These plants are about 5 weeks old and still in veg state. The top two lights are metal halide, the long blue one is a flourescent, the regular lamp is just a soft white bulb, and I also have a natural light bulb close to the soil that shines up in the center. I keep a fan blowing at all times. Every so often I turn the plants so the both get under the sunlamp. Any comments or suggestions?
Lights: Are you sure the top 2 lights are MH? I can't see the right side bulb, but the left one isn't the shape of any MH bulb I've ever seen. Another reason I ask is because the plants don't seem to be getting enough light (sparse growth). You can ditch the lower 2 lights. Incadescents are useless, and the lower florescent isn't doing any good since leaves have few light receptors on the undersides of the leaves. Ventilation: Got any? Marijuana needs lots of fresh air. pH: Do you know your water's pH? Water that is too acid or alkaline can lock out nutrients. ppm/tds: A very useful growtool. It tells you how much nutrients to use. You can test both the fertilzed water you add and the water run-off and have precise control.
I'm positive they are metal halide....says it on the bulb and package it came in. I doubt they are getting enough light because the bottom parts are in shade all the time. I don't have money to buy any more lights...not working right now. I do try to give them as much sun as possible through the window. There is plenty of ventilation b/cuz I keep the windows open and have a fan blowing on them. The pH should be around 6.5 to 7 b/cuz I add a chemical to the water to neutralize the pH. Anything else you notice? The leaves are starting to curl a little, do you think it has to do with the lights?
the leaf curling could be heat, you should be able to set your hand just above the plant and leave it there comfortably for a minute or so.
Try training them. Will enable whole plant to receive more light. Also would recommend you buy or make two proper reflectors. The bulb with no reflector will be losing half of its output. The circular reflector will do temporarily but they really need to be rectangular as the circular ones tend to be a little focused and can reflect a lot of heat downwards. But firstly I would get some sort of reflector on the othe bulb and then start training the plants.
the bulbs are actually cool enough to hold on to so the light isn't hot but I do check with the back of my hand regularly. Every day I switch the plants around so they both get some time under the sunlamp...I know I should buy another one then I won't have to do that. I doubt it's fertilizer burn b/cuz I don't add any...it's in the soil. I leaf feed with water only...but have temporarily stopped that b/cuz I fear it might be concentrating the light and burning the leaves.
well I'm the proud mother of a girl!...she's on the right. Not sure about the one on the left yet b/cuz it hasn't shown any signs. I hope it's a girl too.
Congratulations, are those plants in a closed area? Or they just out resting by a wall lit up by lamps?
Ah ok, I see. Yeah my friend built a small grow area made of walls from cardboard boxes, on the walls he wrapped mylar around them, then closed the plant off, hung a 150W flourescent bulb above and his A/C unit behind it and keeps it perfectly at 75 degrees during the day and 65 at night. Beastly widow sprouting.
new pic...doing good...more growth. The one on the left accidentally got burnt, before going to sleep I left the plant with about 3" of space from the light...by the time I woke up it was wrapped around the bulb...oops. It'll be ok.
they are growing in soil made outta barks, perlite, and other stuff. They are about 7 weeks old now and almost 3 weeks into flowering. Lots of new pistils growing everyday! I'll have to get a new picture up soon...gotta charge my camera batteries. By the way they are just barely under 4 feet tall now.
At 4ft in only 7 weeks, your plants are very tall. That means you dont' have enough lighting. The bulb on the left is a compact florescent. It is not a metal halide. I can see the bulb, it's a twisty bulb with a builtin ballast. Those are CFL's. I suspect the bulb on the right under the reflector is the same? Metal Halides always require an external ballast and a special light socket. I've never seen an MH that will screw into a household fixture. You can grow quite well under CFL's, but you need at least 2 of those CFL's (23W kind or better, not the 11W ones) for every square foot of growing space. You should also be sure to use cool white for veg and warm whites for flower. Get at least 2 more CFL's over your 2 plants (I suggest 4 more), and you will notice a huge difference in the stretching. I grow under CFL's, and my plants have an average of 1 inch between nodes (between branches). At harvest, after 12 weeks from seed my mother plant was only 2.5 to 3 feet tall. Remember that tall does not mean more. The density of the plant is most important. Many people fail to realize this, even veteran growers. The denser the foliage and branches are on the plant, the denser your bud will be. Buds do not grow directly out of the stalk. They grow from every place there is a branch intersection. Without proper lighting, you will lose ALOT of potential yield. One last thing about the lights. It's best to use a combination of cool/warm light during all stages of growth. Most people don't, but that is because most people use MH or HPS, and it's too expensive to run both at once. With CFL/florescents, you can though. My rule of thumb is 2 cool + 1 warm CFLs (23W) for every sqft during veg. During flowering, I use 2 warm + 1 cool per/sqft. Without enough blue light, the plants will stretch up to the lights, to try to soak up more of the available blue spectrum. Having some warm light in veg is not as important as having some cool light in flowering though. Aside from being kinda skinny/tall, your plants look very healthy. Good job.
