Beginner Problems

[babuskillz]

First off, please excuse my ignorance:

A few months back I began taking care of three clones purchased from a cannabis club. I really have no idea what Iâ??m doing so please correct me if I state anything incorrectly. Every morning I put the plants outside and after the sun has come and gone put them under a Compact Fluorescent Lamp. The goal is to give them as much light as possible given I understand they need about 18 hours a day. While this light might not be ideal, it has a mean lumens of 1260 and has a color temperature up to 6500K both of which I understand are sufficient. Needless to say, my setup is quite ghetto and makeshift. I really donâ??t have the resources or ability to set up a full hydroponics setup in my house. Right now theyâ??re in 5-gallon containers and the soil is a general planters soil with about ½ perlite per plant.
Lately my plants have began developing some problems. First off, I keep getting these little arachnids. Every couple mornings or so, Iâ??ll find a new little guy at the base of one of the plants. Iâ??ve tried to photograph these guys but had little success. Iâ??ve also had little success in finding out exactly what they are. Iâ??ve looked at cannabis pests websites and general spider (and mite) websites but have yet to identify them.
They have little webs and are always found at the stem of the plant toward the bottom of the plant near what are now the pale yellow leaves. Iâ??ve also lately found what I think might be thrips on the underside of one of the leaves but itâ??s difficult to determine.
I donâ??t know if my plants are turning yellow because Iâ??m over-watering them, under-watering them, because they have mold, pests, or are lacking or have too much of a particular nutrient. What are the rules w/ re: watering these guys? Any suggestions w re: non-chemical pest control? ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

General Plant 1: http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/9c731d9b...aaa2000271.jpg
Plantâ??s lower, larger shade leaves have turned pale yellow

General Plant 2: http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/e0cde61f...42f909260f.jpg
Plantâ??s leaves are very thin and the leaves are generally small

General Plant 3: http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/38fcf9ed...2b7e9172a1.jpg
Plant is growing rapidly tall, but is not producing much in terms of foliage.

Thrips?: http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/67d6820b...26777986c9.jpg
Unfortunately, this is the best picture I could get of this guy.

Black Spots: http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/fc036ba2...0559ad335c.jpg
Some black â??spotsâ?� I couldnâ??t really identify.

babuskillz Reviewed by babuskillz on 06-16-2010. Beginner Problems First off, please excuse my ignorance: A few months back I began taking care of three clones purchased from a cannabis club. I really have no idea what Iâ??m doing so please correct me if I state anything incorrectly. Every morning I put the plants outside and after the sun has come and gone put them under a Compact Fluorescent Lamp. The goal is to give them as much light as possible given I understand they need about 18 hours a day. While this light might not be ideal, it has a mean Rating: 5

[emcnpk]

i think you are stressing, those plants look pretty f'n good

[MRDiff]

Uhm, his plants look decent but there is definitely something that is off. Those lower leaves dont die of unnecessarily. It could be a nutrient issue, but you didnt tell us your schedule or brand of nutes. Also 1260 lumens isnt going to help in the long run. You have to pick either indoor or outdoor for optimal results is what I understand. What was your plan for flowering? If you choose indoor, you would need atleast 8-10 23 watt CFL bulbs with that lumen output. As far as the infestation, Im not sure as I do my growing indoors and neem oil takes care of most pests.

[michaelpeg]

they look hungry to me. usually when they go from green to an almost white it is because they are hungry and the plant is just sucking all the nutrients it can from the lower leaves.