New Grower Is Light My Problem?

[Tenakey]

Hey guys!

I have done 2 grows in my life,

The first time I didn't have any nutes or pH-meter and I used 7 litre pots.
I had them running 18/6 cycle under a 200w cfl light.
I got around 50g total out of the 3 plants

The second time I used a pH-meter, organic nutes and 11 litre pots instead.
This time I had them running 20/4 cycle under the same 200w cfl light.
I got around 50g total out of 3 plants again.. and it was the same strain.

My question is, are these poor results because of the poor light?
It's a 60x60cm space, so they are really growing into eachother, and probably fighting for the 200w cfl light. (66w per plant?)

Would I be better off with just having one plant, and tie down the branches so they get more light? Shouldn't I be able to achive 50g from one plant in that case?

The strain is suposed to yield 40-75g per plant, in currently getting around 18g.
2 People on this forum got around 80-100g from one plant of this same strain, one of them was using a few cfl lights.


Anyways, you guys opinions would be much apreciated.


Regards,

Mr. T

 

[SeNiOr-FuN-gHi]

thats quite bizarre mate, and im probably not the person who you should be taking advice from, but i think if you had a few bulbs instead of one powerful one it would have made a big difference because you can move them all around the plants, and "get in there nice and deep like" to quote dodgeball lol.. but what kinda cfl is it? and is it possible to get more lights or are funds an issue or even heat in your cab or tent? from what ive read although cfls can be used for the entire life cycle of a plant theyre really only good for seedlings and cuttings, and when i say cfls i also mean t5s. IMO if you cant get any more lights and upgrading to a bigger light isnt an option, just grow one plant in a large pot and either LST it or do a scrog... but if you want to be certain youre gonna get a good amount and you time isnt an issue try a few photo strains and trim and train the branches until you want the plant to start flowering.

also what strain is it? and who grew it, and how was it grown? if his name was seymour than dont feel bad he makes everyone look like a newb lol

 

[BuddyLove]

definately the bulb type is gonna make a difference. i'm not a cfl guy but, the rule for good lighting is a gram per watt yield is great, and very possible. the indoor growers getting those yields are using the best lighting, at the closest distance to their plants as they can be without burning them. it definately sounds as if light is at least one of your limiting factors there. even with that bulb, it looks like you should be able to get at least another 15gr or so. make sure you have good reflective material on your walls and everywhere you can put it. everybody needs more space for growing. also, possibly try bumping up your veg nutes a bit too, then increasing the flower food on the next grow. it's only nutes, light, oxygen, co2...find the limiting factor... good grows to you.

 

[Scott817]

what strain are you growing? with a 200W CFl you have a primary footprint of about 1.5' x 1.5' and anything outside that footprint wont be getting the best light. Are you using the same bulb for veg and bloom?

 

[Muddy]

Also, what kind of soil and nutrients were you using?

 

[Tenakey]

The Strain is Supersonic Cristal Storm (by Samsara Seeds) and one of the guys from this forum I was refering to is WezTheDj, here is his grow journal for the same strain, https://www.autoflower.org/f5/supersonic-cristal-storm-automatic-grow-journal-2619.html

I got Secret Jardin 60x60cm tent, with In and Out fans running 24/7, also a fan blowing on the girls when the light is on.
The temps been pretty much perfect, 27c with lights, 23c without.
Humidity is around 35%, it's a bit low, but could it be that big of a factor?

The soil is organic local brand, it's already mixed with chicken fertilizer, and if I translate it right, there is some seaweed in it. The label says 5,5-6,5 pH
The nutes are Biobizz Organic, both Grow and Flower.

However, I didn't have any perlite or such to mix with the soil last time, so I just mixed in some leca.
When I flushed, it was wet for lite 7 days. I didnt notice any root rot on harvest, could this still be the issue?
I had perlite for the first grow, just couldnt get hold of any the second time.

I dont wan't to change the light, I will have to work with what I've got.
I wont be growing often, but I would like it if I could get 80-100g on a grow every 6 months.


Only had picture from day 33 saved, so they got bigger.
The red mark on the picture shows where the light hits.

 

[Muddy]

I suspect that your soil may be part of the problem. If it was staying wet for 7 days between waterings it was probably holding too much water. LECA is also called hydroton and is normally used in hydroponic grows. I've never seen it mixed with soil before so am not sure how it would effect it. Possibly it was retaining too much water. Is there any information on the bag that says what it's N-P-K ratios are? With chicken manure and kelp it's possible that it may have been a little too hot. In your picture I see some signs of over feeding, especially with the plant on the right. The leaf tips look burned and there is some leaf curl. If the soil was too hot, and you were also feeding them, that could explain it.

Do you know what the color temperature of your bulb is? 6500k, 2700k? It should be printed on the base of the bulb.

 

[Tenakey]

Yes, and I even popped like 100 holes around the pot before i filled it up, just to make it air some. I have some perlite ill get later this week, so next time I wont have that same problem.

The Red/Yellow bulb is 2700K, and the White/Blue one is 6500K. Is that any good?

The bag label of the soil dont say much, the only useful thing on there says,

They use 15kg chicken shit and 0,5kg of the seaweed per m3, as math is my weak spot there is no way i can convert that into understandable numbers.
And the second useful thing is the pH-value (H2O) 5,5 - 6,5
I've read on a forum in my native language about the soil Im using is equal to a Light Mix soil.

The tips was like that before i even started feeding, I think its because of I overwaterd them, and the water then probably didnt disapear in time.
I had a really hard time watering such a big pot, 11 liters, especially when they where young and didn't need much.
The strain dosnt like to be transplanted, so I pop them into the final pot right from the start.
I didnt feed them much, since I couldnt water more than ever 3rd or 4th day.
I maybe fed them a total of once a week for 5 weeks, and never more than 1ml/l. (week 2-7)

Thanks for your input, appreciate it!

Regards,

Mr. T

 

[Muddy]

I suspect that your soil may have been a little too hot and holding a bit too much water. If there is no perlite in it, I would add about 30 - 40% perlite next grow. Before you plant again, mix up your soil, water it and let it sit for 3-4 days. Then check the pH and adjust it if need be before you plant. When wet the soil should still be loose. If you hold some in your hand and compress it, it should still break apart easily. If it stays compacted you might want to mix in some peat moss to loosen it up a bit.

I would also suggest you learn to water by the weight of your pots. Get a feeling for how much they weigh when they are dry and only water when they feel that way. Too much water can suffocate the roots and prevent enough oxygen from reaching them. With the chicken manure in your mix, I'm not surprise you didn't need to feed them very often.

Those are the correct temperatures on the bulbs. Did you use the blue one for veg and then switch to the red one for flowering? If so, when did you switch?

Also, what is the source of the water you are using?

 

[Tenakey]

I use the home tap water it's pH is usually around 7,7-7,9. I think the run-off was 6,6-6,8pH with this soil.
Isn't this a good way? I find it very relaxed since I dont have to adjust the pH in the water.

But yes, you are probably right about the soil beeing the major problem here, I was thinking of mixin 7 litre soil with 4 litre of perlite.

About watering, when am I supose to water the hole pot? I think I did that too early last time, therfore the tips turned yellow.

And I belive I made up my mind, Ill try one plant only this time, it's probably easier for a newbie to follow one plant instead of 3.

Was reading someone said Samsara seeds suggests 6litre pots, should I change to that or stick with my 11 litre pots? From what I understand, Bigger is usually better?


And I used the blue bulb for veg, about 20 days, then turned to red one for the remaining 43 days.