Paddler, right now I do not have any fans running but do plan to put a couple up soon. my grow area is just in the corner of an unused room in my house. the room itself is about a 10 x 12, but I am only using about a 3 x 3 space in the corner. the temperature in the room is what I keep my house at, normally about 72 degrees. these ladies are actually autos, and I had read in one of the threads here somewhere, I will see if I can find it, where they said that the would grow under all 2700k lights... I am starting to think that I made a poor decision in starting when I did, because im finding out more and more that I don't know enough to have a successful grow, but on the other hand, there is always a learning curve that i assume every newbie goes thru. anyways I appreciate the time you took to help a brotha out!
New Grower My first grow journal. Heavyweight Strawberry Cheese Cake
- Thread starter pigman
- Start date
hairyman
Year of the Dragons
Hey pigman,
"I will see if I can find it, where they said that the would grow under all 2700k lights" that is correct pal but when people suggest you use 6500 for veg its because its proven to be the best option, plants in veg stage grow better with that spectrum of light, here's a link to a site http://www.growweedeasy.com/home its explains everything in one place.
Its not to late to have a good grow pal, just listen to the advice and read , read ,read, on the issue of nutes, i think as new growers we get carried away with seeing magnificent grows and try and replicate their nutrition schedule , forgetting that we don't have the same soil, lights, conditions and knowledge base that they do, i personally am going to tread very lightly with additives in my first grow,i am not trying to grow a monster yet , just keeping it alive too the end with some weed to smoke is the aim.
Here's another thread you should look at https://www.autoflower.org/f44/life-cycle-auto-flowering-cannabis-5113.html
"I will see if I can find it, where they said that the would grow under all 2700k lights" that is correct pal but when people suggest you use 6500 for veg its because its proven to be the best option, plants in veg stage grow better with that spectrum of light, here's a link to a site http://www.growweedeasy.com/home its explains everything in one place.
Its not to late to have a good grow pal, just listen to the advice and read , read ,read, on the issue of nutes, i think as new growers we get carried away with seeing magnificent grows and try and replicate their nutrition schedule , forgetting that we don't have the same soil, lights, conditions and knowledge base that they do, i personally am going to tread very lightly with additives in my first grow,i am not trying to grow a monster yet , just keeping it alive too the end with some weed to smoke is the aim.
Here's another thread you should look at https://www.autoflower.org/f44/life-cycle-auto-flowering-cannabis-5113.html
A Gardener
working Jah garden
Exactly, it's not too late to have a brilliant grow. Nutes are something to be cautious about as we are growing weeds that are hard to kill, but poisoning them will do it.
First grow I used lightly a veg nute for tomatoes, then heard of PK13/14 which I used right at the end.
This time I've pushed both those nutes further in amount and time scale.
Next grow I plan to use Rhizotonic, CalMag, Tomato feed. Bud ignitor. Pk13/14 and Top shooter gel.
That's how we grow as gardeners.
First grow I used lightly a veg nute for tomatoes, then heard of PK13/14 which I used right at the end.
This time I've pushed both those nutes further in amount and time scale.
Next grow I plan to use Rhizotonic, CalMag, Tomato feed. Bud ignitor. Pk13/14 and Top shooter gel.
That's how we grow as gardeners.
day 9.
all the ladies seem to be doing fine, they look a lush pretty green color to me. so hopefully they are happy for now.
#1 seems to be about the same height as yesterday
#2 is now 3-1/2" tall
#3 is 2" tall
#4 is 1-1/2" tall
#5 is about 1-1/4" tall
question.... after about 8 hrs of research today, I finally broke down and talked to a good friend of mine who used to grow back in the day. I explained to him my problem with low lighting. he told me I needed to look at getting some halogen lights for them to get my lumens up. I attached a pic of what I was able to find. only thing I see that is questionable is the temp of them... they are 2900k instead of 2700k... is this close enough, or is it set in stone that you need to use 2700k???
with what I have now, when I change my 8ea 23w 2700k, 1660 lumen bulbs to 8ea 40w 6500k, 2800 lumen bulbs, i will get 22,400 lumens. then i will add 3ea 40w 2700k 2800 lumen bulbs and get 8,400 lumens bring my total lumens for veg to 30,800 total lumens.
then if it is possible to use the 2900k halogen lights, i will only need to add 2ea of these to get me to 50,000 lumens needed for flowering.
im praying that this will solve my lighting problem because my brain is drained from trying to redesign my lighting fixture to accommodate more CFLs!
anyways guys as always i appreciate all the comments, suggestions, and support. i feel like the people here at AFN truly care about us newbies and it really shows.
all the ladies seem to be doing fine, they look a lush pretty green color to me. so hopefully they are happy for now.
