1st time grow|Northern Lights|Bubblegum|Big Bud|Afghan

[tube dude]

You should get 4 new tops instead of two,and two more shoots to use as clones that will grow from the shoots at the base of the plant.

 

[GreenPrincess]

You should get 4 new tops instead of two,and two more shoots to use as clones that will grow from the shoots at the base of the plant.

Cool. That's kinda what I was hoping. So, I continue to veg a couple more weeks, and get a couple clones each at the bottom of the plants.

Thank you, thank you!

GP

 

[OLDproLg]

A sweet hello girl,im here to help out!!!

A sweet hello girl,im here to help out!!!

Hi,im Lg been growing 35 years....5 magazines full 2,3,4 page spreads excet!!!!!*

Wish i coulda seen the thread sooner,everybody has been a newbie!

Now i know im kinda late with this grow,and hope your getting more lights,
BUT you SHURE CAN GROW VERY GOOD BUD USING CFL's..all the way to the BANK!

i would like to explain a few things (if) you were to use CFL's but HPS are better..
A few folks said keep the lights close,they are right you can have CFL's 1 to 2 inches away!
Here is the key,use 23w an up to 34w the 40w are a bit to hot an use to much wattage....
you may as well use HPS then,but never go below 23w CFL's they just wont do shit really.

Another thing about what you are experiencing right now,WAY TO MUCH STRESS!
i will explain:it is much better to just tie the main stem sideways a bit in veg,an let the bottom branches come up close to the tops of plants never stressing them at all..........

Your pot size is TO BIG,for cfl's but if HPS great!!!

Soil is MUCH MUCH easier than coco,way more PH probs with coco,hydro.....

Let me just get some pics of a very easy set up,NOT in a box,dont worry about reflection
(if) using cfl's just not enuff power for a reflection to be worth it,you'll get way more heat
thats it....i have done very good tests using CFL's when they first came out,let me show ya
how i do my set ups under my 600 HPS table.......only about 1 foot tall,thats all you need!
1 gallon pots,Miracle gro ferts an BOOOOOOM,winner every time!
Here is a simple coat hanger as my rig to keep the plant bent,an i grew that first plant with the 23w CFL's a few inches away with bulbs hanging downwards ona slight angle!!!!
DENSE HARD RESIN COATED BUD!.....next i will show set up for you using more CFL's..

 

[OLDproLg]

Hope that helped??

So,i suppose your getting HPS,get a 600 an use the floor!
Just like ya said...about 30 dollars on your bill maybe....
But lemme tell ya som'm i can grow just as good a bud
using CFL's anyday as compared to any 1000watter no bull.
If you need help,let me know an good luck!
Few pics for your inspiration.....23w buds.
Lg

 

[OLDproLg]

Also..

Stretch my ass folks.....if your plants are stretchin using cfl's
GET RID OF THE BOX!!!!
Most every strain i have tested NEVER stretched using my method!
Food for thought...
Peace,Lg

 

[SunGrown]

This guy above, oldprolg, has some good info and may even be worth listening to, but when anyone says shit like this

everybody has been a newbie!

All that does is show your personal lack of self esteem.
And to start your post bragging about being in commercialized magazines? Means nothing.

Good luck Green Princess, I will advise against much training/bending with your current situation and I wish u succes, however you define it.

 

[latetothegame]

Well, he is right, though... everyone *has* been a newbie at some point

This actually gives me some hope, as I cannot afford any kind of HPS for flower, and am just using T8s, T12s, and CFLs. I don't need much, but would like SOME end-product

 

[SunGrown]

Maybe I misread what was meant by "everyone has been a newbie", if so I apologize.

T5's can grow descent buds, ive done seed runs with only t5 before.

I'll stop cluttering this thread with this now.

 

[GreenPrincess]

Day 24|Quick update

Day 24|Quick update

So, first off I will share the messy photos of what is my Northern Lights broken top:





We will see what becomes of that. I was unprepared for cloning so I had no rooting gel yet. I put them in Miracle Gro seed starting mix.

