Brown Pistols but small patchy buds. HELP!!!

**chrisurbs2008** · 12-07-2009, 12:40 PM

Okay, this is my first real grow and Im not too sure what week into flowering I am, but Im guessing around 6. Im growing hydro with CFLs, just last week I saw some pistols starting to turn reddish-brown, and in a week about 50% have turned the same.

This excites me, but the bud concentration on my plant seems to me to be considerably small. On the main cola the buds are spaced out and havent puffed up or wrapped around the entire stem. There are just buds every half inch or so going down about 8inches. and then spacing out after that.

My question is: Is this normal for the pistols to start turning this brown and the buds not gaining alot of mass?

Help would be appreciated thanks.

**chrisurbs2008** · 12-07-2009, 02:40 PM

.....bump.

**Kreyonic** · 12-07-2009, 02:54 PM

pictures. helps decypher things

**chrisurbs2008** · 12-07-2009, 02:58 PM

no camera, but pictures really arent needed...everything with the plant looks fine, besides some dying lower and bigger leaves that seem to be shrivelling up. the buds just arent wrapping around the stem and are staying small

**Kreyonic** · 12-07-2009, 03:02 PM

what kind of lights are you using?

**chrisurbs2008** · 12-07-2009, 03:05 PM

150w cfl placed about 3 inches above the top of the plant

actually its 3 evenly spaced lights at 50w a piece

**tokinman** · 12-07-2009, 03:12 PM

look at the trichomes.. if they are cloudy, you could harvest. if they are mainly clear, you have some time.. the hairs are just an indicator of when a plant is in its final stage of flowering.. i have seen plants with 50% brown hairs at 3-4 weeks flower but they were small.. the plant packs on most of the weight in the last 2-3 weeks of flowering if i remember correctly. i would say if you are at 5-6 weeks give em another 3 weeks at least.. check the trichomes though, they are the BEST indicator of when the plant is ready..

**mcpurple** · 12-07-2009, 03:15 PM

your plant is near done the buds are so small do to the fact its a cfl grow, also depends on strain

**rreign** · 12-07-2009, 03:22 PM

I gotta disagree about the CFL comment. I don't think the CFL's by themselves are going to be an issue. I would think that the wattage would be, but not just them being CFL's. I would add a few more CFL's and give it some more time. What size area do you have them in? In general you need like no less than 1000 lumens per square foot. If you're in a closet that's like 50 - 60 square foot, then there's no way that just 3 50W's are going to be enough.

**Punk** · 12-07-2009, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by chrisurbs2008

150w cfl placed about 3 inches above the top of the plant

actually its 3 evenly spaced lights at 50w a piece

You may be consuming 150 watts per hour, but it's not the same as having 1 light @ 150 watts. By the sounds of what you've described, I'd say you're right on track.

You won't be growing the stuff you see in high times using wimpy cfls.