newbie grower with some subtle questions

[dion]

Hey guys I'm Dion, and I'm new to growing and I guess I've been making a stab at it for 3-4 weeks now. Now at first I had quite a few sharing small pots on top of a shelf with 2 2foot flourescent lamps with 20w plant/aquarium bulbs. I actually was fairly impressed with how they were comming along. Not the fastest growers for sure, but seemingly healthy.

So as the time went on i weeded my way down to 6 plants as of now. they are in a roughly 24"X15-18"X10-12" plastic bin. I have lined the wide sides, bottom, and top with a relfective blanket. cut a hole in the 2 short sides. one to allow air flow and i have a blizzard fan blowing 60 degree air at it and the other to allow chords to be placed and my 2' flouros to be hung.
I added 2 lights both 30 watt cfl on them and a thermometer just to check it out. The temperature seems to be staying hot. Aroung 90 degrees, which is not my main goal for sure. I'm wondering how to keep the temp down about 10 more degrees.

I guess I've just been guessing at the watering aspect of them, every couple of days. I try to stick my finger WAY down in the pots to make sure that the soil is dry at the bottom so as to avoid flooding the roots continually. If by chance i CAN tell that they have too much water, I just lay off of them for a little while, you know, what else can i do?

Right now im getting started on my 3rd and 4th sets of true leaves and I am checking the nodes with a magnifying glass to see whether or not i can actually discern what sex they are. I just took them to a 12/12 cycle today (no lights today for about 3 1/2 hours now) to see if I could get them to elicit sexual characteristics - Yes i think i can tell what is what, but they are young right now, so i don't want to jump the gun.

Any advice would be very much appreciated and especially on the temperature control. Its in a closet, and after adding those cfls i believe that my whole room has become hotter. Much more serious is the pregnant wife complaining about it

again I like these boards here and I've made a couple posts.
My name is Dion, and I like to burn one down occassionally.
Gracias y Adios mi amigos honrados
Dion

dion Reviewed by dion on 04-08-2006. newbie grower with some subtle questions Hey guys I'm Dion, and I'm new to growing and I guess I've been making a stab at it for 3-4 weeks now. Now at first I had quite a few sharing small pots on top of a shelf with 2 2foot flourescent lamps with 20w plant/aquarium bulbs. I actually was fairly impressed with how they were comming along. Not the fastest growers for sure, but seemingly healthy. So as the time went on i weeded my way down to 6 plants as of now. they are in a roughly 24"X15-18"X10-12" plastic bin. I have lined the Rating: 5

[Villui]

add some type of fan in there i use a 20 inch box fan works great and i use a 400w hps mh conversion (and that gets rly hot)

[BlueDragonSmoke]

ya 400w same here, in a closet I cut to holes in my door though one at bottom for little fan blowing in and one at the top for hot air to be pushed out...shield them both, in 12/12 you dont want no light comming in ...sexing them will take with in 2 weeks of 12/12. 90 degrees wont kill your plants but over 2 hours at like 100 will. You should have a fan blowing on the plants, that would help even if the ambiant temp is 90. Plus they wont be so week when trying to bud...lol Does that plastic bin have any holes in the bottom? Hope so ...it would help a lot later on in the plant life . What is the PH of your growing medium? It could keep changing if you water with any thing other than just plain water if you have no holes in the bottom. Oh and if you rig a fan on a timer make sure it comes on right when or even befors the bulbs come on, you will gain 3-5 cooler degrees this way ...It doesnt let the bulb get hot to even raise the ambiant temp as much....peace

[dion]

here are some pictures i have some more and i will be adding them shortly.
Dion

[dion]

more more more
Dion

[dion]

more yet, id rather be thourough* than overly vague.. see they are in pots with drain holes, they just have been placed inside an inconspicuous bin.
and thats it for now. appreciate all the help, maybe yall can see my fan and what not.
Dion

[dion]

well damnit i cant edit anymore... well, the first picture in the first set. Is that plant a male or is it just too early to tell?

[BlueDragonSmoke]

To early. I 12/12 to tell

[dion]

cool, so i read somewhere that you can 12/12 for a short period of time, and if you want to get more vegetative growth just reapply the 18/6 (but i had been running 24/7 with only the 2 flouros i had, I suppose with the additional cfls that 18/6 is the best way to go. am i correct, or should I abandon my 12/12 temporary idea and just 18/6 'em.

i really appreciate all of the feedback. My mother in law stole all my potting soil so 2 of those pots dont have enough after i transplanted from smaller containers. I don't like seeing them that tall. Just doesn't feel hearty enough.

Thanks
Dion

[LIP]

They look a little streched.... If i was you id wait for another 3 sets of leaves before determining the sex of the plants, then either carry on with 12/12 or revert back to 24/0 or 18/6. 18/6 is better for your plants btw.