As far as what's happening in the Veg Shed-not much. Just keeping the canopy even and keeping the lights as close as possible.

Here's a shot from up above the canopy, lights moved to the side:



So, bad news and good news. Bad news is the plants will continue to suffer under this inadequate light until later next week.

Good news is, after MUCH deliberation, I have decided to go with a T5's for now.

On order to aid my poor plants:

Hydrofarm FLP46 4-Feet/6-Tube T5 Designer
Clonex Cloning Gel
Small tray with dome
FloraGro
FloraBloom

I'm going with all 6500k bulbs for now. I will likely swap 70% of these out for 3000k when I go to flowering. Considering the level I am at, I think the T5 is a great place to start and can be expanded and tweaked as I decide how it is I like to grow. For now, it's too late I think to take the plants out of the cage so I am going to have to push on. I'm just going to keep the canopy as level as possible. But for the next grow I will be ditching this 'cage'. SCROG and LST is going to work best under these T5's, but I will build a more appropriate screen to use before the next round. I'm going to start really slow on the nutrients due to the fact that I am using MiracleGro potting soil.

Regarding everyone's helpful posts, thank you-I am taking it all in...I will likely be doing a veg area in an indoor closet, so I have somewhere for clones and new seed starts and it's likely going to be cfl's for now so all of the discussions on cfl's is great. Please, also anyone that has grown with T5's start to finish-I'd love to hear your experiences and see your setup. When I can afford it I will likely pick up some kind of T5 configuration for vegging. Maybe a 2x4 or 4x4...

I have another hobby taking precedence this weekend so I will not be updating. Hopefully once the T5's get here, we will see some nice growth.

GP

 

[GreenPrincess]

Day 25|How many mistakes will I make? :|

Day 25|How many mistakes will I make? :|

Okay. Some of you are just shaking your heads at this point.

I am actually quite dismayed to share the photograph of my Northern Lights and what I have done to it. But I'm going to share all of this madness to help myself and others hopefully.

So, after a long night of research-again-I decided to remove the cage/screen bs I had going. It just wasn't going to work out. I only had 2-3 inches of clearance under the screen in some spots and as the back side of the cage had no openings it was going to make things very difficult.

The plants are looking beat to shit. Hopefully this will be a Cinderella story and it will all work out in the end.

Here's how it looks now:



I was able to keep the canopy nice and even. My bends were still in position and after I extracted them from the cage I added some bends of wire in some cases. It is actually cut pieces of wire for hanging flower baskets. Luckily, I have a lot of them as it looks like it's my latest plan.

You can see the wire here on BubbleGum#1:



Here is my sad, sad Northern Lights who in order to be extracted suffered two additional breaks:



Here are BubbleGum#1 and #2 side by side:



And last but not least folks, here is a closer shot of BubbleGum#2:



The plan going forward? Veg at least 2-3 more weeks, I think, to let these hopefuls recover. And, oh yeah, try to keep my damn hands off of them for a couple of days and let them breathe.

GP

 

[littlegrow]

Hey GP loving your thread i enjoy you updating it, even im still a noob so its alright but its fun and enjoyable learning we will get it right eventually keep up the good work at least there growing

 

[SunGrown]

Good morning, looking fine with caging removed. I think that's a descent choice. I wanted to say, I get my t5's from home depot, 4 light 4 foot high output for 100$. Not sure what you are paying but wanted to let you know about that.

I bet your brain is so full of "knowledge" at this point it hurts! But hang in there. Watch, in 6 months you will be pulling your second or third run of dank meds!

 

[GreenPrincess]

Hey GP loving your thread i enjoy you updating it, even im still a noob so its alright but its fun and enjoyable learning we will get it right eventually keep up the good work at least there growing

I have been checking out your posts as well. Some of the questions you have been asking have been useful to me!



