting me at ease . Maybe i'm just thinking a little too much about things. Oh well, better safe than sorry. I'll be using your method when i transplant next week. I'll post new pics soon:thumbsup: