Is this normal?

[ad1988]

hello everyone,

 

Im no professional grower but i love the plants and decided id have a go at raising my own harvest. first attempt failed, mainly because I used winter sunlight, a plastic cup with dirty soil from the garden and it died after 3 weeks. .

 

but anyway, second go i tried a bit harder with decent soil, fertiliser, seedling trays, fluoro lights, timers, clean water and drainage.

 

I raised 6, picked the best two and gave the rest away.

 

that was 2 weeks ago, now I have two plants left. they look nice and healthy, but after looking around online iv seen peoples soil grow diaries with plants that are 3x the size of mine grown in the same time period.

 

One plant is twice the size of the other - is this normal? the big one is dark green, the small one is real lime green, completely different. i assume this is a different strain and maybe the size difference is strictly genetic. i shall stick it out and see if it levels.

 

the plants have been no more or less than 2 inches from the lights from birth.

 

they are on a 24 hour light cycle.

 

they are watered every couple of days.

 

so, the grand question - is this a healthy seedling/plant?

 

http://i876.photobucket.com/albums/ab322/antdoyle/DSCF7191.jpg

 

this is 2.5 weeks after seedling - it took around 4 days to grow to about 3.5 inches, 2 days to sprout leaves and point upwards, and 2.5 weeks to get to that.

 

it has two 80watt cool white fluoro tubes above, and a small 50 watt CFL bulb shining from below to reach the undersides of the leaves.

 

is this the right thing to do? the correct lights and light cycles? should i water more/less, and do you have any more tips?

 

thanks in advance:)

[Vortex]

My computer would not touch the pic sorry, but it is an obstinate thing, so problem is probably here.

 

24 hour light is fine, cannabis does not need a dark cycle to function in veg. Try and get a warm colured tube to go with the hard white, more spectrums the better.

 

Different sized plants is not an issue, sould be genetic, differences in pots, etc, however watch the more vigorous one for being a male. They like to grow faster, so above female when pollinating.

 

Biggest killer of plants is overwatering, let the pots dry out properly. Lift the pot when dry, then again when wet, you will get an idea of how wet it is down lower in the pot. Make the roots go down by letting them dry and chase water low in pot.[ the little plant being too wet could yellow it up]

 

Never worry about the size of other people's plants, they are generally growing in better conditions than you; just worry about your own. Vortex

[jimbojones5678]

Plants grow slower in winter so that could be it, plus growing in soil is the slowest way to grow. What temps are they growing in?

 

They look healthy but,

 

Jimbo

[brick]

They look ok to me. Only thing I disagree on is leaving the lights on 24/7. All living things need a rest. Lights off helps the plants ( I think) sugars. I'm fucked!! But they gotta have a rest.

[ad1988]

vortex - thanks for the advice, i shall seek out a warm tube - the light is a 2x tuber anyway so one cold and one warm would fit in fine. i shall also lay off the water with the mini plant and see if it turns any darker. it is on the brink of a yellowish colour, but it looks perfectly healthy - i know the kind of yellow you are talking about and alongside it the leaves tend to be weak and lame - this isnt however, it is a great little plant and all the leaves are strong and sturdy and in perfect formation - just small and not growing too fast. When is the earliest a sex can be determined?

 

jimbojones - no thermometer, but i estimate the temperature to be around the 16-19 mark. i understand that it is lower than the ideal temperature but warming a house on a concrete slab with single pane windows in a west australian winter is HELL! . I read that they will grow at a range of temperatures so I thought sticking it out would be a good plan rather than amateurly (?) burning the house down trying to warm them up!

 

brick - iv had mixed opinion on the 24hr light thing. some sources say 24 hour is the best idea, others say what you said. i had started on 24 so i had planned to go on with 24 rather than maybe confusing the plant or hindering its growth with adjusting light cycles. can anyone shed any light on this situation?

 

other than this the plants are great, seen a few little mites and flying things in there though so im gonna nip that in the bud (so to speak ;-) )

[The Hash Nibbler]

mine are real slow too at the moment ad1988, maybe it's a WA thing..

cuttings/seedlings-16-24 hours, 1000 lumens, light on 27-29c, light off 24-27C

Early Veg 18-24 hours, 1500-2500 lumens, Lights on 24-29C, Lights off 18-27C

Veg Growth 18-24 hours, 2500-3500 lumens, Lights on 24-29C Lights off 18-24C

should give ya a rough idea what is needed for optimal growth, light, temp and hour wise. Have a great grow. GH72

Edited June 30, 2010 by Grasshopper72

[Vortex]

You can sex the plant ad1988, once it is a plant as opposed to a seedling. This is generally seen as shown by the development of 'alternating nodes', where the internodes rather than being opposite, due to the plant stretching are at an angle from each other.

 

However when to go 12/12 to sex is a personal thing, is generally governed by- the size the grower wants the plant to be, the stretch during going to flower will double the plants side 2 or 3x.

 

-how much training one wants to do.

 

I have a friend who grows sativas entirely at 12/12, potting them up a size when they show sex.

 

The 18/6 vs 24 hour light is an old debate, however as you noted at 24, there are no light shocks. 24 gives 1/3 more growing time, easier to keep temps etc constant, no night time pests or timers to cause stuffups.

 

I use carpet underly, the nylon foam type , on the floor of my grows as insulation from cold floors. Vortex

Edited June 30, 2010 by Vortex

[louise]

They look ok to me. Only thing I disagree on is leaving the lights on 24/7. All living things need a rest. Lights off helps the plants ( I think) sugars. I'm fucked!! But they gotta have a rest.

Yeah have to agree the plant looks healthy enough... but ya can't be too fkd Brick, you are on the right track with darkness...

 

Clipped the following explanation from another time and place so save keyboarding...

 

Cannabis doesn't actually need darkness, but darkness does have benefits.

 

During light periods the plant is collecting and storing and using energy products of photosynthesis for growth. (plants multi task during light periods)

 

During dark periods, the plant only has to concentrate on using energy products for growth. This energy is supplied via the 'dark reactions' from energy stored during the light period. As long as these stores aren't exhausted before the next light period begins, growth during darkness exceeds that which the plant achieves during light periods.

As these are commonly called 'dark reactions' many people believe that darkness is a prerequisite. This is untrue. They are better called 'light independent reactions' because they don't actually need access to light, only access to the products of light based photosynthesis to produce energy in a form usable by the plant.

 

Seedlings are often started under 24 hr lighting as they have little capacity to store energy for growth during dark periods. Then changed to 18/6 once they had grown on enough to be able to store enough energy that growth was not retarded, but enhanced by a dark period.

 

[mark601]

Hey Vortex when you talk about telling which plants are males & females which ones are which ?

[Vortex]

Thanks lou lou. It seemed unnatural to me at first, but its easier for me and calmer on the plants on 24.

 

The only sure way to tell what plant is a male Mark601, is to find a little round ball which is the male flower pod. Usually in the apex of the stem and leaf stalk; but have seen them pop out of stem.

 

These balls usually appear after dropping to 12/12, but can occur earlier. Just look along stem and branches for anything round.

 

Size is no indication of sex, but cannabis males are no different than humans, they are generally in a rush to get on with business. In nature, the male that grows the fastest and tallest is going to have the best chance of pollinating the females they are trying to stand over. [such chauvinists]

 

The ladies seemed more concerned with how they look, and maximum shoots than getting tall.

 

I always treat plants that leap up tall with suspicion, though give them the benefit of the doubt till properly sexed. , Vortex