GP

 

[GreenPrincess]

Good morning, looking fine with caging removed. I think that's a descent choice. I wanted to say, I get my t5's from home depot, 4 light 4 foot high output for 100$. Not sure what you are paying but wanted to let you know about that.

I bet your brain is so full of "knowledge" at this point it hurts! But hang in there. Watch, in 6 months you will be pulling your second or third run of dank meds!

Good morning!

Yes, One cage, dumped. I'm glad someone else agrees it was the right choice.

Oh yeah, I'm on overload. Mind-fi is down.

I already have the 4 ft 6 bulb hydrofarm designer series coming. Good to know that Home Depot has those though. They are the closest source for me other than ordering online. I admit I looked there, but there were so many different options. I figured the hydrofarm fixture would be safest. Maybe I will grab one of those when I take cuttings for the veg area I'm going to do in my closet.

Can I ask, at this point-when should I even attempt to take cuttings of these poor things?

Appreciate your continued support!

GP

 

[SunGrown]

No prob! I would take cuts in about a week when the very bottom branches are 4 or 5 inches.

You do not need gel for cloning, get some iba, home depot iba is fine, and if you can get rapid rooters or oasis cubes, that is what I would recommend. And you don't need fancy trays and what not, your Tupperware will work fine.

I know your plants look sad, but I have a strong feeling in about 45 days you will be pleasantly surprised at how they are doing!

 

[SunGrown]

I may be wrong, but did you stick just leaves in a couple spots for your clones? You need a stem from the main shoot, not just a leaf stem. Just research apical tip cuttings in any hort forum or guide online.

I may have seen your pic wrong, but looks like just leaf in one or two?

 

[GreenPrincess]

No prob! I would take cuts in about a week when the very bottom branches are 4 or 5 inches.

You do not need gel for cloning, get some iba, home depot iba is fine, and if you can get rapid rooters or oasis cubes, that is what I would recommend. And you don't need fancy trays and what not, your Tupperware will work fine.

I know your plants look sad, but I have a strong feeling in about 45 days you will be pleasantly surprised at how they are doing!

Yeah, I already bought the silly tray, but it was only $5.00 at a store in my town. And, the Clonex is already on order.

I tried to look up iba at Home Depot. Can you please explain what it actually is? I am guessing it is cheaper than the $18 Clonex.

And let's see, I was thinking I was going to put the cuttings into seed/cutting starter mix inside the tray, it does not have compartments. My store doesn't have Rapid Rooter, but it does have Jiffy thingmajigs.

Would you use the Jiffy instead of the big bed of starter mix? Or should I seek out the Rapid Rooters?

GP

P.S. No more questions today, I swear.

 

[GreenPrincess]

I may be wrong, but did you stick just leaves in a couple spots for your clones? You need a stem from the main shoot, not just a leaf stem. Just research apical tip cuttings in any hort forum or guide online.

I may have seen your pic wrong, but looks like just leaf in one or two?

Oh, yeah, you're not seeing things. There are now 5 total. That's right - I basically stripped it like you would a piece of grass between your teeth. Nightmare. Only 1 of the 5 actually had nodes, if I am using that term right. I have read enough to know that it would be a summer miracle if anything grew out of those leaves. I just couldn't bear to throw them away. I'll harden up, and do the deed. I seriously doubt even the one with nodes will make it. But thank you...

GP

 

[SunGrown]

Iba=indole butyric acid...basic rooting powder. I get mine from grow more in huge bottles for cheap. I'm not of home depots brand name but I'm sure they have it for 5$ or less

The leaves will not root...but for your own satisfaction keep trying and prove it to yourself. Take all advice with a grain of salt in life.

You can root in the seed starter mix, I use rapid rooters, oasis blocks and promix....seed starter mix is basically promix. If you learn that way you will save a ton of money, since rapid rooters are heftily priced. Some peole use jiffy, peat, but I don't. Ph fluctuated negatively with peat.

 

[SunGrown]

Home depot rooting hormone, Model # 06920A Store SKU # 572725

6$