Need help, don't smoke but attempting to grow!

[growmamma]

Hey all! I'm new to growing and pretty much anything cannabis ;p Because of my ignorance for my first time grow I germinated 5 seeds 2 weeks ago and am now trying to figure these ladies (hopefully) out. Needless to say they are only now getting their third set of leaves and it's slow going! It's been a bumpy road and I've researched like a crazy lady but still have questions. First: Lighting was not optimal in the begining and probably still isn't. Using 4 CFL 100W daylight bulbs 6500K about 4 in from plant. The tips (1/8 in) of a few plants are tuning a light brown. Is this my lighting? My other question is some of the leaes are in a V and then some are beding down..what could this be? I don't want to feed them as I just took them out of MG yesterday and don't want to over feed. Wish I could post my pics! Any help for this chicky is greatly appreciated!!
What is your experience level? first timer

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. 4 GE CFL 100W
.2) Distance from tops? 4 inches
.3) Reflector type? bare bulb
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply? Yes
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan? Fan
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule? 100 Watt, 6500 K, 22/2

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil- Espoma Organic seed starting mix with myco-tone and added vermeculite. They were in MG and I repotted.
.8) Size of container. 3 in peat pots
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings? Wet paper towel

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? Tap after sitting out 24 hrs What's it's ph before adjusting..haven't done testing
11) Method of checking water ph. (ph pen, test strips, aquarium test kit...)
12) Method of adjusting water ph. (phosphoric acid, white vinegar, hydrated lime, PH Up...)
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule. Not feeding yet as they just came out of the MG.
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering? Once a day checking dryness of soil also, half a cup per watering
15) Any additives or tea's? (Superthrive, CalMag, molasses, Mother's Earth...) No
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate? Unsure
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph? Unsure
18) Do you foliar feed? If so, with what, how often, and at what time do you spray? No

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors? Indoor
20) What size of closet, room or hut? 2'x1'x3'
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? 78F ...With lights off? 68F
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom? No

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing? I think Sativa as they are very tall
24) From seeds or clones? Bag seed
25) Is this an autoflower strain? No

growmamma Reviewed by growmamma on 12-03-2012. Need help, don't smoke but attempting to grow! Hey all! I'm new to growing and pretty much anything cannabis ;p Because of my ignorance for my first time grow I germinated 5 seeds 2 weeks ago and am now trying to figure these ladies (hopefully) out. Needless to say they are only now getting their third set of leaves and it's slow going! It's been a bumpy road and I've researched like a crazy lady but still have questions. First: Lighting was not optimal in the begining and probably still isn't. Using 4 CFL 100W daylight bulbs 6500K about 4 Rating: 5

[growmamma]

Well 3 of my plants died ..I really would appreciate some input!!

[Weezard]

I'd guess that the MG was the problem.
It's too hot for seedlings.
The replanting was a good move but quite stressful.

We usually love our first grow to death.
Cannabis is a weed, it thrives on neglect.
Very hard to diagnose without pictures but they sound over-watered.

Next batch, fill a container with dry soil and weigh it with your hand.
Then water to run-off and heft it again.
Remember the feel of it and use that as your watering guide.
(My memory is dodgy so I keep a pot of dry soil on-hand as a reminder.)

Not too wet, not too dry,
roots gotta breath
and that is why,
we mix da soil until it's right
with neutral PH and vermiculite.

Sorry, best I can do with the info supplied.
Suggest that you rat about in the everyt'ing link in my sig, while you wait for responses.

Aloha,
Weezard

[Dutch Pimp]

bag seeds make everything more difficult ...genetics is everything

[growmamma]

Thanks for replying! I was so sad to see 3 of my babies go today..but it makes me glad that I did start with bag seed and not better ones. I was going to get the better beans but figured (after all the reading I did) that it would be best to start with bag seed, that way if I did screw up it wouldn't be such an expensive one lol... I'm starting to think that it's either the Ph of the water (which I haven't been able to check) but I do let sit overnight, or the lights. Getting the Ph kit tonight. When I switched my lights around is when they started to bleach out...and I think your right about the MG. They def have burns on the tips from that crap. I've germinated 2 more seeds but waiting to move them into my box until I see what my bigger two are going to do. Another question I have is now that I only have 2 plants in my box are the lights going to be to much?I'm using 3 CFL 100 watt 1600 lumen 6500k. I also have a regular daylight bulb that I haven't been using because it throws way to much heat off. The plants are about 2 weeks old and only 3 inches tall and just now getting their 3rd set of leaves. I tried to make an album with pic's of them but I guess I can't even do that.

[Weezard]

Howzit?

Folks used to let their water sit to let the Chlorine gas dissipate.
Letting your water sit overnight is counterproductive nowadays.
Very few water companies use chlorine gas.
They have switched disinfectants and most now use a compound called Chloramine.
Letting the water sit does not remove the chloramine, but does let all the dissolved air escape.
That is a bad thing.
Fortunately, Chloramine is actually beneficial for our plants, it kills pythiums and harmful bacteria.
So, fill your watering can from an aerated spigot and apply forthwith.

No worry about the light, those last two survivors will enjoy the elbow room.

