Soil CFL Grow - Purple(?)

[IntrepidSavage]

Hey everyone,

This is my second grow, first one on these boards and hopefully first one that yields a smokable product. The last grow i just raised the plants outside on the balcony and i think they didnt get enough sun. I gave them plenty of nutes because i thought that was the limiting factor - apparently not. So i'm testing the theory and got some grow lights.

Some points:
Start Date - Jan 11, 2011 they popped from the soil
3 Plants - some type of purple indica(i think), seeds from a friend
Lights - 2 65W CFL's - ~4300 lumens each
Soil - questionable compost-rich potting soil(all i can get here - ugh, dont ask)
Nutes - none so far(got some for later)

The plants are about a week old now and looking pretty great. The CFL's are about 2 inches from the tops of the plants, they are growing fast, internodal space is super tight so i think they have enough light.. So, these boards are an amazing resource as i've found by obsessively reading them. I was wondering if i could get some assistance from the pros:

1. Low Light
I know I have low light so am trying to decide how to deal with that, either SCROG, LST, or topping(as per Uncle Ben's topping for 4 colas method). I dunno about SCROG cause its more advanced and i'm a no0B, plus the internodal space is so tight(at least so far). LST would be simple enough, but topping is easiest so if topping once for 4 colas would be enough i might do that.

2. Leaf Curl
The leaves are curling just a bit at the edges, curling UP, not down like nute burn. you can see a bit in the pics if they let me post them. The edges are curled up just a bit, more at the base of the leaf than the tip. Any ideas? Mg deficiency? light too close? humidity too low? those seem the likely suspects but i moved the lights a little farther away and no change.

3. Water
The water here is questionable at best.. we drink bottled water, but i looked at the label and its mineralized with:
135 mg/L bicarbonates (HCO3)
54 mg/L calcium (Ca)
80 mg/L Chloride (Cl)
14 mg/L Magnesium (Mg)
65 mg/L Sodium (Na)
35 mg/L Sulfate (SO4)
280mg/L total dissolved solids (280ppm)

It's the Sodium and Chloride that i'm worried about. It's either use this water or the tap water that i know nothing about... Is 65 ppm of sodium devastating?

Well sorry about the long-winded questions, i'm very curious and excited for the grow. Thanks in advance for ur help!

IntrepidSavage Reviewed by IntrepidSavage on 01-20-2011. Soil CFL Grow - Purple(?) Hey everyone, This is my second grow, first one on these boards and hopefully first one that yields a smokable product. The last grow i just raised the plants outside on the balcony and i think they didnt get enough sun. I gave them plenty of nutes because i thought that was the limiting factor - apparently not. So i'm testing the theory and got some grow lights. Some points: Start Date - Jan 11, 2011 they popped from the soil 3 Plants - some type of purple indica(i think), seeds Rating: 5

[IntrepidSavage]

Hey all,

Second week of bloom, and I repotted today. Its a lil late but the pots were way too small for the plants and they are really starting to take off!

So, only 1 male, it was the local bagseed sativa. Chopped it but i still have 6 girls and limited light. I repotted 4 and shipping the other two out to a buddy's balcony. It'll be interesting to see the difference in yield between my controlled environment+nutes versus his balcony+water. Maybe none? Maybe his will actually be better, without all my meddling

Anyway here's pics!

Pic 1: Plant 1, mutant plant, she's got 3 main cola's now and one little one coming up in the lower left..
Pic 2: Plant 2, she's got 3 real nice cola's as well.. curse me for accidentally snipping the fourth when i topped her!
Pic 3: Close-up of one of the tops, looking good 10 days into bloom! (right? my first time growing something decent sooooo...)
Pic 4: The garden now. There are 2 plants in little pots still i'm taking out later tonight.

[ZeroWingX]

What Nutes are you using? Whats your Waters PPM? whats the soil PH now? Also. Go grab you some Neem Oil. Neem helps restore moisture to leaves and adds a Mold barrier. In such a tight space Mold might come into play later on.

[stjr2k]

I'm can't help with advice... on my first grow myself. But, there is a link in my sig that covers almost anything that can go wrong... with pics. The solution for virtually any prob you may run into.

[IntrepidSavage]

One plant is getting serious interveinal chlorosis. Just fed them yesterday after a week, so maybe that will help. The front two plants have some necrosis, the back two plants are allll good, 3 main stems each, love it.

