Noob need help

[kyodo]

Hello all, new to CN this is my first grow and Im not well educated on the finer points of farming

I am running a Lucagrow 600w hps in about 1300mmx1300mm room, light is only about 2.4 feet from tips of the plants...(I know not good)(7 plants all up in dirt)

Its a very hash together system was given 8 seeds from a mate and decided to see if I could get them to grow with out spending any money..... im a tight ass ...

So I a clp of Q's about them.

1 when should i start turning the light hrs down? there 6weeks old now tallest 2 are about 16inches in height.

2 I have one plant that just keeps growing over on it self really tightly... and ideas why? (oh and one that just will not grow doesn't die just sits there same dirt and feed any ideas to what they might be ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[jimbojones5678]

Hi kyodo,

 

looks like a nice family of little indicas you have there - they appear very healthy

 

I wouldn't worry about the one that is short and wide - sometimes they just grow that way, sort of like a natural LST (low stress traing - look it up)

 

How big you grow them depends on the space you have to work with - usually a good rule of thumb is to grow them to about half way to 2/3 of the way of the size you want them to finish at. So if you want a 4ft plant in the end then switch to flower at about 2-3ft.

 

You don't need to slowly decrease the hours of light - you can just switch to 12/12 when you are ready to start flowering.

 

Good luck, you are off to a good start

 

Jimbo

[The Hash Nibbler]

Kyodo, yeah, Jimbo's right they are fine. drop them into total darkness for 24 hours before you switch over, it helps promote female attributes in the plants. No peeking at them, TOTAL darkness. The height is up to you, if you haven't got much height left switch them soon. GH72

[kyodo]

Thanks guys, Yes the height is my concern so im thinking of starting to switch them now.. with only 2foot to go before touchinb the light and i cant go much higher... And yes they have been cared for very well...I been Ph testing water I feed them with as I have read that impacts the sex to some extent as well and have all ways warmed the water up with a fish tank heater to around 24 with I have found could stimulate the growth as well. It seemed to all most dbl the growth rate but I will need to study that more to see for sure...

Thanks again for your help I will start research into that strain to see what i can find...

Happy smoking...

[redatnight]

nice work kyodo,these pics are looking fresh

 

i'll be staying posted

[Luke Skywalker]

Hi Kyodo, welcome to the world of growing your own. Welcome to OSA and we'll all try to help you out where we can.

 

Just a couple of pointers if I may.

 

Try and get yourself some flat white paint or some panda film (black and white co-extruded polythene) This will reflect back light much better and you will have a more even footprint.

 

Also I'd recommend removing the alfoil from the tops of the pots. You're using potting mix from the looks of things and that should keep in plenty of moisture for the plants, and the reflectivity you gain won't be that much. It may also heat up the tops of the pots.

 

Can you let us know what kind of exhaust you have running? 2ft away from the plants for the 600w is definitely a bit high, and a seedling should be able to cope with the increase in light and heat provided your ventilation is up to scratch. I saw a desk fan in one of the pics is this all there is? What kind of temperatures are you getting in the room?

 

RE plant shaping: Some plants will grow like shrubs, some prefer to develop like a christmas tree, it also depends on the environment these plants are grown in. It's a mix between heredity and environment. All can be manipulated though, which I can see you're doing with some wooded skewers and some string is it? Make sure you provide a decent loop of string to allow plenty of slack. If you surround the stem and strangle it for nutrients you can cause yourself some problems. Try out some pipecleaners, and leave a hook at the end instead of a complete loop around the branch. You're doing a good job with that training though, getting the branch going nicely sideways. You can do that gently with and plants that have a single top too, just do it slowly over a few days and then the side shoots will start developing. But back to the point, the smaller runtier plants may just be a bit genetically deficient or it may be an overwatering issue, so many different things could cause stunting. Give it plenty of light and a bit of time and you might find it's a pearler of a plant.

 

You should be starting to see sex soon, keep an eye out for males. Sex is pretty much decided at fertilisation and whilst you can push a plant with these attributes along a bit for the average indoor gardener it's not statistically significant. Be a bit more vigilant watching any plants which are taller and lankier than their siblings. Where did the seeds come from if I may ask?

 

They do look good though mate you're well on your way to becoming a great indoor gardener. Hope this has helped somewhat.

[kyodo]

Thank you all for your comments to answer a few Q's.. the walls are lined with tin foil atm and I have removed the tin from around the top of pots didn't see much difference with it there. Fan I'm using a 40cm pedestal fan facing the back wall (not on plants) and the measured temp from the room very s between about 17 degrees C to about 28 has been the top I have measured so far but with the on set of the colder weather keeping the room warm enough has been a bit of a prob... The soil is a back yard dirt, potting mix, cow shit mix... I have been fertilizing with an organic fish emulsion mix witch seems to work very well... and as far as the shrubby looking one goes it is one of my best growers has lots of good thick bushy branches so i am happy with it and was thinking of selective cloning of it as its low height is a plus for some indoor uses.. (will depend on how it flowers and smokes)

For tie down yes I'm using wooden skewers and butchers cotton in one loop from the branch to skewer not looped around the branch. The plant in the second pic is the one that stumps me its head just keeps growing back on its self... and thats the reason for the tying down trying to get the tip to grow up..

And I have noticed one the is just tall and lankey very few sun leaves on its main stem at all...

 

Thank you all

happy smoking

 

ps.. seeds where given to me collected from a few good lots of smoke a mate got...(bad idea iv been told)

[The Hash Nibbler]

Hey Kyodo, yeah, some good white walls would be good. Dude, let your fan blow on the plants, it will strengthen the stems and make them hardier. dont have to blast them, just enough to see a little bit of movement in them all or feel cool air moving at the furthest plant from fan. could use the oscilator on the fan to make it swing back and forward past them =). Would be nice to have your night temp around 20 degrees, 28 with light is perfect. Well Done.

 

The fish Emulsion is good mate but I suggest (if you want to go organic) using something like Bio juice as well, it is a mix of seaweed and worm castings and a few other goodies that make them very happy. Keep an eye on your PH because if you let it get out of the range you need PH 5.5-PH 6, the plants can't take up what you feed them. Called Nute Lockout.

 

Sometimes you have to train them, thats not a concern but keep an eye on that tall lanky bugger, look for balls, could be a male? Just keep checking it just to be sure. Better safe than sorry. It looks like you have two different strains growing, maybe three by just looking at their characteristics but maybe one of the other guys can confirm, I'm just guesstimating =).

Happy growing and hit me up if you need some advice. Later. GH72

[kyodo]

oh well people sad news is looking like only two out of 7 are female

[The Hash Nibbler]

Sorry to hear that Kyodo, but two in the hand is worth seven in the bush =). You can still do a great grow with two and just put them in big pots and get right onto them, they will crank. Good luck. GH72