#1 seems to be about the same height as yesterday
#2 is now 3-1/2" tall
#3 is 2" tall
#4 is 1-1/2" tall
#5 is about 1-1/4" tall
question.... after about 8 hrs of research today, I finally broke down and talked to a good friend of mine who used to grow back in the day. I explained to him my problem with low lighting. he told me I needed to look at getting some halogen lights for them to get my lumens up. I attached a pic of what I was able to find. only thing I see that is questionable is the temp of them... they are 2900k instead of 2700k... is this close enough, or is it set in stone that you need to use 2700k???
with what I have now, when I change my 8ea 23w 2700k, 1660 lumen bulbs to 8ea 40w 6500k, 2800 lumen bulbs, i will get 22,400 lumens. then i will add 3ea 40w 2700k 2800 lumen bulbs and get 8,400 lumens bring my total lumens for veg to 30,800 total lumens.
then if it is possible to use the 2900k halogen lights, i will only need to add 2ea of these to get me to 50,000 lumens needed for flowering.
im praying that this will solve my lighting problem because my brain is drained from trying to redesign my lighting fixture to accommodate more CFLs!
anyways guys as always i appreciate all the comments, suggestions, and support. i feel like the people here at AFN truly care about us newbies and it really shows.
Attachments
i have looked around but haven't been able to find what people use in order to raise and lower the ph of your water... what should i use?
thanks a million hairy, i appreciate your support. it truly means a lot! i will have a look at these links and see what else i can learn! appreciate it!!!
hairyman
Year of the Dragons
OK, pal, hard to break this one to you but they wont be very good for growing and certainly are not cost effective, the usable light they emit for the use of 500watts of electricity is throwing money down the drain...either stick to the CFL or get a Led, again i suggest you read that growweedeasy site it explains the types of lights , the advantages and disadvantages of each,all you need to worry about today is getting a bit more light on them girls preferably 6500 but 2700 is ok and get in close as you can to reduce stretch.
gmgeoff
somewhat known member
Hi, Welcome to AFN,
I 5th the motion. You need to get a LED fixture in the middle of those cfl's. Ounce you get above 250 watts of cfl's, it's not cost effective to keep adding more ( Read about this on the growweedeasy site , a great learner site for beginners. Primary information on almost every aspect of this hobby ), and really the only other one besides this great AFN forum that I now partially addicted to.
Don't listen to ANY plant person that hasn't grown weed before. Your not growing Petunias.
I'm on my first grow (journal coming soon), and I've made a ton of mistakes, but I have one growing now that that I may have to put on Weight Watchers. I keep telling her I love fat ladies, (even though I really don't).
Ahhhhh... that early morning bzzzzzzzz.
BTW I like how you did your pvc for the bulbs. What type of socket did you use for the pvc/transition?
I 5th the motion. You need to get a LED fixture in the middle of those cfl's. Ounce you get above 250 watts of cfl's, it's not cost effective to keep adding more ( Read about this on the growweedeasy site , a great learner site for beginners. Primary information on almost every aspect of this hobby ), and really the only other one besides this great AFN forum that I now partially addicted to.
Don't listen to ANY plant person that hasn't grown weed before. Your not growing Petunias.
I'm on my first grow (journal coming soon), and I've made a ton of mistakes, but I have one growing now that that I may have to put on Weight Watchers. I keep telling her I love fat ladies, (even though I really don't).
Ahhhhh... that early morning bzzzzzzzz.
BTW I like how you did your pvc for the bulbs. What type of socket did you use for the pvc/transition?
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Hi Pigman
Just want to confirm some of the things mentioned above.
pH, ideal soil pH for your medium would be 6.4, soil pH will swing as it goes from just watered to ready to be watered. You want to be around the 6.4 mark in between waterings. The only way you will really know is if you get a good soil pH probe like an Accurate 8. It will also help you know when to water since it also has a moisture scale. As previously said, you adjust the pH of your water and feed to maintain that range as the soil will tend to change over time.
Forget the halogen lights, as others said, too much heat for the light they put out. If the budget is tight you could add a high pressure sodium light (HPS) when plants go into bloom. With your CFLs a 250W HPS would be fine. Next to LED it is your most energy efficient option. If you went for a 400W unit it would give you all the light needed for a 3x3 foot space. You could get a metal halide bulb for it for under $15 and that would give you all the light needed for veg phase for your next grow and then swap the MH for the HPS for bloom
Just want to confirm some of the things mentioned above.
pH, ideal soil pH for your medium would be 6.4, soil pH will swing as it goes from just watered to ready to be watered. You want to be around the 6.4 mark in between waterings. The only way you will really know is if you get a good soil pH probe like an Accurate 8. It will also help you know when to water since it also has a moisture scale. As previously said, you adjust the pH of your water and feed to maintain that range as the soil will tend to change over time.
Forget the halogen lights, as others said, too much heat for the light they put out. If the budget is tight you could add a high pressure sodium light (HPS) when plants go into bloom. With your CFLs a 250W HPS would be fine. Next to LED it is your most energy efficient option. If you went for a 400W unit it would give you all the light needed for a 3x3 foot space. You could get a metal halide bulb for it for under $15 and that would give you all the light needed for veg phase for your next grow and then swap the MH for the HPS for bloom
Duckster
Still Just a Rat in a Cage
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http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/maintenance/ph_buffers/ Here is a link for the stuff that I use, but go easy as it only takes a few drops per liter. Some growers use things like baking soda to raise pH and lemon juice or vinegar to lower pH. Have never used them so I can't comment on how well they work or how much too use
Either way, you need proper pH pen to measure your liquid and a pH soil probe like the Accurate 8 to measure your soil pH