Any feedback? Anyone?? I'm concerned since the front 2 have some issues, the buds aren't on pace. Vertical growth has just about stopped. They're definitely getting dusty, the flowers are growing sorta slowly, or that's normal..? Not sure how growth proceeds during flower..

Pics
Pic 1 - My favourite plant, she's lookin goood.
Pic 2 - One of the stems from the other plant, probably the fattest flowers
Pic 3 - One stem from the first plant, lookin pretty dusty now.
Pic 4 - Nice flower from the littler girl
Pic 5 - Grow room. You can see the front 2 plants have chlorosis/necrosis

[rattlingdags]

Thats a nice problem to have - too many plants lol. Hopefully then you'll get a boy there in the mix. Looking good :thumbsup:

[IntrepidSavage]

Put the plants into bloom today! i have too many plants for my light/space, so i'm waiting until i can spot sex and praying for a few males (i know right, super ironic)..

the mutant, 5 stemmed favourite of mine already got pistils out so i know she's a keeper :thumbsup: .. i also spotted pistils on one other of the good plants. So thats already 4 plants, the max i could hope to bloom i think..

I have 3 65W CFL's at 2700K, and gonna add 2 65W 6500K CFL's lower in the canopy. so thats 325W total. I think thats enough for 4 plants, even though they're CFL's - not looking for a massive crop just learning this time.

Pics
Pic 1: My favourite - she's got 5 stems but 2 of them are less developed. not enough light/pot space/hormones, something, anyway she's still a champ in my book!
Pic 2: pistils on the same plant. Weooo momma!
Pic 3: more flattering top view of the plants - wow they look much better from above! you can see the three clones in this pic and a smaller stem from my fav plant.
Pic 4: the whole setup. Local bagseed sativa in front (topped and LST'd to hell), then the 3 mothers, then the 3 clones not really visible in the very back

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[IntrepidSavage]

Woohooo, i see crystals!! love it! its amazing to have good plants and to see them, well, alive even! haha! They were stretching before but i think that might be slowing down now, but the hairs and trichs are comin out strong.

So, i'm halfway through the third week of flower, this is my first good grow, so i think things are going well - Do the plants look like they're on pace? I guess i'll look through the grow logs and compare. I think this is a strain of purple, not sure though.

One plant is showing interveinal chlorosis on many of it's fan leaves, starting with older and working up the plant. Maybe Mg deficiency? The buds look fine but i'm just worried it's got a deficiency that will harm yield. I mean obv it does haha! Any thoughts?

Pics
Pic 1: the beautiful buds of my fav little baby girl. aahhh so nice.
Pic 2: Closer up shot of the plant with the sad leaves, you can see the little trichs glinting in the flash.
Pic 3: Sad leaf . This is what i was talking about, i'd like to fix this if i can, without wreaking havoc on them heh.
Pic 4: The grow room. I know it looks super ghetto. That's cause it is. :wtf:

[IntrepidSavage]

Slogging my way ineptly through this grow.. I was away 2 weeks and my buddy had to take care of the plants - they look good though, some new growth and much greener than before.

New soil is working well but i see some interveinal chlorosis of middle leaves on several plants. Maybe a Mg deficiency?

I'm making a new compost tea for the next watering. Going to add calcium phosphate in preparation for bloom phase. I think 1-2 weeks and i'll switch the lights over.

Pic 1: the tallest of the three, stretching towards the light.
Pic 2: the mutant, quite bushy plant is developing well.
Pic 3: the native bagseed sativa, gone wild crazy with new growth. Topped her, but she's goin crazy out the sides, trying to keep her from stealing too much light from the privileged kids lol.
Pic 4: some used compost tea containers i had chucked outside. The first batch used poor ingredients, and i didnt use Beneficial Indigenous Microorganisms(BIM). The second I used better ingredients, including BIM, and wow what a difference in life. I wanted a fungal dominated tea and looks like i got it. Meanwhile the first looks like the surface of Mars or something except for the stray pigeon feather.

[IntrepidSavage]

At 2 weeks old, the plants are looking pretty good. Definitely indica dominant, at 1 week there were 2 nodes of true leaves, at 2 weeks, there's 4 nodes of true leaves, so growing pretty well. I think they are a little pot-bound actually, which is surprising considering the pots I started them in are decent size(probably 1.5-2 cups). Lots of roots poking out the bottom, and today they are looking just a liiiittle wilty. I raised the lights a bit in case its heat stress. Will repot them next watering, on Thursday.

there's a nice hint of skunk smell in the grow room, pretty exciting!