New folks are quite limited here.
Actually, us old timers are quite limited here as well.
No Private messaging, no visitor messaging, etc.
Most of the good growers have fled to other boards.
You could google their screen names to find them if you wish.
Or, jus' settle for what you can do here.

Grow on,
Weezard

[growmamma]

Thanks Weezard! Reading through your index of info helped a lot!! I sit my water out over night because of the house plants I have..they can't take the amount of flouride in our water. So it was suggested to me to let it sit out..will have to research this further..I do know that my peace lilies have done poorly since I began this and these were the flowers I read can't take the fluoride! Go figure! lol I've peeked at a few other websites but some seem....hostile to new growers..I'm more a lurker anyways lol Thanks again..

[growmamma]

Well my 2 survivors are pretty much stasis at this point..they haven't gotten any taller and other than very slight new leave growth they're not doing any growing. I've got my first real set of fan leaves, then my second that are still skinny and four very small new leaves. That's it tho' *sigh*

[ghost83]

u got any pictures of ur set up and the plants? usually that helps.

[low_rdr]

Well my 2 survivors are pretty much stasis at this point..they haven't gotten any taller and other than very slight new leave growth they're not doing any growing. I've got my first real set of fan leaves, then my second that are still skinny and four very small new leaves. That's it tho' *sigh*

Hey Growmamma! I personally think that non smokers make some of the best growers I've seen. Now, IMO, I'm the best small cabinet grower, but nobody would ever agree with me on that point Here is some of my advice:

Chances are the plants died due to nute burn, I experienced this with MG and an Organic MG (N) solution for early veg - Two of my favorite strains died within days, and although soil is forgiving, there wasn't much I could to do fix it fast enough, they dried up pretty quick. I haven't used ANY MG product since, and I advise against it, I know it sounds SOOOO dumb, because I've used MG for peppers, and tomatos, squash, pumpkins, and various other flowering fruits and veggies, but it was MG + MG nutes that killed my babies (I should sue, I loved my babies! *Kidding about suing*)

Now, I know your having problems with new growth, and I think I know why. You stated that your using 4 100 watt CFL's - I'm thinking you have the lights too far away from the plants (CFL's should only be a few inches away, you can see an example in my grow log) - Also, your using (4) 13 watt CFL bulbs, not 100 watt bulbs, so keep in mind, that while your lumen output is the same, the penetration is increased, while the heat is decreased, so as stated above, put those suckers right on top of your plants, just keep the leaves off the light physically and you should be fine - I don't like mine getting any closer than 1" because by the time I check again they'll be in the light.

My seedlings average 1/2" per day in 1 gallon pots with only 300 watts worth of light (and I do 8 at a time in seedling/early veg). The difference is I now have a good nutrition rotation, sealed box, and plenty of mylar You can see in my log 1 week old seedlings that already have 3, some 4 nodes, and showing signs of sex (pistils).

Granted I choose my genetics based on flower time, and all my strains are almost the exact same veg/flower times, so I can be a little more lax about just tossing them in a rotation.

To answer some of your other questions:
If the tips are turning brown, make sure your not using tin foil, this is the biggest noobie mistake, they will burn the plants. If your not using tin foil, and your temps are under 80 during lights on, then it's your nutes.

4" as stated above, is too far away from your plants, this will promote stretching (I have a 1 week old power bud that is 7" tall, with 2 nodes ) That was because I was doing ventillation work and left it in the wrong chamber for about 3 days - Checked on it, and immediately had to tie it down and put it with the rest, so now when it flowers, it'll have a nice S shape main stem (won't do any damage at all, just looks weird)

From an experienced CFL guy, my BEST suggestion for veg stage lighting are the 26w phillip micro CFL's, AWESOME lumen output, moderate heat (3 bulbs in a 7" verticle space 26" wide with full insulated mylar is only 73 degrees without any of the fans or vents open during lights on) Perfect vegging temp. Your 13w's will do FINE, but for the best overball bang for the buck, I've gotta go with the phillips micros for veg - Ultratech also makes 13's and 26's you can buy in bulk, temps are a touch higher, lumens a touch lower, but these are a decent replacement for less than $3 per bulb (the phillips run about $6 per bulb).

Make sure you check out the CFL's I'm using for flower stage as well, honestly, with a 36" tall flowering chamber, WITHOUT adjustable lighting, I pull almost 75% of a full light meter from the very bottom of my cabinet, which is needless to say, very impressive. I could fill the lightbar, but I'm trying to do this first growlog to prove a point. If you read the entire log you'll see what I mean, my goal is to produce at least 6 oz perpetually (monthly) for less than 800 total into it, and with a total of 390w power pull, producing over 2250w of actual lumens, I'm well on track, my main plant already has 12 cola sites, and I'm hoping each one will be about the size of a medium sized pill bottle or about 5.5 grams each dry, plus a top cola that will hopefully weigh in around 10 grams, I'm on my way - And remember this is just one plant, in a chamber that can easily sustain 5 more this size (and I intend on proving it)

So, enough about me jacking your thread, and back to you - So far, so good, your gonna have some trial and error, don't knock yourself over the MG screwup, I think everyone does it.

I'll always post a response if your asking for help (and it hasn't been asked 5000000 times already)

Take care, and good luck!